#and then that STUPID AFTER CREDITS SCENE JUST TO HURT ME EVEN MORE

[youremyonlyhope]

I hate that High School Musical: The Musical: The Series made me cry at its finale. I was good up until everyone joined in to sing Ricky's song.

Wait.

Spoke too soon. Wrote that sentence during the credits. There's an after credits scene.

....

NO. NOOOOOOO. You made me cry after 2 notes. Literally sob screaming "NOO. NOOOO." at the screen because how COULD they do that to me.

Ok I am not ok. That last part was not necessary. Not remotely necessary. I was good. I was ok. I had calmed down. Sure I had cried earlier, but I was done. I was still emotional but I was like "Oh what a cute show that was better than it had any right to be." and they THROW THAT AFTER CREDITS SCENE AT ME JUST TO MAKE ME KEEP CRYING.

[runningmunson]

Maybe Birthdays Aren’t So Bad

Pairing: Eddie Munson x gn!Reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: Eddie hated his birthday but you didn’t know why. After he finally told you why, you made it your mission to change his mind. Based on this blurb

Warnings: Swearing, slight angst and Eddie being a bit mean in the beginning, fluff

A/N: Gotta give some credit and a big thanks to @shyposttree , what you added about throwing a party for Eddie at the same place and teaching him how to skate pushed me to make a full fic!

Masterlist

“What do you mean you don’t want to do anything for your birthday?!” You yelled at Eddie as you helped him pick up after the Hellfire meeting. 

He rolled his eyes, “Just don't feel like it.” 

“Eddie, c'mon! You can’t not do anything for your birthday. It’s the one day that’s completely about you!” you whined. You knew parties weren't Eddie’s scene, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t at least take him out for dinner. 

“Actually, I can do nothing. Seeing as it is my birthday and all and ‘completely about me’,” Eddie pointed to himself, throwing your words back at you. His shoulders started to feel tense, and the feeling of hurt he pushed back into his mind long ago tried to pry its way out.

“Would you let me take you out, just us two? Or even Wayne?” you asked, hoping he would say yes.

Eddie sighed and clenched his fists. He could feel himself getting frustrated as you unceasingly asked. He knew you meant well, but he just didn't like his birthday. He threw his notebook on the table, “No! I don’t like my birthday, okay? I don’t want to do anything. Not with my friends, not with Wayne, and not with you! So can you please just drop it?”

You tried to hide the hurt on your face, but it was too late. Eddie already saw the way you flinched and took a step back. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t like to raise his voice in anger, it always brought back memories of his father doing that to his mother. When he opened them, he reached his hand out and grabbed yours, pulling you into his arms. He kissed your forehead, “I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“Why don’t you like your birthday, Eddie?” You asked, voice just above a whisper and head buried in his neck. It's not that you want to upset him even more than he already was, but you wanted to understand what was going on inside his head. He pulled you over to his chair and sat you on his lap. 

“It’s stupid, really, it is,” Eddie said, letting out a humorless chuckle. You looked at him, giving him a nod to continue. “I, uh, I was about to turn 10 and never had a real birthday party before. So for months, I begged Wayne to let me have a party at the Hawkins roller rink. He worked extra shifts and rented a small room for my first class party. I was so excited when he told me and went to work making invitations. Shit, I even drew little dragons and knights on them, which were surprisingly good for my previous lack of doodling skills.”

You smiled a bit, thinking about little Eddie spending hours making handmade invitations with his drawings. He continued, “So, the big day came. We went early and set up; and had pizza and cake. Then I waited and waited, and not a single person showed up. Wayne tried to make it better. We ate a ton of pizza and cake. He even tried to skate with me, but we both realized we can't skate worth shit, so we soon left.”

“Eddie-” you tried to talk, but he cut you off. 

“I don't really know why I expected anything less. It’s not exactly like I was ever invited to anyone's parties. I was always the one to find out about them that next Monday at school,” Eddie said, avoiding your gaze. He figured you would be looking at him with pity, and he didn’t want that, but when he looked, he saw anger in your eyes.

“That’s not stupid. I don’t blame you for hating it. Those kids are assholes and what they did wasn't right. I wish I knew you back then because that sounded like a damn good party. If you really don’t want to do anything then I respect that, and I won’t bring it up again,” you gave his hand a squeeze.

Eddie thought about it for a minute. He secretly missed celebrating his birthday. And it’s not like he didn’t have good friends now and was in a loving, healthy relationship. “I guess we can maybe do something this year- but it has to be small.”

He watched as a bright smile formed on your face. You threw your arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. “Are you sure? Oh, this is going to be great. I promise you won't regret it!”

He really hoped he didn’t either.

------

You had spent the last month planning something for Eddie’s birthday, and now it was finally that day. After hearing his reason for hating it, you had every intent and the determination to change his mind. 

Eddie woke up that morning to the sun shining on his face. He reached his hand out to search for you but came up empty. A groan came from his mouth. He threw the blankets off to see where you were, thinking it was too damn early for you to not still be in his arms. As soon as he opened the door, the smell of bacon hit his nose. He took the short trip from his bedroom to the kitchen to find you standing in front of the stove.

You felt Eddie's arms snake around your waist and pull you into his chest. His face nuzzled into your hair before he rested his chin on your shoulder. “Whatcha doin’, sweetheart?” he asked in his raspy morning voice.

You turned around, wrapping your own arms around his neck. You smiled at him, “Just making the birthday boy some breakfast. Have you seen him around? He’s taller than me, has beautiful chocolate brown eyes, unruly curly hair, pretty great at guitar, and is incredibly good-looking.”

“Hmm, if I didn’t know any better, I would say you were talking about me,” Eddie smirked.

“Happy birthday, Eddie,” you pulled him into a kiss. “Now go sit your cute butt down in that chair. I need to plate this.”

The second you put the plate down, he began to shovel food into his mouth. He let out a moan, ”Shit, sweetheart. This is amazing. You’re spoiling me too much.”

“There’s no such thing as spoiling you too much on your birthday-” you were interrupted by someone knocking on the door. You ran to get it, “Oh! That must be Dustin!”

“Hey man! Happy birthday!” Dustin walked over to Eddie, patting him on the back. Eddie just looked at him with his eyebrows cocked. His eyes then met yours as if silently asking why Dustin was there. 

“Oh! I forgot to mention that I have a small family emergency so I called Dustin. He brought all of your favorite movies over so you can have a movie marathon while I'm away,” you said, feeling a bit bad for lying to him, but you had to go set up his party. You grabbed your keys, kissed Eddie, and said goodbye.

Eddie turned to Dustin as he stood awkwardly in his kitchen, looking at him with a cheesy smile, “Why the hell are you looking at me like that?”

Dustin’s smile dropped, and he scrambled with his words, “Nothing, I'm not looking at you in any way.” 

“I'm just messing with you, man. Now let’s see what you brought,” Eddie laughed and went to ruffle Dustin's hair.

------

You recruited the help of Steve, Robin, and Nancy to help you decorate the roller rink. Mike, Gareth, and the rest of the Hellfire members were tasked with picking up the food. 

The longer you were here, the more it made you nervous to think about Eddie’s reaction. You knew there was a chance of this blowing up in your face to have a surprise party where he learned to hate his birthday, but you couldn’t help yourself. 

All you wanted was Eddie to make a new good memory, one where he learns to love his birthday again. You wanted to right the wrong he faced all those years ago, to show him that his life isn't how it used to be and that he had so many people that loved and cared about him. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea, but you were damn sure going to try. 

You checked your watch and saw that you needed to pick up Eddie and Dustin. “Hey, are you good? I gotta go get the guys.”

Steve gave you a thumbs up, so you left and made your way to Eddie’s trailer.

Once you got there, you let yourself in and saw Eddie and Dustin sitting on the couch watching A New Hope. You gave Dustin a nod to let him know everything was ready.

