#this ended up being a lot WHOOPS

[definedvines]

You got any hcs for how post game Eri n Toshiro are?

I guess I like to think that they start out with simple, somewhat awkward reconnections, going out to lunch and catching up, etc., with Toshiro's whole personal rebellion thing being a big elephant in the room that he doesn't really address because like he said in his phone call-- he's hella busy dealing with all that.

But one day he's finally found calm, and become steady in life. He invites her out and they end up finally spilling it all out to each other, talking for hours about what happened, both to them in the past and to Toshiro recently. (Maybe they mean to have a quick stop at a 24/7 fast food place to get a snack before catching the train home and parting ways. Maybe they're there late into the night, spilling their feelings and apologies for hours over cheap coffee gone cold.)

It mends their friendship to a much more familiar and less awkward phase. But Toshiro's reasons for standing up for himself have been a little vague, and Eri grows almost unbearably curious over time about these "kids" he keeps saying "helped him see the light."

It's late summer when he brings her to Leblanc, hand in hand, under the guise of a simple late night coffee date; but he'd called the work phone earlier and there are teenagers waiting for his arrival. A month since he's been free with the chaos off his shoulders, of waiting for them to get back from their trip, and not everyone can even be there, the former leader home way too far.

Eri starts taking her journalist dreams seriously, starting with a food review and interview in a cooking magazine starring one titular cafe. And Toshiro's... figuring it out, but he finds he quite enjoys how cleaning restaurants and homes and doing chores for people reduces his stress. Being a maid for hire wouldn't be so bad, he jokes, but he sticks with his basic cleaning services. for now.

Whether they are roommates or just friends or more does not matter much, but more would take quite some time to develop (or at least Toshiro says so to some of those nosey kids' teasing).

[applestorms]

ok, well. if last time i talked about parallels between near & light, i guess it’s only fair that this time i talk about parallels between mello & misa. yap central on this blog lately.

the main thing that stands out the most about mello & misa, and the reason why i will forever Defend them and their place in the story, is that in my mind they both function in a similar way on a narrative level: namely, both of them are incredibly active wild-card characters that keep the action going and the story moving forward when the other main characters like light, L, & near start getting too passive.

notably, while i often see this trait praised in mello, usually in the context of a comparative criticism of near for his overly-abundant passivity, i have also seen it used as a criticism of misa's character, that she breaks up the status quo of DN too significantly and thereby makes the story feel less realistic. this last point in particular is an odd argument to make imo, as if anything misa's presence only increases the realism of DN by adding some extra luck/random chance into the story in a way that is ultimately still character-motivated and thus easier for the audience to go along with-- something DN in general is very good at, often introducing elements through pure chance but keeping them grounded in characters enough that you almost don't even notice.

take light meeting naomi misora, for example: the only reason he runs across her at all is because he offers to run an errand for his mom on a bored laundry day, literally stumbling across her right at the exact moment she is divulging important insights she is literally the only person capable of making about kira. yet this moment does not stand out as particularly aggravating or out of place in the story, as ultimately the only reason why light is able to get out of that situation is his own quick thinking and ability to calm himself while under immense pressure, squeezing his way out of a potentially run-ending situation he didn't even know existed moments prior.

(not a fan of that big joel video, if you couldn't tell. lmao.)

point is, mello & misa both fulfill about the same narrative function in the story by being so aggressive in their actions, catching the others off guard even if their plans aren't as well thought out or careful as they could otherwise be. they're both incredibly passionate, dedicated characters as well, tough enough to take the hit when it inevitably comes, and in my opinion neither of them are nearly as stupid as the other MCs like to make them out to be. to some degree, i think both of them are aware of the fact that they can't win at the Mind Game Cold War Bullshit the others are inclined to get involved in, so they instead choose to carve out their own place in the story through sheer perseverance alone.

which, speaking of passion: one of the most interesting parallels i think you can make between mello & misa is the ways in which they idolize their respective heroes, misa's obviously being light while mello's is L. allow me to elaborate.

as this post points out, DN has some very interesting use of its religious imagery & theming, and in particular its use of christian/catholic gothic imagery in its story and especially its art. however, as op notes, a lot of this is quite superficial, ascribing to an aesthetic of "kitschy Catholicism," that was characteristic of a lot of early 2000s japanese goth style. yet, while i admit that a more serious consideration of religious elements in the art & story could add some interesting flavor to the story, i also think that, regardless of intention, the superficiality of DN's religious elements works really well in the context of this particular story. as i stated in my tags on that post: light is a superficial god. he is a fake, a scam, some idiot human that stumbled across the powers of a real shinigami and got his head up his ass about it. and a lot of the arcs of other characters in DN is about their reaction to light's claims-- whether they choose to follow him (e.g. misa, mikami), follow somebody else (e.g. mello), or follow nobody at all (e.g. near, also kinda soichiro?), and the implications that has for their lives and personalities.

