#he was interesting and good in the main series which makes it FUNNIER

[yumeka-sxf]

Thoughts on Spy x Family: Family Portrait

I finally got around to reading the SxF light novel, Family Portrait...and I mean "finally" because it's literally been sitting in my shelf since it was first released in English back in December of last year! I was distracted by Code White and the SxF video game which came out around the same time, but even long after that, I was having trouble getting motivated to read it. For some reason, experiencing SxF in novel format instead of in anime/manga just didn't appeal to me, plus the fact that it's not written by Endo himself (these weird preferences of mine are also why I'm not into reading fanfics either). Don't get me wrong, in general I love reading stories in prose form too, but for a series like SxF that already has such an established visual identity, it doesn't feel as "authentic" to me if that makes any sense. But I did want to read it eventually, since it is an official part of SxF media and Endo did the illustrations and does acknowledge the book (he wrote a nice afterword at the end). So I finally sat down and read it in sections over the course of this week! I'll share my brief thoughts on each of the contained stories:

Novel Mission 1

Since this was the first story in the book, it took me a while to get used to experiencing the world of SxF in novel form. There were some things I felt would have been better conveyed in anime/manga, for example, one of the very first gags about Yor misinterpreting Anya's nature class as some sort of hardcore outdoor survival trip. As I was reading that part I was like "I get the joke, but it would have been funnier if I actually saw these images and the characters' expressions with Endo's comedic illustrations." It was also a bit jarring to hear the characters thoughts and feelings from third-person narration, but I got used to it. As for the story itself, it was Damianya focused, something I'm not particularly into, but I don't mind it either. I liked the rare, soft Damian moments, and the thing with the squirrel eating Anya's peanut trail was funny. I also liked the scene at the beginning where Loid and Yor feed Bond together while Anya watches.

Novel Mission 2

Oddly, this was my favorite of the stories! Of all the characters, I think the author nailed Yuri's unhinged thoughts the best - as I was reading, I couldn't help but hear every cringe thought in his voice, which is a good sign of how well the author gets the character! I actually chuckled at a few parts too, both from his insane Yor-obsessed and anti-Loid musings, as well as from his banter with Anya. The police interrogation scene was great and would be even better if it ever gets animated! I also found it interesting that this story has the first instance where we find out what Yuri thinks about Bond (that he's fat and useless - rude!) Also his first time hearing about Franky apparently...makes we wonder if Endo will make him feel the same way if these things ever come up in the manga.

Novel Mission 3

I liked this story a lot too! I think it worked the best in novel format out of all of them, probably because it was more focused on drama and emotions than comedy. It's ironic that the two official SxF stories that feature the deeper side of Franky's character - this one and the omake chapter from volume 13 - are both not even part of the main canon! Alessa would have definitely accepted Franky's job as an informant, but he felt that someone like her should only be surrounded by "beautiful things." The poor man really needs to see that inner beauty matters too, and he has that! I also think he should have swallowed his pride and told Loid the real reason why he wanted the disguise...not that it would have changed the outcome. Poor Franky.

Novel Mission 4

This was a cute Forger-focused story, but like the first one, I felt it had parts that would have been more effective in anime/manga form, for example, "hair monster" Yor and whatever hideous painting Felix ended up making! But despite that, it was still funny and cute. Though I do think the author went a tad overboard with Yor's flustered antics...they just kept going and going, lol. Also, like the movie, we have another scenario of Loid getting flung into the air by Yor but landing gracefully on his feet (though this instance was much tamer since she wasn't drunk and only pushed him instead of hit him). Again, maybe I would have appreciated the humor in this story better if I saw it in anime/manga with Endo's hilarious designs and expressions, but for what it was, it was enjoyable enough.

Short Novel

This extra short story would be perfect as a reintroduction story for a future anime season...maybe one day!

-----

Overall, the Family Portrait novel is a nice addition to the Spy x Family universe. Even though I feel the humor in the series is most effective in illustrated form, it's still nice to have more stories in the canon, especially ones that show new sides to the characters, like the Franky and Yuri stories. Like the movie, it's debatable if this novel should be considered true canon or not, but personally, I don't find anything in it that contradicts canon, at least not yet. So yeah, definitely check out the novel if you haven't already! 😁

[krittec]

berlin having the least interesting plotline and being the least interesting character in his OWN SHOW is actively hilarious.

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 1 - Side B

firestar art by @kudos-si-do

Propaganda below ⬇️

Kirei

He fucked up so many people's lives so badly in just one decade (not on purpose) that the universe put him in the summoning pool of all world influencing souls. He doesnt really have any special powers but he does serve as a vessel for rasputin at one point. He's the guy who says "people die when they are killed"

please please please there's literally a type moon character in the gif on the top of this form so it's typemoonphobic if none of them get in but it shouldn't be her it should be kirei bc he's 50x funnier & more iconic than jeanne. funny lil murder priest who's fucking THE gilgamesh (from the epic of) in the church basement and dies in a knife fight w a 17 year old whose dad he wanted to fuck back in '94 before realizing that he was actually kinda lame and he's been bitter abt it ever since. he has an orphan torture factory in his basement but he's also canonically good at being a priest. he's so funny you should def try his mapo tofu i swear it's totally safe for human consumption and not made with any california reapers. did i mention he's a deadbeat dad.

Priest claims to be Pro Life to make Sakura Matou the most miserable girl on the planet, but he dies anyway.

bro became a catholic because he loves suffering

He’s a priest. Kind of. Not a very good priest obviously. There is something seriously wrong and fucked up with that man. It’s so entertaining.

he's gotta be one of the most insane catholic men ever with a very in-depth and interesting relationship with his religion and his relationship with god also he's the sexiest man ever to be conceptualized in the known universe and all of time

Will never forget the 40+ minute monologue in heavens feel being a thinly veiled metaphor for abortion

he wants to torment churchgoers and make them face their failures and suffering but all he ends up doing is motivate them to improve themselves. cringefail moment for him

he's absolutely insane. the coldhearted mercenary that barely reacts to anything is terrified of kirei. he's super fucked up. his ult in stay night is literally him channeling divine power into something called kyrie eleison. he's the vessel of rasputin (on account of being a priest with a huge....no i shant say) the biblical beast in grand order among other things. he gets drunk with and tops gilgamesh from the epic of gilgamesh in the church basement after gilgamesh from the epic of gilgamesh bats his eyes a little too hard at kirei in some of the horniest shot scenes ive ever seen. he also used to be a heretical "fixer" for the church, cleaning up scenes that would expose shit to the public. uhh what else. he holds cool swords between his fingers like a kid pretending to be wolverine but in my favorite route he just squares the hell up with the protagonist and they fight to the death outside planned parenthood

Firestar

Kitty jesus, he believes in starclan which is the kitty version of heaven/god and yea. All the warrior cats characters except those outside the clans or those that are atheist believe in the kitty heaven and would irl be bri-ish and christian as hell so. The authors are all older british christian women and so the way starclan is written is like undoubtedly that.

The main religion in the series is extremely catholic coded. Most clan cats believe in Starclan and the Dark Forest(or heaven and hell). There is a set of rule they must uphold and follow, where following them leads to heaven and breaking them leads to hell. Their religious leaders are sworn to celibacy, and the punishments that "code breakers"(or cats who break the rules) face are extremely similar to situations people with religious trauma have gone through.

OP notes: apparently converted to avoid getting his balls cut?? Idk. The discord yet wild for firestar so I had to include him because it's hilarious hehehe

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Mr. Egg, Mr. Pickle, and Mr. Hot Dog

Debut: BurgerTime

BurgerTime is one of those retro games and that's about it. It existed, and it's Retro!, and I feel like people don't really care about it aside from that. It never even got an awkward attempt at a scrimblo adventure reboot, like Frogger did! Poor BurgerTime.

Anyway, my first time playing BurgerTime was not by playing BurgerTime at all, but a SpongeBob Flash game clone of it. I have no personal connection to BurgerTime itself... but I know it has some enemies that are living foods! I always get a kick out of that! So I'm going to talk about some of the various design incarnations of them!

These original designs are exactly what you would expect from a 1982 arcade game. I feel like I've seen Pac-Man ghosts drawn EXACTLY like this. I like how Mr. Egg has the strangely realistic crispy bubbling detail around his edges. They're all fine.

...is what I felt before I noticed their elbows and knees! Ew! Bones! Wretched creatures!

