#unhinged rant incoming

[hellishboots]

why krita why

[talisidekick]

My streams have been lacking focus for me, and today I've found the answer. I've not had a real point to stream or make videos. It's something I enjoy, but there's a passion requirement I've been missing for me to really get behind it. And I've found it as of today.

Answering the question "But is it good?".

My drive to get into programming, to make videogames, has always been fueled by the disgust of seeing game prices sky-rocket, PC parts rise, and the slow cutting out of the casual gamer from major release titles. Graphics requirements go up, gameplay quality goes down, and story content takes a back seat but the price keeps rising. And I go through this process every time I play a game and I've never showcased it. Ever.

So starting now, todays stream, I'll be dropping the graphics to potato mode. Killing the sparkly coating, and diving into where games shine or where they fail. And I'll be going over the game once it's completed to answer "but was it good?" in a video.

So if you like listening to an autistic trans girl tear into videogames and critique as she plays, I'm @talisidekick on Twitch and Youtube. Things will likely get passionate.

[deus-ex-mona]

keeping your thoughts to yourself is ✨hard✨ sometimes ngl

[sidsinning]

UNNECESSARY AND UNHINGED RANT ABOUT CINDERELLA'S CHARACTER FROM CINDERELLA (2015) INCOMING

Lemme talk about Cinderella from Cinderella (2015) for a bit actually yeah because these changes to my girl completely baffle me

She has friends now

Goes outside on her own

Says the only reason why she's staying is because it's her parent's house- bruh.

All of this takes away (+ more reasons down the cut) from the true cruelty of OG!Cinderella's backstory and how it all connects so well to inform you of her character and the actions she takes

OG!Cinderella has been indoctrinated into accepting her life as a maid to her step family since she was a small child. She is never seen going outside of the house besides the night at the ball. The only friends she had were random animals around her she couldn't even fully converse with. She had no other human perspective on her situation or how to get out of it. It makes sense why she's just taking her stepmother's tyranny while holding everything in because this isolation and neglect is all she knows. This is the entire limited scope of her world. A sad reality to many cases of abuse in real life.

And they just. Erased all of this for some. Reason???

The night at the ball was a big deal because she literally NEVER gets to go out. This is the only time she interacts with the outside world aside from the ending. The impact of that was HUGE in the original movie. The new one just cheapened that imo by implying she goes out in town and talks to others regularly. This event was an impossible, fantastical dream come true to someone who is never treated as anything but a servant to everyone she knows.

Basically OG!Cinderella has it way worse which is what makes the ball such a huge deal in the first place.

Third point I don't think I need to explain how Cinderella staying in her abusive home bc the house is "hers to love now that her parents are dead" is not a good character change and doesn't make sense. I would understand if her dad was alive and insisting on staying, but he is GONE. It is a building you grew up in sure, but that's all it is. Not something you sacrifice your wellbeing for. So that's a shit reason they didn't need to make up to say why this character is stuck in her abusive household. The isolation and years of gaslighting were enough. (Also showing how much of a frightening presence and manipulative villain Lady Tremaine is.)

And she sure left it quick after getting hitched lol

The Fairy Godmother having the audacity to test Cinderella with that "oh I'm a poor old woman and I want some milk please" nonsense

Not very godmotherly of her in this version. 🥴 The Fairy Godmother appeared in the original to offer pure comfort to Cinderella in a time of desperate need, when this resilient and kind spirit finally reached her breaking point. The dress, slippers, pumpkin carriage, and magic were all given freely as a present to make her feel better at least for one night.

Meanwhile this goofy ass Godmother has the audacity to be like "hey is she gonna be nice or not even though she's crying in tattered, recently destroyed clothing- I need to see that or else she doesn't get the magic juice". Like why did this become a way to test her morality all of a sudden? Why did you need something from her to give up the magic goods?? It's not even a good test she just walked a couple steps and poured some milk in a bowl,,,

Idk man they made their relationship transactional for no reason which taints the original purpose of this scene imo. The original Fairy Godmother already KNEW Cinderella was kind without having to make sure by disguising herself as a rancid old lady. 😭 Weird and unnecessary addition.

Kinda nitpicky here but this film did not at all match the terror of the torn dress scene which really shows you how horrifying and humiliating it was to Cinderella

Comparison

AND THE BIGGEST OFFENDER: THE WAY SHE "ESCAPED".

I NEED TO TAKE A BREATH

BECAUSE LIKE. WHAT WAS THAT.

Original Cinderella, seeing a real chance of escape from her abuse, uses everything in her possession to do so. She's yelling for the mice to get the key, to get Bruno to chase away the cat, running down to meet the prince's attendants to make sure they get the proof of her identity from her- and that moment she oh-so-casually pulled out the second slipper??? SEEING HER STEPMOTHER'S SLACKED JAW??? GAGGED US ALL.

ICONIC

But 2015. Bitch. What is going on. She gets locked up and easily accepts her doom. She just twirls and sings in her prison like a dunce because cINDerELLa wAs aLReADy cONTenT wIth her sMaLL mOMEnts oF hAPPIneSs anD dREamS wItH thE pRinCE.

Just. Gives up.

Not the mice begging her to get up and save herself come on now

The mice have to do their best on their own to push open her window so the prince and his crew hear her on time.

And yeah, all she had to do was open a window.

WHAT. WHY. HOW. WAS THIS??? MORE EMPOWERING???

1950: use your brain to fight to the very end

2015: quit while you're still ahead, or don't try you just gotta dance and sing all pretty then someone will come along and save you

I'm sorry, but for a production that was so critical of the notion of "Cinderella just waited around for a prince to save her"...is that not literally what they changed the ending to?

