#it has some issues but overall its pretty great

[battlekidx2]

Rise of the TMNT First Time Watch Thoughts

Rise is a series I didn’t get into right when it came out. It was released very soon after my favorite tmnt cartoon, 2012, had ended and I was going through a major transition in my life. 

I watched the first few episodes, but my schedule was jam packed and I fell off of watching it rather quickly. I still wanted to give it a shot but later when more episodes were released and I could binge it because I felt that this show deserved more than a fleeting shot. But I didn’t really get around to watching it in full until recently.

I do want to say right off the bat that the backlash against this incarnation when it was first announced was ridiculous. The show hadn’t even aired and people were rallying to cancel it. You can’t judge the quality of something before seeing it and changing something from past iterations isn’t necessarily a bad thing even if it is an adaptation. 

My rule for adaptations is that what’s most important for new iterations is that they understand the heart of the series and characters that they are adapting and I would say that Rise clearly understood the heart of its characters and series but it just chose to adapt it in a different way. And in my opinion that’s great.

And I’m not going to pretend that all the changes worked for me. Some changes just didn’t mesh with me personally and I found myself preferring certain iterations of the characters and their dynamics/arguments from past iterations more. It’s just a matter of personal preference.

I have spoilers below the cut but I want to say that if you haven't watched it I really recommend giving it a shot!

I want to get into my full actual thoughts on the series now that that’s out of the way.

While Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles is a great series, it got off to a bit of a rocky start. The first half of season one, while fun and full of amazing action scenes, wasn’t the type of start to absolutely grip me like the first seasons of 2012 and 2003. It did, however, manage to set itself apart from the other iterations of the turtles and firmly establish the unique personalities of these versions of the turtles, Splinter, and April O’Neil. 

The show clearly had some issues finding its footing at first and I think one of the major issues was that the show itself had trouble figuring out how exactly to implement the changes it made to the lore and characters from past incarnations into the first season, which led to pacing issues and some mixed characterization that took a while to get used to from characters such as Splinter (he gets a lot better later on and I really grew to like him but at first I wasn’t that fond of him). 

But, while I didn’t personally love the first season as much as other iterations of the teenage mutant ninja turtles due to this slow start, once it established its lore and changes and firmly knew what it wanted to be the show really took off and could reach great heights in a way completely unique from the other interpretations. 

This shift occurs about halfway through the first season with “The Evil League of Mutants” when the origins of Splinter and the Turtles and their connection with Baron Draxum finally get revealed (in a really good musical number I might add). This is where I really started to get invested in the new lore of this series and the changes the show made to the characters and backstory.

This is when everything that was slowly and sometimes awkwardly established started to come together and form a much clearer picture of what this series was trying to do. Those disparate pieces that felt a bit strange such as the new characters of Baron Draxum and Big Mama, the idea of the yokai, and the very different and at times kind of perplexing iteration of the foot clan finally interacted to hint at an endgame for this season and it worked much better than I anticipated.

I also was glad we finally got some development for Splinter, his relationship to the turtles, and his backstory. Up until this point he didn’t really work that well for me and the lack of any meaningful interactions between him and the turtles was a bit off putting, but starting with this episode so much new information was revealed about him that vastly improved the character and endeared me to him.

This continued development for Splinter leads to some of my favorite moments from the series.

For example, one of my favorite moments from the first season is when Splinter tricks Donnie and Mikey into going to a demolition derby with him. When Donnie discovers that Splinter lied he gets really upset and believes that Splinter didn’t really want to spend time with him.

It’s made clear leading up to this point that Donnie is really effected by the lack of attention and affection Splinter gives him and before now it was mostly said in a joking way that didn’t betray just how deeply it hurt him but he finally lets it out in a rare moment of vulnerability. And in response Splinter calls Donatello by his actual name for the first time in the series and apologizes. There’s a real and authentic moment of connection that wouldn’t have hit the way it did if Splinter wasn’t characterized the way he was early on. (I also absolutely love rise's version of Donnie.)

It’s not something that necessarily makes him more likable earlier in the series but that characterization early on makes his development and eventual connection with his sons heartwarming. 

The season’s momentum doesn’t stop with “The Evil League of Mutant” or Splinter’s development. It keeps building until it finally reaches the finale, which is a great culmination of all that came before, and ends with the shredder finally being formally introduced into the series and things feeling really dire for the turtles. 

This version of the shredder took him in a completely different direction from all the ones that came before and took a big swing by making him a man merged with a demon. One that’s thousands of years old that the Hamato clan was staked with keeping contained forever.

While this version of the shredder doesn’t have the depth of 2012 or the menace of 2003 they managed to build him up in a way that made his threat feel palpable. The desperation to keep the foot from collecting the dark armor paired with the revelations about the Hamato clan’s duty made it so that the inevitable confrontation felt like one that must be avoided at all costs.

This connection to the Hamato clan brought in an interesting conflict between duty and family for Splinter that we hadn't gotten to see before. When the turtles are captured Splinter is pulled in two different directions one that upholds his duty and one that preserves his family. Splinter eventually chooses his sons over his duty. (This carries over into the second season when they managed to combine the two and become their best selves as warriors and family.)

Another really fascinating aspect of the finale that I haven’t touched upon is how it subverts expectations by having Baron Draxum simply be a stepping stone for the shredder’s release. Up until this point Baron Draxum had been the closest thing to a big bad the series had. We had followed his plan step by step and believed he was the one pulling the strings only for the rug to be pulled out from under him at the last second when the turtles believed they had won.

This led to a cliffhanger that had me on the edge of my seat. It really felt like this was another turning point in the series like “Evil League of Mutants” had been…

But I don’t really feel like the second season carried that momentum over as well as it could have. The battle with the shredder wasn’t the tour de force I expected or the turning point in tone I anticipated. And there are things that were set up in the first season that, when finally seen, felt like anti-climaxes. This is most notable to me in the season premiere and the episode “Goyles, Goyles, Goyles” when we finally see the day that Splinter and the turtles were mutated.

With the premiere it was a weird split between things I absolutely adored– Leo finally displaying his excellent planning and leadership skills– and things I felt were anti-climactic compared to the build-up– the turtles’ fight with Shredder. 

I feel like the Leo stuff is self explanatory. Everyone knows that Leo is traditionally the leader of the turtles and up until this point Leo didn’t show much of that or have any significant development outside of a few select moments, but this was the episode that really showed his potential. 

It wasn’t just his ingenious plan that was really enjoyable to see come together, but also the fact that he knew his brothers well enough to trust in their skills and know exactly how they would be able to fend off and find the shredder. 

As a longtime fan of the turtles I loved this development. I had really enjoyed this version of Leo before now, but this was the moment that won me over to this version of him.

But the way the show handled the face off with the shredder didn’t really work for me. The biggest reason was that most of it happened off screen and then when we did get to see what was going on it was to show that the shredder was weak to tickling. 

After all that build up for the shredder and what a threat he will pose the way it went fell flat, especially considering how the first season finale ended with the turtles thinking they beat the shredder only for a much more powerful version to emerge from the smoke to face them down.

The ending with Big Mama set up some very interesting possibilities that I was excited to see come to fruition in the future (and eventually lead to a phenomenal season 2 finale) but it and Leo’s arc didn’t negate the disappointment I felt with how the shredder and his showdown with the turtles was handled.

Goyles, Goyles, Goyles felt like an intentional anti-climax, but even with that obvious intent it still fell flat for me. This moment was one of my favorite reveals of the first season. The way it was revealed in song by Draxum and his henchmen and the amazing still animation reflecting the words was a real turning point in just how much I enjoyed this series as I said above. And when we finally got to see exactly what happened… it was almost all a joke.

And this type of subversion is very common in Rise. It usually works better for me though because there isn’t as much build up and excitement towards them like there was for the shredder fight and the Draxum and the turtles backstory. 

In fact, there are plenty of moments in this series where this type of subversion works really well for me. In the season one finale the random reveal that the turtles cracked Splinter’s teapot as children and never told him being an important plot point was one that worked really well for me. 

The biggest difference between those subversions is that the one in the finale didn’t magically solve things or completely dampen the more dramatic and emotional moments. The teapot reveal didn’t retroactively make Splinter’s decision to put his sons above his ancestral duty any less meaningful and it didn’t magically save the day like they expected it to. It allowed things to still carry the weight they were meant to while still being funny and unexpected.

The show goes back to problem of the week episodes and as a result does fall into a few of the pacing and tonal issues that plagued the first season, but they were overall stronger and more fun episodes here than they were in season 1 due to the fact that there is a larger cast to bounce the characters off of and a lot more locations to explore. This allowed for some really interesting and unexpected character pairings that made some of the most entertaining episodes of the show.

The episodes centered on April and Splinter are a particular favorite of mine in season 2. 

I wasn’t expecting how much I would adore their dynamic, but it was easily one of my favorites in the entire show. I really liked Splinter’s unwavering faith in April and how they came together to better each other. 

Splinter very rarely has this type of relationship in any of the other shows. He’s mostly the one lifting others up and giving them wisdom and is rarely the one getting support in this type of way. April is able to interact with Splinter’s past in a way the turtles in this show can’t and it allows him to re-establish a connection to who he was in a healthier way than he had prior to her coming into his life.

It’s a great mutual relationship that finds a unique spin to what their dynamic usually is in turtles canon.

Now it’s time to talk about the final few episodes of season 2. These episodes showcase all the best aspects of the Rise show. They take what the series does differently from all the other interpretations and run with them, really showing what the show can do at its height.

These episodes gave me the shredder showdown I was hoping to see in the premiere. He posed the type of threat he had in many of the other shredder incarnations and served the turtles losses that they struggled to bounce back from.

This is the type of enemy shredder should be and the way they had this tie into Splinter’s past was amazing and moving.

The episode where the Baron Draxum sent the Turtles into Splinter’s mind was one of the most emotionally poignant episodes, showing the pain and emptiness of Splinter’s life before he mutated. It puts Splinter’s life before and after the turtles into stark contrast.

Splinter isn’t alone like he felt like he was before and he found a new family after the loss of his mother that gave him the strength and courage to accept the duty he had rejected because of the loss it brought him.

Splinter has grown from the character I was most disappointed with to one of my favorites of the series and this episode really hammered home just how great the writing for him in this series has been.

Splinter isn’t the only one that gets an increase in focus, April also gets some spotlight and a unique and unexpected role in this finale.

April’s growth from human ally to the turtles to a member of their family was amazing to watch. Having that bond that had been cultivated over the course of the two seasons that culminates in these episodes where she becomes an honorary member of the Hamato clan, fusing with Karai and teaching the turtles the way of their ancestors, was such an interesting change from past iterations of the character.

It really felt like her arc and relationship to the turtles was coming full circle when April was the one to talk Raph out of his despair. It really hammered home how far all of them have come and just how much a part of this family April is.

April’s talk to Raph leads into a great moment where the brothers unlock their mystic powers through their connection and trust in one another. They aren’t alone in this struggle or the fight with Shredder. It doesn’t come down to just one of them but their whole family. 

The heart of the turtles and their various series, at least to me, has always been the Hamato family and their bond with one another and this moment shows just how much this show understands that.

There’s just so much about this finale to gush about but there were two minor issues I had. Those are the reveal of Cassandra Jones and Splinter naming Leo the leader.

Cassandra Jones felt like a last minute reveal. The series made a few jokes about Cassandra being called unnamed foot soldier yet had her as a recurring character so it felt obvious that she was going to be a legacy character in some way but having her be Casey Jones felt odd. 

I don’t really know a better way of putting it. I’m not mad or anything and I don’t believe the show butchered Casey like I’ve seen some people say (especially considering how they brought Casey Jones into the movie), but it felt like the most out of left field choice rise had made up until this point. (I do want to say that I feel like this could have turned into a very interesting interpretation of the character if the show was allowed to continue and flesh this decision out.)

And Leo being named leader was especially rushed considering just earlier in the finale (parts 2 and 3) the show really felt like it solidified Raph as the leader. He was the one who was able to make the tough calls and he was the one who learned to trust his brothers in a way he needed to be the best leader he could be.

Leo only really had the second season premiere to set up the idea that he would make a great leader and strategist if he really applied himself but that thread felt like it was dropped for the rest of the season and had no real buildup within the finale unlike Raph’s leadership skills.

These didn’t really impact my enjoyment of the episodes especially considering that they were such a small part of the finale and they were both fixed/expanded on in the movie.

Speaking of the movie. It was absolutely phenomenal. 

This movie focuses on Leo and his journey into growing into a leadership role for the team with the Kraang as the turtles’ adversaries. 

Right off the bat this movie is considerably darker than the main series with the opening alone showing blood and the deaths of both Mikey and Leo. It immediately shatters any possibility of past conveniences present in the series like the Kraang being ticklish or the turtles escaping due to incompetent sidekicks. 

There’s a palpable danger established by this shift in tone that carries on throughout the movie and creates actual tension and stakes to the sacrifices made later on. 

I can also say with full confidence that this is easily the most intimidating the Kraang have ever been in turtles canon. 

While the Kraang have been threats in some of the series and even beaten the turtles more than once I never felt like they were the overwhelming threat they are here. That the turtles were completely outmatched.

