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across the spiderverse better have him or I’m not watching

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That’s right, Pikachu!  Everyone’s at our side! Pokemon Journeys: EP 132 | The Finals IV: “Partner”

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While the collab is happening, the Ikaho Ropeway will have wrapping like this. The characters will make tourist announcements in these cars - 4 minutes for the outward trip and 4 minutes on the return trip. There are 4 versions of these announcements - the autumn and winter version of this will be available until March, while the spring/summer version will be available until September. (The full collab runs from October 13th 2022 - September 30th 2023.)

The Hakone bros (and Wombat) await you at the rest stop at the Ishidan no Yu and photos are allowed. (As mentioned, the Ishidan no Yu has been set up during the collab to look like the Kurotamayu.) You can check out the famous golden water bath (kogane no yu) on a day trip here if you wish.

The Happy Kiss student council and Furanui can be spotted on tourist information signs at the 51st step of the stone steps.

Likewise, you can spot VEPPer and Dadacha at the Hot Spring Fragrance Street (湯の香通り) close to the 190th step. They’re on signs leading towards the ropeway.

The LOVE! student council and Zundar can be spotted near the 266th step, close to Ikaho Shrine.

Boueibu banners can be found beside the stone steps in the lower part of the stone street. Also look out for collab posters in the windows of stores in this area.

Collab merch is sold in the same 3 places as it was for previous collabs. The first lot of merch, including the acrylic stands featuring the Hakone brothers, started selling on October 13th 2022.

Aside from the ropeway (which will be around for the entire time of the collab) and the Ishidan no Yu/Kurotamayu setup mentioned previously in this post (which will be around until March 2023), there is also a stone street sweets collab planned to begin in April 2023. Look forward to it.

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NEW TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S9YDP9TLFU

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THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY SEASON 2 TRAILER IS OUT

Season 2 will premiere on October 26th, 2022!!

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one thing i love about mr benedict’s character is while he is like. deeply, genuinely kind and compassionate, it’s not necessarily at the expense of his character, like. we seem him get frustrated and angry and sad, he’s allowed to have negative emotions (although he does seem to bottle them up a lot, that’s more like. Ah Hello Having Issues) but like. when he raises his voice (bc you know under a Very Stressful Situation) he almost immediately apologizes and admits what’s bothering him, when he’s still reeling from the aftermath of the revelation about his brother, he removes himself from the situation to vent harmlessly somewhere else, and it’s like, not only is he allowed to have those emotions but he’s like still! actively kind and considerate of others around him you know! so like he’s kind even though he’s been through so much,,, 

like i think what im getting at here is both the writing (he’s allowed to be sincerely and deeply kind while also having flaws and negative emotions and making mistakes or snapping at someone) and the character himself (he’s just such a sincere and good person despite everything!!! like he really took his pain and trauma and loneliness and was like im going to help people, im going to be an adult kids can trust, im going to be a person people can go to for help and support, im going to be kind and care about people,) 

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Season two wishlist!! partially based off of The Perilous Journey and mostly just things I think would be neat and/or funny

We see Kate and Milligan’s farm!!

Kate tackle hugging everyone when they reunite

Sticky’s ex makes a five second cameo appearance

Moocho appears por favor Disney les ruego

Someone has an eyepatch

Someone uses a fidget toy

Bike riding in Holland!!!

The boys wear the hideous clothes Number Two made for them for at least two scenes

Musical episode

I just really want to see a Dr. Curtain power ballad ok

Reynie calls Miss Perumal “Amma” at least once

That scene where Reynie throws the radio out of the train

Constance and Mr. Benedict father-daughter bonding scenes

Dr. Garrison ultimate smackdown

Meaning she punches someone

Scenes of Mr. Benedict while kidnapped, either being charming to whoever’s guarding him or devising some sort of plan with Number Two if she’s also there

SQ does a birdcall (Number Two can teach him!!)

