#however. this episode looked so cool. best fight ever

[gogolizards]

:(

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E19: Arena

Original Thoughts

"Well now I know which episode those screenshots of Kirk fighting lizard men that are clearly guys in uper cheap costumes come from. So Kirk is forced into a battle to the death more or less against a vicious alien species by another alien species of greater power. Man, they’ve had bad luck with the latter thus far. Despite the cheapness making it hard to take seriously, it was cool to see Kirk get to fight full-on against something since episode 3. Shatner kinda overacted a bit with the dialogue, but was fine otherwise in a more action-oriented episode that had Kirk completely on his own with no help available to him. Kirk’s proven to be quick-witted in the past, such as in the previous episode, but he had nothing but wits and a communicator here, and he was awesome! The Gorn are also dangerous but also display intelligence and cunning like how the one came pretty close to killing Kirk and devising a way to trap him. The Enterprise’s helplessness in this situation is also very strong with even Spock unable to do anything but wait it out. A cheap episode for sure, but a good episode regardless."

Rewatch Thoughts

Wow Callie, way to not even pay attention to the moral of the episode, you dummy!

When going back to rewatch this one, I only remembered two things about it: the Gorn and the scene where McCoy tries to hold Spock's hand while they're watching Kirk struggle. The former cause of that legendary costume, the latter cause... well, me taking in every Spones moment that I can. Otherwise? I remembered virtually nothing else. It sucks that I forgot about most of it, but it's also kind of nice cause I got to experience it again, and DEAR GOD this is so much better than I had remembered!

The first part of the episode is great, from Kirk and McCoy being all giggly and cute in the transport room to them finding the base they were going to utterly obliterate. Only one guy was still alive and it was an active blast zone as well that only our three mains, the dying guy, and one Blue shirt survived. We're left wondering WTF happened and Kirk... well, he doesn't take the incident well. He declares it an invasion and goes after the ship of those responsible, fully intending to return the favor.

It was a little scary TBH to see Kirk so... I guess the word that works best is vengeful. I don't think I've ever seen him this willing to kill an enemy before, even in Conscience of the King he kept his cool overall. I guess given the amount of life lost, even compared to say Balance of Terror, it makes sense. It's not OOC either, we've seen Kirk flare up whenever any of his men are killed/threatened (The Man Trap, Balance of Terror, The Corbomite Maneuver to some extent) so what looks like a calculated attack on this level? And when he's the only one in a position to give pursuit? Yeah, Kirk ain't gonna let that go. He's going to find whoever/whatever did this and stop it before such a thing happens again.

This presents a problem, however, that being how irrational Kirk is being. I don't mean that in a bad way either, it's interesting to see this side of Kirk. He's so determined to pursue this enemy, to take them down, that he doesn't care about any possible explanations about why the Gorn did what they did. Spock tries to express that very concern, but it falls on deaf ears and he pretty timidly falls back into place. Spock's very much been willing to question Kirk before, we saw it in Conscience of the King, but in that instance, he had time to go over everything before choosing to confront Kirk and also discuss it with McCoy, who noticeably stays in Sickbay until Jim gets whisked away. Given McCoy's the one who would most likely speak back and try to talk Jim out of it/appeal to him emotionally, keeping him in Sickbay with the traumatized, nearly dead officer and thus unable to be Kirk's soundboard to vent his emotions to had to have been on purpose. That's not to say that Spock is a mindless follower, he isn't by any means. But at least at this stage of ST, I don't think he has the nerve to argue or defy Kirk without being prepared for it or without McCoy or someone else in his corner to back him up. Plus logically, what can he argue against Kirk when he's not gonna listen? He can't. This is why in cases like Conscience of the King and later in Obsession, you need Spock and McCoy both standing up to Kirk: alone they probably couldn't do much, but together? Jim doesn't stand a chance haha.

Even the crew is pretty mortified by Kirk's recklessness and... for lack of a better word, murderousness. Uhura gives him some mega side-eye when he and Spock are talking, and everyone looks mortified when Kirk keeps making them go up to more and more dangerous Warp levels. They don't go against the orders, but it's very clear that they're unsettled. Kirk is very much presented as in the wrong and dangerously reckless for everyone. He doesn't even really give a damn when Uhura tells him that they're being scanned nor questions why the Gorn are coming to a dead stop when entering the mysterious galaxy, only caring that they have the chance to shoot them down. He is laser-focused on shooting down the enemy, and this bites him in the ass hard as the Metrons, unhappy to have this quarrel brought to their end of the universe, forces Kirk and the Gorn Captian to settle the matter... one-on-one.

Kirk is in a bad position, but it's kind of cool to see him under conditions like this. He has no weapons, no way to communicate with he Enterprise, he has nothing but his own wits. He's against a Gorn, who is much stronger and as Kirk finds out, very much intelligent. That's one thing I enjoy about the Gorn, they are brutish and violent, but the Gorn Captian at least isn't stupid. Kirk mistakes the alien translator that the Metrons outright told him that they were giving him to talk directly to the Gorn. In other words, because Kirk didn't pay close enough attention to the Metrons words, he gave away EVERYTHING that he was thinking and doing to the Gorn, who took all of that, and countered. He even set up his own trap and Kirk survived by the skin of his teeth. Ironically the guy in the cheap lizard costume was the one being smart and calculative, while Kirk... well sorry honey, but you're kind of an idiot during most of this. But it's okay, I know it's cause your two brain cells aren't with you.

Speaking of said brain cells, the Spock and McCoy moments during all of this are so good! I mentioned the hand-chasing bit, which is still fantastic and I'll never get over the fact that De Kelley decided that was perfectly IC to do. But even disregarding that, this is a really good one to watch if you wanna see a good example of their relationship when they aren't bickering. You can REALLY tell that McCoy wants to when he gets to the Bridge and presses Spock for answers, but he actually holds it in. Likely due to the time-pressing circumstances, but still. I mean he even turns the Captain chair so Spock can sit in it properly (my hilarious theory is Nimoy somehow missed it when filming so they had to have De holding it so Nimoy wouldn't hurt himself), how anyone can look at them here and think they hate each other I'll never know. I also love how it's when McCoy appeals to the Metrons to let them see Jim that the Metrons decide to show some compassion and comply. It's an early sign to them that humans aren't just savage killers, and it's Leonard 'The Heart' McCoyt hat starts it.

Spock also doesn't even attempt to hide his emotions here, his uncertainly over what to do and how he doesn't know where Jim is, his fear and worry when seeing Kirk near death, his relief when Kirk starts piecing together what to do with the resources around him, and let's not forget earlier where he decided that going after Kirk in an active blast zone was a perfectly logical thing to do. Seriously, this is also a great episode to point to whenever Spock claims he has no emotions cause... yeah sorry Spock, all you've proven is how Vulcans are giant ass liars.

Honestly, this is such a good episode showing how devoted the Enterprise crew is to Kirk. When Kirk instructs Sulu to abandon the landing party if necessary and to protect his ship, Sulu very clearly does NOT want to do it. He knows he has to comply, but if he has the chance to save Kirk and the others, I don't doubt at all that he would do it. Despite the visible shock regarding Kirk's orders and actions, all of the Bridge are horrified and worried when he disappears and when they see how badly he's doing. Poor Uhura looks like she's about to cry I swear. Kirk has his bad moments, but ultimately he's a respected Captain for a reason and Uhura, Scotty, and Sulu especially know that (and Chekov but he ain't around yet). No one wants anything to happen to him and if anyone on that ship could do something to save him, they would. They're so devoted to Kirk, even when they disagree with him, and I love it.

All that said, in the final stretch the Gorn finally speaks and we find out why they obliterated the Base and everyone on it: because Starfleet were the invaders. The space was the Gorn's and Starfleet suddenly setting up a base there scared them and they concludedconclusion that it was an enemy attack waiting to happen. While they certainly jumped the gun... I don't blame the Gorn too much, to be honest. You see these people that look virtually alien to them settling in without any explanation about where they're form or what they intend, what other conclusion is there to make? I don't believe Starfleet was attempting to do anything malicious, at least in this case, but the fact that they just assumed the space was free for the taking... yeah, not one of your better moves guys. Did that justify the Gorn's actions? It's hard to say since they certainly had an understandable reason, but it still caused massive casualties that I think could have been avoided had the two sides just... talked and mediated things. Still, as McCoy points out, Starfleet was the one in the wrong first, and Kirk just about nearly caused even more unnecessary bloodshed because he didn't at all consider why this happened to begin with.

Given that, it makes sense why the Metrons would see us humans as primitive savages (poor Spock getting lumped in there too haha), especially with Kirk's behavior up to that point. It makes his decision to NOT kill the Gorn Captain, despite having blasted him to near death and having the perfect opportunity, all the more impactful. Throughout the episode, it's all he'd wanted to do, to the point of endangering the Enterprise and everyone on it to get the chance. But having now heard the Gorn's reasonings and being able to look at his own actions, he realizes how wrong he was. The Gorn aren't mindless monsters, they were afraid and were trying to protect themselves from what they saw as invaders, and it was a matter that Starfleet provoked first. He even refuses the Metrons offer to kill the Gorn and instead wants to properly mediate things over. It convinces the Metrons that there's hope for humanity before returning Kirk back to the ship safe and sound.

Given recent times, the moral honestly this a lot harder. The Gorn were motivated by fear, Kirk was motivated by vengeance, and had it kept going I could easily see things escalating into full-blown war. Ultimately though, Kirk decides to be the better man and not continue it. He's seen the destruction that the Gornc caused and likely people he knew got killed, he fought the Gorn Captian face-to-face and both of them were fighting to the death, and acted irrationally all throughout the episode. But Kirk learned and chose the diplomatic route instead. I wish that it were that simple, to realize all sides feelings and decide that there's been enough hatred, fear, and vengeance by everyone. I wish that more leaders chose to communicate and mediate things out, which si certainly more difficult than it sounds but it's still a better option than war and death. TOS is outdated in so many ways, but is also still incredibly relevant in others and I think that this is very much one of those kinds of episodes. It certainly hit me a LOT harder this time around than it did the first time.

This episode is so freakin' good. A great plot with a very well-handled message, great character moments for both our main trio and the Bridge crew, and very well-executed tension. I knew full well how this whole thing ended and I was still worried about if Kirk would make it out, that's how well this episode does in immersing you in it. Even Shatner's over-acting, which tbh wasn't even as over the top as I made it sound in the first viewing, didn't phase me. Also that Gorn suit is perfection and it needs to stay the Gorn's default look, I don't make the rules! I thoroughly enjoyed this one... and hopefully, the memory of it helps me survive the next episode, The Alternative Factor, cause if it's like I remember... yeah I'm not gonna be feeling much joy after it. But that's for then, for now? Arena is great~!

