#wo s4

[batcavescolony]

S4 E11 Supernatural

This is a sad one, it's one that shows sometimes humans are just as bad as demons. The father kept his incest babies in the walls (I hope they're twins) and when he died they stayed in the walls. Dean told Sam that he enjoyed torturing people.

[hsmtmts-arrows]

august

02- what the dog doin?

rip gina's rug 🙏

CAST + SOCIALS PLAYLIST previous (01.5) | next (03)

comment ❤️ to be added to taglist (for updates) reblogs and shares appreciated <3

[fag4dykestobin]

i have this like. strong dislike of any plot where someone replaces max in getting vecna'd. its usually steve but sometimes its eddie but either time its like.... COME ON...... max's character is so enriched by her experiences in season 4. her complicated feelings of grief and anger and self loathing is just so good. don't take that away from herrrrrrrr

[simpsandships]

Did y'all guys notice that if you listen to the BSD endings of Season 1, 2 and 3, these all are a lot like letters from one character to another.

For example,

Season 1 Bsd ending - Namae wo Yobu yo - if you were to listen to the lyrics (or read them), it totally looks like a letter or a dialogue or maybe a 'thank you' note from Atsushi to Dazai.

Similarly,

Season 2 Bsd ending - Kaze ga Fuku Machi - This most definitely feels like something Dazai would say to Odasaku. Coz it was bcoz of Odasaku, Dazai had made it into the light. The lyrics fit!!!! Like seriously!!

And, Season 3 Bsd ending - Lily - It's definitely Akutagawa speaking to Dazai!!! There's even a line that translates in English as "I want to be praised, I want to be acknowledged"

Like honestly, this one series turned me completely crazy!! I've never obsessed over one story for to long but this is the only exception!!! Not to mention, how the season 5 ending, Kiseki, carries the words from all the previous endings (S1 - S4)

The last stanza -

Boku no machi ni saita - Ending 2, Kaze ga Fuku Machi

Hana o kaze ga yurashita - Ending 3, (this I'm not sure, but maybe from Lily)

Namae o yonde kureta - Ending 1, Namae wo yobu yo

Sore ga boku no shirushi da - Ending 4, Shirushi

Like idk what I'm even supposed to say but this is an absolute masterpiece!!!

[mofffun]

King-Ohger G-rosso S4

Remember when the title is just the most… non-informative with "The Kings Gather Here[at G-rosso]!"? That's. That's literally the plot. Just glad to say all your sentai trope love is satisfied.

There are a lot more actor scenes vs action scenes I doubt if I'm in the right theatre, and much more than S3. Shame on me not having revised on last year's and without realizing S4 is exclusively scripted with the face actors in mind. Even the audio is voiced by the original actors. It's almost like a fan meeting with interactive games and all rather than a Sentai stage play lol.

[spoilers below cut]

(Livestream est. Mar 17, 17:30)

Stage show:

Minnogan broke out of the seal mysteriously and stole the crown lance.

Each cast member has a short sequence of action before transforming. Gira center, Yanma upper stage right, Himeno lower stage left, Rita middle stage right, Kaguragi middle syage left. Rita did the hand-behind-back pose transforming and Papi did the ep16 strike! Jeramie's entrance is all grand with sliding doors in the middle stage. Not just the set blocks sliding horizontally, the projected virtual background (Shugoddom castle platform) also rotates to different angles, so as a stage production, it feels like a level-up from S3.

Minnogan activated the castle spaceship and transported the kings to present day Tokyo, Theatre G-rosso. Yanma commented there seems to be a lot of fun rides, Gira and Kaguragi asked the audience what this place is. Rita remained at the back of the trope.

A kaijin introduced himself as the Magician and blasted them with a beam, the kings minus Giramie suffered a personality inside out. Rita is Idol Rittan, Himeno is yankee (so still violent), Yanma became a coward/shiokara/schoolgirl with pigtails and thick round glasses trope, Kaguragi a flirty jokester. Giramie remained themselves having avoided the attack. When the others stormed off, Giramie looked each other in the eyes and said, "I'll leave that to you." The trust! They are Parents™!!

Yanma shouted, "Yanma is scared 😭" and ran off stage. Rita was the first one that moves versus when they were usually the last. Yuzuyan Rita just immediately switched to the idol voice and came down to the lower stage keep waving at people. When Himeno walked off the scene, they went after her going, "Eh~ don't leave (without) me, Hime-tan!" You can practically see the bottom half of Rita's face 😭

Cut to Rittan chasing an angry Himeno to practice for their Idol act. Rittan turned to the audience and said, "You want to see Hime-tan as an idol too, right?" Jeramie caught up to them and the magician kaijin challenged them to a game to get back to normal.

Kaguragi, Yanma, Gira: Kaguragi became all frivolous with a different tone of speaking (a bit like Ryuta Den-O/Gaon Zenkai). After some routine pick-up lines, Kagu caught up to Yanma, put his arm around his shoulders and said, "How about we have a good long talk, just the two of us?" *wink* Yanma tried to crunch himself as small as possible holding his own hand. HE HIT KAGU WITH A TINY FIST AND SAID "WARUI OTOKO (Naughty guy...)" AND STARTED GINGERLY TOUCHING HIS PECS. Gira arrived just in time for this and said "Are they dating?"

The game is a simplified Flappy Bird but Moffun. Rita's version of Moffun's song played in the background and Rita danced slightly along to it. The audience had too keep clapping loud enough while Moffun (an acutal person is in there moving its arm and legs while in the air) was hanged up by a wire and transported across the stage from left to right. (edit: Yuzuyan sang the Moffun song live instead of a recording. Moffun's arm could be waving because of wire work)

There's a progess bar and game background on the screen too. Of course Moffun fell down half way, Rittan snapped back into the judge voice and yelled at the audience not to drop it (Live Rita scream!!). Jeramie smoothed things over by calling it a practice to make the kaijin give us a second chance. We won the game and they got back to normal. I don't think they have clear memories of their behaviour, but just a vague sense. Regular Rita said, "Feels like I embarrassed myself..."

Kaijin appeared and challenged Gira to a game. The kaijin would call for different poses and Gira had to follow while the rhythm accelerates. Round 1 had Yanma doing rabbit ears and Kagu a tiger's jaw with his hands (like zyuoh shark ED pose). Gira's pose is spreading his arms with the evil laugh act.

Since Gira passed Round 1, the kaijin made the game more difficult by changing the poses faster. Round 2's Yanma's pose is Idol Rittan and Kagu did push-ups. Gira's the same so this session is just watching Taisei got up and down >D< Gira's the one most frequently interacting with the audiene. When they changed back, Yanma was shocked he was standing with his feet pointing inwards. Kaguragi said, "Hmmm, can't tell why but I feel an affection for Yanma-dono."

The six kings regroup. Minnogan summoned Dugded and the kings turned on each other. Gira was not affected but he had to fight off Jeramie. They were quickly de-transformed and appeared pinched.

Prince and Kyoryu Red descended from the middle block and ziplined to the rescue! Prince very naturally said "Otou-chan" >D< The Kyoryu pairs led the audience into a cheer for the King-Ohgers.

