#i wanna say it's also lack of screentime together?

[elisacifuentes]

Polizeiruf 110: Familiensache (2014)

#polizeiruf 110 #polizeiruf rostock #katrin könig #mine* #gifs* #objectively great subjectively men who kill their families my least favourite thing to watch #the bathroom scene is the funniest thing they ever did though #this episode feels About bukow in a way that literally none of the others do #which makes sense i suppose #but still #it's noticeable idk #or maybe it's that it's not About Them in a way that I would really say all the other episodes are #yes they're distant (by virtue of her secret and then its revelation) but they're distant in other eps too (Kindeswohl) #it's not just that #i wanna say it's also lack of screentime together? #yeah. idk. something. #and lastly i'm just glad they didn't put her in a coma twice for a pregnancy cover-up. much appreciated.

[theloganator101]

What BNHA Got Wrong: Love Interests + Character Bonding

So the poll has spoken and this was the most picked of the options. Also don't worry I WILL be covering those in the future so don't be discouraged if the one you picked didn't win, I'm not Minecraft!

But anyways, Love Interests!

A completely optional thing to have in your story to either give the main character a form of happiness or to show what a healthy relationship looks like to not only the MC, but to other people as well.

But there're also the toxic relationships that act as a cautionary tale as to what can happen if you're not careful in choosing who to date, but it's not the victim's fault for not knowing better as the abuser can be clever in hiding their true colors. So in a way, there're many ways to write relationships in your story.

But the way BNHA handles love interests and relationships... leaves a bad taste so horrible in your mouth that it makes eating garbage sound like the better option.

Let's start with the obvious: Izuocha.

It's bland as plain bread, that much is obvious. But it also tends to suffer from lack of screentime and not having Izuku and Uraraka share enough genuine moments to sell me on the potential of them being lovers.

And it also doesn't help when there are scenes of Uraraka calling him plain, expressing her disbelief when Izuku was about to fight quirkless, and even not retorting her female classmates when they talked about Izuku being a bad boyfriend because of his obsession with All Might.

To me at least, in order to sell me on the idea of two characters being a couple, I need genuine scenes of them together, see how they interact with one another and to see if they have that spark. Hopefully some of you know what I'm talking about when I say spark, as in they have that thing where them being a couple makes perfect sense.

But when it comes to Izuocha, I don't feel that spark. Best friends maybe, but not lovers.

I can name a few others that have better chemistry with Izuku that would've been cute and good to see

Shoto (The Sports Festival and how they interact feels more natural)

Aoyama (Their friendship is cute and honestly Aoyama should've been the one to discover the OFA secret and suggest ways on improving, and Izuku would do the same for him.)

Hagakure (If they interacted more, their relationship would've been interesting to see and see how they help each other with their insecurities)

Rody (The movie... It's obvious)

Okay okay, let's move away from shipping and romantic relationships and get to friendships and familiar love.

Or... lack there of.

Everybody in 1-A acts like great friends and a found family but we hardly get any scenes of them hanging out outside of the outros. If we have to rely on outros/intros to get a feel of the characters bonding, then there really isn't much of a friendship to show off.

And if the fight between them and Izuku during the Dark Izuku is anything to go by, that just throws this found family shit out the window and it literally makes my blood boil as someone who wrote a found family story.

Shameless plug in, but go here if you wanna read a GOOD found family dynamic https://archiveofourown.org/works/46850617/chapters/118009972

If we're supposed to believe that everything they went through has brought them closer, how come we never see any of them bonding and doing normal teenagers stuff?

Oh yeah, it's because Hori doesn't bother with any of that and just wants to get to the exciting fight scenes. Just throw in some misplaced flashbacks and have characters say shit to trick people into believing they DO have this nonexistent bond!

But overall, it's just really hard to get into the dynamics of these characters if we never see the characters bond or share genuine moments, without moments like this... the big moments are just going to feel hollow and the relationships artificial.

#bnha critical #mha critical

[melancholysway]

TMNT Bop or Flop

Feel free to join me in this bc I'm bored af and im trying to start all the requests i have :")

this is also a slight smash or pass bc I'm bored also- however I'm not doing it with TMNT 2012- that's just wrong LMAO or rise TMNT- self-explanatory. 2003/Bayverse/2007 is fair game though yall!

TMNT 2003

Leonardo

Ngl... a bit of a flop but a bop lowkey .

I liked him when he was starting to be more carefree and not so into the whole being perfect and leader thing ...

if this was smash or pass... SMASH IDC

Idk yall something about this Leo makes me happy in a weird way, so maybe half bop half flop? a blop?

Raphael

MAJOR BOP ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ah yes a man who loves animals I'm here for it

I also really love his accent in this wtf .

He's a bop b/c he fought blind once, GTFOHHHHH!! and he ain't afraid of SHIT!

pass btw if this was smash or pass, he seems like a cool friend to have tho!

Donatello

BOP! His sassiness hasn't peaked in this version but it's very much there . 2003 Donnie is actually so sweet yall. Plus, his voice is very nice to listen to! I would love for him to read me a long book aloud as a bedtime story <3

smashbtw

Michelangelo

the man makes a mean scrambled egg according to Raph, but I make it better. FLOP.

I can't put my finger on it, but I just didn't enjoy this Mikey as much as I did in other versions. He made me wanna punch him sometimes . Also would notttt shutup about being the battle nexus champion like boy if you don't shut yo ass up-

pass pass pass pass btw

TMNT 2007

Leonardo

MAJOR. FUCKING. FLOP.

I don't care what yall mfs say, he was way too mf serious, and even said he was better than Raph??? I don't know exactly what he dealt with during that training in South America, but it changed him man.

He tried too fucking quick to bring the team back together, and that's why him and Raph had a falling out and a big fight. Raph knew it was wrong of Leo to try and waltz in again in their lives and be Fix-It-Felix bro.

sidenote: Mega SMASH. That "come to daddy" quote????? He knew wtf he was doin with that. He's too mf fine to be actin the way he was actin in this movie LMAO- I still really enjoy this Leo though, if they made a sequel like it was intended, I would probably change it to a bop, but I need more scenes of 2007 Leo/ this design of Leo to do this !

Raphael

Do I even have to say it????

BOP. BOP BOP BOP! BOP BOP BOP TO THE MF TOP YALL!

By far my FAVORITE Raph in the entire franchise! I love it, he's at his peak rebellion, and even made a name for himself fighting crime, I love it.

I also LIVE for his Brooklyn accent. I also hc if we got more screentime of him in the sequel, he'd be the most chill turtle. I believe there's a deleted scene of him talking to Leo at the end of the movie, and his tone/mannerisms were very mellow. 2007!Raph is mad chill

Also gave 2007 Leo a run for his money bro-

SIDENOTE: SMASHHHHHH! HULK SMASH IDC CALL ME WILD BUT IDC . Whoever designed him needs a raise. His eyes??? gtofh.

Donatello

Ngl...a slight flop?

he's not as sassy in this version, and I love me some sassy Donnie.

Like Leo, I really wish he got more screentime, I do love him challenging Raph in the beginning of the movie though :) Go Donnie go!

There's a deleted scene of Donnie and Splinter, it's called "let him eat cake" on youtube I believe- he would've been a bop if they kept that scene in! I feel like there was a lack of Donnie scenes in this- but I like that this movie was focused on Raph so I can't complain.

In a deleted scene it reveals Donatello loves money, he's also a flop bc he takes Mikey's money away so he can't buy dumb shit for the lair, at least let the man keep more than a $5 ya know?

ahem...smash.

Michelangelo

BOP! surprised? don't be.

he's a single mom that works one job who loves his brothers and never stops

with gentle hands and a heart of a fighter

he's a survivor <3

i also feel bad that he gets beat up by kids :( he really be providing for his family fr fr. He really out and about making his coin as a turtle in a turtle suit. he also started his own business??? got his own slogan, and is a kids party host??? like okay support small business xoxo

erm...pass btw, I just cannot see Mikey that way yall.

TMNT 2012

Leonardo

BIGGEST BOP OF THE CENTURY! This version of Leonardo is my all time favorite. He even beats Rise Leo by a few! I can't explain it, but this Leonardo- the first one we see that's more upbeat and not so serious, I loved it! They gave him interests other than training or being a leader- they gave him a love for a show he devotes his time to! be fuckin fr.

Also played tea time with some random ass lil girl, it was so cute. I loved to see Leo be put in situations where he's just being him.

So yes this is very biased but idc, he's my fave. One thing about 2012 Leo he gon get to the bag no matter what.

He also literally SLAYED Shredder and brought his head! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!

Raphael

Do I need to say anything?

Bop, wanna know why?

HIS ONE-LINERS. He's so in tune with his sarcasm and wits that it's so satisfying to hear some sarcastic shit come out his mouth.

May even be a bit sassy, he has no time for bullshit. will beat some ass- and is the best pet dad.

no bc when he was being a foster dad to Chompy??? my heart. my fucking heart yall.

Also the fact that he named him Chompy Picasso? PLS.

Donatello

Bop guys!

Lowkey gets bullied by Raph but makes up for it by making him look dumb at times.

SASSIER. VERY SASSY. WIll point out his brothers (Raph/Mikey's) stupidity.

Plus his gap is so cute

Also, he's a bop because he made fucking RETRO MUTAGEN. If I'm not mistaken, 2012 Donnie is the first one of his installments to make a retro mutagen.

Okay maybe Mikey mixed a chemical or two and was the original creator of the retro mutagen, but Donnie was able to make copies of it after finding out how Mikey made it.

Michelangelo

BOP BOP BOP

He might be my favorite Mikey! I really like 2007 Mikey bc his comedic timing was on point, but this Mikey! Oh my god his timing is fucking terrible and I love it.

he's also the reason why his brothers aren't in the stomachs of those big-ass wasps, he's underrated! When he applies himself, he's unstoppable fr.

Also, he's an animal lover like Raph! He also really cares for Ice Cream Kitty (IC Kitty is also one of my fave characters for some reason they're sooo cute!)

BAYVERSE TMNT

Leonardo

Hear me out.

Blop.

I know, why isn't he just a bop or why isn't he just a flop? I honestly couldn't decide. I found that he wasn't the most memorable in this version, but he did certain things that I remembered. He also has cute blue eyes so that's why he's a blop.

I didn't like the way he talked to Raph in the second movie bro, he was such a bitch, then acted mad shocked that Raph went out and tried to get the ooze himself. he also benched tf out of Raph and Mikey just because Raph called him out on his shit.

Okay I'm changing it- he's a blop but VERY close to being a flop because of that.

all this being said...pass.

Raphael

He's mad chill. A fuckin Bop. Honestly, all Raph's are bops, but this one especially. He knits yall. KNITS. Raph KNITS. I never thought I'd see the day.

Also a Vin Diesel stan, I love that for him.

They also gave him a fear of heights...or erm...skydiving, which I thought was kinda cute! Big bad Raph is scared of a plane dive!

P.S- smashy smash. he's truly a sweetheart yall.

Donatello

I actually really like his design! Love the glasses on him fr fr!

This Donnie is a blop though...sorry guys.

He was very nerdy in this one, but I'm so used to Donnie being a sass king that it didn't feel normal.

I wish they gave him more substance than just the genius of the team, if this makes any sense. Same with 2007!Donnie.

Blop positive: he's the only turtle to curse in the movie! he also snorts. it's cute.

Sadly...pass.

but, if they made him sassy as FUCK- ALL MIGHT DEKU SMASH.

Michelangelo

BOPPITY BOP

he's mad cool i dont see anything wrong with him. He's just a bro.

i dont have much to say about bayverse Mikey for some reason, so I'll leave it at this.

He also calls April "Angelcakes" which I think is cute yall-

Pass btw

RISE!TMNT

Leonardo

Final boss level BOP BRO. I love love love this Leo! He's amazing. I have no complaints fr.

