#this is just me rambling don't take it too seriously

[fiepige]

I know it's irrational but still!

[zepskies]

The Boys S4: Is it just me or...

Okay, anyone who knows me knows I love this show. And I don't mean to be overly critical, but...there's something missing for me in season 4. 🤔

Episode 4 brought me back in a bit more this week, but I have thoughts and just wanted to get them out. Which of course you don't have to agree with, if you so choose to dive below the cut. 😂

So here we go! Highlights and lowlights (and **spoilers**): ⤵️

Sorry in advance for my slightly stream of conscious-style thought process.

Lowlights (so far):

Kimiko x Frenchie: Violently pushing down something you built up for 2.75 seasons? Because "being more than that/family" can also be romantic? Why do you hate the fans, Kripke? 😂

The political "satire" is getting a bit old for me. A lot of the same jokes over and over. However, the problem of taking out Victoria Neuman is a very intriguing conundrum (and Bob Singer sweating over it while trying to keep supes out of the military/law enforcement is keeping me hooked).

THAT Rob scene: lmfao come on now. This was for gross shock value and nothing else. Even the exploding dick and Love Sausage in S3 served a narrative purpose. (But I enjoyed the footnote commentary while watching it on Prime: Rob B. apparently wants to remind everyone that he's a Shakespearean-trained actor. 🤣) I’m actually more disappointed that he didn’t have a more meaningful role in the show, because he really is a fantastic actor and I was looking forward to seeing what his character would bring. (Not that lmao.)

Overall, the season just feels...emptier than seasons 1-3? Maybe that has to do with the lack of Soldier Boy's gravitas as a new antagonist, and connecting the entire narrative and various conflicts of the season -- all while shedding light on the grisly past of Payback, Grace Mallory, and Stan Edgar. Stormfront also brought that ante up in season 2 in a similar way, all while shedding light on Vought's sordid history with the creation of Compound V.

We're missing the layers here in season 4. Now, this could just be because we haven't seen the full season yet as well, but that's what I see so far.

I think it also has to do with the odd dynamic the boys side is in right now. With Butcher on the fringe of the group, and the others splintered off on their own side plots, it feels like the supes' side of things are more...for lack of a better term, "unified" in the narrative.

Which I realize is probably to reverse parallel the state of each side in season 3. But it just feels "off" to me somehow, since we're supposed to be just as invested in the boys side lol.

Highlights:

Butcher and Ryan: Butcher's doing his best there now, and it soothes my heart.

Ryan's slowly seeing the consequences of his choice to join Homelander. In fact, I'm wondering where Ryan is in episode 4. Hiding in his room?

The Khan Worm that appears to be inside Butcher is both frightening and intriguing. I wonder if this is the key to saving his life? Or just another lovely side effect of taking V24 long term. 🐛

JDM (Joe) and Butcher: All their scenes were golden. And that subtle John Winchester reference? Being willing to train up his son to be a killer? Being able to grieve at his son's funeral, knowing he "saved the world?" *Chef's kiss* 🤌🏽

(And if Butcher or Joe end up being the one to break Soldier Boy out of his cryo coffin, my fangirl heart will freak TF out. 🤣)

The way that Homelander is noticing his age is fucking hilarious. Bet you wish you had that life longevity from your father/sperm donor, dont'cha? 😂

But also the way Homelander "confronted" his past in E4 had some truly WTF/Holy Shit™️ moments, in a good way. As in, I'm once again afraid of this unhinged psychopath--kind of way. 😅

A-Train continuing to struggle internally with the place he's fought so hard to keep in the Seven, versus recognizing the evil around him, his own complicity, wanting forgiveness from Hughie, and wanting a true connection with others (namely his family).

It's interesting that Hughie's mom is being brought back in at this time. And even MORE interesting that she seems to be the one who gave her ex-husband Compound V. Her story of why she left her family seemed so normal that I actually got a little suspicious of her. But now, even more so. 🤨

M.M. doing his fucking best. (Except for the way he suddenly had a change of heart about Butcher in E4. Not sure about that one.)

Tilda effing Swinton voicing Ambrosius. PLEASE. My Queen. 😭🤣🤣

I actually had more lowlights before I watched episode 4. There were some really interesting moments that literally had me gasping in shock (this time in a good way), more so than in the first 3 episodes. However, I still think seasons 1-3 were stronger from the get-go.

But even with my lingering reservations, now I'm actually more so looking forward to getting into the meat of the season in this second-half coming up. 👏🏽

[mostotherthings]

小偷 是誰跨過了界線？

This conversation and the subsequent happenings in the episode have made me repeat this episode a few times even without me realising what I was doing.

So, it starts with classical guitar playing. She is playing Francisco Tarrega's Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra), as the teacher starts to talk about the fortress of Alhambra

怎麼了What's the matter?

你不喜歡西班牙You don't like Spain?

還是不喜歡收復失地 Or you don't like regaining lost territories?

Sheng Wang goes for the jugular- is it history you don't like or... you don't like conceding ground to others?