The kings regained strength while Dugded revived the Jesters to fight them. Gira transformed with the crown and they did the ep33 crossover roll call.

Yan Hime vs. Hibill & Glodi. Kagu Rita vs. Goma & Kamejim. The pollinator fight is amazing. They kinda ran up the audience blocks up to the last block and zipline back down??? and then they defeated them combining their "King's Proof" techniques. Jeramie and Prince fought Minnogan while Gira and King fought Dugded.

They won, detransformed, did the fist bump circle from ep39, and the kingoh dance.

After talk:

I was at Feb 4 16:00 & 17:30. Both sessions are the same.

The kings invented a game called "King-Ohger Game" (HKers call it "Ping! Pang! Wah!")

The players are in a circle and point to a person while saying a command. You have to say/do the correct response in sequence or lose.

Person A points at B, A says (First Name)

B -> C (Last Name)

C & Everyone (pose)

C -> anyone else *repeats*

The commands and poses:

Gira -> Husty -> "Jaku no Ou!" (thumb & forefinger out pointing the front)

Yanma -> Gast -> "Souchou!" (yankee fix hair both hands)

Himeno -> Ran -> "Kawaii" (this but smiling)

Rita -> Kaniska -> "Saibanchou" (stabs sword to ground)

Kaguragi -> Dybowski -> "Ou-tono!" (pose)

Jeramie -> Brasieri -> "Otto?" (two palms up on side + head shake)

The kings were in this line up 💙💛❤🤍💜🖤 at introduction, but Rita said they are serious about the game and need to see better with their only left eye so they mvoed all the way to right -> 💜💙💛❤🤍🖤. Yuzuyan even flipped her hair a bit and showed the blue eye (me dead at the coolness)

The kings formed a semi-circle to start the game. The audience was supposed to follow with the poses but the cast apparently was just having fun themselves XD. They kept getting faster and faster until it's Wings targeting each other. Yanma lost the game and Rita immediately stepped forward to announce he lost. Yanma asked "Seriously?!" (feels like it's the actors at this point but it still fits their characters lol)

The penalty is a mimic game. Aoto need to do Boon. He skipped to stage center. "Gira nii-chan~! Advent! King-Ohger!"

In the 17:30 show, Erica lost twice. She said the first time is practice but admitted it the second time. She did Suzume's "Help! Shugo Kamen-sama~!!"

After the game, Jeramie asked the audience if they like each member respectively, but paused at Gira's turn. He only asked when Gira said "What about me?" Then he also asked if we like Miss MC (so MC can ask if we like Jeramie). When everyone says "Daisuki", Jeramie gets to say "Me too <3" 😭

At the final bye-bye, Himeno is always pointing out "I see you!" at the fans. Gira will say "ギラだよ!" at the little kids. Giramie did a 🫶 with each other!! REAL. I heard the fans behind me said "There's so much Giramie (<-exact word) in this show" upon leaving.

Conclusion:

Can March 17 comes faster because I need to see this show again. This show is SO worth the price as a fan meeting.

I didn't fact-check this but twitter were saying Takada Masashi is listed in S4's credits. I don't know if he's in the Kumonos suit or in a supervising role but Kumonos looked significantly buffer than before and quite close to TV to my untrained eye. Another thing is I find Jeramie's mantle is much longer than I thought? I thought it just passed his hips but it's almost at his calf.

There were real fire shooting up and the theatre did turn completely dark for a bit so I see why baby kids would be scared. But as an adult I had a LOT of fun seeing the action so close in person and apparently the cast is having a lot of fun too.

Ticketing & seating:

(previous guide)

S3: I booked a general lottery round through proxy and got two permium through twitter. Possibly because most people has seen it, tickets weren't hard to find.

S4: I did not book anything but general lottery round were available on twitter for Saturady (2/3). Permium is hard to find because Jeramie is really popular now his badge is complimentary to the Permium ticket. General Sale opens one week before for Feb S4 (and two weeks before for March). I managed to find tickets in the first block just hopping by a 7-11. (Note: sale starts 1/27 19:00 but choosing your own seat only works after 1/28 0:00) There are still tickets in the middle and last block on the same day. The later the shows, the least crowded from my observation. Saturadays might be easier to get tickets but if you want to feel the atmosphere with kids cheering around you, choose a Sunday show.

Since it's about seeing the actors, I'd still advise seating yourself as front as possible. Even on the far left or right, you can still see the whole stage. I think the ideal distance is Row E or F because down on Permium, your view to the middle stage will be blocked and your neck's gonna hurt staring at what's happening at the ceiling.

Another good seat is any walkway seat or Row L so the suit actors run next to you. Seating at the second block isn't too bad this time because S4 has actors running/descending from as far as Row T.

Both S3 & S4 face actor sessions require real-name registration on the ticket. You have to input a name and a JP phone number at the combini machine, but they don't actually check it upon entry.

[ghostingghostingghosted]

Lyons and Tigers and Bears (and Gator too) Oh My!

So I've been a Fargo viewer since S2 and have followed each season relatively closely (except most of S4). Noah Hawley is a sucker for hidden messages and meanings, as well as using symbolism derived from inspiration, such as - as shown in S4 - Alice in Wonderland. Hawley symbolically uses Alice in Wonderland in S5 as much as S4, but with a heavier focus on the dangers - "Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!" Here is an analysis of how some character behaviors entwine with their representative animal's instinct.

SPOILS BEWARE AHEAD

CASE STUDY #1 - WOMEN REPRESENTING LIONESSES

Everyone should know that a group of lions is called a pride. Within a pride, there are multiple lionesses, and one or two male lions which usually have a monopoly on these lionesses. The male lions exploit these lionesses as multiple mates and depend on them for food typically. Mating aspects aside, the group of lionesses are the ones who hunt prey for the pride. Male lions can also hunt for themselves, but I digress with the following statement: when the lionesses are successful in the hunt, they have to eat their share quickly before the male lions come and take the rest of the meat. The male lions have the purpose of protecting the pride from other hostile, wandering male lions, so they're not completely useless.

But that's not the point of this post.

Lorriane Lyons and Indira Olmstead, in my humble opinion, show two sides of a lioness. Their husbands, respectively, represent the male lions and their exploitation of the women's work.

Lorraine Lyons represents the strength, determination, and intelligence of a lioness. I mean, come on! Lyons = lions. Did I just blow your mind with that connection?

Lorraine Lyons has a husband, Mr Lyons. As far as I remember, we don't see him until episode 6 when he's visiting his son, Wayne, at the hospital. Did we even need to know Mr Lyons existed? In my humble opinion: No.

(Tinfoil hat: I thought Danish Graves and Lorraine had something going on, and Graves was Wayne's dad. Secret love affair or whatever.)

