#it just got in a point which idk where to go

[no0dlru]

We also had decent sex ed at my schools, and yeah - all of this is so important. By the time our sex ed went from "label these genitalia and which biological process occurs where" (at which point kids like myself were already getting periods) to "these are different contraceptives and other important things about sexual experiences, such as consent etc", a girl in our year (13 y.o.) was already pregnant and planning to keep the baby. Kids will seek sex no matter what. I'd already had experiences by the time they told us "do not use a crisp packet as a condom" (which still haunts me often - idk what's worse, the sharpness of the bag, the grease and crumbs, or the fact they felt the need to specify that in particular as if it comes up regularly ☠️).

Tumblr also blessed me at that age with the means to understand myself as a "gender non-conforming genderqueer/genderfluid demipansexual", even if I knew I'd be (and was 🙃) hate crimed for that once I was out (although I learnt quickly to just say "trans and bi", because it was 2012 and that got me bullied and hate crimed enough tyvm). This was before the queer community had even settled on "non-binary" as the generally agreed-upon phrase, before we had a flag, and when views on "passing" carried a lot more internalised transphobia than today. When I see kids at pride these days with NB flags it honestly makes me tear up that they have that understanding - as discriminated against as they still are - extant within society. As badly as we're being treated, we've come so far as a community ourselves, and pride really is the right word.

My school's sex ed was homophobic as hell - I won't go into it (yet again) because it was honestly traumatic. I *was* the queer sex ed - I was made to teach my violently-bigotted peers *and* the staff about trans healthcare, sex-ed, etc. at that age. My teachers had no idea sex and gender were different. Regardless of the lack of understanding at the time, I could recognise and articulate precisely how I felt in myself, how I experienced romantic and sexual attraction, what that meant for my interpersonal relationships, and for myself, in real time. I still explain those same aspects of my identity to friends 14 years later (e.g. "no, I don't find them 'hot'; they're beautiful I suppose, but I don't know anything about them - I just don't experience attraction that way", "my pronouns are whatever, my gender is whatever - I'm not agender but fuck 'gender' as we understand/treat it"), and I feel so honoured about that. People's bigotry is already so much to deal with without also thinking "I'm not like how it's being taught - what's even wrong with me?"

in conversations about sex education for children many people fall back on teaching children to recognize and, hopefully, report predatory behavior as the primary reason why this education is good, and obviously I don't disagree with that! when I educate my 4th-6th students, we spend a significant amount of time talking about boundaries and consent and drilling in to the kids' brains that they do NOT need to tolerate inappropriate touching or other behavior from anyone, not even adults who might try to pressure them into thinking otherwise.

BUT! but but but! I think it's also really important to remember that preparing for the worst case scenario isn't the only reason to educate kids about sexuality and their bodies! kids deserve to enter puberty understanding all of the changes they'll experience, and not just the growing and sweating. it's good for kids to understand the new desires they might start experiencing! it's good to know about intense new crushes and erections and wet dreams and sexual fantasies and masturbation! those things can be really, really scary and confusing for young people who don't have any framework to understand them, and it's really easy to feel like you're doing something dirty and inappropriate if no one has told you that sexual pleasure and curiosity is normal, healthy, and good.

good sex ed should help students feel comfortable and safe expressing their sexuality! that's crucial!

[johnlennonsspells]

The issue with Mike and Peter is that Mike masks to the extreme and Peter wouldn’t know what a mask is if he tried.

[howitcouldgoes]

TADC EP 5 SPOIELRS AGAIN!!!!!

Now that I’m rewatching the episode I’d like to put in my two cents on the mannequin theory.

I’ll be straight up about it: I think it’s Kaufmo.

OR more minorly I think someone whose partially in the game- someone who hasn’t been registered by the system yet observing those who have

Like someone who is able to exit the Circus/is able to take off the headset, observing the people trapped inside trying to study them or figure out how to save them.

But mostly I think it’s Kaufmo.

Unless you look at gooseworx’s tumblr page where they will occasionally reveal old members of the circus like Queenie and Ribbit And that one time Queenie was mentioned not by name specifically- but indirectly mentioned Point is, only Kaufmo is mentioned by name, by physical image, and we get a briefing on his personality as well. Kaufmo who set up the whole find the exit of the show, as well as how a crazy goes insane here and how it’s probably the closest thing to death there is.

Of course, we never see Kaufmo other than a portrait or drawings before he abstracts - so what if that’s him? What if Kaufmo found a way out of the cellar with the others and it just kind of reset him?

Either way, I have a feeling since Ep 6 is also a Ragatha and Jax centric episode - episode 7 is either going to be about this mysterious character OR it's going to be abt Kaufmo.

And while I'm on the subject of theories -

I briefly mentioned how everyone got to be in the circus in my last post but I want to reiterate my number one theory abt Jax and that is - (no longer that he is a NPC but) that Jax in real life is ill.

Let me elaborate: I have a running gag with some friends Jax's yellow eyes and teeth are a jaundice thing - but now that I'm really thinking about it - a bunny character?

Jax has already mentioned his love that of his avatar, he likes his ears and is genuinely upset to find that he lost his tail in one of the past adventures(I think he lost it when his friend Ribbit abstracted) but there's something else.

Bunny characters always have buck teeth - and yet Jax doesn't.

Now of course, I think he looks waaaay better without that usual rabbit teeth and love his expressions more than any other character - he is the most expressive and the most amusing -

But WHY yellow teeth?

Am I reading too much into this? Absolutely,

But anyhow my solid theory is primarily based off Jax's yellow facial features AND the backstory he choses to lie about. I know he's referencing a show(I think its breaking bad if memory serves) when he mentions having lung cancer - but why that show specifically? Because it's dark, violent, and its a meme now?

It's such a weird opening for Jax to start with him being sick - having lung cancer.

Of course I don't think he has lung cancer - but my theory essentially is: Jax willingly put on the headset to escape into this circus BECAUSE he has a life threatening illness of some kind. Jax knew he was dying, wasn't happy that maybe his illness prevented him from doing physical activities with his friends and when he heard of a world where he can't die or get injured - he was all for it.

Because so far? Jax seems to be the only character who doesn't care that he's trapped in here. Everyone has expressed some distaste for it, Ragatha missing her horses, Pomni and Zooble missing their old bodies and/or lives, Gangle upset she couldn't follow her art dreams(? AGAIN IDK WHY GANGLE IS HERE SHES THE ONLY OUTLIER), Kinger missing his wife but hes too far gone to remember any of the good bits but i defo dont think hes happy to be here- esp considering his wife is dead.

to sum it up:

The mannequin is Kaufmo

and Jax has a life threatening illness outside of the circus - which could also explain why Ragatha's sweet "you can do it! its all gonna be okay!" attitude bothers him so much because he remembers being told that so many times in the hospital

But thats just a theory, a

FOLLOW UP EDIT/THEORY:

DONT FORGET- theres also the "worst thing Jax has ever done" that we will "see with our very eyes"

I used to think it was Jax causing one of the main cast to abstract

but what if it's not

What if it was something Jax doesn't do - but something he did

I think Jax caused his only friend(Ribbit) to abstract. And we'll be seeing a flashback of that.

[sunny-knight]

THE INTERMISSION

Analysis - i need to yap about this or im gonna explode

This is by far my absolute favorite moment of this newest episode, Hell- OF THE ENTIRE SHOW. I need every frame of this beautiful feat of animation in my blood stream NOW!!!!!

I KNOW there has got to be at least a little bit of symbolism buried in this sequence that either alludes to things we already know, or foreshadows things to come, and THAT IS WHAT I LIVE FOR.

Disclaimer!

Trigger warnings of the show apply here!

Also keep in mind that I understand a lot of this may be “over-analyzing”, but I really like finding meaning in art even if it wasn’t intentional! So to avoid justifying every claim over and over with that- I'm just gonna say it here and be done with it. I like analyzing media and personally getting something out of it :3

Set Up!

Before analyzing the scene itself, I want to go through and see what it represents as a whole, in reference to the shows format, and for THAT we need to look at episodes 1-4. Every one so far has had a dialogue-less/dialogue minimum scene where some sort of character development takes place.

