Scenes/Things in Supernatural that genuinely don't make sense to me if Dean was straight:
The confession booth scene.
Sam just rolling with the fact that Dean's siren is a guy while still thinking sirens infect people through sex.
Dean being flustered by several men: Gunner Lawless, Aaron, Doctor Sexy, etc.
All the parallels between Destiel and other couples. (A big one being "last night on Earth" bc how do you do that accidentally.)
Having all the gay jokes be on Dean instead of Sam.
Paralleling Sam meeting his childhood celebrity crush with Dean meeting Gunner Lawless.
The boner Dean got when Cas cleaned up.
Dean gulping after Cas does an impression from a Western movie.
Charlie, a lesbian, calling Castiel "dreamy."
The way Mary looks at Dean and Cas when they hug.
Dean wondering why everyone assumes he's gay, while Sam not caring.
The logic that Charlie can't flirt with guys because she's only attracted to women, but then having Dean flirt with the guy for her.
Dean seeming disappointed when learning that Aaron's flirting was fake.
The amount of time Dean and Cas spend staring at each other.
Dean canonically having an orgy with Crowley.
A woman saying that she knows when someone's pining for someone else to Dean, just for us to learn that Dean was never in love with Amara.
The set design and script choices that lead to a cross in the background while Dean said "I do." to Cas after he came back to life.
Edit: To the people who say I can't use the siren as an example because the siren is supposed to be his brother, and therefore his siren being a man doesn't work. If you reread that bullet point, then you will realize that I didn't put it down as just simply Dean's siren being a man. I recognize that the siren is supposed to be his brother. It's the fact that Sam still thinks the siren infects people through sex, not knowing that it's actually through saliva when he realizes who the siren is. So when he sees that Dean's siren is a guy, he had to assume they had sex, and he does not seem surprised by this at all.
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i just want you to know that I've started watching The Fantastic Race (I'd never heard of it before) and i too cannot stop imagining Andreil in it.. but also a Foxes/Exy only edition.
like, one is Foxes only, 10 teams, either with some of the freshmen, or while Seth is still alive/in an AU where he survives.
one is Andreil against other Americans where they dominate everything
and one is Andreil, Kevin/jeremy, riko/jean, and some other teams from other American Exy teams
i will eat this thing upppp!! please write it, i beg of you lmao
I do love me some Amazing Race. I think I could give you a Miracle Year of Collegiate Exy version of the Amazing Race.
I think maybe after their initial run through and victory Neil and Andrew are like absolute fan favorites and even though Neil, Andrew, nor the show ever say it there is a general belief that Neil and Andrew got together BECAUSE of the show. Any follow-up publicity on it has Neil and Andrew just staring at the camera like "Are u for fucking real?"
The thing with these shows is that fan favorites get asked to go back ALL the time and Neil gets a lot of very lucrative sponsorships that make the Moriyamas VERY happy after it.
They offer the same deal, a cut on the % that they will take from earnings and this time it's just for competing and this time it's a deal given to. They want the Miracle Generation of the Foxes to come and if every one does then Ichirou will lower Neil, Jean, and Kevin's %s owed to 50% (Maybe the deals are that good, maybe Ichirou is a big fan of the show, maybe he has a finger in it's production. This is mostly just like rationale on why the fuck they'd all do this. Especially Neil and Andrew since like Andrew had a bad time on those planes).
Either way not a single Fox disagrees. Arrangements are made for everyone's kids / pets. Shit is talked.
The Miracle Generation Race is ON.
The Teams are As Follows:
(Fox) Neil Josten & Andrew Minyard (Orange) (Dating)
(Fox) Kevin Day & David Wymack (Green) (Father-Son)
(Fox) Dan Wilds-Boyd & Matt Wilds-Boyd (Yellow) (Married)
(Fox) Allison Reynolds & Renee Johnson (Pink) (BFFs)
(Fox) Aaron Minyard & Katelyn Minyard (Blue) (Engaged)
(Fox) Nicky Klose & Erik Klose (Purple) (Married)
(Trojan) Jean Moreau & Jeremy Knox (Red) (Dating)
(Raven) Johnson & Reacher (Black) (Friends)
(Trojan) Alvarez & Laila (White) (Dating)
(Raven) Thea Muldani & Jenkins (Teal) (Friends)
(Penn) Penn State Coach & Penn State Captain (Grey) (Friends? IDK I ran out of people to be honest and thought well maybe we just have some throwaway team to lose first)
One of the funnier things I could do with that is that this Miracle season is also fan favorite season too and they want the cast to come back but no one can be with their same partner again. So you get shit like Neil and Jean, Jeremy and Andrew, Allison and Kevin, Renee and Aaron, Wymack and Nicky, etc.
