#this reminds me of that John Mulaney story

[pancake-loving-pandemi]

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because we're Delta airlines, and life is a fucking nightmare~"

[rogersandclarke]

our stefon story

hey, seth! can i talk to you for a second? sure thing lorne, what’s up? great. so basically i’m a little worried about the st patrick’s day sketch. oh why is that, lorne?

by the way the writing style is like to recall clarice lispector, william s. burroughs, james joyce, and SHAKESPEARE. because it’s a play. and mindy kaling, because she wrote matt and ben.

oh why is that lorne? glad you asked. seth–your character–who is YOU–is not supposed to kiss stefon. you are supposed to kindly accept it but you are not supposed to kiss back. kiss back? i don’t think i kissed back. Yes you did. really? i didn’t think i was. like, i just was acting like seth meyers normally would. i’m supposed to be myself, right? look, that’s fine, but you can’t be too gay on tv. i already agreed to let you have the wedding next year, but we have to do it in the edit. seth meyers can’t show reciprocal affection on television, we have to gay-bait the audience!

wait, i just don’t understand. i was just sitting there. i didn’t kiss him. ummm yeah we’ll see about that. roll the tape!!!

(the tape plays and it shows seth and stefon making out for five minutes while the director yells cut and john mulaney taps them on the shoulder and asks them to stop. “this isn’t in my script,” he says with his broad nasal sound from st ignatius high school).

seth runs out of the building. “oh fuck!” he thinks. “i didn’t do that, did i?” he screams to the sky. I LOVE MY FIANCÉ! I KNOW SHE WILL GIVE BIRTH VERY FASR IN THE LOBBY, HOSPITAL, AND MY BATHRUB!

STEFON exits the theatre, and approaches seth

STEFON: Hey baby. are you okay?

SETH: No. Why are you calling me baby

STEFON: I always call you baby when we’re not on set. See?

STEFON shows SETH a voice memo on his phone.

STEFON (V.O.): Hi baby, I just wanted to send you a voice memo cause i’m walk to the club right now but i really think you should come through, because you would love the dancing lion drag show tonight. It’s at Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round. and the password is Row row row you boat. I love you baby I love dating you I want to get serious in this abandoned meat factory.

SETH: Oh god, the fucking meat factory.

STEFON: Are you remembering?

SETH: YES. IT HURTS.

STEFON: you always forget me, and i always have to remind you who we are.

SETH: …

SETH (Cont.): Do I love you?

STEFON: I don’t know.

STEFON puts his hands to his face. SETH grabs them and holds them.

SETH: I think I do.

30 Rockefeller Plaza gleams above them. Tourists gaze on

TOURIST: I love my new Iphone 3

STEFON and SETH stop kissing.

TOURIST: Hey Are you guys Sethon? Can I have an autograph?

SETH and STRFON nod. They grab the pen and sign a hundred dollar bill while holding the pen at the same time. they write MRS SETHON MEYERS <3

TOURIST NOW KNOWN AS GAY TOURIST: I love you guys, your romance is so special to the community. it made my dog less homophobic to me. she loves “your mother and i are separating.”

SETH: Thanks. I’m still learning. I actually haven’t left my woman yet, and I don’t intend to, But it’s okay.

SETH looks at STEFON.

STEFON: I guess so.

SETH: I don’t know what to do.

STEFON: I can’t blame you. I also have another boyfriend.

SETH: Did our lovemaking trip mean nothing to you?

They share a meaningful look.

STEFON: Let’s dance it out.

SETH: Toure right. let’s go to WEEE LITTLE BAAABY

[randomheros]

Sonic movie 3 spoilers (again, cause I got more to say)

I love that this movie just immediately goes to the prison break. Like this movie really said "we know your here for him, we're not gonna make you wait." XD

The entire break out scene is so good. The lighting, the stasis tube thing is cool, the animation of Shadows little sleepy twitches. The subtle build up to the fact he's waking up (cause if he's twitching, that means he'd be in REM sleep, a stasis should be deeper, right?) The heart monitor alerting the guards to him waking up. Then there's the scene of him leaving the island, where he races across the water, and maybe I'm just imagining it, but I SWEAR you can see a learning curve in his initial animation. Like it looks like he takes a moment to figure out how to race across the water, which makes sense cause he's never done that before. It's some subtle but good animation and I appreciate it.

I love that he isn't immediately on a revenge spree, he's just kind of unsure what to do with himself. Like he hates GUN certainly, but like, yeah, he should. I wouldn't advise someone to trust the people that attacked his home and killed his best friend. Dude has every right to be defensive, and it was FULLY GUN's idea to attack him in a highly populated area.

I like that Shadow wasn't really too intent on harming Sonic and the gang, he was mostly trying to avoid and prevent them from following. I also like Shadow not being really cocky and arrogant, cause frankly I'm not sure that ever fit his backstory.

I like that it was Gerald who put the revenge idea in his head-annnnd as I say that, I understand that it was a way of doing the memory alter thing but in a less complicated way. NICE. I love the little haunted house moment in mountain base, loved seeing ma boi Casper. XD

I love Super Sonic's fight with Shadow. I love love LOVE Shadow's super form being more white gold, I'm sure that's not new, but he's real pretty. XD It's also really funny cause like...he has no idea what's going on but just goes with it. He has no idea what the chaos emeralds are, has no idea why Sonic is gold now, no idea why he's now gold, but is still unfazed. He is the epitome of the John Mulaney bit; "This might as well happen today."

I love that Shadow just kind of wants Sonic to kill him. Some good character writing. He wants justice/revenge for Maria, but he also just wants the pain to end. He just wants it all to go away.

tHE LIVE AND LEARN MOMENT WAS GREAT. NO NOTES. JUST PERFECTION. (The little genuine smile Shadow gets is so nice. Oh my god. It was hype)

HE TOOK OF THE POWER CUFFS! IT WAS NEVER STATED, THEY JUST FULLY TRUSTED THE FANS TO UNDERSTAND(at least...i don't recall the power cuffs ever being explained in the movie...)

While part of me misses the whole "Gerald made Shadow to cure Maria" thing, it doesn't really take away from the movie, and it does make it easier to do a Black Arms story line in the future, if they wanted to. Like they left that door WIDE open.

I think the only thing in this movie that I wasn't sure I liked was Gerald...we didn't really get any scenes of him before the 50 year imprisonment, so I kept having to remind myself that he likely wasn't this weird 50 years ago. But I also know they had to make him weird cause it's fucking Jim Carrey. XD Regardless, I think it ever so slightly took away from the emotional impact of the Eclipse canon scheme, cause I can't take him seriously for even a second. I'm also not sure how I feel about Keanu Reeves voice acting...like, he suits Shadow, but ...sometimes it feels like it's lacking some emotion. But maybe that's just the intended direction? Idk, I'll have to watch it a second time before I can really make a judgment. Maybe I'm just not used to it. XD Regardless, it would be the fans fault and not Sega cause yall asked for Reeves XD

I CALLED THE END CREDIT SCENE! I KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE METAL SONIC! Eggman has had that quill thing forever, it's been established that his quills can power things, it only makes sense for Metal Sonic to appear.

I did not suspect MANY metal sonics however, or AMY!?! YOOOO??? Never have I been so hyped to see Amy XD

I had a blast at this movie X3

[pemberlyprose]

If We Were Villains

I just finished reading M.L. Rio's If We Were Villains for the second time and there is a prevalent feeling in my chest over it. Thus, I must express~~

As a character, Oliver Marks is very thought-provoking and there is a quote regarding his character that stuck with me this time around. Since I don't have the book right next to me as I write this (tragic blunder for someone who studied literature, but I don't want to walk upstairs lol) I am going to paraphrase.

