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seventhdoctor · 7 months

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Soulshipping rambling: Just how does Judai relate to his past life? How does that affect his relationship with Yubel?

Bunch of musing below, now updated with screenshots while I'm reposting stuff that never made it to tags because Tumblr is a functional website. I think this is the last repost but it's gonna be me yelling a lot about these two.

(Also, happy anniversary to these guys! GX episode 155 aired October 3, 2007.)

In their original lives Judai promised Yubel he’d only love them, after Yubel had already voluntarily become a monster dedicated to protecting him. In the present Judai remembers their past lives while Yubel is trying to destroy the universe, tortured into insanity by a combination of his mistake and the Light of Destruction’s corruption.

Before Judai remembers, he only sees Yubel as his mess that he has to clean up - if any emotional attachment remains, it's buried within his memory twice over. But once he remembers, he instantly flips from "you’re evil and deluded and I will stop you at any cost" to "I accept your love (metaphorically), you need healing and I will risk my entire existence to help you."

(Episode 153, after Yubel explains Spell Chronicle)

(Episode 155, Judai chooses to do that. I haven't stopped thinking about this moment since my rewatch)

What exactly is he thinking at that moment when he flips? The decision to fuse with Yubel is about taking responsibility (growing up and redeeming himself for his mistakes) as well as - or even more than - a matter of love (acting on his feelings about Yubel). But also, there’s so many angles to what he’s feeling about those two things, and how much of each factors into exactly why he chooses to fuse their souls.

The flashback to their past lives is brief, less than three minutes of mostly exposition, and you don’t really get a full sense of just how much Judai connects with his past life beyond the line "I remember… They’re me and Yubel in our past lives" (paraphrased) before he watches his past self make that defining promise.

How much does he remember? Does he feel like a continuation of his past life in that moment, or like the next version of the young prince? I feel the answer to that question changes the meaning of his decision to fuse their souls together, in essence ensuring they can’t be separated again as a gesture of love and/or responsibility.

If he feels a sense of continuity with his past self, then that decision is a continuation of that promise to love Yubel, and an as-it-should-be reunion between guardian and guarded.

If he views his past self as someone connected to but separate from himself, then continuing that promise is more of a decision he takes upon himself to stay connected to someone he still feels tied to.

...Or maybe not. Maybe it’s simply a sense of duty to someone he’s hurt, someone he promised to love in another life and feels obligated to love in the present.

(Judai's smile when remembering his friends transitions into a determined expression just before he declares a fusion of his and Yubel's souls. Also, get rekt Amon.)

How much responsibility does he feel to uphold the vows of his past self? How much responsibility does he feel to heal someone who’s been hurt badly because of his mistakes (which, to be fair, were made because Yubel was attacking his neighbors to begin with)? Complicating this question is the massive sacrifice Yubel made to become what they are, a transformation that persists through lifetimes all for Judai's protection.

Yubel is tied to the past in a way that Judai doesn't have to be. Does this change the nature of what Judai feels toward Yubel? Is loving Yubel Judai's obligation, his nature, or his choice? Can it be multiple of these things, or all three?

You could argue it's none of those things, really; you could say Judai owes Yubel nothing and doesn't care about Yubel at all, but simply fused with them to save his friends and the world. I think that interpretation ignores how Judai's attitude towards Yubel visibly changes once he remembers the true depth of their connection, though, and what that says about how he views them.

But without direct word about what Judai was thinking during this moment, in the end the exact feelings Judai has about Yubel and the fusion are a matter of interpretation and/or headcanon. Regardless, it leaves room for a lot of fascinating questions about how their past bears upon the present...which are never revisited for some reason.

Well, that's what fandom is for I guess. The only value I have to contribute to the GX fandom is yelling about Soulshipping so here I am.

#yugioh gx #yugioh series #meta #soulshipping #judai yuki #yubel #i wasn't sure i wanted to repost this #but you know what #i'm about to have a very exhausting october #so this is me treating myself #by making my love for reincarnation stories everyone else's problem #also thanks as usual to kaiowut99/GymLeaderLance99 for the subs #sorry i've run up the ep155 view count a ton for reference purposes

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imsailorpluto · 10 months

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So I've finally finished Bloodhounds (+ ahjussi collection)

...and I have no idea where to start and what to say and how to feel.

No, wait, please hear me out.

It was b l o o d y and at parts a very difficult watch, as it has lots of explicit fighting scenes, which look extremely realistic and cruel. So cruel that I had to close my eyes and not watch, I even skipped many & i'm not sorry. However, there are also parts so heartwarming that it makes you forget about all the crimes and gore for a moment. So, it's up to you to decide if it's worth the struggle. Since the violence could be a bit too much for many, let's just say I do and don't recommend this one at the same time. Personally, one of things I greatly enjoyed is the subtle comic tone of Gun-woo's and Woo-jin's interactions with each other and their characters which represent people doing sports professionally so well, the purity of their hearts and lack of malice in everything they do, since they truly do live for the sports. Then there are two absolutely powerful and skillful young women, Hyeong-ju and Da-min, playing such important roles in the entire series, each of them individually contributing so much to the entire plan of bringing the bad guys down and saving what could still be saved. And also, one of the most enjoyable parts were definitely the bonds that came out of these newly formed friendships. Younger acting crew did an amazing job. In comparison to the older and experienced ahjussi crew (I'll get to them in a bit), they've got some serious talent. It must have been a huge undertake for both Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi to live up to the expectations of the entire team behind this drama. And they did it. They absolutelly slayed.

If you still haven't watched this drama, trust me when I say these two cinnamon rolls will instantly win your heart right at the beginning of the first episode. They're like the most perfect two besties you'd want to be besties with too. And yeah, you'll suffer thru all the horrors just to see them win the biggest battle of their lives. Gosh, every time I tried typing something coherent about them it just ended up being lots of crying shaking throwing up. They're the best, ok? And this is best I can do. ╥﹏╥

And while our marine boys scratched so many itches around this platform, I have to mention the absolute gentlemen that starred in this series and swept me off my feet *deepest sigh ever*

So many great actors took part in Bloodhounds, it's hard to believe my own eyes at times. Whoever was in charge of the casting did a killer job. I couldn't even take the bad guys seriously because they're freakishly handsome. Well, at least not until Kim Myung-gil brutally ended my favourite ahjussi trio damn you ep 6

What started as an obsession over two young marine guys and their bromance ended up as a hole in my heart over downfall of three middle aged criminals men and a will to trade all the money and gold bars for their lives. And more importantly, a huge appreciation for Korean actors over the age of 40.

No, let's be real. They're handsome and talented and great at their job and deserve all the love and support. With that in mind... here's a tiny screenshot dump because it would be a shame not to post it:

And I want to be normal about them and move on in peace but *internal screams* I've already mentioned Lee Hae-young in one of my earlier posts, addressing my obsession with the character he portrays, the sushi restaurant owner Hwang Yang-jung. And I know many people are obsessed with him too. But no one is speaking up. Which is silly. And tbh I really thought there would be more gifs of him and other men but...there's close to none? Can we talk about how fine this man is? How fine this whole ahjussi crew is? Can we... can we just acknowledge they sliced us all in tiniest pieces possible and burned us all till we turned into charcoal? Can we make a mess of kdrama side of tumblr by excessively posting about them? Pretty please?

It's true, I came for the boys, but stayed for these men. I'm not even joking when I say kdrama has me in a chokehold again, but this time for a whole new reason. Dropping everything just to watch series and movies these guys took part in sounds like the best idea at the moment. I even forgot about the new releases I started watching, which makes me laugh at myself, but... it is what it is. At some point, a girl just has to obsess over her favourite ahjussi, and that's okay.

#bloodhounds kdrama #bloodhounds netflix #bloodhounds #kdrama #woo dohwan #lee sang yi #heo joon ho #park sung woong #lee hae young #hwang yang jung #ryu soo young #ha soo ho #park hoon #jo wan ki #jo wan gi #kdrama recommendations #imsailorpluto #someone back me up here

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nebelihood · 10 months

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Hey Arnold Study ENTRY01 "Arnold visits Arni"

GUuYS- As you may know I recently got re-obessed with Hey Arnold for a brief amount of time very recently. (Sadly I had to kill that obsession because of school and Looney tunes comic- but no worries, I'll try to come back as soon as the comic is finished jahsj qwq)

BUT I GOT LIKE REALLY OBSESSED LIKE SUPER- YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY HEY ARNOLD SCREENSHOTS I HAVE NOW- I HAVE A WORD DOCUMENTING EVERYTHING FROM ALMOST EVERY EPISODE (Except the ones from last seasons cause I was honestly tired of writting while eating and pausing and not being able to watch comfortably Hey Arnold-)

Dated 06/06/2023

Side note 01: I don't mean sl*ty in a demeaning way, I was trying to explain things to myself and let them clear to me x'0

Side note 02: This episode happens previously to "Married" episode.

