#this is not a joke legitimately an excellent series

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

omg yall clown in a cornfield 3 is coming out this fall

[summerspectre]

some resources to make today a little lighter

or, a really silly list of things that have kept me sane

cartoons, movies, animations— oh my!

into the spiderverse

gravity falls season 1

the amazing world of gumball

regular show

kitbull + pixar shorts

bluey

a random powerpuff girls full episode & also there's a second one (original series dw)

ramshackle thesis + pilot + stone gets microwaved

lackadaisy

game grumps animated

mbmbam animated + original non-animated podcast (some funny shit

the egg (one of my favorite short stories, feels topical)

youtube reccomendations that are overall a good time

yknow the guy who makes the ghost songs every year (ghost duet, choir, etc.)? he does cool shit (louie zong)

nerdy nummies (go rosanna)

cinematherapy (a family + couples therapist & a filmmaker react to films (ex: nimona, tangled, pride and prejudice, up, coraline) and draw very real and grounding lessons from them)

jaiden animations videos

elyse myers vlogs (vlogs as a creator with autism, agoraphobia, and ocd and i find her insights to be incredibly comforting + takes extra care to keep her family separate from her work and is worth supporting if you need a comfort youtuber)

miscellaneous myths (myths from different cultures told in bite sized videos, done by an excellent team)

minecraft youtube newer and older to binge

minecraft oasis - ihascupquake

aphmau minecraft diaries origins, 1, 2, rebirth

aphmau mystreet s1, s2, s3, s4, interlude, s5, s6

aphmau phoenix drop high (mystreet prologue) s1, s2

legitimately one of the best resources to binge dsmp

-> technoblade dsmp

"actually good videos" - a technoblade playlist

-> + @royalarchivist has plenty of qsmp clips :) i will not be further endorsing the series itself for personal reasons but it's still important to the mcyt community & archivist does an excelling job archiving

(if anyone has good playlists for the life series or hermitcraft, please repost with them!)

all time tumblr favorites

tumblr folk stories (highly recommend god of arepo)

queer granddad spongebob

bumblebees rolling balls around

the making of emperor's new groove

alex hirsch vs disney censors (this is on youtube but it feels tumblrian)

resources for...

caring for your introvert (a silly amongst the serious)

if you're lost right now

after a long cry

if you're falling out of a plane right now (completely serious. no jokes anymore i already spent my silly)

the trevor project online chatting option

the trevor project site (tap anywhere quickly to exit immediately)

crisis hotlines

(stay alive, you've got this)

relaxing/asmr

hang out with piplup

squirtle's day at the beach

pikachu by the patio

relaxing minecraft long play

accounts i suggest for a boost in joy:

-> @akindplace

-> @twopartposts

-> @traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors

-> @i-am-a-fish (never seen a bad take)

-> @artsyaxolotl

-> @world-heritage-posts

and if you're reading this post at all, please feel free to add!

[mothknight42]

on the guide, writing women in wwdits, and that ending

I firmly believe the Guide is the one of the most wasted, underutilized, and massacred characters in the show, and the series finale only confirms this. So let's talk about why!

The Guide is interesting as a character study in regression; when we first see her, despite being a lackey for the Vampiric Council, she is quite powerful and assertive. She has no issue telling off our main Vamily (insert Colin Robinson smile to camera here) and we see her in S3 repeatedly fixing the messes everyone causes at the Council all while bemoaning her position. Sure, she is a joke to our main vampires at best, and a nuisance at worst, but she does have power and clout and a voice.

Then when S4 roles around, we finally get some legitimate backstory for her. She used to be a "messy" vampire, and her current uptight personality is essentially a dramatic 360 after suppressing all of her raunchiest memories and being forced into eternal servitude. This is interesting! Even more interesting is how she changes in response to learning this about herself - we see her reject Guillermo despite her passion because she isn't that person anymore ..... and become entirely wrapped up in serving Nadja.

While she is technically the butt of the joke for the whole Vamily, she becomes most clearly Nadja's kicked dog. She vies for Nadja's attention, friendship, and approval. We see her constantly trailing Nadja and helping her with the nightclub in various ways. And of course, we see how Nadja derides her, dismisses her, and on occasion, throws her a pathetic bone (such as 'gifting' her the vial box during the Wraith Union episode). By this point, we as the audience KNOW the Guide is quite powerful and capable in her own right; and yet, here she is, nipping at Nadja's heels like a lost puppy and desperately trying to be included.

In many ways, the Guide is set up very directly as a foil for Guillermo, with Nadja as her master (MISTRESS NADJA!!!). Both Guillermo and the Guide are powerful and unique in their own right, both more intelligent than the other vampires in many cases, and yet, both are seeking acceptance from those same vampires who treat them like dirt. It is good writing! And a good way to establish that despite Guillermo's dreams of becoming a vampire, it will not guarantee him the love and acceptance he is seeking from Nandor and the rest.

And then the writers almost completely abandon it. We get very little commiseration between Guillermo and the Guide post her rejection of him, and instead as Guillermo becomes more clearly loved and accepted and PROTECTED by the Vamily, the Guide is shoved in his place as the butt of many "not you" jokes. There is no clear purpose given for this beyond that the writers find it funny; after all, the Guide herself is no longer the uptight pencil pusher we meet her as, so the Vamily's repeated rejection of her just feels like a cheap gag - one that gets less and less funny as time goes on, since the Guide IS often included in Vamily hijinks. Clearly she is ALLOWED to be around them, so the hate directed to her feels forced for a cheap laugh rather than having some legitimate purpose.

And then all of this culminates in Morrigan Manor, right? An excellent episode that shows the Guide's true personality (she is fun! she is clever! she listens to the interests of the Vamily and cares about them!) as well as how hurt she is to be rejected by them (rejected by Nadja specifically - we will come back to that). She doesn't imprison Guillermo and draws a direct connection between the way she is treated and the way they treat him ...... but while Guillermo has spent the season in cahoots with Nadja/Colin/Laszlo, who have hidden his secret to protect him and have proved they care about him, the Guide gets none of that. She gets false closure via a handpicked clip that turns out to be another joke at her expense! And for no good reason! She has now spent three seasons proving she wants to be and can be a good friend to them, that as a vampire she is powerful and useful to them, her personal interests (painting and maintaining archives) are things the other vampires also show interest in ....... and yet!

I've seen arguments that the Vamily are "selective" about their friendships, that friendship is the most meaningful thing for vampires, that the Guide *wanting* to be their friend is why they won't let her, but I'm sorry, no. All of the vampires make plenty of friends, if not with other vampires than with humans throughout the seasons. One of the longest running arcs in the show is that of Sean with Laszlo, and we see how both Nandor and Nadja accommodate that friendship without real question or pushback. Even in Pine Barrens, the problem Nandor has is not that Laszlo likes Sean better, it is that Laszlo has been neglecting Nandor. Nandor just wants to be INCLUDED in guy time; he tries to connect with Sean himself and has no real issue with the guy!

The Guide isn't accepted into the Vamily, despite actively helping them for four seasons, because the writers think it is funnier for her to be the new Guillermo - except without ANY character arc or importance. She is the cheap gag they can trot out whenever necessary, and the series finale really leans hard into that by both making her a parody of a Trump supporter for a quick laugh (a joke that by and large just wasn't funny and felt extremely out of place in the series - even beyond the optics of making that kind of joke, it felt lazy and was only aiming for a shock value laugh) and making her body into a commodity for the Monster to lust over. She is stripped of much of her agency and anger for no real purpose. The only shining moment for her this season, her rejection of Nandor, feels like a breath of fresh air that is immediately forgotten about in favor of making her into the woman who gets shit on and ignored for laughs.

The Guide could have been used for anything. Anything! She is older than some of the Vamily, has a very fun hinted at backstory, has different powers and a disposition to the rest of the main cast - and is played by KRISTEN SCHAAL, a veritable comedy icon at this point. And yet, she is shoved to the background, only brought out into the forefront for a cheap joke at her expense - a joke that stopped being funny seasons ago.

All of which has to do with the show's inability to write women.

Nadja, a main character for god's sake, by the end of the show is turned into a dumb angry woman caricature - her arc, of trying to find her own voice and purpose amidst a household of narcissistic men, is cast aside in favor of cheap jokes about not 'getting' humans, despite spending five previous seasons being shown as extremely competent with humans. Her and Laszlo's strife this season feels like it is solely in service to Laszlo's arc surrounding his desire for creation/fatherhood while doing nothing to further Nadja's own arc of self actualization. (Side note: I know a lot of people disliked them fighting this season and said it came out of nowhere, but that isn't true; as far back as the Bloody Mary episode, we see Laszlo trying to 'protect' Nadja and her being exasperated with him - the problem this season is that it doesn't feel like Nadja gets any real agency in Laszlo's concern for her. Every time she tries to put up a boundary, he steamrolls over it with grand declarations of his love. It sucks!) Post the Nightclub arc, Nadja's character loses steam and she exists solely to further other character's arcs, while her own goals and dreams and plans are abandoned. Dolly's entire existence was about trying to help Nadja find purpose, something Nadja nor the viewers ever get closure on!

The WWDITS writer's room is seemingly allergic to writing women beyond making them jokes or commodities for men. Despite multiple seemingly self aware meta jokes in series about Nadja hating other women because she is a woman, about the men in the house being misogynistic and obnoxious, the writer's over and over entrench these annoying and backwards and LAZY tropes, all while giving characters like Colin Robinson and Laszlo legitimate arcs and serious moments of personhood and reflection that are not immediately cheapened by a joke. Laszlo has not one but TWO seasons dedicated to working through his daddy issues by becoming a father himself, something that in my humble opinion (while not done perfectly) was clearly given some thought and care that we never really see with Nadja post S3.