Mr Lyons serves no purpose than emphasizing just how much Lorraine works for her, and his, "food." She runs a multi-billion company as a debt collector (or whatever the professional term is). She looks flawless. She has zero time for bullshit. Can't you see she's busy? If it weren't for her, her husband wouldn't have his train collection we later see in the same episode (6). Although she acts like her family is a burden to her, we see in some moments of her immense love for her son: such as her over protectiveness of him and coldness towards the outsider Dorothy, and her love towards her granddaughter, Scotty. Again, in episode 6, we see a brief moment of her smiling when Scotty hugs her father, until she puts back on the facade of HBIC when she speaks with Olmstead. So far, we don't see how she interacts with her husband, which can stand for as its own evidence. Lorraine's scenes with her family and professional life show that they wouldn't be who they are today without her (wo)man power. Another interesting thing to note about Lorraine and her behavior as a lioness is how, even though she doesn't like Dorothy, she still considers her as part of the pride as she's the mother of her granddaughter and her son loves Dorothy. As the idea goes, you're as strong as the weakest link, and Lorraine knows she's better off protected with Dorothy on her side than trying to get rid of her, especially as the season goes on.

(Note: Lorraine had Dorothy committed. Okay, I get that. She still hates Dorothy and wants her gone. However, Lorraine plays the sibling game in that she can bash and ruin Dorothy all she wants - as long as SHE IS THE ONLY ONE DOING IT. When Roy Tillman came around sniffing for Dorothy, she refused to even entertain his wild ideas about responsibility and freedom, and even admitted to keeping Dorothy close because of her being the mother of her grandchild and the wife of her son. She kicked Roy Tillman's ass to the curb with a, "I don't like her, but she's a Lyon now, and you're a dipshit with a 'dead' wife." Rant over.)

Another side note: Regarding Wayne, Lorraine only helps him out in extreme cases of emergency. When he suffers the head injury from electric shock, she makes sure he has the best care and best hospital room. Anything outside of emergencies, he's on his own. While he's not the strong lion we typically picture, Wayne is a lion in his own right. Male lions typically leave the pride when they come of mating age and join another pride of unrelated kin females. Here, Wayne made his own pride with Dorothy and, later, Scotty. By the way, lion prides usually consist of mother-daughter kinship, with a few outsider females and one or two male lions. Wayne still has a long way to go, but we do see him protect Dorothy and Scotty in his own way, such lying for her to the police about her kidnapping, helping her against Gator and his accomplices, etc.

Moving onto Indira Olmstead, she represents the other side of a lioness, which is the exploitation. I won't be nice: her husband is the biggest piece of shit. Even though it would be assault, I wanted her to throw her scalding hot coffee in his fucking face when he went on a tirade about wanting a real wife. Well guess what, fuck face? She wants a real husband. Either go get a job or suck your wife's dick in appreciation. Ya know?

Her piece of shit husband wastes what little money they have on worthless dreams that don't go anywhere. At one point, he wanted to be a famous drummer. Now he wants to make it big at pro golf. He sucks ass. Hard. But that would be a compliment to him. The biggest point of his exploitation is complaining about how Olmstead isn't a wife while eating the food she puts on the table with her income. He doesn't help hunt aka get a job. He doesn't support her. I have a feeling that if Olmstead gets into trouble where her physical being is at risk, he'd run away! Fuck him! Also, he's no doubt cheating on her. Hope he dies. Or gets his dick cut off. One of the two.

CASE STUDY #2 - DOROTHY AS A TIGER

Dorothy Lyons may have taken on her second husband's surname, but she is far from a lion. Several times throughout the season, Munch, and even the narrator in a special episode, calls her as a tiger; in the episode with the narrator, she describes her behavior as the behavior of a tiger. And she is a tiger.

Unlike lions, tigers are not social cats. They are solitary except with mother-cub relationships up to a certain point. We have seen how exceptional Dorothy is at defending herself, especially when she is alone. A pride needs a male lion or two to protect the pride from hostile male lion outsiders. A tiger doesn't have the protection of a pride or pack against the forces of other hostile animals of the same or different species. Dorothy fought off two kidnappers, effectively killing one and wounding the other. She fucks up Gator's accomplices on Halloween through a series of traps and tricks. Later on, she puts up a good fight against the male nurses ready to take her away to the hospital. She outsmarts the FBI detectives. She continually outsmarts Roy Tillman and Gator.

While Dorothy, in her own way, loves her husband, I believe she used him and his family's wealth as a cover at the beginning of their relationship, but only for that extra layer of protection. Later on, she probably developed feelings similar to that of a non-sexual relationship, relying on him as a closely dear friend whom she can trust to protect her and especially their daughter when she isn't around. Anyway, she is cautious because she knows she can only rely on a select handful of people - if that. She goes at life like it's her vs the world, and rightfully so considering Roy's abuse of her during their marriage. Telling of this is how she springs into action when the PTA (?) meeting in E1 descends into chaos and she pulls out a taser on an unsuspecting cop.

CASE STUDY #3 - OLE MUNCH AS A BEAR

I love this character so much, and it's such a shame that everyone is (rightfully so) thirsting over Gator. We get it: pathetic boy with daddy issues and a middle schooler boy personality is cute and all, but when will people wake up and take on the may-be-may-not-be a sin eater from 1522, who is nice to old women, a killer of idiots, and how takes his jobs deadly seriously?

(Don't get me wrong, I like Gator as much as the next person, but everyone is sleeping on the King of the season imo.)

Anyway, I propose that Ole Munch represents a bear. Bears are the king of the forest. They can eat mostly everything, from nuts and berries to full on meat. They hibernate for some months out of the entire year. They can fuck up a full sized moose.

Munch's backstory revolves around starvation: starving so much that eating a deceased's sins is nothing compared to a few gold coins, a loaf of bread, and a goblet of wine - if we take that 1522 flashback as truth, or some part of the truth. Munch can also fuck someone's shit up: exhibit a): the two ranch hands ready to kill him at the Tillman's ranch and breaking Gator's arm; exhibit b): Gator's partner; exhibit c): the old woman's loser son in the latest episode.

When I think of a bear, I think of a creature motivated by food and a lot of it, especially male bears. Bears are one of the higher mammals on the food chain; the only danger to a bear is another bear - or maybe a big cat. Bears wander the forest in search of food, food, food. Unless they have to assert their dominance with another bear in the area, they don't have to worry about costly fights. (If you can stomach it, watch a YouTube video of bears fighting. It's crazy.)

In Munch's early scenes, we see him motivated primarily by money, or in essence, the means to buy food. He only goes out of his way to kidnap Dorothy because Roy Tillman promises him payment, and tries to re-kidnap her by any means, even when she has the upper-hand at the gas station. When he doesn't get paid by Roy, he then sets his sights on fucking with Roy and Gator.

Silent and deadly, but don't fuck with this guy - or shall I say, don't poke the bear. Nothing with Munch is nothing personal. I'd go as far to say him messing with Roy and Gator aren't for personal reasons. Gator keeps insulting Munch right to his face, but he doesn't react at all to it. He only reacts when he doesn't get his payment. Hell, I have a feeling that if Roy tried to kill him after paying him, Munch might not have reacted then, either. He probably would have gotten the hell out of Dodge in search of another job. It's just not worth it when a man's (or bear's) livelihood is at stake as long as food is readily available somewhere else.