Ohoho... now what have we here? The in-game sprites are delightful! The simplicity makes them very cute! Their feet are interesting, being just little floating lines, except for Mr. Egg's, because his legs are made of amorphous albumen! Mr. Egg is really the breakout star here. Look at his yolk! That's his EYE! This is so awesome! That's such a rare design choice to see, especially since egg creatures that are not of the "creature hatching from them" variety are pretty rare themselves.

Mr. Pickle is no slouch either! I appreciate him being specifically a pickle slice, often portrayed as nicely crinkle-cut. I just have to question why he is a villain! Pickles are one of Burger's best friends! This is like if Cheese was a villain! I think if anything Mr. Pickle should be a cute little sidekick on the side of burgers, and in his place can be, I don't know, Mr. Olive? Of course, pickles are much funnier than olives!

Mr. Hot Dog is not as interesting as the other two, but a simple sausage with eyes and feet is still cute. He is like the leader of the bunch, the main antagonist of our hero, Peter Pepper, who I do not really care about. I like that it's him! Burgers and hot dogs are like counterparts, but in no way equals. Hot dogs are easier to hold and eat, but burgers are just Better. And hot dogs have finally decided to give burgers a piece of their mind!

This flyer art is funny. I don't LIKE any of the designs showcased, but they're funny! Faces are moved around on the foods, noses are introduced to the series, and Mr. Egg is now a slice of a hard-boiled egg. You will also notice the elusive Mr. Lemon! Mr. Lemon is not real! I don't know why there is such an emphasis on lemon here. Finally, of course, you will notice the personified Cheese, as she noselessly beckons Peter to recline atop a beef patty. Ooh la la! Don't you wish you were invited to hang out with such a beautiful female cheese who is a girl woman?

Really, the designs of the core food fiends never diverged much from the classic cartoon-style versions they started out with, appearing like that in pretty much every sequel. Except...!

In BurgerTime World Tour, which was not a good game at all, these guys have been utterly rebooted! Now known as Frank Furter, Ruthless Dill, and Sonny! Are these their real names? Or just some similar guys?

The designs are rather basic, as to be expected from Foods With Faces, but it IS interesting seeing them generally made so much more monstrous. Something ESPECIALLY interesting is that Sonny the egg is the only one with limbs, reminding me of how Mr. Egg is the only one to have actual legs in the original sprites!

Ready for the SCARIEST redesign from World Tour?

This game's version of Peter Pepper is this horrible gentrifying millenial and I'm glad his game was prematurely delisted. I hope he got eaten by an egg and chewed by teeth made of yolk. I hate him!

[knickknacksandallthat]

if you don't mind me asking, what got you into kevin's character?

for me it was actually your fic, but since its so normalized in the fandom to dismiss his trauma and call him a coward and annoying for doing things that other characters are loved for, i didn't really care about him when i first read the books

now hes my favorite

Oh, anon, I love this!! What an honor, I’m so glad to have helped you join the Kev lovefest 😊 (Welcome to the dark side lol!) It makes me so happy that the A Fallen Star series has awakened this in you! 💖

And wow, what a good question. I don't mind at all! I actually had to think about this for a while to try and remember…how the heck did I get here???

So here is my ridiculously uncalled-for POV on Kevin’s character and slow descent into madness below:

(Disclaimer that these are just my thoughts and anyone in the aftg fandom can hc or think whatever they like about Mr. Day 😊)

Like you, anon, I was easily swayed by Neil’s perspective of Kev on first read. It makes sense and is a credit to Nora how we so fully buy into Neil’s opinion of Kevin that many of us just run with it. And to be fair to the fandom, it’s canon – Andrew, Neil, and all the Foxes tell us he’s a coward and annoying and so we assume it must be true.

So, I created many fics that played into this image and focused on andreil. (Because who isn’t enamored with andreil??? Legit, deranged obsession and couple goals lmao). Using that lens, it was easy to make Kevin the punching bag because he is the quintessential “straight man” in comedy (and yes, I do hear the irony in that) – the foil to other characters to make them seem better, braver, funnier, smarter, etc. It’s an age-old trick/trope in fiction that works very well. And it was an easier transition for Nora to make, I think, once she made the decision to remove Kevin from the main narrative of her story.

This character setup works well enough when you’re doing a fic from Neil or Andrew’s POV, providing an easy source of humor to fall back on. So, for me, I think my thinking shifted once I started working on Flavors of Fall and delved into Andrew and Kevin’s storyline there. That fic forced me to think from Kevin’s perspective, and I found at the time I had a shallow understanding of what made Kevin tick. It totally threw me once I really started considering sequels for that fic and the 12 Day Program for Courtship, both of which have Kevin cast as a main character. I had to dive deep into his makeup, seriously considering his motivations, his likes/dislikes, his personality traits, his relationships, and how he would react in any given situation.

Because I was interested in his character development, I started delving into fics like orionauriga’s just pretend , @likearecordbb's Long Walk in the Woods, @thetrojeans daylights, sunsets, and @dayurno's the age of no regret series. They are all brilliant, fascinating character studies of Kevin Day and his relationships that are extremely well done. There’s many more, of course, but I was searching for fics that specifically delved into Kevin’s thought process and choices and stayed there a while.

That’s what led me to feeling like I needed to tell his story with Dead of Night. Of course, it turned into a larger series with my flavoring of Kerejean added because I’ve never been a huge Kevin/Thea relationship fan. (But that's a discussion for another day which you can start here and here for that adventure.)

Now all that I’ve described above gives you the mechanics of the descent – the when, the where, the how. But it crucially misses the why. What is it about Kevin that got me in the end?

Ironically enough, it was his potential.

I think when Nora stripped away any kind of romantic narrative (RIP Kandreil OR Riko/Kevin/Jean) or a chance for a tragic storyline (Kevin dying in the end) it resulted in removing a lot of Kevin’s emotional vulnerability. We don’t get to hear what he’s feeling or thinking unless it’s related to Riko, the Moriyamas, or Exy. This means his storyline is consumed by the stereotypical sports underdog story, with us following his rise to champion (which is still a powerful enough narrative on its own that shines even in the midst of Neil’s crazy plotline. Switching that racquet to his left hand in the championship game? Iconic.) 

However, it leaves us very much with a shell of a person. Kevin’s character outside of Exy is reduced to a handful of facts – there’s a passing comment on his like of history, and the stark evidence of an alcohol addiction as a coping mechanism. We’re told he used to dance. That he learned French because Jean Moreau taught him. That he has no qualms about taking (mild?) drugs (cracker dust). Despite how much we’ve run with it as a fandom, the only allusion I’ve found in the books to him being strict with diet is this section from The King’s Men:

“No one needs to eat this before a game,” Kevin said. “Eat some granola or protein if you’re that hungry.” “Hello, there’s protein in the peanut butter,” Nicky said. “Let go of me before I tell Andrew you’re outlawing chocolate. I said let go. You’re not the boss of me. Ouch! Did you seriously just hit me?” … “Kevin, just let him go,” Neil said. “It’s not worth fighting over.” “When our defense is sluggish, we all suffer,” Kevin said.

From what I can find in the books, Kevin never once denies Andrew eating ice cream. (Which I’m 100% able to admit I might have missed something so feel free to quote me where that scene is because I was totally searching for it). In fact, every time they go to Sweetie’s, it’s implied Kevin orders ice cream with them. In the infamous kissing scene in The King’s Men, we actually have proof that Kevin got ice cream:

Kevin still hadn’t messaged Nicky by the time they reached the ice cream aisle, so Nicky gave in and called him. Neil half-expected Kevin to ignore Nicky’s call, but Kevin wasn’t so sour with them that he’d turn down a free snack…Nicky grabbed spoons from the kitchen and distributed pints to their hungry owners. Neil checked his expression when Nicky came back from dropping Kevin’s off….

Now I do think it’s in line with his character and his upbringing to have issues with food, so I’m all for buying into that specific hc. But we have very little evidence of it in the text.

His personality is reduced mainly to anger, arrogance, or cowardice (all traits that don’t make us sympathize with him). The only facts we have about his Tragic Past™️ are two things: his mother’s death, and his hand injury. Everything else we assume is based on Neil’s knowledge of the mafia, Wymack’s hearsay, Andrew’s deductions, and Kevin’s reactions to Riko and Tetsuji. We have literally no idea what happened to Kevin in the Nest. His trauma and his time spent there is a complete mystery. The closest we get is Riko’s comment to Neil in The Raven King:

“I am going to love hurting you,” Riko said, “like I loved hurting Kevin.”

