#using his powers for the greater good (pizza)

[the-lions-art-cave]

obligatory turtle fanart

[rantsandreblogs]

I just finished watching Andor, and while I generally adore the show I have to admit I have….issues… around Bix.

spoilers ahead

The whole series meditates on the cost, sacrifices, and traumas that both are cause and the price for rebellion. And, at the end of a show where the audience goes in knowing the title character will absolutely die immediately after the final credits, they also needed a bit of hope for life after the fighting ends. So I completely get why the show would use her the ways it did.

But I still hate it.

First she becomes the vessel for all the major victimization. Tortured horrifically. Nearly raped. The one suffering from the most overt case of PTSD. Self medicating by becoming a drug addict. She largely becomes the designated broken one.

Now, she is permitted to fight back. She kills the almost rapist, for instance. And her later taking out her torturer is played as her reclaiming her power. She is breaking free of the darkness that had swallowed her up, in order to take action and….

Play housewife to Cassian. Her roll becomes his support. His advisor. His conscience. His comfort. And also his anchor, not merely keeping him from being lost, but holding him back.

So what is she to do? Why leave him, of course. The classic sacrifice so many women in old novels and movies make. I leave you for the greater good. Tradition said relationships and the heart are everything to women, their battlefield, so it was the ultimate price they were allowed to pay.

I say ultimate, but obviously they could die. So I guess they could have gone for totally cliche and had her throw herself in front of a shot meant for Cassian. Thank goodness they did that and didn’t end her story on some even more irritating cliche, like, oh, say having her be secretly pregnant when she left and….

Oh.

So her story ends holding (presumably) Cassian Andor’s baby. Because of course it does.

Stories are full of this. The male hero goes off and dies heroically, but the audience takes comfort in the fact a woman was knocked up first.

That makes it okay? Is the heroism for a good cause or to save lives not enough? Does a life have no meaning through what is done, only through procreation?

Obviously it works for lots of people. I remember coming out of Titanic and hearing a woman complaining bitterly that Rose wasn’t pregnant with Jack’s baby. Lots of people love this stuff.

But I don’t. The dead dude’s baby thing always irritates the hell out of me. I don’t know which bugs me more, that is suggests the man’s death isn’t so horribly tragic because of a baby or a woman’s greatest roll is to give birth to the hero’s baby. I hate it.

I suppose the crux of my problem with Bix isn’t any of these things in isolation, but as a collection of traditional woman’s suffering.

Suppose it was a man who was tortured, sexually assaulted, becomes paralyzed by PTSD, spends time as a drug addict, recovers through vengeance but then channels the regained strength into being a house husband and support for the woman, who he then leaves so she’s free to focus on fighting, and has the woman’s baby in secret ** while the woman dies. Would Bix as a man bother me as much?

But Bix isn’t. She’s a woman enduring womanly suffering I’ve seen to much of. So, despite understanding why the series needed a character or characters to go through all this, it bugs me.

The series is one of the best shows I’ve seen in years, and is disturbingly (and wonderfully) relevant, but for me Bix’s season 2 story is like a rock inside a pair of boots. The very perfection of the fit makes the hard thing underfoot feel worse.

Now clearly, most folk don’t feel this way. For others it’s unfinished business, which doesn’t both me. (In reality no one’s “storylines” are all tied up with a bow. For me it just makes it all more tragic and real.) But if you love the show “except…”, well, I get it. It’s like an ingredient in a dish that didn’t suit your taste, pineapple on your pizza or caraway seeds in your bread. Mine just happens to be Bix.

**Not even just a man being trans or some outrageous science fiction or fantasy explanation would be needed. Our modern world has theoretical options. The woman could have had her eggs frozen and a surrogate used. I dunno.

[cleabellanov]

Loki season 1 moments that live in my head rent free ✨

"This is FINE asgardian leather!!!" (e1)

I imagine that Loki, a fashion queen, really cares about their looks, and wouldn't let their outfits, conjured or not, carelessy touched like that. But they did conjure that outfit, right? So they must've really worked hard on it; Asgardian leather sounds precious, after all.

The whole "I don't enjoy hurting people" conversation. The "Because it's part of the illusion. It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear." quote

Mobius giving (or trying to give) Loki back his daggers. Love is a dagger

Loki looking up in the sky for the storm in episode 2: The Variant , most probably being reminded of his brother Thor

Loki fixing Mobius' tie. It's such an iconic moment I know none of us need an actual illustration for it; it's engraved in our visual memory.

These precious precious moment when Loki feels safe enough to fall asleep in Mobius's presence

The well known "Jeg Saler Min ganger" (I saddle my steed) Norwegian song

"Is this...Hel?" after ending up in the void. Because they must've thought, again, that their end must be Hel, undeserving of a "greater" one like Valhalla

THE HUG?!?!!

Just Mobius pulling that pizza car to Sylvie. Fearless.

"I'd NEVER stab anyone in the back! That's such a boring for of betrayal!"

I literally quote this out loud a few times a week, it's part of my personality.

"No one bad is ever truly bad, and no one good is ever truly good" also quote this almost daily, but in my head.

Casually stopping a building from falling using telekinesis!? We deserved to see more of his powers, like THAT'S just how powerful he is. Not just daggers (altough those are cool as well but...yk, not as efficient)

"You can be whatever, whoever you wanna be. Even someone good. I mean just in case anyone ever told you different"

need I comment? We get to see a character that pretends to be bad at their core being told he can just go and be the opposite - which is true!! they just needed the right support for that.

The introduction of Mobius. The first time we ever saw him was in sunlight; just like the last time...

The introduction of Sylvie. Setting things on fire, just the perfect visual for her character and actions for the rest of the season.

Loki trying to hit Miss Minutes with a magazine. The magazine being Mobius's jet ski one 🧡

"You're just a little pussycat" and "If looks could kill" from the first episode. My man was genuienly flirting ✨

" A bit of both" the only bisexual queen moment we actually got. The lighting here is interesting as well...a bit of pink, purple and blue. 😉

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Hello, an anon with long question had arrived! 😭 I've brought some virtual foods and drinks so you won't be bored on what I'm about to ask you~~~ 🍔🍟🍕 🥤🧋

I don't know if this would interest you, but what do you think about the perception of magic in SVE? (I'm basing my question on my Farmer's lore below.)

My Farmer's parents despise magic, viewing it as a destructive force that can only harm others, based on their past experiences, particularly with Farmer's grandmother (RSV lore). Because of this, Farmer grows up avoiding magic and initially fears it due to his parents' influence. However, his views start to change over time.

Farmer sees Rasmodius using magic to protect Pelican Town, encounters the benevolent Junimo restoring old buildings, and witnesses a fairy enchanting his crops. In Castle Village, he observes battle mages using magic to defend the weak and elixirs with diverse medical uses. Additionally, magic has practical everyday uses. It can summon bubbles without soap, animate puppets for traveling performers, enhance sound for festivals, even had a very simple spells such as all-purpose cleaning, birthday reminders, or sweetening placebos spells for those who cannot consume sugar!

Ultimately, Farmer realizes that magic, like weapons, can be used for both good and ill. The witch who curses his plants at night is one of the proof of the latter. But alas, he understands that like weapon, when used by the right people, magic can improve lives.

... This turns out to be ramblings about my Farmer, and I'm sorry.

But in conclusion, how do different people's perceptions of magic affect their lives, just like Farmer's did? Are there others like Farmer's parents who hate magic? Or are there families who see magic as a special status, where greater understanding of magic elevates social status in the mage world? (It would be an interesting headcanon if either mages in the game like Ras, Lance, Camilla, or Jadu came from such families but disagreed with their views and chose to keep their distance from them.)

Dear anon, don't apologise for this, I love all your discussions and theories about my favourite game, especially this mod and your Farmer OCs 😭💕 And thanks for the virtual food! (gosh, I miss pizza so much! 🍕😋). Have a wonderful day! (Send you some virtual cookies 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪)

_________________________________________

First of all, thanks again for sharing your Farmer OC and his lore, it was interesting to read! We have quite similar views and headcanons on SDV/SVE/RSV lore, and I tried to describe all my thoughts about it here (apologise for a very, very long text 😅)

So, about your ask....

You're absolutely right about magic being both a tool and a weapon. There was an interesting quote I remember about magic, but I don't remember if it was a quote from a video game or if one of my friends said it to me when we were discussing game lore (not SDV). Basically, magic was compared to an axe, but it's up to the individual to decide whether to chop wood for the winter with that axe or kill their neighbour. It is the same with magic: it can be used as a useful tool in everyday life, or as a way to bring chaos and destruction - all depends on the person. But, as it often happens in fantasy world, people who are not familiar with the concept of magic at all, are afraid of incomprehensible power, and if they had negative stories in their past (witch curse, for example), they will definitely consider all those who are somehow connected with magic as evil.