Total asshole in the lair olympics but I loved every second of it LMFAO

also his granny disguise to spy on April??? 10/10 great style. It's nice to see Leo not be the leader for once, I truly see what he could be when he doesn't carry the burden of the leader.

Raphael

Okay, I'm used to hothead/soft Raph, but this Raph?! MF BOP! HE'S FINALLY GETTING THE UNOFFICIAL LEADERSHIP ROLE HE DESERVES.

He's a big mf softie, and I love it! I love his design, everything! No complaints about this Raph, he finally is able to show his leadership skills!

spoiler all rise! turtles are bops bc its so nice to see them written differently than their usual stereotypes.

Donatello

I absolutely adore this version of Donnie! His lines are absolutely top tier bro.

HIS RAP IN MYSTIC LIBRARY??? GTFOH. I also really loved his rivalry with Leo in the olympics btw .

He has so many golden moments that this is exactly why hes a BOP! BOP OF THE MF UNIVERSE.

He's also unintentionally funny, his computer password??? yeah bro he's funny.

Michelangelo

BOP. I finally feel like Mikey isn't the butt of the joke anymore. All boys are funny in this series in their own way, and they're all shown being a little dumb so I love that LMAO

I love that Mikey is still childish, but it seems to do toned down as his brothers are equally childish in some way

We don't rely on Mikey for comedic relief, we can rely on him to be sporadic and chaotic though! i love this version of Mikey, this one is my favorite. Point blank my fave!

Masterlist

#tmnt #bayverse tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt headcanons #raphael #leonardo #donatello #michelangelo #rise!tmnt #tmnt imagine #tmnt fandom #tmnt hc #tmnt 2012

[dqmens]

right the show did forget that jj and pope were besties in s3

idk if its true or its a fandom joke but people often say the producers split jj and pope on purpose so their chemistry is destroyed/cant be seen so people can stop shipping them.

idk what season but in an interview the actor that plays pope says that he likes to improvise jjpope scenes as the writers dont give them much to work on so any touches between them that we saw were up to rudy an jd themselves as they are a fan of the ship. so the only way to stop that was to keep them apart screentime wise in s3

jjpope in s3 was completely different to s1/s2 jjpope. they lacked screentime together and it sucked.

apologies if this sends twice my laptop glitches lol

Hopefully season 4 is better overall for their friendship. Take shipping them together out of the equation, I just wanna see them be best friends again

also it did send twice 😂

#jjpope #obx season 4 #obx

[catdadeddie]

The lack of buddie has never been as bad as it is this season. At least in s5A they had the first 3 episodes and then a centric episode in 7. Buddie haven’t had a meaningful conversation since the premiere this season. They’re very purposely keeping them apart. Whether that’s Kristen trying to halt the shipping of them or it’s a narrative reason idk but it’s immensely frustrating as a buddie fan how they haven’t had a meaningful conversation since the premiere.

And I've said repeatedly that people can feel that way and be upset.

I have also said that unsolicited complaining in people's inboxes of it isn't fair to fans that are having a good time.

I'm a buddie shipper. I'm not frustrated or upset with how things are going. I'm quite happy with the season. Idk if you sending me this was prompted by my posts on Tuesday or if you just decided to come complain, but if it's the latter, I've been pretty open about having a good time or at least pretty positive about the season. So...

-

To be honest, I think it's very possible that they're narratively keeping them apart. I also think it could be that they're just changing stuff up and giving us some new dynamics because the fans responded well to it last season.

Someone sent me an ask that I didn't post and said they like the new dynamics but it shouldn't come at the cost of buddie. That Hen and Chim aren't seeing this distance.

And I disagree. It's an ensemble show with 7 main cast members and about 45 minutes a week to work with. With the choices being made, all of the usual dynamics aren't getting the screentime they normally would.

Hen and Buck are a central dynamic right now and we're definitely seeing that change things. We've seen Hen and Chim working together, the same that we've seen Buck and Eddie, but outside of Henren Begins when's the last time we had a major Hen and Chim scene?

-

Buck and Eddie are still interacting. They haven't been completely ripped apart. If I wanted to make a buddie in 6a gif set, every episode besides 6x03 would have something. They just haven't had any major moments. There's plenty of little moments and if we wanna talk narratively, it makes sense how this is all going.

Buck intentionally keeping distance from himself and the 118 (minus Hen) so that's contributed to this. He's doing something that he subconsciously knows he shouldn't and so we're seeing these team scene with him feeling removed. And we have seen Eddie trying to push a little and understand it every time.

-

Additionally, we've had 2/7 episodes being focused only on one relationship. We didn't see much of any dynamic that wasn't tied to Hen in 6x06.

-

All this to say, if you're that frustrated, take a break from the show. It's on Hulu so you don't have to wait a million years for it to come on Netflix. Or plenty of people download it for gifs, I'm sure you can find it somewhere.

Marie Kondo it. If it's not sparking joy, let it go. You can absolutely come back when you know how this is resolved and that it's resolved. It's just not making you happy right now and that's okay. It's how you approach being upset that might not be okay. Again I don't know what prompted you sending me this ask, but I will say that if it was just because you wanted to complain, then consider thinking about who you're complaining to and why you're upset.

(And unless I'm remembering wrong. We barely saw them outside of calls at work in 2b. There's when Maddie was taken, 2x14 and 2x18 that have some heavier scenes but that's all I can think of.)

#anon #nova answers #fandom discourse

[curedeity]

For the bingo: kyoko and/or mami?

While i may have surprisingly few boxes for kyoko colored in, its not from a lack of love. Kyoko, imo, is the best redeemed villain character ive ever seen. Its not about her apologizing to sayaka or whatever, its about her slowly understanding sayakas worldview and growing closer to her, how their differing philosophies intertwine as the world slowly beats them down. Kyokos redemption arc is just her choosing to change and try to help sayaka, such a simple thing and yet masterfully executed. Its even more impressive when kyoko really only had 4 episodes in the show to execute all that. Saying she didnt have enough screentime is a bit tough, especially considering what a short and tightly plotted show pmmm is, but i really think kyoko couldve used a few more scenes to show what she does when shes alone, shes normally only with another character.

She does work very well off of whatever character shes paired with though. She and sayaka have (imo) the best dynamic in the entire show, what with how much they impact each other and how their dynamic builds up over time. Kyoko also has great chemistry with madoka despite having only one episode together. I know theres a manga of her and mami somewhere which i really want to read. (Rebellion spoilers for the rest of the paragraph) I also love how she and homura get to grow close in rebellion. I just wish rebellion had given time to kyoko and madoka, and kyoko and mami, but it isnt a huge problem.

Basically, i love kyoko a lot and what she means in the series. Her arc is incredible and she works well off of anyone she comes in contact with. The only problem is that i think the show doesnt give her a chance to show off what she can be like solo.

Mami. Gosh, this feels lkke payback for me giving you her. Shes such a hard character to describe.

First off minor point not everyone is wrong about mami im mostly joking bc i really hc her as aroace. Shes got so many aroace vibes. Shes the character through which i truly understood what relationship envy was. But i dunno if i wanna say all her ships are bad or anything yknow. They just dont work for me. So mostly that point is kinda a joke.

Also ghsjfnnsks so hard to choose whether shes wasted potential and not enough screentime. To say those things would i think imply something in the writing wasted her, and i dont think so. She is a character with very little of an arc, very little time, but she dows a lot in that time and is incredibly important to how the rest of the show plays out. Plotwise, i think shes used perfectly. I think what redeems her short tome is that they strongly characterize her in short moments. That scene in episode 10 reveals so much about how mami views the world, and makes so much sense. Not to mention how much they let mami do in rebellion. Its clear they have a strong characterization of mami and show it off whenever possible.

She did get done dirty by the creators though, she did not need to be fanserviced in rebellion. Shes a middle schooler.

Other than that i find her very interesting to think about but i will admit she is my lest favorite magical girl in pmmm. Which means shes still an incredible character, but the weakest in her cast.

EDIT: i forgot to mention i love her dynamic with madoka but idk if thats necessarily where she works best. Its just fun.

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #madoka magica #i love pmmm characters so much they have so much going on and then you realize they were only around for three episodes

[popchoc]

Do you have a wishlist of stuff you’d like to see happen (or NOT happen) in s19 season 5? Anything ranging from “totally probable/possible” to “would only happen if this show was actually a super high-budget prestige actiondrama on cable” - I wanna know! :)

Hey Anon! Pfff I honestly haven't given it much thought. But here are a few of the first things that come to mind right now:

- More fun, more joy, more laughter. S4 was way too heavy for my liking, with too much preaching. (I'm not saying those serious topics aren't important, I just don't need all that in every episode!) I really enjoyed the lighter moments like we saw in S3 (calendar shoot, boat parties) and I definitely wouldn't mind more of them.

- Also some well deserved happiness for pretty much every character on this show! I honestly don't really care who's doing who, except for Maya and Carina, but I'm ready to say goodbye to Sullivan, and actually curious for Andy and Jack (as we've never really seen them together, since they mostly dated before s1). I would also love to see them zoom in on some friendships a bit more, as life and joy is about a lot more than romantic relationships. Vic and Travis kill every scene they have together, and I feel like we haven't seen the best of Maya and Andy just yet. So yeah, bring it.

- That being said I'm not shying away from the drama, I actually hope we get tons of that, too. I just hope it will be more job related. I just really want some real action, with some real big fires, and some real danger. Then, yes, some shit may happen. People may get injured and even nearly (!!) die, I really don't mind as long as it's thrilling. If these characters are supposed to be heroes than I want to see them as such.

- With this, I'm really looking forward to watch Maya run into fires again. I'm proud of her that she made captain and I do want her redeemed from all the blame, but I'm not gonna lie about this: she's way too hot to sit behind a desk ;)

- (Also I want her to find her brother, and Jack to find his foster siblings, but based on Andy's story with her mom I'm afraid it would be meaningless and we'd better leave it to fic writers who actually care.)

- And with that, I want every hook-up or relationship in this show to be shown in the same way. Which means the same amount of screentime, the same amount (or lack) of clothes, the same way of filming it all. I know it's ABC/Shondaland and it's not gonna happen, but that doesn't mean we should stop asking for it.

- And last but not least: I want some decent writing and some actual communication between characters... but I'm afraid the chance of seeing them all butt naked one day is a whole lot bigger.

Edit: oh and if we're actually talking about everything being possible, I'd say bring in AJ Cook to play Maya's long lost sister!

#ask #station 19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #andy herrera #jack gibson #travis montgomery #vic hughes #ben warren #dean miller #i know this is like 80% about maya but there'd a good reason for that which is that i love her 😉 #imagine though if only this show was actually on cable! 🔥🔥🥵🥵

[kamuiboyfriends]

Top 5 Romance Club Love Interests

CONTEXT: The only stories I’ve fully caught with up as of the making of this post and therefore, met the LIs of their stories firsthand are the following:

Sails in the Fog S3E9

Moonborn S2E1

Shadows of Saintfour COMPLETED

Wave Patrol COMPLETED

Seduced by the Rhythm COMPLETED

Chasing You S1E2 (RIP lmao)

Heaven’s Secret COMPLETED

Rage of the Titans S2E8

Gladiator Chronicles S1E7

Heart of Trespia S1E7

The Flower from Tiamat’s Fire S1E2

Thanks to @somin-yin for the tagging for this! Now with my limited experience, lemme see if I can craft a top 5😂

(I blame Gladiator Chronicles for having currently little to no confirmation on LIs so if a “Love Interest” from that book happens to show up, I’m just assuming they’re a LI.)

Disclaimer: This list was kinda spontaneously made and on the spot so… yeah. Also I don’t have pictures so they were picked of off the wiki so quality of photos will be meh.

