#re cap episode 4

[leveloneandup]

christenpress 👀 Sneak peak from The RE—CAP episode 4. Dropping today on YouTube ‼️

[cecilysass]

The Penultimate Partner Episode: Analyzing the Second-to-Last Episodes of Seasons 3-7

So I was thinking about the show’s tendency to do an episode that is explicitly about the Partnership—about the deep abiding bonds between Mulder and Scully—right before the season finale.

This doesn’t seem to happen in season 1 and 2 (the penultimate episodes are Roland and Our Town, respectively, which don’t seem to play the same role). And something different is happening in season 8 and 9, so I don't think they fit as well.

But during the show’s peak popularity, seasons 3-7, the second-to-last episode seems to be setting up baseline emotional stakes for whatever plotline is about to hit. These episodes are giving us the state of the partnership, reminding us how devoted they are to one another. They also tend to have to do with one or both partners having a distorted perception on reality that requires the other partner's intervention in some way. I’m calling them the Penultimate Partner episodes.

So can we look at the themes of each of these Partnership episodes and see development over time? I think yes. It’s gonna be long. I rewatched them all, so buckle up.

Season 3: Wetwired - partnership as trust Season 4: Demons - partnership as loyalty Season 5: Folie a Deux - partnership as shared madness Season 6: Field Trip - partnership as touchstones Season 7: Je Souhaite - partnership as happiness

Season 3: Wetwired  (right before Talitha Cumi)

This episode, like several in the Penultimate Partner episode category, involves a X-file that distorts perception. Because Scully can’t trust her own senses due to the mind control, she also can’t trust Mulder, calling into question the key tenet of their partnership. (And by season three, they have definitely established trust as the bedrock.)

Her gradual mistrust of Mulder in this episode is tense and painful; you can see on her face how much she argues with herself about it even as her mind is tricking her. Others who fall victim to this mind control phenomenon wind up murdering their romantic partner, but in the end of the episode, when they’re discussing what happened in the hospital, they both seem pretty unsurprised that Scully’s paranoia focused on Mulder. They both know, late season three, how crucial trust is between them. They understand that it’s Scully’s worst fear that Mulder would betray her. It’s not even news to them.

What Mulder’s worst fear might be is also hinted at, although it’s unsaid. He’s furious that her life is put at risk by the mysterious informant. When Mulder believes Scully may be dead and he’s going to identify her body, his reaction is chilling. He seems to completely shut down emotionally, not even showing any reaction to the Gunmen. Tellingly, when he is offered a choice between getting answers and going to ID Scully’s body, he doesn’t hesitate—he chooses Scully. (Sometimes people claim Mulder doesn’t show this kind of commitment to her until much later, even until Home Again in season 10, so it’s interesting to see it so unequivocal here.)   

I want to say that Scully’s anxiety about trusting Mulder in this episode is foreshadowing aspects of the cancer arc in the next season, but I don’t think that’s really what’s happening. This episode seems more like an entirely season 3 cap to the Anasazi / Blessing Way / Paperclip storyline, especially the murder of Melissa. Scully’s paranoia calls back Mulder’s in Anasazi, and Scully explicitly blames Mulder for her sister’s murder when she’s drawn a gun on him. Even just the fact that we're there with Maggie, who has a picture of Melissa displayed prominently, tells me that loss is supposed to be on both partners' minds. (Actually, the interaction between Mulder, Scully and Maggie is pretty amazing in this scene; they’re an emotionally complex trio who seem to be communicating on some other level. I love how when Mulder and Maggie are talking to freaked-out Scully they almost sound strangely unreal, almost like they really are speaking falsely. It allows us to imagine the scene as it looks from Scully’s point-of-view, as a massive betrayal.)

Wetwired is, technically, a mytharc episode, as this whole mind control thing seems to tie back into X and the Syndicate. Personally I think the episode’s ending, emphasizing the mytharc-related plot and X’s involvement and whatever tf was happening there, was a little misguided. For my tastes they would have done better to play up the more personal, character-based themes a little more. But I also think this episode was the first real Penultimate Partner episode, and it was setting some patterns that were going to be expanded on.

Season 4: Demons (before Gethsemane)

From the cold open, we can already tell this is already a more personal episode than Wetwired. Mulder is the one having perception problems now; he wakes from a disturbing dream, covered in blood, muddled memory. This is also technically a mytharc episode, but much more concerned with direct impact on character than Wetwired was. 

Scully instantly rushes to Mulder’s aid—walks right into his shower, for heaven’s sake—and absolutely never wavers in loyalty to him, even when he looks real, real guilty and a "rational" person would be suspicious. She is in fierce, must-protect-Mulder mode throughout this entire episode, from the moment she shows up palpating his head with her hands to her back-off behavior with the cops to her badass cold “I know what you do” comment to Dr. Goldstein. She also helps Mulder see through his distorted perception, telling him "this is not the way to the truth" as he holds a gun on her.

In this Penultimate Partner episode, we see something more than simple trust going on, although there’s trust, too. Maybe the word is loyalty or devotion. We see Mulder coming apart and Scully completely and utterly devoted to him. It’s actually very clear foreshadowing for the following week’s episode, Gethsemane. Mulder isn’t stable, and he needs Scully to keep him from “los[ing] his course,” as she says in Demons’ end narration. Gethsemane will follow up on the Mulder losing-his-course idea, and also will explore the idea that Scully’s bottomless support of Mulder isn’t always good for her. (This idea is voiced especially by Bill.) 

There are some ways in which this episode is a neat little bookend to Wetwired. In Wetwired, Scully flees to her mother’s house, desperate and paranoid; in Demons, Mulder, similarly unhinged, seeks out his mother at her house. In Wetwired, Scully sees things that aren’t there, and in Demons, it’s definitely implied that Mulder may be seeing things in his past that weren’t actually there. In Wetwired, Scully pulls a gun on Mulder, and in Demons, Mulder pulls one on Scully. 

I adore this episode, even though it’s definitely vulnerable to the critique that Mulder acts like a self-obsessed loon and Scully a hopeless enabler lol. Especially because it comes before the Gethsemane / Redux three parter, I wish the episode would have explicitly connected his behavior to the cancer arc, as I feel like that would have made his wild choices seem more understandable. If he felt like he needed to find answers faster because he knew Scully’s time was running out and he saw it all tied together with her fate, then we would get why he was acting so rashly. It would also tie more nicely into Gethsemane, which misleads the audience into thinking Mulder has killed himself, in part, because he believes she’s been given cancer to make him believe. But again, I love this episode. Scully showing up and putting that blanket around Mulder when he’s shaking. Her hugging him at the end when he’s desolate on the floor. This shows a partnership that’s been through Paper Hearts and Memento Mori—that’s moved beyond trust alone.

Season 5: Folie a Deux (before The End)

This is another episode about perception—about one partner seeing things the other can’t. Unlike in Wetwired or Demons, however, in this episode the altered perception actually represents the real truth, something everyone else fails to understand. The episode plays around with the tropes of earlier episodes like Wetwired, at first encouraging us to think that it's a delusion that Pincus is a monster, but then convincing us, through Mulder’s eyes, that the delusion is actually reality.  

As other people have observed, this episode ends up being a nice little metaphor for the whole show: Mulder knowing what no one else does, being ostracized and considered insane, asking Scully to find evidence to corroborate him and ultimately convincing her to believe him and see what he sees. Their partnership is, quite precisely, a madness shared by two. 

It’s a monster of the week, not a mytharc, so there’s no distraction of elaborate mytharc plot, just characters and monster. And this is a Vince Gilligan operation, so our focus is definitely on character. From the first scene with Mulder and Scully, we sense that we’re going to be talking about the partnership. Skinner gives them an assignment in Chicago that Mulder doesn’t think is worth it, and he complains in a particularly self-centered way to Scully, which she observes (“You’re saying I a lot.”) The episode is going to be very explicit that while Mulder might be monster boy, they are in this unhinged partnership situation together. Another important moment comes later, when Scully is calling the perp crazy for thinking he saw a monster, and Mulder says, “Well, I saw it, too.” Scully’s careful about-face after that, her delicate avoidance of implying she thinks Mulder is actually crazy, is part of the dance they’re doing at this late season five stage of their partnership. She doesn’t quite believe him, but she doesn’t knee-jerk not believe him either. 

And the foreshadowing of what’s to come in this one, whoo boy. Most obviously, we must acknowledge that 1013 knew exactly what they were doing when Mulder tells Scully “you’re my one in five billion.” A mere seven days from now, a mysterious beautiful ex who believes his theories is going to show up to immediately cast doubt on that claim. And this episode is also toying with the question of whether Scully actually does always back Mulder up when it’s important, when she has to accept she saw something illogical. At the end, does she tell Skinner she actually saw a giant bug in Mulder’s hospital room? We don’t know, but I think it’s implied she doesn’t. That’s all presaging what will happen in The Beginning coming off of Fight the Future. It’s Scully’s little way of resisting the madness, but it also hurts Mulder and damages the partnership, which will be a problem in season six. 