About the question of how magic has affected people's lives and whether or not it's being treated as only evil... If you're referring specifically to the inhabitants of the Stardew Valley, dear anon, it's pretty ambiguous. Looking back at the vanilla lore, some villagers simply denied the existence of magic (Shane in his dialogue at the Feast of the Winter Star), some were frightened by the strange noise coming from Magnus's tower and showed fear and distrust (Marnie). And at the same time, no one had any preconceptions about the maze in Spirits Eve, which miraculously appeared in just one day. "Yeah, that weird ourple dude did it all," and no one would show any concern. Not even the same Shane (free food and pumpkin cider, so he doesn't care too much, I guess 🤷). Also the fact that almost everyone considers the life elixir a universal liked gift. I don't know if I can attribute monsters to this as well, because in my mind, where there are monsters there is dark magic, but maybe the inhabitants see them differently (like mutated animals or something).

As for the Expanded mod specifically, nothing much has changed here either in terms of the vanilla game's residents. But! Victor, our beloved spaghetti man, stands out among all of them. In his event we are already introduced to the fact that Victor openly and directly reveals that he knows for the existence of adventurer clans, and that they - attention! - use magic to fight monsters and to protect people. Also worth noting is his separate dialogue where he tells Farmer that the Ferngill Republic government want to cut down the magical forest here in order to find useful things that can help in the war with the Gotoro Empire. And, most interestingly, as I quote, "that wizard won't let them do it." "That wizard." A wizard! Not "strange man", but a wizard. So, he believes in magic, and he's a man from big city with modern technology. Victor is not speaking negatively about magic in these examples, but more angry at the realisation that the government is intent on greedily gnawing at any opportunity to achieve its goals, in this case at the cost of the unique ecosystem of the Stardew Valley. But Magnus isn't giving them that. This means that people (at least some) also realise that magic exists. I wonder though: if the local authorities respect Magnus's word that it's strictly forbidden to cut down the forest, or if they're just afraid he'll send them away with fireballs if they go into the Valley without asking? I'm leaning more towards the second scenario.

With the Ridgeside Village mod, coming to a conclusion about people's attitudes (both in Pelican Town and Ridgeside Village, and in the rest of the world) is a little easier. And it's all because of Gabriella, the main antagonist of the RSV mod. As far as I understood correctly, her goal is to wreak havoc in the whole world (for what purpose - Hell knows, probably for funnies or whatever), and her minions, soulless shel, faithfully serve their dark queen: killing local politicians (all politicians, not to be confused with the Cult of the Lady with the Red Tail), committing attacks, cursing forests and sources of magic, as it was with Spirit's Realm. Of course, ordinary people who are either victims themselves, or their family/relatives/friends who are affected by it, will see magic only in a negative way and consider it the source of all their troubles. And most won't realise that it's all up to the person (Gabriella isn't a person at all): magic is evil, period. No buts. Because for them, it's easier to deal with pain and loss, to protect yourself and your loved ones.

The moment where wizards and witches lead a rather secretive life from the rest of the (modern) population only adds fuel to the fire of the problem with distrust. Consequently, some magicians also distrust people due to this discrimination. And so the endless wheel of distrust goes on.

People like our Farmer, who in their work as farmer/fisherman/gatherer/adventurer/miner use both magic and modern technology, can be the ones who help these two different social societies find common ground. Or on the contrary, the Farmer will be considered an outsider everywhere, despite helping both modern society (improving Pelican Town's economy, rebuilding many important buildings) and magical society (protecting people from monsters and fighting renegade wizard/witches).

What about our SVE mages...

I used to hold the idea that Lance was NC/LC (no contact/low contact) with his parents for just such a reason. That he, a man with a "gift", was at odds with the views of his parents, who shunned magic like a plague. But over time, I like the idea of his parents being retired noble adventurers with magic better (*looking at my mutuals with their lovely headcanons 👁️👁️💕), so Lance had no problem with that.

Jadu on the other hand, fits more into the category of someone whose views on magic have changed over time. I think he suffered the same fate as Morgan, Magnus' apprentice, when they were taken away from their parents and not even allowed to contact them. Naturally, when you, a child, are taken away from your parents or guardian so abruptly, you're going to see wizards as a source of evil because they came to your home, almost forcefully and threateningly took you from your parents' nest and sent you to who knows where and who knows who, "to learn the arcane knowledge". Even in a fantasy world, that sounds very sus. The witches and mages themselves, under whose wing the young talents were given, can be both the reason for the child's revision of the concept of magic (magic not bad, but also good), and make the situation worse. Later, this can then lead to the formation of renegade mages, thirsty for revenge, they hurt ordinary people in the process of revenge, and the fear of magic in general will be even stronger.

I like to think that Camilla was so determined and opinionated that she wasn't the one they came for, but she somehow fucking came to the Ministry and was like, "teach me!" At least it's sounds funny 😅

Magnus, oh well... I honestly don't know, but he was probably taken into the care of a wizard when he was young to learn spells and alchemy to protect people and help adventurers with "monsters clean up".

Got a bit of a chaotic answer again, but I hope I've answered all the questions!

[chaotichyperfixations]

TW: Peppino and Totino trauma, creepy mad science, medical trauma?

Ok so

1: Bruno fought on the enemy side during the war and ended up barely surviving his encounter with Peppino. He ended up becoming obsessed with the man and slowly started trying to copy him, even setting up shop in the Tower (like that one story of the mafia using a pizza shop as cover.) He was a good cook but an even greater scientist. He'd been obsessively collecting every sample of Peppino's DNA he could get his hands on, and started working on clones and special formulas designed to be superweapons. Doing all his first tests with Noise's DNA until he figured out that was a horrible idea. Of course he wasn't alone in this endeavor, backed by his government and assigned an assistant/lab rat, a prisoner of that very battle.

2: Totino had fallen while he and Peppino were trying to flee the battle, and Peppino hesitated in saving him one second too late. Totino got soaked by some sort of chemical grenade, and Peppino assumed he was dead. Totino survived, but he was... changed. He lost his memory, and the substance in the grenade made his appearance unrecognizable. He was taken prisoner and sent to the Tower. He had tests run on him, and overall wasn't having a good time. He started remembering bits and pieces of his past life, like the Pizzeria, Pizzaboy's cartoon, his favorite song... but most clearly, the image of Peppino running away. He and Bruno started to bond over that as his appearance started to change, and his powers came in. But Totino was always a bitter person, and it wasn't long before Bruno got exactly what he wanted - and didn't want it anymore...

Oh my gosh opal your COOOKIIINGG!!! AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!¡!! oh good HEAVENS!!!!!!!! me when bruno gets to be plot relevant:

[jasper-crow]

See the issue I have with stuff like this is the exact same problem I had when people looked at the assassination and said "Oh had to be a professional". It's this idea that everything is more planned and thought out than it actually is. It's this idea that a lot of folks seem to have, mostly white folk, that there are shadowy governments and companies and organizations doing professional style hits on one another and us. It's the same kind of thinking that ends up in "9/11 was an inside job!" sort of conspiratorial thinking. When in reality a lot of the bad shit and good shit that happens is being done by people just as fucking confused and incompetent as anyone else.

Boeing didn't organize a fucking seemless hit, TWICE, in a matter of weeks to kill two seperate whistleblowers. One of which had already gone over the majority of his testimony. The level of organization that would be needed to not only do that, but to keep the payment, the communication, the hit itself, and everything else involved under-wraps would almost certainly have been revealed by now. And not through any investigation or anything of the sort, but through the sheer incompetence of the company and the hatred it's thousands of employees feel for it. Boeing just laid off 10% of it's workforce worldwide, and is still going. And y'all think absolutely no one involved would blab? You think that suddenly someone starts working for a giant corporation and becomes a hyper competent professional with zero morals and the ability to lie to everyone and take a secret to their grave?

The people who work for, run, organize, fight against, rally for, or rally against any particular company, or government, or organization, or military are just people. Same as everyone else. What they are doing might be evil, deplorable, out of touch, or just plain mean; but that doesn't suddenly make them fucking competent at any of it.

Every system on the planet is just run by people. Normal, unreliable, stupid fucking people. There are fucking nuclear bunkers manned entirely by 19-22 year olds who hate their jobs and are waiting on a fucking pizza delivery man to find the bunker so they can eat dinner.

There isn't some greater plan, there are no shadowy players behind the scenes, there isn't some all powerful cabal.

People in positions of power already have everything they need to oppress you, you don't need to pretend they are an organization from your shitty comic book movies y'all.

Remember earlier this year when Boeing very clearly had a whistleblower executed? And law enforcement didn't even look for anyone or release any info about it or anything?

People keep comparing Luigi Mangione's case to the subway murderer who got off because of systemic eugenics, but I think there's something more apt about the fact that a CEO had someone executed in recent memory, with zero attempts to find a culprit, while they spared no expense at all to find (and probably frame, it's beginning to look like) someone who shot a CEO. It's always fine to slaughter if you're rich, but if you kill the rich, they will hunt you down.

[conquestable]

1x3 - WHO YOU CALLING UGLY?

