#not gonna lie I'm starting to love this trend of 'for people who don't get it: [blatantly wrong information]'

[humanbeanisnotamused]

i am still losing my shit about "afab owned = terfs"; are you out of your fucking minds

[front-facing-pokemon]

I just found this blog so I'm jumping aboard the plushie bandwagon.

First we got Absol. (i feel like maybe i should've taken a closer-up picture but it's the face sooo)

Then a Wooloo

And, saving best for last, this Leafeon plush I own... of which I swear on my life is official merch.

I also have some more eeveelutions (plus an eevee and a few more) but: 1. I didn't want to send too many. 2. Eeveelutions are more popular so I wanted to give some other people the chance to submit their own. 3. I don't know where my Pikachu and Snivy plushies are cuz I own too many stuffed animals.

Only reason I submitted Leafeon was so I could show off this ~masterpiece~ of a plushie I own. And it's face isn't the only thing wrong with it too lol. Also I just noticed I accidentally had one of the ears hanging back but I'm too lazy to go take another photo but i hope this amuses you nonetheless.

ALRIGHT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF YOU AS I'VE BEEN OUT WITH MY FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS HUH

let's start with these guys. beautiful. wonderful. i do not believe that that leafeon is official merch. this statement is baffling to me. welcome to the front-facing pokémon family. i love the eyes on that absol and wooloo is one of my faves. i was rather obsessed with it when it first came out and have a whole wooloo tag on my main blog because of it. though i guess i cleared that whole thing out recently so i don't anymore

let's get the nose ratings out of the way:

↑ this is a lie. 10/10 chespin

it's very wide and also 10/10 you're being too harsh. merry day to you too

circular face indeed. did i already post this one? if i did you can have it again

clodsire be upon ye. clodsire fans this is your treat until gen 9

this is a trend now. i think tumblr just crunched this image to hell for some reason so here's what the text says:

"Felt like joining the others for front facing pokeplushies [images] I have more pokemon but its early morning and these are the plushies that are easy to access"

i have not but i imagine "a moment" has long passed by now. my apologies but apparently today was an important day or something? idk

YEAH it's super unbelievably fucked up. i think i kinda remember the circumstance being a bit dire so everyone else was more worried about either 1. protagonist getting stomped on brutally or 2. saving the world from kyurem / the bittercold. i was totally under the impression that he was dead in that moment but i guess the characters may have known that he would just come back? i seem to vaguely remember partner being surprised that he came back and being like "but we watched you die :OOO" but maybe i'm misremembering that. i do create a lot of pmd lore on my own time so i have a hard time telling the difference between canon and fanon sometimes

two a day makes the world go round! this blog started when i started college, paused for 80% of my college career and now has started back up and i just graduated college a week ago. i would say "how time flies" but it has been a very, very long year

i've said it before and i'll say it again: gen 6 is my favorite gen, so you'll be seeing lots of favor for this gen from me in the tags i'm sure. maybe gen 6 is my excuse to start doing other things here. like that stream i keep talking about

if they put meloetta as a little obscure puzzle thang in sv, i'm sure they'll do something for genesect. i hope. at least for keldeo probably. genesect i'm not sure is very popular, unfortunately, outside of the tumblr crowd. if the general public's opinion on genesect is favorable, then maybe

okay and then i tried to scroll down further in my screenshots for more asks and saw the wobbly will smith in a hospital bed Gimme a Hug, Man that i copied from the "i get a little bit genghis kanghis" post so that's it. to everyone who christmases: merry it. it is today. although it's basically over by now so! merry boxing day for tomorrow if i don't say anything tomorrow. but i probably will. now i'm gonna go queue up today's 'mons because i haven't done it yet today. see you all in a few weeks when those post

[alrightbuckaroo]

Hello! I have a nice ask week ask for you: If you could write an AU in which Carlos and the 126 became the characters in Winnie the Pooh (ie. Freaky Friday/13 going on 30 style), who would take on the personality of what Winne the Pooh character and why?

Oh hello CIG this is a such lovely and fitting question!

I apologize for the full on essay you're about to get, but a ridiculous amount of thought ended up going into this hahah

Owen, without a doubt, would be Tigger. He's very energetic, can border on chaotic, but is also filled to the brim with optimism. They're both also extremely confident, though that can be to the detriment of those around them.

I don't know why, but I feel like Judd would be Eeyore. Maybe not to an exact T, and the comparison might be more apt for s1 Judd, but I think they're both very methodical about how they do things (I can not believe I just called EEYORE methodical oh my gosh).

While I don't think Judd is nearly as pessimistic and sad, I think they're both more a bit grounded in reality than the people (or animals) around tend to be.

I'm going to continue the trend of I don't know why I think this, but in my head, Carlos is Rabbit. Both very practical, well meaning but can lose sight of what it means to be a team. Not necessarily in a bad way, but just in the sense that sometimes, you need help; you can't do it all yourself.

I also feel like Rabbit reacting to the other animals of the Hundred Acre Wood getting into messes is how Carlos feels when the 126 tries to solve crimes without him or any police presence there.

Paul is Owl to me. I don't think he's nearly as egotistical as Owl can be sometimes (I get it, he's old and wise, you're gonna start patting yourself on the back at some point), but I do think they share a lot of other similarities. I think they're both very friendly and welcoming, and Owl's long-winded speeches reminds me of Paul breaking down everything he's noticed.

TK is Winnie the Pooh and I like to think that the way Winnie the Pooh feels about honey is how TK feels about love. Again, not the most direct counter-part, but they're both so lovable and loving.

Also, I feel like the other animals are always getting Winnie out of scrapes and really where does the line between constantly getting stuck in some type of hole and ending up in a coma begin and end?

Kanga is a hard one because I feel like it's a toss up between Nancy and Grace. I feel like they're both so similar to her and kind of in the same ways. Kind hearted, well meaning and oh so patient. It's funny, I feel like this is the one that makes the most sense, and for both of them!

Mateo is absolutely Roo. Energetic, bright-eyed and a bit green. Happy to jump (no pun intended, well, kind of intended) head first into anything even if it can be a little out of their reach.

Nancy and Marjan are hard to find similarities to, I'm not going to lie! I don't think there's any character that really captures Marjan's badassness enough, especially since all I'm left with is Piglet hahah.

I think Marjan might also be in the camp with Owen and be more aligned with Tigger than anyone else. Again, full of energy but can be a bit chaotic if left to their devices.

Nancy maybe has the smallest lit bits of sprinkling of Piglet, but only when it comes to playing softball. Other than that, I think she might be a bit more aligned with Rabbit in the sense she can be very practical and pull TK back down to Earth when he needs it.