LIST BELOW THE CUT (It gets wordy. Sorry about that😅

Tagging: … I once again don’t know who to tag because everyone seemed to have done this by now. So I guess if you see this and haven’t already been tagged… feel free to make your own top 5!

5. CHARLES (SBTR)

I just like the little backstory of MC and Charles. The whole close bond together in their teens but they get separated due to unfortunate events, then reunites in the future? I kinda like that. Also, he’s hot and sweet which is quite a combo! Then why is he low on the list? Simply put, other stories attracted me more to them and their respective LIs.

4. SAMUEL MAKOTO (CY)

Despite being unfortunately in a story I only have two chapters of experience, I really enjoyed some of the screenshots I saw! (which were mostly about him and Alex being sus but enough about that.) That plus the small time I get to see him in HS. He was one of the few LIs I saw when I was just a newbie to this app and I was just drawn to him, let that speak for itself.

3. MURPHY / JASON (ROTT)

Yeah… I’m putting these two in a tie. As someone who is undecided in their LI in this story, combined with Ares making me wanna act up, I’m literally that meme of the guy sweating because he didn’t know what button to press. For Murphy? Do I need to explain? Man is so damn hot and also quite the softie too! For Jason? I honestly don’t know😆 I was just drawn to him from the start and I REALLY want to explore his route, despite its non-existency but I can wait for as long as I can… I think…

Also yeah I’m probably the one Jason stan in this whole app😀 But this lack of screentime makes me second guess myself cause wtf…

2. HOTCH (GC) (I hope…)

The Jan 2022 update only further cemented my want for this man to be confirmed of LI status. In Episode 7, he was kinda giving flirty and confident vibes? I like that! Am I grasping at straws on a character that might not even be an LI? Probably but that doesn’t mean I like him any less. Also he’s a spy… that’s cool!

1. MALBONTE (HS)

Though I’m not alone in this, I can definitely say that this was a landslide for me. If you can draw me to a whole new app and then exceed my expectations on your character and the story you’re in the way Malbonte did, you’re going on top 1 for me. Why do I like him? There’s something about instilling fear on everyone just by existing that I find attractive LMAO. He’s also REALLY beautiful AND the path I was going for in HS was where I had to balance Angel and Demon points, which was conveniently named the “Path of Malbonte”… You can’t tell me that’s not fate.

END OF POST

#romance club #i don’t know what else to tag this as

[aslongasimhereyoureinvincible]

what your favourite Haikyuu!! ship says about you:

as inspired by Eldena Doubleca5st’s hilarious video series, go check them out!

Kagehina: rivals to lovers you ask, why not rivals AND lovers?

Daisuga: your ideal ship dynamic is team mom / team dad 

Asanoya: your ideal ship dynamic is best summarised by the ‘excuse me he asked for no pickles’ meme

Tsukkiyama: you love snarky assholes with a soft spot for One Specific Person

Ennotana: you just want good things for Ennoshita, and really, who wouldn't?

Kiyotana: either you just want good things for Tanaka OR you’re a firm supporter of Men! 👏 Getting! 👏 Pegged! 👏

Kiyoyachi: you’re not mad, per se, about kiyotana being canon, you just think kiyoyachi had way more chemistry 

Kinonari: you love characters who are in desperate need of more screentime 

Kinonoya: the Inarizaki match means everything to you

Tsukihina: you love opposites attract with a side of heavy symbolism 

Tananoya: your ideal date involves kissing the homies goodnight 

Yamayachi: nothing says ‘date night’ like you both having an anxiety attack over ordering take-out

Daiyui: you are heterosexual 

Hinayachi: Y’know what? Yachi was right, that scene where she and Hinata ran to the train station together was like a shoujo manga

Ukatake: I’m not sure if you wanna fuck dads, but you definitely wanna fuck positive male role models 

Kuroken: either you really like the ‘shy nerd’ / ‘cocky (but secretly also nerdy) jock’ dynamic OR you read the manga and chapter 318 made you fucking lose it 

Kuroyaku: you’re a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of mutually dunking on each other   

Kuroyakukai: you just really like Kai 

Yakulev: your ideal ship dynamic is morosexual / moron 

Shibalev:  you watched the Tokyo No Jin stageplay 

Shibainu: either you’re just here for the pun OR you’re a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of warming the bench 

Toraken: so to the top episode 17 huh? 

Fukutora: you just want good things for Fukunaga, and really, who wouldn’t?  

Iwaoi: either you fucking love angst OR you are deeply disappointed by the general lack of male tsunderes 

Matsuhana: your ideal date involves getting stick bugged, after-which hilarity ensues

Kyouhaba: your ideal date involves being kabedon-ed 

Kiniwa: your ideal date involves your senpai noticing you 

Kinkuni: you firmly believe that nothing brings people closer than mutual hatred for some asshole from middle school

Kyouiwa: this is just the same joke as Kiniwa except you also like bara 

Matsuhanaiwaoi: you think seijoh should’ve gone to nationals 

Ushioi: two options, either you still think “you should’ve come to Shiratorizawa jokes’ are peak comedy in 2020 (they’re really not) OR you love enemies to lovers

Ushiten: your ideal date involves a romantic candle-lit dinner in Paris, after which you are interviewed for a documentary together 

Tensemi: you were the weird emo kid in middle school

Semishira: snarky bickering married couples are your jam

Ushihira: you think the whole ‘ushiwaka and benkei’ thing is way too overlooked 

Ushigoshi: you love one sided rivalries that are met with obliviousness 

Shiragoshi: either you think Shirabu clowning on Goshiki is actually a display of affection OR you just have a thing for straight bangs 

Bokuaka: you are a proud morosexual, you are attracted to dumbasses and dumbasses exclusively

Bokukuro: this is just the same joke as tananoya but you like city boys 

Daikuro: you stay up way to late reading single dad au fics 

Bokudaikuro: thick!  👏 thighs!  👏 save!  👏 lives! 

Kuroshou: your ideal ship dynamic is snarky exes 

Daimika: you love that one John Mulaney bit that’s like ‘my wife is a bitch and I like her so much’ 

Sakukomo: /gestures at chapter 394/ I’m sorry for your loss lmao

Sakuatsu you love projecting your insecurities onto fictional characters so you can receive some form of positive affirmation by consuming content about them being loved unconditionally  

Ushisaku: your ideal date involves sharing cleaning tips and being blunt 

Atsukita: you want senpai to notice you but like,, you’re also a brat 

Kitaran: nothing brings two guys together like dealing with the twins’ bullshit

Osasuna: nothing brings two guys together like clowning on Atsumu 

Hiruhoshi: your ideal date involves asking your partner to hold your beer 

Hoshihina: ‘Short Kings Anthem’ by Tiny Meat Gang and blackbear is your personal hype song 

Atsuoi: your ideal ship dynamic is best summed up by that one text post that’s like: ‘you should be addicted to shutting the fuck up’ ‘you wanna fuck me so bad it makes you look stupid’ 

Akiten: you shipped akiteru and the og  little giant before it was cool  Akisae: you like hot blonds and Men! 👏 Getting! 👏 Pegged! Saeten: rekindled high school crushes? don’t mind if you do  Akisaeten: They all have two hands  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Atsuhina: you’re a firm believer in the inherent erotcism of stealing somebody else’s man 

Osahina: you think the setter / spiker ship dynamic is really over done  Oihina: brazil fling canon no one can change your mind 

Oisuga: what can you say? you like pretty boys 

Oikage: two options, either your ideal ship dynamic is ‘Love Like You’ by Rebecca Sugar OR you’re just here for some doujinshis 

Ushihina: you like the appeal of osahina buy you just don’t think their rivalry is that well established 

Kurotsukki: you’re a bit too into that whole ‘if he teases you it’s because he likes you’ dynamic 

Terushou: you are firmly situated in rare-pair hell 

Saemiwa: you think Miwa should’ve attended one of Karasuno’s games Miwalisa: your ideal ship dynamic is service provider / client 

Kanotana: you just want good things for Kanoka, and really? who wouldn’t? 

Nishiyaku: this is just the same joke as hoshihina except you prefer liberos  Those two scorekeepers from episode 1: you found out way too late that shipping things for shits and giggs is the gateway drug to shipping things for realises 

#this is so long im sorry #plz rb this is took me ages to think of some of these jokes #haikyuu!! #what your favorite ship says about you #if i missed out ur otp im sorry but i didnt want to get into niche rare pairs #ill maybe do a part 2 thats just solely polyships #og post // #haiqueue

[sugarandspice-games]

Spicy take time (costarring Sugar): The Bros rated by how well I think their arcs/character development/relationship with MC was written and how much it makes sense. (Disclaimer: Our affection for these characters and how interesting, compelling, and lovable we find them has ZERO bearing on this list. ALSO, beware, here there be salt, IE, this is critical of the writing. It’s also long as fuck, so if you just wanna skim and read the bold parts, that’s okay too. You are also free to disagree with us as this is just an opinion, and keep in mind that we have only read to chapter 24 so if there are elements of the story we are unaware of... please be understanding of that and don’t spoil it.) Let’s get started, shall we?

1) Starting at the top is BEST BOI IMO: Beelzebub. So, yeah, in terms of character development and growth, he really doesn’t change all that much, aside from starting off not trusting MC to slowly opening up to them about his trauma. But putting that to the side, his relationship with them makes the most sense. After sharing a bedroom and helping him open up, as well as having the mutual goal of protecting Luke, and then even later going on to save his beloved little brother, it follows that he absolutely adores you afterward. Also, he doesn’t start off disliking you like some of the others. So, all around, he makes the most sense. He’s also one of the deeper characters with his backstory, even if I wish they’d give him other flaws than just being hongry (and playing his unhealthy eating habits/coping mechanism as a joke. Disordered eating should be taken more seriously, especially binge eating but that’s a can of worms for another day)

2) Second best is probably going to shock you, but Satan takes this spot. Why? Well, strictly in terms of arc progression, his relationship with MC starting out as one of manipulation and growing into something more genuine when they go on a heartwarming and wacky adventure together with his hated older brother which causes him to open up makes a lot of sense, at least more so than some of the others. While I wish they gave him more meat characterization wise, I think his arc was pretty well done in terms of story structure.

Okay, so, Sugar here. While I agree with Spice that Satan could use some more meat (and that we should be able to have some more information on Baby Satan because we all need that in our lives), I think that the progression of him and LUCI’S bond (not MC’s) could have done with more subtlety. While I appreciate him softening up, and see that progress, we don’t really get to see the tension of the newfound change and how he settles into letting things go/mellow out and I get it-- it’s a dating sim and the secondary relationships are well, secondary, but it would be interesting to see him and MC bond more through time.

3) Third place probably won’t be all that shocking, because this is where I’m placing Lucifer. He’s arguably one of the characters in the series who’s gotten the most love from the writers, having the most screentime, the most affectionate scenes with MC, and the most fleshed out backstory and characterization as well as fleshed out relationships with each of the characters. His relationship progression with MC also takes a nice, even pace, with him slowly learning to trust them and respect them, culminating in an almost-confession (I THINK. Unless I’m reading that part wrong) and then being shattered at MC’s betrayal, and then earned back in true Pixar-movie fashion by them teaming up for a common goal. HOWEVER. And this is a big however. I would love to see his unhealthy tendencies addressed and NOT fetishized. (Don’t come at me with that “BUT THEY’RE DEMONS THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE EVILLLLL” dude. If a demon being in a healthy relationship is where you draw the line in terms of believability, then why are you playing a fantasy demon dating sim anyway?) I love him, I stan him, I simp for him, but I wish he had at least apologized for his not-subtle threats of physical violence toward MC rather than jumping straight into the ALSO kinda violent “You’re mine and nobody else’s” gimmick.

