#All canon love interests I run into seem to be practically perfect

[selfshipping-haven]

People who can't even look up art of their f/os without being jumpscared with ten million pieces of a canon x canon ship deserve financial compensation

[narcjsistx]

𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐇𝐂𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 | sae, shidou, rin (part two)

𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ; take a look, trust me!

— sae itoshi

✶ Sae seems like someone who actually likes to wear bracelets, rings or necklaces, but can't wear them often due to the matchs he plays, where he would risk breaking them. going back to the basic concept, his gifts would probably be matching jewelry, especially rings... so, in case you were someone who wears them and rarely takes them off, he would try to do the same thing. during matches he would hang the ring on a string that he would put in his pocket or around his neck, kissing it before starting the match or squeezing it after scoring a goal

✶ I don't know exactly why, but beyond the canonical fetish for the ass, I see him as someone who would aim to have a partner with well groomed hands, like nails with polish, smooth and without calluses. he's not a big fan of PDA, the only thing he would do is hold your hand and occasionally leave a prying kiss on the back. in private he is certainly more open, and one thing he loves is massaging his partner's hand; it's a gesture he now makes almost unconsciously

✶ Sae didn't have instagram until he met you, you practically forced him to create an account! he resisted his manager telling him to do the same for a long time, but for you it was only enough once. he just put a profile photo, you had to do it for him the bio and some highlights, about past or future matches. a few days later you opened instagram and noticed that his account had a highlights that you hadn't created, entitled "her": you opened it and there were some photos of you, the ones that Sae considered most important (even if he loves them all). needless to say, your heart was about to explode

what would he post on socials ↓

✶ as a child he may have thought about it a bit, but after joining ReAl he didn't have the time to think about it again. he wouldn't mind having a family sooner or later, but probably after winning the U-20 world cup. two children would be fine, possibly a boy and a girl. he just knows that in some way his children would remind him of him and Rin as lil kids

✶ jealosy level: 5/10

✶ flirtiness level: 7/10 (let's specify, ABSOLUTELY NOT in public, but in private maybe he would indulge in some jokes)

✶ pet names: "amor" / "y/n" / "pretty"

—————————————

— ryusei shidou

✶ even if it doesn't seem like it, Shidou is relatively a normal person as a boyfriend... is there a concept of personal space? not that, but otherwise it's normal. the only "flaw" he may have is that he must CONSTANTLY have his hand touching you when you're together, whether it's a hand on your thigh or an arm around your shoulders: he simply needs to feel you. PDA is no big deal for him: he want to kiss you in front of everyone? he will do it, whatever the cost. if you say he can kiss you after winning a game and it's live nationally, why can't he do it in front of his group of homies?

✶ Shidou seems like someone actually very deep, or at least that seems to be described in some parts of his character sheet. Late night chats are literally the level of mental intimacy he hopes to achieve with his partner... he's someone who doesn't sleep much, so he has a lot of energy and hardly gets tired even after hours of talking. You and him tightly hugging on his bed, lights off and just everything that goes through your head... doesn't everything seem perfect?

✶ you know very well that every time he has a match he makes comments that, let's say, put him in a "bad light", or in any case make him seem less interested in you. before being with you he didn't mind saying things like that on the field, and more or less the same thing has remained since you got together as a couple... BUT THERE IS A BUT! every time, once the game is over and above all won, he makes sure to run to you before even celebrating with his teammates: whether you are in the VIP area or not, he will come to you to kiss you with all the passion he has. let's say he uses his method to reconfirm to the people that he is happily taken

what would he post on socials ↓

✶ GET MARRIED AND HAVE MANY CHILDREN AS POSSIBLE? YEAAAAH. no okay maybe not like that, but on the issue of children he doesn't lie... certainly with the career as a striker he has, he has no problems with money, and therefore with maintaining kids. let's say that for marriage it's different... he doesn't find any sense in it, in reality, he only sees it as something superficial: if he loves you and you know it, why have such a ceremony?. so let's say it's 50/50: he would do it if you asked him but at the same time he wouldn't mind not being married

✶ jealosy level: 1/10 (he trusts you too much to even think about it)

✶ flirtiness level: 10/10

✶ pet names: "doll" / "darling" / "love"

—————————————

— rin itoshi

✶ Rin hides under his serious and calculating gaze a boy who simply needs to vent after everything that happened with his older brother. Before being together as a couple he would never have expected to be able to cry in front of someone, but with you it was all quite natural: it took months and a lot of patience to show him that you really cared about him and that you wanted him to feel comfortable with you, but in the end he let himself go and was finally able to tell someone what not even he himself could explain. he'll never admit it but he believes that was the moment he realized how important you really were to him, and how much he simply wanted someone who could understand him

✶ He has a sort of fetish for seeing you in his clothes: it doesn't matter if the clothes are tight, big or the right size, just seeing you in that black sweatshirt of his or in his PxG uniform is enough to send him into crisis. he can't even explain to you why he likes it so much, but the fact that you're wearing something that smells like him is definitely a valid reason. you once surprised him by showing up at one of his matches wearing a jacket with "rin" written on the back, and we can say that he appreciated it to the point of having to prove it to you in some way: that time the match ended 9-0, goal all marked by him

✶ He may be one of the best if not the best, but after finishing the practice he simply needs to rest with you next to him, even more so if the coach was more unpleasant than usual or he simply did a lot of things wrong due to distraction (which is impossible considering it's Rin). Whether on the couch after cleaning himself or in the shower, while you rub shampoo into his hair it doesn't matter, he just needs to feel your presence

what would he post on socials ↓

✶ as a child he often saw other children playing at being married, but he was never actually interested, also because on the one hand it disgusted him to think of having to be tied to a person forever and kiss them on the mouth. as he's grown up he's changed his opinion, he's definitely the marriageable type and he'd actually like to get married as soon as possible: what's the point in leaving you legally free if you've stolen his heart?. let's say that he has a fairly positive opinion about children, he just knows that they arrive after a certain amount of time after marriage: he would like to have two girls... growing up as one of two brothers, both boys, he knows how boys are more problematic than girls

✶ jealosy level: 6/10

✶ flirtiness level: 3/10

✶ pet names: "y/n" / "love"

[aithusarosekiller]

Why Jegulus would actually work with their (barely existent) canon personalities:

This isn't a place for a debate so literally don't bother, I'm just trying to articulate to appeal to the 'iT maKEs No seNsE' crowd because while I don't care about canon, some Jegulus haters don't respect you unless you worship it so

-

First: James' benefit from it-

To begin with, you have the superiority complex. As much as fans (and Sirius) like to say that Sirius immediately saw through his parents' beliefs when he was born and was a perfect activist from infancy, this is not true. First of all it's highly improbable and much more likely that he told that sort of tale that in order to convince himself and Harry that he was always good, but he isn't and we see that. He is progressive but he still treats Kreacher incredibly poorly, he uses oppressed creatures as jokes and sees no issue with it (yeah, canon-worshippers, sorry but in PoA there is no remorse for the prank, he laughs about it proudly) so he would have had to grow out of most of the behaviours he did have when he was sorted. He would carry some leftover beliefs from his family that James and the others had to help him unlearn. He would be willing to of course but it was still work. Why on earth would James not have reason to think 'I can do it again! They were raised in the same house they're practically the same.' Sirius had described his brother as weak and idiotic so James sees it as an easy win for his ego and the worth of his name, maybe even in Lily’s eyes.

And even when he falls in love and realises he may not be able to change them? Canonically? James wouldn't care. Not before he was 17 at least. He only ever relies on equality when it matters to him. They bully for no reason but target Snape a lot anyway, they already hate him when James sees the opportunity to stand up for Lily, speaking over her wishes instead of with her. He seems more intent on humiliating Snape and making a scene than actually fixing any issues. He's never truly evil but he's not a perfect virtuous angel. So him staying with someone who's morals are compromised wouldn't feel evil to him, he still thinks he's great and perfect, he just loves people who aren't. Let teenage James be morally grey, it's all he ever has been. It would give a pretty cool exploration of his growing maturity in the later school years. There's no real explanation for it apart from 'well it worked for him getting Lily' (which I hate, he nastily jokes about dating her infront of a crowd in exchange for not physically assaulting her friend and then she marries him? Give them more fucking depth than that, it reminds me of too many creeps I know) so it would be kind of cool to explore what could have set him off down the path of becoming a better person. Maybe age or outside pressure but I like the idea of him having a personal relationship that helped him to grow. He's with someone he can never be open to the public with and it's eating away at him because technically he should call it off but he doesn't bloody want to. When it ends, it's all too much and he chooses to flip his life over. He realises how Lily must have felt having Severus turn around on her and force her to leave him; he looks at the war and social climate with more integrity. He begins to change for the better in response to this upheaval of his life and his heartbreak. Also regulus gave him that snitch he was playing with and nobody can convince me he didn't.

Now for Regulus:

The betrayal is the obvious one, he'd always been tentative and naive according to Sirius. Sirius is under the impression he would've just tried to run when it got scary and we can assume he just misjudged him but wouldn't it be interesting if somebody was there to help him embrace his courageous, reckless side? If James sat there whispering words of victory and bravery to him, planting the seeds for his later rebellion? It could also have begun to place seeds of doubt in his mind surrounding the death eaters, even if they did not come to fruition until later. Even if you think he only changed due to Kreacher being hurt, the disproportionate response of sacrificing his entire life over it in some grand display of power is SO JAMES of him.

Then there's the opportunity to explore him on a more personal level. Who is he outside of his family? Was the locket the only secret betrayal or were there more? How does this impact his relationship with Sirius, regardless of him knowing of it or not? It adds even more layers to the meaning of his name and it helps to explore his own doubts before they are ever apparent to his family. James would likely not feel a sense of betrayal in not telling Sirius due to his ego and the fact that British teen boys are just like that™️ with their friend groups. But would Regulus? He would likely feel guilt anyway, but towards his brother? Did he still see him as a family member, as someone worth telling things to, as someone James belonged to? Well never know the canonical answers to this and that's why it's so FUN to explore. The layers to the secrecy and hope in their relationship is amazing.

