#yes this series is a comedy. yes that scene was completely serious.

[can-i-see-your-passport-please]

If you told me someone would genuinely try to argue to me that this series is completely unserious, and everything, INCLUDING EVERYTHING IN THE FUCKING CLONE FIGHT (INCLUDING THE MAIN CHARACTER'S SUICIDE ATTEMPT) was a joke I would think you're setting up a strawman but LO AND FUCKING BEHOLD

[rootspiral]

AGATHA ALL ALONG DEEP DIVE: episode 1 part 1

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][+1] ep5 [1][2][3][4][5] ep6 [1])

IT'S TIME TO REWATCH AGATHA ALL ALONG, WITCHES! And as usual, spoilers below.

episode 1, Seekest Thou The Road

Wanda is dead (no she ain't). As a result, her spell is weakened and Agatha has changed from her nosy neighbor character to detective Agnes (or caught the true crime bug, as Herb will put it.)

Stinky grimy Agnes, so serious and depressed. As soon as she appears onscreen she's humming the Ballad.

Detective Agnes has just been recalled to action after being off duty for a while. She was punished for "punching a suspect", which is code for going after Wanda. Agnes points out that now the suspect is a convicted felon, i.e. that she was right after all and Wanda is dangerous and evil. "I can't be right and wrong" she says. "Yes, you can" says Herb, because both Agatha and Wanda are villain and victim. And lol at the police tape symbolizing Herb's fence. You know the poor guy is in his garden looking down at Agnes in her Bonher family tshirt, wondering what the hell is going on.

oh that's a seriously good shot

Agatha looks heartbroken when she sees Wanda's body, doesn't she? She looks so sorry.

Herb (the real Herb behind the illusion) confirms that Agatha is acting different than usual.

THIRD TIME SHE DISCREETLY DRIES HER TEARS

There is nothing funny about Detective Agnes. Or rather, it's funny to watch her because she's so intense, but we laugh at her, she's not being a clown on purpose like Agatha usually is. And Agatha right now is in a lot of pain, even more than usual having completely lost her agency. This character so unkempt, so sad, so doggedly searching for answers, is more true to Agatha's real self than what she usually lets people see. Deep down she's just a tragic lesbian wet rat.

Somebody called in to have the body found, and I think that somebody was Rio. Why would the body be next to the water otherwise? It's like the River of Life laid her gently where Agatha could find her. In other words, Wanda's death brought her to Agatha. I'm curious about these woods too, we know they don't actually exist as this is all in Agatha's head, but where did the idea come from? Are these the woods where she killed the Salemites? Where she gave birth to Nicky? Or where she buried him?

Agatha's victims from the finale flashing throughout the opening. Wherever it may bend, I'll see you at the end.

"based on the danish series WANDAVISDYEN" never fails to destroy me. and it's so clever too, it's like they're telling first time watchers that yes, this seems like a grim detective show, but you clever audiences know that things are not as they seem and this is a parody, right?? this is not serious at all, it's funny! Laugh! Except. It's not funny. It's not funny at all. And you're going to realize only when it's too late. It's the same thing they do with Sharon/Mrs. Hart, they lure you in with laughs only to hit you with heartbreak. This show is not a comedy at all. It's at its very core a senseless tragedy.

Sarah/Dottie lives next door too, was Agatha talking to her through a window, or does the library desk symbolize another fence? This poor woman, hasn't she suffered enough? But they all more or less try to help Agnes, that's sweet. Has anyone from SWORD or whomever dropped in to talk to them, did the Avengers just decide to leave Agatha there? Did Monica (or Ralph) even explain to the poor people of Westview that she's a witch, or do they just think she's a random neighbor who couldn't be saved from Wanda's Hex?

THE MAILMAN CONTINUES BEING SUSPICIOUS. Is Agatha putting words in his mouth, or was he (the "messanger") sent by someone to warn her about the Darkhold being destroyed???

her FACE when she sees Rio

and the way Rio just stares and stares. When you rewatch this scene knowing that this is the first time she gets to see Agatha in centuries... and she has to be cool and she has to be gentle. I think it's deliberate that they put Phil/Harold/Ross Geller in here, because he's one of the funniest people in Westview and it's suggesting a first time viewer to read this scene as a comedy. Except it's a cosmic tale of tragedy and heartbreak, but you're not supposed to notice yet, even if it's right there under your nose.

Stop being such a lone wolf, Agnes. Or rather, stop being such a sad and lonely covenless witch, Agatha.

Rio laughs her delighted little laugh, licks her lips, looks out the window for a moment as if overwhelmed, then goes back looking at Agatha and basically devouring her with her eyes. ("te veo.") (thank you for my life aubrey plaza.) Agatha stares daggers back, but her body language stars getting defensive. She feels very vulnerable.

Yep, defensive. And wistful.

She is doing her job, like always. But she's also going above and beyond. There is technically no need for her to wake Agatha up, but here she is, dropping gentle clues, guiding her with such patience and care.

"If you wanna be in control you can be" is said in such a kind tone, but it's also sexy?? I think Rio really likes for Agatha to take control, in a lot of ways. Her body language is the opposite of what Agatha is doing too.

Oh noes she's making herself so small now. She's like, intrigued and angry and happy and scared to see Rio. They're both being so tentative!! And she doesn't actually know who Rio is because she's under the damn spell, so her body language and feelings are pure instinct. They come from somewhere very very true and deep. (and LOL that mug says "get a clue")

Is this who you are now, Agatha? the intense but lonely detective? she's genuinely interested, because Rio investigates Agatha just as Agatha investigates everybody else. Rio simply cannot get enough of her. and she keeps talking with this gentle, warm, understated tone.

Gains personal space. Keeps staring and staring.

oh now we're leaning. they do this every scene they are together, they keep getting closer and closer even if they don't mean to, like magnets.

Agatha literally bolts to the door and tells her to leave. Rio's presence is so overwhelming in so many different and complicated ways, and she doesn't even understand why that is at the moment. Kathryn Hahn is playing this perfectly straight (no pun intended), there is genuine pain in her voice.

"Te veo", which is not "see you," but I see you, I'm always looking for you, I'm always watching. And I finally see you, after all this time.

Oh, honey.

I'm running out of space again, but I promise I'll continue this tomorrow. Thank you for all the notes you guys, I was not expecting so many! I'm doing this mostly to amuse myself, but it's nice to know that the brainrot is collective 🙃🙃🙃

go to the next entry

[aeolianblues]

For any Taskmaster-heads that want to hear John's take on the series, he and Elis discussed it in one of the latest episodes of the Elis and John show, Sophie Willan also joins them.

There are spoilers, obviously.

It's interesting to me that John brings up how the producers make people come across in the show: he says, the producers of the show have a narrative to follow and a story to tell, which is fair enough. He mentioned that even though he was laughing and joking throughout his time on Taskmaster, because he was in some ways filling the role of 'the Taskmaster nerd' who really wanted to win, he says there were a lot of shots of him looking serious spliced into places where he wasn't actually looking so serious behind the scenes.

It's a tiny detail, and truly they do have a show to run and people to typecast into a cohesive narrative to present, where the contestants are slightly exaggerated versions of themselves, and that's showbiz baybee, as an effervescent local band I quite like says often.

I guess I have a bit of a soft spot for John, from having followed his work on radio for what, half a decade now? And because I've heard people say that they didn't quite like John because he appeared quite serious and focused on Taskmaster, I guess I want people to give him a chance as a comedian! He is very funny, don't take Taskmaster at complete face value. Yes, I'm only saying this because I like him already. Whatever.

Here's the episode, which I think anyone who enjoyed the series and wants to know a bit more of what was going on in the contestants' heads (well, John and Sophie's at least), and also their take on carrying the results with you for 8 months, and thoughts on the next series' contestants.

[phantasmiafxndom]

Out of all the animes you’ve watch what ones are your favorites

...you know what, you get the serious answer. I used to track my anime watching, so out of the 450+ completed ones on my list, here are some of my top recommendations! (In terms of quality, more so than what I've spent the most time dwelling on.)

. . .

One Piece — I haven't technically watched all of this one, but after falling back into the fandom after an 8-ish year break, I really can't understate the quality. One Piece's story is amazing, and I'm consistently impressed by the author's characters/worldbuilding.

Dominion Tank Police (1988) — I have FEELINGS about the villain in this one... Overall, 80s sci-fi vibes mix with themes of ethical responsibility and societal peacekeeping, and the "don't you just want to go apeshit? :)" protagonist (who's also extremely aromantic-coded) is a hilarious, yet wonderfully earnest little menace!

Kyousougiga — I've been rewatching this one recently, and the sheer detail in every scene is STUNNING. I keep having to pause to mentally scream about the symbolism, and tbh, knowing the plot from my original watch is only improving the experience.

Tekkon Kinkreet — This one's a movie, not a series, but SKLJKHS IT HAUNTS ME. Absolutely chilling, by the time the big plot twists roll around... Beyond that, the overall aesthetic/vibe is impeccable, and the exaggerated, messy art style only adds to that.

Kemonozume — Monster/human forbidden romance with stunning art and a great soundtrack. The plot started out a bit confusing, but all of the scattered story elements came together nicely in the end!

The Tatami Galaxy — The "get your shit together and start enjoying your life" anime. It's plenty good as just a story, but I got some excellent life lessons out of it too. Solid mix of comedy, drama, and charismatic-yet-extremely-bizarre characters interacting.