我不喜歡歷史 I don't like History

历史就是一部血腥的侵略史 History is just a series of bloody invasions

Jiang Tian's glasses are still on here. History to him are just filled with bad memories, bad things (his trauma, perhaps?)

是誰打敗了誰 It's all about who defeated the other

劃了什麼界限 what boundary lines were drawn

然後以什麼什麼為國 and calling somewhere a nation

以什麼什麼為界 and somewhere its boundary

and he takes off his glasses here, he has conceded some ground, when he talks about defeat and how meaningless this giving and taking is

怎麼啦？What is it?

我講錯了嗎？Did I say something wrong?

也不是 Not really, 但是 But

正因為有這樣一次的運動和前進 It's because of this continuous movement and progress forward

才推到了一些高牆啊 that pushed down some high walls

Sheng Wang speaks frankly here, which I think is quite a show of his trust for Jiang Tian. From the beginning where he promises to keep his distance from Jiang Tian, Sheng Wang talks about progress, movement, the future, that led to the crumbling of the fortress walls (Jiang Tian's walls... perhaps?)

讓愛 (and) let love

充滿了這個世界 fill up this world

and Sheng Wang has this love, that can fill up another person's world

而且 正因為有了這些看似像界線一樣的東西 and it's because of these things that are like boundaries

才有進入別人的世界 are you able to enter another person's world

了解別人的可能 and understand that other person's possibility

It's like he's saying here - I respect your boundaries, and it's because of them, because of our differences, that makes me interested in you (?)

那你覺得我現在是入侵��你的世界 So do you feel that I am invading your world now?

and Sheng Wang has had half an arm pass the middle point of the frame- he has been sitting, invading Jiang Tian's space for the entire conversation

還是你侵入了我的世界呢？Or is it you who have invaded mine?

And Sheng Wang continues- so am I getting to know you... or are YOU actually getting to know ME?

我就是不喜歡歷史. I just don't like history

Jiang Tian concedes the battle and puts his glasses back on. Sheng Wang returns to his side of the frame.

The teacher continues to talk about Alhambra being a ruin for many years, until the King of Spain started to restore it...

As the episode continues, Sheng Wang keeps getting into people's spaces.

Auntie Jiang an example. Later when he witnesses the lovers at the West Gate- he's all up in other people's business this week, generally being an injured nuisance

With Sheng Wang home, Jiang Tian thinks he can put back the boundary/walls he conceded earlier. He makes up a lie- he's not in the dorm, telling Sheng Wang, he's not where Sheng Wang thinks he is going to be

The day darkens, the lie continues, the walls are coming back up

那我怎麼沒有看到���啊 Then why can't I see you?

When the lights come up, the lie is exposed. There's no more hiding, and Jiang Tian makes a run for it

Now Sheng Wang's closest to the person whose walls he wants to break down (he doesn't quite understand it yet)

He doesn't understand it yet!

But it's the thief, the thief who breaks down both their walls- it's a moment of vulnerability. Everyone else in the dorm room has gone home, and they should have been safe with each other. When the dorm master suggests huddling together for safety, Sheng Wang suggests it immediately. He now thinks of the room as their territory, they should be together to repel the invaders. Jiang Tian thinks about the last time he tried to put up a boundary......

It's the same expression he had the last time he had his walls taken down by Sheng Wang. He just can't win this war. So he lies down......

AND THEN THE MOMENT OF GENIUS IN THIS EPISODE, where Memories of Alhambra start to play again. The wall is in ruins, the fortress has crumbled.

He has to concede this. He inches to face the 'invader'.

It's their wall now. And they rest, safe.

[bunnakit]

one of the most difficult parts of navigating ATEEZ lore is you have to decide which avenue you're going to operate under -

are you operating under the assumption that they've traversed dimensions (A -> Z) with elements of time travel interspersed and the Halateez are tangible human beings they can interact with?

or are you operating under the theory that they've only time traveled "to a different world" (because the future is so bleak it feels like a new world entirely) and the Halateez are shadows of their future, no longer occupying that space-time because ATEEZ has taken their place and the Halateez are only reflections of their inner selves?*

and depending on your choice are you assuming Halazia is a third dimension where the events of the timeline occurred differently? or that it's instead even further into the future and what may be in store for society if ATEEZ cannot fix things in the Z era, the time of the Halateez?

this is why i think it's so difficult to say any one theory is correct when there is so much unconfirmed, so many elements to play with, and so many details to turn over in our head. it's an absolute blast to navigate and experiment with. i wonder if someday we'll have it all spelled out to us but part of me almost hopes it never is. (and i know some things have been 'confirmed' in interviews but we know KQ and HJ are known to be very tricky with the way they word and tease things.)