Also, Munch always wear brown clothes. The latest is the fur-line neck of a brown coat he took from the old woman. Make of it what you will.

Further, I consider Munch a bear because he "hibernates" like one. When he isn't out causing chaos for Roy and Gator Tillman, he goes back to his place of shelter (aka the old woman's house)and rests there with a cigarette. I don't bother to do the math, but I bet you that half of Munch's time on screen focuses on his "hibernation" at this dark, cave-like home.

RANDOM THOUGHT ON GATOR

Is it just me, but why would Roy name his son Gator? So far, no one calls him by any other name but Gator, so we have to assume Gator is his legal name. Which, imo, is a stupid name.

(Do you think his dad named him after Gatorade? lol)

However, looking deeper, we have menacing characters taking on animal representatives: Lorraine and Indira as lionesses, Dorothy as a tiger, Munch possibly as a bear. Where does (a) Gator in snowy Fargo (or wherever the fuck) fit?

That's the thing: he doesn't fit.

Alligators, as said by the National Zoo website (googled) live in freshwater, slow-moving rivers, and also in swamps, marshes and lakes. Aka, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas. Fargo is the exact opposite of that description: cold, cold, snowy, and cold.

Therefore, Gator Tillman is metaphorically a "fish" out of water. He doesn't belong in this strange environment his father inhabits. He doesn't belong to Roy's idea of what a man should be. Gator doesn't know how to be himself, but he needs to survive and adapt because he's seen what happens when someone doesn't, so he tries to take on the personality of his father - but with heavy failures and setbacks. He isn't built to be like Roy. That's why, in my humble opinion, Gator has that strange name. It's showing how much he, a "Gator", doesn't fit the environment his father created. In the latest episode, Dorothy even mentions this. She says she still sees good in him, but he still wants to be Roy. This implies that a person cannot be Roy and still have goodness in them. The two shalt never intertwine. I'm pretty sure Gator's bio on the Fargo website says something similar to him wanting to become his father, but it never working out in his favor. He wants to be a "winner" or the fittest in survival. But he is struggling hard, and his father is quickly losing patience with him.

Rant over.

Note: Other than the Fargo tv series + movie, as well as some Reddit/Tumblr media consumption, I do not know anything about Noah Hawley or his writing style, inspiration, etc. Also, I did not do much, if any, research on the animals studied here. Everything comes from minimal knowledge. This is purely an opinion.

PS: It's come to my attention that Lyon is not spelled Lyons with an 's' at the end, but simply Lyon. I'm too lazy to fix this issue. Sorry. Also, sorry if there's any incoherent sentences and/or grammar issues. I needed to get this out of my system.

I would also like to say that a lot of my information, ideas, and opinions come from TV Tropes (website) where they have a lot of insightful facts about characters and their personalities, among other things. I suggest checking them out!

[officialfrankfurt]

Mir kann halt keine sau erklären warum die die s bahn linien strecken geändert haben. Was war denn das problem an der s3 und der s4??? Die waren auch immer gut voll auf der strecke. Warum nur noch eine bahn bis in die ecke, nur alle 30 minuten und dann DIE S6??? Wo war denn das problem an der S3??? Und warum fährt die s6 jetzt nicht mehr wie sie vorher gefahren is?????

Ich komm zwischen den jahren heim und kotz einfach erstma im strahl, was is das denn hier

[milf-harrington]

i haven't seen seasons 1 through 3 since 2019 (but i am slowly making my way back through it) so forgive me for any inaccuracies, but purely from memory this is how im ranking steve from each season

character in general

Season Two Steve, because he's still got that jock-ish bitchy energy but it's also where we really start to see his softer side and also i think the first time you genuinely feel for him (his problem with billy, his implied problem with school, the bullshit scene), it's also the birth of babysitter steve!! and the second but much more thorough time we're shown that he's fully willing to put his life on the line to protect people he doesn't even know that well. He's a competent and strategic character who definitely has the vibe of Just Trying To Get Through The Year.

Scoops Steve, for similar reasons as the above but we also get to see the goofier prettyboy side of him and we're better introduced to Steve's observational skills and how the fact that he's not "smart" like the others is actually one of his advantages. Because while robin and dustin were focused on translating russian, steve couldn't stop noticing how familiar the background music was. this is also the season where Steve is starting to be written as a ditzier character, but i'm choosing to chalk that up to the fact that he's more laidback and less worried about his public appearance now that he works at an icecream parlor and wears a sailor uniform. (This is also the most bisexual version of steve, followed by s4)

King Steve, who i personally think was quite shallow (like from a writing perspective) but that is almost definitely because he wasn't originally supposed to survive the first season so he's forgiven for that. Still, we are shown someone who is cutting and self-confident, and then later shown that he is someone who is quick to realise when he's genuinely fucked up and just as quick to apologise. It's also when we're introduced to the idea that he will consciously put himself in danger to protect others. (@peter-pantomime made a really great video about one of Steve's tells on tiktok and i haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since)

Season 4 Steve, because they pretty much erased any and all of the competency previously shown in his character. I think this season did the most disservice to him, seeming to only write him off as genuine idiot who gets treated like shit by all of his friends and is only useful as a babysitter for teenagers who don't want to be babysat. It erased any progress he'd made in regards to his relationship with Nancy Wheeler, i think the only thing that kept him feeling like Steve was Joe Keery's acting and how well he knows the character. I think a lot of what was wrong with Steve's character this season could've been a really great way to introduce the amount of head trauma he's received through the other seasons but considering it wasn't so much as hinted at in canon it just seems like they circled back around to making Steve Harrington's character as shallow as it was in season 1. whether or not that's because they're setting him up to die in season 5, i think it was unfair.

character design

Scoops Steve, in his little sailor outfit with the floofy hair and the lipgloss?? iconic (bonus: the dark blue jeans with the red and blue vest when he applies at family video)

Season Two Steve, with the tight blue jeans and the sunglasses and the swoopy hair and the nail bat, also iconic (bonus: his gym uniform AND the maroon sweater when he drops dustin off at the dance)

Season 4 Steve bc he spent a majority of his screen time shirtless and only wearing a battle vest, and then later the coolest fucking jacket i've ever seen (wait shout out to that blue and white polo shirt that showed off his arms, thank you for your service; and his cute little yellow sweater)

King Steve, while i do love the preppy look and how much it made him look like a puppy at times, what the actual fuck was going on with his hair?? i would have liked to see more of the floppy haired steve we saw when he was helping Nancy study ):

[cheesecake-bich]

earthspark s2-3 yappingigngngn

I rewatched the show for the second time and anyway. Meridian 💀💀💀💀 I hate him.