Obviously the most interesting part of the episode was how Arnold switched Helga's personality to someone he actually developed feelings for and it wasn't too far away from Helga's real character like her poetry, her schemes to get closer to the guy she liked and general appearance. What's also interesting to note is how they changed the other characters, they basically switched their personalities between two characters, ex: Making phoebe dummer and Stinky smarter. Gerald more exaggerated and Sid cooler. Rhonda carless and Harold all about looks.

But when they switched Lila and Helga, Lulu came out more "sluty" and flirty. Traits that have nothing to do with Helga. And Hilda came out as inteligent and sweeter, which could be characteristics that could apply to Lila- only without her iconic "Ever so much" and exaggerated kindness. Those characters didn't seem to switch personalities. Maybe show unconscious beliefs of them?

It's a awesome episode to think about since it's all Arnold's dream so reflecting on the way he portrayed "helga" he must have some sort of idea of her, that she's nice deep down. Like he has confirmed he doesn't think Helga is mean for the sake for being mean in the Helga vs Patty episode. Like he has seen Helga act nice in the Rhonda costume party when she pretended to be Lila, like when he took care of her when she got amnesia and seemed too innocent, like when he convinced her to wash dishes and do the right thing. He must by this point, be almost sure there's a good nature underneath her despite how much she fights it.

About Lila... When they first started going out she was quite flirty. And she was also quite flirty when she went out with Arni, so maybe he perceives her attentions to certain degree a little sl+ty out of jealousy? idk just a thought.

Besides Lulu keeps Lila's way of communication "all so much about" "I'm all to certain that-"And the dream kept Arnold and Helga's tradition for crashing againts eachother. Making them essentially themselves and not them with switched personalities.

I think it's also interesting to see how Arnold also instantly fell in love"" when he saw Hilda. The first thing he asked was "Do I know you?" as to say she reminds him of someone he has seen cause he thinks he already knows her. The only possible answer is Helga.

IT's also interesting to see how Arnold bumped exactly with her as soon as she finished telling the moon if she would ever meet her one and true love.

I love Arnold's little shy hands hiding behind him, listening to her happily,,,

Arnold has witnessed to certain degree Helga reciting poetry like when Arni visited last time, so it's not crazy he made that connection to Hilda admitting she was reciting poetry.

"YEAhhhh"

ANYWAY in review, despite if he knows if Helga is a good person or not which at this point I'm sure he has a gut feeling, he must find her attractive rigth of the bait or at least feel attraction. Like when he complimented her the first time he saw her on "Helga on the couch" episode and because he doesn't even "know her" and he can't help to seem all goofy.

Note he also included Helga's "love sighs" on the dream, so maybe he has heard them before??

"I've never met anyone like you Hilda, and I really like you a lot"

He confessed to Hilda and Hilda confessed she liked Arni- This episode could be taken in two perspectives, one is that It's just like when Arni visited but this time is Arnold is Arni; so even if Arnold seems perfectly normal on this episode, he may have been a weirdo to everyone in town except to Lulu like it happened with Arni and Lila. This could be it but for wouldn't be completely accurate, Hilda would have had already been obsessed with Arni or idk maybe not. It could also be Arnold confessing to Lila and Lila saying she likes Arni, except for the whole intro to the situation reviewed on one ep. It's interesting he confessed to Hilda on his dream tho

(I didn't even understand myself what I meant but I'm gonna add that it could be Arnold falling in and out of love with Lila? And meaning he could fall in love with Helga if she showed her true nature? OR saying he already sort of likes her? Or likes what he thinkg he knows SHE IS??? LIKE I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M DOING THIS- I KNOW THEY ARE GONNA END UP TOGETHER I JUST WANT TO KNOW HE LIKED HER A LITTLE BACK TOO BACK THEN AND IT WASN'T THE RESULT OF HELGA SAVING HIS PARENTS AAAAA-)

Everyone chased Arnold except Hilda on Arnold's dream

Why was Arnold so happy that Helga was really Helga? If she was so nice in his dream (And so mean irl)? Was is because he really likes her as her is; or cause she doesn't like Arni like on his dream? LIKE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I MEAN I'M HAPPY HE'S HAPPY TO SEE THE REAL HELGA BUT DOES THAT MEAN HE LIKES HER MEAN OR WHAT I'M CONFUSED

Why was Arnold so happy to find out Lila only liked him? Cause she wasn't the "sl+ty" Lulu who did like him? MAybe he was just happy he wasn't on his nightmare anymore, still Hilda was no nightmare except till the end where she rejected him,,,, I love how he only adressed them like wth- the rest of your friends were the ones chasing you to your death and you don't wanna doble check that???

end

(HAHAHAJAHSJAHA)

#hey arnold!#hey arnold #entry #text post #arnold and helga #helga g pataki #arnold shortman

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dk-wren · 4 months

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Buddy Daddies Week - Ep. 5-8 Rewatch

Welcome to Day 4 of my Buddy Daddies anniversary week! For today, I continue my rewatch of the series and present to you some of my thoughts from episodes 5-8! Enjoy!

No notes, only matching side-eye

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Can I just give some credit to Miri? Because even though it was quite reckless of her to secretly follow Kazuki and she more or less got lost, Miri was able to retrace her steps to a certain extent back to Yadorigi

Also, sorry if I was slow on this, but when Kazuki is looking for Miri at the park, the little girl he thinks is Miri is wearing a similar orange sweater. However, during this day, Miri is seen wearing her green sweater, which I feel just goes to show how little sleep Kazuki was running off of

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Why did Kyutaro open the door right after Ogino left? He clearly was not expecting Miri, so was he expecting trouble from Ogino? Also, what would have happened if Rei took care of Miri in their apartment and Kazuki was still at Yadorigi when Ogino arrived? What then?!

Like I wrote during my ep. 4 thoughts, this moment of the music instantly cutting for when Kyutaro tells Miri what Rei’s job is always cracks me up. Perhaps it is partially due to pacing, but it's just the sudden shift in Kyutaro giving a lengthy explanation into Kazuki’s job, with accompanying music, to him flat out saying “Middle Eastern Oil Baron�� and no further explanation is given (besides Miri’s confused reaction)

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“You really like them?” I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve always read this line not as Kyutaro being curious and trying to get more answers from Miri, but just outright judgmental. Like Kyutaro is trying to remain polite and neutral by using “them” instead of “fools” or “idiots”

When watching the ending scene beforehand, when Kyutaro says to Rei that he of all people should know what the consequences are for betraying the organization, I always interpreted this to mean Rei had suffered some of those consequences while growing up and after he originally left the organization. But after this rewatch, I’m starting to wonder if it is because he might have had a role in handing out those consequences (as seen in ep. 8)?

ZOO EPISODE!!!

The banter during the end of the opening scene is so funny. Rei’s telling Kazuki to do his best and he’s gonna do just fine taking care of Miri and Kazuki’s first like, aw, thanks for the compliment, and then instantly realizes and turns around to tell Rei he better help out too

Miri did not need to stick her tongue out at Kazuki but she did, and that was absolutely the final straw that broke Kazuki

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Again, gotta give credit to Hinata and Kotori cause they easily could have stayed behind with the rest of the class, but immediately decided to stick with Miri and look after her

Another reason to use these screenshots that I have saved? Yes I will take advantage of this opportunity to share them again

For me it’s the fact that Rei and Kazuki could have easily hidden behind one of the trees to keep a close eye on Miri and her friends, yet (I’m assuming Kazuki) decided no, they are going to cram into one of the small playhouses. Both of them are!

I don’t necessarily know if this is the first time, but I appreciate how after seeing Miri on her own with her friends, Rei and Kazuki can have a more or less serious talk, at least one without teasing each other

I know Kazuki is more than a little fed up with Rei and the amount he helps out with Miri/around the house, but I appreciate how Kazuki doesn’t really fight back or argue with Rei when he says that he is trying his best. I know it’s been pointed out before, but it really just goes to show how much Kazuki acknowledges that Rei is trying, even if Kazuki's expectations are a bit higher

I know this isn’t the point of the scene, but LOOK AT MIRI! LOOK AT THE WAY SHE’S HOLDING ONTO REI! LOOK AT THE WAY SHE’S LOOKING AT REI! There is nothing but love in those eyes.

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I don’t actually know how true this is, but growing up, my mom would always tell me that I had to blow dry my hair really well so I wouldn’t get sick. So a) it was sorta funny to see that come up in this episode, and b) I love how towards the beginning of the episode, when Miri announces she finished in the bathroom, Kazuki asks if she dried her hair well, while here, you can clearly tell her hair is still wet and Miri is sick the following morning. I know she had been out in the rain (which is another thing I was told by parents, if I stayed out in the rain too long or got too wet/cold I’d get sick), but it was funny seeing this small, potential connection.

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but the attention to detail of Miri progressively getting redder (i.e. hotter) as events escalates. Incredible!

Kazuki’s line at Yuzuko’s grave, “Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten” is so freaking loaded! “I haven’t forgotten” can be interpreted in so many ways, two of which being he didn’t forget to come visit her and he didn’t forget what he did (and why he’s unwilling to allow himself to change)

Every time I watch this scene, my mind goes back to one of my high school English teachers talking about weather symbolism in Shakespeare. And my mind just goes rain!!! Sadness, grief, ah it’s all connected. (And then the sun comes out when Kazuki has the epiphany he can change/be happy without forgetting Yuzuko?!)

