#this reboot has done nothing but impress me

[meowymeow60606]

I’m not obsessed with him…

IM NOT OBSESSED WITH HIM!!!!!

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

Duke Poolem and Doomguy: Road Trip

ALERT! SPOILERS FOR DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

(After Galeem’s attack, the Doom Slayer has reluctantly teamed up with Duke Nukem under the impression that Master Hand can reverse the damage the demons have done to his world. After a long series of events, the duo have found themselves driving through a devastated forest, Doomguy in the driver’s seat)

Duke: (doing finger guns out of sheer boredom) Pew pew pew, boom, pew…

Doomguy: Stop that.

(Duke stops, but it only keeps him quiet for a few seconds)

Duke: So, where’d the armor?

Doomguy: Oh, Christ…

Duke: Did the Night Sentinels make you wear it? They are not your friends, I’ll tell you that much. Friends do not let other friends leave the house looking like an edgy-reboot LEGO astronaut.

Doomguy: Would you stop talking about the fucking suit?

Duke: Okay, geez! I’m just tryin’ to bond a little–

Doomguy: Yeah? Then talk about something else.

Duke: Alright! (sighs) So, if they can fix your world, what’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you get back home? Some rubbing alcohol shots, maybe a wiper fluid chaser?

(Doomguy starts to answer, but then stops, having realized something about Duke’s word choice)

Doomguy: (with a slight snarl) What did you say?

Duke: I said when you get back, what’s the first thing you’re gonna–

Doomguy: Before that.

Duke: (long pause, having realized his mistake) …If they can fix your world– (Doomguy suddenly slams on the breaks) Oh fuck…

Doomguy: What do you mean, IF?!?!

Duke: Look, I didn’t mean–

Doomguy: You lied to me, you don’t have a fucking clue if they can fix things, don’t you?!

(before Duke can respond, Doomguy suddenly stabs him in the thigh with his Doomblade)

Duke: AUGH! FUCK! FUCK! I DIDN’T LIE!

Doomguy: YOU LIED!

Duke: NO! I MADE AN EDUCATED WISH! (enraged by such a stupid justification, Doomguy twists the blade) OW! FUCK! Look, I did it because I need you! (he produces a photograph of his friends, all of whom were turned into Spirits) I don’t know a damn thing about saving worlds. Why would I even care? My whole world is right here in this picture. It’s only nine people and I have no idea how to save it alone. I know how to fuck people up for money, but you! YOU know how to save them!

Doomguy: …Did you just say… you made an educated… fucking… wish?

Duke: Oh, I’m sorry, have we met? They call me “Merc with a Mouth”, not “Truthful Timmy, the Blowjob Queen of Saskatoon”! (Doomguy yanks the blade out of his leg) AUGH!

Doomguy: (absolutely seething) One more word, please. Just one more fucking word.

Duke: …Gubernatorial. (Doomguy raises his fist, Duke flinches in response) EEK!!!

Doomguy: (sighs and lowers his fist) You know something? You’re a fucking joke. No wonder the Smashers didn’t take you, or the All-Stars and they’ll take fucking anybody. I mean, you are a ridiculous, immature, half-wit moron. I have never met a sadder, more attention-starved little prick in my entire life, and that’s saying something because I’ve been alive for over two-hundred fucking years. I’ll tell you, that evil lightbulb was right about one thing, you will never. Save. The world. You couldn’t even save a relationship with a goddamn BAKER. And motherfucker I wish I could say you’ll die alone, but it’s one of GOD’S BEST JOKES that you can’t die! EXCEPT IT’S ON ALL OF US!!!!!

(and then, the impossible happened… Duke was speechless. He just stares at Doomguy, shocked and seeming to have been genuinely hurt)

Doomguy: What, you got nothing to say to that, mouth?!

Duke: (his face settling into a determined and rage-filled glare) I’m gonna fight you now.

Doomguy: (laughs derisively) Oh, are you–

(Duke suddenly punches him in the face hard enough to cause a nosebleed. Doomguy stares at him, genuinely shocked for a few seconds, before roaring and responding in kind. The resulting fight, taking place entirely in the car mind you, lasted an entire night. By the time the Smashers found them, both of them were unconscious, except Duke was tied up with the car’s seatbelts)

[deadaccount1211]

Disventure Camp All Stars: Thoughts and Opinions

I was scrolling through TD Twitter while eating my lunch and I noticed this. Disventure Camp might be getting cooked idk.

Disventure Camp is similar enough to TDI. So I decided to post my thoughts on here.

James- Absolutely terrible in DC2. Somewhat tolerable here. "Listen boytoy" was a funny line.

Lake- One of the few decent-ish characters from DC2 that did absolutely nothing here. Felt like she was just added to have a shock value elimination.

Miriam- Expected early boot but respect for going down swinging.

The Remaining Players:

Aiden- Boring asf in DC2. He's okay here. Not really rooting for him but he exists.

Ally- Abysmal in DC2. Okay here. After finishing ep 1 of DCAS. I hoped that Ally and Hunter would be the "toxic couple". Something like Chase and Emma from the reboot. But they seem pretty chill so far so that's disappointing.

Ashley- One of my faves from DC1 and she's still good here. I like the friendship she has with Jake. I think it's a little dirty that out of all the Disventure couples. Her relationship with Will happened off screen and got like 0 development. Maybe they should've just saved Ashley and Will for like an underdogs season? Idk.

Alec- The goat. The Alecmeister. The head honcho the villains alliance. I hope Alec getting all this screentime isn't a fakeout and he genuinely makes it far. If he does win, he needs to spend some of that money on therapy, lol.

Connor- I don't really get the hype. He's ok I guess. I wonder what was that card that Miriam gave him?

Ellie- Her move to get out Lake was impressive. But after episode 4, I could easily see Tess switching sides to Aiden and Tom. Ellie's gonna need that villain alliance to come in clutch.

Fiore- Getting that TDA Heather treatment. I hope since she's not the main villain anymore they actually give her a little bit of development. I've seen some ppl don't like the fact she's getting bullied. But I personally find it amusing.

Gabby- Hasn't really done anything interesting or entertaining so far. Then again it's only episode 4. Maybe she'll be better down the line.

Grett- I think her and Yul will be the toxic couple. Hope they both go far.

Hunter- Him bullying Fiore is funny. Other than that, eh.

Jake- I hope he goes off the deep end and enters his evil incel arc. Then like midway through the season he gets over Tom and they become enemies who used to date. Could be peak.

Riya- Her whole arc of pretending to be mean for the cameras and the whole persona she puts up is cool. Reminds me of what they did with Julia in Reboot S1. But here it feels a bit more serious.

Tess- Literal NPC. The Rematch Nichelle of this season. She needs to start doing something quick.

Tom- He's being a dickhead to Jake. But Jake is part of the reason he got eliminated so understandable.

Yul- The closest thing Disventure Camp has to a comedic relief character. NEEDS to go far. He seems to be a mixed bag, since I've seen some ppl dislike him because of his racism. But I personally view it like this, no one agrees with what he's saying and he usually either gets called out or physically hurt for saying it. So I don't have a problem with it. Shows need assholes. He's like an Eric Cartman type of character.

Bonus Notes: I predicted a Miriam elimination for Ep 2 and Ep 3. Then I tried to switch things up and predict Riya going home for Ep 4. Should've just went with my gut.

Prediction for Episode 5: Based off their convo, I think Ally and Hunter are gonna team up with Fiore. In which case, I could see Ashley going home since she's a bigger threat and one of Fiore's biggest haters.

[e-wills-afterhours]

Pretentious Coffee, Chapter 3

Pairing: Hiccstrid

Rating: 18+

------

Astrid was sprawled out on the living room futon, brow furrowed at the ceiling. Midterms were over and she had survived them somehow; there had been no explosions; lightning hadn’t struck her; she had not fallen off the face of the Earth and floated into some abyss of academic Hell. Saturday had arrived with its merciful respite. Pajamas and hot cocoa would sustain her now, not anxiety, sleep deprivation, and flash cards.

Her plan for the day involved slowly fusing to the cushions and her greatest concern was whether or not she’d take shower. Maybe, if feeling especially daring, she would forego leftovers and order a pizza later—that was living on the edge the weekend after exams.