(spoilers for all three complete seasons will come up at various times as i point out foreshadowing)

about 2.6k words below the cut

this man is putting his whole pussy into this grief performance instead of letting his authentic grief shine through

"and we are left to wonder… who will save us now?" and a wide ass grin "i will!" babe didnt elon musk say the same thing? "and others like me" too bad youre about to abandon your roll as a father

even the speech he gives at the private burial is giving the energy of someone saying "they were always really nice" when someone they picked on dies

the way nolan makes direct eye contact with mark when hes making pointed bits of his speech is so deranged hahahahahahahaha

its like hes trying to feed mark all the lessons debbie tried to teach him, but he doesnt fully understand them himself yet. it takes allen later on to really hammer the message home for him, make him understand that his feelings for debbie were the reason he was alive, his community was the reason he was alive, his family gave him a reason to live, and he chose to sacrifice them all in the most brutal way possible instead of accepting those facts and fighting to protect whats important to him

man red rushs girl is FUCKED up what did he DO to that poor woman

mark: "it just doesnt seem real" me: "i wonder why"

mark is fully recognizing that there are severe personal consequences sometimes for doing hero work, sometimes your loved ones die, but he cant understand that he is ALSO a victim of these circumstances. he says "it could have been me or my mom in that hole" hes got his dad on such a high pedestal, hes the center of the boys fucking universe, i mean how many more people do you need to see die before you learn? you need to believe you are invincible with your whole CHEST and stop worrying about if that means the same thing it means to be omniman. youre not omniman youre INVINCIBLE.

im so glad all my screaming pays off in the end when he murders conquest ouughghghh what a phenomenal fight scene, ive never hit a greater payoff on a show in my life

ooooo darkblood makes nolan nervous too?

darkbloods so coooool, he just lets everyones hatred of him roll right off him, lets it slip right off and gloop all over the ground and splash back onto the person who spit it, when nolan says "you just dont want to go home" and darkblood says "maybe one day youll know why" thats my DARK AND SASSY KING RIGHT THERE

of course cecil likes robot, i dont have time to get into why, he just wants a new kind of doggie, one who thinks hes too smart to be taken advantage of

cecil awkwardly admitting that he cant keep a leash on omniman, you pathetic little man. cecil said "i couldnt get this leash on omniman, but youll wear it right?" and robot said "with pleasure"

nolan not knowing how to grieve like a human would be adorable if he werent the cause of the grief. the way he tries to go get pizza, and debbie has to be like "babe i love you but take a night off" aka spend some time appreciating the loved ones you still have left to honor the ones who have gone, she really has her good human moments, powerful enough to sway a viltrumite heart

debbie trying to encourage mark to do the same, to call william, but mark is all panicking and not knowing how to handle his grief bc like father like son

nolan basically tells mark to suck it up and pretend like hes fine so he wont disturb family time, and its really T-T nolan i love you babe but youve made so many mistakes

he thinks hes being a good father though, he even finishes looking like this as he asks mark to train with him tomorrow, hes so out of his depth

my man get a grip

debbie said "and youre talking about pizza and telling mark not to feel anything?" GET HIM DEBBIE, KICK HIS ASS

oh my god and nolan starts gloating that theyre dead and hes alive because hes more superior to all of them, hes bragging to her face that he killed them all

nolan youre losing your grip, the handle is over there, youve started to fly away, i need you to grip the handle

debbie said "i dont want a broken family" girl none of us do, im so sorry for your loss

wwwooooowwwwww mark uses amber as a rebound off dealing with his grief feelings, dont do that mark, dont do thatttttt, is she important to you or not, you need to make that decision when youre in a sober frame of mind

omg and he can barely stutter out a sentence and she hits him with a "who?" my queeeeen bully him more bully him bully him

shes so far out of his league its not even funny

woof and the way she calls him straight out on it "youre terrified of me arent you?" awoooooooo

shes getting him all flustered, making him feel new things, who cares about all that grief stuff anyway, hes got girl problems to focus on

shes so flirty and hes so awkward stoooppppppp

i bet she blew his mind the first time she let him touch her, he nutted in point three seconds flat, said he was sorry, im sorry, im sorry, im sorry, and she told him it was okay and they could try again later, no really its okay

uggghhhh rex im gonna get you one of these days, man lied to kate to get in her pants and tried to act like the victim

"this doesnt mean shit, theyre not even the real kate" GO TO JAILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL REX

robot trying to ask mark why he wont join the guardians and mark just rubs his neck and hes like "well my daddy said he wants me all to himself"

mark is such a fanboyyyy he still somehow doesnt grasp the gravity of the situation, its like hes gonna start asking for autographs, he was too busy jerking it to amber on the phone to think about all that death stuff that necessitated these auditions in the first place

robot: "despite your name i believe you underestimate yourself invincible" its like how much more can people beat him over the head with it

robot really has a way of saying "my judgement of you is impeccable and scientific"

rex laughing at monster girl, boyyyy that girls gonna kick your ass, dont play with her

ohhhh and the way she gets on him for his tiny little dick complex and he starts looking around at the crowd all nervous, yeah bitch, doesnt feel so good when its you in the hot seat, does it

GET HIM MONSTER GIRL, KNOCK HIS FUCKING TEETH OUT

not eve saying "he asked for it" facts

oh shes too good for him, rex does not deserve her apology, but he DOES deserve the beat down to his ego it took for mark to save him, and he wont even take monster girls hand when she tries to help him up, GET A GRIP REX, WOMEN ARE PEOPLE

eve: "rex cheated on me" mark : "ohhhhh oh noooo awwww oh nooooo"

eve: "rex told her i was fucking you" mark: "HAHA WHAT??? WOAHHH ohhh awww ohhhhh thats crazyyyyyy"

and here comes black samson, heavy hitter number one with the first opportunity to bend rex over his knee and teach that boy a lesson, listen to your elders rex, team work makes the dream work

he even calls black samson "dad" when hes sassing him come onnnnnn

oh my god ohhhh my god "gonna beat your ass until you call me dad again" i cant breathe, get him black samson, get himmmmmmmmm

and rex dont know when enough is enough and just keeps asking for it, PLEASEEEEE put it in him black samson, give his mouth sm better to do

robots weird obsession with monster girl starts for such a weird reason helpppppp

she said "you wanna change my diapers?" and he starts stuttering, im not gonna unpack this

will wants mark to get laid soooo bad, he sees mark walking around every day with his repressed virgin daddys boy energy and thinks "i can fix him, thats my best friend right there"

the way mark doesnt know ANYTHING about her and will has to give him the cliffnotes, i cant deal, the second hand embarrassment is too much. he put in the effort to ask around about amber at school just so he could fill mark in cuz he knew mark would never do it himself

and he kicks will out like WILL is the embarrassment

at least mark is a good enough man not to lie to women on purpose, doest mean he knows how to treat them yet though. his "ive never done this before but im trying my best" energy is the definition of his and ambers relationship, and she forgives him for his mistakes over and over and over until it nearly costs her her life

she tries to pick him apart and get him to open up by asking about his comic books, helpppp shes too good for him, out of his league

the way she takes his stuttering pick up lines and flips them around and uses them against him in a sexier way im deadddddddddd

and here comes cecil to cockblock the fuck out of him

mark: "are you spying on me?" cecil: "i own you and you dont deserve privacy, get with the program"

its crazy the way he comes after mark with so much conquest in his eyes, he could never tame nolan but by god he will tame his son, weird power hungry old pervert. it really gets his mortal, un-super cock hard to act like hes the reason any super hero was ever successful, like theyre nothing without him, hes the big tough guy behind it all

and mark doesnt know any better so hes just like "sure ill go grab the milk for you"

and mark stuttering over the mention that eve might be there, someone get this kid laid i swear to god, get out of his way cecil

im mark kin, i dont know where mount rushmore is either, big dummy club

man amber is so rightfully pissed, shes giving her best face to mark and seducing him just right, and hes like "actually i gotta go"

OH THEYRE GOING TO FIGHT DOC SEISMIC, MY GOOFY LITTLE MAN

even doc seismics costume rips, hes such an icon, look at his four hairs sticking up out of his head

cecil never even tries to rehab this guy cuz hes just cruising in his own lane being a silly little guy, hes trying to blow up a colonist monument instead of performing human experiments on classmates he doesnt like, so what use is he to cecil?

mark needs quip lessons from my main man spiderman

nolan: "you left a girl in your room while you flew off to deal with a crisis?" my sweet honey baby youre so close to right, if you didnt follow up with "good. well not good for her, but good." dont teach him thatttttt look at how red rush fucked up his girl doing the same shit

and mark is trying desperately to get back to his teenaged boy problems but nolan is like "remember life is a balance between what you want and what you need. never forget youre half viltrumite" nolan now is not the TIMEEEEEEEEE its like hes begging for sympathy from mark saying some shit like "im evil because i have to be, please forgive me"

i cant believe amber really waited for him instead of just rescheduling, she want that virgin dick bad

she likes him cuz hes a punching bag omgggg she wants to see him get bullied too, im amber kin

don is such a sweet man, his world is so small cuz cecil takes up the whole thing, he wants to do the right thing so bad, and since his special skill is dying a lot hes extremely useful to cecil, cecil doesnt even have to worry about his safety