*i personally find it very curious that we only ever see interactions between the two through some form of reflective surface - aside from answer but even then they're lifting a glass to cheers and it could be said that they're viewing their reflections through that glass. (and we know reflective surfaces are banned in strictland for the sense of identity they can grant.)

there is also no direct dialogue between them in any of the diaries except a brief interaction between hongjoong and the version of him trapped in the glass on the prison island, when he adopts the black pirate costume for himself. we know the guardians can take people's voices, i don't think it's out of the realm of possibility for them to take and contain souls {no more, keep your soul} - especially of those they want to punish rather than dispose of - or for this to be some moment of self reflection and a realization of the path he wants to take moving forward

[heymrspatel]

i need a matching christmas pants ramble

Y E S! please i love this so much. it's also one of those things i didn't know i needed until like right now, you know?

ian comes home with his arms full of bags the day before christmas eve. he left to pick up some groceries, he said. some snacks to tide them over. chocolate. popcorn. hot chips. because they're not moving a muscle on christmas eve, he said. he's calling it The Plan. it's been settled. no one reach them. no one come knocking. do not disturb will be in full effect, he said. christmas day? yea, that's for the family. they'll gather around in the living room and watch movies and eat and drink - have a classic gallagher throwdown. but, ian has to prepare for christmas eve. that's just for him and mickey, he said. quiet. calm. cozy...

they need pajamas!

he's gone for a couple hours. and for the life of him, mickey can't figure out why. pop in. walk down the snack aisle. pop out. what else could hold him up? ian not giving anything away. being cryptic and secretive and... endearing.

ian 👅: i got the bbq pringles do you want another flavor? ..... ian 👅: no baby i'm still here ian 👅: grabbing a few more things ...... ian 👅: relax mick... i'll be home in a bit ..... ian 👅: it has NOT been 5 hours ian 👅: you miss me that much? 😏 ..... ian 👅: i just saw a dog in a shopping cart!!! ian 👅: IMG_0710

he barges in. with 284 bags. stands in the doorway. shifty eyes surveilling his surroundings. finally locking onto mickey. standing in the kitchen doorway, hands on his hips, nibbling a hole through his bottom lip.

a standoff. two pairs of eyes. assessing. mickey sees the bags threatening to slip out of ian's fingers. an arm stretched out - stopping a big tote bag from sliding all the way down, straps caught on his bicep. ian sees the lit up phone in mickey's hand, opened to their messages. the amused as fuck look on his face. eyebrows to the sky. a smirk he's about to kiss off in a few minutes. once he shows mickey his bounty.

ian kicking the door shut. mickey thumbing at his eyebrow. ian relieving himself of his treasures. mickey sighing. putting his phone down. walking over to help with their "snacks". and.... he sees it. The Plan.

lots of snacks, yes. but also, a blanket. candles - four different ones. a couple of mugs. hot chocolate. whipped cream. candy canes. a gingerbread house kit. a mistletoe. and... pajamas.

two midnight blue pajama pants. with a green christmas tree, red gift, and white snowman pattern.

two. matching. pants.

and like hell mickey is wearing those! LIKE HELL! absolutely not-

-------

debbie finally put franny to bed. the excitement of christmas morning prolonging their bedtime routine by an hour. finally she gets to sit and exhale. picking up her phone for a little scrolling time. swipe swipe swipe. scroll scroll scroll. tap tap tap... and oh! a pause on iangallagher96's story. he's posted three pictures. one: two mugs of hot chocolate. two: ian and mickey. ian with a whipped cream mustache and mickey with a candy cane sticking out of his mouth like a cigarette. three: their overlapping legs. propped up on their coffee table. ian's hand on mickey's thigh. wearing matching pajama pants.

The Plan setting off a yearslong tradition.

[theskymother]

animal jam is a lot more fun when you're rich

[aot-brainrot-my-beloved]

AOT Sexualities Headcanons (Part 1)

Since I have nothing better to do, here are my AOT characters' sexualities headcanons (it's my opinion, pls be nice, homophobes DNI)

Probably gonna do it in parts cause there are so many characters LMAO. Also, go and check out my previous [post] about it for context. So anyways without further ado

Part 1 - The Scouts under the cut

Eren - demiromantic demisexual

Eren doesn't usually fall for people and doesn't think about romance, but when he does, he falls hard. He doesn't care about gender, he just needs to feel a really close connection to someone to feel anything. Also, he's famously oblivious to flirtations towards him, which is a popular inside joke among Scouts.

Mikasa - unlabeled

She’s very much Erensexual and that’s it LMAO But jokes aside, she really doesn't care and doesn't see a reason in labeling herself (not that it's a bad thing, she just feels like no name would ever truly fit her). What matters to her are her feelings for Eren and all her closest friends and that's enough.