Her phone buzzed. She knew who it was, but she ignored him as she had done for the past two weeks.  She was amassing a library of text messages she wouldn’t read.  There was nothing that could be said to smooth things over; no salve for the burn of a nasty breakup. She did not want to think or feel. She wanted to reboot her brain with twenty-four hours of thoughtlessness.

She sighed, absently bouncing her heel again the armrest as Ruffnut emerged from her bedroom, hair in a tangled mass of blonde and glitter. From where Astrid lay, she could smell the booze and a hint of stale cigarette smoke emanating from her roommate’s clothing—the same outfit she had left the dorm in the night before. The same outfit she had, apparently, fallen asleep in.

“When did you get in?” Astrid asked, wrinkling her nose.

Ruffnut shuffled to the fridge, squinting into the light as she opened the door.

“Dunno. After two, I think,” she grunted, grabbing the milk carton. She unscrewed the cap and start chugging.

Astrid rolled her eyes and sat up. “I still don’t understand how that’s fun.”

“You’re such a square. All you do is study, workout, and sulk over what’s-his-face,” Ruffnut retorted. She wiped her mouth on her arm and glimpsed Astrid over. “I think this state,” she gestured to Astrid’s lounging, “is an improvement for you.”

“I don’t sulk,” Astrid muttered, rounding her shoulders. She gazed out the window at the snowfall because her eyes were more honest than her mouth.

Ruffnut snorted. “You glare at your phone every time it chimes, like it’s his dumb voice.”

Astrid huffed but said nothing, glaring down at the phone in her hand like it had agreed with the other blonde, betraying that owner-device confidentiality. Part of her passionate temper was the tendency to be obvious even when she tried not to be. “Fine” was never fine. “I’m not upset” was often code for “just about ready to throttle someone”. Everyone close to her knew it, so only her complex, innermost thoughts were truly hers.

“He won’t stop texting me,” she admitted. “I haven’t responded. I want to change my number.”

“You won’t though,” Ruffnut said, grabbing a banana. “Like him, you can’t stand to leave things unfinished.”

“When did you get so insightful?”

Ruffnut took a bite of the banana, talking around the mouthful as she chewed.

“We’ve been friends since the tenth grade, Astrid. You’ve been with the same guy the entire time, so I learned a few things. You guys were never gonna work. Too similar. Really, it was like you were dating yourself, but with a penis.”

“You believe that ‘opposites attract’ nonsense, then?”

“I believe you shouldn’t be dating yourself—even if he is attractive,” Ruffnut answered, in another stroke of her unorthodox, unintentional wisdom, “even if he has aforementioned penis, which I’m assuming is as impressive as the rest of him.”

“Okay, fine. If you’re so knowledgeable, why are you still single?” Astrid retorted, folding her arms.

The other blonde laughed. “Because I’m knowledgeable.” She shoved the rest of her banana in her mouth and chewed it quickly, swallowing the mash. “But you like the punishment of monogamy and commitment.” Ruffnut contorted her face in disgust. “So, I’m going to help you out and give you some advice.”

“Oh, I can hardly wait,” Astrid droned. “Please, open my eyes to the world of binge drinking, blackouts, and puking in strange toilets.”

“Come out with me.”

“Noooo—“

“Come out with me,” Ruffnut insisted. She plopped down beside Astrid on the futon, overwhelming her with the stench of sweat and alcohol. “Tuff and his housemates are having a party tonight. Get tipsy—not drunk—enough to give zero shits about anything. Fuck a few random guys until you forget Mr. Tall, dark, and douchey. Then, start over from ground zero.”

Astrid inched away from her, eyeing her skeptically. “Ground zero…of public drunkenness and casual sex?”

Ruffnut nodded and stared her down with bloodshot puppy eyes. Everything in Astrid’s rational brain told her that her roommate’s idea of a fun party would not end well—it would probably end in another hangover that even coffee, water, and a lanky, sarcastic barista couldn’t fix. So much for useful advice. Hard partying wouldn’t solve her problem, only smother it under a bunch of potential new ones whose names she might not recall in the morning. She didn’t need cheap beer to get over her ex. She certainly didn’t need a superficial list of conquests to feel empowered.

But blaring music and the anonymity of a cramped house full of strangers had some appeal: she could fade into the corner with her drink—one drink—and it could be a needed change of scenery. It certainly beat lying around pretending she wasn’t thinking about unread texts and seething over things she couldn’t change, and words that had been left too long unspoken.

If nothing else, Astrid could at least do Ruffnut a solid and make sure her roommate got home safely, with all of the articles of clothing she had left the dorm with.

Astrid didn’t want to cut loose like the weekend before. That had not had the most favorable outcome, but perhaps there was some merit to stepping out of her comfort zone? All she had known for the past four and a half years was to keep on the straight and narrow. Wasn’t college about reinventing oneself and trying new things? Maybe undergrad Astrid was a bit square? Maybe that had contributed to the dissolution of her relationship?

Maybe undergrad Astrid actually liked parties—if she could ever allow herself to like them…

“Fine,” she relented. Ruffnut squealed and clapped. “I’ll come with you tonight. I won’t get drunk though—someone needs to drive us back here. I refuse to stay the night in some strange place with strange guys.”

“Okaaaay!” The other blonde sang, skipping towards the bathroom to shower, or so Astrid hoped; Ruffnut desperately needed one.

As the door shut, Astrid called out, “But I’m definitely not sleeping with anyone!”

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Hot Take (?) About the New Trigun Trailer?

Note: This is a rather cynical and critical post. I don’t have anything I remotely like about it, so this post is basically just highlighting my personal issues with the content and designs we got in the newest trailer. If you like it or feel differently that is totally cool and valid.

Spoilers for the new content shown in the newest trailer!

---

I watched the new Trigun trailer this morning and, goodness, it looks like straight trash. I’m not going to mention anything about Vash, because I’ve already seen his design before. I’m not a huge fan of it, but his new design is probably on the bottom of my “Thanks, I Hate It” list.

First, we have the 3D/CGI animation. I just don’t like that style of animation for anime, no matter how supposedly well done it is. I also just felt like there were parts were the animation was over animated and other parts where it was janky looking, but I’m not an animation expert, so I can’t really 100% say this with any kind of facts behind it. But, yeah, I’m just not a fan of the choice to go full CGI. It takes me completely out of the experience.

Second, everyone looks way too young, but this is especially true for Meryl. She went from looking like a petite woman to looking like a child. It almost feels like they have to soften her appearance to make her seem like a more approachable female character for anime otaku (and this isn’t just in regards to male anime otaku, I feel like Wolfwood’s new design is a result of this as well, but for female anime otaku).

Even if she is older than she appears, this is such an annoying problem in modern day anime, where female characters are always meant to look young, not even just youthful, but straight up young. They aren’t really allowed to look like older, adult women. But, that can lead to a whole other can of worms problem in regards to the anime community and otaku culture in general, so I’ll stop here for now.

Not only that, Milly is gone. It looks like her character has been replaced with an older man named Roberto (or likely Robert) de Niro (🙄).

Not only does that sit with me in the wrong way, because it feels like they knew Milly wouldn’t fit into the modern day “uwu waifu” culture that exists in many parts of the anime community, but also because it completely changes the relationship dynamics between Meryl and her partner (that, and her change in job from working at an insurance company to being a journalist). 

Looking at the new key visual this is how they are presenting Meryl:

She’s falling and needs to be saved by the grown adult man (the only one in the series that looks like an actual adult so far). Watching the trailer, we see Meryl taking out her camera, but we don’t see her being active. It looks like she is going to be in a more supportive role with very little action, and this key visual gives me the bad impression that she will be getting saved by the guys a lot. Or possibly even *kept* from action, since there is a scene in the new trailer were she is basically yeeted away by this older male character.

Now let’s look at Meryl from the original Trigun anime (where she is jumping and getting ready to fight and shoot).

She was ready and willing to fight. Her and Milly had an equal relationship, this new partnership that is being presented in the reboot seems far less equal, and more tilted towards the man having more power, control, and experience. Which...doesn’t sit right with me at all.

Of course, a female character being able to fight doesn’t automatically mean better written, but nothing I saw of the Meryl in the trailer seems to imply an actually well developed character. It seems more like they are crafting a tropeified, uwu waifu persona and characterization for her instead (and the potential for just a bunch of sexist writing and characterization of a female anime character is very ripe with what I’ve seen so far).

