#like i've seen so much content for animation that's supposed to be “for kids”

[hexhomos]

S2 mega spoiler asks/answers. don't click readmore if you're avoiding it.

That entire thing really did not land for me and took me extremely out of the episode ngl. The way it is framed and later on referenced on warwick's delusion flashbacks (IN MY OPINION) seemed to suggest that their mom was embroiled in an unrequited love triangle with these two and i could feel my brain leaking out of my ears because, to get back to a previously mentioned problem; it makes the world feel really, really limited. Like there's 10 real people surrounded by a population of NPCs. The idea of silco/vander as singlehandedly responsible for a 'revolution' that has no lineage beyond themselves is already laughable but?? they frame it as if vander could legit have been vi's dad?? he picks the name?? and that he is maybe seething in rage at silco because he was the reason she died??? huh? whuh? what in all of the wattpad fanfiction. not to mention... it makes silco constant attempts to kill vi in s1 seem contradictory and nonsensical. His motivations???????????

In some ways.. it is still resource exploitation now but Worse and in a time-ticking bomb sort of way that absolutely breaks the idea of Piltover using hextech for decades at a time. Im curious to see if that will be referenced in game content now bc it legitimately has shattered the timeline. I think its once again unnecessary and sacrifices a lot of good stuff for mid hand-wringing. But yeah. P/Z as presented in arcane has had so much personality sapped out of it. a whole roster of characters who might get completely rebooted for no good reason.

stole his whole flow. Disgraceful.

TBH i wouldn't really worry about this because i think if anyone is getting a new sex scene its going to be cait/vi makeup or hatesex. Sky is a plot convenience; her existence for the show's entire runtime is an accessory that they couldn't even bother fleshing out. The definition of the not-gays.

My reasoning is that if they were going to do any of that we would have already seen her do these things, more things, in the scenes she already appears in; but as always she is a static 3D model lounging in the background. (Related: this might be because she is Literally Not Real and the hexcore is just making up a faint mimicry who can only say 1 word.) Their time budget is really messy this season and i just don't see them wasting More time like that. They don't care for sky. never did! She's just a way to avoid letting viktor be an ideologue glorious evolutionist.

We already know internally some of the animators & art team like jayvik & there's even a few for-fun outside of the company interviews w/ crew expressing a preference to jv on a personal level ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the more the script tries to push it as nonromantic the more coded these scenes get. In terms of actual interaction i think a lot is going to depend on whatever the hell happens in episode 6 because their screentime is REALLY low and im unsure act3 can pull off another timeskip. So much left dangling.

IDGAF about meljay and i've never cared about meljay i think it is the culpirit of not-gays #1 so its hilarious how that shit literally didn't matter. The entire noxus storyline is a can of worms i would have thrown in the garbage and have no interest in. Still, in realistic terms, there is a 50/50 chance this season ends with jayce married 2 kids 1 dog 1/2 parrot moving out to noxus and saying 'heh, i never liked piltover anyway' and they'll play it like we're supposed to clap because nothing matters

if i was in charge we'd get full frontal jayvik stigmata scissoring write that down. I still hope if we can manifest 1 thing it is a good fight scene with some choking on it

[lennsart]

Ok ok ok so

I've bought the Zelda Encyclopedia because I am in a hyperfixated rampage about LoZ. And on one hand it's the best thing ever, because special interest is going brrrr.

But ! But.

I've bought in french. Because I... Am french.

And I don't know if the english version has troubles, alright ? But THE FRENCH VERSION IS A BADLY TRANSLATED HELL and I need to rant.

Keep in mind that I didn't study the book. I've skimmed through. And I'm already holding my head in my hands in a dramatic 'losing my mind' posture.

But anyway ! Here's the defendant :

This is the book I'm talking about, and all the pictures that follow come from this book.

Follow me into translation hell !

Note : I actually usually prefer the french translation in Zelda ! They do a good job at translating things that make sense, leaving things as they are when it isn't needed, and I often find the translated characters' names prettier. (Example : Makar, the korok from Wind Waker, is called Dumoria. I have NO IDEA why it changes so much but it sound so much better in my opinion !) So this is not VF hate. This is genuine uncomprehension as to WHY IS THE BOOK LIKE THIS.

Now, you don't need to go far into the book to have a problem with it.

First few pages. Like literally before the actual content of the book. Presentation of the games. Easy enough, right ? Not hard to beta read, RIGHT ?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "THE MINISHIP CAP". WHAT DO YOU MEAN. IT'S NOT LIKE THE TITLE IS WRITTEN ON THE PICTURE ABOVE. How did it happen ?? The name doesn't even change in french, help

"Miniship cap" I already want to quit and it's my INTRODUCTION to this book.

We can divide the mistakes of this book in three categories :

- Lore mistake

- Translation mistake

- Wtf mistakes

I would place "Miniship cap" in the WTF category, for obvious reasons. (HOW???)

The first two categories are easily justified : they asked someone to reread the book and the person wasn't very interested/didn't know Zelda well. But it makes the book LIE

Example of lore mistake :

The title here is " The Ancient Temple, marked by the loftwings".

THE L O F T W I N G S.

This is the ancient temple in Twilight Princess. This is supposed to read OCCAS ! SKYWARD SWORD WASN'T EVEN RELEASED YET !! LOFTWINGS DIDN'T EXIST !

Why did this happen ? Well, in french, Loftwings are called "Célestriers" (mix of the words "céleste", celestial, and "destrier", which is apparently the same in english but I've never seen it before, it's a horse usually or an animal you ride). And Occas ? Are called "Célestiens". People that lives in the sky, basically.

So yeah, Célestriers, Célestiens, I SEE the mistake, ok ?

But still. Uncool. Boo.

Now, example of translation mistake :

The first sentence here is a description of a picture, it reads "Aryll is abducted by Helmaroc King on Ganondorf's orders".

Why isn't this shocking to you, english reader ? Because Helmaroc King is the ENGLISH name of the big bird. In french, there are no "roi Helmaroc" ("roi" means king). It has been translated.

But maybe the book doesn't know, right ? IT'S NOT LIKE THE NAME IS WRITTEN ON THE NEXT PAGE, RIGHT ?

THERE. LE ROI CUIRASSE. THIS IS THE BITCH I KNOW ABOUT. I'M LOSING MY MIND

But again, alright, I guess someone didn't think to translate the name. Some characters's names aren't translated (example : french Skull kid is called... Skull kid. I am thankful for that), so maybe they just didn't THINK to check if there was a translation.

Even though. It was on the next page.

AND I WAS GOING TO LET ROI HELMAROC SLIDE. I WAS.

AND THEN I LOOKED AT THE SAME FUCKING PICTURE I TOOK OF THE BOOK.

First thing I underlined, "Mélodie", is a typo of Medli's name in french, which is "Médolie". I get it, it's an anagram, I've read it Mélodie my whole childhood, OK French Zelda Encyclopedia. OK.

BUT "ÉPÉE MAÎTRESSE" ?? NO.

THE MASTER SWORD IS NOT FUCKING CALLED "ÉPÉE MAÎTRESSE". MAÎTRESSE IS WHAT YOU CALL YOUR TEACHER WHEN SHE'S A WOMAN AND YOU'RE TEN, OK ?

(Actually, "maître" and its feminization "maîtresse" do mean master. But it's. It feels wrong. It's not the in-game name, and it feels wrong.)

THE MASTER SWORD IS "ÉPÉE DE LÉGENDE", OK ? LEGENDARY SWORD. THERE IS NO ÉPÉE MAÎTRESSE.

AT LEAST I HOPE.

Breathing in, breathing out... Ok. A not so important one :

"Les oiseaux" means "the birds", and yes, in english, those cuties are called "little birds" which would be literally "petits oiseaux" in french. (I know, too much vowels, I'm not here to defend my birth language BEAR WITH ME)

But in the VF ? They aren't 'birds'. They are PIOUPS. (Pronounced pyoop, it doesn't mean anything, just mimic the bird's noise)

THEY ARE 'PETITS PIOUPS' ALRIGHT ? AND I LOVE THEM. I'm just. Sad that their name isn't in the book. This is petits pioups erasure.