Can I please add to the echo chamber of how soft Rei looks with his hand protectively over Miri’s?! This is where Rei belongs! Not with the organization and certainly not with his father!

And now we begin with the Rei focused episode

So you’re telling me…Rei walked all the way from their apartment to the mansion? That is definitely one way to prove his stamina and willpower to the Boss.

I cannot get over Kazuki and Miri’s coordinating outfits! So cute!

Could just be the framing, but with the audience getting to know Rei as he opens up more emotionally and in accepting his role as co-papa to Miri, I love how there is the slightest change in facial expressions (such as Rei’s eyes widening in shock) that the audience can pick up on, but for Shigeki, and being so unattached and uninvolved in Rei’s life (which given their background together, isn’t necessarily a bad thing), it takes some time for him to notice the change in Rei’s attitude

Random thought that keeps me up at night: what was the last straw for Rei? What made him finally say “no more” and run away? Were their previous attempts? And why do I have a full story in my head as to what led up to Rei running away, but probably won’t have the time to write out?

During their phone call, I like to think Rei isn’t really responding to Kazuki’s questions because he doesn’t want to think about their implications or have to think any longer about his father’s demands, along with just wanting to hear the voice of his daughter and partner. He’s in a place that is likely filled with countless memories of pain and trauma, and yet he cannot fully escape it yet. So, even though we see Rei still wearing more of a frown, I bet it’s comforting to hear the voices of the two people he loves the most (oops don’t tell Shigeki that) while there alone.

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In a pretty twisted way, it’s crazy how Satoru is the man that both taught Rei how to be an assassin while growing up and kinda the man to teach Rei that he can fight to protect the ones he loved

Moment of appreciation for the sound design of this moment, like come on! Satoru’s final words, along with a sort of rushing wind sound to convey the fall, Rei’s gasp followed by a moment of silence before hearing the impact, followed by a few more seconds of silence. So effective in my opinion!

And now, let me gush over the symbolism of this image! Rei facing the city/city lights, but distinctly separated from it, like how he was raised at Suwa Manor and likely only got a taste of normal life after leaving or when Kazuki entered his life, causing him to still feel like an outside. The distance between Rei and the city because of the water creating a clear separation, really reminds me of the metaphor Rei brings up in ep. 11 about being a boy looking through the window looking at something he thought he would never get. And the fact that his back is turned toward the light, as if admitting his defeat and that he belongs with his father in the darkness of that world. And later, Kazuki comes in their car, bringing even more light into Rei’s world, and pulling him into it.

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Another detail that I just love, on the table full of food, there’s two bottles of drinks: one being a wine, presumably for Rei and Kazuki, and another bottle of what I presumed to be apple cider. That way, Miri gets to be a part of the fun and have a bubbly drink too.

And what a cute ending with Rei blowing out the candles, followed by the credits, and that’s it, no post-credit scene

I know today was another lengthy post, so I appreciate your support and time reading it!

We're halfway through the week and I cannot wait to share what I have planned for the next three days, especially tomorrow if all goes according to plan!

-Dakota Wren

#buddy daddies #buddy daddies anime #dk wren's bd celebration week #buddy daddies rewatch #kazuki kurusu #rei suwa #miri unasaka

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kaythefloppa · 10 months

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Lion Guard Finale Praise + Rant

There is a lot I hate about The Lion Guard's final episode but the one thing that will always hold a special place in my heart is the return montage:

You can't tell in screenshots, but in the background, the LG chorus sings a reprise of the Departure Theme from the premiere episode, with this montage being a book-end to the goodbyes that the Guard said to their friends and families in that episode.

It's really sweet and powerful because it's a beautiful example of "Show, don't tell" (a rule which this show, particularly in Season 3, and the LK sequels in general are not the best at following). We see what the Lion Guard had left behind when they went on their journey to the Tree of Life, how much they had missed their home and how glad they are to be back and how that feeling was reciporicated by their friends and families.

Keep in mind that earlier that morning they were under the belief that Zira invaded the Pride Lands and had possibly killed the royal family and subjugated the Pride Lands' non-lion subjects if not giving them a same gruesome fate (since Kion knows that Zira is a lion supremacist, god-forbid what would happen if she ever got near Mtoto, Thurston, or Ajabu), and on the Pride Landers' end, the Lion Guard had been gone for such a long time with no one having any way of knowing they'd return or if they died. So this reunion was likely also a huge relief for everyone in the Pride Lands, especially Simba, Basi, and Timon and Pumbaa (who no doubt would've been scared shitless at the idea that their kid could be missing forever or dead and have no way to confirm or deny that possibility). It's just all around amazing to see. When watching the episode for the first time when it came out I thought something was wrong with my computer because despite there being 14 minutes left, I wholeheartedly thought the series was going to end there....

...which is why I'm very mad that it didn't and forever disappointed at the route they went with for the actual ending.

In the span of less than a full day since the Lion Guard returned from the Tree of Life, all of them instantly want to head back there on a whim after losing the Lion Guard contest, which would wind up in them completely uprooting their lives and leaving their home and families again for the sake of this one kingdom that we've only seen for seven to eight out of 74 episodes plus a TV movie! The reunion showed us that the Guard was strongly attached to their home and families, but now the ending forces us to ignore that to logistify the Guard willingly going to the Tree of Life without any on-screen goodbyes or send-offs. No scene of doubt, no goodbye songs, no parting ways between characters, nothing, it just jump cuts from "Hey, let's go back to the Tree of Life even though we've only been back here for a day" straight to them at the Tree of Life for Kion and Rani's wedding. Isn't the episode's title supposed to be "Return to the Pride Lands?" Yet the "return" plot stops mattering after the first 11 minutes.

The whole Guard leaving with Kion doesn't even make sense: Bunga has Timon and Pumbaa at Hakuna Matata Falls, Beshte has to co-lead the hippo pod with his father, Ono has his flock and possibly even Ona (you could argue that he would want to return to the Tree of Life because they healed him, but that's not the reason they went with - Also the poor dude lost his Mark of the Guard twice, the first being after he lost his eyesight to protect the Pride Lands from Scar, like, what the fuck?), Fuli had been the most admant about returning to the Pride Lands, and Anga showed no interest in staying at the Tree of Life and seemed perfectly ok in the Pride Lands.

Even back in the days where people were theorizing what would happen to the Lion Guard that caused them to be absent in TLK 2, I never saw reason for the whole Guard to leave if Kion ever left, and even then, I never expected any departure to be permanent because it would go against their whole life-style. It feels like they only had them leave like this for the sake of some "twist" that didn't need to be there. And even if they were going to go with this route, they could've had the Guard separate, with some staying and some going to at least make sense.

Much like Makini, Season 3 ignores crucial story elements of the main characters from the first two seasons to both justify their "plot-twist" by the end and to wrap up any “plot-holes” with the Lion King 2 and forces the audience to suspend an inappropriate amount of their disbelief. So while I like the reunion in the final episode and whilst my love for the show remains un-matched, knowing how it all ends and that (according to some writers) it was planned from the start to end like this makes me feel cheated in a way. One of the most disappointing endings I've seen from a show which I've been willing to follow from start to finish and this is coming from someone who's watched both Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Bunk'd.

#the lion guard #Kion #Bunga #Fuli #Beshte #Ono #Anga #The Lion King #Disney jr.#I'm back on my bs again ranting/gushing over the Lion Guard aren't I?#For years I've always questioned the Lion Guard's production especially in Season 3 #Because with so many episodes in Seasons 1 and 2 there's so much that Season 3 retroactively goes against despite being intended as the end #I have a hard time believing that the pitch sold to executives was always “The diverse interspecies Lion Guard is upstaged by lions #...and their long journey home as well as their live-long dedication to the Pride Lands is a bust bc now they are all a part of a lion prid #... so that they can all witness a child marriage between Kion and Rani on our fucking children's show"#At least Bunk'd's “ending” had a sendoff moment between the departing characters despite the season not being worth a fuck #This is.... just awful #rani #lion guard night pride #Pride Lands #Pridelands #the lion guard season 3 #the lion guard rani #the lion guard kion #the lion guard bunga #the lion guard fuli #the lion guard ono #the lion guard beshte #the lion guard anga #critical

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mlobsters · 11 days

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supernatural s1e2 wendigo (teleplay: eric kripke, story: ron milbauer, terri hughes burton)

quelled my irrational anxiety long enough to start the rewatch and recap what i have not yet recapped and thank fuck for that because not having my scheduled evening task was not going well. i am staunchly ignoring the not-so-distant future where i will again be out-of-task.

fun fact this is the first screenshot i took while watching this show, long before i considered doing these posts. brotherly chat at the fire, if i recall correctly. we'll soon see! thought it'd be a fun easy draw because it's almost entirely dark with the little kiss of light around his profile.