This amazing update of the kraang and the threat they pose is paired with a great arc for Leo where he has to confront the more immature and impulsive side of him that has been ever present in the series up until this point.

These flaws had been addressed at varying points throughout the series proper but they were never treated anywhere near as seriously as they are here. 

And it addresses these shortcomings through Rise’s interpretation of the classic Raph and Leo conflict.

Raph and Leo are almost always the two brothers that come into conflict the most often in every iteration of the turtles. Their ways of thinking are incompatible in ways that make it hard for them to see eye to eye. This was something the main series of Rise didn’t really address. For the most part the brothers got along well and any conflicts they did have were either resolved or ended on a joke which fit with what the series was trying to do with them before this point.

I’ve heard a few complaints about this because the conflict between Leo and Raph is something the movie makes it seem like is a recurring problem for them when in reality Leo and Raph don’t really get into any real serious arguments/conflicts throughout the series. In fact, Raph almost never gets angry the way he does at the beginning. Rise Raph’s anger is almost always aimed at himself rather than others. 

And I can understand that to a degree because these aspects weren’t really established in the series but I don’t think either of these inconsistencies really hurt the movie and are in fact explained rather well within the context and time frame given. The conflict itself is well written and has the two coming to an actual understanding that feels organic to both characters.

The movie’s take on Leo and Raph’s conflict has the two switching places from their usual roles. Leo is the impulsive brother that does care deeply about his brothers but makes mistakes due to his personal flaws that gets them in trouble, while doubting/going against the older brother’s wishes/orders. Raph is the older, more responsible brother with the weight of his brothers lives on his shoulders because of his position as the de facto leader of their family (at least before the season 2 finale).

It’s not necessarily a completely unique take on the conflict since the roles are simply reversed with a few tweaks to better fit their characters but it plays out in a way that makes Leo’s arc and journey of growing into his leadership role very impactful in a way that separates itself from 2003 and 2012 Leonardos.

Leo’s arc culminates in such an amazing and heartbreaking sacrifice that, while it obviously didn’t last, was the moment from Rise that hit me the hardest.

The way the movie managed to really hammer home the weight of Leo’s decision and the growth of his character in that moment through everyone’s reactions, the music, and the stunning animation and coloring was incredible.

Outside of Leo’s fantastic arc and the Kraang the animation is absolutely stunning. There’s a reason the fight with the Kraang leader was all over the place after this movie released. The animation for Rise has always been fantastic and here is no exception. I don’t really think I can add anything to this point that hasn’t already been said by anyone who has seen the film.

Honestly if you haven’t seen it yet you should definitely give it a shot.

I’m just really disappointed this movie is probably the last we’ll see of Rise of the Tmnt because from my experience watching the series for the first time this show just continually got better. It introduced and hinted at so many elements from past iterations of the turtles near the end that I really wanted to see their take on.

Overall I think Rise is a really fun series that has amazing highs and a finale and movie that are legitimately great but it is a bit inconsistent in terms of pacing and tone with a rocky start and contains some changes to the characters that didn’t work completely for me personally. 

At its best this show easily stands toe to toe with the heights of the previous series. And in many ways those heights are completely unique from all the other iterations because of how much it twists the previously established lore and characters to make them its own.

After watching this series I can completely understand why so many people love this iteration of the turtles and I do consider the show great. I will definitely re-visit many of these episodes and the movie time and time again.

Extra Thoughts

What is it with tmnt series and dark futures? There’s Same as it Never Was, Mutant Apocalypse, The Rise Movie, The Last Ronin, etc. The brothers can never catch a break and get a nice happy ending can they?

I really love this version of Donnie and I think he's the character that worked best for me in this series. Donatello has always been my favorite turtle and in early iterations of the turtles I was a bit disappointed with how underutilized he was in the series. The episodes focused on him were great, but until 2012 Donatello was easily the most underappreciated turtle with the least amount of focus and screen time of the four. 2012 and Rise finally gave him the attention and focus I always wanted.

I kind of feel bad for saying this but I prefer Rafael and Leonardo’s conflict in the 2003 show, 2012 show, and 2007 TMNT movie to their conflict in this series. I also prefer the Character interpretations of Rafael where he’s the hothead. Where he chafes under Leo’s leadership and is forced to grow and mature so that he can handle his anger in better, more productive ways. I’m not saying this version of Rafael is bad or that Leo and Raph’s conflict isn’t complex, just that I personally prefer different versions of these things. And I completely understand that that’s personal preference. I think that this iteration will definitely work really well for other people and I think that’s great.

I really enjoy this version of Mikey and I'm disappointed he is given significantly less focus than any of the other turtles in this series. All the rest of the turtles get episodes dedicated solely to them and their struggles even April gets more individual focus than Mikey in season 2. I think Mikey is a great character to bounce off of but I was disappointed he never really got much time in the spotlight.

While the lore grew to become one of my favorite things about the series, not all of it worked for me. It was actually mostly the mystic pizza joint and some of the yokai that didn’t work for me because Big Mama, The hidden city, Draxum, the battle nexus, and the shredder/foot all grew on me whereas that part didn’t. I think this had more to do with the fact that the episodes centered on this part of the world were my least favorite in the series than anything else.

This series made the interesting decision to move away from the more grounded tone of past turtles incarnations. The turtles, at least in the shows, had progressively gotten more and more grounded in “reality” with even Donnie’s inventions, while still being incredible, reflecting the limited resources they would realistically have when living in the sewers. This series abandons any tether it might have had to reality and has the turtles out in broad daylight with only hoodies/tops to hide in, Donnie's inventions are even grander than before, and there's a whole hidden city where the turtles can be normal. They also immediately get mystic power and rarely interact with street level crime like their past incarnations. In some ways this worked and made the series immediately recognizable and stand out from its predecessors but in others it made them feel very disconnected from their roots and what made them so relatable in the first place which unfortunately alienated some people.

This ended up working really well for me after things started to come together and I think it’s a bit unfortunate that this will be a roadblock for people getting into the series.

The backlash the character designs got is something that I never really understood. Each turtle looks completely unique and for most of them you can grasp aspects of their personality and what they like by looking at them. This is a mark of good character design.

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #Splinter #donnie #raph #leo #mikey #baron draxum #april o'neil #animation #I really like this series #Give it a shot #it has some issues but overall its pretty great

[adobe-outdesign]

Can u review hydrapple

Hydrapple is certainly a strange one. Not because of the design or anything—the design's quite good—but it's such a weird addition to the Applin line. Why take a branching two-stage Pokemon and suddenly introduce a three-stage branch? Hydrapple instantly outclasses both Flapple and Appletun both because it evolved twice and for stat-related reasons.

I point this out because all of this could've easily been fixed by just... making Dipplin a regional? Dipplin really does not look that different than Applin; it just has syrup and a long horn. It being a regional would make sense thematically (it's a candy apple, a popular treat in Japan which fits with Kitakami's setting) and it would fix the imbalance issue—in most regions, Applin can evolve into Flapple or Appletun, but Kitakami Applin always evolve only into Dipplin and then Hydrapple.

Anyway, all of that technical stuff aside, I do really like Hydrapple. It's probably one my favorite designs out of the DLC, and it has both a solid concept and good aesthetics.

Thematically, Dipplin was already established to have two wyrms living together, so it only makes sense that it would evolve into what's effectively a seven-headed hydra (or Yamata no Orochi, judging by its Japanese name). This fits with the line's dragon typing and is a neat direction that's distinct from the other evos. The wyrms are also referred to as syrpents, which I think is delightful.

And visually, it's also pretty strong. Instead of having all the heads visible at once, six of them are kept tucked inside of the apple with only their eyes showing, and only four of them pop out during animations. This keeps the design from being too busy.

I also like how the main head that's visible at all times has a nice little identifier in terms of the mini apple and stem-like horn, which kind of feels like it continues from Dipplin's. The long necks are great and look a lot different from either Applin or Flapple, and I like the scalloped underbelly patterning as well. The apple itself also looks good, with some gooey drips on top and some more scalloped patterns to indicate further drippy-ness. And color-wise, the bright red pops out and compliments the duller greens nicely. Good stuff.

Anyway, overall, a really good design and concept here, and a welcome addition to the Applin line... if you can get over the weirdness of it just being a three-stage evolution, of course.

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon sv #hydrapple #dipplin #pokemon reviews #pokemon spoilers

[thekingofwinterblog]

You know what the most annoying thing about the Twists regarding the Elves in Inquisition was?

That all the twists, if taken on their own, would make for a really good story.

The reveals about Solas backstory and how him and his fellow God Kings rose, became decadent, warred with each other and fell, setting the stage for their transformation into the Old Gods is frankly speaking, some of the best lore that Dragon Age ever had, and lines up really well with how the world is structured while explaining how the Old Gods came to be, how the elves fell, and so on.

That the tevinter imperium when it conquered the nation of Arlathan was not the great imperial state lead by mighty mages their descendants liked to think they were, but instead a bunch of weaklings that needed years and years to take on one, measly city-state that had utterly obliterated itself in civil war.

There is so much great stuff here.

So where did it all go wrong?

The answer, is of course execution.

Inquisition overall is a great game... But man did it drop the ball so hard with the Elves that it's pretty much hard to believe that they will be able to tell a nuanced story about them in Dread Wolf.

Everything from the companions, to the world itself as the game presents , to retcons regarding mages that's there, not to tell a story about the elves, but to try and make the Templar vs mage conflict grey.

Starting with the companions, we have a great example of coming so, so close to greatness... and then falling right on it's face.

The game has two Elf companions, solas and Sera... and the contrast between them really illustrates the big picture with how incapable Inquisition is with trying to tell a nuanced picture with the elves.

Solas as a character is perfect. Love him or hate him, he is a fully fleshed out character with very clear, defined, understandable motives that makes sense to him.

And most importantly of all, his way of viewing the world is WRONG. The game acknowledges that he is wrong.

The entire story of where dragon age 4 is heading, is all about how the Dread wolf, for all his knowledge and intelligence and genuine virtues, is at the end of the day, a monster, who is willing to see the world burn to restore the Elves magic and immortality.

He is a racist, he is bigoted, and ultimately misguided. Despite all his development with the inquisitor, he does not manage to grow enough as a person that he manages to abandon his genocidal goals. And the game does not pretend othervise.

That is what makes the story of Solas rise to become the big villain of the sequel great.

There is no disconnect between the story, the characters, or the way the game wants us to view solas.

Solas is far, far more bigoted and close-minded than any of the dalish he so despises, and the game ultimately does not pretend othervise.

Which brings us to the opposite end of the elf spectrum with Sera.

Sera is a very disliked character by a lot of people, but by dalish and elf players/fans more than most.

Just like Solas, she is bigoted, racist, and ultimately misguided in her hatred of her fellow elves, whether they be city elves, or Dalish, or ancient elves.

And that frankly, would not be a problem if the game acknowledged that fact. If her character arc was about it, and either how she could not overcome her own issues, or actually managed to grow beyond them, she could have been a great character.

The problem is the fact that the game is not willing to handle this fact head on. Its not willing to come out and portray Sera as just as bigoted against her own kind as Solas is, and to treat this as a flaw.

Instead the game treats her as if her biggest flaw is that she's annoying, and not the fact that in a game that is in many ways about setting up the rise of the dread wolf, she is just as bad as Solas, just from a different origin point.

Sera should have been a mirror to Solas, both from a story point, as well as a thematic one, but unfortunately she is not.

Hell, she doesn't really overcome her racism either. The closest she comes to doing so, is basically burning out on hating the dalish and other elves in trespasser, not admitting she was actually wrong to hate them so much in the first place.

The game does not treat Sera's disdain for other elves and their culture as a problem, and it does not give a dalish inquisitor the option to tell her to go fuck herself on the topic that you are given with Solas if you really desire to do so.

You are given the option of kicking her out of the inquisition, but not actually stand up for the dalish or even city elves the way the player could against Morrigan's flemeth raised cruelty in origins, anders and Fenris obsessions with, and hatred for templars/mages in da2, or solas ideals in inquisition.

And thats a problem that really illustrates the bigger issue with the way Inquisition took what could have been a great story about the Elves and the reveals about their anceators, and frankly ruined it.

The dalish and city elvea were very thouroughly fleshed in both Origins, Awakening and DA2.

However, city elves largely managed to avoid being utterly destroyed by the narrative the way the Dalish were, for the simple reason that outside briala, we don't get much if any interaction with them at all, making them essentially a non show foe the game for the most part. They don't get a city elf inquisitor, and so we have no point of view to look at them from a pc perspective.

They got off much better than the dalish though.

Starting off with the arguably single worst thing in all of DAI is the retcon that Dalish clans, if there is more than two mages in a clan, sends off the third one alone in the wilderness to fend for themselves. This goes against absolutely everything that has ever been established about the Dalish, and worst of all, wasn't even an addition meant to demonize the dalish, instead being an addition to handwave away the obvious fact that the Dalish had a much better system than the human circles when it came to magic... Which in turn was made irrelevant by the fact the Avvar was later shown to have a much better and more effective solution to the possession question anyway.

It was, in essence, a pointless retcon, that overall only made the dalish look bad, and has now opened the door for the idea that most dalish clans acts like this, and will be portrayed so in future games.

Its bad, but unfortunately it was only the start.