Original Rating: 4/5 Rewarch Rating: 9/10

[My TOS Reviews]

[TOS S1 Reviews]

[oriley42]

long time reader, first time caller! i just read all of “adventures in polyamory” after watching approximately 3 episodes with amber in them, and it breaks my heart that you made me fall in love with her wilson-style (with reckless immediacy) while the way she’s depicted in the show is so…woman written in the 2000’s…so i’m here to shake a tin cup and ask for any amber headcanons you’d be willing to share

hello and welcome from KZ-HouseMD, the radio station for all your hatecrime-hits! ;) <3

loving Amber is so painful and so worth it; we will punch through the Noughties' misogyny together babes 🌈

headcanons and over-explanations ahoy!!

Amber's got a WASP-y background, and has spent her life both living up to and rejecting these standards. Unlike Wilson, who is delusionally attached to the idea of being Good and Normal but is unhappy living the reality, Amber recognizes that these concepts are absurd performances HOWEVER she logically recognizes that they come with benefits--and she wants those. "Love and respect" seemed impossible, because respect comes with being the best according to society's rules, and love couldn't survive that stifling environment. Now, she can hold on to the respect she craves: money enough to feel safe, wearing pearls and skirts to look proper and upper-middle-class femme, having a handsome-doctor-man-partner, an MD of her own + also still be herself, including un-ladylike cruelty, dishonesty, being part of House's chaotic evil orbit, sexual freedom, atheism, etc.

Amber has spent 110% of her life trying to get enough success to feel safe and stable and happy, so she hasn't developed interests and hobbies because who has time for that give me another coffee and another go at that medical text

Related: Amber hates everything about organized sports, but if she had the time and a friend (*cough* Thirteen) she could be one of those sapphics who gets incredibly obsessed with a women's soccer team or the WNBA

Also related: a sufficiently "productive" hobby I think she'd love is antiquing. Waking up at six AM to drive three hours and wait outside an estate sale and then barge in and make a grab for that antique bureau, fighting off old ladies and viciously snarling down the price--bloodsport for classy femmes!

Amber is a basic chocolate girlie. Caramel is a close follow-up. Vanilla is fine, and she'll pretend to like fancy amaretto or pistachio flavors etc but really she would prefer an Oreo. (Or two...) She will eat max veggies for Health tm and the spiciest food to prove she is Tough tm but really just wants a grilled cheese. A chicken nugget. A spaghetti. Food sensitivities + eating disorder, though she'll only barely cop to the latter, and will not be exploring the former thank you very much she's fine

Amber gets along well with older kids, where she can take on the role of Cool Babysitter, but I think she's secretly a little terrified of being left alone with the tiny incomprehensible, breakable ones, who don't follow the social contract yet and rely on her (!) for self preservation

Amber is naturally a night owl, but medical-land is all early bird, so she's mainly been sleep deprived for the last decade, since she refuses to have a 10 PM bedtime just because she has to get up at 5 AM to make her shift.

Amber's not that interested in fiction ("who has time for that in this reality?") but she ironically enjoys rom-coms for the absurdity, the laugh factor, and the easy comfort of a formula + unironically enjoys action movies because she likes seeing people get punched in the face repeatedly

Amber should take Taekwondo lessons so she can beat the ever-loving shit out of people for fun, and maybe she will after she realizes that the Lulu Lemons in her yoga classes are unbearable, and instead befriend some weirdos gathering at the local gym to spar (Wilson would think this is a great and very attractive idea, House would be annoyed+scared+horny because jesus now he has to wear an athletic cup full-time or she'll crush his nuts for target practice, won't she, c'mon Wilson it's not funny)

okay hitting the brakes here before this gets so long it demands a read-more! 😜 thanks for the ask <333

[livingdeadmlm]

good night my friend! thank you for putting up a smile in my face at 1am of this saturday night

would you ever be interested in writing a bottom male reader x polnareff, or maybe even hol horse? love those two whores fr. it doesn’t have to be NSFW necessarily if you aren’t a fan of it, though if you’re ok with writing smut, that’d be very good lol

I don’t have the best imagination so I’d say perhaps things get steamy during that ‘fake hotel’ in Pakistan, or during the Hol Horse and Boingo episode

Thank you my friend! It’d be very cool if reader was a crusader if it’s with Hol Horse, or a Dio’s servant that is not that loyal to his lord if it’s with Polnareff

Thank you for reading this! :) Ur fire🔥🔥

I'm trying a new header which i got inspo from another writer on here that i found recently

Pronouns: The reader is referred to as a man but no exact pronouns are used after that. Physical Sex: AMAB How far are things going: Things get pretty steamy but not full-on smut. Warnings: the attraction to each other is very heavily implied which is why they’re dogs with each other, mentions of jerkin it and the lack of it happening, mentions of tension with the other of age Crusaders, mentions of the young girl from part 3 that hol horse lead on, Hol horse is restrained for a lot of this. Rushed!! i am still getting used to writing steamy stuff Outline: The reader is traveling with the Crusaders and in the hotel in Pakistan reader discovers Hol Horse before everyone else, anger, and a mix of pent-up frustration cloud both men's minds as they confront each other. What inspired me to write how I did: I have been very much into the rise in popularity of the honda odyssey scene, I love gentle love but I am a sucker for a steamy fight (as well as I could write it anyway)

You wandered down the hotel halls, trying to find any sort of food area or vending machine, you had run out of packed snacks a few days ago and wanted to keep yourself stocked up. However, you have yet to find one or even staff who could help you. As you made your way back to the lobby, just then the bell had rung, and you felt the urge to hang back into the room, something didn’t feel right…

“So the Joestar party is on the third floor? Maybe me and my six-shooter outta pay them a visit.” The gruff voice was complemented by the scent of cigarette smoke giving you a harsh reminder of the blond man who must be in the room. The old woman made her way down the stairs with a gasp. “Ah Hol horse so you’ve come!” her shrill voice held some delight as he kneeled to her level and spoke.

“That's right..” his voice was almost alluring if he hadn’t threatened your lives and your friends just moments ago. As he pulled something from his pockets you felt a hand pull you back around the corner, it was a free cold, and hard hand. Quickly turning with your stand you noticed it was Silver Chariot. It covered your mouth and pointed your head to where Polnareff was on the stairs, he made a shushing motion with his hands as Silver began to lift you while climbing the wall you had just hidden behind. Your stand began to help up the wall and just in time just as Enyaba ran into the room crying. Hol Horse follows behind her. 

Each stand pressed you against the wall as your hands reached for your mouth to hush any sounds you might make. The conversation between the two was hard to follow as the piecing voice of Enyaba was hard to focus on. As they spoke you heard Enyaba mention her son and being friends with Hol Horse…Were the two of them working together? Was Enyaba a stand user of her own?

Glancing back to the duo talking very loudly it truly dawned on you how fucked you were. You couldn’t stay this high on the ceiling for much longer as both stands will get tired soon. And eventually, someone will look up.

That’s when a saving grace came as Polnareff’s voice rang out with the small bell on the lobby counter. Hol horse ran deeper into the room as Enyaba ran out to help. Silver Chariot floated you down to the ground as your stand materialized behind Hol horse grabbing his arms against his torso and holding an iron grip on him. His face twisted in shock as he stared up at you walking over. 

He coughed as your looming figure practically had a darkness radiating. “Hey! Hey, I’m sure a smart man like you is willing to work out a deal, I can give you any info you want just, ya know let me out! You’re a lot stronger than I thought…” his voice trailed off as he struggled against your stand. “You are a coward Hol Horse! Using any person possible to get what you want!” Your stand squeezed him tighter as you remembered watching him ride away on a horse from all of you after leaving behind the young girl who sacrificed herself for him.

He had thrown out comments about wishing to see you again that made you flush with anger at the coward in front of you. “What kind of deal cowboy? Just what do you think will convince me to let you go still intact?” Hol Horse stuck his leg out attempting to pull you closer, “I just wanna make you feel good, (Name)!” He tilted his head to the side scanning your face, “Won't you let me?” His voice was husky as he did his best to lean forward to your face. You scoffed, “As if I would enjoy myself with a coward like you, you seem like a selfish lover anyway.” Hol horse's face became angry before a smile began to spread.

“But you’re entertaining this whole idea anyway, it's been almost a month of not getting any kind of attention, especially the special attention I know you’ve been needin'.” Your body felt hot with anger and embarrassment he was right, sharing rooms with at least one other person the past few weeks had cut your alone time down significantly. While you threw flirty comments around with Polnareff and Avdol nothing would progress past long stare-downs in shared hotel rooms. “You wouldn’t keep toying with the idea of being with me if you didn’t need it.” Neither of you could admit to wanting the other. 

“You know you keep, ugh tightening your stand but I’m likin’ it.” In a moment of disgust, your stands grip on the man loosened and he took his chance to leap at you. You both fly backwards landing on the ground with Hol horse landing on top of you. His lips stuck to yours and just as quickly his hands went up your shirt caressing your sides. You practically melted at the contact you’ve gone a long time without someone else touching you besides getting punched a few times this trip. His hands had slight calluses that slightly scratched your skin. 

Your hands tangled in his dirty blond hair as your core burned at the feeling of his hard-on pressed against yours. Everything felt electric the hate you had for the man on top of you made everything so much more intense. His hips moved against yours as he pulled away, “Come on, a man like you deserves to just let go.” The movement got harsher as you wrapped your legs around his hips, you wanted to be selfish and feel more and more. Once more a yell could be heard as Polnareff called your name as he ran to the back room you were in. Just as fast as everything started Hol Horse grabbed his hat and made a break for a second side door you had missed. 

“Sorry there sweetheart! Maybe next time you’ll get me in full glory!” frustration bubbled in your stomach as Polnareff finally made it to the room and joined your side with a look of confusion.

[mattress-ing]

Little notes app drabble about Gryffon, contains spoilers up to episode 92 electrodon.

(Pasted directly from notes app, here be grammar mistakes)

Gryffon waits for the mutiny

He’s certain these captains can’t be all that in control of their ship, not when their crew consists of an semi-conscious man, a robot with a people pleasing problem, and a small boy. In fact, he’s sure the only reason a mutiny hasn’t happened is the fact that none of the crew looks like they could fight the captains.

He’d take the 3 v 1 if he still had something else to do, but with grimm gone he’s fine with playing their game of pirates. The kids don’t seem half bad, and they’re going to pay him, so he supposed patience will do for now.

Gryffon thinks Alphonse might be the best option for backup if they are ever going to do that mutiny. Of course, with the metal man’s ever growing confidence -a good look on him- he’s going to have to offer up something he would want in return for the betrayal. And he’s struggling to think of what he would want.

He clears his throat, resting on the railing awkwardly as Alphonse steers, “so, are you happy here?”

He should bite his own tongue off. That would help.

Alphonse either doesn’t recognize the awkwardness of the question, or doesn’t want to comment on it. “I am content. Navigation does not fill me with dopamine, but nor does it bore me.”