(After checking, the item they drop is called "plume d'oiseau", so "bird feather". The word "pioup" is just in the description of the item, so... Maybe it's just me. BUT STILL. LET ME CALL THEM PIOUPS IT'S ADORABLE)

And we're not even in my favorite category ! May I introduce :

The what the fuck mistakes

Aka : I can't understand how they let it slide.

Here I want you to read the description of the picture 6.

"Playing the Song of Healing, Link gets his normal appearance back".

Ok, this is probably a description of when Link goes from Deku Scrub back to Hylian, so I am expecting a picture of Link !

Image 6 : WHY IS IT THE CREEPY LINK STATUE.

DID THEY KNOW ABOUT BEN DROWNED ?? WHY IS THE WORST POSSIBLE REPRESENTATION OF LINK IS DESCRIBED WITH "LINK GOES BACK TO NORMAL". NO. NO I AM CALLING MY LAWYER, BOOK, YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO ME.

You know, in a book, there can be translating errors... And, apparently, there also can be "we forgot to fucking translate" errors.

Plural.

IN THE GODDAMN TITLES.

And I studied graphic design, alright. I know, TRUST ME, I know your eyes can get used to the titles and make you miss 'obvious' mistakes.

BUT THIS IS WHY YOU GET SOMEONE TO RE-READ. This is a fucking official book ! That has been published by probably very official publishers, I don't know, I haven't checked !

POURQUOI LE LIVRE EST NUL ? POURQUOI EST-CE QU'IL Y A AUTANT D'ERREURS ? COMMENT EST-CE QUE "MINISHIP CAP" EST ARRIVÉ ? OÙ SONT LES PETITS PIOUPS ? ENGAGEZ-MOI POUR RELIRE LE LIVRE LA PROCHAINE FOIS C'EST PAS POSSIBLE !!

I at least hope some of you laughed watching me losing my mind in french ; I hit the ten images limit, but I'm sure I'll find enough for a part two. I've lost all faith in this book. I'll read it thoroughly just to scream about it on Tumblr.

[*holding a knife towards the book* I won't let anything slide, you hear me ?]

Now with a part 2 !

[vikenticomeshome]

Carl's Cool Kids and Hardee's Cool Kids Meal Toys (part 2/?)

So, let's continue where we left off.

For November and December of 2003, we get some toys for the Stuart Little franchise. However, these weren;t made to promote the live-action movies. They were made to promote the animated series.

2004

For January and February of 2004, we got some promotion items from NASA. My favorite is "Cassini Meets Saturn".

For March and April of 2004, we get some toys promoting the anime Yu Yu Hakusho. This is interesting to see. The series originally aired on Japanese television from 1992 to 1994. However, the English dub was airing in the U.S. around 2004. This dub started out on Adult Swim, even though some of the more adult content was edited out, and then it later moved to Toonami. It seems like an odd choice for a promotion.

For May and June of 2004, we get a promotion for the 2003 live-action Peter Pan film.

For July and August of 2004, we get a promotion for the Cartoon Network airings of the English dub of Astro Boy. The full set-list with all of the names wasn't archived. But we get pictures of all of the items with a closeup of the treasure keeper.

This promotion is a bit confusing, as Carl's Jr. claims that it was only for September of 2004. Meanwhile Hardee's claims that this was used for September and October of 2004. In any case, we get a set of toys based on the "I Spy" franchise. I'm not sure whether this was promoting a specific release from the franchise.

Only the Carl's Jr site splits the ISpy promotion into two pieces. It doesn't appear that any images from the October promotion have survived.

For November and December of 2004, we get Shrek 2. It looks like these were supposed to be Christmas ornaments.

For January of 2005, we got some toys to promote the film "Racing Stripes". I forgot that this film existed. It was a live-action film of a zebra that is left behind by the circus, taken in by a farm, and set to become a race-horse.

For February and March of 2005, we get some toys to promote the Dreamworks film of the same name. It's the one with the Will Smith fish that creeped everyone out.

For April of 2005, we got "Racing Stripes" again. It's a different set of toys to promote the same film. Was this film a bigger deal than I remember?

For May and June of 2005, we get the Cartoon Network show "Duck Dodgers", starring Porky Pig as "Space Cadet".

For July and August of 2005, we get "TikiMon". I've never heard of this.

For September of 2005, we get "Mucha Lucha". I vaguely remember seeing this series on TV and playing flash games for it back in the day.

I haven't been able to find surviving photos of the October 2005 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" promotion. This appears to be another case of Carl's Jrs diverging from Hardees as Hardees claims October was more Mucha Lucha.

For November and December of 2005, we get some toys for "A Charlie Brown Christmas". What could I possibly say about this iconic cartoon that hasn't already been said?

2006

For January and February of 2006, we get a promotion for "Loonatics Unleashed". This was that attempt to reboot Looney Tunes into a band of superheroes that ended in disaster.

For March and April of 2006, we get a promotion for one of the most beloved Cartoon Network cartoons, "Codename: Kids Next Door". They did the thing with the acronyms.

For May and June of 2006, we got a promotion for "Yu-Gi-Oh! Down of the Duel". I remember watching the 4-Kids dub of a version of Yu-Gi-Oh back in the day,.

For July of 2006, we get Monster House. I love this movie so much.

And now, we see another divergence in the timeline. Only Hardees got this set of toys under "Kahuna Kruisers". Moana sure looks different from what I remember.

For August and September of 2006, we get a promotion for one of the Scooby-Doo movies. This was "Pirates Ahoy!". I have never seen it.

In another divergence, only Carl's Jr got Halloween buckets for Scooby-Doo Pirates Ahoy. I cannot find promotional images for them, however.

For November and December of 2006, we got a promotion for the move "The Ant Bully". This is the film where a kid torments ants, gets shrunk down to their size, and has to save them from an exterminator.

2007

For January and February of 2007, we get a promotion for "Open Season". I know nothing about this movie whatsoever.

For March and April of 2007, we get a promotion for "Happy Feet".

I have been unable to find surviving promotional photos for the Justic League Unlimited promotion, which ran through June and July of 2007.

For June through August of 2007, we get "Code Lyoko". This is that show where ever character has a five-head. I remember it looked pretty interesting the few times I saw it airing. It was a mix of 2d and 3d segments depending on whether the characters were in the real world or the virtual one.

For August through September of 2007, we got some educational toys from the National Wildlife Federation.

For August through October of 2007, we got a promotion for the movie "Surf's Up".

I'm at the image limit again, so I will need to pick this up again on another post.

[thecaffeinebookwarrior]

Am I the only person who doesn’t like Wonder Woman and thinks she is, in fact, a Mary Sue? I haven’t read or watched much with her in it so maybe I’m just basing my opinions on one Wonder Woman book I read where I thought she was written poorly.

But I don’t know. She’s literally everything a modern woman is supposed to be (sexy, strong, righteous, soft, etc.) and she never struggles. She’s always right, she never makes mistakes, and she’s very boring to me as a result. I haven’t seen the recent film, but I dislike the fact that they made her love babies. A lot of pressure is put on women to love babies/children and/or want one of their own, and if a woman doesn’t like or want them then she’s seen as a cold, callous bitch. So to me, that part seems like the writers put it in thinking ‘see she’s not an evil man hating feminist you guys, she loves babies!’

Idk. I know she’s seen as THE role model for women and girls but I just can’t understand her appeal. What exactly do you like about her?

Hello there!

As someone who grew up with a lot of Wonder Woman content, I have to personally disagree!

Like any major superhero, Wonder Woman gets a lot of good content and plenty of bad content, too.

Yes, she's idealized - but almost all superheroes are idealized. Superman is literally a mirror of the philosophical concept of the "Ubermensch," a term coined by Nietzsche meaning "superman" and describing an ideal human being. By this standard, he could also be described as a Mary Sue!

But just being beautiful, powerful, and good does not a Mary Sue make. These idyllic superheroes work well when they're put in circumstances that challenge them. It's fascinating to see characters that seemingly embody the highest reaches of human potential pushed to their limits, when we see that they too have flaws and weaknesses that they can overcome through perseverance.