You wanna talk about lack of agency in princess stories well here you go 😭

You know what's sad about all this in the end is this is still the best recent live action Disney remake imo LOL

Anyways hello if you've made it all the way down here I rest my case

[nikethestatue]

Rant incoming.

Maybe I am a bit of a psycho (okay, not a bit) but for the love of God and all that is holy--Sarah, give us the Shadowsinger that you keep hinting at.

I need at least ONE of these men to go dark. Go fucking black.

We keep hearing about the violence, the terror, the sheer presence of them that would make a grown man piss his pants---but we never see it?

The one and ONLY time where I feel it happened (and marginally too) was when Rowan skinned (not gonna say who) alive.

But it's kind of like--if SJM insists on making all these men ruthless warriors, torturers, the most powerful Fae in the kingdom or the world or whatever--then SHOW IT. Show us the men we are supposed to crave and fear.

We had Hunt, the Umbra Mortis, who barely ever 'mortis-nized' anyone ever. He was just a himbo who wanted to eat pizza and watch sunball.

Cassian, the Commander General, had one good run during the war and then became a human dildo.

Azriel cut the Attor a lil bit.

Give me the scary. The unhinged. I don't need cinnamon rolls. I want one of these dudes to rip out someone's heart and then fuck his ladylove on top of the corpse.

I am also so so so tired of the 'girl Power woooo!' thing that SJM keeps writing--where the women always take care of business and need no help, no protection, no revenge, no assistance from the men whatsoever. Why even bother making these men these illustrious warriors, when we know that Nesta can kill a Death God in 10 minutes, and Bryce can kill an Asteri in about 8 minutes.

I am beginning to wonder what is the point of men in SJMs' stories at all?

We had the 'Most Powerful High Lord In History' running around dropping to his knees, looking for a good OBGYN for all of ACOSF. We had the Commander General taking lots and lots of time from his clearly not very busy schedule to train some girlies and have repetitive sex. Lucien, not much of a warrior to begin with, just hangs out at his country manor. Azriel seems to be working at least, but mostly he is just being angsty.

Like there's been a shipwar raging for 3.5 years over these guys, and honestly, for what? Azriel is a spy, a torturer and 'a freak'. If it all ends up being for nothing, and he is just going to be some pining useless follower, carrying Elain's purse, whose 'freakiness' consists of light spanking and a nipple bite, then honestly, GAs or whoever, can have him.

I feel like 90% of all ACOTAR readers came to the series through Rhys. Because Rhys was so shifty. So cold. So unremorseful. Rhys was...INTERESTING.

What happened? Where are the interesting male characters? We know that SJm is not GRR Martin or anything, but come on.

Let's even take Lucien--and I don't give a shit about Lucien--but make Lucien...interesting? If he is so wily and crafty, why can't Lucien at least TRY to trick Elain into liking him, going out with him on a date? ANYTHING. Try to gaslight her, lie to her, trick her--do anything that makes me want to read about you. Eluciens keep whining about 'mean Elain' but like, why are they satisfied with this limp noodle of a painfully boring character? Why no demands of fucking everyone over and going after what he wants? 'Oh, he is so respectful'! Who cares? Why do you want to read that in a fantasy book about supposedly violent and brilliant fairies?

I am reading all kinds of things outside of ACOTAR, and I reflect and I think, OMG, SJMs males are boring AF!!!! Why do they even inspire a glimmer of desire or interest? They literally do nothing memorable or interesting.

Honestly, if the next book is the same, and she murders Azriel's character, it will be a big fat goodbye from me.

I am holding on to hope that she'll write him and even Lucien somehow, somewhat compellingly.

[eslanes]

ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ʀᴇᴜɴɪᴏɴ ᴄᴀꜱ ᴄʜᴀʟʟᴇɴɢᴇ

(thanks @faerie-tempest)

Okay I went a bit wild and did the whole challenge for Devon's family. This was really fun and I highly encourage doing this one!

(See below the cut for who's-who!)

Devon Grace (the influencer + cousin who's getting married) - The reality star, social media influencer and adult entertainer we all know and love! She's also getting married to her new boo, unbeknownst to him.

Stavros Pantazis (the new bae) - Literally new new, they met less than a sim-week ago and are now expecting a little terror of their own. No one will bother remembering his name and Grandma keeps calling him "Vlad".

Briar Rose Grace (the quiet judgmental youngin') - Devon's daughter. What can i say, she's a saucy little shit lol.

Brianna Grace (the competitive sibling) - Devon's younger sister and a bit of a brat in her own right.

Mary-Jacqueline Grace (the instigator) - Devon and Brianna's mother. She's a chainsmoking, hard-drinking hot mess of a broad. She's been known to get into fist-fights with grown men (and win, of course).

Catherine Grace-De la Roca (the cool aunt) - Mary-Jacqueline's twin sister and the only reason Devon and Brianna turned out half-sensible. Art teacher and travel enthusiast.

Rodrigo De la Roca (the world's most interesting uncle) - Catherine's husband and walking encyclopedia of weird and random knowledge. Has some kind of bizarre story for every occasion. Don't ask him to tell the thumb story.

Gabi De la Roca (the holier-than-thou student) - Teenage terror with brains to burn. She's banking on a full scholarship to Britechester to get away from her unhinged family.

Enid Grace (the family recipe gatekeeper) - The matriarch of the Grace family. Rules the kitchen with an iron fist. Whatever you do, don't ask for her rhubarb pie recipe.

Tony Grace (the overly-supportive grandparent) - Enid's husband and family patriarch. Wanna join the circus? Drop out of college? Kill someone? Grandpa's got your back (and probably the shovel).

Ronnie Grace (the bitcoin uncle) - Tech nerd and the lamest guy you will ever meet. Somehow his family hasn't left him for his constant rants about blockchains. May or may not have lost half his savings from investing in Llamacoin. Mary-Jacqueline and Catherine's younger brother.