Monster — Excellent slow-paced, psychological horror packed with ethical dilemmas, traumatic backstories, and so many Extremely Depressed Men. In other words, there's a very good reason why Johan Liebert used to end up on so many "best anime villains" lists.

Paranoia Agent — I have nothing but praise for Satoshi Kon's work, in general, and Paranoia Agent has been my favorite of the ones I've seen so far. Compared to his movies, it really benefits from the extra space for plot development, and the big emotional twist hits hard.

Revolutionary Girl Utena — A true classic. <3 There are enough tumblr essays about this tragic yuri masterpiece that I won't go into detail myself, but yes, it's every bit as good as you've heard.

Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail — The entire Black Lagoon series is excellent, but Roberta is my special girl. Unfortunately, the OAV adaption compresses the manga's version of her arc pretty heavily (and the altered ending is kind of dumb), but I still have to recommend it. Babygirl's breakdown is a REAL mess kjshghs

Claymore — Excellent pseudo-medieval fantasy with badass female characters, lots of body horror, and top-tier monster design. The manga is MUCH better than the anime after a certain point, however.

Kuuchuu Buranko — An episodic series about an eccentric psychiatrist interacting with his troubled patients. The mixed-media animation style and bizarre characters are what sold it for me, along with the exploration of mental health through storytelling tropes.

Cannon Fodder — An artistic short movie that's twenty minutes of aesthetic experience and fascinating worldbuilding implications. I love the vibe, and the "one, long horizontal frame" style is neat.

Flowers of Evil — The art style. The VIBES. The whole thing is incredibly eerie and off-putting, with a plot that's pretty much: "congrats! two shitty teenagers are tearing each other's lives apart!".

[todorroki]

Love Sea ep 9 thoughts

what do u MEAN we only have one ep left........ (besides the special ep) NAUR icb this. they could have filmed like 2 extra episodes of completely filler fluff after they go back to the island and i wouldn't even mind

nina is such a good actress yall. i know we all agree but my god i have to say it again. also FORT GETS TO THROW HANDS TWICE THIS EP!!!

whoever did vi's makeup and hair for this outfit.. that's good hair. hair stylist was Doing Hair u know what i mean ? LMAO

just wanna say, peat nails panicked tongrak. the tremble in his line delivery, the darting eyes.

hurt/comfort go crazy with these two fr

truthfully, i don't enjoy shitty asian dad plots. not that they're BAD but every time i see one, i'm like "damn.....again?" LMAOOOOO

i have to say, the unintentional comedy here is amazing. mut is all serious driving to jak's house while his convo with kwan about rak's trauma is playing, but then we cut to a shot of the fake plush doggy sleeping on the dashboard. I'M SORRY BUT I LAUGHED!! i would like one though it's so cute

sometimes i totally forget rak is like 30. his dad has been haunting him for so long and jak Still has a psychological hold on rak AND his actions even though they don't ever see each other/barely have contact.

also, what a funny thing to say jak. like. YEA??????????????? YOU WOULD AND YOU DO!

oh yes, the 'breakup' scene. i would have preferred if the camera shook less, but it's okay. peat was PERFORMING here. you could tell it HURT rak to call it off. and the paper rip did sting!

i love that mut's first reaction is just "oh i don't have to listen to you? great" and proceeds to punch jak. honestly mut's lines in this scene go SO HARD he's so hot.

and rak finally, truly Sees his dad for what he is and not the monster that's been terrorizing him.

mahasamut is THE pillar of this episode. i think fort did a fantastic job, from the fighting to the heavy emotions.

also this part omg i was like mut...youve got a big storm coming

i'm excited to go back to the island (NOT EXCITED FOR THE SERIES TO END WTFFFFF)

i'm so glad for that mook and mut convo at the end. i think the part where mut talks about regret and rejection probably resonated with mook.

my favorite part of this ep is definitely the end where mutrak sit outside by the water together.

PLEAAAASEEE THEY'RE SO SOFT and they fit so well together. they looked so comfy too

i need more fortpeat series saur bad... im begginggggggggg

[dextixer]

Volume 9 was (Mostly) filler that did not need the Ever After to exist

When details about Volume 9 being set in a different world entirely emerged, a good amount of people started predicting that Volume 9 would end up being a filler volume. After all, if the characters are all in another world entirely, that means that the main plot of the show is going to be put on hold. While it was a fair assumption to make, it also received push-back in the form of people claiming that the volume could be used for character development, which would not be filler regardless of its interactions with the main plot. Volume 9 came and went, and so, the question remains. Was Volume 9 filler?

In my opinion? Yes. Mostly. While i cannot claim that the entirety of the volume was meaningless fluff, for the most part, the most important aspects of the Volume were centered in only 3 episodes. And i would like to cover why i think so.

What is filler?

Let us first begin with a simple question. What is filler? Its a term that first started when talking about anime adaptations, it described anime episodes/arcs that were made while waiting for the adapted manga to go forward. That however has not remained the ONLY conception of filler. Outside anime the term has been widely used to refer to parts of long-form art such as books, movies and the like, that carry no meaning to the main story line or character progress. That is the same definition of filler that most people, including in this very fandom use. The fact that so many parts of the FNDM decided to do bad faith nonsense and pretend that the Anime definition is the only valid one caught me by surprise, but regardless of their attempts to derail the conversations, the concept of filler has not changed.

Plot progression

So, with the definition of filler out of the way, we have to ask ourselves if Volume 9 fulfills the requirements to not be seen as filler. The first requirement of course, is the interaction with the main plot of the show. Since the very start of the show, defeating Salem has been the main goal, the main plot of the show, even if characters and the audience did not know about Salem in Volumes 1-2. Volume 3 revealed the main overarching plot line of the entire series.

Going to the ever after, as predicted, put a complete stop on the development of the main plot. After all, our main characters are no longer on Remnant. They cant work to unify the people, they cant fight against Salem, they are on a different plane of existence entirely. The only antagonist that came to the Ever After with them was not a representative of Salem, but rather, an antagonist with their own personal goals and desires that were completely detached from Salem.

The only thing that gave us ANY relation to the main plot was the revelation at the END of the Volume, that both the GoD and GoL were from the ever after. Besides that and the revelation of Summers last mission. Nothing more concerning the main plot of the series occurred.

So, as far as plotline progression goes, Volume 9 is.... Mostly a dud. Besides a single episode, there is nothing of substance there.

Okay, but thats not enough to say that the volume was filler, after all, character progression is still something that could exist! Right?

Character progression

Except it didnt.

Weiss - Did not progress as a character. Her entire role in Volume 9 was to serve as the "straight man" in the comedy act that was the Ever After. She was meant to be the serious funless person so that when slapstick situations happened to her, it would be funny.

And thats ALL she was the ENTIRE VOLUME.

Yes, the person whose kingdom and home is now destroyed. Father dead, father surogate (Klein) and the rest of her family fates are also unkown. And she gets NOTHING from it. I think there are 2 scenes in the entire volume of her feeling slightly sad over this, and then NOTHING. There is no progression. Weiss in Volume 9 is there just to serve as a CLOWN.

Marriage - Well, how about Blake and Yang? They did progress forward as characters, after all, Volume 9 is where they finally officially get together. Except that... Its very little actual character progress. Let us be honest with ourselves, Yang and Blake were already "together" by the start of V7. Them killing Adam together cemented them as a couple. They dont talk about their relationship at all and instead in Volumes 7-8 all we get from them is romantic fluff. So, when now in V9 they are forced by the universe to get together. Well....

Was there any character progression involved here? They were already together. Everyone already knew they were together. Making it official does not really matter in this case as much as in any other romance because in other romances, the official confirmation happens while the people in the relationship are still unsure about themselves. But Yang and Blake have been acting as a couple for at least 2 volumes now.

To call this progress is like calling a bar filling from 98% to 99% progress. Is it technically progress? Yeah, but... In the grand scheme of things its so minimal it barely bears mentioning.

Ruby - From the very start of the Volume, it was very clear that Ruby was going to be given a lot of focus as a character, she is now presented as a primary protagonist in the Ever After. The rest of the team are mainly there to be the supportive cast to Rubys experiences.

And for a time, her story was interesting, we could see how with each encounter she was getting more tired and tired. How she was slowly being broken down from her experiences and how she very much did not want to seek help.

The set-up was really good but then.... She drinks the Kool Aid. She commits suicide as the emotional crescendo of the Volume. And what follows after is.... Her returning back to how she was before. All of that build up? The emotional high? Wasted.

Ruby comes back the same as she was. Now, some people have told me that its fine for characters to have these kinds of "flat" arcs, where they go down and then up. And i agree, or i should say. I would agree if this wasnt the THIRD TIME that Ruby has experienced this SAME CHARACTER ARC.

She had this same arc in Volumes 4 AND 6. Something bad happens - Ruby becomes down - Ruby gets worse over the volume - by the end of the volume something encourages her and shes back to normal.

If this was the FIRST time that Ruby experienced this arc, i would be more lenient to it. But this is the THIRD time she has. And instead of it being a subplot as it was in V4-6. It is now the MAIN plot of the volume. What was GAINED in terms of her character from this? Can anyone answer? If her character didnt change, if this was a repeated subplot. WHAT WAS THE POINT!?

Jaune - Jaune is in the SAME boat. Unlike Ruby, he received a lot less time for development, but he also got a recycled subplot. Jaunes arc was a repeat of what happened with Pyrrha and her death. Everything i said about the recycling of Rubys character "development" applies here.

And he ALSO gets reset at the end of the Volume.