“Can you guys give me a ride? My mom dropped me off,” Dustin asked. 

“I guess we can, Henderson; not like we have a choice anyways,” Eddie said sarcastically, slapping his hands on his knees before standing up. “Come on, let’s go.”

You all made your way to Eddie’s van. He started to walk towards the driver’s side, but you stopped him. “Actually, I need to drive. And you need to put this on over your eyes.”

You handed him one of his bandanas. He looked at you and Dustin, taking in your shit-eating grins. “Are you serious right now?”

You and Dustin both nodded. Eddie shrugged but got in the passenger side and complied with your request, “Well okay, this is kinda weird. You guys aren’t like secretly planning to kill me or something are you?”

You both laughed, “No, just listen to your music and enjoy the ride. We will be there soon enough.”

It didn’t take long for you to make it to your destination. You gestured for Dustin to leave while you got Eddie out of the car.

“Can I take this thing off, or are you gonna make me keep it on all day?” Eddie laughed.

“Yes, you can take it off,” your nerves started up again. You kept walking but studied Eddie’s face as he took the bandana off. His face dropped at the sight of the roller rink in front of him. 

“Why the hell would you bring me here? You know how I feel about this place,” Eddie stopped in his tracks, yanking you back. His hands were sweaty, and he felt his face getting hot.

“Eddie, just trust me, please,” you begged him. He gave you a slight nod and gestured for you to continue walking. However, that didn’t stop his not-so-subtle grumbling about not liking this. 

You dragged him toward the same room where no one showed up all those years ago. Only this time, you stepped through the door of the dark room, and the lights flickered on revealing the place decorated with black and red streamers, a huge banner, and all of his friends already there.

“Surprise! Happy birthday, Eddie!” He looked around in shock. This was the last thing he expected. 

“Family emergency, huh?” Eddie questioned, a small smile playing on his lips. 

You shrugged and smiled at him sheepishly, “I wasn’t exactly lying, I consider everyone here my family.”

Eddie enjoyed the party, talking and laughing with everyone. He ate his weight in pizza and cake like he did with Wayne years ago and opened the large number of gifts that filled one of the tables. 

You leaned over after some time and whispered to Eddie, “you wanna skate?”

“Um, I don’t know about that. You know I don’t really know how,” Eddie replied.

You bumped shoulders with him and smiled, “Come on, I’ll teach you. It will be fun!”

You dragged him out of his seat and to the front counter to get skates. After lacing the skates, you slowly led Eddie to the rink.

“How the hell are you doing this so effortlessly? I mean you’re skating backward, for Christ's sake!” Eddie’s eyes were wide. His hands gripped yours tightly, afraid you would let him fall. 

“I’ve just had a lot of practice. Okay, I’m gonna walk you through it now,” Eddie shook his head no, his hair moving with him. “Eddie, you can do this! Now space your legs to where they are even with your shoulders and squat a bit.”

“Like this?” Eddie followed your instructions. You laughed as he stuck his butt out in the air.

“Yep, just like that! Turn your leg outward a bit and take a small push with your left leg. Look, you’re moving! Now do it with the other leg and just keep alternating, pushing side to side. You’re doing great, Eddie!” 

When Eddie had good momentum, you tried to release your hands. He tightened, not letting you pull away, “Woah! What are you doing?” 

“I’m gonna let go now and see how you do,” you laughed and let go of his hand:. He faltered a bit but regained his balance.

“Maybe this isn’t so bad, but uh, how exactly do I stop? Because that wall keeps getting closer,” you didn’t have a chance to reply before Eddie lost his balance and flew forward, knocking you both to the ground.

“Jesus Christ, I’m so sorry!” Eddie looked at you, hair in disarray. He rolled off you and helped you into a sitting position. You looked at each other for a minute, then burst out into laughter. 

“That’s gonna leave a nasty bruise,” you winced. “I think you should stick to guitar, skating doesn't really seem to be your thing.”

Eddie threw his head back and let out a booming laugh, “I tried to tell you!”

You sat in silence as you both tried to catch your breath. This moment couldn’t have been more perfect. Eddie looked at you, grabbed your chin gently, and pulled you into a kiss. “I can’t thank you enough for this. It really was a badass party. And maybe birthdays aren’t so bad, at least not when I have you around.”

-------

taglist: @ali-r3n​ , @wroteclassicaly​ , @lem0nb0iii​ , @spookyheadxeddie​ , @ghosttownwherenoonegoes​ , @1800-fight-me​, @sweetpeapod​ , @toobsessedsstuff​

[spopsalt]

Saying you're working on your anger vs actually working on your anger, a She-Ra and the Princesses of Power vs Rick and Morty comparison

I hateeeee how everyone congrats Catra for this scene. She can say that she's working on controlling her anger all she wants, but we can see that she isn't actually working on it like when she, oh I dunno, insulted Adora for trying to save the world.

Or maybe when she threw a hissyfit and didn't talk to Adora when Adora took the failsafe in a desperate attempt to save everyone

Or when she roughly shoved Adora to the ground and left her when she was on her deathbed

She isn't actually making an effort, she can say she is all she wants, but that doesn't matter if we don't see her putting in the work. You know who we see actually putting in the work? RICK FUCKING SANCHEZ! Again don't get me wrong, Rick is a horrrrribbbble person. I am not denying that, but we actually see him being better. For example, in "Mort: Raganrick", he gets mad when Morty messes up something, Morty has done this a few other times, the times I can think of were "Mortynight Run", "Rickdependence Spray", and lastly "Rickstar Ricklatica" each time Morty had good intentions (Aside from Rickdependence Spray but that was a garbage episode) and Rick was really, really harsh, some of the insults he says to Morty, coming from each episode, ahem, "Stupid ass fart-saving carpet store motherfucker." Then he proceeds to roughly shove Morty "MOVE!" next up, "Morty, you nasty lying little world-ending pervert!", "I always knew your hormones would end the world Morty, I just didn't know that it would be like this.", and last but not least "Yes, it was honestly all my grandson's fault." all in one episode! Next up "Move you sack of shit!" and "Reminding myself to commit even more to your fuck up." and literally PUNCHING MORTY in the after-credits scene of the episode, so that's fun.

But we see a clear change in "Mort: Raganrick" now when he finds out that Morty messed up, we see that he's very clearly frustrated since he says "No, no, no, no MORTY NO!" but he still lets Morty explain without interrupting, which is already a step up from the first times where he didn't let Morty explain at all.

Anddddd while he does insult Morty, which isn't ok, he only does it only after Morty insults him (Still isn't ok, but is a step-up) and immediately backs off when he could tell that Morty was hurt, and while sternly, reassured him, he seemed a lot more like a stern parent (especially with his head in his hands, it gives massive stressed parent vibes) than an asshole like how he did in earlier episodes and we actually see him calmly explaining why they can't go home yet to Morty, instead of just telling Morty to do as he says which is something he would do in earlier episode.

While Rick doesn't outright say that he's working on his anger, we can see him working on his anger, and actions speak louder than words, Catra. Saying that you are working on your anger doesn't mean much if we see you do nothing to actually show it, and Rick and Morty was able to actually show this well, meanwhile spop...