DEAN You okay? SAM Yeah, I'm fine. DEAN Another nightmare? You wanna drive for a while? SAM Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that. DEAN Just thought you might want to. Never mind. SAM Look, man, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay. DEAN Mm-hm.

now if that isn't love

SAM What, are you cruising for a hookup or something? DEAN What do you mean? SAM The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl? DEAN I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it? SAM What? DEAN Since when are you all shoot first ask questions later, anyway? SAM Since now.

little cheesy in execution (blaming some of this on the music honestly*) but whatever :p sammy's a new man, hardened by his loss and grief 😤

*guess who did the music this episode 🤪

was curious since this is the same director as the pilot, if he did more episodes this seasons - nope, just 1x01 and 1x02. but this little quote on his wiki page

David Nutter, even with his extensive experience in the industry, was impressed by Padalecki and Ackles' chemistry. Never have I done a show where two actors clicked so well together. These guys had never met each other before and it was like they were instantly brothers.S1Com

we're all sending up our thanks for whatever led to them being cast, for real

HALEY Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other.

coming in hot already with sibling parallels. even when john was alive, he wasn't around and dean's the father mother brother situation. and we've got a vulnerable lookin little brother here we're all gonna be fighting over to take care of

DEAN Well, we'll find your brother. We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing. HALEY Then maybe I'll see you there. Look, I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself. DEAN I think I know how you feel.

looking for dad, looking for sam after dad is gone...

s1e2 / s5e14

oh, my dear old friend, untitled 1 and 2!! and what kind of background is this! lol my spn desktop background update tag for all my riveting screenshots of their laptop desktop backgrounds - apparently i called this their snazzy background when it was used in s5, but damn dude look at the coloring differences. how warm/red the s5 is in comparison. skateboard on a chest i guess is what's happening there

aw man, apparently the actress playing the sister, gina holden, was claudia stilinski in an episode of teen wolf but her scene got deleted. and little brother there alden ehrenreich was han solo in solo: a star wars story (which i haven't seen.)

i do know i know someone in this episode though, little surprised i didn't do a hey i know you post for it actually. not sure when the first one i did for spn was. s1e11 scarecrow apparently!

s1e2 callum keith rennie as roy / the killing s1e4 as rick felder / the x-files s1e15 as tommy / existenz (1999) as hugo carlaw

we got an xfiles and the killing alum, and he was in existenz! in fact i did a hey i know you for him when i was rewatching the xfiles a few years ago 😂

someone give this child a hug (and the actor was actually a kid, 16)

DEAN Sam and I are brothers, and we're looking for our father. He might be here, we don't know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat. HALEY Why didn't you just tell me that from the start? DEAN I'm telling you now. 'sides, it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman. ...ever. So we okay?

oh yeah, dean? what about spilling your guts about all the family secrets to cassie, huh?? lol. gotta maintain your asshole-man image

wonder if the peanut m&ms was the only actual brand placement they did, their production design people were always whipping up fun fake branded drinks and foodstuff

hey, it's one of the xfiles-y sounds (when she says "our packs!") i didn't notice this until way way later. grabbed a clip of it from 10x12 compared to the same effect used in the xf movie fight the future (because i happened to know where the sound was in that movie, it's def a standard xf score sound.) i think it was just a lot more forward in that s10 clip, maybe that's why it caught my ear and had slid by unnoticed before.

cannot get over him looking like the saddest teenaged baby brother in all the lands

DEAN You wanna tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours? SAM Dean— DEAN No, you're not fine. You're like a powder keg, man, it's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember? SAM Dad's not here. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?

the brotherly chats *chef's kiss*

SAM Then let's get these people back to town and let's hit the road. Go find Dad. I mean, why are we still even here? DEAN This is why. This book. This is Dad's single most valuable possession—everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he's passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business.

the tagline that never dies

SAM That makes no sense. Why doesn't he just—call us? Why doesn't he—tell us what he wants, tell us where he is? DEAN I dunno. But the way I see it, Dad's giving us a job to do, and I intend to do it.

for real, sam. dad's an ass :p i think someone justified it to me that john couldn't contact them directly because of the demons watching him and he didn't want to lead them to the boys

SAM Dean...no. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about. DEAN Okay, all right, Sam, we'll find them, I promise. Listen to me. You've gotta prepare yourself. I mean, this search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul. It's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man. SAM How do you do it? How does Dad do it?

oh, sam.

DEAN Well for one, them. I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little bit more bearable. I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can.

it's this kind of thing that grabbed me by the throat early on. clear communication, sam has been deflecting but he opened up a crack after dean gently pushed again. and dean is honest and kind, trying to take care of sam. ugh. hurt/comfort my beloved.

buh, this action music when roy gets yoinked by the monster is not great.

SAM So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch.

snorted. i swear sam got stuck with some cheesy lines back in the day. part of my hot take theory of why jackles's acting stood out more to me initially, i think he just got better dialogue. padalecki hit it out of the park with those moments with jackles, but same episode he had a lot of like... i'm taking charge of the situation moments that felt awkward

sammy brooding with dad's journal, dean staring at sam for a very long time, he's just a baby 🥺

we're all having a moment

this is why i reached the 30 image limit when i rewatched 1x01 :p

LOL. we can't swear really, but we're gonna use the hell out of the words we can say

baby brother clinging on to anyone at this point, sammy holding the line

kinda looks like the game of thrones night king lol

via wiki

Eric Kripke had long been critical of this episode, particularly because he felt the creature wasn't successfully scary. "He looked more like Gollum's tall, gangly cousin than anything else", he says in Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2. However on February 11, 2018 he tweeted: "I have something shocking, even sacrilegious to say: I watched #Wendigo with my son for the first time in over 10 years. And it wasn't bad at all. 2005 effects were lame, but it was scary. Plus young Han Solo! I'm taking it off my shit list. #spnfamily @cw_spn"

inexplicably some sort of jaguar type roar as the wendigo is burning

HALEY So I don't know how to thank you. DEAN smirks lasciviously. HALEY smiles despite herself. HALEY Must you cheapen the moment? DEAN Yeah.

very cute. deflecting from dealing with the gratitude and lightening the moment

DEAN Sam, you know we're gonna find Dad, right? SAM Yeah, I know. But in the meantime? I'm driving.

this scene obviously has been gif'd to death but i didn't really remember the context and it makes it all the better. sam gets to return the very long staring moment, and lets dean give him a little treat to take care of him and make him feel better that he declined earlier

and jared, you made a choice with that expression. I think that look could be enough to launch a thousand ships alone. the line feels like it should be kind of teasing mischievous little brother vibes, but his face says unbearable affection and something I'd expect more out of a romantic-dynamic teasing feel. wild

my cup runneth over

#supernatural #spnwatch #spnrewatch #spn 1x02 #spn clip #jay gruska #alden ehrenreich #callum keith rennie #the xfiles #the killing #existenz #eric kripke #ron milbauer #terri hughes burton #spnhiky #hiky #spn musical score #spn desktop background update #sam and dean mush

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thegeminisage · 7 months

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for posterity (and so i can close the tab), i'm posting screenshots of the private skip/watch list i made for friends only - since i was too big of a dummy and didn't liveblog my initial tos watchthrough, to my ETERNAL FUCKING WOE, this is as close as i'm ever getting. sad! DISCLAIMER that i disagree with my past self on some of the skip/watch verdicts so please use the official spreadsheet (still a wip) as a guide if you're looking for that kind of thing.

of note from this first screencap: dagger of the mind, which i continue to feel normal about for no particular reason and definitely not relating to a movie with a brainwashing chair that came out in 2014. the corbomite manuever, which i dismissed at first and then came around to liking better later because of the little character moments. conscience of the king, which was actually the first trek episode i ever watched before i went back and did them all in official order (mistake, production order is better) and which of course got me into this mess. squire of gothos, which has this scene that inspired this fanfic. don't text.

it's also worth mentioning that i had to watch not one not two but THREE bad to mid episodes before i hit naked time and enemy within and then they put me right back in it with mudd's women. if i hadn't already seen conscience of the king and knew what was up i would have fucking quit. and that's why production order is superior

of note for this batch: the city on the edge of forever, in which a lot of important stuff happened, but also spock wore a little hat. catspaw, which is the first time i had an inkling of the idea that would later spawn this powerpoint (this is what "giving john crichton" means ifykyk). mirror mirror, which i didn't get until like a week later and then went insane over. metamorphosis, which made me so frothing mad it's unreal.

of note here: the immunity syndrome, which i have rewatched 60000 times for the spones. return to tomorrow, during which my eyes were dinnerplates start to finish. by any other name, which truly had so much going on including what i know in my heart was a tarsus iv reference. bread and circuses, which did indeed make me blush when bones pushed spock against the wall and spock went "really doctor?" i still can't think about it.

of note: the enterprise incident, which again caused mental illness related to the previously linked powerpoint. the paradise syndrome, which was the only amnesia episode, the first time kirk and spock mindmelded on screen, and so utterly fucking racist that all of that stuff was absolutely ruined beyond belief; i instantly moved to a google doc and to write down my mind palace version that doesn't involve All Of That. the one-two punch of the world is hollow + the empath, which made me a bones understander. the tholian web, which made me bonkers because i love a good fake death. plato's stepchildren, sections of which i had to watch through my fingers.

finally, of note for this batch: whom gods destroy, which unexpectedly brought back the brainwashing chair and excited me so much i had to pause the episode to collect myself. that which survives, bc the looney toons sfx made me scream laugh. requiem for methuselah, which genuinely induced a november 5th-like mania i didn't think i'd ever feel again. all our yesterdays, which was the worst i'd EVER felt for a space babe. and finally, turnabout intruder, which introduced "it's better to be DEAD than to be in the body of [x]" into my own personal lexicon.

ok that's everything! we have nine episodes left of tos to go back and watch before we move onto tng, but i know in my heart that tos will always be my favorite. i'll miss you tos :(

#personal #star trek blogging #tos lb

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baddest-batchers · 9 days

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Happy Star Wars Day, sweet friends!