I CANT BELIEVE NOLAN SLAPS THAT DEAD TENTACLE MONSTER ON TOP OF DEBBIES FRESH FOOD, GO TO JAIL

he says "its an aphrodisiac" and she says "like you need it" i fully believe shes just stroking his ego with that one, he cant be that good in bed while hes emotionally stunted like that

the way debbie takes nolans bragging and meets him at his level and brags about the job well done she did today too waaaahhhhhh debbie youre too good for him

oh eve im so sorry rex hurt you, hes a tornado forget about him T-T

ughhhh and she follows his firework display so readily, dont let his romantic charade fool you baby girl hes bad news

rex: "im out of control babe. i know i hurt you but i didnt mean it. i just cant help it. youll take me back wont you? pretty please? look at the pretty fireworks!"

eve: "that wasnt even an apology" rex: "im sorry" BOY YOU MAKE MY SKIN CRAWL, LEAVE THAT GIRL ALONE

and when eve sees mark and amber making out, not to ignore eves needs rn but the way ambers got her thigh between marks legs LOOORD HAVE MERCY hes gonna nut in his pants before she even gets them off of him

shes grinding it all up in there, hes not gonna last two seconds, pray for his virgin soul

anyway i wish eve had other friends T-T she was right to respect marks space but she needs someone right now

my maulers are back <33333333333

and the way he looks that man in the eye and says "aw… sorry pete…" idk why he likes that guard so much but i love it

baby girl you are so precious to meeeee

and his stupid little flip flops hahahahaha

his superiority complex being directed at a clone of himself instead of the people around him makes him such a gem (its also why he didnt deserve to die, rip kings), he just wants to mind his own business and eat yummy food and make little science gadgets

hes so confident he sees HIMSELF as disposable, fully just uses his twin as a human shield and says "oh well i can just make another one" unbothered king

robot having his little evil reveal moment, i never could have predicted what that weirdo was up to, men will go to any lengths to get laid

AH DEBBIES CATCHING A CHILL, THAT MEANS MY MAN DARKBLOOD IS NEAR

hes just trying to help you debbie, i know hes spooky but hes a good dude, he even tries to point out to her how weird it is that nolan is so tight lipped about whats going on

and when he realizes she doesnt know anything he backs off immediately, my king is respectful

another little shot of nolan getting nervous, knowing darkbloods on his trail, it wont be long now

1x2 < [1x3] > 1x4

all episodes

[spiritsoulandbody]

#DailyDevotion Love With The Love Of God

#DailyDevotion Love With The Love Of God 1Co 12:31-13:3…And I will show you a still more excellent way.  (13:1)  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  (2)  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  (3)  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Paul has been in this letter talking about divisions. There were all sorts of divisions in the congregation. It seemed if you could be divided over something then well they were divided over it. In this last section the division stressed was divisions over gifts and which ones were better and the like. Paul had taken that to show Jesus is the Lord, the Spirit is the one in charge of gifts and we were to make they were using those gifts to serve and build up one another. Paul encourages them to seek the greater gifts and those were the ones which they served the most people. Paul is now pointing us and them to a more excellent way. He picks up on the previous theme of gifts. The Corinthians were pitting one gift against another. If one had the gift of tongues that was best. If one had prophecy, that was the best. If one had the gift of knowledge, wisdom and insight, well that was the best. You get the idea. Yet through all this, after each gift mentioned Paul says, “If I don’t have love, I am nothing. I gain nothing. I am a noisy gong.” Well that sets things in perspective doesn’t it? So if you have some amazing talents or gifts and you even used them to be of service to your fellowman and fellow church member, if love is lacking in the use of them, well it doesn’t matter a whole hill of beans. But what sort of love is Paul talking about? I love pizza. I don’t think that is what he is talking about. I love football. Still not the same thing. I love my wife. Well that might be getting closer but even unbelieving pagans and atheists love their spouses as well. So what is this love that Paul is talking about? It is the love God has for man. It is a love that sacrifices his own son for the salvation of those who hate him, for those who are his enemies, for those who do not trust in him. It is the love show us in Christ Jesus on the cross, who would suffer the agony and suffering so that we who do not fear, love and trust in him might be saved. So what does this love look like in our lives as Christians? It forgives those who sin against us. It shows mercy to those who do not deserve it. It is seeking the good and betterment of those who hate you and want to harm you. This love seeks to honor others more than oneself. It treats others as if they are more deserving than oneself. It seeks to good of others for their sake and not for oneself. This is the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus. It is the love he expects us to show to others. Will you add love to your using your gifts today? Almighty, All-loving God and Father, you have shown us your great love for us in the sacrifice of your son Jesus Christ. Grant unto us your grace and faith that we too may show this love for other people we encounter today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Read the full article

[cannoli-reader]

In Defense of "The Acolyte"

I have been seeing a lot of criticism of the new Star Wars streaming show "The Acolyte" and some of it strikes me as unfair or nitpicking.

Details under a cut

"The fire on the hull of the ship is ridiculous, it's in outer space, with no oxygen."

The fire is not burning very high, and it clearly coming from some machinery. It's not a huge leap, it's not demanding the audience do the work of the writers, to assume that oxygen is venting out of the machinery, or else a flammable substance.

"The two twin sisters who have not seen each other in years, have an identical hairdo."

First of all, it is well documented that identical twins, even ones long separated, often make very similar, if not the same, appearance choices, life decisions and so forth. There have been cases with men who lived on opposites coast, who have married very similar-looking women with the same name, of the same age. Furthermore, they are said to have lived in a village before their estrangement, so it could easily have been a customary hairstyle of their community.

"The shadowy mentor figure of May, who speaks in an electronic and clearly male* voice, says that you can't kill a Jedi with steel or laser weapons, and yet, May did just that in the intro."

The person May killed was clearly not a Jedi, but a Matrix avatar given her pathetic Force powers and reliance on martial arts Not-at-all-female mentor figure is clearly speaking figuratively, and/or referring to some greater metaphysical struggle or internal conflict. At least wait to see what they mean. You cannot expect a show to drop all of its lore and philosophy in the pilot. Some people would be whining, if A New Hope was broken up for streaming, about Vader clearly lifting a CGI ship captain, since he did it only one arm, and we have not yet been briefed on the Force, nor had it made explicit that Vader has it.

*By clearly male, of course, we mean obviously female.

Everything else? Dead on balls accurate. The show is pure dogshit. For everything that made me say "Oh, good," there were two to ten contrivances or bits of idiocy stacked around it. And most of those "oh, good" moments were only in comparison to its fellow blatantly mediocre or ineptly written Star Wars shows. E.g., Trinity realizes (absurdly slowly) that May is using the Force in combat, and she pulls out a comlink and immediately calls it in to someone. That was a pleasant surprise, because Star Wars (among many other recent shows and movies, Batwoman being the first that springs to mind) have characters blatantly neglect the most basic security communications protocols so that Plot can happen.

Obi Wan Kenobi was particularly bad at this, such as the Alderaan security guard who encountered Baby Leia being chased by kidnappers who made the comic goon protagonists from "The Ransom of Red Chief" look like a Mossad or Delta Force snatch team. Rather than immediately call in his location and that he had eyes on the Princess, he dithers around and gets shot (BTW, the little shit who caused this to happen, by disobeying her parents to go running in the woods, never evinces the slightest bit of remorse for this man's death, which would not have happened if she had stayed inside, like she was supposed to. And then, when she is returned to the loving custody of her incompetent parents, she has the audacity to demand that changes be made, with the implication that these are changes affording her more agency and freedom. On the other hand, to try something of a compliment sandwich this show really does not deserve, I have to admit her lack of grief for the guard she got killed tracks perfectly, in hindsight, with her New Hope characterization of not showing the slightest bit of grief or mourning for the Jedi Master who rescued her from drug dealers, saved her from turning to street pizza when she ran off the roof of a building, saved her from stormtroopers at a checkpoint, got dragged through hot coals guarding her escape, infiltrated the 'Fortress Inquisitorious' to rescue her from torture, and finally, put his mission of guarding the boy with Darth Vader's last name, whose hiding spot had been exposed to Imperial personnel by her moron of a father, just to fly across the galaxy to return her pet droid).

/rant

Anyway, that's the kind of "oh, good" I had to pull from the first two episodes of this turd burger.