So it is no surprise that the Guide is just completely wasted, though it is a shame. An easy to write arc would have been exploring a possible attraction between the Guide and Nadja (once again, a fun foil to Guillermo and Nandor!!) especially because it is clear that the Guide does have feelings for Nadja. In the clipshow in Morrigan Manor, despite all of the Vamily being cruel to her, the only clips are of Nadja. The Guide is eager to run away with Nadja (sorry, Sally!) and she spends all of S4 doing Nadja's bidding for seemingly just her approval. (But of course, the show is allergic to portraying anything gay unless it is a joke, and doubly so for anything even remotely sapphic).

Hell, S6 could have been an arc between the Guide and Nadja becoming legitimate friends and working together to help Guillermo at Cannon; after all, the Guide has spent years working in an 'office' like environment, and Nadja has experience with humans. We saw that they worked fine together during the nightclub era - post Morrigan Manor why not show them growing together and finding a purpose outside of the Council and outside of the Vamily, something that both the Guide and Nadja would benefit from as characters? Why not a female comedy duo, since we always get the men paired together for hijinks?

But that would require treating Nadja and the Guide as characters worthy of arcs, which the writers clearly did not want to do. That would require treating women as people with interiority, which the writers clearly do not.

I give so many props to Natasia for working with bare minimum in later seasons, and clearly trying to give Nadja a sense of self and purpose even when the writers were actively working against it. And I give props to Kristen for making the Guide into a fan favorite despite everything the writers did to make her into a nothing burger. It is a shame and tragedy that even in 2024 on a long running comedy show, the idea of women being funny enough to carry their own stories and arcs is clearly still too farfetched to be brought to reality.

[rottenshotgungames]

Alright, let’s start with discourse, shall we?

Gatekeeping Combat

Three days ago, the Gorgon Bones blog made this post about fighters in TTRPGs (particularly the OSR): https://gorgonbones.blogspot.com/2024/02/choosing-fighter-means-choosing-violence.html?m=1

I recommend reading the post, it’s fun (and the comments are hilarious). But, for those who don’t have the time or attention span (trust me, I’m lacking in spoons right now too), this is a relatively short joke that suggests protecting the Fighter class’ niche by making it the only class able to participate in combat. This, on its face, seems like an inherently silly idea—because it is—but people have been interacting with it as a serious suggestion. This comedic concept has spawned a legitimately interesting design discussion. So, let’s engage with it as a thought experiment. How would one make this function in a fun and reasonable way? The simple answer is that you have to start with conflict.

Conflict in RPGs, particularly in Dragon Game derivatives (such as the OSR), is often violent in nature. This presents the first hurdle: How do we centralize combat to 1 class when it’s a major source of conflict, conflict that people inherently want to engage in? As I see it, there are two approaches:

Decentralize Combat.

Redefine “Engaging in Combat.”

Decentralizing combat is kinda just what it says on the tin; make combat a less important source of conflict and means of resolving it. The two biggest examples of this—to me—are Investigative Horror Games and Stealth Games, both of which rely on central conceits that CAN involve violence but don’t necessarily rely upon it. A non-OSR example would be John Harper’s Blades in The Dark, in which combat is resolved the exact same way as every other conflict: through a series of dice rolls that result in ticking and unticking a clock (with possible complications).

Redefining what it means to “engage” requires a bit more definition than the prior approach. “Redefining” can be subcategorized into two somewhat disparate techniques: Redefining goals and redefining interactions.

In any TTRPG combat, the party tends to have a list of goals that exist in a hierarchy of priority. For example, in a traditional D&D or Lancer combat the hierarchy of party goals might look like this:

The Contest (express martial superiority, wipe out the opposition, or otherwise win the combat)

The End State (survive the combat and prevent as much harm to yourself or other party members as possible)

The Barrier (achieve the exploration or narrative goal that’s being hindered or prevented by the combat)

“Redefining” these goals is more accurately described as a re-ordering of their hierarchy based upon whether you are or aren’t the Fighter, usually through gameplay incentives. An incredible example exists in the form of Mike Pondsmith’s Cyberpunk 2020, in which the Solo role (through virtue of acting first and being generally able to specialize heavily into combat) can almost singlehandedly decide the outcome of any fight in which they are present. If there is one Solo on the field, their side is probably going to receive a swift victory; your job, as the non-Solo, is simply to not die and accomplish what you actually came here to do. If there are two Solos on opposing sides of the combat, their goals change to winning their private fight; your job, as the non-Solo, is to survive the surrounding combat until the Solo is free again (or to run if they lose). In almost every combat, the Solo will prioritize the Contest while the rest of the party will prioritize either the End State or the Barrier, something aided by Cyberpunk’s lethality and its nature as a heist game.

“Redefining combat interaction” is . . . actually found everywhere. This is your basic class differentiation taken to a greater extreme than you may find in most tactical RPGs. For example, let’s look at the Combat relevant difference between the Thief/Rogue/Mercenary and the Fighter in a majority of games that use such classes:

The Fighter - Deals a lot of damage with consistently accurate attacks (sometimes also makes multiple attacks on their turn). Has high health.

The Thief - Deals a lot of damage with one really powerful attack made from stealth, sneaky (sometimes good at dodging). Has low health.

The differentiation is there, but it’s not really significant (for the purposes of this thought experiment). Both classes focus on damage output, but one makes multiple attacks and one makes a strong attack that requires setup. Let’s try to take this difference and expand it (with a little help from our dear friend Tolkien), particularly by focusing on what makes the Thief unique in comparison to the Fighter:

The Fighter - Deals a lot of damage with consistently accurate attacks (sometimes also makes multiple attacks on their turn). Has high health.

The Thief - Subverts direct combat through the use of trickery and cunning, plays support for the Fighter (sometimes good at dodging). Has low health.

“Subversion,” in this context, simply means fighting dirty. The Thief shouldn’t be engaging in a head-on fight, they’re a Thief. Their interaction with hostile entities should always be tinged by deceit, their goal should always be to throw their enemy off balance, to create openings for others and themselves to use. If your Thief isn’t constantly throwing pocket sand and disarming opponents and knocking chandeliers on top of them and pulling cloaks over their eyes and poisoning them and . . . are they really living out the Thief fantasy? By strengthening the Thief’s core identity, leaning fully into the trickster aspect, we have redefined how both classes interact with Combat in such a way that has made direct, head-on-head violence the apparent specialty of the Fighter.

Conclusion

As much as the original Gorgon Bones blog post is a joke, Jenx does point out a real issue that’s plagued class-based games for a while: a weak niche makes a weak class. Not necessarily mechanically weak (although that can also happen, looking at you CP2020 Cop), but weak in the sense of fundamental design. Strong niches, even if every class has the ability to participate in combat, are born of purposefully and carefully built interactions with the conflicts presented by a game’s rules and environment. If combat is too great of a focus, everyone is going to want to be able to play the guy who’s good at combat; if winning combat is the sole goal of any given encounter, everyone’s going to play the guy that’s good at winning combats; if every class gets good tools for dealing damage . . . well, I don’t really have to spell that one out, do I?

If you’re designing a tactical, class based game: don’t make the Fighter the only class able to engage in combats. It’s lazy, it’s silly, and it won’t be fun for very long. You may notice that, while the two games mentioned here have classes that EXCEL at direct combat, neither of them fully limit it. Instead, the proper lesson of this thought experiment is a far more common one in our field: keep in mind the incentives you’re building into both your game and your classes, and be aware of how all these moving parts interact with and affect each other. After all, the Solo wouldn’t be nearly as good if Cyberpunk wasn’t so lethal, and the Cutter would be far more ubiquitous if Blades in The Dark had a dedicated combat chapter.

Self Promo

Hey! Thanks for reading. Sorry to leave ya with Baby’s First Game Design Lesson, but I hope ya enjoyed the journey there. If you’d like to see my recent attempt at a class based fantasy game, you can click here to check out Hollow Halls. Otherwise, I hope y’all have a great night and a great day!

[myx-on-earth]

Content Warning: Landfall Game's April Fools Triumph

For the Content!

It would seem that an April Fools joke of a game has resulted in overnight indie success. Landfall Games, a beloved indie game studio, has a yearly April Fools tradition they call “Landfall Day”, where their devs put together essentially a parody of whatever game is popular at the time. They’ve parodied everything from DayZ to battle royales (Twice, with Totally Accurate Battlegrounds and Knightfall), and this year it would seem it’s Lethal Company’s turn.

Lethal Company is a game known for silly co-op shenanigans that seem to instantly translate into YouTube content- and Content Warning takes that idea and turns it up to 11, making being an influencer a part of the game mechanics. You and a group of friends take a diving bell to “The Old World”, a spooky map filled with monsters and traps entirely for the sake of internet entertainment value. With a single camera and 90 seconds of film, your group has to make the spookiest, funniest video possible- because your only source of income is Spooktube, and that revenue doesn’t come easily.

It's such a brilliant parody of both the horror genre Lethal Company tapped into and the loop of content creation in the internet age that it, somehow, wraps around to being an excellent game in of itself, though Landfall is no stranger to finding gold through satire. Previously, their first battle royale parody (Totally Accurate Battlegrounds, a riff on PUBG) found some success, enough that Landfall turned it into a full venture. It’s not as popular nowadays, but it IS legitimately good- and Content Warning seems to be turning out the same way with its initial popularity and engaging premise.

Typical Content Warning video result, featuring myself, @thatpocketninja, @squiddskipp, and a third friend who requested to remain anonymous

In the space of video game development, April Fools seems to be not so much a “joke” day, but a day that allows ideas to be thrown around that might not otherwise have been considered, which can lead to majorly creative leaps of faith. With examples like the Yakuza series’ pivot to turn-based combat, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’s continued success in the midst of a floundering Ubisoft, and even Lilith Walther’s upcoming definitely-not-Bloodborne Kart (now known as Nightmare Kart), the idea of “joke turned legitimate gamedev venture” isn’t exactly new.

I actually had the pleasure of exchanging emails with Hanna Fogelberg (@thebirdmountain on Twitter), Landfall's Head of Community, who provided some insight into Content Warning’s development and the overwhelming response in the interview below.

