#and also are having a big convoluted arc for him even after

[gregmarriage]

always sunny was actually soooo sick for having dee tell mac that he should get a boyfriend (while glancing at dennis)

then, literally the NEXT season, mac has a boyfriend and it’s DENNIS.

except, it’s dennis posing as someone else, and getting jealous of HIMSELF. truly incredible television fr

[oh-no-its-bird]

Team 7 gets zapped into the warring states era but it's like, team 7 either mid or directly after wave-arc.

They're babies!! They're untrained little babies!!! None of them have gotten that good good character development yet!! Kakashi is still actively desperately wanting to not teach them!! (tho he may have just gotten his "ahh fuck. I actually have to teach them, huh." Moment)

Sasuke looks like a carbon copy of a younger Izuna and it's going to cause problems

Naruto thankfully doesn't look much like an Uzumaki, but his tendency to very loudly introduce himself is going to get him into trouble

Going w my usual flavor of "the Hatake are a very small but very famous clan known for being fucking insane", people are seeing Kakashi and going "oh god oh fuck what are one of THOSE guys doing here oh sage preserve us please don't eat me" as Kakashi just kinda stands there like 🧍‍♂️

Sakura is the only one safe from not being fucked up and over her clan, good for her!

-> back to the Hatake thing.

The kids still know virtually nothing about their sensei so they're learning all this stuff about his clan and believing every word of it, from the believable rumors to the insane.

Sakura, in a hushed, worried voice: "Sensei,, is it true ur clan eats people??"

Kakashi, who's father died before he could tell him almost anything about their clan and genuinely doesn't know but at this point is starting to get a little worried about it:

Kakashi, who also never passes up the opportunity to fuck with someone: "only stupid little students who ask stupid little questions <3"

Sakura and Sasuke: *worriedly look at a confused Naruto*

For convoluted reasons they run into the Hatake of the era and after introductions they look at the kids and are like,

"Oh!!! Ok, so this is your kid, right? :)" pointing at Sakura.

And Kakashi is like. ",,no."

"Ohhh, ok. So this one is your kid then?" *points at Naruto*

",,,,,,,,no."

They look at him confused then nod at Sasuke. "So then that one's your kid, right?"

"None of them are my children."

*visibly disapproving / disbelieving side eye*

One big difference between this and the team ro time travel one is how much less trustworthy Kakashi comes off to literally everyone who looks at him.

He's a trained adult shinobi, probable bloodline thief (with no way to prove his innocence), and he has 3 children from 3 different clans (2 of which are indirectly enemies bc the Uzumaki is a Senju ally) (1 of which might have a direct relation to the Uchiha main house) and comes from an infamously volatile "wild clan" from another country entirely (Iron country)

He is NOT getting out of this with talk no jutsu bullshit. He has a target on his back from day 1 and it will take a minor miracle to get even a single person hear him out

Anyways uhh—

Saying Tajima and Butsuma are still alive but due to die in some months (till team 7 accidentally interfere and somehow accidentally save Tajima, maybe also Butsuma but I'm more biased towards Tajima so I'm thinking just him actually)

Kakashi sees baby Kagami and feels like he's been hit by a truck bc he looks just like a miniature Shisui and he has hang-ups about his "suicide"

Half-Hatake Tobirama is catching HEAT from Kakashi's antics. Why does one of ur cousins have a sharingan. Where did he get those children. Do you know anything about this. Is it your duty to help hunt him down bc hes your blood. If not yours then it's definatley the Hatake's, call them immediately and tell them to clean up their mess.

Bloodline theft is like THE ultimate no-no for all shinobi, especially in this era. To the point that even ancient enemies will sometimes temporarily set aside grudges to kill bloodline theives. Kakashi is so fucked, someone get him out of there

Mmmm there are like still bits and pieces of thoughts floating around in my head for this but I can feel myself getting distracted and want to get back to art fight so I'll leave it here for now

[sullina]

WE ARE SHAKING HANDS. DISTRAUGHT OVER HANAZUKI....

IT WAS SO GOOD

IT WAS A SIMPLE CONCEPT OF "there's a big bad thing. Our heroes have to fight it, using the unconventional method of expressing ones emotions in a healthy way" AND THIS IS SO GOOD

IT'S NOT OVERLY CONVOLUTED

IT'S EASY TO UNDERSTAND

BUT YOU CAN DO SO MUCH WITH IT

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY DIFFERENT THINGS CAN INFLUENCE ONES EMOTIONS???

and even just what we GOT from Hanazuki already speaks of the potential the show had!

there's Hanazuki, obv, who's a healthy moonflower. She can grow treasure trees with little difficulty, and she can grow just about every kind of treasure tree.

Kiazuki, presumably, used to be a lot like Hanazuki, but she was unable to grow even a single treasure tree, so the "big bad" got her moon and all her little guys, except for one, are gone. From what I remember of the show, i can extrapolate, that either the big bad got her too soon, destroying her moon before she was able to grow a treasure tree. And since all "little guys" represent the range of emotions and are, presumably, supposed to help moonflowers grow treasure trees, Kiazukis little guys were probably lost sometime between after she came into existence and before the big bad got her moon. This loss left her depressed and angry and cold, effectively cutting her off from her ability to grow any treasure trees at all. And then Kiazuki meets Hanazuki and she's the villain for a while, but once they become friends, Kiazuki relearns, or rather learns for the first time, how to feel emotions. You don't see this kind of character arc often. We don't know exactly what happened, except for the fact that her moon was destroyed, but it's pretty obvious that it was traumatic for her, but instead of being reduced to the perfect victim, Kiazuki was made cold and angry and a villain. And only when this is acknowledged (by Hanazuki in this case) does she start to heal from it. And just as important is how Hanazuki, instead of getting angry with her and pushing her away indefinitely, instead showed understanding and helped her, even when Kiazuki stole Hanazukis treasure trees. It would've been easy for Hanazuki and the show to just dismiss Kiazuki as a cold hearted villain with evil intentions, but they didn't. And I just love that so much.

Then, in a similar strain to Kiazuki, there's Kiyoshi. He experienced a different kind of trauma to her, where instead of outside forces taking everything away, his own friends betrayed him and pushed him away. it's been a while since i watched it, but didn't they also, like... have him wanted like a criminal? Pretty harsh stuff anyway. So Kiyoshi, alone and betrayed, he still felt one emotion, but that emotion was sheer hopelessness. It's the only emotion he could feel anymore, because what else was he supposed to do? He was on his own and his former friends turned against him, there was nothing he could do.

Maroshi was introduced fairly late, but it's pretty clear that his way is the path of least resistance. If something bad happens, his go to response is "oh well, nothing I can do" and he gives up. According to the wiki, he didn't have any treasures available to protect his moon with in the first place, which does leave me wondering why? Hanazuki recieved her first treasure pretty much right after she was born, and both Kiazuki and Kiyoshi got plenty of treasures, despite one not being able to grow any and the other only being able to grow black trees. Did little dreamer not give him any on purpose? Did he forget about him? Seems unlikely, but it's pretty obvious that Maroshi wasn't born right before the big bad struck his moon, since him, Kiyoshi and Kiazuki had formed the Garlandians.

Miyumi was introduced last, only appearing in one single episode. Her attitude seems to be denial, since she seems to ignore any problem she comes across until Hanazuki could finally make her open her eyes to the fact that her little guys were being kidnapped. I don't have much to write about Miyumi. I mean, she was in one single episode.

But the introduction of the new unknown villain who kidnapped her little guys was so interesting and could've been so big! ESPECIALLY, because Kiazukis little guys were ALSO kidnapped like that!

WHO WAS THIS VILLAIN???

WHY ARE THEY GATHERING LITTLE GUYS FROM THE MOONS???

ARE THEY STRAIGHT UP EVIL OR JUST TRYING TO PROTECT THEMSELVES LIKE KIAZUKI TRIED TO???

AND WHAT

EVEN

IS

THE BIG BAD??????

THIS SHOW WAS CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME AND I WILL FOREVER BE DISTRAUGHT ABOUT IT

ESPECIALLY, but not exclusively, BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH AN INNOVATIVE CONCEPT!!!!!!!!!

[bunniefaery]

I saw this article calling Sasuke a Villain and how the live-action shouldn't include his "villain" arc, because it "felt tedious and too convoluted to the bigger narrative" and instead they should make him a pivot for the fight against the Otsutsuki...

Did this person watch the anime or read the manga?

Article from CBR, Title: The Naruto Live-Action Movie Doesn't Need To Adapt This Villain Arc

1. Protect Konoha from what? The Uchiha wanted to end the decades long discrimination and oppression they were facing at the hands of the higher ups... (Not to mention that when Kurama attacked the village (under genjutsu, when Naruto was born), and during the konoha crush, no other villages went to attack the Leaf after the events), not even after the Pein arc...

2. Most people would hate growing up alone, and why was that sentence in bold?

3. Sasuke didn't find out about the true reason Itachi did what he did, until after Itachi died, as well as the real reason behind said Coup... as far as I am aware. And why wouldn't he want revenge against Konoha (specifically the 3 people who are left that caused all of his trauma and the uchiha genocide, it'd be 4 but the Sandaime Hokage was already dead by this point in the story)

4. What "wars" against Madara and Obito? There was only 1 War against them, the 4th great ninja war, that lasted 2 days a.k.a. approximately ~212 episodes, including filler (volumes 55 through 59 in the Manga, according to google)

"Naruto and Sasuke were reincarnations of her sons (Ashura and Indra, respectively)"

Okay, so the author didn't watch nor read Naruto...

Indra and Ashura Otsutsuki are not Kaguya's sons... they are her grandsons 👁️👄👁️ Homura and Hagoromo Otsutsuki are her sons... and Hagoromo is Ashura and Indra's father…

I feel like the author doesn't know much about Kaguya either, if they did they'd know her story.

"The advantage of Sasuke being a rebel without defecting from Konoha is that Naruto would have the help needed to fight the big villains of the franchise: the Ōtsutsuki."

When the time came, was Sasuke not helping Naruto with that? 🧐 And why shouldn't he have defected from Konoha? What good could they do for him?

Why does Sasuke need to be convinced to return home, when his home was taken from him by this "home" the author speaks of, that "home" being Konoha? Why should he return to the place that treated his people so poorly that they felt they no other choice but to do a coup against the people in charge of Konoha only to be wiped out for daring to stand up for themselves after years of oppression...?

