#the thing is the main theme song is just so generic and boring

[gheycowboyespressokell]

[PLACEHOLDER]

I like the new Percy Jackson show but the theme song is absolute trash so I decided I wanted to redo it. Not done yet, this is just the rough first draft, but I think it's pretty nice so far.

[ichorai]

wool ; coriolanus snow.

pairing ; young!coriolanus snow x capitol!reader (gender-neutral)

synopsis ; when you laughed, airy and light and reminiscent to that of wind chimes, coryo wished he could bottle up the sound and keep it as his, only his.

words ; 1.5k

themes ; mild fluff/angst, slightly suggestive

warnings / includes ; set before events of tbosas so no actual spoilers, making out, clemensia appearance, mentions of other characters, coryo's paranoia, he's not exactly toxic yet but the seeds are very much planted, i tried to keep him in character as best i could, let's pretend the academy also serves dinner

a/n ; this man has consumed me body and soul. this fic was inspired by the song wool by flatland cavalry on the movie soundtrack! let me know if you guys would like a second part :)

series masterlist. main masterlist.

Coriolanus Snow was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He bore an aristocratic last name—yet you noticed that his dress shirt’s buttons seemed to be various different shades of black and slightly misshapen. His voice, so sweetly saccharine, charming, seductive—would whisper falsities like it was second nature. He would often claim that he wasn’t hungry, but you’d catch the longing glint in his pale irises as he eyed the steaming bread rolls Sejanus slathered with generous helpings of butter. 

Control. That was all he needed. 

It crumbled, ever so slightly, when you nudged your slice of apple pie in his direction. His eye twitched, and you pursed your lips, pulling your plate back to you. You ate quietly, and Coryo stared at you all the while, as if he were mentally dissecting your mind—studying you. 

You knew. It was all too clear, even if he wouldn’t tell you. And if he wouldn’t tell his closest friend—or, the closest thing he had to a friend, the two of you certainly did things that friends wouldn’t do—he most definitely wouldn’t let it slip that he was financially strapped to anyone else.

That same day, he met you in the back of the library. The two of you were supposed to be studying history—Professor Demigloss was one of the nicer teachers at the academy, but that didn’t mean he was any less strict with grades. And neither you nor Coryo could afford slipping now. Not if you both wanted to get into university. Being on top meant that there was only greater distance to fall.

But there were… distractions.

Mainly, his foot knocking against yours under the table. Your hand over his jostling knee. His teeth digging into his bottom lip. When you shifted so that your thighs brushed against his, the books spread out over the table were entirely forgotten.

He pushed you against the bookshelves a mere second later, the wood digging into your back uncomfortably, and kissed you until you grew dizzy. You were a welcome distraction—he could taste the apples on your tongue. The way you snaked your arms around his neck, toying with his pale blonde curls, pulling him closer until his body slotted against yours just perfectly—clicking into place like a pair of magnets facing opposite directions. It was desperate and heavy and he could only barely pull away to inhale sharply before cradling the base of your head to tilt your jaw back and kiss you even harder. Coryo swallowed any muffled whimpers that slipped from you when his free hand traveled lower.

Lower, lower, dangerously low—

When Clemensia’s voice echoed through the library in search of her lab partner, the two of you sprang apart, gasping for air.

She rounded the bend, and her dark eyes landed on the two of you. Keen, observant, narrowed. Coriolanus was flushed, hair mussed, lips swollen, chest rising and falling erratically. You were looking anywhere but the two of them, smoothing out your clothes and wiping your mouth with the back of your hand.

“Oh! I guess I’ll just have to find another time to bother you, Coriolanus,” she tittered, sickly sweet. She tilted her head with a tempered smile. “What’re you guys studying?”

Snow rolled his eyes in exasperation. “History,” he said. Curt, simple.

“Right.” She eyed you curiously. When she spoke again, it was directed more to you than him, sounding uncharacteristically void of frigid scorn. “I’d be careful if I were you. You sure he’s not just sleeping with you because you’re the top of the class?”

You stiffened, and Coryo bristled. 

“I’ll be fine, Clem. See you tomorrow.” 

There was another beat of terse silence. Her eyes darted warily between the two of you, and she whisked away in a flutter of red and black.

You blew out a breath. Your mouth tingled with the phantom memory of his lips planted over yours, and your cheeks flushed with heat. The two of you sat back down, both quiet. You worked in fluid tandem with each other, as you always did. His hands kept to himself this time. 

“I’m not using you,” he whispered, eventually. “It’s not like that.”

“I know,” you replied hesitantly, testing the waters. “It’s not like you’d need to. Your grades are just fine as is.”

The two of you kept working until your fingers cramped with overuse and his head pulsed with the beginnings of a migraine. 

“Dinner?” you asked once the clock struck six, nudging him. “I think they’ll be serving mashed potatoes today.”

His stomach clenched at the thought of warm food. Control.

“Sure,” he replied coolly, flicking his books closed and gathering up all the papers to stuff into his bag. “I’m sick of mashed potatoes, though.”

You shot him an incredulous smile, brows quirking up. He was lying, but you didn’t know. “Not even when it’s seasoned with roasted garlic? A dash of the freshest of herbs?”

The blue of his eyes gleamed when they bore into yours. “Not even then.”

“You’re a strange man, Coriolanus Snow.” Your lips twisted downward, but it was more of a smile than a frown. When your eyes darted below to glance at his school uniform, you couldn’t help but notice the unironed creases in the carmine fabric. One of the buttons—the very top one—was oddly shaped and a different color from all the rest. It reminded you of his dress shirt. You quite liked that dress shirt. He looked handsome in it, but you chalked it up to his uncanny ability to look handsome in just about anything.

Your head tilted to the side, molten eyes fixed on the button. You knew. He knew that you knew. Panic seized in his chest, an irrational clawing sensation searing within his lungs. Would you tell the rest of the class? What would you say to them? That he was living as filthily as a District boy? That he skipped meals because he couldn’t afford them? That his cousin mended his clothes for him?

But your frown-smile deepened. Fondness stained your expression, clear as day. Coriolanus found himself surprised, as he often did around you. 

“I love your buttons, by the way,” you mumbled, reaching out to trace it with a finger. He held his breath on instinct. “Is it a stylistic choice? Having them all irregular like this?”

Stylistic. Coriolanus almost laughed.

“Mhm. It’ll be in fashion one day. I’m just ahead of the trends,” he murmured charmingly. A bluff.

When you laughed, airy and light and reminiscent to that of wind chimes, Coryo wished he could bottle up the sound and keep it as his, only his. 

“Maybe I’ll start wearing mismatched buttons now, too. Rebel against uniformity.” You stood up from your chair as you spoke, not catching the way Coriolanus’ expression faltered momentarily with your last three words. It was a joke, he had to remind himself. Just a joke. “Come on. Let’s go have dinner. I’m starving.”

He jerkily stood up. Grabbed your hand just because he could, fingers folding over your wrist. He could feel your pulse, thumping quicker and quicker. You regarded him curiously. Snow’s remaining spindly hand cradled your face and he stepped closer, intuitive eyes roaming over your face, wondering just how much of you was real. How much of you was lying, just as he was?

His lips fell over yours again. This time, the kiss was sweeter. Slower, more languid. His nose brushed over your cheekbone, warm to the touch. You hummed pleasantly against him, before placing a hand flat over his chest—over the crooked button—and pulled away with a dazed smile. It felt dangerously good that you hadn’t tugged your hand out of his grasp yet. His grip tightened in a near possessive manner.

As the two of you began walking out of the library, Coriolanus couldn’t help but think back to your hyperbole—about how far from starving you truly were. You wouldn’t ever know, not when your family was the very epitome of Capitol wealth. But he was glad he wasn’t the only one lying, for once, even if your lie was merely an inflation of the truth. 

After dinner, Coryo worked off the top button of his uniform with repeated tugs to the threads, pulling apart Tigris’ handiwork. He slid it over the table to you, watching the way your countenance softened in endearment. He kissed you again in the dark hallways outside the cafeteria, finding it difficult to get your lips to melt away from your tightly-stretched grin.

He walked home with a mirroring smile and a missing button that night. One less piece of the wolf’s sheeply clothes.

[gravityidol]

12th Prisoner in Milgram?

the key thing this theory is leaning on is the concept of the panopticon being 12 sectioned. whether the 12th section is a walkway or a cell doesn't matter for this theory, just that it exists.