1. What's it like to go to bed seeing some success, then waking up to find your joke game is a viral hit? Did you expect this at all, given the surprising amount of polish it has?

"We couldn't sleep to tell you the truth! Even if the team said good night at about 2am we kept texting the player numbers to each other throughout the night, we were very wired! We always knew there was the potential of the game going really well, there's something about the design and shareability of the videos you make that we knew could hit it big but it's still surprising it went THIS well."

2. How long did it take to develop Content Warning?

"Content Warning was made in about six weeks of active game development, but the idea came to us back in December!"

3. What were your main inspirations for the game? (Beyond Lethal Company, of course)

“Lethal Company and similar games were an obvious reference for the gameplay loop, we love that game! That said, what was most interesting to us was the core of the game - the filming and video creation. We were inspired by YouTubers and influencer culture, there's something interesting in people risking life and limb for content that we wanted to play off of. 

Other than that, the vibes of The Older World were inspired by Junji Ito and a specific H.R Giger painting while The Over World references the Swedish children's book Pettson och Findus.”

4. How experienced was the dev team?

“We're pretty experienced, the Landfall team has been making games for over 10 years with previous releases being Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Stick Fight: The Game, Clustertruck and Rounds to mention a few.”

5. How does this experience compare to the last semi-viral success Landfall had with a Landfall Day game? (TABG)

“This game outdid TABG in player numbers several times over! So it's hard to compare, this is by far our most viral hit to date.” 6. Any plans for the future of the game? Or just basic bug fixes and some more content? 

“We will see! Currently, we're focusing on fixing bigger bugs and other issues but we already have some new content planned. We're kind of playing it by ear at this point, it all depends on how things go in the coming weeks.”

Some may attribute Content Warning’s success to multiple factors- the 24 hour free period, how it riffs on Lethal Company and the tropes it already employs, or even that it was “designed to go viral”- but you can’t deny that, even as an iterative piece, it still manages to find its own identity and already seems to have captured the content creation hearts of everyone who gives it a chance. Games like this, that aren’t reliant on micro transactions and are buoyed by the PEOPLE you play with, rather than the money that one must spend on it, are the hope- and, hopefully, the future- of the video games industry. You can find Content Warning (No longer free, but still very cheap!) at the link below: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2881650/Content_Warning/

[khruschevshoe]

OFMD Critique: Bad Faith, Fandom, and Respect

All right. You know what? Screw it. I saw one post I just cannot ignore anymore that encapsulated all of my problems with the fandom right now. Personal rant incoming.

I understand that there's a nuance to the discussion of season 2 of Our Flag Means Death, and that there are people going a little too far with both their critiques and their support of the show. But oh my God, I'm tired of being straw-manned and made fun of for legitimate critiques of the show.

I just used the block button on someone in this fandom for the first time. Some of you might think I'm overreacting for this, but I saw a post that I could not on any level stand. This person, who I will not name names of, because I'd rather just block them and never deal with their level of bad faith again, took their one legitimate criticism of those of us who critique the show, the back and forth on whether or not Izzy's death was homophobic or not, and used it as the first in a literal list of straw man critiques that no one I've read in the OFMD Critical tag has made (and I check it like once a day bc I like reading meta, sorry), proceeding to absolutely make fun of the legitimate critiques that people have of the show, parodying them in the worst possible ways. They took our legitimate critiques about everything from the sexist handling Zheng Yi Sao's character, the absolute ableism of the finale, the questionable optics of the handling of trauma, etc. and stretched them into things that they very much were not (two examples were that we were crying ableism bc of something to do with seagulls and that we thought the problem in the Stede&Zheng dynamic was the "emotional labor" involved).

Now I'm pretty sure this post was a joke. I *think* it was a joke. But how in the world am I supposed to feel comfortable in the main section of a fandom like this when the comments and replies to this post were full of people agreeing sincerely that this is what the critical section of the fandom is like? How am I supposed to feel when I just see people making fun of me for my analysis of the show? I love this show. I adore season 1 and I'm clearly still making fan related content (moodboards) for season 2 along with my critiques.

Sure, I vibe way more with fanfiction than the actual canon at this point, but I still genuinely engage with the show. And to have the critiques that I made in good faith, regarding issues that I sincerely care about such as ableism, sexism, homophobia, and the handling of trauma, made fun of and taken out of context and straw-manned to their extreme, makes me feel so absolutely unwelcome in this fandom.

Other than keeping up with the couple of fan series that I'm currently still reading, I don't know if I can stay in this fandom any longer. I can't say that I'm excited for the new season if this is the kind of response that any good faith critique of the show is going to get. I can't say that I feel safe or comfortable when there are this many people ready to dog pile on me for a critique I made with ACTUAL TEXTUAL EVIDENCE to back it up.

I would like to thank all the people who have been making excellent critiques of the show. Their meta-analysis is what got me into making my own critiques, which I was nervous about making in any other fandom. I don't think I've in any way tagged them all, but just a few I can remember off the top of my head. Go read their critiques/meta- it's really good!

@sky-fire-forever @carrymelikeimcute @blue-b-bro @bougiebutchbinch @treesofgreen @sixstepsaway @alex51324

And from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has engaged with my mood boards or my critiques or anything else that I've made, as well as the amazing writers and artists in this fandom (such as @ruecrown, @aletterinthenameofsanity, @fool-for-luv, and @possumsmushroom). You guys have kept me going with my love for the show and engaging with it for a while now. Despite the stuff that is making me take a step back now, I really did love this while it lasted! I'm still planning on making a few more mood boards, but other than that, I'm going to take a step back from engaging.

Hope this post can spread enough support/joy your way to counteract the ache I'm currently feeling!

Sincerely,

Ashley (aka @khruschevshoe)

[shihalyfie]

Hi. I'm someone who has been planning to rewatch Digimon Frontiers. I remember watching it as a kid, but hoping to rewatch it as an adult to see how it still holds up. Before that though, I've been wondering about how that series has treated Izumi in light of a lot of the fandom's complaints about her. I've only watched the American English dub, but I am wondering about why she was written as she was and how it differs from the Japanese version. I also saw your meta on the writers for her episodes, honestly surprised that her episodes were written by female writers. I can use your perspective on why she was written that way since you seem more knowledgeable about the franchise as a whole.

I'm also curious how much romance has actually been a thing in the Digimon franchise, or if it is mainly just a small subplot that's usually kept in the back.

I appreciate any information you can give.

Hello! Thank you for dropping by!

Regarding Frontier and Izumi, to be honest, I don't really think there are too many substantial differences between the American English dub and original Japanese version to the point I could make any in-depth analysis. (There are changes, but it's in a very vague blanket realm of "the insults and bantering are a little harsher", and it's definitely not Adventure or 02 level.) The Japanese version has the infamous "Sexy Dynamite" frame, so one might argue that it was even worse about it, but small details aside, I think the good points and the complaints you could make are pretty much the same.

As for why the writing around Izumi is so glaring compared to prior (and perhaps most other) Digimon series, I honestly can't say. As far as female creator presence in the main staff room goes, as you mentioned, Izumi's key episodes were by female writers, and Seki was still producer. And on top of that, while Tomita fully admitted that he had a hard time writing girls, I honestly can't believe that's the (sole?) cause of it when I look at his other portfolio works, including some fan-favorite episodes of Sailor Moon and, in general, some magical girl series with excellent female characters.

Perhaps it's the fact that it's the first Digimon anime series to not have any involvement from Yoshimura Genki (who was responsible for most of the writing around Ruki in Tamers and is currently known as a hardcore feminist), or perhaps Bandai panicking about the franchise's poor sales made them lock down harder on "we need to Please the Boys" (something that does sometimes end up in being neglectful of female characters), or perhaps the fact that Izumi was the only girl in the core group made them more inclined to treat her like the Designated Girl Character™ of the series...but this is all speculation, and your guess is as good as mine, especially since we have so little information on Frontier's production compared to others.

As for the question on romance, it's pretty much always been a subplot at best, most likely because the majority of major human characters in the franchise are elementary to middle school age and are thus way too young to be considering "serious" romance or relationships (middle school being probably the youngest you can push the limit as treating a relationship as "serious" instead of just being a puppy crush). Moreover, Adventure and 02 seemed to take the stance of "romance is a part of one's life, but not the most important thing in one's life" (something that seems to have frustrated a lot of fans regarding the series not caring enough about shipping), so even stuff related to Yamato and Sora is carefully squared off to the side like it's not anyone's business. As much as I like to make ship-related jokes, if asked in a serious context, I personally never believed that most of anyone's behavior towards anyone in Adventure or 02 had legitimate romantic sentiment behind it, mostly because they were too young for it; even Daisuke's crush on Hikari comes off to me as him being clingy because she's cute and not really taking the time to think about what the next steps would entail.

Other than Yamato and Sora, putting one-sided humorous crushes aside, the closest to explicit depictions of (human) romance that actually seem plot-relevant would probably be Takato and Juri in Tamers, which even then is not really that explicit (although the people involved in its creation love to talk about it like it's a sort of damsel-in-distress plot), and Kiriha and Nene in the Xros Wars manga, which also is prominent and related to the plot but also not that big of an element in it. Sometimes it seems like it's milking the concept of romance more than it's usually done in practice (an episode of Savers is styled like it's Yoshino having a love story with a childhood friend, but if you actually watch the episode it's at most just her having mixed feelings about a childhood friend falling from grace). So it's honestly been a series that's hands-off with romance for the most part, with most of the shipping and romance-related content being on the part of the fans.

By the way, the official reason there's no explicit depiction of Yamato and Sora in Kizuna (despite them being a known endgame canon couple) is that it would have been overly conspicuous and obstructive in a movie that only had 90 minutes to tell its story. (I know there are a lot of people who think the real reason is "because it was controversial and they don't want to get people mad," but personally, I feel that if they were worrying about controversy, they wouldn't have given Kizuna such a controversial premise in the first place!) So I imagine that's the main reason we've gotten so little romance; it's exactly because it's such a crowd-pleaser and overly conspicuous element that they want to avoid it, because Digimon is frankly a complex franchise with a lot of expectations and mechanics that it needs to worry more about, and it's hard to cram a prominent romance plot in there in a way that would be tonally appropriate.