Examples of that are…

Episode 1: to the track “Your New Home”, we see Pomni accept her new circumstances, its not a dream/nightmare, and she will “never” get out of here. (which is debatable, but still).

Episode 2: to the track “Not Alone” we see Pomni, (again). instead of just accepting her new circumstances, she more comes to an understanding of it. She will not be forgotten, and her life still has meaning.

Episode 3: in the track (Unnamed 😔) with Pomni, (AGAIN) we see she comes to an understanding of the very nature of this world. It’s hard to believe she wont end up abstracted in the end, even if she knows she wont be forgotten. Eventually though, she comes to the conclusion that she can get through this.

Episode 4: to the track “Still Going” we get Gangle! In how she smiles without her happy mask, marking an arc completed to her happy mask breaking troubles. The interpretation that she kills herself at the end still exists- which… isn’t great- and honestly idk how to interpret that in this case. But my point still stands about character growth ☝️

In all of these, the musical sequences mark a sort of resolution to the arc that the entire episode had built up to. Not all of them are entirely positive, but they still show that some sort of lesson has been learned, and a new chapter of their characters development has begun.

…

But then. Episode 5. The musical sequence thats very clearly focused on Caines character…is just. Utter nonsense. It even gets interrupted- it’s in the middle of the episode, he freezes/has some sort of malfunction afterwards, he ends it in the very same place he was before.

That, I find incredibly interesting. Instead of the episode building up to some spesific problem of Caines that he will end the episode improving on, it feels as if the entire show has been leading up to this one MASSIVE issue. (With Gangle and Pomni, we see pieces of their character improve, not one MAIN issue thats the source of every single one of their problems).

But we’re only halfway through the show, so of course, the sequence happens halfway through the episode. It acts more as a checking in with Caine and getting confirmation that aaahhaaaa- HE IS NOT DOING GOOD.

THE INTERMISSION!!!

(Most of the notes will be coming chronologically)

The text “Intermission Time.” , feels like one of the adventure introduction thingies, and while I don't have much to say on the text itself besides it being a lot colder than usual, (possibly more examples of Caine losing his joy and whimsy,) that's just a cool detail I wanted to note. Treating this like an adventure, since this is a sequence all about Caine losing his mind, its only fitting him going insane is it’s own adventure as its quite literally all he knows.

Everyone’s faces in the beginning seem to be their reaction to suddenly being transported from a calming star gazing scene.. to...this. Thats just sort of a fact instead of speculation, BUT IT WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER when considering certain things in other scenes, because the fact that everyone is conscious while unwillingly participating in this “adventure” makes the entire scene feel very unnerving. But that’ll be a repeating factor that will come up later. For now- just keep that in mind.

The part with Caines teeth eating itself makes me immediately think of metaphors involving self destruction, even the A.I. that we deal with in real life, how it eats itself when copying off of things its made that were never correct to begin with.

The neon colors + black and white motif are really pretty stylistically, but since this is entirely Caine point of view/his creation with no one else's influence, it feels like an example of how he sees these people/the world. Black and white, simple, 0 depth. We can already pretty easily infer that from how he handles Zoobles problem in ep 3, I just like how this adds to that.

Before continuing with the visuals- I need to address “the lyrics" here. I like the line "welcome to the digital circus!" turning into "come to the digital circus.”, plus noting the lack of "amazing". They add to Caines forceful nature and insecurities that have been incredibly emphasized lately/in this episode. Lastly, the effect the words have, (how they keep skipping over themselves) is another stylistic choice that has really cool layers to it. It’s fitting for the aesthetic, yes, but it also sounds as if Caine is glitching, like in the “I am such a good b̶̘̮̟̙͋͑̔ō̴̢̹̞̣̽͠s̸͔̳̍̓͐̂s̷̺͚̜̺̑” scene.

Bubble being mixed in with Caines eyes in the dice part…Bubble being as involved as much he is, is odd- and I cant tell what kind of character he’s supposed to be. My current theory is he’s just someone Caine made to not feel as lonely, and in some ways, reflects Caines own emotions/thoughts. Bubble being with Caines eyes somewhat supports that I feel, I just like that it turns into a die though. Symbolizing how random and just- by chance Caines thought process is currently. He’s the very opposite of “calculated”.

(Jax falling into the void followed by Zooble and Gangle is something I feel has more depth that I cant think of… I try to question what they all have in common that Ragatha, Kinger, and Pomni dont…) (Like Gangle and Zooble hate Jax, yeah, but so does Ragatha so why isn’t she involved in that?)

Caine being surrounded by eyes- THIS SHOT MAKES ME FEEL SO MANY EMOTIONS. I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY. First lets get the biblical angel imagery out of the way- plus the spotlight bringing up some “going in the cellar” imagery. The multiple eyes being related to the abstractions…Possible abstraction symbolism?? But that isnt the part that gets me. Its’s the fact that if you look REALLLY closely you can see Caine is breathing. This. THIS- Its so hard to catch, and such a subtle detail- BUT THATS THE THING. One of the golden rules of animation is “living things dont remain perfectly still.” He’s A.I…. But he sure as hell acts alive a lot of the time. If you look at Caine from far away, you’ll see nothing but a mindless A.I, but if you look really closely, you’ll see he’s got a lot more too him. He’s alive, just like Gummigoo and the other “intelligent A.I’s”.

(Something about that line by the way. The way Caine uses the word “OTHER” makes me question….What is he talking about? Bubble is said to be a MUCH simpler A.I. than Caine, but the way he says that makes it sound like he and Bubble both are “intelligent A.I.s”… I don’t even know what that means though- intelligent artificial intelligence? Bubble seems far from intelligent- IDK. WE’RE GETTING SIDE TRACKED.)

Pomni and Jax get hit by bowling balls, Ragatha and Gangle get hit by cakes, and Kinger holds up the bowling ball before being THROWN OFF by a black chess piece. I think this all gives some light onto how the others first handled joining the circus. Since all we have for reference so far is Pomni, I can totally see Jax reacting in a similar explosive way. Meanwhile the cake may show how Gangle and Ragatha, (while I can’t imagine they took it WELL) didn’t get hit by the realization like a TRUCK. More like a slow burn (therefore not getting as quickly acclimated to the situation as Pomni has, and Jax is assumed to have.) But then for Kinger…he actually did REALLY WELL! since he came in with his wife! ….and then she abstracted and instead of getting crushed- he just completely fell off. Also this scene is another good example of how aware and- not willing the cast is in this part of the episode, telling from their expressions.

( I debated this also maybe being an example of how Caine views the members? Zooble is excluded because he’s like really mad at them right now? But if thats the case, then I don’t know what Kinger being hit by a black chess piece means.)

The next part has to sort of be digested all at once- Bubble about to bite Pomni, Caine stopping that, holding everyone over his head, then Bubble biting them ALL, and leaving a red trail. The Intermission sequence as a whole is telling us about Caines current mental state of pure decay and insanity, while also reminding us how much power he has over the cast. The scene with him holding them over his head gives a sort of play-things vibe. These 2 purposes/vibes of insanity vs power go hand in hand, where the scary part of them being at the mercy of this guy, is the fact that they're at the mercy of THIS GUY. But where Bubble tries to eat Pomni, Caine stopping that, before Bubble eats them all makes me think its saying that “no matter how much power Caine has, he isn’t immune to the effects of the situation.” Like this is taking a toll on ALL of them and they’ll all be consumed by it if things keep going the way they are. Kinger is the human thats been here the longest and is- crazy- but how is the guy who’s been here since the BEGINNING doing?