[makeroomforthejolyghost]

while i'm on the subject of things that annoy me about disability discourse

i don't love the trend of disparaging posts that say to an implicitly able-bodied audience, "you should support this innovation that benefits disabled people, because it has cool benefits for other people too!"--

you know, the trend of like, "we shouldn't have to convince abled people that we deserve these things, shouldn't set the precedent that everything is For Them and only incidentally for us" &c. &c.

because like. yeah, it'd be pretty cool if there existed not a single person to whom "this cool thing can help you do x" made a more convincing argument than "this cool thing improves the lives of people you've never met" but like. that's now how humans work? different people will respond to different arguments. hell, the same person can read the same argument on two different days and respond to different parts of it each time

so it just seems kinda. pointlessly idealistic, i guess? to criticize an argument for the fact it has fail-safes, redundancies

especially because this same or at least a similar crowd can usually appreciate the position that, like. it benefits disabled people to popularize an item meant to serve their needs by selling it also to abled people, since a. that makes the item cheaper and easier to find, and b. it means disabled people are less likely to feel Visibly Weird when using it

but it seems like a lot of people are only comfortable w/ that concept in the abstract? which, hh

to be fair? if one of my also-young classmates started using a cane, and then when i brought it up in small talk with them i learned that they only used it to make an Aesthetic Statement or whatever. not gonna lie, ttttthat would disappoint and embarrass me quite a lot? but.

it would embarrass me in the same way i'd be embarrassed if i tried to small-talk with a classmate about their pokemon shirt, but when i asked them if they were looking forward to scarlet and violet they said they don't actually play pokemon anymore, they just liked the shirt for its nostalgia factor

i would definitely have to talk myself into thinking of it as a more important kind of disappointment than that, you know? rather than just a difference of degree. which--i don't think i'm immune to doing that! depending on my mood i absolutely might want to take comfort in the rationalization that this sensation becomes Different, more special and important, when it's about a mobility aid than when it's about a video game

but i don't think i endorse seeing it that way. in reality, i think it would embarrass me more only because using a cane already makes me self-conscious, and playing pokemon doesn't.

and idk maybe i'm just low-key fearmongering or something but when i see this "don't let abled people get away with only thinking an item is cool if they can use it too" sentiment, i feel like that's the norm they're encouraging:

the norm that Fake Disabled Girl (i.e., able-bodied person using a cane as a fashion accessory) would be a more important and objectionable phenomenon than Fake Nerd Girl (i.e., person in pokemon shirt who doesn't play pokemon)

[buckybarnesdiaries]

white wolf: “the story of a first date”

first part — second part — third part — fourth part (soon)

© @capsgrantrogers

bucky barnes x reader. ⎢ masterlist.

Sam helps Bucky to ask you out for a date and it's a disaster, but he gets it.

word count: 3.147 words. (not sorry, it worth it, i promise!!!)

warnings/tags: none. bucky being the cutest gentleman in the whole wide world, and sam keeping an eye on him.

author notes: as it happened with the first part, i'm not really happy with the result but i had so much fun writing it and i think that that made this writing perfect, so i hope you enjoy it as much as i enjoyed it. none of my stories contain reader’s body descriptions to be inclusive.

Join the tag list here.

The car stopped because of a red light, a moment where Sam took the advantage to turn at his copilot, glancing at Bucky from top to bottom in complete silence. Analyzing him. The soldier tilted his head raising an eyebrow, showing his curiosity about what the hell he was doing.

“What are you gonna wear, uh?” Sam asked then, maintaining a serious gesture on his face.

“Clothes”. Unworriedly, he put back his eyes to the front window.

“You probably look good naked, but that’s not what I’m talking ‘bout”.

“Just… some jeans, a shirt, and a jacket”.

“And shoes, I guess”.

Bucky turned on his seat towards his friend, squinting confused for the interrogatory. “Who cares?”

“About the shoe—”

“About the clothes”.

“Man, it’s a date! Do you wan’her to remember this night as the night Bucky Barnes shown up as a Russian bum?”

“I’m from Brookl—”.

“Yeah, but you look like mother Russia just spat you to the world”.

Sam rolled his eyes as a sigh escaped his mouth. Shaking his head, he took the next corner to the fifth avenue changing the planes they had in mind. A good outfit meant a good date. A good date meant happy soldier. Happy soldier meant no trouble. See the point? So the Falcon would take care of the Winter Soldier today. If only Steve could see them. He’d feel proud, that was for sure. They visited a couple of shops, finally letting Sam take control over the situation and pick the clothes he would wear for you. He had good taste, everybody knew that, and Bucky couldn’t complain about his choices.

Even less when the distinctive black suit dressed his anatomy to perfection. Spinning around in front of the mirror, he felt different. He looked different. He looked good, but not as he’d like. Holding the bucket of flowers once he was ready, Bucky left his apartment straight to the garage under the building. He was nervous, he couldn’t lie. But he had that sensation inside him that made him believe everything would be okay for the first time since he woke up.

The road didn’t take him more than ten minutes, not really worried about the time given that he had planned to arrive a little sooner than accorded. Life seemed like it was smiling at him, finding a parking lot in the same entrance. Landing his blue eyes on the rearview mirror, Bucky took a last view at his reflection, brushing back his hair as he used to do in the forties. He grabbed then the flowers he bought for you and stepped out of the car, trying to remember the advice Sam gave him. Resting his back against the copilot's door, he waited impatiently for you.

“Hey, you”.

His heart stopped for a second, raising his orbs to the man coming closer. Before he could react, the man in question tucked a hand beneath Bucky's jacket. Patting him down.

“What the hell are you doing, Sam?” He questioned irritatedly, slapping his hands and causing him to laugh.

“Just checking you didn't bring the notecards again”.

“Yeah, very funny…”

“Man, look at you! Should be illegal to look this good, uh?” Sam helped him to put on the jacket again, receiving another slap from his friend.

“Don't touch me”. Scowling, he fixed the flowers in his left hand, wanting them to be perfect. “Anyway, what are you doing here?”

“Watch you till (Y/N) comes. Lemme take a picture, I feel like a proud father on his son's prom day”.

“You're not m— Get the hell outta here, Sam”.

“Fighting again, kids? Should I call your mama?”

As Bucky heard you scoff, his soul abandoned. His pupils dilated. His legs trembled. And he could swear that everything disappeared around him when he watched you going downstairs, swinging your hips unconsciously sensual, with a black dress fitting you like a glove. If this morning Bucky wanted to marry you, now he wanted to spend the rest of his life by your side. Your makeup was on point, just like your hair, not being too formal but enough to run him out of words.

“Steve is off-duty, so, what 'you gonna do, soldier?” Sam mocked, an instant before noticing how pale Bucky was. He couldn't help but slap the back of his neck to bring him back to reality.

“I, uh… flowers… I bought you…”

“You're not Yoda”. Sam whispered as the other offered you the present.

“C'mon, stop messing with him”. You clicked your tongue, right before you drew an adorable smile on your lips, leaning to kiss Bucky's cheek. “Thank you”.

“You're welcome”. He just answered, responding to your same gesture while opening the door for you.

“Such a gentleman…” His playful murmur made Bucky frown and nudge him, trying to stop him from saying anything else and ruin the occasion.

