#anyways the iconic trio is back baby!!

[t-u-i-t-c]

chapter xl

[omaano]

SW Hades AU June Update

Other monthly updates: May - June - July - August

This month I’ve had some time to organize my notes and plans for my Star Wars meets Hades AU - I have a massive table for all of the characters, which original Hades game character they had been modeled after, and whether they need portraits/tokens/keepsakes/crests/etc. it’s colour coded and everything. (Fennec had to be cut out from the lineup and I’m hopelessly heartbroken about the whole thing* 😭)

Everyone has an icon who needs one (I’m sorry about the Echo and Fives one, okay? But they come as a package deal, and I also wanted to make sure that Echo is easily distinguishable from all the other clone characters and not just the average looking clone guy next to Fives who - by order of elimination - must be Echo), and everyone has a crest who needs one (except for maybe Barriss… I feel like that the Jedi order symbol doesn’t fully fit her, but for now I will keep it as a place holder. I can't come up with anything better for her at the moment T^T. The froggie returned to the “chtonic companions” line (it is exactly the plushie that Echo and Fives would give Grogu), and now there is Batcher too! If you notice any similarities between Batcher and Boba’s old rancor rag doll, it’s mostly because I took that one and modified it to fit the lurca hound, since they have a similar back ridge pattern.

I also think that it could be a cute in-universe thing if the Batcher doll had been modified from the rancor. Timelines are very flexible in this AU anyway, so it could be totally plausible.

Speaking of! I have a character sketch for Omega and Batcher!

It took me a while to settle on which version of Omega I wanted to put into this AU, but I am very happy with what I could come up with in the end. I had some trouble with what to do with her face, since Hades is really lacking in young teenage characters, and even Melinoe and Eris from Hades2 didn’t prove to be of much help, so I allowed a bit more of my own style to slip back in. With everything else I think it hit a nice enough balance. I mixed her s2 and s3 appearance into one outfit and gave her back her hat and old crossbow (I know she got a new one from Echo, but I prefer how this one sticks out over her shoulder).

This seems to be a girls’ update, since the next sketch I want to share concepts Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls! I’ve wanted to add them to this AU for ages, but all that armor and posing had just seemed too much of a hassle up until I had to seriously distract myself from some irl stress. So now I’ve got the trio to stand in for the fury sisters as first bosses. (I'll need to adjust Koska a little, I see it now)

God bless whoever’s decided to make one of those 30 cm action dolls of these guys, they had been so helpful when it came to looking up reference details! (While we are at details: I made Koska left handed (I think? Or opposite handed at the very least) because I had been coming up with their composition under the impression that she had her flame thrower in her right vambrace like Din and Boba do, which, upon further inspection, she does not ^^;)

Some in-universe thoughts regarding them: 1) Din can very much lose the Darksaber to whoever kicks his ass if he runs with is as his weapon of choice, and then has to return to reclaim it from that enemy (he doesn’t want to but they are in his way), and if he loses it either to her or another enemy Bo-Katan will most definitely have an opinion on the matter. 2) Boba is more than happy to swoop in as a “godly call” against Koska. If he has the option to claim the Call boon from Boba, it's a pretty good indicator that it will be Koska waiting for him at the end of the level. 3) After a while and enough encounters Axe starts showing up around and in the arena on this AU’s equivalent of the Elysium level. Paz would do anything not to have to talk about that minor detail. (Din: "Why does Axe Woves keep calling you baby girl?" Paz *steam escaping from the edge of his helmet* "how about we stop talking for a while." <- This meme has been on my mind for months, now you have to suffer it with me XD) After that it’s a boss fight of Din vs Paz and Axe.

This post is getting a bit long, so I will leave my progress with Obi-wan’s background to the next update. I will also make a separate post on the new little portrait icons, but I really liked how cute Rex and Omega looked next to each other in the big lineup Q^Q

*the only thing that made me dedicate myself to this decision with a heavy heart is that Fennec had been in the Bad Batch, and that would give me the ideal excuse to imagine her in a Hades2 inspired AU where she is helping Omega (as a stand in for Melinoe). I’ve thought a lot about this even before the test version of the game came out, and a lot of it would track now that I’ve seen some game play and story and characters but. Let’s not be delusional, I can barely keep up with this project, and the Hades2 art style, while super pretty, has a twist on the first game's art style that makes me want to cry when I think about replicating it ^^; so that just remains a nice little thought experiment.

Ventress went through the same thing, mostly because I think that in a strange way she would fit very well with Hecate's role. Especially after that s3 episode where she had her cameo with her new fancy haircut.

[himbo-in-limbo]

[a random head canon thingy idk cuz my I pad is charging n I can't draw rn 😞] Glamrock Bonnie/Glamrock Freddy

_____________________

I like to think Bonnie often goes off on his guitar during live performances (leaning towards it sounding like heavy metal) n often forgets he's playing for children LMAO

The kids love it regardless but the gangs like "dude again?" His longest solo was like a good 3 minutes...

He craves to have artistic freedom, I'm assuming the rest do as well tbh

Imagine hearing Freddy practicing his vocals, since we see chica shredding her guitar in her spare time I wonder if he dose the same?

I bet Freddy also likes to help whichever staff member is doing heavy lifting n he sees them struggling with the cargo n just goes "Oh please it's the least I can do! You all do so much for us, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourselves."

Also likes to help because Freddy has trouble just doing nothing...he needs to be doing something!

Or else he gets a bit antsy

Which is why he loves conversing n little tasks!

Bonnie calls the people closest to him "Carrot cake" bc he loves it sm and he loves them sm

In terms of the OG Trio I see chica being the one they protect the most like that's their baby sister to them 🥺♥️

Side note that it's a shame we don't have enough interactions between chica n Freddy in the game...

Like I wanna know if their just as close to each other as Freddy and Bonnie were

Bonnie gets excited hearing stories that the staff members tell him (if he's friends with em) about the outside world...

He LOVE'S it when they share their favorite music with him! He likes to analyze the guitar solos n usually that sneaks into the next concert hehe

He wants to go outside so bad...he often looks outside any windows and wishes he could just step outside for a bit...

This is also something I think the rest have in common.

They are happy working with the kids! They love their job! They would just like to feel the sun n quite literally touch grass...at least once!

Going back to Bonnie loving carrot cake he dose actually have a slight problem with it similar to chica...just don't leave your slice unattended with him, like a magic trick it'll disappear ✨

I like to think Bonnie originally didn't have eye liner but he saw one of the staff members have some on and he just told them "I want that! Can you put that on me?!" And ever since then it's been a part of his iconic look

Freddy laughs to hard at simple jokes like dad jokes kill him, which is why when he tells them sometimes he can't finish the joke 💀

His laugh is so cute n contagious 😭♥️

Everyone groans but they laugh at Freddy's reaction anyways

Bonnie's laugh is dorky, he snorts on occasion and the others call him out n he gets embarrassed

All in good fun of course!

If Bonnie were to blush I like to imagine that his whole face goes red like you can always tell when he's flustered hehe

Honestly I believe Freddy has that classy rizz, like he's such a gentleman, he'd court you properly is all I'm saying

As for Bonnie he's flirty, if he likes you he'll be teasing you a lot

He likes to bully his crush a tiny bit by making em all flustered, and yes he challenges you to bowling quite often!

It's his favorite bonding activity what can you do

He's such a good teacher for bowling too! Has to be for the kiddos of course!

All in all these boys have a heart of gold

They'll inspire you in some way n leave you feeling happy! And you do the same for them! Their still learning how to modify their hugging power tho!

It's strong! 🧡💙

[the-gayest-show]

Operation Birthday Takeover Review/Analysis

I wanted to include this in the review bomb but decided against it because the episode would take too much yap compared to the others to summarize properly, let's go!

(sorry if these screenshots have the player on them I couldn't find a better way bare with me this is better than the easier route i'd have taken)

HAHAHAHAHAHA SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT HERE!

First of all, PERI! YOU'RE BACK BABY HBUIEBRBFEIBFWiuB

Second of all and most important, this was a MAJOR Dev episode. Well, obviously, since it's his birthday, but we got to see more of him being nice while it lasted anyways, and we also got to see more of Dale's neglect and it's affects on Dev.

You can see he's clearly disappointed about his dad paying no attention to Dev at all, preferring to work on "Project H" instead of his own son. Will throw hands on this man fr.

Throughout the episode we see more hints of this disappointment, like when Vicky gets invited to the party (Dev doesn't even like princesses! DUDE!)

Now that I'm really rewatching as I go, Hazel seems to be very aware of it and very empathetic towards Dev, I like that about her. She's looking out for her friend! Good on her!