[chimychoo]

STOP WHEN I FINISHED WATCHING III 18 I LITERALLY WALKED UP THE STAIRS SHAKING I C9ULDNT STAND UP MY KNEES GAVE OUT ON ME THATS HOW FUCKED UP THE EPISODE MADE ME WAHT THE HELL WHAT THE HELL WHY DID I GIGGLE WHEN MEPHONE WENT SILENT AND ALL HE COULD DO WAS DO THAT FUCKING, PHONE VIBRATE THIGN HEELEPPPEMEEEEE33

ok but that aside im just gonnw let out some theories or thoughts here cause ummmm why not!!!!!

have this little ramble that turns out to be w rant about lightbulb

mephone wanted to start a season 4 so the show could go on forever, right? what would happen to the season 2 finalists? considering how long its been i can only assume theyve either been invited to stay at hotel oj for the time being or legitimately got left rotting in the forestHELPME. hoenstly im guessing that during episode 19. like yk how wt the end of object show episodes kike after the credits they show a little scene? yeah im guessing one of thoseare gonna be there after the credits and and and its gonna FIRST OF ALL START BU SHOWING THE NIGHT SKY OF THE SEASON 2 GROUNDS OKAY OKAY??? then its gonna like the screen moves down and its the forest, zoom in more and yiu see suitcase and baseball talking, go to the right and its knife like kicking down a tree or whatever, GO EVEN FURTHER AND IT LIGHTBULB SITTING ON A TREESTUMP CHUGGING DR. FIZZ OKAY ITS GON A HAPPEN SHES GONNA HAVE EYEBAGS AND SHES GONNA BE A DEPRESSED LITTLE FUCK ITS CANON IM TELLING YOU. and apparently it was comfirmed that it hurts ligthbulb when she cries like WHAT!!!!!!!!so um shes gonnw cry at some point cause i said so i love angst i need lightbukb angst shes so overlooked like her stereotype is the assumed enthusiast but her story is so much deeper than that guys please im sobbing can you tell how much i miss her I NEED HER ON SCREEN NOW. okay okay look look so um back to the topic im not sure how iii 19 is gonna turn out but maybe mephone is gonnw come back to the season 2 island MAYBE?????

ok i have 3 outcomes for 5his

1. mephone comes back, the cutscene with the final 4 ends with mephones shadow walking in AND ALL THE FINALISTS LOOK UP ST HIM then it hits us with a "TO BE CONTINUED." CAUSEE YEAAH ADAM LOVES TO TORTURE US!!!!

2. mephone gets kidnapped by cobs. thats it

3. mephone never goes back to season 2 so the show gets cancled and the finalists go back to hotel oj and lightbulb sees testy painty and fan and they all kiss right right ZrugtRUGHT

i need lightbrush cintent so bad im so deprived for it i just want them to hug ot something like why do we get Znickloom hugging and not lightbrush ok thats not fair tha5 is NOT fair this is so not fair can they atleast hokd hands or soemthing like hug like maybe even KISS come on adam co e on you jnow you want to /silly

oh yeah and tacos probably gonnw do something stupid as fuck with mepad shes gonna rewire him or something and turn him into like a fucking teleportation device i meann he already is one so uhhhhhhhhhh

um hi!!!

[squishyteri]

More DFF (after ep 10)

So, I waited until the next day ... and it didn't help, I'm still disappointed from the episode.

First of all, this episode was really short (about 35 minutes if we cut the intro and the end credits) and it gave us even less than any of the previous ones. I wonder where to even start.

Let's start with my general issue for this ep and that being the uneccesary, immersion ruining flashbacks. I have no idea if BOC thinks we're dumb idiots with negative IQ who can't remember what happened previously, even when they showed it to us in the intro sequence, but I don't need flashback smacked into my face when character is admitting something hurtful to other character(s) and the main point is the reaction to the reveal. Just have the character say it, with emotions, with tears, let them yell it out! It applies to both PheeJin telling the truth to each other and Tee confessing what he did.

You know how much better would the scenes come out if Phee just teary eyed told Jin everything, in a dialogue, with us being able to see Jin's reaction to every word he speaks, every new information he learns? Same goes for Tee's confession. Instead of the flashback, make the man cry, admit what he did and beg Fluke for letting White go after every sentence.

Trust me, we viewers remember what happened, and even if not, the character saying it would be enough for us to remember.

Moving on to the PheeJin part of the story. If we turn a blind eye on the fact that they managed to walk in circles for so long (too gay to walk straight ig), we absolutely need to look at their talk before that painful part happened.

I was looking forward to this episode mainly because I wanted to see how Jin will react to Phee admitting he's been lying to him for 3 years and that he was just using him (including the sex). But Jin has like zero reaction to it. He seems confused and shocked for a second before saying: "You know what, I did something worse so ... yeah, it's ok."

And then admits he posted the video of KengNon (which like, why making all the effort to make us believe there's a chance Jin didn't do it, when he just spills it like that ... the suspense of the uncertainity was totally ruined like ... you could've just showed us he did it, it wouldn't change a damn thing if he admits it just like he did) AND PHEE'S REACTION IS LITERALLY:

Like he seemed pissed, but then he saw the axe and everything was forgotten just like that?????? Hello????? Is this the Phee we knew until now???? The same Phee who told Non to get lost and die???? Like I get it there could've been some character development behind the scenes, but still, he should be pissed much more because the video absolutely destroyed the man he once loved.

Also, I don't know if I forgot anything, but did Jin hurt his foot/leg? I remember him falling and hurting his shoulder, so I was kind of confused why he can't walk suddenly and Phee has to support him.

But as my friend Dante (@tbhimnoteasyonmyself) said, man who has secret knowledge of Non in his ass, might as well have functionality of his two feet hidden in his shoulder...

Now another thing I want to point out is how they ran out of this little hints that will make a big reveal later and now they are just dumping REALLY obvious stuff on us.

Like PheeJin leaving the axe behind? I can tell someone (most likely someone unexpected, possibly the ninth person) grabs it and smashes someone with it (someone we would not expect to die in that situation).

And the moment I screamed at my screen and banged head on my table. THEM GIVING THE GUN TO WHITE. FOR A SECOND TIME. TO THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS SO EASY TO DISARM THAT A TODDLER WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE THE MF GUN. AND FLUKE BEING THE ONE TO TAKE IT AGAIN! I'm at loss of words. Like did we run out of ideas there? Did the writing team take a day off and someone else had to write this ep? Like that was so predictable and it pains me that they are this stupid.

Another question to the writing team. Did we forget which character is the doctor there? Why did White suddenly pulled a drug knowledge out of his ass, while the character you told me was a to be doctor and a medicine student was sitting there saying that hallucinations are not a thing. Either we are missing some White background knowledge (which like, we do, tell me something about him pls) or the writing team got some absynth from Tan as well.

And lastly, Tan hurting Por. I know this part might be just what Phee thinks happened, but I wasted my good ten minutes watching his thoughts so... I believe we agreed that Tan had an alibi for the time of Por's injury. Yes, he could've set the trap earlier, but he had to make sure Por is the one to get lured in there (since we're following the script) so he had to be there lure out the right person. Not to mention that Por got cut with the knife (which was after he impaled himself most likely) and I have hopes that others are not such idiots to not question Tan if he had been gone at the same/similar time as Por after they found him hurt. And I'm not saying he had to bring out a brick solid alibi, just one line of them asking: "Hey, but you were gone too, where were you?" and Tan saying: "Oh, I went to the bathroom, my stomach was upset." would be enough, because they wouldn't suspect Tan and as a viewer you wouldn't suspect him either, because he might as well have been doing just that.

Now for the next ep, I wonder what is White. I hope they had a good reason to keep his backstory hidden until now, because right now, he has nothing going on for him. Top doesn't have anything about him either, but he at least has interesting plot in the present time, but all White did was cry, whine, let manical Fluke took the gun TWO FUCKING TIMES and ... oh, yeah he fixed the radio ... that was still useless, but at least he tried ig. Like I'm trying to like him, but there's nothing about him to like so far ... like yeah, he's cute, but that's not enough to make me care about him if he's in danger or the right opposite, make me wanna help the killer slash him. So I beg you, give me something to work with.

It also seems that we will get more Perth in the next ep and I'm so interested what he's about.

And Tan making Phee shoot someone? Oh boy, that's going to be interesting.