Actually what if SQ meets Mr. Benedict for the first time by sneaking into whatever holding cell he’s in while looking for answers for whatever the heck is going on

Martina runs an after school tetherball program for troubled youths

A brief scene at the beginning of team rocket Curtain, Garrison, and SQ on the run/in hiding, in terrible disguises and pretending to be a family

just. the image of the three of them at a cafe somewhere. Curtain finally has the iconic mirrored shades and a really big fake mustache, Garrison has a wig, and SQ is in the middle wearing a Hawaiian shirt and looks extremely uncomfortable

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Y’ALL

!!!!!!!!!!

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TMBS Book 1 Brain Dump

~An Embarrassingly Long Post~

I don’t know why I’m writing this or why I’m so determined to do it. Maybe to finally assume my true form and become a mega dork on main, or maybe just for fun!

This is basically a compilation of all the main points running through my head after reading The Mysterious Benedict Society (2007) for the first time. Rather than posting a ton and spamming the tag, everything’s here in one neat package! (hopefully this gets it all out of my system rip)

Contents:

The Book Itself

The Book Itself, for real this time

The Characters

A Funny Parallel

The S.Q. Section

Lines & Scenes I Liked

Spoilers abound!

The Book Itself

Upon acquiring the first three books (don’t judge me pls), I was surprised at just how long they are. Like, they’re still pretty light being paperbacks and all, but these books are hefty lads.

The first book has this Disney+ Original Series circle thing printed on it, which is kind of unfortunate. Regardless, I love the cover illustration and yellow is actually my favorite color :D It made me weirdly quite happy whenever I saw the book lying around in my room

Also, it’s really cute how there’s a letter from Mr. Benedict at the end! (It only reveals that you can find out his first name if you “know the code”, meaning the bit of Morse printed below the summary on the back.) Shock and horror, though, as I realized I’m starting to recognize some of the letters

The Book Itself, for real this time

It’s wonderful how the tone of the book really shone through to the show adaptation. Something about the deliberateness of the aesthetic, from the set designs to the fashion to scene compositions, that really sells that particular style— like it’s very clear that this story is being told to us, rather than one we’re seeing unfold, if that makes sense.

Where that narration style stood out to me the most was the first chapter. We are told (rather than shown) how Reynie gets himself to the point of the second test, and there’s this whole twisty time maneuver for that whole sequence of events that’s really interesting

A super secret fun fact about me is that I wanted to be a writer when I was younger! So this particular balance of show vs. tell is really neat, since it runs counter to my own tendencies. The sheer amount of commas in every sentence is also kind of comforting, since Ahah, I Do That in those few serious-ish attempts at writing lol

Overall this book’s style reminds me a lot of Roald Dahl’s books, which are very nostalgic for me :D The whole “kids are more competent than adults” angle helps a lot too haha

The Characters

Oh boy here’s where I get a little bit critical! Overall I did really like this book!! it’s just that that expresses itself in all this weird “”analysis”” lol

Reynie - much better in the books than in the show

It’s sort of a lukewarm take but I feel like show!Reynie is kind of boring? He doesn’t have a lot going on flaw-wise, and obviously since he’s the protagonist he can’t have too many weird traits or else the kids watching can’t project themselves onto him as easily

(I call it the difference between an aspirational protagonist and a vessel protagonist. Going off of the Roald Dahl vibes, think Matilda vs Charlie. show!Reynie is more of a Charlie)

Thus when we get to see him really struggle with the Whisperer and doubt himself it gives him a lot more dimension, at least in my opinion

It is a federal crime that the white knight scenes were not adapted into the show

Sticky - my son

I’ve long held to no one besides myself and my long suffering sister that Sticky is The Best Member of the Society

He happened to hit a lot of the Bingo squares of Stuff I Like In Characters: glasses, anxious, nice :), kind of a coward but ultimately is there for his friends, etc

For some reason I don’t talk about him nearly as much as you-know-who, but I love him just as dearly