The hand scene is SO GREAT. We have 4 hands, before 2 of them squash the other pair, and create 4 more, then descending further into the madness. I feel this could point to the fact that creation and making things out of what Caines already familar with is driving him insane- plus that varsity jacket merch showing the hands being angel wings…something something Caine savior complex

Pomni, Zooble, and Jax all posing feels really off. THIS is the part that throws me for a loop in terms of- bodily atonamy and…morals. They’ve all been worried and confused so far, so posing like their in a music video doesn’t make as much sense. This way, we can easily assume that UHHH Caine is posing them like dolls. Jesus. The point of him having complete and utter control over them just gets worse and worse-

(The mannequin dance just looks cool I have no notes on that)

FINALLY! WOW! We get the scene from the wacky watch website! the “SOS CQD I AM LOSING MY MIND, ALSO HI”. That text always got me because it showed a very uncharacteristic amount of- self awareness from Caine. He is calling for help, is he LOSING his mind. Thats not what we got from him in this episode though, it makes me think that maybe…His situation is similar to Kingers? In the way that there is SOME consciousness buried deep within him that we can maybe reach later in the show? please? I just want him to be happy…

Caine ominously snapping, before showing a clip of Jax’ trauma, then being interrupted MAKES ME THINK HE WOULD HAVE KEPT GOING WITH EVERYONE ELSE IF THAT DIDNT HAPPEN 😭 Thats complete speculation on my part, but thats the first time we ever saw a scene like that in a moment entirely revolving around Caine- where we explore TRAUMA! (especially fucked up because we’ve already established he is fully aware during this part)

(The snap having a cartoon bonk effect is really amusing though, paired with the generic circus/carnival music fills me with so much joy)

…

OVERALL.

The animation is TO DIE FOR. The music SLAPS. IM IN LOVE WITH THE SEQUENCE EVEN WITHOUT ALL THE POTENTIAL HIDDEN MEANING

[calcitron]

I did the math (TM), and the two bakeries both have different strong points and weak points that just cater better to different preferences. If you grew up on just one of the bakeries, or one that doesn't bake for Girl Scouts anymore (there have been a lot of bakers!) , the others aren't going to meet your expectations because they're just different enough to create friction.

I find it interesting that the 2022 comparison above only compares four of the oldest flavors, conveniently and area where LBB does perform very well. I tested all the flavors.

This is from March 2025's cookie sale. I live in an ABC region and I got these because 1) I wanted to know what I was missing since everyone is always hyping LBB and 2) I was tired of people shitting on ABC.

My assessment in the flavor order shown above:

Adventurefuls: I had a hard time choosing. ABC actually has a caramel flavor so my children both preferred it. LBB didn't have any notable caramel taste but did have more brownie taste and a prettier cookie. A draw.

Lemon: Lemonades from ABC are a clear winner here, which is why we've had them for over ten years. Good lemon flavor and a lemony shortbread. Lemon ups look really good but they taste of froot (I'm using this in the technical way, a la Fruit Loops flavor) not lemon. If they were making a cereal cookie this would be spot on but they aren't. The texture is also rather mealy after the first crunch. Very weird. ABC wins easily.

Trefoils: ABC has a paler, straight sugar cookie flavor. LBB has a lot more browning and a strong buttery flavor that nearly compares to a proper shortbread like Walker's. I have noticed on further eval that ABC's version performs better with a drink- when I have it with tea the flour taste disappears and leaves a more buttery flavor behind (a similar effect isn't observed with LBB). But cookie to cookie LBB is the clear winner here.

Thin Mints: The money maker. ABC has a much mintier, crunchier cookie, just as described above. LBB has a very fine textured, more chocolate forward cookie that, imo, barely has a mint taste. Everyone who participated in the comparison preferred ABC... But we all grew up with ABC and we love mint chocolate. My mom makes these chocolate mint brownies that my husband says taste like toothpaste. That being said my husband also HATED the LBB version on texture alone. LBB would presumably be better for those who don't like mint chocolate as much as my family...but if so why are you buying thin mints? ABC win.

Tagalongs/PBPs: This was a divisive one in our house because I have two big peanut butter fans and they were firmly in camp Peanut Butter Pattie. Why? PB preference. The peanut butter in the Tagalong is much sweeter--more in line with a Reece's--whereas the PBP tastes like peanut butter straight from a jar of JIF. Personally, I like candy peanut butter better and the cookie in the Tagalong was also crispier (probably more browned too, not that i could see it). But if I had the PBP first I had zero complaints, both are excellent cookies. I've also heard a lot about how the "chocolate is thicker" and there's "more peanut butter" - no. There's the same amount. It's distributed differently: the PBP is a bit thicker and smaller around while the Tagalong is wider and thinner, without peanut butter all the way to the end. Ultimately, a draw.

Samoa/Caramel deLite: This one I thought i was gonna like the Samoa better because it has dark chocolate instead of milk. However, turns out, I think milk chocolate pairs better with caramel in this context. Weird, I know. The Samoa also has more toasted coconut and possibly a tad more caramel--on paper, again, I thought I would like this better but I just didn't. No one else who tried them had a strong reaction to the Samoa over the CD. Also of note, this was the only cookie where LBB was uglier. Are we just used to the CD? Idk. CD wins in our house, but no one really likes them much anyway so LBB can have this one.

Do-si-do/PB Sandwich: You can pry the PB Sandwich out of my husband's cold dead hands. He hated the Do-si-do and let me finish them off because I liked them a lot better (again, candy PB vs. regular PB). The Do-si-dos also have much better browning and a crunchier cookie. I'm not sure anyone else agreed with my husband so, LBB wins.

(not pictured) Toast Yays: There's no comparable offering at LBB to this ABC exclusive. It's a cinnamon sugar cookie with a thin vanilla frosting on the bottom with some hints of maple. A great cookie, but retiring this year likely due to pretty weak sales. Very similar to the Lemonades or Thanks-a-lot (also retired) in construction.

(not pictured) S'mores: ABC used to have a version of this cookie that retired a few years ago. I never had one but I understand it was popular. The LBB version is not similar to the ABC version, but it is similar to the Smoreo that is out right now, but better (suck it, Nabisco). A graham cookie sandwich with chocolate and marshmallow cream. A+ and the entire reason I put in an order to LBB in the first place. Really sad this one retired this year.

(not pictured) Toffeetastic: A gluten free cookie from LBB. Hot garbage. Do not buy. It tastes good for about one second and then actively tastes like cardboard. I don't eat gluten free cookies often but I really hope they aren't all this bad. F-.

(not pictured or tasted by me) Caramel Chocolate Chip: ABC's gluten free cookie. My neighbors bought them last year and still talk to me, so I think they probably aren't as bad as the Toffee ones. Grade - shrug emoji.

(bonus not pictured) Raspberry Rallies: The cookie no one got to taste so they sold for hundreds on eBay. I tried one from each bakery the year they attempted to launch these and this was an ABC win for me. LBB was a pretty bright Barbie pink inside and the raspberry flavor they used was very candy-like. Attractive, but not the kind of raspberry I want in a cookie. ABC used a raspberry flavor that was closer to an actual fruit and more appropriate for use in baking imo. The color was also darker and the cookie wasn't smoothly uniform. I suspect they weren't able to get these to work because they couldn't justify taking production away from Thin Mints to make these--they clearly used the same equipment.

Ultimately, I came away from the test feeling a lot less jilted by having always lived in an ABC Bakery area. They make solid cookies that are of equivalent quality to Little Brownie Bakers, it's just that they aren't *the same exact cookie* and that is ultimately the driver of most complaints about one bakery versus the other. If we moved to an LBB area, I'd be just as happy there, but the cookies I buy would change. Lemonades are my favorite and I'd be sad to give them up but it's not a big deal, and I'd probably start buying a lot more Do-si-dos instead.

They're shelf stable cookies, after all. None of them are even half as good as the ones I bake at home. I'm buying them so my girls can go to camp and get an Axolotl plushie...and also cuz when my house is full to the brim of them they start consuming my every waking moment and I should at least get to put some in my mouth too, not just into other people's cars.

starting girl scout cookie discourse. if you’ve had girl scout cookies from both bakeries, do you prefer little brownie bakers (tagalongs, samoas) or abc bakers (peanut butter patties, caramel delites). also is your preference the same as the girl scout cookie you grew up with?