This tropeified, generic look and presentation of an anime character doesn’t just apply to female anime characters. I think we can see this happening very clearly with Wolfwood’s character design in this new anime. For comparison:

Now, I personally don’t care much about the change of cig for lollipop, but I do understand why this bugs and annoys some people, because a change like that does ultimately change the look, feel, personality, and characterization of a character. Genjo Sanzo from Saiyuki would not be the same character at all if they switched out his cigs for lollipops, the vibe is just completely different.

Basically, this new version of Wolfwood is just kept so...bland and generic. There is nothing about his appearance or look that sets him apart from the numerous other black haired pretty boys in anime and manga. Very easy to replicate and animate quickly (so money and time saving), but also easy to attract female anime otaku that just like that same, generic pretty boy face (and possibly easier for the male anime otaku to relate to).

The original Wolfwood had character and personality just by looking at his design. He had a darker skin tone, a hooked nose, stubble, extremely buff chest, and he smoked cigarettes. It was a look that was different from the standard pretty boy anime bishonen look (which Vash kind of had covered with his face, lol). It also presented a certain feeling to his character that this new version doesn’t have at all. The new version’s vibes are totally different and doesn’t have the gruffness that fits the setting and genre of Trigun. 

These new character designs lack all of that. They are too shiny and clean and, in the case of Wolfwood especially, they lack any creativity or originality in their appearance. 

After seeing this new trailer and the key visual, I won’t be bothering to watch this new version of Trigun. I know some may think that I’m jumping the gun and haven’t seen enough to make this kind of judgement, but I’ve seen enough to know this won’t be for me. I just wanted to write this all down and get it all off my chest. 

[blackdigitalrose]

Digimon Series Rankings!

Because I can and because I've really done nothing but comment about Ghost Game, it does give a slight misleading impression on where it stands. So in brief, I may go into more detail down the line, we'll see how I feel out the blue one day. Worst to Best of all 10 Digimon series.

(got to keep up that suspense XD)

And yes, Dubs are going to be a factor, I haven't watched both Sub/Dub of all shows.

10 - Xros Wars This is solely by default because it is the only series I haven't watched, I don't have much inclination to either. Digivolution method really can make or break a show and Digimon lego sets with no actual way to gauge power besides from more sets you stick together the stronger you apparently seem to be, does not hold much appeal. Plus what I've seen of X7/X8, it just looks so messy. Although, I'd like to be able to weigh in on the Taiki debate, some say he's one of the franchises best Goggle boys, others say he's too perfect he's not interesting.

9 -Digimon 2020 For a modern day reboot it had all the action, zero the charm or personality. Those snazzy, action filled fight scenes mean nothing, when there's no story, no characters and just flat out laziness all-round. The Diaboramon movie got rehashed 3 times. The significance of the crests forgotten until a rag tag added on arc at the end and even then they weren't really earned. Izzy just ruined everything, unless you were Matt and Tai, you were basically useless and Tai… I could rant about this series all day, it ticks me off so much!

8 - Frontier This is one of many examples of Digimon not being to do the long run story, a tolerable first half, an unbearable second half full of holes and flaws, it makes you wonder if multiple teams were writing eps apart from each other. This series wrote itself into a corner it could have wrote itself easily out of but chose not to and suffers greatly for it. There is so little to actually talk about in Frontier, none of the cast are actually likeable, not to the extent that you can really get behind them. The only one you feel for slightly is twin 2 but they don't do alot with him after. The only thing it has going for it is the Intro's both sub and dub are amazing!

7 -Tri Such a strong first half, first 3 vols, amazing! Stakes, emotion, understandable dilemma's occurring from being so much older and once more they fail the landing. Tai never got is pay off over his fears. Matt's future plans literally come out of nowhere. Mei and Meicoomon out stayed their welcome so quickly they got in the way in the second half. However, the biggest crim is Daigo and Maki and what we could have had as the first Digidestined team… their partners being the four sovereigns actually makes so much sense! They won but failed, there was an amazing story set up to be told there and they just went, nah, bin it -.-'' Abridged Daigo though is the most relatable character ever and hilarious to boot

6 -02 Let's be honest, this series, I couldn't care less for and some one punch Davis! (He's not so special anymore mind you.) However, despite the not so exciting team, it had it's moments, the Wizardmon ep was very touching, the idea of passing to the next gen, with the originals to help guide them, nicely done with the right mix of original and new but what really gives it, it's place and you all saw it coming. The Digimon Emperor arc! Such a good villain, the contrast against the team, against Wormon, the ongoing subplot over Chimeramon and then our Digimon Emperor gets turned back to normal and show becomes so boring and with more holes in it than swiss cheese.

5 - Appli Monsters I did put this off, I was one of those people… however, I was pleasantly surprised. This show is quite solid, all the characters get their own arcs, the story actually has progress from start to finish, the end boss narratively is good as an actual end boss, it couldn't have made a stupider play if it tried. With social commentary right on the nose, it was a show definitely released before it's time, if they tried it now, I think it would have done a lot better as it would be so much more relatable to people. Why only 5… well, there's nothing that overly stood out; like a moment or ep that is a must re-watch. I watched it the once and haven't gone back to it.

4 - Savers Savers has so many of my faves, my fave digivice in the IC, digivolve style with Digisoul, fave rivals with Masaru/Tohma (love me some two halves of the same coin), some of the best looking Megas you'll ever see, even my fave mon is from this series! Looking at you, you double agent, traitorous, snarky scarf! This series even has the best villain, well human anyway out of all series and the best part, he remains a prick and gets no cheap redemption! Just a guy you love to hate. The downside, like so many others, the doesn't stick the second half. I mean it's alright, no where near as good as the first half and becomes too much of the Masaru show for my liking. (And no, I don't dislike the Digimon punching gimmick per se but it is overused and gets ott in parts that kind of takes you away from it.)

3 - Ghost Game This actually took some serious debating and the bottom line, what do I just openly go and re-watch and despite it's many, many flaws; Ghost Game was just so much fun! It lived up to it's reputation, it gave you horror, surprise, creepiness, you did run through the emotions with it. The major selling point though, it has to be the cast. Tamer and Digimon alike, all 6 are just so likeable with great dynamics and you don't get to say that about many. I also like how Hiro, Ruli and Kiyo represent the three common reactions to the paranormal, the sceptic, the enthusiast and the fearful.

2 - 01 Surprise! Or not potentially and yes, this is heavily the dub, fight me, it's amazing! No bad will be said about dub Apocylamon. Nostalgia likely plays a part in it to but all our digidestined team a great, they all get little arcs and for the most part, all get to play a part, even at the end where only two get megas, however, narratively this works. The story has good progression, in character and difficulty, there's obstacles which don't seem to impossible for kids to tackle, stuff actually feels earned and the villains are just as memorable as the heroes. To top it all, it's such an easy series to just re-watch from any point.

1 - Tamers Ha, yes, I am one of those to. I stand by it, this is peak storytelling for Digimon. What starts off quite light, becomes mature, gritty and a real good coming of age story despite still being kids. Our main trio all get good character arcs, they bounce of each other well and a bonus point for at least trying with the card game. why yes, I do consider Rika as the rival in Tamers, it just makes more sense due to conflicting beliefs about digimon with Takato On the other hand, it's End boss is by far the worse on so many levels but also contains one of Digimon's best character arcs with Impmon. With Tamers, I could only plan to watch one or two eps but before I know it, I'm half way into the series again and still not bored of it.

And this really didn't stay as short as I initially intended ^^;

[glapplebloom]

Not as much as I could, but this is a slow burn...

Master Research Link

What I’ve learned...

Ugh... #31 really makes me not want to live in Townsville. So easy to blame the girls despite the obviousness that they never did those things. It is nice to see Mojo go Trick or Treating with the girls though. #32: Welp, Catwoman would steal the pants off of everyone if she was in Townsville. Meanwhile this Cat Burglar got a crush on Professor. Honestly, she’s probably the most non-Powerpuff Female to have a good development other than Keene.