Keisha Grace (the nosy relative) - Somehow still married to Ronnie (but doesn't know about the Llamacoin yet). Actually loves family gatherings because she gets all the dirt to gossip about with her friends later.

Niko Grace (the peacemaker) - Ronnie's son from his first marriage, at 31 he's still "finding himself" (ie: unemployed musician living in his parents' basement). You can probably find him outside of a family gathering trying to push weed on his younger cousins.

Grayson Grace (the golden child) - It's really not hard to be the golden boy when your older brother sells weed to children.

Tabitha Loveless (the passive-aggressive auntie) - A widower, Tony's older sister and Devon's great-aunt. Tabitha may or may not have flown to the gathering on her broom.

Karen Loveless (the live-laugh-love mom) - Tabitha's daughter. Cheerful to a fault, but please don't ruffle her couch cushions or you will face the wrath of God. Has been in a 17-year old standoff with Aunt Enid over that goddamn pie recipe.

Eddie and Jason Loveless (the d.i.n.k.w.a.d's) - Karen's son and son-in-law. They just got back from a cruise and can't wait to tell you all about it. They're really living their double-income-no-kids-with-a-dog life to the fullest. They considered leaving because their precious pooch, Tangerine, was not given her own place setting.

Kurt Loveless and Monica Song (the anxious new parents) - Eddie's twin brother and his fiancée. Just welcomed a bouncing baby boy, Chevron Fritz Loveless. Baby Chevron is so special that he spends 18.5 of 24 hours a day screaming his sweet little head off. If it weren't for his mother Karen, Eddie is convinced he would kill his twin brother and take over his life. Monica showed up to the reunion with baby shit on her shirt and is unfazed.

Kelly Loveless-Strong (the wino soccer mom) - Tabitha's other daughter and Karen's younger sister. She's convinced her precious boy is going to make it to the World Cup (that is if he can get tf off of Twitch). Fun fact: there's definitely wine in that coffee cup. Is 100% likely to get into a table-dancing contest with cousin Mary-Jaqueline later.

Colby Strong (the 'other' influencer) - The family still doesn't undertand how Colby got famous for playing videogames but they are all so proud anyhow, even if he is pissing away his opportunity at being a world-class athlete. Most definitely out back smoking weed with cousin Niko.

[meowsbiansarah]

TW // PTSD, SA, ABUSE

Look im real stoned so idk if this will make sense but like (unhinged rant incoming)

You know sometimes I really hate the representation of PTSD in televised/cinematic media, because it really fails to show the mental effects of it.

Like, PTSD isn’t *only* as they show it. It isn’t just the nightmares and the flashbacks. It’s the emotions, the fear, anxiety, and adrenaline.

I feel like a lot of people don’t understand the “adrenaline” part of that because it isn’t really talked about a lot. When you get into a flashback, you usually go into fight or flight. When I get like this, I end up perceiving most things as some kind of threat. I faintly remember a time I was deep in a flashback and when I came to my fiancée was bawling next to me as I had been crying in the corner of the room just repeating “please no. Please no more. I don’t want this.”

In my mind, I was seeing his face again.

It’s one thing to get a nightmare. It’s another thing to live it again.

[howhow326]

Unhinged emotional rant about James Somerton incoming in 3, 2, 1

If you have suic*dal thoughts or suic*dal idealation, do not read this

Do Not Read This

DO NOT READ THIS

So I don't even believe Somerton has committed death yet because this isn't the first he has baited us with suicide /"pEoPlE wAnT mE dEaD" so there's that.

But assuming he did do it...

I shouldn't be saying this.

I shouldn't say.

I can not care anymore. Not "don't", can't. I have not been able to care about him and his issues ever since I found out he was lying to me, a thousand other people, was racist, was sexist, was transphobic, and had a Nazi fetish like a evil cherry on top.

Again, I assume he is lying about this like everything else he does on the internet, but im the event this os real... I'm not going to say I'm sorry for him.

And I shouldn't be saying that. I don't know when he started having suicidal thoughts, no one can know because he is fraudulant! It is not a good thing he "killed" himself and no one has the right to say anything like that, but my heart has completely frozen over for this man.

Even now, I see people trying to blame HBomb and other rightfully angry people for what may be happening, and seriously, F all of yall. You don't have to right to say "oh, HBomb made him K word himself!" NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO SAY THAT.

I... want this to be the last time James Somerton sees the light of day on my blog (ok poor choice of words). If this post turns into some weird spectcle it will be deleted. I just needed to get this off my chest, and weirdly felt like I haven't done that.

If you are a person with suicidal thoughts, there are people that care about you... I know now that you could be one of the vilest people I know, and I would still shed tears for you if you did it.

[imagionationstation]

I HEARD YOU TAKE UNHINGED HEADCANON RANTS AND THIS GAYASS FISH HAS RUINED MY LIFE

I have a 2012 rewrite au, and I fell down a rabbit hole solely based on the hc that Xever saw shredder as a vague father figure, and then like all of his interactions with Karai are always “Do you want me to call dad?” “I will kill you?!” “Alright..”

THEY ARE SIBLINGS AND YOU CANT TELL ME IM WRONG

Also there’s enough problematic men in the foot, so I just… hit him w the “I’m not a creep!” ray and he’s just some dude

This is a theatre kid, this man is a professional yapper. Shredder’s mad at him? Turn the conversation around to how sad shredders life is and that he shouldn’t have to be forced to commit atrocities because of Hamato Yoshi. He’s a pr girlie

Also, WHYS HE SO ZESTY????