You say that she "never struggles," but a good Wonder Woman writer knows that she NEEDS to struggle to be interesting. In shows like the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, she and all the other major heroes are put in situations that challenge them on every level - physical (like fighting literal gods) and emotional (being banished from her home for bringing men to the island).

And also funny scenarios that put them at disadvantages, like being turned into children or a pig that then must be chased through the city by Batman (yes, both real episodes) that humanize them and show that they're not invulnerable.

For the more recent, live action movies, I liked the first Wonder Woman but not the second. I personally liked the fact that she was excited to see a baby, especially in the context that there were no babies on her island, because women are often expected to reject feminine characteristics to be strong.

I see your point, but I also have a different view regarding children: I think a lot of the oppression experienced by women is also experienced by children, and children are frequently dehumanized.

Not everyone who says they don't like kids is a bad person - I know plenty of great people who say they don't like kids - but I'm not really comfortable with the concept of disliking an entire group of human beings. Children have such varied personalities, just like any other group.

Granted, most people who say they don't like kids don't mean they dislike ALL kids, but it's still a sentiment I don't really like from a cultural standpoint.

As for women who don't WANT kids, I agree - it's deeply messed up that many people don't see women as complete or fulfilled unless they have kids. But (though it's been a while since I've seen it) I don't recall Wonder Woman in the 2017 movies planning to have children of her own. Plenty of women like children without intending to have them, myself included.

Again, though, I do see your point that the writers may have been trying to soften Wonder Woman in the eyes of the audience by having her love babies.

I still prefer that over the original Joss Whedon script, where a little girl at one point asks her to get a cat down from a tree (I think. Perhaps it was a lost toy) and Wonder Woman callously tells her to get it herself. To me, that plays into a sexist stereotype that women must reject all feminine attributes in order to be strong.

The sequel film, on the other hand, really embodies how NOT to write Wonder Woman in every way: largely exempt from moral criticism, inherently better than those around her, and with few meaningful challenges that aren't solved through plot convenience. She isn't "always right," however, because another flaw in that film's plot is the fact that she's learning a vague and contrived lesson of not cheating to get what she wants, though that's never explored in any way that feels human or applicable.

To conclude, I'll reiterate -- and this is just my opinion -- Wonder Woman is done GREAT when written by someone who understands the appeal of the character. Her idyllic characteristics apply to most superheroes, and can work great if the person writing her knows how to challenge her. I don't mind when she has feminine characteristics, and I love when all superheroes love kids, male and female. And last but not least, Justice League and Justice League unlimited reign supreme in terms of superhero content.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to ramble and spill my potentially controversial opinions!

[hisui555]

Hazbin Hotel thoughts : Pets 2

"How are they with pets ?" Vees and other Overlords edition

(Pets 1 (Hazbin Hotel crew) here)

(Pets 3 (Heaven's side) here)

Masterpost here.

Aaaand my titles are still as creative as a rusting cheese grater on sale. Anyway, let's jump to it.

The Vees !

Vox did have an (now archived) Instagram that's also now loosely canon, where he put pics of his cute pet hammerhead landshark Vark (that's probably not in the show the same as it was in the Instagram, but made it in with another form : might be the hammerhead bio-shark we see in the tank in ep 2 and why do I get the feeling we got robbed from something ?) and given his interactions with it, he clearly loves it with all his heart, calling it "baby" and posting what he brought for him (in a handbag), so it's safe to say that Vark is spoiled. One pic even shows it jumping on Velvette with Vox doing a fist-pump, another has an out-of-focus one with Vox being the one jumped on, so the critter can be safely described as rather enthusiastic (and giant. Hell fuck is it big). Which, based on this, gives a rather good idea of how he would interact with a pet : it's kind of a special, non common animal of specific interest (shark), that he will coddle and spoil to high heavens, basically a pseudo-kid. Expect tons of affection, letting it run around to its heart's content with a whole room (or more) dedicated to the beast, and a Never Could Do Any Wrong attitude that might be even worse that Lucifer's in the previous post. He will also train and teach it tricks, complete with lots of praise and treats, and given his management skills vet appointments are no problems (well, for him. Given the animal, very much not so for the vet), even cooing to the tyker that I know, you don't like it, but we'll have to go. I know, I know, I promise it's not for long. Touch it and you're dead, your reputation is dead, your whole family is dead up to the 10th ancestor, even your ashes are dead.

Alternatively, given how Vox is in the show now (still secretely hoping we see that side of him I admit, but I wouldn't place any bets on it), he has multiple shark-like creatures in a GIANT fish tank (at least two of them recognizable as sharks, I've counted four beasties that are seen on the opening of Stayed Gone), which look impressive and silently drift by. So while there's still the affinity for sharks, they look less goofy and more dangerous than Vark by some metric magnitudes and go quite well with his cunning CEO image, even emphazing it ("I think I have... just the one." Ep 2). So it paints a picture of power and silent intimidation, grinning like a shark and tempting to trade into the waters, smelling weakness like blood in the waves and drowning people under false hope : which is pretty much how he'd probably like his pets - hunting, powerful, highly unusual ones, that make him think of, well, himself and his empire. He'll keep them well-fed, cares for them, and likes to watch them swim around, maybe to calm his nerves after a Valentino tantrum or whenever Alastor so much as breathes wrong, more like status pets than coddling pets like his Instagram incarnation with Vark (again, shame*).

*While I do go awww, too bad, the producers, animators and whatnot had to work with an 8 episodes season. Characters also evolve (5 years between the pilot and the first episode), and things get dropped or picked up considering the needs of the show, and the intends behind the characters. The retired character Instagrams (and the pilot) paint the big lines, but smaller details are either contradictory or true-but-in-a-sideways-way compared to the final product, hence why "loosely canon". Vox with Vark would've been adorable, but he's probably not supposed to be that likable in that precise way, and it would've probably not brought the show itself much. I can only speculate why they dropped Vark's previous version (if he's indeed in the show at all), but don't take it as me faulting the show's creators and workers for it : my word is far from being gospel. Or else I'd make a really shitty deity.

Velvette would probably like a small, handholding pet that she can customize and that accords to her tastes, but also cute, photogenic and personable, so expect something like Hell's version of a chameleon, a pug or a Yorkshire (wait scratch that, I said "cute and photogenic"), or something that other people would find hideous but she'll make it work (nevermind, this fits) to show off how good her fashion skills are. She'll parade around with it, and if it has the same bitchy disdainous attitude as her, gladly welcomed bonus. She'll train it to obey only her (to Vox and Valentino's consternation and frustration), but also perfectly : every command is fulfilled within the snap of her fingers, but if the pet does outstandingly well, she won't hold back the treats. In private, she might be softer and more affable to it, praising and baby-talking it, but at the very least it'll have a luxurious corner to live in, and when she's away, her assistants are given the tasks of taking care of it (however not to a keep-an-activity-journal point unlike Pentious in the previous post). Unlike Angel, she might go for multiple pets at once (again, they're taken care of by a whole flock of staffs - good for testing interns and all that), and bank fashion lines and trends on them, associating with Vox to push out new product lines about animal care and fashion.

She'll also have pretend "dialogues" in public with one of them (switching favorites often following her moods - Velvette likes to have a wide choice fan of options) about how ugly or stupid she finds something and what's that you say Pookie ? Yes, absolutely, this dress looks like colored by sewer waters, ugh, good thing someone agrees with me. Think we should fire her ? to someone she particularly despises or deems unimportant enough and won't address directly because she'll estimate it beneath her, or sometimes to have an outlet of her own to vent. Rarely if ever goes to the vet unless one of the critters ate something it really shouldn't, since she's counting on her assistants to be skilled in healthcare, and they better be. Naming will be themed after what she likes, supported by tons of nicknames, and only her will know which one is named what because no one can keep up. Will be more annoyed than sad if one of them is hurt or died, but there will be a pang of sorrow for her favorite ones.