What are his lingering feelings like after it ended? Hatred, regret, jealousy? And for James- guilt, sorrow, crushed hope?

The timelines add up too- the mark, James growing more mature, the snitch and the bullying of Snape.

And if your argument is 'they're not gay' tell me what makes you think that. Their personality? There isn't one 'way' to be gay. Prejudices? You think gay people are born holding a rainbow flag and chanting peace and love? So may gay ppl are vile to other marginalised groups. James married a woman? Bi people exist.

You don't have to like it, but don't say it makes no sense becuase it can and neither do half of your hcs about wolfstar and the prank and James' sunshine personality and how perfect jily were

[franciswasteland]

TECH!LEO VALDEZ X THEATER KID!READER

MASTERLIST

Summary: You land the role of Veronica Sawyer in a musical your high school is putting on, and your tech boyfriend tries to be supportive and reassure you when you need it.

Warnings: Highschool!au, Mortal!au,already dating fic, Beware spelling errors, im lowkey dyslexic. I DONT KNOW HOW TO END FICS….

Authors Notes: HIII GUYS IM ACTUALLY REALLY EXCITED TO WRITE THIS I LOVE LEO SO MUCH. ALSO THIS IS PARTLY FOR SOME DISCORD FRIENDS !! Possibly not canon written Leo 😭🙏

You were in the drama/theater club at your high school, often appearing as the leading or supporting roles in musicals your school would put on in the auditorium. It was amazing, both fun and something you were good at! But what made it even better was one of the tech kids, Leo Valdez—Who was your boyfriend!

A few weeks ago, you scored one of the lead roles—Veronica Sawyer—in a musical your school was putting on called ‘Heathers’. But, there was a rather… intimate scene with another character, Veronica’s love interest, in the show during the song ‘Dead Girl Walking’, and Leo tried to tolerate it and support you the best he could, but it was getting a little unbearable for him.

“Baby…” Leo whined as you ranted to him about your role in the musical, even though you should have been practicing your lines. “Shouldn’t you be, uh, practicing or something?” He didn't want to send you away like that, but he could go on hearing you talk about that scene.

“Sorry, sorry, you’re right. I’ll go practice my lines. Thanks for the reminder. Love you, bye!” You say apologetically, kissing his cheek quickly (If any teacher or adult at the school saw you do that you’d probably get detention.) and running out from backstage where you were talking to Leo as he worked on… Whatever he does.

It was a few hours from the first showing of the show as your high school was doing a morning and afternoon show. You were backstage getting ready, changing into costume, and makeup, making sure you had your lines completely memorized and you could hit each note in the songs—Which you could. Expect you couldn’t help but be a bit worried about this. Sure, you had played so many roles before throughout the years you’ve been in high school, but you were worried about little things, a lot of little things which slowly added up to become one big thing for you to worry about—Making sure you’d sing the school appropriate version of the lyrics, making sure you wouldn’t blank on stage (How embarrassing would that be?!), making sure you were perfect.

Then you got an idea.

There was one person that you knew for sure thought you were perfect. Your boyfriend, Leo! Of course, you’d be able to get reassurance from him! So naturally you ran—Not too fast though, you couldn’t ruin your costume—off from where you were sat to find him.

It didn’t take you long to find Leo, he was exactly where you had expected him to be after all. “Leo!” You called out as you walked up to him, placing one of your hands on his arm so he would turn around to face you. And he in fact did turn around and face you like you had suspected he would.

“What is it?” He asked, sounding confused. He thought you would be getting ready for the musical, not running up to him for a chat. “Did ya miss me that bad you had to stop getting ready to come find me?” He added with a short chuckle, gaining a smile.

“Nono,—Well yes, but that’s not why I came to find you.” You replied, worry practically seeping through your words the more you spoke. Leo noticed almost immediately.

Your hand was still on his arm, Leo put his hand on top of yours. “Wow, I’m hurt.” He teased. “Well then, what is it? Whatcha need?” That was one of the things you loved about Leo; he always seemed to know when you were worried or upset about something, even if he didn’t know how to comfort you.

“I dunno, I guess I’m just nervous about this. I’m scared of messing up on stage.” You admit to him, and Leo seems to immediately understand what you mean. “Oh, don’t worry about it. You’ll do great, trust me.”

Then, when you were finally getting that reassurance from your boyfriend, it was about roughly 15-to-20 minutes until curtain—Until you would be on stage. Oh, brother.

You were feeling a little more better as you rushed back to the backstage area of the auditorium, Leo’s words ringing in your ears. The backstage was suddenly not as easy to navigate as it was before you ran off to find your boyfriend. People—Either in the show themselves or apart of tech like Leo—Were running around, trying to make sure the preparations were all set and everything was ready for the first showing of the musical.

Then you got told by one of the tech team members to get in your place on stage.

After about 2 and a half hours, the morning show of your high schools performance of ‘Heathers The Musical’ was over. You bowed before the audience, sweating, your throat sore and hurting from singing for almost 2 hours straight. At this point, all you could think of was the bottle of water that was waiting for you by your bag backstage.

As soon as the curtain closed, you ran off stage to where you had set your bag in desire of the bottle of water you had gotten before hand. And there it was waiting for you, along with Leo, your boyfriend.

“See? What did I tell you? You did amazing, just like I said you would.” Leo said, wrapping one of his arms around you, seemingly not minding the fact that you were practically covered in sweat.

“Yeah yeah, I know,” You groan in reply. “Just lemme grab my water before you start praising me.” You let out a dry laugh, —Dry to the fact that your throat was now killing you. You reached out your hand for your bottle of water, but Leo grabbed it before you could. You thought he would hold on to it tightly and reach his hand up high, making you reach even farther for it, but he didn’t. Instead, he opened it for you and handed it to you, seemingly recognizing how tired you were after performances.

“You look tired,” Leo mused, knowing exactly where this was going to go. After most shows and performances, you would be tired and feel miserable. So miserable and tired that you would just crash in his arms. “Come here..” He said, opening his arms for you to fall into. You quickly leaned your whole body against him, leaning into his arms.

“Thank you,”

[anoant-haikyuu-dump]

do u have any headcanons or other thoughts on teshiro? narratively i understand why he gets very few moments to shine but i also think his character could be SOOO interesting to expand on, like what is it like to inherit the role of "the Brains of Nekoma" after kenma graduates? or how does he get along with the others in his year? after the timeskip he's a cram school instructor so i like to imagine in high school he ended up tutoring a lot of the others before exams and things. and he and inuoka both became educators!! i bet they like to swap stories at team reunions lol

Teshiro can be tricky since he has so little screen time but i've got a few thoughts on him!

• At first I think he'd struggle to connect with the other first-years on the team, especially Lev and Inuoka since they're so energetic and can be a lot to handle. I can see him sorta clinging to Kai for the first few weeks since they both have calmer personalities. But after spending more time on the bench with Inuoka and Shibayama I think he'd warm up to them, mostly thanks to Shibayama getting him involved with cheering (said this in a previous post, I see Shibayama as the team cheerleader). Lev would come a bit later, maybe they bond over their weirdly grey hair lmao • First off this panel is just funny. He's so deadpan I love him for that. Second, I think it shows that Teshiro isn't really a think-on-the-fly kinda guy. He's level-headed but seems more comfortable planning stuff out rather than acting on impulse. Because of that I can see him carrying around a little notebook and writing stuff down a lot, maybe he plans strategies at night kind of like Sugawara. While on the bench he studies the spikers and how Kenma sets for them so he can adjust his own setting to each player.

• Because he's so straight-faced all the time Fukunaga has made it his mission to make him laugh. He's his own personal his boss level.

• Teshiro is the only reason Lev and Inuoka aren't failing right now. He tutors them before exams so they can go to practice camp and lets them borrow his notes since neither of them take any. He's got the most immaculate notes—perfect handwriting, color-coded, little diagrams and drawings, etc etc. Despite being in a different year Tora and Fukunaga go to him in desperation sometimes because they're dumbasses and he knows the second-year material better than them.

• I'm a believer in captain Teshiro for their third year, his level-headedness and smarts make him the perfect canidate. Inuoka is his vice captain, they balance each other out nicely— Teshiro is super organized and methodical so he keeps the team running smoothly while Inuoka's contagious sunshine attitude keeps the energy super fun and inviting.

•HE HAS CANON RESTING BITCH FACE THE POOR GUY, imagine him and Tora walking down the hallway together and everyone thinking that they're on their way to beat someone up. In reality they lost a coin flip and were sent to buy the team drinks.

• Love the idea of Teshiro and Inuoka bonding in timeskip over their education jobs, I can see Teshiro asking him for advice on how to better connect with the kids since he's great at teaching but struggles with the social aspects.

That's all i got for now, thanks for the ask anon! Teshiro's a funny little guy and it's fun to think about what he could be with more appearances

[nythtak]

Thought it'd be fun to do a little drabble soooo-

Cattonquick Oxford Days - the first cigarette

(This is based in the Maneater AU - unless I change my mind on details later - but can be read as in canon universe)

The lighter fails to catch the first couple of times Felix tries it. But after a final, despairing shake of the crappy thing, the flame sputters to life.

“Thank fuck,” he mumbles around the ciggie, and hurriedly brings the lighter up. April’s swung in with far too much chill, because fuck England, right? No spring for them, nooope. Just horrible grey rainy days, where even brief lulls like this evening are tarnished by cold winds.

He’s regretting not grabbing a jacket when he had chance to, and he eyes Oliver’s long-sleeves jealously. They’re on their way back from the pub, and it’s still early enough that most streetlights feel unnecessary. After a of couple hours there Felix realised he just wasn’t feeling it tonight, that stickiness of going through the motions and not enjoying himself like usual, where even a few pints couldn’t soften it up.