Konoha, specifically Danzo, the third hokage, and 2 hogake advisors, Homura and Koharu (3 of which where Tobirama Senju's students and all 4 of which were on his personal team, and we all know what Tobi thought of the Uchiha) forced Itachi to wipeout his whole clan, excluding Sasuke, and then blamed him for it. They swept what they did under a filthy rug, that already had many skeletons piling up, and acted like he was the most evil person... He was a child and he was forced to do that and to become a fugitive by the old people in charge, who had no business being in charge of Konoha since there should've been a 5th Hokage by then... (regardless if Itachi regretted it or not, which he never really does)

I won't say it...😇

"Sasuke could learn more about how Indra developed a dark side, which passed down to the Uchiha, while Ashura's light gave way to the Senju and Uzumaki (Naruto's family) clans"

1. While I do agree that Naruto should've learnt more of the Uzumaki (and the Namikaze), besides finding out they excelled in Sealing Jutsus, had very long lives and were a bit savage (it wasn't in-depth at all, and there is no one to teach him, since the Uzumaki are also victims of genocide (in which Konoha did not help protect them) and well, I don't know what happened to Minato's people)

2. And that Sasuke should've learnt more of his people (but how was he going to, when he was the only one left at age 7/8?)

3. Indra's dark side... it wasn't passed down, nor did it emerge until his father gave his little brother the title of successor and expected him to follow without questions, having his birthright taken away because he was more introverted than his little brother whom their father called "the flunky useless dropout younger brother" (according to a panel I saw). And implied, at least to me, that ninjustu was created for wars and all things evil (Indra created ninjustu when he was just a child). ah yes his dark side the Uchiha inherited, that darkness of wanting to be treated like people and with respect in the village they helped make.

4. Kushina calls the Uzumaki, among other things, a bit savage. Batsuma Senju punched Hashirama, a child at the time, for being angry/sad that his little brother died, saying he was disrespecting his brother (and him) by basically questioning the system. Tobirama is a Senju, who was not shy about his hatred and prejudice against the Uchiha Clan (he is after all the founder of the bigoted psuedo science that was the "Curse of Hatred" the Uchiha are supposedly afflicted by, a clan that according to him is cursed and called Sasuke "a brat possessed by Uchiha evil") and that's on Ashura's "light" that gave way for his descendants, the Uzumaki and the Senju, "a clan of love~"🥰

Right, because he wasn't a pivot to the story, nor did his and naruto's story have any "heart and impact"... Right...

At some point, I wonder if some of this article is just satire 😅

[acourtofthought]

Hi ☺️! First, just want to say that I’m obsessed with your content. I read it like gospel.

I’m an Elucien through and through and atm I’m so confused about Elriel storyline, which brings me to my second point. According to Elriels, the bond will be rejected in Elriel book. But if SJM confirmed that each spin-off will be about 1 couple, how can SJM FURTHER develop Elriel while also exploring the mating bond with Elucien? That would make for more than 1 MMC/LI. I don’t see how the story can focus on both at the same time while also dealing with the overall plot (fighting the big bad, etc). I think it would be too confusing, too convoluted to have Elain build a relationship with Azriel while getting to know Lucien before deciding to reject the bond. Because there is no way, IMO, that SJM will make them reject the bond without them getting to know each other first and realizing they don’t work.

That would mean we get Elucien book first where their story is about exploring the bond, then reject it then we get another book for Elriel? But it’s 1 couple per book so the book after the next would be another couple’s (Gwynriel 😍), not a continuation of Elain’s story. I don’t know if I’m making sense because I’m more confused than anything about how/when Elriel’s love story would unfold.

Anyway, I hope my message is not too weird and THANK YOU for fighting the good fight. I look forward to more Elucien golden thoughts 🙌.

Thank you, your message was so nice (definitely not weird!)!!! ❤️❤️❤️

And I agree.

First off, SJM confirmed on a few occasions that that each book will feature a new pairing in what is a traditional romance.

Traditional romance means the couple in the book HAVE to end their book with a HEA together. She literally cannot market these standalone books as traditional romance unless she follows those rules and that's what she's contracted for. So there's not going to be Elain and Lucien exploring a romance in one book then ending it the next.

Second (and to your first point), if SJM were going to write a rejected mating bond between two main characters there's no way she's going to casually throw that into the plot at the start of the book so that a romance between Az and Elain can progress after.

There is ALWAYS going to be a tug between Elain and Lucien. We know that a rejected bond can impact the male so much that it can drive some of them mad.

Even if Elain didn't want the bond, do we honestly think she's the kind of person who would be so heartless that she'd just move right onto to dating someone else knowing that Lucien is suffering? People can claim all they want that she has no interest in him but she is physically reactive to his presence. We don't know exactly what those reactions mean because in these books one thing often looks like another but she's not indifferent to Lucien and there is no way, when he's been nothing but amazing, she'd be fine getting her HEA when she can feel her mates sorrow.

Lucien has longed for Elain for 2 years. He's dealt with disappointment over her being withdrawn since the novella. He's not happily moving on from a rejected bond in a few months regardless of what E/riels say. A rejected bond between Eris and Mor might make sense because Mor has stated she does not have romantic feelings for males and we don't know Eris's sexual preference, we wouldn't feel hurt for either character if they had a broken bond. But with Elucien, a broken bond after his entire arc since the end of ACOMAF has been about her is too emotional a thing to easily walk away from without some serious page time being dedicated to it.

Really, the only way this scenario would actually make sense is if Elain rejected the bond in a Lucien POV because she did not want the bond and we witnessed his journey to a HEA with someone else and THEN Elain got a book. Because it would be difficult to root for Elain and her ending up with Az if she broke the heart of someone who was absolutely perfect for her in favor of a guy who hadn't thought of being with her beyond his sexual fantasies.

And I'm not thinking anyone believes Lucien and a love interest other than Elain is getting the next book.

[comicbookhyperfixationtime]

Uncanny X-Men #194- Juggernaut's Back in Town

Last Issue Recap: The team fought Thunderbird's identical brother and his Hellion friends in a US base, tanked whatever remained of their superhero credibility and then proceeded to just let Thunderbird and the Hellions waltz on back to Emma Frost without any repercussions.

This cover is pretty cool, I wouldn’t say the composition is fantastic but it makes it pretty clear what this issue is going to be about (a big ol’ heavy hitter slap fight) and Rogue with Nightcrawler and Colossus’ powers is intriguing.

The issue doesn't start with a fight though, it starts with Juggernaut having a friendly conversation with the most oblivious cop in New York

Yessir, I'm sure the giant hunk of muscle wider than he is tall couldn't possibly have anything to do with the recently escaped super criminal. 10/10 polic-ing.

Juggernaut watches some news crew give exposition for new readers on him (there's plenty of convoluted backstory but all you really need to know is he's the Juggernaut, bitch) and his recent appearances in other comics (shameless plugins). They also remind us how the X-men and Spiderman (who was Juggernaut's latest foe) are Feared and Hated By the World They Have Sworn to Protect. The popularity of a Marvel character in-universe is indirectly proportional to their popularity IRL, thus why Wonderman is highly successful film star.

Cut to the X-men in the Currently-Not-Destroyed Xavier's School upstate waking up and not giving a singular fuck about one of their super criminals on the loose.

He stayed up all night watching old swashbuckler films ahhhh he's such a dork I love him! (Thirsty Sidenote: this is I think the first time Kurt has been drawn without a shirt and gloves on. In earlier issues he seemed to basically live 24/7 in his costume. Yes I noticed. Don't judge me.)

Nobody cares, that is, except for Colossus (aka Piotr Rasputin), who went from one of my favorite characters to least favorite characters when he started dating an underage Kitty Pryde until Marvel Editor in Chief Jim Shooter told them to stop (possibly the only good decisions Jim Shooter ever made). They wasted so much good himbo potential with this boy. Anyway, he's very excited for a rematch with Juggey after demolishing a few blocks with him in a post-breakup funk several issues ago. So excited he quite literally busts out of his clothes.

See, its dumbass himbo behavior like this I'd enjoy a lot more if I couldn't get the bad taste of him and Kitty out of my mouth. Screw you Claremont for ever thinking that was ok.

Wolverine comes in from his daily barefoot snow jog in purple pajamas to tell Nightcrawler to get the team ready to track down Juggernaut because blah blah its their jobs booo you spoilsport. Honestly I would have loved an issue where the X-men just stayed at home and did nothing. I find the cool-down moments in long running comic series are usually my favorite parts. Its nice to see how these characters interact with each other and live their lives when they aren't constantly in mortal peril. But the cover promised a big knockdown dragemout and so, the plot must keep plotting. (Side note: how did Wolvie even find out about the Juggernaut? Everyone else was listening to the radio but he was running outdoors. His plot sense was tingling I guess).

Since Cyclops is a married man, Storm has lost her powers and Professor X is off in Scotland doing New Mutants stuff, Kurt now has the sole leadership responsibility of the team. I've really enjoyed Kurt's run as team leader so far. He's doing his best but he's not cut out for leadership and its clear he hates every minute of it. He's an extroverted sweetheart who would rather support his friends. Its nice to see Nightcrawler get more stuff to do after barely being present for the past for story arcs. His self doubt is also a fantastic change of pace from the previous leadership dynamics, which were the team leader going "Wah wah wah I'm the leader and you have to do what I say I'm going to be a controlling little bitch," and the second in command/former leader muttering under their breath "I would be such a better leader I deserve this title more leader doesn't know what they're doing wah wah wah." It was basically a three way dick measuring contest between Cyclops, Storm and Professor X and I hated every egotistical minute of it.

Speaking of Storm, we cut to her in her home in Kenya showing some colonial douchecanoes who's boss. Storm was recently depowered by an antimutant weapon created by Forge (long story) and so has quit the team and is returning home to find inner peace or something. Being 80s Marvel Kenya is of course portrayed in a nuanced and intelligent manner- just kidding its a thatched roof bush station in the savannah and I'm pretty sure they only chose Mount Kilimanjaro because it was the only place in Africa they could name.

Also this specific Racist White Dude is using a South African slur (kaffir) in Kenya. I'd like to say the writers meant him to be a South African on vacation in Kenya but to be honest I don't think they were thinking that hard about it. If I'm wrong though and this isn't just an example of lazy writing, lmk.)

The women running bush station who Storm saves turns out to be a member of the tribe that worshipped her as a Goddess in her first appearance (because, again, Marvel is well known for their fantastic African representation /s) and falls at her feet. The implications of this are that the regional drought mentioned in previous panels is the result of Ororo joining the X-men and no longer acting as weather Goddess, which raises a whole bunch of questions about the morality of her decision to leave in the first place, as well as broader questions about the ecology of the Marvel Universe as a whole that literally superpowers were needed to keep the climate in the region stable in the first place (climate change must be hitting them hard and fast, forget the Setinels, this is the bad future y'all should be going back to stop!). Anyway, I'm sure at least some of these will be answered the next time we see her.