Season 6: Field Trip (before Biogenesis)

Full disclosure: this is my favorite episode. So I’m going to make some big claims about it. This is the ultimate Penultimate Partner episode—the one that best knits together what it wants to say about their partnership and what it wants to establish for the finale. It's a monster-of-the-week episode (another Vince Gilligan ep, with John Shiban) but refers to the mytharc often. It’s also one of the best episodes about their partnership, period. 

This is yet another episode about distorted perception. This time, however, under the influence of a giant mushroom, both partners are unable to perceive clearly, to determine what is real and what is a lie. And when they’re confused, they critically turn to one another to help them see what the truth is.

Coming off of season six, the partnership is rocky. Mulder is frustrated that after so many theories of his have borne out, he still can’t get the benefit of the doubt from Scully, something he explicitly says in the dialogue here. Scully has felt like she’s not been trusted or heard, like Mulder has turned to others (Diana Fowley, for example) rather than his partner.

This is an episode about how they absolutely need one another to be able to make sense of the world—that individually each of their points-of-view are not enough. In Mulder’s hallucination, Scully accepts his claims about alien life forms too completely, not applying enough skepticism, not pushing back against him. In Scully’s hallucination, a world without Mulder, everyone is unacceptably unquestioning of the status quo, refusing to dig deeper, lacking Mulder’s critical acumen and drive. Neither partner likes the feeling of being unopposed, and it makes both of them suspicious about the hallucination’s reality. They may think they want their own view to prevail, but they need one another to be a whole person.

The theme of what’s real and what’s not – and needing one another to discern the truth–is exactly what is picked up and developed further in the Biogenesis-Sixth Extinction-Amor Fati arc that follows this. Scully’s skepticism has to stretch to incorporate more of Mulder’s worldview to make sense of what she sees in the Ivory Coast, and of course, Mulder calls on Scully’s worldview to see through his misleading dream world in Amor Fati. In fact, you could argue Field Trip is really about the idea that Mulder and Scully are one another’s touchstones—the people they need to know what’s right and real. 

Incidentally, this episode also plays around with some of season 6’s other subtextual throughlines: Mulder and Scully’s anxieties about possibly entering a non-platonic relationship, their unease about what a normal, domestic life might even be for them. For the entire episode they’re directly compared and juxtaposed with the Schiffs, a young married couple who died on Brown Mountain. The Schiffs are a tall man and a redheaded woman. They even die hallucinating lying together on a hotel bed after she asked him to “hold her” (although I do seriously doubt 1013 was intentionally foreshadowing a full year ahead). The last shot is of Mulder reaching out to take Scully’s hand across the ambulance, suggesting a kind of partnership beyond just, you know, partnership. Which takes us to the next season.  

Season 7: Je Souhaite (before Requiem)

Truthfully, I don’t think this episode fits quite as well in the Penultimate Partner category. It doesn’t share some of the same traits as these other episodes—it’s not quite as notably about perception, for instance—and it’s not fundamentally about the partnership in the same way. But it does end up commenting on their partnership (even their relationship, really) as part of its theme, so I think we can include it—especially because its position right before Requiem ends up being important. 

Je Souhaite (btw, written and directed by Vince Gilligan) has a bit of an unsettled feeling to it because it was kind of treading water, waiting to see what happened with DD and the series. Nothing too monumental could happen with the partnership or the plot because it wasn’t clear to anyone what would happen next with the show: whether it would end or continue, whether DD would be involved or not.

So we have a story about Mulder and Scully making peace with not having a significant impact on the world—e.g. not bringing about world peace, not introducing invisible bodies to science. Instead, they are content to delightfully share a beer and comment that they have made one another “pretty happy” (as Scully says about Mulder). Through the jinni character, they seem to take the lesson that they can enjoy being with one another, accept the simple happiness that their relationship brings them. Rather than wish for success that comes too easily, they take joy in the little things with one another.

Comparing this episode to the Penultimate Partner episodes that come before, we can really see how Mulder and Scully’s dynamic has evolved by season seven. We have a Scully who is much more open to supernatural phenomena, for example, and whose skepticism seems more like a reflex or a defense mechanism now. Scully’s move towards belief is partially reflected in the plot of the episode: the X-file here really isn’t even science fiction. It is just straight up fantasy or magical realism. Aside from Scully's brief mention of a disease to explain what happened to the mouthless man in the cold open, no plausible scientific explanation for the jinni's long life or wishes is really even floated.

Scully is delighted by the discovery of the invisible body, and Mulder is visibly delighted by her delight. He’s also frustrated by her retreat into doubt when the body disappears, of course. But even the reversal into her old skepticism is half-hearted, as she soon after she's engaging in discussion with Mulder about what his final wish was. This is consistent with the overall blurring of the old hardline believer-skeptic dynamic we see in season 7. It’s also peeking ahead to Scully’s coming role as resident basement believer in season 8. 

The last scene, with the beers and Caddyshack, is meant to be a callback to djinni Jenn’s comment that she wishes she could “live my life moment by moment... enjoying it for what it is instead of... instead of worrying about what it isn't.” Mulder, we see, is taking a cue from her. (And good for him, as we almost never see these characters do this. Except on rare baseball-related occasions.)

However, this episode’s position right before Requiem—and right before the events of season 8—ends up giving this scene a real bittersweet bite. We know, after Requiem, that they were probably a romantic couple at this time. We know, after Requiem, that this time is going to be their last happy time together for a long while. Later in season 8, we learn that one lingering wish of Scully’s in season 7 is that she wanted to conceive a child with Mulder. And of course we know, after Requiem, that she gets her wish—but with a vicious catch, with a terrible side effect, much like what happens with the jinni’s wishes. 

So that’s my academic thesis on that. I know others have pointed out the existence of this type of episode before. What did I miss? Do you think I am wrong to leave out seasons 1, 2, 8, and 9? Why do we think these episodes focus so much on distorted perception? Interested to hear others’ thoughts (if they make it through this lol).

[the-everyday-gamer]

Some info I gathered while attending Hannah Telle's talk on Life is Strange: Double Exposure.

I am so delayed posting this because I flew from Ireland to London to attend Hannah's talk, and my flight home was 4 hours delayed. Here are some points I took from Hannah's talk regarding Max in the new game and Hannah's role in the game's development :)

I never want to stop talking about this experience!! So please feel free to ask any questions!!

Hannah had to re-audition for Max alongside other actors, and she wasn't guaranteed to get it. Mainly because Hannah is a voice actor and she had to prove she was physically able for the demands of mo-cap acting.

Hannah did her own stunts for the game.

Hannah's facial expressions were recorded for the game, and she said the technology made it much easier for the rig to read/record her face. Unlike her first motion capture job where she had to have dots and points of reference drawn on her face.

Hannah confirmed Max works at Caladon University and gives lectures. She's not necessarily a teacher, but she is there to share her experience and guide the students.

Max does have trauma from the events of the first game. She travels a lot and takes photos of lonely spaces as a way of comfort.

Max is distraught at Safi's death because it's her worst anxiety coming to life after the events of Arcadia Bay and it was implied this is why she uses her power despite what happened before.

Hannah says Max does try to rewind but can't and later discovers she can jump between timelines. This gave me the impression that she tries to rewind when Safi dies and later in the episode / story finds her new powers unexpectedly.

The biggest questions of the game are, who killed Safi? How did they do it? How can Max split the timelines? And why is Safi alive in the other timeline?

[yuri-is-online]

... so what do we know about the Clash? (pt. 2)

moving right along from part 1

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS THROUGH EPISODE 5: HOTARUBI. PLEASE INTERACT WITH DUE CAUTION.

The Laurel Crown is first referenced by Ritsu in Episode 4. It is an award given to the best performing house of the year at an event called the Darkwick Gala. Kaito says it is held one week before graduation, Ritsu says there are a lot of rewards given out to graduating winners. He also very specifically says that it is "the shortest path to success and independence from Darkwick for us ghouls." That word independence strikes me as important, though it is not followed up on here or elsewhere unless you count the discussion surrounding Article 78 in Episode 5. Ritsu thinks that Taiga was interested in it once upon a time due to his impressive mission completion record in his first year. We know Zenji wanted to win the crown to obtain recognition as an author, while most of the other ghouls we've met show a degree of disinterest or lack of knowledge of it. Ren mentions at the end of this conversation that he didn't know about the Gala, and Ritsu points out that despite being canceled it was never removed from last years schedule. It is not not this year's though, and he implies that Cornelius is covering something up. Which really does seem to be the case...