Kate & Constance - I don’t have much to say

Kate is really interesting in this book! I like how we get to see more of her depths, in particular that one passage about her belief that she is invincible being the only thing that keeps her from falling apart? :c

Also her constant fidgeting is relatable lol

Constance is somehow a lot more tolerable in the book. I think I’m just one of those people with no patience for small children, unfortunately lol

(Some of) The Adults

It’s interesting that they had such an offscreen presence for most of the book. Giving them more time was probably one of the stronger changes of the show

However if that decision was made at the expense of the white knight scenes I think the choice should have been clear

I like the way Rhonda and Number Two are written

Milligan always on sad boy hours 😔✊

The “mill again” passage is touching but kind of messes up the pacing of the getaway, at least for me. Maybe I should read it again to make sure I didn’t miss something

Miss Perumal is much better in the show. We see so little of her in the book she doesn’t function well as an emotional anchor for Reynie, imo

The Institute Gang

Jackson and Jillson serve their purpose well, and Martina was surprising to say the least. I like the direction they took her in the show! I can’t imagine how funny it must have been to watch the tetherball subplot come out of nowhere lolol

These sections were written out of sequence, so random tidbit I couldn’t fit in The S.Q. Section: I like how he stumbles over his words. relatable

Mr. Curtain

While I think I know why they decided to not give Curtain the wheelchair in the show, we were totally robbed of Actor Tony Hale’s performance for the reveal during the final confrontation

Speaking of the wheelchair, it’s such a powerful symbol of his need for control or rather, his fear of losing it

The Contrast between him and Mr. Benedict. This point is expanded on in A Funny Parallel

Mr. Benedict

Oh boy, Mr. Benedict… How do I say this

I find it hard to trust Mr. Benedict, unfortunately

I mean to say, I do in the sense that I know he would never hurt the kids, thanks to knowing that a) this is a children’s book series and b) the meta (tumblr) states that he is really nice and lovable and stuff, but seriously. Why do the kids trust him at first?? I probably missed something somewhere

I like to think I’m an optimistic person, but unfortunately I’m also super paranoid. The premise of “a bunch of vulnerable orphans team up with a strange old man” is just so odd to me I don’t know how to explain it

I don’t know!!! I really want to trust Mr. Benedict

One of the strengths of the show is that we get to see him more often, and thus he gets to acknowledge more often that the plan is weird and that he feels really badly for putting the kids in danger and that he’s trustworthy and genuine

But his lack of presence for most of the book just makes him into something of a specter, invisible and unknowable, speaking only in riddles from across the bay

Which is why the white knight scene is so important!! I loved that scene ;-;

Because here’s an actual emotional connection! We can actually see it happening, rather than only being told that it exists

Reynie asking for advice and receiving encouragement, in words that demonstrate that Mr. Benedict actually cares about him and worries about him and agghh

It is a federal crime that the white knight scenes were not adapted into the show

But overall this whole issue didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book at all! It’s just ->

A Funny Parallel

Okay, ready for my biggest brain, hottest take ever??

Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain…. are… the same

I mean obviously not entirely, given that one is benevolent and kind and the other is… Mr. Curtain

But seriously. Genius old man seeks out children (mainly orphans) to enact a plan. Said children often end up incredibly devoted to his cause and deeply admire him this is a little flimsy

Undoubtedly that’s intentional and is supposed to show the difference between them, like some kind of cautionary tale? “Let yourself be vulnerable and let others help you, lest you turn eeeeviiillll”

I guess that’s where the aforementioned epic contrast comes in. You get Mr. Curtain, strapped into his wheelchair and hiding behind those mirrored sunglasses, terrified (but unwilling to admit it) of ever showing the tiniest hint of vulnerability, vs. Mr. Benedict, who can let himself fall knowing that someone will catch him :’)

Anyhow I have nothing against the parallels, I just think it’s funny

The S.Q. Section

The S.Q. Quarantine Thread so it doesn’t leak out everywhere else <3

I’d like to meet the emo angstlord genius who read this book and decided to make SQ into Dr. Curtain’s son. What in the world

Okay I should probably preface this by saying that I absolutely adore both book!S.Q. and show!SQ with all my heart. Somehow, despite being a completely different character in both mediums, he has managed to be one of the best characters in either and certainly one of my favorites (besides Sticky of course) in the entire franchise, despite the fact that I’ve only read the first book/watched the show so far. I am confident in this statement.