So Mojo made a mini him in #33. But the real highlight was the Fuzzy/Mojo feud. There was comic exclusive villains like Spelling Bee (whose entire gimmick is she spells what she wants done) and Frog Master (whose reason for being a villain is he’s crazy) HIM basically had all of Townsville under his control in 36. And Sedusa finally does something in that same issue with Mind Controlling Lipstick. Though the Bikini Sisters in the Reboot do this better. For starters, it doesn’t wash off.

Remember Ace being a member of the Gorillaz for a hot minute? Turns out in #37, he was part of a boy band with the rest of the Gangreen Gang. 4evRGreen. And in the second story, HIM creates a music band so popular, even the girls love their music. A big weakness of the original series is that for a good number of times, they seem to act like one person. Like this issue, they ALL like the Slayhems. Even Blossom and Bubbles who you would think are not into Horror Metal. 

Issue 38 has them idolizing a TV Superhero. It is cute to see Buttercup being too nervous to talk to them. I know that feeling. But when a real monster shows up, they are Marks and think Tess could handle it. Tess, meanwhile, does nothing to suggest she believes she’s real. She’s a celebrity playing a character and playing the role while signing autographs. She does not deserve this. 

So Issue 41 has Buttercup obsessed with Garlic. Like super obsessed. It also has a Giant Monster capable of absorbing people. When it does the Powerpuff girls, it has all their powers, but also their quirks. Issue 44 promises the Talking Dog fighting the Talking Cat from that one episode. It better live up to that promise. Dog Chunks... Now with more dogs... DUDE! WTF!!! And the fight lasts for at most 2 pages. 

Best Feat I found... 

From Issue 34: The Monkey’s Paw (or Tragic Marker). A weapon so powerful it can rearrange the atomic structure of an object to something else all by spelling it. That is frikkin impressive!

Next Time...

If all goes well, all the DC Comics would be done.

[wesavegotham]

Honestly. In main continuity, I feel Bruce shouldn't get married at all or even have a biological kid like Damian or Helena. Cuz marriage & fathering kids bring unnecessary soap opera elements to a grounded pulpy crime detective fiction format. Yeah, Damian had a cool arc with Dick in the Morrison run, but his continuing presence had sidelined other characters like Tim & Cass. Sigh...Im gonna get so much pushback.

Dick should be the one that gets married. I really wished that his wedding with Starfire wasn't derailed last minute. It would make more sense cuz Dick is more involved with the soap opera drama due to his time in the New Teen Titans.

just make know so when out there

Er...did you send this to the wrong blog perhaps?

Because while I agree Bruce shouldn't get married it's for different reasons than you. Batman's story is written to go on forever (like a classic soap opera) and even if Bruce got married to idk Catwoman, sooner or later it would only end in divorce, death or retcon anyway and then the batcat fans would whine even louder that the two people with huge committment issues and incompatible lifestyles aren't together forever. As if all of Bruce's romances (including Catwoman) weren't designed on purpose to have an expiration date and not work out. Like most relationships in soap operas.

But why are you writing to a Damian fan's blog that you don't think Damian should exist?😅 I don't even get why you lump Damian and Helena together, while Helena was implied to have grown up in a rather domesticated way on Earth 2, Damian is a completely different case?

I don't see how Damian brings "soap opera drama" to Batman that Bruce didn't also have with his adopted kids. My impression from older comics is that they were even more soap opera like because they had a stronger focus on relationship troubles and stuff like "might Bruce lose custody of Dick/Jason?" Getting a story in which Bruce and Damian's relationship is the A plot and not the C,D or E plot of an arc is damn rare.

Also, grounded pulpy crime detective format? Pulpy, okay, but I wouldn't call Batman grounded or even a detective format most of the time. Only a small amount of Batman stories are actual detective stories and he's dealing with aliens, magic or gods all the time and has done so for several decades now. Let's be honest, it's more an action/adventure story with soap opera like relationship drama that borrows some noir detective aesthetics.

Also, yeah, you're going to get pushback for saying stuff like Damian caused characters like Cass and Tim to be sidelined. Because you're wrong. DC has never sidelined Tim, they just started treating him more like everyone else. That's not the same🤦‍♀️

The evil Cassandra arc started before Damian's introduction (during a time when DC wasn't even planning to make Damian into recurring character, he was supposed to be dead after the Batman and Son arc) in Tim's Robin book. Damian had nothing to do with that storyline, if anything Cass was treated badly to give Tim a story.

Or are you talking about stuff like Steph and Cass getting erased in New 52 and believe that it had something to do with Damian? You, know, the character DC killed off two years into the reboot like they had planned to do since the start? And who has since been kept far away from the batfamily? During DC Rebirth Damian wasn't even under the control of the Batman office, the Superman office had him. And the Robin solo DC gave Damian that started with a tournament arc that some whiny Cass stans thought should have belonged to Cass? Guys, Robin 2021 is a book that only existed to do some damage control after DC absolutely destroyed the character in Teen Titans and to launch two events, Shadow Wars, which was more a Deathstroke Inc vs League of assassins story than a Damian one and Batman vs Robin, which so far is pretty much just a Batman focused story.

No idea why you talk to me about what to do with Dick, I never cared that much about him.

No idea what you're even trying to tell me with that last sentence.

Anyway, if you really feel the need to blame a character (and not simply DC) for how Cass was treated you should probably look more towards Tim or even more likely Barbara. Since it was DC deciding that Barbara should be batgirl again that probably got Cass erased in New 52. People who seriously think Tim is being sidelined in favor of Damian are simply delusional and entitled, sorry. Like how spoiled do you have to be not to see how many damn chances DC has given Tim time and time again. DC loves Tim.

[sparrowsabre7]

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Review SPOILERS

Just got out of the cinema and needed to get thoughts on digital paper.

It's a really enjoyable watch. It manages to tread the balance between the more heartfelt, but action-light, "Bumblebee" and the more shooty-bang-bang Bayverse films. To quickly touch on that: while - Unicron aside - there's nothing really explicit that prevents ROTB from being part of the Bayverse, but it ultimately raises more questions if it is. They do throw a cheeky put down to those who might like to think so though by directly referencing Mark Wahlberg's intention to become an actor. While it wouldn't be the first film to reference an actor that was also in the same series, it does feel like a deliberate attempt to put a nail in the coffin of the "not a reboot" theory.

The film opens with a neat prologue, as I think every Transformers film has, this time narrated by Optimus Primal, rather than Prime, giving a quick introduction to Unicron and Scourge, also providing a devastating look at what they can do. This sets the tone for the film moving forward, as well as indicates it's approach to its plot. The stakes are clear, everyone's motivations defined, and the interpersonal relationships are what hold the film together.

It speaks to ROTB's strengths that it is a trim two hours and maintains a consistent pace throughout, it doesn't linger too long, nor rush through and manages to maintain momentum even when they start to delve into the macguffin search.

The film also gives perhaps the highest percentage of bot screen time across the franchise. Mirage and Optimus take the lion's share of the screen time, Bumblebee (rightly) is given a bit of a rest this film, with Mirage stepping into the human best friend role. Pete Davison voices Mirage with an infectious humour and manages to avoid forcing the comedy angle too much. Optimus by contrast is more brooding than ever, unsure of himself and much less friendly towards humankind. Each of the remaining Autobots get time to shine too and are fleshed out well enough to be more than just action props. Sadly the same cannot be said for half the Maximals. While Optimus Primal and Airazor are given a fair amount of screen time and feel fully realised, Cheetor and Rhinox have less than a literal handful of lines between them.

"Beast Wars" fans will likely be disappointed by their all too brief action sequences, but Primal is definitely done justice in terms of his character, getting a few reflective moments with Prime. The wonky time travel aspect of "Beast Wars" is retained as well, surprisingly, though paid only brief lip service - Primal confirms he is named after Optimus Prime and thus comes from Prime's future, though via the Transwarp key (aforementioned macguffin du jour) the Maximals travelled back in time to early Earth history. Aside from this and Primal's cry of "Maximise!", however, there are no sly nods to "Beast Wars" and anyone looking them will be sorely disappointed. That said, they are treated with far more respect and time than the Dinobots in "Age of Extinction" and are at least more than mindless brutes.

Despite my 90's kid gripings, the action sequences are still very impressive and while the final battle against hordes of enemies feels less personal than the smaller scale skirmishes, it does provide a lot of fan-pleasing moments.