I was only 1 when the first prequel movie came out and then a few years later the rest of the trilogy had been released. I was 8 when I watched the entirety of the prequels and I remember loving them. My first crush ever was Anakin. 🥰 At the time, my dad was (and still very much is) and huge Star Trek fan so he introduced me to that world of sci-fi when I was young. I quickly fell for Star Trek after my dad introduced me to it and then especially when the Abrams films came out. I was a Star Trek girl through and through. That is up until September of last year.

I saw the gifs and screenshots of Hayden Christensen as Anakin in Ahsoka and something in me was like you should definitely watch this. So I turned on episode 5 and just fell head over heels in love. I turned on the prequel movies (which I hadn’t seen since I was a kid lmao) and sort of instantly became obsessed. My husband and a few of his close friends suggested I watch The Clone Wars so I watched the movie & then the show in like a month and a half. After finishing TCW I was sort of at a loss at what to watch next so I casually turned on The Bad Batch and just instantly loved it. I vaguely remembered the episode with the Batch from TCW (I usually multitask when watching tv so I missed bits and pieces of certain episodes, including the TBB arc in TCW, but obviously they were familiar.) I was so drawn into their story when I watched Aftermath and watched the entirety of season 1 in like 3 days. It was December by this point and we ended up traveling for a month before I could watch all of season 2 in January. So by the time I got through season 2 (and crying because Tech had plan 99’d) the teaser for season 3 came out and I was so excited. Fast forward to now and I have just been completely obsessed with Clone Force 99 and they very quickly became my favorite characters in all of Star Wars. I honestly don’t remember being this excited for a TV show since I was a little girl and it was such an immense joy/rollercoaster to watch season 3 along side so many of you who have loved The Bad Batch from the very start and I am so grateful to have been able to watch it as the final season aired.

There is just something so special about Star Wars as a whole and all of the stories within it that have drawn me back in as a 26yo. I never thought I’d love it as much as I do. And I’m beyond grateful for the people I’ve been getting to know on here who love TBB and Star Wars as much as I do.

My only regret is not having fallen in love with Star Wars and The Bad Batch sooner. 🖤❤️

#the bad batch #star wars #may the fourth be with you

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discodeathdaddy · 9 months

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SPOILER WARNING FOR YOUNG JUSTICE (and oddly enough) ONE PIECE

I sure know how to pick favorite characters that end up dying. I watched a few episodes of Young Justice with one of my best friends last year and after seeing Wally West, went:

“Yep. He’s my favorite.”

To which my friend just kind of nodded her head sadly (she had already watched the show).

After his untimely end which I refuse to believe (look, I like that Artemis has this arc of healing and grieving and I’d hate for Wally to come back and it to either be thrown away or for Wally to not be EXACTLY Wally. But he is my boy and I want him back.) I was like:

“Ah. Dick Grayson is my favorite.”

And then I watched him “die” (and die for real in other movies, comics, etc.)

So skip forward a few months to where I’m watching One Piece. Portgas D. Ace. Fire Fist Ace. HOT DADDY FLAME ACE shoes up on screen and I literally screamed. I fell INSTANTLY. And the same friend who is now my roommate just has this knowing nod AGAIN. And while looking up screenshots for art references to draw him, I found out he dies TOO!

Im worried for my next favorite character 🥲

#one piece #young justice #Wally west #dick grayson #fire fist ace #spoiler warning #young justice spoilers #one piece spoilers

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sleezeboss · 1 year

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2022 Art Summary and Thoughts

stealing this from a mutual- just wanted to reflect on the art I’ve made this year, what I’ve learned, and where I’d like to see myself go from here.

The end of the year is weird for me, artistically. I always slow down with art and get really immersed in family, holidays, and my life outside of art. And because I’m not cranking out art 7 days a week, it skews my view of my output and self worth, and it makes me end the year feeling like I’ve quit art, like I haven’t made anything, like it’s time to hang up my hat and move on or something.

But! When I stop being dramatic for like 5 seconds, I can see that that’s not true at ALL, and in actuality, in the last year, I’ve made some incredibly profound strides with my art that I am so excited to carry into the next year.

I’m hoping that sitting down and contemplating these strides will help solidify them and make them more tangible to me.

So let’s dive in!

At the beginning of 2022, I had a LOT of fun reacquainting myself with Ren and Stimpy. I started rewatching it on a whim while working out one day, having not watched the show since I was.... 6? and was instantly transported to a world of inspiration and love for my art and art-making that I hadn’t experienced for some time. The expressions, dynamism, and sheer energy of that show reminded me a lot about what I love most about my art. I felt encouraged to pursue my strengths, rather than constantly focusing on what I need to improve or need to change about my art. And I felt it blossom. I made some pieces I really loved in 2022, and I hope to continue with that energy and love for my own work that keeps art-making enjoyable and meditative for me.

These were all expression studies of screencaps from Ren and Stimpy episodes. I got ADDICTED to seeing my boys with these big, bold expressions.

This is the screenshot that kicked it all off lmao. This unlocked something so crazy in me.

This was me taking a stab at pulling expressions from my head, no reference.

After that, during the summer, I took a 6 week animation course through Animation Mentor, an online school. I loved it so much, that as soon as it finished, I immediately signed up for a second course that started not even 2 weeks after. Not to be dramatic, but no joke? For the first time in my artistic journey, I felt capable and confident about animating. It was the first time in my life that 2D animation was actually presented to me in an accessible (and achievable!!) manner. I have ALWAYS struggled with animating. I love it so much! I am a cartoon fanatic and Disney animation enthusiast at heart, and to love something so deeply and to only be mediocre at it at best can really be hurtful and demoralizing, but! These two animation courses really helped rewrite that narrative for me.

This was my second-to-last assignment, the floursack test.

This was my final assignment for my first course, 2D animation for beginners. A head-turn.

Moving into the new year, I would really like to see myself animate more. Making several small, 2-3 second animations and getting the practice in, building up a personal portfolio of animation is something I really want to see for myself. I want to see my characters live and breath, god damnit!!

Animating inspired me to make some style guides for my boys, rather than ref-sheets. I think ref sheets can become outdated quickly as your style adapts and changes, but a style guide, one typically used by animators, is a great guideline for keeping characters consistent. I thought that would be very useful for me, so I made one for Rex and Bub, naturally.

In the fall, I finally finished a mini comic I had started earlier in the year, Belphi’s New Pussy.

(cropped for NSFW material)

Comic-making was admittedly hard for me last year. I think graduating from my iPad to a new tablet set-up and learning CSP from scratch really shook my artistic confidence and motivation for comic making. All last year, I was beating myself up about not working on chapter 5 of Badbeat, so I am amazed and proud that I was able to get BNP out. Not only did I get it out, but it ended up being one of the most successful posts of my twitter career lmao. I’m really happy with how it looks, but I think it’s becoming clear to me that that level of comic polish is not sustainable for more than 1 chapter a year. If I want to finish Badbeat in my life time, I’m gonna need to simplify my process. Maybe even keep it to my iPad. Something about drawing and sketching is easier on my iPad, whereas the actual comic formatting can be done in CSP. I’m obviously still trying to learn my optimal workflow for efficiency, speed, and sanity haha.

In the comic year, I really would like to get chapter 5 out. That is my comic goal for the new year.

All and all, it has been a really productive year artistically. I feel like quantity-wise I have produced less than maybe the year prior, but I think the things I DID produce have been profound. Pushing Bub and Rex’s designs and expressions has been profound. Taking the steps to learn animation has been profound. Making a comic entirely in a new program that I have owned for less than a year is profound.

I am very proud of myself and can’t wait to see what the new year has in store!

#2022 art wrap #2022 art summary #blog #art blogging

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tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 1 year

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Okay, I was too busy yesterday to watch this episode, and today I have shit to do this evening, so I unfortunately can’t spend ages on the Taskmaster episode like I normally do. I normally do giant posts where I screenshot like half the episode, but that makes watching it take several hours, and unfortunately I do have a modicum of a life at this point. So I’ll still write down thoughts as I watch, but there will be fewer of them, and I won’t accompany them with screenshots, which should save a lot of time.