“I'll bring him back at ten”. You joked palming his chest.

“The point is to not bring him back to me”. Sam cackled, shaking his head and taking a step back.

Once in the car turning on the engine, James joined the road after checking you were good. Never in his life he had driven with so much care as if he was carrying a bomb by his side. He set on the radio, not really knowing how to start a conversation, watching you through the corners of his eyes caressing the flowers over your lap. No one had bought you them before, thinking it was a thing that only happened in movies. But then, you met Bucky. An old-fashioned man, making yourself wonder how he was the same the news used to say he was a cold-blood assassin.

“What have you thought?”

“Uh?”

“About the date”.

“Sam told me about a rest—”.

“Okay, okay, Bucky. Pull over”. You couldn't help but burst into laughter, as his face was pale again thinking you were about to step out and end the date.

“Sorry, did I…?”

You swiveled at him on your seat, kissing your teeth and squinting inevitably. Studying his face you knew how afraid he was, and it was the most adorable reaction ever. You could have kissed at that precise instant, but it'd have been a little awkward.

“Where do you wanna go?”

The question didn't take him by surprise, actually. He was still getting used to doing the things he desired and not what other people asked him to do. The restaurant was a fancy place with a distinguished menu according to what his friend explained to him, but it wasn't the kind of site that he'd normally go, or that represented him.

“When I, uh… came back, I discovered that my favorite burger joint in Brooklyn was still standing”. Bucky told you, facing you after finishing the sentence. “They prepare the best burgers of the whole New York and you can decide what ingredients add, and the bread, and the kind of meat. And it still having the original decoration”.

You reclined on your seat, just staring at him talking with that kind of burning passion about something he loved. Puckering your lips, you nodded your chin. The fact that not only he wanted to take you to a different place, but a place that he used to go to when he was young made butterflies flutter within your belly. Bucky wanted to make you part of his future, but also his past. That made the difference.

“Sounds good to me”.

“Really?” He inquired funnily confused, wrinkling his nose and forehead.

“Really”.

The shine that appeared within his eyes made you place a hand on his cheek to urge him to turn his head and drive again. An innocent gesture that provoked him a lively giggle. If that man knew all the things he caused you, he'd have taken the step months ago.

As the night went on and Bucky was losing his shyness, he talked to you about the good old times. Before HYDRA, before the winter, before the war. When he was a kid with no worries more than keeping Steven safe from the bullies. It was nice to disconnect from the present, from the gazes around the two of you, from the back talks, only enjoying your dinner and your conversation. You talked to Bucky about how was to be raised on a farm, surrounded by open fields and animals, to join the army years later. Without going into details that could make him remember the old bad times, you told him about what you used to do, your missions, and how you were wounded in combat after being shot and fell from a helicopter.

Bucky felt confident enough to compare it with how everything started. Falling from a wagon to the snow. But as soon as his voice became lower, you couldn't help but hold his gloved left hand and intertwine your fingers with his. And you could swear you felt him shaking for a brief moment because of your touch.

“So, what, uh? It was a forties trend to jump into the void?” You tried to joke, wanting to feel relaxed.

“Yeah, seems like”. He mumbled curling up his lips. “Listen… I really want to… open up, and I know it’s easier with you because… y’know, you work doing this”.

“Hold on, Bucky”. You laughed waving your free hand, shaking your chin as you closed your eyes for a second. “That has sounded really bad”.

“Wait, wh— Oh, shit, no, no, no”.

For the first time since you walked into the small restaurant, his laughter was lively, unworriedly, honest.

“Take it easy, just kidding”. You grinned, nailing your elbow on the table to rest your cheek on your palm. “But… this isn’t work. We’re not doing therapy, we’re… knowing each other. And I don’t want to pressure you to talk about something you don’t feel prepared to, okay?”

“I know”.

Bucky couldn’t believe how much you seemed to empathize with him, not judging his acts nor his past, not deciding that the date wasn't a good idea nor running away. He couldn’t believe the less importance you were giving to his arm made of vibranium; usually, people used to freak out, to feel frightened somehow about the things it could do. But you were there, fingers playing with the others as if it was the most common and natural act in the world. And, for you, it was. That was you in all your best. Considerate, smart, patient, lovingly. The rainbow after a stormy life. Everything that Bucky needed in his life to start from scratch and be his better version. A shoulder to lean on and a reason to come back home.

“Was afraid of asking you out”. He confessed after some seconds admiring each other. Any person closer would say you had been dating for a long, long time by the way you had to keep silent and not feel uncomfortable.

“Why?”

“You came from war and made your world a place to live. I’m still stuck there”.

“I have my own red flags”. Clicking your tongue, you rolled your eyes.

“Oh, really? Please, surprise me”. Bucky teased you sitting up on his chair, not loosening the gentle grip around your left hand.

“I put the milk before cereals”.

“Oh… Oh, God”. He let out, pretending to be horrified and running a hand on his face. “Goddammit… you’re a monster, ma’am. I don’ think this is going to work”.

“Excuse me?” You chuckled, parting your lips in a breath while leaning over the table to palm his right shoulder. “It wasn’t me who added lettuce to the burger”.

“What? What’s the matter with that, uh?”

“Lettuce kills the savor!”

“Y’know what kills the savor? Ketchup. Today, people use ketchup literally with everything… And that’s disgusting”.

“Okay! Next time, no lettuce, and… no ketchup”.

“That’s a big challenge”. Bucky scoffed tenderly squeezing your hand between his cold fingers.

“I’ll live, Sergeant Barnes”. You narrowed your eyes and crinkled your nose at the same time.

“I was talking about a second date, not about your issue with ketchup”.

“So was I”.

A goofy smirk appeared on Bucky’s face, biting his inner cheek as he assented with his head. Seeing you again, knowing that you wanted it —that you wanted him—, made him trust Dr. Raynor’s words. He was having a second chance to do the right thing. To live and to be.

You wanted to add something else when the clock in his wrist started to beep. Curious, you raised an eyebrow. “We have to leave”.

“Why?”

“Sam told me you work tomorrow at eight, which means you’ll get up at six and a half… maybe seven. While I pay, take you home, all that stuff… I don’ want you to be tired in the morning”.

Bucky would never stop to amaze you, looking up to him in silence to contemplate how he called the bartender and beckoned his free hand to ask for the bill.

“What…? What are you doing?” He chuckled embarrassed, taking his beer to sip.

You cleared your throat when you realized how stupid you should look right now, shaking your head as you freed his cold hand from yours to find unlock your phone as soon as the guy brought the dataphone.

“Hey, no, no. I asked you out, I pay”. Bucky began to fight with you, provoking some laughs on the table as you tried to put your screen above the tpv.

“Well, welcome to the twenty-first century”. You hummed as the operation was confirmed.

“I’ll pay next time”. He declared licking his incisors, prior to his lips.