On the other hand (to move the plot forward and thus this review), I love seeing the fairy family back in action again!

I love their dynamic even more! Also I swear to God half of the iconic lines come from these interactions I swear to God.

"Time to see what's so secret about this room!....... On second thought never mind" SOBBING LAUGHING

Having the three of them slowly find out that project H is actually Project Hazel is so wild. THEY LITERALLY WROTE DOWN IMPORTANT INFO ON THE BOARD LIKE THE FAIRIES THING. COSMO! WANDA! WHYYYYYYYYY

The sad part of the matter is, Dale was fixated on Dev's friend of all people simply because she was... content? With fairy godparents? It's so sad actually for Dev... he REALLY needs someone to care about him

I wanna get into Vicky though now, and the surprising amounts of references to the OG series that were made in less than 2 minutes apart from each other? Crazy!

First of all, she's back! An interesting character to return for sure, considering she mostly acted as Timmy's babysitter in the OG series, but the continuity of this show never ceases to surprise me!

She's somehow similar looking? Like, correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't she be older now? Significant enough to be changed visually for sure. AJ was 10 in the original series and now he's like 30 something. By that logic shouldn't Vicky be closer to her 40s? Does that age a person significantly from 16? That's what I thought anyways... She's still into the "conning little children for money" thing. She's literally 30+ at least, did she not try to up her game somehow? IMHO she totally could have extreme power like that over adults if she got gullible enough ones, could've been worse, but I guess people of Vicky's personality don't truly change unless there's a major life breakthrough that happens. You know what they say about peaking in high school...

Icky Vicky the song (and thus the episode it was in) is canon to the FOP A New Wish universe. I could swear the song sounded slightly different than it did when it was sung in this episode, but I'll blame that on the song coming out 10+ years ago and voice actors being too specific to nail down (I think the guy from one direction played the Icky Vicky singer? No wonder they couldn't invite him back). The song being referred to as "old" got me cringing a bit. I didn't grow up with the show but I get the feeling people who did felt themselves aging in real time with Jasmine's comment...

TIMMY MENTION! TIMMY HAS BEEN MENTIONED BY NAME IN THE A NEW WISH UNIVERSE AGAIN!

Poor fairy trio though, they're all traumatized by Vicky, even Peri (who thought she was some weird ass dream, dawg I wish 😭) and immediately they're cowering with fear at the sound of her name. They got PTSD or something from all those years in original FOP...

What's funnier is them being able to stand up to Vicky by just. transforming into humans, which works bc that's always worked in FOP canon (when parental figures showed up in the OG), but somehow Wanda and Cosmo didn't fucking know that? Truly, Wanda, it would've been nice for y'all to know that some decades ago.

"That's Vicky for ya! Making Kids Miserable Since 2001!"

Actually it would be 1998 if we count the Oh Yeah Cartoon Pilot and subsequent episodes, but I guess we're only counting actual FOP as canon 😔

-

I wanna really talk about the last scene though, where Dev finds out that Project H was Project Hazel. It REALLY tears him up inside to see just HOW bad his father doesn't give a shit about him.

LOOK. LOOK AT THAT FACE AND TELL ME THAT ISN'T DEVASTATION! Even as he's recounting all the times that his father talked about Project H

The emotional neglect really runs deep with this one.

He lashes out at both Peri and Hazel (her especially since he's under the impression that she faked being his friend or something) and even wishes for Peri to leave him alone. So basically he's closing himself off from the 2 people who cared about him the most, likely as an emotional response. And then he goes and crosses off everything on the board in anger and leaves.

I've noticed Peri's behaviour towards Dev has changed a bit again since the Dimmsonian episode. I think in that episode initially he seemed more tired, and he's probably still tired, but if he is, it's not shown as much here. I think personally Peri seeing more of Dev's life might've changed his attitude towards the child, but he still remains semi optimistic. He cares about this kid. It's shown even in just those few seconds of hesitation before he leaves that Peri was kind of heartbroken/sad at the request to leave Dev's side, but was willing to do so since he asked/wished. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I really do enjoy their dynamic and really wish to see more of it, especially after this.

This is all 100% driven from his dad's actions affecting his emotional state, and I think this is actually a perfect setup for the episode where Dev and Irep take over Fairy World. Especially if Irep finds Dev like not even seconds after this scene, he's more vulnerable now than he's been throughout the whole series thus far, so a manipulator like Irep (if he is a good one, but heck even if he was dogshit at it) could defo make him change his thoughts on things.

Overall this episode was great and there's lots to love about it!

[cartoon-cass]

So decided to take an in depth look at the new teaser trailer and share what I found.

We start at the elevator we saw in the last teaser image we got, just not with the ominous yellow light. it seems like there's blood or oil on the carpeted floor, and slashes on the walls. Where the seemingly natural light is coming from doesn't fit the architecture of the rest of the hallway, looking industrial, honestly though the hallway is the one that looks out of place, looking more like something that belongs to the Elliot Manor, not sure what that means for the episode but thought it important to mention.

Pulling out a bit further we see disassembled disassembly drones, specifically the male body type (or what most people call the male body type we can't exactly be sure with only 3 disassembly drones). there is something on the tv but for the life of me I can't read that tiny red text. Turning back on the architect it seems to follow the manor look with some industrial bits peaking out.

Moving up a level we seemingly end up in a receptionist room for JCJenson, it doesn't have the IN SPAAAAACEE!!!! though. In the background disassembly drones, seemingly the "female" ones though, and something I just noticed while writing they all seem to be missing heads, I couldn't see any heads anywhere. and writing on the walls, saying "don't look down" or "don't don't look", along with claw scratches.

Up one more we get an office cubicle with a computer open on it's desktop. we also see a computer mouse and a spiral notebook with something on it, maybe a mug or a can? Nothing scary I can see other then the horror that is cubicle farms.

Yet an other cubicle farm with the sound effect of a crying baby of all things? Uzi backstory maybe? Anyway we see 2 Camp 98.7 drones both with loading icons on their visors, which I believe we've never seen before other then when Uzi was talking to N and V in episode 2 but that was only in the corner and her eyes were still on. There seems to be oil on the ground too.

So this is the scene most people are freaking out about. A dinosaur looking thing, while it looks mostly organic from the shadow it does have 2 wires from the back of it's head to it's neck and 2 wires from under the chin to it's neck. There seems to be blood or oil on the ground here too. Also anyone else getting jurassic park vibes from this scene?

I think these 2 scenes are in the same room, also someone is laughing in this scene as well. It seems to be a some sort of observation room mix with an operation room, given the discarded worker drone limbs I don't imagine these "operation" were very ethical. There is a box in the back with some text on it but all I can read is "parts :)".

Presumably this is the hole our main trio were looking at in the first teaser, at the very least we can tell it's open to the air because snow is falling down there, I just noticed how there is not nearly enough snow on everything for a planet that's constantly snowing but I guess I probably shouldn't ask too much realism from this show about murderous drones. On a more worrying note where are Tessa, J and Doll? I hope they are fine but just out of shot.

Last but not least the thumb nail for the video has the weird drone hand that if I had to guess is from that dinosaur drone, I have no evidence other then a gut feeling. Also massive thanks for @magmythedevil for pointing this out but the claw matches the one in episode 4.

[novankenn]

"Jaune Gets a Gun AU - Day 2" Destiny 2 - Jade Rabbit

Inspired by @howlingday's weapon posts

The trio start to move deeper into the convention centre...

????: Early risers, huh?

The trio turn at the sound of the gravelly monotone voice.

Jaune: (Sounding extremely happy) Mr Banshee!

Pyrrha: (whispering to Ruby) Does Jaune know this... this person?

Ruby: (Also whispering) The rocket launcher.

Banshee-44: Huh.

Jaune: So about that rocket...

Pyrrha/Ruby: Jaune NO!

Banshee-44: Oh yeah, sorry, sold it.

Jaune: What about the other...?

Banshee: Had a fire team of Guardians come through. They took all three of 'em.

Jaune: (Pouting) I see. So they had the thirty thousand box tops each, I guess.

Pyrrha/Ruby: Yes! He's safe!

Banshee-44: The box tops are a special for you. The Guardians paid with legendary shards and glimmer.

Jaune: (whining) It makes no difference. I missed my chance. It was so adorable.

Pyrrha: It's okay, Jaune. It just wasn't meant to be.

Ruby: Pyrrha's right. We'll find you something just as good.

Banshee-44: I MIGHT have something that'll interest you.

Banshee-44 points to a new display case.

Jaune's lights up as he moves away from Pyrrha and Ruby to put his face right up against the display glass.