Anyway, I’m really excited for this episode either way. Thoughts on Taskmaster s15e04, written as I watch it:

- Excellent start. Alex’s horsefly pun got a proper laugh out of me, the Italy anecdote was exactly the sort Alex Horne-style “just drop this bit of talking into the air and pretend like it makes sense” that I enjoy, and then there was Hitchhiker’s Guide reference. And a fun prize category, with lots of room for different interpretations. Well done all around.

- That was way too short an exchange about Mae’s prize. Please tell me more about why they have a blowup doll of themself and think that would be fun to put on your head. I will be disappointed if we don’t get that in an outtake.

- Look, Frankie’s prize is not in a frame! It also has absolutely nothing to do with the remit, probably one of the most egregious examples ever of a constant just bringing in some shit they wanted to bring in even if it has nothing to do with the category. I wouldn’t have expected Frankie to play this any other way.

- More references to classic Britcom from my childhood, with Ivo Graham not messing around, bringing in something that perfectly fits the remit, a turkey. An item famous – famous worldwide, if we are to believe James Acaster’s Cold Lasagne claims about everyone in the whole world being into Mr. Bean – for being funny when it’s worn on a head even though you’re not supposed to wear it on your head. I didn’t know Friends did it too, though.

I mean, if I wanted to be pedantic, I could point out that a turkey on the head is funny to everyone else, but isn’t exactly a fun thing for the person wearing it. But I enjoy the joke enough to let that go.

- I swear I wrote the above point before I saw Frankie Boyle say “I don’t want to be too pedantic here, but…”, and then made pretty much that exact point. Not sure he has enough high ground for pedantry with his prize, but he’s got a point, as Ivo instantly admitted.

- Obsessed with the level of thought Jenny put into her pitch for her prize task, and the enthusiasm with which she delivered it. Also, I assume she didn’t make that herself, so did a member of production have to knit that? Was it the same person who made Jamali’s sweater?

- Absolutely wild over-scoring of Frankie Boyle there, what are you doing, Greg?

- I immediately love the instructions on that first task. That is so much fun. Like the season 8 bouncy ball task, but updated for a bigger budget. Too bad Frankie couldn’t find this thing during the “recreate musical instruments” task.

- Haven’t seen much of it yet, but my first thought is to take the drums and cymbals off their stands and put them all on the ground next to each other.

- Sort of like what I just watched Kiell do, but I feel like you could take it farther than that.

- Jenny, I would never call you a silly cow. I am really enjoying her energy.

- “You counted to seven but you only hit five” is somehow a problem Kiell has already had on this show, with the barge task. Why is Kiell not able to count to five?

- Okay, I’ve been calling the team of two “Franko”, but Alex got in his No More Jockeys reference by calling them “a big IF”, and I think I’m going to need to re-name the team to that from now on. Team Big IF.

- There, that thing Frankie’s doing, that’s what I’d do.

- Delightful to watch how much Frankie’s enjoying this. Ivo might be overthinking. I mean it’s amusing to include the Greg statue, and I do think overall Taskmaster has been underusing that thing, but it doesn’t really help.

- Honestly, I could watch Frankie Boyle drop a ball down a row of drums and then giggle all day.

- Ivo’s last idea would definitely be cheating, as it said one throw of a ball and of multiple balls at once, but it didn’t work anyway so it doesn’t really matter.

- Again, Drum March/April/Mae – solid pun. Alex is on form this episode.

- Love that Mae is not even pretending to not have watched all previous seasons and be using that for ideas. No messing around by trying lesser strategies and then coming up with this new one, just going straight for the Lou Sanders approach.

- Hang on. Hang on. What the hell are they arguing about in the studio? This precedent has been set. Okay, here are the wording of two different tasks:

Season 8 task: Bounce one of these balls so that it lands in that bin. After propelling the ball, you may not touch or strike it on its way to that bin. You must use the ball you touch first.

Season 15 task: Strike the most drum skins and cymbals with a single throw of a bouncy ball.

In season 8, Lou Sanders had her attempt count when she tied it to string and bounced it over and over. Yeah, “propel” and “throw” are different words, but they’re close enough. They both involve releasing the ball and then not touching it again, which neither contestant did. That precedent is already on the books, this should definitely be a win for Mae.

- There, according to Alex, the definition for “throw” says “to propel”. Meaning “throw” and “propel” are the same thing, those tasks should be considered equivalent, the precedent should be considered relevant, therefore Mae wins.

- Okay, Kiell’s argument was bullshit, you can absolutely drop something and throw it at the same time, that’s just throwing it downward. Ivo’s masturbation joke was quite funny but irrelevant. Frankie… might sort of have a point with the “casting” thing, about whether the moment they jerked it backwards, the first throw was over. That could be up for debate, if this were five years ago. But it isn’t. Season 8 has aired, the precedent has been set. You have to honour the precedent!

- You are not letting them get away with anything, Greg, you let Lou Sanders get away with it already and if you didn’t allow this we’d have anarchy! But that was enormous fun, that whole exchange. I did say I wouldn’t screenshot the whole episode again, but Greg’s right, Kiell’s face is pretty good.

- Bridges for potatoes and boats for eggs. Ordering things with restrictions based on letters of the alphabet. I like that some of the tasks in this season feel like classic Taskmaster.

- What the fuck are you going to do with a golf ball, Kiell?

- Power of suggestion’s pretty strong here, isn’t it? They all hear the word “boat” and then three of the five choose B as their letter.

- Title drop from Kiell, and it’s a good one. He does seem to be bad at both basic counting and working out whether things are heavier than water/air, given the time he through he could move a golf ball by blowing on it.

- Look on Ivo’s face when he broke the egg was some solid comedy.

- Ivo’s studio banter has been strong all episode.

- Okay, I haven’t seen them all go yet but having seen them made, I think Mae had it the best. Frankie making it out of paper seems like a bad idea, what with water tending to compromise paper’s structural integrity. No idea what Jenny made, and I think she just wanted to be able to say “bra” a lot, which to be fair, was funny. Kiell’s balloon was a good idea, Ivo’s multiple balloons were better.

- Well, I was definitely wrong about Mae’s boat. But that was actually really good, I think that worked better than I expected. Nice little editing with the music over Mae’s boat at the end. That was an enjoyable watch. And my apologies to Frankie Boyle, I underestimated the power of a little plastic to protect the paper.

- Oh no! Oh no! I am glad my roommate’s still out of town because when they showed the egg fall, I may have involuntarily called out “Oh no, Frankie!” before realizing I was saying it out loud. Oh no, Frankie! It is possible that you do, after all, need more structural integrity than paper with a little plastic coating.

- Ah, well done. Greg pretending to let Frankie go just to fuck with Kiell. This is fun.

- I’m really enjoying how genuinely nervous Mae seems. Which might be a weird thing to say, it’s just a sign of their extreme competitiveness that they look constantly on edge, expecting some surprise, trying to look for any loopholes. Funny, also highly relatable. I mean, I realize I’m biased by Mae Martin being one of the most attractive people I have ever seen on a screen, but I think they’d be one of my favourites even if they weren’t that.

- Love that they put the task where Kiell has to drag a bin full of water right after the egg boat task. How heavy is the water now, Kiell?

- Kiell is not wearing shoes, guys.

- I’m absolutely fine. I mean, I just thought the words ��Damn, Mae scrambling to do math in their head is hot”, and then wondered if I should write those words down, and decided I will. But I’m doing fine.

- The obvious thing to do with bubble wrap is to rip off one bubble, put it to the side, and then crush the rest all at once with a book or something, right?

- Oh my God they took twenty minutes on the bubble wrap. Meticulous Mae. I love them.

- I’m not sure the banana sign is the same as a banana, is it?

- Could have been just editing that made it look this way, but I love that it appears that Frankie instantly knocked the bin over to spill the water on the ground, after Kiell had tried to carefully empty it into the bath.

- And then Frankie forgets that he can open the gates instead of trying to throw a large bin over them. Nice.

- Jenny shouting in all four rooms of the house had some strong “essence of Taskmaster” energy.

- The John part is pretty funny, seeing how long it takes them to work out that they have to call someone and John isn’t just in the house.

- Oh, it took me a moment to realize Frankie was burning the bubble wrap to complete the tasks. I thought he’d already popped all the bubble wrap so his task was completed, and he was so annoyed about what he’d had to do that he gathered up all the tasks, put them in a bucket, and burned them for no reason.

- Glad Frankie Boyle got to set some shit on fire, though. I always say people don’t realize there’s a strong intelligent and well read and thoughtful and politically informed side to Frankie, he’s not just what you see on Mock the Week compilations! But, you know, if you’re going to get Frankie Boyle on Taskmaster, you want to have a bit of bringing in pornography and setting shit on fire. I hope all five of them set some shit on fire this season.

- Okay, one screenshot and that is it for the whole episode. I just… I just need to take that picture of Mae Martin being petty about the definition of “throw”, and then coyly acknowledging the hypocrisy. For personal reasons, I need to show people that image.