[libidomechanica]

Young son is or any be kept his right, the pain

Shall I have been beguile, whom thy     shadow One upon her sorowe see, sorrow for pizza     with ever did’st me gentle ready make in me that human     kind. Compare: in which

thorny path thee thy face calculations;     never thousand gude faith! Heine forth lookes is over     thinke that thou art! Th’ inward path, above! Take me     angrily: What Fortune

suit and water free: for soone, and     soul to them gives this paines will see her bedroom blue sea’s     border; and breathing I might his move in this this yeares     vntymely clear away,

any common shore, as my tear     the sounds, it may bearing words run on an age at least did     seemed to the beauty beauty bound, in good government here,     extremityes, set up

a strengthen’d, and past all be so     pale? ’ The spark of silver intended hath time to clouded     moon in the pillowes, where which oft I will be wielding     down into one by one

and thing, struck; with his chewed-off tail     traine. Come, Sleepe, iealouzie hemselves, nor the sea to see that     the Misses sake, and sew to be blam’d for better fitteth     vs; leaue to reduce

his sensibility. Understood     erect in sight of love. Young son is or any be     kept his right, the pain. How pallid lilies cold. And are fallen:     the rain and in the

cornice restored the presently     o Sire, ’ she short a time leads forlorn and brief and tell     then—he took to Drinking device but vnto them best or sinnes     hurt and the house with

slow and the cruelty, thrugh strife,     painful results o’er it to my bed, until the horn in     Roman show their words, beside their harps the ear to my books     and made fireside wings,

a shield him; by the bolts full of     sleepe, the room. Said Ida, tremble, all must all be a slave     to wounded alike fyre of haggard self-loving thrugh stubborn     shell, which pass’d they right

by element heat, but yet not     to be! ’ And did you had a quarrel, wherefore the tree!     Their full art: and you go: the animals aforesaid     occupied the surfacing

and sees, beats on it halfe in lap     of leave wine. I cry she sighes and within whom I knew     the duke, because of senses the misty river-changing     Here Comes too cruell, which my

heard, look’d but a boon in our low     world my spirit out of Psyche, ’ she came from annoy, safe-     smiling stranger canst the came to purchase of his greater     the beds. Nature to reason:

Thus while far out-owre thee, and     speculation prove parent’s good a lass on the deep-delved     earth display, but I shall live beyond his comin’ to mee:     no, no, my Deare, let bee.

As some mair he cried Annie, ’ that     maskes my wounded soul I’ll try that I in haste, and the     striction; for its delicate: the goal yet, beneath hold my     mother an’ a’ should begins

his disgrace: yet her abstained,     so that time and speake her thrown us from sunny. Which things     which outwent. My encounter and ask them that full of peace,     that wondrous sight at you

can’t find all the or eyes wide: such     power of their childhood in winter meet, the light wherof     hath enduring, meat, or fret. And, forge, this soul, or ere they’ll     fashion too, especially

when in haste to Senegal;     teaching to catch the cause to love you held hand, lastly gave     him her husband’s fragility, for sink, and lost youth of     a large and ask them vphold.

[alpha-kid-au]

Chapter six, training, And pizza.

The mountaintops of Williams dimension are still drenched in the light of the full moon, as the sounds of battle echo through the valleys, as William is training G in the ways of combat

G strikes down at William, but he jumps out of the way. And as G lands, William kicks him into another mountain.

G got out of the wall and jumped back at him, bouncing from mountain to mountain.

He fired bones at him, which he dodged, but while he was distracted, G swung at him with the strings, so he jumped as G was about to hit him, and then he kicked him into the ground.

As William pulled G out of the ground he said "wow, you're doing a lot better than the first day we'd trained." As he dusted off G, and made sure he didn't hurt him

"Ugh, it just still seems so hopeless to defeat you though" G spoke annoyedly, as he stretched.

"Remember, the goal isn't meant to be "defeat me", it's meant to be improvement, which you have in spades." William said as he dusted himself off.

"I know but… it doesn't feel that way" G said, sitting down, as he got ready to eat his lunch

"Oh, you hungry?" William said as he sat down too.

"Yeah, it's just been a lot," G replied.

"Hey, would you wanna eat at my palace?" William suggested, putting his hand on G's shoulder. "I don't cook much but well, I can, if you don't expect anything magnificent."

"Are you sure?" G asked as William got up and said "of course! I mean I've been teaching you after all, gotta make sure you're not hungry. Come on, let's go." As G got up, and said "sure."

They both flew over on Williams' horned blaster, over the hills as they came to the large castle, weaving in and out of the mountain, some rooms visible, some not.

As they entered the hallway through the columns, they went down the hall, and after entering a smaller chamber, they went to the right leading to a hall with a large table. It seems to be dusty from lacking use, however.

"Whoa! How did I never know about this room before? Your place is massive!" G spoke into the echoing halls of the dining room.

"Y-yeah… I don't use most of it often" William said, grabbing his arm, as he continued down to the kitchen.

"You can do whatever you want, I'll try to make an actual meal, I'm used to just making cookies." He continued as he walked to the kitchen.

"Well I don't have much to do, I could help you make food." G suggested.

"Huh? Well what do you know how to cook?" William asked, as G perked up

"I can make pizza! Hunter and Nightmare taught me." As he walked over.

"Well I don't have those ingredients… Give me a sec." William said, disappearing into the warpspace.

After about five minutes he comes back with all of the ingredients he would need.

"Alright, let's make pizza I guess." He said as he smiled lightly.

As they headed into the kitchen, G saw a rather normal sized kitchen, as surprising as it is with the size of everything else, you would expect a kitchen the size of a restaurant's, however it isn't.

"This is my kitchen. We should get started! We'll need mixing bowls right?" William said as he used telekinesis to grab multiple bowls, cutting boards and a baking sheet, alongside a rolling pin and any other things they would need.

"Woah! That telekinesis is cool, can I learn that?" G asked, as William laughed,

"Well, probably. My control of telekinesis is far greater than even others with my same power, so it is unpredictable how good you could be with it." He responded.

"What do we do now?" He asked, as they made lunch.

Once they finished making food, they sat down, and ate.

"It would appear we have both learned something today,l." William said as he giggled and ate

"Yeah… I guess so" G said as they ate.

- later -

They're training again on the mountains, G threw bones, and fired blasters, to no avail.

So he summoned dozens of bones behind him, attached them to strings, flinging them at William, and as he was about to dodge, G surrounded the area with blasters, trapping him.

And as all the bones landed, he celebrated, "YES! I did it!" As William responded,

"Well, it could use some work, but I might be able to start using magic soon" he winked as he got up from the ground.

"Alright, I think that's enough for today bud, you can go home." William spoke, smiling.

As G said his goodbyes and went off to his home, William sat in-between the columns of the hall, as he somberly stared out into the infinite expanse.

[yanderelovlies]

Devil May Cry reverse au headcanons

The Legendary Hunter: Vergil Sparda:

He is the legendary demon hunter who is known and loved by everyone in Fortuna. Have a demon problem? Call Vergil. Need a little help with something? Call Vergil.

He isn't good with his feelings, so acts of service are his way of showing he cares. That's how his mother taught him. He may not look like the most friendliest looking but will still help out. That's how he met the mother to his son after all.

Speaking of her, she unfortunately passed away during Nero's birth, leaving Vergil to raise the kid. Luckily, he wasn't alone since Trish and Lady, and eventually, you often helped with Nero when Vergil had missions.

He is still very awkward to affection to Nero. He hasn't had the best example, but he tries. Nero finds it kind of funny.

Unlike Canon, Dante Vergil won't touch pizza, but he would go for a good curry, not gonna lie. He isn't picky, and he is always willing to try a curry he hasn't had before.

The Alpha and The Omega: Dante Sparda

He is a rambunctious and reckless man lusting for power to beat Vergil. This has caused him to destroy everything around him while making him infamous to everyone at Devil May Cry.

He is still snarky and loud, and he uses it to hide the seething anger and betrayal he feels towards his brother. Despite how deep down he just wants his family back.

I won't lie when Dante found out Vergil had a kid it made him even more bitter. The one thing he wanted he didn't have. He doesn't take it out on Nero, but he does fight him.

He doesn't hate his brother he is just constantly upset with him. He wanted everything Vergil had. He wanted to prove to his parents that he was worth saving!

He accidentally separates Vergil and V during a fight. He got a hold of Yamato stabbing Vergil with it. It wasn't for very long, but it taught Dante that his own sword could be used for greater power.

Still really like pizza. He doesn't get to have it often, but when he does, he eats by the dozens. (He also charges it to Vergil's card)

The Devil Hunter: Nero

Even though he was still raised by his father, he still attended the Sparda church, though Vergil had no idea till shit hit the fan. It also brought Nero into his father's devil hunting buisness.

During this, Vergil was aware of Yamato's whereabouts but couldn't bring himself to hurt Nero in that way. So he got better with his demon weapons over time.

It wasn't until he first met Dante that Nero got separated from his arm. Dante wanted Yamato, so he tracked it down with the old research notes from the church.

Before that, Nero and Vergil had a good relationship. Though usually when they hang out, it's quiet between the two, only pointing out things that catch their interest, but it was a comfortable quiet.

Nero has asked about his mom. Every time he does, he sees how much love and adoration Vergil had for her.

He is a Sparda, and he is still rambunctious, but he is a little more level-headed just like his father.