When Oliver tells Meredith he doesn't understand why she wanted to be with him in the first place, Meredith responds by telling Oliver that he is "so good," and his goodness makes others feel seen. A similar sentiment was also expressed at the beginning of the novel by James when Oliver mentions he has no specialty in acting.

I do not know why this moment is ringing in my ear, but it makes me wonder if, like Oliver's friends, I also feel seen by him and take comfort in his goodness. There's a loveliness and sensitivity to Oliver that makes you sigh a breath of relief-- not only for him but for yourself. I don't think it's because he is steadfast or morally pious, but because he knows there is room for fault and there is room for forgiveness. It seems to me, that Oliver (and Filippa tbh) possesses genuine character, while the others simply align themselves with the first one assigned to them.

Which brings me to my own introspections: Why do I take comfort in this character? Because I am a actor wanting to be seen beyond my performance, or because I have yet to appreciate my own character, and posses a semblance of goodness that I never fail to see in others but fail to recognize in myself? Perhaps both? (*In John Mulaney* "we don't have time to upack all of that!").

Nonetheless, it is an interesting question i've been contemplating.

In any case, Oliver does have a quality that all the characters notice... even Richard. And, when he tells this story, and I experiance it through his eyes, I feel this overwhelming--vivid-- sense of love and grief. Bizzarely, the feeling makes me want to squeal excitedly at the impact of literature, because that is what this novel is talking about! This is the power of words and story telling.

Maybe its the influence of Shakespeare, maybe it is just the phenomenal writing of this brilliant novel (certainly), but when I reflect on my experiance as a reader this time, I find myself even more entrenched in the sensation of losing something I never had. Melancholy is a good word... but a hopeful melancholy.

Oliver reflects on his time at Dellecher as if its a past life, and in a way, when I finished the book a few nights ago I felt the same way. Like waking up from a dream you didn't want to end and having to remind yourself that this is a different world... this is the one you live in... and all of that, those feelings and emotions were just a moment not a memory.

And it is precicely that feeling that has me reaching for that novel over and over again.

[syst3merr0r]

After watching the trailer 10x times, I wanted to share my thoughts on it, and the changes!!

Aka mun takes this as a chance to ramble about Hazbin Hotel-

Spoiler warning for the HH trailer under the cut!!

Okay, here we go!

I'm sad to see the og voices go, but now that we've been able to hear the new ones, I'm not as disappointed. Alastor, Husk, and Vox's new voices(i know Vox never REALLY had a voice, but i mean the iconic fan made one) threw me off guard HARD. And not in a bad way!! I like Alastor’s, it's more upbeat, yet it can also be intimidating like how Edward's was. Husk's voice is a BIG change!! I do like how it's now more smooth sounding, although it's still a bit difficult to match the voice to the face. Vox's voice made me cackle. I adore how it sounds, and it makes him hard "I'm better than you" nerd vibes. Or John Mulaney.

The updated animation and artstyle is BEAUTIFUL!!! Everything looks so clean and smooth, it's truly amazing what the HH team has done. MAJOR props to them!!

The fact we have yet to hear Sir Pentious is a bit concerning, but also exciting. It's been revealed his VA will be Alex Brightman, which is a bit strange that have yet to hear him. But we'll definitely be hearing him in the show!

I'm sorry I have to ramble about the stupid ass deer man- I'm very excited to see whether he plays the belated villain or if he's fighting alongside Charlie! As he says in the trailer, "It's time I remind everyone why I'm here" followed by a clip of him going (assumably) full/near full Radio Demon. Although it's not clarified whether he's talking to Charlie, the entirely of Hell, or to Lucifer/Adam. I can't wait to see how he acts in the show, and how/if he makes relationships/friendships with the others! Remember, he's the Radio Demon. He's an asshole- It also intrigues me that when it shows him using his powers, it looks like he's melting a bit. Either way, in quote of Alastor himself, "This is going to be very entertaining!"

Charlie and Vaggie are adorable together. But it does look like they're going to have some struggles in the show with maybe their relationship. Probably- based on what we've seen in the pilot and the clips for the series, Vaggie is very skeptical about Charlie's whole plan, while Charlie just wants her to trust in her.

All in all, I cannot WAIT to watch Hazbin Hotel, and see where these characters and story lead!

[youofsomesong]

Friends Describing Starkid Characters (part 8)

alex

he seems like a gay jock but in the closet

back is rob

front is joe

aiden

he gives that vibes

jason (idk yall)

thats a joe but like the weird creepy joe

sharpay and ryan (but girl form) from hsm (ew incest)

john mulaney (correct first name for the actor, just wrong spelling)

the lobster from the little mermaid

wait no this is ryan from hsm

this is jafar from aladdin

specifically the aladdin jr from my middle school (i literally posted on my instagram story like 5 hours before they did this one saying how no one remembers achmed and assumes achmed is jafar skdjfhsad)

little red on drugs

she reminds me of the crazy bird lady from home alone but also moira rose from schitts creek (i have only seen home alone and that was years ago. and they showed me an episode of shitts creek while we were dying my hair so i dont remember either of them)

jafar and jasmine (at least people are getting the jafar part correct)

blond little red but also looks like a jan

the main biker guy from teen beach movie

also biker guy but gay and also in the closet

troyler perks to (part 7) for saying troye sivan bc thats all i see now from that edit (look- i couldnt find the original picture)

captian hooks son thats gay

ben

jim

no questions

he seems like a john but goes by johnny

NERDY PRUDES MUST DIE SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!!! LOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

sam

jimmy and sarah (a lot of j names so they have one thing right kjdsfhkjsfh)

peyton

or any white bitch name

drew monson

peter pan

its giving shane dawson parody vibes

the girl from the candyland game

that looks like the red soxs mascot

im feeling like a timmy

this looks like if dan and phill had a kid (jfkhasd okay. as if i wasnt complaining for days how i needed a picture of him for a drawing and for this game. im like 80% certain i told them his name)

[swagmother]

I’m having a big movie phase so here’s this weeks recap:

I started Pigsty by pier Paolo Pasolini over a week before I finished it and my first half of viewing I was quite sleepy and was off put by the dubbing that was going on and dialogue style but when I picked it back up I appreciated it more I thought the cinematography was great and the stories that were told were pretty interesting….. I think I will check out other works written and directed by PPP

Then I watched Cosmopolis which was pretty moderately adequate, I think David Cronenberg is clearly at his best when he’s doing body horror but he has my respect for making an occupy Wall Street movie starring Robert Pattinson about how no one has control in a world that grows ever more complex (in my opinion)

I also watched what many would consider a classic of sorts and one of the best movies ever made and I did like it but don’t feel like going into it because the creator is a piece of shit that should be lit on fire

I watched Garden State for the first time which was…. Fine… I probably would have loved it when I was 17 but believe it or not I’m actually 24 now and the only thing I truly loved in that movie was Natalie Portman because….. she rocks… I was also disappointed her character did not have a seizure???? Like as a former epileptic myself…. I need to see some seizures Natalie…..