The characters that actually received character development

The only characters in V9 that received development were Little, Neo and arguably Alyx.

Little - Has a very coherent and understandable character progression in V9. They start out as a clueless yet also adventurous helper to the main cast. Of course, Little knows little about the world around them, at least not the specifics, so over time their role becomes that of a confidant to Ruby.

Little learns from the humans they are with while journeying forth. After Ruby runs away due to the fight with Jaune, it is Little who attempts to help Ruby. When Ruby is beaten down, it is Little that tries to help Ruby move.

Little is the little mouse that could. They grow from basically nothing to a dependable ally. Not really a storybook hero that saves the day by themselves, but someone who can simply help others. The Smith finishes this arc of Little by reviving the critter, this time in a more heroic form.

Littles entire journey was that of finding purpose, after all, when the protagonists meet them, they dont even have a name. And the arc ends with Little finding that purpose, even if unintentionally.

Neo - Neo also has progress as a character, except hers is a downward spiral rather than her becoming better. She starts the volume angry, suicidal, trying to kill Ruby no matter what. Once she lands in the ever after, she becomes stronger and gains more power to hunt down Ruby. Despite not looking like it, this is the start of the downward spiral, she might seem more "happy", but besides gaining power, all she is doing is descending further onto the path of vengeance, it consumes her.

Literally. Once she believes that she killed Ruby, she just... Shuts down. There is nothing for her to live for. Her revenge is done. What now? Nothing. Well, at least until the cat reverse vored itself into Neo.

After the cat is defeated, Neo is back. But now, with the same realization. She has nothing. And unlike before, she no longer wants or has the strength to pretend that Roman is still with her, he isnt. And so she... Commits suicide. Both literally and metaphorically.

Even if she comes out of her cocoon, it is doubtful she will be the same person.

Alyx - Alyx might seem like a strange inclusion, but despite her not really being an active character in the story we are watching, over time we learn of what she did/experienced in the past. She is portrayed as a person who went through the ever after through trickery and force, not a likeable character at all, especially considering what she does to Jaune. And yet, we also learn that at the end of the line, when it was time to leave the Ever After, she chose to stay, because she changed, she understood that the actions she did were bad.

Of course, its not exactly a detailed journey. Its very basic for what it is. Yet there is an actual result for the character that is presented.

So its mostly filler...

Therein lies the problem. The characters that received character progression were all side-characters. 1 of whom is dead, another in limbo and the third one is an afteran who most likely cant leave unless RWBY pulls an Avengers Endgame on us.

And thats the issue. Thats why i cant do anything else but call V9 mostly filler. As far as the most important information is concerned, only 3 episodes in this entire volume truly matter. The BB episode and the last 2. To get the world-building and the BB confession.

But besides that, what exactly does this Volume set-up? Weiss had nothing going for her. BB was confirmed but that relationship was already developed beforehand. Ruby and Jaune got reset. Neo was a side-character that never really mattered.

So.... What was the point of the Ever After?

Because as far as i can see the only thing it achieved is a time-skip so that CRWBY could skip the whole refugee crisis situation that team RWBY caused in Vacuo.

Let us remember that RWBY is not in good financial straits now. And yet in Volume 9 they decided to make it all happen on a DIFFERENT WORLD where they would need to create massive ammounts of new assets that they most likely wont be able to reuse. Why does this Volume exist? Why wasnt Volume 9 set in Vacuo and all of its "main" developments happening there?

Its just.... The entire volume is a genuine waste of time.

[jacarandaaaas]

Terms of series based on sending asks. For me it's a slice of life with comedy/serious scenes! Set backs & set forwards! Arguments & makeups! We get to know characters deeper but same time silly details. Does have mini plots but NOT some GRAND adventure! Not try to find source of magic. Encanto won't be attacked! No one kidnapped! No tourism!!!!

They do explore outside The Encanto/see how far the gifts go. Culture shock. But the series still is just mainly in The Encanto. Also magic realism is there!!! (Self Indulged Magic Forest + implied folklore!)

I wanna see friends too!!! Dads side of family & episodes focused on the dads lives! Reoccurring characters! Episodes set pre movie. Alma past!

Friendless loser Mirabel who got bullied by everyone around & jumped school gone!!! 😭 I'm sure not everyone is nice because not every kid is but she not alone,,

Let her have a friends group post movie!!!

Also tbh I do want to see other villagers personal struggles. As not only Madrigals going though stuff. Ones who were there when Encanto formed especially. Maybe an episode focused on random ones lives!

Songs!!!! (Not in every episode though!)

2D animation!

Self indulged again...Fish Lady 💯 a teacher in The Encantó for me! She collects fish artifacts now! Not abuse fish rn! She & Bruno just got two sided beef! (Petty Bruno funny,,,) I am NOT delusional!

Mirabel main character but focus not always on her! She has own flaws to work on too as not always correct!

Also theme song is like The Family Madrigal!

THE THEME SONG YESS!!! Family madrigal part 2 I’m so here for that

you are preaching to the choir here (I am the choir) completely agree I’d love to see more about the dads side of family! mirabel with a friend group ahhh yes!!! petty bruno beef I need that!!! yes to giving characters more focus but also keeping mira as main! The villagers could have interesting story potential! The folklore aspect sounds so cool! Since the story is already magical realism I see a lot of potential there

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

What are five pros and five cons you would give to Hazbin Hotel?

Gonna start with the cons, because I like to end on a positive note.

The Pacing. This was something I had a feeling was going to be a weakness of the show from the time I saw the trailer and learned that the first season was going to involve the next Extermination, especially when it was confirmed the season was only going to be eight episodes long. The twist in the first episode that the next Extermination was happening in half the time helped a little, but it still meant we skipped over months between episodes, with it being implied important stuff did happen that we just didn't see.

While I think it's better than Helluva Boss in balancing it's main cast (I love that show, but the uneven attention given between all of the main characters is one of the biggest issues it has), it still has some trouble with making all the characters feel fully like "people"? Niffty probably being the biggest example, since I love her, but right now she feels more like a living punchline than a real character.

The tone can sometimes be just a little...off with how it feels like we're supposed to feel. Best example being Sir Pentious death. The characters react to it like it was a serious event, because for them, it was...but the death itself was treated as kind of a joke? And I understand the show is a sort of dark comedy, so to an extent I expect stuff like that. But I think at that moment, the switch from "joke" to "you're supposed to seriously grieve this character" felt a bit too abrupt?

This is a completely personal thing, but as I've mentioned before, I don't love the whole sideplot of Sir Pentious having a crush on Cherri Bomb? It felt like it came out of nowhere, whereas most of the other relationships that seem to be a thing in the show were at least given hints in the Pilot. And it's just another example of the pacing being break-neck, since they had Cherri not show up until episode 6 of 8, and then Pentious dies in the finale, so they had basically two episodes (and not even full ones, just some scenes) to try and convince me of a romance, and, maybe it's just my arospec self, but....I couldn't really get convinced at all.

It's kinda hard for me to really think of issues I really have with the show, so I gotta kinda cheat a bit with this last one, since I can't help but wonder if they would've left the scene out had they known from the start of production that they'd get more seasons, but I personally don't love the whole stinger that reveals Pentious ended up in Heaven after Adam killed him? Not so much because I don't like the idea that he ended up there - I like that part. But I kind of feel like his death would have had a bit more impact if the audience did genuinely think he was gone for good for longer than like...fifteen minutes.

And now for the things I loved about Hazbin Hotel

The songs are arguably the biggest highlight of the whole series for me. I don't think there's a single one that I wouldn't happily listen to, whether in or out of context. From what I've seen I apparently don't have as high of an opinion of some songs as others, but I legitimately love all of them. I don't think there's anything I could say about any of the songs in this show that could be considered anything close to a real critique.

All of the characters are an absolute blast to watch. Yes, some of them don't have the most depth so far, but that doesn't change the fact that I just love to watch them whenever they're on screen? And it's not just the main cast, either. Obviously I love all of them, but even with fairly limited screen time, I found myself absolutely adoring whenever I got to see characters like Carmilla Carmine, Zestial, Velvette, and Rosie on screen. And all of the characters are so interesting and fun to imagine in different scenarios. And since I'm a writer, that is one of the biggest pros a series can have.

While the show is arguably more of a comedy, it is actually very good, in my opinion, dealing with some pretty serious topics when it wants to. The biggest example is Angel Dust's struggles with what he goes through thanks to Valentino, but you also have things like Vaggie's past and how her hiding that effected her relationship with Charlie when the truth got revealed. Or the whole thing of how it's implied most of Heaven didn't know about the Exterminations and that being revealed to them caused a lot of tensions, particularly between Emily and Sera. Or even just the whole thing of how Carmilla discovered how to kill Angels...but doesn't want it to be known what she did because she doesn't want to cause a war and lose her daughters, when the whole reason she learned that Angels could be killed was because she wanted to save them.

The character designs are some of the best I've seen in a long time. It really feels like the team took full advantage of the fact that it seems like there's no set rule for how demons can look in their version of hell, and so they went absolutely nuts with it, in the best possible way. Pretty much every single character has an incredibly unique design, and they're all just so fun to see. It makes the whole world feel so much more alive....slightly ironically considering it's the main setting is full of people who are technically all dead.