The game goes out of its way to portray absolutely every single person who critices the dalish as having a point, that they brought on their own downfalls, even as they are being the most imperialistic, racist assholes imaginable, while the dalish inquisitor can only offer a token of defence for his people, a far cry from way origins allowed you to handle the same situation wheter your main ethnicity was ferelden, mage, city elf, dalish, casteless or dwarven noble.

But nowhere is it worse than the way the game handles the fall of the dales.

Now the actual lore you learn about it, is not bad. At all. I know some complain that the reveals that ameridan(and presumably other elves) worshipped both the creators and the maker, as well as the fact that the dalish unfortunately did have a bad relationahip with the rest of the world, in particular orlais, is bad storytelling, but i firmly disagree.

No the problem is the execution.

Ameridan is not wrong when he says that The Dales should not have distanced itself from the rest of the world, especially not in the face of a blight... But the Dales of his era were in turn not wrong when they argued that the Orlesians were little better than the imperium, and they would be completely right.

This is not a grey issue, its a grey and black issue.

Orlais was, and still is an evil, expansionist empire with 99% of its population living as serfs, that can be raped and beaten at will, little better than slaves.

The dales were the morally right side of the exalted march on the dales. No amount of new lore we learned in inquisition has changed that fact. We simply get the details fleshed out a bit more to add context.

Orlais was going to invade and enslave the elves anyway, as they proved through their actions against all their other, very much fellow Adrastian neighbors.

The problem is that you are not allowed to express this kind of point of view and stick to it like steel.

The characters you meet having the bigoted opinion that the dales ultimately brought on their own fate is NOT a bad thing in and out of itself... the problem is that you are not allowed to challenge that opinion the way you could challenge Lelliana's view of the dalish in origins, or the way you could tell both Anders and fenris to go fuck themselves on their extremist opinions all through da2, and ending that fuck you by killing them in the endgame.

And thats a real shame, because just looking at characters like cassandra's character development through Inquisition, you could easily have made a really compelling narrative put of a dalish inquisitor who stuck by his or her principles, and actually challenged the people they met's racist views on the dalish the way you could in origins, just with a more fleshed out and(unfortunately something way too many people just cannot emote to a character withouth) an actual voice to raise those arguments with.

I do genuinely like Inquisition, and i think it's overall a much better game than DA2... but man did they drop the ball with the elves so hard.

I feel so sorry for anyone who really got invested in the elves as their favorites factions, and i honestly don't think the elves will be handled particularly well in Dread wolf, especially as the only Dalish we are likely to see fleshed out will be the villains fighting for Solas.

#dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age inquisition #elvhen #elves #dalish #the dales #city elves #solas #sera #meta #dread wolf

[camryntheking]

Ok! My thoughts on 7x05!

First, i just wanna say that the whole Hen and Karen storyline is awesome! I love that the show is giving queer people so much screen time, especially a Black lesbian couple! And i think its super sweet that they really want to try for Mara! I hope it works out!

Next, i think that has been my favorite cold open so far. The “ITS MEEE” gets me every time (i have already watched it loads of times). I dont have much to comment on it other than it was funny as fuck

Ok. The date scene. I was hoping to see more of Eddie watching them (especially after the stills), but oh well. The second-hand embarrassment i got was… a lot. But i dont think its necessarily a bad thing. It showed how out of his comfort zone Buck was and how he was trying to navigate a terrifying situation. And Tommy? I might have to retract my earlier retraction. Cos wtf?? Literally had just finished talking about how its hard to accept yourself in a “macho” field, then makes a dig at Buck when he fumbles? Not cool. Then not communicating what was happening until he was getting in the Uber? You dont just abandon someone at a restaurant like that. I understand the “you’re not ready” thing, but that was a dick move.

Also, Buck, baby. Sweetheart. Darling. “I look at hot guys’ asses.” Sweetie. Like Maddie said. You are more than an ally lmao. I also just love how Maddie showed interest in getting to know who Buck was talking about and treating the convo after like a normal convo. Because it is! And i love it! But she also emphasized talking to Eddie, because she knew that Eddie would not react poorly. I feel like that just shows how everyone knows how close Buck and Eddie are. TLDR, Maddie is an awesome sister and Buck is lucky to have her ❤️

Next point, the scene where Buck and Tommy talk over coffee. I do think that the hand holding at the end is very sweet and shows how Buck is really trying to be more open, but Tommy is just really starting to rub me the wrong way. Pretty much everything he said contradicts what happened in the date scene. I feel like him being at the wedding is really gonna spark some Jealous Eddie, tho, so i am excited to see that lmao

And Eddie and Marisol? I feel like the show is going in a direction that leads them to breaking up. Like yes, it is showing growth for Eddie and allowed him to acknowledge that he has Catholic guilt, but theres just. No chemistry. It feels awkward. I feel like her being an ex-nun is gonna bring up some issues with Buck and Eddie will not stand for that. I also wanted to point out that i got even more vibes that Eddie could be demisexual, cos he didnt straight up say that he loved Shannon, just that he loved being married to her. And he knows that he is moving too fast and needs to step back a bit

Finally, Buck coming out to Eddie. I do find it funny that Eddie seemed more shocked that Tommy wasnt straight than figuring out Buck isnt straight. But its awesome that Eddie showed interest and genuinely wanted to help Buck through the issue. And the hug? Finally! Give me men not being afraid to hug each other! I feel like this is allowing Buck and Eddie to become even closer (i do hope for Buddie eventually)

Overall, i feel like this episode was great for setting up the development of Buck and Eddie’s relationship (whether it ends up being platonic or romantic). And i am all for Buck exploring his sexuality with someone that isnt Eddie. While Tommy isnt my favorite right now, i do think that he is great for the progression of Buck’s story. I do hope to see more of Dad!Bobby in the coming episodes and how Buck’s parents might react to Tommy. I dont wanna wait three weeks for the next episode 😢. Im ready for the chaos of the Madney wedding

If i think of anything else ill add on, but i think thats all i have for now. Feel free to share your thoughts!

#911 abc #bi buck #buddie #evan buckley #9 1 1 abc #911 cast #911 on abc #911 show #buddie 911 #tv: 911 #eddie diaz #tommy x buck #buck x tommy #tommy kinard #hen wilson #karen wilson #maddie buckley #chimney han #911 marisol #gay #bisexual #evan buck buckely #demisexual #bobby nash #bucktommy #buck x eddie #henren #911 7x05

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

Lancer RPG

pfft, your mech is your dead mom's soul? well MY mech is co-piloted by Cthulhu!

Touchstones: Armored Core, General Mech Media

Genre: Mecha, Tactics game

What is this game?: Lancer is a tactical TTRPG focused on mechs, and the folks piloting them, with a sturdy "Gameplay over Realism" mentality to its game design

How's the gameplay?: Lancer is a tactical RPG using primarily d20s for attack rolls and other problem solving, it's primarily based on the tactical combat rules of Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition, however it is mostly its own thing, with new mechanics, simple but fun character creation, and a high focus on quick and aggressive combat rather than lengthy and Defensive combat. in effect imagine character creation as going to a subway (of mech parts) and picking your ingredients, with a mech's frame being your choice of bread, and combat as an SRPG of your choosing but everyone is in giant mechs

Out of Combat is a bit different, to the point where I didn't even bring it up during my first draft of this! the Out of Combat rules are deliberately bare bones, you can very easily insert straight up a different game in there, or mod it to be something else. But I wouldn't recommend it, as the rules by themselves are 100% useable, fun, and blend into the combat portions pretty easily, Lancer is fully aware of this, and the lack of out of combat depth is partially covered by the KTB book, which gives characters simple out of character skills

What's the setting (If any) like?: Lancer throws you into a world where mankind's either solved, or is close to solving, most of the issues back on earth... too bad we also colonized other planets 10k years ago! Now, while Earth thrives, planets outside of it struggle with poverty, imperialism, dictatorships, and human and non-human rights issues, Earth tries its best to help, but they're stretched very thin. Lancer also has many small details to its setting that are way too in-depth to get into right now, but a major one is the existance of non-human people, eldritch beings strapped to computers in order to create effective and fully sentient artificial intelligence

What's the tone?: Lancer's tone is generally speaking, hopeful. Empires are mighty, but there are people fighting, and they will be toppled, mankind's horrors have attempted to wipe out entire species, but survivors remain, and secretly thrive. While there is some doom and gloom and grimdark stuff, especially with how the highly unethical and wicked corporations are treated as necessary evils for enterprising pilots, but overall lancer is a setting where no matter how bad things get, there will always be hope

Session length: A few hours, it depends on how mean your GM is, generally speaking however combat heavy sessions will only run you around 2-3 hours, with RP sprinkled in between

Number of Players: I generally like to recommend around 4 or more, but I'm sure you can do it with less

Malleability: While lancer's mechanics are pretty hardset in its setting, the existance of Beacon RPG and how at its core its very much a Lancer hack does show that Lancer can be hacked into differing settings, a very popular one I've seen is Magical Girl Lancer.

Resources: Lancer's primary resource is Comp/Con, it effectively serves as a do everything tool for lancer, allowing you to manage characters, encounter, and homebrew, while also having a very slick and easy to use UI Lancer also has many pre-made modules, of... varying quality, Siren's song and Solstice rain are pretty good, Wallflower is very good but the encounters are of mixed quality, and it's not great for introducing people to the game in my experience

Homebrew is also fairly popular, new frames, NPC types, Bonds, and modules are all pretty popular, my personal favorite being Field Guide to Suldan and Field Guide to Iridia, I also enjoy Field Guide to Liminal Spaces though that one's a bit on the "Be Very Careful" side

Overall, lancer is effectively THE indie ttrpg, being quality, fun, and affordable, with the core rulebook being 100% free if you just wish to see the player-side content, it's a great time, and everyone who's interested in the indie ttrpg scene should check it out at least once

#weekly ttrpg

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL - These Are the Days of Our BLs

Aug 2023 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Sat iQIYI) 5 of 8 - They cute making heart eyes at each other, but could we get back to punching & slutty silk shirts? OMG the poor rich kid & the bodyguard who wants to hug him SO BAD are KILLING me. I did giggle & yell “punchy punchies” during the fight scene before the fire. But Charn is a diamond-encrusted evil-gorgeous gremlin beastie, isn’t he? 

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 1 of 10 - NO SINGING, but also.. wristbands! Sand is great = smart, snappy & over this shit. (Tired Gay 2.0) Neo & Mark are a revelation, where’d that chemistry come from? Force playing a douchenozzle is damn delight. Plus a counter lift in the first ep? Boys, you’re spoiling me. Mew is the least interesting, but Book is still adorable. Ray is the least likable character, but since it’s Khao, he’s the most likable screen presence. In fact, I’m enjoying all the messy messy gays & I know all their types IRL. I wish we had some femme & swish rep tho. Is this Thailand’s Queer as Folk? Seems like. Is it good? Not sure. But it is FUN as hell. Still, I gotta say it… they all dance like straight boys. 

Hidden Agenda that isn’t hidden (Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 5 of 10 - Zo just wants to turtle & avoid but Joke is not gonna allow that. GMMTV keeps having sub issues (usually fixed within a few days). 

Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 6 of 8 - I do like the psychic gay detective trope. It makes this show more interesting and enjoyable. But they solved the mystery awful fast. I guess different drama spins the final 2 eps? 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 12fin - It was fine. I was fine with it. A kind of Vice Versa situation. The usual with Jittirain, as it turns out, is pretty simple: one of her main characters is going to be a manipulative liar or extremely unlikeable or both. It got an 8/10 from me, but probably should get a 7/10 just because I’m so exhausted by this. But I have to be fair and judge each BL on its own & not in light of repeat author mistakes. Not much of a trash watch here. Final full review here. 

Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 7 of 10 eps - Boyfriend trip together. Terrible overalls. What the fuck? No. Meanwhile, perfect choice for college star. (Could Ton please lead out a new BL? I know I’m 0 for 2 with him but I’m willing to try again if he is.) I actually enjoyed this installment for a change. Perhaps “enjoy” is too strong a word. Not much happened, dog days of BL, perhaps that’s a good thing with Dino? 

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 6 of 12 - Mostly I was excited to watch this week because of Ben but there wasn’t much of him. Sadness. OK, I know it has STIFF competition but does this show have the worst music in BL, or is it just me? I still like Big Daddy & Hot Doc as characters but I am despairing over their arc (would we call it an arc?). All in all this week... Whatever.

Wedding Plan (Weds YT & iQIYI) ep 4 of 7 - I am officially being driven to drink. Trash watch is happening!

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thurs Viki) 4 of 8 - This show makes me laugh so much. It is so damn cute. And there’s so much language play going on. THEN . . . JUST ADD SIMON. I love a good Simon. Who doesn’t love a good Simon? I know SO MANY Simons. Now 3 boys are circling the ingénue (who I suspect is less innocent than he appears). So much delightful competition, postering & flirting. “My Jun,” is he, Simon? You are a precious angular stalk man, aren’t you? Pacing is great with this show. Every week I can’t wait for the next installment, that’s a hallmark of the best KBLs. If the language stuff confused you as much as it did me here is an EXCELLENT post on the subject that will help. 