Dudes I am so glad bro is unalive

(HE BETTER FUCKING BE. IF HE ISN'T and they decide to make a s4 AND DECIDE TO PULL THE "Yes, but I lived" SHIT I WILL THROW HANDS WITH MY TV. )

But in all honesty bro was stinky 😭😭🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

BRO WAS RANCID BRO WASN'T HIM BRO WAS BLEUGH

Like istg I wanted to scream and piss and cry and throw my luigi across the room (but I'm a good plushie owner) LIKE

THIS MF made me CRINGE made me SCREAM IN SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT AND EVEN MADE ME GET ON MY KNEES AND SAY "NOOOOOOO" (in my head) ALL cause of what this mf did to my favourite bot(s)

Like this mf really is the guy in the white van, there is no candy there is no free icecream, and his van is literally right there in the show. LIKE WHATTTSTATTSTS

Except he wasn't that threatening. 💀 Bro deadass just became a pissjar near the end like wtf.

Most of the time he just made me snort with how UNTHREATENINGLY THREATENING HE WAS. LIKE?? DID THIS MF GET BEATEN WITH THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP??!?!? WHATT?!??!? This show i swear to god makes me convulse and shrivel up BUT I LOVE IT SO MUCH so its forgivable its so wholesome wo the cringe one liners Anyway this Doctor was lurking in the shadows, broke into my house, hid in Grimlock's closet, kidnapped him AND WAS caressing the dino IN ODDLY WAY TOO sensual ways for EITHER OF OUR LIKING. Like deadass. WHY WAS HE MANHANDLING HIM LIKE THAT!?!??!

IM ABOUT TO CALL TRANSFORMER PROTECTION SERVICES ON HIS ASS cause WHAT THE FLIPPING FUCKCIKKCFJFDJFSKHKD

also there was a moment w hashtag that made me fucking lose it ( it was the power of friendship thing ifykyk)

and I just HATE MO WITH ALL MY HEART LIEK GIRL SHUT UPPFHADHFSADF BAHAHSHASHHSA STOP SAYING THE SAME THING WHEN EVERYONES ABOUT TO DIE 💀💀💀🙏🏾 "wHeN WeRE FAMILY" OH MY GOD

CAUSE WHATSDVASD THE FUCKFFHFHKSSD

*insert vine boom and my body being sent out of orbit)

[thestrangestthing89]

Guns and the Upside Down

We have seen consistently throughout the series that guns don't work on the demogorgon. Not only that, but gun usage in general is rarely viewed as a positive thing.

S1 - Nancy shoots at the demogorgon at the Byers house. She hits it repeatedly and it doesn't die. Hopper and Nancy are shown to be the only main characters who use a gun. I don't get the impression from this that they are sending the message that a lot of action movies send - using a gun is badass and we need good guys with a gun. Oftentimes, Hopper is shown to be belligerent. He starts punching people or pulling a gun on them when he gets stuck and doesn't know what else to do. This season in particular he is shown to be in over his head whenever he starts reaching for a gun (i.e. he's cornered trying to sneak into the lab when he pulls a gun out). I think what they might be trying to do here is another trope inversion (I wrote about this more here). Nancy falls into the category of "giving a girl a gun to make her badass". Except the guns aren't working so it's not coming across like that exactly. S2 - At the end of the season, Mike says something along the lines of "we can't shoot our way out of our problems". And Hopper responds with "we don't know that". Except we do know that. Mike is consistently right when it comes to problem solving. And we also see that this is true. When the group is attacked at the lab, Hopper is shooting at the demogorgon. The most it seems to do is slow them down a bit. But it doesn't kill them. When him and El are back at the lab later, he is shooting at the demogorgon climbing up the wall. It makes them fall but it doesn't look like they are killed. We see that closing the gate is actually what kills them. S3 - Hopper uses a gun to kill the Russians in the lab. This is viewed as crazy by Joyce and Murray. He is being belligerent again and not thinking things through. Murray was handling their problems by talking to the guards in Russian. Nancy tries to use a gun to stop Billy from driving his car at them. This doesn't work. It's Steve driving another car into him that stops him. And we know Nancy's aim is good so she wasn't missing.

S4 - Hopper uses a gun in the Russian prison several times to shoot at the demogorgon and we also see Russian soldiers shooting at them. This does not work. It doesn't kill the demogorgon or stop it at any time. The most it does is slow it down a little. There are 2 moments (one with Hopper and one with the solders) where they show those characters repeatedly shooting at this demogorgon. It gets hit over and over again and doesn't die.

There is one exception here - the demogorgon that is tied to the table and cut open. Hopper shoots it once and it dies. This is the exception not the rule. This is the only time we see the demogorgon actually dying from a gun. Which leads me to believe that they either can be killed but they just have to be injured first - in this case cut open. Or the Russians were experimenting on it and did something to it so it could be killed. Nancy goes looking for guns in the UD and doesn't find them. The group ends up pivoting and problem solving instead. It's communicating through the lights that saves them.

We also see Nancy at the end of the season shooting at Vecna. At this point, Max has already died and the gates have opened. They are too late. Her shooting Vecna also doesn't kill him. He gets lit on fire and shot at and he isn't dead. So this wasn't a badass moment of the action hero storming in with a weapon and saving the day. They lost and people died. And this was partly because this plan wasn't well thought out.

They have consistently shown that it's the characters intelligence that gets them out of tough situations and not brute force. It's a show about nerds saving the day. I think the line Mike says in S2 about not being able to shoot their way out of this is going to come back around in S5.

The things that have worked against the monsters are - El, the bat with the nails (not sure if this has actually killed anything though), fire (not on Vecna, but Murray's flamethrower works on the demogorgon), an ax, and Lucas's fireworks.

Guns have not only not helped them in tough situations, they are frequently associated with the bad guys. Lonnie is abusive and forced his two sons to learn to use guns to toughen them up. It's this lens of toxic masculinity that the audience is viewing the depiction of guns with. This idea that Will needs to toughen up and get a gun next season. When he picks up a gun in S1 it's his last resort option and it doesn't save him. It doesn't help. Will is already tough and has been shown to be repeatedly. He has been traumatized throughout his childhood both by Lonnie and by the UD and he's still the kindest person on the show. That takes an emotional and mental toughness that most people don't have. He doesn't need a gun. Anyone who thinks this would be cool and good for him is not only ignoring the abuse that's associated with this (by Lonnie), but they are solely focusing on a form of physical toughness that is largely created by action movies. That blowing shit up and killing people solves your problems. It's directly associated with this need for a hyper-masculine solution to problems. It's not a narrative the show has ever used.

Which is why I think this is another trope they are trying to invert. We don't often see characters who solve their problems with intelligence. It's so often viewed as a sign of strength to just open fire. This is a problem for so many reasons but considering the amount of gun violence in the US right now, it's always shocking to see that there are still people who are viewing the whole "good guys with a gun" narrative an effective solution to problems. Again, this is not something the show has ever used even with Hopper and Nancy so I don't think they will go there now.

Jason, along with soldiers from the lab and the Russians, also fall into the bad guy with guns category. Jason is clearly becoming more and more unhinged as the season goes on and uses a gun on Lucas. I really don't love this moment considering the racial implications, but I do think that it's a consistent theme with the series with regard to how guns don't solve problems.