Immediately after garden state, I watched the Cell, a uhh thing of sorts starring J-Lo and Vince Vaughn engaged in some surreal sci-fi serial killer thrills (wow!) but who cares…. Because this movie was so visually beautiful I kind of want to cry sometimes… the plot was like… fine, but to reiterate, very beautiful visuals costume and set design, color grading is also great and yeah it just felt good to watch this with my eyes and it’s a shame movies like this are few and far between….

Yesterday was actually pretty kooky because I saw puss and boots the last wish! And then I rested for 3 hours, and returned to the movie theater to see skinamarink…. Puss in Boots was quite enjoyable I’d say…. I think it lives up to the hype mostly. The animation is good, puss in boots gets a nice character arc, John Mulaneys big evil guy is pretty great…. i think the dog was hideous though that’s the only true flaw of this movie… one thing I’d say though, the first 10 min just made me miss shrek I guess? Like idk…. Just how shrek would treat minor characters or civilians or whatever was uniquely great and also funny and I feel like an attempt is made to capture this but it doesn’t completely succeed…. It’s a good movie though!

Skinamarink….. it’s not for everyone! I will say, … the movie mayyy be a little longer than it needs to be (for me) and I did get occasionally bored; but again, that only speaks to my “enjoyment” yk and we live in adhd times, but who cares about that! Art should be itself…. This was pretty spooky and definitely reminded me of how scared I used to be as a child… like it just feels like when you would watch one of those cryptid or alien or ghost hunting shows when you were 6 or 7 and lay awake scared to sleep, pining for the comfort of a TV or parent while complete silence surrounds you, looking through the crack of your bedroom door into a dimly lit hallway where even if something was moving in the shadows you wouldn’t know and you close your eyes extremely hard and pray whatever sporadic creaks and shifts in the house are meaningless, terrified because if your eyes open even the slightest smidgen you very well may get your soul obliterated by a ghoul or jump scared irl….. anyway, definitely will remember this one for a while, and very much look forward to future projects by the director/writer!

[crowdvscritic]

round up // NOVEMBER 24

Fair warning: November was a lot for me, which is why yet another Round Up is coming at least a full week into the next month. My go-to answer to “How are you?” has become, “I’m hanging in there!” With three weekends out of town, two funerals, and one more election that disappointed me in the deepest of ways, I’m back to a season when the lyrics to “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” feel like Taylor Swift has ripped out that broken heart and reset it to melody. 

I know that’s a less pleasant answer than you hoped for when you asked how I was, so perhaps you’ll be relieved to hear only one of my pop culture top 10 this month made me cry. Between Glicked weekend, Awards Season powering ahead full steam, and the Eras Tour (finally!), there was plenty to look forward to and get a respite from the heavy stuff. 

November Crowd-Pleasers

1. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

After 16 years of listening, 11 albums (depending on how you count), 2 previous tours, and countless attempts to get tickets to previous shows, I finally made it to the Eras Tour! As I noted in my review of the filmed concert last fall, my deep wish is for an up close, intimate show from an artist who has inspired me for so long, and would’t you know it? Sharing her attention with 70,000 other people is a certified way to remind you that will never happen. But it’s a bittersweet reality check to scream the “Cruel Summer” bridge at the top of your lungs in a crowd of friendly people as enthusiastic as you are. Seeing The Tortured Poets Department live brought it to life in a new way I hadn’t imagined, hearing "marjorie" live became a grief processing moment, and I’ve decided I need to find more excuses to wear sequins. Until I find another excuse, I’ll be flipping through The Eras Tour Book on my coffee table.

2. SNL Round Up

D-O-M-I-N-G-O! If you don’t want to get him stuck in your head, maybe don’t enjoy Marcello Hernández’s most memorable character yet in clips from SNL or from Sabrina Carpenter’s show. But if you don’t mind a catchy tune bringing a a smile to your face at random times during the day (or cathartic laughter to get through election season), don’t skip these: 

“2024 Pre-Election Cold Open” (5005 with John Mulaney)

“Stand-Up Monologue” (5005)

“What’s That Name: Election Edition” (5005)

“Port Authority Duane Reade” (5005)

“Weekend Update: The Couple You Can't Believe Are Together” (5005)

“Little Richard” (5005)

“Beppo” (5005)

“New York City Council Campaign” (5005)

“SNL for Trump Cold Open” (5006 with Bill Burr)

“Stand-up Monologue” 

“Calling Dad” (5006)

“Babymoon” (5007 with Charli xcx)

3. Wicked: Part One (2024)

Wicked: Part One is the spectacle you’d hope from a smash musical. Sequins! Vocal runs! Large-scale choreography! Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are excellent successors to Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, hitting goosebump-worthy notes and harmonies. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

4. Gladiator II (2024)

Like 2000’s Best Picture winner, Gladiator II is both brutal and exhilarating, but its boldest stroke is finding ways to surprise us after decades of cable viewings of the original. And is any director as great at creating battle sequences than Sir Ridley Scott? Read my full review for ZekeFilm and watch my Glicked weekend reviews for KMOV. Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 9/10

5. Music by John Williams (2024)

Because sometimes it’s nice to just watch a documentary that can be summed up as, “A nice man is really talented!” Any opportunity to give a genius like John Williams to pontificate on his work is an excellent use of time and film. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

MORE NOVEMBER CROWD-PLEASERS // The Peter Pan National Tour finds fun and surprising ways to freshen up the classic story for the stage // The Fire Inside (2024) is an easy recommendation for any sports movie fan // Nightbitch (2024) finds a new (and humorous) angle on motherhood for mainstream movies // The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat (2024) is for the Mystic Pizza girlies

November Critic Picks

1. The Apprentice (2024)

I feared this would be a self-righteous diatribe, but instead it feels like watching The Godfather Part II or Attack of the Clones. The miracle is you don’t have to have see anything else in the franchise for this to feel like its own holistic work thanks to fully realized performances from Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong that never turn into caricature. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. A Real Pain (2024)

In one of 2024’s top awards contenders, Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin update Planes, Trains & Automobiles with more gravitas and some of the best performances of the year. Watch my full review on KMOV. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

3. The West Wing Weekly Political Film Fest

I was surprised to discover I’ve never recommended The West Wing Weekly podcast in a Round Up, but thanks to Hrishikesh Hirway and Joshua Malina’s new virtual film fest, I’m able to correct that oversight. The duo bring their trademark wit and political insight to their discussions of previous Round Up recommendations like Dave, Dr. Strangelove, A Face in the Crowd, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Network, as well as new-to-me worthwhile watches like The Candidate (1972).

4. Chicago National Tour

Because everybody’s doing choreography, but not as well as this show! Few stage shows inspire so much thought about bodily movement (individually and corporately), justice, and the American dream. The songs really are all that jazz and a bag of chips, too.