“Good, uh that’s good.” Gryffon spins the barrel on his arm, its a nervous tic, but no one has caught on to that fact seeing as it’s also incredibly intimidating. “Is there something that would, uh, fill you with dopamine?”

Alphonse goes still in the way Gryffon has learned means he’s thinking hard. “I enjoy building. Creation is-“ his voice goes a little staticky and Gryffon makes a note to ask him later what that means he’s feeling. Later though, when they’re actually friends, if that happens, “creation is special.”

“Cool.” Gryffon walks off, feeling like maybe he’s walked into more of a vulnerable conversation than he’d been expecting.

Despite the strength the kid possesses, his second choice for a mutiny is the man that does more sleeping than talking.

He doesn’t mean to spend his time watching him, but he has a hard time getting a read on him when he’s sleeping so any time he’s up and walking around he finds himself attentive.

He’s never swabbed the deck for so long before, as the man sits at the front of the boat and just stares off into the distance.

He’s been slowly putting together that he can’t use his arms, something he feels uniquely awkward about.

It’s clear the experience is new and jarring to the stranger, and part of gryffon wants to bring up the subject of his own arm, maybe try and give him a little of the hope that is missing in his gaze. He’s noticed that the man doesn’t ask for help with anything, gritting his teeth and making it work however he can. He’s more independent than gryffon had been and that fact alone makes him wary, clearly he doesn’t need help, he doesn’t need gryffons awkward attempts at comfort. They don’t even know each other.

“I know I’m comatose most of the time, but if you stare at me I’m going to notice.” The man speaking startled gryffon so hard he drops the mop.

“Sorry.” He would blush in embarrassment if he could. “Didn’t mean to… stare.”

The man shrugs and turns back to looking at the ocean, “I’m Drey.”

“Gryffon.” Gryffon says. He’s itching to talk more but can’t find a line of dialogue to open with.

“Chip isn’t usually like this.” Drey sounds like he’s trying to reassure him. “The kid’s been through a lot recently. He’s probably having a harder time keeping it together.”

Gryffon grunts in acknowledgement and shifts awkwardly, “the other captains handle him well. He’s lucky he has them.”

He thinks he sees Drey smile, “Yeah, they’ve got a tight bond the three of them. And the way chip works? I wouldn’t be surprised if he feels that same loyalty for everyone on this ship.”

Well. That would make a mutiny awkward.

“Is that smart?” Gryffon asks.

Drey turns and looks at him, eyes narrowed in the sun but perceptive nonetheless. After a moment he grins, “maybe, maybe not. But I don’t think they’ve picked wrong yet. They have a knack for finding the loyal ones.”

Gryffon chuckles, “you haven’t heard the mutiny I’m planning?”

Drey laughs and leans back to lie on the deck, “if you’re thinking of asking me to join I’ll have to disappoint. I probably owe those kids my life, and I’m just as stupidly loyal as chip is.”

Gryffon grins. “I figured.”

He approaches Drey later when the man’s stomach rumbling is loud enough for him to hear. He can tell he doesn’t want to cook, and he’s starting to think his skinny frame is due to exhaustion, more than metabolism.

“Mind giving me a hand.” Gryffon says. Immediately he thinks he should take a dive overboard because fuck that was the wrong choice of words.

Drey takes it in stride, raising an eyebrow and shrugging his shoulders, “I’m not using ‘em. “

“Poor choice of words.” Gryffon finds his apology easily accepted as Drey follows him into the cabin area. “I’ve been trying to cook for Alphonse. Introduce him to new flavors, to kind of… help with self discovery. Stuff he likes and doesn’t like.”

The more he explains it the more he wants to hide from dreys gaze. He doesn’t hide from his soft and cuddly nature, but acknowledging it is always hard.

“He’s been telling me everything tastes fine. Which is good but has me wondering if I’m fucking it up somehow.” Dreys stomach growls again and gryffon can’t pretend not to hear it. “And you, sound a little hungry yourself.”

Drey nods. “I could use some grub.”

Gryffon turns to start cooking, trying to reset the vibe of the room.

Drey clears his throat. “You haven’t brought up the arms.”

Gryffon shrugs but doesn’t deny his curiosity. “No one gets that injured without a story they don’t want to relive.” He lifts his prosthetic a little, “speaking from experience.”

When Drey doesn’t say anything and he doesn’t have the clarity of looking at him to see how he’s reacting, he adds, “and I’m not great at talking about it. Figured I’d offend you.”

Drey grunts. “Well, if it helps, I don’t remember how it happened. Everything that happened in the BLOCK is all mushed together in my head.”

“You were in prison?” Gryffon shakes his head, “fuck. So that’s what they do to prisoners, huh?”

There’s a sigh from behind him, “I think I may have been a special case. Family issues.”

Right. He’s a Ferin too.

“Family reunions must be exciting.”

Drey laughs, and gryffon feels like he’s somehow won social interaction. “I wouldn’t know. My invitation always gets lost.”

The boy is surprisingly eager to mutiny. Gryffon thinks part of it is his lack of understanding about what a mutiny is.

He’s a good kid though, due in part to the captains, but there’s something else about him. He carries himself like he’s used to toughing it out.

It’s part of the reason he accepts the role of lemonade stand security. He remembers being a cub, before everything had gone to shit. There had been summers where kids his age would roll out beverage stands for coppers, just to buy a few sweets or a new toy. Ollie doesn’t look like he’s done that before, and gryffon thinks Drey might be right. Maybe he is one of the loyal ones, hed just never had a place to put it before.

Gryffon wants to kill the captains. Not a mutiny, a murder. Three of them.

It won’t help, not when Jay is working overtime on bringing the shell that used to be Alphonse back to life and killing her would mean he’s gone for much longer. Not when chip speaks so earnestly about getting him back. Or when Gillion stays sleepless, steering and staring at the horizon like all he can think about is what went wrong.

Not when it’s probably his fault for getting too fucking high and leaving his friends to fend for themselves.

“We’ll get him back.” Drey kicks his shin. It’s his new form of expressing affection, as gryffon has learned. It doesn’t help, it just makes gryffon think about how he deserves to actually be kicked.

Gryffon decides mutiny can take a backseat to the harder task; keeping his crew together.

[dysfunctional-doodle]

now i WOULD go rest after the whole ypi business HOWEVER. is there any way to convince you to watch it because OH MY GODDDDDDDD THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SERIES EVER!!!!!!!!!!! it’s certainly not the best written tmnt series out there (ESPECIALLY with the romance…. shudders)

HOWEVERRRRRRR there are a lot of awesome things about it i really like….. i think one thing i like the most about this iteration (besides the very obvious obsession about sunset duo) is THE VOICEACTING. in a tmnt voiceacting teirlist i would put almost every rise character in s tier and yet STILL, despite the fact i put donnie in b, 2012 IS MY FAVOURITE VOICE ACTED SERIES. the original ask includes the giant navy battleship line and. yeah. sean astin’s delivery makes it a kajillion times funnier to me. IDK MAN THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT SPLINTER’S VOICE THAT IS SO SATISFYING TO ME. AND THE WAY SHINIGAMI LAUGHS???????????????? HRGHHHHH

also a big fan of the dynamics between the turtles…… the absolute brothers of all time. sobs (again it’s very obvious which duo is my favourite hfhdbsjbsdj)

also this might be a slightlyyyy controversial take but mikey’s adhd is written really really REALLY well in my opinion. like ok donnie said he hasn’t matured since age six and infantilisation is a big problem with neurodivergent people HOWEVER. a big part of mikey’s character is that he doesn’t like being underestimated and wants to prove he is capable but also. as a person with adhd. YEAH I TOO FEEL LIKE THE PERSON IN MY BRAIN IS A SMALL CHILD. the reason i peaked in primary school is because, back then, i was only slightly less mature than my peers. now as i’m in secondary school i realise i am like a TWO YEAR OLD compared to these people. when i was in s1 i would call myself the twelve year old toddler because that was essentially how mature i felt i was. SO THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. maybe there are times he feels slightly stereotypical but hey, everyone has their stereotype moments, right??? (as cliche as it is i feel like everyone has had a “hey, look, squirrel!” moment in their life). yeah i just relate to 2012 mikey on a spiritual level. like every time he’s on screen he does something and i think WOW. that is LITERALLY me (which is why i’m surprised that one poll i have more people think i’m like sonic than mikey?? but i’m not complaining, sonic is super cool)

the 3d animation is cool (the increase in skill is very obvious as you progress further through the series) and the fight scenes are just. MWAH. SO satisfying.

also SOME of the romance is pretty ok! raph and mona lisa are great. also arguably raph and casey (but we’re not ready for that conversation i think).

i have a full disc set of all five seasons that included a list of all the episodes and whenever i finished an episode i REALLYYYY REALLY enjoyed i would highlight the name in pink sharpie… here are all the episodes i marked :3 (i might need to rewatch some of these)

the pulveriser

cockroach terminator

parasitica

the good, the bad, and casey jones

plan 10

a foot too big (i’m actually not too sure about this one right now, might need to rewatch it)

journey to the center of mikey’s mind

revenge of the triceratons (this one is only half highlighted for some reason)

bat in the belfry

tokka vs the world

requiem (sobs. sobs so so hard.)

end times

when worlds collide: part 2 (i think this one is where the giant navy battleship line comes from)

it’s ok if you don’t want to watch it or you’re not able to watch it but if you can and you don’t end up liking it THAT’S OK I TOTALLY GET IT THERE ARE A LOT OF PARTS THAT SUCK

erm anyways that was my strange ramble. sorry for invading your ask box 👍🏼

(oh yeah, the comics are pretty cool too)

(guess who michalina’s favourite character + duo is challenge (impossible))

Ok I will say oddly enough I’ve read the comics for 2012. Weird, but I pirated found them and enjoyed reading them, they were fun.

I have watched a few episodes - I did like the speed demon episode (I love the dynamic of 2012 donnie and Casey mirroring the 90s movies even down the name insulting scene where they are going through the alphabet) and I like parasitica a lot. I have watched others like journey to centre of Mikey’s mind, Buried Secrets, and the usagi episodes, and also the final episodes of the Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (? I cannot remember the name, but the one with the insect guy as the villain who’s name I can’t spell and can’t be bothered to Google lol), that one where Donnie becomes dumb, the vampire ones, but that’s it.

What puts me off is the romance and the (in my opinion) partial butchered character Donnie has due to it. He’s genuinely creepy and it makes watching it uncomfortable and wildly out of character compared to what I’m used to. I’ve never been a fan of romance, and I expect ally despise the whole “main character has a crush on someone else but is so nerdy they don’t know how to approach them” trope. The whole love triangle and the poorly written “love at first sight” which most the romances in the show are just put me off completely. I genuinely have tried other episodes but I cringe every time the Donnie/April romance happens. It’s a shame because when they let Donnie move on from April or not be simping after her I really like his slightly sarcastic, blunt yet sensitive nature.