So when Oliver gave him a nudge, mentioned he has an essay he really needs to work on, Felix leapt at the chance to head out. He has his own pile of coursework to dive into before the Easter holidays start. Maybe speed through a chunk of it tonight, get that late night focus on, and then he can decide how much is usable tomorrow.

He’s glad he decided to stick it out at Oxford over the coming break. Originally it was more about keeping his word on staying at university all year, rather than nipping home every holiday - or even every other weekend, like some silly sods do. He went as far as to swear off a trip abroad this school year, fully committed to the uni life, which means no fluttering off to sunnier skies.

He aims a glower up at the dark clouds far above them. Curse thy existence.

“Felix?”

Felix’s head snaps down, and down, and he has to grin. Oliver is so short. Like, okay, so he’s not actually super-duper short. A bit below average, perhaps, and around the height of most girls. But he’s a lot shorter than Felix, which is what really matters.

It means he’s the perfect height - practically made for it - for Felix to sling an arm around his shoulders and drag him into his side. Oliver runs a bit cool, but he’s still a damn sight warmer than the nippy evening air.

“Yeah, mate?” Felix takes a pull from the ciggie, careful not to blow it all in Oliver’s face. Would be awfully rude. But that does get him thinking about how Oliver doesn’t smoke, and he frowns at him. “You know, I don’t think you ever said why you don’t smoke.”

Could it be something to do with his family? Cigarettes are a huge leap from heroin and meth and whatever else, but traumas can be multi-layered, can’t they? A full-on aversion to anything even related. But Oliver is clearly battling through it, going to the pub and clubs where alcohol abounds, not even flinching at all the casual drug use their group gets up to.

“Just not keen.” Oliver shrugs slightly, and it’s interesting to feel the motion of it under his arm. Makes him want to squeeze Oliver a bit. His hand slides down to cup Oliver’s bicep rather than hanging loosely, but he holds off on the full grabby. For now.

“So you’ve tried one before?”

Oliver hesitates, but shakes his head. He’s looking ahead rather than at Felix, and while he does have lovely thick hair, that isn’t quite the view Felix wants currently.

So he brings them to a stop, Oliver stumbling into him a bit and looking up questioningly. There it is. Christ, Oliver’s eyes seem to get bluer every time Felix catches a glimpse. Like, with each additional second he knows Oliver, he’s able to see more of him. Another droplet of paint on the colour palette, swirled in with patient brush strokes.

“If you’ve never tried it…” Felix puts the ciggie between his lips, just so he can flip his hand and pluck it out again. Holding it filter-first toward Oliver with an inviting smile. “How can you know you won’t like it?”

Now, Felix would never pressure anyone into doing something they don’t want to. That would be terrible manners. All he’s doing here is giving Oliver the chance to expand his horizons. Indulge in a little fun, like he’s clearly not had chance to- well, probably in his whole life.

Felix has been making up for that. He’s fully embraced showing Oliver the highlights of uni life, and it’s been an absolute blast so far. Letting Oliver have a go at smoking is just another part of that.

“I dunno, mate.” The corner of Oliver’s mouth ticks up as he looks from the ciggie to Felix. “They’re not great for your health, right?”

The little right? at the end softens what might’ve been an annoying admonishment, to something that makes Felix smirk. “All part of the appeal. If we only did what was healthy, we’d be a proper dull lot.” He raises his eyebrows and tips the cigarette closer to Oliver’s lips, his pinky finger grazing Oliver’s chin. “You’re not dull, are you, Ollie?”

He knows most of his friends think Oliver is boring. That he outlived any novelty within the first week; Felix’s unlikely saviour from a tutorial scolding, the scholarship boy with the funny accent. Farleigh has certainly made his opinion clear, his pissy attitude the real bore around here.

They just don’t get Oliver. None of them.

Nah, Felix is the only one who gets the real Ollie, the one Oliver trusts and opens up to. They’re already best mates, fitting together like two puzzle pieces. And the way Oliver looks at him - yeah, it can get a bit much at times, but it’s all part of Oliver’s charm, really. He’s completely genuine and clearly thinks the world of Felix, so obviously he can’t filter that intensity down. Felix would never ask him to. He accepts Oliver exactly as he is.

Oliver takes the cigarette, pinched between his thumb and forefinger as he eyes it like it might bite him. Or give him lung cancer.

Felix would give him a drumroll if he could. He settles for an encouraging shake and cheering, “Go oooooon, Oll-aaaaay!”

And Oliver does.

Not that there was ever any doubt. But it’s still satisfying in a warm, buzzy way to watch Oliver take a drag, lips pursed and the shadows on his cheeks deepening a little. Takes it like a pro, his Ollie, and it’s only once Oliver’s eyes close that Felix realises they’ve been locked in a staredown.

Then Oliver breathes out, and Felix is hit by a faceful of smoke.

The moment his coughing fit is done, he grabs a hastily apologising Oliver by the shoulder, snatches the ciggie back, and gets revenge.

[needlereads]

Curtis Everett Drabble

I love that we tend to put this man in manual labor, or physically taxing roles. The provider. The Physical Protector. And he can still serve those purposes as needed. But once in a while I chuckle thinking that this man has never worked a regular job a day in his canonical life, bar any part-time work he could have done before the ice took over (there didn't seem to be jobs in the tail end, as much as it obviously sucked). He can organize a revolution, but a schedule? A nine to five? Conference room meetings?? No, not his jam. I want to take that type of rough upbringing plus extremely limited options and put our man Curtis in an AU.

Harsh conditions and poverty would guide Curtis away from a hard life when the chance comes up.

And that chance comes up eventually with you. His fierce little wife. You're the breadwinner, and he gets to dote on you. He's at home, building a cozy nest for you both. His manhood isn't so fragile that he can't hand the reins over to you.

He's got the bubble bath ready, the wine or beer chilled, the fresh fruit all cut up. He's practical with your shared resources, your earnings, of course, he's not going to ever risk your comfort or safety to show off your shared wealth to anyone. He's lived through harsh times, and Curtis has had enough of scarcity, so he's found that perfect balance of indulgence versus smart financing for the future. He understands poverty, he's not about to subject either of you to that sort of suffering. He's going to manage your household with care, maximize the luxuries of modern society.

You get to witness him pursue his interests. He blossoms, without the constant threat of hunger and violence, Curtis gets to be the lover, the defender, the glue to the community.

And he absolutely worships you for accepting him, for letting him love you, letting him live gently. For letting him be the one who gives the hugs, creates a nutritious menu, look after those plants that make your eyes light up. He gets to make you happy. He's got your massages, your physical therapy, your vacations all planned out. Everything he does ensures you, the love of his life, feels pampered, never once doubting how devoted he is to you.

He takes care of his hands, wearing away the callouses so his every touch is soft for you. Today, he runs his thumb over your fresh manicure, kisses your knuckles, shapes your palm against his cheek to feel you hold him -- he loves when you hold him, all physical, grounding him to the present, to this life that Young Curtis never could have hoped for. You adore him for it. For how big his heart is, for how determined he is to enjoy every moment of your lives together.

[o0anapher0o]

I've never done a fic rec list before but A Meal to Remember seemed like a good opportunity to start. In no particular order.

One of our reportes is missing by angstosaur. IWTV crossover with The Newsreader. Rated M. Louis/Lestat/Armand, Helen/Dale, Dale/Tim, Helen&Tim.

Louis sees Dale Jennings on the News and travels all the way to Australia to figure out what the hell Lestat is up to now. Obviously the logical way to go about this is break into the guys appartment and kidnap him.

This is just the best thing I've read in ages. The epic clash of firmly rooted in reality Newsreader and 'consequences aren't real if you're immortal' vampire world should not work as well as it does and it's a real joy to read. I particularly loved how beutifully the relationship between Tim and Helen was handled, as well as Louis getting to know Dale and seeing a lot of similarities between them I didn't expect to be there vs the chaos thrupple at peak insanity being generally horny and incompetent. It also has one of the greatest entrances of a character I've come across in a long time.

Renaissance by siahatha. Post canon. Rated M; Louis/Lestat

Louis and Lestat trying to make their relationship work in the modern day after Lestat spend a few decades in therapy. Louis still has some ways to go in that regard.

Deals a lot with Lestat's mania and Louis eating disorder. Also involves some genderfuckery.

Something about this one just really grabbed me. There are a lot of really cute moments that just show really well why Loustat are so great when they work and the heavy moments scatch that itch of 'why can't they just talk to each other' by putting them in a place where they can do that while still being true to their characters.

Practical Ethics by @prouvaireafterdark. Human AU. Rated E; Armand/Daniel, Louis/Lestat.

The famous Ethics Professor Louis fic. I tend to think of it as the Philosophy Student Armand fic but, eh, semantics.

So much fun to read and such a great set up. Strikes the perfect balance of keeping the characters who they are, especially with regards to Armand and his trauma, while toning the insanity to levels that wouldn't get them institutionalised in the real world.

And what I thought was gone by @nalyra-dreaming. Reunion fic. Rated E; Louis/Lestat.

Basically the part of TVL between Lestat putting out Rock videos and Louis coming to him from Louis perspective, set the amc universe. And then the reunion.

Nalyra has such a great way of getting into these character's heads. The journey from Louis thinking Lestat is still dead to realising he isn't to getting his hands on the videos and the book to finding him to them talking things out is so beautiful and emotional.

The Human Perspective by @bandedbulbussnarfblat. Part 1 of The Human Condition series. Rated T; Daniel/Armand.

Armand talks to Daniel about a mortal he once loved, whose memories he had to take so he could live a life.

Another one that hit me right in the feels. The longing! The dramatic irony! Having Daniel comment as an outsider on his own relationship is such a clever thing to do and very well executed.

Reformation by verseau.

Human AU. Rated E. Louis/Lestat.

Just Louis and Lestat being Louis and Lestat really. And Claudia. But make it human.