[ganondoodle]

got this comment on my answer to the anon asking me why i hate totk:

" @comentter

I feel all of this so much, especially the not just lack of connective tissue, but the active dismissal of any connection to BotW, let alone any past Zelda games. That Ganondorf was just a name nothing more... I've only recently been able to enjoy BotW stuff again. I have a question though. Can you elaborate about doubling down on the flaws of BotW (or point me to a post where you talked about this?) I've seen a lot of criticism of the game, but never this specifically"

(seperate post bc i didnt want to add to an already longer post and i will keep it "short" bc i HAVE talked about it before but idk how the hell to find it either lmao)

what i broadly called 'flaws' were pretty much all things that were critized about botw and/or were lacking in general that i do not believe totk fixed at all, they either doubled down on it, made it just as bad, or pretended to fix it but didnt (and often made it even worse)

im just gonna give some of the biggest examples bc i want to keep it shorter and maybe you get the idea:

the dungeons (titans) in botw were too samey and the whole terminals thing werent the best puzzles, plus the very same kind of boss each time; on the plus side the little gimick of each titan was neat, their introduction great, they looked intimidating, its generally just .. very cool bc its a giant MECH and also it made sense in the story even if there were missed opportunities with the bosses -like making them be the possesed remains of the champions for exampls- BUT they still have the benefit of you knowing they are what killed your friends, theres a personal connection here- and you cannot climb them bc all shiekah stuff is not climable (so restricting you which is GOOD), and they got the bonus of all shiekah thigns as in they saw the future and the things are meant to be doable for you and since its been a hundred years theres people around that still know your friends of the past, you get your dead friends ability at teh end, a part of their spirit really

-totks dungeons .... well, they LOOK different from each other, but its just the surface really, each of them is 5 switches (that feel very artificially inserted since its supposedly race specific dungeons but those things are clearly sonau (zonai)) and none of them (or only the thunder ones? barely?) are connected to each other at all, so its terminals again, BUT they are also static (in contrast to botws moving titans), the already easy puzzles can be skipped easily (via totks horrible building shit that invalidates so much of the world it was inserted into bc it simply wasnt made for this), you can also climb walls so even more ways to cheat (in a boring way, having to do glitches to cheat is cooler), they also lack a personal connection, all these dungeons, especially the ones in the sky, appeared out of thin air really, and while thy try to make your friends and their villages in distress the tension it falls very flat- and it detracts further that they are in almost the exact same LOCATION AS IN BOTW (more repetition), you have NO connection to the nameless ancient sages or reason to care about them and the whole thing about your friends awakening as sages feels very ... well, bad, their stone ability makes little sense and it also seems to override what made the champions, your old friends, significant (who cares about champions? sages are way older and more important)- i will give them credit for the bosses beign different but ... its got less weight too, these monsters are just mosnters summoned there, they didnt kill the sages they are just there to supposedly stop you from gettign the stone which, i dont think is ever stated as the actual goal by anyone so it doesnt even make sense!! the only reason you go there is BECAUSE there are monsters threating the villages now! (also the sonau didnt have the future thing and also .. when were those things built? who cares, why are the fish in the sky WHY DO THE WATERWORKS IF- etc)

so overall, looks fixed on the surface, but its actually worse

weapons breaking! while i didnt mind alot of people did but it was essential to botws exploration drive, there were lots of cool weapons whose appearances changed fit to how far you were in the game (meanign they went from weak to stronger ones) and it makes sense they are all over the place with monsters using them etc

-totk then .. well the weapons still break, their base version are now all ugly rusted and very shitty for no sensical reason (its jsut to force you to fuse), you can fuse stuff to them, you HAVE to, bc id bet they are even more brittle than botw ones in their basic version, fusing uses up materials (which you also need for armor upgrades), often looks stupid and is a hassle to do espeically in mid fight, monsters and people also just do it even without having fuse and ........ strap fruit to their shields or sth instead of fixing their weapons bc i guess no smiths exist ever?

so appears fixed, but isnt actually, and i would argue, made worse (this is were i would for once say a more classic crafting system was THE fix but thats for the rewrite now lmao)

shrines! in botw there were mayn of them, often rather short or underwhelming, all look the same and tehre many that were jsut a fight which is a little boring but it made sense with the shiekah having them made for you in the future (also theres a bit of personality bc each has its own monk that made that puzzle for you and giving you their bit of spirit) and they were well integrated into the world (also the monks talk to you! they are still sittign there after all!)

-in totk, well, theres EVEN MORE OF THEM, EVEN SHORTER, and with totks building shit that they barely restrict at all (weirdly though you cant climb walls here either ....hmmm inconsistencyyyy) extremely easy to cheat in a boring way that feels less like you are cleverly exploiting the game and jsut that they didnt care, all look the same AGAIN, just with a different paint job from botw, they just ... came out of nowhere, their placements are like .. the same just a little to the left, at the end its a static statue of the main guy and his fridge wife every single time, they give you .. a .. light orb? the shrines purpose is very non sensical (banish monsters? literally how and were lol, also you need a rauru arm to get in? also where were they before? and uuh .. is the puzzle the security????i dont see mosnters running around with rauru arms?? nothign changes after you do them so banish evil how what??) and they are very much just .. put there, you know they werent there before, like the world easiest mod jsut moved them a little (they .. talk? to you? prerecorded? somehow?)

so the same but worse than in botw

krogs! (koroks) in botw .. were too many, i get it, it was a joke and something you werent meant to find all of (nintendo shoudl have known better tbh) and they were sth to fill the gaps, i dont like that they are what exapnds your inventory but its more forgivable since its the firrst time here

-now totk ... just did the krogs again, with the SAME purpose (instead of bringing back pouches! easy better rewards!!!) and EVEN MORE OF THEM, the backpacking ones have literally no reason to do what they are doing (i thought they were fleeing the forest but .. they arent) and are just there for you to fuck with them, thats the whole reason

so .... made worse, just doubled down and worse

the story/memories! in botw the main story takes place more in the past than the present, many didnt like that even if i too say it worked very well for botw, they were short but well made and skillfully gave you a glimpse of the past, enough to care about the chaarcters even if only a little and as its been long but not too long there are people still talking about it all or knowing you and what happened and getting them out of order didnt have any consequences sicne they were all more about the chaarcters rather than a story with lots of different beats, they all made sense as in you had to explore and find the places where they are with very little hints given if any, you had to explore and rememebr places! engage with the world!

-so totk ..... did the memories AGAIN, doubling down on that system, but also worse bc, now the memories are THE story, a LINEAR story that doesnt work out of order since its not about the characters but what is happening ... or HAS happened, they are EVEN MORE in the past than in botw, far far more even, no one knows or cares about these characters, there is no connection and even zelda doesnt feel like botw zelda at all, you can still find them all out of order though massively spoiling and confusing anyone (even if the story itself its pretty bad), also they are marked with ENOURMOUS GIGATOMANIAC glowing glyphs on the ground, you dont even need to think or find anything you just .. look. fly up and look, you dont have to engage with anything AND these memories are very ...... idk, flat, they somehow manage to tell you too much about the past (removign the mystery and sense of time/distance) and also not enough to make you care (its all just plot, clumsy plot) and with there being pretty much no connection to the current time (like with people knowing the champions in botw still etc) its just ... might as well be a random AU

so, memories and story in the past again, even moreso too, call that a double down

theres more obviosuly (like the tutorial being the same but worse, the abilities too being done so similarly isntead of bringing back main items, the clunky ASS UI that was bad in botw but still okay bc first tiem and also meant for the wii u- totk though?? worse, they made the shitty UI WORSE, quest rewards being a fucking joke, all the GRINDING totk is so much stupid GRINDING) maybe people dont realize this, mabye calling it doubling down isnt right but to me this is all the same, but even worse, instead of correcting and taking a few steps back to how it was before and see theres value in all those older games systems they did botw again, but worse, so .. doubling down on all the things that were bad and making them worse too, even if on the surface it may look "fixed", instead of correcting their parking by carefully going backwards they were still in first gear and slamming GO to hit the wall when you where literally telling them they werent in the backwards gear

so so many thigns in totk are just, botw again but worse, more shitty shrines instead of less, more krogs isntead of less, worse rewards, more grind, the shiekah tech again but worse, malice is miasma, the same but also worse (its not even a 3d model ... ), luminous stones are sonanium (zonaite), its everythign again but worse ........ (and also invalidates so much of botw, its jsut ... infuriating bc it FEELS so mean spirited, its just all beign overridden, nothing of botw matters bc look! look all that stuff came BEFORE THEM actually, and that was way more important ..... even down to the sonau designs its overriding so much of shiekah stuff, and im not even that big of a simp for shiekah stuff but this was supposed to be a botw sequel, the game with the shiekah tech?????? anyway ..)