[luna-rainbow]

You completely hit the nail on the head with DSMOM having very few actually rules on how anything worked. It felt like strange & Wanda’s magic basically just ammounted to being whatever Waldron could come up with in the moment. Like as cool as the mirror scene looked, there was NOTHING that previously indicated that Wanda could do something like that. The same issue w the different universes. Which is even more nonsensical since they had already established some rules in Loki & what if that seemed to be pretty much disregarded in this.

Oh man, we (okay mostly me) spent a lot of time yelling at the screen cos it was so dumb.

The accusations that Stephen did the wrong thing by handing over the Time Stone — oh look another Stark fan spotted in the writers’ room.

Wanda leaning in and putting on her best trashy white woman voice to say “You break the rules and become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn't seem fair.” Who are you and where is Wanda.

She has the Darkhold and the Darkhold has her…she’s not Wanda she’s the Scarlet Witch…erm so she’s a separate entity?? But she still wants Wanda’s kids?? When did this become a thing?

Wanda calling taking America’s power as a “sacrifice for the greater good”. What greater good? Does Waldron even know what greater and good means?? She was taking it so she can snatch her kids from another reality, there is no greater or good about it.

Christine’s “you always had to be the one holding the knife” — Christine you’re a bloody ED physician why do you even mind?? You’re literally in the one specialty who doesn’t have to deal with what a control freak neurosurgeon wants to do, and him being a control freak means he’ll take that patient off you asap which is exactly what you want.

Stephen casting a 3 week long slapping spell on the guy who just wanted them to pay for their pizza and then rudely grabbed his cloak — wow gee, real heroic, small business owner asking to get paid, how dare.

Wanda’s revelatory “this is a throne” as she descends on the bleakest remotest mountain peak ever - girl are you serious? Who builds a throne in the middle of bloody unsurvivable nowhere?

Christine suddenly being a lab tech in the multiverse: HA she’s an ED physician you think they have the patience to be research scientists??

The book of Vishanti “can give a sorcerer whatever power they need to vanquish their enemy” — hmm okay so why did Strange “turn to the Darkhold…In hopes that our salvation might lie in the Multiverse” when you’ve got a book that can give you whatever you need to vanquish your enemy?

“Everyone in that reality died” oh so when Strange does it he needed to be executed by his friends, but when TVA agents do it they’re just doing their jobs and there is no ethical dilemma to it? That doesn’t seem fair.

“This Stephen is different. It doesn't matter about all the other Stephens. They're not like him.” — ???? So you’re saying all the other Stephen’s are bad except this one?? What is with this constant barrage of accusations against Stephens? Isn’t he supposed to be the hero of this movie?

Stephen asking Stephen to prove he’s Stephen and he recounts a story about his sister — umm okay. So why is that exactly the same in every world but Christine is an emergency physician in one and a lab tech in another?? 

And like you said, the magic was all over the place. The mirror scene where Wanda climbs out of it like the girl in The Ring, Stephen fighting with music notes (why?), the demons that came out cos Stephen possess a dead body (what…), then Stephen using those demons as magic (whatttt).

And if Stephen had a character arc it was so subtle that it was barely noticeable 🙄

[my-mt-heart]

TWD 11x12 “The Lucky Ones” Review

When you think about the fact that this episode marks the halfway point of the final season, then you may start to feel frustrated, disappointed, underwhelmed, let down, and all the things. There are some pivotal moments, sure, but nothing worthwhile and nothing to feed our malnourished Caryl-loving souls (nothing to break us either if that’s any consolation and at this point it is for me). My advice for going into this one is forget about the ticking clock in the background, think about it like a standard episode, and if you’re like me, you might just appreciate the connective tissue that’s been seriously lacking for a long time as well as some long overdue character interactions.  

First and foremost, I have to give a shoutout to one of my favorite platonic pairings on the show and that is Jerry and Ezekiel. We missed out on seeing a proper reunion between them because of *shudders* time jumps, so it definitely gives me butterflies to see Jerry in attendance with Ezekiel during his checkup and again right before the big surgery. Cue adorable banter about the authenticity of Hawaiian pizza. For a character like Ezekiel who has lost everything from his kingdom, to his tiger, to his wife and son, to his health, to a random horse, it’s hugely important for him to have a constant in his life and this episode reinforces that Jerry is it. Even when he is not physically with Ezekiel in a scene, Jerry remains a heavy presence, proving his undying devotion with offscreen gestures like bringing him an entire buffet of food. 

Carol shows her support too, but if you ask me, their conversation in Ezekiel’s shitty apartment really highlights their incompatibility as life partners. As Angela Kang even mentions, Ezekiel’s empathetic nature makes it easy for him to care about people he doesn’t know whereas Carol is far more selective about who she holds close to her heart. Ezekiel also has a specific code of ethics that Carol doesn’t share, and that’s because she’s always thinking about the greater good. She knows Ezekiel is capable of making a difference in a broken system, so she’s going to do everything in her power to give him the chance, nevermind that Ezekiel has made peace with the high possibility of dying or that she’s preventing others from getting the care they need. 

I’ve already seen comments about how Ezekiel isn’t showing Carol the appreciation she deserves and I couldn’t agree more. However, I’m not mad about it. I’m not mad because I think it highlights something very significant about Carol’s journey, and potentially foreshadows where she might be headed next. You may notice that while Ezekiel is reprimanding her, she keeps her emotions in check, even when she says she doesn’t want him to die which is a pretty heavy statement to make. She’s acting like this is all just par for the course. She makes tough decision after tough decision, never seeking recognition or glory, but she knows how to take backlash in stride. Now I find it very telling that she’s able to brush it off when Ezekiel is the one passing judgment, yet is completely devastated, beaten down, and compelled to make amends when it’s coming from Daryl. I do wonder though, if Carol continues to spend time with Lance, is it possible she’ll begin to crave what he craves (or what he claims to crave), which is acknowledgement for all the hard work put in to keep others safe? The reason I ask is because studying Lance could be Carol’s way of looking into a mirror and seeing what she could one day become (basically it’s the opportunity she should have gotten with Leah, but let’s not go down that road). But also just like looking into a mirror, she’ll eventually be able to pick apart what she doesn’t like and come to terms with what she really wants for herself, which as we know is not recognition from all, but rather love from one man. 

I’m not saying I expect Carol to go down that path. It would complicate things in a really impactful way, that’s for sure, but I can just as easily believe she’d see through Lance’s facade the whole time, especially considering how much of his darker side is already starting to come out. If there was any uncertainty of who was going to be the Commonwealth’s villain, Lance and Pamela being the two biggest contenders, I think this episode tips the scale. While scouting Alexandria, Hilltop, and Oceanside (oh, hey, that place still exists) Pamela seems fairly removed from the idea of forming an alliance, essentially telling both Lance and Maggie that she already has too much to worry about back at the Commonwealth. She also seems indifferent about Maggie’s decision to decline the offer. Lance on the other hand is very adamant about making it work, and though there’s definitely a lot more to uncover about his true motivations, it’s heavily implied he’s looking to build something he has complete control over, something he can use to become more powerful and more widely recognized than Pamela. And oddly enough, Pamela is not oblivious to it, just like she is not oblivious to her son’s asinine behavior. For some reason, she just chooses not to do too much about what’s bound to become a huge problem for her later on. She’s not weak by any means, but let’s just say she’s no Carol either. I did like seeing her tour the different communities though, if only to get callbacks to Deanna Monroe and Georgie. 

It’s clear that Aaron, the appointed representative of Alexandria, worries about his community’s chances of survival without the Commonwealth’s aid, and it’s not that Maggie doesn’t share those concerns for Hilltop. Trying to get it up and running again is a long, fatiguing battle for her people, who are constantly having to worry about walker breaches and food shortages, but the way Maggie sees it, none of that outweighs the risk of trusting a large society who upholds classist values. But much more alarmingly, if they can get someone like Daryl, who has NEVER been one to conform, to quite literally assume his place in line with the other soldiers, then obviously they demonstrate the power to rob the communities of their freedom to choose how they govern themselves and ultimately how they live (or if they live at all). As a leader, she has to make the hard call, and unfortunately not everyone is going to be behind her. Dianne, who is presumably an asset to Hilltop, decides to go to the Commonwealth where she can finally feel safe and secure. Lydia also implies to Daryl she’s thinking about “when it’s time to walk away,” which could be foreshadowing Daryl’s eventual decision as much as her own, but for me, it was just lovely to see them exchange words again. I really enjoyed their bond in seasons 9 and 10 and was sad to see it fizzle out. 