Ruby/Pyrrha: (Sounding worried) Jaune?

Jaune: Two of them have the cute little Rabbit Icons on them! They look so precious! I want! Both of them! What's the price?

Pyrrha: Jaune, think about this...

Jaune turned his head and looks at Pyrrha with a crazed look in his eyes.

Jaune: Rabbit Icons Pyr. Rabbit Icons... just like Pumpkin Pete... just like my hoodie.

Returns his attention to the display case.

Jaune: (Hissing as he speaks) My Precious...

Ruby; Jaune snap out of it!

Jaune: How much?

Banshee-44 shows Jaune and Jaune alone, the sticker price.

Jaune: I want to use... LAY AWAY!

Pyrrha: Jaune what's the price?

Jaune: Ten Thousand... each... so that would be twenty thousand for my darlings.

Pyrrha: I could cover that for you, if you really want them.

Ruby moves closer and peeks at the price sticker. Gasping, she hooks her arm under Jaune's right arm and starts dragging him away.

Jaune: NO! My Precious Babies!

Pyrrha: Ruby?

Ruby: PUMPKIN PETE BOX TOPS!!!!

Pyrrha doesn't hesitate and hooks her arm under Jaune's left arm and helps Ruby drag him away.

Jaune: NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Banshee-44: I'll remember you next time... maybe.

Looking from the corner of a nearby booth, totally unseen by the trio, Emerald thinks on her options while speaking outloud to herself...

Emerald: Bunny Icons... hm, maybe I can bribe him with them? I must have my blond goddess back!

(So I have an ask that I will work on, and a submission that I'm going to post, just not sure if it will be with this main "storyline" or maybe as an Omake. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.)

[cl-babydew]

Hi everyone!! So it’s been a while, I did start a new anime, and even finished it last weekend! X,D A lot has happened within the last 2 weeks for me, sadly not good things! X,3 So uh, yeah!

Anyways!! As for the anime I watched, it was Noragami!!! I absolutely loved it!!!! It was pretty funny, and gosh the main trio are so pure!!🥺🤲 They are such a family!!!! Also, YATO AND HIYORI THOOOOO!!! THEY ARE SO CUTE!! I need more of em!! X,D

Anyways! I started reading the manga to catch up, which apparently I started perfect timing, cuz the manga is starting back up from hiatus! XD I only read chapter 38 so far, so not far along! :p But I’ll read 39 today, since the chaps are real long! X3

Anyways, as for my favorite character, I’m honestly not sure, I really love a lot of em! XD So I don’t really have a fav yet!!

As for my Icon tho, I decided to do the main trio, cuz how could I not?! 🥺

So here’s that:

Precious babies!🥺🤲 I love them so much!!!!

Anyways, I’m on break now, so yeah!! XD

Hopefully I’ll be on time next time! XD

Love y’all!❤️

[virtuacore]

Knock (노크) 못참겠네 (Moschamgess-ne; I Can't Stand It) (1997) periodical old kpop power hour of power (POKPHOP) 1집

what better way to start off this series than with my favorite song from this era ever. the obscurant one-and-done group Knock's "못참겠네" (Moschamgess-ne; I Can't Stand It) is a profoundly strange, groovy banger that's like... you ever hear something and then never stop thinking about it for like, two-plus years? yeah, this is that. it's riding a crazy, pointillistic disco-house flow somewhere between Deavid Soul and Akufen, Cassius trading their vinyl for ROMplers, maximalist microhouse: as skeletal as it is stuffed with little details, spangles and accents, filter sweeps and microsamples. it's things like the molecular reduction of "That's the Way (I Like It)" in the intro, the track snapping into a nocturnal, jazzy hustle, the thumping kick and its accompanying squirrely bassline bending itself into a möbius strip, multiple hard-panned samples jumping out of the mix at the same time, or the digi-horns, space drums, pulses, beeps, whirls, pagers and phones all going off in parallel, and god knows what else (there's a lot more!). and the trio dovetail with and riff on all this racket perfectly, ooh-la-la harmonies colliding with angular co-ed rap geometry, sweetened sing-song into a perfect hook as sassy as it is yearning. and the breakdown after the first chorus is pure madness, a couple bars at a jagged clip and then "it's about that time I put you back on track!" in the center channel and "it's disco time, baby!" out of the left before devolving into gang chants and scream-raps. then it gets itself together and locks back on to that hellacious groove. totally devious.

it's a small thing, too, but I greatly appreciate this song knowing how good its hook is and beating the hell out of it as such. so many hits (and not-hits) of the time just sorta end, you know? here they drop the drums a second, bring them back and then hammer the hook into your brain over and over, layering the intro rap and a bunch more of those laser pulses on top. anyway... this song fuckin' rules so hard. what also fuckin' rules? this song's video!

the MV is so, so, sooooo good. a low-budget urban daydream of 90s street scenes (shout out to Freetel!), passing trains, underpass dance rituals and rain-slicked parking lots, all lit by colorful strobes and fogged-out flood lights, absolutely killer fashion (and at least two killer wigs), crazy fresh dance moves, just a bunch of grooving and messing about with friends on the street corner with a tinge of X-Files and Jet Set Radio, all linked together by an unimpeachable sense of cool. the image of the group just vibing on top of those cars while shrouded in fog and light? simply iconic. the video's mysterious nocturnal energy and heady, kinetic rhythm is the perfect match for the music, and the combination is a revelation.

the rest of Knock's sole album also rules, even if none of the other songs quite rise to the level of revelation that the title track does. every song is a keeper, whether the off-axis G-funk of "YAMMA" and "Bad Girl", the cartoonish lilt of "오리", or the infectious duo of "Miss Miss" and "너 친구맞니?!", which both utilize the structure of a four-on-the-floor hook juxtaposed with a funky syncopated rhythm for the verses. "연습게임" is mystical and subterranean, and even the requisite album-closing ballad "I feel in your eyes" is a jammer: slow-and-low, spare yet lush, unpretentious and memorable. the whole record's united by the same off-kilter soundworld that animates the title track—the same ROMpler full of samples bouncing every which way, instruments all over the place, bits and pieces of voice and sound accenting everything, almost like a fourth vocalist. it's full of hooks, microhooks and grooves, all anchored to a mad sense of rhythm and space. all these joints have been stuck in my head for ages, basically! it's always it's the weirdest, galaxy-brain tunes that go nowhere and are doomed to obscurity, ain't it.

download in FLAC or V0 (ripped from my CD... scanned, too!)

bonus fun fact #1: the female rapper with the buzz-cut is named Z-E (지이)—after Knock fizzled out, she linked up with a rapper by the name of Turtleman to form the trio Turtles (거북이), who scored hit after hit until Turtleman's tragic passing in 2008. Turtles were a universally beloved trio, and deservedly so—they also absolutely rule.

bonus fun fact #2 and #3: "못참겠네" (plus "YAMMA" and "Bad Girl") was arranged by one Jegal Min (제갈민), one of the unsung heroes (see also: Shin Young-sub (신영��)) of the original 1992-1994 "rap dance" craze that was dominated by Seo Taiji, Hyun Jin-young, DEUX and others. like many a failed pop star, he then found far more success in production and management. one of his backup dancers, Kim Jung-nam, later found stardom as half of the legendary Turbo (터보).

bonus fun fact #4: future entries in this series will absolutely not go on this long. i just really love this song, yeah?

tumblr exclusive bonus fun fact #5: periodical old kpop power hour of power (POKPHOP) is a series i've started on my cohost page but to a certain extent this tumblr has been on a POKPHOP for seven whole years now

hat tip: Old Kpop추억의뮤비 and 58RNA3QD

[scary-movies-on-netflix]

SHADOW IN THE CLOUD (2020)

It is 1943.  A woman furtively prepares for a mission.  She is Chloe Moretz, who we last saw in “Let Me In” (2010).  She dons a flight jacket, types up some orders, and looks at something in a big leather “radio box” (just a big box with a strap).  She heads to the airfield, and after some spookiness, boards the plane.  It is a B-17 “Flying Fortress.”  It was an iconic bomber plane of World War 2; it’s been featured in movies before, but this might be its first horror movie appearance.  Anyway, the all-male crew are incredulous at Chloe Moretz’s presence, but she shows them some orders, and they reluctantly let her aboard.  She says that her radio box is confidential and cannot be opened, and one crewmember, Quaid agrees to protect it.  Chloe Moretz is shoved into the “Sperry ball turret” on the bottom of the plane. 