You wished the ride back home to last forever, not wanting to end the date. But the car reached your neighborhood in a blink of eyes. You couldn't help but sigh barely appreciably for your companion, gazing through the window until double parking in front of your apartment. You turned towards him, hearing the engine shut off. Bucky seemed disappointed like you, not being able to remember when was the last time he had a break, he had fun. The date was nicer than he expected but the idea of not knowing exactly when he was going to see you again was killing him from the inside.

“I'll accompany you”. He declared undoing his seat belt as you did to step out.

You reacted with a delicate smile, holding the bucket of flowers against your abdomen while walking to the front door of the building. That moment was a little uncomfortable, not being sure about how to say goodbye, just looking like two teens in love.

“Thank you for tonight, Bucky”. You uttered without thinking about it. “It's been the best night I've ever had”.

“Next will be better, I promise”.

“That's a big challenge”. You chuckled repeating his words a while ago in the restaurant.

“I'll live”. He nodded convinced, glancing at you bowing down your interest to the red roses between your hands.

How could you tell him that you were dying to be together again? That you wouldn't mind waking up sooner and having breakfast? You bit your inner upper lip, trying to find the correct words to say, without sounding like you were feeling something else to a physical attraction. Bucky was hot as hell, that wasn't up to debate, but he was the kindest and charmingest man you had known. He was sensible and strong at the same time. You both complemented the other like the pieces of a puzzle and you never thought something like that could happen to you. To find your other half and having it so clear you didn't want anyone else.

“I am, uh… free tomorrow”.

His words pushed you out of your thoughts, putting up your attention to a Bucky almost flushing, stroking the back of his head, and having the impression that he could scare you.

“Got a break for lunch, if you want”. You proposed without hesitation.

His eyes sparkled with happiness, holding your left hand with his to bring it to his mouth, placing a fond kiss on the back. Such a gentleman, like Sam said, inducing your cheeks to burn. And then, you saw him doubting about taking another step. You wanted it too to happen, tho, leaning forward to press your lips together. Your eyes snapped closed at that precise instant, not having any rush, tasting each other's and shortening the distance between both of you by his free arm getting wrapped around your waist. The kiss was innocent but passionate. It was warm, intimate, trying to transmit all the chemistry you woke up within the other with only one look, with only one smile. Breaking it —much to your regret— when you needed air to breathe. And even so, Bucky rested his forehead against yours freeing your hand to place it on the right side of his neck.

Neither of the two of you opened your eyes, extending the moment as much as you could. You felt he craved to spend the night with you, and you desired it too, but you also felt that he needed some time to get used to this new world he was living in. It wasn't easy. You thought back to the months after the war, the recovery, the loneliness you forced yourself to be in. You were in Afghanistan for three months. He had been fighting since nineteen forty. And he didn't want to ruin what you were building together.

“I should leave”. Bucky murmured against his wishes.

“See you tomorrow”.

At the moment you opened your eyes to meet the pale blue ones, your whole body felt weak. You saw the brightness in them after letting him know that the second date was going to happen and that it wasn't just a formality before disappearing, wiping out any minimal doubt by kissing him again. The last kiss. A good night, I'll dream with you kiss.

“I'm gonna play this on your wedding day, definitely”.

You screamed because of the unexpected metallic voice coming closer, clinging to Bucky's neck as his heart raced too. Redwing was suspended in the air some steps away from you, being controlled by Sam. Who else is not him, uh?

“I'm starting to think you have separation anxiety”. The soldier growled trying to hit the flying device with his flesh hand, hearing you laughing against his chest.

“Good night, kids”. You chuckled separating from Bucky.

“No kiss for me, soldier?”

“I'm not gonna kiss that thing, Samuel”.

“What about a howl, White wolf? Would be very appro—”.

“White wo—”.

“Please, don't. Don't ask”. Bucky begged you, licking his bottom lip while rubbing the back of his head, clearly ashamed.

“Hope you show me one day what it means…”

“Oh, he will… Just wait till the full moon”.

“Sam!” Bucky and you yelled in unison, you playfully, he annoyed.

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[mister-geuse]

I'm on Tumblr a lot and my best friend is on Twitter a lot, and it's been such an experience to see the two sides of the whole Sprigatito Incineroar thing play out.

The Twitter mob is losing its shit as they always do about their fear that Sprigatito will be another Incineroar. You know, human shaped, bi pedal """Furry bait""". And as we know, the Twitter side of the Pokemon community doesn't necessarily have a *ahem* healthy way of expressing their opinions of the Pokemon Company's handling of the series as of recent.

The Tumblr side, upon seeing Twitter's worries jumped on the complete other side of the band wagon, basically saying fuck you I hope it's another bipedal wrestler cat.

I hate to say it, but I agree with the Twitter opinion. I really hope Sprigatito is quadrepedal, just because I'm not a huge fan of the uncannily human starters they have been doing recently.

All 3 starters from Gen 8 are very human shaped. They are plantigrade, 2 of them have fully anatomical human hands, 2 of them have pseudo clothing, and all 3 have human proportions.

I'm not gonna lie when I first saw the trailer for gen 8 where they revealed the starters I couldn't decide which one I would choose, but once I saw the final evolutions, I decided I would box my starter at the first opportunity.

On top of that, cat Pokemon have been some of my favorites. I LOVE purugly, delcatty, meowth, and torracat. I was so disappointed to see Incineroar because it was such a hard pivot away from Litten and Torracat.

On the contrary I also love Meowstick, Perrserker, and Zeraora. They still look very much like cats and they were already standing on 2 legs.

I think the main issue people have with Incineroar and the likes, is that he started on 4 legs and ended up on 2. This isn't necessarily a bad design detail but it makes for a really harsh rug pull when you're expecting a cat shaped Pokemon and end up with something that looks like there could be a literal person in that cat suit.

Additionally the series is Pocket MONSTERS. So the very human designs feel a touch out of place. Even in the past when they had human ish Pokemon like Mr. Mime, Jynx, and to a lesser extent Pokemon like Pangoro and Bisharp, they had very exadgerated proportions and look like animals who just so happen to be human adjacent.

I think people are scared that it will happen again. They saw the cute little weed cat and got really attached to it and are afraid Pokemon will follow their recent design trend of putting all their starter Pokemon on 2 legs.

Here's the thing though. I really don't agree with how Twitter talks to the Pokemon Company, but I do agree with a lot of their criticisms. The Pokemon company built their brand on catching them all and to take away the national dex it is really upsetting to people who have carried their Pokemon all the way up with them since R/S/E in 2002. And I do think that Sword and Shield were rushed or unfinished, with the render distance being 2 feet in front of your face and the animations being next to nothing, they even black the camera out and describe motion instead of actually animating it.

I do not believe this is the fault of the people actually making the games I think it's a problem with the strict schedule and crunch. If anything it's a problem with the way Game Freak/The Pokemon Company pushes their developers.