That is really the best compliment I can give: If those two were modern day humans this is what their relationship would be like: chaotic, toxic, destructive, co-dependent, full of issues, hang ups, addictions and love bordering on insanity. And brilliantly done, too. Pretty much all the trauma is acounted for and makes sense (in a human context), we get differnt POVs all perfectly in character and each giving interesting insights into their family and the different issues they run into over the course of their relationship.

[deripmaver]

WHY I AM A HATER OF THE APOSTLE CASCA THEORY!!!!!!!!!

lol ive alluded to it a couple times now and answered an ask about it but i MIGHT AS WELL write a whole post about why the apostle casca theory makes me really really mad lets fucking go

So let’s look at what we know about apostles.

Apostles are a morally neutral (though often in practice leaning towards evil) group of people who, for whatever reason, sacrificed someone (or a few people) that they loved to gain ultimate power, which is granted by the God Hand. Per the Berserk Wiki, they only have one absolute rule: Do as thou wilt.

This is a bit of a tangent, but the general tendency of apostles towards evil to me seems to go along with the overarching theme in Berserk that those with power are wont to abuse it, and to assert their power over those weaker than them. It’s not that apostles are inherently evil and especially the people who become apostles aren’t evil, but in becoming an apostle, they are more likely to act in evil ways, as is anyone who is given immense power. 

The apostles we meet range from sympathetic (Egg of the Perfect World, Rosine) to outright evil (Wylad). We know that apostles need to sacrifice someone that “defines their humanity” to be granted power by the God Hand, and often causality/the God Hand/whatever the hell will bring the person right up to the absolute brink, at their lowest, worst moment, when they offer the sacrifice as an option. While it’s ultimately the person’s choice to sacrifice (as Flora says, fate may push a person to the edge, but it is their choice to take the plunge), the God Hand will do everything they can to make the sacrifice the only real option. 

For Rosine, she sacrifices her abusive parents. For Grunbeld (the novel sucks but it’s technically canon), he sacrifices his dying friends at their behest. For Griffith, he sacrifices the Band of the Hawk when his body and mind are completely broken and he sees no other path to his dream. 

So that leads us into the Apostle Casca theory.

This would be using Guts’ behelit he’s been carrying around since the Black Swordsman arc, of course. It would be an interesting twist if the behelit was actually for Casca, because it knew Guts would lead it back to Casca, and it has been waiting for her darkest moment with her mind restored to activate. 

Up till now, there have been a few Darkest Moments for Casca: First, when Griffith was taken and she needed to take the BotH on the run. Next, the eclipse itself, where she was raped and all of her friends were murdered in front of her. There are a lot of Dark Moments that happened while she was regressed, but I think there’s absolutely going to be another Darkest Moment for her coming up as she struggles to come to terms with Griffith’s rape and the sacrifice of the BotH. Miura said he wanted to write a human reaction to trauma (see my previous meta lol) and that we shouldn’t expect things to be easy for Casca going forward, which I suppose we didn’t realize would be quite so literal with her being kidnapped and magically drugged in Falconia LOL. 

Without her support system, I can see her struggling to cope, and that could lead her on a very dark path. There’s also the fact that she had this complete loss of agency both in the assault itself and her mental regression, and I think it makes sense that the God Hand could tempt her with power that way, use the idea that this would protect her from ever being hurt again I actually have a very vivid picture in my mind of a conversation between Casca and Slan where this happens despite being a hater of this theory LOL dont @ me

So like, if I’m acknowledging that the Apostle Casca theory seems like a natural progression of where she is in canon, why do I hate it so much?

First off, who would she sacrifice? The easy answer is the Moonlight Boy, which if I may editorialize, I think people who support this theory hope she’ll sacrifice because it kills the possibility of a heteronormative nuclear family ending. I’ve never been concerned about that as an ending, though, because Miura clearly has a special distaste for the nuclear family as a source of abuse and trauma, so I don’t see a “the brand of the sacrifice hadn’t bothered them in years. All was well. Griffith Skull Knight Berserk, you are named after the two bravest men-”

Anyways.

There are a specific set of circumstances under which “good people” sacrifice their loved ones: They love them but they also kind of hate them (Rosine), they’re already dying (Grunbeld), or they think it’s necessary to achieve a loftier goal (Egg of the Perfect World, arguably Griffith lol I mean the goal was lofty to him). While anything could happen, the only one of those that I can see fitting for Casca’s sacrifice would be if the MB (or whoever really) is already dying. In her previous “Darkest Moments,” ie post-eclipse and after Griffith’s capture, Casca’s response was to turn inward, by mentally regressing bc she couldn’t cope with the trauma and by working herself ragged and refusing help from anyone until Judeau told her off and then also trying to kill herself. She yelled at Guts a ton during the GA, but during real moments of stress, she didn’t turn her anger outward onto other people. This, imo, makes it unlikely she’d sacrifice one of the biggest sources of comfort to herself currently, who also has protected her when she was unable to protect herself. It doesn’t fit with the way she’s interacted with the world so far. 

Where we are right now in the text, Apostles are a serious trigger for her PTSD. When Casca sees Guts for the first time, she immediately is tormented by visions of apostles. The second time they try to talk, she again sees demons and apostles beside him. Both times she goes absolutely catatonic with terror. And... She’s supposed to become one of them? 

Beyond these specific moments, there’s a general sense of fully associating apostles and demons with the eclipse. The second PTSD flashback in chapter 359 comes from her remembering Judeau and his death at the hands of the apostle, and in chapter 372 hearing the Falconia army referred to as the “Band of the Hawk” makes her cry even through being drugged. Casca watched all of her friends die in front of her during the eclipse before her own assault, and it’s clear that still weighs heavy on her mind, and it’s something Miura has said she needs to come to terms with. At this point in the text, I cannot imagine her opening up a rift, bringing forth apostles and demons as we’ve seen in the sacrifices so far, and watching whoever she sacrificed be eaten by demons just as all her fallen friends were. I think right now she would consider that a betrayal of the memory of her friends.

I’m also simply not sure what could bring her to a state where she’d be ok with it, even if her capture in Falconia goes on and on. Casca’s always had a serious moral compass but more importantly has never been a character who craves power, and so I think it would take far more than what’s happening to her now to abandon that and work with the creatures who assaulted her and killed her friends. 

Which I suppose brings me to my final point: You know who grants apostles power? The God Hand. Who’s a member of the God Hand? Griffith. GRIFFITH. CASCA’S RAPIST.

I can see a very specific scenario where, for whatever reason, Griffith is in conflict with the rest of the God Hand, and that’s when the other members approach Casca to use her as a weapon against him. They would manipulate her through her trauma and ask if she wants to be powerful enough to stand against him, or maybe even say this is necessary to protect MB. Now THAT would be interesting, though some of my issues with this theory remain. 

Otherwise, though, it would be the full God Hand, Griffith included, who would be granting Casca the apostle powers - and then Casca would be working with not only him but the other apostles and the demons who assaulted her. Genuinely lol, if this has been considered and accepted by people who support the Apostle Casca theory, to me it’s no different than any dudebro on r/berserklejerk talking about how Casca is a Griffith simp and is gonna cuck Guts by going back to him. Casca’s upcoming arc is going to be about facing up to the trauma Griffith caused her, and I think it would be a shockingly gross conclusion to that arc to have it be she works with the man who betrayed and raped her. 

In Conclusion the way Casca is written, and the specific way it’s been made clear apostles come to be, I find the Apostle Casca theory really insensitive. I do need to be clear, I think it’s likely that Casca might need a supernatural powerup at some point - and anything is possible. 

Berserk is full of twists and turns, and I think it could happen that Casca could become an apostle in a way that isn’t offensive, and doesn’t have her working side by side with HER RAPISTTTTT LSDKJHGLKSDJHFNLVKSJDHFLKSJ ok I’m calm. I think the need to reclaim power after assault, and the sort of false promise apostle-dom has canonically given to powerless, abused people (Egg of the Perfect World, Rosine) could make for a very tragic story arc, but it would need to be done very sensitively, and really again I think any apostle Casca story that has Griffith granting her apostle powers would be so gross. 

The way things are, currently, in canon make it a very difficult theory for me to stomach. 

[artbyblastweave]

Drop your Lois Lane hot takes

(also if you're not a Superman fan, what would you recommend starting off with?)

So MAWS Lois Lane very pointedly has some significant character flaws, generally justified by her backstory and often the opposite side of the conventional "positive" Lois Qualities that she exhibits. Trust issues stemming from her canon-typical dysfunction with her father, upstream of her whole truth-to-power thing. Self-esteem issues and a sense of inadequacy, upstream of her tenacity and singleminded pursuit of her goals. Downstream from her self-esteem issues you've got a sensitivity to perceived betrayal or the idea that people are only pretending to value her. Self-assurance and confidence... that manifests as bouts of myopic thinking or lack of consideration for others. There's a level on which I like this more than S:TAS- she was fun in that, but the purpose there wasn't to give her any kind of arc. She's much more dynamic in this, she has a palpable crisis, and it all combines into a perfect cocktail demonstrating why she reacts so very, very badly to being out of the loop on Superman. In her position it's not insane to assume that Clark expressed interest in her just to jerk her around and sabotage her investigation more thoroughly. But in practice... I (and those watching with me, who joined me in screaming at the TV a bunch during the last couple episodes) felt that the narrative was both-sidesing the dynamic a bit uncomfortably, because Clark has very good reason to not trust Lois specifically with sensitive information. Their first interaction involved her manipulating him for the sake of advancing her career. She's been screaming from the rooftops that she dislikes Superman, wants to expose Superman's secrets, and he was on the verge of coming clean with her before that came up. She functionally threatens to kill herself to force him to out himself, right after he got back from the government (and very likely her father specifically!) trying to assassinate him. Very little of this was coherently voiced when they're having it out, and as a result it felt like the narrative was much more sympathetic to Lois's stance than Clarks, treating his concealing the information as the root of the problem here. And when Jimmy brings up that he's known for years but understood that it was probably a deeply personal situation that Clark would bring up when he was comfortable- that's not a catalyst for introspection about whether Lois is entitled to the information, it isn't used as the point to push the idea that both parties have valid motivations here. It's mostly just the catalyst for another gag where now Jimmy is upset that Clark told Lois first (without. You know. the context.) I walked away thinking that Clark doesn't have a disproportionate amount to apologize for in this situation. Not nothing, but not the brunt. The reconciliation arc really breezed past the fact that she threw herself off a building to force the issue. Any relationship where throwing yourself off a building is a tool in the toolbox seems like it might be on shaky ground, communicatively!