Valentino, well, also had a loosely canon pet queef (those half chihuahua half horsefly thingies, which are two abominations put together to make a third one - kidding, Fizzarolli's are kinda endearing), named... Queef (worse than my title names, good job bud), and emphasis on had, since he shot the tyker dead because it annoyed him, according to his archived Instagram. A safe bet is that it didn't even lasted very long. Which... paints dead-on (...sorry) the picture of how Val would treat pets : it's like a fancy that strikes from time to time and goes away just as quick, the second he's bothered by the critter. He's atrocious with naming them (though Adam beats him for sure in terms of naming things), sometimes can't differenciate one from another because oh right, I killed Queefie last week, you're actually Queefrey (...look at what you've made me do, stupid moth), and doesn't really care in general. Vet ? What's that ? Seriously the only time he'll go to a vet it's to enrol them in his studio if he finds them sexy enough and uses the critter for it. To him, they're not animals, they're trending accessories : something that goes nicely with the fishnet stockings and mink coat for an evening or two, not longer - or a tool to pick up chicks and chucks. If it dies, either he's the reason for it, or he'll just be annoyed.

He might just give them away if feeling generous or in a good mood, mostly to Velvette or his employees (he was the one who gave Fat Nuggets to Angel canonically - which was when Hell probably got a sudden cold wave or something. My sarcasm is having a stroke today, damn, sorry. Often happens when I'm writing Valentino's section, wonder why...ah, shit.), but hates if it disobeys or doesn't do what he wants it to do. Given that he doesn't train them either and expects it to behave like he wants right off the bat, this happens often. The longest any pet has lasted by him ? I'd say a week, two tops.

The other Overlords !

I don't peg Zestial for a pet owner, but again, let's pretend. It'll probably be something silent and creepy, ancient and powerful just like him - I mean, can you see him pick up any sparkly eyed kitten ? Me neither. It would make for a hilarious image, though. But nope, he'll be more like Hagrid than Umbridge in that sense : the most horrifying the better. Given his motif of spiders, he'll have his own Aragog, or some giant chiropteric monster from the dawn of times, with its own gregorious Fancy Name The Nth, something that even Lucifer thought died out ages ago. It's more a mutually respectful companionship than anything else : there's no "owner", no "pet", it just happens to live in Zestial's basement (or wherever he hangs his spindly, spidery legs from) and hunt down nuisances for him, in exchange of the occasional chin scritches. Might also know how to play chess, because why the hell not. Zestial won't like it being hurt, but will let it lick its wounds on its own and wait for it to ask for help, and it'll show up to show support in a fight and some extra manpower if needed. It doesn't obey squat, just agrees with you from time to time. No vet is crazy enough to go near that beast.

Carmilla will probably not have a pet either (too bothersome), but her daughters just might, and she'll allow it (somehow). Strict rules, the animal can't go wherever it pleases, better be damn well potty trained, and girls, if you want a pet, I'm not the one taking care of it - and she will stand by this, unlike some Didn't Want The Damn Cat Parents who melt at the first purr (welcome to the club of cat lovers, I'm the self-proclaimed president, what can I do for you ?). However, she's not against the affection, enjoying some relaxing moments with the pet at her side. Also, just having it around sleeping while she does work is nice and stress-relieving enough. She appreciates whatever "help" it can provide (fetching stuff), and simply talks to it like she would to an everyday person, only repeating words to make it understand what it should or should not be doing. She doesn't like cruelty to animals, and will make very clear what she thinks of someone who does that, but otherwise won't blow a gasket (like Vox or Angel might do). Might favor guard pets to protect her loved ones.

Rosie would be more about some old fashioned and elegant pets like poodles or whatever frizz-furred (or hairless, or scaly, as long as its classy) critter this side of Hell has to offer. However, since Alastor doesn't like dogs, she'll either keep it at home, or simply have another pet altogether, but case in point, it's a home pet, not something to parade around the Emporium with. Having it on a leash in the streets, fan in hand (her, not the tyke), and taking a strut around while waving for her fellow citizens or stopping to chat with other pet-owners is really picturesque, and exactly what she'll do. She'll make sure it's well-behaved, and will just have to softly utter a single command for it to obey. The most questionable thing would be the... diet. One sure thing, that beastie is well-fed.

Part 3 will be Heaven's side. Hope you enjoyed !

Again, Masterpost here.

[justa-smalltown-gargoyle]

Hey batman/batfam people, I wanted to talk about something. I know this might not be received well, but...this is my blog. So if you disagree with me, feel free to block me! Literally that's what's great about this site. (I've been trying to do so on my end, but I thought I'd reach out a bit.....idk maybe try to form some understanding?)

I have been a batman fan since like...age 13 or something. Batman as a character means so fucking much to me, as does all his kids and massive extended family. (can't forget Alfred, Kate, Lucius, and Jeff Gordon!!) And I know that they mean a lot to you guys too.

In comic book and fandom spaces we talk a lot about misrepresentation of characters in fandom, but even in "canon" or rather published/produced content. I have beef with a lot of live action adaptions of Batman for example.

The thing with comic book characters, even more than some fandoms/pieces of media, is that there is SO MUCH content out there, that two people can say they like this one character but those two versions might be in total contradiction. But does that make one right over the other? does that make one superior?

Now, I hate Ben Affleck's Batman. And to fans of his, I'd say, you want the punisher, not Batman, because to me, that goes against who Batman is fundamentally. I read the comics, watch a lot of the animated stuff, and formed my own opinion and version of Batman. However, and this seems to be a controversial take, i really enjoy Wayne Family Adventures.

I see a lot of hate on here for WFA (and on tiktok but they're another beast), which, it's not for everyone, that's okay! Not everyone has to like what I like. But what I don't agree with, is that people who like WFA are seen as "not true batman fans", "they haven't ever read a comic". "they only like the flat fanon versions of the characters", etc.

These comments I would like to rebut- some comic readers such as myself might enjoy WFA. There might be people that have never read a comic or even watched anything batman related but like WFA. Are they not valid to enjoy that and have their own fandom for that? Are they not allowed to be fans of Batman?

I also would ask, how much of WFA did you actually read? In it's nature, it's suppose to be the bat family on their time off, or more light stories, but it actually addresses things like Jason's trauma, Duke moving in to the Manor, Damian struggling to fit in at school, things like that. Now if you read pretty far and still didn't like the portrayal of the characters, that's fine, I'm not asking you to change your opinion, however I am asking you to make space for those who do enjoy it, or that WFA is their first introduction or only experience with the Batman and co.

WFA isn't perfect, but it holds a special place in my heart, and gives me more content for Not Perfect but Trying and Cares Dad Bruce Wayne which I am grateful for. And tbh I feel like it just shows other sides to the characters we don't see that often!

And again, obvi people have their opinions, I guess I'm just asking for us to be more aware and create a space where people can feel free and excited to talk about these characters that we all love. I enjoy content and discussions I see in the tags and different blogs but then I see the hate for WFA fans and it just puts a real damper on otherwise really good content.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

[goddamnwebcomics]

The Idaten Dieties Know Only Peace

By Amahara

A surreal Japanese action webcomic that is about a world where God-like entities (the Idaten) are born out of people's collective wish to survive, fighting against militaristic shaeshifting demons. Problem is, they already won against the Demon's in the past and many sacrificed themselves to seal them away, so the only Idaten around are lazy kids from the previous generation and the newer generation with no experience (hence the title). Which is bad when demons start cropping up again.

In my opinion - it has some fairly glaring problems when it comes to writing - which carried over into the anime that was produced based on the webcomic. The heroes are of the nominal, OP kind and seem to stay that way, regenerating from all damage; Demons are technically the underdog villains, and theres supposed to be irony in how they are more "human" than the Gods meant to protect humanity, but they and the empire they run is so objectively evil, and gross in some cases, that you can't really sympathize with them either. Humanity is kind of a third wheel race by comparison, due to focus, and are kinda mostly designated victims of violence/indifference.

I've only seen some of the anime, so I can't say much about the art quality of the webcomic, and both have been on hiatus for a bit currently. It also is not afraid of violence and adult subject matter, so keep that in mind about content, even if it's comparatively tame to other things ive seen.