[digo3d]

Here's another ask: 1 thing you like + 1 thing you dislike about each TC movie

Almost guaranteed these are gunna end up being more than one thing because I don't know how to shut up but let's see

Beverly Hills Cats:

I like that it's silly and also because it gives Brain more of a spotlight, also it confirmed a few of my lesser headcanons (Spook can play the drums and Brain likes rats) also The Rap for their costumes (specifically Spook's and Brain's they slay) also Spook's voice is very gruff in BHC and so now I have a REAL reason to make his voice a little gravelly/give him a little growl when he talks whenever I read a dialogue from him other than just because I want to

However the PACING OH MY GOD THE PACING 😭 some of the movie just drags and the dialogue feels clunky sometimes, also the visuals look dirty if that makes sense? Everything's a strange color y'know? Also The Rap because it's so poorly composed and it makes me die a little. Also Amy Vandergelt fuck Amy Vandergelt all my homies hate Amy Vandergelt. Also Dibble didn't really feel like Dibble y'know like he was oddly mean and (extra) dense like 😭

Top Cat: The Movie:

I am inherently biased because this is a movie from my childhood I was FUCKING OBSESSED with it and would watch it every day once I got home from school in 4th grade and I still remember a dream I had about it years ago and I'm pretty sure I put Spook into a story I had to write for class 😭 it's how I got into Top Cat in the first place so I hold The Movie very near and dear to my heart anyways I really love that it legitimately feels like Anima Estudios put a lot of love into it and like they made a genuine effort to make it feel like OG even if they fell short. Also THE ARTSTYLE I WOULD FUCKING KILL TO GET A REBOOT IN THE STYLE OF THE MOVIE ARARAR GEOMETRIC ARTSTYLES EATS A BRICK anyways also Trixie, they could never make me hate you Trixie (I need to draw her more) also the robots are funny as fuck for no reason

While I still think people greatly exaggerated how bad the movie was, I can kinda understand where they're coming from because the plot holes are ABYSMAL OMG 💀 also fucking Rob Schneider is Strickland in the British dub which is immediately awful, also not as awful but Dibble doesn't feel nearly as like strict or intimidating as he did before and I think that's mostly because of the voice they gave him, it's very squeaky. Also I feel like Strickland could work as a good antagonist but I feel like they leaned into the 'oh I'm so handsome I'm the prettiest in the world' thing too hard and it just made him feel really annoying and not like an actual threat at all, also naturally the flanderization of Brain (Anima Estudios must've had beef with him or something cos they did him even more dirty in Begins)

Top Cat Begins:

To be completely Frank, to be completely David even, there's really not that much I like about Begins other than Hellcat Spook (naturally). I mean I like Furletta Duchat because she's purdy and Dib's grandmother (Grambo) because she's fucking insane. Chooch's little waddle of a walk. OH I actually REALLY like Mr. Big as a villain. He's an actual threat to T.C. and the gang and his design, voice, and behavior is actually intimidating and probably the best crafted out of any of the new characters in Begins (also his model isn't fugly like most of the rest of them). If a new movie or series ever gets made I hope he makes a return even just as like a minor villain. Also Diedrich Bader voices Bad Dog and that's an inside joke between me and my sister lmao (also I do really like Bad Dog he's an excellent goon)

First things first for things I don't like about Begins, THE MODELS. WHY ARE THEY SO UGLY. WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS. I mean like they could be worse BUT THEY COULD CERTAINLY BE BETTER 😭 I mean I do appreciate them for giving us canon eye colors for the fellas but good fucking lord

Help him 😭

Tbh I'm trying to think of who the worst offender is and tbh it's almost all of them but I will say that Benny and Spook look the best, Fancy isn't ugly but he doesn't really look like Fancy, (same with Dibble) and ig T.C. isn't bad but he's not good. Brain and Chooch though what did they do to my lads. Chooch has gingivitis and lacks fangs (actually all of them lack fangs except for T.C. and Benny which I think is especially offensive) and Brain's model is built in such a way where any mouth movement he makes looks FUCKED UP. Also his eyes are really small and so are his ears and his proportions are generally fucked.

Fun fact I found some like beta promo art for Begins a while ago and Fancy's model is completely different and dare I say he looks better than his official model

Anyways models aside I think this is kind of a dogshit origin story for the gang. Making T.C. and Benny meet Fancy, Chooch, and Brain all at the same time only to not see them for the next 45 minutes was real fuckin lame-o and lazy and they also retconned that whole thing where T.C. and Benny were in Boy Scouts together which I really didn't appreciate. Also could've stood to have moar Spook in the movie instead of him being a deus ex machina and having LESS THAN TEN MINUTES OF SCREENTIME, like shit dawg. Also I always thought it was lame that he was just the pizza guy and not ACTUALLY involved with Mr. Big y'know? Also he's got a bit of a plot hole where he's like 'why should I stick my neck out for you' and then legit like 2 minutes later he's like 'i've been following you around so we can join forces' like ok bro if that was the case you would've just pulled them up and not've done that whole thing where you made it seem like you would've left them there but alright dawg. In my opinion I would've had it where Mr. Big sends out Spook to find them and follow them around after they lose their tracks of them and then when they escape Spook's grasp THEN Mr. Big fucks up Eleanore. Anyways what else. Uhh. Oh I can't tell if they just forgot what Dibble acted like or they tried making him younger in Begins but like. That's not Dibble. Who is that. Also again, Brain flanderization to the extreme and some mischaracterization of Fancy. Anyways I think that's it actually

This turned into a full rant I'm sorry 😭 but yeah I think a remake/revamp of Begins is in order because it's so bad and then BHC isn't bad, just mid at times, and then I've always found The Movie to be charmingly bad despite it's plot holes

[jamesintherye91]

Personal Hot Takes on the Sonic Franchise.

Something I felt like sharing on here, my personal hot takes of Sonic The Hedgehog that I'm sure will rankle some but I've deeply felt over the past year or so having researched and examined most things revolving around the titular speedy blue hedgehog.

I think Ian Flynn is simultaneously overhated and overrated. He has contributed for almost 20 years as one of the main writers of the spin-off comics and most recently the games but honestly I again think he's not that great nor do I think he's terrible. To me, he's just a name and that's it.

Pontaff (Ken Pontac and Warren Graff) aren't that bad but how the fandom treated them is much worse than their contributions. Yes, their writing was more kiddie style but Sonic Team/Sega signed off on this direction and Pontaff were for the most part localisers as Ian Flynn currently serves as a games writer. I know Lost World and Forces are often derided for their respective story problems but personally I think they've got at least the right ideas in terms of what the Sonic characters represent thematically and I genuinely like aspects of them (the scene of Eggman violently snapping at Zavok and Zazz is genuinely great and I think Infinite as a character idea for a new Sonic adversary is what I prefer to see the franchise do more off rather than a series of giant slobbering lovecraftian creatures) but I agree that they're charitably speaking deeply flawed as stories. But the blame should be laid at the feet of Sonic Team/Sega than just at Pontaff personally.

IDW Sonic is just mediocre at best, often full of filler, drawn out story arcs and having a distinctively underwhelming set of new villains that really aren't that interesting or compelling. Honestly it feels like a waste and I'd be up for a proper reboot series that potentially hues much closer to the spirit of the games. The actual art however is often excellent. It's a shame that such great art is saddled with the mostly mediocre of stories...

Satam is fine but overrated by nostalgic older people who loved it as kids back when it was first on. Compared some of the best 90s animated shows of that era, it's not even close to them. It's just a in-name-only animated spin-off that honestly if you strip all of the Sonic related things from it, it further reveals just how mid it is. It's just a series that's been propped up by 90s nostalgia but to me who grew up on that stuff, it's nothing that great.

Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog is fine and in it's own way captures aspects of Sonic and his original influences (albeit his 90s American persona) that actually feels somewhat more respectful in it's own way. Sonic in this feels less like of an obnoxious little jerkass in this compared to him supposedly more "serious" counterpart in Satam (where his snarky tone often clashes with the more serious bent of that show whereas AOSTH, he's yes snarky but in a more cartoonish environment where it feels more appropriate).

Sonic Underground for all of it's issues with it's ugly animation, designs, vapid pop songs, the ridiculous mythos etc is really not that bad. I just think thanks to memes and certain internet "critics", it's become a joke but honestly I believe there's much worse cartoons out there. But it's certainly the weakest Sonic related cartoon to date I'll concede. But you gotta admit, the theme song is one hell of a banger...

But here's the big one and despite what I've said, I believe that pretty much every bit of American Sonic lore (Mobius, chilli dogs, Sonic's Bart Simpson-esque personality and 90s AF catchphrases, the Archie comics, DiC cartoons etc) that has influenced the franchise since should be dropped and consigned to the waste bin of history, finally allowing the games universe to be the defacto one. Blame Sega of America's marketing that whilst it did legitimately made the hedgehog a serious competitor against Nintendo's Mario, I really think we don't need that version anymore especially as aspects of this original American version still inform aspects of Sonic's current characterisation in the West. Watching that terrible Eddie Lebron Sonic fanfilm just put all of that in sharp focus (the scene where "Kintobor" announces to the world that he's rechristened himself as Robotnik because that's his fucking name spelled BACKWARDS is just fucking stupid in so many ways which was derived from that juvenile backstory between Sonic and the evil doctor made for the American lore and was later appropriated by the British Fleetway series) and despite some aspects I'd be willing to personally save (ie Freedom Fighters, Naugus etc), I'd still be willing to throw all of this American lore in the trash otherwise and replace it with the Japanese games lore and recontextualise various aspects that I would save from the original American lore to better fit the games one. This may sound like fanfiction style wish fulfillment but it's something I would consider personally as much as I greatly dislike the American lore, I'd be willing save certain aspects of it that may be applicable to a potential rebooted canon. But otherwise, I'd pretty much stick to the world, lore and characterisations from the Japanese developed games.