This, I think, is one of the main reasons many of the fandom “dismisses” Kevin’s trauma in comparison to Neil’s because we can’t see it. We don’t know what happened and we don’t get to experience it, so this lack of explanation or motivation leaves us only with very cold personality traits. We’re unable to root for him as a character because we can’t sympathize. We can empathize because we know Very Bad Things™️ must have happened in the Nest, but we don’t see them happen the same way we do Neil or Andrew. Even Kevin’s hand injury is old and “healed” when we’re first introduced to the character.

The only true canon moment where Kevin appears “human” is in The Raven King with Kevin’s “then run” and “you should be court” conversation with Neil. His admittance that Neil’s life is more important than Exy is instantaneous – he doesn’t even pause to throw his Exy dreams down the drain if it means Neil can survive.  In a weirdly parallel way, we see Kevin’s thought process implicit in his conversation: “at least you’d have a chance.” It is strikingly similar to Neil’s internal conversation of: one of us should make it. (And there’s another whole separate discourse I could get into on how Kevin and Neil are two halves of the same coin, but we’ll save that for another day.) But even the revelation of Wymack as his father has more shock value than true emotional weight – we never see what that conversation looked like or how either party actually reacted. (In some ways, I feel like Dan being pissed at Kevin is given more “screentime” than Kevin’s response to telling his father and how Wymack reacted.)

So with Kevin’s emotions and past firmly locked down, we’re left to brush off Kevin’s reactions (or lack thereof) as part of his indifferent personality. It is what it says on the tin. (And that’s not to say Kevin is a perfect character by any means. He has flaws just like every other character.)

Now some people very accurately depict and buy into those limitations as simply being Kevin’s character/personality – I’ve read some awesome fics where Kevin is Ace/Aro and/or on the spectrum. These are completely valid, extremely well done, and I could totally see why others see and write him this way. Canon practically sets them up for it.

For me, though, it circles back to our skewed view of Kevin given to us by some deeply loved but also deeply flawed characters (cough, Andreil). Those same characters that we’re told time and again not to judge them by their cover but to try and understand how they’re affected by (and make choices because of) their trauma.

While Andrew and Neil end up giving each other this grace through a hard-fought battle of truths and exchanges, they do not extend this same courtesy to Kevin, and neither are we given the chance to do so. We literally can’t because, again, we don’t know what the full extent of Kevin’s trauma is.

Kevin doesn’t talk about his time in the Nest to any character, meaning we know nothing about it. Ergo we don’t know what choices Kevin makes because of it. In The Foxhole Court, Wymack specifically tells us Kevin was Riko’s pet. In fact, there is so much specific language that Kevin himself uses around the concept of ownership, and that Nora uses when referring to him that it jarringly sticks out in the text.  He has no sense of personal space or proper boundaries, viewing people only as assets to be used for the good of the team, which at the very least is a sign of mental abuse. But the fact remains that we just don’t know. We don’t know how far this mental abuse was taken, how often or severely he was injured, if he injured or was forced to injure others – we don’t know.

But it’s obvious whatever happened to him started as a child and built from there. Which means he has years of abuse and power dynamics embedded into him. He has every right to be afraid. In fact, we are demonstrably told and shown often in canon that Kevin is afraid…but fear does not equate to cowardice. In fact, we know that bravery often means being scared and doing something anyway. And in many cases, that’s just what Kevin did (with a crutch named Andrew). But even before he entered his deal with Andrew, it's important to remember that even though he was brainwashed and beaten from a young age to understand that he would die if he betrayed the Moriyama family in some way, he left them.

This is always so significant to me because so many abuse victims stay in their situation thinking/hoping/praying it will get better – either because of an idea that their abuser will change (“they’re just having a hard time at work rn”) or that the victim will fix whatever flaw the abuser finds lacking. Or alternatively, they recognize the situation is bad, but they can’t leave because they feel like they have nowhere to go, no one who will help them, trapped by their lack of skills/contacts/money. In Kevin’s case, both situations rang true. And yet he left. He left, and in only a year and a half’s time he recovered from his injury and led his team to the championship.

But he is only at the start of his recovery. I think he’ll need years of therapy to recover from all that happened in the Nest. I think many of his emotional and social shortcomings are a direct consequence of that timeframe and he did not have the freedom to address them until the threat of the Moriyamas was removed. I do not think they are permanent parts of his personality – I think in time, he will be allowed to grow and recover and contribute much more to his relationships than he’s capable of doing at the end of The King’s Men.

Though the series finished, I think Kevin’s story is just beginning.

That’s why I think he’s fascinating to explore as a character. That’s why I love writing him right now because in many ways, his possibilities are endless. There’s so many opportunities to explore different facets of his story that we never get a chance to in canon. Kevin’s character and narrative is a tantalizing tease which many of us have fell hook, line, and sinker for. (Including yours truly.) We want to rabidly sink our teeth into it and shake it, like a dog with a bone.

So we do. 😉

Phew. Okay, that’s enough. None of what I’ve written above is new I’m sure to those of the fandom who have been here since the beginning or have become diehard Kevin fans. But thank you for letting me ramble in this ask, anon. Writing about Kevin has been a very fun and therapeutic adventure for me. So I’m so glad that there are others out there who are enjoying it too 😊

[fallensnowfan]

Wanted to talk about Luffy’s main arc baddies.

-Morgan/Helmeppo: Good starter villains, vanity for the sake of it, and just a wacky (initially) unlikable guy. Both embody very much the opposite of what Luffy and Zoro stand for.

-Buggy: Would truly shine later, makes him kind of sucking for his intro that much funnier, considering where he is currently at in the story. A god of charisma and luck.

-Kuro: Great foil to Usopp, though a bit bland.

-Krieg: Overconfident jerk in the best way.

-Arlong: Fantastic baddie to conclude the East Blue part of the story, Arlong Pirates being the last major enemy the crew faces and defeats before starting the next leg of their journey and enter the Grand Line. Reads to me as someone who is stagnant in life or is unable to truly move forward. Luffy is still more than prepared to face him, though Arlong's true strength as a character is that he is more than we see at first glance. What we learned of his past during Fishman Island added a lot of depth to his actions and connected Nami's and Jinbei's stories in a very natural way.

-Wapol: Acts as a minor foil to Vivi's arc/style of leadership more than anything. Hateable though good for what he represents. Survived decapitation so gets a bonus point for being the only One Piece character to have managed that. Baby 5 and Buffalo don't count, not fully any way.

-Crocodile: Great all around, so smooth, so cool. Love Croc, love Baroque Works.

-Bellamy: Punchable but also great and had one of the more unique villain motivations in the series.

-Enel: Wacky and fun, though not a character I felt very invested in. I secretly hope he never shows up again and when asked, Oda pretends he doesn't remember the character. That would be hilarious and the best outcome for Enel to me.

-Lucci: Moody asshole with the personality of a wet paper bag, an underwhelming fighting style for a spy, and is not especially well incorporated into the story of Water 7 in my opinion. The city of Water 7 is 99.9 the same after as it was before. His beard post-timeskip is offensive level bad. Die sir.

-Moria: At the time, he was the Warlord with the best writing behind him. A look at how Luffy could end up if he didn't have a "Jinbei" to refocus him after facing annihilation. Has one of my favorite devil fruits in the series. I want a flashback about his and Perona’s first meeting.

-Hody: Good antagonist to ring in the timeskip and the arc which would have Jinbei meeting the rest of the crew. Similar to Arlong though with little in the way of a long term goal in life beyond spreading hatred. Works well with the message of the arc.

-Caesar: ew die.

-Doffy: In my opinion, him and his crew didn't really work as the main baddies of an arc, Monet and Vergo felt more threatening + compelling. Fine overall, though I find Doffy more interesting at Jaya and Marineford. Nice laugh tho.

-Katakuri: Another great foil to Luffy and turns into a donut death wheel. Is more someone Luffy can aspire to surpass than he is a reflection of Luffy's worst case scenario, as Moria was for Luffy.

-Kaido: Fascinating philosophy of wanting to be remembered though for the wrong thing. Unlike Whitebeard, Roger, Yasu, etc. Kaido only cared about his death itself being remembered, and didn't put in any effort into fostering a successor or a legacy. Said friendship was a sham though invited his own downfall with the way he ran his crew, a structure which invited backstabbing at every turn. Also a bit of a coward, resorting to lying to Oden in the past, because he knew he couldn’t defeat him. A relic of the bygone era of Rocks who will likely be forgotten by the world at large.