The thing is, well, honestly there's a few things. I'm willing to accept off the bat that I might be lily-orcharding a perfectly unobjectionable creative decision to some extent, because by default I'm really biased in favor of anyone trying to keep deeply compromising information about their identities away from their loved ones for fear of their negative reaction, and that's coloring the intensity of my negative response. Another thing is that I think the show is kind of a victim of the megashort season runs of contemporary cartoons- I mean we'll be lucky if we get 30 episodes of this show total, every arc is gonna be at least somewhat pinched when you get 10 episodes and change per season. And a third, final thing is that the season isn't over yet, and they've left themselves with a great springboard from which to address my misgivings.

Clark leans into the idea that he's the one at fault, begs forgiveness, and so on, but that's actually in character for this version; given that one of his biggest drives is to be accepted, it makes sense that he'd do whatever he thought he had to get things smoothed out as quickly as possible, even if there's still a lot going unaddressed below the surface. And Episode 7 (6?) is basically entirely about how Lois's character flaws, scaled up and appended to power, can turn out really really bad. Kryptonite is introduced in this continuity by a bunch of alternate-universe Lois Lanes who try to kill Superman without giving him the benefit of the doubt- all while never expressly communicating to anyone that the root of their concern is how badly things went with their own Supermen. Lois meets an army of herself and immediately, correctly assumes that they aren't on the up-and-up, that they're holding something back. And the episode ends with her in possession of both a Superman-killing tool and information engineered to set off her well-established paranoid tendencies about Clark.

So if the show is being smart- and there's a very good chance that it is- the next leg is going to be about how for a superhero, just being open about your secret identity to your loved ones isn't necessarily going to be enough to defuse the underlying tensions and failures to communicate; the fact that they really speed-ran the reconciliation is going to turn out to be deliberate, a bandaid fix on the deeper problem, and a much worse reckoning is in the pipes once it becomes obvious that Task Force X is headed by her estranged father. (Which seems like the twist they're going for with that- they've never said the general's name out loud, so I think they're going for a fakeout where we all assume it's Wade Eiling but it turns out to actually be Sam Lane.) However. I've definitely watched a bunch of shows where I kept going "If the show is smart," "If the show is smart," and then the show wasn't smart, and it just turned out that the writers themselves hadn't chewed on the implications of what they were depicting as much as I had. I've got high hopes, though.

(tagging @st-just, @best-wizard, and @howlingguardian, who all also asked for the elaboration.)

[caffeinated-creepshow]

TRATM II: A Proposal of Awkward Proportions

Chapter two of The Raven and the Mockingbird, a T-rated Deadman Wonderland fanfic from 2013-17. Since this an archive, I am not editing the chapters as they are posted. (Except for a decade old oopsie calling Chaplin a trans man, cause I didn't know anything about trans people at the time.) Follows an OC named Tsumetai and her relationship with canon character, Toto Sakigami.

Word count: 637 | Original Quotev post | Summary and masterlist

Full chapter below the cut

When Tsumetai found the perfect place to read, she stopped her leisure walk around the G Ward and leaned against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor. Eyes flicking across the yaoi in front of her attentively, the girl didn’t sense the presence watching her from behind a cracked open door.

“Quite an interesting one isn’t she….Never reveals her Branch of Sin to anyone…Practices alone……” the watcher murmured to himself softly. Waiting another second, the unknown stalker watched for another moment before leaving.

“Hey Tsumetai-chan!” a voice called from down the hall. Glancing up from her manga, Tsumetai saw her best friend Sanae standing there, waving slightly. Glancing back at the volume in front of her, Tsumetai quickly marked her page and shoved the book into her messenger bag.

“Hey Sanae-sempai…” Tsumetai muttered tiredly as her best friend bounded over with her usual energy.

Pouting slightly, the older girl poked Tsumetai and exclaimed “What’s gotten you so down in the dumps? I just talked to Chaplin, and she said you seemed….Distracted and more so than usual. And don’t you pull that tough girl act on me, because I know it’s all just the way you look!”

“It’s nothing…I didn’t sleep well last night, is all…..I rewatched Fuyu-niisan get killed by the collapsed school building…And okasan getting killed by some of the petty criminals running around during the earthquake, trying to mug people….She’d protected me, and they’d knifed her in the stomach for it….And they forced me to watch the life leave her eyes…” Tsumetai muttered almost to herself. “And it doesn’t help Sempai teased me about…..Well, y’know…Toto…”

“If it wasn’t so obvious, she wouldn’t tease you. It’s mainly because he hasn’t realized you love him yet,” Sanae replied, laughing to herself. “Or maybe he has, and he’s one of those weirdoes who won’t react until you confess yourself. Which, knowing him, that’s probably EXACTLY how it’ll be.”

“Oh shut up Sanae-sempai….I’m not friends with you to get teased, y’know.” Glaring, Tsumetai started heading towards her room. “Well, now that you’re here, may as well make some progress in our plans, right?” she asked quietly as the two walked back towards the small, uniform room that Tsumetai resided in.

“Now’s as good a time as ever, so sure…” As the two walked past Senji’s room, Tsumetai nudged Sanae gently, getting the smallest hint if a blush as a reward. The older girl did get her revenge, though, when Toto burst from his room ahead of them and she shoved Tsumetai towards him. “Go get him girl…I don’t approve, but I’ll have to deal with it…” she said softly as she went on ahead to Tsumetai’s room to prepare for plan making.

“Ah, Tsume-chan!!~” Toto called unintentionally affectionately towards Tsumetai as she walked up, scratching the back of her neck to rid herself of the strange itching she felt.

“H-hey Toto-san…” she responded. When she stood nearly right next to him, he randomly hugged her close and nuzzled his face in the crook of her somewhat long neck and inhaled a deep breath of her blood’s scent before giggling childishly. His actions were rewarded with a squeak of surprise from Tsumetai and a deep crimson blush on her somewhat tanned skin.

“Hmm….If only you’d let me taste your blood….All I want is a taste, I promise not to use or reveal your Branch of Sin!” Toto said with a childish whine undertoning his voice. Watching from the shadows was the angered Sempai of our heroine, said older woman plotting a way to hurt Toto for even CONSIDERING taking a single drop of Tsumetai’s blood with his tongue.

“You’ll regret the day you laid your eyes on my precious child…” she growled lowly, walking away from the scene and going to her room, slamming the door to quiet her anger.

[windor-truffle]

I forgot about this ask I answered 4 years ago, I kinda wanna update my graces answers even if that's a tumblr faux pas 😅 Long weird ramble below the cut:

First of all I'm a lot more into shipping than I used to be, mainly bc I realized "shipping" just meant "an interesting relationship" and not always "wholesome and perfect ideal relationship" or required to focus on the "mwah mwah hanky panky" 😅 So yeah I'm a diehard Richass shipper, I still like Cheribel it managed to grow on me in the most recent playthrough though I'd still say it's far from my favorite ship, and I think Huscal is plenty cute though I feel it may be one-sided 😅 And while I don't actively ship it myself there's some fun Cheriscal stuff out there, good to get more wlw!

I've actually recently started shipping Cheribert even though there's nothing for it and in canon they're pretty platonic 😅 I have a whole document of random thoughts about it though and the start of a fic so I ended up taking it more seriously than I anticipated 😅 It mostly boils down to them both being the more practical, grounded members of the group who are both hopelessly pining after someone who just can't seem to notice them. So they meet up frequently over tea to bitch about their heartaches, and end up in a fake-dating instill-jealousy scheme (thanks to Richard and Malik's meddling) that backfires when they start finding each other's company preferable to chasing the unattainable. Strangely it actually IS cute and wholesome 😁

...Unlike the Asbel-Richard-Lambda love triangle thing i still find highly entertaining 😅 No official fics about it so far but plenty of WIPs, AUs, and daydreams with that general vibe, ranging from comedic drama to actually geniunely fucked up. I cannot be trusted with these 3, I enjoy their suffering too much 😂

Also this is practically a crackfic but I kinda like shipping both Asbel and Cheria with the Little Queen 😂 Asbel out of an exaggeration of his masochistic tendencies into heightened bisexual attraction to people who have actively threatened his life before (though I believe he would not even be aware of his own tastes 😅), and Cheria as part of a specific AU in which the LQ is the one to heal her chronic illness, and they both bond over their profound loneliness. Again, weirdly wholesome 😅

All in all I'm pro-ship so I'm down with most things, I swerve the things I don't like personally (age gaps like Sophie or Malik/party members, incest like Asbel/Hubert) but I'm fine with their existence, I might even read them someday anyway just cause I've found it's geniunely enlightening to read about things outside your comfort zone. It's not like the things *I* like are normal either 😅

Moving on from weird shippy stuff! I still know I suck at Graces combat but I have definitely improved. I can now firmly say that my A Team is Asbel, Sophie, Cheria, and Pascal. Asbel and Sophie are great physical fighter aggro tanks who combo like motherfuckers, and Sophie can even heal well which makes her very flexible! Cheria has slow but very powerful spells and heals, and while she's physically frail her evasion is quite good so she can cancel a spell and run and hide behind the tanks 😂 Pascal tends to be literally hit or miss with her low accuracy but she does do massive damage when she hits, and she can also take some hits compared to the remaining 3 party member options.