The human characters also surprised me. What struck me straight away was the benefits of having black and latino actors as the leads. The shift in perspective is immediately apparent: Sam and Charlie from the Trilogy and "Bumblebee" respectively both need a car to gain independence. Anthony Ramos' Noah needs a job so he can pay his brother's crippling medical debt and also try and keep a roof over their heads. Dominique Fishback's Elena is desperately trying to keep her job as an intern and fighting for recognition while her (white) boss takes credit for all her work. The dichotomy of circumstances is clear and having characters who are actually struggling just to get by, rather than "first world problems" makes for a more compelling narrative, to the point where midway through the movie, Noah and the Autobots' goals end up at odds. It's a move that makes sense for the character as well as creating real reasons for division. Optimus doesn't trust Noah, so why should he trust Optimus? The ultimate (cliché) message of the movie comes down to the importance of overcoming differences to work together using the arc words straight from G1 "Til all are one".

It's cheesy and a bit on the nose, but it works in its favour, a sentence that more or less sums up the film as a whole.

[theuntitledblog]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) - REVIEW (SPOILER ALERT)

SYNOPSIS

Wakanda is in mourning following the unexpected death of King T'Challa which has left Queen Ramonda and Princess Shuri with the task of leading Wakanda against the threats posed by intervening world powers. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, a new power emerges from the Earth's ocean in the form of Namor who challenges Wakanda in ways it has never been challenged before.

No other film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has arrived with such a weight of genuine sadness upon it as reality and fiction merge to acknowledge onscreen the real life passing of lead star Chadwick Boseman. There wasn't really any way for Ryan Coogler to avoid it and to his credit, Wakanda Forever tackles it head on with the greatest of respects being paid. The story has to acknowledge it as well with impact of that loss reverberating throughout the whole story and particularly influencing the character work. As a sequel to 2018's Black Panther, Wakanda Forever builds upon all the successful elements of that film and attempts to elevate them further with a bigger story that touches upon modern themes and showcasing the talents of its impressive cast. Black Panther boasted one of the best ensemble cast of characters in an MCU solo project and here they equally carry the load while this particular brand of the MCU looks to reboot itself with a new lead and renewed focus. In this sense alone it is a general success but when considered as a whole, it doesn't quite match the leaness of the first film for me nor does it quite manage to fully fill the absence caused by Boseman's sad death. If nothing else however, it is a moving tribute to Chadwick Boseman and takes some interesting and welcome steps in securing his legacy in the role of T'Challa.

Wakanda Forever doesn't immediately lean towards a new lead character; you might be able to guess going in who the successor to the Black Panther will be but throughout much of its runtime it doesn't make that clear. Given the collective popularity and strength of Letitia Wright's Shuri, Lupita Nyongo's Nakia, Danai Gurira's Okoye and even Winston Duke's M'Baku as characters, this isn't really an issue. Angela Bassett's Queen Ramonda is a particular triumph following her comparatively smaller role in Black Panther but Ryan Coogler ensures that each of the main characters have a significant role to play at different points during the rather lengthy runtime. But the burden of lead does eventually fall, as I suppose it inevitably would, to Letitia Wright who does as good a job as could be expected given that she is carrying the biggest share of the on screen weight of Boseman's death. She fully convinces as a lost and angry Shuri who is true to character by hiding behind her technology and rejecting tradition as she mourns T'Challa's death. But she still has a way to go for me to fully convince as an action star even though she isn't really given much to showcase what she can do as the Black Panther.

As a sequel, Wakanda Forever does a lot right. Much like the first, the costume design and music is incredible and helps maintain its unique style and aesthetic within the MCU. While T'Challa's death underpins everything emotionally, his death does also have the consequence of adding a sense of vulnerability to the powerful nation of Wakanda and its main characters. There is no Black Panther following Killmonger's burning of the Heart-Shaped Flower and this weakness is only amplified by the arrival of Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and the warriors of the kingdom of Talokan. There are some hard hitting set pieces and enough character development done with Namor to ensure he is more than just your standard villain. There is also the threat posed by CIA head Valentina de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) which is another promising story strand that runs parallel to Namor as the nations of the world scavenge the planet looking for more Vibranium. However this is a story that feels like it's being held back slightly for a potential Black Panther 3 or even the Ironheart series and therefore doesn't reach full fruition. What this does do however is create some genuine threat which is not something the MCU has always been very good at so Coogler deserves credit for me again here.

Wakanda Forever has perhaps too much going on and isn't quite able to bring everything to a head in a fully satisfying way. While the conflict with Namor is well handled, the final set piece feels beneath the film as a whole and seems like a obligation rather than an essential piece of this story. Likewise the debut of Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) despite enjoying good chemistry with Shuri and even a few moments with Okoye, generally lacked depth as a character and the Ironheart concept felt unexplored. These aren't enough to bring down the film completely because it is a generally well crafted sequel and a character driven affair that hits strong emotional beats especially with T'Challa's death firmly at the centre. It's a funnier film despite the aura of sadness upon it, the set pieces are suitably thrilling for the most part and the characters remain the greatest asset of the Black Panther series.

VERDICT

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a wonderful tribute to its late star but Ryan Coogler's story judges it perfectly with the emotional weight elevating the film in general. Led by its incredible cast, Wakanda Forever is a well crafted sequel that builds on story elements of first Black Panther to thrilling effect even if it has perhaps too much going on to satisfy fully.

4/5

[wonstop]

fuck it. my rq is that uhhhhh,,,, please tell me facts about the 80s :)

^ Asks that make Cowboy, as a grown ass man, go "TEEHEE"

Well for one the shirt I linked in that fashion post was actually one of the most popular brands to wear in the 80s, which is why I sought it out. (Also: I had to search for the past term for seek. :( )

I'm kinda bad at thinking of things for such broad topics, but let's see, what's some fun stuff I know...

Well, I know personal computers first started becoming really popular in the 80s. Before that, they were machines that took up entire rooms and weren't something you'd find in anyone's home, but smaller, more public-friendly versions started coming into the market in the late 70s and experienced a boom during the 80s.

One of my favorite computers of the 80s is the Amiga, which is kind of a basic 80s computer to like, but... look at it!

It was pretty much, as far as I know, at least one of the best computers of its time, with a sleek, unique, and fast-loading system, a lot more RAM than its competitor the C64, amazing and vibrant visuals the likes of which had pretty much never been seen on a personal computer before, more hardware capabilities, better multitasking... basically it was a dream machine. The line also has one of my favorite UIs:

Check out how awesome these graphics are! The Amiga boasted games like The Secret of Monkey Island, Lemmings, Bubble Bobble, and the original Sid Meier's Civilization.

Of course, they went bankrupt in the 90s, after attempting and utterly failing to market the Amiga as a gaming console. IBM, Apple, and Windows were also coming out with computers around that time, with the first MacIntosh coming out in 1984 and Windows 1 (which was among the first to require the use of a mouse for input, rather than the keyboard!) coming out a year later in 1985.

LGR on YouTube has a lot of cool videos about 80s computers that I'd recommend checking out - he's also a lot better at memorizing facts and knowing things about computers than I am, lol. I'm not good at any of the technical stuff. In fact, I can't promise I'm remembering everything correctly here - I'd recommend looking into this stuff if it interests you, the boom of personal computers and technology in general in the 80s is really cool. But anyways...

Speaking of computers, the first music video to use CGI came out in 1985, that being Dire Straits' Money For Nothing. Check it out -

It was even referenced in an episode of a show called ReBoot, which I'd also love to talk about, but came about in the 90s. (There was some SERIOUSLY COOL CGI in the 90s! Early CGI stuff is SO AWESOME, it's so cool to see how far it's come and to think about how awesome it must have been to see something like this when it came out!) And with MTV coming out in the 80s too (1981), this probably made a pretty great impression and, I imagine, was one of the most interesting MVs on TV at the time! It's certainly one of my favorites, and in fact, I love the song, too.

The first music video on MTV, fittingly, was Video Killed the Radio Star, presented after the channel came on air with the iconic line: "Ladies and gentlemen, rock 'n roll!"