And despite the aforementioned American produced cartoons and comics, I'm really not a fan of giving Sonic actual parents and/or siblings. He really doesn't need a mum, a dad, an uncle, a brother and a sister, a queen mum etc. I like the idea (and Sonic's original creator Naoto Ohshima has conceded on Twitter about this) that he's an orphan and still being someone willing help those and with his friends like Tails, Amy, Knuckles and the rest, build a strong personal connection with each of them. It's just another example of the American interpretations trying to create something that I don't think was really needed personally. He doesn't need to have actual hedgehog parents for him to be who he is imho.

[llycaons]

Section Six: Part XVII

Put on some horse blinders: fics for which I have to list particularly egregious author issues (rape porn, sibling incest). personally I’m pretty good at compartmentalizing. but I know everyone has different tolerance levels so I’m putting them in their own section

I draw a hard line for authors of explicit adult-child content or csa, so anyone writing that shouldn’t be on any of my pages at all.

*A Lot of Edges Called Perhaps* by hansbekhart

summary: a postcanon getting together work! legitimately one of the best fics I have ever read, and one of my personal favorites. mature and beautifully written and atmospheric and satisfying. they just know each other. their mutual interest in justice is important! I love how neither of them have any patience for the juniors’ overinterest in their relationship - it’s not their business and it’s not a joke. a lovely and satisfying conclusion, close to perfect imo. cql canon work issues: none, unless you have a problem with reading a whole lot of edging author issues: it pains me to say this because this fic is so good but the author has written a work tagged ‘noncon somnophilia’ so it’s been kicked down here

*Art in Life by northofallmusic (tofsla)

summary: a three-part introspective series on modern AU wwx reuniting with lwj in france, years after wwx has a breakdown and leaves the classical music scene. atmospheric and satisfying and tender. the chemistry and their dynamic was so natural and lovely. it was gratifying to see an older wwx remark on how much better and calmer he is now, similar to his canon postres peace. I thought it was going to be boring and it wasn’t. no knowledge of art required, but wwx remarks on several pieceswhen he talks about experiencing and overcoming his suicidal urges in the past work issues: none author issues: implied jc/wwx, dubcon, sex pollen, noncon somnophilia

*best laid plans* by ilip13

summary: modern AU wangxian try changing up their roles, to mixed results. great politics about topping/bottoming - this fic said switch RIGHTS. I loved the writing style of this, the romance was so tender and lovely, the drama clipped right along and there was so much communication and maturity. dramatic without being corny or overwrought. love it. either canon but I was feeling cql-verse work issues: none author issues: see above - dubcon, cnc, rape fantasy, sex pollen, ‘noncon dual cultivation’

*all the depths of us* by northofallmusic (tofsla)

summary: wwx and lwj get together while still solving the mystery postres, a little earlier than in canon. the characterizations and atmosphere are excellent, and I love how the romance and relationship is developed. I am reccing both the main fic and the secondary one. cql canon. work issues: none author issues: implied jc/wwx, noncon somnophilia, dubcon, sex pollen, and cnc

*Out of the darkness, into the day by ilip13

summary: a substantial postcanon getting-together work. the way the emotion in this is rendered is stunning, and the characterizations are excellent. realistic as well as appropriately dramatic. I don’t like the beginning so much because it’s really depressing, and they take SO long to get together I was ready to start crying, but the story becomes so joyful and it’s a real pleasure to go from one extreme to the other. it’s right there in the title. cql canon work issues: um their first kiss is a little iffy since one of them is half-asleep but he’s the one who initiates…it didn’t really bother me it was just a bit odd also the notes say things like ‘no spoken consent…their love transcends words’ which is a weird way to phrase it but everything IS consensual they just communicate nonverbally a lot (and consent is verbally explicit in most intimate scenes) author issues: dubcon, cnc, rape fantasy, sex pollen, noncon, noncon somnophilia, ‘noncon dual cultivation’ (🤮)

*here’s to upright men by isozyme

summary: an incredibly compelling and well-crafted work about nhs, five years after canon, encountering lxc for the first time since guanyin temple. excellent characterizations, darkly humorous, dramatic, and giving us unpredictable and satisfying interactions between characters who really should have had more screentime together. bit sad because jc and wwx haven’t reconciled, but it feels right for them if I was into sangcheng, this is the kind of dynamic I could get behind work issues: none author issues: jc/wwx smut…also genderbends, xiyao, and niyao but honestly that stuff just seems so trite in comparison

The Good That Won’t Come Out by raisedbyhyenas

summary: postcanon casefic where lwj and wwx solve a mystery and confront some truths about their past and their relationship. healing, grief, and comfort. I like how much chemistry wwx and lwj have, and lwj is funnier than he is in most fics that claim he’s funny. wwx’s fierce protectiveness and vengeful rage at seeing lwj threatened was nice. novel verse. work issues: none…it’s sad tho. not for wwx and lwj, but for the victims author issues: jc/wwx, nhs/jgy, xiyao, genderbends, jl/lsz

*Vagabond by xantissa

summary: postcanon, wwx returns from a year of travels to a mysterious illness plaguing the region. he, lwj, and another lan investigator work to solve it while he and lwj navigate their feelings. I liked the oc a lot - lwj has a friend! I don’t want to give more detail because the mystery is so compelling and the plot twist was a genuine surprise. there were a lot of little details that didn’t make sense, but I loved how sweet wwx was with wen ning, and the romance was so satisfying it’s kind of up to interpretation but there is arguably in-universe homophobia and consent to sex under a false identity also, one lan has romantic feelings for another one, but based on how it’s treated I really don’t think they’re related work issues: PM mountain kiss is talked about and it’s not made a big deal of 🙄 author issues: lxc/lwj is the big one. also nhs/nzh, niyao, xiyao, 3zun, dubcon

*让我留在你身边 // let me stay by your side by howodd5ever

summary: a ‘what if’ scenario for the month in between yi city and the meeting at jinlintai. there’s no big confession, but they do hook up and and it’s really sweet. good sex scenes! they take their time….it’s nice I like it. except a few throwaway lines, the characterizations are really good work issues: none author issues: lwj/lxc, 3zun, sl/xxc/xy, dubcon, lsz/ljy

为温暖 // for warmth by howodd5ever

summary: another work in the same series as the above - what if they got together immediately post-sunshot? classic post-war/lost gc angst from wwx, the realization that lwj knows it’s gone, and then they get together. I really like the sex scenes in this series - the work listed above is my favorite but this one might have the best sex scenes brief mention of wwx’s suicidal ideation/expecting to die after the end of the war in the opening few paragraphs work issues: none author issues: same author so I’m grouping them: lwj/lxc, 3zun, sl/xxc/xy, dubcon, lsz/ljy

Restraint and Revelation: or, The Necromancer of Yiling by Lirelyn

summary: a story-within-a-story regency AU loosely based off the popularity of gothic romance novels a la northanger abbey. a shallow and vaguely set genre pastiche rather than an actual AU that would place them in regency england (and whitewash them). the writing is impressively austenian, and the emotional journeys the characters canonically go on suit the format beautifully, so everything feels quite well translated. I’ve always fondly headcanoned lwj as being into shlocky romance novels, so this was a treat work issues: none, which is weird because the tags say ‘3zun if you squint’ but imo there is nothing to imply that jgy was involved with either lxc or mnj. iirc he barely was present in the fic at all author issues: wwx/lwj/jc and wwx/jc smut 💀 also xxc/sl/xy, niyao, and xiyao. there’s a ton of shit in there just don’t go to their page at all

underneath a starless sky, the wind blows towards the future by ilip13

summary: a dystopian modern urban fantasy take on the yiling laozu. lwj approaches wwx-as-yllz for aid as the gusu lan sect needs more and more help in fending off the tide of resentful energy. matters in the city progress, their relationship develops, and things come to a head as wwx appears to be the one to destroy the city, not save it. a bit corny, and a significant decision lwj makes at the end is quite ooc and thematically inappropriate, but I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the drama in the relationship development. cql characterizations for sure. a solid B+ it says this in the beginning of the work itself, but warning for discussion of non-specific suicide and depression work issues: none author issues: oh, ilip13. dubcon, rape fantasy, cnc, sex pollen, noncon somnophilia and dual cultivation

he comes in colors by ilip13

summary: modern cultivation AU, an lwj-centric work beginning when he lost his mother and following him through the years as he grows up in the still-traditional cloud recesses. it explores his relationship to the rules, his grief, his connection to music, and the powerful synesthesia he inherited from his mother. a story about family, identity, maturity, and self-discovery. I like the unique twist on the madam lan situation, and the way that lwj’s musical prodigy was explored. the characterizations aren’t bad but they’re a little…lackluster? lwj wasn’t as intense and weird as I think of him as. wwx was way more considerate and less mischievous than even in canon, and while the romance in here was nice, it was almost too sweet and low-drama. lwj is a sub too, and that’s a significant part of the work work issues: none author issues: same as above. shame this author is so talented and keeps writing fics that really speak to me because ugh. dubcon, cnc, rape fantasy, sex pollen, noncon, noncon somnophilia, ‘noncon dual cultivation’

Let the Crows Fly by eak_a_mouse

summary: sunshot AU where lwj and wwx are taken hostage by the wens after defeating the xuanwu of slaughter, and wwx is coerced into helping the wens develop demonic cultivation techniques. the politics in this are engaging, the characterizations are all excellent, the style and atmosphere were just gripping, the ending was hopeful, and the romance, while understated, was tangibly present in every single scene with them, even if they were apart firmly cql canon, and I think the author just nailed the atmosphere of the show and the tension of a very young wwx and lwj under duress and trying to keep each other safe work issues: none author issues: jc/wwx mpreg smut…also lwj/nmj hookup which is weird but at they're they're adults

Mostly Figurative Ducks by northofallmusic (tofsla)

summary: a very sweet little fic about wwx and jyl comforting each other throughout the years work issues: it’s literally too short to even fit anything bad author issues: insane to write this under the summary of this fic, but this author has written noncon, implied jc/wwx, noncon somnophilia, dubcon, sex pollen, and cnc

Back to Start

[quadrantadvisor]

Watched the first episode of Ghosts, American edition, and I legitimately cannot stop thinking about how bad it was.