“I HEARD YOU TAKE UNHINGED HEADCANON RANTS”

Okay, firstly, what grape vine is talking about me and why?

Secondly-

Can you headcanon your own AU?? Is that possible?? Is that a thing people do?? All the potential to say “I think this would be a neat canon” but isn’t not actually canon- this sounded better with every word that came out of my mouth. I am doing this.

AU HEADCANONS, BABY.

I AM THE AU COLLECTOR AND COMMENTER

(Evidently. I’m not sure how that happened, tbh-)

GIMME EVERY AU CONCEPT YOU GOT SO I MAY FEAST

Fair warning to all- when I am invested in a idea, I don’t know how to shut up. So. If you give me an ask, you’re agreeing to everything that comes after. I am not liable for incoming rants.

Xever is all kind of zesty (in AU and canon) because it makes him notable and fun!

I love so many interactions with him and Raphael in canon. There was no better character for him to “understand” than Xever, mkay, I absolutely loved how Baxter's Gambit was handled. They would have been SUCH a duo had they not chosen different sides to fight on and HECK YEAH with the Shredder father figure AU.

In the canon, I wondered about a few things a lot- like, Shredder hunted this man down and broke him out of jail to join his crime syndicate. And for someone who’s supposed to be the best of the best, that man is no match for the turtles. Got to wonder why Shredder wasted his time on Xever or bothered keeping him around after he got mutated when he was such a hassle as a fishy…

He even went as far as keeping a kidnapped scientist to build working legs and breathable air suit for the guy. Like, in all seriousness, for a big evil crime lord who threatens to off them every day, he sure is intent on keeping his lackies around.

BUT ANWAYS-

In regards to your AU, THANK YOU for taking away his creep act because that’s the main reason that he’s not a top fave for me. I don’t know why they reversed the “I’m not a creep” ray for canon, but I guess it was an experiment that they took way too far and couldn’t bring themselves to back out of.

As Karai is an expert manipulator, I’d like to know if she gets her skills from him or if he does from her- or if they adapt from each other. He feeds into the dad’s drama while Karai could not be more fed up with it. The clash over this topic so often. I can see it.

I think it would be ironic for Karai to have an older brother figure who eventually gets brought into the found family because Leo would have to adapt to having MORE older relatives. I like the idea of Xever being a “cousin”, because that would technically make her a cousin too, and Karai sure acts like she’s more of a bossy cousin than an older sister. So it works out.

NO WAIT

Xever has a villain name, right? 😱

Mikey has to villain name a villain mutant- it’s like, 2012TMNT law.

BEING AN AU IS NO EXCUSE /jk

(Completely messing with you. Do as you want.)

[hedwig221b]

I cannot stop thinking about how one of my wips feels like The Happiest of All on steroids (at least to me).

Full disclosure, the Rant is incoming (no spoilers). I just have to share this with someone and this is my blog damnit I do what I want.

I'm going to put Derek though an emotional grinder like goddamn. I'm going to have him shaking with tremulous hope but also have him on edge from everything Stiles is doing.

Stiles is going to face the reality of his actions and the truth about who he is and where he stands with it and what love will force him to do.

Stiles' big decision is going to be a lot more difficult for him to make than I thought. I'm writing him and with each page I'm like holy fuck this is going to be so painful for you, kitten.

THoA was, like, a little haha plot, a silly "what if". This motherfucker feels more complex. Lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling kind of complex. Sterek is still unhinged, obsessed and all that jazz, I can't write them any other way, but holy shit.

There's more smut. With Feelings. They're so horny.

It all started with an anonymous simple haha question. I hope you, anon, will read it when it's done and realise what kind of monster you've created.

[sjerzgirl]

He's a raving lunatic. "Without immunity, all departing presidents will be indicted by incoming presidents of the opposing party." Really? Then why didn't that happen FOURTY-FOUR times before him????? Such a dumbass. I hope the SCOTUS pays attention to his unhinged rants.

[inkblackorchid]

So... about season 3 Aki.

Ok harsh contrast to my previous, excited post, but I did say I had more to yell about episode 75 and I need to get this off my chest anyway. Plus, I remember mentioning in a post that I need to talk about season 3 onward Aki anyhow, so might as well do that now! I am thinking Big Thoughts and I need to Scream.

Long, incoherent, unhinged rant incoming because I have 100 things to say and 100000 screenshots to post, but I am also tired and my brain is mush.

Can we please talk about all the jarringly unfulfilled setup the start of season 3 did for Aki? Because I'm starting to feel an urge to claw at the walls. I'm gonna go through this, piece by piece of damning evidence, because I need to vent my utter confusion and frustration somehow, I guess. Okay. So.

After giving us a bit of time to settle in after the timeskip into the pre-WRGP stretch of things, the itty-bitty portion of the story Aki occupies at this point starts off arguably strong. Yusei gets kidnapped, everyone's in a frenzy about it, but Aki's especially worried.

Then this. Funky new signer powers! Nobody's been able to do this before! I wonder if they're going to do something with that! (Spoiler: They're not.)

Then Aki "no sense of self-preservation" Izayoi gets herself in a bunch of danger trying to rescue Yusei and we get this:

Oh! Wow! Aki can control her powers now! (Which: how. Why did they never show us this. That alone could have made for a whole mini-arc. Why waste that????) That would give the writers so many cool opportunities to let her use them! I wonder if they're going to do something with that! (Spoiler: They're not.)

(Side note: I love this scene. I love it to death. They're both ride-or-die "who cares for my safety when yours is on the line" for each other and I love them.)

Of course, shenanigans then ensue, leading up to Sherry's marvellous introduction.

(Mwah. I blow her a little kiss.)

And it is at this point that Aki Has An Epiphany.

And to top it off, she gets some interesting interactions with Sherry, too!