I could ramble a lot about the music and movies of the time, especially horror and practical effects, but this post is already pretty long and totally unrelated to this blog. There were a lot of technological advancements and huge cultural impacts made in the 80s that we see and use (or at the very least see the effects of) to this day, and discoveries made and researches done, and really awesome subcultures and fashions, like trad goth and skate punk and New Romantics my beloved and, and, and-- and th. And. The. And. And. 😍💓💞💖🥰❣️💝💘💞😍💘❣️💓💘❣️💗

[nerdyenby]

My top ten favorite season of ninjago (don’t hate me)

[Note that I’m not ranking DRs2 yet, as we’ve only seen the first half, but I fully expect it to make this list]

Dragons Rising season one: Energy

Prime Empire (fight me)

Master of the Mountain

March of the Oni

Tournament of Elements

Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu

Rise of the Snakes

Skybound

Posession

Crystallized

Obligatory reminder that that’s just my opinion

And for those of you who like confusing numbers, here’s the same information but listed objectively worse:

16

12

13

10

4

11

1

6

5

15

Now, I’m not going to try to justify my placements because we’d be here all week, so instead I’ll explain why the seasons that didn’t make the cut just don’t really do it for me

Legacy of the Green Ninja: the first half of this season is back to back bangers, but I just entirely lose interest when it comes to the actual dark island stuff. Idk why it just cannot hold my attention.

Rebooted: a fine season. It set us up beautifully for s4 and gave us a lot of incredible characters (Sensei Garmadon, Borg, Pixal), but it just messes with my sense of this universe so badly. That’s only kind of a complaint — because I actually find it super interesting to try to explain away — but it is majorly distracting for me personally and kinda just seems like poor planning. While this season did a great job with Pythor and managed to get me to kind of care about the Overlord, the nindroid army is woefully underdeveloped. Zane defends Pixal, saying she was just doing as she was programmed, but the same is true for literally all of them and we never even stop to entertain the notion that these nindroids also have the capacity to be, you know, people. That’s all pretty nitpicky tho, my real issue with this season is the stupid love triangle. Not to mention how forced Pixal’s existence is and how bland she is at first. I absolutely adore her as a character, but rebooted was just like “here’s a woman. she’s hot btw,” and I don’t really vibe with that.

Hands of Time: over hated imo, I feel like if the animation wasn’t noticeable worse than every other season we would all appreciate it a lot more. I think it actually did some really cool things, but you kinda lose me with the vermillion. Literally why are they there? The bad guys need lackeys, yeah, but why snake hivemind warriors? Idk, felt random and out of place. I feel like they could have also done more with the conflict between the Time Twins. Like they fundamentalists disagreed about what an ideal world looks like and they argue about it all the time, but they still work together like nothing happened? Anyway, all my complaints are fairly minor for this season, it’s just not much of a stand-out.

Sons of Garmadon: ninjago didn’t know what to do with itself after the movie came out and you can tell. They went more serious with the plot but the humor feels way more childish. It still hits most of the time, but it just feels off. I’ve come to like Harumi and her arc, but I feel like this season really suffers for it’s focus on her and Lloyd. It just lacks a lot of the team chemistry that makes ninjago ninjago imo. It’s all about Lloyd and the others are just kinda there, something that ninjago has impressively managed to never fall into before. What makes this series special to me is how it handles its characters and their dynamics, they all feel real and important, both to each other and to the story, but you could just say “yeah everyone’s dead” and the plot could more or less function as is. I do love what they did with Pixal tho.

Hunted: idk, it feels like they started to correct the whole issue I just talked about where none of the characters other than Lloyd matter, but the disconnect just doesn’t really do it for me. I’m fairly into the resistance plotline, and I’m kinda here for the First Realm shenanigans, but it’s just not really a stand out. S9 is always where I lose interest in my rewatch and I’ve never been able to figure out why. It does wonders for Lloyd and Nya’s relationship, and I am always here for lore, but otherwise I just kinda don’t care that much.

Seabound: she’s solid, it just doesn’t really stand out to me. Obviously having a Nya season is huge, but otherwise it’s just ninjago. That’s a good thing, but it also means it doesn’t stand out. I don’t really like Maya’s arc, and I’m really not a fan of how they just shoo Kai and Cole off to do a whole lotta not much. It felt so forced and unnecessary when s13 did a fucking superb job of keeping the rest of the cast busy and having it be entertaining, however I do recognize the real-world reasons at play so I don’t hold it against them. It does detract from my experience tho, and the rest of the season isn’t memorable enough to recover from that for me personally. Also it’s super shitty that they kill Nya off as soon as she gets to be the main character, they hate women so much and for what.

[thedaveandkimmershow]

It's Linzy's birthday today and what I shall forthrightly and adamantly avoid is to post pictures of when she was a newborn or when she was a kid.

She's 26 years old, for crying out loud. I shoulda stopped doing that more than a decade ago. 😐

I shall also forthrightly and adamantly avoid making today about the missus 'n me. Because, you know, we've got stories. Stories that are still easily accessible right at the tips of our fingers kinds of stories.

I could tell you one right now about the day Linzy was born...

But I'm not gonna.

Instead, I'll point out how we still feel what our twenties were like. And we can very much see through Linzy's eyes what they're like right now.

In many ways, her twenties and our twenties aren't that different. At the same time, they're nothing like each other. They couldn't be more different.

By which I mean to say that the fundamentals of being a twenty-something haven't changed whilst the environment in which present day twenty-somethings exist is breathtakingly, profoundly different.

Profoundly different.

They're basically living a reboot.

As if the cast of a Western film classic like "High Noon" was reimagined into the middle of a Science Fiction classic like "Blade Runner".

Same people.

Wildly different environment.

And oh yes. They're also living a fiercely different story.

If you don't believe me, God. Just look around. Because this, all around us, is a fiercely different story.

So when we say we're proud of our daughter... it's because we know her story.

From Day 1.

We know her, we know her story, we know the cast of characters who've taken the stage with her (all manner of heroes and villains), and we know the world she's navigating.

And yes.

We remember the twenty-something gig.

So when we say we're proud of her, we say that with the full knowledge of having done the twenty-something gig and recognizing what that's like today. Right now.

This very moment.

With that in mind, we're impressed as hell by her relentless pursuit of her music career. Her dreams. We're impressed by the unimaginable work that goes into being in two successful bands and performing to packed audiences. In fact, by this time next month, one of those bands, The Little Lies, will have performed in front of an arena filled by a crowd of thousands at a Kraken game.

Did not, by the way, see that coming.

Really did not.

In many ways, we're still her first audience for song demos. At least we like to think we are.

We're probably nine and ten on the list 'cause she's got a lot of friends who are professionals in the local music community.

Aside from those demos, I thoroughly enjoy kicking ideas around with her when it comes to her Dream Patrol brand, the wing of her creativity reserved for the techno/pop/cinematic/layered vibe she does so well. It's also a completely engaging exercise to talk about the difference between one of her songs produced as a Linzy Collins production versus a Dream Patrol production. And then imagining what a live Dream Patrol show looks like.

It's her future actively being written before our very eyes.

You know?

Linzy's always been a hard worker which, I admit, I hate how that doesn't sound like one of those cool things of which to be proud. But in Linzy's case, from learning to play the piano, the guitar, the clarinet, the trombone, the cello... to interior and exterior house painting to filing to spreadsheets to high-end home cleaning with an agency... to putting bands together to the DIY nature of being a band in the PNW handling everything from songwriting to arranging to producing to recording to sound mixing to cover art to marketing and promoting and rehearsing and rehearsing and...

Rehearsing.

Maybe "hard worker" isn't the way to put it. Maybe "relentless master of her pursuits" works a little better.

Okay. A lot better. 😁

Because while she has the whatever it is people have inside them that keeps then going... she also has the bandwidth, the intellect, the emotional IQ, the verbal skills, the professional vibe, the work ethic, and the sheer creative prowess to prevail at something that was barely a dream once upon a time that's now an actual, paying, honest-to-God career with plenty of success behind her and plenty of room above her to keep reaching ever upward propelled there by her solo work, her band work, her Dream Patrol work, her production and songwriting services, and so on.

All that atop the reality of living in a major urban center, in her twenties, in today's world.