The Crown system was discontinued as a direct result of the Clash... we think. It is never explicitly stated "yeah the Clash happened so we aren't doing this anymore" it's instead alluded to as something they can't do because there are too many ghouls to control. We know it had to be this as Haku tells Zenji that it was discontinued after he died, and Zenji died during the Clash. According to Haku, he was killed by a rogue anomaly. He adamantly discourages MC from looking into the Clash gee why would you do that HAKU and this seems to be a similar stance to what Cornelius would take if he knew you were curious. Cornelius and Moby are reluctant to let Lyca free because "what if we have another case of a ghoul-" We can assume he is going to say "killing" or something along those lines based off the concerns listed about Lyca, but that's not confirmed.

Ritsu finds documents about the Clash in the school's archives. he finds them alongside disciplinary documents, he says he either overlooked them or someone had them checked out as he has not read them before. The file is thick and is specifically titled "The Clash: An Overview of Civil Affairs Instigated by Darkwick Students." The term "civil affairs" is interesting. As best I can tell it is a military term that refers to small scale missions undertaken by small teams that focus on civil action? Like diplomacy stuff? Or organizing humanitarian aid? And in more sinister scenarios to assist in psychological warfare to condition a population to not fight against your military but I don't know if that's what the translation team was going for here exactly. I think it's just meant to imply things got really bad and really violent.

Lastly, this is less easy to prove than some of the other things as fact but I still think it is one: there are hints of a split in the student body over who is pro-anomaly and anti-anomaly. Subaru is obviously very pro-anomaly and thinks that capturing them is cruel, Taiga seems to be pro eating anomalies while Romeo is very comfortable with catching them and collecting bounties. A lot of this seems to be tied to how they view the school, the Institute that runs it, and their place in that hierarchy. The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that they are trapped at Darkwick and don't want to be. At least not forever.

So to re cap all of the things we know to be fact: the Clash happened sometime last year, half a year ago at the absolute latest. The fight is thought to have been started by the ghouls, we do not know over what. The Laurel Crown system and the Darkwick Gala were both canceled after the fallout of the Clash, in which at least two named people are thought to have died: Zenji Kotodama who would have been a second year Hotarubi student and Dante whose former role is unknown. Zenji still resides in the school as a ghost, though this is unknown to Darkwick staff, and Dante has been brought on as a Professor. Also, all of the Inspectors seem to have quit at the end of the previous year due to the ghouls abusing mesmer matches on them. Three dormitories were disbanded at some point and one new one was created. We do not know if this was connected to the Clash or if it was an inciting incident for it, but at some point Clementia, one of those dormitories, was the scene of some sort of fight. Some of the students of Dionysia dorm went missing, presumably the ghouls. We know nothing about what happened to Ultio aside from the prison they were tasked with running now being run "by Darkwick." All general students from these dorms were re-assigned elsewhere, as were the general students previously assigned to Jabberwock who had general admissions halted. There is a spy amongst these ghouls who Taiga believes is intending to make them look bad; Alan and Tohma are attempting to isolate this spy. We do not know who this spy is spying for, or what Alan and Tohma want out of him exactly, nor do I really expect to find out anytime soon.

So. Now onto the Questions and Theories. As in things we can assume but cannot exactly prove:

Questions and Theories

Jiro and Zenji look extremely similar with a few noticeable differences, namely the piercings Jiro has and the glasses Zenji wears. My first thought was that maybe Jiro was made out of Zenji's corpse, but his birthday is listed as October 13th, which is not the middle of the year by any stretch. They also have different blood types; I think the most practical explanation comes from Zenji himself. When describing why he's so attached to the haunted doll you've found, he says it looks just like his brother did when he was a baby. I have some screenshots of Zenji following Jiro around in a campus event because he wants to help him find something he's looking for, so it does make a bit of sense. And make me even more sad.

The Institute that runs Darkwick seems to be deeply suspicious of ghouls and feel a need to keep them on a short leash. There is a great deal of distrust and resentment between the ghouls and the Institute, and the Clash seems to have been the result of that distrust. The thickness of the records Ritsu finds suggests to me that whatever the Clash was exactly, it took up most of the previous year and that it had something to do with Darkwick's treatment of anomalies.

On that point, I think that Clementia was likely destroyed by a rogue anomaly. The destruction MC sees is described as something going on a rampage, and not as a fight. The fight angle is still possible of course, and if that's the case I wonder if it has something to do with how Ultio was running the prison. I mentioned in the previous post that the goddesses these dorms are named after are meant to sort of balance each other out, so if there was going to be a clash of ideals between anyone on campus it'd probably be these guys.

I feel like Obscuary was set up as a result of the Clash? Or at the very least some time before it specifically so there would be some place for Rui and Ed to go. I think the dorm members will all be crossed with an anomaly in some way, Ed with a vampire, Rui with a reaper, and Lyca with a werewolf. Also, Ed is rumored to have done something. What? No fucking clue, don't even know if it's related to the Clash but still he has done something to get added into the rumor mill.

We don't know what Haku's stigma is as he didn't tell us. He also makes a point of saying that he thinks it's a good thing to get through a mission without using your stigma, if anything he seems to discourage the MC from using or relying on the ring to help the ghouls. You could see this as him trying to encourage her to value herself more, or maybe he thinks that there is a cost for using stigmas we don't know about just yet and they're not the blessings the ghouls think they are. Also he asks Cornelius if he has ever lied to him at the end of the chapter and if you think I didn't find that sus as all hell-

I need to sleep, but remind me to make a post about Haku sometime. Because I don't think he's evil exactly, but I do still think he's the spy.

[chaifootsteps]

re: convos about hazbin hotel's rating and kids being in the fandom.

i looked into what Amazon's Hazbin Hotel is rated and the confusing matter of the 16+ to 18+ rating. basically it's not uncommon for the (imo, broken) rating system to tag darker episodes with a higher rating than others, the intent is to let you know what the current episode will get into, but the fault is that it risks initially giving the impression the series is for a younger audience than it is.

& it *seems* the UI for the series page on Amazon defaults to the highest rated episode--bc it *was* 16+ before all episodes released, then bumped up to 18+ once episode 4 was there.

here's the rating on episode 4, which if it's the same as every other Prime episode i've watched, would've been briefly in the upper left corner in small text before fading away, easy to miss and lacks what would be more fitting verbage (i.e. sexual violence.)

and, here is what Hazbin Hotel's *official* certified ratings are, according to IMDb:

in relation to a shocking amount of kids being in the fandom, i tried to look into whether or not the Hazbin Hotel Pilot episode and/or Addict were age-restricted. y'know, bc everyone keeps saying it's an "adult show for adults." (which it is but ykwim.)

and it seems like there weren't/aren't. i checked in a logged-out browser if i'd get any sort of "this video is age restricted" or "sign-in to confirm age" YouTube filters. i didn't. i also tried playing them in Discord (bc usually if a YouTube video is age-restricted it'll stop you and make you view it on YouTube where it can confirm your age) both the pilot and Addict played without a problem.

(if someone else tries and finds they *did* hit an age-restriction block feel free to let us know.)

in addition, it seems a few redditors were discussing this very thing back when it came out, so they were either mistaken or it never had an actual age-restriction on it.

and the pilot's warning isn't even at the top or in caps or anything, it's a very casual "be warned this is aimed at older audiences hehe there are bad words and innuendos" line in the middle. not even "for" older audiences. "aimed" at them.

and as we know Addict has a proper warning at the start of the video that is as follows:

but, again, i was able to access Addict easily in a logged-out YouTube window which seems to indicate it had no age-restrictions on it.

i checked YouTube Kids itself and the good news is neither the pilot nor Addict show up in the search. the bad news is YouTube's content moderating is still lax enough that any dumbass can try and content-farm kids with whatever is recently popular, so a small handful of Hazbin-related videos like piano tutorials and silly crafts of the characters can be uploaded and labeled as "for kids" by those people. bc it's "just an innocent piano tutorial!" "just an innocent craft!"

but of course most of the "kids" we see in the fandom getting yelled at are generally 13-16 and up, just including the above for full context.

all-in-all i'm not trying to say that not age-restricting the pilot or Addict is some predatory action taken by viv, but to me it was/is a very poor ignorant or oblivious decision.

yes kids will always seek out content that isn't for them, but imo that's *why* the bear minimum is age-restricting and making it *clear* it's not for kids. it's for your own protection too.

if you put all the barriers up and kids still jump over them people can easily see it wasn't your fault. same goes for when construction sites or dangerous hills have warnings so they're not at fault if someone ignores the warnings and gets hurt.

but if those construction sites, hills, or videos made "for adults" don't have those warnings loud and clear, you're gonna get faulted, and you're gonna get kids running around even *more* confident that they belong there bc they were barely warned that they don't.

Thank you for laying it all out like this. This illustrates exactly what the problem is.