this is all to say that while you can, on a surface level, connect misa & mello pretty easily as the two aggressive, fashionable blondes of the series, i also think that these somewhat superficial traits betray a greater connection between the two of them. if we understand the christian/catholic elements of misa & mello's fashion as a demonstration of their connection to not just a higher power but a lie, a superficial deity simply reflecting the sunlight of powers greater than himself, then i think we have great insight into another key element of both their characters.

do not forget: in the world of DN, heaven & hell do not exist. at least in the context of death itself, the realm & lore of the shinigami reign supreme, a point which the DN musical makes even more overt: "Isn't it a laugh? / Isn't it a shame? / Thinking there is someone in heaven to blame?" and "Going through the motions / as if there will be a reward / Oh, while we stay eternally bored!" (BEST SONGGG.) everyone is destined for the same fate of MU, the same void of nothingness awaits all. no reward, no punishment, no greater deity looking down upon us than the bored, slothful shinigami, lazing about in their realm and picking people off only when necessary (for the most part).

misa & mello are thus dedicating themselves to false idols, and we can see the negative effects this has on them in almost every facet of their character-- particularly for mello, who is perhaps more self-aware and has more of a mixed emotional outlook on his idol, but maybe even to a more extreme degree for misa. i keep going back to this idea of equating boredom with depression in DN, but where light/L/near are all "bored" in a very quiet, passive, stewing-in-bed late at night kinda way, misa & mello are characteristically a lot more aggressive and intense about it-- while neither of them are super overtly suicidal, necessarily, their actions still betray a distinct lack of care for their own safety or lives, expressing the same thematic sentiment as the others. even if they still don't straight up say it, through their actions they're a lot louder about not liking themselves, and seem to take the problems they see in the world more personally, shouldering the blame as a failure within themselves instead of projecting it outward like the others: e.g. light taking his unhappiness at the emptiness of his life at the start of the story & placing the blame on the world for "going to shit" & humanity's moral failings, versus misa being willing to literally & figuratively give up her life for KIRA the second he demands it, whether that be in the form of shinigami eyes or killing her own friends w/o second thought-- all because he was the only thing to bring justice to her own parents' deaths, an almost undoubtedly traumatizing/horrible experience for her considering how much value she places on KIRA/light afterwards.

to clarify, this is not to say that all of these characters are actually and literally depressed and/or suicidal, though you could certainly make that argument for some/all of them-- this is just one way that i think you could interpret their roles in the plot, and their thematic attachment to the story. even if DN isn't all that interested in considering the True Moral Answer to ethics/the justice system/human society/etc, it definitely takes at least some interest in the emotional viewpoints of characters in relation to those concepts, so i think this is a fair enough approach to take. or to say this another way, it's less about justifying the claim that "the world is shit," and more about trying to understand the emotional motivation & experience of feeling like the world is shit, if that makes sense.

that being said...speaking more on the whole "not liking themselves," thing: even if she doesn't say it aloud often, if ever, i think that misa is deeply aware of the fact that she was not supposed to live this long, that her existence at all is a pure stroke of luck that let her live on past her destined date. she dedicates herself to light so fully, not even necessarily expecting reciprocation (though she at least reserves herself the possibility of such), because being a disciple to her god at least gives her life some kind of purpose. similarly, i think mello is also aware of just how out of reach the one thing he wants is, how his desperation in and of itself is ironically the one thing keeping him from surpassing near and truly being #1. it's important to note that pre-time skip misa & post-skip mello are almost exactly the same age, around 20 years old at the time of their main arcs. they're immature, and in the case of mello especially, are lashing out at the world in whatever way they can because they know they don't quite fit into it in the way that they want to or should. regardless of the intent behind it, mello & misa both still make the conscious decision to kill with the DN-- perhaps in a way that still keeps their humanity, at least following near's logic, but it's a decision to end a human life either way.

anyways, going back to my previous point, this "worshiping of false idols," idea has some interesting implications-- for misa & mello yes, but also for L and the ways in which he contrasts again light, as under this logic mello's treatment kind of inherently gives L a similar status as a sort of false god/idol. which-- actually makes a lot of sense? or at the very least, viewing wammy's house as a kind of mystery cult a la the eleusinian mysteries is a neat approach to take. L & light's mutual alienation from humanity fits them both filling a false god status, anyway. also there's another thread of analysis you could follow here where near is instead fit into the role of the person mello is fixated on which AAAAAAAAA has interesting implications but jesus fucking christ, this post is long. some thoughts for another time, i suppose.