That was way too long, thank you for making it through.

Love y'all and see you next week again.

[mannatea]

Random thoughts about DBZ because I’m rewatching starting at the Great Saiyaman Arc.

Gohan is just so wholesome and good. Even after all these years I still stan with my whole heart. When he finds out that Mr. Satan has been taking credit for (more or less) his and his friends’ work during the Cell Games, and all he does is just have a giggle about it? I love him your honor.

These episodes start off so goofy after the more serious tone of the Cell Games arc, but even though they’re not very serious there’s enough realism in there for the silliness to feel grounded I guess? Like yeah, “Gohan goes to high school” sounds so dull off the cuff, but there’s something seriously charming about him trying to “fit in” and “be normal”—and to a degree it’s a relatable issue, too. He really is just trying to make friends and keep them (after a lifetime so far of not really having friends his own age)(I think Dende sort of counts for this but they don’t see each other as often as, say, a school friend group does).

Videl doesn’t half-ass anything and frankly that’s one of the reasons I will always love her.

Seriously, I love her so much. I wish they’d had more time to develop her character and go into a bit more about why she acts the way she does, but a lot of that can just be inferred. It’s not really surprising that she’s out there like a bloodhound sniffing out bullshit from Day 1 considering her father’s fame and what that has probably meant for her for the last 7ish years.

Also she’s a Fashion Icon actually. Spandex shorts and a t-shirt? Same, girl.

She does attach herself to Gohan awfully quickly, which ties back into wishing we got more character development, buttttt it seems pretty clear early on that part of the reason she wants to know who he is is because he’s “just like her for real”: she definitely seems to understand she’s found someone worth her time.

I think there’s probably something to be said here about her father’s bullshit too, and filling her head with ideas about how she can only date someone as strong as he is (when she believes nobody like that exists, especially not someone her age) but really I feel like that connection forms so quickly because Gohan is not a simp or a fan of hers; he just has a similar idea of justice, and she really vibes with that. It feels like a genuine connection to another person, which she probably hasn't experienced often.

Anyway I just love how earnest and hard-working she is.

And I’m sorry because the shipping goggles are permanently affixed to my dumb face at this point in my life with these characters, but it’s still pretty cute (and funny tbh) that Videl and Gohan have this constant back and forth of her doing something and him being genuinely impressed by her, even though her accomplishments are like, absolutely nothing compared to what he and his friends can do. It just kind of sets up Gohan as a “look at my awesome wife” kind of guy, which he definitely is. LOL.

I also really like how he manages to recognize that she has limitations (as she is just a human being) without ever really coming across like he’s disrespecting her as a person. Above all, Gohan does try to be respectful. Or when he’s worried about potentially coming up against her father in the tournament because he’s concerned beating her father in a match might hurt her feelings? He’s such a good kid.

He’s also dumb as shit re: the hair comment, but there’s something about that stupid 5 second scene that I love too… Like Gohan was just spitting facts about short hair being harder to use against her in a fight, but she totally misunderstood his meaning and then gets mad about it. LOL. It feels very…teenagery to me (as it should). But when she comes back with short hair anyway, it’s nice because even though she was upset for having misunderstood him, she obviously recognizes the truth in his words. It was good advice—so she takes it.

I also feel kind of bad for Gohan for all the teasing he gets at the start of the tournament for his “friend” being a “girl” like pleaaase give him a break. The poor kid barely has friends. Let’s not pigeonhole him into a romantic relationship too.

Honestly Videl needs time to build up a good friendship too. She kind of sucks at making and keeping friends and doesn’t need the pressure of romance on her plate (even though she’s obviously sorta interested HAHAHA).

I mean I like that they do get together in the end (obviously, I was the biggest G/V shipper in the old days lol) but that their friendship felt highlighted first and foremost was always meaningful to me personally lol.

Also to backtrack, it’s still hilarious that ChiChi was suspicious of Videl until she found out she was rich. ICONIQUE.

 Goten is the cutest little kid ARGHHHH. I love him so much.

One thing about watching the series in Japanese is that I miss out on the dub’s terrible rapping attempts by Gohan and frankly that is PEAK COMEDY.

Videl sounds 10x cuter in the original, too, now that I think about it. And Hercule sounds much more serious (despite his comedic relief character) which is a great contrast actually.

Announcer man is a fave too btw. I love him.

Backtracking again but Vegeta at the beginning of this arc was actually not as much of an asshole as I remember him being in the dub. But also why is his voice so smooth?? LOL.

Currently on the Trunks vs. Goten fight episode where Videl is like “WTF” about everything. I kinda feel bad for her, but I like that while her not knowing what’s going on is part of the comedy aspect of the episodes, she’s never treated like she’s stupid for it. For all of DBZ’s faults I will say some characters were done surprisingly well.

[unforgivablego]

I hate it when people discount Aziraphale without understanding him as a character. Partly, it's more because people like to see bad guys doing good things. And if a demon saves children from death, it means more to them than if an angel did it, even if he lied to heaven and put himself in danger. Essentially: “he’s an angel, it’s in his nature to be kind, so what’s surprising?”

I'm not against Crowley. I like both characters, but I don't like how there are too many defenders of Crowley, while Aziraphale is constantly made into a villain. After the second season, they were generally credited with clear, disgusting images - a poor puppy suffering from unrequited love and a stupid angel who broke his heart. This superficiality is so annoying. As if only Crowley is feeling bad and only he is suffering, which means only he should be pitied.

My friend and I are currently watching a show where the bad guy who starts out doing terrible things becomes a sweetheart in the middle of the season 2. And I watch how she sheds tears from every good deed he does, as if she had completely forgotten what he did a couple of episodes ago. And I have to endure this with a mixture of misunderstanding and rejection: “Are you really serious?” There was literally a scene where a character consciously kills the main character's brother on purpose and then a couple minutes later says he's sorry. “See? He repents,” says a friend. As if that would change the fact that he killed a person (don't worry, the brother survived thanks to a lucky accident (killer doesn’t know it) but imagine if he actually killed him and then came to apologize). One good deed by a bad person always overshadows all other bad deeds, making him appear good.

Also, I think it's all about Tennant's popularity and his image as a demon. I have nothing against both, but often, if a bad character is played by a handsome sexy actor, the idol of millions and the owner of hearts, then he is loved more according to the standard. Just like in the series that my friend and I are watching now.

It’s annoying too how many people sometimes turn a blind eye to how “unkind” Crowley can be. Like, “you can forgive him everything because he once did a good deed.” I'm not saying Crowley is bad. No need to attack me with slippers. I'm talking about the tearful art that makes Crowley look broken and Aziraphale cold and cruel. I'm talking about hurt fanfiction, in which Crowley suffers more than me in the deepest depression (calm down already, seriously, I have enough suffering, give me a rainbow, fluff, romance and love). All these jokes about Aziraphale having to do an apology dance in the third season (despite this, I’m also looking forward to such a scene). Analysis on TikTok, where the angel is often called stupid and naive (the coffee theory just kills me, I fucking hate it).

Yes, I love memes. That's funny. Keep making jokes about the ineffable bureaucracy speed running their relationship in a year, while these idiots have gotten nowhere in 6,000 years. And about Nina and Maggie, the heads of the “Geordie Shore” program. About Metatwat, who got into the hands the Book of Life and he decided to shit us a disgusting fanfic. Carry on, I like it. But as long as these are jokes and not a hostile imposition.

There have already been so many quarrels about this. And all because people like one character more than another. And here we again return to the fact that we ourselves constantly separate them. We devalue one thing or another, and then hope for a happy ending.

This established clichéd system in the fandom is simply killing me. Therefore, I am grateful to every person who digs deeper than the sand sprinkled on top.