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 7 of 10 eps - Sweetest seme. He’s hurt & mad at his boy but still can’t help taking care of him. I do like the courting with snacks & sweet little notes. (It’d work on me.) YAY!  Reunion kisses & nuzzles!!! Snuggling!!!! Gah! Taiwan, I love you. These 2 aren’t your best kissers but their cuddling is off the charts. I guess we are just gonna be plotless messy gay bfs for the final 3 eps? That’s cool with me. 

Sing My Crush (Korea Weds iQIYI) 3-4 of 8 eps - it’s adorable, they’re adorable, I’m enjoying it a whole lot. It’s like a very soft, low-stakes Addicted. 

Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) 10 eps - I liked Love Class 1 (more than most on Tumblr) & I normally don’t want 2nd seasons. But this has an entirely new cast (in the “Replay” model). I’m fine with a 2nd season that has little or nothing to do with the first. J-min is an interesting choice of idols but he’s doing an unexpectedly good job. (He is a truly great rapper, by the way.) Trigger warnings out the gate... also this is complicated. Ready? We got 3 queer besties: artist gay Hyun (J-min), shy cafe gay Minwoo (in love with), sunshine gym bunny bi slut Maru (represent, my brother). Then we got Mr Put-upon-TA (+ boy who saw him nekid). And the twist = all black otaku Kim An (used to tutor artist gay in high school = exes ghosting DRAMA). This last reads as a hyung romance. Which you know I love. But it also feels v dark. All of which is to say, I am intrigued but a little nervous over the tone. 

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 1 of 8 - Classic JBL is back! This one is My Beautiful Man + Tokyo in April/Oh My Assistant. It’s odd and warped af but I like it. Very much has a the feel of old live action yaoi + VERY D/s. BRING IT JAPAN.

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 6 of 12 eps - Shin is my sweet bean sprout and Minato should just boink him. Why all this waffling? I love the doctor. But mostly I’m as frustrated with this show as Shin must be in general. Minato 2- the season of blue balls.

Stay Still (Hong Kong Tues YouTube) 2 of 5 eps - I re-watched the first 2 eps & now find it a bit more comprehensible (yes 2: there is an ep 0). I don’t think we can expect this to end happy for either couple. It’s kinda sticky & grungy (in a way I’ve come to expect from the Philippines, although this is not as cluttered visually nor as brightly colored as the Pinoy stuff). I do kind of like that lived-in feeling, it reminds me of Taiwanese shorts. There is something very honestly queer about the primary leads (tattoo & babyface) in particular the way they dance queer? around each other: verbally, emotionally & physically - laying down breadcrumbs of gay for the other to follow. The secondary couple (reunion, cheating) is very sad. Although I do love a counter lift make-out sesh. (Occasionally Cantonese sounds like Vietnamese to me. Apparently I am not alone in this.)

Gossip - AKA P’ABL is Disappointed

I was gonna put a statement here but I just did it separately, earlier this week, since my ask box was overflowing regarding actor gossip and other stuff. 

Meanwhile, Stay With Me ended exactly as expected. Can’t say I didn’t warn ya. You watched this anyway? You got what was coming to you. I am entirely unsympathetic. 

 Next Week Looks Like This:

Look at that PACKED week. NIIICEEEE. 

Starting:

8/18 Dangerous Romance (Thai Fri GMMTC YT) 12 eps - Perth returns to lead out a BL, odds on that ever happening were slim. (Let alone Chimon.) Still here we are. Interesting times. Chimon plays a poor studious kid who hates the school bully but is forced to become his private tutor. Lurv results. 

8/19 Love in Translation (Thai Sat One31) 10 eps - Two strangers start working in a cafe together. Looks very pulp. No idea on international distribution. 

8/19 I Feel You Linger in the Air (Thai Sat Gaga) 12 eps - The time travel historical romance many of us have been waiting for. Adaption of y-novel by Violet Rain. Heartbroken architect is transported to the 1930s. From the producers of Lovely Writer.

8/20 My Universe series (Thai Sun iQIYI) 24 eps - This is sampler pack BL, 12 pairs, each pair gets 2 eps, not sure on the order they’ll drop. Known couples include EarthBank from Destiny Seeker and KaownahTurbo from Love Stage!!!, fresh faces otherwise. Jane to direct.

Still Coming in August 2023

8/22 Kisseki: Dear to Me formerly known as Miracle (Taiwan Tues ????) 13 eps - From screenwriter Lin Pei Yu (We Best Love, H3: Trapped) features a student doctor forced to take care of a gangster. I love the premise and like the writer, Viki or Gaga will get this one.  

8/23 Why R U? (Korean remake iQIYI) is supposed to be out this month, filming started in sept 22. I find everything about this hilarious. I mean if Korea remakes it, we lose all the sexy and then... would we have a story at all? No we would not. Not even for six short eps. It’d be like one of those mesh shopping bags.

8/24 Man Suang (Thailand movie, domestic cinema release) - historical drama about Thai burlesque with KP’s MileApo. 

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Talking grandkids. Made me snicker. (Low Frequency.)

The waist grab that launched a thousand gifs (Laws of Attraction). Okay it was last week but I gotta chronicle it here in the weeklies. For science. 

Sing My Crush. They are so damn cute. 

Thank you for the counter action GMMTV, please Sirs, may I have another?

Captain snark in the house. Of course they handed the best and most complex pairing to these two. Well done GMMTV. (Only Friends) 

I really did not expect J-Min to be this good. (Love Class 2) 

(Last week) 

#this week in BL #bl news #BL reviews #korean bl #japanese bl #taiwanese bl #thai bl #Rakutan Viki #gagaoolala #GMMTV #Laws of Attraction #Only Friends #Hidden Agenda #Low Frequency #Dinosaur Love #Be Mine Super Star #Jun & Jun #Stay By My Side #Love Class Season 2 #Sing My Crush #Taikan Yoho #My Personal Weatherman #Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 #Minato's Laundromat Season 2 #Stay Still the series #hong Kong BL #Jun and Jun #Queer as Folk #NeoMark #ForceBook

[yellobb]

Had book club discussion about Carry On today! Here’s some of the highlights:

People were mostly a big fan of the Magic system. Main criticism about it was that it would sometimes take them out of it, like the snickers spell while ebb is actively dying

There was much discussion over Penny and Baz kidnapping the dog, which was very entertaining to me

One of my managers asked if Agatha was in the rest of the series. I told her “she is, but I don’t think she wants to be”

People loved Baz lol. There was a bit less love for Simon (that’s okay, that’s what I’m there for)

I explained the lore behind Fangirl and why the titles are the way they are. Thoroughly confused some people

Someone had to leave the zoom call halfway through because his neighbors called the cops on his van???? Idk that was just wild

One dude who showed up also didn’t even finish the book yet, which I didn’t find out until partway through, so that was fun

They noted some Harry Potter similarities, but agreed it was a very different book

Number one complaint was that “nothing happened”. They were really interested in the politics of the world, how relationships were formed and were pretty disappointed that a lot of that was exposition

One coworker was confused as to why Nico couldn’t do magic anymore, since they mentioned he used to be able to use Ebb’s staff and honestly I don’t remember the answer, so help here would be great if anyone knows. He should be able to even though they snapped his wand, right?

One coworker was frustrated that Simon lost his magic because he thought that was the most interesting part. I told him that he was not alone in that, since I remember so many people being upset back in the day

Everyone saw the plot twist that the Mage was the bad guy coming. Tbh, I read it so long ago that I can’t remember if I was surprised

Everyone also saw snowbaz coming lol. One guy said “I knew by chapter three that those two would be fucking” (oh just you wait my friend. Soon the issue will be that they’re not fucking)

They found it very entertaining that the endorsement was from Lev Grossman because “The Magicians is the polar opposite of this book”

I brought in Skee’s ABC’s of Carry On, Venessa’s art book, the whole series, Fangirl, Scattered Showers, MRB, and various pins from Selkie and others. Also wore my dragon wing earrings and Kris’ shirt :P I let myself be unhinged about it because this is my time to shine. I also have the Wayward Son poster pack at my desk that I pointed out

Overall reviews are positive. Most people didn’t love it quite like I do, but they enjoyed it well enough. I am lovingly forcing two coworkers to finish out the series because they made the mistake of being my friend lol

One guy’s review was “I liked it and I don’t know why. I hate Harry Potter and stuff like it usually.”

Very happy that this is done though, since I can finally hang back up Kris’ Carry On poster. It has too many spoilers, so I’ve had it on the ground hiding for two months for when people came over 😭 it’s going back in its place of honor next to my TV

#m rambles #the simon snow series #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz

[ornii]

“Bitterly Beautiful”

Wednesday Addams X Blind Male Reader. Part (1)

• This was a Story i posted on my Wattpad and decided to post it here, also thanks for reading it btw. I decided to use tumblr and well here I am.

Nevermore Academy, founded in 1791, to house and Teach the most, unique, individuals. Some were Vampires, Werewolves, and some even the most otherworldly beings, but there even existed monsters from beyond the bounds of reality. That could not be any more true than the boy who awakens in his dormitory room, he keeps his eyes closed but sits up with a weary yawn. He, without much issue gets dressed in the classic Nevermore uniform, the grimly striped blazer with shirt, tie and sweater combination of black sleek pants. After putting a pair of dark oval glasses on, he turns left and grabs a cane, a very antique design with a steel crow embodied design for the handle. He twirls it and walks to the door and leaves for the morning.

The boy enters a large courtyard, where the sounds of students bellowing, talking, howling, fill his ears. He places a tea cup on the stone table as he walks and sits down upon a stone seat and towards the table. He felt dust brush up against his skin, mostly his face. Not being able to use your eyes has its major disadvantages, but it also provides small bonuses. One was the much more heightened senses of Smell, touch, hearing and taste. Since the lack of eyesight was prominent. The other senses had to work harder to compensate for the loss, so even the slightest brush of wind picking up, he could notice. He removes his glasses and begins to wipe them off, but it was interrupted by a pair of oddly soft hands covering his face, which really does little to stop him.

"Guess Who~" The Mysterious and Cheerful voice asked under a muffled giggle. The boy stopped wiping his glasses and just smiled.

"Enid.. you know that doesn't work, right?" He said, and she lets go, and sits next to him.

"I know, but I didn't want to cover your ears, you couldn't hear me then (Y/n)." She says smiling, this was Enid Sinclair, a Werewolf and overall pretty amazing girl. They met during his first tenure at Nevermore and sort of, Clicked, not intentionally of course. She had her bright bubbly attitude which melted down his more cold and indifferent attitude towards everything and everyone, and now (Y/n) "Views" life in a more, honest fashion. He smiles hearing her voice, and tilts his head slightly to her direction.

"Well, what's new? You're pretty exited.." He asks and he notices her heartbeat is faster than average, and he can just hear the gleaming in her voice.

"I should and called you about it but let me give you the deets, I'm getting a roomie!" She says, and he smiles in response.

"That's great, is someone changing dorms?"

"No, she's transferring from another school, Wednesday Addams! I did. my research and she got expelled from her last school." Enid casually explains, and (Y/n) takes a sip of his Assam black tea, before listening to more of Enids explanation

"Yeah she tossed piranhas into the school pool and a boy lost a testicle." She flatly said which causes (Y/n) to cough up his Tea hearing that.

"E-Enid, are you... sure You want someone like that to Room with you? I think Principal Weems would understand you wanting a transfer."

"What? No! We're going to be the best of friends! I can already picture it! Doing each others hair, nails, talking about all the gossip at Nevermore, the Boys~" Enid was too much in a euphoric mood to listen to reason, (Y/n) simply nodded and acted happy for her, subconsciously worried for her health.

"Well, I hope you have fun then." He said, before the Principal Weems spoke up from behind them.

"Miss Sinclair." She said with this gaudy and proper tone, Enid quickly turns around, and smiles.

"Please, allow me to bring you up to your new Roommate, good morning also to you Mister Healy." She said, turning her attention towards (Y/n), who gives a solemn bow to principal Weems.

"Good Morning Principal." He replies, "Could I ask you what time it is?" He said, and she checks her watch.

"Nearing Seven."

"Ah, well I should get to feeding the crows then." He said, Enid and (Y/n) stand up and she waves him goodbye as she walks off with the Principal, he gives her a small wave back before walking away. He, without much issue, walks over to what seems to look like a Bin, he digs into it and takes out a bag, opening it, was full of an assortment of seeds. He tosses the bag as it opens and spills the seeds, he grabs a handful, and with the other arm, he taps his Cane on the ground twice. The Caws echo from the dead trees outside the Academy. They soar like a platoon of airmen. They land and peck, eating the seeds hungrily.

"You all seem eager, good." He says, and one flies up and lands on his arm. He smiles, it's caw echoes like music to his ears. He soon felt the crow fly off his arms desperately, all the crows fly away as if they're trying to avoid something. He feels a pair of footsteps approach. He acts oblivious until Enids voice comes though like music.

"And this, is (Y/n) Hearly. (Y/n), this is Wednesday Addams." Enid said, he turns around to sense a, dark presence, the sound waves echo and it forms a decent image of the woman standing next to Enid, the aura about her was a sense of utter dread. (Y/n) tries to put it behind him and offers a handshake.

"(Y/n), nice to meet you." He says, she takes it, firmly but her skin felt like ice. Sending chills down his spine he shivers slightly from it. He lets go a bit quickly and motions to the front.