Back to the main storyline, Kitty and Rachel are spying on Juggernaut, who is in a bank in civies, seemingly doing ordinary, none-crime stuff.

Look at his giant butt in that tiny chair how could anybody be fooled by this?!

The stakeout is going pretty quietly until Nimrod shows up to finally do something. The panels showing him locking in on the X-men's location is pretty neat, but its giving me Deja Vu. I wonder if its because the panel is so famous I've seen it before, or if they copied some iconic imagery from something else (it is giving me Escape From New York vibes)

Rachel and Kitty evacuate the civies and regroup with the rest of the X-men as Nimrod focuses his attention on Juggernaut. He punches Juggernaut into a conveniently empty construction lot where they can beat the stuffing out of each other without the writers having to worry about civilians. Do you think construction lots cause superhero fights, or do superhero fights cause construction lots? Its a chicken-egg sort of thing I feel. The X-men show up to stick their noses in like a bunch of idiots and this is where I have to make my opinions on Nimrod known.

Nimrod is a mutant hunting cop-robot that had been introduced previously, having been pulled into the current timestream from the Days of Future Past timeline when Dr Strange reversed time to stop the spell of an evil wizard from turning Manhatten into a Hyborian Era fantasy kingdom. I personally think exchanging Fantasy AU Avengers for pink murderbot is a pretty lame deal, but what do I know. Anyway, he's spent all his time since his initial appearance living in some poor guy's basement, eating his snacks, taking up space and barely masquerading as human, much like me.

So. I'ma be honest. I don't like Nimrod. I think he looks like a stupid pink trapezoid. Also, his name is dumb. Yeah, yeah, Nimrod was a famous biblical hunter, I know, but like. This was the 80s. Bugs Bunny had been a thing for decades, "Nimrod" was already well established as an insult and honestly giving the guy that goofy-ass triangle head and Looney Toons-esque invulnerability is not helping the associations. Like, what the hell were the DoFP folks thinking?! But then again this is same Evil Future Government that decided Rachel's mutant hunter outfit should be a literal goddamn gimpsuit so I think its been well established that their real crime aren't against humanity but fashion.

He's also extremely OP in the worst way. I can't even keep track of how many powers this guy has. And you'd think that might make the fight's interesting, right, like you'll you never know what's going to happen next? No actually it makes everyfight extremely boring because I know exactly what's going to happen next, the X-men are going to attack with something and Nimrod is going to go "Nu-uh, you can't hit me I have my everything shield!" and take them out of the fight with some new weapon he pulled out of his ass. And that's exactly what happens this time. Nightcrawler and Colossus teleport into the fight? Nimrod's tracking systems immediately detect them and he blasts them unconscious. Wolverine does a fastball special?But oh no, a force field! Kitty phases through him? Not only does she not disrupt his systems, she gets knocked back by energy field!

The demonstration of Nimrod's bullshit powers is great here, but I actually wanted to post this because of Rachel's fit. Its so 80s but I kind of adore it. This nonsense continues even after Rogue absorbs Kitty, Nightcrawler and Colossus's powers in a Hail Mary. Don't get me wrong, Rogue kicks ass and its hella entertaining but Nimrod once again is on his bullshit. She punches him into a million tiny pieces and he just reforms himself! Then he teleports out of there because I guess even he knew this fight had dragged on long enough. Which is another thing I hate about Nimrod; they can never actually kill the bastard. He'll just teleport away and come back next time with even more bullshit. It'd be so cathartic if Rogue had finally just smacked him down for good but I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the future. The X-men let the Juggernaut go, despite him being a literal criminal, because they've been doing that a lot recently. Unfortunately for them, this time surprise news crews have been behind the fourth wall the whole time like its an episode of Impractical Jokers and now the whole world knows they didn't even try to do their job. And don't give me any "oh they were weak they knew they couldn't taken him" Juggernaut had his psionic bucket hat off and Rachel Summers was right there she could have taken him down with a single thought.

We end the comic with an ominous discussion about the X-men by two members of the Russian Security council.

You can tell its Moscow because of the picture perfect view of St Basil's which magically appears in the window. Also, how the heck am I supposed to take Eyepatch Ivanovich here seriously when he's wearing little red booty shorts?! Anyway, this certainly was an issue of X-men. It started off really fun, then it got kind of generic. Certainly not the worst or most infuriating by any means. Looking forward to next issue!

Edit: I took the comic at face value and wrote that Mount Kilimanjaro was in Kenya. Mount Kilimanjaro is actually in Tanzania, near the Kenyan border, so unless the borders have shifted since 1985, Claremont is an idiot and so am I.

[majocelot]

I wonder how Ocelot thinks of The Boss sometimes. Surely, he later learns that's his mother. Obviously, he never knew before she died (well, I guess "assumedly" is better).

... As someone who grew up without my mother for most of my life, I think I project my own experience.

Apathy, unchecked bitterness, avoidance. Trauma, especially of the absence of parents, is hard to describe.

Ocelot's upbringing is intentionally convoluted, though I more so believe the idea The Philosophers kept a hold on him for the majority of his childhood/adolescence. Did he have an assigned guardian, was he brought up in a Philosopher run orphanage? It's all untouched by canon, as is similar with MOST childhoods of MGS characters.

Growing up without guardianship, however, feels most relevant to his personality. Cool, controlled, calculated. Raising yourself, being both father/mother, you cannot afford to be a child. Especially being puppeted around by an unseen group.

... I could imagine his growing disgust. To be alone in the world, a blank slate, only to be immediately and eagerly consumed by an omnipresence looming over you.

He's defection makes sense, a form of rebellion to leave the nest where he nurtured himself all alone. Like a juvenile bird, he began to sore. It was less of dedication to a nation, in fact it was about the disinterest in any nation. Double agent, flying from tree-to-tree.

He lived wrecklessly. Uncaring. No support, no strings... trying to find purpose.

Now, I love bosselot. I do believe Ocelot felt deeply for Big Boss... but I think that was only a part of his own philosophy to disengage from the world.

Ocelot learning of his mother would have been such an interesting character arc, that of course wouldn't properly be touched on given MGS's storytelling style in regards to emotion (show, don't tell). It must have been the true turning point, but it could have also taken years to digest.

Being forced through the stages of grief, perhaps even prolonged given the scenario of him meeting her and being unaware until after she was gone.

Hate, bitterness, disgust, pain.

In more civilian scenarios, a son would likely partake in wreckless behaviors such as drinking, driving, and drugs. I believe it would have been similar for Ocelot, but factoring in that his world was and had always been tailored, planned, and omnipresent.

The gap between Portable Ops and MGSV, I think that would have been his digestion period upon realizing. Given how calculated he had been, believing to be above all his superiors, beyond nations... to realize he was still just a pawn in the end, a pawn that was born to become a pawn, it must have over took him.

I theorize it was a very ugly period for himself. Chaotic, manic and so forth. Very out of style for the MGS story style, thus unbrushed (i mean of course, probably wasnt even considered. but still fun to imagine).

Ocelot letting his world go in those years, fighting and trying to figure out who the hell he was and what he wanted to be. How to become his own... I want that to be played with more in fanon for my own catharsis. LOL.

[ralphdro]

My thoughts on the new JSA run so far

[Originally published on my Twitter account, on Nov. 30th]

So, nobody asked for it, but I want to speak and this is my space for that. I am a really big fan of the JSA, with them being my favorite super hero team by a far margin. Therefore, you can imagine how happy I was to know a new series was starting, and being written by the same man who made me fall in love with them, Geoff Johns. To top it off, it features fucking HELENA WAYNE, offspring of one of my favorite ships in fiction, Batman X Catwoman. Well, without further ado, let's start.

This storyline actually starts in the "The New Golden Age" one-shot, that features multiple generations of Doctors Fate seeing impending doom arriving to destroy our beloved super team, but they are never sure how to deal with it. It's implied that Degaton, the time villain is behind it, with him killing the JSA of the 31st century, and mentioning he actually killed this Fate's granddaughter "before". This is an important point for a theory I will present at a later point. We also get to know this new version of Helena Wayne, who is determined to stop her father's killer, and thus wears the mantle of The Huntress.

Now we actually will talk about the new JSA book proper. This first volume starts with Helena searching for her Doctor Fate, Khalid Nassum, who, a day prior warned her about impending danger. To no avail.

With him gone, the tension rises in this generation of the JSA, which is comprised mostly of descendants of super-villains. We have Icicle, Grundy, and even new faces that belong to the famed "13 Children" lost to time. This new team is not approved by Power Girl, one of the last legacy heroes still there. They later find out Fate is already dead, and weirdly it looks like he has been for quite sometime. Then the reveal comes: this time villain, presumably Degaton, has the ability to alter the timestate of whatever he wants, killing all of them using this powerful skill. When he's about to kill Helena, her mother arrives on the scene tells her to search for Fate, and gives her Doctor Manhattan's snow globe, which sends her back in time, to 1940. Selina's fate is unknown to us as of now.

This first volume wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I particularly do not like plots that revolve around time travel, as they tend to get extremely convoluted and very unsatisfaying to see play out. To top it off, I really hate Degaton. His arc in Geoff's run was really hard to get hyped to read (it had some great moments and all, but wasn't my favorite). BUT, this new story could present some really interesting plot points.

My main theory is that "Degaton" is back on his "I will kill EVERY JSA" shenanigans, and is killing them starting with their future versions first, and making his way to the team's origins in the 40's. Therefore, Helena must hurry to get back in the current timeline and stop him before he manages to kill them. I bet this'll be the main plot. And, this will interact with the new Stargirl series properly reintroducing the Lost Children in this timeline. That way, Helena's future will be rewritten, their JSA will actually live up to its name with more people picking the heroes legacies, and Batman won't die (I think "Degaton" is behind this awell).

To be honest, I was kind of disappointed while reading it for the first time, but my mind wasn't calm and in the right place. After reading it again, alongside The New Goden Age, I'm much more interested in it. I hope they manage to tell a cool story, and please let Power Girl be an important character T^T

Speaking of which, I hope they mention or fix the plothole that is PG appearing in the 70s flashback, as it doesn't fit with the current Superman timeline.

That's it, if you read it so far, thank you! I really love the JSA, and will probably make more posts like this according to the new issues releases. LONG LIVE THE JSA!