Kaido’s defeat was a great spectacle, the battle had him facing, nine samurai, Luffy with new haki and a new gear, four more pirates, and a dog and a dragon, and was built on Luffy’s connections he has spent time and effort forging since Punk Hazard, what he learned from Hyogoro, sent Kaido into a magma chamber which lead to an eruption that signaled both his send off and the beginning of a new era, and was seen by all of Wano, so cool. I see many folks saying they wanted more though fail to offer a what or how they would have things believably go differently. Kaido trying to rely purely on might ultimately failing him is a good defeat, as is Big Mom allowing herself to lose focus due to Law silencing her, then rashly attacking the explosive in an attempt to make herself be heard.

Many of the points I see brought up against Wano's ending remind me of vague concerns I remember seeing about if Oda has abandoned Big Mom's story, near the start of Wano. Arcs in One Piece don't really "end" when Luffy beats the baddie and sails to the next destination, especially at this point in the story, with so many characters being interconnected and woven throughout.

[coffeelovesdramasalatte]

LITA Ep 1 rewatch thoughts

Taking it from the top! Why is Phayu literally the nicest person ever? Like he just saw someone's car stalling near the road in the rain and he just stopped to help? I love that this is their official intro to each other bc it gives us viewers a clear impression of their dynamic from the very beginning. The music selection in this scene is so funny though bc it's intense and dangerous and Phayu is literally just telling Rain to turn his hazard lights on lmao.

I also love that every time Phayu helps Rain, he does so with encouragement for Rain to be more self-sufficient. The tire-changing is example one.

"You're so handsome" RAIN pls control yourself... I mean we all agree and Phayu's already looking interested but danggg

Ah Sky, the long-suffering (affectionate) BFF. Did we ever find out when they met? Was it just in college or before, bc it looks like Sky's Rain-related-nonsense-tolerance meter is constantly maxed out and that usually comes from long-term friendships.

I LOVE HIM there is not a single thought behind these eyes

Yassss department god Phayu for the win!! Love how this montage makes Phayu seem like a highly elegant and smart guy (which he is) but then we just watch him be a dork over Rain the rest of the series.

Fast forward a bit to the restaurant scene bc I forgot to keep typing...

Ok yeah sure you don't remember Rain, Phayu. Please, you made a beeline directly to him as soon as you walked in. Also, this scene makes my heart beat faster even though they do a lot more later on (where are those eyes looking, eh Phayu?).

The next scene where Phayu wipes Rain's hair gives me mixed feelings bc on the one hand, I don't like how Rain literally had to hit Phayu with a pillow before he'd let go, but on the other I didn't actually get a sense of danger from Phayu. I also did like that Phayu threw out "actually I'm bisexual" so casually - love that for us. I also think it's hilarious how fast Rain falls into the "I'm so into Phayu" headspace. I've heard some people call it subspace and from what I know I'm inclined to agree but I don't know enough to comment on that further. Also here begins the saga of Rain having a death-grip on Phayu's neck during intimate moments. We stan <3

Somehow I didn't notice the thermostat being set so low during every rewatch of this episode until now - I was always confused as to why Rain had to go under the covers but I get it.

When they wake up and Rain calls Phayu a bunch of names I couldn't stop laughing - it's even funnier when you know what's coming in the next few eps. Also my son really went "no thoughts head empty" after a single cheek kiss from Phayu. What a cutie

Rain cursing at the storm is so cute!!! Also we love our logical bestie Sky as always.

I LOVE P'Aon!! Also he's the first person to call Rain Phayu's boy and for some reason I think that's v v cute

I accidentally paused and can't stop laughing at Phayu's face here PLSSSS

And we've made it to the ending scene!! Ahhhh this makes me SO SOFT! I love it when characters tuck their face into their partner's neck when they're sleeping - there's something about the trust and comfort needed to do that which makes me so happy to see it play out. And Phayu's little "I'm really starting to like you, Rain" with the SOFTEST little smile on his face URGH I'M EXPERIENCING EMOTIONS

This is one of my favorite opening episodes of a series! We got introduced to all the main players as well as the key side-characters, and we got a good understanding of who Rain and Phayu are as individuals (less so on Phayu's side for now) and their dynamic together. I was so hyped to finish the rest of the series as soon as I finished this episode the first time

[themattress]

The Top 5 Carmen Sandiego Adaptations

And by adaptations, I strictly mean mediums in which you as a player serve no function, you are only here to observe. Therefore not the computer games, nor the board games, nor the choose-your-own-adventure style books. Just the shows, chapter books, and comic books.

Honorable(?) Mention: The DC Comics Series.

This only lasted four issues before being cancelled, and honestly? I can see why. I like the idea behind this series, which is compositing the various versions of Carmen Sandiego into one (the older games, the newer games, the PBS gameshow...had it continued we may have gotten stuff from the syndicated animated series.) The problem is that there is way too much going on in almost every panel. It's the equivalent of an obnoxious children's show that thinks constant movement and loud noises is the only way to keep its young viewer's attention. Beyond that, the main character Evan and his sidekick Bazooka Mel aren't that interesting or likeable, and Carmen herself barely shows up or does anything. It was a nice try, but it failed.

5: Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?

This PBS gameshow was the successor to Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, lasting for two seasons and a total of 115 episodes across 1996 and 1997. For comparisons sake, its predecessor lasted for five seasons across five years, with a total of 295 episodes. And that kind of says it all. I like things about this show - having people play historical figures and interact with the contestants is fun, the villains, also depicted by real-life actors, are a good balance of wacky and intimidating especially with the creepy effects around them and their willingness to attack the contestants directly, and much like its predecessor the final solo challenge is always exciting to watch. The problem is that it just doesn't feel like Carmen Sandiego. ACME is suddenly this hard sci-fi oriented group feeling more like the Federation from Star Trek than a detective agency, Carmen is a cackling supervillain out to make people miserable rather than a classy master thief, and while Lynne Thigpin's Chief is as delightful as ever, she and Kevin Shinick just lack the chemistry she had with Greg Lee....heck, Shinick himself is a major step down from Lee in just about every way. I think he was funnier in the Robot Chicken sketch about the show than he ever was on the show itself! I feel as though if this show was its own thing, totally removed from Carmen Sandiego, it would work better.

4: Carmen Sandiego

The recent Netflix series has a wonderful two-part pilot, "Becoming Carmen Sandiego", that shows exactly how this incarnation is going to differ from previous ones - namely with Carmen being an anti-hero going against V.I.L.E with the help of "Player" rather than the leader of V.I.L.E who "Player" is trying to catch - and with a lot of interesting possibilities on the horizon, particularly with its somewhat darker tone and reinventions of characters from several separate past continuities. And it's all downhill from there! OK, that's a bit harsh, but as I've noted recently the show really did squander its potential more and more with each passing season, culminating in a finale that made it crushingly clear that the developers did just seek to keep Carmen an anti-hero the whole way rather than go through the villain origin story that was logically being set up. It never felt like it truly knew what it wanted to be, and almost every character and plotline ended up suffering as a result. It's got great visual style and superb voice-acting, and I appreciate the attention it brought back to the otherwise dead property, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as a first experience with Carmen Sandiego.

3: The Carmen Sandiego Mysteries

This series of juvenile chapter books had a total of six installments: two representing World, two representing USA, and two representing Time. And it's a shame that's all we got, because these were pretty damn good! Maya and Ben are likable leads, Carmen is a competent and even somewhat threatening villain while still maintaining her own personal code of ethics, and it does what a good adaptation should in keeping the feel and style of the computer games while also making allowances for the medium shift. I especially like "Take the Mummy and Run", which includes some legit emotional drama and a non-Carmen villain.

2: Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?

Pretty similar to the Carmen Sandiego Mysteries books in that it features a young boy/girl duo of detectives hunting down a similarly characterized Carmen. But this being a syndicated animated TV show rather than a book series, it lasted longer - 40 episodes total, and even got its own spinoff computer game Carmen Sandiego: Junior Detective Edition. There's also more of an action-y feel to it despite the network censors preventing anything overtly violent from happening, siblings Zack and Ivy are even more charismatic protagonists than Ben and Maya, and the great Rita Moreno just is Carmen; her alluring voice probably sticks out in most people's memory when thinking about the character. I do question why an AI Chief was used rather than a human one, as that just feels weird, but thanks to Rodger Bumpass' voicework he gets a lot of laughs so I can let it slide. The one thing that drags this show down is the educational aspect, as it manifests in a lot of ham-fisted monologuing from characters that grinds the pacing of each episode to a halt every time. Guys, you're in a 22-minute TV episode, not Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors! You're kind of pressed for time here! It's the one thing I think the Netflix show actually did better, as while there were still lines here and there serving as educational the series usually focused on showing rather than telling as should be expected of the animation medium. However...this theme song goes way harder than it needs to, so maybe that balances things out. And speaking of stellar theme songs....