Malik is just Pascal but worse since he tends to be a bit vulnerable while casting/throwing his bladerang, Richard requires twice as much effort to do the kinds of things others pull off easily (you have to combo perfectly in order to shorten his egregiously long cast times, or risk being hit and stunned and OHKOd), and Hubert faints like a Victorian lady if you so much as breathe on him. I can't have a party of weaklings when Hard mode bosses already hit like a truck 😅

They're all very fun in their own ways though 😁 And like I said, I'm still kinda bad at the game. I'm sure more talented players can make each of them viable (like if I could use Iron Stance more reliably that'd help the casters so much 😩).

As for the rest of the Tales series, I obviously took a bit of a break from it this year though I still love it loads 💜💜💜 I'm happy to keep this Graces fixation going into next year, but I think when it finally dies down a bit I might replay Zesty--- it's the only other title who could possibly dethrone my Graces obsession, so I've been deliberately avoiding it 😅

For the tales of ask game!!

3, & 7 for Graces

1 & 10 for zesty

2 & 8 for Vesperia

And have a nice day/evening whatever in your time zone!!

Oo lots of games, alright I get to talk about my favorites!!

Graces 3. Any ships?:

I'm not huge on shipping in general but most of the popular ships are fine with me, mainly Asbel/Richard, Asbel/Cheria, and Hubert/Pascal. (Spoilers ahead:) I always find it kind of funny that Asbel merges with Lambda after him and Richard fall apart, it feels like he's dating Richard's abusive ex and making it work better 😂 maybe I'll write a fic someday with that premise, who knows...

7. Main team of 4/mainly play as:

Going back to Graces and figuring out all the other characters is on my to-do list, I mained Asbel mostly, though I did try out Richard, Sophie, and Hubert a little. I tend to rotate that party pretty often but I always had Asbel and Sophie, would probably put in Hubert and Cheria as my other 2 or Richard if he's available.

Zestiria 1. Best girl:

Lailah!! I loved Lailah much more than I thought I would, having a group mom to make puns and snacks really makes the party dynamic charming. She has her own burdens based on her perceived former failings with Michael but she is still trying again to bring about a legacy of good people and that is so inspiring. What a great mentor figure.

10. Favorite music track:

Oh that's so hard, Zesty has so many amazing tracks! I think Zaveid's Theme, the Fire Trial and the Water Trial are all tied as some of my favorite songs of all time, but Sorey's theme and the song that plays when Rose joins are also both great. They really knocked it out of the park with these songs, I tell ya

Vesperia 2. Best boy:

Another hard one, they're all so good, but I am always so proud of Karol. He's really trying his best alongside a party of mainly adults and teenagers and he absolutely pulls his weight, he just needed to hear them validate him. He's resourceful and a hard worker and I feel like he's gonna surpass Raven and Yuri someday, maybe even Flynn, and I know they'd all be super proud of him.

(I answered 8 in a previous ask, but my favorite town is Dahngrest for its atmosphere.)

Thanks for the asks, everyone! Love getting to blab about my favorite series 😁

[salamanderinspace]

10 Best Ship Pairings in the New Pokemon Game

Here's ten pairings of named NPCs in Pokemon Scarlet / Violet, with some prompts and headcanons on what might make a good story for each! This post is rated M (but like, a softer, milder M) and will have some minor spoilers. No one is being shipped with a pokemon and there are no adult/minor relationships on this list (I think? It's hard to know some peoples' ages.)

Eri / Carmen - These two are obviously very close. Carmen is the only one who can talk Eri down and yet is also willing to put her body inbetween danger and her leader. It's adorable! They seem to be in the 16-18 range but I can see them getting married and running a business together and raising a whole family of baby Riolu. It might not be all sunshine and rainbows though--they do have a fraught backstory which would be interesting to explore.

Arven / Katy - They share a real passion for food! Katy appears to be a couple years older, which is fine, because Arven clearly needs a bit of mothering to be his best self. With Mabostiff in their supporting cast, these two cooking anime protags could share a fluffy romance that would be a delight to read about.

Raifort / Saguaro - He gets pegged. Ok, I'll expand on that. These are, like Barbie and Ken, two people who are so gender conforming that they tumble right over the bar into queer camp. Saguaro talks about struggling with the performativity of his masculinity, and I can see him wanting to experiment with a (incredibly gorgeous) strong woman like Raifort. She's very in control of her classroom, isn't she? Now, the way people act outside the bedroom is not necessarily indicative of the way they act in intimate moments. However, consider: he gets pegged. Argument made.

Geeta / Nemona - Big "notice me sempai" vibes between these two. Nemona is clearly at the end of her education, probably around 17-18 years old, and Geeta's face and frame puts her in her twenties--though her butch confidence and sharp fashion sense maybe makes her seem older. At any rate, the tension is there! A real power couple.

Mela / Iono - A crack ship in that they don't interact in canon, however, these two would be absolutely perfect for each other. Mela's snarky attitude would interact perfectly with Iono's cheerful personna and SPARK. They share off-the wall fashion styles and high energy combat styles, each prefering to be in charge of their own little realm. The fights would be epic. The make-ups would sizzle.

Clavell / Rika - I know what you're thinking. "Rika is clearly a butch lesbian." You are correct. This isn't about attraction and it certainly isn't about love or romance. It's about two people in positions of authority who clearly enjoy power and structure. It's about mind games and taking on different roles. It's dark and it's cruel and no one needs to know (except me. I need to know everything.)

Tulip / Dendra - Dendra lost a bet and now has to do whatever Tulip wants. This is classic fanfic trope territory. Please, I beg you.

Penny / Cassiopeia - Without getting too much into story spoilers, there is potential for something intricate and dark in this pairing, a sort of psychological exploration. Penny is always on her own and she needs someone who understands her. She can be nervous where Cassiopeia is decisive. And they have a lot in common. There's potential for love, hate, angst, and maybe even peace. Someday.

Hassel / Brassius - Two high drama art-gays who get overly emotional about EVERYTHING. If you haven't been through all the classes yet, I suggest doing so--these two have a passionate friendship and are practically proclaiming love in the scene they share. They inspire and aggravate each other. It's beautiful.

Jacq / Grusha - They don't have a ton in common except for being around the same age, being successful, and being underexplored in the story. I suspect Jacq is the one who gives you the Shiny Charm (not there yet, but I'm guessing) and I can see Grusha being interested in that. And I like the snowy aesthetic. If I was writing it, it'd be set at Christmas. <3

[mt-words]

Can we get some dream smp fandom positivity posts? As someone who posts mostly analysis and has never once had someone say anything rude in response, I think we perceive the fanbase as more toxic than it is because of a few outspoken individuals. Y'all are pretty chill and I like you.

In no particular order-

I love that Eret’s fans come up with such cool theories, I swear she could give you two sentences of lore and I could see three five page essays on what it could mean about their character within an hour and each of them is unique, intricate, and makes logical sense.

I love the compilations Foolish fans make of him doing ridiculous things on stream, he’s a fun guy that never fails to make me laugh and everything I see from them embodies that energy to me.

I love how creative Hannah’s fans are, you take the awesome ideas she has and turn them into the most amazing designs and concepts.

I love that Techno’s fans might write a ten page essay about his character or just say they enjoy watching him do crime, and you never know which it will be because both come from the same people.

I love how Philza’s fans embrace everything he does with so much enthusiasm. His chat is a flock of crows? Excellent, they can work with that, you will see fifty incredible pieces of art and a hundred theories in the first hour and they’re just getting started.

I love that Niki’s fans are so careful to pay attention and not miss any details. It has been ages and I still see occasional mentions and theories about the “Dear Friend” letter.

I love that Fundy’s fans are very empathetic, they love to find and elaborate on the connections between characters and that’s pretty cool!

I love Tommy’s fans for their energy. They seem passionate about making things right and hopeful that no matter what your situation is things can get better. I’ve seen so many breathtakingly emotional art pieces from this side of the fandom.

I love that George’s fans unapologetically simp for him but then catch me off guard by making deep insights about his character.

I love how Bad’s fans are as genuinely sweet as he is, they’re willing to really look at everything that makes up a character and see the tragedy of it and have compassion about things. And some just want to see an egg rule the server, c'mon, it would be funny.

I love the running gag with Skeppy fans of making Skeppy critical posts, y’all are hilarious.

I love how Purpled fans play up his lack of lore as him being an incredibly powerful cryptid, and they’re right. He totally carried the wither fight on Nov 16th.

I love the balance Quackity fans have between a love of humor, justice, and darker topics. I think like Quackity they are often underestimated and thought of as the jokester side of the fandom to an extent, and then I start reading things they write and it’s well thought out and insightful.

I love that Tubbo’s fans love chaos, cute things, or both to an unhealthy extent. Seeing anything from them reminds me of princess unikitty in all the best ways, and then they turn around and throw a super in depth meaningful analysis at me in the next breath.

I love everything about Sapnap’s fans. Y'all are perfect. The writing and art from the born in fire line? Gold.

I love how Jschlatt fans are generally chill and just enjoy whatever they want to. Their favorite Manburg president was the one who publicly executed his right hand man and gave Dream a resurrection book for firepower, and he looked good doing it.

I love that Callahan has fans. You people are dedicated and I respect it. The fact that Callahan was one of the first names to pop up when everyone was trying to figure out who Harpocrates was even though he rarely involves himself with plot? Your influence knows no bounds.

I love that Alyssa’s fans are simply too powerful. She hasn’t played on the smp since way before I started watching and there are still people defending her barn and drawing pictures of her.

I love that Antfrost’s fans have taken so many ideas and just ran with them and made them awesome. Like him practicing magic? Perfect, he now carries potions and gets a wizard hat.

I love that Dream fans look at a character who has been portrayed as pure evil from many points of view and understand that Everyone has motives based on their situation, even if it isn’t handed to us in an easily understood way.

I love how Jack’s fans are so ready to support any action he takes. Crawling out of hell? Incredible. Killing a child? Good for him! Go team Rocket. Grieving the same child? Learning healthy coping, he’s the coolest.

I love that Connor eats Pants fans are the most reasonable people in this fandom. This is terrifying. Thank you for your service, you always make me smile.

