#FUCK MAN ITS LOWKEY BETTER THAN ULTIMATE IMO

[dooodle-bug]

the super smash bros brawl theme makes me go absolutely feral /pos

[theultimatefanficwriter]

Pride Month Headcanons!

So its Pride Month! And as a proud member of the alphabet mafia I wanna give my opinion on all the Danganronpa characters' sexualities! So let's go, starting with THH!

Trigger Happy Havoc

Makoto Naegi- Pansexual. I'm under the belief all protags are Pan. Transgender(ftm). So I have this whole hc that the reason his door was jammed was that the lock was quickly removed when they found out SHE was actually a HE and I just like the hc lol.

Sayaka Maizono- Straight. I just think she has a big thing for Makoto, but other than that she cares for her career more than a relationship.

Leon Kuwata- Bisexual, heavy female leaning. I ship him with Hiro, but honestly this fucker would probably take forever to admit he likes guys.

Chihiro Fukisaki- Gay. Dont really have a reasoning. Just my opinion lol

Mondo Oowada- Bisexual. He mentions trying to confess to girls, but come on. This guy is fruity for Taka.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru- Gay. This dude meanwhile is just straight homo. He's probably closeted in fear it would bring shame to his family name again.

Hifumi Yamada- Straight. I honestly dont think about the guy enough to give this enough thought, but the way he simps over Celeste proves he likes girls at least. Plus he kept calling Alter Ego she, so...yeah.

Celestia Ludenberg- Straight. Honestly I think she'd be homophobic? Idk i really dislike Celeste, sorry 😅 She just gives me those vibes.

Sakura Oogami- Bisexual. I wanna label her as lesbian, but Kenshiro exists 😒 Women leaning possibly

Kyoko Kirigiri- Bisexual. Though i dont personally ship her with any girls, I can see her going both ways.

Byakuya Togami- Gay. And it's a problem with his family, so he's closeted.

Yasuhiro Hagakure- Pansexual. He just wants to love someone, man lmao.

Aoi Asahina- Bisexual. Again, wanna label her as lesbian, but the Bad End exists, showing she willingly got with three guys. And she does ask Makoto to pretend to be her bf. But she leans heavily towards females imo.

Toko Fukawa/Genocide Jill- Bisexual. It was straight until she met Komaru. Then she realized "Oh shit. I'm gay." But she still has a small thing for Byakuya ig 😒

Mukuro Ikusaba- Straight. We pretend the thing with her sister doesnt exist, alright?

Junko Enoshima- Straight. And definitely homophobic.

Wow a lot of bi peeps lol. Alright, onto the next game!

Goodbye Despair

Hajime Hinata- Pansexual. Again all protags are Pan. Fight me, prove me wrong you literally cant.

Ultimate Imposter- Panromantic, Nonbinary, Asexual. Though I call Imposter he a lot, I think it's almost canon they're nonbinary. I just have stupid brain and type he first without thinking. I also dont really have a reason for thinking they're asexual? I just think they are. But they're probably panromantic in order to fit their talent better.

Teruteru Hanamura- Pansexual. He's so painfully pan. He even says his options are, and I quote, "pretty open." Dis bitch gay.

Mahiru Koizumi- Lesbian. Dont think I gotta explain myself.

Peko Pekoyama- Bisexual. She's totally dating Fuyuhiko, but I can see her having small crushes on other girls.

Hiyoko Saionji- Lesbian. Also dont think I need to explain myself.

Ibuki Mioda- Bisexual. RAGING bisexual. Also I can honestly see her being Gender Fluid as well.

Mikan Tsumiki- Bisexual. She honestly needs therapy more than she needs a relationship, and she probably doesnt really understand her own labels completely, but I think shes bi.

Nekomaru Nidai- Bisexual. Homeboy was a little TOO eager to be rubbed down by Teruteru 😏 Just kidding, though I do think Nekomaru is bi. No real reason honestly

Gundham Tanaka- Bisexual. He obviously has a thing for Sonia, and in a perfect world(i.e. my perfect world) he would be holding hands with Kazuichi daily. Speaking of holding hands he basically breaks Hajime's in the FTEs. Gay 🥰

Nagito Komaeda- Gay. He's very obviously gay coded, mostly towards Hajime though I dont personally ship that.

Chiaki Nanami- Pansexual. She loves everyone equally. Honestly she probably doesnt put too much work on her labels and would probably go by any pronouns as well, so maybe Gender Fluid?

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu- Bisexual. Like Leon I think it would take him a while to accept he likes guys, and he probably leans towards girls more, but he's definitely fruity lol.