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Okay. Let's talk about Kay in The Forgotten Turnabout.
I've mentioned in a post before how I think Kay doesn't have a purpose in AAI2 (as in, AAI was all about the Yatagarasu which is her story, but AAI2 generally has nothing to do with her, and you can see this change just by looking at how she's positioned in the promotional material for the two games:
[left AAI; right AAI2.] In the left poster, while she's at Edgeworth's back, it's clear that they're both the main focus. In the right, though, she's on par with Gumshoe).
And I think the result of her slight lack of direction in the game culminates in what happens to her and her character in Forgotten.
From the beginning of AAI2, you can kind of tell that Kay was written to a bit different from how she was in AAI. She's still fairly consistent with how she was there, but the game kind of bounces between her original characterisation and her newer one, where she's slightly denser (see her calling the laser pointer a mole in Target, when she should definitely have known what it was; and them explaining to her what a prison is in Imprisoned like she wouldn't know??) and less concerned with maintaining formality around Edgeworth, although they haven't interacted since the end of AAI (see her partner opening line changing from "Yes?" to "Yeah, what's up?"). She also seems more eager for his approval (there are a few times when she questions/asserts her effectiveness as an assistant when I don't remember her ever doing that in AAI), and, overall just a little more like Maya.
In Imprisoned, when she freaks out, Kay hits Ray, which is notable because we've only seen her resort to violence before on purpose and as a child (whereas Mia/Maya have both hit people out of emotion). I'm not going to go through the whole game, but I bring it up because there's an argument to be made that they're trying to replicate the Phoenix-Maya dynamic and push the Dadworth interpretation in AAI2 -- probably because they realised it'd be popular with the fans -- and this comes to the forefront in Forgotten.
First, just a note about AA's amnesia cases. The thing about these cases is that they're usually done to explore some formerly unseen aspect of a character (as is with Phoenix and the one in DGS), BUT they're always true to the nature of the character (as is most clearly observed with Thalassa). This is... not so in Forgotten.
The parts about Kay that appear to remain in Forgotten are her politeness and sense of honour, both of which get dialed up to 11 and both of which we already know she possess. Everything else about her personality, though, is altered and has always reminded me of Iris (if you made a parody of Iris's soft and seemingly delicate nature). That's mostly because (1) they have similar sprites
and (2) because they're rehashing Edgeworth's mini arc in T&T (which I don't mind because T&T did leave room for that concept to be explored further) where he acts as the defence for, you guessed it, Iris. Looking at it more closely, though, I can definitely see bits of Maya mixed in, too.
The most obvious parallel to Maya, and by extension Phoenix, here is that you act as a... not-prosecutor who defends their assistant from murder charges that even they think they might be guilty of (Reunion, and Turnabout, anyone?). Just like Reunion Maya, Forgotten Kay has poor self-esteem (albeit to a greater, comedic degree), thinks of herself as weak and useless, and becomes reliant on Edgeworth for both her emotional and situational needs (this is not a dig at Maya; she was in jail after having her first big channeling session result in death. Her reaction was natural).
Another less serious but obvious alteration made to make Kay seem more like Maya here is her relationship with food -- which I know sounds ridiculous but!! It's really what tipped me off to her Maya-fication to begin with!!!
You see, in Forgotten, there's a point where Kay talks about hamburgers:
Kay: Umm... OK. I remember a faint scent... It was a wonderful smell coming from the counter of a food stall... I followed the fragrance, only to find a perfectly sculpted burger, resting on two golden buns... The tender and juicy patty made my taste buds sing with joy... Yes, I can remember what I thought at that moment! ...I want seconds!
The thing about this that stands out to me is that you never get a line about food like this from Kay in AAI; and I know this, because not only is the only time Kay ever brings up food in AAI with regards to Swiss rolls (which are notably her favourite treats), you have the option of presenting food to her, which gives you this dialogue:
Kay: It's a box of Samurai Dogs, right? Ah, but see, I'm a Jammin' Ninja fan! So, while I would love to have one... I'm going to be strong and resist the urge!
She would have one but she'll refrain. It blatantly goes against how she acts in Forgotten, and it's so obvious that they only did that to make her more like Maya!!! They even use burgers!!!!
So why am I even getting all uppity about this? There's nothing wrong with being like Maya is there? She's a great character. And, yeah, she is, but the point of Kay is that she's meant to be a foil to Maya... and Edgeworth.