[forwhoever]

the re-cap show | episode 4 | 46:06

c: “it was an abusive & toxic environment the entire time & i didn’t even know it, actually. tobin yanked me out of that environment essentially.”

[veryace-ficrecs]

Hey! I saw your pjo fic list and was wondering if you could do a spoiler free list for tv show fans like maybe just book one stuff thanks!

Of course I can!

Percy Jackson TV Fic Recs (Spoiler Free)

So! the way that I've done this is divided it into two levels of spoilers. The first half will be fics that are spoiler free up to the currently released episode (as of right now, that's ep5 A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers). The second half of the list will be spoiler free up to the end of the first book, and subsequently the end of the first season of the show.

Keep in mind that most fics will be based on the books, and there may be some events that are either re-arranged, or happen differently then they may have in the show.

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! Enjoy!!

Spoiler Free up to Ep 5: A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers

A Hephaestus TV Special by Alexandra989 - Rated G

Olympus tunes in to a Hephaestus TV Special- featuring Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase on the Thrill Ride of Love.

Episode Four: I Plunge to My Death by beady_toast - Rated G

He took a deep breath, counting to three before letting it go. He could see a little better now, faint light breaking through the window as the scenery whizzed past outside.The floor of the train felt hard and cold against his back, every bump sending a jolt to his heart. He opened his mouth to speak, but second guessed himself.

Annabeth still seemed to be considering whether or not he was worth keeping around at all. Grover would be insufferable. That guy (goat?) liked his sleep almost as much as he liked food.

“You asleep?” He whispered, words slipping out before he could decide whether or not he wanted to say them.

The silence was deafening, filling Percy’s ears with static. He chided himself for even thinking anyone would be awake. It was a stupid, childish–

“Yes,” a soft monotone voice replied. Percy fought the urge to smile. Silence stretched between him and Annabeth.

dangerous games // percabeth by annabxth - Rated G

percy shook his head helplessly, as if in disbelief of what she was implying. his face was sickly pale, his veins were prominent now, and his under-eyes a stark red. his face was sheen with sweat. annabeth knew he didn’t have much more time if they didn’t hurry. she moved to close the door, urging them to go, but percy called out again. “wait.” he said. he dug into his pocket. his hands trembled as he carelessly flicked the cap off of his pen, allowing it to become a sword. he offered it to her. “take this.” ~~ the arch scene in episode 4 from annabeth’s POV.

verklempt by achievingelysium - Rated T

Annabeth never liked water. ... Percy was nothing like she imagined the most important person in her life would be. He was her ticket to a quest. He wasn’t much of a reader—didn’t like books—but had sharp eyes and could think fast. Luke said he was a natural with his sword. He drooled in his sleep. He was quite possibly the most annoying person she’d ever met. And… even though she wasn’t supposed to, she liked him.

The start of a legend by Phantomxlegend - Rated G

When you just find out you’re a demigod and immediately get thrown on a world ending, life or death style quest. It can be a little stressful. Or Just some small Grover comforting Percy because y’all forgot about Grover.

A Mother's Love by wiseassrat - Rated G

"She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy--if it makes you feel any better." Actually, that did not make him feel better. That did not make him feel better at all. Grover puts something into perspective and now Percy feels undeserved guilt about his mom. Takes place just before their first quest.

Packed and Petrified by DancingInTheSliverGlow - Rated G

In the lightning thief, Percy Jackson defeats Medusa and then promptly sends her decapitated head to the greek gods.

When the olympians got a package “best wishes percy jackson," Zeus probably said something along the lines of, "At last, my bolt! Finally, your son admits to steali-" and then gets turned to stone for like five seconds.

This is what I imagined happened, starring: Zeus mostly as a stone statue (we all like him better that way), Poseidon, Hermes, Martha & George (the snakes on Hermes caduceus).

Decided Family by greensgables - Rated G

Despite what most people might think, Grover is very aware of the fact that he doesn't have family at Camp Half Blood. Or he didn't, until Percy came around.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spoilers For the end of The Lightning Thief! Proceed With Caution!!!!

a girl who sees it all by thesleepingsiren - Rated T

Annabeth is hyperactive and hyper-observant, and there’s something about the way Percy deflates when he thinks nobody’s watching that makes her wonder. She’s noticed things. The way he furrows his brows when praised or his wide eyes when anyone asks him to hang out or do anything besides spar. When he makes someone laugh, his eyes narrow like he’s trying to decide whether it’s with him or at him. The way his nose crinkles when he’s struggling through Homer and how he apologizes with a self-deprecating joke. How initially resistant he is to a hug or any comforting contact before he melts into it, whole body relaxing. Sometimes, when he’s lost in thought, he scratches at his collarbone—a scar she doesn’t know how he got. He has a lot of scars she doesn’t recognize, old ones. Or, Annabeth picks up on Percy's childhood, and makes sure he knows he's deserving of friendship. Set after the TLT quest but before SoM.

Styx by Soggy_Ice - Rated G

Summary

The river Styx reflected his face against its murky water. It smelled of beer, seven-layer dips, and sweat. It smelled of garbage. For a moment, Percy was Gabe’s apartment again, locked inside his temporary room for the summer while Gabe’s voice demanded for his mom’s salary, as if his mom were the one who spent every night gambling. His reflection showed a boy, knuckles white over the edge of the boat, glaring at him with the same dirty hair and glowing green eyes. He was angry. Percy didn’t realize that he was leaning over the edge until Annabeth pulled him back, raising an eyebrow. She gestured at Grover, shaken up, murmuring prayers under his breath as they made their way down the river. Right. Underworld. Meeting Hades. For the bolt. For the quest. For his mom. OR Percy and Styx bonding.

Across the Hall by Deerlie_03 - Rated T

The lives of the Jackson family pre-The Lightning Thief as told by a mortal neighbour who wants nothing but the best for the young woman who recently moved in across the hall, pregnant and without anybody in her life, and her unborn son

mundane by laruegard - Rated G

"I don't like not knowing how to do things." "Well, that's an easy fix. I'll teach you." or percy teaches annabeth how to play video games while theyre at the lotus hotel and casino.

anytime, kid. by polypanpercyjackson (ineedibuprofen) - Not Rated

“So…,” Drew drawls, motioning with her chin to Percy’s chipped blue nails. “What’s with the nails?” Percy sits across from her, glaring up at her warily, “Why do you care?”

little oracles by Arten - Rated G

I laughed. “You? An architect?” I don’t know why, but I found it funny. Just the idea of Annabeth trying to sit quietly and draw all day. Her cheeks flushed. “Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention.” It wasn't until Annabeth watched Percy's face crumple that she realised that perhaps accusing someone of being the ruiner of all good things just like his father, right after he admitted the lengths to which his mother had gone to protect him– from marrying an awful man to literally dying to make sure he reached Camp– was the worst possible thing she could have ever said to anyone ever. Even if he had just laughed at her for thinking she could ever be an architect.

[isekai-crow]

Mashle: Magic and Muscle Season 1 Re-Cap + Season 2 - Episode 1

Other Episodes-> ep2 ep3 ep4 ep5

This anime shits all over JKR in the best way possible. Highly Recommended if you can make it through the 2nd half of Season 1.

Overall Rating So Far: 8/10 with hopes it will stay there.

For comparison, season 1 ended up 6/10. TToTT as to why...

I'm writing this while re-watching season one, and maaaaan what a strong start Season 1 had!! 9/10 for the first 4 episodes!!

How is this avoiding copyright? I don't know but I fully support it.

I LOVE MASH AND HIS REALISTIC TAKES.

The pacing got completely thrown off after episode 5. Did we really need those fight to be THAT long and drawn out?? No. I get that animation studios are limited in how far into the manga they can go in a given season, but I would have preferred anime original filler over 2 episodes of metal punch dude, and the whole "chamber of secrets" esque episodes...

Despite being sorely disappointed by the second half of season 1, I did finish it. Starting episode 1 of Season 2, I completely forgot where the last episode had left off and it hasn't even been that long!! I had to laugh at just how much my brain had tuned out by the end, which is sad, because this is such an amazing premise.

HOWEVER

SEASON 2 EPISODE 1 BROUGHT BACK THE DRIVE TO WATCH!!

The first episode of season 2 doubles down on poking ALL sorts of holes in the plot of Harry Potter and sidestepping any massive overlaps to avoid copyright. BUT IT'S SO OBVIOUS, I LOVE IT.

May I introduce you to...

"Harry Potter with just enough serial numbers filed off to avoid a lawsuit." - Capybara

Spoilers for Episode 1 Below the Cut

We started off with a small recap of the end of season 1 and honestly I don't remember most of it happening.

Woo they beat the Tom Riddle/Abel Walker, Woo they won tons of points for their dormitory, Woo Mash's super special "magic spell" the Suplex!!!

