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cool-island-songs · 2 years

Note

for the ask thing, you're getting old/ass burgers :)

Thank you for the ask! These are good eps in one of my least favorite seasons, so I have much to say.

★ Do I like this episode? Why or why not?

I like these episodes, but at the time they gave me a false sense of hope about the show improving, and I eventually stopped watching regularly during season 15. I just stopped enjoying it. These episodes remind me that being aware of a problem doesn't mean you're ready or able to fix it, particularly when it comes to something like depression, alcoholism, your hit satirical adult cartoon show being in a rut...

On the other hand, I've never seen a show come back the way they did and I really respect them for being able to do that.

★ Favorite moment?

The little details are fun for me in these, especially since the side plots are so (intentionally) dumb, and the main plot so heavy and sad. I love how disdainful Trey's shock jockey impression is at the beginning of AB. How greasy and zitty and off-putting all the Matrix people are. Hatless Craig sitting next to Tweek, smiling and singing. And it's true that parents are dumb, and their ears old.

★ Least favorite moment?

Honestly, the sh!t is excessive. The scene where it starts coming out of the doctor's mouth always gets me. It definitely puts you in Stan's shoes of being turned off by everything, but still. They really don’t have to make it so detailed on South Park, and yet they always do.

★ Do I have an unpopular opinion about this episode? What is it?

I get the impression people like these eps. I was drifting out of the fandom around the mid-teen seasons and I distinctly recall discussing them with my only South Park friend at the time. They were definitely notable in a season struggling to find its purpose. I recently saw someone on tumblr say they went to school and their friends all thought the show was ending because it felt like a series finale. I think I had a similar impression.

I'm not sure if this idea is unpopular, but these eps are responsible for fanon Stan's alcoholism in much the same way "T.M.I." and "The List" are responsible for fanon Craig's uhhh dick size and attractiveness respectively. It's a lot sometimes guys lol

★ Something I would change?

I don't know if I would change it, but the "Asperger's" element always bothered me because Craig is so obviously on the spectrum! I wonder if they mean to suggest that with his overall characterization, or if Craig is based on some kid they knew who happened to be on the spectrum. The latter seems more likely going off of the autism discourse in these eps. I know Stan's "diagnosis" is meant to be another dumb side plot that serves to accentuate how stupid and pointless the world around Stan feels, but save autism for a Craig episode. I don't know, man.

★ Rating out of 5?

Gonna go with 3.5/5. They were good, honest, self-aware eps in the midst of a season where I really only like 3 other episodes (T.M.I., CBAA, and The Poor Kid). All the dumb bits work because it's supposed to be dumb, but knocking a star off because there's an awful lot of lampshade hanging on that front

★ Anything else I want to say about this episode?

I’ve seen discourse about Kyle choosing to walk away from Stan and whether or not that was the correct thing to do, and I’m sorry, but I don’t analyze media that way, in terms of the moral rectitude of various characters. Where did people learn to analyze pop culture like this? What do you get out of it? People are messy and complicated and don’t always do the right thing, particularly when the “right thing” is subjective and contingent on social mores which are ever changing.

YGO/AB is about being in a rut, having depression, being a creative person or entity that has lost direction and enthusiasm. It's about the type of numbness and lack of inspiration that can come with depression. The rut Stan's in and the rut his parents are in in their marriage are a reflection of the rut the show is in. It's a meta commentary on the direction of the show, as evidenced by Stan's monologue at the end where he's like "Maybe this kid will be my new best friend!" I don’t think it’s one person’s responsibility to be around someone who’s making them unhappy, even though Stan and Kyle are such long-term best friends. But the temporary dissolution of their friendship is just another metaphor for the inner turmoil of the show’s creators.

#ask #ask game #south park #you're getting old #stan marsh #craig tucker

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missouris-googlehistory · 5 years

Text

Chapter III | Towards the Stars

//TW: Mentions of PTSD episodes and suicide

The day Francis so anxiously awaited finally came. “FRANCE!? FRANCIS!” An English voice called out, jarring him from his sleep. That's when he knew.

“Here..here! Angleterre!” He tried to sit up from the cot. Suddenly he heard dogs barking. The ones he knew Germany had put in front of the door so he couldn't escape. “Arthur the do-!” Before he could finish he heard gunshots and canine whimpers. England barged in through the door.

“FRAN- BLOODY HELL.” He laid eyes on his neighboring nation. Now bruised and bandaged. France looked away in shame as England averted his gaze and cleared his throat. “Come on now. You get to go home.” He came over and helped his Allie stand up. Francis wrapped his arms around him and sobbed.

“Oh Angleterre I'm sorry for the horrible things I've ever said about you! I'm sorry for all of our fights! I-I!”

Arthur looked at him stunned. “Oh well..it's alright you..I mean old chap.” He decided now was not the time for teasing. “Come on. Someone wants to see you.” Francis sniffled and nodded allowing himself to be helped down the stairs.