Both Maya and Edgeworth lost their parents at a very young age. So did Kay. But, unlike Maya and Edgeworth, Kay was specifically written to have had the emotional support and strength she needed to move on from her father's death. Her character was created in a way that shows how you can still love and respect a dead family member (and choose to continue their legacy) without being held back by grief and trauma the way Edgeworth largely is. By making amnesiac Kay behave in a way that is so self-deprecating and reliant on other people for her emotional needs, you are implying that this has been who she is deep inside all along and diluting that message of being able to move forwards while still holding onto your love for the people you've lost. It undermines the resilience that has been a part of Kay's core as a character from her conception, and basically flattens everything that makes her... Kay.
Now, this is obviously not great, but what really gets to me about this is that they didn't need to do this for the case to still work. They could have given Kay a milder form of amnesia, where she has a gap in her memory regarding why she was up on that roof and what happened, and the story would have largely functioned the same way. The only reason I can think of for why they do a complete 180 on her personality is because they wanted to use her to develop Edgeworth's character.
Because think about it: we've seen Kay put in a position where she's been accused of murder before, and that didn't affect our or Edgeworth's desire to save her. That drama and the feelings invoked by placing Kay at such risk would still exist; the only thing that would change is Kay's reaction to it. We know from Ablaze that she wouldn't just fold and rely on Edgeworth's help; she would fight back. Her behaviour in Forgotten just doesn't quite align with her usual character (aside from being extremely honourable and polite), which makes me wonder why they did it. And the only answer I can find is that it gives Edgeworth someone to 'save' in the greatest sense of that word (because, remember, she's also extremely emotionally vulnerable and dependent on him here) and furthers his development as a character.
You remember at the beginning when I said Kay didn't have a purpose in this game? I think the developers felt that, too, and they decided that her purpose would be to make Edgeworth a better person and strengthen his arc by giving him someone to protect, without really considering what this would do to her character. This case was never about Kay; it was always about Edgeworth. And, honestly, that should have been obvious from the very moment you realise that Kay is being granted an amnesia plotline, because that whole thing about amnesia in AA being used to reveal parts of a character previously unseen? Yeah, that was never going to work with Kay. Because Kay doesn't wear a mask. She is who she is... until she isn't.
Honestly, I've said pretty much everything I wanted to say about Forgotten and Kay, so thank you if you've read this far. I really appreciate it 💝💖💕 The rest of this is me basically talking about how this change affects my feelings on the game and this interpretation of the Kay-Edgeworth dynamic, so you can stop reading now if that doesn't interest you and still get the basic point of this post.
I suppose I'll start by reiterating that I do like AAI2 despite what it may seem. The characters it introduces are some of my favourites in the franchise, and, in fact, the actual plot of Forgotten with the PIC is my favourite part of the entire game. I thought it was brilliant, but I just needed to get this out because... I don't know, it was bothering me for some reason hskdhdj Like, AA has some amazing female characters, but I know better than to go into it expecting some kind of boundary-pushing piece of new feminist media, believe me; it doesn't surprise me that they used Kay to push Edgeworth's character forwards. It is his game, after all. But I guess it's just a little frustrating to see after they genuinely achieved something great with her characterisation in AAI only to... there's no less inflammatory way to put it, infantilise her? a little? for the sake of developing a male character?
(Especially when I don't think Edgeworth even needed it?? Like, I'm pretty sure he would have been just as adamant about saving her if she had been her normal self so mmm???? It was likely just done to make him seem liked he'd be a good father and up his popularity a bit more, honestly. As if he needed it).
Again, I have no issues with anyone who enjoys the father-daughter (or brother-sister) dynamics pushed by this case; it's literally in the text, I can't say you're wrong for it and like. My opinion shouldn't matter to you anyway! It's fandom, do what makes you happy. But I personally can't get past what is actually being suggested when the game, or fanworks, echo the traits grafted onto Kay in this case within them. Like what it means when she's essentially made to take a few steps back so she's less as at peace with her father's death than she was when we first met her, or less independent and self-assured than she usually is -- especially when this is done only for an older male character (most likely Edgeworth but it could be anyone) to come in and either see themselves in her, thus coming to a conclusion that helps them better themselves in some way, or take on a "fatherly" position that lets them comfort her back to a level of confidence she would usually be at anyway, while simultaneously coming across as being such a good person (which is usually the focus/point of these kinds of things).
And, like, if you don't see a problem with Kay's characterisation in this version of their relationship, that's perfectly fine! If you think I'm reaching and do enjoy the Dadworth dynamic for what it is, then please don't let me rain on your parade. My main thing is that I want better for Kay, and this case just didn't satisfy my need for that.
Anyway, yeah! That's pretty much it. Thank you so much for everyone who read all of this, and I hope you got some amusement out of it if nothing else. Feel free to tell me your thoughts, too!
