#just some notes

[ttaurish]

AND DUTCH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO CRUMPLE TO THE GROUND DEAD, DONT EVER CALL HOSEA "Old girl" EVER AGAIN!!!!!

[soapysudz]

Gsgw ch 234 spoilers

The Happy Ending sect (one of the sects that follows Ireum) referred to Ho yuwon and Kim soleum (130666) as the fox and the dragon, so I guess they knew? Or could sense it?

[afeelingsopeculiar23]

random thoughts about the finale

i'm still confused on how Max is not left with at least a limp or some sort of physical impairment because i may not know much about medical stuff and i know that injuries heal but like?? that bone snapping shit was crazy. (and of course i want her to be able to still pursue her one true love of skateboarding but cmon)

also how was Max not blind after s4?? like she literally told Lucas that she COULDN'T FRICKING SEE ANYTHING and her eyeballs were WHITE. like i get how she wouldn't be blind inside her mind but what about in the real world??

where is Vickie?? what happened to her? because the last time we saw her she was with Max in the tunnels getting caught by the military and then she was just? never mentioned again? like she actually became more of a central character this season and was told all about the upside down and was trusted enough to be put in charge of taking care of Max while she was in the void but then her and robin just like. broke up?

did Dustin and Suzie break up?? because she wasn't mentioned in season 5 AT ALL and Dustin was shown flirting with Stacy at graduation. so unless my man is a cheater (WHICH I KNOW IN MY HEART HE IS NOT), him and Suzie broke up at some point between seasons 4 and 5 which physically hurts me to think about.

also, WHY WAS DUSTIN FLIRTING WITH STACY. AND WHY WAS THE PARTY ACTUALLY CONSIDERING GOING TO HER PARTY after she was so rude to Dustin and made him feel bad about himself in season 2 AND was rude to El and Max in season 3. how quickly they forget ig??

WHERE IS DEREK'S FAMILY.

no Mr Clarke and Star Student Dustin reunion?? okay.

more of a personal thing but why didn't we get to see El jumping from the rock thingys into the Abyss?? that would have been so cool.

no byler? all i'm gonna say,

Ted Wheeler is just alive now after no updates on his recovery whatsoever? i love him but how is that possible.

is it just me or did it look like Mike was in his childhood bedroom in his imagined/real ending? because that honestly makes me so sad to think that he stayed there his whole life writing stories about his friends and never moved on at all. we all know Mike was born to be a storyteller but idk i just feel bad.

EDIT: what about the hive mind? "when the brain dies the body dies" but somehow there isn't even a conversation about what's going to happen to Will when the Upside Down is destroyed. although i guess it didn't matter because nothing did happen to him.

[cartoonus-maximus]

It's not the essay I once promised (yet), but here's some thoughts I have on comparing some of the classic Teen Sidekicks from the Big Two.

This was originally just going to be a comparison between Dick Grayson and Bucky Barnes, but then I thought "Rick Jones belongs here, too." And nobody said I was wrong (because I'm not!), so Rick's here, too!

I also think there's probably some comparisons to be made between these three and Jimmy Olsen (if for not reason other than Jimmy and Rick occupy a similar space in my mind), but I don't know enough about him to say anything concrete. So he's not here at this time, but could be added later.

But some thoughts, comparisons, and similarities, both in broad strokes and focused details:

Dick Grayson <--> Bucky Barnes

The original template teenage sidekick for their respective companies; Dick's "Robin" is often used as a pattern for designing other teen sidekick characters in DC, and "Bucky" is used as an example of why there aren't many teen sidekicks in Marvel (he died in the field, causing his adult mentor to enter a depressive/suicidal state for a number of years).

Their original costumes look similar.

Both were heavily rebranded as characters over the years. Dick has been Robin, Nightwing, a spy, a police officer, and a socialite over the years. Bucky has been a soldier, a spy, a super soldier, the Winter Soldier, and a mechanic.

Heck, they've each even taken on the roles of their former mentors! Dick has been Batman a couple of times, and Bucky acted as Captain America for awhile.

Both characters started legacies in their names, albeit against their own wills. Dick ultimately chooses to pass the title of "Robin" to his family members and close friends, and it's also been used for others without his say in the matter. Bucky's literal name Bucky has been given to a host of other characters, each of whom ultimately failed at being Captain America's sidekick; Bucky did not give his permission for this, and, when he found out about it, he went rogue trying to round up everyone who had ever been "Bucky" and killed them.

Both have love interests with red hair (Kory and Babs vs Natasha). Both also pal around with guys known for shooting arrows (Roy vs Clint).

They each have rescue animals for pets now! Dick has Haley, and Bucky has Alpine!

Both have briefly been foster fathers to a super-powered girl, Dick to Blockbuster's daughter and Bucky to the human personification of the Cosmic Cube.

Bucky Barnes <--> Rick Jones

Aside from Bucky, Rick is one of the other big name "teen sidekick" characters from Marvel, even if he's not usually referred to or written as such. Where Bucky's job as a teen was to follow Captain America and provide backup, Rick's job is literally to contain the Hulk. Somehow, Rick isn't the one who apparently died as a teen.

When Cap is first brought out of the ice by the Avengers, Rick is present and is helping the team out as a strategist (while still a teenager). It quickly becomes clear that Rick looks and acts like a teen Bucky to some degree, and being around him makes Cap's PTSD act up.

Rick has been known to dress in Bucky's original costume to make Cap listen to him. Yes, it goes about as poorly as you might imagine.