10 sections is what you'd assume it to be considering the current canon number of prisoners. iirc there's eleven cells, though, with prisoner 11 implied to be es. my proposed theory is a metaphorical 12th prisoner, to round out the panopticon, and complete a clock face.

milgram seems to have a lot of links to time, and the passing of such, along with almost the loss or absence of time also being a factor. es with their amnesia, how the prisoners were presumably brought in moments after they committed / realized they committed murder (in what ever form it was), how there's an unspecified amount of time in between trials / es being awake.

the clock face and motif could be a natural progression to this theme. 11 confirmed prisoners (as of deep cover, kotoko calling es 011) could relate to the idiom of the 11th hour, a moment in time where it's the last possible moment or almost too late. it's sometimes used in horror or thriller narratives to pin point the moment just before everything goes wrong. having 11 prisoners on a clock face could be a really interesting way of implying guilt, or perhaps relating to how the prisoners were taken just after everything went wrong.

this leads me to the matter of the 12th section. for a clock to be complete, the 12th hour is necessary, even if time were to stop at the 11th hour. what's necessary to Milgram, even though its not explicitly shown? the audience.

the audience has been mentioned in passing, of course, as the voices the prisoners hear and as one of the driving forces behind es, but apart from mikoto saying how he thought milgram was a reality tv show, there's no acknowledgment of watching. of something outside of es or jackalope influencing the progression of milgram.

there's already been a slight commentary on the concept of watching and judging with fuuta, muu, and now kotoko as of Yonah. theres plenty of theories comparing those three to the audience, fuuta relating to the part of judging without fully understanding, muu specifically with her t2 song saying in the official English lyrics "I'm doing this just because I'm bored, we're just the same.", and kotoko with her strong belief in what she believes is true justice. there's more, of course, but those are the key points i remember.

with the commentary on the nature of judging that milgram already makes, it wouldn't be too far to assume that the audience has a bigger role than we already have. we already choose innocent or guilty, along with influencing the reasoning and contributing to the voices the prisoners hear.

es has been revealed to be their own character, with their own backstory and motives, so where would that leave us if es was supposed to be an audience insert? the milgram project is all about how the choices we make have consequences, along with the main theme of the prisoner's crimes.

i believe the 12th section has been reserved for us, the viewers. we're playing the role of judge, jury, and executioner in the same way we criticize kotoko for doing. it wouldn't surpirse me if at the end of the project, after the final verdicts for the prisoners, there's an extra set of votes. one for es, and one for us.

es is the audience mirror, and all of the prisoners have been grouped as a pair. if es is prisoner 011, the one they'd be grouped with is prisoner 012. you could argue es is a parallel to every prisoner in some way, and i'd agree, but that could also go for every character pairing possible. jackalope could also be es's duo pairing, but it feels unlikely as he's never been referenced as a prisoner, even slightly. we, on the other hand, would fit as es's duo due to the concept of the general audience having no specific gender, keeping the male and female prisoner count the same. almost opposite to es's non gender, we as the audience could technically be every gender, keeping the theme of the duos having "opposing" genders.

tldr; the audience is the 12th prisoner, being es's parallel for the prisoner duos.

feel free to add or object to this, its just an idea i've had sitting in my head for a while :]

[bushkit]

Soooooo for this MiD rewrite, I might have replaced Ava-

Now I have my reasons for doing so, which I will explain now. First off, I don't like Ava, I find her really obnoxious and frustrating. I know we will only have one season so she can’t develop, and that upsets me a bit. I also find her “anxiety” issues stereotypical, coming from someone who has been diagnosed. Some of her behaviors are relatable, but there's only a few times that I feel like I can relate to her. It feels cheap and forced to me. This is a smaller complaint, but I also don't like her design. She’s just Aphmau but with magenta eyes and a bitchy personality.

The second reason I changed the Mc is because of a massive issue I have with MiD in general. Harems. I fucking despise harems in any shape or form. I think they are one of the absolute worst tropes in media. In most harems the main character is boring, usually they have no personality whatsoever. Luckily MiD doesn't really have this problem, Ava’s personality makes it at least watchable. However, the other much more glaring issue I have with harems are the other characters. They are almost always one dimensional and cliche, and unfortunately MiD does have this problem, especially with the daemos and some other side characters as well (ex: Jake, Lorelai’s friends, Avas parents). I find Harems unhealthy and boring, as it almost always ends with the Mc choosing all potential lovers, or none of them. Its just extremely frustrating to watch. For this rewrite, I need to change the harem into something else, and the best way I can find doing it is to replace Ava. Now I am a huge, huge fan of the “found family” trope, it is far more meaningful and interesting to me. Of course as with all things it can be done badly but I find myself enjoying most shows that use it.

So lets talk about Jaiden! :D

Name: Jaiden Woods Species: Human Pronouns: She/her

Theme song: I made an entire playlist cause I couldn't pick, but I'd say World’s Smallest Violin (Ajr) and Could’ve Been Me (The Struts) are perfect for Season One.

Background: Jaiden is a thirteen year old human girl from a wealthy family in Portland, Oregon. She was originally born in San Francisco, California, but when she was very young her family moved to Portland. Because her parents are wealthy/of nobility, she's used to having a lot of things, knowing a lot of people, and sadly, knowing what its like to be lonely. Her parents run a business, so they don't make much time for her and are often out of the house. So at a young age, Jaiden had to learn how to take care of herself. In what would be season one of this rewrite, her parents have left on a business trip that will last a couple months. So Jaiden needs to find ways to entertain herself and keep her spirits high. But with no siblings and hardly any true friends, its getting more and more difficult.

Jaiden doesn't understand why its so hard for her to make connections with people. She likes to think she's the nicest person ever, she's optimistic, energetic, willing to try new things, and always willing to help others. But the people she's surrounded with aren't normal people who have emotions like she does. They're all grown adults that are all wealthy and stupidly snobby and boring. The school she attends isn't much better. Nobody wants to talk about Anime, animals, videogames, pop culture, or anything Jaiden finds fun. So she finds herself a weird outcast, and outcasts are targets for bullies.

She’s constantly being picked on by bratty rich girls at school and in her neighborhood for her interests and behavior. They are making sure Jaiden understands that bubbly, excitable, and loud people are not welcome in their town. Jaiden tries her best to ignore them and not take it seriously, but over time those words begin to take a toll on her emotionally. Jaiden no longer enjoys learning at school, she's always anxious awaiting for someone to call her a freak again. For most classes, she's picked on even by teachers. Except for her P.E class, more specifically, Track. Jaiden can run very fast, and is even titled with being the fastest kid in her school.

Her excellence in her Track lessons are one of the few things her family and others praise her on. But it isn't all she wants to be. Jaiden truly doesn't want to have a career in Track, or inherit her family’s wealth and business. She just wants to be her own person, and help as many people as she can. This is even why with the money her parents give her, she uses a bit of it to donate to charities. She loves the feeling of being helpful and making people happy, so that is what she devotes her life to doing. Now, if only she had people to help. Jaiden is very lonely, all she wishes is to have people who are not boring “npc” snobs to hang out with. She manages to make some online friends, but they aren't quite enough to fill the hole in her sociable soul.

Until a couple days after her parents left for their business trip, she spotted five cosplayers in her backyard.

Fun fact: Jaiden was originally going to be a Mystreet oc, but I decided to make her a MiD oc because I fell out of the Mystreet fandom. I also think she fits a little better in MiD, especially with the story I've given her.

Y'all will be seeing a lot more about her and her relationship with the Daemos in the future! Bye pookiesss! :D

[arthurdrakoni]

Flatland is an underrated classic that imagines life in a 2-D world. This is my review.

You’ll get a lot of answers when you ask when speculative fiction was born. Some will tell you that it began with Hugo Gernsback and the pulps. Others will say that it goes as far back as mythology and folklore. Personally, I go with those who say that it began with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, though I don’t discount earlier works such as Gulliver’s Travels or The Tempest. I say all of this because I’m taking us back to the 19th Century for today’s review. We’re going to review the classic novel Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott.

Imagine, if you will, a sheet of paper that is infinitely large and stretching to all sides. Now imagine that on this sheet of paper there are a series of geometric shapes, but instead of staying in place these shapes move about and have complex social lives. Welcome to Flatland, a world of only two dimensions. There is width and length, but there is no height or depth.

The book follows A. Square who is…well, he’s literally a two-dimensional square. He acts as our guide to the realm of Flatland and relates to use the ways of his countrymen and their doings. There are two main events that serve to completely change A. Square’s world view. The first is his contact with Lineland, a world of only one dimension, and the second is meeting a figure known as Lord Sphere. Lord Sphere claims to come from a strange world of three dimensions called Spaceland.