Once outside England wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. Francis hadn't noticed as he paid close attention to America shouting at Germany and Prussia. Both were on their knees in handcuffs, guards surrounding them so they couldn't escape. The younger brother noticed France and glared at him. Francis shied away feeling Ludwig's ice blue eyes dig into his very soul. “Nevermind him.” Arthur turned him to another direction, immediately he saw Belgium who was wrapped in a blanket as well.

“Emma! You're OK!” She looked up and came over.

“France!” The Belgian smiled. “You're OK too!”

Those were a few pleasant memories. Unfortunately for France though, the bad outweighed the good.

It had been nearly twenty years since then. One day, England had decided to come over and check on him. “France?” He unlocked the door with the key Francis let him have. He heard sobbing coming from a distance. So he decided to check upstairs. “Oh no..” He went towards the noise, which was his bedroom. “France?” He asked again, peering into the room. “It's alright-” Francis tossed and turned in his sleep. Arthur realized. “He's having another night terror..” England sighed and suddenly jolted from his thoughts as the Frenchman began to scream. He knew you shouldn't wake someone up but he couldn't leave him to recall such dark memories. He rushed over and immediately helped him sit up. “Sh. France it's OK. You're home now.” He spoke softly as the other man continued to cry. England noticed him beginning to wake up. “Here.” He went into the next room to grab something, he knew this was Francis’s gallery. He saw something small enough to grab and rushed back in. He handed him his sketch pad that had a drawing of Joan d'arc on it.

Francis clung to the drawing and began to calm down. “Look at all the marvelous stars you drew.” England tried to cheer him up as France looked down at his art work. “You know you'll never see the same star twice. Each night is fresh with different kinds of stars of all shapes and sizes. This is your chance to meet new people. Get out and see the world. If you're up to it you can start attending the world meetings again.”

“Merci Angleterre.” He wiped his tears as he came to his senses.

In the neighboring country, unlike France, Germany had no one to comfort him. Everyone was still angry at him. And the only person who did care about him was locked away behind a brick wall.

Ludwig held his ears in agony. “I'M SORRY I'M SORRY.” He shouted, he couldn't recall when the episode started, all he heard were countries shouting and screaming at him. Calling him names and teasing him. He slid to the floor. “I KNOW I KNOW..I'D BE BETTER OFF DEAD!” He suffered until the voices finally left him alone.

A few months later, Francis was doing much better with the help of his friends. The doctors told him it would be long lasting but he knew he had support. He heard his phone ring and ran to pick it up. “Salut-” America cut him off.

“Yo French fry could you go check up on Germany for me? We got into an argument a little bit ago and he said he'd call me back and the dude hasn't yet.”

“Maybe he just needs some space America.” After all this time France had found it in himself to forgive Ludwig. He had thought long and hard about what he had said the first day of his captivity. “Besides it would take me awhile, even by plane to get from my house to his.”

“Aw come on dude! You do this for me and I'll stop calling you French fry!”

“DEAL!” France shouted, he hated that nickname with a passion. He slammed the receiver down and went to pack a suitcase.

“He better keep his promise!”

It took a few hours for Francis to actually get to Ludwig's house. He finally made it however and knocked on the door. “Lud..Ludwig..?” When he received no response he rang the doorbell. Nothing. He grew concerned and looked around. The car was parked in its place. “Strange..” He decided something was wrong, and it needed investigating. Francis walked around the house, he was in luck, a living room window was open to let in some fresh air. “This is crazy but..” He climbed through.

“Allemagne. It's me, France.” He announced his presence. “Maybe that was a bad idea..he's probably still remorseful.” He walked into the kitchen, remembering that Ludwig liked to cook. Maybe he was distracted. He stepped in and looked looked around. “Ger-” He let out a girlish scream. “GERMANY!” He rushed to his side. Ludwig was unconscious on the floor. “Wha..what? How did this happen!?” He looked around for an explanation. He noticed a pill bottle on the counter. “Please..don't tell me..” He looked in the bottle of Bayer aspirin. Empty. He ran to find a phone. Luckily the operator could speak French and understand the scared and rambling man.

An ambulance came and took Ludwig. Francis was sure to follow in his car. The thought dawned upon him as to why he should care at all. He should be happy shouldn't he? But he wasn't. Quite the opposite, yet he didn't know why.

Francis stayed at the hospital right outside his room while they tried to drain the drugs from his body. Once he got the OK from the nurse he went inside. He looked over to see Ludwig's side of the room had a window. Francis smiled. “Good. Now he can look up at the stars and have hope.”

A policeman came up to France. “Sir?”

He turned around. “Oh. Oui?”

“We found this on the counter. It was addressed to you and an Emma.” He handed Francis the note which was inside a plastic evidence bag. He promptly took it out and read it.

“Oh Ludwig..”

#aph #fanfics #germany #hetalia #France

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