[charmsponies]

Chuck e cheese pony and I went to the fnaf movie! I have a lot of thoughts (fnaf autism you see.) so look below the cut for spoilers

(I am just copy pasting my thoughts from discord so they might be messy. also sorry if im incoherent. i have a different interpretation about fnaf games than most other fans, but thats mostly irrelevant since the movie is a different universe than the games)

it was good! i enjoyed it for what it was! nothing is even sticking out to me as “negative story elements” other than stuff that was like. “oh no people better not interpret this stupid in relation to the games” like vanessas relation to william or the fact that mike is carrying around a book that says “Dream Theory” on it (this has an explanation in the movie tho, its not related tot he stupid ass “everything is a dream” theory. its because mike witnessed his little brother getting kidnapped (by william) when he was young, and the dream theory is that “everything youve ever seen is stored deep in your memories, dreams can be a way to unlock those memories” and hes trying to remember the face of the kidnapper, he needs closure and to figure out what happened i enjoyed the storys focus on mike and his little sister (theres a plot about how like. mikes aunt who is “mean and smells like cigarette smoke” is trying to take abby away because money reasons, neither mike nor abby want this, its a custody battle) and theres themes about like. mike needing to accept the past (what happened to his brother was horrible but he cant do anything to change that now, and he needs to protect his sister Right Now because she represents like. whats most important to him and his future Now.) i enjoyed that i also like that the animatronics arent just fucking evil! they kill people but only like. bad people who broke in and vandalized. they tried to hurt mike and also they tried to kill abby, but its explained that springtrap is manipulating them to do that. the kids dont wanna hurt anyone but hes tricking them into doing it. and i enjoy how at the end, to beat william abby has to make the animatronics remember how bad he is and that hes the one they should really be hurting lol theres a scene where the animatronics build a giant blanket fort with abby

i liked vanessa. shes not a murderer or anything, more similar to the nightguard vanessa (though obviously a movie au version). she was williams daughter but she hates him. at the end of the movie he stabs her and she has to be hospitalized because she was trying to save mike and abby from dying :( that “animatronic” with open face plates right? dont worry its not an actual aniamtronic. its like. a killing machine william made. so it has an in universe explaination. its just a freddy mask with spinning blades in it lol um also fetch (i'm not sure if it was actually fetch because it looked a little different)had a cameo and i lost it. also bella. the little doll henry made. except in this she was big enough to be like. a small animatronic (like the size of a real child), she had spring locks in her. balloon boy had 3 jumpscares (including one after the credits scene. it was funny) i liked all the references. there would be small references that were like. nods to the fans the only one that made me go “NOOOOOO” was. theres a scene in a diner. and the guy who takes their order was MATPAT and it took me like 20 seconds to notice and he said “well thats just a theory” and then he left. i hate mat pat but i have to admit thats funny for them to do there were like 3 swear words. ass, asshole, shit

also while it was a little annoying. it was funny that i was in a theater of over 100 people because everyone yelled at the same time like “NOOOO” when a character hides in a ballpit. or laughing at the same time. theres a part where a girl is putting her head near freddys mouth and she gets killed and everyone shouted “WAS THAT THE BITE OF 87?” or everyone going “AWWWWWWW” When its revealed the animatronics are friendly and that theyre gonna build a blanket fort together. idk it was fun. everyone screamed at tlt fnaf song

the animatronics were cool looking! i enjoyed them :) the eyebrows and eyelids made them very expressive!

their eyes have lights in them to make them glow. they look soft…. i enjoy how their facial features move? like theres a scene where like. freddy looks so mad like hes gonna kill mike. and then abby is like “freddy this is my brother mike hes a fried! :D” and then the way they have the animatronics face move naturally to make it look like a fond friendly smile? very cute and i liked it

there was a digimon advertisement before hand and i lost my mind because i have a digimon special interest

i have more thoughts but those were my main ones :3

[liliane-ghost]

MLB MOVIE SPOILERS!!!

I Can't believe how GOOD this movie was????

Dear god, they FIXED like 90% of the BS of the Show in just one movie??????

The songs where such a hard miss for me but to be fair that could be because of the languadge difference. I saw it in german and in my languadge the songs where sadly mostly ass.

However; in the credits they played one of the songs in english and it sounded great so it could really be just because of that.

GABRIEL: they fixed him?? The movie made him not a garbage father for no reason. He was hesitent to use the power to begin with. Yeah he closed adrien also off but he regrets that later on and also is right at the door in a poor state when adrien comes home after apperantly one day not doing that. It shows his spiral down and that he do cares about his son, unlike the show.

Also he got really scary in the end. But the most biggest plus point : he stopped and was shocked when he realised that Cat Noir was his son. He stopped and was in pure horror that he hurt his son. They also got rid of the Adrien is a Sentimonster plot point which is so much better imo. This movie made him so much more human and took him seriously. Especially the end: you have to let her go. No creepy keeping the body of his dead wife in the basement.

Adrien: He was an actual Character!! And also he and Ladybug Where equals throu the whole movie! There was this joke with the "side-kick" that got resolved so quickly and easily :" no we are partners". It felt like a big fuck you to thomas and i loved it. He had the Cat noir traits as his Civilian form which is obvious (execpt for thomas apperantly..)

Also Adrien called his father out in that one scene. It felt SO good after the whole season 5 final bs.

Now after seeing this movie i feel so robbed. This is the story we could have gotten. With no stupid undoings of things that had an huge inpackt on the world. No time travel shenanigans. No what ifs. Actions have consequences.

Ladybug uses her ability to repair the damadge just once in this movie and from what i understood it was also not a power she could use so easily like in the show. Again: Consequences.

The public knows in the end that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. The damage of the first monster is not spelled away. Marinett learns that Cat noir is Adrien and shares her Secret with him.

WHY IS A MOVIE BETTER THANT 5 SEAONS OF THIS SHOW THOMAS??????

Anyway. I will buy that movie to have it in my shelf. It is in my humble opinion with more to have than the show. Even with the german songs being ass.

[ravenkinnie]

I love how the movie starts with Gwens monologue about hurting someone she loves without meaning to and how this is constantly called back to through and with different characters. Did Miles hurt spot? Is he hurting his family? Did Miguel doom a whole dimension and his family? Did Peter teach Miles the right things? Who is to blame for universe 42? And of course through Gwen herself. And I’m the end she gets the opportunity to make amends and she decides to do so even if it may come with consequences for herself. It’s not a stupid girl power story. It’s a real human tale about how sometimes even if we mean well we hurt people and things are out of our control but there are still things we can control. Agency we can take back. Painful things we have to face in order to move on. Gwen gets to be both selfish and selfless in the movie. She seeks to protect others but also herself.

