I'll always maintain that this is the best duel in the series (manga or anime). Why? TLDR: narrative/trope subversion (and he is a MASSIVE bitch)
In a format where conclusions tend to be forgone it managed actual suspense. Practically no one, in-universe or out, expected Joey/Jou to win. Sure, his True Friends TM are rooting for him, but this is clearly a mismatch. Marik(extra spicy edition) is at this point undefeated and Joey won his last two tournament duels on technicalities, punching above his weight class via sheer grit.
As the audience, we KNOW he can't win. Joey is the Lancer; narratively it would make no sense for him to beat what is clearly a final arc boss. The Lancer is here to put up enough of a fight to make the Hero, Yugi, look extra cool when he beats Marik later.
We all know it's just supposed to be Joey putting up a good fight, but damn, what a fight! Stakes much more visceral than usual, turnabout after turnabout as the tides shift and we wonder if this is the one that ends the duel. All the while we get to see the snark on full and glorious display against an opponent outraged to even have to dirty his hands against someone other than the protagonist.
The big, properly climactic finishing shot…and then the reveal that Joey’s still standing. He’s won. Against all odds, and with strategy instead of luck. Everyone can see it. Even the thus-far unflappable Marik is reeling, because that was not supposed to happen. This narratively-doomed punching bag that spent the whole duel irreverently heckling was not supposed to be able to back it up.
And THEN Joey falls. He gets to have his victory and fill his role in the plot, all without undermining Marik’s threat. If anything, it makes the Bad Guy even more despicable and intimidating, since he’s clearly willing to cheat with magic murder powers if the cards don’t fall his way. Joey has all the best personal motivation, and free rein to be much more of a bitch than either protagonist (stoic and sweetheart as they are). We want him to win, we know that’s not what’s best for the story, and we get to have our cake and eat it too. With a LARGE side of ham
big fan of how much of a bitch he is
Jonah should really have taken this as an object lesson as to Spiderman's willingness to stay down. Amazing Spiderman 20
someone in the comment section on todays' page mentioned this and i couldn't get it out of my head.
Although it's when he stops dodging that they REALLY have to worry
The New York underworld is going to find out via experience that he CAN, in fact, dodge them forever. Amazing Spiderman 10
I saw this and my immediate reaction was 'oh no that's the vibe. Oh Noooooo'
I’m still not over Scotty brooding over Mira Romaine while he’s up on the Enterprise at the beginning of this book like:
I am frantically pushing this huge box of feels under a carpet labeled 'lol gay' and you waltz by and slide it off like a magician with a tablecloth. The nerve!
Recognizing that the "Unnecessary feelings" comment isn't about gay thoughts makes wrightworth better in my honest opinion.
"Seeing you gives me an extreme carnal reaction and I want to kiss you stupid"? WRONG. "Your being here makes me remember a time when I was truly happy. Your presence forces me to acknowledge the icy waters I am submerged in. Your fires make me realize how cold I am, and I'm too scared of reaching out. I'm scared that the moment I reach out, I will douse your flames because I am colder than the darkest parts of this trench I find myself in and I don't think your fire can handle it.
Your warm smile makes me realize how sad I truly am. I look into your bright eyes and feel the dark bags under mine sag. I am tired and I so badly want to rest my head, if only for a moment, on your shoulder, my oldest friend. My dearest friend. My only friend. I want nothing more than to cry in your arms, but my tears are so cold that I may snuff your embers when I wet your sleeves. You open your hands to me to take my burdens, but you don't understand how hefty it is. I will crush anyone under the weight of it, including you.
It would've been better had we not met, you are too earnest, too persistent, too kind for me. You will break yourself for anyone. I don't want to be the one you break yourself on. Because you are the only one who understood me.
Don't ever show your face in front of me again."
~~One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is w-BETTER~~
The 4 approaches to “orphaned etymology” problems in fiction
1. Obviously we can’t call it French toast if there’s no France so we’re just gonna replace it with something else.
2. The word abattoir sounds too French so it wouldn’t make sense for it to be here without a France. Even though we use English without there being an England.
3. This is called a Ming vase because when you tap it it makes a “Ming!” sound.
4. I am JRR Tolkien and every single word I write has a fictional etymology attached to it that I am translating into English for your convenience.
Hello Witcher fans, may I offer you my dumb doodles from the last month or so
Johnny being asked to supress the part of him that's flaming for the sake of a traditional relationship doesn't seem like the healthiest dynamic ever. XD Luckily he later gets to be true to himself by dating a bunch of aliens, each weirder than the last :)
Now Doris, I'm sure Johnny must be THE most frustraiting boyfriend in the universe But you must know that that's not a promise he can morally keep in all circumstances Amazing Spiderman 21
Due to my father's infamously questionable children's media choices: the original Godzilla
No, really, it was a heritage art showing. We were thiiiiis close to being scarred for life by the chilling nuclear horror, and then the guy in a rubber suit showed up and it was fine. Our mother was not impressed.
Other gems include cluelessly showing Princess Mononoke to toddlers and letting a still-single-digits sibling watch Jaws right before the start of swim camp.
what's the first movie you remember seeing in theaters? don't try and be all edgy and cool and say like tetsuo: the iron man. be honest.
Go!!
That's a real Watson Vibe, alright
Also I found this picture of Watson (Edward Hardwicke) holding a gun like that with that look on his face and it is one of the most perfect Doctor Watson images ever produced.
He looks like Sherlock Holmes either asked to borrow the gun, or just handed it to him and hasn't acknowledged that it's a loaded gun.