5. Good Reads

What I’ve been reading about lately includes…

…pop culture (duh):

“Twisters Press Tour Measured F-5 on the Brisket Scale,” vulture.com (2024) 

“The 100 Greatest Westerns of All Time,” IndieWire.com (2024)

“The 'Absurd' Real-Life Sting Operation That Inspired a Movie,” BBC.com (2024)

“Charli XCX and Lorde’s Conflict Resolution is the Year’s Most Powerful Pop Moment,” TheGuardian.com (2024)

“The Growing Gender Divide, Three Minutes at a Time,” TheAtlantic.com (2024)

“Fall Is for Gilmore Girls: The Data Says So, and Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino Agrees,” HollywoodReporter.com (2024)

…work:

“Comedian John Mulaney Brutally Roasts SF Techies at Dreamforce,” SFStandard.com (2024)

“Night Owls’ Cognitive Function ‘Superior’ to Early Risers, Study Suggests,” TheGuardian.com (2024)

“CEOs Made Nearly 200 Times What Their Workers Got Paid Last Year,” APNews.com (2024)

“The Right to Disconnect Has Started, Giving Australians Legal Cover to Stop Responding to Emails and Calls After Hours,” ABC.net.au (2024)

…money:

“Housing Experts Say There Just Aren't Enough Homes in the U.S.,” NPR.org (2024)

“Owning a House in the U.S. Is Now the Most Expensive Since 2007, New Report Finds,” TIME.com (2024)

“You'll Need More Than $100,000 in Income to Afford a Typical Home, Studies Show,” NPR.org (2024)

“How Gen Z Ended Up in So Much Debt,” bloomberg.com (2024)

…family:

“Couples Therapy, but for Siblings,” TheAtlantic.com (2024)

“The Unspoken Grief of Never Becoming a Grandparent,” NYTimes.com (2024)

…fashion:

“The 30 Most Stylish People of the Last 30 Years,” InStyle.com (2024)

“What’s Going On With Pants? Everything, It Turns Out,” Vogue.com (2024)

“Is a $910 Fleece Actually Worth It?” NYTimes.com (2024)

…politics and the Internet:

“Drowning in Slop,” NYMag.com (2024)

“The Taylor Swift Way to Defuse a Troll,” TheAtlantic.com (2024)

“Trump’s Evangelical Supporters Just Lost Their Best Excuse,” TheAtlantic.com (2024)

MORE NOVEMBER CRITIC PICKS // Nickel Boys (2024) is extraordinary and devastating // Martha (2024) revealed new layers to an icon I thought I knew // September 5 (2024) is a standout add to the journalism film canon // Kingdom of Heaven (2005) is a new-to-me add to the Christian film canon

Also in November…

You know I don’t wait to start start watching Christmas movies until after Thanksgiving. If you’re looking for recommendations, feel free to browse through my annual rewatches and new discoveries on Letterboxd.

Photo credits: Taylor Swift, West Wing Weekly, Chicago, Good Reads. All others IMDb.com.

[minti-tales]

9. How do they feel about Zenos?

19. What do they think of the Heavens Ward?

Boy, talk about a double whammy. I want to post that gif of John Mulaney saying "We don't have time to unpack this!," but guess what? This is an ask me. I must make time to unpack this. These. Let's a-gooooo

---

I should start by saying that these answers are likely to be me bleeding into Minti. I tend to leave fragments of myself in the characters that I write, some bigger than others. Some fragments turn into a troublesome, but lovable bunny who tries *very very hard* not be defined, who drinks my glamour potions, and spends all of my gil.

Ahem.

Zenos was never a character I liked. I think they're a well written villain and foil for the Warrior of Light, but I never said "Hey, it's Zenos!" with a smile on my face.

He reminds me too much of relationships I've had in the past, where I was, at different times, the rebound, the whipping post, the obsession, and the tryst. (I recently learned that the person who was obsessed with me in high school was stealing my parents' information to open credit card accounts, twenty years later. *Twenty. Years. Later.* If this is you, and you're reading this, grow the hell up. I moved on, so can you.) I realize as I'm writing this that the ask is in danger of turning into *Tales of Hoffman*, the German opera where a drunk poet sings about their ruined relationships in a Bavarian tavern, so let's steer this towards Minti again. I also realize not everyone is going to get this reference; I was a wannabe theater kid with a cousin who did opera and church friends who sang in the local opera theater company.

The point I'm failing to make is that Zenos is obsessed with Minti, the Warrior of Light. Zenos would, and tries, to burn the world down so that Minti's focus is entirely on him. It doesn't matter that he defeats her more than once in the MSQ; it doesn't matter that he turns into a frickin' primal, Shinryu. At the end, it's down to who Zenos decides are the superior predators: himself and Minti. The rest of the world doesn't, shouldn't, exist.

Zenos scares her; he scares her every time he shows up. This is not a "I can fix him" situation, this is "I'm with someone who can kill me, but chooses not to. I want to leave." Being left alone with him at the end of the universe is the worst possible scenario.

Later on, when we meet Zero and go through post-6.0 content, it was hard for me and for her to distinguish Zero from Zenos. In Minti's mind, they were the same person, just with a different body and name. Who knew when Zenos was going to emerge from Zero like a skinwalker and go "Did you miss me, Warrior of Light?" Which is why that kiss meme went in the direction it did - fear that Zero wasn't Zero.

"One Walks in Shadow, One Walks in Light" was an attempt for me to distinguish Zero from Zenos before the end of 6.5. I - me - needed to have a good story for them, and 6.5 provided that. Dare I even say that they're *friends*. Can you believe that? Friends. Good friends! Not friends with benefits, but good, "I got your back, you got mine" friends.

So, after all that rambling, Minti is glad Zenos is dead, may he decay at the far end of the fudging universe and not come back.

---

OH BOY OBERTO, let's talk about the Heavens' Ward. Those people. The people who killed Lady Sabbatine. Those people.

When I talk about Minti being a Ward of House Treleaux, I mean it in the way that the Warrior of Light is a Ward of House Fortemps in the MSQ. They're part of the house, but not by blood. They're under the house's protection.

House Treleaux was never in good graces with the Church, pre-Heavensward. As I've written elsewhere, they got accused to practicing witchcraft and consorting with dark powers to become knights of the Greene (Dark Knights). That reputation didn't get helped after the Calamity, when Lady Sabbatine Treleaux took control of the house, aided by her friend and contemporary gal being pal? Angélique. Sabbatine also considered the Ward to be more interested in controlling the good people of Ishgard than giving them Halone's grace.

All it took was rumors of a long-eared witch's spawn being sighted around the Jeweled Crozier for Ser Charibert to have reason to make a "house call". You can read how that went in my first DWC entry for this year, "Envoy."

She despised them when she was young, she despises them now. It was a pleasure to defeat the Knights of the Round in combat.

I hope this helps.

[syrupy-corvus-coronoides]

Just watched the new Puss in Boots movie, and I want to try reviewing it. I have no experience in film-making or critique.

A short review of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

1. Animation: 10/10

This is the best CG animated film I’ve ever seen. It uses a technique where 2D hand drawn effects are layered over traditional CG animation. As far as I know, this technique has no name, so I’m going to call it 2D layering. Every liquid in this film is drawn in 2D, as well as sparks, motion blurs and explosions. The film also uses 2s and 4s liberally. There’s a scene near the start of the movie where Puss is fighting a stone giant. The whole fight has Puss animated in 1s and 2s, while the giant moves in 2s and 4s. This technique of animating several characters in different frame rates is used a couple time throughout the film.

2. Acting/Cast: 9/10

The movie has Antonio Banderas and John Mulaney. It couldn’t be bad. Every character’s voice is unique and entertaining. The returning characters from the first Puss in Boots sound just as good. John Mulaney’s acting is wonderfully psychotic. And I loved Goldilocks and the 3 bears. The British accent was unexpected, but it was enjoyable once I got used to it.