[theclearblue]

My One Piece Arc Ranking

Hey, I just caught up to the One Piece anime after a grueling six-ish months of it absolutely consuming me, and in celebration and pure self indulgence I want to rank them worst to best (in my personal opinion, my bias will get in the way). I love this series so much and I want to gush about it even more now that I have all of this free time. Under each arc I rank I'm gonna talk a little bit about my thoughts on each one, what I liked and didn't like, but even for the lower rankings I don't think there really is a fully bad arc of One Piece. Another disclaimer that this is all my opinion and I want to know what others think! Otherwise I'll start my ranking under the cut, and spoilers for uhhhh the entire series ahead (particularly for Marineford).

31. Syrup Village

I'm sure on reread/rewatch this arc will definitely be better for me, but this arc almost made me drop One Piece in the very beginning. I like Kaya a lot and there are some pretty good moments like Nami dragging Zoro down that hill and established the Nami and Usopp duo that I love. But this gets dragged down by stupid catboy that has the most convoluted villain plan, a setting that is maybe the most generic in the entire series, and maybe controversially, I just didn't like Usopp's introduction (do not fear I love him very much now) and also did not care about them kids. Some small moments and characters I really like and it also establishes the theme of a pirate's son right to exist but overall it just drags on for far too long for no good reason.

30. Long Ring Long Land

Even though I'm ranking it this low, this is one I've seen people call filler and I do disagree with that. Yes it's very low stakes but it's a good breather before jumping into the emotional beating that is Water 7. It has some good humor, establishes Robin as a part of the crew, foreshadows the tides that end up being a big part of Water 7, and the Zoro and Sanji davyback fight is undeniably very important for both of their characters and just a good scene. But while all of that's true, it's ranked so low because the Foxy pirates pissed me off with the blatant cheating, the setting kind of pales in comparison to most other settings in the series, and it goes on for far too long (i know it got super extended in the anime though). Not my favorite, afro Luffy was fun though.

29. Whiskey Peak

God I want to rank this higher solely because I love the scene of Zoro taking on all of the bounty hunters by himself at night. I think Zoro gets reduced to just 'cool guy' too often but this is my indulgent moment where, yeah, I do just love how cool he is here lmao. I like the setting as well where it's this western setting with undercover bounty hunters, and Miss All Sunday's introduction lives in my head rent free at all times. Unfortunately though this has maybe the most out of character moment in the entire series with Luffy attacking Zoro and Zoro actually engaging in a fight with him? I was baffled at both of them for this but especially Luffy. The Princess Vivi reveal was also pretty clunky but I know that it was a pretty last minute decision that Oda made that Ms. Wednesday was Princess Vivi.

28. Reverse Mountain

This is only so low because it's literally like 2 episodes, there's not much to say. This arc gets a lot better in hindsight when we meet Brook and Laboon is connected to him, but that's about it. Umm Crocus is kind of a fun character as well I suppose.

27. Orange Town

I don't really have a lot of bad to say about Orange Town, I did actually really like it on first watch. Nami's proper introduction is great, the establishing of someone's treasure and how that relates to Nami is great, and I did cry over that little dog protecting that shop. Really what holds it back is that it maybe is the most boring setting in the entire series, and while I'm in love with my failwife Buggy now, he gives very much villain of the week here.

26. Amazon Lily

Ok maybe this is controversial. The obvious highlight of this arc is Boa Hancock, she carries this arc on her back. Her introduction is amazing, her dynamic with Luffy I think is very funny and cute, and her flashback is really haunting but also mature in how it handles the darker themes shown. I think this arc needs to exist as a comedic relief after Saboady and before getting into the real meat of the Summit War Saga. That said I think the cast other than Boa and the old woman are kind of weak and it also feels like we could have spent just a little bit more time here in the world of Amazon Lily, which seems really interesting but it's not really properly explored.

25. Punk Hazard

On paper, I really like Punk Hazard. I think the side cast is one of the strongest with Law and Smoker/Tashigi, the island has such an interesting background as Vegapunk's old lab and the battle sight of Akainu and Aokiji, good comedy (particularly with Law), some really standout character moments for Zoro, and such important setup that gets paid off in Wano, and Caesar was a decent villain. Even with all of these positives, oh my god was this a slog for me. Did not care that much about the kids (objectively awful what happened to them, i just didn't emotionally connect that much with them), I also didn't connect very much with Kin'emon or Momo at first, and we spent a lot of time on both of those things. So many highlights but overall I think the pacing of this arc really brings it down a bit.

24. Return to Sabaody

Not much to say on this, it's only like five episodes, but it was such an amazing moment to see the strawhats reunite with each other and show off a little bit on how much stronger they are. Good humor with the fake strawhats, especially with poor Chopper believing that all of his friends just turned into major assholes over the last two years. Also a big fan of Rayleigh and him seeing Luffy off was a very wholesome and sweet moment that I really love a lot.

23. Post-Enies Lobby

Great breathing room arc after the emotional rollercoaster of Water 7/Enies Lobby, while also getting some new answers and questions about the wider world with Garp and Dragon being revealed to be related to Luffy and seeing Ace confront Blackbeard. Another standout moment is Zoro standing up to the crew about Usopp coming back into the crew and also Usopp's true apology being fully accepted. Franky joining the crew officially is also a great moment. No complaints really, just a solid arc.

22. Reverie

This is almost surely going to go up in ranking once we actually get some more of the questions presented here answered. Amazing to see Vivi and Cobra again, and to see Rebecca and Shirahoshi befriending each other with Vivi as well. Great moment of the celestial dragon from Fishman Island who was saved by Shirahoshi's mother stepping in to save Shirahoshi, I did not see it coming. I have no idea what the frozen strawhat or Imu is all about.

21. Baratie

This is maybe ranked too high, Don Krieg is undoubtedly a pretty weak and one dimensional villain and there is kind of a double edged sword (no pun intended) where the best moment in the arc goes to the Zoro vs. Mihawk fight...even though this is Sanji's arc lmao. But! I think that moment is important to Sanji's arc too, and this is the arc that really started winning me over to One Piece. Fantastic introduction to Sanji and his character/ideals, great comedy with Luffy being put in a kitchen (a mistake), obviously Zoro vs. Mihawk, and Nami running away from the strawhats back to Arlong Park.

20. Drum Island

Ohhh my poor baby boy Chopper. Chopper's backstory is obviously a highlight but really most of the arc really works for me. This is where I really fell in love with Vivi in her care for Nami and teaching Luffy when to fight and when to show respect and ask for help, which sticks with Luffy. Himbo Zoro diving into an ice lake is great comedy, and Luffy carrying Nami and Sanji up that mountain was such an impactful moment. The stuff with Chopper and the doctor is heartbreaking as well, such a great flashback. My only gripe is that Wapol kind of sucks as a villain, I don't care for him in any kind of way.

19. Little Garden

You see objectively I know that Drum Island should be above Little Garden. But I had so much fun with Little Garden that I can't help myself. Zoro in the wax statue is in the top 5 gags in the entire series, and is really where this absolute idiot won my heart. Honestly the comedy is all so top notch for me and I also really liked the giants and dinosaurs(I'm mentally like a six year old, sue me). This also introduces Sanji as Mr. Prince and Crocodile, and I love both dearly. I think when we get to Elbaf this arc will only get better with time.

18. Fishmen Island

Objectively one of the most beautiful and stunning worlds in all of One Piece, it was pure eye candy the entire time and it was so well fleshed out. The biggest highlight is the Fisher Tiger/Otohime flashback, where I thought the themes of racism were really well done and gave a lot of depth to Arlong that puts Arlong Park in a new perspective. I think thematically it's one of the strongest in the entire series, but is brought down a bit by kinda eh villains, I didn't connect too much with Shirahoshi's character, and, to put it nicely, some of the comedy falls flat (Sanji...)

17. Dressrosa

This arc is a lot of good fun until it gut punches you out of the blue. The tournament arc Luffy is in is a lot of fun, I love the world with the toys and the darkness underneath, and Rebecca but especially Kyros are such compelling characters. But we all know the real strength of this arc is Doflamingo and Law's backstory. Doffy is the best villain in the series so far and I hate his guts, the Law backstory made me actually sob I'm being so serious. What brings it down a bit is I think even with just manga canon material, this arc went on a bit too long, and while I'm trying to keep the quality of the anime out of my ranking, Dressrosa undoubtedly suffered more than any other arc adapted so far with terrible pacing and bland direction.

16. Skypeia

If there's one thing I know about Skypeia it's that everyone and their mother has an opinion about it. It falls in the middle for me, but overall I am a big fan. One of the most gorgeous worlds in the entire series, really great comedy throughout (Skypeia Zoro you'll always be famous to me), and the Noland/Calgara flashback followed by the ringing of the bell are big highlights of pre timeskip One Piece. There was so much foreshadowed here as well that I get very excited everytime I see Skypeia mentioned afterwards. The only thing drawbacks to this arc for me is that it does maybe go on for a little too long, particularly in the second act, and while I've accepted that everyone in One Piece is built different, I could not suspend my disbelief as literally everyone took multiple lightning strikes and after being knocked out for a bit were fine. I think why this bothers me compared to other instances where "Hey normal human beings Can't Do That" is because it really cuts the impact and threat level of Enel by a lot.

15. Impel Down

Impel Down is just fun all the way through, and is where I realized how strong of a protagonist Luffy is. Luffy building a makeshift crew out of the villains we've seen up to this point was just a brilliant idea, and each of them really shine even if they were a kinda of eh villain before (which might be all of them with the exception of Crocodile). The Dante's Inferno inspiration and the secret Rocky Horror gay dive bar was a treat, the introduction of Jinbe and Ivankov were both highlights, and even with the main supporting cast set aside (which in many other series I would despise), it really works in Impel Down leading into Marineford. As I'm writing this I feel like I'm putting it too low, because I have really zero complaints, but I just enjoy what's ahead a bit more.

14. Jaya

Jaya is so short but is one that comes back around so much in the story and has such memorable moments within the arc itself. Bellamy and Blackbeard are such great foils to Luffy, and Luffy and Zoro taking that beating in the bar really cemented how they're just on the same wavelength and also that what Shanks taught Luffy really stuck. A lot of big character introductions such as Blackbeard, Kuma, and Doffy (look at his stupid ass bird walk above lmao). Jaya lays a lot of groundwork for the themes of dreams and the overall world in One Piece, while also just being a good time.

13. Romance Dawn

Everyone talks about how you have to get to Arlong Park before One Piece really starts getting good (which on one hand is true), but I was immediately intrigued at the very beginning with Romance Dawn. The flashback with Shanks really establishes the core of who Luffy is and sets up so many themes in the series within such a short amount of time, and the Zoro flashback is also very strong writing from the beginning where we can immediately get a sense of his character from that and his introduction when he's tied to the post. Captain Morgan and Alvida are pretty meh, but I liked Koby a lot at the beginning as well and I enjoyed Romance Dawn when I was watching it and looking back.