I think it's fine for the Twitter people to express their criticisms. The Pokemon Company is theoretically making games for the fans to enjoy, so if the fans don't enjoy what's being put out, they are allowed to criticise the company. If the Pokemon Company is alienating their base they're going to get push back. I just wish people would be more civil instead of what ever melt down they're having right now. If they don't like the game then don't buy it!

Now this is the part where Tumblr comes in. I know that we have this big war with Twitter, not just with Pokemon things but with almost all Twitter things. And I know that the Twitter crowd can be really cut throat when it comes to Pokemon. But I don't think this is a basis to throw out every price of criticism they have.

I do think the Twitter people can have a point sometimes even if they go about it the wrong way. That's the difficult part, picking through all the reactionary bullshit to find the very few good points they have. And I think this is one of them.

People are just trying to express their distaste with the recent direction Pokemon designs. I think that they are going about it in the wrong way but their criticism doesnt lose all value because of the way they express it.

I understand that we are afraid of being lumped in with the Twitter crowd and the way they spew hatred toward anything that moves. But I think we can also admit when they have a point.

Furthermore, always choosing the opposite side the Twitter mob takes is not going to do anything except create a very us vs them mentality and make it more difficult to accept when they are right for once.

It is ok to have an opinion that may align with the loudest most annoying sector of Pokemon fans as long as you yourself are not participating in the hate mob.

Although, at a certain point, if youre not enjoying the games to a point where you feel the need to act like this and say things with such venom, maybe it is time to take a step back from the franchise and move on to other things.

A lot of these people have been there since the beginning and I think they are having a hard time admitting its time to throw in the towel because Pokemon has been such a huge part of their entire life. As unhealthy as it may seem, a piece of their identity is tied to Pokemon. So to see the Franchise go in a direction they don't approve of can be very painful.

Maybe for some of these people, it's just time to let go.

On a similar note, if I am unhappy with this game, I think it will be my last one.

Thank you for your time and for reading my, well I guess this turned into an essay lol.

Please keep the reblogs civil. Thanks ❤

[creative-oasis]

So like I know this has been a upcoming thing but I wondered if anyone else considered or coined this before.

Recently AJR came out with their new album "Ok Orchestra" and let me tell you it is a-mazing. But I had a thought, there has been a surge of things I like to call "existential pop" this included artists like AJR, Melanie Martinez, Jon Bellion just to name a few. (I could be totally wrong but) The reason I started noticing this is because these artists tackle topics that aren't just oh yah know "relationships, sex, drugs, and being rich" and a lot of the common tropes of a lot of pop songs. Now don't get me wrong, they are definitely mentioned but its done in a way that flips the script. For example Melainie Matienez covers relationships in her song "Highschool Sweetheart" but it isn't about "oh yes I have to follow all these gender defined roles in a relationship" its a song about her having standards for what she wants from a relationship and how she wants certain things ou t of that relationship and she's not going to just settle (which is what, honestly, a lot off people all over the gender spectrum are forced to do because they don't think they have a choice to do anything else.) Now a lot of people thought she was being demanding and unfair, but when you think of it all people are entitled to want specific things out of a relationship and to have their needs met while also being equals. Now Melanie Martinez since she started making content has broken a lot of preconceived song rules, from talking about tough topics of life in school in k-12 to talking about dysfunction in families and relationship in Crybaby. But thats a tangent. What i wanted to talk about was AJR because I can't help but think that this trend of basically having an existential crisis in song form is what AJR is now being immortalized as. In my opinion.

First off, the entire album is a massive hit and people can fight me on that (though I don't see anyone fighting) Second I wanted to mention a a handful of songs that just stand out and those songs are (but who am I kidding the whole album is fanstatic). I'll go in order of the album

"3 o'clock Things" by AJR is a this sort of collage of thoughts and questions that people realize that they have to keep hidden to stay in favor with the people around them from the bullshit of capitalism, to the truth that not everyone is great at sex and how thats a standard people are judged on so people fabricate or omit things to stay "positively veiwed" to the hot button idea that the American government is rigged and how people and artists are forced to keep quiet about their beliefs because of their ratings whether it be about race, religion, sexuality etc. (Those last two are not mentioned but implied as they are factors that can change someone's idea of you). The chorus "would you go running if you saw the real me. Maybe you'd love him , yeah, maybe you'd feel me. But I'll never ask you cause that super scary. Sorry to bail its already 3 o'clock, its too hard to tell if anything real or not" Sums up the gist of the feelings behind the song

"The Trick" by AJR, this song i relate to so much, the idea of lying to make yourself something you aren't ashamed of and to maybe start knew or just impress or relate to others. The idea that as the song states that one can't have full access to the life or emotional well being of the other because someone has set up their own pitfalls by trying to be authentic and how "oh my god [we're] screwed". I love how its realistic and understandable make song about the fact that you can lie about your life to find relationships but the truth is its not going to come without traps.

"Humpty Dumpty" by AJR, and entire song about repressing emotions and hiding true feelings because we want to give people "the best me" and how that only makes things more fragile and broken. Depression and numbness only be BROKEN up by panic attacks and anger or at least intense emotions. as any therapist will tell you repressing emotions just makes it so much worse in the long run. There isn't a full resolution at the end. I mean part the chorus is literally "humpty dumpy went downn He said screw it imma smile right through it and scream when no ones around" if that tells you anything.

"World's Smallest Violin" by AJR. (Not gonna lie this song is the whole reason I wanted to make this post.) I mean a song about comparing the past struggles of people in your life to yourself and how you as a person feel like utter shit that other people have "worse problems" and that we as people just want to feel validated and are looking for people to make us feel normal. Also its catchy as fuck so yeah!

And of course,

"Way Less Sad" by AJR which came out a little before the album came out but became a huge favorite, its kinda really similar and almost a follow up to "World's Smallest Violin " and happens to be right after, but the whole idea of settling for way less sad because your sadness isn't as bad as what it used to be and setting your bar lower and lower is....a big fucking mood but honestly if you relate to the line "but I'm not dead yet so I guess I'll be alright" then definitely check it out

To be honest I side tracked from what I originally made this post about essentially I think artists should be bold and break the mold of music and if like...."existential pop" is a fair name to call these artist or if you think it should be called something else then let me know because I'd love to know what to fucking call it.

Was a this a shameless attempt to get people to listen to AJR? Yes. Do I want people to listen to AJR? Yes. Am I looking for more existential pop artist? Yes.

So uh......yeah

[konpithepuppy]

[TRANSLATION: POTATO 01.2021]

7 MEN SAMURAI CROSSTALK AND SOLO INTERVIEW

Scans not mine

May not be 100% accurate

Feel free to correct me, thanks

Konno Taiki x Sugeta Rinne x Sasaki Taiko

I don't like the cold clothes I wear during winter mornings

Sugeta: Winter things like kotatsu and oranges...the number of times nabe is on the dinner table has increased, right?

Konno: In our home, we either have kimchi nabe or curry nabe.