But oh no! There is a rumor that Mash can't use magic has gotten out! To be fair, it was only a matter of time. Bicep Smash Magic can only get you so far lolol.

The little celebration party is very cute, and suddenly Abel and Abyss show up, and Mash is just totally chill with them joining in their party. Abel even brought a deck of cards and they're playing bullshit of all games lmfao

Personally I want to know why Dot has his mouth and face all bandaged up, but I assume that's Lemon's doing for some reason or another lol

Let me just say, I love Abel and Abyss. Abel is terrifying and carrying around his creepy doll and freaking Finn out, and literally just wants to have fun with everyone. He's far more incompetent, or maybe just normal? than he seems. And cares about Abyss!! And Abyss is doing his best to take care of his master, and thanks Mash for stopping them both. And can't talk to women!!

We love a traumatized bishonen.

Mash gets called to the Bureau of Magic and basically gets called a Mudblood to his face for not having magic and is being sentenced to death.

AND DRACO MALFOY SHOWS UP TO SAVE HIM.

You cannot dissuade me that this isn't another Draco.

And of course, to counter Draco/Ryoh Grantz, we get Knock Off Harry Potter and gang!

Neville with a dragon? Snow girl is Luna? The one with the book is Hermione? Obviously these are also original characters and there is no one to one with characters, but it's fun to try and place them.

Fake Harry Potter / Orter Madel says the most Not Harry Potter thing ever, and its hilarious that a character known for going against the rules has a caricature doing exactly the opposite.

Fuckin' mood Mash. Where the hell did RON come from??? ah.. his only purpose is to narrate what's happening. Makes sense.

The magi-parasite shows up, mob deals with, and it should be a done deal, but Orter continues to push the issue as Ryoh tries to stop him.

Will Mash be taken away and executed? He's not budging. Will Draco and Harry fight? What will become of Mash now that Dumbledore and Finn's Big Bro have shown up?

Until Next Time..

What the fuck is this show I love it so much.

[itsmaddienotmaddy]

I wasn’t going to blab my soccer nonsense but I can’t HELP IT.

We won, we scored, it’s World Cup season and I’m living for it.

Soph is inevitable and how fucking exciting is it that she got TWO goals and an assist in her World Cup debut. So good. So deserving. Miss ma’am put in the WORK today. She also needs to make quicker decisions on her passing, she waits and loses the open opportunities forcing her to go back or try to take on 4 players on the dribble.

Trin, also a DEBUT. It’s really really fun to see these players on this giant stage. And tbh, I think Trin would have done better if she hadn’t been trucked in the first 30 seconds. I think she’ll likely build in this tournament. I’m waiting for a worldie.

Alex - needed exactly what Tobin said in the first re inc recap episode. She needs good service. Soph and Trin like to dribble. There’s a conflicting front line game plan. That being said, she worked her ass off. Had really good opportunities and read situations really well. And my GOD, that flick assist to Soph is what dreams are made of. Should we ignore the penalty? Ummm. I kind of already blocked it from my brain. Soph should have taken it.

Pinoe, I love her. We all love her. Not her game. We know this. She obviously knows it. But the promising thing she does is that she’s this linking spark. Lindsey must have been pumped to have her in because all of a sudden, there were passing triangles pinging all over that side.

Alyssa (baby) - another youngin! I can’t find it in me to be anything but so freaking happy seeing the youth get this experience. No curmudgeon here for now. She had one great run and cross that was promising. Had a hard time staying on her feet, but can ya blame her?

Andi, sweet Andi. This was a great game for her to get minutes and side bar; she’s not a baby youth but it’s her first World Cup too and I’m PROUD. Idk if she’s always gonna cut it against top opponents but I appreciate her vision and her physicality. She’s a brick wall and really and truly, in a 50/50 sitch, my money is on Andi staying tall and the opposing player eating grass.

Savannah. How’s she doing? Can she believe it? How NUTS to have your literal second cap be starting the first game of the World Cup. She was getting shoved and getting really familiar with the grass for a bit, but she settled and actually looked extremely comfortable, stood out positively, and had some really good goal opportunities. She’s very cool, I wanna see a banger one of these games.

Lindsey has a pretty good game! She is a brilliant player and there were such good moments showing just that. Her pass to Alex’s flick to the first goal. Beautiful. And she had a few more that were so so nice. Went down easy a few times per usual but I do think she adjusted to the game and the lack of calls and she was working to stay up, putting that damn muscle to good use. She does have a tendency to overthink the strike when the ball takes a hot second to get to her. But, that third goal. A solid freaking rip.

Miss Rose. I missed that pale bitch so much. She makes the midfield. She makes those around her better. She allows a different attack because she carries the ball so well and folks are confident in her foot skills to allow her to work. She wasn’t perfect - her headers will forever crack me up. But we are at our best with Rose on the field.

Naomi. First World Cup whom? She is smooth, she is calm, she is consistent. Idk how she’s so young. She’s got amazing energy, big fan.

Center back Julie. She did what we needed back there. I’m curious if she was utilized as center back for the veteran experience or if she was put there instead of in the 6 because her fitness level isn’t midfield tier yet. Either way, blue headband blonde hair target on set pieces is something I’ve been missing in my life. She’s crazy. And we need it. Idk whom else is working as hard as her to get a body part on the ball for set pieces. (Can I say it? Can I say I miss Jill Ellis era set pieces?)

Crystal was doing lovely Crystal things. She works super well with Soph and if Soph could have weighted those passes better on the overlaps, oooohhhhhh!! Could’ve been SO good.

Foxy, a commanding debut. She looked v good. Maybe a touch better on crossing but she really just killed it. No other notes needed.

Kelley. Miss Bitch. Miss ‘I Know Exactly the energy you gotta bring to a big tournament’. No joke. Kelley brought tournament vibes onto the field. Her experience is unparalleled and I thought she made good use of her minutes. Her overlaps were good. Her connection with Lindsey and Pinoe was very good. And her crossing was spot on.

Sofia. Not the debut I’m sure she wanted. Usually a great crosser, not great today. Got smoked on the one defensive run needed. It’s a bummer.

Alyssa (uncle). I love her. I trust her. She didn’t have to do much. But I still love her.

And Vlatko gets a section because he confuses me. His game plan always seems so sleepy. The thing about the USWNT is that they used to put on a show. Loud sparkly ruthless bad bitches. And the personnel still has that in them, I KNOW THAT. I just don’t know why that’s not being accessed and unleashed. Which makes me blame coaching. Idk if he’s too nice, too careful, too unwilling to change the expected game plan when the actual game requires something different.

I am just a dumb bitch on the internet, however, if my players are getting pushed and shoved left and right and the ref isn’t calling shit…. I may rethink my idea of putting in my two most fragile (and arguably some of the most important) players in. I am so aware that Rose and Pinoe needed game minutes. Especially before the Netherlands. So I’ll let it slide this time lol. But the energy of that game - the ref letting all the physicality, pushing and tackling slide? That’s a… oh, maybe I put a Kristie and a Sonnett in and get them to put on their enforcer pants and change the flow of this game.

[uswnt5]

Cp basically just calling out the clown

https://youtube.com/shorts/eUInEsyiVYY?feature=share

This is great and concise!

[leveloneandup]

Why are you using that voice? I mean, I can’t be asked to do everything here!

[bensolosbluesaber]

Secret Invasion episode 4 spoilers (re: Rhodey) below

So when did Rhodey become a skrull?

I refuse to believe Skrhodey was the one who said goodbye to Tony. I don't think it would go over well with fans.

I think he was switched out sometime between Endgame and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Skrhodey is kind of an asshole. There's just something slightly off compared to real Rhodey - I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it. And I see it in TFATWS because no way real Rhodey doesn't want to see Sam as Cap.

Therefore, I propose Skrhodey was the one convincing Sam to give up the shield because the Skrulls saw Sam's Captain America as a genuine threat to their goal.

I also propose the slight possibility that John Walker is a Skrull.