(yes this is as short as i could make it on the spot, already spent two hours on this so sorry but i wont go over it to edit for another one dfnjknhdfjkbdfjk)

[luasumas]

OH YEAH!!! ITS OUT NOW!!!!

i got to do two pieces: one for the great cave offensive (originally finished in february, then editted a bit in march) and the other for helper to hero (finished in april). This was really fun to do and I'm glad I got to participate. I met a lot of cool people, learned a lot more about Kirby, and I think it helped me improve a bit! This zine was a blast, so if you haven't checked it out yet GO DO IT NOW. I'M WATCHING YOU.

If you want to see my progress pieces and my silly (very incomplete) thoughts, then keep reading. 👇

FIRST OFF. I have never played KSSU ever. I know. I'm a fraud 🥀💔 But I LIKED Kirby Super Star a lot, so uhhhhhhh i applieeed and made it in yay woohoo!!!

Unfortunately, my first submission for a wip check was. Poor. Very poor. Like I am embarrassed I even thought this would work poor 😭

THIS STUNK SO BADDDSD I DONT KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING WITH THIS 😭

The entire idea of this zine was scrapbooking! Where is the scrapbooking!

I really wanted my idea to include the Computer Virus so I guess I was trying to roll with a more retro-techno idea? Either way this wip reeked and I very obviously decided to scrap it (aha) after getting feedback on it.

Which led me to my next wip (which DID get accepted)

OK! The idea here was to go for like. A cluttered workspace. Idk about u guys but i am not an organized person at all when i make things so im projecting tgat onto my zine piece ok 🫶

Blabs blah blah blo bloo bloo i dont really feel like describing everything right now so im just going to do like two minute summaries for the rest rn until i get it together

I was kind of okay with this for a while? But idk i kept looking at it and it kept bothering me. Like i was at the point where I wanted to scrap it and ask if i could redo my submission 😭

Things I changed from this to the actual final result include:

Tabletop background changed to a white sheet of paper with kids drawings on it

Changed some tools/Added some tools/Moved tools around (i... forgot to add the hole puncher again. 😔)

Changed the lighting and shading on stickers/Kirby/Rocky

Added some enemies made out of paper

These changes helped make the final result more brighter and fun which is what I really wanted to go for with this piece. Kirby and Rocky putting together their scrapbook of fun memories together :)

we killing two birds with one stone here

I asked and was able to do a SECOND submission YAY but it was for a game mode ive never played before so uh yay 😭

I was happy to have a second chance at this either way so I accepted! The 'do you have what it takes to be a hero?' text was not my original idea! It came from the previous submission for this spot that wasnt able to finish so I worked off of that!

Besides that, I went with my own favorite helpers to use for this piece. Ok well MOSTLY cause im not a chilly fan but i did not want to draw gim again 😭

The first sketch got approved pretty well, but the second picture here didnt since it looked pretty empty. Like. Tumbelwead.

So i redid it and yay my final pieces woohoo im sorry im tired and writing this all on phone was not a good idea 🏇

I NEED TO MENTION. I never even knew wham bam jewel was a thing until I got this assignment so you really do learn something new ⌨️

[sokkastyles]

This is what you said:

Zuko, on the other hand, is an enabler. He’d hold her purse while she killed someone. Which is okay, we love a girl’s girl. But the world would literally burn and flood at the same time if those two got together.

You also are trying to contrast this made up version of Zuko with Aang, who you declared is someone who would prevent Katara from doing something she would regret. Please stop trying to backtrack. You said a lot more than that you didn't ship them. The statements you are making about Zuko are very blatantly moral statements. You know this, I know this, everyone knows this. Stop playing dumb, unless you want me to believe you are.

You also have not responded to any of my counter arguments and keep saying the same things.

And lol, if I'm not supposed to think you are serious, then, once again, why are you insisting that everyone else is taking this too seriously? If your words aren't meant to be serious, then maybe I should just think you don't mean anything you say and that you actually LOVE zutara? I mean, you keep repeating that thing about Zuko burning the world despite that not being supported by any evidence whatsoever in the show, so maybe everything you say is just you playing opposite day! How fun!

When Katara first brings up wanting to borrow Appa, BEFORE even telling him where she wants to go, Aang says this:

"Is it your turn to go on a little field trip with Zuko?"

In a sarcastic tone. When she tells him where she is going, he says:

"Um...And what exactly do you think this will accomplish?"

This IS belittling, whether or not he was worried she would do something she would regret. Like kill a guy. Which, again, also says he has no faith whatsoever in her, the girl who is characterized as having a strong moral compass, who has had so much faith in him throughout the show. Why does he immediately think the worst of her, and why does he immediately adopt a condescending and dismissive tone about it?

And when Aang "points out he knows how she feels," it is not to empathize with her. It's to double down on trying to tell her how he thinks she should feel, and what he thinks she should do. Just because he also has grief does not mean he understands Katara, especially when he's still telling her what she should do and thinking the worst of her. Aang bringing up his own trauma to tell Katara that he knows better than her how she should deal with hers does NOT mean he is acknowledging her feelings, it means he doesn't actually want to deal with her feelings.

Aang was not right. Aang said "I knew you would choose forgiveness," and Katara says "But I didn't forgive him, I'll never forgive him," while looking angrily at Aang, and then forgives Zuko and hugs him. This just does not support an interpretation that Aang was right and Zuko was acting in a way that was unhealthy or enabling. I don't have a problem with you not shipping zutara. I have a problem with you insisting that Aang knows what is best for Katara and that Zuko would encourage Katara to commit violence, which directly contradicts what happens in the show.

And as I said, Zuko's line comes across as very out of place, like the writers threw it in because they wanted the audience to think Aang was right, but it's poor writing because it contradicts what is shown onscreen. Even Katara's dialogue about her choice not kill is ambiguous about whether she did the right thing. And you know what? I tend to think Katara is the one who is most right about her own needs and feelings.

But if I had to explain why Zuko said that, I think maybe he was just trying to throw Aang a bone, because Katara like, straight up told him he was wrong, frowned at him, and walked away. And Aang sure as hell never apologizes to them. So, idk, maybe Zuko was trying to be nice? The episode still ends on Zuko contradicting Aang's insistence that violence is never the answer, though. So no, I would not consider this a win for Aang.

Like, idk why you even felt the need to go out of your way and mischaracterize Aang, Katara, and Zuko so hard to justify a ship that's already canon? No one cares that you don't ship zutara. People are reacting to you because you decided to be obnoxious about it and are also just not very good at interpreting this show.

There’s a number of reasons I don’t ship Zutara, the main one being that I just can’t see it and I don’t think it’d make sense with Fire Nation politics and all that.

But also, I don’t ship them because Aang helps Katara recognize her feelings, accept them and then get over them. And vice versa. They balance each other out. Aang would stop her from doing something she would regret and help her find another solution. (Source: The Southern Raiders. Even if the whole “forgiving thing” wasn’t a good advice, Aang was still right at the end, killing the man was not what Katara needed.)

Zuko, on the other hand, is an enabler. He’d hold her purse while she killed someone. Which is okay, we love a girl’s girl. But the world would literally burn and flood at the same time if those two got together.

And yes, Aang and Katara very obviously not a perfect couple. By the end of the show they were like 13 and 15, of course they are not perfect. They both need to grow and learn, but so did Zuko and Mai and everyone else.

[tiny-pun]

The Celebrity’s Pet

Person B , a celebrity, is doing a live stream, where they invite fans in for 5 minutes each. One of those people is Person A… who is way more interested in their newly acquired pet they’re holding.

…what ??

B is severely confused but answers all of Bs question about their pet: the name, age, where they got it from, what their temperament is like and what they like to play with. Needless to say they end the live stream not long after that.

This was the most normal conversation they’ve had in … they don’t even know how long. No praise to high heavens, that make them uncomfortable about any little flaw they have. No insults about the only thing they’re good at, it makes them want to quit on the spot. Just a normal conversation you’d have with any person you’d just met. And they’ve missed it.