12. Loguetown

Short arc that has a lot of good little moments throughout, and another arc where this will get better with time (especially when we get to know more about Dragon I think). No negatives to this arc for me really, I loved the introduction of Smoker and Tashigi, Luffy seeing the execution podium and also the lightning strike coming down to save him, Dragon saving Luffy from Smoker, and Zoro and Tashigi in the sword shop are all such great moments that keep getting built upon as the series goes on.

11. Post War

Post War is really where I fell in love with Ace's character and made his journey throughout the series way more impactful in retrospect. Seeing him say that he wants to become a pirate even if people fear or hate him, and seeing that happen after Marineford where he's so clearly loved by so many and it overwhelms him, that got me. Luffy and Jinbe both standout here as well, seeing Luffy being broken by grief and Jinbe holding him down and asking what he still has, and Luffy remembers his friends? It's such a bitterweet moment. Such a good arc to round out pre-timeskip One Piece. Only complaint is that Sabo has maybe the most obvious fakeout death here in the whole series.

10. Thriller Bark

HEAVILY letting my personal bias win on this one, I know that people don't view it that favorably and I get it. It's a bit bloated pacing wise, the villains range from mediocre to the worst in the series (looking at you Absalom, but not my ghost girl Perona <3), and this is the start of Sanji starting down a dark path of being overbearingly pervy. I get it all. The positives of this arc really outweighs all of this though for me. I love the gothic setting and it feels like the first time Oda really plays with genre. This is a contender for one of if not the funniest arc in One Piece, while also having some of the darkest but best moments in the series with Brook and Zoro (I could write an essay on both of them during this arc). I think every strawhat here has a multitude of shining moments with none of them fading into the background, and Moria as a foil to Luffy as a failed pirate king is such brilliant foreshadowing for Sabaody Archipelago.

9. Zou

A fun fact about me is that almost everytime I see talking animals in a story, I hate it (if you follow me for JJK you know who my least favorite character is...). Chopper was a pretty big exception already but I wasn't looking forward to this arc when I saw the focus was going to be a tribe of talking animals. Little did I know just how much I would love the Minks tribe, the world of Zou, and just the sheer amount of setup it accomplishes while still being such an entertaining and fascinating arc in of itself. I have been spoiled for a lot in this series, which for the most part I haven't minded, but I am so glad I was never spoiled on "Raizo is safe." Completely blindsided me and is genuinely a contender for one of the best moments in the entire series. The sidecast of the Minks is so strong, the information we get about Laugh Tale and Wano is so intriguing, and after a pretty long stint of Sanji being mostly reduced to perv jokes for several arcs, this is the start of his amazing character development.

8. Marineford

So just know that I know that this is objectively a top 5 arc in One Piece, this is a kind of climax few series can ever hope of achieving, and it's not even the halfway point. It was so much fun seeing characters all the way from episode 1 to 450ish show up for this fight, but the stars of the arc for me were Whitebeard, Jinbe, Doffy, Croc, Marco, Koby, and Buggy (for the comedy lmao). This is a fantastic arc with very very few drawbacks. The reason it's ranked lower than it should be is because 1. This is a long fight, and while they are great it's not the real reason I love this series, and 2. that I got spoiled sooo much for Marineford. Like a ridiculous amount. The obvious one being Ace, and I'm especially annoyed about it because I got spoiled for it in such a stupid way. I really don't mind spoilers most of the time but this really cut the tension for me in a lot of places, and it didn't affect the quality but it did affect my overall enjoyment where it isn't an absolute favorite of mine. With that said, Marineford is still so good and has some of the best moments in the whole series.

7. Alabasta

This arc is maybe the most classic kind of story found in One Piece, and this is maybe the arc I would say you could show to someone without much context needed and if they enjoy this, they'll probably like the rest of it. The strawhats all have standout moments throughout this arc, I particularly like Nami, Zoro, and Sanji in this arc, but the two who steal the show are Vivi and Crocodile (which while Doffy I think is the best villain, Crocodile is my favorite and acts a fantastic challenge to both Vivi and Luffy). Alabasta feels like the first time of really digging into the politics of the world, and is such a classic epic fantasy which I adore. Pell's sacrifice would be a contender for one of the best moments in the series, but this ends up being maybe the most offensive and appalling fakeout death in the entire series (and there are...a lot). But this is really my only gripe with the arc.

6. Wano Country

If there's an arc where I can just feel love poured into it, it's Wano. The buildup and anticipation was (for the most part) paid off so well, and Wano is one of the most beautiful worlds in the entire series. I was a little annoyed at first that there was so much focus on the Red Scabbards, but I really fell in love with them and their story with Oden. Yasuie's sacrifice is another contender for one of the best moments in the series, and of course the reveal of Gear 5 as well. Wano has some of the highest high's in One Piece, but is held back a little bit by a few different small things for me. Kaido and Big Mom feel a little bit disappointing, and Wano is carried by it's minor antagonists I think. The raid goes on for way too long and has quite a few throwaway characters that I don't think needed to be focused on or even included. There also are quite a few instances where "deaths" of certain characters are given a lot of weight and then it's a fakeout, while other characters who actually die don't get that same narrative weight, which was just a bit strange and jarring. Even with these issues though, this was such a fun world to spend a lot of time in and is still a top arc for me.

5. Arlong Park

Literally every person always says "Get to Arlong Park before considering dropping the series" and I was like ok....I was already enjoying it before, particularly with Romance Dawn and Baratie. But yeah those almost pale in comparison to Arlong Park. What hasn't been said about it at this point. Nami's character arc throughout the East Blue saga is paid off so well and the strawhats going to help her really encapsulate all of the love they have for each other. Everyone knows the iconic moments like the hat pass off and Luffy destroying the map room (and I love both of those scenes), but an underrated scene is when Zoro jumps into the water to test Nami's bluff, betting his life on if she was a true friend or not (and he knew that she was). This arc also gets better with age from what we learn from Sabaody and Fishmen Island.

4. Whole Cake Island

There are drawbacks to this arc that should place it lower than fourth place. The pacing isn't great, particularly with the rampage in the second act, I would have really liked more for Chopper to do in this arc, and Big Mom gets a little bit overshadowed here. But this arc was so desperately needed for Sanji's character and he won my heart again and establishes him as one of the most complex and interesting strawhats. Apart from him, Nami and Brook get some really incredible scenes as well, and the side cast with Germa and the Big Mom pirates is maybe the best in the series. Judge and Katakuri are both excellent villains in completely different ways, and I was so invested in Pudding, Reiju, and Chiffon. Not to mention this is also a top contender for one of the best worlds in the series, and I'm a big sucker for fairytales, especially when they're twisted ones like with WCI. The themes of family throughout this arc are some of the best written in any media I've seen and I fell in love with this arc despite it's flaws.

3. Sabaody Archipelago

I really don't mind spoilers, but if there's any arc I'm happy I didn't get spoiled on it's this one. Thriller Bark was for the most part a fun time, but it had some really heavy moments towards the end that I was sure when arriving at Sabaody that this was also going to be a good fun time. It's a theme park! The introduction of the Worst Generation which leads to some really fun interactions especially with Kidd and Law. There's some really good humor in this arc. But oh my god was this arc just a gut punch out of nowhere, where it's maybe the most fucked up island to date, and recontextualizes so much of the broader One Piece world. The introduction of Rayleigh and Luffy punching the celestial dragon are such amazing moments, but of course the ending to the arc is what stands out. Seeing them lose so clearly, and taking into account they surely would have died without Rayleigh stepping in and Kuma having secret motives, it's devastating. Zoro being the first sent away and Robin the last is maybe one of the most evil writing moments in the entire series, but god is it so good. This will surely only get better once I read Egghead and Kuma's backstory.

2. Enies Lobby

Yeah real original opinion I know, and you can really count this as tied to #1 as well, but if I had to choose I personally prefer the next arc just a little bit more. The special thing about Enies Lobby to me is of course the culmination of Robin's arc where she finds that she wants to live and seeing her backstory, but also the fact that each strawhat fades into the background, I can point out multiple amazing character moments for each of them throughout. CP9 is a good challenge for all of them, Gear 2 and 3 are amazing, and Sogeking shooting down the world flag feels like the start of One Piece in some ways. And of course, I cried over that stupid boat.

Water 7

Another super original opinion, but yeah this is an arc that has only the highest of highs and I cannot personally think of a bad moment throughout the entire arc. Another contender for one of the most interesting and prettiest worlds in the series, with an amazing side cast with Galley La, the Franky family, and Kokoro and Chimney. The CP9 twist also got me good, and I originally disliked Franky but he won over my heart as well. Just like Enies Lobby this arc has standout moments for every strawhat that I could about in length, but the internal strife within the crew and how they're tested is unlike anything else in the series, and Usopp's character arc in Water 7 was so well written, and this where I really started loving him after his kind of rough introduction. If Oda can somehow write an arc better than this one I'll be in absolute shock, this is just incredible writing that most could never achieve.

If you read through this all thank you so much <3 I don't expect a lot of interaction from this post which is totally fine, I made this more for fun, but I love One Piece a super normal amount (<- a lie) and I love talking about it, so I always want to hear other people's opinions as well!