[camthecatchameleon]

very late dtiys just for fun! (not intended for contest)

original can be found here, by @ladylunora

click for better quality (i think)

this was a lot of fun! I got to test out a new-ish coloring/shading style. i started it on Sunday with the plan to finish it Tuesday but that. did not happen lmao ANWAYS happy (late?) spooky season

[medli20]

A higher-resolution, label-less version of the cafe illustration from the end of yesterday's update.

[doctorbrown]

DOCTOBER '24 ⸺ 「 1 / 31 * RED-LETTER DATE 」

“Hey Doc? I wanna ask you something.” 

Emmett doesn’t pop his head through the doorway to acknowledge his friend, too focused on topping off one of the mugs of hot chocolate with a generous helping of marshmallows, but he does shout, “Of course, Marty,” into the air. “You know you don’t have to ask. Let me bring Verne his cup and then you’ll have my undivided attention.”

Marty makes a vague noise that many years of friendship has taught Emmett means sure thing, Doc, and it takes him barely three minutes to drop off the hot chocolate to Verne, who smiled like it was Christmas morning when he saw the mountain of marshmallows floating at the top, and join Marty in the living room, carrying the tray with their own drinks. He passes one of them off to Marty who accepts with a smile and a nod and then takes a seat opposite him, fixing him with an expectant look.

“So, what did you want to ask me?”

Marty’s eyes immediately drift to the shelf, where Emmett and Clara’s small assortment of family photos sit, arranged in elegant wooden frames. In the centre is a black and white photo that has started to yellow around the edges, looking paradoxically fragile and yet able to withstand even the most rigorous tests of time, holding onto that frozen memory for all eternity. Emmett turns his head to follow Marty’s attention, his eyes alighting on the single photo he expects will be the topic of their conversation.

Ah. Out of all of them, there is only one Marty was never able to be present for.

For once, Emmett manages to look perfectly natural in a photograph, even dressed to the nines in a sharp suit. His smile stretches from ear-to-ear, making him look at least ten years younger, and though his face is angled away from the camera, his eyes are bright and alive, brimming with love and warmth. Marty could even imagine the photographer trying to get Emmett’s attention, demanding he look at him for the photo, only for every single word to go in one ear and straight out the other when Clara was standing beside him, smiling, the picture of radiance as she regards her husband with the same fond warmth. Her wedding dress was no more intricate than any of the outfits Marty had seen her wear during his few days in the Nineteenth Century, yet it seemed to be made for her and her alone, perfectly tailored and somehow able to put even the outfits of royalty to shame.

If Clara was the sun, Emmett was the moon that revolved around her. In that single moment, forever frozen in time, they were the only two people on Earth. 

“I had been wanting to ask for a while, but–”

“No, no, of course. You didn’t get the chance to see it, and I’m sorry for that, so I’d be happy to fill you in on the details.”

Marty curls his fingers around the warm mug, shuffling somewhat in his seat, and Emmett waits patiently, noting each one of Marty’s nervous habits as they arise. There are a hundred and one things Marty wants to say, Emmett can see them written across his body, written into every small movement, and, equal and opposite, there are a thousand things Emmett wants to say in return, things he makes an effort to hold back until Marty speaks first.

“I’m happy for you two, Doc–really, I am. Clara’s–well, Clara’s amazing. And I’ve never seen you so happy before. I was afraid that–” Marty shakes his head, his eyes focused on the photographs. “When I first saw the picture, I was…” He forces a laugh, but there’s no humour in it and Emmett would know that self-depreciatory tone anywhere. 

“It’s stupid, I know. I didn’t realise it at first, but I was jealous. Can you believe that, Doc? My best friend is happy, he’s got a family for Christ’s sake, and I was too busy at first being afraid that now you’re–you’re just gonna forget me because you’ve got Clara and the boys and the house and there wouldn’t be a place for me.”

Emmett’s eyes widen despite knowing the blow was coming and before he can open his mouth, allow the words that have been building up on his tongue to break free, Marty shakes his head and continues, reinforcing the wall and keeping the words at bay just a little longer.

“I know what you’re gonna say, Doc. I already said I know it’s stupid but I couldn’t help feeling that way. And I should have asked you about your wedding and everything a lot longer ago but I-I just couldn’t. And that’s fucking stupid, right? I want to know because I couldn’t be there for you and you’ve always been there for me.”