Sonia Nevermind- Pansexual. Our girl fucks. She dont care who, she just FUCKS. 🤣 But seriously, I think she just sees love as love. As she should.

Kazuichi Souda- Gay. Transgender, (ftm). He's so very closeted, so badly even he doesnt recognize it. He probably even has internalized homophobia, probably because of his father. Not sure why I hc him as trans, I just think it fits.

Akane Owari- Straight. She probably doesnt think about it much. All she knows is she likes fighting, meat, and Coach Nekomaru.

Alright and onto the last game!

Killing Harmony

Shuichi Saihara- Pansexual, Transgender(ftm). Its. THE RULE. I didnt make it. Sue me. Also fuck it I dunno I think it fits with his whole character if he were trans. Hard to explain lol

Rantaro Amami- Biromantic, Asexual. I admittedly dont know much about Rantaro, but from what I do know, I think he would fit well with just about anyone. I dont have much of a reason for him being Ace.

Kaede Akamatsu- Pansexual. She was the protagonist first, so the rule still applies lol. But even beyond that it just fits her. Hard to explain, it just seems like it works.

Ryoma Hoshi- Straight, Asexual. I know on my ship list I said I shipped him with Gonta, but theres a reason that ship was so low. I heavily think Ryoma is straight. It's just the vibe I get from him. Maybe hes bi curious, but idk. As for the ace bit, it's really dark. I hc it's because of the trauma he endured during prison.

Kirumi Tojo- Lesbian. Idk I look at her and I think "Lesbian power. Powerful wlw moments." Dont ask me my brain just does things.

Angie Yonaga- Pansexual. She always seemed like she was flirting with Himiko and lowkey Tenko, and in the FTEs she straight up wants to get married to Shuichi so like....I dunno what you want me to say.

Tenko Chabashira- Lesbian. Literally no explanation needed.

Korekiyo Shinguji- Pansexual. Putting aside the....obvious....he finds all of humanity beautiful, so he most likely doesnt have a preference when it comes to choosing a partner. Just like with Mukuro we pretend that entire plotline never happened.

Miu Iruma- Pansexual. I see her as pretty open to everyone....Yeah. That's all I got.

Gonta Gokuharu- Bi-curious. Honestly I dont think Gonta knows what he is himself. He probably hasnt given it too much thought, if hes given it any. The best I can think of is bi-curious, assuming hes currently exploring his sexuality.

Kokichi Ouma- Gay. I dont ship him with anyone cause I personally think he'd be a bad partner to anyone he got with based off of his personality, but yeah. He gay lmao.

Kaito Momota- Pansexual. THE LUMINARY OF THE STARS IS FOR EVERYBODY! Probably took a while for him to admit he wasnt straight, but then he admitted it with his whole heart, precious thing.

Tsumugi Shirogane- Straight. Fuck I dunno I dont think about her in a positive light enough to care. Sorry I really tried 😅

Kiibo- Panromantic, Genderfluid, Asexual. Like Imposter, I've called Kiibo he all the time, including every story I put them in, but technically they have no gender. So that does make them nonbinary, but at the same time it leaves the opportunity for them to go by any pronoun they want, so I hc they go by all of them lol. I also think they just love everyone, and for the ace bit, unfortunately, robots probably dont have dicks 😔 Even if they did, I dont think he would be very interested in sex.

Himiko Yumeno- Lesbian. Despite her treatment of Tenko, her reaction at the end of chapter 3 shows she cared for her, and Angie. She probably loved them both, so, lesbian for sure.

Maki Harukawa- Straight. Kaito was probably her first ever crush, so I doubt she ever had a chance to feel out if she was anything other than straight. Even disregarding that, I dont think she'd be anything else.

Alright and those are my headcanons for all the Danganronpa characters! As a bonus, I think Komaru Naegi is a Lesbian! No real reason other than Tokomaru is top tier lol.

Now remember these are my opinions! If you dont agree that's fine! Just be kind!

And HAPPY PRIDE EVERYONE! 🥰🏳️‍🌈

[marypsue]

how about Danny Phantom?

the first character i ever fell in love with: Sam!