I'm curious if you'd riff successful stuff of this nature, aside from this, ONE'S "One Punch Man" (which is very well written with majestically bad art), and Nimona (good art and world but...very inconsistent direction with characters and likability), I'm not overly familiar with webcomics that were popular enough to get substantial animated adaptations.

I have never heard of this, so of course it has gotten an adaptation. I think this might be the first ever japanese webcomic suggested to be riffed? Either way it sounds like it's plagued by issues not too unique to the medium. I think I can riff it eventually. Also jesus christ the name is horrible, I know japanese names are often trying to be as descriptive as possible but when I first saw the title I thought it said "Diabetes Deities Know One Piece"

[alchemiclee]

I watched the live action atla series and, looks like a very unpopular opinion in the sea of people whining and complaining about it, but I enjoyed it. I think they did a pretty good job with what they had and their limitations. the actors all did a good job and you can tell they enjoyed what they were doing and have a big respect for the show and their characters.

i'll let you in on the secret if how to enjoying something:

it's not setting high expectations or prejudging things. i'm a master of having low expectations and keeping an open mind so that I can enjoy things in life better. I went into this knowing for a fact that it would not match with the animated series. I knew there was no comparison at all. yes, there were some small bits I thought here and there that they shouldn't have cut out and could have fit if they tried,or things they could have done differently, which is natural to think when watching anything really, but I knew there's no point letting those overshadow the entire thing. if you care so much about little things, go produce your own series and make it perfect!

I went into it thinking of it as it's own thing. I asked myself is this enjoyable if I started watching without having seen the animation? without having the knowledge I do have? turns out it was enjoyable enough on its own. yes, seeing the animation helps fill in some of those gaps they skipped, and I understand why people are upset about things nit being added, but overall, it's a good stand alone if you dont sit and compare and nitpick the whole time.

if you don't go into it thinking "this is going to suck! i'm going to find every flaw! live actions always ruin things I love! I want it to match the animation 1:1! etc" then you'll be able to enjoy it. but if you insist on watching it with that mindset, then of course you will hate it. having an open mind and separating the two like I did makes it more enjoyable! I was pleasantly surprised by it.

I knew this mindset helped, because I did it with another series that had a remake. if you know eureka seven, you'll know that there are a few too many spinoffs. what us fans want is a proper remake and/or a continuation with the characters we know and love. instead we got several movies that retell the story in less appealing ways, the manga that has a few major differences, and a spin off series that's supposed to act as a sequel apparently, but it was kinda awful. because I loved eureka seven so much, I highly judged all these spinoffs and hated them all.

but when hi-evolution came out, I was really in the mood for new eureka seven. the first movie was mostly reused footage from the series. but they added some new stuff. I decided to start watching those as if they are their own stand-alone instead of trying to compare and fit them together. i think these spinoffs are supposed to be different universes that don't compare to the original, and I overly judged them because it's not what I wanted it expected as a kid. I watched hi-evolution with this more open mindset, and guess what? I enjoyed it! I thought it was actually a pretty good stand alone! if I never saw the anime series, I would have enjoyed these movies. I separated them in my mind and enjoyed them as their own thing! this is an extremely unpopular opinion and I haven't seen any eureka seven fans say they liked them. they got the sawn treatment as all the other releases. everyone just wants new content related to the original anime, so that's what they insist of judging by.

back to atla, it may also help that it's been several years since i've seen the animation. BUT it is one i've seen multiple times and have pretty good memory of it, I think, even if it's not so fresh in my mind anymore. I consider myself a pretty big fan as well. it's my second favorite series after fullmetal alchemist. nothing has compared to fullmetal alchemist for me, but atla is pretty damn close. you could say nothing has compared to atla either. solid second place and has never wavered. eureka seven being solidly 3rd. orphan black is 4th.....and I saw something about a new spinoff with all new different characters coming soon...so i'll have to try to apply this same technique to that as well.

conclusion: if you go into something being judgemental, nitpicky, comparing every little thing to something else, and overall having extremely high expectations, of course you're setting it up to fail you. you're basically purposely making yourself dislike it. you decided ahead of time you were going to hate it, so you do. if you have an open mind, low expectations, and let it be it's own thing separate from the original, it may not be your favorite thing ever, but you can at least get some enjoyment or entertainment out of it! appreciate it for what it is, rather than judge it for what it's not. this is for most things in life, not just a series on netflix.

[mono--chromatik]

The being simped after shit is genuinely uncomfortable. People push limits with that shit and it gets weird and intrusive reaaally fast. I hope you don't have to deal with that BS on top of how I've seen other people treat them already, I'm also glad you've been on a break from youtube, don't do shit that stresses you out unnecessarily. Also i suppose it's on topic but I hope people have stopped being a bit weirdly violent towards saturate, I don't really remember if that was something that ever discomforted you but I guess it got pushed really far a lot. I hope that people have like either leaned back on doing that or well. Stopped. It's weird to do that to someones. Like 12? Year old character. (I genuinely cannot remember. Damn it and my jokes.) -🧨🎖

I wish I could say I don't have to deal with that sort of thing, I really do. But for some reason videos seem to be the medium where people suddenly find it acceptable to treat people like content machines, or their creations like the next hit media all the kids are getting into.

Suppose that former bit is a side-effect of the animation meme community churning out flashy slop for every breakcore song n' conditioning kids to think they're owed it just.. *because*. But that latter part goes deeper in personal experience. Crazy to think some people think its normal to go to some total rando who they know but the rando Doesn't Know Them to tell me they think one of the characters I project issues onto is "kinda....... 😍😳."

Generally I'm really put off by romance for a variety of reasons so it's kind of like getting spat in my face. I'd prefer to let the people get distracted by the next "suggestive" ""16+"" animation meme than to entertain a crowd of people who can't listen to save their lives. Maybe i'll make something really boring for good measure.

As for the violence jokes about Saturate (13)? I'm pretty *shaky hand* ehh on it but I think the less I know the person making them the worse it is. I admittedly used to be similar when I was a young teen when I was in a community with next to no good adult guidance in it so I never really grasped the severity of that sort of thing at the time (or realized that ocs tend to be an outlet or projection of sorts! I realized that a little later).

People I know used to do it, but as we matured we kinda realized it was a bit shit. And having realized it I'm more prone to giving the stink eye to people who make child abuse jokes about her (especially when Greyscale is involved. crazy the balls some people have to be like that to total strangers).

Hooo long post. uhhh tl;dr:

making videos makes you eligible for audience demands,

i dont like simping cuz its gone further than just ocs in my experience,

people acting like this made me not wanna make animations,

saturate child abuse jokes still happen but a lot less. im much less tolerant of it from strangers

[wouldntyou-liketoknow]

Right back at you, buddy! 3, 5, 12, 13, and 19 for the behind-the-scenes ask game :D

~ @sammys-magical-au 🫶

(Thank you, Sammy~ 😊😊😊)

3 — Do you write fics from start to finish, or jump around?

When I officially started writing fanfics, I mainly jumped around with the plot until I was satisfied with how things went in the story. And that was years and years ago. More recently, I decided to try writing from start to finish, and honestly. . .I see it as sort of a bad habit? That's not to say it can't work for other writers, but it just seems to slow me down. So, I'm trying to unlearn it and go back to my old tricks.

Like, I tend to think of climax scenes first. You know, the really dramatic/important stuff because, well, it's dramatic/important. I feel that once I get those particular details out of the way, it'll be easier for me to write other stuff around it until the story is full. Plus, that type of format allows for random ideas to pop up and potentially make things even better.

5 — What is the perfect environment for you to write in?

Typically somewhere quiet with no distractions. I take meds for my autism and ADD, but I can still be tempted to focus on other things, thus procrastinating my stories. I don't like to, it just happens, and I'm still working on it.

When the weather is nice, I love riding my bike over to the library and just writing there for a few hours (so long as some disruptive asshole doesn't waltz into the areas that are CLEARLY MARKED FOR SILENT STUDY. It happens more frequently than I care to admit, but oh well. Not the end of the world).