To start with its a bad concept to try to adapt to an American setting, given that our buildings are not all that old. This leads to some choices that feel a bit out of place.

There's a viking? I don't know why they have a viking. I'm pretty sure they shouldn't have a viking.

There's the hippie, whose gimmick I find deeply unfunny. Of course, I was never fond of Kitty or Thomas's gimmicks go begin with, but their acting and chemistry with the cast make the characters charming regardless. Unfortunately, the American version is severely lacking in chemistry and charm.

There's no caveman character, instead there's a native American character who got very little to do in the episode. Also his accent sounded modern to me so I'm not actually sure if he's supposed to be the oldest ghost or not? Anyways it's the most obvious adaptational choice to make, so obvious that it honestly feels kinda uncomfortable, and I do NOT think that they care much about handling it delicately. The white protagonist of the series burns sage in the house to "ward off evil spirits", the native American character is standing right there, and the cultural appropriation just. Doesn't even come up. They don't even MENTION where that practice comes from, like you get the impression that the writers didn't even know.

Instead of the horde of plague pit ghosts in the basement, they had like, 5, which makes the show feel cheaper and less funny if you know the source material, and also I just had to look up what they were supposed to have died from because?????? We ain't got no plague. Wiki says they had cholera. Yeah, sure.

Their pantsless corrupt politician is a young guy, so maybe they were trying to avoid making him a Donald Trump type? But I don't know why because leaning into it would be funnier. Also the wiki tells me he's "of Jewish descent", which is just excellent, thanks for making your Jewish character a corrupt politician, that doesn't come off as problematic at all.

It lacks any of the restraint of the BBC show. Pat's arrow is obviously kinda a joke way to die, its visual story telling, but it's treated with a certain amount of gravitas. Importantly, he never knocks it against anything. The American version (whose arrow prop looks noticably shittier, they didn't even break off one end) has somebody flick the arrow and send it jiggling in Episode One. The politician lifts his arms so they can joke about everybody seeing his dick, which. YEAH. THAT'S THE JOKE. But if you beat us over the head with it, IN EPSIDOE ONE, then it's not funny any more!!!!!

Same thing with their gay military officer. The way the Captain works is that they use acting and cinematography to create sexual tension, and that feeling of actual desire both sells the joke and helps you sympathize with him. The American version can't afford acting or cinematography, so they have him say a couple of "men are hot, no homo" lines and call that good. It means nothing to me.

So yeah. It was real bad. I probably am gonna watch more at some point tho because as an adaptation it's a fascinating trainwreck.

[sloshed-cinema]

Little Children (2006)

Seven years after Sam Mendes flooded cinema screens with rose petals, Kevin Spacey voice over, and bland Thomas Newman vibes, Todd Field arrived with not only a remedy, but a direct attack.  From the overwrought narration to the gauzy romanticization of afternoons at the community pool to a gallery shoot showing off Kathy Adamson’s physique, Little Children turns the student film tier art-schlock of American Beauty on its head with a wry smirk.  The emotions that these repressed suburbanites are feeling are real, in some form or other, but their impotent expression of them is in some ways hilariously stupid.  Brad joins a cadre of other bottled up men in that festival of impotent male rage that is football, the group trying to exorcise their own sense of inadequacy by brutalizing others on the field of play/battle.  His moment of triumph and validation to his peers is underscored by tinny, cheesy patriotic music, their voices comically low as they flounce across the field in slow motion.  Brad’s big touchdown is interrupted by the shrill squealing of that other part of his new life, his affair, Sara.  If life is an action drama for him, it’s a harlequin romance for Sara.  This man, this “prom king,” sweeps her off her feet, noticing her when the other housewives wouldn’t even dare approach him.  She becomes a latter-day Madame Bovary, finding release in their relentless exploration of one another’s bodies.  Their intercourse is painterly, a series of portraits, all bodies intertwined and meticulously framed like Bergman’s psychosexual drama Persona or Varda’s marital struggle La Pointe Courte.  But this is an illusion, a lie they told themselves.  All it takes is a head injury and a moment of negligence for reality to set in.  Maybe safe normalcy is more comfortable.  

As with his later film Tár, Field excels in building nuanced and empathetic portraits of flawed, troubled figures.  Our primary couple, privileged as they are, get off relatively unscathed.  What’s a little Bar exam truancy and skateboarding injury between friends?  But there exists a darker stripe under suburban bliss.  Sex is an object of fear for all of the characters within this film.  But some have a much darker relationship to it.  Ronnie McGorvey is a sexual offender, and even after his prison term he is in many ways a bad man.  Convinced to go on a date by his mother, he exploits a troubled woman, mocking her and masturbating in front of her.  But all the same, does he deserve the tortures visited on him by the other, more purely bad character in the film?  Larry murdered a child while on duty as a cop and has chosen to funnel his sense of trauma and inadequacy into a vigilante pursuit of Ronnie.  These legitimate issues of mental health are swept under the rug by society at large, these two characters afforded the least amount of help and the largest amount of animosity or indifference by the community.  May McGorvey is left alone with the impossible task of trying to help her son find his feet, and she dies as collateral.  Larry finds purpose in rushing to save Ronnie after he performs the act all of these suburbanites had joked about, castrating himself, but in the close the tale is more damning of society at large than it is redeeming of this pair.  The straights be damaged, yo!  Get a vibrator or something, Jesus.

THE RULES

SIP

Someone says ‘prom king��� or ‘Slutty Kay’.

Voiceover narration begins.

The film cuts to black.

The Committee for Concerned Parents is mentioned.

Flyers warning against Ronnie appear in a scene.

BIG DRINK

Slow motion footage.

Brad and Sarah have sex.

Someone writes a note.

[hautsreadsmarvel]

Here comes… “DAREDEVIL”, the Man Without Fear! (issue 1)

It's another solo series debut, which means it gets its own one-issue post. I never got into the Daredevil show, but wow, this story did not disappoint.

I haven’t drawn explicit attention to it before, but if you’ve been reading the cover images and such, you’ve probably noticed…

…the Marvel crew love hyping themselves up. It must be so exhausting to continually speak in nothing but superlatives, but somehow they have the fortitude.

Big fan of this artstyle.

Matt Murdock was raised by his single father to study hard and get a good job to avoid being a washed-up boxer like Papa Murdock. He hits the books, gets to law school, and also hits the gym. Meanwhile, Murdock Senior has become too old for any legitimate manager to take him on, other than a cruel and amoral figure known as the Fixer.

Matt goes on to save a blind-deaf person from being run over by a car while crossing the street, but the careening car splashes him with a toxic, radioactive chemical that takes away his sight. It also boosts his other senses…

(The explanation of his powers is pretty cool, but dags nabbit, now I can’t stop thinking of “perhaps a little more Sodium Chloride next time”.)

…and some time after that, his father is ordered to throw a fight on behalf of the Fixer, but knowing Matt is in the crowd and wanting to make his son as proud of him as he is of his son, he fights for real and scores a win. The Fixer takes unkindly to that and has him shot in the dark.

Thus begins our quest for revenge.

People make the joke “Daredevil is a blind guy with the power to see”, but this is so much cooler than seeing. Along with his background as a boxer’s son, it really drives home that Matt Murdock is an “intellectual” fighter whose every move is considered and honed.

Art, great. Fights, great. Matt’s backstory, conflict with the Fixer, and the way the two are woven into each other (in media res busting up the Fixer’s goons → backstory providing context and emotional weight → fucking up the Fixer and putting the killer behind bars), great.

And Matt’s willing to get dirty to get his vengeance, as right after the Fixer dies of a heart attack he uses a false confession to get a real one on record. I know the CCA wouldn’t let a hero purposefully kill someone, but I was willing to believe he was going to do murder to the Fixer and his gunman.

Honestly, I think the Marvel crew earned themselves the right to hype up this issue.

As to the scant things I didn’t like about this story, Karen Page, our nominal tritagonist, is just here to gush about men as is the norm for most of the women so far. Even then, Matt’s law partner Foggy has excellent wingman instincts and that kind of serves to wash the taste out.