Armin - pansexual

He doesn’t mind in general but he has a problem recognizing his feelings as something more than a friendship or admiration. He acts friendly and normal and then BOOM, that one special spark and, out of nowhere he’s an awkward ball of fluff. I feel like he just wants someone to talk to about the ocean and who will make him feel seen and safe <3

Jean - (closeted) bisexual

Marco was totally his bisexual awakening. Even though he knows nobody in the Scout Regiment will judge him, he's still scared to come out and every time someone asks him, he's very defensive about being straight (nobody believes him) (just look at him, very much chaotic bisexual icon 💅)

Sasha - heteroromantic asexual

Probably an unpopular opinion but I really don’t see her being into girls. I feel like the Scouts were initially surprised about it after seeing her being so close with Mikasa, but they are just besties. She’s sex-repulsed but will laugh at Connie’s dirty jokes. She’s a hopeless romantic though. She and Connie are platonic soulmates <3

Connie - aromantic asexual ❤️

He never got the appeal of romance or sex, and when someone was flirting with him, he felt really uncomfortable. His friends (especially Sasha) have helped him understand and come to terms with his feelings. He's also sex-repulsed but that doesn’t stop him from telling dirty jokes to others. He and Sasha are platonic soulmates <3

Marco - gay

I have nothing else to say other than the fact that I could never see him in any other way. The gay vibes are very strong with this one (just look at how he looks at Jean!!!)

Ymir - lesbian

She knew she was "different" since she was young, but had to hide it very well. Time spent on Paradis with her friends was the best time in her life because she could finally be her authentic self, without having to deal with homophobia and all the religious trauma, but also because she met the love of her life!

Historia - lesbian

I feel like at first she thought she was straight and then she met Ymir and truly realized something about herself. After that, she was proud of her sexuality, until she became the queen and realized how important her role was. Pregnancy was a hard time for her, especially knowing that Ymir was gone. But to not make it too sad I like to think that her husband was an understanding guy and tried to help as much as he could, while still understanding that he will never be the one and only for her 💔

[datchscursedblog]

Okay I've now became a Mario Madness enjoyer after those cursed parodies of the songs

Anyway, there is Mr. L(uigi.exe)

[if-loki-was-a-fox]

If some asshole who doesn't even engage heavily with fandom were to diss shipping in front of me, I would judge them so very much for it. My dude, it is literally harmless fun that Does Not Effect You, screw off and leave the people who are actually involved in fandom communities to their fun. Let people be creative and explore ideas and relationships in fiction, buzz off ya jerk

But simultaneously, as someone who does spend far too much of their time in fandom spaces (and also happens to be aroace and broadly ambivalent/averse to both sex and romance), sometimes I do wish shipping were just a little bit less big of a thing, y'know? Just like, having it be one of many ways to explore a dynamic between fictional characters, instead of the default way that is so huge it monopolizes fandom content all around. I just want to explore the variety of interpersonal dynamics people can have in fiction, why does it so often have to be constrained to only dynamics with a romantic or sexual component

[wi11owbird]

made a little comic <3 season of passage appreciation post, the evers

[asakiyumemishiii]

The Steve Harrington to Jamie Tartt to Evan Buckey pipeline. The way they've all been my hyperfixation this year and we can clearly tell why.

Questionably shitty parents. Cannot maintain a relationship. Or at least tries and fails. Cocky to sweet character arc. Good with children. Steve is so good with the kids in the show. Jamie is good with Roy's niece. And Evan literally takes care of Eddie’s son so well that Eddie made him his son’s legal guardian should anything happen to him.

The way they just like are always saving the day, whether directly or indirectly- they always have a part in making a situation better. But it’s in the most reckless way that it’s like practically self-destructive or like kind of self-sabotaging. They're the Hero Character™️, even though they're not even the main character.

They all kind of have like gay best friends too! Or like they themself are super gay coded. Robin comes out to Steve. Colin comes out to the entire team and then everyone is like, “Oh I thought Jamie was the gay one!” And then Jamie doesn’t even deny it, which is crazy. And Buck literally kisses a man. AND both Buck and Steve have insane tension/chemistry with a dude named Eddie LIKE…

The way like people don't even like any of these three characters at the start of their shows. They’re annoying, arrogant, cocky, overconfident, etc… Despite having reason for being that way, like, yeah, they're overconfident but only because they do have the skills to back them up. Steve has charisma and is generally dorky/charming, even though he's like kind of an obnoxious idiot at the same time. Jamie is literally insanely good at football in season one, and he hasn’t even reached his full potential! Buck is also an idiot but he is admittedly still a good firefighter, just careless. And they all just progressively get better without losing their charm. If anything, Jamie becomes so puppy coded, but like in a good way. They all just go from being annoying (derogatory) to annoying (affectionate).

Steve projecting his implied negative family situation onto the kids that he continuously puts his life on the line to save and protect. Jamie having an abusive dad and finding his found family in the Richmond team and also doing his best to make sure they stay at the top of the ranks and don’t get relegated again. Buck having shit parents, but finding family and strength in the 118 firehouse. Steve Harrington, Jamie Tartt and Evan Buckley finding their found family in somewhere and someone that they would have never expected. All three of them learning from the people around them and just genuinely realising their flaws and then actively working to change themselves for the greater good.

Steve hanging around Robin and Dustin and slowly realising that they’re the kind of people who he should have surrounded himself with from the start. Because both of them didn’t cater to his fake King Steve persona but rather bantered with him and treated him for the Guy he is and saw him at his lowest and still stayed. Jamie spending time with the Richmond team and learning how fulfilling it feels to be a good team player, and letting himself be a real person around them and also being vulnerable with Roy because he gets over himself and his prince prick behaviour because he genuinely wants to form real connections with his team so he’ll stop feeling so isolated and then he just becomes so much better. Buck working on being less callous in both his words and actions with his team, realising that his impulsivity can affect other people and learning how to save others more carefully. Buck realising he uses sex to deflect his problems so he starts overcoming his fear of real intimacy by letting more people in.