In conclusion I think the spin-off game to spiderman 2 should be spiderwoman Gwen Stacy (J?)

when spot said "I created you, you created me" I was so gagged, I love stories of superheroes creating their own nemesis while trying to do good like its NOT miles' fault you know. he tried to save his universe and its not his fault there's no spiderman on earth 42 because he literally didn't know but in case of spot its still his actions that caused him to become this, to lose everything. I loooove superhero stories about trying and never getting it right like at the end of the day there's no way for them to get everything 100% perfect and save the day, there will always be casualties, there will always be lose lose scenarios. I think beyond the spiderverse will tie up the theme of whether spiderman can do both, can have two cakes yk and I wonder how they will do that because I think the answer to whether it's okay to break canon is yeah but the answer to whether spiderman can always get everything done is no lmao maybe the answer is just that hurting people is just kind of inevitable in this line of work, it's about where you go from there like we will see with miles and gwen

also after watching the movie the second time I have to give gwen even more credit (sorry to be a gwen defender on main again) - there are multiple moments in the movie where she hints at having doubts about the spider society, like during the chase scene jessica tells her sth like I know it's your friend but it's the right thing or sth and gwen goes "I just have this gut feeling" and jessica fucking goes "then use your head" which a) sends me b) gwen fucking does when her dad quits and she realises it disrupts the canon event but DOESNT trigger anything which means in some way miguel is wrong about how the rules of the multiverse work (she does ask him after miles goes to earth 42 whether he's sure that's how canon even works but miguel was acting so feral I don't blame people for missing that). like it's a two way decision of wanting to make amends to miles because gwen does care for him but also knowing its not actually gonna destroy the universe - which ties so well with themes of mentorship and growing up past people taking care of you and doing your thing, but also questioning that mentorship the way miles does with peter and gwen with jess but also with trusting miguels canon theory that the whole ass spider society trusts 100%

also spiderman game with spidergwen would be fun but that's an intersection of comics bros and gamers which are both demographics that fucking hate women so we can be sure that doesn't happen

[saturnskyline]

i saw you talk about vegas and porsche, and would love your take on porsche and pete. i am torn between 'porsche wanted to protect pete and was ready to kill vegas if pete asked when he fixed him up' but also 'porsche made a deal with vegas and brought pete there without asking pete and that's kinda messed up?' where do you think they will stand post-canon? how does pete feel that they all sort of forgot about him and believed the grandma story?

ohhh anon, thank you so much for this! peteporsche is something very near and dear to my heart 💔💔 besties with trauma or something idk. i feel like there's so many different ways to interpret things, but i'll try to summarize my thoughts as best i can :)

so i've read some really good meta about this... and i know it's wild to link other people's fandom thoughts when asked for my own lol, but they just sum it up so nicely! first, there's this one by lu-sn that is such a fantastic and nuanced take that i can't get enough of it 🙏 basically porsche, whether consciously or not, put his own needs before pete's; he used pete as a bargaining chip to get information and help from vegas. also, in the ep 13 reaction, apo mentions that the last part of the bar conversation, where porsche tells vegas there'll be consequences if he hurts pete again, wasn't originally part of his dialogue. and wowww does that make me insane to hear. so what i'm getting is that, in the original script, porsche was meant to tell vegas he brought pete out for him, and then just. leave? i mean, at least he got a punch for pete in first, but still.. pretty brutal. so i guess that's the side where things look kinda messed up. after all, this seems like clear evidence that the mafia has changed porsche, since he is willing to put his friend in a potentially dangerous situation, even after knowing just how much damage vegas has done to him. now personally, i don't think he did this entirely on purpose, but he had a mission and he was going to accomplish it no matter what. which is... quite staggering when you sit and think about it 🙃

however, to give porsche some credit, there's another great post by kinnspocketporsche where they point out that pete is armed in this situation, while vegas is not, and it's possible that porsche negotiated that condition to ensure that pete would be physically safe if not emotionally. granted, it doesn't make what he did any less stupid, but there's an interesting angle to be had there for sure

so honestly? i think both things are true, somehow. porsche in the bathroom scene, seeing pete's plastered-on smile, tells him that he'll "go handle it" once he knows who's to blame for his pain, and i'm sure that he absolutely meant that. it's such a porsche thing to say; he's so incredibly earnest about seeking justice, putting things right. but if that's the case, did he consider handing pete over to vegas "putting things right"?? it's hard to say, but one thing that rings true to me is how porsche, by the end of the series, is yet another embodiment of pete's line, "there are no heroes or villains in this world". and the further i go with this, the more i realize the extent of the tragic poetry when it comes to these two.. oof

as far as post-canon goes, my headcanon is that pete and porsche remain friends in the odd spirit of borderline "all's well that ends well" that the finale had. i think porsche was (understandably) pretty shocked after the shootout, since he got the wake-up call that he didn't know pete as well as he thought he did. eventually, though, as he adjusts himself further to mafia life, he ends up being more understanding/accepting of pete's new life with vegas than most people. he might even notice similarities between vegaspete's relationship and his own with kinn: how they started in a turbulent way but grew into two people who found and clung to each other at every turn, even with all the odds stacked against them. perhaps, he thinks, that's just the nature of love in this insane world they all live in. however, i also like to think that he makes sure to remind pete that he's there if his friend ever wants an "out" (read: "i will murder him for you, just say the word"), even though pete always firmly declines the offer for obvious reasons lol

as for pete's feelings on being forgotten, i can only imagine how much that stung for him. i'm sure part of him almost expected it ("i never exist. i have no feelings" .... apparently it all comes back to ep 13), which makes things even worse. he knows his role as a bodyguard is to live and die for his masters, but he also knows that kinn does care for his people. hence the pain when kinn says, and i quote, "pete... i totally forgot about him!" 😥😥 it's terrible, and the saddest part is, there's really nothing they can do to make that up to him. korn let him "resign" from working for the family (heavy quotes there bc he really just wants to keep tabs on him in a different way), but they can never compensate for the damage they caused. and maybe that's the main takeaway with all of this: no heroes or villains, no true justice to be found in this life. a bit of a heavy conclusion, but then again. this is the mafia, i suppose :')

[verit]

so they said we'd cry, huh? didn't realise I'd be crying of how betrayed i felt by this ep.

what hurts the most is how i kept wanting to believe it would turn out good, or, at least, you know... Make sense.

in the first part - the way mhok and day fell into flirting so easily, i thought oh fr sure this is gonna be BBS type of fake out, where they actually kept in contact throughout and were just pretending this was.

and throughout the whole thing, it felt so obviously like a fever dream. like, SO many things felt SURREAL, cheesy, ungrounded, almost like... someone was imagining it. the way mhok behaved like he wasn't heartbroken and traumatised (and we KNOW perfectly well he can be both flirty/confident AND dying inside, we've seen it before!!). the way scenes didn't connect with each other. the way it was all like a happy fix-it fantasy without much thought of the characters, their previous rships and everything.

for 10 secs this ep i was happy — when Day said "you know what? I can always see so clearly in my dream". FUCK, i yelled. they did get me! it WAS a dream! him dancing so freely and easily with mhok made me happy bc of course he would dream of this. and the eye donation immediately after made it even more obvious - ofc day would imagine a fairytale ending like this, this all made sense!!

and so with every fade out i was waiting for it to be revealed that he was dreaming. and waiting. and waiting.

and then the credits rolled.

i feel like I'm being pranked. god. i just don't understand how u can fumble such a good show SO badly. like i was ready to be disappointed by some parts. maybe they would gloss over mhok's trauma (which became nonexistent in this ep) or mom rship. maybe they wouldn't have day apologising, maybe there would be something stupid, or maybe it would actually end sadly. but never have i imagined getting a FULL EPISODE that felt like it was some cruel mockery of the show i loved so much.

[luminouslumity]

Some more retellings I read recently! I've actually alluded to having read DoS before, but wanted to wait for TSoP to come out before making an actual post first. And unlike last time, I wasn't a big fan of these books. Though in hindsight, I probably should've known that when I saw the cover for DoS; no, but seriously, Greek is a beautiful language, but seeing it used as font will never not hurt the little linguist in me. Also, Nestra... No. Just no. And as for the books themselves? Well, what I like to do when reading or watching an adaptation of a work is to look at it two ways: first, does it work as an adaptation, and second, does it work on its own? And in the case of Heywood... not really for both.

I do want to give credit where credit is due though, I actually did enjoy Heywood's writing as well as how she incorporated some pretty minor details from certain sources that I haven't seen any other retelling use (ex: Menelaus having a son by a slave woman, something that's actually mentioned in the Odyssey), but that's as far as my praise goes, at least as far as her first book is concerned.