The plane takes off, and we’re subjected to the casually misogynistic radio chatter of the men toward Chloe Moretz.  She talks to them over the radio, and a good part of the movie is just this: Chloe Moretz talking to the men over the radio.  In a fine English accent, she explains that she’s in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) of the Royal Air Force.  Then she sees a gremlin hanging off the bottom of the plane!  She reports what she sees.  The crew is, again, incredulous, and the captain orders her out of the turret.  Unfortunately, there are mechanical issues with the hatch.  Chloe Moretz attempts to defend herself and disabuse the men of their disdain for her.  In a fit of male pique, the captain just has the men turn off her radio, and they leave her in the turret. 

Chloe Moretz is then attacked by the gremlin!  It tries to enter the turret, but she drives it away with a bullet from her pistol.  The crew demand to know what’s going on, but she says she’s fine.  They then learn from base that there’s no one with her name on the WAAF roster!  But then someone says that they see the gremlin!  Then Chloe Moretz sees an approaching Japanese airplane!  She activates the turrets and shoots at it!  She shoots it down!

As the men react to what’s just happened, Chloe Moretz asks about her package, but now she has an American accent.  After some conversation, engine three goes out.  Chloe Moretz sees a gremlin crawl out of the wing.  It sees Chloe Moretz and approaches to stare at her.  It looks like a big bat.  It crawls back into the wing and destroys some more of the plane.  Engine four begins to fail!  The men on the plane suspect that whatever’s in the package is the cause of their trouble.  They seize it from Quaid, and we hear a baby crying over the radio.  Chloe Moretz explains that the baby is hers and Quaid’s.  She is also married, so they had an affair, and he left her.  Then her actual husband showed up.  He’s a drunk wife-beater, so she’s just trying to escape him.  She says, “I will not let myself be dishonorably discharge so that a drunk can choke me to death in the privacy of his own home.” 

The captain says that he’s turning the plane around, but then they spot a trio of Japanese Zero fighter planes!  Then the gremlin attacks Quaid, who’s in the top turret with the baby!  Then there is silence, and Chloe Moretz screams.  She sees the gremlin crawl out the wing, with the radio box!  Then the Zeros attack!  Chloe Moretz looks at the gremlin and shouts, “You have no idea how far I’ll go.”  She pops open the turret and shoots at the gremlin, and it flees.  The box with the baby dangles from the wing from a pipe.  Chloe Moretz then crawls along the bottom of the wing and grabs the box.  This seems kind of unrealistic.  A Zero shoots off the Sperry ball turret, so she crawls back to the hole.  She shoves in the baby box, then then she falls out of the plane!  As she is plummeting to her death, a damaged Zero explodes right underneath her, and the explosion propels her back into the plane. 

A crewmember who saw that is flabbergasted, as am I, and then he dies in a hail of bullets.  A crewmember then gets into a fight with the gremlin, and it shoves him out the open bomb bay.  Chloe Moretz manages to dislodge it from the plane, but it sprouts some wings and flies away.  Chloe Moretz proceeds to the cockpit and tells the captain and co-pilot that they have to make an emergency landing, but then the captains is shot to death.  As he dies he tells Chloe Moretz, “What were you thinking?”  She convinces the co-pilot that they have to land.  She goes to the rear to find a place to land, and then another crewmember, who is both misogynistic and racist (because the co-pilot is a native New Zealander), is shot to death. 

Chloe Moretz then discovers that Quaid, her baby-daddy, is still alive.  He must have been hiding in the wing.  Then they see the gremlin attacking another crewmember!  Chloe Moretz takes her time aiming her pistol, and she shoots it in the upper chest.  It falls out of the plane and toward the ground.  Chloe Moretz then runs to a turret and shoots down the final Zero.  Then the B-17 begins to dive uncontrollably!  Chloe Moretz runs back to the cockpit, sits in the now-empty pilot’s seat, and basically says that they have to, sigh, invert the plane.  Denzel Washington did this in “Flight” (2012).  Everyone straps in and we see them hanging upside down.  We can tell because Chloe Moretz’s hair hangs from her head.  Strangely, we don’t see an exterior shot of the inverted B-17 Flying Fortress, which would have been neat.  I can imagine that it would have damaged, perhaps smoking, with bits flying away as it streaked over the forest below.  Maybe they couldn’t afford a decent 3-D model of the plane.

Anyway, the maneuver works.  They crash land.  Chloe Moretz has a vision of both Quaid and her baby dying, but they are fine.  They have to flee the plane because it’s about to explode.  She and Quaid open the baby box, and the baby is fine.  The surviving guys (both of them) explain how they’ll cover for Chloe Moretz.  Quaid is then proposing to Chloe Moretz, but the gremlin attacks!  Again!  It runs away with the baby box, but Chloe Moretz bonks it on the head.  She gives the box to Quaid, and then she stalks the gremlin.  It attempts to flee, but she shows no mercy.  She beat it to death and finally kills the gremlin by shoving its own claw into its throat.  She returns to her baby, sits down, and begins to breast-feed it.  She looks at the burning plane and its icon, “The Fool’s Errand.”  She looks at us.

(That’s the end, but over the credits we see archival footage of WAAF members during World War 2.  This is a nice touch.  Yes, women contributed to the war effort.)

I want to say that this is ok, but it’s actually meh.  In some respects it’s a decent horror action movie.  World War 2 has been mined before for its horror potential, but this might be the first full-length movie to feature a wartime-era gremlin.  There have been other productions with similar types of monsters, such as the “Twilight Zone” episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (1963), starring William Shatner!  There was also a remake of that short in the “Twilight Zone: The Movie” (1983) starring John Lithgow.  These are classic shorts, and probably just the right length for this type of story.  This movie, “Shadow in the Sky,” is overly long and repetitive.  The gremlin is attacking the plane.  But then the Zeros attack!  Then we have to save the baby!  The Zeros attack again!  The gremlin attacks again!  Save the baby! And so on.  The movie can’t quite figure out what it wants to be.  We’re also bludgeoned with the casual misogyny.  The men comment on Chloe Moretz's appearance, ask her if she’s a lesbian or a whore, and wonder if she’s menstruating.  It’s all a bit much, stretching both our patience and our sense of verisimilitude.  The highlight is Chloe Moretz.  The monster effects are also pretty good, with the movie not afraid to show the gremlin in the daylight.  But, as for Chloe Moretz, she spends forty minutes out of the total runtime of seventy-four minutes sitting by herself, and she acts the hell out of her part.  She can deliver both a heartfelt speech about the horrors of domestic abuse, and then she can beat the shit out of a monster on a beach. 

[xstarlightxstarbrightx]

thoughts on how the Inazuma Archon quest went [2]

still yapping abt the Interlude b/c it's the best way for me to not procrastinate.

Shenhe: i'll take this rock back Lumi: ??? this thing weighs a bajillion tons??? Shenhe, picking up the rock: i can handle it Kaeya: oh shit, she can handle it Paimon: SHE'S TOTALLY AN ADEPTI, LOOK!!!!!

Cloud Retainer: i see u met Shenhe Paimon: yeah! what's her adeptus name, btw, it feels a lil rude to call her Shenhe. Cloud Retainer: ??? Shenhe's a human. Lumi: FUCKING CALLED IT. Paimon: aw, man... Cloud Retainer: explains Shenhe's past Lumi: so she's not a pilgrim, either... you just adopted her. Lumi: WAIT UR HER MASTER???? Kaeya: i don't think even i expected that.

anyway, Shenhe's officially the Trio's friends (and because both Lumi and Paimon were wrong, Kaeya obtained the winnings from the bet.)

looking back on this quest, it felt very much like "check out these characters that are in Liyue that you haven't met yet!!!" which i don't have a problem with, but even now looking at it i'm like "so many characters,,," (little did i know)

i really really like, though, that Beidou and Yun Jin just popped in and were like "lmao let's fuck up the competition and work together". iconic, tbh.