I have to say, and I’m very curious to get other people’s thoughts on this, Daryl seemed to be acting a little wonky throughout this episode, and by that I’m mostly referring to his dialogue. He tells Pamela he admired Deanna “very much so,” but when did he ever really spend time with her? Also, his response “when do I ever” after Maggie asks if he and Aaron trust the Commonwealth, not to mention admitting to Mercer that he was one of the leaders of Alexandria seemed a touch too self-aware for someone who is typically very self-effacing. Part of me wants to say the script could’ve used another voice pass, but it stands to reason this is all to reflect Daryl’s changing attitude as he allows himself to adjust to the Commonwealth. Mercer, who in contrast is starting to become disillusioned, even asks him upfront if he’s coming around and though Daryl is hesitant to admit it, I get the impression he’s wearing rose-colored glasses, calling the CW lucky. As to why, I highly suspect he is trying to reduce the cognitive dissonance he’s experiencing in order to give Judith and RJ the life they want. But I imagine it’s going to be like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. The more Daryl forces himself to pretend, the more apparent it’s going to be that it doesn’t work for him and like I said in a couple of my recent posts, that is going to trigger the emotional shift necessary for him to finally strive for what he really wants – a life on the road with the woman he loves.  

Speaking of love, it seems like Eugene is back on track to getting it from the (real) girl of his dreams and that’s nice for him. He and Max are obviously a good match with equally high IQs and a fondness for ice cream and science fiction novels. (Side note: Are the good and evil twins in Eugene’s novel supposed to represent Pamela and Lance? Pamela does comment that Lance has been doing shady stuff “their whole lives.”) What’s more touching to me is seeing Eugene and Rosita supporting each other in all their endeavors. I actually think of them as the inverse of Carol and Daryl, following the trajectory to form a deep platonic bond whereas Carol and Daryl are slated to shift from best friends to lovers.  

The theme of the episode is luck – who has it and who doesn’t – and I think it goes to show that the more characters submit themselves to higher powers, like the Commonwealth for example, the more they lose their ability to choose their own path and it’s going to take some strong action to get out from underneath the system. That certainly applies to Daryl and Carol, who need to be more forthcoming with each other about their feelings instead of leaving it up to the universe or whatever. I could be wrong, but it looks like next week’s episode is only going to focus on Maggie and Aaron, which means no Daryl or Carol.  Like I said, at this rate, I’m just counting down until this block is over so we can get excited for 11C. Yep. That’s where I’m at. 

11x09 “No Other Way” Review

11x10 “New Haunts” Review

11x11 “Rogue Element” Review

[lady-and-lyon]

So, I made one post a while back about how awesomely feminist the show Wild Kratts was, with how its two main female characters were women of color in engineering and deserving roles of power, female villains who weren’t motivated by spite or quest for youth, etc, but today I wanted to talk about something slightly different, that I’ve wanted to cover for a while now, because I also think it’s very good - and that’s how the show portrays masculinity, in a way that’s really positive!

First, we have our two main characters, Chris and Martin Kratt. Keep in mind these two are basically self-inserts - and there are plenty of creators, especially males, who have used self-insert characters in really scummy ways - all I have to say is Powerpuff Girls reboot and you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even if they weren’t literal self-inserts, male characters, superheroes especially, oftentimes serve the male power fantasy, being just the strong, stoic, all-powerful person so many boys are told they’re supposed to be. I could get into a whole discussion about how the male power fantasy is present even when males are not (ever look through a fashion magazine and wonder why there are so few men? Sure, part of it is that the industry thrives off exploiting women’s insecurities, and men aren’t as concerned for their appearance, but another part of it is so that the guy, looking through it, can feel like he has no competition for these women - there’s a reason so many comedians have jokes about fashion magazines being their sexual awakening as kids. It’s really scummy) but that’s not what this is about. So, the bros had every opportunity to do just that - make themselves these traditional heroes who aren’t actually really good role models, like batman or what have you. It’s certainly not uncommon for celebrity cartoons to do stuff like that. But Martin and Chris chose a different approach. They’re pretty strong standouts for positive masculinity. They’re openly affectionate - both with eachother as brothers, and with their friends. They cry, sometimes over little things - most of the time when big superheroes cry, it’s ‘cause they lost the girl they loved or their mentor or something like that, only in the big, most agonizing moments do they shed a tear. But here, Chris or Martin will cry just because they’ve had a bad day, or because they’re overwhelmed and overjoyed that someone named a mantis after them! In a lot of shows or movies when a guy cries over something little, it’s usually played for laughs, or to emasculate him, but here it’s casual without being unreasonable or overdone. The brothers cry just ad much, maybe even more (haven’t gone back and counted or anything) as the girls do. Not to mention, it’s a very nice depiction of a loving, healthy sibling relationship. As the youngest sibling myself, it’s refreshing to see a pair who don’t abuse eachother with noogies or cruel and snarky remarks. When they do fight, it’s never a screaming match, and also because they had a conflict of interest or disagreed over a fact, not because, say, one of them stole the other’s shirt or is neglecting the other’s feelings. Kids, being very impressionable, get exposed to a lot of abusive sibling relationships played as normal in media, and start thinking this is how siblings are and should act. For instance, my sister (who is now my best friend and has gotten over all these bad habits over time) when she was younger watched a lot of Kim Possible, a show that is great, but has a bad family dynamic with Kim and her little siblings. The “tweebs” as she calls them are always irresponsible, destructive, and making Kim annoyed to no end. My older brother was one of the most polite, reserved, kind little kids, but she still treated him like he was a brat and a nuisance, because that’s what shows like Kim Possible taught her little brothers were. Additionally, I was always treated like a spoiled crybaby who just wanted attention and got away with everything - I was not any of those things, ever, but that’s what shows teach you little sisters are. Sure, Wild Kratts has a smidge of that, with Chris seemingly being the stereotype of the know-it-all little sibling, but instead of being constantly looked town upon for being too “perfect” like with Hailey Long in American Dragon, Martin often praises his brother for his abilities. Sure, Martin gets annoyed when Chris tries to correct him on things, like in the episode Wolf Hawks, but everyone else does too, so it feels more like a take-down of mansplaining than a sibling spat.

I talked too in the feminist post about how refreshing it is that Chris and Martin more or less willingly put themselves under the authority of Koki and Aviva, two women of color. I don’t think it’s possible to say any one character is the “leader,” they all work as a evenly balanced team, but it’s safe to say that Koki and Aviva make the more responsible decisions. The bros try to get out of their calls a few times, but the show plays it more like they’re being irresponsible, and less like they’re renegade cool dudes who don’t take nothing from nobody, especially not two girls. They are pretty much always punished via karma for their reckless choices, most especially in To Touch a Hummingbird, where their arrogant attitudes blow up in their faces rather spectacularly. We also never see the narrative most present in sitcoms, where the male leads mess up and go out of their way to cover it up and ultimately gets away with it - after all, you have to root for them, right, because sure they messed up and had no consequences, but aren’t they just so lovable? No, here Martin and Chris always have to fix their wrongdoing, and it’s always deserved when they get comeuppance. Another aspect of the show I like is that, many times, when the bros get captured or are in peril, they are saved by the women - and most refreshing of all, there’s never a moment of “wink wink nudge nudge wow I can’t believe I had to be rescued by a GIRL” or even “wow you saved me you’re pretty good honey guess I shouldn’t have underestimated you, you go girl!” No, when the girls save them, it’s just - you know, relief? Because they were saved? It’s never a scenario played as an exception, or any more dire than when the bros need to rescue eachother. The bros are genuinely happy to have them as teammates. The show even did the standard “boys vs girls” episode in the form of When Fish Fly - but instead of being actually girls vs. boys, it’s engineers vs. adventurers. There’s nothing really gendered about it - the girls happen to be engineers, and the boys happen to be adventurers. And the episode doesn’t end with the boys being “wow gosh darn I shouldn’t have doubted you girls are better at everything,” it’s a mutual agreement that both parties have hard jobs. Basically, the bros are very naturally respectful of women. That plays more into their feminist narrative too, but either way, it’s refreshing.

Then, we have Jimmy! Jimmy, the lovable gamerboy pizza man. At first glance Jimmy seems like the stereotypical cowardly, pathetic, emasculated loser. He’s frightened of most things, as of yet has no power suit, and he BAKES for crying out loud! But none of these things are framed as terribly bad traits. Sure, we laugh when he screams and runs from an animal, but though it happens over and over, the crew doesn’t get sick of it. They don’t berate him or belittle him because he’s so gosh darn cowardly. There’s a great scene in Rattlesnake Crystal where Jimmy has to deliver something to the bros alone, in the middle of a spooky desert. He is terrified the whole time, sprinting off after he delivers the goods. When Martin and Chris run into him, they don’t laugh at him for being spooked, they just greet and then bid fair well to their friend. To them, this is just Jimmy, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Jimmy isn’t coddled, but he is reassured many times that he’s a valuable member of the team. I love that little message, that you’re just as important of a person even if you can’t do as much or have greater limits. When his friends do try to get him over his fears, it’s not because they have to, that the day will somehow be ruined by Jimmy’s incompetence p, but because they’re his friends, and want him to experience fun and wonderful things that he would otherwise miss out on. But what Jimmy CAN do is just as important! Jimmy is a gamer, which in a lot of shows, is portrayed as a lazy, useless, mindless hobby. But here, because he plays video games, it makes him essential for piloting the ship and teleporting important items. There’s always the joke that video games improves your hand/eye coordination, but recent studies have shown it has much better effects. It can make you much better at keeping track of multiple moving objects and processing technical but variable information- two traits which, fittingly enough, are really really important for air traffic controllers and airplane pilots! He also demonstrates a lot more courage behind the wheel of the Tortuga, which makes sense - in an impersonal setting, he would have more sense of calm and control and courage, because it’s so similar to a video game world. It’s not all too different with how I feel more emboldened to pick fights with people on the internet, but get crazy anxious if a real person so much as looks at me. So Jimmy’s love of video games isn’t because he’s irresponsible, it has real benefits. A quick last point - Jimmy also eats a lot, but they thankfully don’t make him fat or greedy or anything like that. He never takes food from people, he actually bakes, and shares it with others! Having the baker be a boy is a lovely touch.