I’ve heard they kind of throw away the romance at season 3 but it’s having to watch this until then tbh. Maybe one day I will give it a go if people really say it’s worth the suffering of my least favourite trope. You seem to like it a lot so maybe :)

[blueskiesfillmymind]

DUDE DUDE!!!!!!!!!

I WATCHED IT AND OML.... SO MUCH TO COVER !!!! SPOILERS AHEAD BTW !!

TW: S/A / INCEST !!! DNR IF SENSITIVE!!!

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So part 2 centers around blue's relationship w/ 2 of his abusers [Lavender and Pink]

While pink is a case of abused became abuser, Lavender feels important to talk about first,

With this first memory sequence it shows blue looking through old photos / memories between him and his sister, and lemme just say they're so adorable when they were young--

Blue's lil strand of hair curling into a question mark is both cute and sad because of the amount of gaslighting lav pushed on blue, making him doubt his surroundings and his sister

But aside from wholesome memory lane. Comes these disgusting clips

Lavender is talking about the birds and the bees with her younger and more impressionable brother. And one where she asks him if he's ever jerked off before.. EEUFGHHH--- DISGUSTANG !!!!

Lavender is such a HORRIBLE sister when it comes to how she was in the past and how she is with blue now-- what the actual fuck is wrong with HER?????

I have a small hunch that it was because of lavender's horrid mindset that lead blue growing up to either want a sexual relationship or a small jumpstart at his hypersexuality. I myself had experiences like this but its sensitive 2 me so I'mma not mention em-

Because like- LOOK AT BLUE'S STAR GAZE- he was like "woah... my sister is so cool.." and shit- LIKE NNAHHGSHS

Also also look at the way blue is when he looked back at lavender,, he looked so upset..

and the fact that lavender gave him [I think it's a porn magazine] to help him jerk off is so vile.. like- girl dont talk about these with your own brother.. tf is u on???

And she looks like she was like 17 or 18 in that flashback so henceforth making that scene all the more disgusting..

Overall just super upset with how blue had to deal with such disgusting stuff from his sister..

But now we move on to pink's relationship with blue, which keep in mind either still stays sexual or its just- otherwise eeugh..

Since this episode deals with trauma bonding, blue is now still with pink and lavender, much to my dismay.. however it does show more about pink's relationship with her husband aswell!

Pink had likely opened up about her abuse with blue, since he did ask her about it in the past, now blue sees pink in that victim light [also pink's eyes are rlly pretty in a way,,,]

Seen a theory where with pink's lack of eyes is her "turning a blind eye" from her abuse in her marriage, she focused more on how happy she was during that day instead of trying to think of her abuse, so that's why she likely has her ring painted white instead of showing its true colors,

As much as I do sympathize with pink, she's still sorta iffy in my eyes, I just wish she could improve is all,, character development arc 4 pink maybe???

Anyways- so blue and pink are arguing, it's likely from blue's attraction to lilac, to which pink says "But you're so sexual" to which he's denying it?? It could be where he's saying "I'm a changed man."

But then pink is arguing with "if you make her cry then you'll be dealing with me."

Lilac and pink are likely either really great friends or they've met eachother way back when,, either way !! Pink's willing to sacrifice anything for her best friend and I think that's a pretty cute detail,, I guess??

So then blue blocks her out and walks away from the argument, maybe because of some.. disagreements or with blue being fed up with the fight? Either way he puts the glasses back on after it

A commenter said that with blue's glasses it's his way of thinking that pink still likes him, or whatever else the heart glasses mean,

lilac ends up getting fired because of purple.. for whatever reason? Does that make purple the department's boss or- idk what it means really,,but like- yuck.

Now purple is beginning to groom blue, And with clips of purple talking with lavender her tie is slowly turning blue aswell-... I swear if I see purple its ON SIGHT. ON EFFIN SIGHT. I WANT THAT BITCH DEAD.

Overall baby hotline 2 was very uhm... something- which makes this series all the more like- mind boggling because like holy crap the lore is making me go feral,,

Loved how pink was shown and I love how everyone else was portrayed, either way! That's it for my long rant, if you need me. I'm gonna be cuddling w/ blue and comforting him <3

[cowpokezuko]

Guys I need to be a hater for a minute I'm so sorry.

If you have like a deep attachment to the Blue Eye Samurai episode "the tale of the ronin and the bride" look away now cause I'm about to rip into it. Also spoilers ahead for the whole series.

Okay, to preface, I am generally a hater of flashback sequences, so as much as this is a criticism of this episode, it's also a crit of most flashback sequences in film and television. I am also much more willing to let it slide when it's used for comedic purposes like the beginning flashbacks in Psych or clipshow episodes in IASIP or Community. Also, this is all my opinion, you are free to disagree with me all you want and that's totally fine. Apparently I'm the only person who thought this episode kinda sucked so I fully expect to be on my own here. I would like to present my argument nonetheless

Ok disclaimer done, now to get into why I think that the use of flashbacks and framing devices in this episode of BES was a poor choice and pisses me the hell off. Formatted into a numbered list.

It takes the tension out of the main fight. The fight scene in this episode is easily one of the best in the series, but the constant cut aways draws interest away from the fight and seems to equate cliffhangers with tension. On some occasions that would be fine. The bits where they cut to the other characters totally make sense and add to the tension of the fight overall as our minds are still on the fight and the show is not forcing our attention to something that's much less engaging than Mizu fighting like a hundred guys. It also decenters the actually interesting character dynamics we get to see in this episode by putting the focus on the relationship between Mizu and some guy we don't know. There could have been so much more development on the relationship between Mizu and Akemi or Akemi and Ringo which would have been so cool because they don't interact much before this episode, based on the finally, will end up being important relationships later on so why not spend your time showing us that? Why linger on this random guy from the past?

Flashbacks are lame and I don't like them. (This is my list so I get to be petty if I want to.) As previously mentioned, I am generally a hater of flashbacks. I think it's a boring way to relay a character's backstory and motivations to an audience. It often ends up over-explaining things that don't actually need to be explained and take away from the flow of the story. Ofc course, some flashbacks are better than others, for example, I think the flashbacks showing Mizu learning from the Swordfather are more interesting because learning how Mizu learned to fight and where her anger against her father stems from is actually interesting and very relevant to her actions. However, since we did see where Mizu's quest for revenge and fighting ability came from, why do we also need to see her get betrayed by a past lover on screen? Why did we need to see it happen beat for beat in the form of a flashback? Wouldn't it have been more interesting if we got to see her come across her ex in the actual plot of the story and not the metanarrative? Same goes for her mother? Why put the story on hold to tell us this when you could have made it part of the story?

We don't actually need to know every single thing about a character's traumatic backstory, and that's okay. This whole series of flashbacks fell flat for me because I already understand that Mizu is on a quest for revenge, y'all did a great job of conveying that by giving her a one track mind about it. I really don't care about what made her heart cold, isn't being jilted by everyone you've ever met enough to do that to a person? Why does she need a man to drive her to rage? Isn't being a member of an oppressed class enough to do that? She's a woman in an extremely patriarchal society and a member of a racial minority in a racist ass society, that's as good of a motivation as any. The idea that she needs more of a reason to hate the world is frustrating to say the least. In HBomerguy's video "Sherlock is Garbage and Here's Why", he discusses how Steven Moffatt fumbled the character of Sherlock by going back and showing his childhood, as he did with Jackman in Jekyll. In my opinion, if the only way you can think to reveal the character and motivations of a character is via flashbacks, you need to go back to the writing room and think of something else because there are always better ways to do it.

The romance plot is god fucking awful. This is probably my most biased point because I am so picky when it comes to romance plots in non romance stories. I am not against the concept of having romance subplots in non romance stories, and I am actually a romance lover, so it's not bad that there is a romance, this one just sucks dick and balls. Due to the format of it only existing in flashbacks there is absolutely no time for the audience to see the characters have legitimate chemistry or cute moments, so they try to use shorthand like the characters laughing together or whatever, but it falls flat because this is literally the first time we are seeing Mizu's husband and we know almost nothing about him. Every scene with them is super awkward and forced. There's no time for the audience to develop feelings or opinions on him, to the point that I am not using his name because I legit don't know what it is. Again, why not have Mizu come across her ex on her journey and have it be a source of conflict in the story? The way it's currently laid out is so goddamn boring that I was skipping through the parts where they weren't doing shit to get back to the good part (fighting).

Why are men? Must every woman have an on screen romance with a guy? Are we not allowed any other motivation? This isn't just me being a lesbian, this is genuinely such an annoying thing in media. There are so many guys who are on revenge missions who don't need to have their heart broken on screen too explain why they're murderous. Why did this need to happen to Mizu? We couldn't have had fmc with the same insane drive as Anton Chigurh or like the Basterds from Inglourious Basterds? There are basically no women in media who get to be just fucking nuts sans a tragic backstory with a guy and up until this episode, Mizu was one of them. But then we have to see how ooo actually she's a killer because a man broke her heart because god forbid women be angry at their material conditions. I'm not calling the writers misogynists or anything, I just think they took the boring way out in this episode.

The 'mother' reveal. WHYY NOT JUST HAVE THEM REUNITE IN THE BROTHEL OR SOMETHING?!?! This is the most frustrating thing. Her being alive during the flashback only to be killed by the end is a crock of shit if you ask me. It doesn't really affect anything because Mizu doesn't feel any different about her mother before and after the end of the episode BECAUSE IT ALL HAPPENS BEFORE THE STORY! If they had met during the timeline, we could have seen more development of the relationship between Mizu and her mother, but we already know that Mizu misses her mom because that's how she went into the episode. It was already explained in other episodes. Also by the end of the episode, she's still dead so what was the point of the reveal? If she had remained alive, Fowler's reveal that her mother is not her birth mother could actually change their relationship in an interesting way and could create intercharacter conflict which could be fun and cool idk.

The play framing device. I'm not too mad at this, it just feels kind of redundant given that it tells the same story as the flashbacks. I would have preferred they just stuck with this over the inclusion of the flashbacks because it's a lot more visually interesting and less on the nose. I do think that shifting Mizu from being the ronin to being the bride is lame, but that's just because it feels a lil heteronormative to me. Why does she havee to be the girl character in the play? Let her be the man, it's fine actually. I feel like it doesn't give us new information either because we go into it knowing that Mizu is violent and gets called a demon, then by the end Mizu is violent and gets called a demon, so again I think it was a little pointless.

I think that's all of my grievances, so here's some final thoughts. I really liked Blue Eye Samurai overall, I just think that this episode really fumbled the bag. Looking at reviews of the episode, it seems like most other people really liked it and I'm on my own here, but that's fine. I stand by what I said and will proudly hold my status as a hater up high. There are so many more interesting ways the show could have spent its time and I think it's such a shame that it fell back onto such boring storytelling. I also have my gripes with the way that the Swordfather flashbacks played out, but I think that it has a little bit more relevance than the time that Mizu was married so don't think I'm being selective in my hatership. I also have some very specific gripes with the way that this episode affects Mizu's relationship with her gender and sexuality in a really stupid way, but those are largely due to me projecting so I will not get into it here.