The book goes into great detail about how life works in a world with only two dimensions. For example, it is customary to meet someone by feeling them in order to determine their shape. It’s also considered polite to give directions to the way north when meeting a traveler on the road. Societal rank and job are determined by the number of sides that one has, with circles being at the top of things. Each successive generation gains an additional side, except for the low ranking isosceles triangles, though there are exceptions. Women, being incredibly sharp and pointy lines, have restrictions placed on them so that they can avoid constantly killing people by accident. We also learn much of the history of Flatland, such as why colors have been banned by the upper classes. There is some pretty great world building in this novel.

That having been said the fact the citizens of Flatland are all living geometric shapes does limit the amount of exploration that can go into their biology and physics. A. Square does hint at future explanations, but he decides that it will take up too much time and bore the reader. Or to put it another way, if you wonder how they eat and breathe and other science facts…well, I’m sure you all know the words to the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme song. You’ll also notice that Flatland society bares more than a passing resemblance to the society of Victorian Britain. This is intentional, as Abbott intended for Flatland to be just as much a satire as a compelling story. For example, the class system of Flatland is rather absurd when given further scrutiny, but Abbott was making about about how the British class system was absurd and ultimately rather arbitrary.

Since it was written in 1884 Flatland has long since fallen into the Public Domain. As such, many other writer have tried their hand at tackling the subject matter Flatland is built upon. Usually they will focus on one particular aspect while ignoring the others. Admittedly I haven’t read any of these books, but of the ones I’ve heard of thanks to TV Tropes I’d say Planiverse sounds the most promising. It attempts to look at how biology, chemistry, physics and culture would function in a realistic 2-D world.

Have you read Flatland? If so, what did you think?

Link to the full review on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-flatland-by-edwin-abbot.html?m=1

[washipink]

A Beginner’s Guide to Tokusatsu

Hey, I know some of you are probably wondering about all these hero shows I’m constantly posting about. Maybe you want to try watching them too, but don’t know where to start? Well, look no further. I’m here to go over some accessible, and legal, means of checking out some of my favorite things!

for the OTHER means, you’ll have to DM me or send me an ask. I’m not getting my favorite sites shut down. You know the drill.

This guide will mainly focus on the big 3 Toku franchises, Toei’s Kamen Rider and Super Sentai as well as Tsuburaya’s Ultraman.

What Is Tokusatsu?

Tokusatsu is a genre of Japanese shows and movies that literally translates to “Special Effects”. Usually using a combination of monster or hero suits, practical effects like explosions, and light CGI.

That’s a REALLY wide net, so we’re just gonna focus on 3 shows today.

Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman. Thanks to @urotandersentai​ for drawing this neat little guide to the Visual Design of each of these 3 shows.

With that out of the way, let’s look at some individual seasons of these shows. Each one has a link to where you can watch it!

Please remember that at the end of the day, the best way to pick a show to watch is “Whatever looks coolest to you”. As such, I’ve included pictures!!!

Super Sentai

You might be saying, “This looks like Power Rangers!” And you’d be right!

Super Sentai, created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei Productions, is kinda like Power Rangers’ Dad. PR has been using suits and even fight footage from Super Sentai to tell its own stories for 30 years. All this time, though, Sentai has been creating lovable and memorable casts of colorful heroes.

Generally, Super Sentai is about a team of heroes in colorful costumes that fight monsters every week to protect people.

There’s tons of shows in this series that are available FOR FREE.

CHOUJIN SENTAI JETMAN (1991)

The Earth is under siege from the Dimensional War Party Vyram. A special squadron is selected for an experiment to turn them into Super Humans with the powers of Birds, the Birdman Squadron Jetman. Vyram interferes with the experiment and kills all but one of the Jetman recruits. Instead, civilians are transformed and tasked with defending the Earth. The surviving recruit, Ryu Tendo, must convince 4 normal people with drastically different backgrounds to fight with him.

Jetman has the typical monster of the week format for Super Sentai, but when the team isn’t battling monsters, there’s some serious drama going on. The five of them are all drastically different individuals. It can make it hard to work as a team. Especially when it comes Black Condor. Dude’s a loose canon and an absolute bastard of a man.

KYORYU SENTAI ZYURANGER (1992)

“From hundreds of millions of years ago, in the age of the dinosaurs, five warriors revive in the present time!”

When the Evil Witch Bandora awakens from her slumber, intent on terrorizing the Children of Earth, Five warriors from Dinosaur Times are unsealed to undo her schemes!

This one is where the suits for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers came from, which might tempt you to watch it first. I kinda recommend against that, though. It’s a fine show but I personally found it a bit boring. The characterization of the main cast didn’t stick out as much compared to other Sentai.

GOSEI SENTAI DAIRANGER (1993)

I haven’t seen this one, but it’s focused on martial arts and one of their mechs is a cool dragon? so uhhh? Check them out? Their theme song fucks

NINJA SENTAI KAKURANGER (1994)

Ok listen I didn’t watch this one either. HOWEVER, I know that it’s about the descendants of 5 legendary ninja who have been fighting yokai for 400 years.

CHOURIKI SENTAI OHRANGER (1995)

This is the last sentai in the “I didn’t watch it” category. uhhh, watch it if the suits look cool. Sorry.

GEKISOU SENTAI CARRANGER (1996)

Five Mechanics use the power of Car Magic to protect the earth from the Universal Reckless Driving Tribe and teach children about Traffic Safety. This one’s a tad bit goofier compared to some of the others, but it’s a good time.

Also There’s a Yoda.

DENJI SENTAI MEGARANGER (1997)

Five High School Students are friends and pals! Together they investigate the mysterious goings on of a technologically advanced evil empire. They literally surf the net in order to bring peace to their city and the world!

SEIJUU SENTAI GINGAMAN (1998)

The warriors of Ginga Forest, the Gingamen, have protected nature for 132 Generations. This series follows the 133rd Generation of Gingamen, who battle alongside Starbeasts to stop the resurrection of the Demon Beast Ditanix!

KYUKYU SENTAI GOGOFIVE (1999)

This time, the rangers are an experienced team of rescue workers given super human power! They fight back Literal Demons From Hell that endanger the public. There’s a lot of focus specifically on rescuing civilians in this one, so if you’re an especially big fan of watching heroes... SAVE people, this is a great choice.

MIRAI SENTAI TIMERANGER (2000)

In the 30th Century, a gang of super criminals escapes to the year 2000. They are tracked down by the Future Sentai Timeranger, agents of the Time Defense Force. There, they encounter the Great(s) Grandfather of their departed leader and must convince him to fight alongside them for the sake of humanity.

HYAKUJU SENTAI GAORANGER (2001)

Veterinarian Kakeru Shishi can hear the hearts of every animal! He swiftly becomes enraptured in the adventures of the Gaorangers, who battle living embodiment of pollution. Also they live on a flying turtle! How cool is that?

NINPUU SENTAI HURRICANNEGER (2002)

What if there was a polycule of ninjas SO BAD at being Ninjas, they showed up to Ninja Class Late and were the only survivors of an attack on their school? These guys are the silliest little slackers, but they’ve got hearts of gold. Check them out? For me? :)

KAMEN RIDER

If Super Sentai is Power Rangers’ Dad, Kamen Rider is Power Rangers’ Uncle.

Kamen Rider was ALSO created by Shotaro Ishinomori.

Usually focused in on a smaller cast of heroes. A common theme in Rider is that the heroes are created by their villains and choose to rebel against them for the greater good, or will use the villain’s own powers against them.

Most Riders have a signature attack where they leap into the air and do a flying kick. These get INCREDIBLY flashy over the years.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot less Kamen Rider legally available than there are of the other two shows here. Don’t fret, it’s Easy Enough To Find Anyway.

As for the shows I can link you to, there’s

KAMEN RIDER (1971)

This is the original series.

Takeshi Hongo is an augmented human being created by the evil organization Shocker. Escaping before his brainwashing can be completed, battles for humanity’s freedom as Kamen Rider.

Being such an old show, the effects can be dated and cheesy. It’s a bit of an acquired taste, but if you stick with it, I’m sure you’ll love it. You can watch most of the show in almost any order. The only really confusing part is that eventually, Hongo tags out with fellow escaped cyborg Ichimonji Hayato as Kamen Rider. (This was due to a real world injury to Hongo’s actor during filming. Don’t worry, he’s still kicking and he comes back later in the show!)

It’s also the longest Kamen Rider show, so I don’t fault you if you decide not to watch ALL of it. Even I haven’t yet.

If reading is more your thing, it’s based on a manga that you can find a DELIGHTFULLY well crafted omnibus of here

KAMEN RIDER KUUGA (2000)

Kuuga was the first season of Rider after about a 5 year break on TV. It’s something of a return to form.