So Aki resolves that she wants to become a turbo-duellist, too. And the thing is, this isn't a little one-off thing or something they never deliver on. They end up building this up for several episodes, bit by bit. First we get another mention of it at the pre-WRGP press thingy they all attend:

Then it's brought up again when Yusei accepts the first duel against Bruno/Antinomy:

(Also, side note again, but can I just mention that Aki also gets this moment the episode before:)

(Where she literally puts herself directly in harm's way in a public setting to protect people with her powers??? Like, I'm sorry, pinch me or something, but how does that not scream "badass good girl setup"???? HOW?)

So we get at least three episodes worth of buildup where Aki agonizes over becoming a turbo duellist to understand what her friends (but especially Yusei) are feeling when they duel like that, and then they finally deliver on it and episode 75 has her getting her license. And it's fantastic. Seriously. That episode is golden. Not just because it delivers on this promise, not just because it has a really cute moment between Aki and Yusei in it (regardless of how you read their relationship dynamic), and not just because it (as per my last post) showcases how much the rest of Team 5Ds cares about Aki (by literally building a runner for her and accompanying her to her exam and don't even get me started on Jack beating up those jerks trying to make her crash unprompted) but because it gives us just that smidgen more detail about Aki's character, too. Because the thing is, at first, she majorly sucks at driving.

And not only is this realistic to a degree (learning to drive is hard, regardless of what you're learning to drive), it's also great, because you know what Aki's response to it is?

She keeps going. She doesn't let it get her down, she gets back up and tries again. (And from a writing standpoint, this is lovely because that stubbornness is great in situations like this, but you could easily turn it into a weakness in a different scenario if you wanted to.)

And not only does Aki learn driving the hard way here, she also finds herself confronted with jerks who don't want her to succeed,

(Ruka, sweetie, I love you.)

and she makes an absolute rookie mistake during her exam by trying to play a speed spell when she doesn't have the necessary speed counters.

And feel free to disagree, but I think this is also great. Because honestly? While driving a really damned fast motorcycle that I'm not super used to yet, and being expected to make solid tactical judgements in an overcomplicated card game—the rules of which are slightly different when you're playing it on a motorcycle—at the same time, I would likely also mess up like that and accidentally try to make an illegal play. But the thing is, the episode rewards her for sticking it out anyway by letting her pull off a really complicated driving manoeuvre to save herself from her envious turbo-duelling-license colleagues' cheap tricks, and by letting her score a really nice win from a tight spot, much like any of the boys would have in her position.

(Take that, you jerks. Dumbasses only get blurry screenshots.)

So Aki gets her license and is welcomed by the team as a fresh turbo duellist. Hooray!

(I love them all so, so much, help me.)

And we also get this:

Wouldn't you know it! Sherry's been watching Aki get her license with interest! And she seems to be mighty pleased with the result!

So. After all that, I don't think you could blame anyone (it's me, I'm anyone) for getting really excited about what Aki's gonna get up to from this point outward. Aki can control her powers now! And she got her turbo duelling license! And we've got a new, enigmatic side character who seems like she could have super interesting interactions with and play off Aki! I wonder what they're gonna do with all that.

*deep breath*

Sigh.

Seeing as I already know this show like the palm of my hand, I kind of dreaded getting past this episode because I know exactly what happens to Aki from this point out: Nothing. A whole lot of nothing. Okay, well, no. See, I went back and checked all the episodes I have left, just to make sure, just in case I forgot something (very likely when you've already watched the show three times, I know).

From here on out, during the entire pre-WRGP, WRGP, and Ark Cradle arc, Aki gets exactly three things to do:

She uses her shiny new turbo duelling license to fill in for Crow at the Team Unicorn match because he got injured. Which, on paper, is a perfect way to let her have the spotlight for a moment. Except, the only thing she gets that spotlight for is to last a hot four turns in the duel before losing spectacularly to Andre and literally never turbo duelling again for the rest of the show. (Like, yes. The moment where she summons Stardust Dragon is chefs kiss and legendary. But in light of the surrounding circumstances, it feels like a consolation prize to make up for the ensuing character trainwreck.)

Since Crow is technically still injured when they're meant to go up against Team Catastrophe, Aki trains to fill in for him there again. Except! They intentionally make her crash right before the duel, putting her in a short-term coma! And as the icing on the cake, when she wakes up, it also turns out she lost the powers she was only just able to control for absolutely. no. reason. None. They never bother explaining it, they don't even try to hint at why they might have vanished. (I have my own theories for why they had to let her powers vanish and they all start and end with the words "we couldn't be bothered to figure out how to write this character".)

At the very end of the show, the very end, after temporarily fridging Sherry, too, they dig both girls back up in order to let them participate in a three-way final boss duel with Crow. (Which is a fantastic duel, I love it to pieces. Genuinely.) You could argue that they tried to cash in on all the intrigue they set up between Aki and Sherry here, but—come on. At the end of the show? Seriously? Oh, and did I mention that for some reason, Aki's powers mysteriously reappear after this duel? For no reason? Again?

I just. It does not compute. They went as far as doing all this setup, letting Aki get the hang of her powers, letting her get her license, making her part of Team 5Ds, even giving us a new character that seemed like the perfect fit to let her bounce off of—and then, like some sort of kafkaesque reverse-miracle, they somehow managed to take a sharp left into "whoops, don't care about this character" and nearly wasted the entirety of that setup in one fell swoop. If it weren't for that finale saving at least a smidgen of it, I'd be holding a torch and a pitchfork over here. (Hell, I might, even knowing that Aki's final duel in the show is kickass.)

Please tell me if this is just me (15 years after the show released, I know, leave me alone), but this feels like they were literally loading Chekov's gun directly within view of the audience, only to later procede to toss the damned thing into the sea instead of firing it.