[missoneminute]

Highlights from the UTB shows

Cardiff

We (myself and Sarah, @suchasinistergame) waited around outside the venue for absolutely hours before the boys arrived quite late for soundcheck on a bus all together around 5.30pm. Andy warned us we shouldn’t stop them as they were behind schedule, but Gary came off the bus first and came up to us all for a hug and chat so that went out the window haha. Peter came off the bus next, and he was looking very dapper in his suit and carrying a cane. He was rushing so I just handed him the gift I had for him – an old cigarette tin with a few dozen old cigarette cards in it which I had legitimately spent the entire pandemic slowly collecting. He called it a ‘dream gift’ and leaned in for a hug. I gave him a side hug because I didn’t want to get my red lipstick on his shirt, as he’d kind of collected me into his middle, which, honestly, I was just dying to squish into. He’s so soffffft. John came off the bus next and stopped for a quick chat, and he was more chatty than usual, before Carl appeared in his sunglasses looking quite cool. He fussed about whether he should have removed them for the photos we took with him as if it was a little pretentious to have them on haha, but I assured him he looked really cool. I handed him some gifts we had for him, including the pfennig necklace from the Netflix series Dark (which he’d said he enjoyed so much when he was on that livestream the boys did during lockdown) and an old shipwreck coin from a wreck that had gone down near Margate. He didn’t immediately recognise the pfennig from the show (he told Sarah last night he felt really bad about that and loved it when he worked it out, what a fucking sweetheart to worry about something so inconsequential – but he had remembered it by the time I next saw him in Edinburgh anyway). He also joked that he had doubts about coins that came with authenticity certificates, which the shipwreck coin did. It’s very much the real deal thanksverymuch, I have a few of my own so I assured him it was legit. I also said that we wanted to find him a cool coin after the ‘coin debacle’ (see Sarah’s posts about that – he gave her crap no less than four times because she had given Peter the same antique Good Old Days gambling token that she gave Carl, and he was annoyed Peter had one too when he tried to show it off to him - but trust me it’s been the funniest saga and she’s not offended haha). Carl was deeply entertained over my reference to the coin drama, he did one of his hard to describe dramatic reactions along with a very sweet chuckle. We took some pics with everyone then headed into the show, which was excellent albeit fairly rough – a lot of shoving and a fight broke out. They played really well and P+C appeared to be getting on excellently – lots of smiles and eyeball communication. After the show, we caught Carl again and he introduced us to his two cousins who were with him. Peter appeared too and schooled me on which cigarette cards I had given him that he liked and which were reproductions – he said he’d been ‘caught out himself’ before. He literally held up cards he liked to explain which I had done well on, it was so fucking funny, the entitlement (what is it with those boys, they’re like submitting something to Antiques Roadshow haha!) He was also surprised when we said the crowd had been quite rough. We mentioned that we wanted to go to his solo show in Tynemouth in a few days but had missed out on tickets, and he said ‘you want tickets? Andy!’ he called out, pointing at him, and sent us over to talk to Andy, who called us over to the doorway of the bus. He headed off onto the bus after that. Andy was there with the other road crew having a red wine, and quickly organised for us to go along to the show, which we were so immensely grateful for. While we were talking to Peter, I had left my tour shirt that I had bought laying down nearby and someone nicked it. I went off to look for it when Andy caught wind of what had happened. He said don’t worry we will get you another shirt (he never did get around to it but I was perfectly happy to buy another and it was an incredibly sweet offer –  everyone in and around this band is the best fucking human). We stood chatting to Andy for a while. Gary came wandering out of the bus while we were standing there chatting and showed us a magazine he had been contributing to, and he had a chat to us about how important the sense of community is around the band, and he very sweetly complimented us on having that energy on our Instagram account. Suddenly a very drunk Carl appeared on the steps of the bus, smiling madly. I have zero memory of why this was brought up but Carl started talking about watching The OA, a show Sarah and I happen to LOVE. He broke into the interpretive dance that is critical to the plot, which was so amusing. I think that marks the third time I’ve had Carl break into an impromptu dance in front of me for… reasons. He then told us that he and Peter had been comparing the monetary value of the gifts we gave them to work out who got more, which was, oh my god we cannot stop laughing about this, it’s just the pettiest possible level of competitiveness, so fucking cute. At some stage I showed Carl my tattoos of his lyrics, and had showed Peter some earlier too, and he read out the one on my arm that said ‘at the palace gates’ in a lovely soft voice. I can’t remember why I was flashing them haha, it’s actually something I find quite embarrassing but I’d had a few drinks. I cannot for the life of me remember what else was said, but Carl gave us both a hug and we headed off after that on a total high.

Tynemouth

We were kind of starstruck getting to see Peter at such a small venue. Well I certainly was, it was just surreal. We stood right in front of him and he was literally inches away belting out songs to maybe 60 people max in this tiny little café in this strange little town by the seaside. It was a dream and so wonderful. We were we glad that we sucked up our pride and asked for tickets, because this was once in a lifetime stuff. For me especially, I couldn’t believe my luck that this was announced right before I came. At first when we missed out on tickets we sort of said oh well, it’s an extra several hours drive and we can miss it, but the closer it got the more I thought this may well be the one time in my life that I ever get to see Peter do a solo acoustic at such a small venue. We figured we would ask Peter directly and he literally just pointed and called out ‘Andy!’ and sent us over to sort it out. It was so cool, honestly, I can’t get over it. He was insane live, his voice is so gorgeous just on its own, just that voice and a guitar, and you could see he absolutely relished playing to such a small crowd, and I think that was more evident to me than ever, how much he just loves to do those sorts of tiny shows. He was immensely passionate and every song was delivered so beautifully. We said no more than a quick hello because he was rushed in and literally sped out in a van just minutes after he finished the gig by Andy, so they could get back to Edinburgh on time. Massive kudos to Andy, that man runs a tight and infallible ship. I was keen to share video but most of the time I just had the phone down, I just wanted to live it so badly and more than anything to be present. One of the coolest things that has ever happened to me hands down.  

Edinburgh

We arrived a few hours early hoping to catch the band, but the problem fan was there waiting too, so we were told that none of us can come near the band because ‘that stalker is here’. It was a really stressful situation for them I think – they put the band behind barriers over near the back entrance, and the other band members came off the bus and waved to us but Carl was literally hidden behind a screen, since he’s the target of this person’s obsession. There were a lot of fans waiting who we got talking to, and it was so disappointing for them that they didn’t get to talk to the boys because of this person. We were really sad for everyone and for Carl too having to deal with this all the time. The show was amazing – P+C were really cuddly and playing so well, some of the best versions we have heard of certain songs like Plan A (we told Carl how good that was later and he seemed pleased to hear it). Carl stunned us all by planting a kiss on Peter’s lips and Sarah and I, predictably, had a meltdown haha. It was so fucking adorable and I could not be more delighted to have seen that in person. We sadly didn’t get any footage and it happened so fast, but another fan did and she kindly let us share it, which was such a relief, we wanted y’all to see it so bad! After the show Peter and Gary got onto the bus without coming over to us all, but John came by for a chat (about Bingley and the canal Sarah tells me as I cannot recall!) They were placed behind a fence so no one could hassle them. Carl came out quite late and did come through the gate and talked to everyone waiting. He said he had waited as long as possible to come out so he was sure the problem fan had left. We chatted to him once more about various nerdy things such as my theory about the OA being about OCD. Carl didn’t agree (“jury’s out on that one!” he said in a very comical fashion) but he said he also does those rituals people do to stop bad things from happening. He said he had “saved us all so many times” that way, which we found really touching and candid. Sarah tells me he did the dance from the show AGAIN but I had forgotten that haha. We also got talking about manifestation, and he said he is a huge believer in it. ‘It’s a science!’ Carl stated with extreme seriousness. ‘Erm, I don’t think it is?’ I replied. ‘It is, it’s a SCIENCE’ he said again. Seriously Sarah and I have not stopped losing it over that statement and his deep conviction regarding it, and since we are huge nerds for manifestation we super enjoyed learning that he’s also prone to various forms of magical thinking. He called himself a massive nerd at some point too, which he has lately really been into saying about himself haha. He said he has watched so many Netflix shows that he can’t remember what he’s already seen - relatable. Carl also spoke about a new medication he was trying for his mental health but admitted he’s not great at staying on medication, and I said I could recommend some haha. I asked him if he could write out his favourite lyric he’d ever written so I could tattoo it, and he said I already had one of his favourites (“sew it up kid have some clout”) and he took my arm to look at it quite affectionately while running his thumb across the lettering, which was lovely and I had BIG EMOTIONS over. I said I was glad he actually wrote that one as I wasn’t sure, and he reacted with extremely dramatic mock horror. “Well it’s a band! It’s a democracy!” I insisted, and he agreed haha. He struggled over it a while trying to think what to write, then wrote out “you’ll find me somewhere over the railings” on my forearm. He gave me and Sarah both a hug and a kiss at the same time, which was so sweet. It was a super fun chat, I wish I could remember more of what we all said but Carl was on fire, he was being so fucking funny and animated.

 Margate

Oh boy. Oh boy. This was madness. We had booked to stay at the Albion Rooms on the 17th of August months and months before that show was announced. When we spoke to Carl in Edinburgh and said we were heading for the Albion Rooms, he told us to DM him and that he’d do something special for our visit, honestly what he meant was kind of unclear. Then we got a tip that said BE THERE ON THE 17TH and something special was happening. We were literally already booked to stay that day! It was NUTS. We didn’t dare to dream that it would be a show, but low key we both desperately hoped it was. It seemed too big to hope for, but we kept our eyes peeled every day for an announcement – and then one was made. We bought tickets immediately in the middle of the street and were just, literally screaming haha. By then my boy BFF was with us as well having flown in from LA so it was just so perfect for him, too, since we had never seen the Libs together and he has never met any of them. On the day we waited out front hoping to run into the band arriving. Gary turned up and chatted to us for a long while, about his holiday to France with his family, and showed us the various books that he had bought in Margate for his sons. Andy turned up too and had us googling gluten free food in Margate for him to eat haha which we found very amusing. The problem fan was there again, which was just exhausting, so Carl snuck in the back way. Peter came in the front later, wearing shorts and a shirt with Katia in tow. My boy BFF was coming down the stairs as Peter was coming in and literally collided with him – and that was his first time meeting his hero haha. The band hid in the studio for some time together doing a rehearsal. We waited for them to leave the hotel but were warned that they weren’t coming out till everyone left, likely to again avoid that certain fan, so we headed to the bandstand and then they just came barreling down the stairs and played that blessed show. It was a really small show ultimately, the bandstand was barely full and we were able to just stand on the steps of the bandstand to watch. It was short and sharp, just the hits, but searing fun and widely covered – NME, Channel Four and others were there including a documentary crew so imagine there will be lots of material. P+C seemed fantastic again, lots of mic shares and sweet looks. They ran back to the Albion Rooms after the gig and went back into the studio, with fans herded off to leave them be. We waited around outside and a surprisingly helpful security guard told us ‘if you’re waiting for what I think you are, head to the bar now’. We ran for it, and arrived right when Peter and Carl walked in. My boy BFF took centre stage here – Sarah took photos while I filmed, we really wanted him to have a moment with his hero and he did, he told Peter how much he meant to him, then Peter eyed his beer and asked for a sip haha. I took over chatting to Peter then about the cigarette cards, and asked if he liked any of them since I didn’t recall which ones he had shown me in Cardiff. I must have looked sad because he gave me THE most sympathetic look that I felt bad for making him feel bad! He listed off the war medals and hats as his favourites, and said to be ‘wary’ of the ones that are too brightly coloured or clean cos they are reprints but again said it was a dream gift. He is so fucking funny with the reprints (in fact the first time I gave him a stack of cigarette cards, in 2019, he asked immediately if they were reprints - they were not and he was thrilled with them, hence me collecting more for him). My boy BFF also got to speak to Carl and said he was ageing like Dorian Gray - he said Carl was very pleased with the comment hahaha. P+C then headed to the stage with John and Gary and played three songs real quick – it was absolutely mental. There was maybe 100 people crammed in that room, and P+C were absolutely smushed up against each other on the mic and just, god – in a few weeks of dream experiences this one took the cake. Seeing them play in a tiny room, let alone in the Albion Rooms, was beyond special. Sarah and I were just turning to each other like WHAT IS HAPPENING and I love those moments, they are weirdly what I always remember most: When someone you are at a concert with turns to you with those glazed, excited eyes, it’s a look like nothing else, and you just know you are looking back at them the same way. Once they were done with their songs the band all climbed out the window – a cool little reference – as it was easier than going through the crowd again, and it was such a brilliant moment. We went out front to catch them jumping on the tour bus and Carl gave us a hug and Sarah said to him, ‘Manifestation works!’ since this show had happened. ‘I manifested it for you!’ Carl said, and he was bundled off onto the bus with everyone else. And that was that, just the most insane few weeks of my life. I don’t think I will ever top it.