[llycaons]

ep48 (1/3): thank fucking god jc and wwx are finally talking it out

this was sweet. when does lwj ever defend someone to wwx rather than vice versa? but he dutifully reports than wen ning didn't do this happily

wwx rolling his eyes like 'oh GOD here we go again'

okay okay but I am so excited for this because I truly believe this is jc's absolutely best scene best monologue best interaction with wwx in the SHOW. finally everything coming to light! finally communication! finally a solid closure to the rage and grief that has torn them apart! but first it displays all of jc's issues and problems so so clearly

and it start off with jc bitterly praising wwx for being such a saint. which I really enjoy on a writing level, because it's very self-aware. it's easy as a reader to think that jc should bow down in gratitude, but jc as a character has a lot of pride and judges things very differently - he's a living, breathing, thinking character who has his own beliefs, principles, grudges, and motivations

I don't even know how to describe this. mocking praise? it's very characteristic of jc of this arc. sarcastic, insecure, and bitter, keenly aware of wwx's achievements and virtues and resenting him for them. idk what he wants wwx to do...obviously he's not thinking rationally but wwx can't help being good at stuff

he's making wwx entirely responsible for his feelings. not even 'you did this and I felt this way' but 'you are this way and I'm different and it's your fault that I'm not as good'

not even forgiving the debt owed from all those decades ago, even knowing the truth! he also has a big victim complex - even when wwx was being disrespected and even abused in ways jc wasn't, he still remembers it the way it'll suit his needs. no capacity to consider wwx's troubles or suffering. absolutely no emotional imagination. not that being low-empathy makes you a bad person, but the way he acted has never been part of a healthy relationship w wwx

this moment captures him SO well. while castigating wwx about jin ling, jin ling himself tries to reach out - to comfort or dissuade. and jc throws him off, impatient and angry and entirely focused on the object of his revenge rather than the living child he claims to be trying to protect, the child who's right there asking for his attention

this also feels very self-aware of the writing. almost...lampshading? not the right term. it feels fair and right that one major character close to wwx, and sympathetic despite his behavior, is holding wwx to task for this. I am obviously on wwx's side, but it makes sense than people would be upset but what happened and it feels very honest to allow jc this bitterness and anger rather than forcing everyone in the story to immediately forgive and love him. it adds texture and complexity to the characters and the world, and it makes actions like lwj's more significant. jc was never going to be the partner wwx needed, and that's extremely important to the story

another fair accusation. on the other hand it was pretty clear wwx was majorly depressed after the war and while jc might have been angry with him for drinking, he only responded with punishment instead of, idk, compassion for the other sibling who lost his entire home and family? jc didn't talk to wwx either

I read this as jc angry with himself for not being able to truly hate wwx, and blaming wwx himself for...not being hateable? it's very convoluted. jc needs so much therapy

CLOWN MOMENT

wwx touching lwj's hand to prevent him from jumping to wwx's defense, jl interpreting lwj leaning forward as him about to attack, and jc tearfully saying "I can take him!! you think I'm scared of him?" a lot going on here

oof. ough

there it is 😭 circumstances of the past aside, I'm glad they made it this point

...is that a smile? I can't even tell I swear

and NOW he's calling HIMSELF pathetic for even caring that much. my guy I think easing off on being judgemental towards yourself and your loved ones might help

JIANG CHENG APOLOGY EVENT CATCH IT ONCE EVERY TWENTY YEARS 🎇🎉🎈🎁

I can't tell if this is putting distance between jc and wwx (bc wwx is saying he did it as payment) or bringing them closer (bc wwx is saying there's no need for jc to regret or agonize over the past anymore)

I forgot how satisfying this scene was. wwx went through so many trials and despite the residual trauma, he really feels like he's able to move on. and that can include jc too

🥺🥺🥺

I believe in yunmeng sibling reconciliation!!! this was a really hopeful and honest and cathartic discussion and I feel really good about their future relationship. I get caught up in the scenes before this and I just a lot of jc fic writers on it, but after this scene I can def see their dynamic becoming much less antagonistic. wwx isn't joking about his pain or making excuses for jc or talking about how much he likes to be mistreated - he's gentle and honest and real. and he wants to move on. finally. finally they got there

[sophsun1]

Ok, not that it would fix season 5 by a long shot, but imagine how much better it would have been if Justin told just his mom or Daphne that "Oh yeah, I didn't really break up with Brian. He sometimes really remembers we're in a relationship, and it freaks him out. I just have to remind him I'm not a guarantee. We'll be back together within a month tops. Let him get it out of his system."

Hey!

I mean listen season five was a shitshow in general. I'm not personally happy with how the show ended for a few of the characters it just felt very rushed overall. I don't know if there were things going on behind the scenes with the network or the writers, I think I read somewhere Peter say that they were going to do a sixth season maybe??? But I think to be honest a lot of the guys were ready to go and move on so maybe they didn't have a big enough timeframe to flesh the stories out more, I don't know.

Honestly there wasn't much apart from scrapping 90% of it that would've appealed to me. I was fed up of Britin breaking up and the reason for it in the final season was so contrived I just roll my eyes at it. Even if we got what you suggested it wouldn't for me have made a difference because it was the same merry go round but a new shiny season to do it in. Britin's arc was very frustrating even if they did have limited episodes to do it in, there was a better way to give us what we got in the end which was a convoluted mess. My heart breaks for Brian as character because I love him and resonate with him and to see him left on his own without his son, without Justin and a bombed out Babylon for a club wasn't my idea of a satisfying ending.

Especially after the growth of season four, where we got Brian ending that surviving cancer. That amazing speech he gave Michael on The Liberty Ride about how if he survived he could survive anything. For a character who was continually expressing his wish to die young throughout the course of the show... that was huge. He wanted to be a better and more present father for Gus and asking Justin to move in with him was just beautiful and heartfelt. For me as much as I loved watching Brian be a sarcastic dick and not give a fuck about anything, the true beauty was in seeing him grow because he wanted to. He got to that place all on his own at the end of season four not because he finally gave in to the pressure of the group or society but because of himself. Also that wasn't who he truly was a lot of it was a self defence mechanism and his own tendency to self sabotage.

The balance was all off in the final season Justin swaying from wanting to settle down and be a family man at 22(!) to being mad that Brian wasn't fucking everything in sight.

I never really watch the final scenes of the show because the sight of Brian dancing on the podium on his own with Proud playing in the background just sets me off and I burst into tears. Plus the absolute crime that Randy was not in that scene, to be honest the WHOLE cast should have been. They started it together they should have ended it together.

[amanda-melly]

My Good Omens season 3 headcanon, part 2

(This is strictly headcanon, not meant to guess how the series will play out nor trying to say that I believe this is how it should play out.)

PART 2 - Starting with the episode by episode structure I would do in season 3, then my thoughts on what have Aziraphale's boyfriend in the dark sunglasses and Crowley's emotional support angel actually been doing between seasons 2 and 3

Subtitle: I would really love the series to showcase religious diversity and unequivocally stand in favour of oppressed religious minorities, while using these themes to advance character development.

In part 1 I covered what I consider to be essential information we should have about the inner workings of heaven and hell in the rebellion and the Fall. And, most importantly, Crowley's trial, Aziraphale's reaction to it, and how Gabriel lied to Aziraphale about Crowley's fall.

Now let's tackle the present day, what Aziraphale and Crowley are doing after season 2, and the second coming.

(yes we are all heartbroken right now but I don't even imagine a scenario in which they don't reconcile. For me the question "will they end happily together?" is not even a question. The obvious answer is yes. Neil has made this perfectly clear several times. Don't worry, they will end up happily together sometime somehow.)

Perhaps the first question is: how long until our ineffable husbands (or ineffable dumbasses) get together again?

How do they get back together and how long will it take? And what will they do meanwhile?

* I honestly have no idea if s3 will start right after the end of season 2 or if some time will have passed. I think some time will have passed. If some time has passed, I don't know if it'll be months or years. My guess is that it'll be just like it was between s1 and s2: they are set at time of writing/filming. And I don't even think that's plausible for narrative reasons, but for production reasons. It's way easier to film something without having to worry about something in the back of the shot having a 2024 cellphone if the story is meant to take place in 2023 and things like that. Also, we don't know if the kids from season 1 will appear - and kids age. So I'm going to suppose that a couple of years have passed between the end of season 2 and the reunion of Aziraphale and Crowley in season 3.

* For narrative reasons also, I think this reunion would make most sense as the big finale of episode 1, or at most as the big finale of episode 2, after an initial episode or 2 of both still clearly troubled by their distance and all the things they said and the things they didn't say in their last encounter. I can imagine that they meet again in a troubling setting (as you'll see in the next paragraphs), and one comes to rescue the other (I'm thinking of Aziraphale rescuing Crowley just because my boy Crowley has put on all the hard work so far and it's more than time for Aziraphale to step up and do for Crowley what Crowley has been doing for him all. The. Time.) (yes Aziraphale of course I love you but c'mon right now you just don't have demonstrated or done enough for Crowley and it's your turn)

* it makes sense to me to have a structure that goes more or less like this:

1. Firstly, what Aziraphale and Crowley have been doing, the consequences of their separation, their suffering in being apart, and showing or hinting that there is Something [the main problem they will have to solve by the end of the season] going on (and how each of them, in one way or another, without even knowing, are advancing something that will end up being essential to solve the Problem). In this part we'd be introduced to some few new characters and few and simple subplots that help push the story and the character arcs forwards. These characters and subplots can't make things convoluted or filler, after all it's the last season and time is precious.

2. There should be some kind of inciting incident that forces Aziraphale and Crowley to meet... Somehow. I'm thinking of the moment they finally see each other again as the end of episode 1, or at the latest by the end of episode 2.

3. There would be some level of conflict between them but I tend to believe they will have WAY less conflict than what I've been reading around on tumblr, reddit and discord. I think Crowley will probably have built some barriers to protect himself from losing Aziraphale again but I don't think he'd push Aziraphale away too much, just enough to see he can trust Aziraphale. I think Aziraphale has to make concessions for Crowley because if not now when will he? So far Crowley has done most of the emotional work. Anyway, I don't think they will fight too much or be too cruel to one another. Crowley has undergone a major character development arc and I think it'd be really cheap to see him regressing and making it seem like his development never happened. Perhaps there will be conflict between them stemming from external factors (I don't know, heaven wiping out Aziraphale's memories of Crowley). Whatever it is, the way I see it, it shouldn't be so easy for them to get together as to make the whole s2 finale seem like a minor problem for these characters, but it can't be too hard to reunite them either because everything good omens has been building (notably in s2) is their character development towards understand and embracing their feelings for each other and their place in the whole heaven/hell dispute (aka they're on their own side, so for the plot to progress they need to get to be on their side relatively early in the season). (also everyone knows that good omens's secret is Aziraphale and Crowley together and honestly if they're not interacting for most of the season, then what's the point?)

4. By episodes 3-5 they are reunited and working on solving the Threat of the season and working out their issues with one another

5. By episode 5, I guess, the plot will have advanced considerably (more than the episode 5 of season 1 and season 2), because in episode 6 the "Threat" (the Problem of the season) must be dealt with early enough in the episode in order to allow most of the final episode to GIVE US WHAT WE WANT: closure and happiness and warm hearts and happy tears. Not that I want the ending to be a pile of fan service. I just want it to give us closure and resolve the main themes of Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship (for example, their communication issues). Big thrilling climax in which the main characters win and save the day: yeah, I guess it's inevitable because of Hollywood standards. But let's get done with it quickly so we can focus on the big climatic resolution to the conflict that really matters in good omens: the growth Aziraphale and Crowley need in order to be happy together.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

Ok now let's tackle the events of the present day in season 3 according to me with no basis whatsoever. This is only my headcanon, like I said.

* question: have Aziraphale and Crowley spoken at all in this time lapse? In my headcanon (which is what I'm doing here so deal with it) we get to see all their interactions of the present day since season 2 (that means I don't think they had a secret hidden conversation in the bookshop to fool the metatron) so no, they haven't spoken in a couple of years. When they do meet, we'll see it happening.