Marty’s words are a blade driven straight through his chest, each word twisting that razor-sharp blade a little more. He can’t help the pang of guilt he feels echoing in his ribcage, scraping against the bars of a prison he will not allow it to escape from, not now. This conversation was a long time coming–he’d almost expected it sooner rather than later, but he knew better than to push, knowing Marty would open up when he was ready–but no amount of anticipation could have prepared him for the blow that hearing it put to words would strike.

The Time Machine’s destruction had not been an accident. Everything had been carefully orchestrated to prevent any further corruption of the timestream, to spare himself the temptation–the broken heart–of trying to go back against all rational, scientific thought.

Ultimately, Marty couldn’t stay in the Nineteenth Century, not if he wanted to live a normal life, not if he wanted to be happy. And he couldn’t allow Marty to become another unsolved disappearance, leaving the McFlys to wonder and agonise over their youngest son who vanished from the face of the Earth without a trace.

Emmett may not have planned to stay, but even he couldn’t predict Clara’s intervention. 

Life had to go on, even under extreme or difficult circumstances. There was only one choice available, then.

Still, Emmett doesn’t hesitate.

“Marty, I could never forget you. Whether we’re in the same time period or separated across the timestream, you will always be my best friend. And I will never stop caring about you. I know things have been busy lately, both for you and for me, what with your college courses and the boys’ schooling and Clara’s acclimation to the Twentieth Century and making the necessary repairs on the house–” Emmett stops himself before he runs off the entire list of seemingly infinitely-growing projects on his list. 

“The point is, nothing is going to change that. And I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel neglected or unwanted at any point, because that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Marty nods, finally pulling his eyes away from the photo to take a good long look at his best friend. 

“I know, Doc. God, I know. You must think I’m an asshole.” 

“You’re not an asshole. Far from it.”

Marty actually smiles at that, swirling his hot chocolate carefully in the cup. “So… You’ll still tell me about your wedding day?”

“Of course I will, Marty.” Emmett pauses for a moment, a thoughtful expression working its way over his face. Then, he smiles, almost conspiratorially as he recalls something of particular note. “The minister certainly wasn’t pleased when we changed until death do us part to something a little more fitting–until the end of time—”

@bttfdoctober

[muirneach]

idk i just hope the tournament organizers see this (and tbh probably inevitably rome also) as a real wakeup call as to how scheduling goes and how they need to give them a goddamn break. i honestly doubt it because i do not think any organizers really give a shit about the actual players (otherwise this would probably not have happened tbh) but i hope they get it together

[practically-an-x-man]

this is going to feel like such a "well, duh" thing to say but it's such a good feeling to be looking forward to a date with someone you *know* you like

[victorluvsalice]

Hi all -- let me introduce you to my potential Tiny Fandom Town lot! I made this a few weeks ago so I 'd have it ready if and when I do the challenge, and I figured I'd share it with all of you. :) Let me take you through all the Pertinent Points --

-->The lot was built on the 64x64 lot on the Crumbling Isle neighborhood in Windenburg, where the Villareal family normally lives (the "Von-Windenburg Estate" lot). I wanted to do the challenge in Windenburg as I rarely actually play in that neighborhood, and, as I have stated in previous posts on this subject, I enjoy the idea of building up the whole island via Community Space lots as the town grows and evolves. :)

-->Also as per previous posts, the lot has the Lot Challenges Off The Grid, Reduce & Recycle, Simple Living, Creepy Crawlies, Wild Foxes, and Wild Prairie Grass to help represent that this is an entirely new and undeveloped bit of land, not hooked up to any municipal power or water and still under the control of nature. However, it does also have the Lot Traits of Natural Well, Geothermal, and Sunny Aspect -- the first two to help offset the pains that being "off the grid" brings (they help boost water gathering and power production, respectively), the last because -- well, the lot IS situated on a very scenic bit of the island, so it's no wonder the sunset would make Sims happy, inspired, or energized. :)

-->As you can see, the lot is divided into seven mini-lots, arranged in a rough horseshoe shape and marked with terrain paint and a bit of Werewolf raggedy fencing at each corner. Each lot comes with a little natural stick lamp for nighttime lighting; a pee/woohoo bush; a tent; and a cooler. Basically the absolute basics a roughing-it Sim needs to survive. Beside the very first lot in the horseshoe on the left, I have also set up a wash basin and clothesline, because I would like to force the Sims living here to deal with laundry on top of everything else. Because why not, you know? :p

-->The whole thing costs roughly $18,166! Because I really wanted it to actually be under the $20K starter home price so that a Sim fresh from CAS could purchase it and still have a little money left over to get the stuff they'd need for their first skill. No "free real estate" cheat needed here!