The challenges are intimidating, of course. I won't lie. They're suffocating, sometimes demoralizing at times. Not just for her but for anyone pursuing the life she's choosing, this passion she's following, this craft she's absolutely mastering alongside the community of professional musicians she calls friends, collaborators, bandmates, and badass gifted artists.

It's a helluva thing to watch, this life she's challenging, this career she's building. And yes yes yes. Of course we're proud. Of course.

But it's also exciting as hell.

☺️😎🤯🥳❤️

[fandom-junk-drawer]

The Witcher Headcanon - Adjustments

Okay, but imagine Geralt knowing how to do adjustments on his joints and spine, but never mentioning it to Jaskier...

until Jaskier starts complaining one day about how his right hand and fingers have developed this strange ache

It's a strange 'nervy' pain and it starts in my wrist and shoots down my thumb and first two fingers

Geralt 'hmm's and examines the proffered limb

He presses a thumb on the top of Jasker's wrist, moving it around and feels some movement

He adjusts his grip, squeezing and pressing the metacarpal of his thumb along the top of the joint. He starts casually wiggling the wrist, bending it up and down

Jaskier is confused

I don't think that's how you shake hands, Geralt. Hahaha-! Oh, that's a little tender...

And what's that little clicking sound? Why is it doing that? Is it arthritis? Do you think I'm starting to get arthritis? It's arthritis, isn't it? I'm too young to have arthritis!

Oh, god, don't tell me it's broken! It's not broken, is it? Geralt, tell me it isn't-!

Geralt bends the joint down, then quickly snaps it back up with a whipping motion. There's a loud crack! and Jaskier's soul just about leaves his body

"It was just misaligned. Should feel better in a day or two." Geralt rumbles, then just walks away to putter around their camp.

Jaskier is left standing, stunned, while his brain tries to reboot whatarewords.exe so he can ask himself what the heck just happened

Jaskier gets an unwanted crash course in Cervical Spine Adjustment 101 barely a week later while he's staying at an inn while Geralt works a contract

The Witcher knows something is wrong with his bard's neck the minute he walks in the door

Of course Jaskier insists that he's fine

No, nothing is wRoNG! It's perfectly normal for a human to have to turn his entire body to look at someone

No! I didn't fall off a table while playing a set yesterday - I don't care what you heard on your way back here - I just slept wrong!

Hmm (translation: Go ahead and be stubborn, I can wait.)

Geralt doesn't press the issue further.

Once most normal humans hit their 30's, getting out of bed suddenly became a full contact sport

Jaskier very well might have come out of the fall unscathed, and could very well have put something out getting out of bed, but Geralt knows this is not the case

Jaskier makes it two whole days before he finally caves, the pain having spread up the back of his head to his ears and behind his eyes

Geralt is kind of impressed with his stubbornness

He instructs Jaskier to lay on his back across the bed then grabs a small towel and pulls up a chair so he can sit and support his head and neck in his hands

He starts gently manipulating Jaskier's head and neck

Ow! Owowowowow-! Geralt, that-! Owwwwww! F***, that hurts!

Geralt feels the tension in Jaskier's neck and 'Hmm' s, then loops the towel under his neck and starts gently pulling back

Jaskier has a sudden flashback to when Geralt adjusted his wrist, and his brain starts showing him horrible images of Geralt grabbing him by the head and snapping him like a whip

Geralt rumbles at him to relax, he's just putting traction on his neck to take the pressure off the nerves and stretch the muscles

The second he feels the bard relax, Geralt gives a short sharp yank

The rapid fire series of pops is drowned out by Jaskier's undignified shriek

Geralt has to jerk his own head back out of the way as the startled bard abruptly sits bolt upright, holding his neck protectively

Pale and visibly shaken, he starts spitting colorful and creative expletives and epithets that would have had Lambert scrambling to find parchment and pen to take notes with

Once the gibbering dies down, Geralt tries to get him to lay back down so he can finish adjusting him

What do you mean "NoT FINiShEd?" You mean there's-there's more? No. Nonononono, I'm quite done, f***youverymuch!

Geralt: put upon 'Hmm'

The Witcher rummages in his pack and hands the shaken bard a potion, telling him it's for the pain, and to help relax the muscles in his neck

Ten minutes later, the sedative has Jaskier almost back to his normal chatty self, aside from the slurred speech and unfocused gaze

Geralt checks Jaskier's neck while the bard cheerfully mutters random raunchy song lyrics, and makes inappropriate jokes

There's still some tension in Jaskier's neck, so Geralt rotates his head to the side, gives a quick twist, then rotates it to the other sides and repeats the movement

There's a tiny, delayed 'ow' from Jaskier, followed by a giggle

If you wan' ed t' pull me off, you shoul' a bou' me dinner firs

Geralt rolls his eyes and leaves Jaskier to sleep the potion off

They leave town as soon as Jaskier is fit to travel, and now that he's had time to process the experience, Jaskier is utterly fascinated with this 'witcher-y craft.

Geralt finds himself bombarded with questions about the practice

Jasksier begs him to teach him how to do it

Geralt thinks it over, and finally agrees. It would be beyond helpful to have an extra set of hands that know how to do adjustments, especially when you regularly engage in activities that tend to lead to displaced bones

He starts teaching Jaskier the basics

Winter finds Jaskier at Kaer Morhen, dividing his time between composing new ballads, and becoming the first bard to learn a witcher-y craft

[mk-wizard]

Hellboy Films: Why animated did better than live action

Hello, friends

Many of you may not know this, but out of all the superhero comics, Hellboy is my favourite. What can I say? As a little girl, I was a misfit, so a misfit hero like Hellboy was right up my alley and the concept of someone being born to be bad to turn out so good because he had a loving father to show him the way is beautiful. My introduction to Hellboy was the first live action film in the 2000s and at the time, I liked it, but then I started reading the comics. Once I got to know the real Hellboy and series, the more I fell in love with the comics yet at the same time, the more I go to not like the live action films and not just because I found the sequel and reboot in 2019 bad. There are many problems with the three live action Hellboy films which rub me the wrong way and not simply because they are live action. Most superheroes started off as cartoon drawings, but were well done in live action, but Hellboy missed all the notes. Now as a mature adult woman who is experienced at storytelling as well as analyzing, I rewatched some of the live action and I took time to watch the animated films. The difference in quality is night and day (no pun intended and I will give links to the animated films because they are stunning). I will now tell you all where the animated films went right and how live action went all wrong.

1- Hellboy’s design was better in the animated films. - I am more than willing to be forgiving when it comes to taking artistic liberties. Sometimes, the results can be beautiful, but in the case live action Hellboy, it was all wrong and I have to blunt, we can do so much better with graphic design now than just simply taking a tall buff man, putting make up and props on him. I hate sounding mean, but both versions just look like a guy wearing a cosplaying as Hellboy. It would have been much better if Hellboy was completely and entirely CGI or perhaps even an elaborate puppet costume like the ones used in the Jim Henson films. It may sound like enough to give the hero red skin, a stone hand, horns, a tail, cloven feet (which are covered), amber eyes, pointed ears and be very tall. He STILL looks too human compared to the comic and compared to what movie makers can do, it’s lackluster.

Now, we turn to the animated version which did more than just the obvious. Hellboy isn’t inhuman looking just because of the said traits before. He is inhuman because of his proportions and shape especially his face. It is a confirmed fact that he is not just not human. He is ugly and animalistic looking. His features are the combination of a satyr and gorilla especially when you look at how thin his legs, jaw, shoulders, posture and so on.  Also, his eyes aren’t just amber. He has no pupils, no schlera (the white part) and no irises. The entire eye is nothing, but amber which makes them disturbing to look at. He cannot simply cover his face, tail and hand, then simply blend in. He cannot even wear most human clothes hence why Hellboy is always shirtless and his hooves are exposed. In other words, animated Hellboy looks like Hellboy.

2- The animated plot was clean, to the point with no filler. - While I admit the first live action film kept it pretty simple, I find that it still had a lot of filler and too much subplot. If you ever read a Hellboy comic, you will know right off the bat that Mike Mignola is a master at the art of pacing without fluff. Yes, he respect that character development and buildup takes time, but he doesn’t drag things. Ever. And he does not make everything so angsty either. Yes, he hints that the characters have issues, trauma, emotional pain and at times, depression, but he did so without making them into whiners. For the most part, the cast and hero would pick themselves up and do what they had to like adults. If anything, they were also each other’s emotional support and they don’t hate people. The animated version captured that completely and even showed us that the cast did not consist of malcontents who played the “poor me” card to death. In the beginning of Blood and Iron, Abe, Liz and Hellboy were happily talking about a bakery they had found once which reminds us that with all their hardships they do seek and accept joy in life even from something as simple as good pastries.