3. Plot: 7/10

I’ve never been that big a fan of the Shrek universe, but this movie has heartwarming emotional moments, unexpected twists, and a great villain. The main plot is about Puss discovering he’s used up 8 of his 9 lives. He discovers the existence of a magical star that grants wishes. Every character develops slightly throughout the film. Puss becomes less selfish and more humble. Kitty learns to trust. Perrito doesn’t change, but that’s the point, he’s a flat character. Even the side characters are good. Goldilocks and the 3 Bears are like a classic London crime family, and the character development comes from them learning to accept the family they have, because it’s the one they need. Every movie is as good as its villain, and The Last Wish delivers with two of them. First, Little Jack Horner, from some nursery rhyme I’ve never heard of, played by John Mulaney. He honestly reminds me a lot of Lord Farquaad from the first Shrek movie. He wants all of the magic in the world for himself, and is a bit of a sociopath. The other villain’s identity is hidden for most of the film, we only know him as a white wolf. Near the end, we learn his true identity: Death. Death is hunting Puss, trying to take his last life. I love how Death is portrayed in this film. He’s similar to the general picture most people know, a white figure in a black cloak wielding farm equipment, but there are a few unique aspects. As mentioned previously, it’s a wolf. And instead of a scythe, Death has a sickle. Still recognisable, but not enough to give away the twist.

4. Overall: 8/10

I liked this movie, but I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. I’m no film critic, but I do think this movie was good, and another example of how animation is still getting better to this day. It had a great cast, smooth animation, and an enjoyable story with deep characters. Using classic fairy tale characters helps us to understand the characters, and then subvert our expectations. This movie is just as good as the original Shrek was 22 years ago, and I think it will help lead Dreamworks into a new renaissance.

I have no idea what I’m talking about.

[the-light-of-animation]

Oh WOW Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was freaking awesome!

I’m so happy this film eventually got made, I’m curious how different it is to when it was originally set to be made all those years ago. Either way it turned out absolutely incredible, really really loved it. I had only seen an image from it but it looked like the animation was a lot simpler than the previous Shrek films, kind of reminding me of The Croods: A New Age (but that turned out gorgeous regardless of the different, less detail focused? style that DWA did so well). And this was film was the same, holy fucking shit the style this film had was amazing, the creativeness and everything was so well designed. It was really different to anything I expected and worked so well with a Puss in Boots story.

Speaking of the story, great freaking story. I was really surprised it was a sequel to the Shrek films and not another prequel, I suppose the one downside to the new animation style is that Puss looked so much younger and at the beginning I thought it was actually a prequel to the first Puss film. But yeah the whole nine lives story and a bunch of characters trying to get the wish was really great, really fun. The humor of this film was so good too. And Puss’ fear of death was done in a really chilling way

And I always loved the Shrek series and their use of Fairy Tales and this film did it in plenty! They truly just went fucking ham on the Fairy Tale stuff hahah. It was so fun to see all of it.

Loved Perrito as well, Harvey Guillén was so good. Was surprised by a lot of the characters and voice actors to be honest. John Mulaney was instantly recognizable and great to hear. Oh and the Cricket was fantastic, so freaking funny! Goldilocks and her family were a really fun and heartfelt part of the story too. And I LOVED those two Serpent Sisters they gave me such unbelievable Tuff & Ruff vibes that it almost felt like it was them hahah. And I love them so much so it was perfect. But it’s funny I thought I recognized Death’s voice but then no I didn’t know the actor. He was amazing though.

But yeah I guess they are making a Shrek 5 as the ending set it up like only a Marvel post-credits scene could hahah. As much as I loved the animation and style this film had, I kind of hope Shrek 5 looks more like the previous films. I just feel like this style would be too out of place for a Shrek story, can’t picture Shrek like that. But anyway they went to Far Far Away though so that must mean Artie’s returning, which has actually got me a bit excited for Shrek 5 even though it does not need to be made at all. But screw it I love these characters and want to see them again.

Anyway, like I’ve said before I was so worried DreamWorks Animation was gonna turn into Illumination 2.0 but it is the complete fucking opposite and it’s been amazing (besides the film we do not speak of). I am so excited for anything and everything they have coming up.

[kedreeva]

Okay, after a bit of scrolling through the tags and reading other stories, I found the heartbeat story, among others, and I can safely say that I am both in awe and in fear of whatever strange happenings are going on where you live. It all sort of reminds me of those "Regional Gothic" posts that you sometimes stumble upon while traversing the tags on this site, or happen across a repost somewhere like Instagram or Pinterest. It's very much giving me those sort of vibes, both from the things that are said to be occurring as well as the way you write them. It's all just strange and off-putting in a delightfully eerie way in text format, and I can only imagine what it must be like experiencing things like this firsthand the way you have.

With everything strange and surreal that's been happening over time I'm glad that it seems like the most harm you're ever put in, at least based on the stories I scrolled to, is having to experience the inconvenience of a couple of cursed Wendy's interactions.

It's because I keep going to the cursed Wendy's instead of the nice one.

Honestly, surreal horror is my favorite thing to write, so I'm not really bothered by my personal experiences with weird things. It's like living in that john mulaney gif of "this may as well happen."

[mars-the-4th-planet]

John Mulaney: Just the other day, I was thinking about my wife and the cat ears she was wearing this Halloween. I was going to make a joke about her to all of you, but then I got to worrying about hurting someone's feelings.

No, not hers. I couldn't hurt her feelings if I tried. Which I never would, by the way. No no no, it was YOUR feelings I was worried about. All of you.

Why?

Because you're at a John Mulaney show. You're single and you don't like it so you go and watch a guy talk about funny stories. And you hope this isn't one of the times he jokes about his wife, and reminds you that you're single.

(whispers into the mic) If thats actually the case, by the way, I'm sorry. This is just a bit.

(continues as normal) You don't want to be single. I heard that cheer a moment ago. That, like, mid-twenties cheer that sounds like you're almost saying "yay we're single!"? But you can't quite say it out loud? I heard that. But you don't want to be single. Believe me. I know what you want.

You want to be Not In A Relationship. There's a difference. You don't want to be single, but you also don't want to be in a relationship.

You know when you roll over in bed and there's no one there? Just you and the cold empty night? That sucks, yeah I see the looks on your faces and you know it does. It SUCKS to be single. But you know what? You know what? That blanket is all yours Ashlyn. You cuddle up in that blanket, you don't have to share like the rest of us. You brush your teeth in the morning COMPLETELY unafraid about where your toothbrush has been in the past 24 hours.

That's what I mean. You don't want to be single. You want to be Not In A Relationship.

I see some kids in the audience. And by kids I mean people who still get carded from time to time. Most of them? Have NO clue what I'm talking about here. I'm sorry, you've probably heard this a thousand times, but you'll understand what I mean when you're older.

[mebbrrr]

cc indirect from the perspective of a bitch who dropped the fandom a While Ago and hates like 80% of the creators on the server

1. youre cool. ur New To Big Fame but i think ur quite neat and actually seem rlly nice. rock on. also u actually bring something new to that shitass story and its nice to see from the sidelines

2. same with the above u seem Cool i just Dont know As Much abt you. ur cool

3. i literally do not have feelings about you. like your humor is just Loud and it works sometimes but like Yknow.