Outside of the one I mentioned above, I really like how basically all of the relationships in the show are handled, from the romantic to the platonic to the familial. They are all extremely varied and obviously some get more real attention than others, but all are given enough focus and attention that you always get the sense that the characters care for each other very deeply, especially by the end. And because you feel those bonds, you are even more effected by what the characters go through, because you feel like you're part of that group of people who care for one another. And I love that it also applies to the villains, with how Lute was clearly devestated by Adam's death, following the show indicating they were close, but usually showing them in what seemed to be a mostly "professional" relationship.

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Cucumber Day 5 Watching Con's Filmography

(I also listened to a short story he'd been in, scroll down a bit on my page and you'll find it. For everyone who watched this and needs a refresher only on Con, someone finally posted a compilation on youtube. If you haven't seen the series, you'll probably be lost. But I'm sure its a fun out of context watch)

Summary wrote after binging the entire series in one day.

Please, Please, Please go online and check every warning for this show. Not only for the graphic hate crime but see everything they warn about. Protect yourself. This review will discuss sexual topics, nudity, and substance abuse, and age gaps.

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

So the show. I think it was fun, not the best tv show, and has some mixed messages, but a fun watch.

I grew up in a household/town where sex wasn't discussed. Especially queer shit. This show is very in-your-face about it and I admire the shit out of it. The friendships felt lived in. The experience of being a young queer 'hunted' by older queers was explored enough to not make Henry a complete hypocrite, sadly. But the focus was always more on Henry, even in the end, Henry still got off on the image of a 20 something during sex.

Fully noting, I did skip scenes. Some things were just a bit much for me, so I took the liberty to save peace and move on. Yet, the show does seem to balance heavy moments with joy and comedy. Hell, during a fucking funeral, some guys need to go check their dicks for hair. And you know what, I feel that if Lance were there, he wouldn't even be suprised.

I loved Freddy. Holy shit, at first, I was worried about how he'd be treated, but by the end, I was rooting for him. Obviously, the guy is just so used to being hunted for his body. This topic was brushed on with the teacher, and not really felt by the plot or the characters around him. I'm happy he felt like he could leave and just grow up as a person. I'm so happy they let the audience see a time jump where everyone turns up okay, and happy.

I'm not a queer man, but I know this shit can resonate. I've seen queer men online discuss these same points. Predatory age gaps, the pressure to be hot, aging, commitment, and communication issues in relationships...This isn't the best show for all that to be taken seriously but I'll leave that discussion to that community.

So Con's character, Cliff, was right about Henry in episode 1, and I fucking love when writers do this shit. "You always did that. Never had affairs, just obsessions." Cause in the context, yes, Henry never cheated. But he never has deep relationships; he has brief obsessions until things get too serious and he needs to move on. Hell, In episode 8, that's the conclusion Henry comes to himself. "Maybe one day I'll come to terms to it...being gay". Cause he wants intimacy but fears men and getting close to people. It's that closeness he struggles with.

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

The things that bugged me about the series

The entire bit about the boys playing chicken for internet attention. Again, I know this is a thing. But now a days we legitimately have children doing this stuff unknowingly for people online. Or parents unknowingly showing their children on tik tok for millions of people. I know people who were groomed, and avoided it like crazy growing up as a kid online. I cringed every time this plot point was mentioned, feeling like a kid was a second away from getting hurt. It just felt a bit much to touch on for me in this type of show. Again, they tried to have their cake and eat it too by showing Harry get a slap on the wrist, but it just didn't feel like it justified the plot line being there in the first place. Seriously, what did it add to the story besides showing Henry that maybe he should go back home? He could have done so many other things. The only funny bit is when Cliff commented how fucking weird straight people are sometimes.

Cliff says in ep 1 he had a history of going after older men when he was young, and the age gap is boggeling. Again, this could mean he only had a crush on him. But if we're going to bring up how wierd it was, then why is this and the teacher sub plot where minors brought up the only time its mentioned. Like yeah, the teacher-student situation was fucked up. How about the 30 and 40-year-olds going after people in their early 20s. "I'm horrified to discover I have standards." Fun line Cliff, yeah. But they are literally minors. Age gaps and taking advantage of younger queers is a real issue in the queer community. There should 100% be a place to talk about it. But when every 'likable' character does it without issue, then it's still a problem. Hell, this is why Freddy's plot felt so out of left field in ep 8 with Cliff and him fucking before running off. I don't know why he did it, knowing that Cliff wanted him for his body? Or maybe he just wanted comfort after that argument and knew he'd get it by having sex? I genuinely want to know other interpretations. If Freddy felt like this, it would have been more satisfying for Henry to learn his lesson and not use 20-year-old Freddy as wank material for the next 6/7 years. Also, Freddy running away from Cliff with his pants down was just funny.

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

Now, wash most of that out of your head!

The fun part that we have all been waiting for-

TALKING ABOUT CLIFF COSTELLO

(Yes, Cliff is kind of a douche early on. Enjoying eyeing Freddy and praising Henry for leaving his boyfriend for a 'young boy toy'. But, as the series goes, it dies down. Cliff, pre-episode 6 was a fun jackass. Post-ep 6 is one of the best characters in the show and the best friend you could ask for.)

I have seen most gifs online for this character. The soft outfits, smoking, suits, smiling. And fucking YET. The three scenes to me that make me love this character are-

"And obviously, I could take a statement. Have a briefcase with me, files and a pen. Because solicitors get searched entering a prison just like everyone else, but I'd still have a pen. Because a pen is all I'd need, really. I think it would take me a second to lean across and insert the pen through his throat. Right here. At the base. Straight through to the spine. (I could do that.) He'd bleed out in seconds. Dead. So... that's what I'll do. With your permission." I need Izzy to do this speech. Please god. In all your infinite wisdom. In this moment, I 100% felt that this lawyer would murder the murderer of his friend in sheer rage with a fucking pen.

Cliff pulling up(no crutches *curtsies with a smile*) to save Henry's ass from saying something stupid to the cops after their place gets ransacked. Stepping in and ensuring Freddy doesn't assault someone in front of cops.

"I look forward to the tribunal because the law is magnificent in this regard. It's not up to us to prove homophobia, it's up to you to prove homophobia does not exist. Best of luck. Thank you." AHHHHHHHH Smarmy, confident, smiling Con, I love it. Maybe the hottest thing Cliff does in this series, the outfit, the glaring before hand, the confidence, and AHHH.

His stand-out moments are when he's being a loyal, caring motherfucker. Trust me, after days of seeing a sad, depressed, miserable Con, seeing him thirsting after men was fun. Seeing him make dick jokes and act like an 'Elder Gay' that protected his own did heal my soul. But there was just a fucking genuine happiness he brought to the role.

I love that, even though he's a character Henry can rely on, Henry would never stay at his flat. (Obviously, cause then the plot wouldn't happen, but I like to think they know they'd both bring out the worst in each other).

Henry uses him for his knowledge of the law when doing cagey shit. It's great. Like getting his job back or doing the whole weird shit mentioned above for extra money. Seeing Cliff doing his best to stay semi-professional and not visibly judge the shit out of Henry for essentially being a soft core pimp is so fucking funny. Also, his 'that's our song' speech, where he goes on about how people steal underground culture, was fun.

The funeral made me respect Cliff, as he knew how to handle the situation. Keeping the situation safe enough in public so that Henry could have his own time to break down.

When Cliff didn't push, let Henry grieve on his own time, it was beautiful. Many of us would have immediately pushed that boundary. Trying to let ourselves feel better by stopping someone else from having destructive emotions. But Cliff knows better. Hell, when Henry is crying we see Cliff tearing up. Showing that Cliff knows to just step back tells us so much about how these two men care for each other.

Now a tiny praise corner about writing an Elder Gay lawyer character-

The sheer joy in Cliff knowing he could use the 'law' to protect queer people. Both for Lance and for getting Henry his job back. If Cliff is as old as Con, he'd have been a lawyer starting in the 1990's. He would have in practice during queer legalization post-thatcher in the UK. There's a good reason he seemed to be the happiest when they got home after getting his job back. He would have been taught Section 28 as a queer man.

'The fight for sexual equality however, was far from over. Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, introduced by the Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher, banned local authorities from ‘promoting homosexuality’ or ‘pretended family relationships’, and prohibited councils from funding educational materials and projects perceived to 'promote homosexuality'. The legislation prevented the discussion of LGBT issues and stopped pupils getting the support they needed. Section 28 was repealed in 2003, and Prime Minister David Cameron apologised for the legislation in 2009.'

He went from learning about all that shit as a young lawyer(who fucking survived the AIDS crisis), plus worse, to using ANTI DISCRIMINATION LAW for LGBTQ people! (kinda) So yeah. There's a very good fucking reason why that scene made me pause and stim for the fucking life of me. He was the happiest one when they came home, belting and smiling! So much has changed over his life and AHHH-

(This just hurts knowing this defence is all still legal where I live. And rights are being stripped every day... But hope still exists...yatta yatta.)

The friendship between Cliff and Henry feel so lived in. Burrowed and nestled. Clearly, Cliff has his own sad law show going on in the background and Henry is where he can let his (glorious) hair down.

I think it's funny as shit that when Henry panics and tries to find someone in mind to keep him in the moment sometimes he accidentally imagines Cliff. In a 'I've heard way to much about my friends sex lives so I think I know what it looks like' kind of way.

I also think it's funny that in the two times we see him in time jump to the future (At the table toasting Freddy and in Bed) Cliff is still not entirely gray after 6-7 years (obviously, they didn't think/want to age him up or do makeup just for a gag). However, Icon behavior.

His outfits? I would wear most of them. He is gender and life envy. Again, I think Cliff could have been a character to show how happy some people are without relationships. We get this vibe from him with the whole 'you're not tied down' speech, and I wish that was a concept explored more on TV.