Sugeta: In our house, my younger brother is bad with spicy food so we don't have kimchi. Even though kimchi is not that spicy. The staple in our house is the nabe where you eat the meat with ponzu.

Sasaki: That's mizutaki. Oyster nabe is delicious too. But, our family is on the oden side.

Konno: This is a winter thing that is personal, during winter, since I wear long trousers when I sleep, I feel hot after. Once in a while, I unconsciously take it off.

Sugeta: Why don't you just wear shorts from the start?

Konno: That's bad. I always insert my legs into the comforter when I sleep. In doing so, half of my body is under the comforter, and the other half is out of the comforter.

Sasaki: I understand, I understand! LOL in doing that, you'll get just the right temperature.

Konno: I feel at ease with that position.

Sugeta: I also have a thing that I do in winter. Until around 2 years ago, I go to sleep wearing my everyday clothes.

Sasaki: Then you're gonna wear that the next day too?

Sugeta: I will wear the washed clothes after taking a bath and I'll go out with those clothes the next day. In winter, the clothes we wear feels cold, right? Like jeans and such. I don't like wearing those for that period.

Konno: I don't like it too. I heat my pants in the dryer first before wearing it.

Sasaki: I also remembered something. During my elementary days, I go to sleep wearing a warm innerwear and tights the day before my morning training. It's a situation where you just have to wear a t-shirt and pants on top LOL.

Sugeta: Everyone is sensitive to cold LOL. Thinking of being compatible like kotatsu and orange, who do we think are best combinations in Johnny's?

Sasaki: This is a victory of Kishi Yuta-kun and Sato Shori-kun. I think they are really good friends. Their conversations are interesting too.

Sugeta: Tsukada (Ryoichi)-kun and Goseki (Koichi)-kun who do "cafe au lait brothers" in radio. The coffee is Tsukada-kun and the milk is Goseki-kun. They tried letting them do that and it trended in SNS.

Konno: Rinne is wandering looking for a partner for combination, right? LOL Your combi (combination/partner) right now is (Takahashi) Yuuto, am I right?

Sugeta: Yuutorin. I have other combinations too, but now this is my combi.

Konno: I give my support to Yuutorin. Since I want you to go for it LOL.

Sugeta: Thank you. Well then, I will desperately get involved with Yuuto LOL. (Desperately following/talking/hanging out with Yuuto)

Konno: Which reminds me of the Johnny's Island last 2019, (Iwasaki) Taisho and Taiko keep following Nagase-kun. His face looked so heavy.

Sasaki: We asked for favors and also got clothes from him! He treated us to yakiniku too.

Sugeta: Because if he didn't do those, he will be followed!

Sasaki: Because that's what Nagase-kun wanted.

Sugeta: He totally didn't want that! LOL

Sasaki: The people who we are following, they all want to be followed LOL. This has a strategy the same with love. First, we will bother that person, then we will do nothing next. In doing that, everyone will end up wanting to be followed. They will be happy when we follow them!

Konno: You mean you two exhaust those people who like to be followed LOL.

Motodaka Katsuki x Nakamura Reia x Yabana Rei

We walk alone in the middle of illumination LOL

Nakamura: Before sleeping during winter, I stay first under the kotatsu before lying down on my bed. Since it is cold to enter the comforter at once. But I cannot get out from the kotatsu since it is so warm so I end up sluggishly staying there.

Motodaka: I understand. In winter, we can't leave from a cozy place.

Yabana: And when you lie down on the bed and fall asleep, you cannot get out from it in the morning LOL. You'll say like "I want to sleep in this warm place forever"

Motodaka: It is a thing in winter.

Nakamura: I think the feeling of wanting to have a heart warming love is also a thing in winter.

Yabana: I understand~ there are now more love songs in the songs that [I] listen to. Also, the illuminations in streets are pretty around this time, right? That also accelerates the feeling of wanting to fall in love, right? LOL

Motodaka: The vicinity of places like Imperial Theatre is pretty. But it is full of couples.

Nakamura: Meanwhile, we are trudging going back and forth to Imperial Theatre LOL.

Yabana: Yeah yeah. I am thinking "why are you flirting out there" and I am learning the dirt in my heart LOL...let's change the topic because I'm becoming sad LOL.

Motodaka: I wonder if nabe is a winter staple, I had a burishabu which I made yesterday too.

Nakamura: Nabe, that sounds good. I like motsunabe. Tripe and guts portions of various types of meat make good impact that makes me want to eat it.

Yabana: As for me, what I want to eat right now is tsuufuu (gout) nabe.

Motodaka: You'll only put ingredients rich in what we call "purines", right?

Yabana: Yeah. Since I have woken up to the tastiness of shirako recently, I'm thinking of dropping those [to the pot] in large quantity then I want to eat those.

Nakamura: But that might be kinda difficult to eat during a date LOL.

Yabana: But on the contrary, I will be happy if we could together say "this is delicious" and have them.

Motodaka: A person who matches with your fave food. Certainly, that is important.

Nakamura: ...ha~ I want to fall in love LOL.

Yabana: In the end, that's the conclusion you came up with LOL. Other than food, what do you think are the other important things for compatibility?

Nakamaru: I'll be happy if our hobbies match to an extent. Or perhaps I should say that a person who won't get mad at me even if all I do is playing games would be nice LOL.

Yabana: For me, of course I will be happy if our hobby in music match, but I am not thinking that I want to force things to her. Rather, my partner being my partner, I want her to do the things she like.

Nakamura: Ah, that's nice. Having a partner who you both can spend your own pace might have the best compatibility [lit. most compatible] after all.

Motodaka: It's nice to share the same hobby but we don't want to force things, right? By the way, who would you label as the best combination that has the same level as the combination of kotatsu and oranges?

Yabana: I would give it to Uchi (Hiroko)-kun and Ishigaki (Daisuke)-kun. They have really good vibes.

Nakamura: They give the feeling of being "adult companions," combination, right? I, after all, like the combination of Nakajima Kento-kun and Kikuchi Fuma-kun.

Motodaka: I will say "I like that combination too" but I think everyone in our generation loves that combination.

Nakamura: "fumaken" is the strongest theory!

Motodaka: No objections!

Q. What do you want to ask from Santa?

Konno: I like accessories and clothes so I want for Santa to buy me those. I also want a bag. The clothes are in range of black color. Please understand my preferences and give me set of outfits that would last for a lifetime.

Sugeta: Ueda (Tatsuya)-Santa-san, I want a wallet. When I told about this to him the other day, I have been rejected by him replying "Are you a girl!?" LOL but I am waiting ❤ A new one or a hand me down from Ueda-kun is fine with me.

Sasaki: Please give me a lot. I ask for this every year but a lot with a wide space where you can build a mansion (condominium building) would be nice. With that, I want to study economics. If you like, shall I ask a land with a mansion (condominium building)? LOL.

Yabana: I want to be B'z-san's support member. I am going pratice like hell! When I watch B'z-san's live streaming, I once again thought that bass is cool. I am okay with recording only one song too!