"Welcome to Nevermore—" he begins but she cuts him off.

"You can skip the school Introductions your "Bestie" already informed me. I have no intention to stay here." She said, and Enid tries to make the situation better.

"Anyway, I came to ask if you could help move her stuff to the room!" She says and (Y/n) bows.

"I'd love to help." He says, Wednesday just stares morbidly at him, emotionless, cold. Shes analyzing him, she looks at his cane.

"You're Blind." She Said. And he laughed.

"Oh, how very perceptive of you, yes. I am." He Said, sarcastically, but her eyes still focused.

"You seem much more focused on your surroundings than the average blind person, you probably heard us approaching." She continues.

"Huh, can't get anything past you, can I? A question if I may, what happened at your old school?" He asked, and her response was short but terrifying.

"The only person who gets to torture my brother is me." She replies in that deadpan mundane tone, which sends shivers down his spine, he attempts to play it off.

"Ah, understandable, so... you don't plan to stay? Why not?" He asked, "This was my parents' idea. They've been looking for any excuse to send me here. It's all a part of their nefarious, yet completely obvious plan."

"What plan?" Enid asked.

"To turn me into a version of themselves." She replies, and Enid looks a bit, curious.

"In that case, perhaps you can clear something up. Rumor's been swirling around that you killed a kid at your old school, and your parents pulled strings to get you off." Enid says, and (Y/n) chimes in. "Murder?"

"Actually, it was two kids, but who's counting?" She says, Enid and (Y/n) sees both taken aback by her odd behavior, even for an outcast. "Right.." Enid begins, "Let me give you a wiki on Nevermore's social scene."

"I'm not interested in participating in tribal adolescent clichés."

"Well, then use it to fill your obviously bottomless pit of disdain. There are many flavors of outcasts here, but the four main cliques are Fangs, Furs, Stoners and Scales. Those are the Fangs, AKA vampires. Some of them have literally been here for decades. That bunch of knuckleheads are Furs, AKA werewolves. Like me!" Enid says to herself.

"Full moons get pretty loud around here. That's when Furs "wolf out." Id suggest you pick up noise-cancelling headphones, they've saved me ample sleep." (Y/n) says.

"I'm assuming Scales are sirens?" Wednesday said.

"You catch on quick. And that girl, Bianca Barclay, is the closest thing Nevermore has to royalty. Although her crown's been slipping lately. She used to date our resident tortured artist, Xavier Thorpe. But they broke up at the beginning of the semester. Reason unknown." Enid explains, much to Wednesday's uncaring attitude.

"Fascinating. And you?" She asked (Y/n) who gives a bow.

"A Fomorian, we’re..Ancient Tyrants from Ireland." (Y/n) explains, "There isn't many of us, Enids the only one who's really been a good friend to me, others are a bit wary. But they’ve come around, once Enid showed them I’m mot much of a real threat, they became much nicer and understanding thanks to her blog I suppose.” (Y/n) explains.

"I know, right? My vlog is, like, the number one source for Nevermore gossip." She explains, "(Y/n) sadly can't see it." Enid huffs.

(Y/n) leans into Wednesday a bit.

"There are some benefits to being blind. But I must ask, if you do murder people, what do you do with the bodies? Do you.. eat them? You might be a Fur."

"Quite the contrary. I actually fillet the bodies of my victims, then feed them to my menagerie of pets." She stares proverbial daggers at (Y/n), who just laughs, almost in disbelief.

"You.. really are different." He said. "Not that it's a bad thing of course."

"You should really get on Insta, Snapchat and TikTok." Enid says to Wednesday.

"I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation." She replies, (Y/n) and Enid share a small glance. "Well, I should get to taking your stuff to your room." (Y/n) says.

"See you adequate enough to not get lost on the way there?" She asked, and he smirks.

"Well, much like you Wednesday..." he says, the Furs begin a food fight and one hurls a peach, flying at him, without even breaking a sweat he catches it. His focus still on Miss Addams.

"I'm very perceptive.."

As (Y/n) and Enid take Wednesdays things to her room, she is forced to say goodbye to her family.

"Look at you, my little deathtrap. Seeing you in this uniform brings back so many terrible memories. Doesn't it, Tish?" Her Father, Gomez. Her illustrious and, profound mother steps up, Morticia.

"Yes. Why don't you boys wait in the car? Wednesday and I need a moment." She said, Pugsley, her less than enthusiastic brother is then approached by Wednesday.

"Pugsley, you're soft and weak. You'll never survive without me. I give you two months, tops." She says, what seems to be nothing but cold insults to some were words of love to him.

"I'm gonna miss you, too, sis." He said, Gomez and pugsley leave, letting Wednesday and Morticia have a solemn stare down.

"Any plans you have of running away end right now. I've alerted all family members to contact me the minute you darken their doorstep. You have nowhere to go."

"As usual, you underestimate me, Mother. I will escape this educational penitentiary, and you will never hear from me again."

The two opposing forces seem so contested. Morticia sighs at her dismayed daughter.

"You are a brilliant girl, Wednesday, but sometimes you get in your own way. I'm sure you'll grow to love Nevermore, and find it as life-changing as I did. Oh, I got you a little something." She continues and hands her an amulet, dark in design.

"W... M. Our initials. It's made of obsidian, which Aztec priests used to conjure visions. It's a symbol of our connection."

"Which one of your spirits suggested this toe-curling tchotchke? I'm not you, Mother. I will never fall in love, or be a housewife, or have a family." Wednesday retorted with scathing remarks, Which Morticia tries not to respond to.

"I'm told girls your age say hurtful things, and I shouldn't take it to heart."

"Fortunately, you don't have one."

"..Finally, a kind word for your mother, We can't talk to you for the first week while you're settling in, so we'll call you next Sunday." She said, giving Wednesday a lovingly look before leaving. What seems to be a "Perfect." Rooming situation has turned into the complete opposite, as Wednesday tore off the colored plastic for the massive circular window within her room, only her side of course, which would have been fine for most people. But Enid isn't, most people.

"What the hell did you do to my room?!" Enid storms into her room after seeing it, which Wednesday calmly turns to her.

"Dividing our room equally. It looks like a rainbow vomited on your side."

"I—"

"Silence would be appreciated. This is my writing time." Wednesday says, sitting at her desk and in front of a vintage typewriter.

"Your writing time?"

"I devote an hour a day to my novel. Perhaps if you did the same, your vlog might be coherent. I've read serial killer diaries with better punctuation."

"I write in my voice. It's my truth. It's what my followers love."

"Your followers are clearly imbeciles. I'm surprised (Y/n) hasn't poured melting wax into his ears by now listening to it, They respond to your stories with insipid little pictures."

"Uh, you mean, emojis? It's how people express their feelings. I realize that's a foreign concept to you." Enid reminds, pretty surprising, they approach each other, standing on the edge of their respective sides of the room.

"When I look at you, the following emojis come to mind. Rope, shovel, hole. By the way, there are two D's in Addams. If you're going to gossip about me, at least spell my name correctly." Wednesday walked back to her typewriter. Enid, in pure spite, Enid plays pop music, just to annoy the more mundane Wednesday. She twists her head around, Owl like.

"Turn that off. This is your final warning." Wednesday approached, but Enids nails elongated into sharp claws.

"Rawr! Don't mess with me. This kitty's got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them." Enid and Wednesday are at a standoff, neither side giving any leeway, before and guts and glamor could be spilled, the door to their room opens. It was a woman, slightly brunette hair with an, oddly normal flair in terms of most teachers.

"Good evening, girls. Oh, sorry about the mud. I wanted to make sure that Wednesday was settling in. Ah. Is this a bad time? I'm Ms. Thornhill, your dorm mom. Apologies, I wasn't here to greet you when you arrived. I trust Enid has given you the old Nevermore welcome." She said, the two girl momentarily halt their fangs.

"She's been smothering me with hospitality. I hope to return the favor...In her sleep." Wednesday said, which Enid eyes her, Thornhill reveals in her arms a plant, which was oddly black, devoid of color, or life.

"Well, here's a little welcome gift from my conservatory. I try to match the right flower to each of my girls. When I read your personal statement in your application, I immediately thought of this one."

"The black dahlia."

"Oh, you know it?"

"Of course. It's named after my favorite unsolved murder. Thank you." Thornhill looks taken aback by it but tries to keep her composure.

"Okey-dokey. Before I leave, I want to go over a few house rules. Lights off at 10:00, no loud music, and no boys, ever."

"What's the story about going into the local town?" Wednesday asked.

"Passes to Jericho are a privilege, not a right. It's a brisk 25-minute walk, or there's a shuttle on the weekends. The locals are a tad bit wary about Nevermore, so please don't go making any waves, or perpetuating any outcast stereotypes. That means keep your claws to yourself, and no smothering people in their sleep. Are we clear? Great talk." Thornhill leaves, letting Enid and Wednesday alone.

Jericho, the City housing Nevermore have a bit of a history, an unfortunate one at that. Wednesday is being taken to her therapist.

"Dr. Kinbott's office is on the second floor. Other Nevermore students swear by her. Perhaps afterwards we can visit the Weathervane for hot chocolate."

"Principal Weems, this feeble attempt at bonding is beneath you. And chauffeuring your students around is below your pay grade." Wednesdays cold and unfeeling attitude made the Principal a bit, unwary.

"Given your history, I'm sure you're intent on running away. I'm here to prevent that from happening. I wish you luck." Weems says, stopping at the Office. Wednesday enters and to the clean, porcelain white room of her new and kind therapist.

"I read the notes from your school counselor. Mrs. Bronstein." She Said.

"She had a nervous breakdown after our last session and had to take a six-month sabbatical."

"Go ahead and take a seat. How did you feel about that?"

"Vindicated. But someone who crochets for a hobby isn't a worthy adversary."

"Adversary? I hope we can forge a relationship based on trust and mutual respect. This is a safe space, Wednesday. A sanctuary where we can discuss anything. What you're thinking, feeling, your views on the world, personal philosophy."

"That's easy. I think that this is a waste of time. I see the world as a place that must be endured, and my personal philosophy is kill or be killed."

"So, for instance, when someone bullies your brother, your response is to dump piranha in the pool?" She asked, and Wednesday looks a bit pleased with herself.

"You know the old saying, "never bring a knife to a sword fight." Unless it's concealed."

"Point is, you assaulted a boy, and showed no remorse for your actions. That's why you're here."

"He lost a testicle. I did the world a favor. People like Dalton shouldn't procreate. I've answered all your questions." Wednesday stands up but is shut down.

"We're not done yet. Therapy is a valuable tool to help you understand yourself. It can teach you new ways to deal with your emotions. It can also help you build a life that you want."

"I know the life that I want."

"Tell me about it. Everything said in these sessions is strictly confidential. Do your plans involve becoming an author? I understand you've written three novels about a teen girl detective, Viper De La Muerte. Can you tell me about her?" She asked, and Wednesday shows a hint of her true feelings.

"Viper is smart, perceptive, chronically misunderstood."

"Any luck getting your work published?"

"Editors are short-sighted, fear-based life forms. One once described my writing as gratuitously morbid, and suggested I seek psychiatric help. Hmm. Ironic, isn't it?"

"How did you take that?"

"I sent her a "thank you."

Wednesday sends her "Thank You", which was full of mouse traps, heavy steel ones that can and will break bones.

"...I've always been open to constructive criticism." She says with her classic mundane expression.

"I'm glad to hear that. Because I was sent the manuscripts as part of your psych evaluation. The relationship I found most intriguing was that of Viper and her mother, Dominica. Why don't we dig into that? Part of this journey requires us going to uncomfortable places emotionally."

"I don't travel well. Would you mind if I use the powder room first?" She asked, The Therapist kindly obliged and Wednesday enters, and quickly begins to come up with a way to leave.

"Wednesday? Is everything okay? You can't hide for the rest of the session."

"I'm all right. Just preparing myself for our uncomfortable journey." She says, and sneaks out of the window. Entering a local coffee shop, she procures a ride to her freedom. As Wednesday sits at a sit in, she looks out the window to the insignificant lives of those in this town. And her eyes focus on a crow, perched on the window still, looking at her.

"Wednesday." A voice said calmly, she turns forward to (Y/n) sitting calmly across from her, she didn't even hear him approach. She looks back at the crow, which disappears.

"So, new in Town?" He says breaking the Ice.

"What do you want?"

"Can't I just say hello? I would say it's nice to see you but alas, I can't."

"For someone who's blind you're annoyingly focused on your surroundings."

"It's a benefit of being a monster, speaking of, I talked to Enid and she said you and her had a "Disagreement." About something." He begins, but Wednesday quickly shuts him down.

"The Glorified Personification of the 21st Century and I have opposing views, she didn't need to send her blind hound after me."

"Enid doesn't know I'm here, most don't know I'm here. I'm not here to fight you, Wednesday."

"Then what is it that you want from me?" She asks.

"I've heard of the things you've done before at your old school, all I ask that you don't hurt Enid. She, means a lot to me." He said, there was a ping from his coat and he pulls his phone out, Siri reads out a message, but Wednesday notices his phone case was pink, handmade with stickers, it's obvious it was made by a person with a much more, Feminine touch. It has the words "Bestie" bedazzled on it.