I love that Punz fans unapologetically just love their capitalist mercenary. As they should, his presence always tips the scales and everything he does brings more depth to the characters and plots he interacts with.

I love how much Ranboo fans love complexity. Most of them aren’t afraid to admit that their favorite characters are flawed, because aren’t those flaws what make them interesting and relatable?

I love the variety of Hbomb fans. Half of them may be embracing the cat maid bit while the other half goes on about how impactful and cool L’cast is, but they’re all super chill.

I appreciate that Puffy fans take the time to understand so many perspectives. So many posts I see involving her tie in lore from other characters and find interesting ways to connect them and build them together, kind of like Puffy herself.

I love that Wilbur fans seem to approach the story like they’re solving a puzzle, carefully piecing together details from months apart to figure out how and why everything goes down.

I love how hard Ponk fans work to spread awareness of how awesome he is. Ponk says and does wonderful things and is very fun to watch. I never would have tried his content without them.

I love that Karl fans saw him wanting to be involved and started coming up with such cool ideas around his character that they actually made them canon. Correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t the time traveler thing a fan theory at first?

I love the creativity Sam fans have with his design and their willingness to discuss complex moral issues. Sam is involved in some heavy lore stuff but he and his fans keep things entertaining and calm.

I’m sure I missed some things, please feel free to add on!

[madhare0512]

A Comprehensive List of Spideyfist Interactions (pt.2)

hello and welcome back to: reasons Spideyfist is canon. a series where i take you through each episode of The Ultimate Spiderman and show you why i believe that Spiderman and Iron Fist are dating in canon. and also give you a little insight into my thoughts of the show

warnings for: episode spoilers, season spoilers, action/injury description, unsolicited commentary, probable cussing, violence, caps lock

this part features episodes 7 through 13 of season one

~~~

S1E7 Exclusive: 

- Danny is in this episode for point-five seconds and he doesn’t even speak or interact with Peter much so again, almost entirely headcanon and commentary but i’ll try

- MJ going through different versions of her name for the Daily Bugle interview was really cute

- this entire episode is filmed almost entirely from the POV of MJ’s camera and that’s a crime

- while Sam, Ava, and Luke look vaguely upset about the interview, Danny just looks tired, almost as if this is a fight he’s heard and is not interested in continuing. 

- honorable PowerTiger mention: Ava and Luke are practically sitting in each other’s laps

- lets count the amount of times MJ is picked up and moved by Peter as Spiderman. here’s one

- that’s two

- MJ is a fucking idiot, you don’t run TOWARDS the danger, even if you’re a reporter

- bug man is somehow the best and worst insult Hulk could’ve come up with 

- how many times did Peter consider calling the team this fight? cause all we see is what the camera shows us, so it’s possible he tried to call the team

- “then stay low” ah yes, perfect compromise

- at least she acknowledges she’s not being smart here

- five

- eight, but off camera

-i think people sometimes forget that behind the sarcasm and powers is a kid who’s super fucking smart and way out of his depth. Peter’s used to being a solo act, he doesn’t know how to be a team leader, you know?

- SHIELD in this series makes me angry specifically because Peter is a proven ally and they shot at him anyway

- eleven, two off camera, one partially off camera

- headcanon: “sparky” is also a nickname Peter affectionately uses for Danny when they start dating 

- ahh the end of the camera pov

- Hulk just picks Peter up and moves him like he weighs nothing

- you don’t see the kind of desperation Peter displays when searching for MJ often. so far, it’s shown for Harry and MJ alone. 

~~~

S1E8: Back in Black

- the dragon man scares me, but only because i love dragons and hate to see them slandered like this

- the Venom suit is cool but that’s essentially it for this version of Venom

- why don’t people listen to Peter’s bad feelings more often?

- Peter sits next to Danny during the meeting

- while the others harp on Peter for being jealous and cry about him being sick, Danny says, “perhaps you’re seeing connections where there are none” which i believe was his attempt at comforting Peter. Venom was traumatizing for all of them, but for Peter especially

- also, i know the wiki says that Fury and the team wanted Venom on the team, but the first one who brings that up is Peter. 

- the fact that no one says “are you okay?” kind of hurts, but also from the voice and excessive sneezing t’s kinda obvious he isn’t so i’ll give them a pass on that. i’m attributing the no comforting to the fact that they’ve only known each other for a few months or so at this point. i like to believe that Danny reaches out later and asks after Peter because he’s that kind of guy

- okay, so if it wasn’t obvious BEFORE NOW that this fake-Spidey is Harry, the flexing bit just proves it. 

- also, how Harry doesn’t put it together that Peter is Spiderman from this episode alone is beyond me

- another thing that turns me off of SpideyNova is that Sam seems to constantly antagonize Peter at every chance he gets

- this episode marks the beginning of Peter and Harry’s cracking friendship

- Harry’s whole villain arc later in the series is actually very tragic when you consider that all it really is, is that Harry wants his dad’s approval. it’s all he’s ever wanted

- “last time we met, you had someone inside there that shouldn’t be” flashbacks to episode 4 when Sam, Luke, and Danny got trapped

- Vemon is much cooler in the Hardy movies if i’m honest with myself, but that’s only because of Eddie Brock

- headcanon: Harry Osborn has electricity scars on his back

- Peter recounting his fight to Fury is cute

- the team all harp on Peter for getting them sick, but Danny’s comment was “there is absolutely no enlightenment to be found in this level of misery” which less harping and more a complaint that he doesn’t like being sick

- side note: colds are spread by bodily fluid and Peter has hardly been around the team unless you count sneezing at Sam from like six feet away, so how did the entire team catch Peter’s cold?

~~~

S1E9 Field Trip: 

- Peter, sir, why the juice box?

- of course Danny studied the ancient texts and OF COURSE he can read this Nordic rock. also, i fully believe that Danny’s mystic powers are the only reason the stone activated to send the Frost Giant through

- so you can’t see it well and it’s only for a split second, but when the Frost Giant first brings it’s club down and it brings the club back up, you can see that Peter has appeared in front of Danny and Sam has now teleported to be standing behind Luke. i’m counting this towards SpideyFist for the express reason that there is NO NEED for Peter and Danny to be standing that close together

- “what is that thing?”, Danny you studied the ancient texts and they said NOTHING about Frost Giants?

- the second Danny gets hurt, Peter’s giving orders for “less talking, more teamwork”

- this might be me, but Peter always sounds so admiring when he talks about Danny and this introduction to Thor is no different

- Danny jumping in to calm the arguement, by offering the sage advice DIRECTLY TO PETER

- okay, so Luke, Sam, and Ava are looking in the direction i assume the ice came from, but Danny is not, so what’s Danny looking at? my guess? he was going to warn Peter and Thor about the Frost Giants before they even appeared

- Danny goes looking for weak points in the ice and without even discussing it, Peter knows exactly what he’s doing which suggests a level of familiarity we’ve yet to see between Peter and the others

- Peter also asks how the progress is coming and when Danny responds with one of his sayings instead of “yes, no” or something more concrete, Peter just accepts it without comment

- “found it” busts through a wall of solid ice like it’s nothing DAMN BOY 

- you know, the Frost Giants keep freezing Danny specifically and i feel like it’s telling that it’s happened TWICE that Danny was incapacitated first (once with Venom and now with the Frost Giants)

- when desposited back in the snow, Danny and Peter land directly parallel to each other

- Danny and Peter step forward together when the dwarf is scolding Thor

- when they find him, the Master Dwarf is working on the sword he’ll later give to Danny

- in the line up, Danny and Peter are standing close together. you don’t see their hands, but i firmly believe they held hands at first

- what is it with Danny and Peter and standing close together this episode? it’s like every chance they get. just another reason i firmly believe this is the episode BEFORE they got together

~~~

S1E10 Freaky: 

- Mesmero gives “skiddish teenager” vibes, not “supervillain” vibes

- when Sam goes to protest as Peter walks away, Danny stops him from saying anything, which i am in fact counting as minorly protective

- Danny is the only one who seems actually concerned with how Peter’s acting instead of upset.

- Danny’s question also suggests that he expected an honest response, as if he’d asked something similar before, perhaps many times. and the shoulder touch! 

- firstly, Wolverine is unneccisarily aggressive with a non-confrontational Danny, but second, the way Danny looks both afraid and concerned says a lot to how he feels about Peter and how Peter acts around him

- “baby i do like me a redhead” flashbacks to Wolverine’s crush on Jean

- off screen convos include what Wolverine said to the team, MJ, and Harry and how things went down with Danny specifically. something like: “kid, you got a guy willing to stand up for you when you’re not yourself and when you’ve just threatened him. if i where you, i wouldn’t let him go.”