He's the least depressed lawyer character I have seen on TV. If I could be a Cliff Costello type, I would go into law.

I think a good mix of the best parts of Cliff Costello and all of Val Pearson is who I want to be as an 'elder'(again, I turn 21 in January). Confident, loyal, willing to stick up for others, funny as shit. Maybe has a more stable love life than them, and hopefully not any substance addictions, but god. They just have so much joy when you know these characters had to have lived through such shitty times for queer people.

At first, I did this just to explore Con's work. But I think this has all helped me feel some hope for the future. What people need is support and love and a place to exist.

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

Overall ratings

Cinematography: 7/10. Fun edits. Fun motifs. Loved the opening, and the sound effects to suggest certain things to the audience was fun.

Story: 6/10. Would be higher but some shit just got stuck in my craw. Again, the show just got better and better as it went and by the end I just felt satisfied. Would be an 8 ish if not for my issues mentioned above.

Characters besides Con: 7/10. Everyone plays really fun parts. Everyone is shitty in their own unique way, and for the most part, they get what they deserve. Even if they haven't really learned their lesson yet (Henry, I swear to god you are on a wire). Satisfying arcs for everyone besides Henry, but that's the point. I'm happy the Collective wheedled out into a more realistic ending where these people could go on and live happy lives and not coddle the man.

Con: 8/10. He is so much fun, and he is having so much fun. I wish he was in it longer, but in every scene, he is in, he eats it up. He goes from serious lawyer to best friend in a flash and it just makes me so happy. Cliff is up there with my favorite performances, some of his actions just kill the vibe a bit for me. Again. Any series where Con smiles is a win. Also, I love that he bodied a character who uses movement aids, and it just made me more excited to see what he'd do with Izzy for S2.

OVERALL: 6-7/10.

Not an easy recommend but could be a fun rewatch when I start losing somd hope about our community, while trying to see the real issues that exist to this day...or see more people online criticize queer people for wanting to have sex.

I would love to know your opinions about Cliff, thoughts about my thoughts, and more below! Have a Lovely day/night, everyone!

Next on the docket: Kisses in the Dark. An 8 ish hour audiobook on Spotify! Seems to be a supernatural horror Staring Con O'Neill and Rhiannon Clements(hopefully not a romance, since, with the person I googled, the age gap is 28 years. It's a bit different with voice acting...but now that I know? eh). I will be listening to that on Saturday (the 17th), and will have my thoughts on that here soon. I've been warned it was recorded during the pandemic at homes. So if you want to join in, prepare yourself for that.

As always, some of you lovelies who suggested/commented on my last few posts! Thank you so much!

@ivegotnonameidea

@treesofgreen

[samd1o1]

A Short Review Of Knuckles; No Spoilers

Hello, I am a random Sonic fan that none of yall care about but I'm gonna write my opinions on the new Knuckles series anyway!

Just to start off, I liked it! It wasn't ground breaking by any means, but it wasn't meant to be. It's a fun little comedy.

Now the main complaint I've seen is that it was too focused on the humans and not Knuckles. And I can agree but also still enjoy the show! Pretty much no show has the main character for 100% of the screen time. So Knuckles not being in all scenes shouldn't surprise anyone. But I will say yes the humans had a lot of screen time, but that's pretty common in the movies.

The movies are obviously going for an esthetic from games like 06, Unleashed, and SA2. All of those games heavily feature humans. And this setting appeals greatly to both the kids and parents that take their kids to see the movie. I know that may not be what you want, but that's what you get. And honestly I think it's pretty smart. But even then we could stand to have some more anthro characters. Like wouldn't it have been cool if Rouge was working for GUN in the show? It would give Knuckles his usual counterpart while also setting her up for Sonic 3.

But alas we got random GUN agents. Who tbf were pretty funny. And then obviously there's Wade and his family. Wade was a good choice I think. He plays off Knuckles well. He's the comic relief to Knuckes more no bullshit attitude. And he teaches Knuckles to let loose a bit more; but more importantly he teaches Knuckles about family and home. Something he hasn't had in a long time. And I just think that's a really cute dynamic.

Did it feel more like Wade was the main character and Knuckles the secondary lead? Yes. Was it probably a budget issue? Also yes. So while I wish we got more Knuckles, it's realistic what happened.

All in all it was a nice, cute, little show. Just a bit of fun before the emotional and edgy fest that will be an SA2 adaptation in Sonic 3.

I just wanted to share that it's possible to like a show while also having a few criticisms. I just think it's better to be constructive about it. There's people on twitter saying they have a "gun to their head" because they hated the show, and I just don't think it's that serious. If you have some opinions on what the show could have done better, then write about it! Let the creatives who worked on it know what you liked, and what you didn't! It's the best way to be heard.

All in all a solid 7/10. Completely average goofy fun, but that isn't always a bad thing. Here's to hoping Sonic 3 delivers on what everyone wants!

[worstqueerbaittournament]

Fuck it, let's get one more poll going! Thank you for your reblog, feel free to keep comments coming!

as a longtime fan of the series i'm gonna weigh in: id honestly argue that sam and max arent queerbait but something completely different

tl;dr it's not queerbait because the author never intended them to have a serious queer relationship/never intended to trick people into thinking that would happen because it's an off the wall comedy with barely any plot in the first place

since it's a highly comedic series, all of the overtly gay moments between them are mostly exaggerated and temporary (ie the snippets of them being married, all their silly flirting in the cartoon series, that one time in the telltale series its revealed theyre soulmates and theyre like ummm awkward, whatever the fuck the corndog scene in this time its virtual was)

that said, the rest of the series is treated with the same amount of sincerity because the world itself is very exaggerated and silly! romance never was and never will be the focus of the series and the topic of romance between the two leads has the same potential for jokes as something like the crack in their front door. the point was never to draw people in because of the percieved queerness of the leads, the point is "look at this funny dog and rabbit!" and it just so happened that some of the funniness of the dog and rabbit is that theyre implied to be gay sometimes. it's not intended to be read into or taken as something serious, because nothing else in the series is either

it allows fans to pick and choose what they want to read into and what they want to dismiss as a joke because at the end of the day anything goes. people have interpreted them as anything from friends, gay lovers, even aromantic qpps at times but i think we can all agree that none of this was the author's intent and we're just doing it for fun

there was no intentional bait laid to catch queer audiences, some of the jokes just happened to line up w queer readings bc of the exaggerated nature of the series

[heyclickadee]

Aaaaaaaannnd it looks like my inevitable biennial Darkwing Duck phase just hit. Apologies in advance. I am probably going to be annoying.

So! Darkly Dawns the Duck:

1. Who do I have to kill to get the original opening scene back in with the rest of the episode? Like. That little action sequence is a perfect way to introduce the character and the show. Almost everything you need to know is right there. Darkwing is a mildly bumbling adrenaline junkie who’s just barely good enough at his “job” to get things done. Also, it’s a cartoon; the violence is made up and the injuries don’t matter. Unless they do.

2. Almost everything you need to know. The rest of everything you need to is in the very next scene where Darkwing is hamming it up, handing glossies to a cop, and lamenting the fact that he spent all afternoon ironing is cape now that there’s nary a reporter in sight.

3. Darkwing narrates his life and monologues to himself. He’s such a tool. I love it.

4. Listen, I’m aware that Tad Stones is very much a Silver Age comics guy, and that this cartoon is completely uninterested in explaining how, exactly, Darkwing pays for, you know, all his very expensive equipment (besides moonlighting as a freelance SHUSH agent from time to time), because it’s just not that kind of show, but I’m interested. (Honestly, the more ridiculous the explanation, the better.)

5. How long did it take Darkwing to put together everything for the breakfast routine? I mean, it’s not as though he has a life outside of being Darkwing, so I guess he’d have time. But still.

6. I always forget Tim Curry is in this. Taurus Bulba is slightly less funny and unhinged than you’re typical Darkwing villain, but he’s honestly half of what makes this intro episode work. He’s a little more serious, so the stakes feel a little higher.

7. Aaaaand Darkwing’s still monologuing to himself. As he does.

8. The fourth wall is paper thin.

9. “Clever of me to use my spine to break my fall.” — Tech Badbatch, probably.

10. More (less?) seriously, last time I hit the inevitable biennial Darkwing Duck phase, I kept trying to find a Darkwing Duck podcast to listen to, and I kept getting frustrated, because the hosts kept talking about this show the same way they would about, say, Batman: The Animated Series or Young Justice. Yes, they’re all animated, yes, they’re all about superheroes, and yes, they all stretch physical reality to some extent, but Darkwing Duck exists in an entirely different genre than the other two. Heck, it’s even in a slightly different genre than the original DuckTales series.

It’s a cartoon—a cartoon grounded by an emotional center in the relationship between Gosalyn and Darkwing—but a cartoon along the lines of the old Looney Tunes shorts nonetheless. Like. No, Darkwing doesn’t have secret superpowers. He gets anvils dumped on his head until he gets over himself every episode because it’s funny. The laws of physics as well as any danger of real physical harm coming to the characters is dependent entirely on the emotional needs of the scene at hand, and the emotional needs of the scene at hand tend to be rooted in comedy. Same goes for continuity. I may or may not be a hypocrite about this at times.

11. So I just hit the part where Darkwing and Launchpad meet and good lord, Darkwing really is a jerk and Launchpad really is a golden retriever.