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: I wouldn't say don't like, but it is infuriating how the show just refused to acknowledge Sam's flaws or pretended they were strengths, and it got especially egregious towards the end of the show.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: For the same reasons, I don't find Sam/Danny as much of the uncomplicated positive as I used to.

my ultimate favorite character™: It is...still Sam, haha. I just see a lot of my teenage self in her.

prettiest character: I mean, they're all cartoons. I can definitely look at Vlad fanart for a significant amount of time, though.

my most hated character: Whoooooo in season 3 annoyed me the most, who in season 3 annoyed me the most...

my OTP: It was Sam/Danny for a very long time but these days it’s mostly Vlad/letting his hair down. Show us the locks, old man!

my NOTP: Vlad/Maddie. I’ll fight you. (As usual, there may be exceptions made for interestingly fucked-up AUs and/or triad scenarios.)

favorite episode: Oh man it’s been a million years since I watched the show, but I remember having a particular soft spot for “Pirate Radio”. I just love ‘ordinary people working together defeat supernatural threat’ and ‘the peripheral supporting cast get drawn into the Secret World somehow’ and ‘rivals/enemies/nemeses are forced to team up against a greater threat’.

saddest death: I mean technically nobody perma-dies but also technically all the ghosts are dead. But we don’t actually know from canon how most of them died, and Poindexter’s afterlife is sadder than his death imo - what about that Danny clone who melted? I think his death. He didn’t ask to be made! He had no idea what was going on! He was, like, minutes old! None of this was his fault!

favorite season: It has, as mentioned, been a million years, but I think season 2 was really where the show hit its stride.

least favorite season: Season three can eat my shorts.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: I just don’t caaaaaaaare about Dan that much. There really aren’t any other interesting stories to tell about him. I’m okay with never seeing him again.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Sam. I would love the show to have acknowledged her hypocrisy and ‘not like other girls’ nonsense. Also, Vlad is a terrible human being but oh my god he’s so much fun.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Jack you sweet, well-intentioned dingus, go eat some fudge and stop firing ecto-weapons wildly and overenthusiastically into things that are not ghosts.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: eh, not really anything I can think of? Maybe Future Valerie and Dan? You could do interesting things with that if he was...slightly less omnicidal.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Again, I don’t know if I really have one? Somebody mentioned shipping Jazz and that punk she tried to psychoanalyse in a throwaway gag one episode once, and I could get there. 

[inosukeslefttoe]

girl.... omg.... this game rlly means it when it says itll show me the ultimate despair....

so my first fav character was sayaka right,,, and then it was mondo,,, WHICH ISNT TOO GREAT FOR ME LMAO ALL MY FRIENDS HAVE SUCH TRAGIC FATES THIS GAME IS FULL OF TRAGEDY BUT ITS SO FUCKING WELL DONE AND IM EVEN MORE OBSESSED NOW (was low key scared id actually get depressed bc of this since i tend to get rlly attached to things like this,, and yeah i miss mondo like hell but ITS IN SUCH AN EXHILARATING WAY YKNOW AND I CANT WAIT TO KEEP PLAYING THE GAME)

but lmao i just wanna scream about all the little things that made this part of the game even more tragic,,, so first of all is like,, how similar mondo and chihiro are right ?? like at first you see them and ur like “wow these two are lowkey polar opposites bc mondo big tough violent outspoken scary man while chihiro is tiny passive inferiority complex timid man” but after hearing both of their stories, you can tell that they both suffer from the same things and have the same goal. they both have terrible inferiority complexes, they just deal with them differently: chihiro kinda gave into it and ran away from it by deciding to hide his true self behind something he saw as “weaker” than him and letting that become a part of his identity out of fear that he was too weak to try and change/fight it. Mondo on the other hand overcompensated big time for it and became the ultimate manly man when inside he felt nothing but weak and guilt. also like,, a few times mondo mentioned that hes rlly bad with emotions right and he handles them through anger and violence so,,, this means that whenever he has these negative feelings towards himself he has no healthy way to let them out and just keeps pushing them down and trying to maintin this facade of a strong man and never letting anyone know that hes “weak” but this just ends up as a big ball of negativity and adds to his “weakness”...and like... bro chihiro and mondo couldve grown so much stronger together bc they suffer from the same things but could learn how to deal with it better together and balance each other out.... but mondo acted so quickly and violently and did something he couldnt undo which just added to his self hatred and YKNOW ALSO KILLED THE MOST PURE HEARTED STRONGEST PERSON IN HERE BUT AT THE SAME TIME MAKES IT HARD FOR YOU TO BLAME MONDO AND HATE HIM FOR IT BUT UGH THERES JUST SO MANY LAYERS AND ITS SO EMOTIONAL