1: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

This legendary PBS gameshow simply IS Carmen Sandiego distilled into a compact form easily transmitted via airwaves. It's got the thrill of the chase while learning more about the world down perfectly, it's got the old-school detective vibe and the quirky humor, and it's got a stellar cast of characters - not only is this the first time Carmen herself displayed any real personality, but we've got a truly memorable Rogues Gallery of V.I.L.E operatives serving her. And even if the different kid contestants opposing them each episode do nothing for you, we still have Lynne Thigpen as THE Chief of ACME, Greg Lee as one of the funniest and most energetic gameshow hosts you could ask for, and of course - ROCKAPELLA! It's easy to see why this show endured for as long as it did and while it's still fondly looked upon even now.

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Hi!!! poppin in to say hey. guess who reread your stories again. me. i did for like the thirtieth time. i love them so much, they’re gorgeous. you glorious creature <333

anyway, i read the gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun manga. i saw your chapter 19 note on ‘i think youre so good.’ do you, perchance, have any notes or ideas you’d be willing to share abt what you’d write in a zhongchi gsnk au??? people don’t talk enough about that series and god the idea of that au is already brewing comedy across my mind. Love you(r writing and art), hope you had a great christmas and new year!!! <3

well obviously it'd have to be nozaki = zhongli and mikoshiba = childe. i'm very tempted to say it would then be sakura = lumine? aether? aether would be funnier. of course we'd completely ditch sakura's massive crush on nozaki and focus on whatever the fuck nozaki and mikoshiba got going on there. the rest of the characters i don't have a clear "this one would be this one" idea, so it could be whatever.

but i think instead of being a gsnk au it'd be more like.... a gsnk-inspired modern au. so like i said in the notes, the premise would be zhongli is a romance novel writer who goes under a woman's pseud bc he's fluid like that, and his pseud is hailed as like this marvellous writer, the spokeperson for women's hearts and all that – half the fanbase have giant crushes on him/her and generally portray him as like this all-knowing poet woman. zhongli-jiejie is what i'm saying. and the only one who knows zhongli is the author behind that pseud would be his editor, which i'm so tempted to say would be hu tao bc it'd be hilarious; but idk that hu tao would be able to keep such a funny detail private among her own friend group? so maybe it could be literally anyone else. ningguang idk why i feel like it'd fit. i think editor ningguang would be funny. so the only other person who'd know besides ningguang would be beidou, who CAN keep it a secret.

anyway- other than that, the main Funny of the au would be that most of the main characters in his famous ongoing novels would be genderbent versions of the people around him. main character soft dainty delicate heroine would be childe, sweet overworked nice young man would be ganyu, strict responsible workaholic boyfriend of previous nice overworked man would be keqing, scarred quiet serious Complex(tm) young woman would be xiao, beautiful gentle mildly-menacing doctor lady would be baizhu, etc.

we would need a sakura for this though, which is why i think we'd have to have like- someone else beyond beidou and ningguang find out that zhongli is the author. maybe we could pull a ysmms and like- make it someone entirely random. like- xiangling. or yunjin. and have the entire thing be an outsider's pov on the whole mess. maybe we could have it be xingqiu, and instead of it being a 'sakura has a crush on nozaki and tries to confess' situation, it could be a 'xingqiu is a fanboy of zhongli's pseud and started writing because of him/her' and ends up finding out via the writing world or smth.

idk it was just a mess of thoughts i had back then but it was too funny an idea not to point it out. not sure i'd ever write it though, unlikely.

but it is pretty funny to think about so thank you!! i hope that was interesting;,,

[lilisouless]

Okay, i saw Hazbin Hotel´s first 4 episodes and first impresions so i could compare with my finals when s1 finishes

As you know i am very character driven, so for the plot itself i´ll say is not bad, but for some season the hotel itself feels like a subplot, like the whole extermination day issue seem more important (to the point that the characters themselves mention that) a hotel to redeem sinners is not a bad concept but i feel like the creators themselves are not actually that interested on it. Anyway, despite the lack of focus on the suppusedly main plot, i am curious on what would happen next, so regardless of the problems i can follow and want to. My theory is that the hotel was the idea from the begining but the creator ended up more interested on a show about the lore and had to use "hazbin hotel" by legal reasons

SO character wise:

Charlie: related to above, she doesn't feel like a protagonist, the whole show actually resembles more an ensemble and thats why she is trapped on the hotel plot that, like i already said, is starting to be pushed aside. Now personality wise i am comflicted, , she is cute sometimes, she is also very sympathetic and while i am not completely sold on her due to lack of explaining why she is the way she is; that can easily be brushed off that there will be soon an episode that explains it. My issue is that sometimes i think they are trying too hard with the all loving hero archetype, to the point she may come as one note. I´ll give the benefit of the doubt because there´s still time to flesh her out and she has flaws so its a character than can easily be worked. I think she worked a little better on the pilot, its hard to put my finger why.

Vaggie: I am WAY less optimistic with Vaggie. Actually, the complete opposite. Let me explain:

The sister series: Helluva Boss has a problem with Mille (and this are things i thought before watching the sarcastic chorus episode) cause while she is not completely there, she walks dangerously close to satellite love interest territory, all she did was directly related to Moxxie and she didn't have an episode of her own even if they were visiting her family. There was a very late episode in Helluva Boss that was a direct response to this critism and tried to focus on Millie (tried because Moxxie also took tons of screentime) they are aware of the problem.

The thing is that , i have a theory that they wanted to go one step ahead of the audience with Vaggie. Is like they saw Vaggie would face the same critism as Millie and made an episode to get ahead. The problem is that, first: the third episode! you are trying to solve a problem that hasn't started. Like: instead of planning on giving Vaggie something future seasons or expanding her character between episodes they just said "there, she feels insecure because she feels she is nothing without Charlie" which is paradox, because to me it tells me the writer don't intent to make her anything without Charlie and this episode is a scapegoat. Don't know if i am explaining myself. The point is that to me the episode is a sign that there is no point in trying to invest emotionally in Vaggie because the writers will never do it.

Like Charlie, she was better on the pilot but with her i can tell it´s because on the pilot she was funnier, not by a lot but still something. I have the feeling the writers toned down her agressiveness on the show because of the "spicy latina" stereotype and while i believe the critism is valid, i don't think the solution was to just water her down.

Angel Dust: I am not sure if i like him. I liked him on the pilot but his whole sex jokes all the freaking time became irritating,specially how much he harrased Husk, i hope that after episode 4 that ends finally. The thing is that those irritating traits they do make sense for him, and he is not a one dimensional character so, lets say that while i don't find him charming or funny, i think he is a good character writting wise and of course i am not unsympathetic to his BS, i am interested in how he will scape Valentino.

Alastor: Its a basic as heck opinion say that Alastor is carrying the show but...Alastor is carrying the show. Of course this was deliberate, he is clearly crafted to be the most entertaining and fan favorite character and its doing his work, specially cause he is so ambiguous that his true motivations are one of the things that hook people incluiding me.

The other ones are simple , Husk is good and i totlly adore Nifty (specially the show version when they decided to level up her psycho self)

[br1ghtestlight]

Bob's burgers beginners episodes

if you want to start watching bob's burgers but aren't sure where to begin with over 265+ episodes i have compiled a small list of episodes that i think are a good introduction to the series and characters!!

it is an episodic sitcom so i wouldn't worry too much about starting with season one episode one. you won't really miss out on too much context except for some secondary character introductions, and in my personal opinion the earlier seasons aren't the best introduction for the characterization and humor that the rest of the series has and probably aren't the best to start out with watching. i will try to include at least one episode that focuses on each of the main characters :)

Bob Belcher and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Kids (season 11, episode 6)

in my opinion this is the best episode to start with if you've never seen an episode of the show before. it was the 100th episode special and so it does a good job at introducing the characters, settings etc as if it were a rewritten version of the pilot episode AND it's a lot funnier and more enjoyable than the actual pilot episode!!! it does a good job at introducing family dynamics and characters and also has a really catchy song lol

the plot of this episode is that there's an annual festival on ocean avenue and bob is hoping it'll be good for business but due to a series of events the kids end up setting the restaurant on fire, and end up getting up to some shenanigans to try to make it up to bob while him, linda and teddy try to get the restaurant in good enough condition for them to open for the lunch rush (also there's a fun plot twist at the end of this episode)

The Hurt Soccer (season 8, episode 12)

this episode is really funny and enjoyable and doesn't rely too heavily on secondary characters that were introduced in earlier episodes for it to make sense

the plot of this episode is that bob and linda accidentally signed louise up for a soccer team (which she absolutely DOES NOT want to be on) and she ends up having to compete in the final game of the season with bob as the coach and tina as the assistant coach, but louise's soccer team is kinda terrible. gene and linda end up opening a musical production in the restaurant bcuz they are both huge showbiz performers. Weirdly enough this episode ALSO has the restaurant catch on fire but i swear to god that isn't a consistent thing on this show it's just these two episodes </3

Eat, Spray, Linda (season 5, episode 18)

this is a pretty simple episode about linda's birthday where the kids and bob try to give her a happy birthday but EVERYTHING seems to be going wrong for her. it's a cute episode and has some interesting insight into linda's character and her relationship with her kids without feeling overwhelming!!