* i don't see Crowley going back to hell, at least not without a very, very good reason. If he's alone, I don't think it's hell that he'd seek for comfort. He'd either seek alcohol, sleeping for months, or seeking the company of trusted humans. Or maybe, only maybe, Muriel. If he goes to Muriel I'm not sure if he'd be motivated just by seeking their company /friendship or if Crowley thinks Muriel could be his key to get access to Aziraphale or to heaven or to important knowledge or whatever other plans he might have.

* things that I can imagine Crowley doing:

- aimlessly driving the Bentley without thinking until he reaches the coast somewhere in the United Kingdom.

- going back to the apartment now that shax won't need it.

- getting very, very, VERY drunk. Nonstop, for weeks or months or years until something dangerous happens or Aziraphale pops up.

(let's not forget that Crowley already tried to get Aziraphale to go off with him and Crowley's reaction was to get drunk)

(but also Crowley always, always drives the Bentley super fast even in soho and in the s2 finale he's driving very slowly, which is a new reaction from him)

- sleeping (same as the above: for weeks or months or years until Aziraphale shows up or is in danger).

- getting utterly drunk but at some point snapping out of it and deciding to do "something" (maybe that would be investigating heaven's plans to try to sabotage the second coming, for example).

- maybe getting utterly drunk but at some point snapping out of it and going to someone to talk to (Muriel, nina, maggie, anathema...).

- this is a particular favourite of mine and I read it in a fanfic: Crowley starts getting therapy. I just love this one. I don't think this is likely to happen, but I find this delicious.

- maybe he'll never stop showing up at the bookshop just in case. It's a bit fanficky and I'm not sure it's compatible with how s2 ends. Or maybe it is, who knows?... I mean. Of course I WANT to imagine that Crowley would end up going to the bookshop frequently, maybe even staying there, talking to Muriel, nina, Maggie... But it just seems to simple.

HOWEVER,

So far good omens has not given us simple. It has provoked us, made us uncomfortable, make it real and provoked feelings in us, it has been honest, sometimes painful, but it has been tridimensional. So far good omens has not feared to stray far from the settings and the characters that the fans expect. Season 2 showed us they're perfectly comfortable leaving anathema, the them etc in peace and investing in new characters and new problems instead of recycling everything. So ultimately I guess Crowley would go somewhere else and do something else. Of course I probably wrong about everything I'm saying here. But, it if I had to do it, I would take this wonderful opportunity of having a final set of 6 precious episodes with a limited amount of precious minutes with these precious characters and I would push it further - put them in new situations with new characters to tackle different aspects of their main themes, aspects that will come to be essential to the final wrapping up of all these themes, plots, character arcs. For example, I would probably have Crowley drink a lot in the beginning (it's the essence of the character) but then I would have him undertake his own religious discovery journey. That's how I would do it. I would have him seek answers in minority religions. In big churches. In small, poor parishes. In talking to the powerful and the humble of different faiths. (naturally this includes not only various religions but agnostics and atheists as well). It'd be a marvelous opportunity to showcase minority religions and advocate for religious diversity and to make a very strong message against religious intolerance against minorities (e.g. Such as the horrible reality of religious racism against African-Brazilian faiths in Brazil).

Then again, I know nothing Jon snow. But I'd definitely want to dig deeper into the theme of religious diversity in a way that provides a deeper development of the central themes of good omens that have already been established in seasons 1 and 2 AND use it to build Crowley's character arc in a way that pushes his characters to new places while staying coherent with his character. It'd be particularly interesting to have this whole "religious diversity" thing approach different interpretations of Jesus Christ (the man, the prophet, the son of God, etc) if the season ends up focusing heavily in Jesus and the second coming.

As to Aziraphale:

- he's probably somewhat aware that something's off in heaven from the moment the metatron mentions the second coming in soho. I think he was completely naive and deluded up to that point, but the mention of the second coming makes an alarm bell ring in his head and he realises that the metatron is possibly not trustworthy. He does get in the lift and tries to force himself to smile though. He does it for a number of reasons. Firstly, he can be a bastard too, and he learned with Crowley how to be an angel that goes with heaven as far as he can. Secondly, he must appear gullible and happy and dumb so he carries on the act. Thirdly, if heaven really is very evil, he's now strategically placed to sabotage heaven from inside, knowing he'll probably pay for it with his own destruction (but it might help save the world, and Crowley).

- he still wants to believe that people are good and most of all that angels are good, so he starts to try and get to know a large variety of angels claiming it's part of his job as a boss. But in reality he's trying to ascertain who's trustworthy in heaven and who's just a tool in their machinations.

- heaven somehow sabotages Aziraphale's attempts to visit earth and see or talk to Crowley or get news of Crowley. At first it seems like mere coincidences, but after a while Aziraphale realises he's being cheated on by heaven, which confirms his suspicions that both himself and Crowley are in danger.

- Aziraphale decides to play the long game, almost as a spy in heaven. He realises more and more how little power he actually has. He's a pawn. He's not the one calling the shots. He's a prisoner.

- something I still don't know what to think about: how advanced are the plans for the second coming? Is Aziraphale working on it intensively or is it more like a thing that takes years to plan before anything concrete happens? Will there be a baby Christ in the first episode of season 3 like there was a baby antichrist in season 1? No idea. Overall I find it really hard to think of solutions for the whole Jesus thing in good omens. Jesus is such an untouchable figure that even good omens, that jokes with god and heaven all the time, was extremely respectful of Jesus in season 1 and has mostly left Jesus alone so far.

I've already discussed this with other fans and some people think that good omens can have Jesus in it like it has God, that the series already jokes a lot with many things that are sensitive matters to Christians. But I don't know. I think Christians in general are waaay more comfortable with jokes about God than they would be with jokes about Jesus. And the majority of people in western countries are still Christian. I guess I'll have to Wait and See.

[roman-mysteries]

Ranking Roman Mysteries books from least favourite to favourite- Part 1

Obviously this is a completely subjective list based on my own experiences with the books, and I would love to hear if anyone thinks differently

17. The Scribes from Alexandria  This is the last book from the series I read (I was twenty-one) because as a kid I would just read whatever I could get from the library/what I bought in London when we went overseas in 2012, and while I like to think maybe just being so much older means I didn’t experience it at the age I should have, I just couldn’t get behind this book. I hate the separation plot, and the two characters who accompany the children do nothing for me. I thought the thing between them was leading up to something interesting, but in the end it just fell flat on its face. The little chapter/paragraph cliff hangers feel all the more pronounced here and I started to get bored with them. I don’t think I’ll read this one again outside of a whole series re-read

16. The Enemies of Jupiter I do feel really mean about this one because it is a really good book and it has an amazing backdrop for the plot, but I have never been able to enjoy misunderstanding/liar reveal plots, and it’s just all over this story. Whenever I sit down to do a big read through of the series I always force myself to get through this and then burn out straight after. Sorry Jonathan, you sure are going through it in this book but unfortunately so am I. I keep reading it though in the hopes of changing my mind. 

15. The Beggar of Volubilis I think the thing about this book for me is just how forgettable it is. It kickstarts the big final like, adventure for the kids but I really struggle even now to recollect anything. It just feels sort of convoluted, which I never thought would be something I could say about Roman Mysteries. It takes a while for the plot to get rolling, said plot is kind of silly, and then it just de-escalates in a very flat way. I also don’t really enjoy any of the final four, so this being the one that starts it all makes me feel meh. Another one I won’t re-read outside of when I do the whole series.

14. The Prophet from Ephesus There is a trend here, lol. Final four don’t do it for me. This one ranks slightly higher I think just because there is a higher sense of stakes that makes the book much more readable- until those stakes kinda fall on their face. Just gets really confusing every time the kids separate and go off to do weird things. I think that’s the biggest problem for me with the final four. The kids are never together and the strongest part of the books for me was always their bond. Also I do not vibe at all with the Lupus and everyone else becoming Christians part of the story. And how the baby isn’t the right baby? Another weird de-escalation. Wins points for some great Jonathan character development though. 

13. The Man from Pomegranate Street We reach the end of the last four books on this list with the last book from the series. This is a tense, gripping read which I do enjoy a lot, but it just doesn’t have the legs to push itself higher on this list. A lot of awful things happen to the characters that I wish could be addressed just a little bit more, and I am a biased Lupus fan who wanted more for him to do. Absolutely hilarious though how historical fanfiction-y this book is and I love it for that. Really goes for the ‘we can never go home’ vibe. 

12. The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina This isn’t the halfway point of the list but it is a separation point because we are now into the books that I will re-read regardless of if I am doing a whole series recount or not. Love putting this in spot twelve, lol. I think as a kid I wasn’t inclined to like this story because I’d never read the book, and only seen the TV show episode which is fun, but doesn’t do the book justice. There is a great character arc for Flavia here, though I do wish it could have been retained a little more in later books. She does a lot of learning and reflecting that sometimes doesn’t feel like it sticks. That being said, she is a kid and one of the best parts of Roman Mysteries is how Lawrence lets the kids be kids. They bicker, they fight, they have character flaws that betray their age. In a time where people were supposed to grow up a lot faster, Flavia and the others get to be young and stupid sometimes, which especially shows in Flavia and Nubia’s relationship, and I appreciate that. The ending is tragically sad, and I do wish the TV show had gone for it. 

11. The Fugitive from Corinth This is another one of Lawrence’s ‘actually the thing they were setting out to solve the whole time was not that thing after all’ but I think it’s done really well here, because some of the characters actually get to solve it as the mystery plays out, rather than it just being a big reveal at the end. This whole book feels like one large chase scene with dips and dives in the tension to give you time to catch your breath. Nubia shines here, and I really enjoy her and Jonathan talking some sense into Flavia at various parts. Getting to explore Ancient Greece is also a huge win. Is a little lower down the list because I actually do get exhausted reading this book- so much happens. 

10. The Charioteer of Delphi This is one of my favourite actual mysteries in the whole series and I love how it takes up pretty much all of the book. The backdrop of chariot racing is fun and exhilarating and also incredibly sad as well. I love the Nubia story line going on here, and everyone else also gets a chance to show off their skills which is great. Nubia and Scopas/Scorpus have a great dynamic and I appreciate Lawrence writing him as Autistic, even if I personally think sometimes she doesn’t quite get it right. I love it when historical fiction includes things that didn’t have a name in their time, because things don’t just not exist because they couldn’t be explained. Also any story with Sisyphus is a win I love him. We’re really into the section of the list where it’s so hard to rank these books because I love them all. 