Moreover, the plot of the film was to the point with some amount of subplots, but without getting complicated and without the subplots contradicting each other. Everything had a way of coming together neatly and even though we did sometimes get surprises, they didn’t feel like filler. They felt like things that were always there, but now, we are aware of them. Most importantly, there was no cheap or silly selling point tactics like relationship drama or the stereotypical father-son bickering (more on this later). Hellboy is not that kind of story.

3- The subtle messages and morals in the animated films were deeper and better. - Being the mature adult I am now, I can say that the first Hellboy really was just Beauty and the Beast while using the Hellboy cast instead and it presented in the message in all of the outdated and bad ways. Don’t get me wrong, I find the idea of Hellboy falling in love romantic and I admit that underneath all of the darkness and action, everything about Hellboy comes back to love. However, it is not romantic love where the end all be all is to be accepted by humanity by getting into a relationship with a human, then turning into a handsome prince even if only metaphorically. The deeper and more important kind of love Hellboy tries to teach is self love how you are regardless how strange people deem you. If you have done something with your life and made something of yourself, then it is ok to be you and are already more loved than you realize. The other kind of love that has always been important to the series is family unity. You see, Hellboy, Liz and Abe are like siblings to each other and Prof. Bruttenholm is an incredibly loving father figure to all of them namely Hellboy who he raised since he was a baby.

He made the big red guy into the man he is today. In fact, even as an adult, Hellboy and Bruttenholm are a very sweet and kind father and son duo. They are not at each other’s throats, they don’t snark at each other or are incapable of agreeing on anything. There is no spite, there is no anger, there is no resentment and there is no ingratitude. There is only love and honestly, THIS is the love that ought to be showcased more in the films.

With that all said and done, the animated films also had their subtle deep messages which we not only understand clearly, but we also appreciate more. In the first movie Sword of Storms, it was all about finding a balance between persevering and knowing when to let go. In other words, keep doing what you must if it is still relevant and making a difference, but if it isn’t and is the reason you’re stuck, by all means quit. There are many roads to closure. In the second one Blood and Iron, it was clear from the beginning that the message was to not underestimate the elderly. They may not be as strong as they once were, but their experience and wisdom gets them and you out of tough spots. They have been through everything before and know what to do. By all means, aid them and help them, but don’t treat them like helpless babies. I also have to say that when I look at the messages the two animated films were telling us, they are not only clearer, but pretty underrated ones too. In the case of the live action films, the messages were muddled if not done before.

In short, I look at the animated films and I’m impressed. If another live action Hellboy does come along, I hope that this time, it will be done right and I really don’t want to see relationship, gore fests, snark or family drama again. Of course, this all my opinion and I would love to hear all of yours.

Thank you for reading and stay safe.

EDIT: Wouldn’t you know it? I forgot the link to all things Hellboy Animated. Here it is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellboy_Animated

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thoughts on the doafp season 2 trailer?

It looks like S2 will be great. I was impressed by how little evidence of covid restrictions there were; that will definitely help the series age well. I thought it was likely that Sam would move in and I’m excited to see how that plays out. The mother-daughter growing apart angst is going to be brutal to watch but there's a lot the writers can do with it. Interesting that they’re focusing so much on Melissa’s redemption right off the bat and that they’re also introducing a school play story line. I’m withholding judgement on the use of Gina Rodriguez as Elena’s conscience but it does make sense to increase her role since she’s by far the most famous cast member.

I was very pleasantly surprised that the trailer focused so much on Bobby’s story line. The biggest shock was that they included a brief shot of Bobby and CJ smiling at each other in the high school hallway. I’ve thought that CJ is a likely choice to be Bobby’s real love interest ever since it became clear last fall that Donovin Miller had joined the cast. He’s the right age, non-white, and only shows up in 2x06 which is very late but makes sense if CJ and his role in Bobby’s story line is subject to Disney restrictions that straight characters don’t have to worry about. It’s interesting that CJ is featured in the part of the trailer where Elena talks about being there for others and lifting them up, it strongly suggests that CJ will be a positive influence on Bobby. A lot of the Bobby clips look pretty angsty and with CJ only first appearing in 2x06 I’ve speculated that there could be a shift in Bobby’s story line then or an old one wraps up and CJ helps launch a new one. 

That scene of Bobby walking at night with Liam is almost certainly Bobby coming out to Liam in 2x10, a scene which Brandon has been hyping up for a while. Nathan was also on set that night but perhaps he leaves earlier or joins later. There’s also the possibility that Bobby comes out to Danny earlier but it’s hard to tell which ep that could be since Danny is in every ep except 2x09 this season. Of course, it could also be a misdirect and Bobby decides he’s not ready to tell him yet. I’m shocked that Danny somehow found out that Bobby had a crush, on what he thinks was a girl, back in 7th grade. I can’t wait to see how that comes up, did Bobby let something slip or were they talking about Monyca? Also I think that Bobby on the blue couch is him talking to Cami about struggling to come out which I’m sure will be well done. I’d love to see Cami coming out to her own parents but I really don’t know if Disney will allow that when it looks like the writers already have quite a bit packed in to Bobby’s coming out arc. 

We’ll also go a long way to finding out whether Brandon has been hyping Cartero because he has been explicitly told that Liam is meant to be bisexual regardless of whether Disney ever allows it or whether he’s been projecting his own bisexuality onto Liam without any basis in reality. That being said, I don’t think we’ll actually get canon Cobby or Cartero this season and any canon relationship for Bobby would only come in the 3rd season if they’re lucky enough to get one. Back in the fall Ilana liked a tweet that said writers should normalize interracial relationships that don’t involve a white person and I think she’s applying that to Bobby’s story line and that we can rule out his love interest being white. It’s a bold move for a Disney show since even most of their straight interracial relationships involve one white person. Not to mention Disney has a poor track record of how they treat their black male characters, something Doafp seems determined to improve on. 

There’s also the unfortunate fact that there will be limits on what Disney allows but I’m confident that the show will make history with Bobby coming out to his family and friends by season’s end. There will be a price to pay for all this lgbtq rep and I think the show being released all at once which will likely doom any hopes of S3 is part of that. Disney did something similar with The Owl House which is the only Disney show to surpass Doafp’s level of lgbtq rep, the show was cancelled and the 3rd season will consist of only three 44 minutes eps (if you haven’t watched The Owl House yet you should, it’s a hoot). 

The trailer seems to confirm what was evident from the cast’s social media posts while filming, that Ziggy only has a very small role and is largely absent. Presumably he goes to another high school but it’s gonna be hard to reintegrate him back into the show if they get a S3 and he’s the only one who wasn’t around for Bobby’s coming out arc. We saw Tony Espinoza’s character on stage with Elena during the student rep speeches so he’s connected to that story in some fashion. Brogan Hall’s character Tripp is absent from the trailer but we know he’s in 5 eps, most in the first 6 eps of the season and he seems to be Elena’s main opponent in the student rep race. Also not much of Jessica and nothing of Joey. 

I’m curious to see how all these story lines fit into only 10 eps especially when so many of the recurring characters are in so many of the eps: Liam and Sasha are both in all 10 eps, Danny in 9, even Melissa is in 7 eps this season. Some story lines and characters will probably fall through the cracks. We know Ilana directed 2x09 so we’ll see if that’s a special ep. Fwiw Charlie on twitter said that his favourite eps were 2x03, 2x05, 2x07, and 2x09, presumably some of those eps focus on Bobby coming out to Cami and his family at least. 

I really hope that we get a miracle and Doafp gets a 3rd season but with the news that the Doogie Howser reboot is getting the standard weekly release starting in September it makes it more and more likely that Disney is airing all the eps at once just to burn them off. On the plus side the trailer on the official Disney twitter account has over 811 000 views as of me writing this so perhaps a proper advertising campaign could draw a larger audience if Disney is willing to put the effort in.