next.... as you can tell by the gif.... IS MONDOS RELATIONSHIP WITH TAKA... ill prolly make a post screaming abt how much i love them later lmao but like... god what hurt the most for me personally during this bit wasnt that my favorite boy died/had a whole tragic story.... but that his best friend had to go through such betrayal and such loss. like... not only did taka have to see this side of mondo that mondo was desperately trying to hide and find out that his best friend had broken everything he stood for and yknow,,, feel the ultimate sense of betrayal, but he also had to see his best friend brutally killed in front of him. like,, holy shit man mondo was straight up confessing but taka... TAKA REFUSED TO BELIEVE IT AFTER ALL THIS EVIDENCE AND THAT HIT SO MUCH HARDER THAN LEONS DEATH AND THE LIL RHYTHM MINI GAME THING bc in leons case he was like “it was self defense !! i had to !! its not my fault !!” after murdering someone,, but in this case,,,, mondo admitted to it but it was his Bro who refused to accept it and was fighting tooth and nail to save his best friend. AND LIKE,, TAKA IS THE ULT MORAL COMPASS RIGHT ?? AND HE STRAIGHT UP HAD TO KNOW IT WAS MONDO,, AND THAT BREAKS LITERALLY EVERY RULE ON ANY MORAL COMPASS,,, BUT TAKA STILL FOUGHT FOR HIM WITH EVERYTHING HE HAD..... also i noticed taka cursing and that seemed so ooc but so utterly heartbreaking.... and i love how they added extra drama in the game by having the va violently scream in agony for taka like.... talk about despair lmao. omg and my brother is watching the anime right and he was like lol you should watch the scene from it too if you wanna be more sad.... AND OH GOD HE WAS RIGHT... the fact that taka resorted to some violence by grabbing mondo aggressively and shaking him and yelling ... and the fact that he was like “why did you kill him make me understand” kinda thing and mondo couldnt even look at taka or say anything.... BUT EVEN WITH THAT,,, TAKA STILL COULDNT BEAR HIS FRIEND BEING KILLED AND BEGGED MONOKUMA TO KILL H I M INSTEAD ??? GOD MY HEART CANT FUCKING HANDLE THAT. LIKE THAT BOND THEY HAVE BRO AND HOW MONDO SEVERED IT AND HOW TAKA WAS NOT GONNA LET IT BE BROKEN THAT EASILY AND HHHHHH IM . SO . SAD. but seriously... that was a whole new level of despair imo for this game to add such a beautiful relationship between these two and have it end so tragically by taka, the moral compass, dropping his morals and refusing to see the facts in front of him and still ready to die for his bro.... also the whole “make me understand” line kinda just... he couldnt even condemn mondo for it, he wanted to know his reasonings so he could know that his friend wasnt a bad guy and couldnt die yknow...

HAHA I GOT ALL SAD AGAIN WRITING THIS DUDE BUT ITS JUST SO GOOD HOW COULD I NOT MAKE A POST YOU FEEL ?? im so hyped to start chapter three tomorrow but i swear if it gets any sadder it might actually affect my mood and ill have to take a break... but i think that the death of my fav + the relationship doomed to despair is quite a high level to beat for me personally since i always find things to be more sorrowful when it has anything to do with human connections like that lmao

1/2/21

[dbzebra]

☕️ OH YKNOW WHAT AT THAT NOTE? Talk about that dbs broly movie cuz yknow. That’s a hot topic of the ages that folk feel particularly really strongly about

ooooh ive been waiting for this one. We watched this together on discord so you know my general feelings but Im happy i got this ask lol.

putting this under read more cause it gets long 

The new movie that everyone seems to love and adore.... that I dont. It was a pretty middle of the ground, meh overrated af movie. Not bad, just nothing special. I enjoyed watching it sure, but not something I have an inkling to return to anytime soon if ever. It was just ‘there’ for me. 

First, I’ll say the good stuff. The visuals looked really pretty. Nobody was THAT out of character of the existing cast (save for the ending), which i feel weird to have to even mention it as a positive, but nothing really stood out to me as a defining moment for the little cast we had besides Goku’s “youre not a bad guy, i can tell” or w/e. SUPER SAIYAN 1 IS STILL GOAT. It looked soooo good in this movie i wish we couldve kept it the whole time instead of Blue. But i will say, Blue looked much better in this movie than the series. The darker-blue with the lighter blue eyes was a nice change from instead of the ugly bluish-green the series did. Also the aura looked better. Backgrounds like the ice area and even Planet Vegeta were amazing. Action was great too. little Bulla was cute. The OST i liked (the chanting really grew on me) and Blizzard is a banger i love that song. Oh and the aritisic license they took for the fusion scene with the reds and blues spiraling together was great

Anyway thats all the positives I have lmaoo

This film includes Minus and I already went in depth on why I hate Minus with a passion and why it’s the worst thing to come out of modern Dragon so yeah moving on. But the fact that they devoted screentime to Gokus backstory which ultimately served no purpose to the story of the film and couldve been used more valuably elsewhere. 