"Your phone case oozes insecurity and self deprivation." She said, and he turns his head towards her.

"I was a gift from Enid when I first came here, almost dropped my phone and she caught it, told me I should be more careful and, we just started talking. So she made this for me, Heh, always protecting me." He tilts his head up back at Wednesday.

"All I'm asking is that you is to be, well not nice but, just sociable to her, she's not a bad person. And she was really excited about you coming." (Y/n) explains, and Wednesday for a moment hesitates for an answer.

"I'll.. consider your request."

"Thank you—"

"Under one condition... you tell me what you truly are… i doubt your story of who you truly are.” she says. His attitude softens and he sighs, and he places his cane on the table.

"I'm not just a Fomorian, but a cursed one.. you know the Tale of Balor? The War Tyrant who's evil eye cursed whatever it laid its eyes upon, that's.. me. I'm Balor. Just reborn as a human thankfully, but the eyes still linger, but when your eyes can literally cause the destruction of the world, ...Drastic measures have to be taken. And my parents.." he continues, his voice getting a bit, somber.

"They Blinded you." Wednesday says, finishing the story.

"Thus the Tragic tale of Balor of Nevermore.." (Y/n) said, he couldn't see it, but he felt Wednesdays silence somehow, for a girl not lacking an arsenal of insults, she was quiet.

"Your Story...is tragic, they feared your power and tried to shut it down. You kept up your side of the Bargain so I will keep mine. I'll.. try to refrain from harming your Pet." She said, he sighs from her declaration.

"She's not my... whatever; thank you." He says, he turns to face the window.

"Some advice Wednesday, The Normies of Jericho, avoid Em, they don't see you as another human being, they see you as.. a "Freak." He said, while Wednesday couldn't see his eyes, she could feel the anger and spite forming from his words. Soon, the doors open from the Coffee shop to three teenagers, dressed as Pilgrims, they notice the Nevermore students.

"Hey, boys, check it out. Who's that?"

"Bro... Come on."

"What's a Pair of Nevermore freaks doing out in the wild?"

"This is our booth."

"Why are you dressed like religious fanatics?" Wednesday said, much to the Chagrin of the Teens.

"We're pilgrims."

"Potato, po-tah-to." She responds.

"We work at Pilgrim World." One said.

"It takes a special kind of stupid to devote an entire theme park to zealots responsible for mass genocide." She says, they approach Menacingly and (Y/n) stood up and tried to act peacefully.

"Cmon, guys there's no reason for us to act like this, we're just trying to enjoy our evening." (Y/n) said, the three scoff.

"The Freaks trying to weasel his way out of it." One said.

"Yeah, I don't think the Freak can see." Another laughs, and (Y/n) tries to keep his composure; leaning a bit on his Cane.

"Cmon, just leave us—" one, taking it too far sweeps his cane, forcing him to trip. He falls on his hands and knees and they laugh. Wednesday said nothing as they did, but she slowly stood up. Her glare catching the concern of them.

"It's fine.. Wednesday." (Y/n) says calmly, he takes his cane and stands back up, he walks over to the door, and with a swift motion, locks it. He turns to the boys.

".. Call me a Freak... One more time." He says, and they laugh at the blind one.

"Aww, gonna Cry? Call your Mommy? Or; are you gonna get your little creepy girlfriend to beat us up, better luck next Time, Freak." One said, they laughed once more, before the steel of the raven came went tying into his forehead, knocking him out, it's in the air and the other two look, (Y/n) comes running full speed, he jumps into the air, catches it and cracks another in the face, one begins to swing at him but he, with almost instinct, dodges and ducks each punch, before stomping on his foot, making him leap on one, he gut checks him with the steel end of the cane, he fails to one knee, gasping for air, he cocks back and swings, knocking him out as well. The three bodies lie on the ground, he adjusts his suit and uniform and walks to the door and unlocks it.

"Now, try and behave." He said, before the Sheriff, a gruffly man perhaps in his late 50s to early 60s.

"Tyler, the hell's going on in here?" He asked, turning his attention to the young man tending to the counter.

"They were harassing a customer, and he put them in their place." He said, the Sherrif looks to the young blind boy.

"This blind kid took down three boys? Did you help him?"

"Dad, I swear, I wasn't involved." Tyler says, and Weems enters as well; and looks Surprised to see (Y/n) and Wednesday.

"Apologies, Sheriff. These two slipped away from me. Come on, Mister Healy, Miss Addams, time to go." She says and the two begin to leave, before the Sheriff stops them.

"Wait a minute, hang on. You're an Addams? Don't tell me Gomez Addams is your father? That man belongs behind bars for murder. Hm...I'm gonna keep my eye on you." he says to them, and with those puzzling words, they leave, and Weems is more than miffed at them.

"Your first day and you're already on Sheriff Galpin's radar. Wish I could say I was surprised, and sneaking out of ground Mister Healy?"

"I caught the wrong shuttle; I apologize.. Wednesday found me and brought me to the cafe before we were accosted by those men." He said covering for her. "How kind of her." Weems said, somewhat buying the plausible explanation.

"What did he mean about my father?" Wednesday said.

"I have no idea, but a word of advice. Stop making enemies and start making a few friends. You're going to need them." Weems replies, their drive continues down to Nevermore, but slowly passing a car crash, a horrid one at that.

"Looks like an accident. I hope the driver's okay"

"He's dead. Broke his neck." Wednesday said, looking at the body. It's off How she could tell from the angle she had.

Night Falls upon Nevermore and while many of its students revel in the Darkness, some prefer to stay indoors with said activities. Such is Wednesday, who's haunting Cello tunes echo all throughout Nevermore, it especially reached the Ears of (Y/n), who stood at his rooms window, listening to the elegant but haunting tunes, and he had to get in closer. With a tap of his Cane, a crow bellows to his aid, he whispers into its ear and it flies off to the unknown. Wednesday ends her performance, and talks to someone.

"No, I don't really feel better. There's just something wrong about this place. Not just because it's a school." She says, and the taps of wood are heard, and Wednesday looks at the standing holding the music notes to a dismembered Hand, which was sown together. It somehow was, alive. Enid enters the Balcony as well.

"How the hell did you get that oversized violin out the window?" She asked and Wednesday turns towards her.

"I had an extra hand." She said deadpanned, and shows Thing.

"Whoa. Where's the rest of him?" She asks.

"It's one of the great Addams family mysteries." Wednesday said, and she hears the baying and howling of Werewolves in Nevermore.

"Why aren't you wolfing out?" Wednesday asks enid

"Because I can't." She says, she shows her growing finger nails, "It's all I got. My mom says some wolves are late bloomers, but I've been to the best Lycanologist. I had to fly to Milwaukee, would you believe it? Yeah, she says there's a chance I may never... you know."

"What happens then?"

"I'd become a lone wolf."

"Sounds perfect."

"Are you kidding me? My life would be officially over. I'd be kicked out of my family pack with no prospect of finding a mate." Enid says, holding back tears, Wednesdays looks off the balcony as well, seeing (Y/n) cleaning out a large bird cage.

"I doubt that, one mate would be walking into walls at the moment, I'm failing to see the problem here."

"I could die alone." Enid says.

"We all die alone, Enid."

"You really suck at this. Cheering people up." Enid says and cries, not able to hold it back.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm upset! Haven't you ever cried, or are you above that too?" Enid said obviously upset.

"It was the week after Halloween. I was six years old. I took my pet scorpion, Nero, out for his afternoon stroll, and we were ambushed. They wondered what kind of freak would have a scorpion for a pet. Two of them held me down and made me watch...while the others ran Nero over until... It was snowing when I buried what was left of him. I cried my little black heart out. But tears don't fix anything. So I vowed to never do it again. " Wednesday explains her story, and Enid, now seeing that she isn't some cold machine, feels for her.

"Your secret's safe with me. Still think you're weird as shit, though."

"The feeling is incredibly mutual. How would you like your single room back? You just need to show me how to use your computer." Wednesday said, which confuses Enid.

"Okay?.." she says and leads her in, after some basic instruction on "How To Internet." Wednesday is able to pull on a web chat with someone; the guy who ram the cafe, Tyler.

"Uh... hi."

"That's Thing. Is he, like, your pet? Look, I know Nevermore is ground zero for all things weird, but this is next-level. So, what happened to not wanting to be a slave to technology?"

"Desperate times. Are you still willing to help me escape?"

"After what happened today, I figured they'd have you in solitary."

"There's the Harvest Festival this weekend. Attendance is mandatory. I'm going to use it as a cover. If you're willing to drive me to the station, I can make it worth your while." Wednesday said, and Tyler obliges.

"I'm in. And no charge. Consider it a freebie."

"Why? "

"Cause I wish I was going with you. At least one of us will get out of this hellhole town."

The First day of the Weekend begins with the Harvest Festival, a crowning achievement for Jericho and their very urban and more down to earth festival of carnival and games. Wednesday and Enid stand before each other, watching Tyler argue with his father.

"Are you sure you can trust that normie?"

"I trust that I can handle myself. I don't want you talking to her."

"Well, good luck and safe travels." Enid offers a hug, much to the chagrin of Wednesday. "Still not a hugger." Enid walks away, leaving Wednesday to escape, but as she turns around, a crow watches from a building, and (Y/n) sits calmly on a bench, drinking a soda. And Wednesday can tell.

"The Fool is following me, fortunately he makes it easy to point out." She says and they walk off. He stands up to follow but with all the sounds, his hearing cannot focus and he must console them eyes of another, but even then, it's not enough to go on, he halts as he gets a hint,  Wednesday breaks off from Tyler and chase someone into the forest. He begrudgingly attempts to give chase, listening to the sounds and impacts, what caught him off guard were the horrid screams of death and despair, he picks up the speed.

"Wednesday?! Wednesday!" He yells, he halts as he feels himself nearby something, he slams his cane against a tree and like a sonar, it brings it all to a picture, and more importantly the corpse lying on the ground and Wednesday nearby.

"... Wednesday.. what the Hell Happened?" He asked, she takes something and walks over to him.

"We don't have much time, and I'd rather discuss this without a corpse nearby, as much as that upsets me." She says, and the Boy sadly agrees, on the balcony of her dorm room, he gets most information.

"A monster? That killed Rowan? But there aren't any in Nevermore I can think of, but why was Rowan attacking you? How does this all connect?" He asks pacing around.

"I will need to do some investigating on my own, I can assume you and I share a common goal now. You wish to keep your Pet safe. And I want to understand why I am tied into this all." Wednesday explains, (Y/n) stops and turns to her.

"Again, not my Pet, and her safety is important to me, just as much as yours Wednesday."

"I can take care of myself."

"Obviously... I Never Said you couldn't, but it's never wrong to have someone who wants to help you." (Y/n) says. "I'll help because you're in danger, and I don't want my friends in danger.

"We're Not Friends."

"Not yet.. so, what all has happened?" (Y/n) asks.

"Let's see. I narrowly avoided death twice, discovered that my father may be a murderer, learned that I could potentially destroy the school, and was mysteriously saved by a homicidal monster. As much as it pains me to admit, mother was right."

"Right about what?" (Y/n) asks, and Wednesday responds.

"This school. I think I'm going to love it here." She says and has the smallest smirk on her face.

#wednesday addams x male reader #netflix #male reader #blindness #enid sinclair #wedensday x you #Wednesday #Wednesday x Reader #reader insert

[theosb0rnway]

Just finished the Bad Batch finale and HOLY SHIT IT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

THEY ALL LIVED!!! HOLY SHIT THEY ALL LIVED I CAN'T BELIEVE IT--

So um.... yeah Tech's still not dead to me, CX-2 is alive, everything is fine, we'll see him soon, it's fine-

Crosshair GOT HIS HAND CUT OFFFF- Not the biggest Crosshair fan but I still feel so bad.... BYT AT LEAST HE MADE THE SHOT AND SAVED OMEGA AND HE GETS A HAPPY ENDING NOW

Speaking of happy endings, THEY ALL GET TO GROW OLD!!!! I'M SO FUCKING HAPPY FOR THAT, I'M SO GRATEFUL THEY GET TO LIVE THAT PEACEFUL LIFE THEY WANTED, EVEN IF WE DIDN’T GET TO SEE IT

GONKY'S ALIVE AND WELL, THANK THE FORCE

Emerie helped the kids escape I'm so glad they all made it too AND THE KIDS LOOKED SO CUTE ON PABU WITH MOX, DEKE, AND STAK

ECHO'S STILL ALIVE AND HELPING THE CLONES FIGHT, HELL YEAH

They rescued the clones!!!! I'm SO FUCKING HAPPY they did

HEMLOCK AND RAMPART ARE FUCKING DEAD, LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOO

Rampart was a double-crossing son of a bitch and he got what he deserved. Rest in peace, Nala Se. You may not have always been on the right side, but you died doing the right thing.

Did I mention that I don't think Tech is dead?

The CXs were SO COOL I wish we got to see more of them!!!