It follows Yusuke Godai, a world traveler with 2000 skills, visiting his home town for the first time in years. He finds himself in the middle of an ancient civilization’s ritualistic murder game. Donning the mantle of Kuuga, Godai fights to protect the smiles of the city. He has a wonderful supporting cast around him including Detective Ichijou, who he goes on to share a rather homoerotic bond with.

Kuuga was my first Rider Series and to this day, it represents the Bread and Butter of Kamen Rider to me. This one’s a bit of a slow-paced Drama, but its focus is on what it means to help others. Every episode, I felt like I was actively being encouraged to be a better person. Godai’s got this infectious positivity that can’t help but make you grin.

KAMEN RIDER RYUKI (2002)

Ryuki takes a rather different direction from the other shows on this list. Instead of being about a single hero battling monsters, it’s about Plucky Young Journalist Shinji Kido being wrapped up in an all-out war between Kamen Riders. Donning the mask of Ryuki, he seeks to put an end to the bloodshed. The other Kamen Riders aren’t nearly as cooperative, though.

Don’t think that this plot means these characters don’t get tons of humanizing moments though. They’re all delightful to watch in action and you’ll end up truly questioning who will win? Is it possible to end the Riders’ battle? Will Shinji have to take a life after all?

I cannot recommend Ryuki enough. A lot of the Rider series from the early 2000s are Dramas that feature super heroes and Ryuki takes that drama up to a 10. (Plus, if you wanna ask where to find it, there’s plentiful side content for this show.)

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE (2019)

In the far-flung year of 2019, Hiden Intelligence has revolutionized AI technology. The company manufactures Robot Assistants called Humagears. People in all walks of life and profession benefit from their aid. Unfortunately, something is causing Humagears to go berserk and attack humans.

With the death of Hiden Intelligence’s president, Failed Comedian Aruto Hiden inherits the company. He’s given the Zero-One Driver, which allows him to fight the corrupted Humagears as Kamen Rider Zero-One. With this new power in hand, Aruto seeks a way forward where Humankind and AI can exist in harmony.

Come to think of it, this one’s kinda topical. “AI” is a subject we really aren’t gonna be getting rid of any time soon. This show is one of the more recent rider productions you can find legally and it SHOWS. Every suit is sleek and clean, the visuals are striking and flashy. If nothing else, Zero-One LOOKS incredible.

KAMEN RIDER GEATS (2022)

Kamen Riders compete in a game called the Desire Grand Prix. By fighting monsters and saving people for points, the winner can have their greatest desire granted. Ukiyo Ace, the titular Kamen Rider Geats, looks to unravel the mysteries behind the Grand Prix and reunite with his long-lost mother.

Things get a bit more complicated than that, but I think you should see it for yourself. I can’t recommend Geats enough. its visual style is a direct evolution of Zero One’s sleekness and flashiness. It’s main 4 characters are some of my favorites in recent years.

SHIN KAMEN RIDER (2023) (Paid)

Takeshi Hongo is an augmented human being created by the evil organization Shocker. Escaping before his brainwashing can be completed, battles for humanity’s freedom as Kamen Rider. 

Wait, that sounds really familiar. That’s because this is the latest in a series of Tokusatsu Reimaginings by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. This is a new take on the story of Kamen Rider 1971, modernized complete with sleeker suits and stunning music all wrapped up in a 2-hour movie. It also has plenty of Easter Eggs for those of us who are fans of the 1971 series or the Manga it’s based on!

Be warned, this one’s gorier than the other stuff on the list. It’s mostly exaggerated blood splatters, though. I hate that kind of stuff and I’m able to rewatch this movie.

KAMEN RIDER AMAZONS (2016) (Paid)

Amazons is another adult reimagining of a classic Kamen Rider show, but it’s so far removed you don’t really need to know much about the original to enjoy it.

Amazons follows a group of exterminators who have been tasked with eradicating escaped cannibalistic experiments called, well, Amazons. The catch is that they work together with 2 Amazons, Momoru the Mole Amazon, and Haruka, the titular Kamen Rider Amazons. Both of them are tasked with asking themselves ethical questions. Is it so wrong for Amazons to exist? Is it possible to avoid eating people? If it isn’t, then is it WRONG to eat people to survive?

ULTRAMAN

Ok, look, I’m gonna have to make a separate post covering all the free Ultraman stuff there is. Theres SO MUCH OF IT available that I don’t know where to start. We’re about to hit the image limit. If that post is done, it will be linked HERE.

But for a basic idea, there’s tons of stuff on Tubi and the official Ultraman Youtube Channel posts new episodes of the currently airing show.

[beevean]

Frontiers is bad and boring to play but I take it over Forces anytime of the day, first the gameplay plays the game for you half of the time why is Classic Sonic here? Other then Sonic Team being desperate? Why did Tails forget he could fly? INFINITE was wasted and his theme song is embarrassing. Why bother using Chaos if he wasn't even going to be a boss level? Sonic is tortured ? Okay sorry but atleast Frontiers had a better ost.

why is Classic Sonic here? Other then Sonic Team being desperate?

Most likely because 1) Forces was meant to be one of the 2 games for the 25th anniversary, even if they both slid forward one year, 2) precisely to connect Forces and Mania, 3) to piggyback on the success of Generations. Do you want to call it pandering? Feel free to call it pandering, by 2016 fans weren't as eager to play as Classic again, true. But then we can also call pandering the relentless references to the Adventure era in Frontiers, both in simple "hey this reminds me of X" and in general plot beats - now that game very much wants to win the Adventure crowd back more than Forces wanted to appeal to the Classic fans.

Why did Tails forget he could fly?

Do you mean when Sonic (Sonic the fucking Hedgehog) was getting his entire shit beaten out by a terrifying creature not even his Miles Electric could understand, plus clones of formidable enemies that included Shadow?

I don't know, I get the flak against "Sonic help me", but I don't blame Tails for not knowing what to do in that situation.

INFINITE was wasted and his theme song is embarrassing.

Opinion discarded. Infinite's theme slaps absolute ass and if you don't agree AND AFTER ALL THIS TIMEEEEEEE YOU'RE BACK FOR MOOOOOOOOOOOOORE

I agree that something happened to Infinite during development, as everything in the main game hinted at him being a fully artificial creature and not a rando still sore that he was beaten by Shadow lol. But dude was cool in my book. I really like that stage where he creates all sorts of creepy illusions to stop Operation Big Wave :P he could have had more screentime, but he chewed that little screentime we had just fine. better than the end, anyway and always.

Why bother using Chaos if he wasn't even going to be a boss level?

The game was most likely rushed, which sucks, no doubt about that. But somehow, only Forces gets treated like a piece of shit for being rushed, when Frontiers doesn't get nearly the same amount of disappointment for being pretty much a test game (and we know it was rushed because of the last two islands that are pieces cut from Kronos Island and for the weird way Sonic's corruption was handled). Hell, by this point, even '06 is getting apologism even though until recently it was the king of rushed games, and much worse about it than the previous examples.

Either you're equally uncharitable with rushed games that sacrificed content (so I'm not talking about game breaking glitches), or you cut them all some slack.

Sonic is tortured ? Okay sorry

Sloppy translation. And while Sonic looks chipper after being freed, and we can argue all day if that's IC or not, you can guess from things like him beating Zavok with his bare fists or the veiled death threat he gives Infinite that deep down he's actually pretty angry.

Now, Sonic being rescued by his corruption in Frontiers in a minute, undoing all of his hard work in rescuing his friends, and him being just as chipper after Sage, the girl he had just befriended, died in space, is not sloppy translation, it's the game getting rushed to hell (although I don't know why Flynn blames time constraints when it comes to Sonic not sparing a thought about Sage lol).

atleast Frontiers had a better ost.

I like both ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and Frontiers' cyberspace themes are clearly inspired by the Avatar themes in Forces.

[thewitchkingiscool-ace]

My dad clearly doesn’t understand the way Tolkien intended to portray men in LotR and all his other works. I don’t think he even understands some aspects of Tolkien’s works at all.

I was watching return of the king last night with him, and we got to Aragorn’s coronation, all was well, then we got to Aragorn’s song, and this is where i get really pissed at my dad.

First let me give a bit of context. My dad sometimes gets confused on whether we are watching the extended editions or not, because some of the versions we watched used to be the theatrical ones until i told my dad about it, then we started watching all the extended ones. Anyway, i’ve never watched the theatrical return of the king, so idk what scenes are and aren’t in it.