I said the action was good, and it was, but it almost too good. At times it was so fast to tell that was going on and really lessened the impact for me. Like when they went into the other dimension or whatever, Gogeta went blue and Broly went LSSJ (idc if the name is different name, itll always be legendary SSJ to me lmao) so ast it was a blink and you miss it moment. like what? those moments shouldve been given even a little bit of focus. 

Next the cast. Goku and Vegeta. AGAIN. snorefest. no Gohan, Piccolo is just there to show them the fusion, Goten and Trunks are still kids and look like babies (and Pilaf gang is with them which is another can of worms), no Android 17, who the series established as one of the top 4 fighters on Earth. 

Do we get any of that? Nope. Just the two Blue and Bluer fucking again and again I. dont. care. anymore. Their dynamic is so boring and played out id rather watch paint dry. It was fun in Buu Saga, hell it was even fun in GT, but DBS constantly forcing this dynamic and Vegeta as the second Main Character needs to fucking STOOOP. Toei and Toriyama has no idea how to further Vegeta’s character because theyre stuck in this infinite loop. 

Vegeta doesnt want to help Goku, he mentions Bulma and/or Trunks, Vegeta blushes, and then he decides to help. THAT HAPPENED LIKE SIX TIMES IN DBS ALONE. It happened in Buu saga as well, but it organically worked cause it was the first time but Bulma and Trunks were ALREADY DEAD/ABSORBED. The look on his face wasnt blushy or pouting for a gag, dude was legit shocked. I rag on Vegeta but he had some legit great moments in the early arcs and later parts of Buu Saga. Anyway im off track. They repeat that same exact character moment OVER AND OVER. cant tell you how many times we had “my Bulma, my bulla, my Trunks, my cabba” in the Tournament of Power alone, and this movie is no different.

DO SOMETHING ELSE FFS

Then we have Broly. ohhhhhh boooy Broly. if you can even call this version of him Broly. His backstory is kinda the same as original movie 8/Broly LSSJ, but its more tragic becuase according to most fans, if youre background is a sobstory, that equals better character. NO. sure it could, but that trope was so worn out so long ago I hate it. “waaa his life was bad, hes not a bad guy” bruh i dont care thats not Broly. just make an OC if you wanna do that. but nope. gotta use the marketing! (More on that later)

People like to criticize Z Broly as “he hates Goku cause he cried” or “all he says is Kakarot” which both are false. On the first point, Broly is a psychopath. He was stabbed as an infant and left to die along with Paragus cause he was too powerful. Then that same day Planet Vegeta explodes practically on top of them. The rest of his life hes basically either being controlled or on a rampage. So that one moment of peace is “ruined” by Goku in a sense cause he subconsciously associates that with Goku. On the second point, Broly was already mentally unstable and then nearly dying, getting caught in the explosion of a SECOND PLANET and then being frozen for seven years will fuck anyone up in the head. Z Broly in the original movie was sadistic af and he had a lot of memorable moments and lines that werent just screaming Kakarot, that Second Coming made him infamous for. 

New Broly is legit a man-baby. People talk about old Broly having no personality and this new version having a deep character, but I dont see it. He acts like a child when hes with Cheelai and Lemo and then once the fighting starts he doesnt say a single word but yell. SOUND FAMILIAR?? But he gets a pass because the canon police says so right??? fuck off. New Broly is boring. Im tired of trying to make the Saiyans into ThEyRe noT aLl BaD sEe The SaIyAns ArE AcTuAlLy GoOd!!!11111 ugh i hate it. keep Broly a psycho and keep Bardock a prick. even that guy that went with Buzz Lightyear I mean Paragus was a sweet guy who couldnt fight because of course he was. At least they kept Paragus being a prick when he killed him. Tho his death was lame. 

Cheelai’s overrated af. Shes just green bulma lmao. and the fact that they included the ��big soft-spoken man gets mad and saves girl from drunk lowkey-rapey pervert” trope just had me roll my eyes like dude stop. Lemo was fine? Nothing against him but didnt do much for me either.