But seriously! How?? Why?? I could probably write a whole other essay about why show!SQ is such an interesting character, and the change works so incredibly well. I’m just. Baffled

Okay, focus. book!S.Q. is such a sweetheart, oh my goodness. Like, 100% one of the most endearing characters in the book. Poor guy. I don’t even know where to start!!

He just seems to be a genuinely good guy at heart, despite being technically one of the bad guys. He’s genuinely happy for Reynie and Sticky when they became Messengers and helped Kate when she “fell” and was concerned about Constance when she looked sick and how he was in that meeting with Mr. Curtain and Martina?!!? aaahhhhghgh ;-; he just wants people to be happy TT-TT

Comparing him against literally every character at the Institute is probably what makes him so endearing tbh. When everyone else is so awful to the kids, it really makes him stand out. Like a cheerful little nightlight in the worst, most humid and rank bathroom you’ve ever been in

It’s kind of pointless to theorize about a book series that’s already concluded (I think?) but. Is the implication of S.Q.’s forgetfulness supposed to be that Mr. Curtain used him in brainsweeping experiments somehow? The timeline probably definitely absolutely doesn’t line up but like. How did he get to being a Messenger being the way he is now, given how cutthroat the process is? And then of course Mr. Curtain keeps him around as an Executive because he’s fun to mess with and presumably his loyalty. I’m very curious as to how their relationship develops in the other books, if at all. Those are probably where the seeds of the “let’s make them family” logic were planted

But wouldn’t it be hilarious if the reason we don’t know what “S.Q.” stands for in the books is that he just. Forgot

Another thing that occurred to me. Given that he and the other Executives were Messengers at some point, what were their worst fears? What is S.Q.’s worst fear?? Inquiring minds need to know

One last horrible little anecdote: I was thinking about book!S.Q. while eating breakfast, as one does, and suddenly it hit me.

I want to believe The Author Trenton Lee Stewart had the name for a character, S.Q. Pedalian, and was like, “Hm! What sort of quirky trait should this young fellow have?” Because, of course, in this style of fiction every character has to have at least one cartoonish or otherwise distinguishing trait to stand out in the minds of children. (For instance, Kate has her bucket, Sticky has his glasses, Constance is angry, and Reynie is Emmett from the Lego Movie)

Anyhow, he looks around the room, searching for inspiration. Suddenly he comes across a jumbo box of plastic wrap. Completely innocuous in design, save for one line of text. 300 SQ FT.

“…large… S.Q. …feet? THAT’S IT!” i’m sorry

Lines & Scenes I Liked

In no particular order!

Sticky quotes Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Evil combination aerobics/square dancing in the gym with the Executives

Everyone being happy at the end :’)

Everyone partying after Sticky reunites with his parents, and later finding Mr. Benedict asleep at his desk from the moment they shook hands :’’)

Literally any scene with Sticky in it

Any time Kate says “you boys” or “gosh”

[“Um, sir?” S.Q. said timidly, raising his hand. “A thought just occurred to me.” / Mr. Curtain raised his eyebrows. “That’s remarkable, S.Q. What is it?”] clown prince of my heart </3

S.Q.’s determined monologue about searching for clues after he bungled up the first time

Literally any scene with S.Q. in it (please refer to The S.Q. Section)

Reynie trying to resist the Whisperer.