Once again, if you really like this episode, that's great, I am so glad. There are some parts I really like. The fight scene is awesome and I really like the parts where we get to see Akemi being the badass that she is. I wish there was more of that. As always, Ringo is the best guy ever and I love him, it's cool to see the way that he stands up for himself when Mizu does something he disagrees with. I just don't understand why we got so sidetracked by something as unimportant as an ex-husband. Usually I understand the concept of show don't tell, but if the only way you can think of to show us that is flashbacks, try again.

Anyway, I hope this makes sense and that you guys get what I'm putting down. Feel free to argue with me if you want, I'd like to understand why people like this episode so much given that I had such a negative reaction to it.

[miraculoustails]

I finally finished NATLA. I was very excited at first, having heard positive reactions. By two episodes in, I couldn’t stand it, and was writing an episode by episode analysis of the show. So here it is, my honest and detailed review of the show:

Episode 1: Feels like an adaption! I enjoyed it and it was fun! I like the way they showed the horrors of the genocide against the airbenders. I didn’t like how they had Aang fly the moment we were introduced to him. It completely eradicates the need for the glider. He also doesn’t look like some outcast idol to the airbender kids, like he does in the cartoon. I love the relationship between him and Gyatso. It weirded me out though how Aang says “no one’s ever fought for me before” when the entire first half of the episode, Gyatso is fighting for Aang. I like the way they handled the awakening scene, and how Katara reacted. But also, why didn’t she react to everything violently shaking? It was weird. I didn’t love the southern air temple visit. They removed all the feeling from it, and explained everything ahead of time. It ruined the shock for Aang, and him pulling himself out of the avatar state was very upsetting. Overall, great episode. I rate it a soft 7/10.

Episode 2: The best episode by far. I love the way they handled the Kyoshi warriors and their attitudes. The changes to Suki’s character were so fun, but at times felt a little weird. Like the scene where she’s eyeing Sokka, or the moment in the woods. Kyoshi herself was harsh and intimidating, she was perfect. I WAS weirded out that they made Aang shapeshift into her? I hope they don’t do that with the other avatars. That was really weird and bad. I wasn’t a fan of how little damage to village took, but Suki handing Sokka the fan and kissing him was cute. I’m definitely curious how that’ll change the dynamic between him and Yue though, since she was supposed to be his first kiss/love. It didn’t show Aang’s immaturity however, by involving the Unagi. I understand cutting the scene, and i didn’t think of it honestly, but it is another missing character development moment. I rate it 8/10.

Episode 3: YIKES. They combined one of the first few episodes, an episode from the middle of the book, and an episode from the end of the book. I get the time constraint, and it wasn’t too bad in the end, but it was majorly upsetting. They worked it together well, but they missed important relationships that developed because of it. And the whole moment of Aang getting his hopes up, and traveling to the air temple, getting completely scrapped, is disappointing for sure. The Zuko moments felt weird, and it was another thing added to an already crowded episode. I’m really upset by the fact they removed Aang’s character arc. He’s supposed to show the trio how he and Bumi had created a fun game using the mail delivery chutes, and keep acting childish, instead of accepting his responsibility as the avatar. Instead Sokka “has an idea”. This completely nerfs all the introductions to Bumi, and makes him just seem like a really shitty king. 2/10

Episode 4: I like the Iroh and Aang interaction, not a fan of Katara and Sokka having to break in. Especially because they take the tunnel of love episode from book two, a very important episode, and they add it to the middle of season one? The two lovers story animation was so cool though, and the actors got the troupe perfect. Katara and Sokka’s fight in the tunnels feels so forced and scripted. It doesn’t feel natural at all, and just like they were trying to be edgy. However, the tunnel deepened their characters and relationship immensely. The badgermoles aren’t supposed to be monsters, they’re the first airbenders and shouldn’t be portrayed that way. Teo standing up was in character and great. Bumi immediately calling Aang out, and revealing himself was… yea. Not great. The moment Katara finds the water skin was so simple and a fun, quick easter egg. Jett’s actor went off! Katara being able to suddenly freeze water was completely out of nowhere and not a good choice. I like the moment of Zuko having to choose between his dream and family. Bumi testing Aang, while Aang knows his identity, it just hurts. His old and dearest friend is saying all these out of pocket things, and he doesn’t understand why. Bumi’s “games” comments were unprovoked, since aang has shown nothing but dedication and slight nervousness to being the avatar, rather than immaturity. None of the tests, other than the fight, hold any weight, since Katara and Sokka aren’t there. Bumi crafting the whistle was cute! The scenes between the guard and Iroh were so good. It shows how much wrong Iroh did, and contrasts his current nature. We never really got to see people this angry at Iroh in the cartoon. There was moments sure, but this is the real rage of war and it’s so good. It shows the two sides of the after effects of war, anger and forgiveness. It’s a great buildup to show why Iroh changed, and how Zuko’s been manipulated since childhood, yet still has a good heart. It really makes it set in that Zuko went from good to bad, and Iroh went from bad to good, yet both had goodness in them the whole time. 5/10, a very mid episode, saved by the flashbacks.

Episode 5: Katara’s using earthbending techniques! We completely skip chapter 6 :( The automatic knowledge of the spirit world and how to protect Aang is unsettling. Katara and Sokka slipping through is also weird. Background characters mention the pirates, which is chapter 9, and the volcano, from chapter 14, but neither of those have episodes. It’s a nice reference, but upsetting they cut them out, and then mention them when they don’t even happen. June, from chapter 15, suddenly appears. The owl spirit from the library is randomly there??? And Sokka and Katara hearing hooting is so bad. Why are they bringing book two episodes into season one! Sokka’s flashback was messed up and unnecessary. His father was not like that. The creepy clowns are unnecessary as well. The face stealer is randomly there too?? From the final episode of book one. What the hell? He goes to the fire nation and Roku’s shrine. Completely skips saving the forest, to follow a plot from the last chapter, then i guess resume the plot from the middle two chapters? Aang’s just abandoning Sokka and Katara in a random forest?? Going super far on his glider, completely alone, and somehow managing to make it in time to save everyone. Yup, makes sense… 0/10

Episode 6: Young Zuko is so heartbreaking, Iroh being a father figure is such a good addition! June randomly finds a scrap of threads that she magically knows leads to the avatar. No warning of Sozin’s comet, and June appears, instead of Zuko, causing chapter 13/15 events to occur. They did the blue spirit really well though. Zuko and Aang’s heart to heart was so good, and the way the word compassion triggered Zuko’s anger hurt. Going straight into the agni kai? That was true pain. I think this is the one thing they did better than the cartoon. The ship scene was so heartwarming. Aang somehow makes it back, days? later, to save Katara and Sokka, whose bodies have been left in the woods this whole time. The face eater just lets everyone free for the statue? Everyone’s magically returned and no one was eaten. 6/10, solely for the Zuko scenes.

Episode 7: The change with Zuko running away was very different, and out of character, but I actually kind of like it for the live action. It fit in well, and created a lot of tension and emotion. The bond between Jee and Zuko is actually really nice. The gaang’s arrival to the northern water tribe felt like very forced acting. None of it felt real, and the whole scene was highly uncomfortable to watch. I think the only performance i liked was of Chief Arnook. Aang not knowing any waterbending by the time they reach the north is such a terrible choice. We go nearly the entire series without seeing aang doing anything other than airbend??? That is not very avatar-esq. The scene between Iroh and Zhao was very manipulative and pretty good acting. It was a nice break. Azula absolutely slaughters in all her scenes. The minute facial expressions really showcase her rage. Pakku sympthizing with Katara is so wrong. He’s supposed to be the epitome of sexism but immediately starts being friendly to Katara and talking about bending?? Even tells her to go to an instructor? “Water is the element of change” sir, you’re the last person who should be saying that shit. Sokka’s one sided longing for Yue is so awkward. This is the worst acting we get from him, and it’s disappointing. He’s one of the best in the gaang. He gets better when talking to her luckily. Yue being able to bend is a TERRIBLE choice. It goes against her entire character. She randomly starts expositioning to Sokka, who she just met… And her personality is very off. She’s too down to earth. She’s supposed to be more gentle and reserved. It humanizes her, but it’s not her. Pakku scolding Aang for showing up, not knowing any other bending, is so relatable. We get a whole three seconds of Katara bending water through a wooden doll, and she suddenly knows how to heal someone? Then the sexism comes in, and she immediately leaves, instead of at least learning healing for more than a few seconds. Yue not being engaged to Hahn is a choice that i hate and like. It means she’s not cheating when she’s flirting with Sokka, thank gods, but again, it’s against her whole character. Avatar Kuruk being the only decent avatar to give Aang advice is interesting. Them disabling him to fix a plot hole they created by having Kyoshi do all of Aang’s fighting, is so stupid. Just have Aang learn bending, instead of him doing some stupid tour to meet all the avatars. Yue randomly revealing she was the fox was so weird and out of place. The whole moment just takes up unnecessary time. The romance between Yue and Sokka was so uncomfortable and severely forced. There was no real moments between them, just lots of explaining the plot and backstories. Aang being sexist and pushing his anxiety about Katara into season one, is so so wrong. Azula rebelling against her father is wildly out of character. Also, I can’t find when she first lightningbends, but i’m pretty sure it is NOT this early. And she would never dare to attack her father. Why is Katara explaining herself to Sokka, her fighting Pakku’s supposed to be a rash decision based on her frustration with the constant sexism she faces. Instead, it’s a thought out plan she feels the need to defend. Why on earth is she doing hand to hand in the battle? Finally, waterbending looks actually dangerous here. Every single time she’s caught she’s randomly out of breath. Girl, how are you out of breath from being held in place by some icicles? It’s such a disappointing and short fight, and Katara looks so weak during it. Aang’s so insistent on “protecting” Katara and Sokka, but can only do some weak airbending, and has no offensive moves. “The legend of aang” being an attempt at some cutesy easter egg for legends of korra is so cringy, coming from someone who hates cringe culture. I rate this episode a 1/10, for terrible acting and for no understanding of the characters at all.