Rick Jones <--> Dick Grayson

Two orphaned teens named "Richard" who pal around with a mentally ill dude named Bruce (who btw has ptsd related to witnessing the death of his parent/s).

Both Rick and Dick have had to try to control/contain their respective Bruce's when he's gotten a little more violent than need be, with different degrees of success.

I've literally read issues of comics where, with the one set of characters, Tim asks Dick for help because he thinks Bruce is suicidal (and Dick basically tells him "I'm too tired to deal with him. He's your job now."), and, with the other set, Amadeus tells Rick that he thinks Banner is suicidal and asks for advice of how to handle it (and Rick basically tells him "I've been dealing for Bruce's problems for a long time. It's your turn now. Figure it out yourself."). I'll have to do some digging to find the exact titles and issue numbers, but the parallel haunts me.

Both Dick and Rick are responsible for the forming and leading of superhero teams in their respective comics. Dick has the Teen Titans and the Justice League, just to name the big ones, and Rick is literally the kid who built the Avengers.

They have both had a mullet phase. (I think Rick rocked his better.)

Both have had story arcs where it's either stated or heavily implied that they're related to killers. Dick has the Court of Owls, and Rick has that serial killer who may have been his bio mom.

Both have also had red-haired love interests (in Rick's case, it's Marlo).

[mihai-florescu]

Kaname's mom and Subaru's dad (Kaname's idol fanatic mom jumping on stage and then falling to her death at Subaru's dad's concert, top solo idol at the peak of the industry, leading to uncovering of past misdeeds, his arrest, deteriorating health and death. Kaname isnt told what happened but knows he needs to be an idol because it's the thing his mom loved best, and Subaru spends his whole life under the threat of his dad's legacy, thinking he will meet the same fate as his dad. And yet he still chooses to pursue being an idol to make people smile, starting from his mom. In a funny twist of fate, decades later Kaname is attacked by the non special student body of Reimei when they're shown a video of his mom's sins being a catalyst of That Akehoshi's decline. But when a video accusing Subaru of being his dad's son is projected at the biggest idol event of the year, he is protected by the friends he's made, escaping the same fate.)

Madara's parents and Kanata's mom (Madara's parents with their numerous connections helping Kanata's mom fake her death to set her free, to escape the cult worshipping her. Madara spending his entire youth trying to destroy the cult and give Kanata back his humanity, feeling like he's failed because he couldn't do it on his own when it was never a task that could be done alone in the first place)

Izumi's parents (They're controlling Izumi throughout his childhood to follow their wishes and expectations of him, but Izumi chooses one thing for himself that they don't agree with - Makoto. Eventually he grows up to follow in his parents' footsteps by trying to control Makoto himself to protect him from potentially getting hurt)

Jun's dad and Nagisa's "dad" (Jun's dad raising him to be a solo super idol that can defeat Jin, but Jun only flourishes when he joins a unit with Hiyori and stops seeing being an idol as a duty. Similarly Nagisa being raised to be the next supreme idol, finding warmth and a family in his unit instead of being alone at the top)

Wataru and his adoptive parents (who didn't pay much attention to him, leading to Wataru constantly learning new tricks to outdo himself until eventually he couldn't be understood by those around him anymore...)

Arashi's parents (individualistic and uncaring, leading to her developing the big sis persona to not let others feel unsupported as she was growing up)

Tsumugi and his mom (who has failed, got scammed by religious organizations and brought trouble to the point of divorce, and despite it all, Tsumugi can't give up on her, his mom who was for a long time the only stable connection in his life. Tsumugi who learns the signs of a scam and to avoid them. Tsumugi who is in charge of the SNS at school where the students start railing against Kanata's religion and recognize him as a fake god. Tsumugi who develops a big bro helpful persona to make himself useful. Tsumugi who considers becoming a teacher because of it, who gets confronted by Natsume "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, or have you forgotten that's the same vocation your mom failed at?" Tsumugi who is very much aware and had decided to make a separate path for himself, one continuing as an idol in Switch, even before Natsume's words.)

Man. Enstars characters and the relation to their parents, the expectations, subversions, accidental following in their footsteps etc. I couldve worded this entire post so much better and added more characters, but you get the gist. This is all just my understanding, if you think anything is off please let me know. And I did not mention every character so if you think I missed something important also share.

[eleancrvances]

Deromanticizing Dead Women: Vera Caspary's "Laura" and the Tradition of the Murderous Male Aesthete by Kathleen E. Urda

[mayusteapot]

And the award for the worst parenting goes to...

Well, it will always go to Doctor Burnley. But Aunt Elizabeth with her stingy praise isn't really showing a shining example. But here I agree with her, saying that Doctor Burnley is doing a horrible job. Laura seems way too compassionate in this case. Or, I'm not sure if she is compassionate or an apologist for his behaviour. Yes, there are reasons for it. Horrible, terrible reasons that hold no water whatsoever, even though they do exist.

"the doctor wiped the persperation from his manly brow" Why does Emily sound a bit swoony here? Or is she just making most of the drama of the scene?

Leave the trees alone, Teddy Kent!

Does the dictionary not have the word dictionary on the cover or the spine? Why is Emily misspelling that? Explain to me!

Oh yes, Aunt Nancy! She's a riot. I mean, not a good parent either, apparently, but interesting.

I just cannot with Mrs Kent. I hope she at least just gave the cats to Mr Kelly to take away or something. She's getting really creepy.

It took a pretty long while for Miss Brownell to get to teaching Emily punctuation...

Poor Saucy Sal!