The show isn't shying away from taking a bolder approach to storytelling. They frequently invert tropes and they seem to be saving a few of their riskier stories for the final season (byler). I am certain that Will won't use a gun next season - it goes against his whole character arc, not to mention would be unnecessary if he has superpowers. But it would be a pretty radical move for them to also have Hopper and Nancy not use them too. It would end up being a different kind of story that I don't think the audience is used to seeing. The only example I can come up with of an action movie/show deliberately not using guns is Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the tv show not the movie). They went out of their way to rarely show guns and when they did it was always in a negative way. It also wasn't necessary. The main character has superpowers and guns don't kill vampires so why include it? So if the guns are also not killing the demogorgon why would they keep having their characters use them? It was noteworthy at the time because I don't think people know how to tell these kinds of stories without seeing the action hero shooting their way through a problem. And I don't think the audience knows how to interpret this without immediately resorting to the thought process of "he should use a gun". It would be a refreshing change to see a story not relying on this kind of writing. And I don't think it's outside of the realm of possibility to see them go there because it seems like they already are.

[embossross]

2023 in anime

i give ratings out of 10 stars based on a rubric that considers the following:

2 points / ambition of what the anime is trying to achieve 3 points / effectiveness of the anime in achieving its aims 4 points / my personal, subjective enjoyment 1 point / pacing +1/-1 miscellaneous

so with that said… ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2 anime)

revolutionary girl utena – heavy breathing panting crying what a fucking roller coaster nanami the child you are anty the child you were utena the child you choose to be – just one of the true masterpieces of all anime. took a few episodes to realize that this show understood tone and comedy perfectly and wasn’t just a wonky children’s show and by golly! the nanami in season 3 gutted me unlike anything else

attack on titan: final season (for real this time) – decent conclusion to maybe my favorite anime of all time

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (10 anime)

school rumble – so goddamn funny and i cared about every goddamn character. it’s witchcraft!

trigun – good ole saturday morning cartoons

golden kamuy s3 – how does it keep getting better???!?!

fruits basket – i was a certified hater after s1, but slowly but surely i gave into the melodrama. akito and shigure were EVERYTHING

nana – the most disappointing ending of all time! for one of the greatest anime of all time. manga pls save me!!!

rascal does not dream of bunny girl senpai – i’m embarrassed. i cried.

princess tutu – expressionistic, dedicated to storytelling, tremendously kind-hearted. you have to let it move you

blue lock – i’m officially a sports anime girlie

cyberpunk: edgerunners – this was just so slick!

chainsaw man – nothing needs to be said here

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (8 anime)

yamada-kun to lv999 no koi wo suru – adult romance that hasn’t been stripped of all conflict and maintains momentum nearly to the end

oshi no ko – my expectations were non-existent after ep 1 but then it crept up on me. i can’t even fully put my finger on what works so well? but it does! it knows when to take itself seriously and when to be nonsense.

demon slayer s3 – best season of demon slayer to date, i actually cared

durarara!!x2 shou – this is a confession. my inner edgy teen loves durarara. i appreciate huge casts of characters acting in opposition in atmospheric tokyo.

gintama – i finally finished gintama one of my favorites of all time. the end pulls all the threads together but it does so at the expense of the laughs so loses some points

chihayafuru – amazing background anime. just consistently fun and engaging.

perfect blue – i feel stupid and uncultured to not give this a 10

vinland saga – askeladd is so hot wow

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7 anime)

buddy daddies – funny and sincere in degrees but a truly annoying little girl character

serial experiments lain – god you’ve gotta appreciate the wild swings creatives were taking in the 90s

durarara!!x2 ten

great teacher onizuka – ugh he’s a creep but also heh he’s funny

trigun stampede – they yassified them!

mob psycho 100 s3 - meandered a bit but the characters are forever favorites

to your eternity – the first 3 arcs are extraordinary. march is one of the great child characters of all time. the end drags.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (8 anime)

zom 100 – crazy good first episode that earns its premise and then a slow descent into mediocrity; cool colors though!

terror in resonance – utterly forgettable

dororo – way too long with way too many hit or miss episode arcs

bungou stray dogs s4 – the cracks are showing but the rampo backstory is dope

lycoris recoil – those cute girls shoulda been lesbians

classroom of the elite – is it edgy? yes. are the quotes frustratingly misused? oh yes. is it fun? ugh yeah actually

romantic killer – pretty cute and the edge of danger at the end really sells it

free – solid watch but it left my brain like sand in a sieve

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 anime)

wolf’s rain – what passes as deep when children are your primary audience

hell’s paradise – boring and i liked the manga so.

durarara!!x2 ketsu – the conclusion falls short

land of the lustrous – bold but was too slow for me

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3 anime)

tomo-chan is a girl! – sometimes funny but the conceit does not justify 13 episodes and it loses steam fast

mushishi – some of the vignettes were beautiful but felt repetitive

bleach: thousand-year blood war – sleek, hype, plagued by all the old bleach problems

no game no life season 1 - confused that this was such a phenomenon when it came out. it’s fine i guess.

⭐⭐⭐ (5 anime)

kamisama kiss – trite imo

given – god save us from anime about perfect people being perfect with each other – but this time set to music!

tokyo revengers s2 – 🤷

natsume’s book of friends – i don’t need vibes this cozy

sasaki to miyano – and i really don’t need vibes this cozy

⭐⭐ (0 anime)

⭐ (0 anime)

& then ongoing shows that i’m not going to rank until i finish them (but actually all are pretty good so far) – skip to loafer, heavenly delusion, spy x family s2, apothecary diaries, jujutsu kaisen s2, frieren: beyond journey’s end, vinland saga s2

[layanalaya]

Anime List

I might be wrong regarding the demographic/category, but I tried my best. I didn't put an appreciation on everything. Please do your own research too before watching something.

American

Action

Blue Eye Samurai

Yasuke

Fantasy

Arcane

Castlevania

The Wicther ✅

Chinese

Comedy

One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes (It was funny with a lot of childhood references)

Seinen

Blades of the Gardians

Xianxia

Heaven Official’s Blessing (✅)

Korean

BL

Mignon (🌶️ 18+😏✅)

Japanese anime

Comedy

Buddy Daddies ☺️✅

Fantasy

Angel Beats!

Child of The Kamiari Month (✅)

Garo : The Animation

Inu-Oh (Idk what to say about this one)

Lu Over The Wall ✅

Ookami Kodomo no Ame Yuki (✅✅😭)

Touken Ranbu : Hanamaru 

Touken Ranbu : Hanamaru 2

Violet Evergarden (✅)

Violet Evergarden : The Movie (✅🥹)

Horror

Another

Blood-C : The Last Dark (✅)

Corpse Party

Hellsing (✅)

Kangoku Jikken

Satsuriku no Tenshi

Shiki

Josei

Given (✅)

Given the Movie (✅)

Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom (✅)

Hakuoki : Wild dance of Tokyo

Kamigami no Asobi

Kids on the Slope (✅)

Josee, the tiger and the Fish (✅)

Ōoku : The Inner Chambers

Orenchi no Furo Jijo

Paradise Kiss (✅)

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague (✅)

Uta no Prince-sama (I used to LOVE watching it. I upgrew it but the 1000% LOVE song is still a hit idc.)