But if I'm really focused/dedicated to the story at hand, then I can write pretty much anywhere. Just a year ago, I tagged along on a family vacation and seriously surprised myself via writing a full story for Goretober 2023 during the several-hour-long car ride. And I didn't feel carsick once, which was practically a miracle. I'd brought one of the cool-looking notebooks I'd collected on a whim, as well as a pencil and a lap-desk thing. I totally covered the entire backseat with eraser shavings, but it was worth it!

12 — Is there a trope you haven't written yet but really want to?

Hard to say; I've written with tons of tropes—I've definitely done so without even meaning to. If you've read my stuff, then it's probably very obvious which tropes are my personal favorites, but I still try to be open to new ones.

I suppose I haven't written Talking Animals, since the stories I've been focused on are somewhat set in reality (fictional, but not Fantasy, you know?). But I always loved seeing that when I was a kid. Since a lot of my fanegos have pets, perhaps I could write a snippet from said pets' perspective? I know it technically wouldn't count as them talking, but it'd be pretty close, right?

13 — Is there a trope you wouldn't write if it was the last trope on Earth?

It's a tie between two tropes, actually: Minority Character Dies First, and The Pure and The Promiscuous.

The former is completely stupid and racist/ableist/etc., and I don't understand how or why it's still being used in some movies or books today.

The latter is more complex, since it's typically used in romantic scenarios, which I don't write very often anyway. But I still hate it because it just seems insulting to the characters. Like, I can understand the appeal of having one character teach things to an inexperienced character, but the way I've seen it handled almost always leads to the character on the receiving end being infantilized or dumbed-down. Which is bullshit, because the character deserves more depth and thought than that!

19 — Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why?

Maybe this is obvious, but fanegos are the easiest for me to write! True, sometimes I struggle a bit, since I want to have a balance of originality and a clear tie to the content-creator the fanego was inspired by. But otherwise, I make the rules. Canon egos also aren't too tricky for me to write; I feel like I'm pretty decent at learning/feeling a character's quirks to make that character seem authentic in fanfic settings.

One thing that's undeniably difficult for me to write is reader-inserts. No shame to those who have requested reader-insert fics from me, because I love engaging with people on here. The problem I have with it just seems to be my own self-consciousness. You already know why I tend to avoid shipping in fanfics, and I guess that also counts as a factor.

[Ask Game]

[chaosmushroomsushi]

I hate myself

someone help lol

I wish I could stop doing this shit to myself

I know this sounds more human than most my posts

maybe I should do this more often

just speak to the void like I'd speak to myself

I do think in the poetic lines I write

but it's not every thought

obviously

no one thinks purely in poetry

and my god dude. I am so fucking lonely

and I'm so tired of my trauma

and my chronic pain, can my bones just fucking stop?

I need a break

I need to be loved

unrequited love is the worst

dont ask why this is more tagged than normal when out of everything this is one of the last things I'd want to actually be seen a lot

I'm just talking because I have no one else to talk to

I have two friends I really talk to

and one I've been in love with since I was fucking 12

typing while dyslexic sucks. I've broken auto correct some

I wish I had a partner

but even if I did it wouldn't matter

I'd still torture myself endlessly

because I've never been good enough and I never will be

no one will ever actually choose me

no matter what I do or how hard I try

I will never be what someone wants

or if I am it's just using me until I'm no longer useful

I hate that this might be my most relatable post

and at the same time appreciate that the realness is what will make it that

but I hate we're all so traumatized that we feel people are incapable of loving us

I hate that others understand

but dude seriously how do you learn that you are capable of being loved

that you're actually not worthless and your only point is being used by people for so many different reasons

my content is so fucking inconsistent

is this what it feels like to unmask? even a little?

I feel like it should involve less joint pain lmfao

all I'm doing is laying in bed cuddling a frog stuffed animal with anime playing in the background typing out a shitty post on tumblr

just writing out my thoughts

I miss being held

I say that but I've never actually been held

I've never had someone to lay with and cuddle

I have to slow down my typing so tumblr doesnt lag which is stupid

stupid adhd

the mlm flag is so fucking pretty

I'm supposed to be asleep

I changed what anime was on so I didnt miss stuff so I could sleep

I need so much help

I have so much I need to talk to my therapist about already, it's been two days since my last session

how do I have more in 2 days than in the 2 weeks we couldn't meet

I mean its good but also what the fuck?

I miss him

I miss affection

fuck

I just

need to be held and loved

I hate life

if you read all this

why what mental illness do you have

dont forget food water and meds

any food counts even if you dont keep it down, protein shakes also count for either food or water but you can only choose one

ur still alive and that counts ❤ you did good kid

[tired-fandom-ndn]

Heyo! You ever read/watched trigun? A friend recently got me into it and I'm being hurt in the best way possible. Who thought "Shes smiled" could hurt so much. Love the story.

The tension between protagonist and antagonist (twins) is real and just Hurts. They care for eachother but also lowkey could kill eachother but also not? Its complicated. Love them a lot. Ship them hard too. It's funny how there is a tag on ao3 with "Knives (arguably canon) Breeding kink". Stampede (the new 2023 adaptation) really went places.

Also I had to take care of my brother for few hours today and 7 years old can be exhausting. So much questions. So much attention needed. He really wanted to help with cleaning the bathroom and making dinner (he watched pasta so it doesnt boil out). Hes handful but hes a sweet kid.

~Kakos anon

KAKOS ANON!! HI!!!

I've watched a couple episodes of the original Trigun but apparently there's a new anime out? And idk which one I'm supposed to watch so I'm just quietly twiddling my thumbs about it lmao

I've seen SO MUCH shipping content for those two and I'm usually not into twincest but I desperately want to watch it just for them. I just need to figure out which anime to watch lmao

I live with a child about that same age and it is so exhausting. Like I love her to bits but sometimes I just need to quietly sit in the bathroom with the door closed and pretend like I don't exist for a bit :')

[callofthedeepdarkvoid]

I'm going to vent now.

Disclaimer: We are talking about normal ass circumstances. Not super rare, sample size of one examples. Also don't tell me to ignore this because honestly I love to complain. This has zero bearing over my real life. Let's begin.

I really enjoy dog content, all the breeds and training and amazing skills. But holy FUCK. The online dog community is one of the most brutal, hostile, merciless places on the internet. The threats and name calling over incredibly innocuous things makes everyone involved seem batshit crazy. Comment sections with the most insane takes are either centered around 1) politics and 2) DOGS. I am very active in comment sections but I refuse to speak my mind or even joke about anything regarding dogs.

I saw a postpartum mom complaining for a 10 second video that her boxer can be loud and annoying when she's dealing with a newborn. If you saw the comments you would have thought she had butchered and cooked the family dog for dinner. "Then don't get a dog" as if your life won't change at all within a 15-20 year span. If you complain about your dog (in a none abusive way don't twist this shit) then you're a psychopath monster but if you decide it's too much and rehome them then you're also a psychopath monster. There is zero room for real constructive criticism or growth because everyone is so quick to scream, "Abuser!! Rot in hell! You shouldn't have a dog! Poor dog! Fuck you!".. how is anyone supposed to get advice if that's the knee-jerk reaction..

And if I see one more person talk about how they would save a dog over a child I'm going lose my mind. "I'd save a strange dog over a strange baby any day" is a real comment that stuck with me forever (and had likes and people agreeing, mind you). I've seen mothers say they love the family dog more than their kids?? I really hope you're joking! I've seen people compare dogs in a shelter to CHILDREN IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM. That's an absolutely repulsive comparison.

Ya know, I get annoyed with humans, I see the destruction and the hate, but we did NOT get this far by prioritizing literal domestic animals over our neighbors. And if you find yourself comparing your neighbors to animals or LOWER than animals that is deeply unsettling and should be addressed. Because historically, that language and line of thinking is very dangerous.

I seriously hope this behavior is exclusively online because it must be terrifying for people that want a dog or to be involved in the community. People shouldn't feel so intimidated by a community that they never even try. I don't know why it's so hard to be kind and extend grace.

Also to be fair, other pet communities do not freak me out like this.