[Let us begin. / First let me polish my spectacles, Reynie thought. / Let us begin. / Not without my bucket, Reynie insisted. He heard Mr. Curtain muttering behind him. / Let us begin, let us begin, let us begin. / Rules and schools are tools for fools, Reynie thought.]

NO MORE HURTIN’ WITH CURTAIN

Milligan showing up on the island!!

Remember the white knight hhhhhh

“controle”

A Super Secret Bonus Section

I would be extremely surprised if anyone read through all the way down here lol. Regardless, here’s a little acknowledgements section :D not tagging anyone since I don’t want to bother all of these people

Special shoutout to tumblr blog stonetowns for unknowingly yet singlehandedly demolishing my reluctance to read the books by posting a ton of cute quotes. Thank you for your service o7

Thanks to the two OGs that liked the post I made right before this one, for being my unwitting enablers and for sticking around despite being a) technically an internet stranger (hello!) and b) someone I haven’t spoken to irl in literal years (hey!!)

Last but not least thankz 2 my sister for putting up with me ranting about the book when I first got it and for asking about “CQ” sometimes lol. (i desperately hope you’re not reading this orz)

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finally finished reading The First Book and am now high key considering writing a needlessly long post about it <3 <3

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Still very concerned about how calm sq was at the end of the finale. Cause even though we know he doesn't tend to stand up to his father, I doubt after knowing what he does he'd just be like 'everything is gonna be fine :)'

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some random “SQ living with Mr. Benedict post-island” thoughts I had while half asleep thinking about MBS

-he draws Madge and Kate is ecstatic. She hangs the drawing up next to her bed.

-the fridge is covered in an equal distribution of SQ’s art and Constance’s poetry

-Milligan takes him on walks through local parks and nature areas and he takes him out on his fishing boat so he can draw new scenes, different from his hundreds of drawings of the same things on the island, and they talk about the different plants and animals because they both know a lot about them and SQ loves every minute of it

-his voice is pretty quiet and he’s our sweet gentle boy so everyone is surprised one day when Number Two makes him laugh and his laugh is so loud. Then they realize they’d never even heard him laugh before and it’s sad at the same time as being wonderful. Constance now tells him lots of crude jokes trying to get him to laugh more.

-he discovers candy and sweets and basically has a religious experience but then he wants to eat them all the time and Mr. Benedict says no. SQ is upset at first until Mr. Benedict explains that he wants SQ to be healthy and energetic and properly nourished, and it’s not because he cares what SQ looks like like his father did and then he’s not upset about it anymore

-every fic I’ve read about SQ has him falling asleep at the drop of a hat so that’s basically canon now. He gets tired easily and isn’t very sensitive to how comfortable the sleeping location is so he just drops off in the car and at the table and (his favorite) leaning against Mr. Benedict while he reads to him. Especially when he first comes to live with the Benedicts after Everything Happens his body deals with the trauma by being exhausted and Mr. Benedict tells the kids not to tease him too much about it.

-he loves physical affection and just about melts whenever anyone scratches his head/runs their fingers through his hair while it’s curly because his father would never mess up his straightened hair like that

-one day he’s in Mr. Benedict’s office and he has one of Violet Hopefield’s paintings on the wall. SQ notices it and comments how nice it is and Mr. Benedict tells him about Violet and her “absence” series and SQ is moved to tears. He paints an empty institute and his father’s empty office. It makes him miss his dad terribly (even though he abused him, which SQ is still confused about) but also helps to express how he feels. He doesn’t hang it anywhere but he keeps the easel in his closet and takes it out to look at sometimes.

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Pretty little baby, pretty little monster Went to the good school, left with honors

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otherwise, really goddamn good

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don’t look at me

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When I was kid I really loved the Jedi Apprentice book series with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Bant is one of Obi-Wan’s closest friends at the temple while growing up, a mon calamari with silver eyes. She was the sweetest. ❤ May the Fourth be with you ( ﾉ ﾟｰﾟ)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