[kathrinesnow]

WIP Title Game

ALRIGHT! I got tagged by @spacedimentio for WIP titles! RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs. I'll start with the WIPs currently being worked on and go from there. List of WIPs

1. Little Rag and the Faywood's Cap - What has turned into a three-book children's series about toys protecting children from the fay. 2. DEFUSE - A scifi whodunit about a crew of alien researches trapped on a crippled space ship. 3. Frog and Stoat - A subverted gritty detective story. Think if Redwall met gangsters. 4. Concerning Bycatch - A Luigi's Mansion re-telling. Part of the "Super Mario Disaster" project. Projects for future: 5. My Mommy the Fire Spirit - A eastern mythology inspired fantasy about a fire spirit who finds a two-year-old child at her shrine and adopts him. 6. Bangles of Dizam - The story of a weaver who's paid for his services with a magical bangle. He learns that if he collects the rest of the set he'll unleash a genie that will fulfill his wildest dreams 7. Slender Man choose your own adventure - That sure is a thing I have in here. A group of goofs see slender man and have to figure out how to get it before it gets them. 8. The Counseling Club - Pro bono counseling for the restless dead 9. Fantasy LPA - The backyard fantasy adventure of a neighborhood of children told dead-seriously in high fantasy style. 10. Aunt Lira's Stuffy - A bit up-tight child is given a stuffed animal named Oliver. Calvin and Hobbs style adventure. 11. The Adventures of not-Princess Elaine - A lady in waiting gets kidnapped by a dragon. 12. Armor of Lychtenstine - An ambassador gets turned into an enchanted suit of armor and he has to team up with his wife and a retired knight to save their kingdom. 13 - Space Rescue Team - An episodic set of adventures about a ex-SWAT officer and his private search and rescue force. Same world as DEFUSE Those are all the ones I can explain easily, so I'll stop there. As for the pings: @bobobkins @swords-and-skateboards @monsteristeething @blue-oleander @sm-baby @sweevanna @radiojamming @lexialxiii @jupiterlandings @punkinspice @foureyedowl @modmad (please forgive the tag. I'm genuinely curious about your WIP list.) (Participation optional, of course. If anyone don't feel like sharing your WIPs no pressure.)

[samasmith23]

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 8)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 8: Asuka Arrives in Japan/ASUKA STRIKES!”

Continuing my Evangelion re-watch marathon with NGE, "Episode 8: Asuka Arrives in Japan/ASUKA STRIKES!" For my thoughts on the previous episode, click the link to the post below:

With that out of the way, let's dig in! And I'm looking forward to revisiting this episode since it introduces the character of Asuka, who was my best friend's personal favorite character in all of fictional media when I first met her back in university!

Considering what the specific contents of Gendo’s shipment are revealed to be by the end of the episode, why do I have the feeling that he’s lying when discussing having “already made the arrangements with the [Human Instrumentality] Committee” to have it shipped to Tokyo-3?

Lol! Kensuke truly is the embodiment of the stereotypical military otaku given both his earlier cosplaying as a soldier back in Episode 4, and his current geeking-out over the site of the United Nation’s fleet of aircraft carriers! What a dork!

And he acts like this throughout the entire episode BTW, even during the middle of an Angel attack!

Also, while it was certainly a thoughtful gesture of Misato to take Shinji’s classmates on basically a site-seeing tour of the Pacific Ocean given how confined their lives in the post-apocalyptic Tokyo mountain terrain must be, I’m curious if she got military clearance to bring two civilian minors on board a military aircraft carrier?

And here she is! The one and only Asuka Langley Soryu! These introductory shots of Asuka do an incredibly effective job in communicating the major defining aspects of her character through primarily visual cues. The first image of her silhouetted by the blinding sunlight as she looks down at NERV’s helicopter landing in the aircraft carrier’s deck helps informs the viewer that Asuka is an individual who thinks very highly of herself, has a superiority complex and wants to stand tall above everyone else.

These facets of Asuka's character are further communicated through the second shot of her brashly stepping onto Toji’s baseball cap as he frustratingly attempts to get it back on while on his knees. Asuka’s prideful personality is further reinforced through her first lines of dialogue, as she barely gives the struggling Toji beneath her any attention, instead immediately shifting focus to Misato when the latter states how much Asuka’s has grown since she last saw her, replying that, “Not only am I taller, but my figure has filled out as well.” This serves as an early indicator that Asuka wants to perceive herself as a fully-mature adult despite being a 14-year-old teenager just like Shinji, Toji, and Kensuke are. Essentially, Asuka places herself on a pedestal high above her peers, whom she looks down upon as mere “children.”

Anno is definitely a master-class when it comes to conveying important character details through visuals!

Shifting focus away from visual direction for a moment, I want discuss some behind-the-scenes trivia in relation to Asuka's voice actresses from both her original Japanese and English incarnations:

In the original Japanese version, Asuka was voiced by Yuko Miyamura, who has had a very complicated and strained relationship with the character over the past couple of decades. Rather infamously in a 2010 interview with SMASH (one year after the release of the second Rebuild movie, which Miyamura reprised her role for) she stated that, "At one point in time, I thought to myself that I would never act as Asuka again. For a very long time, I wanted to erase Evangelion." While in the interview Miyamura stated that this was largely due to the unwanted amount of fan attention her role as Asuka brought her (to the point where she was unfortunately repeatedly stalked and harassed at several international fan conventions), she later provided additional reasons in the back-up material for Volume 12 of the official Neon Genesis Evangelion manga adaptation by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. According to Miyamura, she found voicing Asuka to be an emotionally painful experience that "was close to bullying, [that] acting the part of Asuka was lots of fun at first," but by the end of the series the character psychologically torn down and denied a happy ending in The End of Evangelion (which is part of why Miyamura said that Anno was "finally an adult" during the production of the final Rebuild movie in 2021 since he finally gave all of his characters, including Asuka, a happy ending). But it was through meeting Asuka's original English VA Tiffany Grant that Miyamura developed a newfound love and appreciation for the character, now viewing her like one of her own daughters (Miyamura is currently a mother of two IRL). Speaking of Tiffany Grant however... her performance is one of the major reasons why the original ADV dub of NGE still holds such a special place in my heart despite its flaws! You can tell that Grant was having an absolute blast in the role since she perfectly nails Asuka’s boastful arrogance and sense of pride through her vocal performance! And Grant herself has openly confirmed this, stating in that aforementioned manga back-up material that, "When I started recording this loud, assertive character who often swore in German, I knew I was having a great time in the role and that it was enjoyable for me as an actor." While I’ve seen a few fans point to Grant’s performance in the old dub as a major turn-off, feeling that it overly emphasizes Asuka’s more rude mannerisms to the point of making her too "mean-spirited" or "unsympathetic" (although to be fair, Asuka is already pretty divisive among fans in general...), I personally felt that Grant’s performance helped make the character all the more memorable and interesting for me. And unlike Miyamura, who's historically had a strained yet improved relationship with Asuka's character, Grant has openly embraced her "'inner Asuka,' [realizing] the many ways that [she] related to this complex, flawed character," since she first voiced the character back in 1998. So much so that she was reportedly deeply heartbroken when she learned that Netflix openly refused to invite her along with the original ADV cast to reprise their roles for the new English dub in 2019.

On the subject of Tiffany Grant's frequent ad-libbing of German words & phrases into Asuka's dialogue, this is one of the more notable creative liberties that the ADV dub took that I honestly feel works to the show’s advantage! Despite the Asuka’s half-Japanese & half-German heritage being another defining aspect of her character, she only spoke a limited amount of German in the original Japanese version due to Miyamura’s knowledge of the language being incredibly limited. Conversely, Grant was already fluent in German as a second language, and therefore decided to swap out several of the original Japanese text with their German equivalents when ADV dubbed the show into English. And I personally feel this additional emphasis on Asuka’s German heritage serves to further flesh her out!

For instance, when Asuka understandably slaps Toji clean across the face after he flashes her in retaliation for slapping him (along with Shinji & Kensuke) when a strong wind briefly exposed her panties to them (the slap was the “viewing fee,” lol!), Grant angrily shouting the German equivalents to “you insolent dork!” or “what the hell do you think your doing?!”, leave a much more memorable impression on the viewer in contrast to the Netflix re-dub, where Asuka’s new VA Stephanie Mckeon instead delivers a more shrill, “How dare you!”

No disrespect to McKeon, as the Netflix re-dub was apparently one of her first voice-acting roles, but the script and direction for the new dub sadly leaves much to be desired…

Also, Toji totally deserved that second slap (and to be cursed at in German) for basically committing an act of sexual harassment. Still, his one-liner of “Here’s your change!”, as a comeback to Asuka’s “viewing fee” line makes me chuckle from a pure word-play perspective. It reminds me of Spidey’s joke during the bank fight with Doc Ock in Sam Rami’s Spider-Man 2!

Also also… dang! Asuka slaps are so powerful that she actually cracked the lens on Kensuke’s video camera with just a single strike! Lol!

Asuka’s first meeting with Shinji is absolutely perfect! I love how she’s so unimpressed, summarizing him as, “Not much to look at.” It honestly gives me a similar vibe to when Kakashi first met Squad 7 in Naruto after he had an eraser fall on his head as part of one of titular character's childish pranks!

I love how Misato initally keeps herself incredibly calm and collected when dealing with the UN Navy Officer’s impatience and intolerance with NERV’s overreaching authority while dealing with the transfer orders for Asuka’s Evangelion Unit-02. Heck, Shinji even compares Misato’s composure and demeanor in this scene to that of Ritsuko, which is quite a contrast to how he’s characterized her as both immature and slobbish in the previous episodes.