Steve and Robin beefing at the start but they end up besties. It’s the same with Jamie and Sam, or Jamie and Roy, and again we see it between Buck and the 118 and Buck and Eddie.

The way like all these characters have depth, even if they’re all such a cliches. It's the way that they have so much to them, but the people around them often treat them like they're idiots. Like yes, there have been many, many times where they DO behave like total idiots thus it makes sense that their friends treat them as such, but like, they also have so many moments where they're genuinely smart.

Jamie is rude at the start and lacks tact, but he’s still super strategic both on and off the pitch. It irks me that it takes 3 seasons for him to realise that his team trusts his judgement but the sheer awe and disbelief on his face when he sees that his team is actually listening to him when he’s explaining the Total Football play is so heartwarming. He’s finally seeing that his team isn’t treating him like he’s being stupid on purpose and damn it, this should have happened sooner. Also the fact that Jamie was the only one who executed the play correctly? I love me a smart man.

Then there's Buck who has moments where he's suggesting new rescue tactics and everyone is like, ‘Oh wow Buck that's actually pretty smart!’ Which is so annoying sometimes that they treat him like he never has good ideas. Sure he’s a dork but it shouldn’t be so surprising that he can think on the spot like that. He’s a grown man who’s good at his job and has spent years working an insane variety of jobs which just gives him more experience in so many other things and not just firefighting. Also they keep saying ‘Buck you’re being too Buck’ and they mean it negatively like when he’s genuinely inquiring why people didn’t call Animal Control during that landslide/zoo episode but everyone brushes him off like he’s asking stupid questions? But then other times when he performs well, they say ‘Good job being Buck, Buck,’ like it’s suddenly a good thing. So which one is it? The team treats him like him being himself is a good or bad thing depending on the situation which is kind of fucked up because it shouldn’t be a conditional thing.

And then there’s Steve who often gets treated like he’s stupid by Dustin (which is crazy because they were super buddy-buddy in season 3) and the other kids and it’s like… He was the first one to notice the obvious clue in the the russian code. He’s the one who dove into the lake first because he knows he’s the strongest swimmer. He’s the one that saved Jonathan in season 1 because he had an instinct that something was wrong. People just look at him and think he’s a just some pretty boy with nice hair but he has always saved their asses. He’s selfless and thinks things through despite the others thinking otherwise and he actively wants to be helpful.

Something something people treating Steve, Jamie and Buck like they’re pretty accessories sometimes but they’re all smart and intuitive when need be.

OH! Steve Harrington falling down the popularity ranks when Billy Hargrove gets introduced. Steve realising that he’s not the hottest shit anymore but he doesn’t even care about that in the end. Jamie seeing Zava get integrated into the team and hating his fucking guts, not only because he’s upset about not being the best anymore, but because Zava is tearing up his team’s dynamic. Buck being the coolest guy in the 118 and then Eddie gets introduced so now he has to grapple with these changes that now there’s another cooler guy (but he learns to love him teehee). RAGH!

Their character development is so special to me! It's like their persona literally changes. Like Steve goes from being flirty, arrogant, to wanting a meaningful relationship in season four. His self-identity cracks. He makes up his King Steve persona and pretends to care about being prom king and hangs around Tommy H because he thought that kind of superficial shit mattered but he learns that it doesn’t. He just starts embracing being a babysitter and the more time he spends around real people who actually care about him, the more his old identity chips away and it’s so nice to witness.

Jamie literally goes from being an individual player to such a good team player. He even says it himself that he’s becoming the better kind of man that Keeley said he could be. He's so aware that he wasn't a good person and he actively seeks to build better bridges with everyone. The fact that he put himself out there to individually apologise to everyone in both words and actions because he’s so fucking serious about wanting to stop being a piece of shit and then it works!

And Buck literally calls himself versions Buck 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 because he KNOWS that he's changing for the better. It happens so early in the show too. He’s learns that he can’t save everyone, learns to stop being afraid to let people see who he is, learns to stand up to his parents, fights to save Maddie and Eddie’s son; just altogether becoming a literal Hero. UGH! I can’t be coherent about Buck’s character journey because it’s so insane to me.

All of them… all of them are like the same! But even though they're same, they have their own individuality to them. BUT STILL! They're all literally the fucking same. It’s clear that I have a favourite and very definitive character archetype.

Anyway! I need a Steve Harrington, Jamie Tartt, Evan Buckley edit right now!