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Sooo... The Penguin: One Bad Day?
...Honestly?
Considering the genuinely abysmal precedent set by the prior two One Bad Day stories? I'm just glad this didn't push Penguin absurdly far into complete monster territory. I'm glad it didn't assassinate the character, like the other one that should go unnamed. I wasn't even gonna touch it until you dropped this ask. I kept reading the entire issue waiting for the other shoe to drop with some twist like, oh he's gonna kill all his associates in the end because he doesn't care for them or, oh he's gonna have some awful new detail added to his backstory like they did for Joker's Asylum or Pain and Prejudice but, no.
I did like a fair deal of how it depicted Oswald, I was rather shocked by it. It passes my "I can hear Paul Williams reading this" test and that's pretty damn high praise coming from. I did like spending some time with Penguin at his lowest and how this does the "Oswald claws his way to the top" set-up but without violence being his biggest asset, more so his ability to negotiate and manipulate and even beg his way into assembling just enough of a crew and just enough firepower to scrape by. I kinda liked Tiny Homeless Trash King Penguin as a concept (I figure Spamton fans who are also Penguin fans might get a kick out of this story).
I like that it establishes that Oswald's relation with his henchmen is that he thinks he treats them significantly less shitty ways than he actually does, which still makes him several tiers better than most other Gotham rogues even if not, great, and in the end he will in fact try to make amends. I like that it establishes Oswald's history with being lonely and ostracized as a reason why he treats his goons a little better and why he employs people that would be otherwise discarded, and this is ultimately why he wins (you can argue that this comic represents said people poorly and, you'd be right, but, it's a Batman comic, if you're in too deep in those, at some point you kinda have to settle for the less-abysmal depictions of mental illness / physical deformity / race / gender / etc when given such)
It didn't shy away from showing many of Oswald's character faults, but it also played straight the idea that, overall, he is indeed a better class of criminal and significantly better than your average mobster, if nothing else it also gets major points with me also for the lengths it went to avoid the misogynistic Penguin cliches others default to. It even goes so far as to state that Penguin played a significant hand at both ensuring Gotham's rogues had the tools necessary, as well as secretly kneecapping them so that the game between them and Batman would never escalate too far, to the extent that Penguin thinks of Batman as "a piece in his conglomerate". Honestly? I'm still not sure this is an idea that works, but I don't hate it? In fact it's kind of something I always wanted to see explored, even something I'd toyed with on my personal Batman or superhero-related ideas?
If nothing else, this does go someway towards explaining why Batman tolerates Penguin to the extent he does. Not because Penguin's good at looking legitimate or because he makes for good intel, but because Batman pretty much always has someone or something worse than Penguin to stop, and because wasting time with Penguin inevitably means turning his back on worse problems happening at Gotham (I feel like the Reeves film continuity is kinda heading in this direction as well). And Batman hates it, he hates that Oswald knows this, but this story also points out what happens when Penguin's removed from the picture to be inevitably replaced by some far worse scumbag with no interest in theater or balance. This idea wouldn't work for any other character in Batman's Rogues Gallery, except for Penguin. Granted, this also kinda means that Oswald's purposefully kneecapping himself but, at least it acknowledges this as part of the set-up required to make mob boss Penguin work.
Even the fact that Penguin resolves the battle by going full beast / Returns, I don't mind that much here, it's played for contrast of Penguin spending the entire issue powerless or being played as a gentleman (if a deluded, cutthroat criminal one) for most of the issue. Honestly? I like this as a display of monstrousness way more than "ruins your life for coughing within earshot", I'd have little to complain if Penguin tearing out the throats of mob bosses with his teeth was the lowest he'd be willing to go, in fact I think he should do that more often. I do like some savagery in him.
I mean, yeah, the whole reocurring animal thing, and it culminating with him thanking his former bully for instilling the idea on him that he's just "a little animal", has some whiff of that "the bullies get it right" awfulness from Frank Tieri's one-shot but, it's not going that far. There's some issues in this story and especially from a plotting perspective but, I'm not sure how much I liked this because it was a good Penguin story that utilized the character in an interesting way or even a good story in general, or how much I liked this because it wasn't as aggressively dogshit as I was expecting and how much better it was than so many other modern Penguin stories but, I'm pretty lenient on this, I liked most of it well enough.
I don't know how this relates to the current continuity that I'm not reading, and I don't care either, but between this, what little I've seen of other recent Penguin moments and the upcoming show, I'm feeling pretty good. It's kinda seeming like the character's getting some of his groove back. I'm pleasantly happy with it.
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