Unlike some men (SPICE), I am actually not a Luci stan and while I do have a soft spot, and understanding of his place as an eldest sibling... I would also like to see the writer’s unravel the unhealthiness/coping Lucifer has in place and why/how it came to be. I feel like we get a sense that Luci has thawed since coming to the Devildom but we don’t really see how Lucifer in the Celestial Realm (and how his friendship with Simeon) has progressed. Luci has a lot of love from the writers but from a story stand-point, he is never really allowed to be weak and own up to his own flaws and how that has impacted/hurt MC.

4) Sharing fourth place is Leviathan and Mammon! I’m putting them in the same spot because the issues I have with them are the same, though I plan on addressing their good points individually. But since my beef is simpler, I’m going to start off with the bad. IMO, a good rivals to friends to lovers romance happens in STEPS. You start off from not getting along, to then finding some things in common, and gradually coming to respect each other, and then like each other, and finally love each other. This... doesn’t really happen with these two, and while we see the change from both tsundere boys starting off disliking you and eventually coming to love you, we don’t really get that inbetween that makes the payoff so much worth it. And if those inbetweens are there, the story doesn’t really tell us that, and it doesn’t show us their thought processes. Like, how much would it suck if in pokemon, your charmander evolved immediately into Charizard upon beating your first few gyms? It’s like that.

But as for the good, Levi’s arc makes sense because you’re the first person to really let him be himself and not shame him for the things he loves. You let him ramble about his interests and show interest in them yourself (AT LEAST IF YOU’RE NOT A FUCKING MONSTER. I’ll let Sugar talk more on him, that’s their boy.)

Whoo, boy. Here we go! For whatever reason, the otaku became my favorite and I love him, but as far as arcs go... He could have gotten a bit more screentime and progress. It makes sense that he would become attached to MC as his brothers are very, very... critical and patronizing about his interests. He is also by far the most skittish and introverted of the bunch, coupled with his sin and seeing all the ways he falls short (in his eyes) is a recipe for loneliness and desire for companionship/friendship. While I am not happy with the progression, for me, it makes sense and I would also have loved to see some breaking/softening of how much his Sin influences him when it comes to MC. I’m not saying erase it because demons are meant to give in to temptation but some reassurance and acceptance of that would be good.

(I also know that there is some disk horse about him guilt-tripping you about spending time with his brothers and while I agree it can be hard... It definitely isn’t on a painful level. Like, say... Ray’s in Jihyun’s route in Mystic Messenger. This also is a difference for players who are interested in one love route versus the many route and different strokes, but I digress.)

As far as Mammon goes, well, you’re his first. And he’s not only glad that there’s someone who’s kind to him instead of making fun of him, but also takes pride in having someone to protect. His puppy crush going to full blown love is adorable.

This blog is all about spicy takes, yeah? Well, here’s mine (Sugar): Mammon is lovable but not as lovable as he could be and before all the Mammon stans, come for me- let it be known I like Mammon but his introduction and how he comes to be soft is NOT an easy, or believable transition. There are ways to write a good tsundere and the writers just missed the mark by having Mammon be too callous and then slipping to lovable without that sweet slide into the other end. I will not deny he is very cute, and a good character, and a good brother (and also the most human, according to Satan’s home screen interaction) but... The progression and endearment factor is lacking because of the structure of the narrative.

5) Is another unsurprising one, but this spot is Belphegor’s. Solmare. My dude. Why did you do this. We could have had it ALL. It could have been great. But you screwed the pooch. You took anything good about this relationship out behind the shed and shot it like a lame horse. Let it be known that I LIKED Belphie and MC’s alliance to get him out of gay baby jail, and I adored that love he still holds for Beel... I thought he was going to be a fav of mine, in fact. But how they handled the... uhm... murder ruined it for me. I’m sorry, I just cannot believe that I’m supposed to suddenly be besties with the man who manipulated me and crushed me to death like, a week after it happened. What if I have PTSD from that??? Also... he claims that he loves MC for who they are and not because of Lilith, but that’s not believable when his whole turning point is finding out that they’re Lilith’s descendant. The change needed to be more gradual, and having a subtle, gradual forgiveness arc would have been AWESOME but we were robbed. ROBBED I TELL YOU!!!!!

Annnd... Belphie is actually one of my favorites FOR SOME REASON. I DON’T KNOW MAN. I agree that we could have had it and I’m like (Insert Hades red flaming hair gif here). The decision to not have a redemption arc ruined it for me and while I love Belphie and his softness/brattiness mixture with handling MC... It is underscored by a lack of believable affection and the payoff of struggle on both Belphie’s part and MC’s. Also, there is a lot of ‘You are not who I want you to be, but it’s good enough’ with MC regarding their lineage and connections to the brothers and how that plays out/color the relationships with maybe the exception of Satan and surprisingly, Mammon that irks me but again, another thought for another time.

6) Aaaaand last and also the least... Asmodeus. “YOU GET NOTHING!!! YOU LOSE! GOOD DAY SIR.” --Solmare to Asmo. The writers neglected him SO much, I like him but what the hell are they doing? There’s so much that could be explored here, and with anything involving Asmo they’re like “I do not see it”. His love for MC also isn’t really that believable when his turning point is realizing that they’re powerful. It doesn’t even fit with any of his potential conflicts. The Diavolo’s castle arc set us up to think that Asmo would have some deep seated insecurities with not being able to be loved or desired by everyone, or maybe some insecurities about not being an angel anymore, or some vulnerability issues or something, and they were just like NOPE. It doesn’t make any gotdamn sense! I just... Grrr. Asmo, I’m so sorry, sweetie. You deserve better.

Asmodeus definitely deserves better and I will stand by that until the day I stop playing this damn game. While I, personally, think that his intrigue with MC makes sense (because he is lusty-- probably not just for sex but in general), it makes sense he would want someone with power but while the set up is there, his character falls flat because there is no bonding moment, or turning point for him at all. His affection for MC is still that playful, carefree, flirty persona he carries and I would love to see it dropped and how his fall from the Celestial Realm really weighs on him and an arc where he and MC talk about vulnerability and the power behind being seen as someone attractive and the way it dehumanizes you at the same time. It could be good-- hell, it could be great-- but it was killed before it started and I will never not think that Asmo could have had some KILLER growth. As it stands, he has more connection/romantic potential with Solomon than MC.

Anyway, that’s all for now folks! Feel free to yell at us in the replies, you know you want to. If this post blows up enough, maybe we can rate the undatables (though they don’t have any story arcs so... that would be a challenge.)

#spice talks #sugar speaks #obey me #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor

[b-rainlet]

Gotham for the fandom ask thingy.

(I ran here so fuckin fast you have no clue)

Hello anon! :D I will answer this now, so you don't have to wait any longer but also....this would be very nice to answer through gifsets...(maybe when I am feeling up for it).

For now, have this:

(It's not proof read because I just sat at this for several hours and I don't wanna look at it anymore).

Favourite Male Character

You mean...besides the obvious answers?? :D

Ngl, it's S2 Jerome. I love that little twink with his parental issues and his tragic backstory and I wanna see him happy. There's a reason I have a bunch of AUs where he ends up having a family (mostly in the form of Lee as his Mother) and gets some actual help instead of being ostracized for being a mentally ill person snapping after years of abuse.

(This also ties into my very strong feelings regarding the fact that nobody actually helps the people at Arkham. And I don't mean the main villains there, I mean all the inmates who get treated like shit and are left behind on the regurlar (remember in S2 when Arkham was about to explode and nobody was talking about evacuating the inmates???? I do).

Other than that, one of my faves is also Jonathan. Which may be a little surprising because I barely talk about him but he was my favourite character throughout the show and he had way too little scenes.

(Kinda telling that the characters I latched onto are both helpless teens who were fucked over by the people who were supposed to protect them and can both trace their villain origin story back to Jim Gordon not caring enough about them lmao).

But the cast is big and varied enough that I actually like everyone? Butch, Zsazs, Penguin, S1 and 2 Ed, Jervis, Harvey, Jim......I like them all!!

(Special shoutout to 514A too, he was soft and baby and I wanted to keep him safe and sound really desperately).

(Another special shoutout to Barnes!! I didn't expect to like him when I first saw him, given he looked like he was gonna be mean and stoic and all, but I ended up really liking him and his story!)

Favourite Female Character

Let's just pretend Ecco doesn't exist for this answer ajdkaskaslj.

I fell in love immediately upon seeing Ecco but all! the women! are so!!! good!!!!

I especially have a soft spot for the side characters. I mean, upon first watching I got attached to Alice (even though she only features in two episodes lmao), and also Kristen Kringle - who isn't talked about much within Fandom, but she was pretty and her and Ed were actually quite cute but then she had to die for him to become the Riddler which was...pretty much telling us from the beginnning 'The woman here die to advance the men's plots'.

Barbara was also a big surprise to me because I figured she'd be the female love interest and nothing more but!! her and Jerome were the best thing in S2 and also the most entertaining thing about the Maniax Plot. (In several ways, I think I had the most fun watching this show during S2 , it was just. Good).

Also upon being in this Fandom and thinking about certain characters a bit longer I also really like Vicky Vale. And Montoya. And I wish they had kept both around for longer.

(I also wish they wouldn't have made Vicky a love interest for Jim. Or Sofia. No love interests for Jim except Lee and Barbara please).

Also Selina!! I love both Selina and Tabitha with all my heart - which may also be surprising because I barely ever talk about Tabby but I contain multitudes aklskddsm, and while I like sharing my horny thoughts about Ecco, I also love to think about Tabby and daydream about her being happy and exploring her (and Selina's) issues with showing weakness and affection and their strong loyalty regarding people that they trust.

I just.....women. Women good.

(Women also deserve to have more character than just being somebody's love interests and I have enough wips that completely sideline the guys to focus on the woman instead lmao).

Least Favourite Character

I don't have many characters that I hate??

I generally tend to instantly love everybody unless they are specifically made to be unlikeable. (I also spite-like characters who are hated for petty reasons, I just have a lot of love in my heart and not much energy for hate lmao).

But there were characters who annoyed me while I was watching.

For one, I think Gotham has a variety of super entertaining villains, but the main villains of each season tend to be....boring.

Safe for Strange they all kinda fell flat for me. Theo. Kathryn. Ra's Al Ghul. His Daughter. Mostly because their plotlines were less exciting than stuff like Jerome's carnival or Mother and Orphan's Hotel of Horrors.

Or their motives seemed a lot less understandable than the ones of the other Batman villains who pretty much always come from a place of suffering and abuse and break/snap under the pressure that's put on them (continuing this take of Gotham creating its own villains by leaving behind - mentally ill - people that need help, which I think is very true to most - if not all - Batman villains).

And then you have some characters that simply suffer from the fact that the show was cut short - which is pretty much any and every S5 character that had way too little screentime, but in this specific case means Jeremiah.

Because I disliked Jeremiah a lot while watching.

Without wanting to step on anybody's toes, him and Nygma are probably the two characters on this show I ended up disliking the most.

Mostly because Miah felt like a very cheap copy of Jerome and to this day I think it was a bad idea to replace Jerome with him, since Jeremiah - to me - seems like a super flat character.

Maybe if we had gotten him without meeting Jerome first, just having a Joker character introduced in S4, maybe I would've adored him, who knows.

But in comparison to Jerome...no. Just no.

(I will spare you from any longer rambles, but I think if you follow me, I talked about the ways Miah is lacking for me before).

My made up version of Miah though? I love him.

With Nygma it's even worse because I adored him. I instantly liked him. I was 100% behind him right up until the godawful Isabella plot happened and then it just all went to shit so quickly, I couldn't stand seeing him on screen anymore.

It's surprising that I didn't stop liking Oswald but to me, Oswald pretty much stayed the same while Ed became all bitter and hard and I just miss dorky S2 Ed you know?