But then whilst Aragorn’s singing, my dad says, “I can see why they cut this from the theatrical version.” (I dont know if they did by the way, my dad was just assuming). So i’m in shock at what he just said. I say to him, “did they cut it?” And neither of us are sure. Then i ask him, “why? Why would they cut it?” And my dad says, “because it’s not very kingly.”

Oh my god. Does my dad have any understanding of Tolkien’s works AT ALL?

He wants to show that both men and women can be strong and brave, but gentle as well, and respectful. He wants to show that even the mightiest of kings can cry, and he portrays men in such a beautiful way. And women. He shows that both can be tough and noble, but both can have tender moments, and can sing! Why on earth should singing not be considered “kingly”?? That’s one of the main themes in Tolkien’s works! Song!

And what about singing shouldn’t be considered “kingly” or “manly”? It’s a beautiful way of expressing emotion and I love its constant use in Tolkien’s works. Why should kings not be allowed to do it? Why can’t men have an even balance of strength and beauty?

It honestly makes me so sad, what my dad said about it. It’s pretty much disrespecting everything Tolkien put into his work. It disrespects all the hard work and effort Tolkien went through to try and make his universe rich and flowing with beauty, magic, and so many things that you can’t find in many other fictional universes. Middle earth is a place where starlight is treasured, people are one with nature, many creatures live in the woods and in gorgeous environments full of song. Song is one of the central themes to everything Tolkien writes. MIDDLE EARTH WAS LITERALLY SANG INTO EXISTENCE!!!!

“It’s not very kingly.” Ok then. Give me ONE reason why singing isn’t kingly. What, because it’s not “manly”? Why? Why isn’t it manly? Because it’s not “proper”? Why?? Why not? It’s a ceremonious action and anyone can do it, if they like! So i said to my dad, “woah, why not? What’s wrong with it?” And his fucking answer was, “well, king charles didn’t do it, did he?” OF COURSE KING FUCKING CHARLES DIDN’T SING AT HIS CORONATION. This is 2023 we’re talking about! This isn’t middle earth! We’re talking about a world where a king these days would be mocked for singing. In fact, most men in general these days are made fun of for singing. King charles didn’t sing at his coronation because he’s some boring old guy who probably just wants a nap! He didn’t sing because that’s not really our culture in england, but i’m sure there are other countries where it is! In england’s culture (and this even dates back to medieval times), it’s more a case that the people sing for the king, rather than the king singing for the people. But in Tolkien’s culture it’s not that way. Song is so, so important to the people of middle earth and my dad does not understand it.

“Because it’s not very kingly.” Yeah. You clearly haven’t read the books, have you?

[silent-dragon]

TWST Student OC Profile - Devlin Ether Cepheus

"Above all, I'm just a man." - Noctis Lucis Caelum

Devlin theme song

Personal Info

Name - Devlin Ether Cepheus

Title - Prince Ether

Age - 18

Birthday - 8/30

Zodiac - Virgo

Gender - Male

Species - Human(Partially Shadowblood)

Height - 176cm/5'ft9"in

Eye Color - Sky Blue(Right eye often turns red to yellow)

Hair Color - Midnight Blue

Orientation - Demisexual

Homeland - Kingdom of Ether

Family - ?? - Father

?? - Relative

Twist of Noctis Lucis Caelum from Final Fantasy XV

College Info

School - Royal Sword Academy

Dorm - Crystaleon

Year - 3rd

Best Subject - Ancient Magic,Physical Education

Other Info

Occupation - Prince,Pro Fisher

Favorite Food - Grilled Wild Fresh Fish

Likes - Fishing,Video Games(When Allowed),Chocobos,Pet Animals,Fish,Swimming,Boats,His Car,Assassin Aesthetics,Long Naps

Dislikes - A Certain Bird Mascot,Vegetables,Most Bugs,Being Startled,Snakes,How Quickly He gets Tired,Not Being Allowed to Drive,Foggy Weather,His Past

Talents - Fishing,Weaponolgy,Elemental Magic,Chocobo Racing

Unique Ability 1 - “King's Blade” - Can call upon an assortment of blessed weapons to his hands,only one at a time and once a day. Doing this is extremely exhausting to him so he must nap or sleep right after doing it.

Unique Ability 2 - “End's Call” - If Devlin is ever in danger where his life is seriously at risk,both his eyes will turn glowy red and a random giant monstrosity/humanoid being will appear to shield or escort him away to safety then vanish. Only one has ever been nearly seen but hidden in a thunderstorm,rest are unknown.

Personality - Often withdrawn from most around him unless his close friends or something he is interested in a lot. He holds a lot on his shoulders and rather just ignores it for now and focuses on other things he finds cool. Very laid-back and sleepy as well as he is like a cat. If he can find a place to curl up he will. Is pretty socially awkward and oblivious to random people generally wanting to speak or flirt with him. Can talk about fishing for hours but that can bore quickly if you don't like it too.

Bio - The reckless little prince of Ether. Lover of fishing and time wasting. Father grew a bit annoyed he wasn't doing much back at the kingdom and was gaining too many lazy traits so made him enroll into RSA so that he can maybe gain some better traits and also socialize with those his age. Devlin has already studied a lot given his childhood so isn't taking this too seriously and mostly still just silently vanishing to fish and not talking to anyone much. There are things others do that interest him so he isn't fully uninterested in everything.

Other Notes

As a child for most of his life as one Devlin was bedridden and unable to walk so always was taken around the castle either in a wheelchair or being carried by his caretakers.

While his dorm is technologyless Devlin was raised around smartphones,video games,and tv as a way to keep his mind active when he was bedridden as a child. He rather perish than to not play his mobile gacha/action games so the main reason won't find him at the dorm is cause he elsewhere doing that to not get caught.

Has a ring that often will see him stare at while rotating on his finger. The glare he will briefly give you if notices your looking is spine chilling but also theres a sadness to it.

His right eye is constantly going from sky blue,red,orange,and yellow colors depending on either mood or something else. He doesn't know why it's always been a thing his father said don't worry about it. When Devlin relaxes or is asleep it is his natural blue color.

If he gets severely angry to a point,both his eyes go black sclera with yellow pupils and will see crystal/scale-like pieces form on his arms and face as if he is changing into something else but doesn't finish as body isn't strong enough for whatever is happening and he falls unconscious for days to weeks.

[tubedog-todd]

i love you so fucking much like a 3-4/10 : just doesnt read as a glass animals album its like yeah if you gave this from a generic soft pop band yeah bam like a fucking 7 or some shit but this is HTBAHB Glass Animals. ZABA DUDE DO NOT FORGET ZABA!!!

painfully generic? Too poppy this time in an uninteresting way. personally i see no complete cohesive idea/theme/vibe tying everything together (yeah i know love and heartache but it does not show through with the track cohesion)the songs are so disjointed its genuinely a detriment. (filler tracks exist for a reason dumbshits)

-show pony: do dont like the chorus, too sharp? the audio is sharp and does not sound too nice, the sharp guitar though is acceptable, rhyming is ... interesting, leaves the song droning over and over, trying to drill the chorus in your head. i dont understand what its trying to set up. guitar compression is probably the best thing

-whathehellishappening : mild whiplash transition between songs but i get it,its kinda funny,again pretty unassuming each bridge/verse sounds too similar to differentiate them, again plain and unobtrusive, catchy chorus hmmm i wonder why,ends funny but i wont get why you wouldnt lead into a break track

-creatures in heaven : a little more interesting pacing wise,more personable,snappy?, again chorus is pretty prominent to a more notable amount, interest break with the space elements, wait why are there space elements, is this supposed to bright the dichotomy of heaven and earth

-wonderful nothing : start with the title oh fun, wait why are all of these songs starting with their title,i like the vocals more becuase they dont force themselves into higher notes where you can hear the strain, the beginning into the main song is funky and probably the best beat tbh,idk bdsm kink shit i like, nice layering i enjoy as the song goes but couldve been shortened, repeats a bit too much.