FUCK. FREEZA. i went over this one before too so ill be quick with this as well. I hate hate hate the fact that they brought him back not once but twice in DBS, but even worse that they left him alive to do whatever tf he wants including going back to mass murdering people and expanding his army again. Goku and Vegeta just LET HIM LIVE. Why tf did they go all out and attack Broly, but not Freeza? when one of them was fighting Broly th other easily could have taken out freeza but nope we need a token villain like Joker or Skeletor cause unoriginality. Even at the end, Gogeta does a full power blast to wipe Broly tf out, but when Freeza tries to kill Cheelai and Lemo (two innocent people, feelings on them aside) Gogeta basically just shakes his finger like nuh-uh! dont do that! and then he flies off. Just let this mfer die already im sick of seeing his ass. FUCK I HATE IT SO MUCH GFGFFGFGFGF

Lastly this movie is legitimately Dragon Ball Fanservice The Movie. 

Gogeta vs Broly, which the games have been doing since fucking 2003, is the main point of this film. Theres no originality whatsoever. Minus is discount Father of Goku special, and then its a mashup of Broly LSSJ and Fusion Reborn (both of which are superior movies imo). This creatively banrkupt shell of a franchise cant think of anything new, so they legit remake an old movie, through in fusions because that sells like hotcakes, and make the animation pretty because thats all that matters.

Imo, this movie, like 99% of Super, is all flash and flair but no substance at all. At least this movie looked nice. unlike the show. 

ok thats all i got lmao

[mauriceclivealec]

Am I the only one who didn't like how Maurice ended? (I just watched the movie, I'll read the novel asap) I was really rooting for Maurice and Clive and it kinda upset me that the story at a certain point started focusing on this new character (Alec) and Maurice. I mean don't get me wrong it ended in the best way for Maurice, he was finally free and he found someone to share this freedom with but still? I feel so bitter because I didn't like Alec's character and was really hoping for Maurice --

and Clive to sort things out or in the worst case get that sad ending we're used to see in these movies. When Alec arrived the plot focused on him and Maurice only and Clive was kinda left out? It's like I couldn't get attached to this plot twist because it was unexpected and it was all too fast. I feel happy that things worked out for Maurice and all but not how they made this happen. I just can't get it up for Alec; maybe because he popped up all of a sudden without any backstory, he did whathe did all so quickly and he kinda stole the plot I don't know ahaha we don't know anything about his personality, story. I mean if he popped up way before and they made us know him and kinda get used to him it would've been (maybe) different (for me). The thing that most irritated me tho (don't hate me) was that Maurice comes up with "I'm in love with Alec" while talking to Clive. I mean ok, I'm not saying he had to be still in love with Clive (I guess he got used to the fact they couldn't be a thing since Clive got married and all) but falling in love after a... fuck? I don't know... they didn't have any kind of conversation, they basically didn't even know each other if not bc they shared a few lines "good night sir", "you have to pay", "I don't want your money". I get that Maurice finally felt something by getting physical with another man and I understand that but falling in love? That's another story. I don't wanna criticise a novel in any way (it surely is a masterpiece and I would never), I'm just talking about the movie, that could be different. Also I think that Clive had the biggest regret of his life and also that he's still lowkey in love with Maurice and will always be. What do you think about this? I'm sorry for this rant but I saw you answered a question about the movie and I thought that maybe I could share this with you bc apparently on tumblr we don't talk too much about this movie. I'm sorry again 😭🤧            

wow there’s a lot to get to here! no reason to apologize for the ask. i wish i could devote more time to talking about this movie and book but unfortunately i have to Adult so i don’t have the kind of free time i did when i started this blog. and i also don’t think there’s anything wrong with critiquing media regardless of its masterpiece status.

i think some of your issues can be addressed if you think both about the historical context and about what e.m. forster was trying to accomplish. he has said on many occasions that he would not have bothered to write the novel if there was no happy ending. so your worst case scenario of a sad maurice/clive focused ending was never going to happen, and imo the story is better for it; a happy ending for homosexuals was and still remains revolutionary.

the novel isn’t just about the interpersonal relationships or even about homosexuality, it’s also hugely about class struggle. and the three main characters embody some of that class critique in their personality and actions. clive is really unable to shed his upper class morality and he ends up choosing status over his care or love for maurice. maurice starts out trying to be more like clive, which is exactly what the newly founded edwardian middle class as a whole attempted to do at the time this work is set, and why clive’s mentorship and friendship with maurice was so accepted and encouraged. alec is of course lower class and this fully colors his interactions with clive and maurice -- unlike the lofty proclamations clive and maurice share, his verbal interactions must be more subtextual, but additionally he is more action-orientied than clive is able to be because he has less to lose and is less beholden to society’s expectations. this is, by the way, a gross simplification of the class conflicts in the novel and how they manifest in the characters, but it gives you a baseline on why alec’s interactions seem sort of minimal and abrupt, because alec is given less berth in that society to express himself to maurice. he insinuates himself into the story fairly early but it’s so subtle that it can seem like he came out of nowhere. that’s especially what merchant ivory was going for in the movie version.