It actually got so bad, I completely turned my back on Nygm/obblepot as a ship because I was so severly disappointed and I barely talk about Ed because I just can't stand what they did with him.

(Another victim of bad writing).

Favourite Ship

I'm just gonna stick to canon ships because I don't ever shut up about my Fanon ships so you probably know which ones I love the most :D

There isn't much romance going on within Gotham if I think about it - apart from Jim - which I definitely prefer. You wouldnt guess it from my blog, but I am not a fan of too shippy stuff because in most cases it just means sex scenes and I can live without those. I want action! Blood! Dead People! Not a two minute make-out session between two bland characters!

I gotta admit that Ed and Lee have some cute scenes and I would definitely ship them if I didn't dislike S4 Ed so much (S2 EdLee tho?? Yes).

Also I thought Jim and Lee was okay and Baby Batcat was quite cute at times but mostly I don't care about the canon ships.

I do ship Barbara and Jim though :D

I remember right before they hooked up in S5 I was like: 'I wouldn't mind if they got back together' and then went 'yay!' when they did and I wouldn't have minded a little more 'Will they?? Won't they??' between those two and them just having the mother of unhealthy relationships on this show.

(Also Jim/Barbara/Lee poly relationship but we can't have everything).

Favourite Friendship

So many good relationships on this show!

I need to rewatch the show soon because I probably already forgot about most of them but from the top of my head: Oswald/Butch and Oswald/Zsazs

Which were both then done dirty lmao. One by having Oswald be overly petty (one of the few times I was like...Pengy...wtf...) and the other by passing up the obvious opportunity to have Zsazs find out who really killed Falcone and just...letting Oswald and Victor never interact again. 

Then of course Ivy and Selina which also gloriously fell apart. Just like Ivy and Oswald. 

(Gotham isn’t the best when it comes to maintaining friendships). 

And the biggest and most grandious friendship of them all: J Squad. 

(Who have too little scenes together honestly and then also simply fell apart after Jerome died. Consistency who?)

Favourite Quote

I don’t know, I don’t have many quotes in my head from the show. Me and my niece mostly reference: “Yeah, that’s a spoon.” - “IT IS ALSO A FORK!!1!!!”

Also: “Gotta Go! Gotta Go! They’re after me and the Scarecrow!”

(There are some dialogue blurps I have written down somewhere because they are inspriration for gifsets but in order to be able to just recite some of them from Memory, I would have to watch this show way more obsessively). 

Worst Character Death

I don’t even gotta say anything do I? :D

But I think the character death that actually made me cry was Jerome’s first death. I clearly remember crying because...he just wanted recognition! And praise! And instead he was used as a pawn and betrayed by someone he idolized and he was only 18! My poor little meow-meow!

Seriously, the only things that make me cry on this show: Jerome’s first death, any and all mention of Bruce as a baby - told by an emotional Alfred, any and all Bruce/Alfred interaction at all and Solomon Grundy. 

This made me so happy you have no idea Moment

I seriously need to rewatch this show, it’s been so long :D

But I remember being pretty excited for the J Squad Team Up - because I was like ‘If I were Jerome I would definitely work with Tetch and Scarecrow since they’re also in Arkham atm’ and then he did!!

And I also distinctly remember in S3 that I was close to falling asleep right when they scene came on where Oswald realizes his feelings for Nygma and let me tell you - it caught me so off guard, I was awake instantly lmao. 

(I knew that people shipped them but I was so used to mlm ships being popular when they only have a handful of scenes and are platonic friends that I didn’t expect them to actually have a possibility of being canon). 

From then on I was super pumped for them to deliver on that ship but well....we all knew what happened asnksnndk. 

Saddest Moment

Aside from the already mentioned scenes in the character death column, the scene where Bruce leaves and Selina runs to the airport. I always liked Selina but she wasn’t a priority character of mine (much like Bruce isn’t) but then that scene happened and in an instant, I felt super protective over her. 

She is now my baby. My daughter. My beloved wife. She deserves everything and most importantly she deserves better than Bruce Wayne. 

(Coincidentally that was also the scene where I decided I don’t care much about Bruce asldjkjlj. I absolutely adore early seasons Bruce though). 

Favourite Location

There are so many different locations, I don’t think I can adequately answer this with my spotty memory :D

But I always loved the few episodes where Alice features, because I love how her scenes are shot so probably the little carnival Jervis prepares for her.

Also!! Jeremiah's church!

Or Commissioner Loeb's secret house (Especially the Attic).

There are a lot of cool locations, I gotta gif some of them soon :D

#Long Post #To do

[mineta-minoru-is-baby]

Headcanon: Tsuyu likes Mineta because she's secrearly a perv herself. Let's just say that people in general make jer feel a certain way. However, unlike my boy here she isn't as open about it and certanly disaproves about some things he did. But because Mineta is so loud about it she fonda him easy to relate to and as if only he could understand her sometimes.

Tsu always struck me as a sweet girl who has a less generaly sweet side to her, while still being an actual cinamon roll

Plus, I've alwas imagined a scenario where they'd have a discusion about this. Like, just imagine Mineta not holding back at all with saying what he would want Midnight to do to him, while Tsu tries to sugarcoat these scenarios, because she feels kinda guilty and embarased about these feelings but still enjoys the conversation, because she can understand these things and honestly thinks that Mineta is the only person who she can openly talk to about this.

P.S. This is why I honestly never got the speak of Tsukoyami. Her and Tokoyami have litteraly nothing in comnon. Even if we don't count my headcanon, Mineta and Tsu still have a decent amount of things im comnon. They'd both silly looking, kinda blunt, cooperative and aproachable, ocasionaly enthusiastic... Tokoyami and her are... both animals in a way.

I get that people like the dynamic of oposites atract... but even then they must have something on comnon. It's usualy that one comnon trait that balanced the couple out and makes them come together neatly, because polar oposites can't work as a pair (think of it as the mixture of soda and milk and chocolte milk- one is disgusting because soda and milk are drinks we enjoy for different reasons and puting them together cancels that out, while milk and chocolte can both be asociated with sweetness so they can work well together and form something tasty). Tokoyami is a realy edgy character, both design and personality wise, so paring him up with someone who not only lacks this trait but is the complete opposite to it feels kinda icky. Same goes for Tsu's bluntness and straightforward way od acting.

Also if you wanna talk about their history... Tsuneta still has more. Tsu and Tokoyami have interacted once, for a test and have worked well. That isn't even that special, especialy considering the fact that Tsu is very friendly and cooperative anyway so she would be a good teamate, no matter who her partner is. Mineta and Tsu were once forced to work together because the villains sent them on a boat with Deku, once worked with him and Shoji willingly and had plenty of screentime with him seperazed from the main plot. The key difference between these two ships is that one of them brings out the most enjoyable aspects of both characters making their interactions fin to watch and write, while the other one washes their defining traits down in order for them to reach comnon ground and their whole relationship ends up boring and plain.

I can not stretch enough how much I do not care if other people ship something that I dislike. Maybie the rest od the fandom sees that comnon thing I physicaly can not see. My problem is when you start policing people for shiping something because you don't like the character.

Idk how many Tsukoyami fans are like this, maybie most of them are Nice and wholesome people... but I've heard people say that you should ship Tsukoyami instead of Tsuneta because, ew Mineta. Excuse me oficer, but just because both od these are heterosexual ships, involving the same female character does not mean that they're the same thing.

...I am so sorry, that was a little agresive. Wouldn't like to start a shipping war here, I've just held all this salt for way too long and it just kinda spilled everywhere...

no no anon,,,,go off sweetie youre doing amazing <3 

the only way tokoyami is getting with Tsu is thru a poly ship and thats my policy on that! Also, once again, i can’t even say much because yall are so damn eloquent and comprehensive in your replies that idk where to start or if i should even add anything! But hell yeah to everything you said! Spit them facts!!

[trensu]

Episode 19: The One with the Return of the Gay Yearning Death Grip, Now with More Sword!

After enduring EXTREME EMOTIONAL TRAUMA for the last THREE (3) EPISODES IN A ROW, we finally finally get an episode that has some wangxiantics again!!

I mean, they’re still gonna gut us emotionally here too but we can pretend it hurts less because of our brief wangxian moments!!!

Because this is the episode with the BURIAL MOUNDS

*cries*

Alright so golden core transfer Happened. 

Review: wwx is now weaponless, penniless, golden core-less, and alone

Except jk, he’s actually surrounded by wen flunkies, so not alone! Worse than alone!!

And we all know our beloved wwx has the survival instincts of a lemming so instead of you know, keeping his mouth shut for once in his life, he decides to mock and insult wen chao and his flunkies.

WC decides to take wwx on Evil Field Trip Part 2: Burial Mounds Edition and has wen zhuliu freaking drop-kick wwx into the cursed place

Oh, hello, Bad CGI, nice to see you again!

And here we have the Return of the Screams bc apparently wwx decided to keep the Screaming Sword of Resentment in his magic pouch??

Good thing he did, i guess?? Bc the Screams summon up some resentful energy that helps him survive the fall

We cut away a moment here to see our beloved wen sibs and we are sad bc they are locked up MOVING ON

Wwx is all alone in this awful place covered in dead things and lacking sunlight, THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF OUR PRECIOUS, LIVELY, SUNSHINE BOY

It’s terrible but we’re getting a piece of wangxian pie here (a tiny one)

So the Screams are still happening, and our wwx is collapsed on the ground not responding to any of them.

They’re all shouting “wei wuxian, wei wuxian” 

And still our precious sunshine boy lies there limp and exhausted

BUT SUDDENLY

AMIDST ALL THE SHOUTS

We hear a calm,soothing voice call “wei ying”

Wwx finally moves. He sits up and starts looking around for the source of that voice

BECAUSE THAT WAS LAN ZHAN’S VOICE

THAT WAS LAN ZHAN’S VOICE GENTLY CALLING “WEI YING” THREE TIMES

THREE!!! TIMES!!!!

And it’s so sad bc for a moment there wwx hears the voice and must think that lwj is there with him, there to rescue him!!

But he isn’t *cries* he’s not there and wwx just looks so lost and scared here *cries HARDER*

Instead of lwj, wwx finds the Screaming Sword of Resentment that legit says to him, “wwx, do you want revenge? Let’s be together.”

And, idk guys, swords that talk to you about revenge don’t seem like, the kind of swords you wanna be touching.

But wwx decides to become besties with it, i guess, and grabs it. 

The look of triumph on his face after he accepts the swords offer is really cool if you ignore how UTTERLY DISTRESSING the whole situation is

AND HERE’S THE SCENE WHERE LWJ MAKES THE MOST BADASS ENTRANCE.

YOU THOUGHT THE THING WITH THE ROOFTOP BACK IN "THE ONE WITH THE ICONIC REUNION” WAS COOL?? THIS ONE TOPS IT.

To set the scene: we’re at Qishan where Evil Summer School took place and a bunch of wen flunkies are getting drunk and bragging about their evil deeds bc why not

And then we get a shot of white shoes (boots?? Idk) slowly walking up the steps of the evil staircase

And then the camera gives us a shot at the top of the staircase and we see LWJ clad in all white in a bitchin’ new robe, slowly appear into view, rising a little more with each step he takes up the stairs and the wind is providing ambiance by swishing elegantly through his hair

As that is happening, we see the blue flash of power that shows up whenever lwj uses his guqin and it knocks the wen flunkies down on their backs BC FUCK YOU WEN FLUNKIES

We go back to lwj, and get a closer look at his face. His face is blank and hard as a stone, and he keeps going at this unhurried, unbothered pace

Bc he knows

HE KNOWS

He’s gonna get what he wants here and now, one way or another. And what he wants is information about wei ying.