Of course the live stream trends immediately … just not positively. The assumption: B quit early because they’ve never been this insulted by a so called “fan”, who didn’t even care about Bs work.

The kicker: A is not even a fan, but their bestie C had to go into the bathroom for a second and told them to try and get into the live stream for them… which of course C missed completely.

When A tries to publicly “apologise” with this people call them a liar. And the whole thing gets bigger and bigger to the point Bs manger decided the have to make a public appearance together showing there is no bad blood…Aka they have to meet.

C is ECSTATIC !!! And ships them. And maybe falls in love with the manager. Idk. A is severely irritated and annoyed by this whole clown show. B is more excited and nervous than they’ve ever been. …what happens next ?

[jujubeanie]

TADC theory (spoilers for episode 5)

Aight so I have a theory about Jax

Yes ik it’s kinda cliche to be theorizing about Jax of all people bc he’s literally one of the most theorized characters

but one of his lines in the newest episode kinda sparks my interest. During the Stargazing adventure, he asks Pomni, “Do you think Gangle is actually capable of being happy?” the way he asks that looks and feels genuine. He’s actually wondering that. He mentions that her comedy mask breaks every day anyways, and does she think hanging out with Zooble everyday is going to change that?

And actually, I think that’s not a bad thing to be wondering about. Rarely do we ever see Gangle genuinely happy- and if we haven’t seen that often, Jax probably hasn’t, either. Yes, a lot of that is his fault for being an @$$ to Gangle.

A lot of the times we see Gangle smiling, it’s just because of a mask. Whether her comedy mask, or the one we see in episode four, we rarely ever see her smiling without the comedy mask. And even when she is smiling, she’s still crying.

I’m wondering if, by breaking her mask, Jax could sort of be doing Gangle a favor. NOT by being mean to her- trust me, I’m not trying to defend him for his behavior. But her mask is constantly hiding how she’s really feeling in the moment. Without the mask, she’s showing her true emotions, which is much healthier than hiding them by pretending everything’s okay.

I guess this isn’t really much of a theory, but idk- I just thought it was kinda interesting

some other things I thought while watching:

Seriously, wtf happened to Jax’s tail, and can I see him WITH a fluffy bunny tail please and thank you.

Pomni definitely seems to be warming up to Jax during this episode! Sure, he can be an @$$hole. Many of the others only see that side of him. But during the Stargazing adventure, we definitely see a lot more vulnerability with Jax. Pomni says to him, “I didn’t think you cared about what other people like.” To which Jax responds, “I just- No, yeah, y-you’re right. I don’t.” In a very unconvincing manner. Continuing this train of thought, Pomni seems to be really good at getting people to open up. She helped Gummigoo when he was literally having an existential crisis, she talked to Gangle during the fast food episode and got her to open up a bit, and even Kinger during the haunted house episode. I get the feeling Jax might’ve opened up to her more, if not for Ragatha entering the conversation. Pomni seems very much like a neutral party in the group- she’s not loyal to one specific person or group of people. She doesn’t try to befriend anyone to use them, she doesn’t like to side with people in arguments. She’s a mediator who speaks her mind, and that’s what makes her essential to the group. And unlike Ragatha, she doesn’t try to put a positive spin on bad things.

Speaking of Ragatha, her toxic positivity is definitely one of the key wedges between the group, NOT one of the things holding it together. She’s trying her best, and she’s a good person. We learn during the Bartending adventure that she had a verbally abusive (and probably manipulative) mother, so there’s definitely some trauma there. Her way of coping with things is by trying to stay positive. But by always pretending like everything’s fine, she’s hurting everyone, including herself. Both Gangle and Jax have said that it can be hard to tell when Ragatha is being genuinely nice and caring, and when she’s just faking it. Her kindness loses its meaning after a while.

Also lot of what Jax says and does definitely has to be taken with a grain of salt. A lot of little things throughout the season show that Jax actually does care, but doesn’t show it. I’m wondering if some of his teasing really is just meant to be funny, maybe a sort of love language kinda? To be clear, I’m not talking about his poor treatment of people as a whole. But there’s one point where he’s talking about Ragatha in a serious manner, then changes tone with a grin and says, “Also she’s dumb and she looks weird”. Pomni giggles slightly at this. I dunno- just a thought.

The flip is up with the intermission- 😭 literally the only sense I can make of it is that Jax’s old friend is probably Ribbit, since we see him standing outside that door in the hallway of bedrooms

During the bar adventure, Jax says something vegan (if you can’t tell I’m getting a bit lazy; pls just watch the episode and you’ll know what I’m talking about T^T), then realizes what he’s said, and says, “Wha- I hate this! How is this even possible? I thought Caine couldn’t-“ Then he breaks off, staring into space for a moment with a confused and concerned expression. My guess is that he thought Caine couldn’t mess with their personalities. Jax thought Caine didn’t have control over the players as people, aside from forcing them on adventures and stuff. Just thought this was an interesting moment.

THE WAY JAX’S EYES GO BIG WHEN RAGATHA APOLOGIZES IS ACTUALLY SO CUTE AWWW-

I have one more thing but imma put it in a separate post bc this is too long and this one’s actually a theory

[disarmingink]

yj as that one stupid tiktok audio that’s kinda trending. idk if this has been done yet

imagine the scene in season one, where the girls are sitting around the campfire right after the crash, saying things they did that might’ve been why the plane crashed

Jackie: Would you rather have a gay son or stew?

Nat: Is this a real question?

Misty: Conflicted because at this point in my life, if I’m being honest with myself, I want the stew. Nothing to do with my hypothetical son or his sexuality. I wish him the best, I just need stew more right now.

Mari: With bread or rice, it would go so hard. Gosh, I’m so hungry.

Laura Lee: A gay son can cook many stews.

Melissa: Explain how.

Laura Lee: Children can be used to do many everyday duties.

Lottie: Give man stew, he eat one day. Teach man to gay son stew, have stew forever.

Tai: Okay, it depends. If you have the son now, he is in the picture, then yes, you can teach him, but if he is just born today, that is a massive time investment since you need to wait until he is old enough to make the stew, which isn’t great if you want stew now.

Nat: You got to plant the stew seed.

Tai: Okay, but what if I don’t want the stew when the seed grows?

Lottie: Better to have the stew and not need it, than to need the stew and not have it.

Mari: Having some good ass stew with my gay ass son.

Shauna: Gay son will one day leave for a gay son-in-law and it will hurt. Stew right now would make me happy.

Laura Lee: You may gain a gay son-in-law who can also make stew.

Shauna: That’s beyond my investment knowledge.

Van: Gay son pilled stewmaxxer.

Shauna: Jackie, I need to tell you something.

Jackie: It’s okay if you are gay, Shauna, I’ll still accept you.

Shauna: I don’t like stew.

Jackie: Get out of my fucking hou-

[bilightningwhumper]

So IDK if you take requests or prompt suggestions but after what you're dealing with, I'd like to help in some way :)

So, how would you write or make prompts for a kidnapping in medieval/historical whump that doesn't have cell phones and other modern tech? How would the Whumper inform Caretaker/the team, "I have your friend/teammate"?

-- @whumperofworlds

Thank you for the ask, friend! There's a masterlist of ask games I've shared on my pinned intro but I think I'm going to be reorganizing things after all this mess.

Anyway, I had to give this one a think, because even though I love this trope (like, my first episode watched of Criminal Minds was the twins where one was ransomed in a ploy for the kidnapper to get both of them), I've yet to think of a plot of my own for it! And you used my favorite settings to write in, which actually helps me think of something, lol.

-An arrow shot through a window or into a tree or over a wall with a message attached to it. Bonus points if it's a hair away from hitting the person most worried about them being missing or directly in front of them.

-Or a severed body part being sent in a package/box, usually something small like a finger or ear or something tame like a lock of their hair or chopped off braid. And the box/package could be just something unassuming like plain wood or paper. Or it could be ornate and fancy, like if it was someone higher up who got kidnapped.