i think regardless of that, we do get a lot about alec’s personality, but it’s less overt. we see him as somewhat iconoclast and willing to break rules, seeing the way he refuses tips and speaks out, and the way he flirts with lots of characters fairly brazenly. he’s willing to forge a new life for himself in the argentine, so he’s fairly fearless and capable of making big changes for the better. despite his lack of formal education he is fairly sharp and smart. he’s bold and decisive and goes for what he wants, which is in stark contrast to clive. in many ways i think he’s meant to be opposite to clive, especially in respect to the “words vs deeds” concept that maurice and risley debate earlier in the work. risley thinks words are deeds and i think clive does too, but maurice doesn’t feel that way, and neither does alec. it’s one of the reasons they ultimately are better for each other, and also why they are able to choose each other so quickly and decisively.

i also want to talk about the fact that this is not a society in which even men and women have a great deal of romantic or sexual interaction prior to marriage. so to belittle the huge huge act of maurice and alec making love as just a fuck is a big disservice. it’s an absolutely monumental step for a relationship at this time, any relationship, and the additional risk of it being an illegal act makes it even more impactful.

additionally, in this one act maurice is finally able to shed all of the suffering and conflict he has had for literally his whole life and become whole as a person. it’s something he’s wanted for years and clive has been unable to provide, and he’s been told for years by clive that it’s somehow better and purer, but to actually get it with alec and discover how much it matters and changes everything? that alec is willing to risk his whole life to be with him and vice versa? and also sometimes when something is right, you know, and you have to just surrender to it. so i think a lot of factors really add up to why the two of them were able to fall for each other so quickly and really go for it.

as for clive, i answered that in the previous ask. he loves maurice as much as he will allow himself, which is less than maurice deserves. he makes his choice, and it’s understandable why he does, but it’s not the brave choice and it doesn’t reap the rewards of happiness. by the way i realize this sounds very unsympathetic to clive and i do want to say i understand fully why he does what he does. it’s not merely a loss of status that’s at stake, it’s potentially losing his actual life. like, he could spend all of his life doing hard labor in jail. he could die. the homophobia in that society is so pervasive that without clive maurice might have never even realized he was homosexual at all. so the fact that clive is unable to really commit to maurice isn’t a sign of personal weakness, or if it is, it’s a weakness almost all of us would have been subject to at this time if faced with the same scenario. that is what make alec and maurice’s choices all the more astoundingly brave and revolutionary.

[alewyren]

it’s 2 am and I need to rant at length about the romance in bravely default/bravely second

Okay, so, I like the Bravely series overall. I just really, really fucking hate every single one of its three main ships. In descending order of hostility:

Edea/Ringabel

This pairing hurts my soul. Edea is my all-time fave and I quite like Ringabel as well, yet somehow it’s managed to become my bar-none NOTP for the franchise. Which is ironic, since I actually ship Alternis/Edea pretty hard. But honestly, it’s precisely because I love Edea and her complicated relationship with Alternis so much that RinDea makes me want to go on a stabbing spree.

Let me explain.

I don’t inherently object to the idea of Edea and Ringabel being together. What I hate is how their relationship is written. On paper, their relationship is actually super interesting. What with Ringabel’s previous life as Alternis, having lost his own Edea, and loving her much more deeply than he lets on. The problems are twofold: this only covers half the pairing, ignoring Edea’s feelings for the two men altogether, and this aspect of their relationship is never capitalized on. Instead, 99% of their interactions are generic slap-slap-kiss bullshit, with Ringabel’s advances being shot down every single time. Except of course she totally secretly loves him. And to make matters worse, she’s 15. He’s 20. Yeah, totally not creepy at all. I have no idea what Squeenix was thinking here.