Stand By Gene (season 6, episode 12)

this episode features A LOT of secondary characters but I don't think its too confusing if you just go into it with the understanding that these are the kids friends from school and they appear in many episodes before and since this one. besides that it's a very fun adventure-type episode of all the kids going on a small adventure to find a two-butted goat at a nearby farm and explores a lot of interesting friendship dynamics. the subplot is a silly restaurant game between bob, linda and some other minor secondary characters but it does a really good job of showcasing their relationship and support of each other (while also being super compeitive) if you don't want to watch EVERY episode where a secondary character is introduced right away this is a really good one to start with. it's sooo charming and fun

The Laser-inth (season 7, episode 18)

I'm slightly biased because this was one of the first bob's burgers episodes i ever watched but i do think it's a really good one to start out with!! the main plot is about bob taking gene to a rock concert where he ends up getting sensory overload bcuz of the loud music and lights and is a good protrayal of bob's parenting style and how he is as a father. the subplot is linda taking tina and louise to an american girl style doll restaurant and it's mostly silly fun but also a little bit sweet at the end :) AND they help a spy doll escape from being killed. genuinely a very wholesome and fun episode with so much heart. also one of the episodes that explores the "it takes a village" type parenting style that is so important in bob's burgers worldbuilding (specifically in the subplot with gretchen)

Wharf Horse (or How Bob Saves/Destroys the Town) & World Wharf II: The Wharfening (or How Bob Saves/Destroys the Town) (season 4 episodes 21 and 22)

THIS is a huge two-part season finale that is a good introduction into the more high-stakes episodes of bob's burgers and the world that surrounds them. it's almost a prequel episode for the movie (which i maybe wouldn't recommend watching RIGHT AWAY but it is really good) and is super enjoyable and tense!!! i can't even begin to describe the plot of this one but basically mr fischoeder (their landlord/guy who owns everything in town) is convinced by his brother to sell wonder wharf so they can build condos and. things happen!! VERY TENSE!!!

also maaaybe look at the trigger warnings for this episode if you dont mind spoilers and think you might be triggered by certain situations because it is a bit darker than most episodes (not darker than the movie though lmao)

Mother Daughter Laser Razor (season 3, episode 10)

this episode is an earlier one but really good and explores linda and louise's dynamic. linda thinks that louise doesn't like her and signs them up for mother/daughter parenting classes which louise ABSOLUTELY hates. good episode about meeting your kid where they're at and provides some more context for later louise and linda episodes (where their relationship is definitely improved). the subplot where bob teaches tina how to shave her legs is also really sweet and I love how understanding and empathetic it is towards tina as a neurodivergent teenage girl <3

Mission Impos-slug-ble (season 8, episode 20)

this episode is another low-stakes episode but it explores the relationship between louise and tina (which has been explored before in earlier episodes and will be explored again!!!!) and also is just generally a very fun more school-focused episode. it does have a lot of wagstaff school staff members as secondary characters which might be a bit confusing if you aren't aware of their dynamic?? but honestly i think it's pretty easy to understand even from within the context of the episode and what's provided onscreen. also has some rudy screentime and other characters from louise's class (rudy is louise's best friend which is pretty much the only important thing to know here). the subplot is about bob giving a eulogy at a funeral but i can say the character who died is not a character who had been introduced previously despite how it might seem. He's just a guy they made up for this episode but it's a fun subplot

The Hormone-iums (season 6, episode 14)

this is a cute tina episode and has bob being a great dad too :) there isn't a lot to explain it's just an episode about tina wanting the lead role in a play type thing and having a crisis of morality and wanting to fit in with her classmates. the subplot is also very funny AND involves a transgender/drag queen plus-sized women's shoe store so you know it's good

Poops!... I Didn't Do It Again (season 10, episode 20)

episode focused on bob and louise's relationship as father and daughter where louise is going on an overnight field trip but she can't poop unless she's at home (ITS SO MUCH MORE HEARTWARMING THAT IT SOUNDS. bob is such a good dad) and in my opinion an episode that does a great job of showcasing louise's personality and fearlessness while also showcasing her internalized anxiety that she mostly gets from bob lbr

the subplot is about linda and the kids trying to make a stupid video for linda's parents anniversery and its entertaining enough BUT im absolutely not giving any context for the pickle costumes. it's so much funnier that way. They just have those don't even worry about it <3 we call this episode two in The Pickle Costume Trilogy

Driving Big Dummy (season 12, episode 4)

teddy episode!! I wanted to include at least one on this list because he's the unofficial sixth main character and has an important role in this show (you'll notice he's had an appearance in almost every episode I listed here) and this is one of my favorite episode of his :) there aren't any secondary characters and no real context is needed outside of the main six characters. bob and teddy go on a roadtrip together to pick up some equipment for the restaurant etc and have conflict bcuz teddy is outgoing and blah blah while linda and the kids compete to become the employee of the day (aka linda brags to the kids about how she's the best employee at bob's burgers. which she is. and then lets them win anyway because she loves them). fun episode and a great introduction to teddy and bob's relationship dynamic even if it wasn't intended to be

there are SOO MANY other bob's burgers episodes that I think are great and required viewing when it comes to this show but I wanted to make a short list of episodes for anyone who might want to dip their toes into the Bob's burger water without having to commit themselves to 14 seasons. by no means is this an inclusive list of every episode new viewers should watch. it isn't even 5% of them and honestly i would recommend watching through the whole show eventually bcuz every episode is somewhat important but this is a good starting point if you think you might enjoy this show!!

(I didn't include very many episodes from the more recent post-movie seasons not because they aren't GOOD. they're some of the best in my opinion. but because almost all the episodes are experimental storytelling or require a lot more context of the characters and their relationships and 14 seasons in they aren't really writing these episodes to introduce new viewers to the show. like imagine trying to introduce someone to the show for the first time using the amazing rudy or amelia lmao)

[beevean]

You’re watching Hazbin Hotel? How is it?

Flawed but enjoyable!

I watched the pilot when it came out, then Addict, then I kind of stayed away from the fandom to avoid hyping myself up. (that, and I noticed how it became the Internet Target Du Jour, and I am sick of that lol) I also am not following Helluva Boss because the first episode didn't interest me, so I can't compare.

I agree with most of the criticism I've read - the pacing is rushed (which is sadly a common issue with series nowadays), too many characters introduced in little time, the humor is immaturely edgy with a plethora of badly-placed swearwords (good god every time Adam opens his ugly mouth I can feel my soul cringing out of my body eugh), the first four episodes made the titular Hotel seem much less important than the bigger conflict with Heaven (glad this seems to have been course corrected), you're required to watch the pilot on another platform... but I'm invested!

I like the main characters, I find them funny and I want to know more about them - if you couldn't tell, Angel is my fave lol, but I was pleasantly surprised by Husk and Alastor has been rewritten to be much funnier IMO, petty bastard with a hidden agenda. Charlie and Vaggie are also very cute as girlfriends, and while I don't actively ship Huskerdust I'm rooting for them to grow closer. The songs are neat, with catchy bases and elaborate rhymes - again, Poison has me in a chokehold because holy shit that is raw, but Stayed Gone, Respectless, Loser Baby and now Hell's Greatest Dad are worming their way inside my head lol. And the emotional moments hit way harder than I expected. Yeah yeah Angel's abuse being surprisingly nuanced in its tragedy, but now I'm here teary eyed after a goofy snake dad sang a song to his cutesy daughter he hadn't called in five months.