DID I MENTION THAT I DON'T THINK TECH IS DEAD?!? (I'm not losing hope guys, I'm not-)

The Zillo beast absolutely RIPPING UP TANTISS was fucking FANTASTIC and I love it and it was VERY VERY MUCH DESERVED

Baryn is me, I need loud destructive noises to fall asleep LOL (this is why I can only fall asleep to FNAF songs in my ears-)

Seeing grown up Omega made me cry, and I love that older Hunter looks like pretty much every older Hunter fanart ever drawn-

Wish we could have seen older Wrecker and Crosshair, and GIVE ME SCENES OF BOTH OF THEM HEALING, PLEASE- (Crosshair did not eat on screen the ENTIRE SEASON I don't like that at ALL.)

Overall, I thought the finale was a solid 9 1/2 out of 10, the only thing that could have made it better was a CX-2 is Tech reveal, but... I mean I got everything else, so I'm not entirely disappointed.

I'm still staying VERY MUCH a part of this fandom, sorry not sorry to my followers who came for the Ninja Turtles and got Star Wars copy-paste men instead-

As I mentioned, I do have a Bad Batch project coming out soon, and I guess I could call it a fix-it now... but yeah, I'm not done with Star Wars and at this point in my life, I really don't think I'm leaving this fandom any time soon. Yes, it has some issues, as all fandoms do, but it's where I fit best at the moment. I'll still be posting other stuff, but Star Wars and the Scream franchise are my main fandoms for now.

Thank you to the cast and crew of this WONDERFUL show, you did it again, Star Wars. (*puts TBB in my top 3 TV shows of all time*)

And thanks to all my friends here on Tumblr who helped me get into this show and traded theories and so much more! (Also special thanks to @atyourdinosaurs for all of your love, theories, and ideas [and for inspiring my new project], and to @casp1an-sea and @thecoffeelorian for being two amazing friends I made from this fandom!)

We had a great run, guys. It's a honor to love this show and to be here for its final moments. Here's to more Star Wars and to more Bad Batch content in the future.

-Oz

#Oz talks #That was long- #the bad batch #star wars #star wars the bad batch #the bad batch season 3 #the bad batch spoilers #the bad batch tech #the bad batch wrecker #the bad batch crosshair #the bad batch hunter #the bad batch echo #tbb #clone force 99 #sw tbb #the bad batch s3 #the bad batch season three spoilers #The Bad Batch season three #tbb s3 spoilers #tbb s3 #tbb season 3 #tbb season three #tbb spoilers #bad batch spoilers #bad batch season 3 #bad batch s3 #bad batch season three #bad batch series #the bad batch omega #Tech tbb

[powertaco]

What are your thoughts on WR development overall and your thoughts on WR being developed/made canon in V10?

Ugh I am going to ramble about everything here I can feel it...well you asked for it. I apologize for none of it, and if you all hate me at the end well I don't mind.

Volume 6 and before are pretty much great. They go from kinda at odds to tentative friends, learning to trust, and rely on each other, best friends, pining over one and other and V6 was a loooot of WR for us to feast on.

Afterward I felt like it got sidetracked. There could be various reasons for this (in hindsight I feel like Penny being given a way bigger role so her death could hit harder is to blame for part of this because realistically how long has Ruby known Penny? A month?)

Even if you don't like the ship they're supposed to be canon best friends so I take personal issue with almost all of volume 9.

I think it was sloppy writing that didn't move the story forward, and even though I don't care about Bees I feel like they still got shafted since they basically were forced to confess to move things along, and them doing so made them miss out on the sister/supposed friend and her problems, and only showcased the worst sides of the relationship.

For example Yang let's Ruby scream at Weiss but only moves to do something when Blake gets yelled at. Blake and Ruby still have...less dialogue than Ruby does with Ren I think etc.

Jaune was too present merely because his entire deal took away from Ruby's imo.

I've said it before but frankly Nora falling and learning who she is away from Ren so when she sees him in V10 she's ready for the relationship is far more satisfying to me narratively.

Leave Jaune above ground so he has to deal with the fact that he thinks he failed his friends and they all died and let him learn from that experience instead.

This also doesn't take into account that Jaune's one interesting change in 9 (being old) is taken away via random deaging (although I guess this makes deaging canon and hey young maria this is how dwr can still win! more at 11!)

Generally when characters go through a volume you want some sort of arc for them to go and change through. Weiss gets none of that. Out of all the characters nothing really happens to her, and she doesn't change at all. She's just sad about Atlas. Neat.

There's no time for it just like there's no real time for Ruby.

In Ruby's own words 'gotta help Jaune right?' and they do. Ruby removes herself from the census, which is how its framed, and they stop to...help Jaune.

There are a few moments that are WR'ish in 9. The Nevermore summon, Weiss believing in Ruby, and calling her name first etc, but overall Weiss's main job is to backslide.

I said it before but in the market Neo, the perfect assassin is after Ruby, and they split up. Weiss goes 'gross nosehairs', and ditches her best friend who she already knows by that point is NOT doing well.

This is not Volume 1. This Weiss is not that petty, and she's literally had to manhandle corpses. The fact that she wouldn't stay near her canonical best friend, and leader is asinine, and only happens so she can be alone to meet the smith.

Even if Weiss can't help Ruby fight Neo she's an extra pair of eyes (and Neo doesn't care how crowded it is in the market), and just being there for Ruby can help.

With all that said RWBY is big into symbolism. When WR are together in almost all the side spin off material it means something. Manga Anthologies has them making heart eyes and flirting like every other page. Ice Queendom was a love letter to WhiteRose (precious?). The movies, etc.

When their weapons rest next to each other on screen like the Bees do? It means something. When their flowers break ranks to be near each other (and Weiss's flower is the lily please note)? This means something.

Ruby can stand and jump from missile to missile but has to wrap her arms around Weiss to stay seated?

If Chibi continues it's pattern of predicting things in the main plot then the fact that Weiss is the woodsman in the fairy tale means a loooot as in several versions of that fairy tale the woodsman marries little red after helping her deal with the wolf problem (which varies by the story).

They're the knight and princess for each other. Ruby comes into Weiss's live turns it upside down, and helps her change. Likes her for her genuinely and wants to be her friend at the start. Through this she changes the world for Weiss, and helps her grow, and Weiss in turn helps Ruby be the leader she can be.

But yeah I guess that's just friends things and they should date some guys they've had like a half a dozen lines with instead? I don't get it really.

She and Oscar punch each other in the face, and they talk about strategy. Oscar has a younger kid crush on her, and Ruby is awkward because that's her headmaster in this kids head. Oh right he went in for a hug she ignored. Peak romance.

Jaune and Weiss have almost no interactions, and when he saves her at Haven her response isn't to be like 'omg i love you' it's 'keep doing it i have work to do'. Are they friends now? Sure, but that's about as far as it goes.

It remains that outside of group hugs the only person that's allowed to initiate contact with Weiss almost all the time outside of battle is Ruby.

Ruby knows when she needs help and will guide her away when she needs it, but other people don't' touch Weiss unless she does it first because they know she doesn't like it...except Ruby.

I have tried to look at other relationships for them, and I honestly don't see them as realistic.

Even Penny would need a lot more development to make it work. I get that it's cute and wholesome but they've known each other for again a month, and Penny just defers to Ruby.

Ruby needs a partner and equal not a submissive enabler. That's a relationship you have with a pet, and not a person.

Now if Maria were young and hot that'd be different...

Anyway...

Ruby and Weiss are partners. If they're allowed to have the much needed conversations they never seem to get, ie haven, ever after, Ruby's mom, everything, etc.

Then is it possible? Maybe. If they do go WR I suspect it'll be more hints, and slow ramp up until the final season.

I would expect it either on the eve of the final battle, or literally during it maybe as in Weiss gets feds up with waiting, and decides to do something about it.

More likely at this point is they'll both just end up single with maybe faint hints so fans can imagine what they want for it.

Would I prefer it if it was WR so the team can truly be family? Yes, but I don't even know if we're getting a volume 10 at all to be honest. The fact that it wasn't announced at the last festival, and we get an extended eppy, and then nothing after the last movie?

Not making me feel super confident. I could be wrong though. On many things. Except Young Maria.

#rwby #whiterose #kinda #i still hate volume 9 #so much #taco's rambling hour #thanks for the ask #asks #that you prob regret

[athena-gunpla]

RG 1/144 Celestial Being Mobile Suit GN-001 "Gundam Exia"

Another Real Grade!!! I've been working on this one for quite some time, and applied a lot of new techniques when weathering it. One which i found pretty cool was using a lead pencil over raised edges to add paint chipping and wear - I found this gives a really really cool effect.

Like a lot of older RGs, the Exia has a pre-built inner frame, which can become a little loose with manipulation. Like my RG Zaku II, I tried to stiffen it with PVA glue, however, I still feel like the shoulders and hips are a little weak.

In terms of build quality, this kit is a much better build than the Zaku. The panels sit a lot more securely, and the small little details really pop and look amazing. The colour separation is excellent, although there are a lot of very small parts that can be difficult to deal with.

The kit has a lot of really cool gimmicks, including the deployment of the beam daggers on its back skirt, the GN drive being able to open and close, and holographic stickers over the exposed GN particle conduits.

The kit has great articulation and can hold some pretty impressive poses, which is good because Exia is animated in a very fluid style. The articulation helps match some of the on-screen poses.

Overall, the RG Exia is a great kit and a really enjoyable build with plenty of fun gimmicks and details that any 00 Gundam fan will enjoy. Despite issues with older RGs this one definitely holds up.

#gunpla #plamo #gundam #mobile suit gundam #model building #rg gunpla #my gunpla #00 gundam #gundam exia #exia #gn-001 #setsuna #setsuna f. seiei

[flightfoot]

So I watched the Barbie movie. It was a lot of fun, very campy, but I'm actually a bit mixed on the messaging. Overall though, I think it's a good movie and I'm betting it'll be a classic.

So something I want to address because I've heard it said before: Barbie is not a kid's movie. It's a movie some kids will enjoy, but it ain't aimed at them, it's aimed at adults in the context of them having been kids in the past. The movie's rated PG-13, it talks about a lot of social issues and has a lot of innuendo which will fly right over children's heads, and the characters you're supposed to relate to are all adults - something which I found very notable, with Gloria in particular.

Gloria's the part of the movie that I enjoyed the most. I'd heard NOTHING about her before watching the movie, despite not really trying to avoid spoilers. The whole patriarchy thing with Ken and its overthrow? Saw a lot about that. But not much about Gloria.

I loved the subversion the movie pulled off, with showing those flashbacks to Barbie of Gloria and her daughter, and making the audience think that it was her DAUGHTER who needed help since well, isn't that normally how these movies go?

Only to have it be Gloria instead, for HER to be the one with anxiety and thoughts of death and whose life wasn't quite working out the way she hoped, who was struggling but still doing her best and felt like, while she was a mom, she was being characterized as MORE than just that.

The campy elements were fun, and I loved how Barbieland functioned like how kids play with the dolls, it was a neat aspect of the worldbuilding.

Just in general the world was really campy and fun, and I think that's what younger children will be able to really enjoy about the movie.

As for the whole patriarchy plotline... eh. That I'm pretty mixed on.

Like, I think it did a nice job laying out the power of representation, how it feels to see people like yourself everywhere in diverse, powerful positions, like seeing Ken's reaction to actually seeing men hold power, be respected, be looked up to. To feel like he was enough, just for who he was.

But the part with the Kens taking over and making everything a patriarchy with all the Barbies being brainwashed and turned into accessories for them... I didn't think that worked as well? Especially with them all just forgetting who they were. It didn't really feel like it was addressing how patriarchy actually worked, it was really shallow.

I did appreciate that the more outcast characters, the ones who never really fit into Barbie Land or Kendom, being immune to the brainwashing, since they were on the outskirts of both.

I also thought the resolution didn't really show how to deal with patriarchy all that well? Like I've seen people on tumblr talking about how the movie showed how patriarchy doesn't even really benefit men, but the Kens honestly appeared to be having a great time until the Barbies purposely pitted them against each other - and even then they ended up coming together. I mean, Ken cries at the end and talks about how he wasn't really interested in Patriarchy that much after finding out that it wasn't about horses and that the fridges were too small and that running things was too much work, but it felt like sour grapes more than anything, there wasn't really lead-up to that. It was very Tell, Don't Show.

That message was ALSO greatly undercut by Barbieland becoming a Matriarchy again with just a little hint of more consideration for the Kens, maybe. So like, is it only supposed to be patriarchy that's harmful to everyone, or is matriarchy just special? Like is matriarchy ALSO something that sucks for the women under it?

I think that while the whole messaging about how patriarchal societies function was muddled, the messaging about being yourself, loving yourself, and you being enough just by virtue of who you are was much stronger. I really liked the whole message about Ken needing to learn who he is without Barbie, that's he's Kenough on his own, that's he doesn't need to be defined by his relationship with her. And Stereotypical Barbie learning that even though she may not be one of the barbies with a particular job, she's still enough, she can still do things, she doesn't need to wait for someone else.

The Ken plotline though is, again, a bit undercut by the ending. Because yeah, the Kens can try to learn who they are, to support each other... but they still just kind of exist in Barbie land. Like, do any of them even have a house? Learning to just be themselves, to support each other, without defining themselves by Barbie is all well and good to say, but when the world is run by Barbies and completely dominated by Barbies' interests and Kens ARE just treated like accessories, it doesn't really help much with the whole "marginalized and disrespected by society" problem.