-Extending off body part, it could be a piece of their clothing with the note instead. Like a tattered scrap of what they were last wearing. Or their favorite trinket. Bonus points if it's with a splatter stain of their blood on it, depending on why the kidnapper took them.

Those are just what I can think off off the top of my head. Anyone feel free to add on more! I'm curious to see what else is in the realm of possibility here. Mostly because now I want to write a story with something like this, lol

[jellicle-chants]

Casa Mañana CATS Show Notes

I am seriously so glad I got to see this amazing show in person! I have all of my detailed song-by-song recollections under the cut, but up top I just want to shout out @miasiegert's AMAZING costume and wig work, it was such a pleasure to see the bright colors for myself (and the wigs are just so poofy y'all wouldn't believe). Congrats to the whole cast and crew for making this show come to life, it was really something special.

Before I start, I feel like I need to preface this whole thing by saying that this was my first time seeing Cats live, period, and I also only saw this show once, so if I remember something wrong it's because half the time I was desperately trying to get any actor to make eye contact with me lmao. Also if I don't mention something you're curious about, feel free to drop me an ask or just reply with whatever your question is and I'll try to answer as best as I can! I also still haven't seen all the show footage online, so IDK what's common knowledge or not. I'll put a heading for each section so you can skip around if you want.

Jellicle Songs through Invitation

Sadly, the overture had nothing special going on :(

Jellicle Songs opened with a human worker at the stockyards being watched by the cats as they came onstage one by one, before she "turned off" the lights and left

The singing only started once she left and the lights turned back on after "can you see in the dark," which I thought was a really novel and fun interpretation of the lyrics

Since the cast was limited, Jellylorum sang all of Cassandra's lines, and Jerrie and Teazer picked up the twins' as expected. (They have Jelly listed as "Jellylorum/Cassandra" in the program but it's not a split track or anything, she's just normal Jelly singing Cass' lines)

The "flying trapeze" was replaced by some sort of leather harness(?) on a rope that the actors would stick one foot in and swing on (I have no clue what it actually is but Misto uses it during his song as well. Maybe a stirrup to cat-scale?)

The boot drop was replaced with the railroad crossing light going off, which I was hoping for ever since I saw it before the show

They made the "mystical divinity" section a bit of a national anthem analog, with the actors putting hand over heart and the two big US and Texas flags coming out

Naming went pretty much as expected. I'm not really a fan of when productions overemphasize pointing out who is who and I didn't notice it here, so that was appreciated (although I did think Skimble was Plato for most of the show, so maybe I need it more than I think lol)

Jelly and Gus had a cute moment during "some for the gentlemen, some for the dames" where they did a little bow/curtsy to each other

Victoria's solo was split up among all the girls one by one, starting with her doing an abridged White Cat with a pink cowboy hat

The hat was quickly stolen by Teazer, and they had a little fight over it which Jenny had to break up (loved the bratty vibes of this moment, which was their only big interaction I noticed)

Eventually it got passed along to Demeter, who seemed hesitant to take it, but was urged on by the other girls.

Going into the invitation/Munk's monologue, Raphe played him as serious and dramatic as ever (minus the accent), which was a departure from the other actors who tended to play a bit looser and more relaxed. (Not a slight against anyone of course, it was just interesting to observe.)

Gumbie Cat

Before the song started, Munk got a little distracted with a big spool of rope he was playing with 🥺

The same thing happened with Jenny and one of the hanging string lights on the walkway at the back of the stage during his first verse, which got a big audience laugh

As the trio were getting set up, there was a little (staged) moment where Deme fell over and had to quickly sit back up, which added to the idea that she was supposed to be a new member of the tribe and a little unsure of herself

Jenny's tap costume was SO cute, and she kept the US boots on for the rest of the show, which is a good way to identify her

I was definitely surprised that the cast soft-shoeing in their boots (instead of using tap shoes) was audible from the audience, but it worked like a charm!

Munk and Jenny had a little duet at the end (not quite a tap-off like it used to be, but from what I've seen of the recent Oasis prods Munk doesn't get to tap at all :( so it was nice to have him involved)

The song ended with Jenny going "thanks, y'all!" which I am formally requesting become the button for all non-British versions of the show from now on

The Rum Tum Tugger

The staging and setup of this song was pretty much as normal, but as with all good Tugger stagings, the real gems are from the rest of the cast's reactions

Demeter was very into it and leaned over to tease Misto a couple of times, who was very flustered and kept throwing his hands over his eyes — he delivered the "terrible bore" line like he had something to prove. (I didn't know about the cast headcanon until after the show, but from what I saw, you could read his actions as romantic or "ew Dad, gross" equally easily depending on your preferences.)

Deme almost got a moment with Tugger before Bomba cut in on her

At some point Jenny snuck back onstage to "nap" through the rest of the song

Surprisingly, they didn't go with the overexcited kitten gag — I thought it would've fit great with the setting, but I'm sure they had a good reason to cut it out

Grizabella

Rumpleteazer was the last one of the kittens to approach Grizabella (she was a little more timid, I think she was meant to be one of the youngest) and Griz delivered the first verse of her song directly to her as she was shivering in fear on the ground in front of her. Afterwards, she ran over to hide with her brother — I also saw Jenny huddled over Misto and Victoria

Old Deut made a surprise appearance to lead Griz out with a handkerchief over his hand (which I thought was about the "no touching" thing but he also did it at the end, so I'm a little puzzled about that)

Bomba put her hand on Deme's shoulder for comfort as she was leaving

Bustopher Jones

This song was literally so funny, y'all. They made up for the lack of lyric changes (none of the place names were changed) with a bunch of physical humor and gags that were pitch-perfect to the Texas vibe

Everybody was split up into little groups that each wanted to give Bustopher their food (or at least Jerrie and Teazer, who had the corn dogs, really did)

The first thing he picked up was a Whataburger cup from Munkustrap — for those not in the know, Whataburger has basically the same cultural relevance in Texas as In-n-Out has in California, except you can only get it in-state

I'm so sad I got spoiled about the Real Corn Dogs, because watching him take a bite out of them onstage(!!!) was a thrilling experience

Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer

The song started started with them coming out from behind the cat wanted posters on either side of the stage and sneaking towards the middle (including a moment where Jerrie stuck only his leg out from behind a post which was a great image)

Their solo costumes (raggedy overalls with a bunch of mismatched patches) were so cute

Behind the low wall at about mid-stage were a couple of trampolines which the actors used to do fun tricks and bounce in time to the music. I get the feeling the actors weren't as acrobatic (or the cowboy costumes/boots didn't allow that) so this was a great way to introduce some big energy to the number in a different way

After getting off the trampoline, they did a bit sitting on the edge of the wall where they stacked their legs threaded over each other (I'm bad at describing it but it's like when you and a friend try to stack your fists/hands alternating between each other)

At the end they pulled out a barrel and laid it on its side — both my sister and I thought they were going to walk around on top of it, but instead they made a seesaw with it which was also fun

The barrel ended up having some kind of illusion from which they pulled two big foam cowboy hats (in Texas colors of course). Honestly I'm still not sure how they pulled it off

Surprisingly, there were no loot bags (I think they were supposed to be more like rascals or kids goofing off and trespassing than actual thieves), so they skipped the playoff entirely

I think this was one of my favorite songs of the whole show. I really like this song when the actors are doing something every beat, and I honestly don't mind big props/gimmicks like these as long as they don't take up the whole song. This version threaded that needle really well and it was a great time!

Old Deuteronomy through the Jellicle Ball

Not much to say about Old Deut's song. I did notice a lyric change to "married nine wives" but I think that seems to be par for new shows post-2019?