It’s also incredibly interesting to see the international politics of this universe at play, as the naval officers are understandably frustrated by the ridiculous amount of military privileges that NERV has been granted. So much so that their authority supersedes that of the UN during times of emergencies (i.e. Angel attacks), even outside of Japan’s national borders and jurisdiction. We saw similar themes at play during the previous episode with the Jet Alone incident, so it's cool to see these ideas further fleshed out in order to make EVA's world feel more alive and authentic!

Sadly though, Misato’s cool-headed professionalism is cut-short by both the UN officer’s increasingly insulting remarks, along with the sudden appearance of her ex-boyfriend Kaji.

Yup, in addition to Asuka, this episode also introduces the character of Ryoji Kaji.

Oh boy, Kaji... Kaji, Kaji, Kaji...

The way I’ve witnessed other people’s perceptions about Kaji's character evolve over the past couple of years has been incredibly fascinating, since a lot of modern EVA fans have admitted to really disliking this character, possibly even more so than FREAKING Gendo "Worst Father Ever!" Ikari! Now I’ll admit that learning about this initially shocked me at first since I personally remembered liking Kaji’s character perfectly alright when I first watched the anime and read the manga. His relaxed & cool demeanor made him significantly stand out in contrast to the rest of the troubled main cast. Additionally Kaji also served multiple important roles in EVA's narrative, ranging from his reemergence into Misato's life serving to graudally push her Elektra Complex back up to the surface, to serving as somewhat of a mentor/surrogate-father figure to Shinji by offering him some seemingly helpful wisdom, to him understandably brushing off Asuka’s childish crush and inappropriate advances towards him as a counter to her unhealthy obsession with wanting to grow-up too fast. Plus, there was that whole intriguing double/triple agent game Kaji was playing between Gendo, SEELE, and the UN. Heck, back when the Internet annoyingly thought it was in-vogue to constantly dismiss Shinji’s character as nothing more than a “whiny b*tch,” I noticed that a lot of these detractors seemed to conversely prefer both Misato and Kaji’s characters (describing Kaji as the least psychologically-damaged of the entire cast). However, I’ve recently discovered that a lot of more modern EVA fans tend to be rather creeped out by Kaji’s womanizing behavior, with some even going as far as to describe him as being borderline to outright predatory, citing two scenes in particular from future episodes which I'll definitely discuss when we eventually get around to them. The critical reevaluations of with womanizing characters from older media are not uncommon, especially in the Post-#MeToo era. We've already seen it with other beloved fictional characters like Han Solo in Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and James Bond throughout his entire filmography, and Kaji is not immune to these criticisms either. Personally speaking, while I do still think that Gendo is a far worse scumbag due to being both a neglectful father to Shinji as well as him openly manipulating female characters like Rei & Ritsuko to fullfill his own selfish-desires (even up to the point of heavily implied sexual abuse), I can definitely understand and even agree with a lot of criticisms directed at Kaji. I will at least argue that Kaji's behavior doesn't come across as creepy in hindsight as Han's or especially Bond's (seriously, there's a scene in Goldfinger that is downright disgusting in just how blatantly misogynistic & homophobic it is...), and that he does have his more noble and redeeming qualities when it comes to his relationships with Misato, Shinji and Asuka.

I love how from the moment Kaji first appears on screen, we start getting hints about his and Misato's past romantic history together! This is evident through not only Misato’s embarrassed reaction upon seeing Kaji in the command deck, but also by them awkwardly playing footsie underneath the barrack tables (implying that they’re physically in synch with each other).

And if that weren’t enough, Kaji drops this bombshell of a question when he learns that Shinji is currently Misato’s roommate, asking him if Misato is "still wild in bed" shortly after asking Misato if she's currently seeing anyone else (which does lead to one of my personal favorite Misato moments ever)!

I've honestly lost count of how many times I've used that quote of Misato's as a reaction gif on Twitter, I love it that much!

As someone who was already pretty invested in Misato's character so far when first viewing the series, this revelation made me want to learn more about Misato's past and what exactly happened between her and Kaji which led to them eventually breaking up. And the answer was certainly one which I was not expecting at the time!

Still though... while the fact that Kaji feels comfortable asking this question to Shinji, who is still 14-years-old, is really inappropriate on his part, it does at least underscore Misato's struggles to form meaningful non-sexual relationships with other people due to both her love/hate relationship with her deceased father, and her stunted childhood development & trauma as a survivor of the Second Impact.

Also, this scene in the barracks gives us some early foreshadowing to not only Asuka's obsessive teen-crush on Kaji given her horrified reaction to his earlier bombshell drop, but also to the mentor-role he'll later provide for Shinji when he rebukes Shinji's downplaying of his EVA piloting experiences as "simply luck," informing him that luck is a talent that will get him far in life. AndShinji can't help but find this to be a somewhat reassuring thought given how incredibly low his self-confidence is...

I love the contrasting impressions that Kaji leaves upon Shinji and Misato respectively. Shinji can't help but find Kaji “pretty interesting” due to his cool-headedness and wisdom, whereas Misato’s angrily replies, “He hasn’t changed at all that chauvinistic pig!”

Lol! Misato's words there are unintentionally reflective of how a lot of modern viewers feel about Kaji’s character nowadays. Also, she'd fit right in with Black Widow & Valkyrie on the classic cover of Avengers (1963) #83!

I love the re-occuring visual motif throughout this episode of Asuka constantly standing on higher ground in contrast to Shinji, as it perfectly plants the seeds for the complicated rivalry and relationship between these two characters. While the opening silhouetted shot of Asuka was incredibly effective in regards to conveying Asuka's inflated ego in relation to everyone else, she sets her sights on proving her alleged "superiority" to Shinji specifically as soon as she learns from Kaji about Shinji's unnaturally high-synchronization ratio with his EVA Unit.

Yup! Asuka definitely took Obi-Wan Kenobi's famous words from Revenge of the Sith to heart!

Also, although she tries to hide it, you can tell that Asuka can't help but perceive this news as a significant challenge to her pride, which leads to her commadering Shinji in the escalator so that she can show off her own EVA Unit to him. I love how she attempts to desperately excuse away his high-synchronization status as the result of a "design flaw" due to EVA Unit's 00 & 01 being test-types while her EVA Unit-02 is a combat-oriented "final production model!" It's mostly implied through body-language and mannerisms, but you can definitely tell that Asuka is overcompensating or trying to mask some hidden insecurities whenever she's attempting to show-off or boast about her skills as an EVA pilot!

I love the contrast in Asuka's reactions when she discovers that the 6th Angel, Gaghiel, is attacking the Pacific Fleet. When she first sees the Angel sink several battleships she gives a sneaky smile and head-turn while in close proximity to Shinji, excitedly proclaiming "Now's my chance," in German. However, when she's alone changing into her plugsuit inside the stairwell, she's a lot more quiet and reserved, whispering to herself, "Let's go... Asuka," inferring that Asuka pilots her EVA not only to prove her talents to others, but to herself as well! Excellent bit of character development and foreshadowing on Anno's part there!

And Asuka immediately deciding to commandeer EVA Unit-02 without asking Misato permission first is another nice touch in emphasizing how far Asuka is willing to go in order to prove herself (although Misato does inevitably approve in a hilariously childish confrontation with the obnoxious admiral)!

Speaking of the plugsuits though, I feel this is a good opportunity to mention how while many other fans have commented on how form-fitting these flight-suits for the EVA pilots are (especially for Rei & Asuka), one thing I only recently just noticed in relation to this fact was how Shinji's plugsuit has these weird rectangular-protrusions which somewhat resemble breast-plates. And considering that this episode also famously has Shinji being forced to wear Asuka's spare Unit-02 plugsuit when she forces him to hop into the Entry-Plug to watch her fight Gaghiel up close, I can't help but wonder if these factors have help contributed to the popular fan-readings of Shinji actually being a closeted trans-femme egg?

Returning to Gaghiel however, I love how in addition to this Angel having a really awesome hybrid design of a white whale, a shark, and a sting-ray, Gaghiel also represents a suspicious change in the Angel's pattern of behavior. Whereas all of the previous Angels directly targeted Tokyo-3 and more specifically the GeoFront and NERV HQ underneath the city, Gaghiel instead appears in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is destroying several battleships in what appears to be a random yet systematically targeted manner, which Misato speculates means that it's actively searching for something. Is it EVA Unit-02 onboard the fleet, or something else entirely? And questions are further raised by Kaji's suspicious behavior, since he not only calls Gendo about this sudden attack, but Gendo sounds like he expected such an occurrence and even shipped "a spare EVA pilot" to support Asuka as backup support (once again reminding me of why I hate Gendo's guts so much as he treats his own son like cannon-fodder)! Also, Kaji fleeing the aircraft-carrier mid attack by hitchhiking a random fighter jet to Misato’s annoyance is an excellent way of allowing the viewer to begin questioning Kaji’s true allegiance…

Additionally, according to Wikipedia "the name Gaghiel (Hebrew: גגיאל), also called Gagiel, Daghiel or Dagiel, in Judeo-Christian folklore is the angel of the fish. Its Hebrew name can be translated as 'roaring beast of God', and has been interpreted by writer Will Raus as a possible allusion to its appearance, which is similar to that of a beast fighting in the water." So this Angel's whale-shark appearance is definitely fitting in that regard!