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

WHATISUPEVERYBODY you know it wasn’t my intention to watch literally one episode every two weeks but here we are i guess ITS TIME FOR ANOTHER KNOX REACTS TODAY ITS MONKIE KID SEASON 5 EPISODE 4 LESGET IIIIIT

The ssssstorm within, alright, alright, something to do with Mk and blowing up maybe? who knows, perhaps we shall find out MWAHAHA! Well, i mean obviously we’ll find out we’re watching the episode—listen i just woke up i can’t be held responsible for my incoherent ramblings LETS MOVE ON

Face in hands bro i miss flying Bark. BRUTAL DUDE (gotta say it at least once every episode sorry bois :pensive_emoji:)

Sniffs, just plow straight through the underbrush its fine—

Monkey King and Mei face down… okay…. this is…. a very fun frame i will admit…. who wants matching icons—/j/jj/

PREGUFFINGLKJA;DSF WE’RE REALLY RIDING THOSE MCGUFFIN JOKESLKGMSDF

sniffs

scratches head. okay so we’re just using sandy yelling as a gag now… cool cool cool okay sure sure, not like Sandy never raising his voice made the emotional beat of him yelling when contention happened devastating and startling. I guess the whole overwhelming Mk with WE GOT THIS!! talk would be an inevitable one, it always worked before. I mean, except for during the season 2 special. And… any other time hype up hasn’t really… worked… Listen I’m just overanalyzing probably but some of the choices in this season with the characters just feels off to me. Ngl with every episode I watch, the less it feels like monkie kid to me. The last one wasn’t so bad, and hey, we’re only a minute 25 into this one so that might change but that’s my gut reaction right now. Makes me a bit sad! I’ve been watching Dragons Rising (ninjago) with my buddy and been having the time of my life, the animation is gorgeous and it feels like the new peeps really understand the characters and its honestly so much fun, and then I’m kinda sitting here with monkie kid and puzzle pieces that don’t really fit and I’m not sure what to do with it! I know like, it’s the same writers but it just does not feel like it to me. Could be how rushed they always are, they’re doing their best, like—oNCE AGAIN TO BE CLEAR, when I criticize anything or say it feels off, this is NOT me saying bad writers bad people bad bad bad, I’m just saying how it feels to me! It feels almost like they’re trying to bring the comedic lightness of season 1 back but like… it feels kinda plastic and wrong! WORDS FAIL ME, PLS DON’T QOUTE ME I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT LETS MOVE ON

the kneeling down is kinda cute good for them

Sandy hype man!

…..

Is he just trying to get them all out of there so Mk can have some breathing roomGML;SMADF Cause otherwise splitting up is a terrible idea

Special Sandy training!!!

Mk smashing rocks together, okay that was cute h;LGKAJWOEF

Sandy so excited about meditation

sniffs

I FEEL LIKE MK COMPLAINS A LOT MORE THAN USUAL. Why is he so whiny?? Was he this whiny before? Am i losing my mind???? I’ve never wanted Mk to talk less before what is going on

Mystic Monkey meditatiNGN;LAKSDF WHY IS HIS FAKE BEARD ORANGELKMGSDF oh he’s impersonating sandy. SANDY AND WUKONG HAVE SIMILAR COLOURED HAIR I THOUGHT HE WAS USING MONKEY KINGS HAIR COLOUR DON’T LOOK AT ME HGLKAJSDF

The crackity cracks are backity back

“I see you” WELL THATS METAL DOPE

I WILLL ADMIT, THIS IS GREAT, BRO REALLY NEEDS THIS BIG ITME

….me fr pretend to meditate so true==

Storm within that’s funny

SANDY’S A GREAT PERSON TO TALK TO ABOUT THIS

LIL SNEK

I GOT SOMEONE TO FIGHT TAT’S NOT JUST MY THOUGHTSLKMGOWIEFMSDF

MK PLS

ooop next—SECRET TUNNELLLL SECRET TUNNEELLLLL THROUGH THE MOUNTAINNNNNNNNNNN

Just got led to it np that’s funny

Mk’s opening secret access swishy gold thing is fun

Bro’s really assaulting a rock

Owaaaa big ol turtle…. with cracks!

HELPGLKAM;WOEF

Classic

Ah yes meditation, who could have seen this coming

gGKASDF BRAVADO KILLED

I know he’s complaining as a deflection but :T man Mk whining so much is getting old really fast. Like its for the gag and you could say its for the deflection but MAN. Every four seconds he’s got his whiny voice on, bro?? I’m hoping they get all the humour they want out of that gag in this episode :(

I SWEAR I’M NOT TRYING TO BE NEGATIVE THIS IS JUST DOING A NUMBER ON ME OUGH

HEY GET OFF MY SANDY OI

RELEASE MY MAN

COME ON TURTLE

Bro literally has to face his trauma to save his friend what the heck turtle that’s so rude—

OKAY WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO WATCH THIS? I’ve tried two separate types of headphones (one stolen from my brother) a friend’s tv and just my computer’s speakers and the audio volume difference in the voices vs the music is STILL jarring. Like???? I have it turned up so much just to HEAR the voices and TRY to understand them and then the music kicks in and its bLARING and AGGRESSIVE and NOT IN A CINEMATIC WAY. dear gods its like they made monkie kid as unfriendly to watch as possible for me what is going on I’M TRYING TO ENJOY MY MONKIE SHOW STOP JARRING ME OUT OF IT [SHAKES LEGO UNTIL THEY FALL TO PIECES] I’M TRYING TO ENJOY MK HAVING TO FACE HIS TRAUMA SOMETHING I’VE HIGH KEY WANTED TO WATCH SINCE SEASON 1 WAILS