-->And if you like what you see and want to use it for your own Tiny Town challenges, it's up on the Gallery! The lot is called "Tiny Crumbling Isle Town" and it's under my username of AliceNVictor. I figured that it would only be nice to share. :) More Tiny Town thoughts sure to be upcoming!

[orcelito]

Salty bitch in me sooooo satisfied by the fact that I probably make more money than the person who made my life hell last year lmfaooooo

[dutybcrne]

From a very young age, Kaeya held such a fondness for handholding. Whether it was his father clinging tightly to him to make sure he didn’t get lost, Adelinde’s gentle, grounding hand closed over his to comfort him whenever his nerves got the better of him, Crepus’s rough-palmed, firm yet comforting grip as he brought him back home, or, as it was most often of all, Diluc’s warm, yet at times uncomfortably tight hold as he dragged him anywhere, everywhere, determined to always keep Kaeya close and eagerly show him all there was to see, Kaeya treasured the gesture greatly.

Of course, being as shy as he was, initiating it himself was always the harder part. So much so, he would tend to hold pinkies, rather than outright take a person’s hand in his own. Eventually, it would become his most common way to go about the gesture of affection.

[chiropteracupola]

bertrand sweaterpaws

[wayslidecool]

top 10 best spongebob episodes?

okay, so i'll come forward and say i probably can't give you a top 10. i haven't been caught up with the show for a few years now, and it's been a long while since i've seen most of the episodes, even the ones i do enjoy. so instead what i'm gonna do is give more of a generalized "i remember these episodes being pretty damn good". will probably go out of my way to highlight more niche picks. so uh, these aren't my top 10, just ten episodes i like that i felt like talking about.

all this is under the cut because i don't wanna flood peoples' dashboards talking about Sponge Bob lmao

so first thing first, let's get some of the obvious picks out of the way: i think pretty much everyone knows that pizza delivery (s1, ep 5a), band geeks (s2, ep 35b), graveyard shift (s2, ep 36a), krusty krab training video (s3, ep 50b), and chocolate with nuts (s3, ep 52a) are some of the series' best. probably others i'm missing but like. everyone loves those episodes, countless people have talked about why they're great, i don't think there's much i could say that hasn't been said by other people and said better.

so let's highlight some others that i personally found really good that i probably can say more about!

tea at the treedome (s1, ep 1c)

man, talk about coming out swinging. this episode is part of the very first block and i think it is so, so strong. i think what makes this episode work so well for me is how they handle spongebob, how he so badly doesn't want to disturb his new friend that he becomes completely passive and can't even ask for water is so good, feels very relatable. i love the way this episode handles his internal monologue, showing his increasing desperation up until he inevitably snaps. ("I NEED IT!") it's so so good, such a good showcase of his character.

patrick's also great here! he hits such that nice balance of "well-intentioned stupidity" that defines all his best appearances. the way he sees spongebob slowly breaking down and tries to remind him to stay classy ("when in doubt, pinky out!"), eventually coming in himself to show spongebob things aren't so bad and immediately being proven wrong, it's all just so good.

my only real knock against this one is that for sandy's debut episode, i feel like she doesn't really get to do a lot. which is definitely a pity, but i dunno, i don't wanna hold it against this episode too much because they definitely give her some great episodes later on, and this episode otherwise nails the character writing.

sb-129 (s1, ep 14a)

this is a really high-concept episode to put in the show's first season, don't you think? honestly i think this is an episode worth checking out for the spectacle more than anything. don't get me wrong there's some killer jokes, the joke about everything being chrome in the future, the way squidward inadvertently ends up inventing jellyfishing, there's some good stuff, but let's face it. the real reason you come to this episode is for its sheer scale. idk about you, but i can sort of give or take "caveman humor".

but man, this is an episode that goes places. i mean, in eleven minutes, we get a snippet of the future, the past, and the nowhere dimension (the last of which i'll go over a bit later on). on one hand, it kinda feels like the episode has to rush through them all, but on the other hand, it doesn't feel like any of these time periods are meant to be all that fleshed out. they mostly exist to provide an interesting setpiece, deliver a few jokes, and then move the story to the next place. i could see an alternate longer version of this episode feeling like it drags on a bit too much.

and man, that nowhere dimension. i love that scene so, so much. it's surreal, it's memorable, it's a bit unnerving, and it adds so much to this already high-concept episode. that scene's probably the highlight of the whole thing to me (and MIGHT be what elevates it to a personal favorite) but i'd definitely say the whole thing is worth your time.