Episode 8: Aang still knows no waterbending, Katara has learning nothing from the north. Why are the firebenders surprised to be under attack? They should all be prepared and on guard, being so close to the northern tribe. Sokka is a good leader, yes. But why is he commanding the gaang out of nowhere? He’s not supposed confident in his leadership skills until they attack the fire nation, because his dad finally pushes him. A whole ship gets destroyed and everyone’s just chilling on the other boats? Zuko’s supposed to be playing dead, but is just hanging around with no mask. Iroh’s getting the respect he deserves from Zuko, but thing is, Zuko’s supposed to be a disrespectful little shit. And this is not Zuko. The firebenders are using the war balloons, which completely changes the dynamic of the battle, and there’s no way the waterbenders should win this. The woman who was extremely offended when Katara asked to fight, is out of nowhere standing up to Pakku, asking to fight. None of these women know fighting techniques. Momo nearly dies?? The way Sokka hugs him is so awkward. Zuko shows up in the temple, instead of the oasis, and has to fight Katara. This gives her a moment to finally look badass fighting, but is so random and doesn’t work with the story. Zuko getting mad about her finding a master, when Pakku didn’t give her a single second of training, eesh. They’re making comments about stuff that happens in the cartoon, without doing the stuff from the cartoon, and it’s so bad. Why does everyone know it’s Zhao, and know his name. It’s so offputting. The red makes it so hard to see, and it genuinely was hurting my eyes. They decided to put a red filter on everything, instead of doing red lighting, and it just looks bad. They show the horror of the moon’s death so well. The one thing they’ve managed to be consistently good at is show how terrifying the fire nation is. This parallels really well with the beginning scenes of the air nations being destroyed. Aang doing nothing when the moon spirit dies… He turns into the water spirit! But still cannot actually water bend. Aang dies doing this, and somehow Iroh knows. Zuko’s meltdown at the truth was embarrassing and yet again forced. Iroh telling Zuko not to kill Zhao, then killing him… the people in charge of this show truly cannot decide what they want to do. At least it’s in character, since he was protecting Zuko. Yue can still bend somehow. Finally Katara does a speech to bring Aang out of the avatar state. Pakku tells Katara she reminded him water changes, and so should he, like that wasn’t one of his first lines to Katara. He gives Katara the oasis water, but never explains its healing properties. 3/10, the only points being for the amazing portrayal of the terror of the fire nation.

Overall rating: 4/10. The main cast all has acting quirks that started really bothering me before i could even finish the show. Almost every character had at least one moment where the acting pained me. The only good looking bending was ice bending and earth bending. Or when fire was destroying something. It feels like the creators didn’t actually watch the OG ATLA, but instead got handed a piece of paper that had bullet points of what happens in the cartoon, and decided to make their own show from that. This is not an ATLA remake or even a love letter. This is someone trying to copy the success of avatar, by poorly copying the plot and characters. The play scene from the cartoon is really showcasing the irony of the remakes situation. Azula, Iroh, and Sokka were the most in character, and even then, they all had at least one moment where they weren’t right. I loved Zuko’s portrayal, but it just got too much by the second half. He turned completely good, and all his moments where he wasn’t good, felt very out of place. They extended scenes that were unnecessary and awkward, and cut important scenes that were vital to the characters’ or story’s growth. NATLA had its moments, but overall it was just bad. I honestly hope it doesn’t get renewed, because i can’t stand hearing about or watching it get any worse. Aang didn’t learn a single drop of waterbending, and this was supposed to be the water book. He was supposed to MASTER waterbending, but never even started. I could barely finish the show and had to take a two day break, in which i used all my willpower to watch the last two episodes. If you read through all of this, you can watch my joy quickly get smushed, and it turn to exhaustion and disgust. I understand why the original creators left, and it’s so frustrating to have yet another opportunity at seeing a childhood show get re-loved, only for it to crash and burn.

[potahun]

(Same anon whos watching midnight hotel)

Actually, for someone getting into the mxdzt series but unfortunately doesn’t have the time to watch every episode, do you have suggestions for best episodes if you had to narrow it down?

My favorite things are a good ol story arc and clever set design/mysteries :)

Hi anon!

You have come to the right place to ask about MXDZT!!! <3 The set design for Midnight Hotel was indeed spectacular and so clever :) I love those episodes to the moon and back.

Good news is that there are many other sets in MXDZT with beautiful and clever designs, secret passages, etc as well as sooooo many genuinely poignant stories and cool mysteries (while being a hilarious show). the bad news is that not all of MXDZT is subbed :(. S2-4 and then part of S8 are not subbed. I don't know if you need eng subs?

If you don't need Eng Subs, I highly recommend watching next:

S8E1, S8E2 (Sunset Mansion); S8E5 (Echoes of the Past), S8E7 (Black Gold Heist), S8E10 (Legend of the Blue Sea), S8E11, S8E12 (Battle for Tomorrow) -> all of these were part of One Big Story following Detective He Hehe as the protagonist as he eventually loses it all and fights to regain it, a story taking place in a huge, complex universe bigger than him, with touching characters, cleverly explored themes that have made me go through rollercoasters of emotions, and complex mysteries... The first two episodes, in particular, have an incredibly gorgeous + clever af set that gave me chills at times (that clock!!). It was the first time MXDZT linked so many episodes together, too, dropping hints in S8E5 of a huge mystery beyond the mysteries of the day, and it worked beautifully.

S3E11, S3E12 (Beauty is to Blame Again) -> A case in two episodes set in a vintage-looking hospital for comestic surgery, but every now and then, a nursery rhyme resounds...S3E12 therefore has both a murder to solve and the mystery behind the hospital to solve. And what a mystery it is! HAH

S2E7-S2E8 (Nursery Rhyme of Horror) -> The set is a lot more low-budget (early seasons)! However it more than makes up for it in story and the way the mystery unfolds. A murder in a mansion reveals a lot about the ppl involved in it, and the complex past they share...

If you do need Eng Subs, these are my recs:

S6E5 (The Village of Forget-Your-Worries): A poignant episode (I teared up) that explores depression with its deserved seriousness, while being hilarious. The quaint Village of Forget Your Worries is known for a mysterious letterbox that responds to you with solutions for your worries if you put a letter in it... Murder ensues. Again, clever set, clever mystery, touching stories.

S5E1-S5E2 (Pianists on the Sea): This is. My. Favorite. Set of Episodes. In All 9 Seasons. Set on a real cruise ferry, S5E1 follows a simple (?) story of a murdered pianist in a competition. But rapidly, facts in the case start to confuse the ppl involved as they indicate that something is wrong with the boat...and that their perception of some personal things conflict...S5E2 has the players solve that mystery and OH GOD.

S9E4 (Strange Night in the Art Museum): This case is so clever, I don't know what to say about it. It's just so, so much. I cannot. A woman who declares wanting to kill everyone is found murdered in a museum, the only ppl there try to solve the murder, and at the same time, need to reckon with some bigger problems. The plot twists in this had me yelling. It's such a great time.

S6E9 (It's STILL the Fault of Beauty): Again, the return of the cosmetic surgery hospital that will have your life (it's one of the show's running gags). But this time, it's more complex than ever when a corpse is found dissolved in a hospital tank.

S7E5 (Leap over the Meridian): Such a clever use of a seemingly simple set. A highly esteemed scientist is stabbed to death in the first class section of a very futuristic plane that also got hijacked and diverted from its course; the captain solves the murder as well as the mysteries behind the passengers. Includes a very emotional storyline and conclusion.

S9E5 (Past Stories of Xihui Town): Double murder in two neighbouring towns. Are they linked? Detectives He Hehe and Zhang Gongzi are on the case(s). The towns are very pretty, the stories poignant. This case leans on the serious side, but the stories are quite riveting and heartrending. Same universe as S8's He Hehe universe, but it's its own story.

S9E10 (Decisive Battle For the Top): Very clever murder mystery that involves the set too. Set in fantasy old China, with sect feuds, old grudges and people who are not what they seem. Quite story-focused too.

S9E11-S9E12 (Dark Side of the City): Double case that follow the slow rise of the rumored "Rat King" on the dark web. Very dark themes explored. generally not very funny, but extremely cleverly knit mysteries, with an interesting format and a big focus on individual stories (but not necessarily those of participants).

I definitely have more, but this list is already long...Also a general note that usually, only the starting two episodes and final two episodes of each season will take place in a set that looks bigger than a studio! That is the case of Midnight Hotel, as the S6 starter. Before S8, it was also those cases that tended to have a "double mystery" one on the place, and one for the murder-of-the-day. But this is now no longer the case, as the cases grow more complex. Generally speaking, after S2, even when a case looks like it is in a studio, the set is still quite beautiful. S9E5, for example, visibly takes place in a studio but it's composed of three sections, for the two towns and the Hey Hey Hey Detective Agency, and each one is intricate.

Don't hesitate if you have questions! Hope you enjoy your MXDZT journey!

[howtotrainyouragents]

Agent H’s TV Reactions

Spy x Family Season 1 

A spy is tasked with creating a fake family to infiltrate the enemy country, only to unwittingly marry an assassin and adopt a child telepath

-MY EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FAKE FAMILY

-I love that this a story about survivors of war. About how they fight for peace. About how they heal through love and relationships with each other. I love that it’s an action story, a drama, a comedy, a slice of life

-You can tell that this is an anime that really loves the story and source material. It is truly done with such love and care and attention to detail 

-I really wish that the opening/closing scenes were canon/shown because I want to see them going on vacations and dance around their home TT. I also want that scene of Loid at the train looking up at Yor on the balcony. I also love the scene in the second opening scene of Yor hugging Anya by the window

-The teacups theme song is my new comfort song

-I have such a crush on Loid. The tousled “at home” hair will be the death of me. 

-HE’S SUCH A DAD. Have him make a corny dad jokes and HE’S THERE

-I love that Loid’s complaint of Anya is that she’s unpredictable. Like, yes, the best spy in the world, the man who can predict and prepare for any situation in the world, is having his ass handed to him by a four year old

-Meanwhile it take Anya about 48 hours to learn that no matter how cool your parents are, all parents are lame

-I know it was for the interview, but I think Loid genuinely meant it when he said he found a kindred spirit in Yor. The moment at the party I think is when Yor starts to fall for him, but also when Loid recognizes that they are alot alike, that she “may be the only person who can accept him for who he is right now.”

-Also, Loid absolutely fell in love with Yor when she first knocked out that bad guy

-Yor being the emotional support and rock of the family. The way she supports and cares for Anya and plays with her and gives her advice (however helpful it is XD). And the way that she supports Loid, breaking him out of his anxiety. Like in the restaurant in the third episode, he’s totally spiraling about the interview, and she doesn’t know what’s going on in his head, but she knows to take them to the park for fresh air and perspective and it’s just what he needed

-The scene of Loid and Yor comforting each other as parents is one of the most foundational scenes of the story

-I saw some people a while back being like “Twilight is going to get too soft and eventually do something emotionally and jeopardize Operation Strix” You mean, the interview???

-Anya punching Damian is one of the greatest scenes of all time

-The dodgeball episode is one of the greatest episodes ever made XD

-The penguin park episode may be my favorite. Whole family working together without knowing what the others are doing. Yor kicking a guy into the ceiling. Loid winning the penguin for his girl. Loid wanting a vacation then STOPPING and deciding to just work harder because he loves his girls so much

-BOND IS THE BEST BOY

-My heart broke with Sylvia’s simple “I had a daughter once like her.” 