CHILLS, GUYS, THIS SCENE GIVES ME CHILLS IN THE BEST WAY

THE MOST BADASS ENTRANCE IN THE SHOW

I LOVE IT SO MUCH

So after he guqin’s the wen flunkies down (and they start cowering) he towers over them all imperiously

Lwj: Kneel

(so commanding, his tone. I know at least some of you guys Felt Things at that)

(guys, I've been on ao3, I'VE SEEN YOUR TAGS, don’t try to deny it, you kinky bastards)

(It's okay, this is a no judgement zone, and lwj is looking hella sharp in his new outfit, I get it)

Lwj: where is wei ying

(so unyielding, so demanding, but not once does he raise his voice, what a BAMF)

The wen flunkie that lwj had been kinda choking with guqin magic raises his hand (lol, this isn’t a classroom pal)

Lwj: Speak.

And the wen flunkie informs him (and JC, who showed up at some point but whatev) that they dumped WWX in the Burial Mounds

Lwj, our precious darling lwj, we know he doesn’t have the most expressive of faces, right? But the way his face tilts ever so slightly downwards at the news, you can tell, you can tell, that he was hit with that sick, cold, sinking feeling in the stomach

Kneel. Where is Wei Ying. Speak. THAT'S ALL HE SAID IN THE WHOLE SCENE AND YET HE HAD EVERYONE CAPTIVATED (and Thirsty, in some cases, it's all good, it's all good)

After all that awesome, we are forced to watch wc and jj have a domestic spat of some sort AS IF WE’RE SUPPOSED TO CARE. WE’RE GONNA IGNORE IT BC FUCK THOSE GUYS

We’re back at Evil Summer School in Qishan, and we’ve got JC and LWJ doing that thing where they stare manfully at the mid-distance and talk about vaguely Feelings-related Stuff

WuJi starts playing in the background as JC tells LWJ about how WWX was supposed to meet up with him at Yiling and never showed up; i thought he went after you, he says, but maybe the wens really did dump him in the burial mounds

And the music freaking crescendos here bc some lan disciples show up with everyone’s swords but most importantly THEY HAVE SUIBIAN which they bring to lwj directly

Makes you wonder, huh. Why did they bring suibian to lwj when jc, wwx’s brother, was right there??

PROBS BC THE LAN DISCIPLES HAVE BEEN WITH LWJ AND JC THE WHOLE TIME AND REALIZED THAT LWJ IS IN LOVE WITH WWX BC WHY ELSE WOULD HE BE SEARCHING SO OBSESSIVELY

LWJ’s eyes widen just a fraction the minute he sees suibian

HIS SOULMATE’S SWORD

IT’S ALL HE HAS LEFT OF WEI YING RIGHT NOW

JUST LIKE BEFORE WHEN ALL HE HAD LEFT OF HIS HOME WAS BICHEN

STOP LEAVING LWJ WITH JUST SWORDS, LET HIM HAVE HIS LOVED ONES!!!

And god the way he GRIPS it with YEARNING.

All of his motions are still very sedate, but just the microexpressions we’re getting from him change the tone of the movements

Wang yibo - guys, idk much about any of the actors but this guy does a great job. Like, how does he make such emotional expressions when his actual face hardly moves??? WITCHCRAFT, I TELL YOU, WITCHCRAFT

Lwj tries to unsheathe the sword but here we find the Suibian has sealed itself (bc he’s a loyal sword; he aint cheating on his master with no one!)

Lwj: wei ying, where are you

Such quality Lwj Yearning™

And then we get interrupted by Plot Things again, ugh

Blah blah we’re at qinghe blah blah we meet jzx's asshole cousin and hate him blah blah

Lwj and JC show up at qinghe and interrupt jzx’s Disaster Het shenanigans (thank god)

Jiang sibs have a reunion while jzx and lwj stand awkwardly at the side

Lwj sees that display of Emotion and is like, nope, that is Too Much, i’m gonna distract myself by staring at this disembodied head hanging at the entrance

(he’s already in emotional turmoil bc his soulmate is missing, he cannot handle anything more than that!!)

Idk why by jzx decides to join him

Jzx: hey, that’s wwx’s sword! Did you…

Lwj: *Death Grips bichen AND suibian with Extra Yearning™*  

Lwj: evil summer school has been burned

SUBTLE CHANGE OF TOPIC THERE, LWJ

Also, c’mon jzx, LWJ IS NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT OR ACKNOWLEDGE ANY MORE FEELINGS RIGHT NOW OKAY

Jzx goes off to talk about something unimportant and lwj is like phew, dodged a bullet there

Except, JUST KIDDING

Jzx: soooo, where’s wwx? I need to return his sister to him

Lwj: *stoically silent*

Lwj: *refuses to look at jzx*

Lwj: *gives off major I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT vibes*

Jzx: *doesn’t take a hint*

Jzx: yeah, so where is he??

READ THE ROOM, JZX

Idiots, we’re surrounded by emotionally incompetent idiots

Lwj doesn’t react until he hears jyl softly gasp when jc updates her and even then, it’s only to just briefly glance in her general direction

OUR BOY IS HURTING, POOR LWJ

And now we’re back to Plot Things

Blah blah battle strategy blah blah nmj looks imposing blah blah baxia does a thing blah blah

Jzx: yeah, so we’re doing great, we just gotta take back gusu and yiling now

Lwj: I volunteer AS TRIBUTE for the mission in Yiling

Jc: dude, SAME, plz red blade master, let us go there

Nmj: uh, idk guys, that’s right next to the wen’s stronghold…

Lwj; red blade master…

Nmj: yeah, okay, fine

Wow, capitulated pretty easily there, pal. Thought you were supposed to be a tough guy, nmj…

We get a jiang sib moment

With soup, ofc

Ooooh, now we get to watch jj have a mental break AND IT’S GLORIOUS

Disembodied eyeballs!! How fun!

And that’s the end of that episode!!

Oh god, i’m so glad we finally got some wangxiantics. Like, not a lot of them, and they didn’t share screentime BUT THEY WERE STILL VERY EMOTIONAL WANGXIANTICS

THEY MISS EACH OTHER SO MUCH *SOBS*

Return to Masterpost

#WangXiantics #wangxian #the untamed #cql

[pyrokinesis]

So I lost the patience and watched Kizuna

! Major spoilers ahead !

Listen, I know I said I will wait until the Blu-Ray comes out, but I was impatient little bitch and I found a working Sample 3 link with English dub, so I said, fuck it! My brother joined me 20 minutes in, lol. Anyways, onto the movie.

I don't really know what to say, Digimon Last Evolution Kizuna was exactly what I expected from the movie of such name, a movie that promotes end of relationship between Digimons and their human partners.

I kinda didn't have my hope up, mostly because I rewatched Adventure & Adventure 02 last week and finally watched Tri, and the whole point of Digimon has always been, no matter what happens, Digimons and their humans will always stick and stay together, I think the quote goes "humans and Digimons forever" (?). I kinda was hyped up though, partly because of art style (it was much better than Tri, less dark and more symmetrical when it comes to faces and bodies, Tri was annoying at times with weird asymmetrical faces; also Yamato!!!! Yamato is so hot and pretty in Kizuna, wtf Toei leave this poor lesbian alone), partly because of Adventure 02 kids (my brother is so annoyed with me, but I'm a huge 02 fan, Wormmon is my baby and I can rewatch 02ep25 anytime, Stigmon's first appearance is fucking iconic).

Adventure 02 kids got much more screentime than I expected, especially Iori/Cody because he is sometimes really put aside. I love how they were staying in touch with Original Six/Eight through Yamato, and how Hikari and Takeru stayed part of their team (Tri lacked this so much, it was so weird to have Hikari and TK not knowing what happened to their friends when they were supposedly a new team/best friends). Also my baby Ken's hair (*le cries*), I miss his long hair. Both my brother and I expected Paildramon to appear near the end, but there were no DNA/Jogress evolutions besides Omegamon/Omnimon.

Yamato was so fucking hot it's unbelievable, he's become top Digi-destined to me, 2D character or not. He was so smart, so persistent, so consistent, so selfless, so cute, itty-bitty blind (those cute glasses that appeared on his face for a mili-moment during him being in uni classroom panel, all of my uwus gone), still has one of the best relationships with Gabumon (he plays harmonica for Gabumon, even after all these years, he keeps Gabumon by his side, and they both tried to find that bad-guy-turned-FBI-agent-guy sneakily, so so cute). Overall, Yamato is a emotionally much more main character than Taich is, probably because emotionally, Taichi was the main character of Tri.

Now onto our second main, Taichi. Honestly, technicall, both Yamato and Taichi are Kizuna's main guys, but emotionally, Yamato left much bigger impact. Taichi was the main character in the beginning, but as the story progressed, I could feel Yamato much better. Still, Taichi isn't left aside (like all other Original Eight kidz/people). He is a struggling university student who has no idea what to do with his life (my brother sorta compared him to me, LMAO). This is very consistent with Tri's Taichi, who is full of self dubts, abstract ideas of future, and melancholy when he thinks about his future self. Toei nicely showed it when they let us know Tai earns for his future by working part-time as a waiter (?) in an automat casino. He is kinda really down all the time when he starts realising he has to make huge choices about the future, even though he has no bloody idea or genuine thought what to do (also his porn stash, LMAO what was that Taichi, who even uses porn magazine after the age of 14).

Thinking back about it now, it's kinda underwhelming with how it actually, emotionally, focuses on the whole "Digimons have to leave their partners" philosophy. Like, it barely shows interactions between humans and Digimons (which Tri did at least, with I think all characters, so I would expect at least some focus on Yamato and Taichi). There were some interactions between Taichi and Agumon, and Yamato and Gabumon at the end, but it just felt uncomplete and unfullifying. Also whole concept is bullshit (did I mention it? Because if I didn't I will, because this whole thing really is). It all started with Tri, which felt like it was produced by random people who watched Adventure & 02 after fifteen years and decided to make their own spin on it, without actual respects for stories and characters Adventure & Adventure 02 were trying to make us feel and understand (though feelings of OOC-ness Tri had at the times were minimal in Kizuna, thank goodness for that).

Then, Kizuna continued it with the concept of "when Digi-destined grow up, their Digimon partners disappear because they are not on the same mental wavelengths anymore" which is the complete opposite of one of like three main Digimon philosophies, "Digimon and Digi-destined, together and forever"; like while I disliked 02 epilogue, it showed us that after all hardships, Digi-destined and their Digimons get their happy endings, together. Both my brother and I (we watched it together) groaned at the whole concept (along with predictive bullshit plot and plotholes).

While I understand the reason behind this (I read some spoilers on here afterwards, to broaden my post-Kizuna horizons), that humans/Digi-destined grow up, and Digimons kinda don't, it still makes me really dissatisfied. Tri showed us in flashes that, when given time spent with their and other humans, Digimons can grow and become mentally wise adults (cue to the cutest scene when Patamon closes his one eye because he understands the tension between Hikari and Takeru, as in, that they like each other and they might need some time "alone"), so Kizuna kinda fucked up all previous Adventure works by telling us everything is in vain, Digimons leave, their connection to humans they had will become meaningless and humans will have to move on. Bullshit plot(hole), but whatever.

The amount of screentime non-Taichi&Yamato characters can be underwhelming, especially if you don't read spoilers like I did. The movie starts with Takeru and Hikari as important as Yamato and Taichi, but as the movie progresses, they just fade in the background. Kinda happens to everyone else except Koushiro/Izzy, who kinda has a really leading role, considering how much screentime Taichi and Yamato have (I feel like wordcount apps will find Yamato&Taichi as my most used words in this rant review), and he is probably third most important role, until he undramatically disappears because of psycho main lady.