Music / Idol

MARGINAL#4

Uta no Prince-Sama S1&S2 (There is more seasons but I didn't watch everything)

Psychological

Rascal Does Not Dream About Bunny Senpai (I liked it but I didn't LOVE it. The ending song is fire though)

When Marnie Was There (✅)

Zankyou no Terror

Science-Fiction

B : The Beginning (✅)

Cyberpunk : Edgerunners (✅)

Darker Than Black (✅)

Frankenstein Family

Psycho-Pass (✅)

Psycho-Pass : Sinner of the System (✅)

Psycho-Pass : The Movie (✅)

Steins;Gate

Time of Eve

Seinen

Akiba Maid War (I still don't what to thing about this one, but it was kinda funny ? 🩸🔪🤔)

Beautiful Bones - Sakurako’s Investigation (✅)

Blue Giant

Blue Period (✅)

Bungou Stray Dogs S1-S4 (✅)

Bungou Stray Dogs : Dead Apple (✅)

City Hunter

Death Parade (✅)

Devil’s Line

Dorohedoro (Didn’t finish the anime because that style of animation isn’t really my thing, but the manga is FIRE ! ❗️Read at your own discretion because it is very graphic and gore)

Elfen Lied (✅)

Erased

Gangsta (✅✅)

Gofushufudo

Grand Blue Dreaming (❌ Didn't finish it, I had a hard time watching it)

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures : Rohan Kishibe

Magica Somera-chan

Monster (✅✅)

My Dress-Up Darling (✅ Marin is the love of my life. I love this girl so much)

Nanbaka

No Game no Life (😕I find the brother-sister dynamic fantasy annoying)

Oshi No Ko

Pluto

Sirius the Jaeger

Thermae Romae

Tokyo Ghoul

Vinland Saga S1-S2 (✅ Loved S1 but S2 wasn't really what I expected, I wanted to see more about Thorfinn as a youngster)

Shojo

After the Rain (😕 the age gap really made me uncomfortable but it's not bad at all !!)

Akagami no Shirayukihime (✅)

Ao Haru Ride (✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅ I LOVE THIS ONE WITH ALL MY HEART. CHILDHOOD LOVE ??? LOVE IT. THE TENSION AND THE DRAMA ??? DELICIOUS. THE OSTS ???? It's the first I watched so it has a special place in my heart.)

Bubbles (✅)

Cider no You ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru (☺️ very cute)

Clannad (❌... I really didn't like this one and I know some people might be hate but it BORED the sh*t out of me and I don't plan on trying to give it a try EVER again)

Diabolik Lovers (Not my favorite one but I used to secretly love it even though I never wanted to admit it 😳)

From Up on Poppy Hill

Fruit Basket S1, S2, S3 et prelude (☺️ I never thought I would like it but Kyo and Tohru made me so soft 🥹)

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

HAL (🥹)

Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light (🥹)

Kaichou Wa Maid-same (✅✅✅✅✅ Like Ao Haru Ride, it was one of the first shoujo have watched so it had a special place in my heart. DOUKA PLEASE CAN YOU MY SECURET ??? *start dancing*)

Kamisama Hajimemashita (✅✅✅ TOMOE IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE THAT B!TCH)

Kimi no Na Wa (✅ Do I need to say more?)

Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai / I want to eat your pancreas (🥹)

Lovely Complex

My Happy Mariage (✅ not the husband being the cutest green flag and standing up for his wife)

My Love Story with Yamada-kun (✅✅✅✅✅ THERE ARE SO CUTE and I swear to God idk why but Yamada feels like Shu Yamino to me)

My New Boss Is Goofy

Ookami shoujo to Kuro Ouji (😶 I don't need to add more)

Orange (🥹)

Ore Monogatari!! (☺️)

Ouran High School Club (Fujioka our Queen)

Suki tte Ii na yo (I would recommend it but idk... It's not my favourite but the couple is very cute !)

The Apothecary Diaries (✅✅ I LOVE THEM AND THE 1st OP IS MY MANTRA)

The Garden of Words (😕 again age gap and teacher-student relationships are not my favourite tropes)

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion

Shonen

A Silent Voice (✅🥹)

Akame ga KILL!

Assasination Classroom (✅ When everyone started to sing together ? 🥹)

Attack on Titan S1&S3

Baki (I didn't manage to finish it but I tried)

Ballroom e Youkosu (✅)

Beastars

Black Lagoon (Revy 😳)

Blue Exorcist

Blue Lock (✅)

Boku no Hero Academia S1-S6 (✅)

Chainsaw Man

Cowboy Bepop

Death Note (✅✅✅)

Dive

Dororo (✅)

Durarara!!

Great Pretenders

GTO

Haikyuu S1 - S3 (✅✅)

Hells’s Paradise (✅)

Horimiya

Hunter X Hunter 2011 (✅✅✅)

Jujutsu Kaisen (✅✅✅)

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (✅✅🥹)

Kabaneri of The Iron Forteress

Kakegurui S1&S2 (✅)

Kimetsu no Yaiba S1 -S3

Kuroshitsuji (✅✅✅✅ Sebastian)

Kuroshitsuji : Book of Circus (Sebastian 😳)

Kuroshitsuji : Book of Murder

Kuroshitsuji : Book of the Atlantic (✅✅✅✅✅ Undertaker)

Masamune-kun no Revenge 

Mirai Nikki

Noblesse (✅ The anime adaptation is awesome but read the webtoon too)

Noragami (✅✅)

Noragami Aragoto

O Maidens in Your Savage Season (😶)

One Piece (✅✅✅✅✅✅)

One Piece Gold

One Piece Red (✅✅✅✅✅ SHANKS MY MAN AND ADO OUR QUEEN)

One Piece Stampede

One Piece Strong World

One Piece Z

One Punch Man

Owari no Seraph

Revenger

Sankarea (❌😶)

Shinning Hearts (😂 I call this anime 'The Guy who Loves Making Bread)

Spy x Family S1 & S2 (✅ Waku Waku !)

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten

The Case Study of Vanitas S1 & S2 (✅🧛😏)

Tokyo Revengers S1-S2 (✅)

Ultramarine Magmel

Your Lie in April (I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. But I know a lot of people who genuinely loved it, so try it !!!)