Another thing to keep in mind is that her books are one of those retellings that strip away the mythological aspects entirely for the sake of telling a historical narrative and I honestly have yet to find one that actually does this well, because without the presence of gods or monsters, you run into some really stupid contrivances at best and quite a few gaping plot holes at worst. Then we get scenes like Helen literally kicking and spitting on Eileithyia's rock because she doesn't want to get pregnant again and Iphigenia getting sacrificed because the priest Calchas wanted revenge after he blames Agamemnon for his sister's death, and a part of me honestly can't help but feel uncomfortable reading scenes like this, almost like it's mocking an ancient religion that many still acknowledge and practice to this day. Oh, and just so no one misunderstands me, I'm taking issue with Helen basically insulting a goddess specifically, even if that goddess is physically absent.

TSoP does seem to tone this down, or at the very least, it's not to the extent that we saw in DoS from what I noticed, though it's also completely possible there was something I had missed. One moment that does stand out to me though is when Danae internally compares the light coming from a torch fire to a golden shower and then we immediately get the reveal of Perseus' actual father, which I actually thought was pretty funny. It helps that Myron himself was really sweet from the little we knew him, which also makes me sad because there really didn't seem to be any reason for Danae to lie to Perseus about who his father was. It's not like Danae was ashamed of Myron or anything, either; it's one thing for her to want to keep her past a secret from her son for now, it's an entirely other thing to lie to him and say his father was a god!

And speaking of the characters, I actually really liked Claire's version of Helen, I just hate that it comes at the expense of turning her into a neglectful parent even before she runs away with Paris (thankfully, her actions aren't exactly glorified, either; actually, I feel like I would've enjoyed this plotline alot more had it been executed better), as well as turning Menelaus into a distant husband and Leda into an awful mother. Meanwhile, Agamemnon is horrible even long before he sacrifices Iphigenia, and Klytemnestra once again never kills Kassandra in cold blood, even though the entire point of the myth is to show the senselessness of violence and vengeance and how her grief had corrupted her in the years her husband had been away at war.

I am once again asking, what's wrong with being direct?

And as for TSoP, the characters here are certainly a lot more enjoyable personality-wise... but that's also an issue, because it all comes at the expense of turning Perseus—whose entire quest revolved around saving his mother—into an entitled brat. First because he thinks he's a demigod, then because he finds out he's the grandson of a king and has a prophecy to fulfill. In fact, he doesn't even go on a quest at all, just sent away because his mother actually wants to marry Polydectes and he won't stop throwing a tantrum about it. Then we just skip to him meeting Medusa and then killing her after she rejects his feelings for her, "saving" Andromeda from what was basically a symbolic sacrifice, mistaking the hospitality feast he's given for a wedding banquet in honor of himself and his supposed new bride due to the language barrier, killing her actual betrothed before she finally decides to go with him, killing Polydectes when he refuses to stand down, and then nearly killing an old Acrisius before finally listening to what his mother and wife want and letting his grandfather live.

That's it. That's the book.

And I liked the use of the Prophecy Twist at the end and also how Danae refused to forgive her father for what he had done, but really, whatever positives I have to say about either book aren't really enough to outweigh the negatives.

And I mean, compare everything I just said about TSoP to the original myth; an evil king wishes to marry a beautiful princess who'd been rescued from the sea (or he already has married her in some versions), but she has no interest in him, so he sends her demigod child, who was protective of his mother, on a quest to slay an unslayable monster in hopes of getting him out of the way for good. With help from the gods, he manages to succeed and even rescues a princess on the way back after she's nearly sacrificed to a sea monster as punishment for her mother's vanity. Afterwards, he saves his own mother by presenting the head of the monster to the other monster and turning him to stone, before later killing his grandfather by accident! And it wasn't even Medusa's head that took him out, either, but a discus!

See how sweet and simple the original is? But no, instead we get Perseus who keeps throwing these violent tantrums because he isn't getting what he wants, made worse by the fact that his character has about as much depth as a rock. In fact, why have this be a retelling at all? This solution can pretty much apply to just about any other one too, but for TSoP specifically, it could've very easily been about someone who grew up being inspired by the tales of Perseus, maybe even facing a similar situation to him and becoming desperate to escape it, and then later becomes their own downfall by the end of it. That would've been much more interesting, methinks!

And before anyone brings up the Medusa thing, the version everyone talks about actually comes from much later sources, specifically Ovid, who was Roman, and a pretty spiteful one at that; in fairness, the Greek poet Hesiod does describe her as having been a mortal who had sexual relations with Poseidon, but even then, he makes no mention as to whether the encounter was consensual or not, just that they did it in a meadow—yeah, not a temple, a meadow. Other Greek and even some Roman sources also have her always be a monster, even being descended from the mother of monsters herself, Echidna.

As for Athena changing her into a Gorgon for her own protection, I can't find an ancient source anywhere that states this, never mind that it's not like women wouldn't have been immune to her curse, either. And as awesome of a concept as a monstrous figure being seen as a patron for women is... that's not exactly true either. Ancient Greece didn't have women's shelters, for one thing, and though it's true that engravings of her head can be found on buildings, they can be found everywhere else as well, including on tombstones. That's because it was actually used to ward off not any specific human, but evil spirits instead. Because nothing was seen as scarier than a Gorgon. Also, there were several deities whom women prayed to (and still do!) for protection, including Athena herself, so praying to Medusa—who they would've considered a monster—wouldn't have really made much sense. Again, cool concept, but it kinda falls apart once you think about it for more than five seconds.

But yeah, these certainly aren't the worst retellings I've read, but still there's nothing particularly outstanding about them, either. Not in a good way, at least.

[why485]

So, the identify of “Rena” has been confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt, and I think it’s enough of a spoiler to put it under a Read More. I had actually already written a huge post with my reaction to the reveal but it was so long, so full of spaghetti, and so hot a take that I couldn’t post it.

I ended up reading a couple more chapters to see where this goes, and oh boy was that a good idea because there is a hell of a payoff.

I want to get this out of the way first. There is still a potential plot hole with Itsuki being Rena: How did she know about the photo in the wallet during their first encounter? This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. (Ch.2 raises unflattering questions.) This is besides the point of this post and would require its own, but it feels worth mentioning. Anyway, onto the main post.

So Itsuki being Rena initially made me very upset for so many reasons that I wrote a huge essay which I’m never going to share because it was so embarrassing and full of spaghetti. After hiding it in Drafts, I went back and re-read chapters through the lens of “it has to Itsuki”.

To the mangaka’s credit, it actually does make sense. As I wrote in my previous Rena rant: 

Itsuki could be trying to help Fuutarou come to terms with his past.

I thought that was a red herring, but it seems that really was the case. Itsuki is, by the time of the first Rena encounter, fully aware that she had met Fuutarou in the past. If you go in with that mindset, there are little hints dropped since then that Itsuki has something on her mind. It’s notable too that her demeaner becomes much more positive and supportive of Fuutarou after the hospital visit.

The main reason this bothered me initially is because it makes Itsuki (and the mangaka...) seem really dishonest, and I hated that because the main reason I like Itsuki so much is that her and Fuutarou are both so trusting and natural around each other, and I adore that. I thought that Itsuki keeping this a secret for so long meant that she was lying, even if technically only by omission.

However, to Itsuki’s credit, upon re-reading basically every scene she’s in from the hospital scene to the present (first day of the Kyoto trip), it does come across as if she just never had a good chance to bring it up. It was eating her up inside that she never told him the truth about this, and she was literally just about to tell him until Yotsuba came in and ruined their moment. Reading that all back, it’s much easier to forgive because it’s a big deal and yeah it’d be a heavy conversation.

What really got me upset that first time around though, is that after her failed “I’m Rena” confession, she seems to decide to double down on the identity and it made me scream. The next couple chapters show the consequences of this decision, and oh my god is the payoff satisfying.

Fuutarou is completely done with these games.