12. I love how Bulba just casually mentions that his henchmen murdered Gosalyn’s grandpa.

13. Speaking of Gosalyn….

14. Man, I love Gosalyn. I love that she’s kind of a “problem”, that she tends to act out, that she’s a handful, and that she’s clearly upset by having been told that she’s a problem by the adults in her life (by the ones at the orphanage, anyway). She’s an outgoing but clearly lonely kid, and one of the very few kids from any shows from this era that actually feels like a kid.

15. Okay, yeah, I know I just went on a rant about cartoons, but adult me panics every time I watch the part where Gos realizes that Hammerhead is there to kidnap her.

16. Just an observation, but Darkwing is way more…I don’t know, personable with Gosalyn once they get back to his hideout than he was with Launchpad in that earlier scene. He’s still self aggrandizing and sarcastic, but he’s not nearly as caustic. (For now.) I’m honestly not sure he knows how to talk to other adults in a “normal” way when he’s doing the Darkwing thing, which is more or less all the time.

17. Aaaaand I’m reading too much into it now. Back to the funny.

18. I paused and now I can’t breathe

Look at this idiot.

19. I love that Taurus Bulba just happens to have an airship shaped like his face. In prison. Just because.

20. Photos taken moments before disaster

21. “You should have seatbelts, too!” Blink twice if the S&P department is making you say that, Gos.

22. That said, it is actually really sweet that Darkwing does end up taking the helmet Gos found when he rides off a few scenes later. (

23. Little girl blue 🥹

24. Okay but WHY did Dr. Waddlemeyer make a Simon Says the control panel for his levitation ray?

25. Man, Darkwing is such an insecure jackass.

26. Listen to the kid, my dude.

27. See? That’s what you get! (Darkwing really deserves the dressing down Bulba gives him in this scene. Also: Does he make funny accordion noises when he gets squished like that?)

28. Why do I get the feeling that if this episode came out today and was a Star War that people would be complaining about how hard it was for Bulba’s hitmen to catch a ten year old?

29. Honestly, I love how they thread the needle of Gosalyn being perfectly capable of handling herself and yet still being a kid who may eventually need help if the problem gets too big.

30. Oh, the jail scene. I’m still annoyed that the most unhinged part of Darkwing’s monologue is missing (the episodes on the DVDs and streaming and elsewhere that I’ve found are the ones that ran in syndication. And, for Darkly Dawns the Duck, that means it was cut in two and chopped up to fit in the syndication time slot, so there are a few scenes missing. The ones I miss most are the opening and part of the jail monologue), but what’s left is still probably the most honest thing Darkwing says about himself the whole show. There’s something about him that’s just. Deeply maladjusted. And it’s great. I love it. 10/10, no notes.

31. Nope, got serious again. Time for Launchpad to bring the funny.

32. Launchpad made a damn stealth plane shaped like Darkwing’s head. Just because.

33. Ah yes, the tried and true Darkwing method of combat: throwing yourself bodily at the enemy and shouting nonsense.

34. I always somehow forget that Bulba just decides he’s gonna murder a kid for kicks. He’s got the code by that point, he doesn’t need her anymore, and he doesn’t need to twist Darkwing’s arm to get anything. He’s just gonna kill Gosalyn. It’s just child murder time. And it feels like Gosalyn’s in danger because, again, the rules of physics apply depending on the emotional needs of the scene.

35. “Mom was right. I should have been a dental hygienist.” That is such a random line and I kind of love it.

36. Sorry to being this back around the The Bad Batch because, again, this show is a completely different genre of animated show, but Gosalyn’s little, “He couldn’t be…,” when she sees the ramrod destroy the top of that skyscraper and take Bulba and Darkwing with it reminded my of the fact that when a child protagonist in a show for children says something like that about a semi or fully parental figure thought to be dead, they’re almost always right. No, I will not let this go. This hiatus is so long.

37. This orphanage director really is just. The worst. “Oh, sorry you won’t through a traumatic life changing experience kid, don’t understand why you’re too upset to talk to anyone today. Your loss I guess.” Like seriously.

38. Yes! The pink shirt and the sweater vest.

39. Darkwing is so aggressively dweeby. 10/10, no notes. Again.

40. I mean, okay, his name’s Drake Mallard, sure, and that’s how he’s introducing himself to the orphanage director here, but. Like. I like both versions, but OG Darkwing is Darwing first, and Drake Mallard second. DT17 Darkwing is Drake Mallard first, and Darkwing second. If that makes sense.

41. Okay, so, I understand that OG Darkwing and Launchpad are sort of the Kirk and Spock of the Disney Afternoon, but I don’t really ship them. I just don’t get the vibe (again, from the OG versions—DT17 versions have a different vibe). That said, I do kind of love the idea that there’s nothing going on between them but that everyone who knows both of them just assumes that they’re a gay couple raising their daughter, and they both know it and are fine with people thinking that.

42. This isn’t how adoption works but it’s okay it’s a cartoon and it’s very sweet.

[genericpuff]

Persephone and the road to healing (TW: SA AND HOW IT PERTAINS TO LO WILL BE DISCUSSED AT LENGTH HERE, ALSO MINOR FP SPOILERS AHEAD!)

So I wasn't planning on going off on a rant today, but I saw this pop up on an Insta LO edit account and I just... I had to call it out because I'm really sick of this rhetoric going around.

I'm... not really sure where all this is coming from? Like, did the timeline split somewhere between last week and this week? I feel like it's criticizing a part of the fanbase that I'm misfiring on completely here but... people have issues with the portrayal of Persephone/Eros/Daphne in recent episodes for a reason. The fact that I have to say anything on it at all is kind of gravely concerning.

Okay, where to begin... there's a lot to unpack here.

Before I continue on, you need to know that if I have to fall into either side of this discussion, it's the side that does NOT like the portrayal of Persephone in S3 and how the sexual assault subplot is being handled. If you care to know why, continue reading here. Yes, I will be talking about my own experiences with SA and toxic relationships so here's a SECOND trigger warning for DISCUSSION ABOUT SA, TOXIC/ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, AND HEALING FROM TRAUMA !!!

Moving on. There's a lot of ground to cover here. I'm gonna try my best to get through all of it but I apologize in advance if my points seem very scattered, I'm not sure how to even begin to structure a rant like this.

So, no, I do not think LO is handling the SA plot well. LO does this thing where it'll distract the readers with other plotlines juuust long enough that when they come back to serious plotlines like the SA or HadesxPersephone, it'll make the reader feel like things have actually progressed. When in reality, they've barely moved along. We see this sort of weird real time/comic time disconnect show up a lot when people look at the 'official' Lore Olympus timeline and shockingly realize that Hades and Persephone have only known each other personally for a few weeks.

That aside, I think the SA plot falls victim to this same phenomenon. We return to it every now and then to remind people that it exists, but we never actually spend time on it in a way that's productive, it's often rehashing the same points or thought processes that have already happened.

(Pyrrhic_Victoria covers this in great length in their video analysis series on LO, I highly recommend you go check it out!)

Cut to the most recent free episode, Persephone is suddenly being characterized as hypersexual. Which would be an interesting way to go about it, if it wasn't Persephone as we've come to know her in LO and if it wasn't being presented purely for comedy.

I shouldn't have to explain how stilted, performative, and absolutely cringe this dialogue and plot point presentation is. Persephone is in the Mortal Realm, trying to fulfill her duties so that she and all the other gods (including her MOTHER) affected by the "Great Divide" can get back to their normal lives. And here she is, talking like Steve Carrel from 40 Year Old Virgin about something she 1.) has never done consensually before, and 2.) has only experienced once as an attack on her body and spirit.

This is a woman who didn't know what 'sleeping to the top' meant.

This is a woman who, according to Rachel, 'doesn't know she's sexy'.

This is a woman who, despite Rachel's claims that this story is meant to 'deconstruct purity culture', is constantly objectified as Hades' wife first and a person second.

At best it just feels like a complete character tonal shift that doesn't make sense with what we've been shown in the comic. If Persephone is just cool with sex and all that shit now, great! Good for her! But we never saw that develop on screen, we skipped over it completely.

And then, of course, that particular flashback scene happens in an episode where we get... this.

Persephone being dressed in the skimpiest outfits possible, panels being constantly focused on her boobs and ass, the constant infantalization of her physique and personality... people aren't being pearl-clutching when they have issues with this, they're recognizing female characters who are being deliberately written through the male gaze. There's a HUGE difference between that and sexual reclamation. ESPECIALLY when you throw in the very intentional infantilization of Persephone on top of all that.

For anyone who DOESN'T know what that difference looks like, a great example is Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. Suicide Squad Harley Quinn is 10000% depicted through the male gaze.

Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad bends over for the camera to get a shot of her ass while she steals shit from a shop window. Birds of Prey Harley Quinn dresses like a badass hot mess who doesn't give a shit what people think about her. One of these things is not like the other. Her sex appeal depends on which demographic it's trying to appeal to.

Persephone, on the other hand...

This kind of presentation and framing is deliberate. There's no functional reason for the shot of Persephone pointing at the Apollo billboard to be framed squarely on her chest. Rachel may be a female creator, but that does not mean she's immune to drawing women through the lens of the male gaze. As an AFAB individual myself, I can attest that many of us do this without even intending to simply because it's what we absorbed growing up due to what's been popularized in visual media.

Context also matters.