-a tear in space : To be honest i was so excited by this beginning riff that i wanted Wonderful Nothing to somehow lead into, these songs are so disjointed it feels like im being shoved around with no direction with how to process what im being told,rhyme dog with floor, look man i like it because of the constant variety of vocal style, BUT dude the auto tune fucking sucks and is really jarring, again catchy chorus lyrics cmon guys an album ISNT supposed to be 10 signles lumped together you NEED glue the velcro or at least something, i really like the violin/synth i just really like how light it is

i cant make you fall in love again : guitars fine WAIT THE TITLE AGAIN? jeeeeeez dudes, jumps in pretty fast with trying to hook in the chorus, does he always sing with the chorus staying at the same note. really unobtrusive lyrics wise, i enjoy his sultrier voice but at least he doesnt try to strain himself too bad but its noticable again, bland

how i learned to love the bomb : THIS IS SEX BOMBOMB AND W- sorry, this one and the previous track blend together with the droning beats and singing. the chorus is nice with this one, i like the guitar but i swear i will not remember what makes these two different. at least its not saying its title every three seconds. reminds me of that 2016 era of popi just see nothing interesting in here

-white roses : TITLE STARTS WOOOOO, it just STARTS but not excitingly! Repeating repeating repeat the drill is here and its staying!!!! Space again, wait what why? who knows. just doesnt keep my attention with the lyrics or vocal inflections(except the auto tune which makes me physically recoil like where did this come from), chorus is fine, reapeating repeating repeating and CATCHY!!! COME ON GUYS LISTEN TO THE RA DIO,

-on the run : beginning is actually interesting, i like the weird vocal beat pretty funky at least for this album, i like how he sings this beginning BUT the chorus makes me want to scream, how does this TRANSITION SO BAD? again DRONING BORING, rest of the song is okay? the chorus is the worst part and is jarring and detrimental, kinda like how the autotune in any other part of the album is. unobtrusive and radio material....hm....

lost in the ocean : i like the low key ukelele and singing, chorus is again pretty stripped but he just has more interesting inflections that lead the song forward. LOVE the background singing! the gradual growth of the song lends itself to something that BARELY resembles a glass animals songs, yes a slow and mournful one but its there. the hearts still there. Its just....still a little too obvious on the hey im a single yeah! swaying in the kitchen song, very simple and doowoppy. Cute! Bad ending to an album

Ranking : lost in the ocean 6/10 a tear in space 5/10 creature in heaven 5/10 wonderful nothings 5/10 -frankly i dont care how the rest fall. i wont listen to them willingly ever again-

OVERALL : dissapointing! Go listen to Dreamland (i think its a way better album than this. Get over ur hate boner on Heat Waves) or better yet! ZABA or HTBAHB!!!

[gleesongtournament]

Glee Song Tournament Update #1

I’m hoping to start the tournament on Sunday the 16th, but I will post a more concrete confirmation of the schedule once I get it 100% sorted

For now I wanted to talk about the songs that are included and excluded, and how I’ve set this up

What didn’t I included? Well the only two concrete answers were anything that was just a dance performance with the original song in the background (Single Ladies, Bubble Toes, etc), and any song that was album only with no filmed scene to go with it (Dancing On My Own, I Was Here, etc)

Some musical moments I left out might seem hypocritical. I left out songs by rival glee clubs that basically only served to show that yes, there is a third club competing, here’s ten seconds of their song (Broken Wings, Starlight Express, etc) but I included ten second snippets of songs from main characters (Respect, Mr. Cellophane, etc)

I also didn’t included (most) songs whose only purpose was to be bad or get cut off which unfortunately cuts out half the times Tina got to sing. Some exceptions are Crush (because we at least got a full studio version) and Pink Houses (which we heard enough of in the episode). But things like The Climb or Revolution will not be found here

Lastly, songs in deleted scenes. These were cut or kept in based on what I thought was more popular. I can understand someone being miffed if Santa Baby or I Want You Back wasn't included, but I doubt anyone would care as much about Oklahoma or Mr. Monotony (if you stan the latter two songs, I'm sorry). So I only kept in the ones I thought were more well known/liked

If you're upset about one of the above songs not being included, or think I'm not being fair, you should know that there will be 340 match ups consisting of 681 songs in round one alone. I only trimmed the tiniest amount of fat, and I promise there are still plenty of songs for you to vote on. But hopefully everyone can understand where I'm coming from and just accept what got cut x

Now, with hundreds and hundreds of songs in the mix, I wanted to do something a little more interesting than just throwing a million random match ups your way with no rhyme or reason. Bc 1) It could get boring and repetitive and 2) It could be harder to follow if it weren't split up in some cohesive way. That's where the categories come in

What are the categories? Generally speaking, they're the ways I've broken down the polls into themed sections. Hopefully this will make everything easier to follow, plus who doesn't love some good theming?? Specifically, the categories are...

Holiday Songs. All the Christmas songs + the one Hanukkah song. If you hate Christmas music, feel free to skip this round

Original Songs. Basically just any songs that aren't covers, whether it's the humorous or serious ones

Mash Ups. All the songs that are two songs combined

Same Songs. The songs that were covered multiple times on the show, pitted against one another. The only round that isn't matched up randomly

Tributes. Songs by artists/from musicals that the show frequently paid homage to (RHPS, WSS, Grease, Beatles, Britney, Fleetwood Mac, the Jackson fam, Madonna, Whitney, Stevie Wonder)(also the songs are from all eps, not just the one(s) that served as the actual tribute ep)

Musicals. Songs from musicals not listed in the last bullet point

Rivals. Songs performed by opposing glee clubs (The Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline, etc)

Guest Stars. Songs performed by, or heavily featuring, any of Glee's numerous celebrity cast members

New Directions. Songs performed by the main club. (Not necessarily a group number. Could be sung by half the club, or even two or three people, but as long as the rest of the club is there vibing, it counts)

Solos. Songs sung by one main or recurring character

Duets. Songs sung by two main or recurring characters

Misc. Everything else! Mostly trios, quartets, or group numbers that go beyond just ND

Of course there are plenty of songs that could fit into multiple categories. For example, "Somewhere" could fall under Tribute, Guest Star, and Duet, but will only be included in one of those. So if you think I left something out of a certain category, don't worry, you'll see it pop up in a different one later!

So I think that's all the basics so far. If you have any questions you can send them here or on my main @angelhummel

[sueske]

as someone who hadn't watched naruto until late high school i wanted to share something (it's quite long sorry).

i knew the very basics thanks to the fandom and my general idea was: sns is quite popular (and i was like "oh so like in every shonen the two boy best friends being shipped") sasuke is The Angsty Emo and sakura is hated on for no reason.

so when i started watching let me tell you the surprise i got LMAO. the entirety of the time until the sasuke leaving konoha arc i spent it yelling at sakura to MOVE and do something (you're a kunoichi too girl, why are you only yelling at naruto in fights 😭), but most of all i was so confused at everyone calling sasuke overdramatic?? like his brother killed his entire family how is he being dramatic.

also when hinata and naruto first interacted one on one before the chunin finals i was like "oh so they're going to be built up from the start!" .....wrong.

and then when i reached shippuden i felt betrayed by the fandom lmaoo. sns relationship is SO downplayed and it's really sad because it's beautiful, as well as sasuke as a character. i've seen this pattern repeat with other characters who also went through hell and because they gave a negative response to it were called dramatic :/

as for sakura i had hopes that she was starting to change in the first arc but no... and every arc i lost hope for a well-developed relationship between naruto and hinata, so even if many nh use the war arc as an argument (which still... is such a bad moment how can i feel good for them when neji is dead right there 😭), it still lacks development throughout the entire series, and kishimoto had time to develop them if he had wanted

so i think one of the main factors for people misinterpreting the characters and their relationships may be the memory they have of the series from their childhoods. i actually tried to watch naruto at the start of middle school but got bored in the land of waves arc (i can't believe it myself lmao), and i believe there's a connection between maturity and understanding the true meaning of the story and each character 🤔

(again sorry i needed to get this out somewhere)

Heya.

I think shipping has become a popular thing to do within fandoms, and of course people tend to pair the 'dark, brooding type' with the 'happy go-lucky' counterpart. However SNS are on a level of their own. Naruto is a love story.

Nostalgia definitely plays a big role. There are people who ship certain characters together because of what they remember from their childhoods (I was also guilty of this). Time and feelings you had as a kid can also blur certain views in adulthood. There are people who grow out of that... and people who don't. There are others who are anime watchers only, so don't know what's actually canon, and those people who take the novels or other filler material as canon anyways which is like... pls. If you read and understand the manga as it is there's no way you can deny SNS. But then there are people who are just ignorant and homophobic.

I remember in the 2000s when character theme song videos on YouTube were popular, and almost everyone made Sasuke's song 'I'm an emo kid'. Granted the whole story wasn't available then, but look at Tiktok today. Many people misunderstand Sasuke's character and wanted him to just get over it. Like. What. And so many people ship him with Pink girl which is like... no words.

So I completely agree with your last statement. Unfortunately some people don't mature even if they age. 🤷🏻‍♀️ And of course there's homophobia. 