Acknowledging the “okay, i want to push that away, but i’m not going to” is really neat i like that

Hello disembodied voice

Okay, i may not be vibin with the audio, the animation, or the jokes in this ep, but my GODS does Ashe know how to write brutal dialogue. The reason Mk being so afraid of his monkey powers is because he likes it?? Oh yeah, I’m down with that i am SO down for that, I have been clawing at that concept for AGES, I am SO DOWN

So who’s going to be trying to control mk this season? Snake guy?? Newbie?? The choosing yourself and making your own path is really heavy handed so far hL;GJKASDF

Sandy’s advice?? GOD TIER. We love that. I love actual good advice in cartoons thank you

Conversations with self!!! OHHH OHH I LIKE THE EXHALE

TAT WAS NICE

OKAY SO THE HWOLE MIND SEQUENCE I’M A HUGE FAN OF

TERES MY BOY

Sandy’s trigger word is Worthy huh he dont’ like thatLKGMA;OWEFWHEEZE

nah we are so glad Mk has Sandy here actually that is so good I’VE BEEN WANTING SANDY MOMENTS FOR SO LONG AND WE GOTTEM THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU like, the rest of what i said still stands but the emotional beats still hit really nicely and I’m very grateful we still have that!

Yeah that car is gonna get smashed by mei or pigsy and tang yeah yup there we go

oH WOW-oh nvm there it goes

well ! Wonder what mei found! That felt like a little bit of a clunky ending bit for some reason i can’t explain but! Big fan of the Sandy and Mk content I love them, totally deserved, been wanting Sandy talk like that for AAAAGES BLESS

Okayokay, always ending on positive note so lets go over one more time: Mk’s talk with himself? BANGER. Once he got talking, I really liked the dialogue and I really liked the vibe of the whole thing, Loved his exhale, loved the admittance of that all being part of him and that he chooses to work on other parts of him that is AWESOME and super cool to see depicted the way it was all cinematic and cool we love that. Love diving into a little bit of the complexities of our man Sandy! Love him opening up a bit to Mk so he can see he’s not alone in his struggles! That Sandy’s got something like that too and he’s still one of the most wonderful kind people Mk knows! The people who Mk has surrounding him are all exactly what he needs and that’s really cool!!! Ough okay welp, maybe I will be thinking about Sandy and Mk’s dyname for the rest of all time RAAAAAAA I REALLY enjoyed how they wrote them there.

Thanks for reading! Sorry I’m still a bit all over the place with my reactions, i feel like I keep repeating the same things but by GOSH the audio is THROWING ME. But yeah that was a nice way of addressing some of Mk’s trauma, even if it was only for like three minutes, its well done and I enjoyed it! very excited to see they can still nail those emotional bits. HOPE Y’ALL HAVE A SPECTACULAR DAY AND GOOD VIBES HUNT YOU DOWN RELENTLESSLY. KNOX OUT

[marlikesunicorns]

if you love shuake role reversal AU...

how exactly do you imagine Akiren as a detective?

thoughts and ideas below

at first I never tried to read this trope but then I realized it could be fun to force Akechi to make friends, plus if you erase his knowledge of who his father might be, it's possible to steer him towards different goals.

however, idk how Akiren would act as a detective! giving him the detective prince persona (charming, polite, witty, talkative) feels boring to me because in the end the shuake feels like it's just third semester goro dating his own detective prince persona.

I do like to take characters and throw them in completely different situations though, I believe with the right context you can push characterization a lot.

one idea I had was to make akiren go into the metaverse while he's still very young, and he accidentally makes a bad person have a mental shutdown (like he didn't know what would happen if he killed that shadow) since the death is suspicious and cognitive research is happening, eventually someone figures out akiren is responsible, and Shido manipulates him into working with him to make up for that terrible thing he did. then he'd use akiren for spying and influencing his enemies. not for killing because I feel like it'd take a lot to turn akiren into a murderer if he isn't doing it for something super important and to save someone else and having all that character development before shuake even meets is boring to me.

so anyway, akiren still would need to be famous to access more of mementos but how would he use his personality for this? what would an interview with him sound and look like?

that's where I get stuck and I haven't found a fic I like in which I feel like he's really akiren at the beginning

[rebel-dritch]

Shoutout to otome/dating games that allow you to be friends with everyone (without rejecting anyone) and to skip scenarios without question.

Yes, the target audience of the games focus on those who want to date. So it's a lovely surprise to discover that there's an option to be friends with every character.