[litsnobconfessions]

A Year of Animation Day 29: LoK S1E9-12

Date: January 29, 2025

Day: 29

Content Watched: The Legend of Korra, Season 1, Episodes 8-12

Year: 2012-2014

Rating: TV-PG

Run Time: 92 mins.

When I reviewed ATLA, I talked about the framing used in the shots. I haven't noticed as much in Korra, perhaps because there's less, or perhaps because I've been inattentive. But there are some scenes in these episodes where characters are framed by tunnels. We also have more great facial expressions--Lin when Pema is going into labor and Iroh's when he finds out that Bolin is not a metalbender. I also really like the camera angles when Korra is sliding down the snow after she escapes from Tarlock.

My favorite bit of animation is probably when Korra is bending underwater and comes up in a water spout. It just looks cool. But I also like how Iroh uses his firebending as a sort of parachute to keep himself in the air (and considering he's played by Dante Bosco, hearing him thank Aang's statue for being there for him is perfect.)

I do feel like the emptiness of the city is most apparent in these scenes. There are ambulances and people fighting in mechtanks, but no civilians. And I can't help but think that if this was the MCU or something similar, there would be be people running and screaming. I don't think we got a line about evacuation, so it just didn't make sense.

My favorite episode of these four is "Skeletons in the Closet" because backstory! I feel like the villains in Korra already have more nuance and development than the villains in ATLA. Sure, what Amon is carrying out is horrific, but I feel like it adds a lot to understand how he reached this point and how people like Yakone really can use bending to oppress others. But his goal reminds me of the story of Herrison Bergeron. While equality is noble, eliminating differences to get there may be too great a cost.

I do have to wonder though, if bending was some point an elite thing. After all, we've seen that it runs in the family of the firelord. This may have contributed to a history of opression by benders over non-benders. Furthermore, in Korra's day most of the police force seem to be metalbenders. Is this a requirement? Does it make it easier to get in? Is there an elite force of police that are all metalbenders? This could be problematic and be part of the issues that Amon's supporters are seeing and are not being addressed by the government. 

Also, bending seems to be partially genetic. So far, most of the benders we've met have other benders in their family. Which begs the question: would Amon's plan even work? Or would all these people who had their bending removed just give birth to kids that inherited the gene? I mean, the reason there are no more airbenders is because there was no one around to pass on the gene.

I also like that we get a flashback that includes both Sokka and adult Aang on his air scooter! Furthermore, I like how they show how Sokka's interactions with all these amazing benders prepared him for a leadership role. This flashback did make me realize, however, that this device is used considerably less than it was in ATLA. It also doesn't have the same type of shifts in animation that ATLA did. I'm guessing that's because it's supposed to be more of an "adult" show (it does have a higher rating, after all), but I think it loses something in the process.

The scariest part of these episodes for me was when Korra was locked in the box in Tarlock's cabin. I'm somewhat claustrophobic, and the idea of being locked in a box like this is absolutely terrifying. It was terrifying for me when it happened to Sandry in The Will of the Empress (hi Reading Circle fam!), and I'm glad that Korra at least has light. I also noticed that she uses cleverness to get out of a jam here--by hanging from the bars using her bracelet to make sure she doesn't get zapped. And it made me realize that I don't think this is a theme in Korra the way it was in ATLA either. I mean, we've seen it, but not as much. It makes sense. Korra's entire character is kind of about brute forcing her way through stuff, and she said at the beginning that she's the opposite of air, which is the element of the "trickity-trick," but the emphasis on clever solutions in ATLA made it feel like you didn't have to be someone special to get past a problem. After all, only one person can be the Avatar.

Korra also had to be good at bending early on because of that final scene, when Avatar Aang tells her that "when we hit our lowest point is when we are most open to change." Korra's journey (as we shall continue to see) is all about her identity as the Avatar. She's known she was the Avatar since she was tiny, and therefore, doesn't know who she is outside of that identity. So her lowest point is losing that power. Spoilers, it won't be the first time. But kind of the same as when she started using airbending moves in the pro-bending arena, I wish we could get inside her head to see what she unlocked when she started airbending. It occurs to me that Korra's story would make a really good novel. It's, ironically, a more introspective story than Aang's (or maybe just the characters don't talk as openly), so a novel format would allow us to better see inside her head, and it could pace things a little more leisurely (as a bonus, it would be easier to make Republic City feel lived in.)

Finally, I mentioned yesterday how Korra tells Mako to care for Asami, and here we get the reverse--Asami gives up Mako for Korra. And it's messy, yes, but they're still able to stay friends and be on the same team. Maybe it's just easier to do that when you're in a battle for all of bending-kind, but I really like the maturity the characters show here, and I think it's something really worthwhile to put into a kids' show.

[rosemarythegoose]

LooneyFan1990

LooneyFan1990 was a… Very weird YouTube channel to say the least. The person behind the channel, known as Josiah Long, would only post on weekends, posting 3 videos every Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, if the username is anything to go by, he's an obvious Looney Tunes fan, with Bugs Bunny as his profile picture. His content usually ranged from straight up clips from Looney Tunes shorts, to weird animation parodies he did of Looney Tunes. Usually, his animations were surrealist and/or edgy retellings of known Looney Tunes episodes. Think Yellow Submarine meets VivziePop. Let's just say the amount of swears won't fly with YouTube nowadays.

I myself found the channel through a friend on Discord, who I'll keep anonymous out of respect for their boundaries. I've always found Josiah's content weird due to its surrealist nature and edgy dark humour. One joke in particular was the KKK shooting at the darkness of a cave because the dark is the colour black. I hate to admit it, but I laughed. It served as good commentary as to how stupid and insane those KKK guys are.

One parody in particular… Traumatized me when I was 13. It was called… “Elmer Season”. The sky was an acid trip with a giant eye as the sun and the trees looked like they were melting. It started Bugs and Daffy, like a typical Elmer Fudd cartoon would. They were sitting on a log, smoking weed.

Bugs: “Mannn, doc… I'm so sick of Elmer Fudd hunting us.”

Daffy: “Yeah, me too… It's duck season one minute, wabbit season the next. It's like we're both at risk.”

Bugs: “I know. It's fuckin' me up…”

Daffy: “Me too, man…”

Elmer in this parody looked… Weird. He has a sharp tooth in his mouth, with a Slipknot shirt on. But those aren't the only parts. He looked a little disproportionate in height, shorter than usual. His nose, for whatever reason, was purple. His eyes were also yellow. Bugs and Daffy didn't look that much better. They looked skinnier than usual, and Bugs had an Acid Bath shirt, with Daffy sporting a Metallica one. Bugs’ grey fur looked like a darker grey than usual too.

Both Bugs and Daffy turn to Elmer.

Elmer: “Be vewy vewy quiet~ I'm hunting wabbits~”

Bugs rolled his eyes and said this.

Bugs: “Oh shit… It's Elmer.”

Elmer: “That's wight~ And it's wabbit season~”

Bugs: “Actually, bitch, it's duck season.”

Daffy: “Oh fuck no! It's wabbit season!”

Bugs and Daffy do their usual routine of “duck season wabbit season” like in actual Looney Tunes. It continues until they swap.

Bugs: “Wabbit season.”

Daffy: “Duck season! Fire!”

Elmer fires his gun. Now, in normal Looney Tunes, Daffy’s bill would be in a different position after Daffy gets blasted. Here, in this parody, Daffy's face gets blasted to gore, horrifying Bugs half to death.

Bugs: “DAFFY-”

Daffy's blood was rainbow coloured with sparkles, and his skull was that of a human. Let me repeat that; Not a duck, but a human skull. A real photo of one in fact. Watching that, 13 years old me was shocked. I've watched Looney Tunes with my uncle before, but I've never seen anything like this at the time. I mean, nowadays, I'm obviously desensitized to stuff like this in animation, but kid me was never the same. Elmer laughed coldly as he said this.

Elmer: “Well, wooks wike it was duck season after all! Well, see ya, siwwy bitches!”