Also i mentioned that Kaeya's into the arts n stuff, so I like the idea that maybe he knows who Yun Jin is and is like??? pleased to meet her b/c of her Opera. like Zhongli introduced him to her Opera performances, and obviously they both enjoy that kinda stuff, so he's like a bit of a fan but is really good at hiding it / being chill abt it.

i'm dying on that hill, no one can change my mind.

side note, "the Divine Damsel of Devastation" ngl is kinda fire. I loved the entire mini story-line abt it and how it's not as glamorous as everyone says??? it's amazing. Shenhe's entire thing of "i wasn't being selfless, i was trying to survive". ough,,, good soup. delicious.

anyway, when it finally comes down to everyone getting the stuff and earning their questions for Ningguang, I feel like Kaeya probably uses his question to set up a link between her and the Knights. Something like "would you be willing to set up a meeting with the Acting Grandmaster hmm?" and Ningguang's like "i knew u'd ask that." Kaeya's such a good envoy, look at him go.

and then Beisht ruins the party :(

AND KNOCKS OUT LUMINE. WHICH IS RUDE.

but it's fine b/c she and Kaeya go to help Shenhe when she comes to, and they kick Beisht's ass. ALSO SHENHE JUST BEING LIKE "I wasn't trying to be the hero, I just wanted to protect you" IS SO CUTE AND PRECIOUS, Y'ALL SHE IS SO BABY.

i am so tempted to pull up the Opera cutscene after this too b/c i fucking LOVED that shit SO MUCH. it was so good, and Yun Jin really did her best to try and capture the tale as truthfully as possible and yifskjhFGsejkhgfkasjefhkejsrfhsjkFHJKFHSJKEFHJKSEFH

Kaeya and Lumine probably feel the same way i do abt the Opera, too, but they can't be as feral b/c bitches gotta make sure Shenhe doesn't murder a man.

ANYWAY,,, INTERLUDE CHAPTER IS DONE, I PROMISE TO DO ONE (1) INAZUMA TODAY, I SWEARRR

[thelovelybitten]

vera's first time watching south park -- season three (part 2)

i hate this character limit shit ugh but here u go <3

EPISODE 7:

lmao cartman just being a kid so cute

"BUT MEEEEEMM" never gets old

oh GOD SHELLY AS THE BABYSITTER this is about to be messy

OH FUCK SHE DECKED HIM INTO THE WALL

HOLY FUCK THEY IN THE WWE RN

NOT THE ULTRA WEDGIE

jesus CHRIST SHE JUST DOESN'T STOP

EYE. not the animal PORN GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE

CARTMAN BFFR U DON'T GIVE THAT MUCH CATNIP DSBFJKDSBKG

this man a pedophile... awks

jesus I can't with shelly she is BRUTAL

this song is...a choice.

I'm tryna feel bad for shelly but I can't

where the honk did all these cats come from

this cat subplot is so... weird I don't like it

okay. this ep was. a wild ride i'd say lol

EPISODE 8:

RANDY. JUST BC HE HANGS OUT WITH KYLE A WHOLE TON DOESN'T MEAN HE CAN'T BE BI OR SUMTH.... if they want to, they will. if the don't, they still besties. period.

BUTTERS' FIRST LINES <3 MY CHERISHED BABY BOY BJKSDFJBDSJBGDS HE IS HERE

pip kinda weird tho

what in tarnation is this game y'all

sharon pop AWF mom get KRUNK BITCH

the dads getting into the hot tub lmao

period gerald

these DADS I CAN'T DJBSFKJSDBGKB

gerald. just say ur into randy FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

this awk atmosphere YIKES

yo gerald WHAT THE FUCK DID U JUST SAY

oh wait this IS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME AS LAST EP

cool ref

these people MAD WEIRD

STAN BEING AN ICON AS ALWAYS

wait WHAT THE FUCK THE DADS RLY DID THAT ??!?!?!?!??@?!/1/1? BE FUCKING FOR REALLLLL

RANDY ?!?2/2!?2?1

the PHOTO OF STAN FUCKING KILLS ME

randy and gerald got tension y'all...

BUTTERS HE'S A SWEET BOY SOBBING

oh god THIS SONG DOES SUCK

STAN AND BUTTERS :')

stan getting into the game werk

mr.mackey getting KRUNKKKKKK

randy in his homophobic era :/

GASP

"we all a little gay" SO TRUE BESTIE SO TRUE

NOT BUTTERS BEING DRAFTED AS SOON AS KYLE GOT THERE

style just reigns supreme ig

EPISODE 9:

IKE IN HIS LITTLE SUIT <3333333

this is also linked to the last two eps

SLAY KENNY

kenny listening so good meanwhile ike is having a MELTDOWN

I love the kyle/kenny dynamic it's so different but so refreshing

they could be bomb friends (but not as close as style)

IKE :"((((((

Kenny is just so cute

NOT KENNY GETTING THE BELL A BUNCH OF TIMES FKFBJDSSDKJBGJSB

kenny and kyle sfljbsajfbk they are hilarious

not the kid :(

Kenny sitting with his eyes open LMAO

KENNY MAKING HIS SOAP CARVING ON THE SPOT

NOT KENNY GET OUTTA HERE

kyle threw kenny under the bus little bitch

NO KENNY SDGBDSJBDSKBBK :(((((((((((

KENNY SAVE THE KIDS RN POP OFF MY SON

"SHIT." - KENNY MCCORMICK

the bears helping save the jew scouts w kenny and the squirts <3

GO KENNY GOOOOOOOO

NO KENNY'S DEAD :'(((((

oh my goD GOOD EP

EPISODE 10:

HALLOWEEN EPISODEEE

MY TRIO (stan, kyle, Kenny) those are my kids

okay but cartman is me tho

ayo KENNY WOULD WIN THE CONTEST DON'T DOUBT MY SON

is this a scooby doo reference? weird but okay ig

liane laughing at her own son LMAO

BRO WHAT NOT KYLE'S GRANDMA :'((((((

Y'ALL SICK FOR THIS

I feel so bad for kyle oh my god :'(

god the literal trauma kyle would go through for this

that's on god kyle we show respect in this house

NO NOT THE DOG EATING KYLE'S GRANDMA

what THE HELL CARTMAN NO

KYLE AND STAN <3 their costumes are so cute WHAT

SHERIFF STANLEY AND THE KYLE CLOWN AFJLDNSNKSJDG

YO KENNY'S ROBOT COSTUME ATE DOWN WHAT THE FUCK

real question: what money did kenny use to get this costume

sir u have money for maybe a pack of gum bffr

anyways

I'm ignoring this pirate ghost storyline/necrophilia storyline :/ it's weird

NOT STAN AND KYLE DON'T HURT THEM

excuse me...what

OH GOD NOT KYLE'S GRANDMA BE VOMITED BACK UP

the seizure warning was not mentioned OWCH

wenSLAY EATING THE COSTUME CONTEST AGAIN... SHE DOESN'T MISS EVER

EPISODE 11:

what in the pokemon ripoff is this

"but MEEEEEM"

DON'T STEAL FROM KENNY CARTMAN

no KYLE he's gonna be called OUT

GERALD KINDA ATE

no bc I don't think kyle's gonna keep up with the fads tbh

and here we go

no kyle resist

NO NOT KENNY GETTING A SEIZURE

god I feel for kyle so much

kyle, baby boy, ur doing great

why they FACES LIKE THAT STOP

WENDY ALSO IN ON THIS OMG SHE'S SO CUTE

WHAT.

oh lord this is a dumpster fire

cringe

DAMN STAN IS LOST

they ALL LOST

parents ate

kyle babe HAHAHA

DEAD "YET" PLEASE

nah this was the worst kenny death I almost vomitted

EPISODE 12:

A SPELLING BEE? interesting

I was good at the spelling bee in grade 4 fun fact

liane she's so CUTE

"what's a homeschooled kid?" kyle PLEASE

ate down y'all are fucked now

cartman: :D

KYLE FINAL 3 LET'S GO KIDDO

what the FUCK IS THIS WORD

"what's your name?" "what's in a name?" kyle's whipped for rebecca

KYLE OMG A KING

it's two nerds in love :')

he tried his best

NOT THE BUBBLE

Y'ALL EVERYONE BE LOOKING AT HAMSTER BALL MARK ODDLY BUT CRAIG IS FUCKING PISSED OFF LNDFNDLSNGL

craig: stupid hamster looking ass i'mma smash you like a lawbreaker typa beat

now they ALL MAD

the kids are unhinged but they my kids

kyle singing outside rebecca's window that's fucking cute as shit bro

rebecca: :|

kyle wanting to ask rebecca to the school dance PLEASE SAY STAN IS INVITING WENDY PLEASE

KYLE AND REBECCA ARE QUITE CUTE OKAY PLS

SHE JUST GRABS HIM

KYLE AND REBECCA ARE PLAYING DOCTOR AWE

KYLE U GONNA GET UR BRAIN CUT OUT BOY

KYLE HAD THAT RIZZ but rebecca is brain dead, it's OKAY MY BOY

shit this monkey killed my son

I'M CRYING KYLE AND REBECCA ARE SO CUTE

OH MY GOD THEY GONNA KISS FDBDFSJKBSDGBKGFSBKGDSS

STOP THEYYYYYYYY OH MY GOD FDSKJBGKJSDBBGKB this is so cute it's cavity inducing

kyle being the cutest to rebecca but stan FORGETTING WENDY ???? SO FUCKING WEIRD STAN stop beating on kyle for his little crush