Now towards real ranting. I'll try to keep it short because I have no real emotions behind it and I feel some other rants might articulate it better. Anyways, the plot of the whole movie is so goddamn predictable. It starts so weirdly, with Taichi, Hikari and Takeru fighting Parrotmon (what the fuck was that even, btw???). Like, Parrotmon, again? It feels just very reused, and that feeling that doesn't leave even during the credits. Soundtrack—while nice, nostalgic, and very fitting—is also just reused Adventure 01 soundtrack, and it just brings kudos from my memory lane road nostalgia. Deja Vu is the feeling that sticks to your skin and bones, if you like me, watched Adventure 1-3 just before Kizuna, and understand how so many scenes are just reused wanna-be old seasons references.

From two older adults (I honestly thought there will be two goverment agents, again, and mentally groaned) sticking up into Digi-destineds' business like some omni-knows creature, same as agents from Tri, fucked up (female) main antagonist who pretends to be a good guy (lady?) for the sake of gathering intel and trust, who is a complete nutjob (full-time pyscho in Kizuna lady's case) because of the loss of her Digimon partner, to bullshit powered-up Digimon created from human coding (my brother pointed this one to me, and honestly, half of this movie is both Diaboromon movies rehashed/redone in 2020 shine), Omnimon fighting in some weird Digital World room powered-up creature (first Diaboromon movie straight up scene for scene), even that first scene with Parrotmon and this time completely unexplainable appearance of a Digimon in the real world, and Digi-destined having to fight it, and of course, bullshit new unexplained Digi-evolution with new (human???) mega forms of Agumon and Gabumon. All in all, it just feels very forced and all very already seen.

Now onto the less main, even less supporting characters. 02 teens are amazing, considering they have barely any lines and some little fighting moments. I love them, and I'm happy they got this, considering how they were blatantly forgotten in Tri, and how obviously nobody in the production of Tri even cared to hide that. Wormmon and Stigmon are my babies and I'm happy to see them have some screentime.

Original Six/Eight (excluding Taichi and Yamato) are kinda disappointing, though. I read some spoilers, so I knew Sora wouldn't appear much, but damn, even that was much compared to her actual screentime in Kizuna. She is almost as forgotten as 02 kids were in Tri. I get that she is shown to have moved on faster than other Original Eight kids, but still, they didn't even show her losing Piyomon (which did happen, and it was emotionally, overwhelming, in a fucked up sense when you realised Piyomon wasn't by her side). Jou, Mimi, Takeru, and Hikari were shown at the beginning of movie with so much potential screentime, but in the end they mostly were there for the dramatic cliffhangers (I didn't understand at the beginning what happened to Mimi and Jou, and I thought Hikari was murdered and that the FBI agent straight up shot Takeru), during that mini battle scene sometime in the Neverland, and of course, during the end credits. It was kinda really both overwhelming and underwhelming to see them during the credits when they could've had much more moments during the movie (I sorta had some hope because the movie is almost 2 hours long, and usually movies are like 20, 30 minutes long, but even during those one-episode-length movies there is more of main-supporting characters shown).

As mentioned, the ending is bullshit (my brother ended up crying and I had to put Adventure OST on to calm him down), Agumon and Gabumon dying is literally the most senseless thing ever since both Taichi and Yamato love their partners so much, and even among all the adulting and hassles in their lives, they try to make time for their Digimon partners (during their time in the restuarant, Yamato and Taichi literally talk how they don't have time for even their closest friends, hell Hikari even mentions Taichi should give their mother a visit, but Taichi still finds time for Agumon), so in the end both Taichi and Yamato were among the last people to lose their Digimons and I'm really disappointed in this concept, especially how they didn't show Gabumon and Agumon disappearing, Taichi and Yamato deserved explicit goodbyes.

Uh, I don't think I have anything much to add anymore. I read spoilers and some are pretty much novels from how much people put their thoughts in, this is just my ranting review, tbh. I dived into this hoping to get my heart mended from Tri (say what you want about Tri but it was too bad for six hour and half movies, especially general Adventure constistency-wise), but not with high expectations, having seen the trailer and having some spoilers read. All in all film wasn't too bad, but it wasn't too good, solid 6/10 rating from me, mostly for the animation and nostalgic soundtrack, but the whole plot was shit as fuck and the philoshophy behind it.

(Random, but I noticed straight people/shippers liked the movie better than gay people/shippers, is there any correlations between that)

ALL IN ALL, Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna wasn't the best nor the worst Digimon movie/work, but it probably isn't something I will rewatch or recommend anytime soon (also wtf were those humanoid mega forms, like W T F).

#Petra talks #Petra rants #digimon #digimon adventure #digimon last evolution kizuna spoiler #digimon last evolution kizuna #digimom spoilers #and ranting #too many mentions of taichi and yamato #tw swearing #taichi yagami #yamato ishida

[panharmonium]

@merlinobsessionist you understand me on a spiritual level

[putting the rest of this under a cut because it just ended up being me grumping at length about fandom trends - which, yes, i am well-aware is a silly endeavour in all cases, but sometimes you just gotta have your little grump regardless, you know, for health reasons. X)  and in this particular case the grumping is probably relevant/entertaining only to myself, and you, and one or two other people here, so, tucking it away to spare everyone’s dash :) ]

the other day i was exploring the mostly abandoned wasteland that is the merlin fandom on livejournal (since that’s my original fandom home and obviously i missed out on being involved in that particular niche of lj when merlin was active, so i was feeling nostalgic and kinda curious as to it had looked like) - i stumbled over a merlin fic-finders comm and looked up my boy william just for kicks, and surprisingly, a couple of the old requests sounded like maybe i WAS involved in the merlin fandom on livejournal back then and i just don’t remember it

i think i wrote this in a past life

this is an eleven year-old comment in a mostly defunct fandom community but i felt it in my BONES

oh, my dear commenter from 8 years ago, i WISH  XD

it made me laugh, and then it made me grumpy, because obviously there were very few suggestions offered in response to these asks - the fics just don’t exist, not in any numbers.

and like, the thing is, i don’t particularly care about the shipping side of things for the most part; i always lean towards gen and that’s mostly been it, for me; that’s always been my MO in every fandom i’ve ever participated in, but - look.  if i have to witness (*checks ao3*) 23,830 (twenty four thousand. twenty four THOUSAND!!!!) instances of merlin getting together with arthur hecking pendragon, over and over and over again, in every AU configuration under the sun, then you had better believe i am ready and willing to plead the case of the only person in the merlin-verse who did not think arthur pendragon deserved merlin’s entire life.  

and of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with arthur and merlin as an item, obviously (i mean, i can name a few things about it that don’t appeal to me personally, but that is not the same thing as a value judgment) and everybody should have fun with their own ships, always - but for me, personally, there is just...enough of that out there.  i have seen Enough.  it’s hard for me to even determine where the rest of the fandom is, under the ever-present spread of merlin/arthur content; a picture of merlin/arthur should literally be next to the dictionary entry for steamroller.

and of course, i knew it would be like this from the beginning, and i know complaining about the ubiquitousness of a particular ship in fandom is utterly silly, in the end, because it’s not like there’s anything wrong with something being ubiquitous - the whole point of fandom is to make what you love, and if that’s what everybody loves, well, hey, that’s just how it is!  that’s what people should be making - the stuff they love!  that’s what fandom is here for!  i only mutter to myself in the bubble of my own blog because the ubiquitousness makes it almost impossible for me to find what *i* love, because i don’t want to read about arthur/merlin in the first place, no matter who else appears in the fic, and also because my fave minor character, while he gets a pretty good amount of fannish screentime for someone who showed up in one episode, also suffers from the curse known as “virtually everything he features in is actually about merlin and arthur getting it on”

like - by the numbers, when you exclude merlin/arthur from will’s character tag, will retains less than 20% of his fics, some of which are already like...you know, he’s dead, or just mentioned, et cetera.  

and his poor ship tag...he and merlin have 136 fics in their tag, and at first you wanna look at that and be like - ‘hey, not bad, pal, that’s p. good for a rarepair!’  but in actuality, less than 20 of those fics are actually about him and merlin.  like...12% of his own ship tag actually belongs to him, and the rest is him being used as a plot device to get arthur and merlin together.

and i am sure that a lot of other side characters probably suffer from this, too, given the general fic distribution in this fandom, though the only person i’ve looked at for comparison purposes is freya, who is a (mostly) one-ep character like will.  she, despite that, doesn’t appear to get hit quite as hard - she seems to keep more of her fic for herself, which is nice (when i exclude merlin/arthur from the freya/merlin search, freya still retains about 65% of her fics, as opposed to will’s sad little 12%).  i’m glad for her, though - she of all people does not need to be losing fic to arthur; she has suffered enough. 

to put things in perspective, though - merlin and uther have more fics in their ship tag that earnestly focus on the tagged....hnhhmgnhn i can’t say it...relationship than merlin and will do - even filtering out every instance of dubcon/noncon.  

(and yes, i did in fact want to die when i had to actually click the merlin/uther tag on ao3 in order to check that factoid, thanks for asking.)

so, that said - i don’t generally read canon-era fic anyway, when i’m actively writing for a fandom, but since the merlin fandom sometimes feels like it consists solely of modern AU’s anyway, all i am trying to say is that it would be nice if i could pick up an AU including a character i enjoy without seeing him constantly reduced to:

merlin’s loser ex

merlin’s abusive ex (w h at)

merlin’s ex who’s kinda sorta tolerable-ish, maybe, if you squint, but just ultimately Not Right for merlin - holding merlin back, or being too overbearing, or too pushy, or Just Not Enough - or being someone who merlin stays with only bc he’s familiar and merlin’s settling for something safe and unrisky and stagnantly unfulfilling

the dude who merlin cheats on to be with arthur

the dude who cheats on merlin, bc the fic needed a reason to break up merlin and will so that white-knight!arthur could swoop in (cue me shouting ‘IN WHAT UNIVERSE DO YOU THINK WILL WOULD EVER - ’)

the dude merlin “makes mistakes with” when things with arthur aren’t going well

the friend-with-benefits who’s apparently chill with a casual arrangement, thus keeping himself conveniently out of the way of the oncoming merlin/arthur train

the friend-with-benefits who’s secretly NOT chill with a casual arrangement and who’s pining for merlin, except we all know that ain’t ever going anywhere because arthur exists, and in the meantime merlin only ever gets together with will to try and forget his problems

the friend-with-no-benefits who’s still pining for merlin (which situation, i might add, would be read completely differently if it were arthur in will’s shoes, because if that were the case then the audience would 100% be rooting for him)

the “best friend” whose only purpose in fic is to provide space for conversations/debriefs about merlin’s relationship/pre-relationship with arthur (like - i’m sorry, but there desperately needs to be some type of bechdel-esque test for will; e.g. do will and merlin have a conversation about something other than arthur pendragon?  if yes, u win, u may pass go, collect 20 dollars, congratulations)

the friend whose dislike of arthur always, ALWAYS ends up being framed as a mistake.  as will’s stubborn unwillingness to give arthur a chance, until at last will sees the light and succumbs to the irresistible beauty of merlin and arthur’s eternal love. -_-  there is vanishingly rare acknowledgement in fic of the fact that in the canon universe, all of the criticisms will makes about merlin and arthur’s relationship are not only accurate, but made in merlin’s best interests (and also, ultimately, proven right, by the end of the show - merlin tanks his whole damn life for a series of empty promises prophesying arthur pendragon’s future potential, and he gets NOTHING for his devotion.  merlin is more alone at the end of the show than he was at the beginning, when his only dream was to be loved and accepted by more than the two people who’d comprised his entire life up until that point.  and he spends at least half a decade in between the show’s hopeful beginning and its miserable end being told that he’s evil by the very person for whom he is expected to sacrifice his future.  

so what, exactly, makes will so wrong to be wary?  who among us wouldn’t be angry if we saw somebody we loved being forced to sacrifice themselves on an unforgiving altar like this?  