Persephone isn't just a sexual assault victim reclaiming her sexuality, she's a sexual assault victim who's BARELY shown any thought towards what happened except for when it's convenient for RS to throw in. Otherwise, she functions like someone who's never been sexually assaulted - whenever she recoils from intimacy with Hades, it's because she's worried about not being a good sex partner, NOT because of the assault; whenever we see scenes of Apollo, they're deliberately framed alongside scenes of Hades to make him look like a better partner for Persephone just for the bare minimum of not being a rapist.

In a lot of cases, we spend more time on Hades' thought processes and how her trauma affects him than we do Persephone's.

And not to remind you all of the obvious, but the story started off with her at age 19 and with zero life experience getting into a workplace affair with her 40-coded love interest who's in a much higher position of power than her. If y'all wanna bring your real life anecdotes into your literary analysis, then acknowledge for 2 seconds that if you saw someone like this in real life, you would be INCREDIBLY concerned.

Persephone's sexuality hasn't even been 'reclaimed' by herself and herself alone. This is someone whose sex life is now being turned into a spectacle not JUST by the characters in the story, but by Rachel Smythe herself.

Of course, after people criticized the original release of this episode, we get Eros and Daphne backtracking by the next episodes, where I can't help but feel Rachel threw this in to backtrack on her own oopsie to have the two people who know about Persephone's assault poke her about her sex life. Eros hasn't seen her in a decade and it seems to be the only thing he gives a shit about despite knowing full well what she's been through.

That's not even getting into what happened with last night's FastPass and how the advertising was clearly staged to get people to spend their coins.

Needless to say, Persephone's sex life is absolutely 1000% being treated as an 'event' despite the context of her being a sexual assault victim. It leads to the characters in the story pressuring her, as well as the audience reading the comic.

"I'm a victim of SA! This is exactly how I healed from my trauma so you're invalidating our experiences-"

Okay. So am I. Sooo where does that leave us?

To all that I say, LO is not therapy. LO's quality of writing is not and should not be determined by how much you're able to project yourself onto the very vague and broad main character (*who's designed that way explicitly because you, the reader, are supposed to be able to just insert yourself into the story and fantasize about living her life, that's why LO is like crack to some people and why so many people turn feral over 'negative' opinions towards the comic). It's great if you can relate to Persephone, I'm not trying to invalidate that. But that doesn't mean the writing and framing of the story's female characters isn't problematic.

LO is a comic. It is a story. And from a storywriting perspective, this is not being handled well. If Persephone is healing through hypersexuality, then we need to be shown more than just having her dressed up in skimpy clothing and getting ogled at by men. We need the plot to quit flipflopping over whether or not she's an inexperienced and traumatized virgin or a dick-thirsty "boss babe". Trying to do both with the context we have of her character arc is what's icky, not her and Daphne happening to have their boobs out.

(sorry I realize that wording was kinda harsh but whoof this topic gets me going LMAO)

Not to mention, everyone who's claiming that the people with issues with this are "pearl clutching" and "invalidating SA experiences" are doing their OWN invalidating of those who are also SA victims who didn't heal from it the same way Persephone is presented here. Speaking candidly as someone who suffered from both hypersexualization AND sex depersonalization due to trauma, I cannot relate to how Persephone's trauma is being depicted in the comic, because it lacks consistency, commitment to the plot line, and respect towards the victim's autonomy.

Much of the defenses I see people coming up with are completely inferred, filled in the blanks by their own experiences while Rachel does the bare minimum to actually progress her characters' healing through the writing itself. Hades pulls away from sex and Persephone doesn't know why? One side of the discussion assumes it's due to Hades having performance anxiety, the other assumes it's because Hades doesn't want to push her due to her trauma, and until the comic tells us otherwise, both sides are right. The sexual assault plotline - like many other plotlines in the comic - has just been dragged out so long and kept vague enough that readers are filling in the blanks with their own basic interpretations and passing it off as a "good job" on LO's part.

And, again, I feel like this is intentional. Persephone is kept just vague and broad enough in her characterization that any average woman can look at her and 'relate' to her, but the issue is that this has been to the detriment of Persephone as a standalone character. It drives me nuts when I see criticisms of Persephone's character writing combatted with "YEAH WELL YOU'RE INVALIDATING MY EXPERIENCES!!!" We're talking about Persephone as a standalone character, not you, Debra. I get it, stories are a great way for us to connect with one another and with our inner selves, but there's still a line you gotta draw between your own personal biases and experiences and that of the characters' within an established narrative.

Again, this isn't me trying to invalidate anyone's experiences or dismiss how you might relate to the comic. But this is about the writing and framing of the comic itself and how Persephone's trauma has been pushed to the wayside to make way for the "sexy time" spectacle that Rachel has created. Look no further than the comment sections on the Fast Pass previews from last week.

Of course, it doesn't matter if people are 'disappointed' over the fact that it didn't happen because those same people will just turn around right after and say "IT'S FINE! PERSEPHONE'S TAKING IT SLOW, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT, GOOD FOR HER! GREAT STORYTELLING RACHEL!!" as if this wasn't an intentional move to get people to spend money for FastPass when LO's revenue is clearly lower than ever; and as if readers aren't making that assumption through their own experiences and mental gymnastics and not with any effort from the writing whatsoever (again, Persephone's more worried about being a bad sex partner for Hades, NOT about the fact that she was SA'd). The amount of gaslighting the fanbase does to themselves to justify lazy writing is astounding and frankly, kind of disturbing.

(also, 'let's be real', why the fuck are we talking about the 'morality' of Greek retellings as they pertain to LO now? I thought we settled that debate ages ago? LO doesn't have a 'grey' morality, it has a confused one, it tells us sexual assault is bad but then expects us to cheer when Hades rips out a reporter's eyeball or when Persephone harasses that same reporter's roommate fucking 10 years later just because he had an opinion about it once and didn't want to be BFF's with Persephone because of what her glorified sugar daddy did. Again, did the timeline split or something? It's wild that they'll call people "pretentious" for having an issue with the male gaze of the comic but then go off about how CLEARLY people are just 'uneducated' on Greek mythology and morality and have the 'wrong moral compass' as if this isn't a comic trying to present itself through a progressive lens and failing horribly at it lmao)

At the end of the day, nobody is saying that Persephone can't have sex for pleasure. The issue is the constant infantalization, objectification and male-gaze sexualization of Persephone and other female characters who have been victimized during the comic's plot. The plot is not doing the heavy lifting to progress Persephone's healing plot arc, it's completely depending on the readers' filling in the blanks with their own traumatic experiences to pass off as a 'job well done'. This is, in all honestly, incredibly manipulative and condescending of the narrative and its writer and doesn't make for good storytelling.

*sigh* Anyways, we'll see how people react to next week's episode I guess, when Persephone gets to act like a petty little POS to a lower class employee 😒

Do you agree or disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments, I'll try to reply as best I can, IDC if you do disagree with me, I'm all for in-depth discussion, just don't be a dick lmao Otherwise if we're agreeing to disagree, that's fine too.

I'm so tired y'all.

[dimdiamond]

Rambling about how seriously underrated The adventures of Tintin (comics, cartoon series, live action and animated movies etc) is for @backtomyfirstfandom

When Herge said that Tintin is for ages 7-77 he REALLY MEANT IT! Honestly I have seen few media that have the ability to capture the attention and love of the general audience without losing their own identify for the sake of the target group. Someone could claim that most cartoons that are for all the family do that but let me remind you that they're still considered for children, their target group is still children and the elements that are put for the adults to enjoy are subtle so that children would not be affected. Same with the cartoons aimed for teens although in them you can see the adult themes more strongly than the others. Do children enjoy them? Yes but tell me how many parents would let their elementary kid to watch more mature cartoons or at least for older children or teens.

This doesn't happen to Tintin. Sure it's marketed for the children but you don't need more than few minutes to realize that "wait, this guy is in the middle of some serious business". The adult themes are strong in the stories but are shown in a way that even the younger audience can understand them in a degree. They're not an inside joke for your parent only to understand neither something that you'll understand when you grow up. No, the themes are approached with sincerity to its core. When you watch Haddock crying about his situation in his drank state you don't focus to a general theme of the plot or to the cheap laugh. You focus to the character and the general plot and that's something that all the viewers can do no matter the age. And when you reconsider what you just saw or when you see in later stories how is this character presented everything clicks on and you realize the theme of trying to be better and move on. It's not shouted in a teaching manner for the younger nor implied for the older. It's just showed in the whole concept of the story.

Maybe that happens thanks to the fast pace and the narrative being plot driven (although this is the first impression, in my opinion the stories are partly character driven but that's a whole other discussion). You don't have time to sit and think a lot of things, a mystery needs to be solved, an adventure awaits Tintin and his friends and you can't resist following them. And while you live this crazy adventure alongside them you notice them, their relationships and feelings, their fears and struggles in a simple but still honest way, a way that can be understood by both children and adults.

I can't help but compare Tintin with other comics and cartoons targeted for children and be pleasantly surprised how it approaches the more serious themes and plotlines and the more light, funny scenes in a way that completes the other rather than diminishing. The joke about the "goat" and the "hairdresser" doesn't diminish the seriousness and the suspense of the whole moon case, their fear and agony for what will happen.

Actually the way comedy and suspense are handled plays a big role in the general audience's enjoyment. Comedy is usually undermined in importance but it's meaning is significant and necessary for any piece of media. So when you have the running gags like Thompson and Thomson's shenanigans or Calculus' hearing problems constantly providing you the laugh you NEED it really shows how comedy helps with the intense plot because, let's be honest, there were light stories as well as heavy storylines in the whole continuity of the series.