- Danny was in Peter’s “soap opera” themed daydream-sequence alongside MJ and Ava, who would both be considered love-interests

- a random Deadpool appears

- Peter also apologizes off-screen to the team, MJ, and Harry. this is the episode Danny and Peter get together

~~~

S1E11 Venom Attack:

- okay, and again i’ll say Peter is supposed to operate independant of SHIELD. Nick can’t order him off the assignment

- Danny doesn’t seem annoyed at being caught in the webs like the others are

- Danny is the only one Peter apologizes to when Peter redirects the team’s attacks on Venom

- Danny is the first one Peter acknowledges when he’s being scolded by the team for keeping secrets

- “wait, you can do that?” “he can do that” not Danny casually being the only one who remembers that Peter is fucking SMART

- Danny being the one to consistantly acknowldge there is another life inside Venom once being told so and using Harry’s name as a reminder to the others that it’s PETER’S BEST FRIEND that acts as Venom’s host

- Danny’s the first one to show up on the roof when Peter’s up there with Venom

- USM!Osborn makes the list of shitty fathers purely because he’s using his son as a science experiment

- okay “Squash the Spider” is kinda fucked, but also they’re stupid teenagers so i’m giving them a “they don’t know much better” pass where everyone apologizes off screen

~~~

S1E12 Me Time: 

- Peter being worried about Aunt May being caught indencent is really cute

- FURY GAVE MINORS CONTRACTS TO SIGN AND THOUGHT THAT’D BE A-O-FUCKING-KAY? jesus fuck the more i watch this show as an adult the more fucked up it seems

- we’re supposed to see him leaving his communicator and walking out as Peter being idiotic, but in reality this is a massive breech of privacy for a company full of SPIES who give contracts to teenagers and expect them to sign it with no issues. and you know, maybe there are none. i guarentee you that if a lawyer went over those contracts, there’d be a lot of things wrong with them. these are children! the only ones of them that have legal guardians are Luke and Peter. Luke’s parents are SHIELD scientists and Peter lives with his Aunt! this is fucking BS

- no notable interactions between Danny and Peter in this episode, so here’s a headcanon. when Danny found out that Spiderman was captured by Doc Ock, he went to Peter’s home and asked to spend a few hours out with him. under the guise of making sure Peter is okay. in reality it’s because Danny’s kinda scared to lose Peter, even only knowing him for a short amount of time

~~~

S1E13 Strange Days: 

- this is one of my favorite episodes because of the whole magic v. science debate. i think it’s really cool

- Danny tells Peter that he was dreamwalking, which seems pretty personal and private. Peter didn’t seem shocked when Danny tells him this, so they’ve likely talked about it, which means that Peter has probably given Danny permission to walk in his dreams. 

- Danny wakes Peter up instead of someone he’s known longer, like Luke, or someone better suited to a mystic battle, like Ava

- Danny wakes Peter up KNOWING how Peter feels about actual magic, implying they’ve talked about that as well, at length probably because Danny’s on the mystic side of things while Peter firmly believes in science

- Peter knows Danny well enough to predict Danny’s reaction to something unexplained that he seems to know a little something about, explained as “weird and foreboding”

- Danny holds on to Peter’s waist when they’re riding the Spider-Cycle, much like one in media would traditionally hold on if you where DATING

- even Danny’s explaination of magic sounds practiced, as if he’s repeated it a lot, specifically to Peter

- Danny seems so happy when Peter seems to get something he’s saying

- Peter’s fond exasperation when the quote goes over Danny’s head

- Danny takes all of Peter’s jokes and silliness without complaint or judgement

- traditoinally, bowing to someone is shown to be a sign of respect to them. Danny bowing to Peter, even sarcastically, kind of shows the same thing

- Peter acts like “a beacon to someone with [Danny’s] sensitivities” which i’m counting because it falls under the “fate put them together” tag

- Danny comforting Peter when his mind is blown BIG TIME by Doctor Strange, with an arm around the shoulders and a hand on the bicep

- idk if this makes sense, but during the full episode, Peter’s focus is on Danny almost entirely, even when it seems like it’s not

- Danny’s immediately justification of bringing Peter instead of someone more qualified, Danny is Peter’s number-one fan and you can’t convince me otherwise

- in Luke’s dreamworld, Danny and Peter are tied back to back, which is symbolic in that even Luke sees they’re always there for each other. Luke and Danny may be ride-or-die, but Danny and Peter are more than even that

- Peter looks at Danny when he says, “i will temporarily press pause on my magic bashing”, mystic arts are a big part of who Danny is as a person and Peter knows that, which means that, coming from Peter, those words would mean more to him than they would to Strange

- Peter gets knocked down and Danny IMMEDIATELY takes out the Dreamon who does it and then helps Peter up. he also proceeds to explain the rules of this world Peter’s never been exposed to

- Peter clocks it immediately when Danny disappears into his dreamroom

- Danny’s introduction of his home to Peter, even in his dreamlike state

- Peter continuously trying to tell Danny that this isn’t real, even saying “i bet it’s fantastic, in REAL LIFE” and saying “that’s Nightmare!”

- Danny’s assurance to Peter that he doesn’t have anything to fear, but not saying he’s not afraid. clever bit of word play there, tbh. also Peter knowing Danny’s scared anyway

- despite being in the dreamworld, Danny STILL listens to Peter when Peter says anything

- Peter defends Danny against his own worst fears, struggling agianst iron bars that keep him away from Danny while shouting encouragement. 

- Danny tells Peter his worst fears, a choice he makes to elaborate on what Peter is already seeing

- Peter punches through three iron bars to get to Danny

- i firmly believe that Nightmare’s roaring wasn’t what kicked Peter out of Danny’s dreamroom, but Danny himself. Danny is supposed to be the mysterious, mystic warrior, a king sometime in the future when his year of study is up. i highly doubt he was given lessons on mental health in K’un-Lun, so it’s probable that Danny doesn’t want Peter to see him at a low point. so he kicks Peter out of his dreamroom in order to protect both himself and Peter, because god knows the kind of damage a damn dragon can to the unexperienced soul

- “he’s playing your fears! just like he did Iron Fist!” Peter is so far gone, mans isn’t even HERE and he’s still mentioning him every two seconds

- Danny and Peter are standing UNNECCISARILY CLOSE TOGETHER

- “nice entrance!” “i try. thank you for beliving in me” translation: “thank god your back” “of course i am, you saved me”. ALTERNATE TRANSLATION: “you came!” “you called.”

- THE SHOULDER TOUCHING

- in my experience, when you’re sleeping around another person, generally you feel safe around them. which lines up with what happened in this ep, but also, one experience doesn’t equal a pattern

- going back to the desperation thing from episode 7? the desperation’s been shown for Danny now

~~~

thank you!

[nozoditz]

I think a lot of the people reacting negatively specifically to the character development can be boiled down to "but it wasn't my childhood husbando."

Old-guard fans were largely defined by hating the canon love interest and the canon ship. You couldn't trip without landing on five Masaya hate fics or rants about how Ryou or Quiche was better because they weren't "boring" and "perfect," or that Masaya's character depth was too little, too late.

New heavily focuses on Masaichi (or I guess the kids are calling the ship Ichisaya now) as its emotional core, going through pains to show how Ichigo goes from shallow attachment to genuine investment, how Masaya learns to care about her and starts growing past his hidden misanthropy, and shows that depth in his character right away and in almost every episode. You can really see why so many of the new fans love him and, for that matter, ship canon.

Meanwhile, the rest of the male cast... well, Quiche gets a lot of fleshing out and appeal as everyone's favourite problematic yandere stalker, but that's specifically because he exists in contrast and opposition to Masaya; Kishigo shippers seem to feel that their ship is being treated less as an option to appeal to those fans and more as an existential threat to Masaichi, even if it was always both.

And if you like a boy who isn't one of those two, good luck. Sure, they'll get their important plot beats from the manga and maybe one piece of depth that was hinted at in the original, but they don't get focus episodes. Tart and Ryou get some pieces of backstory and character focus, but Ryou especially loses a lot of what he had initially aside from a few key moments, is never presented as a real romantic option for Ichigo (though they do push Ryoureta like the first anime did, and that actually gets further than it did back then), is never suspected in or out of universe as being Blue Knight, and doesn't have the conflict of "is he trying to break up Masaichi because of practicality like he says or does that flirting mean something" because he isn't in love with Ichigo and actually seems to be telling the truth about wanting to focus on the mission. And Keiichirou and Pie were always minor characters, but here they barely get to do more than they did in the manga.

Focusing on the boy many of the old fans hated (specifically in the Anglosphere; the lack of ship hate in Japanese fanworks and the character polls while the manga was running indicate that Masaya was perfectly popular there) and not giving as much development to the ones they liked makes these people feel that what made TMM TMM to them is gone, because it was important to their experience. That, in turn, made it feel important to the fandom as a whole. Heck, if you look at any first impressions or pre-series hype for New from people who hadn't seen the old anime or read the manga, one thing that keeps popping up is that they all thought Quiche was the canon love interest, because fandom osmosis told them he was the popular one!

So if you like the girls or Masaya, you'll be staring at the anti-New whiners wondering where their heads are at, because there's so much character development and growth in this version and it does so well with its characters... the main five and the canon love interest, and arguably the evil love rival, though Quiche fans have been bitter too because so many of them wanted their ship to be canon back in the day. New dropping the ball on most of the boys is a visible flaw, but what it's done for everyone else is so good that people really need to shut up about how there's "no development" when there clearly is.

i get that the original tmm will always reign supreme but we not gon act like new didn't improve on the extension of the characters. it's not perfect but this is genuinely one of the few remakes ive seen that actually does not look like trash next to the source material in this aspect

i saw someone saying "is the character growth in the room w us rn" or smth like that about it, but it's like it IS!??? lettuce's growing confidence is more palpable & accessible, to the point where it's so shocking and refreshing

mint isn't just posh and stuck up 24/7, she's loving while keeping the same teasing streak she was beloved for. not to mention she has this unbreakable thirst for bettering the environment

zakuro isn't an indifferent lonewolf archetype and deeply cares about her friends & community rather than her withdrawn individualism. and if you like zakumint it's obvious how much she respects mint this time around and doesn't just put up with her! and all the while she still manages to maintain her cool girl essence and mystique that she was iconic for

this one is really huge to me, which is ichigo isn't reduced to the being just a lovergirl. i'm not saying that i hate how she was in the og but most of her character was about crushing on aoyama. and not to say that she never gave a fuck about anything else, but this time around it's more obvious how deeply cares about bettering the world around her and saving and maintaining it

another big one and personally my all time fav thing about the reboot are all the scenes of the mews coming together with an unmistakable bond of friendship instead of them just being thrown together for the sake of humanity. they're genuinely close this time around and it's so endearing. they're constantly expressing their love for one another, embracing and saying how thankful they are to be together and it's so warm and beautiful

not to mention other things like the mews all being able to use mew aqua with those cute ass magic wands. and the spotlight is shared much more in terms of each girl's personal plight

the mews (particularly lettuce) actually acknowledging the origins of the aliens and the fact that earth doesn't actually belong to humans was crazy to me too. THERE'S SO MUCH!

like you can shit on pacing, artstyle and scene rewrites all you want ill give you those willingly, but character development??? no i don't think so cuz look at the material!