[sixthwater]

Hello. This one is going to be a bit different. I wanted to test these subjects with a deck of mine and the energy seemed very...fluid. Like the beginning and the end are the same but checkpoints might be different, therefore this reading in particular will have to be written differently. After reading notes will be written: like this, meanwhile the reading at the time will be written normally.

Chapter Four's Subject: Scooter Braun and...Everything?

Decks Used: White Numen & Haunted House (wanted to just use haunted house, got called to use two)

Who is Scooter?

Someone who lacks balance but seems so motivated and focused that it can seem the opposite. If you look at the seven of cups all the fish are swarming this one cup so this could speak to someone hyperfixating on something new or shiny — or something that they do legitimately take interest in, but once they lose interest then they move onto the next thing. I think ultimately there is an issue with sticking to plans that he’s already placed or communicated to someone. So you could be on step five of this 20 step plan and suddenly he’s doing the same thing with a new interest and you’re left to figure it out, but he also wouldn’t want to let you go either because eventually he’ll come back around to you. I don’t get direct ill intentions (I am actively trying to harm you), it’s more like…childish lmao. It’s like someone who got pets or plants. They get bored of them and expect the life to start taking care of itself but then get upset if it gets taken away from them because like what the heck they still Wanted it hello? Just general imbalance and lack of implementing plans are the key qualities here. Does he lack earth or have stellium in water/fire houses lmao. (Oh just checked the back: page of swords reversed, poor communication)

checked his chart after this; gemini sun & mars, cap moon that is It, cancer venus and retrograded mercury. a shit ton of squares to his jupiter, harsh aspects to neptune And uranus (plus too many to make up for the soft aspects to saturn). his mercury makes no harmonious aspects and then it's retrograded. cannot comment too much but yeah it's making some sense here

How does Hollywood see him?

Very short and sweet lmao. Someone who is the ‘trusted choice’ if choosing to sign with a label (can promise good deals, long history, etcetc). However once you get past that you start to realize there’s a…I get hot and cold/on and off for some reason? There’s a song playing and the lyric I keep picking up is ‘Whether you love me or hate me’ and the rest of the song fades out. So it’s like some days you’re a favorite, some days he’s distracted. It’s like you have to keep paying attention to the fire and keep it fueled when it should be the other way around. The Moon wanted to be the last one pulled and by itself, I feel like this is background industry stuff, but something about him got found out and is not the best — I’m not really being allowed in for what it is but it’s the idea of a mask being uncovered of wolf in sheep’s clothing? Something like that.

Why is this happening? (truth or deception)

I’m just repeating myself at this point. Also some cards fell while moving them back, and two of cups reversed was under the king. So. It’s the same stuff again; a new fixation so his priorities are lying elsewhere, but since this is a common theme it’s a feeling of being tired. If you look at the art within the lovers, the main female is watching it go down. I think there was an attempt at some sort of discussion about concerns or frustrations, but this seven of wands seems to be from his point of view? It’s a bit of both; not backing down and letting him know that they’re upset, but also not backing down to complaints and feeling attacked in a way (because you could say these complaints are coming from ‘beneath’ him I guess). This page…I weirdly feel like it was a choice. She’s smirking and holding an orb. It’s kind of like an ultimatum. Like either you get it or we aren’t doing shit for/with/under you anymore. Lack of motivation/energy but it’s purposeful. Which leads us to Judgement. There’s just a lot of criticism or critique but I’m not sensing any malice? It feels very calm. Honestly this card kind of feels like Scooter walking in with his new project and they’re all the people in the back. Regardless, the overall energy is that greediness and lack of balance again. Wanting to have it all, possible worry about financial/material safety which leads to this ‘gimme’ energy. I’m curious though now soooo

Long thoughts here; the lovers + 2oC can speak to affairs, and that's what I thought but it got brushed off. A lot of things got brushed off. It felt like someone didn't want me to actually figure stuff out but I was still being allowed in, so I can see something being thrown out to the public that isn't actually the problem. What I think is happening is that an affair was spotted and it dug up a lot. Too much and accidentally dug up something deeper, which is the previous moon issue that I can't get to. So the lovers issue started this, someone thought they could use it as like, ammo? (7oW), but it didn't work. PoW might be someone else plotting therefore the sneaky yet patient energy? However judgement stays the same. KoP is having a disgusting grip of a situation leaning into a shitty ego.

How does ____ see Scooter (with many afterthoughts lmao)

Taylor: Blunt. Petty tiresome arguments, a man of financial gain and someone to work with, but not a good mix in the end || Is this current energy? I can't see why there would be current petty attacks between them because that would be more swords energy? Either way, plenty of disagreements.

Demi: Not good. Might have started off nice but eventual control issues and overbearing tendencies leaded to a lack of emotional happiness. Getting a feeling that they understood when to let people not good for them slip through their fingers and move on. They want to speak a lot about this but that’s for them to say on their own time lol. || They wanted to say a lot. They are probably going to speak up first or when they do they're not going to shut up. I also kept thinking of Kesha when reading for Demi so?????

Ariana: ...I think she was too busy with other stuff and could not. He was not her main focus LOL. She understands that she needs to do a lot of work for herself in a way, cause I’m getting this skeleton is him. Which is why he’s not like..coming up. This Tower feels more like ‘I’m already dealing with a lot are you serious’, it’s not like it’s a surprise but it’s more like, it was bound to happen but it’s just inconvenient, as the tower always is. I can’t remember her rising, is it earth lmao || Objectively, the tower is supposed to be someone who brings an unpleasant change to your life or isn't supposed to stay anyway and you know they weren't meant for you. I don't know their connection I'm only familiar with the issue of Taylor's. Was she with him and tried to leave and it didn't work cause that's the only thing I can think of (unstable), or this could just be speaking of the personal affairs going on in her life as I mentioned. Hanged Man in this case seems like someone who stays in the same situation for so long that they've turned to dust so in general, not a compatable person to her and it just is what it is

Justin: Again like explorative but scatterbrained. Not getting that Justin is very emotionally involved or distressed just like. Done. Whatever option was less annoying he would’ve chose. || I always pick up on a...unattached energy from Justin, even looking at his chart. I don't know what he's experiencing right now but he's very much 'I just don't want to think about much'

Bighit/Hybe: Uh. Um. Either he has unfinished business with them that’s he’s ignoring because he’s in child mode or they heard all this news about him and maybe he’s shirking off responsibilities and Bighit/Hybe is kind of like ‘what the heck we’re supposed to be doing these deals or running these albums through these months’ and he’s just. Not responding. Not looking too fun. A bit of it feels like, because of the visuals, he could’ve had a long deal with them but they’re probably going to also cut him off after this unless something changes (keys to the castle but it’s blocked right now). || Could also have something to do with just cutting off contracts due to appearances if the moon issue is that bad.

Overall, Demi and Taylor feel the most emotionally invested. Ariana just seems tired and wants to move onto other things. Justin does not care lmao. Bighit/Hybe is just business.

Outcome

Before I even get into this, "One Of Us" from lion king 2 is playing while i fix this up. this is a fucking joke lmao, so maybe we will find out.

This will highlight some issues within himself for him to see, so there’s a chance he’ll kick his ass into gear to fix them. Some of them. There’s a chance that he won’t be facing said issues and approaching it with the ‘well I’m aware so that’s half the battle’ mindset. So implementing the change when it shows but not completely changing himself for the better. We will not be seeing this at all, and probably no one besides those that he feels comfortable venting to? So to everyone else it’ll look like he’s ignoring all of this, which will cause some frustration and more critique, some probably more harsh than it needs to be? Is the energy I get. The four of wands feels more public than close community, so if The Moon from way before gets out to us in some way, then I can understand the need for apology because I keep getting people demanding explanation or apologies from him. This’ll just cause him to pull back more or be more selfish — it’s the normal reaction you always see in public figures where they get defensive because they feel like nothing they do is right so then reactionists come to coddle them and they prefer that company even if it goes against their inner values? Think JK Rowling. I don’t believe that will literally happen, but that’s the best comparison I can get. To get dramatic because apparently thats the energy here, The Bird & the Worm by The Used wanted to come out during this part. So definitely has something to do with that Moon from the way beginning.

and look at that, even in that song (even though it's more about mental illness), theres a reference to a man crawling away from their problems and i kept getting it in a pathetic way during the live reading, so? I would love to say that maybe scooter would be a sacrifice to protect more big bag evil dudes but honestly the energy was pretty pathetic and brat like while trying to read so

This was. Annoying lmao. I remember saying I wanted to be nosy like everyone else but goooddd I forgot how much this energy is just....blergh. As much as I like deciphering stuff and understanding people, entertainment is a bit too much for me I'll stick to listening to others or doing smaller stuff lmao

[yourinterestisnotcringe]

i hope this isn't too much, but i'm nosy! do every odd-numbered smosh question :]

Aah! XD Thank you 😌❣️

Here you go (this got so lengthy omg sorry).