-The Loid reflection while they’re at the dog park broke me

-Loid being proud of his daughter jumping two boxes and jumping rope five times

-In any other show Nightfall would be the most iconic, fan-favorite character ever made, and (we love her too!) the only reason she’s not here is because she’s competing with the fucking Forgers

-Yes, Loid, you should switch to decaf

-I love the episode of Yuri tutoring Anya because for how intense Yuri is about work and his sister, he really is just a 20 year old kid. And I just love seeing this big kid get so exasperated with this little kid, and I hope they get more bonding in the future lol

-Shinybluebirdwizard pointed it out that Becky Blackbell is pretty much the only character remotely living as her authentic self and that is fucking hilarious

-Damian always being ready to fight when it comes to Anya

-I would be very curious to learn about Japan’s role and viewpoint in the Cold War because it’s interesting how this is Cold War Germany inspired 

-I had a separate post about the tennis arc. Let's see if I ever write it up...

-Loid going out of his way to reassure and support Yor just because he wants her to be happy. I am ride or die for this couple

-Loid ep 6: Yor is sad, I should reassure her!

Loid ep 15: Yor is sad, I should take her out on a date!

Loid ep 24: Yor is sad, I should take her on a date and ask her to marry me! Like, bud, the reaction does not equal the situation. With all of Loid overthinking I’m genuinely trying to understand how he thought honey-trapping Yor would be beneficial for the musssion. Like I know why he does it but Loid, what was your reasoning there

-The last episode was so good!! The hat tip mirroring the first episode. The importance of love and care and communication and trying to be there for each other. The final words summarizes the whole story, and the teacups song playing through Loid's words. Anya’s at bliss even when he has no idea what’s going on in her head: They don't understand each other but they love each other and want to do their best for each other. That's it. That's the whole story.

-Extremely important question: Is Loid licensed to be working as a psychiatrist. Because on one hand, obviously it’s just a cover story. On the other hand, Loid has never half assed anything in his life and cramming years of worth of medical school and passing a licensing exam just to make his story airtight is exactly the kind of thing he would do. Endo, respectfully are you listening. Endo, please, I need to know this

[phantomram-b00]

Something I wondered (warning maybe a little spoilers for season 2 and lot for season 1 if you haven’t caught up or are new to the fandom) is that given that season 3, would we see characters from season 1 again or maybe even some for season 2?

I know for sure, Muriel will show up again, I hope so I love them, they’re my adopted child, and one of my favorite character from season 2 besides Maggie and Nina (I love these two so much). I hope for season 3 we get to see the dynamic with Crowley and Muriel (I’ve read some fanfic where Crowley is the unofficial official step-dad to Muriel and I love that! I want to see that bond) and maybe see them work together again. I do also want to see where their arc are going to go, I just hope nothing bad happens to them.

I think it would be very shocking if they decided to bring back say Anathema and The them. Only because it seem that their stories have been completed, it done and their going on with their lives not knowing if the world will end again. I won’t lie, I do miss them, especially the them. I think if they were to say come back to season 3 it would to maybe team with Crowley/Muriel to try to stop the end of the world all over again (especially since it evidently clear that Adam still have his power, so maybe we get to see how that goes from there) or maybe save Aziraphale (who knows). I won’t be surprised if they never come back, their stories have ended on a good note and I don’t think they would want to go through another operation stop armageddon again lol, I don’t blame them, they literally saw Satan. Fucking Satan, so I doubt they would come back but if they did, that would be a cool surprise.

Speaking of Satan, now I know he got defeated back in season 1 by Adam, I think my biggest qualm with season 1 is that we didn’t really get to see much of Satan and he seem like a wasted potential or missed opportunity however I wonder giving how it all unfolding if Satan’s going to come back and make an appearance? I mean if armageddon is getting a sequel and a possible war; you best believe we might see him again. Maybe even see God for the first time, which I do find interesting we saw Satan first but we never see what God look like. Either way, if Satan does come back, this will be one hell of a ride. Literally. But I do wonder if we get to see Beelzebub again, I mean then again given their ending with Gabriel, I don’t know, but just imagine the interaction like:

“Yeah I’m dating an Angel, an Archangel at that what of it?”

Only for Satan to say

“Uh, cool but we literally in a war against Heaven you’re bringing this up now?!”

Okay, sorry, moving on, speaking of season 2, I wonder if Maggie and Nina will come back too? I hope so, I love them, I want what they have. I do have a thought that maybe they comfort Crowley after the aftermath. I doubt they would ever want to join the whole operation: stop armageddon, but if they do, Maggie and Nina will be so badass I have faith that they will do whatever it takes to save humanity and earth (to be a  parallel of how Crowley and Aziraphale would stop at nothing to save earth even if they have to fight for it as I read a post where Nina and Maggie are very similar to Ineffable Husband and I full-heartedly agree on this!) I do hope they come back, but if they don’t, what can you do?

Now this was hinted, but I can be misreading it, but I feel we might see Aziraphale’s flaming sword again, because the sword seem integral for season 1, Aziraphale giving Adam and Eve the sword was what kickstarted Crowley and Aziraphale’s friendship, and really everything that goes from there. It make me wonder where it is now (I know with that mailman guy, but given that the four horse of the apocalypse are kinda no more, make you wonder where it is now). And we did see at the end for season 1, episode 6 that he was evidently hesitant to give it away again, does he secretly miss his sword? Does he wish he have kept it after stopping the end of the war? Whatever it was, he surely wasn’t confident on letting it go, so me thinks that we will see Aziraphale wield it again, whether it because he have to fight in this war….or maybe….he might fight against heaven? Maybe specifically metatron? Or maybe against hell? You know there so many that can go, and I am confident Neil Gaiman will do an fantastic job, and I can’t wait to see where season 3 will go (whether it get renewed or be turn into a book. Which remind me, side note: I am really hoping that the studios will be able to pay their writers and actors, im not saying it for the sake of good omens, I’m saying it for the sake of the future of writers, actors and entertainment as a whole. They deserve their flowers, the praise and a better payment. As someone who want to one day be an author and want to write shows for my stories like Neil Gaiman, it saddens me that these studios won’t even as far as give them fair payment, and my heart absolutely goes out for the writers and actors, they put in the work that make the magic happen on screen and it scares me that there uncertainties on how this will all go, and I really don’t understand how hard is it to pay your writers/actor but what I do say is I stand for the writers and actors and I am very confident that they will be able to get what they want and be able to have their well deserved spotlight. Sorry for this off topic ramble, I just needed to get that out the way.)

Back to it, I do wonder if we hastur again? I was kinda surprised we didn’t see him in season 2, not because I wanted him back, just that he play a semi- big role for season 1 so for him to not show up in season 2 is kinda like “huh, wonder what happen to him”. So I wonder if he’ll make a comeback.

I think that’s it? I mean I’m sure I’m missing someone (I was gonna mention Newton, but if anathema might come back, he might come back so eh.) but those are my thoughts, do you have a character you hope come back for season 3 that I didn’t/did mention? Or what character do you hope NOT to see again? I’m curious 👀👁️👁️

[phykios]

Review: I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

Yes, yes, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the meetcute of the century, it’s very exciting, but I have to ask–why is it framed like a horror movie? 

To be clear, I’m not saying I don’t like it. I can easily believe that it’s a character choice, that Leah decided Annabeth had been practicing that line over and over again to sound as cool and aloof as possible, and then not realize it makes her look super weird. That is the kind of intense, “formative years in magical summer camp” awkwardness that I always associate Annabeth with. But combined with the storm, the blurring of the curtains, and the sinister musical underscoring, it’s just a very odd choice. 

For me, personally, peak delivery of “You drool when you sleep” will always belong to Kristin Stokes, mostly because the comedic value of her cutting off Percy in the middle as he musically waxes poetic about how beautiful she is is very, very high. But, because it’s literally Leah’s first (technically second) line in the whole series, and because I think it does make sense with her character as the episode unfolds, I won’t say it’s the wrong choice. I won’t even say that I don’t get it. Just that, when combined with the rest of the framing, it’s an odd one. (Remind me to return to this point once the season is over, and we’ll see if my feelings have changed at all!)

I’m going to do my best to be normal about Luke, and I promise you, I will fail. Luckily for all of us, Luke is not yet babygirl; he is still only baby. As several others have pointed out, the fact that Luke’s first interaction with Percy is one of immediate sympathy, and that he more explicitly takes Percy under his wing, taking book!Annabeth’s position of being the lore explainer and confidante, is going to be so heinous in retrospect when the betrayal comes. As a side note, I loved the way that the other cabin members were side-eyeing Percy as the camera slowly picked its way through the room. Also, the fact that Luke’s words were repeated by the shadowy figure (presumably Kronos) in Percy’s nightmare? When Percy calls Luke his friend, still in the middle of his emotional separation from Grover? Amazing. It’s going to hurt so bad. 

You can tell Luke has a lot of sway in his cabin, from the little entourage–including Chris!–that follows him around camp, but I wish we had seen more of his status in the greater camp social circle, beyond him getting Clarisse to successfully back off. Even something as simple as people just calling out to him in greeting would help fill the gaps in. (Think “Hi, Barbie!”) This could easily bog down the pacing, though, so I get why it’s not here. You can also tell that Luke and Chris have their little grooming (ideological, not the other kind) routine down pat. “They like the smell of burnt mac and cheese?” “They like the smell of begging.” Might be my favorite exchange of the whole episode. 

Speaking of favorites, favorite performance this episode goes to Dior Goodjohn during capture the flag. However, Clarisse’s characterization here feels almost like the inverted version of Gabe from the previous episode–he’s been dialed down, but she’s been dialed up. In the books, she starts out as a bully, yes, but more of an ineffectual one, since she gets hit with a faceful of toilet water in her first appearance. Dior plays her much, much scarier than she ever was in text… but at the same time, could she be scarier just because the act of seeing someone in a fight can be scarier than reading about it? And again, the reverse for Gabe: was his character dialed down because seeing acts of domestic abuse at that level was a worse experience than reading about them? For Clarisse, this change works, but for Gabe, the jury's still out. 

Now, onto the claiming scene. Was it everything I hoped it would be and more? 

Not really. It was fine. (I thought the fight choreography was great, though–quick but still visceral, much more grounded than the standard Marvel featherlight beam fights.) For one thing, a glowing sea-green trident just doesn’t have the same visual oomph against a daylit background. For another, the drama of a hellhound coming out of nowhere and almost mauling Percy to death immediately raises the stakes, necessitating this equally dramatic resolution. But for a third, the claiming scene in the books is a hard subversion of what should be this triumphant, cathartic moment, where Percy is recognized by his father, but is instead immediately ostracized by his newfound community because of it. It’s a brilliant piece of writing, and it makes me go feral at the drop of a hat, and when the show decides to almost gloss over it, cutting from Percy in the water to Chiron’s exposition dump, it doesn’t feel like it has the time to settle, to impact the audience the way it should–or at least, the way that I want it to, the way it knocked me on my ass at age 12 and age 26 and age [redacted]. 