4. um. twitter is on ur ass rn. for good reasons it seems like

5. you are the only mf. ur cool in my book u should get more attention

6. i literally dont know a thing about you

7. i still watch ur youtube content u kinda rock. we are like when autism unites except u might be neurotypical Idk

8. also know nothing abt u but ur character had a cool premise at least

9. Hardly Know Anything about you but youre good in my books purely by the fact that you know Nothing at all. that sits right with me. ur on thin ice tho (but everyone on this list is)

10. um. i have ur merch i guess but imma be real i am likely going to sell it LMAO

11. idk u

12. i also dont know u

13. ur tweets remind me of my grandmother’s facebook presence

14. imma be real i do not like u king. ur like #25 in terms of Dark Humor El Oh El and that doesnt vibe with me and i also just. couldnt sit down for ur streams i am being 100% honest its just Something abt ur voice

15. u r kind of boring i will not lie. i like ur laugh tho

16. ur gay i guess

17. it’d be cool if u would actually apologize for some of the stuff u’ve done. like im of the belief that u actually learned from it but actually acknowledging it would be sicknasty. please acknowledge it. the ice is so thin that you literally have 1 foot in the water. also i fucking hate the character you play its so badly written

18. i literally have no thoughts on you. you showed up for the first time when i first started watching and i Still do not have thoughts on you

19. ur twitter stans are annoying. like ur ok i Guess (friend-disown that other mf and we’re GOOD) but your vibe is just slightly Wrong

20. u actually did apologize for the shit u did. idk how to feel abt u tho even tho i actually do find you funny

21. u deserved better both from fans and from those bitches on the server who Never listened to u

22. i still vibe with you. ur like a capybara to me i could never hate you. thank u for actually calling ppl out on their bullshit

23. U ALSO DESERVED BETTER. thank u for apologizing for ur ignorance. but also u deserved better king i wish the other jackasses on the server listened to u

24. ur fucked up Lol i thought u were Cool for a bit just bc Most People Did but u have recently gotten urself into hot water and its.. deserved bc wtf. u fucked up For Sure

25. i cant see the appeal. any bit of humor from u Solely comes from ur voice. u are like if john mulaney made a career on being even whiter than he is. also u literally buy (SOMETHING HEEHEEHOOHOHO) which is still fucked up even if u frame it as a joke LMAO

26. i mean ur fine i guess. thin ice bc ur white. ur (HOBBY OF SOME SORT) does rock tho

27. YOU ALSO CALL PPL OUT ON THEIR SHIT. ur better than most of these bitches

28. i cannot get over past comments u’ve made. not only did they make me deeply uncomfortable, but they hurt some of my friends and acquaintances and that will always carry with me

29. imma be real i. could never get into ur content. ur funny with other people but just.. not on ur own, to me

30. you are white bread

31. i did like ur content. like a lot. but i feel like you crossed over that line of whats okay to joke about Too Much and now i cant vibe with u. hope u learn from it i guess bc i still Do have some sort of hope for u

32. i dont trust any man with that hobby and that name

33. u deserved better. except when you decided to partake in buying (SOMETHING. LOL) wish ur friends were less white

34. i wish you’d get acting lessons bc you were one of the few genuinely interesting characters

35. U R THE ONLY MF FROM THIS SMALLER GROUP THAT I CAN STAND. AND THAT DOESNT EVEN PUT U ON GOOD TERMS IN MY BRAIN

36. ppl somehow forget u in the conversation of (some discourse dont worry) even tho ur one of the main parties involved. i just dont rlly like you purely based on vibes, otherwise

37. the last time i read ur name is the first time ill be at peace

[bonesbuckleup]

Lord, this answer got long. I’m a little embarrassed about it, but I wrote it, so it’s getting posted. It’s a literal essay. Sorry but also not?

TLDR: Yes, the show is arguably unfair to Sokka about Kya, but it also follows a pattern where Sokka stays quiet about Bad Feelings and plays by the rules established for his character. Katara, meanwhile, grieves loudly and often, and appears to be under the impression that because Sokka’s grief is silent it doesn’t exist, which also fits her character/interactions completely. Neither of them are right or wrong, but it sets them up on inevitable collisions.

Now. If you want to join me on a cactus-juice fueled descent into madness, proceed below the cut.

Number one. We’re referring to this exchange in “The Southern Raiders,” where the Gaang is talking about Zuko and Katara going after the man who killed Kya, which is vicious and brutal and never reflected on:

Aang: You sound like Jet. Katara: It's not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster. Sokka: Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right. Katara (angry, yelling): Then you didn't love her the way I did! Sokka (visibly hurt, softly): Katara.

And that’s it. Upon returning, Katara apologizes to Aang and not, as Anon is absolutely correct in pointing out, to Sokka, who is 100% the more injured party. Now. Is it possible this is one of the rare missteps from the atla writers? Yes. Absolutely. Is that the answer I’m about to write a literal fucking essay about? No. Because it’s more painful fun to take it as face value and talk subtext.

First, a reminder that this show is fucking good at what it does. It teaches you how each character grieves as we go: Aang explodes, often triggering the Avatar state, usually crying or angry, and when he does try to repress his Bad Feelings it rarely lasts longer than a day; Toph either shuts down or gets mad, but either way she doesn’t like people seeing her having Bad Feelings and often storms away, knowing that she can’t control it no matter how much she might want to; Zuko yells at the sky in a rainstorm or yells at his dad in an underground tunnel or challenges Zhao to an Agni Kai or yells at his uncle in a jail cell and generally is an emotive nuclear bomb because the boy has feelings and if he keeps them inside for more than three seconds he might explode okay.

Then we have Katara and Sokka.

Let’s start with Katara, since she has the most textual and straightforward displays of grief. She’s really the only one to talk about Kya’s death in Book 1. If Sokka mentions it, it’s barely in passing. I don’t think we hear Hakoda address her death at all (which I’ll return to in a moment.) Katara’s grief is loud. It’s angry. It’s still very much a living thing for her. She thinks she sees Kya in the swamp and breaks down crying, and tells Aang and Sokka about it with no hesitation. When she’s angry and sad at Hakoda for leaving, she acts out and is visibly upset with him, yells at him, cries at him. She out-loud hates Zuko when she comes to the conclusion that he told her about Ursa and got her to talk about Kya to manipulate her. It isn’t that her grief is performative, because it’s a very real and terrible thing, but it’s a grief that’s to be witnessed.

Then, Sokka. Sokka’s grief is more complicated because it exists almost entirely in subtext, especially in regard to Kya. We really only hear him talk about Kya twice, both in Book 3. First, to Toph, when he tells her that he can’t remember what Kya looks like. Worth noting, however, that even though it is Sokka talking, this is still centered on Katara and Katara’s grief. The next time is when Zuko asks what happened to Kya, and Sokka tells the story that leads into the initial flashback. Sokka doesn’t talk about his mom. This is a fact of the show. It’s such a fact of the show that, in “Southern Raiders,” after the exchange at the start of this post, while Katara and Zuko are on the hunt, Sokka doesn’t bring up Kya again and is messing around with Aang. Like nothing has happened or is currently happening--which I’ll come back to in a moment.

So while we can use Kya as a perfect example of how Katara grieves, we can’t really use her for Sokka. So let’s use Yue instead. Moments we see (or don’t see) Sokka grieving Yue:

In the opening to Book 2, we briefly have a shot of Sokka with the moon imposed behind him.

“The Swamp,” where Sokka’s vision is of Yue accusing him of not protecting her. This one is one of the more textual moments of grief--”I think about Yue all the time”--but what’s awful great about it is how Sokka tells Aang and Katara. Aang, obviously, has no qualms about sharing his vision. Katara openly talks about seeing Kya. Sokka only tells them about Yue when explicitly asked. Even then, he doesn’t mention what she said to him. From this, we can assume that Sokka is still holding onto a lot of guilt over her death--guilt that he won’t let Aang and Katara see. Anyway. Moving on.