#barbie 2023 #barbie #barbie spoilers #the barbie movie #barbie analysis #barbie review

[adobe-outdesign]

have you done the beedrill line yet :>?

I already did Weedle over here, but as for the rest of the line:

Kakuna is pretty much just your average cocoon Pokemon. I do like how the body foreshadows Beedrill a little, with something resembling a striped abdomen and two arms clasped together, and the linework and detailing on the body works well. It's good for what it is, just nothing that has a ton of personality compared to all the other cocoon Pokemon out there.

Weirdly, one of its RG sprites shows it with the "arms" in front extended like Beedrill's limbs, which I kind of like just as something different, but that seems to be almost exclusive to this sprite.

Beedrill itself is honestly kind of underwhelming. A wasp (not a bee, despite what the English name wants you to believe) with drills is a decent enough idea, tying back into their stringers, but Beedrill just feels like a first attempt that never got refined. It's literally just a bipedal cartoon wasp with two large drills (or spears, according to the Japanese name) on each of its forelimbs. It's not really bad looking or anything, don't get me wrong—but for such a cool premise as a drill wasp, this just feels so weirdly bland and almost kind of generic somehow. I do really like the overall head shape and the wing patterns, but that's about it.

Mega Beedrill is, in my opinion, one of the best megas out there. It does exactly what it should—it takes a weak 3-stage Pokemon with a fairly mediocre or otherwise bland design and improves upon it across the board, making it stronger in the process.

The design of the mega really fixes all of the issues I had with the base design. The generic body design has been changed, with the abdomen itself now taking on a shape very akin to a drill or some other kind of power tool with the distinct thin abdomen of a wasp. Not only is this great visually, but it also comes with a functionality bonus—those ridges allow it to slot its bottom set of limbs in to form one giant drill! Love that. I also really like that the stinger is now separate from the body to match the drills (I do wish it was white instead of light yellow, but that's my only nitpick).

In addition to this, it takes the lower legs triangular and striped while the upper ones sport extra-large drills. This feels much more natural than the original design, which just had the drills stuck onto the ends of the limbs in an an unnatural and awkward way.

Finally, the head has been changed to have to have the eyes wrap around it (this is more accurate to actual wasps), more black has been added to really make the form pop, and the wings have been given a more unique shape that invokes industrial equipment. All of these changes are fantastic—it makes the design bolder, it expands on the original concept, and it doesn't look overly busy or complicated.

So overall, Kakuna is fine but pretty standard for a cocoon Pokemon, and Beedrill is a bit too underbaked and bland for its cool concept. However, the mega does everything it needs to and expands on the design considerably, improving it across the board. @ gamefreak please put this one in Z-A I'm begging

#kakuna #beedrill #mega beedrill #pokemon #pokemon reviews

[opera-ghost]

thought this needed to be shared on its own since the sweeney team have decided to edge us with releasing the cast album

this is from the second night of previews, february 28th. i gifted the full audio here, and shared a clip of the final sequence here as well

(more notes on the clip + the production under the cut)

after the verse about the beadle, annaleigh ashford attempts to swing onto the table and misses twice, before succeeding as the audience cheers. it was really funny in the moment and played into the vibe of the song as both ashford and groban continued to crack up. this seemed to happen on more than one night during previews from what i've read, which had me suspecting that it was a planned break-in a la the music man revival. but outside of previews i haven't heard of this happening again, so they could very well have just had difficulty with this bit during the first few shows. either way, the audience couldn't get enough of it. it was just amazing to hear this whole sequence live after only ever watching the movie and concerts (where the audience volume is significantly reduced). there was just the most contagious laughter at all the right moments, and it makes me really upset in hindsight that this number was butchered so much in the movie

so much to say about ashford and groban's performances in general. they clearly have so much fun with these roles and they do this particular number such justice, in my opinion. their visual comedy is just on a whole other level, and it really let the material shine along with their vocals. some people have criticized ashford for her accent/general characterization of mrs. lovett, but i'm so obsessed with what she's brought to the role. her lovett skews younger and, to me, she offers a mix of the iconic actresses who have taken a stab at the character before. others have had things to say against groban being cast as sweeney, but i personally enjoyed him very much, and he's of course at the top of his game vocally. this production plays things pretty straight and doesn't do anything super imaginative with the staging, but it really lets the actors performances shine

as a general note for the whole show, maria bilbao absolutely kills it as johanna, john rapson as the beadle makes parlor songs into one of my favorite bits of the show, and i want to print a little picture of nicholas christopher's pirelli and keep it in my wallet. gaten mattarazo is a great tobias, ruthie ann miles's beggar woman is as entertaining as she is soul-crushing. though he's since departed, jordan fisher had amazing chemistry with maria bilbao and his anthony was very sweet. jamie jackson as judge turpin was everything you could want out of that character, though i really really would've loved to see mea culpa here. i think the judge in this production especially feels a bit empty without it

this revival makes the weird choice to remove the factory whistle, which really takes away from a lot of the drama and overall makes it feel less sweeney-esque. although, i did read that they were maybe having technical issues during previews and added it back in later? but i watched/listened to some bits after opening and didn't hear it, so... still must be noted

despite some general criticisms i'm just so obsessed with this show, it's amazing to have a full staging of it on broadway once again and the 26-piece orchestra still has me in a chokehold. i highly recommend seeing it if you can!

#just needed to talk about this again bc despite my best efforts i am NOT off my sweeney bullshit yet #release the damn album for the love of god so i can move on /j #sweeney todd #josh groban #annaleigh ashford #save #audio gift

[fiberopticfrenzy]

I was looking at the Earthspark reviews and wanted to post my feelings about the show.

It's a simpler version of transformers than people are typically used to, if you can't enjoy cutesy things then it probably isn't for you. And that's okay, not everything is for everyone, but some of yall straight up have no motivation behind rating this show lowly because of bigotry and that's wild to me. But if there's one thing bigots will do, it's review bomb a show.

There was a huge call among bigoted fans to review bomb the show for its portrayal of a nonbinary character and the human family being black and Filipino. It was even on the news saying "transformers earthspark is going after your kids" and "transformers goes woke" there were forums about taking down the show. Bigotry being the main source behind many low reviews is an indisputable fact. I'll discuss this here because I hate to burst the bigot bubble but Transformers hasn't been supportive of your closed minded, white nationalist, America first, lgbtphobic ideals for a very long time.

There are many canon lgbt transformers (mostly in the idw comics): rodimus, breakdown, Knockout, starscream, whirl, arcee, horri-bull, needlenose, pipes, anode, getaway, cromedome, brainstorm, skids, first aid, megatron, perceptor, drift, ratchet, cyclonus, tailgate, swerve, lug, minimus, aileron, greenlight, prowl, rewind, lancer, blastoff, onslaught. fortress maximus, red alert, and cerebros are frickin poly. The list goes on. Transformers have been queer far before Nightshade

Edited 11/27 I put lancer twice on accident lol

On to the series itself: Overall the series has decent writing, good character designs, and fun characters. I'm a fan of g1, Animated 2007, Prime, the Alligned novels, rescue bots, the Bumblebee movie, and the IDW comics. So I've seen transformers in many different versions and I think this one is pretty solid. It's not perfect by any means, but it's entertaining and very genuinely sweet.

I was extremely apprehensive of the concept of "new transformers born right here on earth" as many other fans were. But Twitch and Thrash quickly warmed my heart with their personalities.

Is it simplified? Yeah! It's for CHILDREN. Does it also focus heavily on the family dynamic and what it really means to be a family? Yes. Does it deal with race? Yes. Does it deal with discrimination based on race? Yes. It still has serious topics that children need to learn about. And it teaches them in a very sweet way. It teaches kids about respecting other cultures, the dangers of war and standing up for what is right. It deals with the trauma of abusive relationships and how that effects victims of abuse (with starscream). The show tackles a lot of deep issues without feeling too unnatural.

But "Wehh it's not about decepticons fighting autobots!!!!!!" You say. Okay? And? First of all that's incorrect. A great deal of the plot deals with that subject. Yall are just mad it's not mindless fighting and instead focuses on how the war has negatively effected them and almost drove their race to extinction and that they need to reconcile and come together peacefully. Also God forbid we sympathize with the decepticons and show that they are, largely, being unjustly locked away foe the rest of their lives by an organization that wants to exterminate them.

Oh, that's another thing pissing off bigots. It's teaching the kids they can't always trust the government or authority figures!? How dare it teach them those very real and serious issue that are quite literally plaguing our society? Be for real? The show is on another level that g1 wasn't, meaning it's a lot more honest and no longer largely connected to sucking the boot of the American police force. And I'm sorry if you can't figure out how g1 is largely influenced by American military and police propaganda then this series will be entirely lost on you.

Gender swapped characters... Oh no! Feminism has taken over some of your favorite characters and ripped them from your grasp an-- wait what? It's only two characters? Skywarp and Frenzy? Frenzy is another thing, why do yall think they're pandering to gen z with Frenzy? The female incarnation of Frenzy who yall keep referring to as Rumble, further confirming you didn't actually watch the show and are just review bombing. Personally I love my girls, congrats on your transitions, ladies.

Then the Nightshade gender discourse. Some people are complaining about the show "forcing genderless politics on us" with Nightshade... Nightshade uses they/them pronouns and out of the 15 episodes Nightshade is featured in it is mentioned twice. So out of the (estimated) 374 minutes Nightshade exists in the series, it's mentioned twice. Be for fucking real. It is not being forced down your throats and shoved in your faces it is literally mentioned for a total of about 30 seconds out of 374 minutes of air time. Shut up.

And even if they did decide to dedicate an entire episode to it? GOOD cause the world is moving past your narrow minded views and it becoming more accepting of things like gender that have been SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN to be TRUE. But yall want to fall back on your little book that was written 2000 years ago, then censored to remove god's wife and the mention of other gods besides his egotistical ass, then rewritten, then re rewritten, then deliberately altered to change passages about pedophiles to homosexuals, and excuse slavery, rape, child sex trafficking, allowing strangers to rape your daughters, then dads having sex with their daughters, and genocide. Shut up????? The morals of your little book are way worse than anything transformers could do.

#transformers earthspark #transformers

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

Would Slowpoke or Slowbro be good pets? I think they're so cute!

[I’ve already covered slowpoke, so I’ll link that one at the bottom of this post!]

Slowbros would indeed make a pretty good pet to some very specific owners, but it’s difficult to give them a blanket recommendation for a few reasons. Let’s have a little test: can you tell already what one of the more significant issues is?

Their size! Five feet tall?! Woah! This was surprising to me as I was reviewing the data on slowbros. As you may already know, slowbros evolve from slowpokes when the latter is bit on the tail by a shellder, another aquatic pokémon species (Red/Blue, Yellow). The individual’s slowbro classification is entirely reliant on this symbiotic relationship, as if the shellder is shed the pokémon reverts back to a slowpoke (Yellow). Clearly, the presence of this shellder allows the slowbro to grow significantly larger. Unfortunately, this is likely to be an issue in the way that it interacts with the other affects of this symbiosis.

Let’s clear something up real quick: I’ve said a few times now that the relationship between the slowbro and the shellder is symbiotic. It’s complicated. While at first glance it appears that the shellder is a parasite, as it feeds off of the fluids contained in their host’s tail as well as their leftover food (Red/Blue, Crystal). However, when you observe the slowbro, you find that they have become stronger and more powerful as a result of this relationship. Since the shellder prevents the slowbro from using their tail to fish on the shore like a slowpoke, it pushes the slowbro to become a more proactive hunter (Ruby Sapphire). While slowpokes are known to be pretty dull-witted, in slowbros’ case their shellders’ bites stimulate their brain, giving this species an occasional boost in intellect (Diamond/Pearl/Platinum). These effects have led to slowbros being better able to protect themselves from threats, which is a benefit to their survival. They don’t feel pain from the bites of the shellder, as the shell-like pokémon’s venom has an intense numbing effect (Silver). This is great for battle, but not the best when it comes to the slowbro’s overall health and well-being. In the end, both the slowbro and the shellder seem to benefit from their relationship.

So what does this all mean for slowbros’ pet compatibility? Well, their ease of care is significantly lower than a slowpoke’s. While you won’t need to feed the shellder, since it receives all the sustenance it needs from its host, you will need to provide the slowbro with some aquatic space to exercise. While you may not want to provide your pet with live prey to hunt, you will want to provide them space to move around to that they don’t become restless or out of shape. Given their size, providing this space may be beyond some owner’s means.

Given slowbros’ lack of pain sensation due to the venom of their shellders, you will really need to keep an eye on your pet’s health. A slowbro might not be able to let you know if they are injured or not feeling well, since they don’t experience any pain sensation. A slowbro’s healthcare needs may be higher than a lot of pokémon pets.

Slowbros, while more fit and dangerous that slowpokes, aren’t significantly more dangerous. They make use of many psychic-type special moves, which, while they may be inconvenient or even painful, are unlikely to be lethal. The chances of a slowbro attack are pretty low, however, so long as both they and their shellder feel happy, healthy, and unthreatened.

Keeping a slowbro as a pet is far from impossible, but in most cases a different pet might be a better choice. I’d recommend a slowpoke over a slowbro to most owners.

The Slowpoke Post:

#pokemon #pokémon #slowbro #pkmn irl #PR-B #shellder