Motodaka: I want a huge tuna LOL. Please leave it on my bedside on Christmas morning LOL. I think it is going to be fishy but my happiness wins so I will use it as a body pillow.

Nakamura: Since I buy that I like on my own, I don't need a thing. Because our stage play is starting so we are going to be busy everyday, I ask for a time in day where all of us [7 MEN 侍 members] can go to onsen to have fun ⭐

Recent Happening

Konno: Talking about the recent stage play 「The Happy Prince」where you only express using words, I challenged a performance that is more difficult than what I normally do. I think I was able to grow and it became a big experience for me. Since it has ended, I want to not neglect my body for it not to collapse. For that sake, I am sleeping a lot! LOL

Sugeta: I went to eat beef cutlets with Ukisho (Hidaka)-kun and Taisho. It was delicious and I had fun 🎶 Acutally on that day, Konpi also planned to go with us, when reached until the front of the restaurant, he suddenly went home for some reason. That is a mystery! LOL

Sasaki: I am attending driving school. I even passed the exam for temporary license. Since I am bad with travelling by train, it would be nice if I can travel by private car. Once I get my license, I have already decided which car to buy someday. Since I heard that that car looks cool and easy to ride.

Yabana: In this time's live of Uchi-kun, I was able to take part in the production more than the usual. The production reflected in my suggestion "How about doing stronger phrase in in the intro?" I could think "I did a band!"

Motodaka: In the dressing room for the stage play 「The Happy Prince 」(the play ended), Konpi (Konno) was watching many times the video of a person who is talking on the phone while riding on the vibrating diet machine and he laughed over the video. I was laughing everytime [he was watching the video] because Konpi's reaction was funny LOL.

Reia: Since I suddenly had a free time, I unexpectedly went to a dinosaur museum. I have always liked dinosaurs, I got excited just by seeing the bones that are displayed. Dinosaurs are dreamy after all. I want to find time to go there again.

[koutawoo]

🍵- i'm so sorry if my age makes you uncomfortable!! just lmk and i can stop interacting w you if you feel Uncomfy, i don't mind!

YES 👏THE👏MANGA👏ART👏 i honestly got vol1 of kuro bc i love the art sm. r!ciel is FREAKY he's being used by undertaker and he wants to destroy o!ciel?? but at the same time he loves him?? i cannot read his character and it scares me

i'm excited to see haru's char develop then!! i was watching s1 yelling at haru tbh JSNSJSN rin's shark teeth kinda scare me, but i love him anyway ^^ bakugou is tbh the only reason i got into the anime fandom,, i heard this one tiktok audio, wondered who it was and fell, hook, line, and sinker. i don't even like tiktok 😭 i really love his character & it'll always hold a close place in my heart bc i relate to him so much and i never thought media could express that, ig!!

AND OH GOD THE MIDORIYA X BAKUGOU FIGHT 😭😭 THAT ONE SCENE WHERE HIS FACE IS FULL OF PURE EMOTION AND PAIN 😭😭 THAT'S MY FAVE SCENE OF ALL TIME 😭😭

no, no, i don’t mind interacting as long as YOU don’t mind talking with this old fart <3

omg, i also got a couple volumes of the kuroshitsuij manga as well! they’re pretty high up compared to other manga </3 but i’ve seen killer manga with killer art selling at $20, so i can’t complain about kuroshitsuji ;v; same, what is up with him, o!ciel is literally gonna get anxiety and all that shit and i just want to offer him a hug?? god, i remember when it was new info, i looked up theories online and people were pointing out many panels that showed that there was a twin all along, and i got the shivers bye

lmfaooo T.T ur gonna be hella frustrated bc it’s slow, slow, SLOW, he is so SLOW aiyah wow, bakugou as ur anime lure, i’m not sure if this is true, but i think in the beginning hella ppl hated bakugou lmfao 😔✌️ i don’t have tik tok either, but i feel like an audio that bakugou would or did get trending would be his oi oi oi

AND YEAH, HE WAS SO BROKEN, BLAMING HIMSELF FOR ALL MIGHT’S FALL AND HE’S LIKE why you?! i’ve always been ahead of u, at the top of the class blah blah and it really, really, REALLY sucks, bc when ur always praised as a child and put on the pedestal for ur achievements, u start thinking of urself as special, as someone gifted, and suddenly,  when placed with a bunch of other students, esp someone who u always thought had no skill compared to u, u suddenly feel so normal, like every praise that u were given was a lie bc there r others out there who have the potential to be as great or even greater than u :/ and the fact that midoriya was chosen by the person they both look up to, someone who bakugou wishes to surpass--I!! kjsdlkfsf bakugou :’(

[movienotesbyzawmer]

August 21: Mission: Impossible II

(previous notes: Mission: Impossible)

Not gonna lie, this is without question the Mission: Impossible movie that is remembered most unfavorably by me and, I'm pretty sure, everyone else. My recollection is that they tried SO SO SO SO HARD to make an action movie for Today's Kids; I'm typing this with the title screen of the 4K Blu-ray blasting its turn-of-the-millennium neo-metal version of the classic theme with Tom Cruise running in front of a wall of flame and it's just like come on. Is there even must fun spycraft in this? The first one promised lots of gravely furtive glancing, world-class makeup disguises, and dazzling gadgetry. Did this movie's director John Woo replace those with just way way way too much shooting and chasing and sexy vehicles? That's how I remember it but it's been a couple of decades.

I should probably address this series' exciting approach to director selection. The first one was directed by the legendary Brian De Palma, who brought us Carrie, The Untouchables, and Carlito's Way. Whether or not this one worked out, the trend here seemed to be to choose a respected director with a certain cred that could be imported into the franchise. More on that as this series unfolds. I am now to press play.

Opening scene is about a scientist who injects himself with something while a voiceover teases us with I-already-forget-what.

Oh, he's pals with Ethan; they're on a plane together out of Sydney when some bad-guy shenanigans totally thwart the whole fly-to-the-destination-safely thing. But! It wasn't even Ethan! It was good-ol' makeup fake-outery! It was a heist to take the warn leather pouch that the scientist had.

This I remember - during the opening credits, the REAL Ethan Hunt is climbing somewhere impressive, all freestyle like. All the related supplemental marketing materials never fail to talk up Tom Cruise's penchant for doing his own stunts, but these don't look real.

He then receives a fancy techno-message in a very, very dramatic and action-movie-ish fashion, which is that someone flies a helicopter by his climbing mountain and fires a rocket near him containing message-glasses tech! The voice in the message glasses sounds like Anthony Hopkins. Is it Anthony Hopkins?

Anyway now he has to go to Spain to recruit Thandie Newton and here is where it's already starting to get way too the-style-of-John-Woo. There is a flamenco show and Ethan and TN spot each other across the room. There is SLO MOTION and SPANISH STOMPING and ACOUSTIC GUITAR, and THOSE TWO GAZING AT EACH OTHER. I tell you I do not care for it.