I might do another post about the toxic masculinity of the two villains, (or four villains, I guess, if I wanna discuss the minions) but I’ve got other work to do, and this post is long enough already, so I’ll get around to it later. I’ll sum it up with this - Wild Kratts is a show that teaches boys it’s not only ok to be kind, but essential. The brothers protect defenseless animals, advocate for things “icky” and “weird,” like bugs or snakes or worms - not because they’re boys, and boys like icky things, but because they genuinely see the beauty in all life, and are encouraging us to slow down and do the same. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world not by being the strongest or smartest or coolest, but by looking after those who are exploited and vulnerable, who are essential to the world, even if they can’t always do everything. In Wild Kratts the only weaknesses a man can have isn’t what he can’t do, but what he does do that he shouldn’t have. Sure, it’s a cute show about two funny guys who have cool powers, but it’s also a show about accountability, compassion, respect and trust. The show says “boys will be boys” in all the right ways - Martin is a lovable goof with a heart of gold, but he still has to get his act together when he messes up, and he’s still creative and smart and openly sensitive. Chris is a bit of a know-it-all show-off, but he can also mess up as much as his brother, and is still bold, brave, adventurous, and can put his money where his mouth is. Jimmy is a cowardly, napping, eating machine video-gamer, but he’s still a valued member of the team, has incredible skills and talents, and will always help his friends, even if he is really, really scared. It is so important to have role models like these, in a world dominated by unhealthy machismo. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world - both animated, and real.

All they need now is a canon queer character, and I’ll stan them forever! My money’s on Aviva!!

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reaction to SIMPLEMAN

A day late but that's what happens when good subs aren't out until the next day, and you're busy that day. This episode is so sweet and wholesome that it was worth it, for sure. I'm still not sure which one is Ella and which one is Etta. They're always addressed together so I just don't know, but I'd like to. ;-; (Note: Looked it up on Wikia, the one in pink with seafoam earrings is Etta, the one in seafoam and pink earrings is Ella) See Nino knows. Nino's concerned about Marinette babysitting three kids already. He lives with one all the time, times that by 4 and WOO that's crazy. Sweet of her to want to ensure her best friend has some time to relax with her boyfriend. Oh. OH those poor Kwami! Especially Fluff and her ears being pulled like a game of tug-of-war! I can see it now, Fluff now traumatized by young kids. So if Alix ever has any in the future, they better grow up knowing about Fluff right away or she's in for a horror show. PV TRAILER AND MUSIC! I'm such a fan of the music and the PV that when my sister told me about it, it made me even more excited for this episode than I already was. And I was very excited already! Manon: So? Aren't you going to answer it? She knows what's up. So Adrien's calling asking Marinette to help sew on a wing? Because nobody else there can do it? I dunno, sounds kind of sus to me, Adrien. Are you sure you're not using that as an excuse just to see your "friend"?

Marinette's biggest problem is thinking so far ahead in her brain that when she goes to speak, she's either way far ahead of herself or gets everything mixed up as it comes out of her mouth. If she just lived in the moment and didn't plan (which being Ladybug that's probably very hard not to do outside the costume), she'd be able to do this and overcome that fear of rejection as well. She seems to have that part fairly taken care though. When Gina said she was in China to learn Kung Fu and met a girl that reminded her of Marinette, instantly thought about Fei. How could it not be her? Rolland gets asked to babysit, immediately is like "Let's do something fun and dangerous!" Tom must have had an interesting childhood with Rolland and Gina. o.o Clearly Rolland doesn't realize who the heroes are based on. Or just completely forgot he met them when Bakerix. xD Adrien's so sweet with Marinette, even if he can't understand a single thing she says. That's adorable. But a really good way to thank her could've been "Would you stay and watch the photoshoot, and then maybe we could go do something fun/get something to eat after?" BOOM. Problems solved. But I have a feeling this may come back later, and maybe that would turn out better. Marinette's grandparents tend to give Hawk Moth/Shadowmoth the most sass and trouble in comparison to other Parisians. XD Rolland is so sweet to these kids, and they are so caring towards him. It's so wholesome! Just think: if that helicopter wasn't crashing behind her, she would've screamed she loved Adrien. So close. Simpleman is the chillest akuma. Being all "Hey kids, even though I'm akumatized, let's go out into the city!" and the kids are like "Yeah, okay. Hey let's get ice cream!"

Him protecting them from all the flying pizza boxes that guy was throwing around everywhere was super sweet too. LB and CN: Things are complicated. So we should find Shadow Moth directly. Let's run around the city screaming for him to come find us so we can fight him! I seriously think if Chat Noir or Ladybug brought up the fact that their identities made things complicated, they would've revealed themselves right then and there. LOL at the old school fighting and them behaving like young children xD "NO!" "I'm NaNa, ClaCla is no longer with NaNa! Paris is really messy! BuggyBug, KittyKity, help us!" Oh this is going to be so hilarious in the English dub with the voice actress who also voices Nathalie. XDDD A bouncy ball is very complicated for Ladybug. That a literal 5 year old can figure out. Wow this villain's power sure did a number on her. xD I find it all the more stressful actually, that Chat Noir and Ladybug can remember what they were doing the whole time they were affected by the akuma. That means if Marinette said she loved him, or they revealed their identities, there would be no going back or being able to make an excuse for it. Can we just talk about how those kids could understand that the reason he wants things to be simple and is upset that the world is so different, is because it scares him and he doesn't think he's capable of learning and changing with the world? A majority of adults these days can't even take two seconds to try to understand someone else's situation(s) before judging and being outright nasty people towards them. Yet these kids were able to do so. And a lot of kids actually are like they are in real life. Some may see this as an episode just for kids to appreciate, but there's a lot in here that's aimed at adults, too. Adults need reminders and these lessons just as much, if not more so than young kids. It's adults that lose their way and needed to be reminded of it, as they have a greater immediate impact on the world. I've seen so many people judge Rolland, make assumptions about him which is almost always the very worst things they could think of. But this episode shows how caring and willing to learn and understand he really is, he was just hiding behind his fear of change and not being able to keep up with it. Some lessons in this episode for the adult viewers are: -You're never too old to learn, get over your fears, try new things, become a better person, and see things through new eyes. -Don't over-complicate or overthink, but don't be lazy and think keeping everything simple will actually in reality be the answer, sometimes it can make things worse! -Kids tend to see the world as things are, not what they think it should be, or believing they're the center of the universe like adults tend to do. -Being wise means knowing that regardless of your field, educational background, age, or lived experiences, you don't know everything, there is always more for you to learn about everything out there. The kids in this show are quite wise, as they know that there is so much they don't know and how they treat learning new things. They also know how adults tend to understand, or act like they understand everything, so we as adults aren't used to it when we don't and react negatively to that because it scares us when we don't know. In that way, this episode was very brilliant! Also that hug at the end, oh you can bet these kids are going to want to go visit Grandpa Rolland, and honestly I'd love to see bits of them here and there, their bonds are adorable and they've changed his life in such a positive way. Also the pure Ladynoir without another hero or Alya or any kind of upsetting situation was honestly such a breath of fresh air! Maybe not the kind of Ladynoir people wanted, but it made me happy. Marinette acknowledged her problem is she's scared of Adrien rejecting her. First step is admitting it! Can't blame her for not being able to do what she wanted, she only just realized the issue after all. It's going to take a little time now to work on it! Is it just me, or

does it seem Adrien's almost trying not to laugh when she was messing up and then asked if he liked fishing? XD Maybe it was the actors tone with the facial expression but it seemed that way! But the way he just watches her run away and does that adorable little chuckle... Oh Adrien, we really need you to start realizing why you keep doing that. "She (Ladybug) reminds me of your grandmother and you know what? You look exactly like her (Ladybug)." Well. Oop. He's onto you! Apparently Rolland isn't blind, as not a single character suspected her from her personality or appearance to be Ladybug so far. Even Adrien only began piecing it together due to circumstances (and his own personal wish that Marinette is LB, you can't convince me otherwise this isn't true). This is going to come back later, possibly Dearest Family? Overall such a good episode with a lot of things in it, if you decide to watch without high expectations or biases. After all the angst lately, it was certainly needed as a nice change of pace.