Okay. Okay, I think I'm done. For anyone who actually bothered with the whole post, first of all, thank you for your attention, secondly, sorry, but this does, indeed, still bother me ten years after I first found this show, so I had to get it out or it would have eaten at me forever. God damn it.

Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to writing fics where Aki actually gets something to do right this second. If anyone's interested in giving a fic series where Aki gets a separate character arc that tries to stay mostly canon-compliant after the defeat of the dark signers a go, you can find my stuff here.

[leftismsideblog]

lmao there's actually people trying to argue under that one post about how Ackshually it's reasonable to make a post assuaging someone's guilt around having a good family. so, in response to that nonsense, here's a reasonable take, followed by something else.

No, that's not reasonable. people with good families don't acknowledge their privilege the VAST. VAST MAJORITY of the time. and when they do, they very rarely feel guilty. and when they do, it is of their own creation. I have never seen someone guilting people for having a good family. it does not happen. this is like "white guilt", a non-issue made up to make people feel ok with not acknowledging their privilege.

meanwhile, us people with shit parents have to put up with our shit parents (unless we cut them off), and put up with constant societally reinforced guilt for any decisions we make to separate ourselves from our shit parents, and then live life in a state of metastability with 0 fallback options if shit goes super wonky because we have shit parents, often with mental health issues, lack of education, emotional problems, and very very few resources in general due to our shit parents. do you see how absurd it is to see this situation and think "oh jeez those poor people..... with good parents who probably feel guilty!" like no most of them don't even acknowledge their privilege or consider our perspective let alone feel guilty about having it easy. be so fr.

Reasonable take over. mildly unhinged take incoming:

people with good parents need to shut the fuck up and start taking into account their privilege ASAP and be strongly in support of youth liberation and family abolition or else they SHOULD feel guilty. i hate going into queer spaces and realizing these cityslickers have no fucking clue about what child abuse is or how it functions and, as a result, will Verbally defend the systems and ideas that directly enabled my parents to abuse me. THEY SHOULD. FEEL GUILTY. LEGITIMATELY.

anyways. rant over.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Did you finish the S2 of the Total Drama Reboot (all the eps are out already) ? I did and while the season started strong the ending flopped badly imo.

Incoming spoilers (and long rant) if you haven't watched it yet:

The winner is not it I'm sorry. Wayne is a cool character but he had zero stand outs moments to justify his win. They tried to recreate Owen's win in Island but at least Owen was really strong in some challenges (including destroying the main villain Heather in the final 3 challenge). Wayne literally flopped hard in almost all of the challenges this season and then got hard carried by his best friend's boyfriend in the final 3 for his win. Also I don't understand how he got so many enthusiastic supporters when Raj and Bowie were the only characters he interacted with from that group, especially cause he didn't even need them as Bowie literally did almost all the work for him by himself.

Julia dominated this season but it felt hollow, she quite literally had no opposition left after she got Bowie booted off. Imagine if Heather got booted in the middle point of World Tour and Alejandro just freely dominated his way into a final 3 with the likes of DJ and Cody (which he somehow would've still lost just to have one of the good guys win). That's pretty much how I felt about the final 3 from this season. Mkulia (and their cheating conflict with Bowraj) did carry the first half, so I'm gonna give them that.

Priyaleb literally got turned into a Skave 2.0 with their flip floppity mess drama just without the "Keith" plot point at the end to bomb out their relationship completely. They turned Priya into a Courtney knock-off who's more obsessed with revenge and winning (even tho she already won a season) than her own boyfriend. She even seems to despise Caleb's personality and is only in love with the idea of having a hot boyfriend (just like Courtney seemed in love with the thrill of being with a bad boy than Duncan himself and we know how that relationship ended up). Honestly if they bring up this couple for another season they're def gonna have a huge messy break up, I just don't see them lasting with the way they've been portrayed in these last S2 eps.

Ngl but I actually enjoyed Ripaxel, even tho they were just the gross comedic relief side couple. Surprisingly Ripper treated Axel like a Queen (unlike Caleb who just kept embarrassing his girl over and over on international tv) and Axel stopped abusing him completely after they started dating, so they're unironically one of the healthiest TDI couples so far. And even tho they're the horny couple at least Ripper really does seem to have genuine feelings for her unlike Priya for Caleb.

And I really hated the Hockey Bros flanderization this season. Last season they were dumb himbos but they were still very competent in the team challenges, heck arguably the best overall from their team. But this season they literally got turned into man children who probably wouldn't be able to cross the street without Bowie around to take them by their hands. Which literally didn't make sense at all when this season was supposed to focus more on them than the last one.

They really had Millie go crazy in that one ep and almost kill Damien just to win a challenge, but honestly I kinda dig that. Her team was so boring that they needed at least one (secretly) unhinged member.

Bowie was clearly weaker as a character this season but he still served. Scary Girl was technically in only 2 episodes and you know she still SERVED. I didn't really care about the other characters this season tbf.

So overall it might still not be the worst season (I mean All Stars and Pahkitew still exist) but season 1 of the Reboot was def superior imo. While I'm not opposed to at least some of this cast coming back in a future season I really hope they create a new cast beforehand if they get the greenlight for new seasons cause they're already exhausting all the plotlines for this one and some of them already started to become flanderized. At the very least they should add new characters and change the location to shake things up if they still want to go ahead with this cast.

So Yes, I did finish Season 2

And much like season 1 I found it mid. I think Season 1 ended stronger, but started pretty weak. While Season 2 was the reverse

I did think it had a promising start, I even liked how Priya and Kaleb were set up for the drama. But after the reveal it kind of... fizzled out. Like they could have milked the drama more and Priya had a right to want revenge but Priya was never such a super angry revenge person before and it felt weird.