Another thing that may explain why Tintin is enjoyable and still is for any age is the way it treats its audience. It doesn't treat the readers or viewers as "stupid" that have to either explain every little thing or make you feel like one for not getting what's happening immediately (something that happens to mystery focused media very often). It treats them straight forward, what it needs to be shown is shown and the messages are clear.

Does that have to do with lack of depth? Not in the slightest. I think what many new stories suffer from is the rule "must be complicated to be taken seriously", which is foolish to say the least. To be something complex and deep doesn't mean to be difficult to understand and follow. In the contrary, I have noticed the more simpler some things are communicated the more possible is to be remembered and reviewed. For example, in my first watch of the 2011 movie, I had almost no idea what Tintin is about exactly so it was like an introduction to me to this world. And then I rewatched this movie. Again. And again. And everytime I noticed something new, something that didn't get my attention although it was right there. And the movie itself is simple but not shallow. And that's why it's enjoyable without losing any meaning and instead gains more and more. The same with the rest Tintin media.

It's the world, in which Tintin lives, itself that gives a freedom and at the same time relatability in the audience's imagination (the world seems like our own but extraordinary things can happen) and then it's the characters themselves that win you over and want to revisit them and watch what they will do this time. It's the theme of friendship and faith and loyalty and kindness and the effort to be better and the thirst for adventure that makes you stay in this world and care for the characters in it.

"The adventures of Tintin" is honest and kind at the same time and that's what makes it a classic. Even if it's marketed for children it's made for everyone. It can be childish at times but that's what makes it honest and real and it can be mature but not for the sake of being mature. It stays true to itself and only for that shouldn't be underated.

[harbingerofsoup]

The comprehensive guide for why absolutely everyone should read and watch this work of art.

First of all, Iruma is best boy! He loves his friends and his family, his instinct is to help others, and like… just look at him. So good, so pure. But what truly makes Iruma a protagonist worthy of having a slide to himself is his character development. He actually starts off as a completely selfless person due to how his awful parents groomed him, and his whole character arc is learning how to be more selfish. Of course, Iruma’s selfishness manifests as eating all the food he wants, holding on to his family and friends, and finding ambition.

Sullivan (the first guy) adopts Iruma as his grandson after his parents sold him. This dude radiates grandpa energy and his number one priority is to spoil his new grandson. He’s also the principal of the school he sends Iruma too. And one of the most powerful demons in the netherworld. Opera is Sullivan’s butler, and warms up to Iruma a bit slower than Sullivan (so like a few days). They’re not very expressive facially. Rather they mainly express emotions through their ears and tail. They’re a total Badass™ and surprisingly mischievous. Alice Asmodeus (on the left of the 3rd pic) swore his undying loyalty to Iruma after Iruma accidentally kicked his ass. This man is ride or die, and honestly my words can’t do him justice so it’s better if you just experience this gay disaster for yourself. Clara Valac (right of the same pic) is a gremlin and I love her. Her priority is to play with her friends All. The. Time. But she also has insecurities about her personality after it stopped her from making friends. I put Ameri Azazel (please step on me) in between them. She’s the student council president, a badass, and a huge romantic. Naberius Kalego is the homeroom teacher of the misfit class (the class Iruma ends up in.) He’s a Very strict teacher, but genuinely cares about his students and is good at his job. There are so many other characters, but I want to avoid spoilers and get sleep tonight.

14 year old Suzuki Iruma was raised by his parents to do chores and make them money. Eventually they decided that he wasn’t bringing in enough, so they sold him to a demon who takes him to the netherworld. Instead of eating him though, Sullivan (the demon) asks him to become his grandson, and Iruma, who’s unable to say no under any circumstances, says yes. He starts school at the demon school Babyls (pictured above) where he attends as the only human. Of course if anyone finds out they’ll eat him. While at school, he realizes that he doesn’t have an ambition of his own, so Ameri suggests that he try climbing the ranks (all demons are ranked by their power you know the drill).

This manga is hilarious! With such jokes as Iruma eating a ridiculous amount of food, every interaction between Asmodeus and Clara, and Ameri’s obsession with shojo manga. One of the funniest bits is that due to some unfortunate circumstances, Kalego becomes Iruma’s familiar, and you’ll learn all about this if you check it out, but for now all you need to know is that that fluffy chicken is Kalego. Crossdressing has been used for comedy like three times now, but not in a degrading way. It’s not the butt of the joke or anything. That’s Iruma, and he looks fucking amazing as many other characters have said many times 100% seriously. Moving on, cause explaining humor is difficult!

I adore how Clara is allowed to be a hyperactive gremlin, and I’m not talking “oh she’s quirky” I’m talking playing involves battle axes and acting like a demon bowling ball. You know the trope where the powerful girl isn’t actually that serious and instead is a huge romantic? Well Ameri may be a romantic, but her seriousness isn’t an act. She is 100% dedicated to her ambitions. And look at the designs for some of the recurring background characters! Too often in fantasy settings the female monsters, demons, etc are reduced to almost entirely human, with the exact same body type, and maybe horns or something. Not Here! There’s also the girls in the misfit class who all have their own motivations and interests. I’m also now realizing how many tall girls are in this series… awesome.

Ok so the fact that there’s even more than one queer character already make this amazing. But in addition to that, it’s never treated like a big deal. I mean look at the second picture “gender doesn’t matter to demons” love wins! So Eiko is a recurring character who has a huge crush on both Iruma and Ameri, and later becomes comrades with Asmodeus specifically when it comes to Iruma (they share photos of him it’s hilarious). Asmodeus having a crush on Iruma isn’t explicitly stating, but like I’d like to see someone argue that he doesn’t. Besides, his feelings are always treated the same as Clara’s and Eiko’s when it comes to Iruma. The holy grail of representation though is Opera who’s never referred to by gendered terms. The english dub of the anime actually specifically uses they/them pronouns. When I tell you I screamed! I could go on, but I’m I’m trying to avoid introducing too many characters.

In Mairimashita! Iruma-kun a good family supports and loves each other completely, regardless of blood relations. But it’s not either or. Sullivan, Opera, and Iruma are my golden standard for found family. I mean their love of Iruma is over the top and unconditional, which is what Iruma needs after a life without any such love from his parents. Biological relations are shown as something that isn’t always great, yet it’s not something to be expected either. Clara’s family is a gift, and Asmodeus’ family is one of the funniest dynamics I’ve seen.

These are typically considered negative traits, but here they are portrayed as desirable and useful. And it’s a convincing argument. Through Iruma we see that having your own ambitions and getting pissed is necessary for living a fulfilling life, and we see this because he starts out without having that. Every single time Iruma declares his own ambitions or says something selfish it’s just… chills. It’s always a powerful scene. Whenever Iruma gets truly pissed over something (which has legitimately only happened twice) we all cheer cause we’re so proud of him. I could write a whole essay about this one aspect of the story, but just know that I consider this to be an incredibly compelling narrative, and my favorite part of Mairimashita! Iruma-kun.

In conclusion, I’m posting this on my birthday, so as a present I would like more people to get into this fandom because it deserves a larger fanbase.

[andalitean]

my mid-year patrimorphs2022 reflection

as many of you are aware, this is my first time reading through the animorphs books as a 21 almost 22 year old adult, in part because of a running gag from 2020. i have enjoyed the books a lot more than i expected to and have tried to explain the plot to many of my friends who have only listened in abject horror/amazement. now that ive finished half of the books of the main series i have some thoughts id like to share to my silly little animorphs liveblog sideblog:

1) i knew animorphs was dark but i guess i didnt understand the extent of it. there are several horrifying scenes that have genuinely made me sit there and process what ive read before i could move on. examples are marco getting half stuck as a bug, jake almost dying as a fly, and rachel saying she would kill david. etc. like yes, elfangor was viciously eaten in book 1, but i dont think i was prepared for the amount of violence. at the same time, i cant be that surprised when the entire premise is about war, just astounds me a little that none of it is really sanitized at all. i feel like it can be partly attributed to the fact we live in a post 9/11 world whereas these were written before that but its still so interesting to see how things change in just a few decades. (and yes ive seen multiple analysis posts on this phenomenon). like this happened in my lifetime (i was born in 2000) !

2) outside of the violence, animorphs is very cute. its quintessential middle grade adventure/comedy/fantasy and i love it. im a big fan of kid lit/childrens stories that dont act like kids are dumb or dont understand things about the real world when the reality is they do! this is part of the reason some of my favorite books of all time are holes (louis sachar) and percy jackson (the first series). kids and preteens are perceptive in their own ways and are navigating life like adults are and its a testament to applegate+co's writing that i can tell they wanted to respect that. the complicated plotlines arent reduced down to simple terms, the risks the animorphs take are very serious, the feelings the characters express are real, and the conversations they have are sincere. plus the animorphs are quite funny. i have laughed out loud many times

3) i love that at the end of the day the animorphs are still kids. yes they are fighting in an intergalactic war but they are still 13 year olds. they worry about their junior high relationships and gymnastics practice and sneak out and go to the mall to hang out. they receive consequences for breaking rules and deal with the drama of who likes who and have assignments to complete. im not saying its 100% realistic but i dont spend that much energy suspending my disbelief. they are literally just kids who got caught up in something they didnt ask for but theyll do it for the preservation of their planet, and isnt that really all you can ask for?

tldr: ive been enjoying this journey a lot. animorphs is way more complex than i knew it to be, im trying to get my friends to read it, and i look forward to the second half of the series