YO WHAT THE FRESH HELL REBECCA ??? she's a child hooker ???? kyle is screaming into his pillow

not kyle getting the shit beat outta him

NOW Y'ALL WANNA BE TEAM MARK ??? VERY WEIRD

this ep was funny okay I'll admit

EPISODE 13:

omg STARVIN' MARVIN' IS BACK LET'S GOOOOOO <3

future viv note: my notes on this episode did not save but it was very good tbh, marklar.

also the star wars refs were funny too

kyle also slayed

EPISODE 14:

also rewatching bc notes did not save

OH RIGHT THE WAR REENACTMENT

style vs cartman

SMORE'S SCHNAPPS

adults drunk af

MESSENGER BUTTERS <3

"PROSPERITAH" "CONFEDERITAH" "AUTHORITAH"

"GIVE UP, FATASS THERE'S OVER 100 NATIONAL GUARD GUYS HERE"

"SUCK MY ASS" LMAO

STYLE SLAYED

[bangchanswolfpelt]

*quietly drops this into ur inbox after like 2 months* part 2 of svt relationships. as a treat

jun + the8:

- SOULMATES PART THREE!!!!!! - sunshiney boy + intelligent book boy but taken to another level - jun seems quiet and unapproachable but is secretly a giant sweetheart and full of love - minghao seems like a good respectful boy but he’s actually a chaotic meme king who’s obsessed with kermit (the number of Minghao Roasting People compilations can attest to this. also see: haunted house gose episode, which is actually what really got me into svt in the first place) - i love these two forever. exasperated mom friend x flirty dreamy friend - it’s junhui running around and being loud and telling really horrible pickup jokes while minghao pretends to be disgusted but is actually cackling on the inside!!! - it’s minghao roasting everyone while jun hovers supportingly on the side!!!! it’s them making fun of each other in the sweetest possible way!! (minghao imitating jun in the talent show gose episode KILLED ME) - not only that, but the trust that these two have in each other, kind of like vernon and joshua but perhaps even more, as people from an unfamiliar country that gave everything to dance on a stage - best way to encapsulate them: the my i performance. The My I Performance. i have nothing else to say woozi + hoshi:

- overexcited extrovert friend + exhausted introvert friend - jihoonie’s so like. tolerantly fond of soonyoung’s shenanigans and it Makes Me Soft - see: that one vlive where he just let hoshi fuck around with his recording equipment - there’s really not much to say here i just love these two and their dynamic - hoshi: going absolutely batshit insane. woozi: on the side with sunglasses and a smoothie

vernon + seungkwan:

- MY CHILDREN. MY DARLINGS. - the Literal Epitome of the “kick his ass baby, i got yo flower” meme - seungkwan is honestly someone i relate to on a like. molecular level. - the man is so chaotic and loud and unrestrained and has ABSOLUTELY no care for his reputation and vernon’s just quietly supporting him in the back and i!!!!!!! - anyways - lowkey one of my favorite relationships to just watch interact with each other without words?? like they’re so at home with each other that they don’t need to act "nice" or be polite and it’s literally so good - i live for the comfortable married-couple energy - also: vernon, when asked during a LIVE CONCERT what his favorite part of seungkwan is: (without hesitation) *slaps seungkwans ass* - a key part of their dynamic: vernon doing something stupid and seungkwan: a) pouting. b) making fun of him. c) joining in. d) all of the above. - alexa play best friend by saweetie i CANT DEAL WITH THESE TWO - unrelated: vernon’s fashion sense and the collective group disdain over makes me cry laugh. like sir please i love you but why do you look like someone took a pride flag and a ufo and put them in a blender booseoksoon:

- CHAOTIC TRIO!!! LIFEBLOOD OF THE GROUP!!!!! blessed blessed blessed - unmatched energy. the vibes alone would incinerate me on the spot - this is a constant cycle of batshit crazy member to the power of three resulting in Shenanigans Never Before Seen - hoshi-hoshi unrelentingly making fun of seungkwan is like my entire life. i can’t even do my little gay wrist limping without thinking of these two anymore (ps seungkwan is my fruity gay boy icon by aesthetic and attitude alone idc if he’s probably straight) the entirety of the svt episode where they all imitate each other is everflowing serotonin for my weak carat heart - seungkwan, in return, having absolutely no qualms to just fucking DECK soonyoungie when he pulls shit is just. top tier content at all times. i LOVE these two the epitome of squabbling siblings who hate each others’ guts but will also combine forces to create one absolute MENACE. mingyu/coups energy but times 100000000000000000 teasing and general chaos - Seokmin My Beloved: an 10 page essay by me - completing the trio with dolphin screams, nonsense sense, and absolutely no concern for his idol image - dk is a sweet sweet boy but if you put him in proximity to the members he just. goes absolutely insane i love him - seokmin uniting factor of booseoksoon u can’t change my mind: bridges gap between seungkwan-hoshi war. hes literally just vibing. king - stream just do it mingyu + seungkwan

- that meme where seungkwan’s about to fight someone and mingyu holds him back. this has happened multiple times. that is all

heheh.

xoxo honey anon 🍯

Jun and Minghao!! i don't give Jun a lot of real estate in my brainspace, but he's such a good sweet boy. the way their initial impressions are so opposite!! and then you get a peek under the surface and they're so different from those initial impression and still so different from each other, and yet!! they fit!!!!

i cannot remember where it is, but somewhere they talked about how they're not sure they would have been friends if they had ended up meeting under circumstances where they needed each other less, but that now they couldn't live without each other and it makes me 😭😭😭

(also. just. do not talk to me about how these thirteen boys were all thrown together and not all of them were compatible or friendly right off the bat, but when they had the choice between being swallowed alive and forgotten by history or figuring out how to not hate each other, they turned themselves into a fuckin family and. i am not crying you're crying 😤😤😤😭)

(also MINGHAO IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE IS SO ICONIC—it was actually the beginning of the end for my roommie in their battle to not slide into the diamond life, too, what a way to go :'] )

Vernon and Seungkwan—the way their mbti's changed to become more similar over time, and the way Seungkwan said Vernon was "cute and small like a puppy" when they met as trainees but now he's grown into a big dog, it all fuckin kills me 😭

my favorite way to describe DK is The Weird Kid in Grade School Who Never Actually Got the Weird Bullied Out of Him, all random impulse zero self-consciousness will do anything to make you laff

[exhausted-dog-mom]

Isekai where MC somehow manages to become the Jounin sensei of Team 7 instead of Kakashi.

OOOOOOOH! The IDEAS this one give me! I'm gonna start an AU tag just for this bc I just know I'm gonna keep writing for this. (((o(*°▽°*)o))) I named the sensei after you, hope that's ok.

Ahem ahem, here we go!

I looked down at paperwork in my hands, my brain refusing to understand the words my eyes were reading.

"Has there been a mistake," I said with as much confidence as I could muster. "I don't think this is for me."

The Hokage leaned back in his chair and puffed on his pipe. "Not at all. I think you're the perfect person for the job."

"I haven't even been a Jounin for a year, yet, sir. Surely a line up like this needs someone more experienced." Like Kakashi. Specifically Kakashi.

The Hokage seemed amused by my perfectly reasonable doubts. "I don't think you realize how rare someone like you is. Tell me, can you really see Naruto listening to anyone other than you or Iruka?"

I grimaced. Yeah, he had a point. What was I supposed to do, though? Treat the poor kid like shit? Even if I was a native of this world, I like to think I would be above such things. My parents—both the ones here and the ones from before—raised me better than that. There was no doubt in my mind that they would never have blamed a baby for their deaths, especially not if they knew the whole story like I did. If I let that color my interactions with the little ball of sunshine, then so be it.

"I thought the point of these teams was to help the kids get used to following orders even when they don't know their commanding officer or teammates?"

Another puff of smoke filled the room and I resisted the urge to cough. Barely. "Under normal circumstances, yes."

And these weren't normal circumstances. Right.

I sighed heavily. "I'll do my best."

The Hokage looked obnoxiously smug and I reminded myself for the millionth time that I was not by any definition strong enough to take him out. "I expect nothing less."

***

Given what I knew about the original story, I resolved to be as unlike Kakashi as possible. Step one in that plan was being on time.

I stepped into the classroom with a nervous smile twitching on my face. "Team Seven?"

Naruto, blessed angel that he was, beamed at me from across the room.

"Yo, Ryu! You're our sensei?"

My other two students were far less enthused. I could understand why. I wasn't exactly the most well-known shinobi in the Village, after all. In fact, I could count the people who knew my name on one hand. That was fine. That was how I liked it. The fewer people who knew anything about me, the better.