i don’t know the answer.  i’m not sure what it is that earns will his spot on the “destined to be shafted for arthur pendragon” list.  i don’t know if it’s an unconscious backlash to will’s refusal to hop on the arthur/merlin train, or if it’s just a superficial understanding/lack of genuine interest in his character, which, in that case, sure, i’ll give people that one, in all fairness; not everyone has spent a year picking his character apart (though i still don’t think it justifies tossing him in there just because the fic needs a random insert who can be positioned as inferior to arthur’s gloriousness).  either way, the end result is that we usually end up seeing a will who has very little in common with his source material, or who needs to ultimately step aside to make way for arthur - arthur, who never displays the same level of care toward merlin in canon that merlin shows toward him, and who actively oppresses merlin’s people for the entire duration of their relationship.  

like...it’s all just fic, obviously, and we can make characters as OOC as we want; have fun; go wild.  but at the same time, it’s impossible for me not to balk at how arthur in some of this fic is just - utterly unrecognizable.  in comparison with fic!will, arthur is the most Solicitous, Gentle, Understanding, Deeply Concerned, Invested-In-Merlin’s-Welfare-and-Inner-Thoughts creature you ever did see, and I’m just over here like - it is not like that!  it is NOT LIKE THAT!  IT HAS LITERALLY NEVER BEEN LIKE THAT.  arthur pendragon in fic sometimes interacts with merlin like - he tilts his head and listens like a therapist and affirms absolutely everything merlin says and tells him ‘gosh, i understand. tell me more. how can i help you’ - he goes about his day thinking about merlin and putting merlin first and i just - i literally have never seen this person before in my life.  who is this man?  who is this unbelievably attentive paragon of caring?  i’ve never met him before.

the entire running problem with merlin and arthur’s friendship in canon is that arthur, while he absolutely does care about merlin, tends to take merlin for granted.  merlin is just another feature of arthur’s landscape, until something dramatic happens and arthur has a little scare and saves merlin’s life, and then things go back to the way they were.  arthur doesn’t See merlin the way he should, not in the ordinary moments.  merlin goes home and spends his evenings thinking about arthur’s life; he ties himself in knots trying to help arthur develop as a person and to keep arthur safe and happy, but arthur just goes home and eats supper with his wife.  arthur does not go home and spend his nights agonizing over how he can improve merlin’s life.  he never once thinks, ‘my purpose on this earth is to serve and support my friend merlin.’  he never feels like he’s supposed to be half of some two-sided coin.  i know people like to give arthur this quality in their fic - and that’s totally fine, of course, it’s fic, have as much fun as you want - but in canon, that is just not something arthur pendragon does.  it’s not who he is shown to be.  

and yet almost every time when i go to explore fandom, i find that the person who does put merlin first in canon is perpetually elbowed aside for this extremely generous interpretation of everyone’s favorite prince.  

and i just...i always try to find the good bits in everything, and i am sometimes willing to overlook a ship i don’t personally enjoy if there’s something else about the piece that i think is great, but there’s only so many times i can read the sentence “merlin had never felt like this with anyone, not even will” in fics where merlin and will are supposed to have been dating or even married/engaged, or “will was merlin’s best friend, but he just didn’t understand” (not like arthur, of course, who merlin literally just met a week ago), or “will was great, but there was only so much of him merlin could stand in one sitting/will was great, but he was best enjoyed in small doses.”  there’s only so many times i can read a hundred different variations of that before i start to get real grumpy.  and that’s not even touching the fics where will’s portrayed less favorably than that, even.  

so, you know.  i feel grumbly about it sometimes, how this particular character is trapped in a perpetual net of always being less-than, when one of the nicest parts of fandom for me is that every character/ship can have an infinitude of possibilities, even the ones i personally think are unbelievably bizarre (which category merlin and will do not even fall into, like - it’s not an incredible leap.  merlin/mordred is a leap, okay; mordred is like seventeen years old!  leon/morgana is a leap - how on earth did that become so popular??? - but will and merlin?  that’s not a leap.)

what is it about will that makes him so tempting to trample over?  will’s only sin in canon was to look at arthur pendragon and pronounce himself utterly unimpressed.  his only crime was to tell merlin ‘this dude isn’t good for you,’ about which fact he was CORRECT, by the way - he is the first person who ever chooses to care about merlin, the first person merlin ever chooses to trust, the first friend who loves real!merlin without needing to be coaxed and convinced and taught that it’s okay.  he is the only one who ever tells merlin ‘you deserve better than this mess,’ the only one for whom merlin has always been priority number one and in whose eyes arthur isn’t even on the map.  merlin’s friendship with will (and lancelot, afterwards) is the healthiest one merlin ever gets to experience, and i wish more fannish material acknowledged it as such, as opposed to using will to set up merlin and arthur’s epic romance.  

all of this, i suppose, is just a very long way of saying that now that i am no longer avoiding spoilers and have actually started testing the waters of the wider fandom, i have come to the obstinate, utterly inflexible conclusion that will deserves his own collection of happy endings, and i don’t care if i have to write them myself.  i’ve already got the gen angle covered.  and even though i’ve never written ship!fic in my life, the fact of the matter is that spite can be a hell of a motivator, and i will bite the bullet and learn how to do it if i have to.  if people can really be out here tagging their merlin/uther fics as “schmoop” (YES. REALLY.) then by GOD, i swear, there are no excuses - this fandom can accommodate literally anything; there’s no reason it can’t accommodate stories where will wins.  let this kid have his good ending.  arthur pendragon can fall in love with merlin 23,830 times despite his and merlin’s ship flying in the face of canon, and that means will deserves his own tiny handful of stories to be actually about him, without his and merlin’s relationship being used solely as a stepping stone on the way to merlin and arthur’s 23,831st triumph.

i am just saying - if uther pendragon can fall in love with merlin and have it tagged as ‘fluff,’ then for the love of all that is good, we can give will his moment.  let will enjoy the respect he should have earned from us when he died saving both merlin and arthur’s lives.  let will be a person in his own right, instead of a plot device sacrificed to the (in)glorious altar of merthur.  let will have an inner life of his own.  let will have a best friend who doesn’t treat him like an accessory to The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.  let will himself live out The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, for once.  let will get his guy.  i may tend to focus on friendship in my own work, but there are a lot of universes out there, and when it comes to someone who has always been so alone, and so singularly focused on merlin’s wellbeing, i’m not entirely sure if friendship even feels anything different to “in love” for will at all, in at least some of these places.

let will have his happy tags.  he’s been on his own for so much of his life - let him have his simple ‘friendship’, his ‘platonic love,’ his ‘found family.’  let him have his lovestruck ‘pining,’ ‘friends-to-lovers,’ ‘angst with a happy ending,’ too, and let him keep those tags for himself.  let characters who aren’t arthur pendragon have their love stories.

i may not care much for shipping, and i would rather read gen any day of the week, but let me tell you right now, i would rather write will and merlin settling down in a haze of domestic bliss 23,830 times before i would ever want to watch merlin ditch him yet again for a dude who never matched merlin’s level of caring and investment in the canon ‘verse.

#the once and future slowburn #no kings no masters #fandom #thank you for coming to the extended version of my ted talk #ultimately i know it's silly to be so invested #in something this small #and i constantly struggle with feeling...bizarrely self-conscious about like - even writing things like this because #it's so inconsequential and then i feel silly for being so interested #and using so many words for such a little thing #you know like when you're young and you get embarrassed about being so passionate about some niche interest #i feel like someone is looking at me and being like 'BOY THAT GIRL IS STUPID' #(why you ask???) #(i don't know; it's ridiculous!) #but then there's like another voice in my head yelling 'THAT IS LITERALLY WHAT FANDOM IS FOR' #'fanatic domain' #you're SUPPOSED to be fanatically obsessed about something; that is literally the point #people devote whole blogs to their tiny niche interests and their favorite pairings and they post incessantly about one thing #and i never think that's weird #that's just fandom #so i just have to like - chill out about myself lol #i am allowed to make innumerable posts about something only i care about #and i am allowed to be as passionate about tiny niche things as i want #that is literally the purpose of fandom and i just have to keep reminding myself of that #i have no trouble remembering it when it comes to other people's interests #but i always get self-conscious about my own #ANYWAY I'M WORKING ON IT #but in the meantime i'm having fun #which is the entire point of being a fan so #all is well #:D

[mrandmrskarev]

(another anon) I understand your desire to stay positive and sincerely hope you're right and 2020 will be better for Jolex because I also thought last year sucked. But I personally prefer reading your honest opinions where you also say what you didn't like because I can't relate much when people are only praising the show which most of the fandom seems to be doing. I like reading posts where people openly say what they like and don't like and I miss seeing them in the tags :(

I love being honest with you all and you're right about this, I never shared with you all my personal opinions, soo what I didn't like in season 16a is :

1) The lack of Alex's screentime and a storyline for him.

I can't believe they ignored him...I thought with Parc North he would've had a good storyline but nope. They just put him there and that's it. I really can't accept it. Why writers have to give, for example, to Owen, Link (+Amelia), Maggie,Webber, Catherine and family and others more screentime and storylines than him??? He's an OG and he's the best character on the show and HE DESERVES RESPECT. Justin too. They kept putting him in other characters' storylines when in my opinion HE SHOULD HAVE HIS OWN STORYLINE AND SCREENTIME. Plus this Parc North storyline (it's not a real storyline btw)....when they are going to put an end to this stupid thing? LET HIM BE BACK AT GREY SLOAN AND HE NEEDS TO SHINE HE'S BORN TO SHINE AND I WANNA SEE ALEX BEING THE SWEET PED SURGEON HE WAS AND I WANT TO SEE HIM WITH BABIES AND KIDS.

2) The SUUUUPER lack of Jolex's screentime.

Compared to s15a, we got nothing in s16a. I honestly HOPED that after Jo's storyline last season, things would've changed for them, like, deep conversations, MORE conversations, more scenes, more screentime, A NEW STORYLINE for both of them. What we had? a couple of scenes that lasted 2 seconds and that's it. They didn't ignore Alex, they ignored Jolex too. All the other couples on the show had good scenes compared to Jolex... I know writers have their faves but PLEASE TRY TO GIVE THE SAME SCREENTIME TO EVERYONE.I was sooo excited, I expected a storyline in mid s16a but nothing... do we have a storyline now where Alex is included too? WE DON'T KNOW... We don't know if we have a stoyline too because we have no idea of what will happen, also because Alex wasn't in the mid season finale... I mean, okay, he couldn't be there with Jo because of the stupid cliffhanger, but please SHOW US WHERE ALEX IS. Plus we don't have an opening and ending scene anymore....

3) I'm happy with Jo's storyline for now, I LOVED 16x05 and I wish we have more episodes like that one and like 15x19. But for example, in ep03, her first surgery as attending surgeon, why we didn't see an ending scene with Jo and the patient? AND an ending scene of Jo and Alex (maybe Jo telling Alex about the surgery, he being the proudest hubby ever, cute, sweet, scene etc..)... they do it for other couple, why they don't give these scenes to Jolex too?

Plus there are enough characters on the show, we don't need to bring other characters who steal MY LOVES' screentime. (sorry not sorry, lol)

However I'm super excited for Greys to come back and really hope 2020 will bring us good things, what I would like to see and what I think will happen :

1) Alex comes back at Grey Sloan as ped surgeon and HOPE as chief of ped.

2) Jo gets pregnant by the end of the season.

3) Someone from Alex's familly will visit Jo and Alex.

4) Jo keeps being A BADASS surgeon.

5) Alex and Jo work together again (I miss them)

6) More Jolex screentime. YES.

I didn't include the adoption storyline because I don't know what might happen and mybe they don't adopt that baby and someone else will... I think that storyline was introduced for the topic of Safe Haven Law, hope I'm wrong and that baby is a jolex baby...

#long answer sorry #anonymous #ask #asked #answered