dying for pie (s2, ep 24a)

i think this is another of those episodes everyone can sorta agree is one of the best, but eh. i wanted to talk about it anyway because yeah it's just that good. i think spongebob and squidward are probably the best character duo in the entire show, and this is probably the best example of said dynamic. i really like how the plot is set in motion by squidward's carelessness, how his apathy is what forces him to realize how much he actually cares about his neighbor. what i love even more is the balancing act they play with the spongebob-squidward dynamic, the way they're still able to keep spongebob a bit annoying to squidward while still letting squidward genuinely care.

besides all the character stuff, man is this episode just funny. the absurdity of the pirates selling pies that are actually bombs, spongebob's sweater of tears, "Eleven times?!", spongebob's bucket list including showing squidward to everyone wearing a salmon suit and open heart surgery? yeah this episode has a lot of heart (hehe!) but never is it at the expense of the episode's comedy.

the only thing i could maybe see someone holding against this episode is that spongebob having not eaten the pie is kind of an ass pull but like. the writers aren't gonna kill off the main character, come on. and besides, i think the twist ultimately serves the episode well, i think getting that scene of squidward expressing his exasperation over everything he had to go through really reminds us why we love this dynamic: no matter how much squidward secretly cares about spongebob, spongebob's always gonna be a little bit annoying to him. d'awwwww.

squid on strike (s2, ep 40a)

speaking of good spongebob/squidward episodes! this one is so, so underrated i think. it's not really one of the show's most quotable episodes, but at the same time, i kinda think that works in its favor, if that makes any sense. jokes aren't as good if you know they're coming, so an episode filled to the brim with really good jokes that aren't especially quotable ends up hitting just as hard on rewatches. it might not have the same staying power as something like band geeks or chocolate with nuts, but because of that it manages to always surprise you with just how funny it is.

and to make it clear: this episode is hilarious. mr. krabs trying to charge his employees for things like "existing" and "breathing", spongebob's idea of getting more from his job just being getting to wear a comically oversized hat, the general cluelessness of both spongebob and the population, spongebob taking squidward's anticapitalist metaphors a bit too literally, there's a lot of good material here. probably also helps that this is the episode where squidward says "Nobody gives a care about the fate of labor as long as they can get their instant gratification." so true bestie.

i think what buoys this episode beyond just its great jokes is once again how it nails the characters. spongebob loves his job, sure, but the only thing he loves even more is his good friend squidward, so of course spongebob will become more passionate about the strike when mr. krabs insults squidward! so much so, that he's willing to dismantle the establishment, board by board! and conversely, the one thing that could make squidward give in is the idea that he might be on strike with spongebob forever. as i've said. spongebob and squidward are the best dynamic on this show.

nasty patty (s3, ep 44a)

this is probably the darkest episode of the entire series, and i love it SO much for that. like, i wouldn't say it's unreasonably dark, they make it apparent from the very first line of the episode that the health inspector doesn't actually die, but we are still looking at an episode of a children's cartoon where the main characters are thoroughly convinced they've murdered an innocent bystander and spend the whole episode trying to cover it up. and it's hilarious.

i think the juxtaposition of such a storyline with a character as innocent as spongebob is what really elevates this episode for me. ("The dark deed you requested is done, sir.") the whole episode ends up becoming this exercise in just how long they can keep up the central joke before the characters inevitably find out what's going on, especially with the multiple fake-outs! i love how there's multiple instances where the health inspector briefly regains consciousness, only to be immediately knocked out again. so good.

and as a result of that structure, it manages to escalate so well, with how they bring in the police and manage to keep coming up with situations where they have to keep the not-so-dead body just barely out of view. the scene where spongebob stuffs the health inspector in his hat (pictured above) is probably the highlight of the episode to me, it just so perfectly illustrates how silly this story manages to get.

fear of a krabby patty (s4, ep 61a)

so most people agree that the series went downhill after the first three seasons. and they'd be right! the first three seasons are absolutely the show at its peak and the show never managed to recapture its glory days in the seasons that followed. but it's not like they flipped some switch and the show was suddenly bad. hell, if anything, "fear of a krabby patty" (the very first episode after the movie!) might be one of my all-time favorites. in fact, and this statement may sound treasonous, but i think i like this one more than their other 24-hour adventure in "graveyard shift". yeah, i said it! bite me!

of course, the krusty krab being open for 24 hours with spongebob and squidward being forced to work the full shift is about all this episode has in common with that one, as the stories go in pretty wildly different directions from there. i love the way plankton is integrated into this episode. his "dr. peter lankton" schtick is so funny in how obvious his intentions are, leading to some killer therapy jokes and a couple instances of being crushed by a piano.