They turned Caleb into a complete idiot after they resolved the arc. He was smart, just not game show savvy. That was his thing.

I wouldnt call it anywhere CLOSE to the atrocity that was Skave. But it was a lot less fun. At least Priya calmed down at the end.

But the moment the season went down hill for me was when Damien got eliminated.

I really felt they were setting him up for something good in the character arc department but they didnt. I knew he was doomed the moment he found the immunity idol but it would have been a nice inversion to have HIM use it.

And lets be real, I didnt care about the final 3 at all, I knew Julia wasnt going to win because lets face it she is basically Diet Heather.

They even did something to her hair like Heather.

As for Wayne winning. I didnt care, it was going to be him or Caleb.

Season 2 could have used more Scary Girl. Every scene she was in was gold.

I also appreciated the tasteful cameos of Owen. MacArthur and the Tennis pros.

It wasnt anything awful, but i did find it fizzled out in the later half.

[goombasa]

I Played the Funny Pizza Game

Yes, I played Pizza Tower well after it had come out and am just talking about it now. No, I don't think that matters. Not everyone can play every new game as soon as it comes out and I rather enjoy the fact that I'm able to take my time with a game and really absorb all it has to offer. And of course, even though the game is only twenty dollars, I have very limited disposable income, so I had to wait until I could actually be sure I could afford to drop the money on what is essentially a luxury purchase.

Anyway, rant over, let's talk about the funny pizza game.

It's good. It's really, really good. Right from the get-go, the scratchy, intentionally wonky and imperfect character designs and animation gives it a look and feel very reminiscent of 90's era cartoons, particularly more surreal and outlandish cartoons. Most have compared it to Ren and Stimpy, which is a pretty good comparison, but I get more Cow and Chicken vibes myself. The animation itself is absolutely unhinged, not only for how ridiculous it is, but just how much of it there is. There are so many little details, so many subtle behaviors that change based on the situation, and an impressive number of variations on basic actions, like your basic attack after grabbing an enemy. While Peppino, as the main character, gets the lion's share of the attention, and the Noise got a similar amount once he was made playable, secondary characters are still animated beautifully, especially the boss characters. Even the minor enemies in each level have an impressive amount of expression to go with their more limited moveset.

The environments are also just amazing. They feel cluttered but readable, if that makes sense. Every level has its own unique feeling aesthetic that is cram packed with details all over, but not so much that it devolves into white noise It's still enough that my first time through each level, I didn't end up getting many of the secrets because discerning where in the walls some of them are hidden was actually pretty tough for me with all the other details around them, though there are particular markings that make it a bit more obvious. And the design of the levels themselves is brilliant because of just how easily all of them flow. Even levels that I didn't particularly enjoy (of which there were only a few), the flow state I was able to get into was just euphoric, but even then, the game makes it clear where you can improve, and it feels so, so good to improve in this game. Despite its more caustic sense of humor, the game is actually really good at teaching you how you can do something better and really helps to break bad habits fast.

Everything about this game is top tier, and love and care was put into every facet of it, especially into the soundtrack. It's just as varied as the levels that you visit, and I don't think there's a single dud in the entire soundtrack, especially the most well known tune, “It's Pizza Time”. First time I heard it, my whole body was vibing with it, and it is a totally different experience when you hear it in context as well. When you're playing the runback of a stage, the timer ticking down towards your inevitable demise, it's a beautiful balance between a masterful flow state and a nail-biting anxiety soup as you simultaneously slam through every enemy in your path and then panic because you forget how ladders work for a while.

Pizza Tower is a triumph of a game, great for all skill levels and with plenty of stuff to do. A casual playthrough can feel a bit on the short side, but that's only a small portion of what the game has to offer There are the secrets to find, the Jerome doors to unlock, and of course going for the elusive S and P ranks for every stage and boss. And there's still new stuff that's being made for it too. With an entire second campaign with the Noise as a playable character, and a couple of special, extra levels to unlock, I'm very eager to see what Tour de Pizza is up to next, and I highly recommend that anyone interested in a fast, frenetic platformer where you can learn and improve at your own pace, and have a few really good laughs at the same time.

[ofmermaidstories]

*Huge Rant Incoming*

Hi Mermie :> How are you? With all the asks you have already answered regarding MHA, I hope this is not too annoying. I just need to be irritating about this for a bit cuz I have been grabbing all my frnds to vent to them about MHA and the ending. It's my coping method TvT

Regarding the ending I think, I was a lil disappointed. There are so many opinions floating around but in general I do agree with the fact that most of the problems arise because the plotlines that had so much buildup weren't really ended in a satisfying or logical manner and it didn't really feel like an ending that upheld the messages of the anime. Which is crazy to me because this is one of the few cases where even if the anime ended in that "Wow! Happy Ending! Everyone and Everything is fine and we all became the greatest heroes", it would still fit because my hero always gave me that vibe of, "Oh! You can also be a hero! Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!", and it still SOMEHOW never felt patronizing or corny even though I usually hate shit like that. I was so flabbergasted when I actually felt motivated to do better when I first saw MHA because the show is so OBVIOUS in it's messages and metaphors. MHA is not a subtle show but it still somehow WORKS?!