So yeah, it's no Bojack Horseman lmao, but I'm liking what I'm seeing and I would say it stands out over other adult cartoons :) it's like... yes, it's stupidly edgy, and not even in that goofy way that makes me love ShTH, but it's also not pretentious. I really feel it's a genuine passion project that went far beyond the creators' expectations.

[loki-zen]

🥀🏰 ✍️ ?

🥀 If you could have chosen one character to survive Canan House, who would it be?

hmm. I'm kinda not sure this makes sense as a question to me on reflection, since "whether or not you died at Canaan House" turned out not to be a good determinor of whether you had an ongoing role to play in the narrative?

but I think one of the Horrible Teens, it kind of doesn't matter which one as both would be interesting (although I feel like we got to know Jeanemary better than Issac), and they didn’t have much of a role to play as dead people in HtN iirc?(i’ve only read Harrow fully once and it’s been a little while so i could be wrong)

sort of feels like at this point all of our main cast are cynical/disenchanted with the Empire of Jod and it would be nice to have someone with more of a naiive viewpoint.. JM is very similar to Gideon in a lot of ways and so could fill a similar narrative role to pre-death Gideon perhaps? but Issac could be very interesting to see learn more about the wider picture, especially as you just know the Fourth has to specialise in some kind of kicking-off-the-whole-horrible-process sort of magic. plus we’ve not actually spent much time at all with a (sane and themselves) necro of one of the more martial houses.

🏰 Fav House aesthetic?

oh, I mean, I think still the Ninth? no scratch that, First. if we're counting like Mithraeum and shit. the bone stuff is funnier when it isn't goth. iridescent rainbow colours and baby finger bones? swag. only way it gets better is if Kiriona still likes sunglasses. (tbh I was kinda disappointed that the Tower Prince fits lean so heavily into Cohort, rather than First House aesthetics) edit: MAKE THEM WHITE-RIMMED RAINBOW MIRROR SHADES CLAP EMOJI

✍️ Of the supporting characters, who's POV would you be most interested in reading?

I've talked about Issac a bit earlier. But if we're talking about someone whose perspective on the whole series so far I'd like to see without altering his role in it?

Babs. c'mon.

if Pyrrha can still be a character, who's to say he didn't see the whole thing and can't, at some point in the future, be capable of telling the tale?

[ingravinoveritas]

Hey, it’s me again.. I took a little time off to elaborate all of this, I went through various stages of disappointment, sadness and anger, but now I’m feeling better (even though it left a bitter taste in my mouth).

I did read all of the comments and reblogs to your posts, they made me cry (in a good way!) and I started to feel less alone indeed, a heartfelt thanks goes to them, definitely ❤️ this is what a fandom should be, whether it is Good Omens’ fandom or Neil Gaiman’s fandom (well I hardly see myself becoming part of his fandom now, even though I like some of his works, i.e. The Sandman).

The fact that he’s a writer is the reason why I weighed his words so much, otherwise I would have thought “okay maybe it was a poor choice of words and didn’t mean that”.. He knows exactly what he did instead, he used his skill with words against someone who barely speaks his language. This was unfair and unnecessary on so many levels imo.

About my ask, in my mind this was a point of view that maybe could’ve been useful for him to consider. I asked that in his interest, I mean, at the end of the day it’s his series, not mine. He didn’t even try to understand, instead. The point he’s missing with Staged is that Staged is not any series, it’s a series where the main characters (the two couples, but there’s also Ty in the third season) are supposed to be the actors’ real personalities and relationships (“supposed to”: I know they’re still fictional), so seeing all of them together in a scene of any series (not only Good Omens) would feel like breaking the fourth wall to me. I know it’s not something that everybody would experience, but definitely some people would. The nepotism thing is kind of connected to this, but mostly I’m really concerned about David Tennant being accused of that (the first “joke” was already there at Basingstoke). I mean, if Georgia had accepted the role and Olive had passed the audition, there would have been four members of his family involved (I know Peter Davison is an accomplished actor, but he’s also part of the Tennants family portrait, especially talking about Doctor Who), they’re just two for now, but the fact that Neil said that in a hypothetical season three, he would like to offer Georgia and Anna a part… The risk was there again. Maybe he thought that it would please the fans who always idolise them no matter what; this part of fans is really loud, but that doesn’t mean that they’re the actual majority. Also, this doesn’t mean that I hate them either, I would never do something like this out of hate, I’m not so miserable.

In summary, I just wanted him to read and consider that, I wasn’t really interested in an answer, tbh. It’s not like I was expecting something like “yeah, this is nepotism on my part! Thanks for asking xx” (though… That would’ve been a funnier response). As I said previously, this might have been an impulsive decision, and even a naïve one.

(1/2)

Hello, Anon. I'm back from my work trip and finally not entirely exhausted, so now I can answer your Ask and all of the other Anons still waiting in my inbox.

I'm glad to hear from you again, and that you are feeling better. I very much relate to what you said about having a tendency to blame yourself for everything, because I do the exact same thing. But there is a difference between blame and responsibility, and while you are responsible for choosing to ask Neil that question, you are not to blame for how he chose to respond to it.

You mentioned not being sure what to do now, and thinking about sending him Crowley's line about asking questions (which is also something that I thought of when this whole thing happened). My personal suggestion would be not to message him at all, as there really isn't anything else that can be said and I think it would probably just give you more anxiety worrying about if/how he'd respond again.

The thing to keep in mind is that Neil is who he is. Being a writer does not automatically make someone better or smarter than anyone else--Ernest Hemingway was an abuser and a drunk; Hunter S. Thompson was, well..."LSD-soaked madman" is putting it generously; F. Scott Fitzgerald's relationship with Zelda made Kanye and Kim K. look Amish, and the list goes on--but what I think has happened with Neil is that there is such a hype around who fans perceive him to be...the "image" of Neil Gaiman as opposed to the actual human Neil Gaiman. What we have now had a glimpse of is the actual human, and that for as calm and cool as Neil always seems to come across, there are clearly things that can still ruffle his metaphorical feathers.

I don't know if you've visited Neil's blog again, by the way, but just a few days ago, he responded to this Ask which I and everyone else who read it would most definitely categorize as "creepy"...and yet he answered it and did not call that person out the way he did with you. What that tells me is that what happened with you was not because of anything you did, but because Neil read it the way he did. And there could be so many other factors at play as well--the fact that he is in the middle of a divorce, the effects of the Writers' Strike and what that will potentially mean for GO 2--that ultimately contributed to his mindset while answering.

The other thing I will say is that I've already seen part of your concerns come to life, as following the release of the GO 2 opening credits, some fans were insisting that the order of David and Michael's names in the sequence and David's name supposedly appearing first (as opposed to Michael's in the S1 credits) was a reference to Staged:

In actuality, both David and Michael's names appear at the same time (but Michael's is less visible due to being in the sky). Neil even seemed to confirm this when someone recently asked about it. Not only that, he did not mention anything about Staged at all, which in all likelihood means it was probably not a specific reference. But seeing fans rush to this conclusion seemingly validates what we've been saying all along, and when I saw it, I immediately felt annoyed. For me, Good Omens and Staged are two very different things, as well as entirely separate things, and I categorically do not like the feeling of looking at anything related to GO and thinking of Staged. Only my opinion, of course, but there it is.

Finally, regarding the nepotism situation, one thing I've also noticed is people saying that this is somehow brand new, or that no one cared before GO 2. As I've mentioned previously, I became a fan of Michael's and "got into" him before I did David, so I will fully admit to being less knowledgeable around the nepotism issues there (Ty in ATWI80D, Georgia getting a part in DW because of Peter, then producing YM&H). But I can say with absolute certainty that concerns of nepotism with Anna were being voiced years ago, as far back as the first season of Staged and then right through to her being in Last Train to Christmas in 2021. So this is not remotely anything new, nor related only to GO, but to every role AL has had (Staged, LTTC, and Sandman), all of which she has gotten because of Michael.

I would also encourage people to read this post from last year on @invisibleicewands' blog for some very insightful tea about nepotism. One commenter is a former actor and shared some extremely interesting information in the notes in particular, of which I'd like to share a few:

I'm very willing to bet that all of the above--especially the part about casting directors and casting practices--are things Neil already knows, and are at least part of what caused his disproportionate response to your question. Because if this is something well-known and common to the industry, you are very likely not at all the first person who has brought this up to him, as well as the fact that four members of the same family (David, Ty, Peter, Georgia) nearly ended up in the same season of one show (GO season 2).