Of course, being the Jinchuriki's sensei—and the Last Uchiha's—would likely be the end of that.

I beckoned for Naruto and his teammates to follow me as I bowed my head in greeting to Iruka, my fellow 'protect Naruto' club member. "Yep. Now get over here, would you? We have things to do today."

I led the iconic trio out of the Academy, Naruto's excited chatter helping to settle my nerves. Everything was gonna be ok. There was no need to worry. If anything, I was the best choice of sensei for this team. With my foreknowledge guiding us, I could enact some real change!

Maybe.

Oh, who was I kidding, this was going to end in disaster, wasn't it? What could a rookie Jounin even teach a bunch of Genin, anyway? I may not agree with Kakashi's teaching methods—cough, cough, neglect—but at least he knew things! Ah! I was gonna make everything worse!

"Um, sensei?"

I did my best to smile down at Sakura. "Yes, my adorable student?" Gah! What the hell was I saying?

"What are we going to do today?"

I realized then that I had frozen in front of the Academy, like an idiot.

"Ahahaha, yes, well," I wracked my brain for a plausible answer. "First things first, we need a skill evaluation! Let's head on over to the training grouds and see what you can do!"

That was a normal thing to start with, right?

Right?

[pedroalonso]

i finished watching lcdp 5 and 

i fucking LOVED IT, thank you.

The stuff from part 3/4 were really good in terms of the flashbacks between berlermo and the brothers and their trio as a whole, but the bank stuff back then was kind of draggy which sucked because the bank should have had the intense scenes.

But then along came part 5 volume 1 and HELLLL YES!!! The action was intense and thrilling. The stakes were high. The emotional moments were perfectly squeezed in between the scenes and they were all so potent. The ending was beautifully foreshadowed and Tokyo went out with fucking style. An absolute icon. (RIP BABYGIRL I CANT BELIEVE THEY TOOK YOU AWAY FROM ME WHEN WE WERE JUST STARTING TO GET ALONG. What injustice.)

Also, I CAN’T BELIEVE THE GANG FINALLY UNDERSTANDS THE MEANING OF TEAM WORK??? AHHH MY HEART. MY BABIES. MY RAGTAG BUNCH OF MISFITS.

Part 5 really made me appreciate the whole gang. I realize that I have my favorites of course, but I LOVE THEM ALL, okay. ALL OF THEM.

I will say though, that as much as I love Pedro, the Berlin flashback scenes were really odd and felt out of place. Sure it was FUN, but I couldn’t connect it to anything that was going on in the main heist, nor did it add any emotional depth to what was happening there (unlike Tokyo’s flashbacks where we learned more about her character and empathized with her RIGHT BEFORE THEY KILLED HER OFF lmao)

But I said this before, I honestly don’t care about Berlin’s son, and I was hoping the flashbacks were going to make me change my mind by seeing how it affects the whole story. But it DIDN’T, not at all. It felt like Andrés had his own thing going on that had NOTHING to do with the bank, which sucked seeing as how his flashbacks in parts 3/4 showed that this was the heist he loved the most. This was his obra maestra. This was the heist Sergio (and to a certain degree Martín), decided to do in order to honor his memory. And seeing him running around Copenhagen with his newly introduced son and sidecharacters he barely interacted with before, supposedly POST MONASTERY, without his brother or Martín? Well. Put that on the list of TOP 10 ANIME BETRAYALS.

I am hoping though that SOMEHOW they’ll tie his plot together with everything else and there will be payoff. But for now, I’m afraid to say that IN A SURPRISING TURN OF EVENTS, I liked the Berlin flashbacks the least. I still enjoyed them because of Pedro, but it was definitely the weakest link in the series. Sorry mi amooor.

ANYWAY, here are some of my favorite bits:

ANY SCENE WITH PALERMO. God damn, Rodrigo de la Serna steals every scene he’s in. He doesn’t just hit the mark, he OBLITERATES IT. His expressions, his eyes, the changes in his voice. Every tiny bit of micro acting he’s doing absolutely adds to the moment and he just fucking NAILS IT. My god.  It made me miss the energy he and Pedro had, bouncing and playing off each other in the previous season. Hoping to get a little bit of that soon before the show ends. UGHH i miss my boys

the gandia fist fight with Bogota was exactly the kind of chaos I’m into yes PLEASE

Palermo/Lisboa In-Laws Slash Co-Leaders Power Duo MORE OF THAT TOO PLEASE

i really liked Monica’s arc this season and I love her for shooting Arturo to near death. RIP to her but i won’t feel guilty lmaoooo. Esther Acebo really brought it this season DAMN

I liked the Tokyo flashbacks bc Miguel and Ursula are both hot RIP hot people

All of the Andrés scenes were thankfully in character and despite hating the plot, I loved seeing him be a petty, evil, chaotic bastard

Andrés insisting Tokyo be in the heist was hilarious because we ALL KNOW how THAT turned out

Manila’s backstory was touching!!! I didn’t like her trying to mess with Monver though

ALICIA’S LABOR LMAO I JUST -- It was also hilarious as hell ok.

Also Marsella is too sexy for his own good THERE I SAID IT

That bit when Tamayo mocked Angel by making weird noises. I was like “Mans has officially gone off the rails”

The hostage escape was stressful but It WAS FUN. TEAMWORK

Sergio saying Raquel is the sexiest woman in the world but he loves her for her brains. LMAO.

That scene where Sergio apologizes to the gang for being caught and his voice started cracking when he said “Lo Siento Palermo” MAYHAPS I SCREAMED.

Tokyo’s death scene. Definitely just as jarring as Nairobi’s but as awesome as Berlin’s. It was a shock but it felt well done to me.

I NEED VOLUME 2 NOWWWWWWWWWWWW

[davidmann95]

New Superman show! Thoughts?

Anonymous said: Thoughts on the new Superman animated series?

cheerfullynihilistic said: Thoughts on the new HBO Max DC animated shows?

Anonymous said: A NEW SUPERMAN CARTOON!!!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!! Also another Batman cartoon. That looks cool too

jcogginsa said: NEW SUPERMAN CARTOON!

Anonymous said: So what do you want from the new animated show? It seems to be about a “Year 2” Superman which suits me perfectly, I just want fun adventures with the trio. We’ve still got S&L and the animated movies for a more “mature” take on Superman if this is too childish.

deathchrist2000 said: So they’re making a new Superman cartoon about him falling for Lois. Thoughts?

As it happens I had to wake up much earlier than usual today, so I saw the Batman announcement pretty much as soon as it happened. I had the car ride to the comic book store to think about it, mulled over the notion that while I like Batman too much to be resentful about this it was of course notable that there was no accompanying Superman announcement, leading me to conclude that hey, they should make a Superman cartoon too, a blistering spark of unprecedented inspiration to be sure. Then since I was early I checked my phone while waiting for the store to open, and I believe I audibly yelped.

In the order they were announced: psyched for Caped Crusader! I guess this is what the ‘BTAS is coming back!’ rumors a few months ago were about, and if this basically is “BTAS but serialized, getting to go heavier, and with modern production values”, I’m more than onboard with these names attached. Assuming Abrams’ role is mostly ceremonial, and hoping since he wasn’t in the original Hollywood Reporter headline with the other two Timm’s is mostly aesthetic (the degree to which his input beyond that could be a good thing depends on how much his uncomfortable horniness can be reigned in. Not even saying anything less than exceedingly horny, just don’t have Bruce and Barbara hook up again), this looks to be mainly Reeves’ baby which really shows how far WB is investing in him as the shepherd of their biggest IP. Must be a dream gig for him, getting to do his versions of the big hyper-modern unique reinvention and the classic iconic take at the same time: between that, Timm getting to go in the darker direction he always wanted, and Abrams getting to put his name on a thing everybody already likes again the way we know that guy loves, everybody’s getting what they want with this one. I can’t imagine this not turning out well.

Additionally, controversial take: despite the Timm design hoping this isn’t another Conroy return, we all love him but he’s phoned it in for a bit now and this should scream new as much as possible.

So first off: love that title. What a joyful, clever, lovely spin on an old standard.