“The Serpent’s Pass.” After spending all day panic protecting Suki, he tells her that he lost someone, but doesn’t go much further into detail, just saying that he can’t when she tries to kiss him. Of course, this is all happening in front of the moon. Again, though, Sokka stays vague. He doesn’t tell her any details.

“The Puppetmaster,” Toph posits that maybe the moon spirit has gone mean and is kidnapping people. Sokka snaps at her, in a moment definitely meant for laughs, saying, “The Moon Spirit is a gentle, loving lady. She rules the sky with compassion and ... lunar goodness!” It is a funny moment, but here’s what we can take from it: Toph doesn’t know about Yue. Toph is a Feral Bastard a lot of the time, but she also knows where the line is, and I don’t think she’d’ve said that if she’d known.

“Boiling Rock,” in arguably the most quoted (and well deservedly so!) line in the entire show. “My first girlfriend turned into the moon.” “...that’s rough, buddy.” COMEDIC GOLD. Also, weirdly, the literal only time that Sokka explicitly tells someone about Yue in the course of the show.

“Ember Island Players” which I haven’t hit in my rewatch yet, but I definitely remember a moment where Suki asks Sokka when he was gonna tell her he made out with the moon, and he tearfully shushes her. Again, played for laughs, but the implication is that he still hasn’t told Suki about what happened.

This plays perfectly into the same way that Sokka (doesn’t) talks about his mom. When the Bad Feelings come, Sokka either avoids them and finds a distraction (Goofs with Aang--see, told ya we’d come back to that) or stays silent. When someone explicitly asks him about the Bad Feelings--what he saw in the swamp, what’s eating at him in “Sokka’s Master,” why he’s panic-protecting Suki--he’ll answer, but often talks around the actual issue. (Interestingly, it’s in regard to Suki we see the most explicit manifestation of Sokka grieving as Azula taunts him during the invasion: he cries, he attacks Azula, he yells and questions her despite the fact he knows she’s wasting their time. I think this one hits him because, as this beautiful post points out, Suki’s the protector in the relationship, and Sokka can actually chill out for 2 seconds. But he let his guard down, and Azula got Suki. Anyway. That’s probably a different essay: back to the matter at hand.) We even see this in “Boiling Rock.” There’s a moment where they think Hakoda is not with the other political prisoners. Sokka’s tense, drawn tight, but the only thing he says is, “No.”

Basically, we’ve got Katara, who grieves loudly and rages and is kinda like white-water rapids that churn and churn and churn. And we’ve got Sokka, who, to quote John Mulaney, looks at his grief and says, “I’ll just keep all my emotions right here and then one day I’ll die.” Iceberg grief, to keep the water metaphor going.

And where did these come from? Yup! Water Tribe gender roles! What we know from the show is that, while the South is typically more progressive (women can train as benders and marry who they want, at least) than the North, it’s still very rigid: the men are warriors/hunters/protectors, the women stay home to cook/clean/child-rear.

Now: subtext! And why I think they are this way!

We’ll start with Katara. The last waterbender in the South Pole. She no doubt grew up doted on. If I say she’s most likely a little spoiled, I don’t mean it in a bad way--I mean it in a she’s the last living remnant of this aspect of their culture kind of way. When raiders come, she’s probably the first priority to protect. Kya dies to keep her safe. Her needs are generally put before the community as a whole. (This isn’t to say that Katara doesn’t contribute or care about her community, because she 100% does). But! Especially in Book 1, we see Katara often considering her opinions as facts (trusting Jet, the waterbending scroll) and doesn’t always pause to consider the larger impact that her actions will have (scroll and Jet again, challenging Pakku, dressing up as the Painted Lady despite the fact the factory will hold the village responsible). And many of these actions are good! But we see a lot of Katara being pretty self-centered--what can I do, how does this impact me, how do I feel about this? And this isn’t a bad thing! This aspect of her character makes her complicated and complex! Katara loves her family and protecting people and caring for them! She’s extremely empathetic! But she also struggles to meet people where they’re at when they emote in a different way than she does (see: her clashes with Toph, her initial problems with Zuko joining the group, the above interaction with Sokka). It’s also worth talking about how Katara witnessed her mother’s death, which no doubt makes her grief about it a sharper thing.

Then, again, Sokka. Also loved in his community! But a normal kind of love, I’d assume. He probably was raised on stories of the Fire Nation dragging waterbenders away. No one exemplifies the Water Tribe ride-or-die mentality quite as well as Sokka, or the gender roles of the man as the warrior/protector, so you gotta believe Hakoda raised that kid to look after his sister at all costs, which we see throughout the show (already preparing to go after Aang in the South Pole because he know Katara’s going anyway, “You burned my sister!”) And he isn’t there when his mom dies. He finds out later. He goes from feeling like a victor who helped chased the raiders away to the worst realization of his life. I have to imagine he’s ashamed by the fact that he thought everything was going to be okay, which leads into his worldview of assuming that nothing is okay ever in any circumstance.

Finally, Hakoda. Who never, unless I’ve forgotten something, talks about Kya. All we know is that their family fell apart after her death (per Sokka in “The Runaway,” learning how Katara stepped up to hold everything together) and sometime after he took the warriors and straight up left. He apologizes for leaving but doesn’t address the fact that he left Katara and Sokka with no parents at all, only the war. This is, uh, not exactly echoing a healthy coping mechanism?

My theory: Kya dies. Since the Water Tribe is so embedded in gender roles, Hakoda probably shut down and/or checked out emotionally for a while. This leaves his kids on their own to deal with their shit, and we learn Katara does everything she can to keep her family going. As the most protected individual in the South, Katara’s probably been taught that emotions equal attention, and uses her temper/caring/sadness to help bring her community closer. Meanwhile, Sokka, who hero worships his dad, watches Hakoda go stoic and learns that “real men” shove their shit down. Additionally, Katara’s grief is deafeningly loud, and Sokka’s number 1 role is to keep Katara safe. He’s taught that the Bad Feelings only get in the way and make things worse, and so he learns to be fine no matter what kind of terrible is going down around him.  Basically, Katara learns to use grief as a needle and thread, and Sokka learns to bury it as deep as he can and avoid it at all costs. Opposite reactions to the same trauma. Katara gets mad and demands to be heard and listened to and seen, and Sokka gets sarcastic and prepares himself for the day the Fire Nation ships come back for his sister.

So. Back to those above lines from “Southern Raiders.”

From a writing standpoint, I do wish the final moment was between Katara and Sokka versus Katara and Aang. They could’ve had an almost identical interaction, but it would’ve been more nuanced. I don’t think that Katara needed to apologize, but I think we needed some acknowledgement from both of them: Katara continuing the lesson she’s learned about how her pain doesn’t entitle her to hurt other people (including Sokka, who is there no matter what she says or does), and Sokka that Katara’s process of grieving had to involve this catharsis.

Or. Maybe not. Because again--subtext. Their grief works in such different ways that I have to imagine this isn’t a new fight. It was probably brutal and vicious for a very long time. Maybe that’s part of what made Sokka try and go with the warriors. Maybe that’s part of why Katara gets mad so quickly in the first episode of the show. But eventually, unable to find an answer, they just...stop talking about it. Because the two of them don’t talk about it. Katara only talks about her mom with people who aren’t Sokka, and Sokka does exclusively to Toph and Zuko.