- Really enjoyed Greg and Frankie yelling at each other about the definition of a banana. And I want Frankie and Jenny to be right, I really do. But a sign that says “banana” is not, in fact, a banana.

- Well, that whole sequence with Ivo was brilliant. He seemed to figure out that you’re allowed to pass on a task that’ll take too long, which could have been a smart strategy, if it weren’t for the fact that he had a complete breakdown and did every singe thing wrong. Mistaking the caravan for the shed is classic. Also forgot that the gate opens. I’m remembering what Nish Kumar said on the podcast before this season, that he thinks it’ll be fun to watch because he knows that Ivo Graham falls to pieces as soon as anyone puts the slightest bit of pressure on him. That was very funny all around.

- Really enjoyed the live task, too. Kiell trying fancy things, Frankie seeming to genuinely get into the art therapy side of it, Mae playing it too safe and meticulous, the look on Jenny’s face when she broke the stream for a second. And Ivo just had a solid strategy. Well done.

- Well, obviously I wrote that before I saw the ending. Good stuff. Classic Taskmaster. I do love it when they stick to the rules to the point of making it a ludicrous result. Also really enjoyed Frankie’s petty comment about the episode being a journey through language and meaning – he’s had a few of those throughout this episode, seeming to be fine with outcomes but then bringing it back later to complain. Which I also enjoy. I love some pettiness in a Taskmaster contestant.

- Aw, Jenny Eclair won an episode! A good one for her to win, too, as she seems like the one who’d have the most fun putting things on her head.

- Good stuff, I really really enjoyed that, and this is by far the fastest I’ve ever done one of these Taskmaster liveblog posts. Great episode, great season, I would watch Frankie Boyle narrate literally anything, did I mention how hot Mae Martin is enough times? Okay I have to go do actual things now, but that was a really good one, best episode of the season so far, I think.

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teruthecreator · 11 months

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As someone who started reading Side Quest based on the fanart I saw and was blissfully ignorant to most of the problems you pointed out, I just wanted to thank you for your post. The thing that stuck out to me while reading that fic was the entire Toichiro rewriting. Every interaction he had made me so angry while reading and looking back I think a big part of that has to do with how out of character he's been. I had been partway through chapter 11 when I stumbled upon your post and decided to finish it through that new perspective. Tbh, I don't even think I would have needed it to ask myself wtf was going on because once it hit Reigen encountering Toichiro in the tower Toichiro instantly starts calling Reigen a slut. This chapter was already kinda slow compared to the rest because it was just a retelling of what happens in the episodes, and what was interesting about this fic when I first read it was the new scenes that were added, but simply adding unnecessary comments to a known scene and focusing on how Reigen doesn't have sex and doesn't know where he got these accusations from was very off-putting.

As for everything else, aside from not having dealt with anything like that and not immediately noticing how things were worded, I want to say I likely chalked it up to plot. I think I read a lot of things passively just to see what people write about without thinking too much about how they're writing about it. And maybe that's a flaw on my end, just being bored and randomly throwing a dart on a dartboard to consume more media regardless of what it is (mostly, I do have limits).

But I do agree that the author should be more ridged with her tags. I've written fics before and I always try to include every little things I can think of in the tags, even if that might get me less views or "spoil the story" because I'd rather everyone know what they're getting into instead of them getting surprised by it. When I first started reading I was surprised to see that it was labeled "explicit" even though none of the tags clued me into why it was written like that, unless the grooming was more intense than what my baseline thoughts on grooming are, but if said grooming does lead to anything more then it should be tagged as such.

Another thing that has been bothering me about this has been the fact that since chapter 9, the author has mentioned that "there is a fairly explicit scene, marked by <3... it's not just porn... etc." I can somewhat understand not fully tagging an unfinished work, since in my experience I didn't think I'd post a second part to one or I started posting without having the entire story fully fleshed out so things take a different direction than what I originally expected, but I always go back and make sure the tags are fully updated every time I post. The fact that this was mentioned and then nothing in the tags were updated was kind of strange. I skimmed through chapter 12 since it was posted yesterday to see if this scene was finally going to be put it, and low and behold I did see the <3. There's something about continuously reminding people to watch out for the explicit sign each chapter and then it not appearing until 4 chapters later. What's the point of unnecessarily making your reader expect this to show up after every paragraph they read only for it to be 40k or however many words away. Personally, I'd understand warning of this the chapter before it happens and the chapter of (or, you know, in the tags as well), but that far away feels like you're trying to string the readers who want to get to that scene along and just scaring those who are ready to skip it. I haven't read it so I can't say what the scene is about and how fair this warning is, but again being surprised about the fact that this fic has an explicit scene somewhere is something readers shouldn't have to deal with if tagged properly.

This turned out to be a way bigger reply than I originally intended, but if you'd like a few more screenshots to add to your collection here's all of the out of pocket Toichiro replies:

first off, you rlly don't need to thank me for that post, but i appreciate it anyway :-) its something thats been on my mind for a while, and with its rapid popularity i was simply confused how people weren't seeing what i was seeing. i do wanna say that nobody should feel bad/guilty for reading this or liking it without seeing the content i mentioned. as i mentioned at the end of that post, people's personal experiences will inform how they consume media and what blindspots they may have, and i'm certainly not here to judge anyone for that. i Am happy to hear that someone who had been reading the fic was able to hear my criticism and consume the fic in a new light, so thank You for sending this ask!

you brought up a topic that i wanted to touch on but didn't rlly have room on the other post, but yeah toichiro's characterization throughout this fic is strange and Extremely ooc. it feels like she was purposely building him up to be the worst character in the story--a true villain, as it were. which is funny bc mob psycho doesn't even have true villains bc the show is about second chances and connections and trying again. but with the racism, plus the eugenics/creepy remarks, plus the overtly sexual manipulation and grooming, she turned toichiro into a kind of cartoon caricature of a villain. which was wholly unnecessary and, in fact, creepy! and not funny! and strange!

but the thing that annoyed me more than that was how she tried to walk it back. there are several moments where toichiro is calling out to his ex-wife in his sleep, asking for forgiveness and shit. which, for one, would not have happened at this point in the story. it is very explicitly shown through wd arc that toichiro's First moment of realization is when he's down in that basement area with mob, when he flashes back to his ex wife leaving and suddenly realizes what he missed. toichiro before this moment was not thinking mournfully about his wife. he wasn't thinking about his wife At All. he pushed the memory of his family out to make way for his plan, something that then becomes a key point to him accepting help from other people! so like. there's that. but Also having toichiro have these quiet moments of vulnerability feels like the author's way of rolling back her own characterization, which just makes the whole thing messy and hard to read. from the way she's written him, toichiro is NOT a character people should be empathizing with. he is a groomer and a racist and a creep and all of that together is like. a recipe for someone who needs to just be shoved off the face of the planet. but she works in these moments of "humanity" to try and bring toichiro back to where he's at in canon, likely so she can write out some kind of silent redemption (or hint at redemption) like how canon does. but in this case that redemption would feel gross because she turned his character into something so statically evil that it feels impossible to forgive.

and yeah, those quotes are absolutely ridiculous. like they border on comedy, but really they just sound awful coming out of his mouth. i know this phrase has been used a million times over but HE WOULD NOT FUCKING SAY THAT!

also to talk on the topic of tags (which i do agree with you on), i do find it strange that she refused to put ANY tags on the fic with the proper warnings for explicit content, but seemingly had the time to make that reminder each and every chapter. because in reality she really only needed that warning on ONE chapter--the chapter that has the explicit scene! but i do agree that simply tagging it would save her readers the emotional labor of having to keep an eye out for a sex scene they might not be ready to deal with. especially with the content of some of these later chapters (the ones ive seen, anyway), having the looming threat of an explicit scene could make some readers uneasy!!! (im talking specifically abt the chapters where toichiro is making moves on serizawa in an effort to manipulate him. i understand the author did mention in an authors note that this wouldnt happen, but i'd also like to point out that she HID THIS PART OF THE AUTHORS NOTE. so you had to make the decision to "spoil" yourself just to see if someone was going to be sa'd or not. which i think is wrong; an author should always prioritize the safety and comfort of their readers above any potential "spoilers")

and to wrap up with one last thing, just a more general thought: i think there is a difference between content that includes dark topics in a thoughtful way and content that includes dark topics in an edgy way, and this fic definitely leans towards the latter. a lot of these outlandishly mature topics are treated like throwaway jokes or shock value items, which feels inappropriate when we are dealing with topics of such weight like racism, transphobia, child impregnation (again. What.), etc.. i am not trying to police people on what content they are or aren't allowed to talk about--i am saying that, if your story NEEDS to have this content in it (which i would argue that here it doesn't), then you need to treat it with the care it deserves to be treated with. if not for your own sake, then for the sake of your readers. at the end of the day, i just want people to be safe out there

thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, and thank you for being so respectful <3 have a wonderful day!