Second: love this setup, aesthetic, and apparent tone! Instantly love this Clark and especially this Lois and their dynamic from the one image alone, I’m not familiar with Jake Wyatt’s work but taking a quick glance I’m very glad to see he’s part of this, and getting folks from the Voltron and She-Ra reboots sends a clear message as if the art wasn’t enough of what kind of thing this is going to try to be. Which is pretty much a perfect tack for a modern Superman cartoon: tell the 20-somethings who watched Adventure Time and Steven Universe and the like “hey, this is like those, but focused on your new age group”, and the kids watching Infinity Train and Owl House “hey this is like those but Superman”. If nothing else doing a show rooted around superheroism as a metaphor for the 20s experience rather than being a teenager is a relatively unique tack (as far as mass-media goes PS4 Spider-Man is the only other one that leaps out at me), and anchoring it and the adventures around the slice-of-life escapades and growth of Lois, Clark, and Jimmy as a trio of friends ala Morrison’s Action rather than the traditional duo with a sidekick is inspired. Gut instinct, but I have a feeling this is gonna be a revelatory Lois interpretation in particular. And if All-Star was Jack Quaid’s reading for inspiration as Clark, well, that’s sure not a bad sign either.

(The above’s from reddit, I guess some concept art from early enough that the title wasn’t finalized; the person who leaked this said the girl on the right is a member of the Newsboy Legion, now the Newskid Legion.)

(Also glad to see he's in his real clothes but if he's starting the show figuring the identity out, and there's some Morrison influence, they could do worse than to have him start in the t-shirt and jeans.)

20 years since the last proper Superman on TV, and now we’re getting two shows at once! One of them Superman for KIDS, if you can imagine such a thing. Between My Adventures With Superman as an early days, poppy all-ages series, Superman & Lois as a drama acting as the de facto sequel to pretty much every prior mass-media Superman take, and the upcoming movie apparently being a fairly standalone prestige reinvention, it really feels like all the bases are being covered. Hot damn, he’s well and truly back. Worth the inevitable agonizing hellpit discourse surrounding the franchise now that it’ll be a young adult animated series open to that scale of criticism, and as noted in my Twitter mentions, while not lining up in the strictest chronological sense, in terms of paving the way for this Superman in the collective cultural headspace McKenna Jean Harris probably deserves some royalties, or at least to get to work on the show.

Anonymous said: DC giveth and DC taketh away. We get a new Superman cartoon!... and an Injustice movie. Oh well it was inevitable right? Disappointed they’re doing Injustice before Kingdom Come though, and the petty side of me hopes we get a Metal adaption with the evil Batmen down the road.

Anonymous said: Injustice is finally getting adapted. That sucks but it looks like they’re adapting the first game’s story?

lol, two out of three ain’t bad

Really don’t care, this whipped up some Twitter mentions but basically no one especially gives a shit about these DTV joints at this point anyway (even if Man of Tomorrow turned out really solid) and the contrast today is a particularly humiliating one. So sure, do this too while you’re at it, a friend noted their new burgeoning shared universe sets it up to adapt the original ‘good Earth V evil Earth’ plot pretty well but it hardly matters.

[shinygoku]

very intrigued to see what you think of Henry!!! ^v^ (character ask!)

Another day, another Big Green! (The others are Piccolo and Thunderbird 2 lmao)

First impression

"Green ver of that one big creepy dude" (Look, when I was Babby I saw a Gordon picture somewhere that minorly spooked me lmao)

Impression now

Ahh, Henry! In some ways, very much like Duck! Green, long nose, popular with the fans and I'm here like Yeah he's a good fixture of the series lol

Ok well, maybe I should disclaim that he's not one of my favourites, which is partly as I guess it's a bit hard to nail down his personality.

His, for lack of a better term, Illness Arc is fascinating and oddly Real for a series about machinery. Something's genuinely amiss with him, but the lack of a clear cause (at least, to the other engines, who presumably don't know he was built from stolen, incomplete plans and the logical issues that would arise from that) and his frequent complaints turn the other characters off wanting to hear about it, thinking he's exaggerating. Then the Welsh Coal stopgap is found! Then the very next story he has a horrible crash but it was a blessing in disguise because then he's rebuilt as a Black 5 and his health issues are gone forever! (ain't we envious of machines now?) Until Lazy Writer Disease sets in Meta-wise, but more on that later.

I think it's safe to say that it's Entry Level RWS Knowledge to know Awdry's frustrations with the character, and it is kind of hilarious how much he tried to write him out, and iirc Henry wound up with the most appearances and 'his' book has 5 stories instead of the uniform 4 for some reason. But it seems it takes further Lazy Corporate Mandates to actually write him out in BwBa which really sucks and is doing such an iconic lad horribly dirty.

Pictured: Henry as seen by Awdry/Mattel, who are about to just shove him out of the story with varying degrees of success.

Well yeah, for me I can't really settle on an opinion because he never seems to have anything solid after the Rebuild. He's kind of the nicer one out of the Terrible Trio, but sometimes he's as bitchy and obnoxious as Gordon without prompting. He seems to be pretty unlucky and sometimes his misfortunes are self inflicted, but they don't commit to this bit. He gets his (in)famous forest, much to Awdry's chagrin, but it does offer a nice gentler side to him. He also seems to be the main Fast Freight engine, particularly more Fish shipments, but this doesn't really inform his character. He all too often feels like a Spare, Green Gordon who's less full of himself (but still gets boughts of Envy and inflated self importance, like Tenders for Henry), and that's a shame because this nebulous lack of anything concrete seems to be why Bad TatMR Writing diagnosed him with Need Welsh Coal again for quite a long time (dunno if that only changed when Mattel/Brenner came in or not). But then the US dub makes him sound like w--dy all-n and that's the worst treatment of all! I kind of understand the temptation to make him the resident worrier but HUUURGHGHH NOT LIKE THAT

So yeah, the better characterization of him needs to strike a good balance of him being ...I guess a Gentle Giant, who enjoys nature and maybe is a smidge prone to bouts of feeling jealous. Maybe catches the engine version of colds more than the others because the early morning runs in the freezing air? I dunno, I'm trying to combine several traits that have been in Henry but never seemed to stick. But done properly, I could really get behind a nice, faceted character like that~

Favourite moment

It feels a bit mean to say, but it's due to the strength of the episode itself with the fantastic visuals, godly music and shocking drama (with a nice bonus of Correct Head Codes!) that put Flying Kipper at the top of this list!

Another part of this ep, is the beginning where the Driver is saying "Don't tell Gordon, but if you pull this nicely, the Fat Controller may let you pull the Express!". Like, that really squeezes my heart, because his driver is rooting for him, the prospect of a better regarded job is floating there, and knowing what eventually happens, it's like... oof! But in a good way.

...Also I think that must have been something Awdry added after deciding not to kill him off because having that bit and for it to all go up in flames would have made children and me extremely upset and he would have been buried under letters of complaint from angry mothers of the time.

Idea for a story

Other than the overly simple and grimdark "he was in fact killed that day" type coma inducers, I suppose the Two Henries theory being explored could offer some interesting interactions.

Like, what if the Henry who rolls back into The Big Station is instantly accepted and in fact, liked more than og Henry? What if the other engines instead couldn't fully relax around him? Were his memories perfect? Too Perfect?

And what would happen if OG Henry were later discovered... (and in what condition?) Dun Dun Dun dododo Dun!

The thing is, it is hard to really explore this because it's innately such a dark, heavy concept. I don't enjoy the 'Authoritarian Hellscape" lameass interpretation by normies. I like my silly workcom on the rails with warm fuzzies and funny antics, thank you very much!

Unpopular opinion

Some of his faces (even before the worsening first inflicted by Magic Railroad) are pretty weird looking! Maybe cause his forehead is so huge and smooth, but maybe just the odd mouth shapes. I like the variety, but they aren’t what I’d call cute... I find myself thinking ‘Moon Face’ looking at him [even with the lack of craters lmao] and oops I think I missed the weirdest grin of all, but here’s a small sample anyway

Favourite relationship

Not a favourite, per say, but some of the more friction-ish interactions he has with Thomas or Percy are pretty funny. With Thomas’ immortal flippant disregard to viaduct safety, Percy retorting that engines with Proper Funnels do, in fact, need scarves, something Henry wouldn’t know about, and that Henry somehow manages to dismiss Bill and Ben, a feat Gordon needs to take notes from. Even the Something in the Air exchange with Thomas, which isn’t really stellar writing just has a funny lame argument vibe.

For some nice Wholesome interaction, Bear is hands down the winner! Easy pick maybe, and it makes me wonder if Bear’s complete absence in the TVS is part of the downward spiral because he’d offer a lot more Plotlines.... hmmm...!

Favourite headcanon

Other than the universal fandom acceptance that He Digs Nature, Baby is the notion I’ve seen a few times that his “fear” of the rain, or what it would do to his paint, isn’t actually why he stopped in the tunnel, and it had more to do with his mechanical failure and/or him having something of a nervous breakdown. He does come across as something of an ass if you take the episode at face value, but there having a secret deeper meaning is way more interesting 👀