Elmer leaves the screen as Bugs stares, horrified. Daffy just made slurping and gurgling noises at Bugs in response before pulling out a meatball sub, also a real photo, seemingly offering it to Bugs. Bugs' eye twitches as he whimpers out the words, “That… wasn't… supposed to happen…”

Daffy just tilts his head, seemingly confused. Bugs just stares at the screen for a few seconds before he shakes and smiles impossibly wide. I'll tell you, kid me was confused. Remember when I said I was never the same after I saw Daffy get absolutely gored? Well… That wasn't the most traumatic part… This was. This was much worse than that.

Bugs Bunny, the icon, the very face of WB, eating Elmer's organs, berating him for hurting Daffy, blaming himself for it too. Elmer’s only responses were moans of pain as Bugs continued his gorey feast.

Bugs: “WHY DID YOU DO IT?! WHY DID I HAVE TO PULL OUR USUAL ROUTINE?! I'M SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT FOR LETTING DAFFY GET HURT THAT WAY!!! WHY DIDN'T I BE THE ONE TO GET SHOT?! WHY?! WHY?! FUCKING WHY?!”

I did not believe what I was seeing! I felt frozen and unable to move. I could only stare as Bugs continued his crashout. Bugs stared at the screen again after his blood, gorey feast, blood soaking his fur, breathing heavy. Bugs had that impossible smile again after a while, his pupils very tiny. The only sound? A very weird version of the Looney Tunes theme song, and backwards laughing.

After seeing that, I couldn't take it. I X’d off the window making it go away, and began crying hard. My mum ran up to my room and asked me what was wrong. When I showed her the video, she was horrified. I had to have my mum watch me as I used the computer for a while since the incident.

Nowadays? My Internet access is more or less unrestricted now. When I tried to search up “LooneyFan1990” out of curiosity, the channel was gone, either because YouTube caught up to it, or because Josiah deleted it for personal reasons. Part of me felt a little sad, cuz a part of my childhood was gone, but a part of me also felt like I was free, because I can no longer be subjected to the video that gave me nightmares as a kid. One question still lingers though… Why did Josiah make this?

[wemlygust]

I am totally unqualified to have an opinion on this, but my opinion on this is that stopping the kid entirely and directly will be difficult. This approach risks causing them to seek workarounds (e.g. making and uploading videos at a friend's house or at school, etc) and/or hide potential problems that they may encounter while doing this behind your back (e.g. if something happens online that they're having trouble with, like lots of online hate comments or sexual comments, but they don't tell any adult because that would get them in trouble/end their internet escapades). I think it'd most likely be easier to tell the kid what you DO want them to do, and maybe even get involved yourself in what you do want them to do, rather than just telling them what you want them to NOT do. Giving them other hobbies/activities to get involved in, as someone already said, can be one way to do that. But if they're really dead set on "social media influencing", and you can't manage to distract them with something else, then you can at least can shape what "social media influencing" looks like in practice. You could for example do something like: Give the kid the list of rules they have to follow, while making sure to explain the reasons for them. This could be things like: don't share your real name, don't share your address, don't film the outside of your house, don't show your face, don't show your family's faces, etc. Whatever you think is needed to make uploading a video to the internet safe. Second, make it so you be the person who does the uploading. This way, you can see each video (or post, I suppose, if not video - I've just been assuming they probably mean video) before it goes up, and catch problems. Be the beta tester/quality control, as it were. And/or maybe be the editor, or collaborate with the kid on the editing. Third, help them find ways to do the thing they want to do (make internet content and "be an influencer") within the bounds of the rules. Along these lines, I've seen popular youtubers before who use simple animations or sock puppets as an avatar. Vtubers invent entire fake personas, and use animated avatars, in part precisely because this hides all their real personal information while also allowing them to "be an internet personality", tell stories, etc. I think if you can find a way to control this that looks more like helping them do the thing (within the bounds of the rules you set) and spending time with them, rather than just like you declaring that they shalt not do the thing, you'll probably get better results in the end. If you can find a way to make it a fun thing you're doing together, or that you're enabling somehow (maybe "I'll buy you a nice mic, but you have to promise [xyz] so that I can be sure you're safe"), then they're much less likely to have the urge to rebel or a feeling like you just don't understand or don't support them. Which I think is especially important here because... it's really, really, really easy to find ways to be put stuff on the internet if that's what you want to do. A parent can't follow their kid around 24/7, just practically speaking. Their friends and classmates will have phones and internet connections. So trying to just forbid this flat out could create conflict between the two of you without actually preventing them from doing the thing, and while assuring that if they find a way to do the thing anyway they'll hide it and have no supervision. This is just what I think, though. Again, I am not any kind of an expert. Feel free to disregard if you wish.

I have no idea if you might be a good person to ask this, but I know you are an intelligent and educated person with small kids whom I have certain parenting values in common with, and also a much larger following than I do, so here goes. My child DESPERATELY wants to be a social media influencer. They are only 9, and will get devices/access/accounts to do this ANY TIME SOON OVER MY DEAD BODY. But they don't believe anything I tell them about the dangers of the internet and why you have to be super careful and not, you know, tell everyone in the world all the intimate details of your life.

I'd like to find a kids book that touches on these themes, perhaps a kind of cautionary tale? That I could give them that they'd take as more reliable evidence than their dumb old parent, but the only books I can find like that are Definitely For Adults. Would you happen to know of any appropriate for tweens?

That’s very kind of you, and I’m sorry that I don’t have books to hand. It’s such a challenging area to think about and you have my sympathy!

Nine is around the developmental age where we’re told that the opinions of children’s peers start mattering more to them, when constructing their personality, than their family’s, with this absorption apparently peaking around age 15 before they start looking for external influences/ actively choosing parental influences to discard (although this is fluid, and kind of citation-needed.) anyway, all models are flawed but some are useful. The idea is that it’s a natural, inevitable and welcome part of growth to start favouring other people’s opinions far more highly than your parents’. This is where a lot of scariness starts, because you have a lot less reassurance that you can do your actual legal and ethical duty (looking after your kid).

And while lots of people on the internet will instinctively take the side of the 9-year-old, and say that one should not exercise any guidance over their mental landscape at all, and should let them form their own opinions, with the good judgment that they have apparently developed magically - the entire point of parenting is to help a young person build good judgment, and it does not happen magically. If you don’t help them build their own judgment, children tend to absorb the Default Culture around them; which is composed of whatever blend of commercialism, gender essentialism, and emotional illiteracy is prevalent in the brain of the most controlling trashbag parent who sends THEIR kid to school to bully everyone else.

So parents do have to be the grownup.

It could be worth working on this with the parents of their best friends, or with their school (our school does a lot of Online Safeguarding Assemblies). It could be worth asking a cool young friend of the family to have a chat.

If they’re already interested in online material, online courses or videos aimed at their age might be more interesting and seem more up-to-date than a book. The internet has certainly moved on from “never tell your age in a chat room” and kids will be very aware of that.

A sneaky way for parents to recalibrate the influence of - well, influencers - is to get the kids involved in absorbing in-person activities, like Scouts, horses, rock climbing, etc. Giving the kid an absorbing new facet of identity, and a peer group who reward each other for achievement, often fills the “I want approval from OUTSIDE MY GROUP, I want REAL approval from THE INTERNET” cup. Of course, this is often a very expensive option, depending on the interests; however, I am a judgement free zone for that, and am of the opinion that this is what money is for.

It could be worth finding out what content the kid is watching, and sees themselves producing, and stress that CONTENT is the point, not that there is a camera (you’re not giving them a camera) and an audience (there will not actually be an audience). My 8-year-old is pretty into stop motion and makes a lot of small films with Lego (that somehow never end up online).

It’s very possible that if you drill down, your kid would find this need entirely scratched by recording themselves playing Minecraft, spending 6 days learning enough video editing to produce a small clip of them exploding a pig, which you will have to watch 345 times and put on a WhatsApp group chat for them, and that will be entirely the end of it.

Honestly, kids working out that they get pretty much zero views, and that influencer culture is entirely algorithmic, is probably going to be a sufficient bummer to deter kids from posting more than one thing in the future.

I wish you the best of luck finding resources and people are of course welcome to share any that they found helpful.