Could Neil have had enough and just snapped? Sure. We all have our limits, our quota of what we can handle at any given time, in any given day. And he would have absolutely been well within his rights to ignore your question entirely. That he read it as being "not in good faith" tells me this is a subject that's come up before, and has led to him being on the defensive. Which, again...also understandable. But the fact that Neil--who is a writer, who has spent an untold amount of his life writing about all sorts of things in painstakingly detail-- couldn't parse a fan asking a genuine question or distinguish it from an attack is not okay, and neither was his choice to respond so condescendingly and set you up as a target for the larger fandom.

But you already know all this, Anon, so let me stop before I repeat myself too much. I am just glad that you decided to write to me again, and that you took such comfort from both my words and the folks who commented on my post. I am sorry that the whole thing has left such a bitter taste in your mouth (though understandably so), but with all the wonderful new things we've gotten in the last few days (opening credits, the new poster), that thankfully gives us happy things to focus on instead.

Sending you lots of love again and the hope that you will continue to feel better and not let this take away your excitement for GO 2 entirely. Thanks for writing in! x

[arty-ffxiv]

Five Songs I'm Into Now (International Edition)

Tagged by: @riftdancing thank you lovely! I love a good excuse to discover and share music ✨

I've recently done one of these on my main blog here, so it's been great to highlight more songs that I've been vibing with of late!

This time, I've challenged myself to pick international songs since I listen to a wide variety; some of these have been long-time favourites of mine, while others are more recent. I discover a lot of new songs and genres using Radio Garden. (I highly recommend Transistor FM in Thessaloniki, Greece!)

I've also added a bonus song- my favourite from a band local to my hometown ✨

1. Frío Frío Live Version - Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 & Romeo Santos

From the Dominican Republic This one is a long-time favourite of mine- I've been listening to Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 since I was ~16ish and this is my favourite song of his. This live rendition with Romeo Santos is just *chefs kiss* and the whole live album is fantastic. It's also funnier if you watch the live recording of this song and realize that the reason the crowd goes so batshit when Romeo comes out is because he pops out of of a hole in the stage, it's so wholesome

2. T'Asteri Mou - Despina Vandi & Foivos

From Greece Something I used to do when I was playing Assassin's Creed: Odyssey was listening to Greek music. Since then I've become addicted to Greek pop songs. This one popped up on the station I'd picked in Radio Garden and I fell in love. I was learning Greek a few years back now, but only remember the basics + some random phrases from Duolingo - did you know 'soup' is considered feminine in Greek??

3. Qefs Milion A - Martin Mkrtchyan

From Armenia This popped up on a random Armenian radio station while I was browsing Radio Garden, and it always makes me want to get up and dance! I have nothing interesting or informative to say here, aside from that this song slaps.

4. Invoke - T.M.Revolution

From Japan My partner and I recently watched all of Gundam SEED (my... fifth? sixth? time watching, his first) and I was reminded just how much I not only love this series but the music. Choosing which opening/ ending theme I'd include in this was a challenge! I studied Japanese from middle school right through to my first (and last) year at university. I still remember a bit, to the point of still being able to hold basic conversations/ ask basic questions.

5. Klefi / Samed (صامد) - Hatari & Bashar Murad

Icelandic & Palestinian Collaboration **warning for flashing lights in the video!** I discovered Hatari from their appearance in Eurovision in 2019 and the song they performed (Hatrið mun sigra) is a favourite of mine. This one has been on repeat more frequently now, for reasons I'm sure are obvious from the tumbnail. While in Israel for the competition, Hatari joined forces with a Palestinian artist, Bashar Murad, to create this song of resistance; the band also got a harsh response from the audience for displaying the Palestine flag during the competition's grand final. The video filmed for this song is very powerful, which is why I've added this link from YouTube instead of Spotify. I highly recommend watching it and having captions on for translation. Timestamp 2:48 is truly breathtaking. "After all this torture I'm steadfast, I won't bow down." From the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free 🕊️

Bonus; Yoke - Teenage Joans

From Adelaide, Australia A new home grown favourite that I recently discovered, this song take me back to my emo/punk days. This song has been on repeat- in my headphones, my car and my home stereo. My poor husband and cats are probably sick of hearing it. Did you know Australians normally sing with a different accent, otherwise we sound ridiculous? Examples here: 1/2

Thanks for coming on this chaotic trip with me!

Tagging: @thefreelanceangel, @ishgard, @zenmai--jikake--no--komoriuta, @ooc-tau, @nozomikei & anyone else who feels like doing this!!

[samobservessonic]

He’s heeeerrrreeeee! As many of you probably already knew, from this issue onwards, StC Robotnik will have a design inspired by that of the cartoons of the time. This seemed to be “the western Robotnik” at the time, although the mileage may vary there. While this game didn't affect StC at all, even SEGASonic Arcade was intended to use the western Robotnik design at one point in development, but this didn't reach the final game. But the fact of the matter is that he’s here and he’ll stay here for the rest of the run. He gets an outfit update for the Sonic Adventure adaptation at the very end of the series, but that’s about it as far as I can remember

Amy is also here and she’ll be a lot more present this time than she was in the last issue, I’m glad to say

Don’t worry Sonic, as the self-appointed president of the AroAce Sonic Fan Club, I believe you about Amy not being your girlfriend, even if Grimer doesn’t. I do like the nod that Sonic already knows Grimer, even if we haven’t seen them interact before now. So far, StC has taken the approach of “these characters mostly already know each other, you just didn’t see how they met”. And as a fan, I like that, because it means that I can fill in the blanks myself in fanwork. I know there’s probably not a lot of folks racing to make fanfics or comics about how Sonic met Grimer specifically, but it’d also be cool to see takes on how he met Porker, Johnny, Tails, etc., in StC. I just like when that kind of backstory is left up to the fans’ imagination

Robotnik is eager for everyone to check out his new look and Sonic is of course, not impressed, but he gets a move on as Amy’s safety is put on the line

We get a short sequence of the duo breaking free, but I’m more interested in this cool robot Amy design! Granted, she doesn’t do anything before getting destroyed, but I do like that StC is once again ahead of the curve by giving us a Metal Amy years before any other Sonic media would make good on that concept. Not only that, but we get another reminder of how messed up the whole badnik process is here, with Amy saying that the programming is taking over her brain As a side note, looking at Sonic’s reaction here, I’m kind of starting to see why I personally never got into SonAmy as a romantic ship, because this was the version of Sonic I knew first, he was my main Sonic for a chunk of my childhood, and he’s really not into the idea of dating Amy

Carrying on from that, I just wanted to share this panel of Sonic rescuing Amy from the badnik because I like it

Our heroes escape and aren’t followed because Grimer was annoyed about the badniks destroying his bubble prison earlier, so he smashed them all up. Given that last line from Robotnik, it’d be funny if we never saw Grimer again after this. But he’ll endure and next time he appears, he’ll be written entirely as his own character and not as a Snively stand-in

Back at the base, Johnny’s making a suggestion that probably won’t go down well with Sonic - that Amy should join his Boys’ Club for her own safety

Eh, actually, Sonic takes that better than I thought he would. He’s just more annoyed at Amy claiming to be his girlfriend. We get Amy mischievously saying “Not yet, anyway!” Which is even funnier with the hindsight that she’ll never be with Sonic in StC and actually goes on to start a family with Tekno the Canary :’)

Also, I’m looking at Johnny’s nervous glance there. I always remember my friend telling me that Johnny had a crush on Amy, but never actually seeing that for myself? So, I am curious to see if that’s something that’ll turn up somewhere in these early comics

To see us out we get the tease of another fan-fave from the games… Metal Sonic! Known in StC as Metallix. We’ll get a lot of mileage out of Metallix, that’s for sure The preview text also says that next time we’re meeting another StC regular, Captain Plunder. I am unapologetically a fan of Captain Plunder, so I'm looking forward to that Once again, this issue gave us a lot! It might be the only Sonic story in this issue, but it did the legwork to make up for it. I know a lot of people aren’t fond of the comics coming up with these explanations for the characters’ design changes, but admittedly, it’s something that’s never bothered me. I do think it’s probably cleaner writing just to update their designs and not say anything, but I don’t mind having silly explanations like “Robotnik used an egg cocoon to transform” or the chaos energy being what gives Sonic his green eyes. I know some takes on design updates are better than others, but I can’t say I have the same strong opinion about them that many folks do. But that aside, we have Amy officially joining the Freedom Fighters! She’ll go on to be one of the most prominent members of the group. I’m not sure how her early stories play out, since she was already the crossbow badass by the time I picked up issue 80, so it’ll be fun to watch her character change over time