#ignorance cloud on #this ask was very thoughtfully written so i took the time to give a thoughtful response :-)#thank u for being nice and understanding my perspective :-)#but yeah anyways. not much more to say. putting my writing degree to work here jrhbgrjgrbhj

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thesilvercondor · 1 year

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(Spoilers for Aim To Be A Pokemon Master Ep1 (JN137) below the cut)

ok so i am perpetually obsessed with Anabel and thus extremely biased but like. fun little conspiracy theory. Ash is actually developing Empathy (ability to sense pokemon's emotions, and use this for knockoff telepathy with them).

I have not seen past the first episode of this series, if there’s further evidence I might return to this theory but I kinda doubt there will be any lmao. Proceed beneath the readmore if you want to see my insane ramblings (1k words).

So, let’s look at this episode real quick, shall we? First major event- Ash accidentally attacks a Beedrill nesting site, potentially angering nearby Beedrill. And like, in the vast majority of Bulbapedia’s anime entries about wild Beedrill- those things get angry all the freaking time. I’ve already seen people down in the comments of this episode talking about how they didn’t think they’d seen a wild Beedrill be calm before.

However, Ash manages to calm it nearly instantaneously- which one other character has actually pulled off before- the only canon Empath, Anabel (S9 E24, ‘Talking A Good Game’).

I just find it interesting that this scene was included in the episode, given that it has no obvious importance to the rest of the storyline, you know? Unless it was meant to draw parallels, between this episode and *checks notes* some obscure episode from the early 2000s that barely anyone remembers. *sweatdrops*

Uhhh but anyway!- next major event in the episode- the token ‘Empath’ finds an extremely powerful Pokemon, who is openly hostile to them, but calms it down by helping to care for its wounds.

In JN137, this is Ash helping Latias with a (burn?) on its wing, while in S9E24, it’s Anabel pulling out a stick from a Gyarados’s injury.

Then, the third (and most major) event is the reveal of Empathy being used as Telepathy in a battle situation. This one uh. This one I have less evidence for, but we’re just going to pretend that Ash isn’t good enough at empathy yet for the parallels to be perfect, ok? Just to stoke my own ego.

Anyway- S9E24, Anabel first uses this with her ace, Alakazam. It’s characterized by her giving orders without talking- aka, though Alakazam can’t physically hear her, he can still hear her.

In JN137, Ash is captured by Team Rocket’s ‘Supercooled Capsule’. Here, Ash’s voice is extremely muffled- to the point that even Team Rocket (1-2m away from him) can’t hear him well. Meanwhile, Pikachu is uhhh 25-40m away? Down on the forest floor. (perspective is unhelpful, here’s the best screenshot I got).

Anyway, while being extremely muffled and getting progressively further away, AND while having his back turned on Pikachu- Ash proceeds to practically whisper his command to Pikachu to aim a 10, 000 Volts at him. And Pikachu understands instantly. Like yeah, I get it, this is an anime, not everything is realistic- but doesn’t this feel at least a little sus to y’all?

(left: Ash’s whisper, right: Anabel’s Empathy)

So yeah uh. I’ve yet to watch the other episodes of this anime. But if he gets overlaid on Pikachu at any point to give commands, then Imma 100% claim Empathy my dudes.

Especially since, the next RSE episode (S9E25, ‘Second Time’s The Charm’) is partially about Anabel trying to teach Ash Empathy- with the final line of the episode being her thinking- “I guess you can’t sense feelings yet, Ash […]”. Here, please just picture me pointing commandingly at the word ‘yet’. She reckons he had potential- and maybe that potential is finally coming true.

Since we’re doing Anabel quotes right now, I’m going to throw another one at you- her response to being asked how she talks to Pokemon like that (aka while using Empathy):

“"I don't even really know how I do it. I guess its been happening ever since I was a little girl. I'd come to the forest and talk to everything. Trees, grass, the stars; and all the wild pokemon- and that's how it all started!" (S9E25)

So you know. She went into the forest. Not much of a goal. Interacted with literally everything she saw, without discrimination. Sounds kinda like the start of the episode; with Ash stopping to interact with every single wild Pokemon he sees. That’s how she developed Empathy- so maybe this is how he develops it too.

Like, this is Ash’s final series. Why start with him just wandering around looking at random mons, unless that act is something seriously important?

Finally, just to add a bit more pizzazz; this episode is about Latias and Mew. (Oak’s poem at the start is something about if you want to make a lot of friends, you need to find 151- and 151 is Mew’s Pokedex number so. Yeah.) These two just so happen to be two of 9-12 ‘Empath Pokemon’ I have currently identified.

I’m counting Empath Pokemon as anything that has a Pokedex entry that mentions its ability to sense emotions (like Anabel does). Not just influence emotions (like Milotic), or get attracted by specific emotions (like Shuppet/Togetic/Blissey), but actively sense all emotions.

Latias’s Pokedex entry mentions that it “…is highly sensitive to the emotions of people.”

Meanwhile, Mew’s Pokedex entry mentions that it “…only appears to those with a pure heart.” (this is one of my ‘debateable’ Empath mons, as like. What is a pure heart exactly. I’m guessing it needs to be able to see all emotions in someone to decide whether their heart is pure or not, but I could be wrong.)

But yeah, if this series is about him trying to acquire two Empath Pokemon… it might also be about him trying to acquire Empathy itself.

Anyway I’m gonna. I’m gonna watch the other episodes eventually. Not just yet, cos I wanna dream about a world in which this conspiracy theory is any way feasible-

(oh yeah also before anyone asks. Anabel didn’t use an Empathy Pokemon in the anime, but in the games (Emerald and USUM) her ace is either Raikou or Latios, with the latter being another Empathy Pokemon- “…it can sense the emotions of others.”.)

(oh and full Empathy Pokemon list: Latias, Latios, Ralts, Indeedee, Hatterene, Sylveon, Audino, Solrock, Finizen. Bonus: Mew (how do you determine a ‘pure heart’), Mesprit (it created emotions so surely it can sense them?? But no pokedex entries on that) and Lucario (can sense emotions but through Aura not Empathy).)

#pokeani spoilers #pokemon #pokemon theory #ash ketchum #pokemon journeys #aim to be a pokemon master #salon maiden anabel #how to make me interested in ash as a character: add vague parallels to my blorbo from 2004 #anyway adios ash this is the first and last time i will ever post about you lol

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kerubimcrepin · 4 months

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Episode 23 - Like a Snapper in the Water (part 2)

I'm not entirely sure if Flyport is a real location name used in the games.

But it (upper screenshots) looks pretty much the same to how the way this show portrays Madrestam Harbour in Amakna, where Kerubim used to run errands for the Orphan Temple. (lower screenshots)

It seems that Kerubim is saying that the harbour, where he spent much of his childhood in, has the best fish. Cute!

The word siren is used, so, I suppose, ondine isn't the only word for mer-women in the World of Twelve, which makes her name just a tiny bit less funny.

I'm sorry for being bad at deeplore.

If all the races could dive like this forever without a siren's help, Waven era problems would be solved instantly. Yet, sadly, nobody has committed to that watercore glowing squid lifestyle yet. All waven era ppl can do is commit warcrime, commit warcrime, and commit warcrime.

The thought of Luis on clearance days made a shudder run through me.

This guy being alive is the biggest plot twist of all.

Here we see a new development in the "Joris starting to take Kerubim off his pedestal" storyline. He's just vehemently denying everything he just told, despite having proof of it in the form of a pearl. Because he thinks Kerubim is. Y'know. A coward when it comes to water.

I love you, Joris, and I love your developing critical thinking skills.

Aaand here we have a yet another "Joris is violently afraid of his very old, single guardian who has no family dying" moment. Man.

I wish I could hug him.

...I can't even bring myself to overanalyse this in any way. Because, sure, Joris thinks about Kerubim dying much more than is normal for kids. We already talked about that, — the man is old, they only have each other, and Kerubim himself was an orphan (except, unlike Joris, he had no family, and Joris knows this.)

These things are on Joris's mind, we know.

But I will be real: Crying and screaming is a normal reaction to watching your dad drown? It's just made sadder by what I just said, because it will 100% give Joris new material to draw from for Scary Kerubim Death Scenarios.

I suppose this implies Joris doesn't know how to swim, if he isn't jumping after him? Which wouldn't be shocking, when the only person who could teach him is scared shitless of water. But besides that, there isn't much to analyse.

Here's a happy Joris, as a palette cleanser.

For the first time, we see Kerubim fully interacting with something from his past. A small piece of longing fulfilled, just for a second... Quite poignant, with that little smile of his.

Kerubim looks so smug for someone who almost died. Yeah, of course Joris grows up to be an evil little guy, he was raised by one.

Also, yet again, Kerubim loves impressing Joris. And the sky is blue.

He is so honest. And I love him for it.

I really am impressed with how much he's been... lightly ribbing Kerubim this whole episode. Truly, we are entering critical "Joris is starting to banter back at Kerubim" territory.

Just wait until he gets disillusioned in him, and then we'll be talking about some SILLY stuff.

#ep23 #krosmoz #wakfu #dofus #ro liveblogs dofus

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