I’m sad to see Itsuki so hurt by this, but I’m sorry, play stupid games win stupid prizes. Honestly all the quints, except for Yotsuba, have gone kind of nuts and everything is going totally off the rails. They’re being absolutely vicious to each other right now. Even Ichika is throwing Miku under the bus! What I love about all of this horseplay though is that it (seemingly) is having consequences. I am all here for people doing awful deceptive underhanded things to each other and actually getting punished for it.

Put another way, I think it’s cool how typical anime harem nonsense is causing everybody problems and making everything worse in a way that’s honestly pretty believable. This is going to get a lot worse for everybody before it gets better, and I’m really not sure how this is can even have a happy ending anymore.

[gottagobackintime]

Thor: Love and Thunder spoilers. 

This is in no particular order, it’s just me rambling as per usual.

Korg is going to be a dad 😭 I need a series with him and Dwayne (omg… did he call him Dwayne because he’s made of rocks… I just got that… I’m so stupid!) raising their child. Also Taika was right, he really is a gay icon now! (And I thought that we’d never get to see Korg find someone because Taika did an interview around Ragnarok where he said something about his Korg being gay but that they weren’t going to really explore that. I love that we got this, even if it was just a brief scene.)

Love that Thor’s roommate was in the film even if it was brief.

Our Last Summer by Abba playing in the Thor/Jane montage was *chef’s kiss*. Also loved that we got to see glimpses of their love story, since the only thing we’ve gotten up until this point is them kind of getting together in Thor and then they’ve broken up by the time The Dark World takes place. Which was... you know, kind of weird. But the montage was great and it filled in the gaps nicely. Also Thor looking at the child in the store they were passing made me tear up. And Korg saying Thor would be a great dad 😭

Korg mentioning Val’s girlfriend that died! I love how insightful Korg is, but he’s also very stupid sometimes, love it. 

Korg telling Thor that he should call Axl the name he wanted to be called, amazing. Also I liked that while Thor insisted that Axl should go by the name Heimdall gave him it didn’t feel malicious, more misguided, and I’m not saying that that wouldn’t hurt too. But I feel like it was a good way to introduce that topic and deal with it. Because he felt it honoured his dead friend by his son still going by the name he gave him, but then he accepted it and he used the name Axl choose.

I’m really curious now how Korg’s species family dynamics are like. Because in Ragnarok he mentions his mum and his stepdad. But in this one he says that he had two dads who were the ones who “created” him. 

I loved Jane’s storyline, I was sad that she died but I feel like they opened up a possibility of having her and Heimdall back in some way. They should make a series with them and their afterlife in Valhalla. 

Jane agreeing to stay behind when Thor asked her so that they could figure out how to save her and then her breaking that promise to save Thor was great, heart-breaking, but great. Thor being visibly upset about it, knowing she’s going to die because of her decision but also respecting it was amazing to see. She wasn’t a superhero for very long but she made sure that the limited time and power she had counted for something. And they honoured her with a statue and she was welcomed into Valhalla. I think it was great, I really enjoyed her character in this movie and I had to hold back tears several times.

I’m so happy that Taika “got rid of” the Guardians so fast, which is what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Guardians, but I wanted Thor to be the focus in his own movie.

People clapped when Heimdall appeared.

I also want a series that just follows that theatre company! Them asking if they should make a play out of the disaster that was still happening was so funny.

I loved that we got a scene in black and white with just splashes of colour, especially since some people hated that Ragnarok was so colourful. It was really cool.

Taika really is a master of making you laugh out loud and in the next scene he rips your heart out. And it doesn’t feel cheap in any way, if you know what I mean. It feels kind of natural. 

Thor being a dad! Cooking for her, making her put on her proper shoes. I love that she drew on Mjölnir. I would love to see more of her, she was so cute. 

When they introduced Hercules in the end credit scene I was like “!! That’s fucking Roy Kent!” I look forward to seeing more of him. 

So those are the things I can remember at the top of my head. Overall I loved the movie. I could have watched it again straight after. And I know it said that Thor will be back but if he’s coming back in a solo movie no one else should be allowed to do it except Taika. Thor belongs to him now! Hell, even if it’s a team up movie, Taika should do it. 

[shadowed-dancer]

Thoughts on Episode 122 (S6 E9)

Team training, legless legends, and regretful reflections. Let’s talk about it

Spoilers for the episode, light spoilers for the manga but I put them separately at the end and label them

This episode starts at 100 and doesn’t let up for a second (very intense) but is it weird to say I felt the very final moment just… didn’t hit as hard as I’d hoped?

Of course, “thing not being as cool as it could have been” is certainly not the end of the world. I got chills in the lead up, especially the “in that moment I didn’t think” portion, I was just expecting some sort of noise at the moment of impact, or like a flash to jolt the audience. You know, those usual anime tricks they do to make us feel what the characters feel

I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s start the the beginning (I’ve heard it’s a very good place to start)

Starting the episode with Aizawa just casually cutting off his leg was so intense. Definitely set the mood of “things are serious now”

I like the way they did the eye thing. I think this whole season has done a good job balancing violent moments without making them too graphic

I also like that they cut Shigaraki having two bullets (in the manga he shoots two. One hits Aizawa and the other is destroyed by Bakugo). It always felt a little pointless, so I’m glad they made it more straight forward. Now they just have to hope the manga never references that second bullet lol

Continuing with that serious tone, the bit with the rest of the class just standing in shock, totally helpless, was so good. Small moments like that really make you feel the weight of questions like “did we do the right thing?”

Contrast this with how chill and lighthearted the Deku training flashback was and you’ve got some great juxtaposition

“What’s todays date” -Everyone after waking up from a nap

They added teen Bakugo grabbing child Deku’s hand! Unexpected but very cool (that imagery is based on Volume 29’s cover! It’s not originally in the story but I’m so glad it is now)

The voice over leading up to that final moment was so good. Everything was so chilling; I was on the edge of my seat despite knowing what happens lol

However, like I said, I’m not totally sold on how they did the actual stabbing scene. It just felt like “oh, ok, it’s a still shot of something. Oh he’s getting impaled?!” And then credits. Idk I just thought they’d take the chance to really tug at the heartstrings and make the audience sit there in shock, especially with how they handled other emotional climaxes this season so far

And I know it’s not a big deal (it’s still a very shocking scene), it’s just that for how good the rest of the episode was, you’d think they’d want to hammer it home with the literal last thing you see

When people think the war war arc, there are three moments that come to mind (Twice’s death, Bakugo getting stabbed, and a third one that will probably happen in 2 episodes). They nailed the weight and emotion of Twice’s scene, so I guess I was just hoping they’d put extra emphasis on Bakugo’s. Give it that extra oomph

They changed the ED! I like how they made a “Deku version” of that Vol.29 cover (grownup Deku reaching out to little Bakugo). Unlike the Twice one it didn’t make me ugly-cry, but then again I think it’s because I expected this one. The Twice came out of nowhere, so it hurt even more

Overall? Good episode, just a shame they didn’t do anything to really make it go “plus ultra” at the end

LIGHT MANGA SPOILERS

I HATE that they had to remind us about the whole “if you keep doing this kind of damage you won’t be able to move your arms” thing. I know this flashback was in the manga, but it was stupid there too because IT NEVER COMES INTO PLAY. Why remind us of this risk only to say a few chapters later “actually that was wrong, you don’t have to worry about it”. I guess I was just hoping they’d do something to mitigate how awkward that will end up being

This whole episode, despite being very good, was also bittersweet because it’s the start of Horikoshi’s… new type of storytelling. By that, I of course mean seeing important moments after the fact as a flashback. It’s fine for now since this is the first time it’s happening (and a technique like this is fine in moderation), but as the season goes on we will see this more and more. Like… we will definitely still have some really good episodes coming up, but it just reminded me the villain hunt is right around the corner. I am praying so hard that someone on the production team reworked the entire arc to make it better