After the pre-ball Macavity scare, Misto and Vic were huddled together downstage right and Sillabub downstage left to segue into the Song of the Jellicles

Tugger got the line "Jellicle cats are rather small" because there was no Alonzo, but otherwise I didn't make notes on who got which line

The ball had a lot more partner dancing than usual (no lifts unfortunately), which fit the theme really well! I don't know much square dancing lingo but I definitely saw them do a grand left and right at one point, I'm sure there was a lot more but I was too awed to really be picking things apart lol

They did pantomime tipping cowboy hats (which I hate a lot less than the weird crown pantomime Andy came up with, mostly because it's already a thing in Western dancing)

I think at one brief pause there was a small Skimble/Victoria moment? (This may have contributed a lot to the Plato mixup lmao)

There was a whole section where Old D stepped down and everyone was trying to reach for his handkerchief as he waved it around (and yeah, still don't know what was happening with that whole thing, sorry y'all 😅)

At the end of the ball (I think at the "Ecstasy" cue if you're familiar with Gillian's choreo names) the lights swept up over the audience like a field of stars and it was honestly the most magical moment ever

Memory (first time) through Moments of Happiness

For some reason in my program they have "Grizabella: The Glamour Cat" listed as "Entry of Grizabella" and Glamour Cat moved down to where this first Memory iteration goes, which gave me false hope that they were going to do the Jelly reprise. Very mean >:(

Before Griz came out, Old Deut almost presented Victoria with the pink cowboy hat from the white cat solo (which I think means she was about to be the Choice), but then she saw Griz coming and everyone got scared away

I feel like there was an extra 8 or 16 counts of dancing music for Griz before the song started, during which she did part of the partner dance choreo from the ball by herself :(

They used "silence" instead of "midnight" which I'm so mad about (ALW I'm gonna get my revenge one day just you wait old man)

Korie is such a beautiful singer, like he really fits the role to a T. Very old-school brassy bari/bass voice, a lot like Ken Page

Since there were no twins, Sillabub just got up and sang on her own, but it wasn't that jarring

At the end of the song, Rumpleteazer got a little sad and slid over to snuggle up at Old D's feet

Gus the Theatre Cat

Before you ask, yes, I did cry a little at this song (knowing that Michael had played Gus before back during the first Broadway run made me tear up, ok?)

Before the song started, Jelly gathered all of the kittens in front of her (unfortunately with the way the blocking ended up Gus was right between us and her for a lot of the song, but he had a much bigger stage presence than replica Guses so it wasn't a big loss)

As Jelly was beginning the first verse, Gus came onstage with a guitar, which he fake-played throughout his verses

Munk got to be Gus' friend at the pub, and they had real beer bottle props which was literally the cutest thing ever

During Gus' verses Michael sang with a much more lyrical tone than normal (as in he was really singing, not talk-singing), and the country accent really fit well with his song

At the Firefrorefiddle part Munk came back and handed Gus an actual fiddle, and how has NOBODY done this before??? It was literally so perfect y'all (I don't think the instrumentation was even changed but it just felt like the exact right thing)

I remembered to check back in on the kittens during their little moment, Rumpleteazer was aptly offended/embarrassed

One of the best lyric changes was definitely "in the days when Hank Williams reigned," I have a feeling if they could have changed more they would but alas

Between the end of the normal song and the lead-in to P&P, Gus ate up the applause (there was a lot!) and sang the next verse like it was an encore

Pekes and Pollicles

Not sure if this is as expected, but Gus sang "the awesome battle" instead of awful (and there was the "heathen" to "foreign" change that I've discussed elsewhere)

Before getting into full Rumpus Cat gear, Gus was dressed as a football referee (complete with real working whistle that he used a couple of times). He also did a coin flip during one of the early verses to decide which cornhole team would throw first

Yes, the actors were really playing cornhole onstage, and they were quite good at it too! I assume a lot of practice was involved lol

During the first barking sequence, Rumpleteazer was on her hands and knees playing one of the dogs and literally jumping off the ground barking, it was so silly-looking

Jenny played the police dog, complete with beer bottle. I think she was off to one corner fake-drinking for most of the song

I think the whole Little Tom Pollicle section was cut, including the bagpipes section

When the Rumpus Cat came out, the "dogs" flipped up the cornhole boards to hide behind. I also spotted Jenny as the police dog with a white-knuckle grip on her beer lmao

All in all, it was a very fun version of the song and I didn't even mind so much that it was moved out of its original spot in the show because it was SO goofy silly

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat

This staging was a little less dynamic than the normal, they made the fake train very early on in the song and then just basically stayed there the whole time. Skimble was bouncing around as normal though

The train's "smokestack" spouted real steam at one point, which was really cool

Misto and Jelly were the card-players, complete with real oversized cards. At one point Skimble stopped to look at both of their hands and swapped some of their cards to complete the game, which I think is just *chef's kiss* perfect characterization for him

Instead of the fake train falling apart at "Skimbleshanks would help them to get out," there was a gag where Jelly was almost falling over and Skimble had to rush over and help her catch her balance

Macavity (scare, song, and fight)

Macavity used a literal lasso to kidnap Old D

This was totally just a personal thing, but I was definitely thrown off at first by the hard-T American pronunciation of Macavity

I can't remember if this happened here or somewhere else, but I feel like I should mention that at one point Bomba slid into a split so smoothly that I didn't even process it was happening until she was all the way down in it 😅

The fight was much different than normal — everyone got in on fighting Mac. I remember Bomba got a big moment getting him in the stomach before he got away

Instead of the jumper cables, Mac swiped at the "Cattlemen" sign and took out all of the lights except the ones that said "Cat"

After the fight, Deme and Bomba took a beat to clean each other off with some casual acrobatics

Magical Mister Mistoffelees

One change I thought was really sweet was at the beginning of the song, the rest of the cast were really disbelieving of Tugger and rolling their eyes at his claims, which I think pairs well with the cast headcanon

For our performance, Misto was not wearing the brown jacket he had in the promo videos — he may have had a black vest on or just his normal chorus outfit, but he still had his sheriff star :)

They had a couple of cans for Misto to knock over as part of his sharpshooting bit, but no squibs or anything onstage

During the "curled up" line, Misto went and cuddled with Vic for a second

There was a moment post-conjuring turns where the actor did a one-handed cartwheel with the toy gun still in his hand and I was just the tiniest bit afraid for his life (he pulled it off though!!!)

Instead of having a volunteer, they just had two people hold an old blanket that they used to cover Old D from one of the wings back to center stage

Misto looked away like he does sometimes after the Old D trick, but sadly they didn't get to hug after :(

During the final chorus Rumpleteazer got back on the trampoline and was bouncing along to the music

Rather than slowly making the spotlight disappear like in some productions, Misto shot it out before making his exit which was a cute touch

Memory (Reprise)

After Munk's monologue, Old D was ready to make Gus the choice, which this time was represented by a spotlight casting a circle on the ground. I was ready to be disappointed about the whole "wrong cat died" situation, but I was pleasantly surprised when Gus stepped back and invited Griz into the spotlight to make her case, it felt like a really good resolution to the issue some people have with that point

Right after Gus gave up the spotlight, he and Jenny had a little mimed conversation where she seemed a little upset/confused at what he did

Jackie did great as Grizabella — you could definitely tell she had played Elphaba in the past too lol

Interestingly, there were a couple of moments where it almost seemed like Skimble would be the first cat to touch Griz after her song, but he ended up backing off so that Vic could give her the pink cowboy hat :)

Journey through Ad-dressing

My sister and I were speculating before the show started where Griz was going to leave the stage (there wasn't a lot of infrastructure up above the stage itself so we were curious), and it ended up being the piece of scaffolding with "Mule Alley" written on it! Totally unexpected

I wish I had caught more of the cast interactions during this song, but I did definitely notice Bomba and Gus arm in arm

Old D was much more lively and light-hearted during The Addressing of Cats than normal (again, really reminding me of Ken Page's Deuteronomy, but even more jovial. I think there's footage of this so if you haven't gone to check it out definitely do!)

Not quite a lyric change, but the address in question was changed to something pronounced more like "aw, cat"

And that's about it for the show! Like I said at the top, feel free to send me asks if there's any part of the show you'd like to know more about! I tried not to assign romantic/platonic designations to any of the pairs throughout the show because it went by much too fast to tell one from the other (which is basically my way of saying go wild with it, y'all — the cast certainly sure have!).

[westrangecollectionkoalaposts]

at this point idk if the story i am doing actually has any story or if i am just filling it....

[egophiliac]

don't think I'm not still obsessing over 7-12

[arolesbianism]

Oh god is that a comicfrin drawing where they have whimsy quick someone throw that guy into a decades long timeloop