Yuukoku no Moriarty S1 & S2 (✅)

Shonen-Ai

No.6 (✅)

Psychic Force

Yuri!!! On Ice (✅✅✅ CAN YOU HEAR MY HEARTBEAT)

Sport

Free! : Dive to The Future

Free! : Eternal Summer

Free! : Iwatobi Swim

Yaoi

Banana Fish (✅✅✅😭)

Doukyuusei (✅☺️😳)

Dramatical Murder (😳🌶️)

Hitorijime My Hero

Junjo Romantica (😶😳🌶️)

Love Stage!! (✅😳🌶️)

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi (😶😳🌶️)

Super Lovers (😶😶😶 I was the same age as Ren when I watched it so I didn't really see the problem... Now that I'm an adult 😬)

[chloefraazer]

continuing the new (to me) media list over here:

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, live action film

Percy Jackson live action

Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased his Name

The Brothers Sun

Sonic Prime s3

Dimension 20: Fantasy High Junior year

Pocket ni Boken wo Tsumekonde

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Abbott Elementary s3, s4

Reservation Dogs

Star Trek DSC s5

X Men 97

Davey and Jonsies Locker

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Persona 5

Persona 3 Reload

Taskmaster s17&18

Knuckles

Hades 2 (beta)

We Are Lady Parts s2

Game Changer s6

Make Some Noise s3

Never Stop Blowing Up

Balatro

Wicked Little Letters

Dead Boy Detectives

Assassin's Creed: Mirage

Elspeth

Taskmaster New Zealand s4&5

Balatro

Zenless Zone Zero

Marlowe Murder Club

High Potential

How to Die Alone

Transformers One

Brilliant Minds

Misfits and Magic s2

Star Trek: LWD s5

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Matlock 2024

Gastronauts

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

WWDITS s5

Jentry Chau vs the Underworld

Secret Level

[foxgonyoom]

HEY!

This is an unfinished post. There's still a lot of stuff in it of course, I just wanted to show it to my friend and the share link wouldn't cooperate when I posted it privately. So ye.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(I already posted a theory that the thing on the other side of the sky is the lady who made MK, this is just an elaboration and for funsies)

So you know how in the S4 special, it's implied that there's something on the other side of the sky?

What if that star we see on the other side is Nuwa?

TL;DR:

In this post, I will point out many connections between Nuwa, stuff we see in the show, and other connections I make in this post. I will use these connections to construct a semblance of a backstory for MK, as well as theorize what MK is, and what may be in store for us in Season 5 (among other things).

This shall be done by utilizing various sources, such as:

The show

Wikipedia

Theories other fans have thought up (Though these are less "sources" and more inspirations for some of my thoughts)

My imagination

All brought together by my apophenia! (Look it up)

WARNING: This post is longer than the noodles at Pigsy's Noodles, and draws from sources that have no reason to lie to me, but could be misinterpreted because nothing anyone ever says is ever safe from misinterpretation, and I can be VERY creative. You have been warned.

So first off:

Nuwa.

Nuwa, Nuwa, Nuwa.

I looked you up online, and guess what I found in your Wikipedia article?

Nüwa is often depicted holding a compass or multiple compasses, which were a traditional Chinese symbol of a dome-like sky.[1] She was also thought to be an embodiment of the stars and the sky[1] or a star god. - Wikipedia

RETURN TO IMAGE AT START OF POST:

My my, doesn't that look like such a bright star?

But wait, THERE'S MORE!

Because why don't we take a look at your name?

In Chinese, the word for 'whirlpool' is wo (Chinese: 渦), which shares the same pronunciation with the word for 'snail' (Chinese: 蝸). These characters all have their right side constructed by the word wa (Chinese: 咼), which can be translated as 'spiral' or 'helix' as noun, and as 'spin' or 'rotate' when as verb, to describe the 'helical movement'.  - Wikipedia

That's funny, because THIS:

Is the scene where that star I showed earlier shows up.

And oh, would you look at that? The sky appears to be cracking in a swirl-like fashion! Perhaps in a way that one might describe as a 'spiral'? Or maybe a 'helix'? Or like the sky is 'spinning'?

But why don't we hit the brakes on this, and mosey our way to another one of your myths?

Perhaps the one that caused people to connect you to MK in the first place?

Perhaps... the myth of how you created humanity?

As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay.[4] In other stories where she fulfills this role, she only created nobles[5] and/or the rich[6] out of yellow soil. The stories vary on the other details about humanity's creation, but it was a tradition commonly believed in ancient China that she created commoners from brown mud.[5] - Wikipedia

Hm? Why did I highlight that little bit about her creating commoners from mud? Well, I'm glad you asked! Because guess what appears SEVERAL times throughout the show?

MUD.

And guess what MK is covered in when he first arrives at Pigsy's?

MUD.

And in the show, it's very heavily implied that the little monkey figure in Nuwa's hands in the below scene is connected to MK somehow!

You'll see why I'm pointing that out in a moment, but for now, let's take a little frog break!

...

Huh? What's this? It appears new information is coming in! Let's see what we got!

The character nü (Chinese: 女; lit. 'female') is a common prefix on the names of goddesses. The proper name is wa, also read as gua (Chinese: 媧). The Chinese character is unique to this name. Birrell translates it as 'lovely', but notes that it "could be construed as 'frog', which is consistent with her aquatic myth.[7] - Wikipedia

OH SO YOU'RE A FROG NOW HUH?!

But yes, I believe I've pointed out enough possible connections! So why don't we see how things relate to MK?

Let's start small! With when Mk first showed up at Pigsy's!

Here, we see he's covered in mud and dirt.

But what if he's also covered in clay?

And where did all that dirt and mud come from?

I have two possible answers:

Nuwa had to get the mud and clay to create humans (and also probably MK) from SOMEWHERE. So perhaps where MK was born had a lot of mud?

That mud is actually some of the clay and dirt that Nuwa used to make MK. He's just covered in excess amounts of it.

Now, here's another question:

How is he covered in so much, when he's in the middle of the city? Surely much would have fallen off on his trek through the streets if he'd come from a forest outside? This isn't even mentioning how there doesn't even seem to BE a forest outside the city, just desert!

To best answer this question, I would like to refer to these two scenes:

In both of them, MK is falling out of the sky.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's right.

I don't think MK was dropped off at Pigsy's.

I think he dropped OUT OF THE SKY right onto Pigsy's lawn.

As in he CAME FROM THE SKY.

Hence his name in the Chinese version of the show, Xiaotian, which apparently means "Little Sky".

Let's also take a look at the mountain where it's implied he was born.

It appears to be VERY high up. It's also surrounded by floating islands. Perhaps... it itself is a floating island? But where? Surely not above Megapolis. Perhaps... on the other side of the sky? Far across those stars nestled in between the cracks of reality?

Surely, time will tell.

So, here's the basic gist of what I think went down:

Nuwa made MK out of clay.

She sealed him inside of Wukong's stone, which she reconstructed around him with the pieces of it.

Eventually, he was born from it.

Somehow, he ended up falling off the mountain, and ended up falling through the sky.

He dropped right on to Pigsy's front lawn.

Additionally, the sky cracking open is apparently not a new event in Chinese mythology.

In fact, the first time it happened, you were there. And you fixed it.

With ROCKS.

In the Huainanzi, there is described a great battle between deities that broke the pillars supporting Heaven and caused great devastation. There was great flooding, and Heaven had collapsed. Nüwa was the one who patched the holes in Heaven with five colored stones, and she used the legs of a tortoise to mend the pillars.[4] - Wikipedia

So, perhaps in Season 5 the crew will go looking for you for help with making sure the sky doesn't tear open?

But then, where would they find you?

Perhaps.... ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SKY?