Also, Misato’s sarcastically condescending, “Hello, NERV delivery! Would you like to order data on this enemy and countermeasures to use against it,” come-back retort towards the rude Navy admiral when Gaghiel begins sinking battleships is absolutely priceless! Allison Kieth is an absolute treasure, and it’s a darn crime that neither she or Tiffany Grant were offered a chance to return for the Netflix re-dub…

Lol! The scene of Asuka scolding Shinji for his "thought-noise" interfering with Unit-02's signal, him hilariously trying and failing to think in German, and Asuka calling him a "dummkopf" before switching the EVA's language patterns to Japanese is yet another iconic gag in this series that NEVER... EVER... gets old!

Holy crap, did I almost forget just how epic and badass Asuka's entry into battle is! There's a reason why these two images of EVA Unit-02 both posing in the tarp on the battleship deck and pulling out its progressive knife have become so iconic!

I love the progressive insanity of the fight with Gaghiel! We start with the most dangerous game of hopscotch ever conceived as Asuka jumps from deck-to-deck over the Pacific Ocean to plug in her umbilical cable within the short span of one minute whilst avoiding the Angel ramming into ship after ship! And then the battle transitions to a literal fishing sport as the Angel drags Unit-02 down into the water while it's still attatched to a ridiculously long umbilical cable!

The attention to detail as Gaghiel drags Unit-02 underwater and repeatedly bounces off the sea-floor admits the sunken ruins of an abandoned city is amazing! I love how you can still see all the various submerged buildings and streets here (I wonder which city this was prior to Second Impact?)!

I like how as soon as Asuka realizes that Unit-02 is completely immobile underwater as Gaghiel is swimming directly towards them, she immediately defers to Shinji for help due to him being “the famed Third Child” (even letting out a suppressed shriek of terror when the Angel opens its jaws wide open to try and devour them)! For all of Asuka’s boasting she’s way in over her head, which continues to be a reoccurring character flaw that she struggles with over the course of the series!

And the madness of this fight is not over yet as Misato conceives of another ingenious yet ludicrous plan to defeat the Angel as she has the navy deliberately sink their remaining two evacuated battleships and time their downward trajectory just right so that that they'll land face-first into Gaghiel's maw after Unit-02 forces it open, firing a barrage of missiles via-remote directly into the Angel's core and forcing it to self-destruct! Just like the fight with Ramiel back in Episodes 5 & 6, this plan is absolutely bonkers and is a thrill to watch unfold!

So… this moment where EVA Unit-02's eye's briefly glow as Asuka (along with Shinji) desperately struggle to gather the stregnth to open the Angel's jaws before the battleships arrive at their position! While Misato later comments to Ritsuko that this was an unusual high-burst of synchronization between the EVA's and their pilots, I can't help but wonder how much of said-ratio boost was due to Shinji or Asuka? I ask because a major defining element of Asuka's character development as the series progresses is that despite her prideful and boastful nature she never actually wins a single Angel battle solely on her own, only doing so with the assistance and teamwork of others (which consequently causes her to gradually descend into a depressive downward spiral).

Also, was this an example of EVA Unit-02 almost entering bersker mode? If so... that's a neat bit of foreshadowing there!

Oh boy! Our official introduction to the Seed of Life for all the other Angels, the 1st Angel… Adam!

I honestly remember getting some serious chills when I first saw Kaji unveil Adam as a cryogenically-frozen fetus-like creature to Gendo & Fuyutsuk, although his description of it as “the first human” in some translations always confused me (the ADV dub simplifies this to instead have Kaji refer to the Adam fetus as, “the key to the human instrumentality project”).

Also, interestingly the “Fly Me to the Moon” ending credits segment has a red filter overlaying the usual animation this time around! That feels like a neat extra detail to signify Asuka’s arrival into the show!

So that was NGE, "Episode 8: Asuka Arrives in Japan/ASUKA STRIKES!", and overall it was another solid banger and a powerful introduction to Asuka’s character, establishing important traits about her character while setting up for future developments for her as the series progresses! And with that we finally have our main ensemble cast for NGE in the form of Shinji, Rei, Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, Gendo & Kaji completed!

Next up is Episode 9!

[baelatargaryen]

☕ + current state of the mcu

this is pretty hard, b/c i'm gonna be honest, i stopped watching sometime after the first seasons of the spin-off disney+ shows.

out of the spinoffs, i liked wandavision the most. felt the most entertaining/intriguing

tfatws was okay-ish, i'm actually in the sam should be cap camp so that worked for me but overall i found myself p bored conceptually with the show, it definitely didn't feel like anything new. i'm so beyond tired of the mcu coming back to the "glitch" and the super-serum

i absolutely hated the loki show i'm sorry. and i say this as a huge loki fan as my edits will kinda speak for but everything i loved about him was basically stripped away and it felt like i was watching a new character. the worldbuilding was awful, the concept somehow managed to be boring, the show felt static, the acting either bland or over-the-top, with the most ham-fisted dialogue i've ever seen.

um. thor 4. i was excited bc i enjoyed ragnarok for the most part. i think it has its flaws, but it was entertaining, i enjoyed hela a lot as a villain, i liked the new direction thor was moving in, but i honestly turned it on and turned it off within the first ten minutes. i was kinda convinced it was a joke. (this says a lot tbh bc im a huge thor lover, to the point of defending some of the p bad writing his franchise gets stuck with)

those last two were kinda the nail in the coffin for me. overall, i feel they've really oversaturated their own market quite badly, and it's putting out show after show (movie after movie for a while there too), often poorly produced, relying heavily on vfx, often re-using same past plot points. with old characters gone, a lot of the nostalgia that kept people tied to it is gone and i don't think many of their new projects have been exciting to get people invested the way they used to, tbh.

in general, this problem is more of disney+ problem i think. i find that when i've watched other disney+ shows (just recently watched percy jackson, but also the star wars spinoffs like the mandalorian and obi wan kenobi) i am struck by how poorly produced many of them are. the plot is paper-thin, there's almost no physicality to any of the sets bc of the overreliance on cgi, costuming/makeup has gone downhill, writing has been stripped down where there's no subplots interweaving at the same time, just point a to point b, then the next episode is point b to point c. even shows i've enjoyed have this issue, and they end up feeling so soulless.

[bitchesgetriches]

I have never been interested in any kind of managerial position; I'm very happy to just do what I enjoy and know that I'm doing my part to improve projects. Unfortunately, I know that bigger salaries generally only happen alongside promotions. I also know that a resume without a history of promotion/increased responsibility is considered a red flag by employers, and that trying to explain my 'high-visibility positions=high anxiety levels' stance won't exactly do me any favors. (For context, I'm an editor; manager status means choosing content for the whole journal, which means directly impacting the perceived quality/standard of said journal, which is just...so much pressure. It also means more overseer duties and less actual editing, the latter of which is what I really enjoy.)

Any tips on how to reconcile these two things? How do I keep from torpedoing my own salary growth/career while also not "um, sure, thrilled by the opportunity"-ing myself into positions I'm fairly sure would negatively affect my happiness and stress levels? Any advice from the Internet Aunts(TM) would be greatly appreciated.

Hail, fellow editor! I feel your pain re: management tasks taking away from time spent ACTUALLY editing.

I wonder if freelancing or consulting might be more appealing to you given your attitude towards promotions. It's a way to keep your daily tasks limited to what you want to do, AND a way to set your own schedule, workload, and (most importantly) compensation.

I would also suggest having a frank conversation with your supervisor or career mentor about this. This no law against customizing job responsibilities. I have a friend who told me she was up for promotion and actually ended up splitting the job with another internal candidate: one was stronger in project management, the other in development, so they divided and conquered according to their skills.

There are also (to my knowledge, unless the journal you work for is run by the government) not necessarily salary caps for the jobs you're qualified for. Keep asking for raises regularly, even if you're not going out for promotions.

Publishing is such an antiquated business in so many ways (hence why I fucking left), and this might be a place where you can innovate to both your benefit and the company's. If you're ever offered a promotion, speak your honest concerns instead of automatically accepting!

I Hate My Job and I Don't Know How To Leave It: A Confession

Season 2, Episode 4: “Does My Career Have to Define Me? Or Can I Just Clock Out?”

Season 3, Episode 5: “I Really Hate One of My Tasks at Work. Is There a Way To Escape It Without Quitting My Job?”