9. The Assassins of Rome I consider this to be one of two big Jonathan plot heavy books, the other of course being Enemies of Jupiter, and this is obviously my favourite of the two. I really appreciate the time taken to flesh out Jonathan’s world and the pain he feels. Everything set up in the book lands here, from the main plot to the little moments we have going along as the kids set out to find Jonathan. Just a really, really good story. This is another one of the books that really hits home that these are just kids, who make mistakes and who fight but who ultimately have forged a strong relationship that allows them to go through almost anything together.  That’s it for part one, I’ll do part two later today!

[13eyond13]

Mello for the ask meme

thx anonny 😘

FAVOURITE THING ABOUT MELLO:

I really like that he baldly goes the route of joining up with organized crime in order to catch Kira, actually. Very cool idea to have one of the geniuses approaching things from that angle, as most of the rest of the characters are basically operating as some version of law enforcement or whatever else. I also think the Death Note mafia is kind of hilarious, so I appreciate that he brings us into that world a little bit.... idk they're just big dorks a lot of the time with their stacks of boxes of chocolate everywhere and that zebra print couch lol

LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT MELLO:

I find him really difficult to read emotionally sometimes, though I've often been told that he's very "what you see is what you get" and that you don't really have to read between the lines with him too much. I'm not sure why I have such a hard time emotionally connecting with him, but apart from when he's a hilarious small boy I do often find it a bit difficult, unfortch. I can appreciate that he's super open about things when most of the rest of them are always trying to play sneakier sorts of indirect mind-games I suppose, but the more convoluted and indirect characters are just usually more my types

FANON PET PEEVES:

I sometimes get my hackles up when people turn everything about L more unambiguously unsympathetic and deliberately malicious in order to add extra sympathy to Mello's backstory 😅

Also making Near and Halle disappear completely or become totally irrelevant often bugs me when I read successor arc fics as well.

I also sometimes wish the idea of Mello actually not really caring about L like a huge fanboy once he grows up was explored in fan stuff more often, because in my mind he and Near almost did a switcheroo about their feelings toward L after the manga time-skip this way. And I just think it would be super interesting to have one of the successors kinda attempting to turn their back emotionally on Wammy's and L (for what could probably be considered very good reason). And maybe he could also offer a different kind of more humanizing perspective on the people branded as criminals by the law and by society than was normally offered by characters like L and Light and the task force and the SPK. But so much of the time Mello's characterized as still despising criminals as an entire category of person while being in the mafia himself, and as being a bit more of the L fanboy than Near (like even in the Another Note novel version of him, for example)

[ask meme]

[taiblogcomics]

Bubble Bubble, Toil and Troubleshooting

Hey there, punch crabs. Welp, we're on our finale for our third Goosebumps story arc in a row. Not much to say about that, I guess! Let's just get into it and see how it ends~

Here's the cover:

Well, this is a nice, threatening cover! Not the scariest, but who doesn't love some good old-fashioned child endangerment? And hey, soup's on! Won't you three stay for a spell~? Smoke rising in the shape of a skull is always a favourite of mine, too. Getting mixed messages about them being tied with rope, but lowered by a chain, though. Like, can't you pick one? Or none, since you have magic powers? Anyways, we almost got away from the pink sunset skies this cover, but those candles are putting out a pretty rosy glow~

So, after defeating their sentimental keepsakes, the trio (seen above) is ambushed by a gargoyle atop the town hall. And all because a witch moved into a house previously unsold since the '70s. But if you're expecting a cool continuation from that cliffhanger, prepare to be disappointed! This issue picks up with our trio of heroes being unceremoniously dumped in Veruca's living room. No gargoyle fight here! This is basically as close as one of those anti-climax chapter endings that the regular Goosebumps books like to do~

Veruca enters the room, backed by her gargoyle bodyguard--her bodygarg, if you will--and offers the kids an extended hand of friendship, and also some freshly brewed green tea. They take neither, because kids today are just plain rude. Veruca goes into a full-on "tech demo reveal" to explain her backstory and motivations. And here is the main connection to any other Goosebumps story: Veruca here is the granddaughter of Sarabeth, the witch from the original “Monster Blood” book. See, Download and Die? That's all you need! Not four different convoluted references that go nowhere~

So, as you might guess from her whole deal, Veruca is taking a leaf from Professor Croix's spellbook and combining magic with modern technology. Her grimoire is a tablet computer, yadda yadda. Her big plan is to use the Whaley House as an amplifier antenna to mind-control the whole rest of the town. And if things go well, perhaps... the entire world?? Muhuahaha? Bit ambitious, aren’t we? That's what the renovations to her house have been about. But of course, one person can't run the whole world. And that's why she's making the "we can rule together" speech to a bunch of tweens. Wouldn't be my first choice, but get 'em while they're young, I guess~

None of the kids go for it, which is surprising in itself. Like, not even the least bit tempted? Nope, they just barrel past Veruca in an almost rehearsed move, pushing her grimoire out of her hands, so she has to take a moment to not drop it and thus can't retaliate. Becca winds a nearby curtain around the bodygarg's eyes, and they slip past it as well. They bolt from the house, and head out for help. I'd like to know what authority they're hoping to go for to help with a mind-controlling witch, and Veruca doesn't seem too bothered either.

The kids actually return to the town hall they were initially meeting at. Ah, kids, too innocent to have a cynicism about their local government yet. They burst in on the mayor and begin babbling their story. Don't worry, though, kids! The mayor absolutely believes your accusations--and, in fact, he thinks you ought to take Veruca's deal. Yeah, unsurprisingly, they're already all under mind control. In fact, as the kids run out again, so are most of the adults in the town. They quickly whip themselves into a torch-carrying mob.

Well, with a whole dang town of adults after them now, the trio resolves to go back to the Witch's House and confront the Horrors therein directly. They go in through the window, and the bodygarg is on them almost immediately. Becca grabs a nearby hammer and leaps on him. This gives the other two the chance to slip by and into the basement. Clearly not a follow-up to "Stay Out of The Basement". Veruca is here, and she's lording over her knowledge of modern technology over the other witches on her friendlist. The way she's cackling over "They can't even use smartphones" feels like an apology for the "okay boomber" way smartphones were treated in the last story~

However, as soon as they get close, Carlos decides to take Veruca's deal. She's not surprised, Carlos' fashion-forward senses make him an obvious target for not living in the past and lording his success over others. But before you think this is a betrayal, it's actually just a distraction so Rosie can snatch the tablet again. Carlos trips Veruca, giving Rosie time to run up the stairs. Becca then runs to a nearby bucket of water and dumps the tablet in it, shorting it out. Why do witches always have those lying around their lair~?

Veruca's pretty salty now. And just to show this is exactly as stupid and contrived as in Wizard of Oz, when she rushes over to retrieve the tablet, they trip her again, spilling the bucket of water onto her. And this does indeed cause her to melt into a puddle of goo, rather graphically too. So much for her being modern!

But the twist is: The kids all go home, the spell now broken on the town. Back at each of their respective houses, they pick up from their attacks. Becca cleans up her trophies, Carlos starts re-stitching his sock monkey... And Rosie? Rosie starts charging her tablet. The one she picked up from the witch's house. The one now emitting some menacing laughter...

Questionable Parenting: Rosie’s parents note that their daughter is a friendless nerd right in front of her, and also permit her to go to a public event unsupervised late at night. Minority Alert: Becca and Carlos are both darker-skinned than Rosie, but oddly there are no apparent LGBT+ characters in this storyline. R.L. Stine Shows He’s Down With The Kids: This is two stories in a row where modern tablet computers and smartphones drive the plot, though in this case, it’s in the hands of the villains. Kind of puts a negative view on it either way, doesn’t it~? Rosie also watches anime and owns a Funko Pop, which makes her the perfect vessel to inherit the evils in the ending.

Honestly? Of the three we did so far, this one might be the best. It’s very focused on a single idea--a witch has moved into town, what do?--and only has very passing references to previous Goosebumps stories. The idea of witches using modern tech to bolster their spellcasting abilities is nothing particularly novel, but it’s a solid concept nonetheless. The ending, on the other hand, is really kind of lame and contrived, but that’s Goosebumps for you~

Next week: one final Goosebumps arc, and it’s a longer one than previously, so settle at least through the new year~

[superslothpants]

Would Penny and Gadget ever reconcile because I know Claw did horrible things in the past but he was redeemed and I’m thinking if Penny was being distrustful about Claw I would understand the reason why but since Claw was redeemed and wasn’t causing any trouble wouldn’t Penny would feel guilty and talk things over with her uncle that raised her since she was a baby!!! So why is Penny is being a complete hypocrite(since she is dating Talon a former MAD agent) in your AU?

So it's kinda complicated how it played out exactly

So Penny was on the threshold of turning 18 during the events that Gadget and Claw got back together.

She was already emotional and stressed for a multitude of reasons and this happened at the wrong exact time.

Maybe if she was young enough to get over it it would've been fine but at this point she wasn't having it.

She also didn't really GIVE Claw a chance really

She was mainly pretty mad that Gadget would even think of giving him a second chance considering Claw tried essentially killing him and even sometimes her in the past.

This is technically pretty valid but she did give Gadget an ultimatum saying that if you really want to give this man another chance I won't ever talk to you again.

'Course Gadget tried to handle this but that ultimately failed she ended up going off to college and never coming back for a very long time

It snowballed from there with her telling herself she will visit him next year and the next year after that but it just turned into her never doing so

The only one other time she ended up visiting Gadget was a few months later when she was informed he was basically gonna die (he recovered obviously)

She was actually even aware of her cousin's(violet) disappearance and decided to handle investigating it herself but only cause obviously she knew her cousin didn't deserve what happened to her no matter how she hates Claw.

And keep in mind her cousin Olive even tried extending an olive branch to her one or two times because she was genuinely interested in meeting a cousin she never met in her life but Penny was pretty apathetic at the attempt unfortunately

(it's about to get pretty convoluted btw)

The bittersweet part of all of this is there is an arc called "The contingency plan" where the leader of viper ends up trapping Gadget and basically using a device to make him live a false reality where Claw and him never reconciled and basically Claw ended up trapping him for what felt like 18 years. But in reality the device was only used on him for a day but the damage permanently fried his brain. In this false reality a big part that broke him was that he thought Claw ended Penny.

So basically when Gadget came to Claw had no way to convince him none of those things happened and he ended up having a mental breakdown basically. The only real way to "cure" him was for Claw to contact Penny because if she visited Gadget he would see she was actually alive and hopefully get back to normal.

Long story short it technically worked, Penny and him finally made up but as I said the damage was permanent. Penny and Gadget made up but this damage did cause a rift in his marriage with Claw ironically.

I am SO SORRY that was a long ah answer lol