A lot of these last two episodes feel that way, in my opinion. I fear that, as someone who is clinically deep in the lore, my background knowledge fills in the gaps of the story that would otherwise be a detriment to a blind watcher. I recognize that there is a lot of book to get through in a relatively short amount of time, but we are skating along the plot at breakneck speed, and I worry that we are missing some key, grounding tentpoles in the meantime. 

So, with all that in mind, let’s talk about character arcs. 

Annabeth in the books clocks Percy as powerful from the moment she meets him–I think Annabeth in the show takes that to another level, using that fact to force Chiron’s hand in order to get her out of camp and on a quest. She is determined that Percy is “the one,” and if he isn’t, then she is going to make him so. It’s kind of hilarious to see a twelve year old as a kingmaker, but as Luke says, she’s always six steps ahead of everyone else. Based on this, I see why they’ve swapped some of Luke’s and Annabeth’s book personalities, because I predict that their show counterparts will switch roles as the season comes to an end. Annabeth will take Luke’s place as Percy’s friend, lore reservoir, and confidante, and Luke will become the cold, calculating one. Similarly, I bet that Grover and Percy’s arc will probably be about overcoming Percy’s feelings of betrayal towards Grover for getting him kicked out of Yancy. Percy’s new forged bonds with Grover and Annabeth will come in handy once Luke tries to stab him in the back. 

Stray thoughts:

Jason Mantzoukas, my beloved!! I’m glad he can dial down the insanity when necessary. As Dionysus, he has a really interesting dynamic switch between Percy (merciless trolling) and Grover (semi-stern authority). I wonder if it’s because technically Grover as a satyr kind of falls under his purview? Or am I overthinking it? 

At some point, if I can get good enough screencaps, I want to go through the set design and use my newfound ancient architectural knowledge to see where they pulled inspiration from

I wish Luke’s scar were bigger. And a little grosser. 

When Luke said the word “kleos,” I actually stood up and started pacing around the room. That, plus Chris name dropping an obscure god, makes me extremely happy.

It is so nice seeing Riordan’s continued commitment to expanding his world so that all kinds of kids can see themselves in his work!

It’s pronounced like “They-lia” with a soft th and I will die on this hill. But also, “forbidden kid” is kind of great and I kind of love it? 

One teeny nitpick: it looks most of the campers all have five bead necklaces, and I wish they had ones with different numbers: four beads, three beads, two beads, hell, throw in a 7 bead, just for fun

[yakkyrwhackr]

My Thoughts on Sonic Prime Season 3 (Spoilers Ahead!) I'm going to structure this in a sandwich style of reviewing, because there's a lot of good, a bit of bad, and a decent chunk of lame shit. Let's hop in, shall we? The Best: Grim Big Let's start this review off with the thing I adored about this season the most: GRIM BIG, BABY!!! Grim Big is the funniest shit ever and I loved every moment he was on screen The Lame: The Grim Bots (Minus Grim Big) The Grim Bots are cool in concept, but they just don't really do anything and have no notable personalities. They're just there as fodder. Alpha Grim Sonic does get a TINY bit of personalization in episode 5, but that is ENTIRELY carried by Shadow challenging him to "prove his worth" and the mild scowl AGS gives in response. Also the Grim Birdies are the most annoying fucking things in existence and I hate their sound effect. Alpha Grim Sonic could NEVER be Chaos Sonic.

The Great: Fight Scenes One of the best aspects of this season was the fight scenes (minus the ones within the Kracken and Mothership) by far. All of them are such a treat to my eyes and I loved every second of it. The Lame: Inconsistencies The writing seems to pingpong in tone a lot. One minute everything is hopeless, and then sonic has a plan. That plan falls apart due to infighting, rinse and repeat. Nine also feels a little inconsistent, as sometimes he's angsty, sometimes he's cocky, and sometimes he's manic. It's pretty jarring. Dread is also inconsistent. He said in either episode 2 or 3 that he had no incentive to fight, and then in episode 4 onwards, he's fighting with enthusiasm. He really only gets an actual incentive in episode fucking 6, which he abandons IN THE SAME EPISODE.

The Good: Nine While Nine was a bit inconsistent at times, he was still pretty good in this season. I can tell the VA and animators really tried. I just wish he was given a better and less inconsistent script. He gets really good in the final 3 or so episodes.

The Bad: The Retro Scene Just like in other seasons of Prime, the retro scene was pretty bad. But I feel that this season, it felt especially cheap and unnecessary. It looked like a fucking flash animation. Not even dialogue this time. It was pointless too because the entire first season had Sonic reminding Nine of him and Tails' friendship.

The Extra-Enjoyable: Jack, Squad Commander Red, and Renegade Knucks All three of these were great. Some were greater than others (Renegade Knucks was definitely the best by far and was the one of the only characters I can definitively say I cared about. Like, Renegade absolutely STOLE the show.) I enjoyed watching them on screen. Again, some more than others (I love you, Renegade Knucks), but all were enjoyable nonetheless. The Thing I'm Undecided About: Sappiness Sonic is a sappy guy. I am more than aware of that. However, I feel a few scenes put too much sappiness for the scene, or used sappiness when it could be used elsewhere. For the sake of being fair, the sappiness in the final episode WAS a good use of it. Overall not my biggest problem with the season. (I ran out of bads so the sandwich style ends here)

The STUNNING: Animation The animation in this season was PHENOMENAL. Multiple times this season, my brain was just in constant awe with how good it looked. Everyone was super expressive and bouncy. Definitely amazing. The Peak: Shadow Shadow was GREAT this season. I loved his interactions almost as much as I loved Renegade Knucks. Definitely the best Shadow has been written in a WHILE. It was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise flanderized character. We got a bit of Shadow in season 2, but this is where I think he really shines. I certainly will not forget the ultimate lifeform beefing with a 9 year old. Peak, honestly The Very Nice: Rusty I feel Rusty had more time to shine this season. She had more lines, her animation was more expressive, and even her voice actress seemed to read her lines with a bit more emotion. I especially liked her monologue against Alpha Grim Amy. Show's still not canon though :)

[chronically-ghosted]

Hi Taylor! For Happy Pedro Hours, who do you think is more likely to win a Nobel Prize, Marcus Pike or Marcus Moreno?

Hi there Lovely Jess!

While I was flat on my ass all weekend fighting a headcold, I did in fact rewatch the Mentalist episodes he's in and again, this is why we need women in writers rooms because who in their right mind would ever -

okay, i'm totally cool about it, it's fine.

All of that being said, marcus moreno is literally out saving the world on a daily basis from aliens and monsters so like, is there a category for Heroism or Best Look In Leather Pants? I dk, but marcus m probably gets a lot more world attention than marcus pike right?

however, marcus p gets a nobel prize in my heart for being the sweetest man alive and reminding me that love exists and we are all so lucky to be alive.

I hope you enjoyed yourself this weekend and had some time to relax in the sun!

[ladyswillmart]

"Ha HAA—! Take that! Again!" Mallow crowed, breathless with the rush of a battle well-fought.

Without so much as a final Nya, Bowyer Mk. II—his warranty thoroughly voided—collapsed to the ground in a chaotic jumble of bare steel and unfinished wood, a satisfying if somewhat wan imitation of his predecessor's demise back in the Forest Maze.

Goodness, that seemed like ages ago...

"Hey, remember the very first time we did that? I never thought I'd ever get to do anything that cool!" he went on. "I think it was Geno's idea, wasn't it?"

"Oh yeah, that's right..." said Geno, wistfully. "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I guess Bowyer had to learn that the hard way."

"Y'know, I still can't believe you actually thought we'd be strong enough to make a good team! I mean, Mario's pretty tough and he's the real deal—like I wouldn't wanna have to face him in a kick fight or anything. But me? I mean, all this time traveling with the master and I still can't even jump a foot to save my life!"

Kick fight...? Geno shook his head and decided to let that one go—life on the road tended to engender a certain fondness for watching midnight kung fu comedies on whatever UHF frequencies their motel room television set could receive. "Well, so what if you can't jump? You think you could've journeyed with us for so long and so far, all the way to this miserable scrap heap at the other end of the galaxy, if you weren't also the real deal yourself, in your own way?" he posed. "Though that does remind me of something. I keep meaning to ask how you do that thing where you read other people's minds. Is that for real?"

Mallow broadened his smile, revealing his single, cherished tooth. "Sure is! But I don't really know how I do it," he admitted. "I guess I start out by thinking real hard. Then I just keep thinking and thinking, until I thunk so hard that I start thinking inside-out in someone else's head. Sorry, I can't explain it any better than that."

"That's alright. It's pretty useful, either way," said Geno, however disinclined to repeat Mallow's process and thunk that hard about any one thing in particular.

"You're tellin' me!" said Mallow. "I even used it to save you once!"

"Is that right?"

"Yeah! Don't you remember that one time you got eaten by Belõme?"

Geno grimaced to the best of his ability. "Ah. Yes, I was trying to forget that, actually..."

"And then he made that weird copy of you, and it was so good we couldn't tell which one was the real you and which one was the fake? Remember?" Mallow recounted the tale with a whole lot of relish, which was jolly well and good for him as he—by some highly improbable turn of RNG—missed out on the unforgettable experience of becoming that monster's afternoon snack.

"I remember."

"Well, obviously we had to clobber one of ya! But we couldn't figure out which one was the clone! And then you both started trying real hard to convince us who was real and who was fake, and then you both had your guns out and pointed dead on each other like—"

"—yes, yes, I remember, I promise I remember this entire episode to adequate detail, right down to the music video*," Geno prodded him patiently. "But how did you solve the riddle?"

"Like I said, I did it by reading your minds!" Mallow told him. "Nothing else to it! Look, his thoughts, I could read 'em like a book: What's up with all these Star Pieces? I don't care either way. Or something like that. And I thought: Oh no! That's not the Geno I know! And I was right!"

"Oh! I see..."

"And your thoughts, well! Every time I try to read your thoughts, I just get this really weird noise in my brain," continued Mallow, his enthusiasm blinding him to his own unwise treading. "And I can't figure out what the noise is, y'know? I can't even describe it, it just gives me a bad headache if I listen too long—"

"—w-wait a minute! Hold up. What do you mean, every time you try to—" Geno stammered his way into a forced restart. "Do you try to read our thoughts, like, regularly, or...?"

Caught! All Mallow could do was shuffle sheepishly in place and grin, and wonder if he could somehow fit his whole entire foot into his mouth if he thunk hard enough about it...

(* Yes, every episode of the Super Mario RPG Super Show features a brief musical montage, using thematically appropriate hit songs by popular contemporary artists, that will have unforeseeable consequences when people try to archive this series on YouTube several decades later...)