[seventh-district]

not even gonna tag this properly bc i don't wanna get Involved but i do have some Thoughts i need to get out into the void so here we go

(aaa quick edit: CW for mention/discussion of Boothill leaks)

[leavemetoexist]

I finished all 4 Studio Investigraves games and I have opinions. (Spoilers to all the games by the way but you already know that)

I played them all backwards from the most recent to least recent by complete accident hence why I shall be reviewing them from least recent to most recent. I'll be judging them based off gameplay, characters and story. Of course don't take this too seriously it's my general opinion and I wouldn't mind hearing other people's personal tier list about which game was their favourite. My interpretation of the characters can of course vary from others opinions as well so keep that in mind.

4. Eloquent Countenance

Gameplay: the gameplay in this one wasn't actually bad, I quite liked doing the different tasks however with that being said, I also got lost multiple times about what I was supposed to do (I think i'm to blame for this once honestly because it was spelled out for me). Overall I still liked it but again I had issues. I did however adore the mix of 3d modelling and 2d models.

Story: The story isn't bad, if anything it leaves room for so many things. The explanation to the end did confuse me though because I couldn't tell if Forcas was talking to the woman trapped in the body or if he was talking to the angel that had taken over the body. And also why did us the angel decide that we did want to give the body back to her? Again a lot of questions that I think can be expanded on if they ever to second game. (I think this is mostly me wanting a second game so badly lol)

Characters: Our character Lisa is alright, I have no grievances with her, she's funny and sarcastic as hell and honestly my favourite. Forcas on the other hand... I like his shenanigans, but there is only so much fourth wall breaking one can take before it isn't very special, I guess? The way he speaks is like how I would write an overpowered annoying know-it-all character when I was 13. So yea not my favourite. I do love their characters designs though, absolutely gorgeous in my opinion.

3. Cold Front

Gameplay: I had no problem with the gameplay, except maybe when I was running from the monster, that was the only hard part. This was a shorter game so there wasn't too much gameplay and coming down to the end I was honestly a little annoyed that we'd basically ceased gameplay and had started basically just started reading out the rest of the story. I wish there was a boss fight to the end, a little something something to really close it off would've been nice.

Story: It was heartwarming (ironic). I can not express it enough that I really love how well done the story is, both endings really got me. One was a happy ending technically with only Augustine living and it was so dark that he was happy to finally feel seen again once Winnie was dead. Winnie had no idea that he was breaking a lot of Augustine's boundaries but at the same time, these two just needed some communication and they were fine in the end which was perfectly okay with me. They both reflected and became better people together.

Characters: No notes, they were good. I loved the fucked up anxiety version of Augustine and Winnie, it really shows how anxiety is and how overthinking and keeping everything in can really harm a friendship.

2. Dead Plate

Gameplay: There is so much that needs to be talked about with the gameplay. First of all, our character Rody, does not have a side and back angle so that you can tell which way you're facing, which messed me up a lot when I tried to serve tables. When I first booted up the game it took me way too long to figure out the what to do in the tutorial (This one might be on me tbh so I won't be too mean to the game about it). The various customers did not make any facial expressions as to help indicate to the players their level of annoyance going from good-> annoyed-> angry-> leaving. I really wished they had that, even if it weren't a face at least some sounds would've been nice.

Story: I adored the story, it's fucked up, it's nice and it's overall really good. Genuinely no notes, it's cut and dry, nothing overally complicated and I loved it.

Characters: I loved the characters. Rody is so deeply in love with his girlfriend (Marieanna) and loses his sense of self. He literally does not know who he is without her and instead of listening to her and improving himself and becoming his own person, he makes himself think that if he just had enough money, that she would take him back. Vince on the other hand, woah that motherfucker is a little mad in the head isn't he? I was expecting your usual obsessive yandere esc character but no. He becomes not really obsessed but more like testing a theory. He has never tasted food and wants so desperately to make food where you can taste the love in it so when he found out about Rody whiles dating Marieanne, well he just had to put this theory to the taste test right? I also live for the theory of him wanting to express his love to Rody by feeding him the thing that he loved most (I think this theory is actually pretty solid tbh and I'm not sure if it's a theory or confirmed within the game. I played this so long ago that I've kind of forgotten).

1. Elevator Hitch

Gameplay: This one might be obvious to most people who follow me but Elevator Hitch is literally my absolute favourite. The gameplay itself was quite fun, I enjoyed the puzzles and tasks that had to be done and the uniqueness of each floor. I had one problem where I didn't realise you could look around the elevator, I wished there were some arrows to indicate you could do that but overall the gameplay was solid.

Story: The story is simple, simple in a fun complicated way. It certainly didn't answer why the building is the way it is but that was alright with me. I enjoyed especially the small glimpses at protag's life before he got stuck in the elevator. I loved the ending, the fact that he had no real choice but to go back was *chef's kiss* Sad ending for Protag but that's okay, solid story.

Characters: One of my favourite head cannons about this game is that coworker is actually pretending to be stupid about the situation that we the player are experiencing and I can be more than be convinced about that. Our main character definitely has shit going on, as saw in the end he needed that job and well the fourth floor with his parents. I loved the dialogue options and the dynamic going on between the two of them. They're both silly and share one brain cell and I adore them for that.