What happens next is TN proceeds to use fancy technology and lockpicking skills to steal a well-concealed necklace. Ethan tags along flirtatiously. She still tries to steal the necklace even though this Lothario, this smarmy but irresistible cad, is trying to distract her with his testosterone.

Ugh, I was very right to remember not liking stuff about this movie. Ethan fails to recruit her at the jewel heist, so he car-chases at her the next day! He calls her during the car chase to irritate/seduce her, and she's all "you'll have to catch me ha ha", and it ends in a nearly fatal crash and then they KISS. The director worked very hard to ensure the kissing was HAWT, and Ethan has now successfully recruited TN for both spy work and boinkage.

Anthony Hopkins! He is in the next scene! That really was him! How did I forget that he is in this movie. This scene where he meets with Ethan and fills him in on everything is effectively expository. But then after he knows what he's gotta do, he walks with INTENSITY and it is in SLOW MOTION next to a BURNING EFFIGY THING with ELECTRIC GUITAR MUSIC GOING ON.

0:33:40 - Oh now it's a little more what I like, with a montage about using spy tech to get Ambrose, the bad guy who was pretending to be Ethan on the plane in the beginning, to track TN. And to further assure us that there is techie-fun to be had, Ving Rhames returns to be that guy for Ethan's team. But there is also time in this sequence for shots of TN walking slowly and looking super pretty. You know, so she can seduce Ambrose. A flowing scarf figures prominently in this imagery. A John Woo Film.

I like that they tricked Ambrose into thinking he is so damn smart for tracking her down. I also like Ambrose's compound on Sydney Harbour, it is a bitchin property.

Scene just happened where Ambrose seriously menaces his friend and uses a cigar-clipper on his finger. Ambrose is a bad friend.

But then they're all at the horse race game, even Ambrose's injured friend, who we learn is named Stemp and who is spying on TN, and Ethan and VR are spying on them all. There are shots of TN doing sleight of hand to steal a tape from Ambrose's pocket and it's pretty good spy-shot stuff.

I guess I should mention that there's one more guy on Ethan's team of four, an Australian guy. I haven't caught his name, so he is Australian Guy now, and he is pretending to be an employee of the horse race game venue. He gets bullied by Stemp! We don't like Stemp!

The tape she stole, they watch it right away and it shows footage of what the virus (there's a virus problem at the center of this) does. It is effective, and a little shocking.

But then, this is surprisingly actually kind of well-conveyed - they made it VERY clear that the tape was originally in Ambrose's left jacket pocket, and they showed very clearly that TN returned it to the wrong jacket pocket, AND it's obvious a moment later that Ambrose knows it has been replaced in the wrong jacket pocket. Don't know why, but at least it's keeping us on top of this situation.

Also not-too-shabby is how they're doing the consequences of Ethan and TN fancying each other, except then she has to go and seduce Ambrose and that's uncomfortable and drama-making. In Ethan's defense, as well as Ambrose's, I am also in love with TN right now.

1:02:12 - Ethan disguised himself as Scientist, the dead one from the beginning, and I'm just saying I'm glad this movie is embracing the disguise-craft theme that was established in the first movie. Ooh, is the show like that too?

And then just as I've typed that, it turns out that Ambrose did an Ethan disguise (it was established by Anthony Hopkins that Ambrose was an IMF agent so he can do that stuff too) to trick TN into outing her intentions. They make it very clear that there is voice-fake tech with their disguises that involves a wire mesh thing stuck to the throat.

Next up is a heist scheme to break into a skyscraper where they're growing stuff about the virus, and it's a little bit of that style I liked so much in the last movie, with the added twist that Ambrose is somewhere else anticipating what Ethan's planning, and, I think, plotting a separate, way-better heist. They're still talking about it and the heist is happening and it is suspenseful! I totally like this more than I remember.

1:13:30 - Ethan is at the part of the heist where he's at fancy lab facilities with robot arms and AI voices and oddly no people. VR and Australian Guy are observing everything that's happening using technology and Australian Guy's helicopter, making it more suspenseful, but I also don't know exactly what's going on? We appear to be where Scientist originally injected himself, and Ethan is I think killing the virus while also somehow visualizing Scientist injecting himself.

But then that all goes away because a platoon of thugs in black burst in and are shooting at Ethan. It all quickly became an action movie with blazing guns and VR's tech van getting bombed.

In the fracas it's clear that one of the injector guns contains the last of the virus, and also gunplay might shatter it and make them all infected, so that's decent suspense. But also, the lighting in this bio-lab is like a nightclub, with inexplicably roving spotlights and neon accents that pop in 4K.

TN is in the mix, and she decides to inject the last of the virus into herself, and there's a dumb moment where it's like ETHAN YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SHOOT ME WITH YOUR GUN and Ethan, Man of Ethics, does not do that. Instead there is more gunplay and Ethan jumps out a hole he made in the wall.

1:28:45 - We've moved to new location, a new compound, and it's on a guard-patrolled island and Ethan sneaks up on a guard and does a totally unnecessary body-flip martial arts move to take him out. I think he needs to steal the antidote from this compound so that he can save TN, who is somewhere else. He is visually passionate about this mission.

Ethan got caught sneaking in to this new compound by Stemp, and he did a whole grenade blowup thing but he still got caught. It's a trick, right? Yup, he put an Ethan mask on Stemp and a Stemp mask on himself and got Ambrose to kill Stemp. He realizes he just killed Stemp because of the finger injury, good job with that.

I am reminded that this movie is from the director of Face/Off, so I needn't have feared that the mask/disguise conceit would be forsaken.

But did he get the antidote? He must have. Sometimes when I'm typing notes I miss stuff, but he's now motorcycling away while VR and Australian Guy are providing support from their chopper.

This is now the vehicle-chase opera that I remember ending the movie so terribly extendedly. Much gunplay. Vehicles pirouette with violent elegance. Ethan can do such exquisite dances with his motorcycle and firearm. This climaxes in the ridiculous feat of Ethan and Ambrose riding their cycles at each other and jumping at off them at each other to finish the job sans vehicle. It ends as a tussle on the beach, and Ambrose has a knife that almost gets in Ethan's eye. The visual on that is striking. But it's no good, Ethan is too Tom Cruise for him. He gets the knife from him and DISCARDS THE KNIFE, and punch-kick-fights him a lot instead. Ethics.

Turns out Ambrose has a gun after all oh no. But then it turns out Ethan is standing by a sand-obscured gun somehow also oh good. He does a thoroughly storyboarded sand-kick-body-twirl gun recovery that ends like you'd guess.

So although there are some dumb things about this movie, I think it's better than I remembered. And having just watched the first one, I think it actually did a good job of having a story where you don't have to ignore a lot of stupidness. It's not like it's an especially good plot, but it didn't try to make you forget its holes like the first one. I still like the first one better, though.

(next: Mission: Impossible III)