The only time I can think of Katara and Sokka talking about it together is the exchange at the top of this post, and it gets ugly fast, and it isn’t brought up again. It’s a fight that will never be resolved, because they fundamentally can’t react to one another in a way that can be universally understood.

“You didn’t love her the way I did!” Katara yells, loudly, because if Sokka loved her then why isn’t he raging? Why isn’t he getting his sword and coming to help her? Why doesn’t Sokka want to burn this firebender to the ground and make him see and hear and look at what he’s done to the world? To their family? He must not understand. He must not care as much or he’d be screaming with her.

“Katara,” Sokka says, much quieter, and adds nothing else. Not because there isn’t anything else to say, but because Sokka can’t talk about this kind of thing. Not doesn’t want to, but can’t, because it’s his job to protect people, protect Katara, and if he lets all those old hurts come boiling up he can’t do that, because that ends with losing focus and losing control and people getting hurt or going away. Why can’t she understand that?

And then they do what they always do. They don’t bring it up again.

[dragonsareourfuture]

Death Note as Stand-Up Comedians

Mello

- he’s allowed to complain about Near in front of an auditorium full of people as long as it’s in the form of a joke — of course he loves it.

- He has a lot of passion up on stage. The audience loves it because it makes them feel really immersed into the show.

- Mello has a tendency to get really loud when he gets really into a joke or bit, so the tech crew has gotten used to lowering the volume on his mic as the show progresses and he gets louder and louder.

- Mello has a harsh sense of humor, often using exaggerations and sarcasm to accentuate a point.

- He would tell stories from his time at Wammy’s house, mainly the chaos moments with Matt because the rest is pretty traumatizing for him.

- It’s his style that draws people in and his sense of humor that keeps them there. He has a very unique clothing style and, even when his managers suggested he dress down for the show as to not scare people away, he refused. He said that he would rather show who he is upfront and let the public decide whether or not to invest time in him than fake his personality for people he doesn’t know or give a shit about. They got the hint pretty quickly after that.

- He would sometimes do joined shows with Matt, which is quite interesting. Their dynamic works perfectly on stage and they even weave jokes that weren’t scripted into the show to keep each other on their toes.

Matt

- He’s a pretty chill guy, so I picture his sense of humor as pretty dry. Not in a bad way, of course. For instance, he tends to say the most hilarious things with a straight face and flat tone, which somehow makes the joke even funnier.

- He likes to involve the audience a lot, so gags where he (with permission) takes an audience member’s phone and reads their texts aloud are common. Somehow he can make jokes about the most mundane of text conversations and have the audience howling.

- Like I mentioned earlier, he and Mello’s contrasting senses of humor work for a perfect dynamic when performing, so shows where they’re together are the audience’s favorite. But even though Mello’s wild passion can take the spotlight at times, Matt is never overshadowed as they’re both sure to include the other in any bit or joke they do.

- For no reason at all I think Matt it great at imitations and impressions of different people. So, like when he’s doing a bit and speaking for someone else he can assign voices for everyone and the audience knows who he’s supposed to be speaking as in that moment. Usually these people are only known to him and Mello, so the audience can’t tell how exactly spot on he is. His impression of Near gets Mello wheezing, and his Mello impression gets the audience wheezing with Mello constantly claiming “I don’t sound like that, idiot!” With the audience shouting “YES YOU DO!”

L

- L’s sense of humor tends to require a specific taste, which is why he would probably be one of the least successful of the bunch.

- Don’t get me wrong, his sense of humor is adorable and one of the best aspects of Death Note in my opinion, but it comes in short and random bursts. He’d be talking about something serious and then crack a joke (“yEs tHat mUst Be dArK”), so it requires patience to really get to his sense of humor.

- The audience, I feel, wouldn’t have the patience to stick around and wait for his humor to surface.

- But L would have a cult following of a specific group of people that appreciate his talents.

- I’m picturing a show in which he starts off by talking about some cases, and transition to jokes from there. Due to his occupation, many jokes involve a darker sense of humor but also contain surprisingly innocent little remarks or comments. I can’t really explain it better, it makes sense in my head but I’m not too sure how to put it into words.

- Most of the show he keeps his straight face, but when he gets the audience going from something he said he can’t help but crack a little smile and chuckle into the mic pretty bashfully.

Near

- I’m sorry but Near doesn’t have too much of a sense of humor. But he does do or say some of the most hilarious shit on accident.

- It was actually Halle that convinced him to take up stand up comedy, as she got to spend tons of time just sitting and talking with him, cracking up at something Near said while he just stared at her in confusion.

- She had complete and total confidence that just plopping Near on stage and telling him to “just talk” would get the audience going, so she took him to a bar that did stand up comedy nights. Near absolutely killed it.

- Eventually he learns what the public finds funny through experimentation and tells those kinds of jokes more often, learning to perfect his craft. Through this method he is able to go from ‘accidentally funny’ to ‘intentionally hilarious’.

Light

- I wholeheartedly believe that Light has no sense of humor. Period.

- Sure, he’s accidentally funny sometimes but not enough to fake it ‘til he makes it like Near did.

- So he gets someone else to write his show for him. He’s just a pretty face, and the person who wrote his show is mentioned once or twice but who really cares about them? It’s Light who’s doing all the work, obviously. He’s the one getting sweaty up on stage.

- Honestly he barely has a sense of humor he’s probably just do it as a side thing for recognition or like most youtubers who write a book or start a podcast.

Matsuda

- Okay so, I definitely think that Matsuda would be one of the most successful stand up comedians out of all of them.

- He’s just so bubbly and kind and just genuinely a wonderful person so who could walk out of a show if his unsatisfied? No one. That’s who.

- My mans here has the opportunity to make so many self deprecating jokes due to how the task force treats him and how he’s just overall looked at as inferior to everyone he works with. And guess what? He doesn’t take that opportunity at all. He thinks self worth is the most important thing in the world and instead focuses his jokes around break room stories and observations of every day life.

- However if he ever does make a self deprecating joke, it’s never with any hatred towards himself. Like, he’ll joke about how his recklessness got him in trouble with Yotsuba, but instead of cursing the trait he has, he always expresses his hopes to get better and learn from his mistakes. Meanwhile the audience is dying at how he tells the story with so much energy and just— ...he’s wonderful.

- He just reminds me of John Mulaney when I picture a show of his.

- He’s pretty goofy by nature and you can tell that he’s enjoying himself up on stage, watching him laugh at his own jokes and beam at the audience with a smile so bright it could rival the spotlight shining down on him.

- He also really likes the attention, having been pushed to the side for so long.

- He’s just overall a really nice and positive guy while also being hilarious to listen to. 10/10.

Misa

- With her already existing music career and fashion career, people know her pretty well. Therefore, there is a HOARD of people waiting to see how she fairs at something so different from her previous career paths.

- And y’know what? Misa’s great at it.

- I’d like to imagine she’s out of her terrible relationship with Light in this au and realize how messed up he was, so I think she’d do a lot of clowning Light in her shows.

- She will kinda mix the comedy with valuable life lessons on relationships, so a lot of fans come up to her and thank her because they let their kids watch her shows and they’ve learned so much from her while being entertained for a good hour.

- Also her voice is so cute and pleasant to listen to I would gladly listen to her talk for a week let alone an hour.

- I imagine her style of show and humor to be along the lines of straight up ranting and just talking her heart out. You know that friend that can talk for hours but it’s okay because they make everything, even the most mundane things, sound dramatic and fun and lively? Yeah, that’s her.