[lulu-zodiac]

THE BODY LANGUAGE OF COCKLES: JENSEN (pt 1)

(disclaimer: I’m no body language expert. the extent of my knowledge is: a class I took on it a few years back at uni, a brief course on it as part of my job training, and various bits of reading I’ve done over the years)

Okay, so I just HAD to make this post, because the body language between Jensen and Misha is so loud. It’s 100% what sold me on cockles in the first place. It’s literally TEXTBOOK. Whenever they’re around each other, they just tick all the boxes for the body language of attraction.

I’ve split this post into a few parts (two for Jensen and two for Misha), because a) although a lot of the body language of attraction is universal, the specific tendencies of it are also dependent on each individual’s nature, and b) THERE IS SO MUCH CONTENT FOR THESE TWO THERE LEGIT WASN’T ENOUGH ROOM TO DO IT IN ONE POST. That’s how much of a mess they are. 

So, here are some classic body language signs that suggest someone is attracted to you (and how Jensen displays them when he’s around Misha):

1.       They smile a lot around you – really smile. Not your standard, polite smile – this is open, uninhibited, fully engaged. Even though such a full smile can often show a lot of their mouth, it’s really in the eyes, often making the skin around them crinkle. There’s nothing forced about it. It’s full of ease, warmth and sincerity.

Okay, but this is just Jensen every time he’s around Misha? Even when he’s been struggling, as soon as Misha appears, Jensen is suddenly full of smiles exactly like this. Legitimately every time they interact Jensen lights up with these smiles that are so open and intimate and completely involuntary. Misha just consistently elicits this automatic response in Jensen, which is pretty damn telling from a body language perspective.

I could literally fill an entire post with examples of this, but here are a few particularly lovely ones:

2. They laugh a lot around you, and generally laugh harder at your jokes than other people do. This kind of laugher is completely free and unselfconscious. Often, they’ll use their whole body in it, e.g. throwing their head back. This in particular can suggest attraction, as the throat is a vulnerable area of the body, all about communication and intimacy. Baring it like this shows a fundamental trust in you, and a desire to open themselves up to you, share their deeper selves with you.

RIGHT. The infamous unicorn laugh?? Literally any interaction with Misha ever has Jensen doing this. It’s one of the defining characteristics of the way he relates with Misha. I mean, seriously. Watch three minutes into any of their panels and I guarantee you’ll already have more examples than you can count.

(unicorn laugh appreciation series) 

3. When they’re around you, they’ll lean in towards you and give you their undivided attention, e.g. holding eye contact. Leaning in and turning their body towards you shows a fundamental interest in you, as well as a desire to be closer to you. They’ll listen with intent focus whenever you’re speaking, often losing track of what’s going on around them and paying more attention to you than others.

Isn’t this is just Jensen in literally every panel he’s ever done with Misha? He just gets lost in whatever Misha’s talking about, whatever story he’s telling. Jensen spends so much time looking at Misha with this rapt attention and focus, leaning into his space with this kind of quiet, deep warmth in his eyes.  

This entire panel was a particular mess:

But there are so honestly many photos of Jensen looking at Misha like this that it kind of kills me a little??

4. They look at your mouth. It’s especially telling if they meet your gaze, glance down to your mouth, and then back up to hold your gaze again. This is one of the clearest signs of attraction, suggesting they’re thinking (often subconsciously) about kissing you. They might also lick their lips while looking at you; when looking at someone we desire, our mouth produces more saliva, causing us to lick our lips. Lip-licking is also a way of drawing your attention to their mouth. 

God, there are just so many examples of this it’s ridiculous?? I mean, it happens so involuntarily that it became a big part of the way Dean and Cas relate with each other on screen. It literally contributed to the creation of destiel. That’s how much Jensen does this around Misha.  

I could make an entire post on this (maybe I will), but for now, have these:

5. Their body language mirrors yours. This is something we all do with people we like and are emotionally tuned into, and is another classic indicator of attraction. It’s basically a non-verbal way of communicating how much you’re invested in someone. 

Again, this is something we see SO MUCH OF when Jensen’s around Misha. Jesus Christ. I could go on about it forever, but honestly this post says it all. Or you know, literally any panel they’ve done together. 

 6.   They initiate unnecessary touches, especially after jokes or humor. We instinctively want to include the people important to us in our emotional responses. Sometimes they might reach into your space, other times it might be a touch on the arm, a lingering handshake or hug, basically any excuse to be physically close to you. It’s not psychologically easy to put yourself into someone’s space – it shows the level of trust they have in you, and that their desire to be near you outweighs their fear of rejection. 

Oh god where to start with this one. The handshake? The hugs? The lingering touches? The ass slaps? The entire thigh debacle? The complete mess that is this moment? All the completely unnecessary touches that happen at literally every panel? Jensen is seemingly incapable of being within two feet of Misha without putting his hands all over him at every given opportunity.

(See also this excellent post about Jensen and male intimacy)

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming very soon!

[lakesbian]

iota hiii - hibaris trans girl swag has pulled me in is the anime adaption of that series good !!

okay so look. i love stop hibari-kun. this is also a thing in my stop hibari-kun tag:

here is the thing. it's fucking terrible. it fucking sucks. it's bad. but also it's good. it's goodbad. it's bad good. it's almost good. it's not good. it's good. it's bad. but good. et cetera. there are 50 caveats i want to give anyone before they watch it, because i am a Thorough Bitch. so pull up a chair

it has a canonically trans girl as the titular character. it's also a comedy anime made in the '80s. which is to say: it's a really neat piece of LGBT history that many trans women have legitimately praised, but it's still got Comedy Anime From The '80s Disease.

the first thing i'd say if you want to watch it is, read a couple short essays first to get an idea of why people give a shit about it in the first place.

(there was also a really good video essay on it but it got privated :( tragic)

the second thing to be aware of is that, again, it's an '80s comedy anime. there's antiblack racism. there's uncomfortable sexualization of teenage girls. there's transmisogynistic treatment towards hibari. even the non-offensive jokes might not be your style of humor. how much you enjoy the anime depends on your tolerance for anime bullshit. really the only way to measure how much it bothers you is by watching. do keep in mind that some episodes are far better or far worse than others, and you can always skip around/skip scenes if you're not liking the vibes. it is chronological, and there is very slight character development, but skipping shitty scenes in episodes won't ruin anything.

the third thing to be aware of is that the only subtitled version available anywhere online for it does not translate LGBT terms properly. the most glaring issue is this:

('newhalf,' a word which explicitly meant 'trans woman' at the time and would best be translated as 'transsexual,' was mistranslated as 'crossdresser.' anytime you hear a character say 'newhalf' and see it translated as 'crossdresser,' keep in mind that the character is actually saying 'trans woman.')

the second translation issue is with the word 'hentai,' which is vaguely translated as 'pervert.' but in the context of '80s japanese LGBT terms, it actually means something much more like 'queer.' anytime you hear the word 'hentai' used and see it subbed as 'pervert,' keep in mind that it would be better translated as 'queer.' sexually derogatory terms for LGBT people are nothing new, so it makes some sense that it's just translated as 'pervert,' but if my research is accurate then something along the lines of 'queer/degenerate' would be the closest english approximation. (this is obviously used as an insult towards hibari many times, but she also jokingly uses it herself in a way that reads very much as charming reclamation.)

anyway, as for the actual content of the fucking anime. there's no real resolution because it got cancelled. there's never a full "ohh i see now you are a Real Girl and i love you hibari :)" arc for kosaku. it frankly sucks at times. a lot of the time even. there are also scenes that made me go Aough... Augh.... and write little sniffling essays. there's some legitimately good stuff in there. it is really just about whether or not it balances out the bad for you. it did for me because i like vintage animation and LGBT history and i am entranced by hibari's cool and cute swag and her insistence on adoring some random shitty 'if a heterosexual guy was a tsundere' teen boy. (kosaku is forgiven for his crimes due to the "oh lovely girl i love you" lyric in the full OST version of strange love.) it might not balance out for you. but now that i've given you the full mandatory pre-watch reading, i will cautiously say "sure, if you still want to give it a shot go ahead, but if you fucking hate it don't say i didn't warn you."

...if it has nothing else going for it, i maintain that it has one of the top all time obscure vintage anime ending songs.