another highlight of this episode is its distinctive animation style! c.h. greenblatt has a very recognizable art style, you can usually easily tell which episodes he boarded (like dying for pie up above!) but you can especially tell with this one. actually, between its loose, expressive animation and its zippier pacing compared to the classic seasons, this almost feels like sort of like a post-sequel episode? i wonder if this episode would be all that different if they made it in season 11. i don't mean this in a bad way, for the record -- i think this episode manages those traits really well.

mermaid man & barnacle boy vi: the motion picture (s4, ep 67b)

i don't really have much to say here i just think this one's funny as hell. it's not like it thrives off these intricate character dynamics, or this elaborate well-plotted story, its plot is just a vehicle for a flurry of ridiculous jokes that all end up hitting for me. you know that thing where you see some bad movie and are like, "i could do better than that!" despite having no filmmaking experience? that's the central conceit of this episode, and it works to hilarious effect.

this episode may not thrive off of intricate character dynamics sure, but i still think it uses its characters very well. it does a good job finding everyone's role in making the movie, from spongebob as director, squidward as the makeup artiste, sandy as the pyrotechnician ("Did somebody say BOOM?!"), plankton as the boom operator ("Did somebody say BOOM?!") and of course, pearl as the boatmobile. it does such a good job putting every character in a position where they have extremely high, extremely unearned confidence.

and that's really just where this episode succeeds! it's not complicated, you throw dynamic characters in a ridiculous situation and mine the comedy gold. helps that this episode has some killer running gags.

boating buddies (s6, ep 109a)

yeah, let's throw a controversial pick on here, why the hell not. so to make things abundantly clear: i do not in the slightest think this is one of the best spongebob episodes ever written. i also totally get why most people hate this one, and i don't think it's unjustified! that being said, when i was watching through season 6, i found this one of the funniest episodes of that season, and after thinking it through a bit, i think i understand why.

i'm not gonna try and dance around the argument that this episode ramps up spongebob's creepiness to absurd levels, or that it's unreasonably cruel to squidward, because it does and it is! HOWEVER. a lot of those criticisms seem to be under the assumption that, like most episodes, we're supposed to root against squidward and for spongebob. and like, that is clearly not the case here. this is very much an episode told from squidward's point of view. squidward doesn't like spongebob, so this episode will show us spongebob's worst side. squidward can't catch a break, because we've all had those days, right? this is an episode that puts the audience in squidward's shoes, and shows us why he's the way he is.

and i dunno, i think when you watch the episode under that pretense, it ends up working! or, at least it does for me. again, i can totally get why someone wouldn't like that characterization even if they understand the perspective this episode is written from. but to me, it ends up making gags like spongebob being able to hear squidward breathing from his house, or the drawn-out blackboard gag set to an orchestral score work that much better. throw in a frenetic boating scene towards the end with that surreal laboratory sequence for a bit of extra energy, and ultimately it ends up being an episode i enjoy. it's definitely not gonna be for everyone, i wouldn't necessarily highly recommend this one, but if you're gonna watch it, at least try to do so with the writers' intentions in mind.

planet of the jellyfish (s8, ep 169b)

you know, for as long as the show's been on the air, it doesn't feel like you really get those big, outside-the-box episodes all that often. spongebob is a show with a comfortable status quo, rarely deviating from its usual character dynamics, locations, and stock stories, so when we get something like this "invasion of the body snatchers" pastiche, it ends up standing out a lot more among its peers.

i think they made a good decision with this episode to keep spongebob oblivious about what's going on just long enough to mine that for its comedic potential, and no longer. if you had that eat away at much more of the episode, i think it could've dragged, but we get the best material of spongebob's obliviousness (like his awkward conversation with the jelly squidward, or seeing the jellien attempting to bite him and assuming it just wants popcorn), and after that the story lets spongebob find out, lets the story move on, and start building the suspense

i think that the monster movie pastiche does a good job giving this episode a unique flavor, it ends up feeling a bit higher stakes than a lot of spongebob episode, while also using this opportunity to riff on the genre and make a lot of silly and offbeat jokes, like the jellies kidnapping spongebob's spatula for some reason, spongebob freaking out about all his friends being kidnapped... and some random incidental, all the jelly clones hissing at a dude for ordering a patty with mayo (which turns out to be their weakness!), it feels like it does a good job making the most of its genre parody.

krabby patty creature feature (s11, ep 222a)

oh hey, another b-movie monster movie pastiche. look, i'm not gonna beat around the bush. i'm a sucker for these things, okay? in general, season 11 is probably one of my favorite seasons of the later part of the show's run, i think it generally does a good job feeling fresh with a mix of new character pairings, offbeat story concepts, and a handful of genre pastiches. like this one! truth be told there's absolutely other S11 episodes i could've picked that'd give this list more variety (squid noir would probably be my next choice, consider that an honorable mention) but listen. monster movie episodes are fun, okay?