No matter what the ending was there would always be someone who is disappointed; especially for a fandom as huge as this. It can also not be overlooked that due to the insane and frankly inhumane workload, Horikoshi obviously had to cut corners and the time needed to really flesh out all the ideas he had; but I still can't help but feel frustrated with how things ended. So many of our favorite animes and stories have to suffer because of this and I would rather wait 2 years to get a better and well rounded ending than for it to be rushed like this :/

Regardless of all the commotion, I still think that for all the things MHA did wrong, it also managed to do a lot of things right. Does the show suffer from not giving female leads fulfilling plots even when they have amazing powers and personalities? Yes. Does the show fall short in committing to give long term consequences to it's characters? Also yes. But at the end of it I really think MHA's biggest strength lies in it's character writing. I HATED Bakugo's guts the whole first season really, but he ended up being one of, if not the MOST heroic characters in the show. I really love all of the characters and the things they stand for. Even if LoV was a run-of-the-mill typical villain group, I loved all of them too and was really invested in ALL of their storylines. Deku is also such an amazing MC with so much potential even out of the show. He is relatable, sweet, heroic but also COMPLETELY UNHINGED. lol. I cannot name one character that I "hate" in MHA (except AFO, he can go jump in an acid pool for all I care). So it was really disappointing to see their arcs (especially the villains, and ESPECIALLY SHIGARAKI) end like that, ;-;

But even after all this I really, for the life of me cannot hate this show. It is one of the only Animes that I watched alongside the fandom, otherwise I usually wait for them to end so I can binge it altogether. Shouto was one of- if not my first anime blorbo <3 I still remember how ABSOLUTELY SMITTEN I was (still am unfortunately) back then. He remained my uncontested fave for a long LONG time. Even with all the toxic shit the MHA fandom is up to at times, it's still one of the most fun experiences I have had in a fandom. I have met some of my favorite fanfic writers because of this show, found so many amazing artists and have constantly been bamboozled by how talented the ppl in this space were. I have made a lot of steadfast frnds because of this show. My bff (a devoted bakugirlie) and I would spend hours coming up with hcs, talking about character analysis and coming up with all different theories for the show. Those were some good times :D

It might not be the best ending but MHA is a good show. The journey to get here was one I will never forget <3

Lmao, you’re always welcome to rant, Castle. 🥹 I’m always happy to talk about the ending, I have a lot of thoughts about it!!! But okay let’s have a chinwag. I’m curious—if you could talk through your ideal ending, what would it be? Because I quite liked the ending Hori’s given us, even with my attachment to Deku being a hero via OFA lmfaoooo. I think yeah, Hori rushed things to the end, but I don’t believe things would’ve played out any differently if he’d given himself like, another year or whatever. I think he’s had this ending in mind for a while now, and I don’t think anything could have talked him into like… sticking around to tell it longer. 🥺

I do think the difference (with my liking the ending) is that I’ve never been invested in a Happy Ending for the villains LMFAO. I’m so sorry. 😭 I like them—I love them—as characters in the story, but I am not a stan in the way that like… I’d go out of my way to write a fic for them, or buy their merch, you know? And I think the main reason for that (for me) is like, how very clearly marked for messy ends they were, like, right from the start LMAO. It sucks ass that they were neglected/actively abused/earmarked for some insane world domination plan, and it sucks ass that for them help never came, or was offered too late—but they’re villains LOL. Most of them make active choices in their adulthoods to be shitheads. 🥹 And we could argue until the cows come home about whether or not you’re really making a choice, if all you’ve known is abuse/neglect/doomsday grooming, but tbh, in a world where people can have devastating and destructive powers that they can then turn on other people, I kind of think it’s a moot point. 💀 Like—it doesn’t matter how sad it is that Shigaraki was left to wander the streets as a tiny kid, shellshocked and idk, covered in the remains of his family—by the end of the manga, he was literally at the point where if he had escaped Deku's clutches one more time, he would've dusted the entire country. The boy had to go, LOL. Ship him off to the afterlife by express post!!

There’s a great discussion in there about the cycle of abuse, and what we (as a society) owe the victims of it, and how Horikoshi absolutely has thing about like, retconning his abusers to either like, try and undo some of the severity of what they’ve done (Endeavour, Bakugou to some extent) or give them moments of sympathy (Shiggy’s dad, when he’s gushing about his baby boy to AFO), but the thing that MHA makes very explicit by the end is that like—sometimes things suck, and sometimes you can’t save people from the damage that gets dealt to them, but you can stop them from dealing more damage out to others, and perpetuating the cycle.

(This is a bit of an aside, but my favourite thing about the villains is that they were genuinely dangerous people. We as a fandom have the gift of like—seeing their hurt, their tragedy, for what it is. We see the neglected, abused, lonely children they were. The cruelties and the misunderstandings. But the people of the MHA world don't get that magical ability. Instead they get to see one of their classmates—who was chill and normal and fun—suddenly attack a boy just to drink his blood bc she’s like, obsessed with him. They see a young man walking around with decaying hands clinging to him, and turning people to dust. They see a homeless psycho set the people they care about on fire in a roar of blue flame. You can't demand change—or pretend to, for some of them—while actively making your world a worse place. And that’s what makes them compelling, to me. I like that AFO is just—wretched, LOL. That he literally just comes out of the womb and was like ok, I’m going to ruin lives and make it generational. 💀)

Would you change their endings, if you could? 🥺 I think if I could change one thing it’d be… Bakugou dying, LOL. Like I’d either a) make it permanent b) make it cost more to bring him back. 😌 (This is why it’s a good thing Hori’s the one that wrote MHA lmfaooooo. 🥹) Actually, new question: even with your disappointment, is there anything about the ending that makes you feel a little more hopeful? 🥺 You mention how much the fandom means to you—is your love for it seperate to your enjoyment of the series? The ending made me happy—Izuku, finally getting to live his dream because his friends loved him so much. 🥹 And also after a moment or two I grew really attached to him as a teacher!!! He’s so perfect for it. 🥺 I know his students just love him. I think Horikoshi created some really lasting, powerful characters andddd… ultimately I trust in their lasting appeal. Theirs, and the story’s, overall. 😌