1. Ian or Anthony?

The age old question huh?

You know what? I was asked this before (on a more shallow level I guess but it still fits) and I will repeat myself: "Anthony has Perfect Hair and is very attractive to me. But i was very much very intrigued by Ian as a whole from day 1 and that hasn't changed." (quote by me, sometime between july and now)

On a less shallow level: I relate to Anthony a lot regarding lots of things and respect his journey very much. But Ian - idk what it is, I was drawn to him since day 1 and can also relate to him on several levels. I genuinely find him hilarious. I also know/knew and like(d) people in RL that are very much like him. (Or, at least the way he makes us perceive him.)

3. What's your favorite channel between main/pit/games?

I replied to this here.

5. Do you have a favorite Smosh video? What is it?

I just thought to myself: why did I reblog this ask game? Why am I doing this to myself? I generally am VERY bad at answering questions about favorite things. I cheat all the time. I have several favorite Smosh videos, depending on the criteria. But I'm gonna go with the answer that is probably the most boring one:

Pokémon Theme Song from 2005. (rip)

To me it symbolizes a lot of things and without it I probably wouldn't have found Smosh - or I would've, but a lot later. It evokes many good feelings in me and finding it for sure changed some stuff and influenced me, even though I didn't know it at the time. Lot's of momentous things happened to me in 2006, discovering Smosh via this video was one of them.

7. What is your favorite series on Smosh (main channel)?

Let's do This! !! Followed by uh maybe Pokémon in Real Life, Funeral Roasts and Interviewing Exes.

9. What is your favorite series on Smosh Games?

Would you believe me if I told you that I was stuck on this question for like half an hour? T_T I really like many series on that channel and they did so many different things... And in the end it's still a tie. It's the very basic (?) and classic Gametime w/ Smosh and the very uh, basic (?) Board AF :')

11. What's something you want to see come back?

Easy: Let's Do This! :')

13. Do you ship anything/love any friendship pairs?

I'm actually fine with any ships, romantically or platonically. If I watch any combo long enough and imagine them in random situations I can see them as a ship (platonic or otherwise), or a intriguing combo at the very least. I do enjoy content about Ian &/ Anthony, and pretty much other popular combos. A combination I've seen less of and that I love is Tommy + Ian and Courtney + Ian. However you want to interpret this, I love their dynamics and what my head provides me with about them. As a sidenote and apart from any shipping business: Courtney's and Ian's friendship is very very dear to me, if you (general) have any clips/interview/audio/whatever where their friendship is being shown/the topic, feel free to send it to me. I would be so so grateful :')

15. What castmember do you think you are most like?

Ok so I asked my sibling because I wasnt sure about this. And they said: Ian, Sarah (we both miss her dearly and we'll count her as cast for this) and Amanda. I agree tbh.

17. What do you want to see now that Anthony's back?

Summer/Winter Games :')

19. Is there a video/series you really loved when you were younger?

Lunchtime with Smosh! 🥹 (Ian is Bored too..I know, this is cheating ;_;)

21. Did you ever watch Smosh the movie?

Yes! More than once 🤭😆

23. Tell me an unpopular Smosh opinion.

I'm more excited for the concept and existence and bts of Food Battle returning than for the Food Battle 2023 video itself. Don't know if that's an unpopular opinion though. I'm very exited and am looking forward to it very much, and it looks very good. But I enjoy the Food Battle series on a rather meta level and am not as emotionally involved as with other stuff.

25. It's food battle time. You picking a pink frosted sprinkled donut, or some stick-shaped food?

Thank youuu!!

[Smosh Ask Game]

[gale-gentlepenguin]

What are your least favorite TV shows? 👀

Least favorite shows eh?

I will go with shows I have seen on TV

(so bad anime is safe and Streaming shows are safe)

One of them is Squirrel boy

This show is so... low effort it is actually insulting. Its not the grossest show, its not even the worst show I have ever seen. But it is just so undeserving of animation that I feel bad for every person who had to be involved in the process that is creating this show.

The characters are boring or awful people. There is not a single redeeming thing about this show.

Powerpuff girls 2016

This is the worst Reboot I have ever seen in my life and I honestly believe the people who wrote the script for this should probably be in jail.

It destroys everything good about the original and it causes my blood to boil whenever I remember it exists

Henry Danger

Honestly you can put any recent Nick sitcom on here. But This... this right here was the begining of it all going to s***

Unfunny jokes

dumb premise

The fact that I had even watched a total of 40 minutes of this piece of crap is enough to make me reflect on my life choices.

I already discussed the Naked Brothers band but lets go to

And of course there is Fish hooks

It was like the Buzz on Maggie but with a much less catchy theme song and really generic episodes. While there was Clamantha, there is nothing else worth mentioning with this

But what is my least favorite TV show of all time?

Caillou

I just hate this little brat so much. Imagine making the most selfish brat the main character, with a condescending narrator and a cast of people more bland than a stale cracker.

When ever this popped up when I was a kid I BEGGED for a channel change. I swore to myself I would NEVER become like him.

Invade my privacy ask game

[mean-and-rwde]

Volume 9 thoughts

[Spoilers, possibly]

[Rambling ahead]

I don't want to throw out all hope that V9 won't be absolute ""filler"", but it clashes too hard with the high emotions of the V8 finale.

If V8 was trying to be V3 (it failed), then I guess one could say V9 is like V4.

Except V4, while personally being one of my lesser-favorite volumes, does a nice bridge between the absolute chaos of the V3 finale to the V5 chaos. It's slower, a lot more dialogue heavy, and yet manages to remain somewhat true to canon without breaking it too much.

V9, however, looks to be a V1 - V2 ish theme but definitely not nearly as light hearted. I mean, they look to be in fucking wonderland (I heard it's called the Ever After, which is not much better, in my opinion). We've got talking mice among possibly other wild scenarios.

Meanwhile in Remnant (? I don't think Ever After is part of Remnant, I don't know tho):

- Atlas has become Atlantis (to quote my brother, who I guess heard it from a review somewhere?)

- Everyone who didn't fall into The Void / died when Atlas fell is now in Vacuo, the last standing kingdom.

- Vacuo is already very much struggling with what the citizens have. Now what's left of an entire kingdom has been dumped in as well.

- Salem has 2 / 4 relics needed to end the world and is on her way to Vacuo, where the last relic is being held.

- Cinder is still here. Like a damn cockroach

Side rant: I'm sorry, I just don't care for her anymore. I miss V1 - V3 Cinder, who was a legitimate threat and actually scary. Now she's an villain who is funniest when she fails. When I see her now, the sense of dread is more like "ugh this bitch again" instead of before where I was like "oh shit she's back what is she gonna do now?".

Adding her backstory in V7 (or was it V8? I literally can't remember) did nothing for me. It was way too on the nose, there was nothing subtle about it. And the song playing was basically beating the audience over the head with what was happening. It's too late to give her backstory, now it's completely unnecessary. It means nothing. And she has resorted to relying on the maiden powers in fights, makimg her fights boring and monotonous.

Also in Remnant:

- A shit ton of people fell into the void

- Penny is dead. Again. But permanently.

Meanwhile:

Our mains are in some weird wonderland like world where I'm guessing Neo somehow already has what looks like some sort of gang (in the intro, she's seen drinking tea with a bunch of shadowy people behind her).

There's also the mystery girl, who may have something to do with Ruby.

The intro hints that Ruby has become far more depressed and not nearly as hopeful as she once was. In the beginning, we see her as she transitions between her outfits over the volumes, while her emblem slowly fades.

While her team is running through various scenes, Ruby is dragging her feet, noticeably falling behind everyone else.

I hope this actually goes somewhere and makes Ruby + WBY + Jaune realize that they (especially Ruby) haven't made the best decisions as of late.

I haven't seen Episode 1, but I've heard some bits and pieces of it and I'm generally not thrilled. I know it's only the first episode, but I'm really not down for this whole wonderland shenanigans thing when the real world of Remnant is in danger of literally ending.

I don't know, it really feels like how when the White Fang arc was abruptly cut short and dropped (rip most of Blake's character). Things have gotten too heavy and too much, so the writers cut to something else entirely.

In this case, something comedic (or at least trying to be)

A / N 1: Apparently there's a con-man raccoon called Jinxy who is very... Stereotyped and racist. I have not seen this character, but from what I've heard... I don't think I want to know.