Like, you’d think Edea would have a lot of conflicted feelings over the whole Alternis revelation, but it never even gets addressed! Because her feelings don’t matter, apparently? Like, why pair Edea with another incarnation of Alternis and not acknowledge her strained relationship with her Alternis?! Or maybe have Ringabel actually respect Edea’s feelings to lay off the creepy flirting if he really loves her so much? Seriously, how did Alternis’s personality do a complete 180 like that anyway? That still bothers me. You could say you like the relationship for the potential but IMO the damage is already irreparable. The most I can hope for is that they can never be together for plot reasons and Edea ultimately ends up working things out with her Alternis and they marry down the line--something that also desperately needs to happen with Ringabel since he still carries the emotional baggage associated with being Alternis but nope, never addressed, all you need for a stable and happy relationship is a perv who doesn’t know the meaning of no and an UNDERAGE girl who turns him down but secretly likes it because no always means yes, amiright? Fuck this pairing and fuck Squeenix for writing them like this.

And yeah the age difference gripe applies to Alternis as well but he’s much less aggressive when coming onto her, and when he is, it’s treated as a character flaw. Besides, I only see the two of them getting together way in the future after they’ve both matured. Also, can I just point out that Edea’s bravely second outfit, apparently meant to signify her lingering feelings for Ringabel, looked awful? Blue is not remotely her color, and being lovelorn for Ringabel does not suit her at all. Why does she love him? What draws her to him? Clearly she doesn’t love him for being Alternis, though it’s not even clear if it’s in spite of that. It’s never even explained, it’s just assumed that she must love him because he loves her. it’s gross as fuck smh

And like the entire fandom ships it and doesn’t even stop to think about how gross their relationship really is and I WANT TO FUCKING KILL MYSELF

Oh, and another thing! Why was Edea’s ONLY personal damage, according to Yoko, just being tfw no bf? God forbid a woman have a character or struggles independent of her totally shoehorned feelings for a guy. Nothing about the stress of ruling Eternia, nothing about how she still clings to childhood despite her character development in the first game, literally just being lonely because no Ringabel. She’s my darling daughter and she deserves so much better than this utter and complete shit.

Yew/Magnolia

What grinds my gears about this pairing is that while it was indeed a totally forced romantic plot tumor that would have changed absolutely nothing about the narrative had it not been a thing, Yew’s character did not suffer from it at all while Magnolia’s was completely consumed. Yew was actually a really good character, why did Magnolia completely lack any substance whatsoever? MAXIMUM THENKING

For that matter, Altair and Vega could have been a lot more interesting, too, and it’s not like the parallels between them and Yew/Magnolia had any impact on the characters or narrative. It was just kind of a thing, y’know? It could have been interesting if it foreshadowed Yew and Magnolia becoming star-crossed lovers themselves, or even Yew tearing down the sky to save Magnolia. But no. Seriously, what was the point of this relationship? It added nothing to the narrative or either of their characters, and their interactions were just so forced and painful to watch.

Come to think of it, during my first playthrough of Bravely Second, though, I’d actually thought the narrator who turned out to be Deneb was Vega, and I still think that would have been a more interesting route to take with Vega. Actually give her some agency and presence in the narrative beyond being the damsel in distress and whatnot.

Tiz/Agnes

I’m less openly hostile towards this pairing so much as I am immensely bored by it and saddened by its wasted potential to be something interesting. There was actually very little buildup to them being any more than just friends, for starters. No, writers, just because a man and woman are single and interact does not mean the audience automatically assumes they want to bang, and neither should you. Tiz not really having any sort of personality doesn’t help matters, though. Agnes in general has kind of lowkey born sexy yesterday vibes that make me a bit uncomfortable, what with how naive she is about worldly matters and how sexed up she is in official art of her vestal garb. And with Tiz being a literal player insert it comes off a little fetishy, like she’s supposed to be your waifu rather than a substantial and believable relationship forming between two actual characters. Oh Tiz, why did you have to be such a flat character?

I actually think it would have been a lot more interesting if Yew/Magnolia had been scrapped altogether, and it was Tiz/Agnes that had the parallels drawn with Altair and Vega. Especially if they actually went somewhere narratively, like I mentioned earlier with the two of them becoming star-crossed lovers or Tiz tearing down the sky for Agnes like Altair did for Vega. Maybe even to the point of his love for her leading to catastrophe. Cliche? Maybe, but at least there would be some actual substance to their relationship rather than coming off like they’re just pairing them because they’re the hero and heroine and it’s the rule for them to get together. And since their relationship was established in the first game and we have some attachment to them as characters, as opposed to Yew and Magnolia, it’d wind up being a lot more emotionally engaging. Not to mention it’d add a lot more emotional weight to Altair and Vega’s story, too.

Shit, Altair was even possessing Tiz for a while, wasn’t he? This shit literally writes itself! What a wasted opportunity.

I dunno, my thoughts on these two are a lot more scattered. They just make me bored and depressed.