compared to planet of the jellyfish, i think creature feature is generally a bit more frantic, really thriving from the sense of urgency the story concept provides. less suspense, more action! unlike the previous episode, this episode puts spongebob at the center of the action right from the start, letting him see the situation unfold and ultimately become the one tasked with stopping it. perhaps you miss out on some of the jokes about spongebob's naivety, but the increased tension more than makes up for it. plus we can now use that time to show how the mayhem is effecting people around town, get gags where bubble bass complains about the cheap promotional stunt, or a cop complaining about the zombie apocalypse interrupting his break. good stuff!

this is another episode where i think i have to give a shout out to the animation. i know some people complain about the recent seasons being overanimated, which is a complaint i definitely feel for some episodes, but i think this episode uses its really expressive, really fluid animation to great effect, really selling us on spongebob's terror with these big expressions. i also gotta shoutout some of the character designs for the patty monster versions of the characters, you can tell the animators working on this episode had to have a blast with it, and i feel like the end result really pays off.

and... that's it for the episodes i feel like talking about right now! is this the Cream of the Crop? probably not, but they're all episodes i've enjoyed, and it's nice getting to sit back, elaborate why i like these episodes so much (even if it's been pretty time-consuming LMAO). thanks for asking!

[maniacwatchestheworld]

I really. REALLY wish that Gilda existed in the universe of The Batman (2004)!

Since there is no Two-Face in the Batman (2004), they instead decided to give his role in Bruce's life and storyline to a new iteration of Clayface named Ethan Bennett. I like Ethan well enough, but he does still kinda feel like an off-brand, discount, "We have Two-Face at home"... Which is solely because of The Batman (2004)'s... Lackluster writing. There was a lot of potential, but the writing and execution just missed the mark of being something truly GREAT!

But I do think that it was an interesting decision how, even though for much of season 1, Ethan was more or less the main character of the show, that they really didn't give him anyone in terms of a love interest. I thought for certain that they would try to shove him into a relationship with Detective Yin, but nope! Their relationship honestly seemed to be purely platonic! But sadly, they didn't give Ethan any of that juicy homoeroticism that Harvey and Bruce tend to share together either.

So honestly... Why didn't they give Ethan a Gilda equivalent? It could have helped to make Ethan's character just a little more empathetic and offered more hope for his recovery (much like the role that Gilda is supposed to play in Harvey's story). Hell. The reason that they didn't use Harvey in The Batman (2004) was because they were using him for the The Dark Knight trilogy... But they didn't use Gilda in that film either! So honestly, why not use Gilda in The Batman (2004) outright!?

Honestly, I think that Gilda being in The Batman (2004) outright is just... Such a JUICY idea! Gilda is a sculptor! So this universe's version of her husband being a Clayface... Just... That's PERFECT! A Clayface dating a sculptor! Please tell me that's been done before because that's just a fun idea! Surely, she would LOVE the idea of being able to literally sculpt her significant other into however she wants for the day! Maybe she's an enabler that comes up with new shapes, characters, and faces for him to take. Or maybe she's trying to help him, and whenever he starts losing form, be that due to stress, or emotions, or his mental health issues getting too much for him, she literally puts him back together and makes him feel like himself again.

There are story ideas here, dammit! But no one has executed on them yet! Which is sad and disappointing. Siiiiigh. But I can dream, can't I? (Also my sister came up with a whole fic/comic/whatever idea for some of this stuff, but that's a different story lol)

[queenharumiura]

((Memory serving, after the TYL arc the animals could still come out in the case of Mukurou and Natsu, especially. Vongola gear won't stop them from coming out. After the rings fused with the Vongola rings, Natsu has been shown to willingly pop out of his vongola gear on his own to greet Enma. I'm willing to bet the others can too, they simply don't do so.

All this to really say: I'm sure at one point Haru walks up to someone like, when is the last time you let your friend out to have fresh air and give them pats? Let them out.

Translation: Haru will hijack the animals to pamper them at times because hard-working animals need to be spoiled too!!! If you won't do it, she'll do it for you!))

[moonsidesong]

i like how much hfjone gives me thinky thoughts. ending spins around in my brain going wheeee whats gonna happen now who knooooows

[sp-ud]

FR I wanted to unplug my computer because of the second hand embarrassment I got.

i was watching ranboos pov and i am so glad they were barely in the whole event vc, the times they were was just...

anyways enough bitching about that, woooo charity!

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