#I honestly hope he does decide to try out that character arc

[underwaterspaghetti314]

This happened like a month ago but it still irks me a bit so I’m putting it up here.

In my DnD campaign, one of my player characters was talking to another character about various religious stuff in the setting. I took this time to introduce the Moon Goddess Galicaea, who has a winged wolf icon that he saw in a nightmare.

“Yeah so she has a special bond with wolves, and has a whole host of winged wolves that fly alongside her chariot that pulls the moon. This special bond is why wolves howl at the moon.”

“Actually, wolves don’t actually howl at the moon. They howl to communicate. Also, her chariot pulls the moon?”

“Yeah.”

“…What about gravity?”

My brother in Christ you are playing as a 12-year-old boy and his 14-year old sister trapped in the same body because both of you died and then made a shady deal with a mysterious god. One of you was deathly allergic to magic, but is now fine, and the other can shoot literal fire and lightning from her fingertips. You have fox ears and a tail that nobody really knows how to explain. You are talking to a half-human half-angel kid with a half-orc step dad and whose angel dad left because he was bound to the celestial planes. Your partner in crime is a dragon man who is learning to manipulate the flow of time and can breathe freezing death at people.

But God fuckin forbid the wolves are actually howling at the moon or there be other magical forces in space besides gravity. That would shatter the immersion!

[rationalnerd62]

I'm feeling weirdly about C3 ending next week (I guess there's some sadness mixed with other stuff, but me, putting feelings into words? Not in my autism), so instead of thinking too much about those feelings, I want to list random things about Bell's Hells I'd like to get resolved or developed, either in that 8.5h finale or in future BH one-shots (cause they've got to have some one day, right? Right?).

It's in no particular order whatsoever, I'm just putting random thoughts out there (and hoping to see other people's random thoughts too).

Titans' shenanigans! Both Ashton and Fearne absorbed a shard, and got some nice abilities out of it, but is there more to explore here? What does this mean for the elemental life of Exandria? Is this a path to some resurgence of the Titans? Are there other shards elsewhere? Will Ashton ever meet some remains of the cult their parents were in? Is that something they're still interested in knowing more about?

Ludinus! I am hoping this won't get resolved in the finale, because this would give big Trent M9 finale vibes and feel rushed, but that damn elf is still somewhere out there! What are his goals now that Predathos is out / the BH finale deals with the Gods in a way or another? Will he ever come back to haunt our characters?

Laudna! The Matron hinted that there was a possible path to her getting back what got stolen from her (aka her mortality). While I never would want for her to become a "normal human mortal" (she should still be able to get a form of dread and play with shadow and have fun with some of her "monstrous" powers!), I honestly will hate it if my favourite CR couple is *another one* of those couples with wildly different aging speed and one of the member of the couple has to outline the other for decades or centuries. Let Imogen and Laudna grow old together in their little cottage! They deserve it! I could see that being resolved as a "gift" from the Gods (if there's a good outcome with them), but I also wouldn't say no to a post-canon story (one shot, novel, comics, who knows) centered on this. I could see both Imogen and Laudna having made their peace with this, and then maybe in a few years they're starting to talk about kids, and there's this realization that Laudna will also outlive those, and that's when she decides that she needs to do *something*. I don't know whether that's possible, but Matthew! More impossible things have been done in your world!

The Shade Mother! Is she still under Jrusar? It's kinda funny that BH's first main arc ended up with them running away and never finishing there ahaha.

Similarly, will they ever go down to find FCG's coin that Orym had thrown under Jrusar? I know at least some of the cast mentioned being curious about that.

Hey, talking about FCC, will BH Talk with Frida? What about D? Our group really didn't have much time to mourn him, so maybe finding the answers FCG was looking for regarding who he is would be a way for them to process their grief.

(I just had a thought about Ashton going back to Jrusar and Milo without FCG and this broke my heart)

Dorian and his family! He has mentioned them before, and we've met his father, but seeing where he grew up and having him introduce Orym would be nice. And vice versa with Orym introducing Dorian to his family (as his partner instead of his friend). But I'm hopeful this'll get brought up in the finale.

Imodna wedding! Because Laura Bailey deserves to have three weddings one-shot.

More Unseelie stuff! Idk, I feel like there was still more to do wrt Fearne & the Feys.

I'm hoping for a moment with Imogen and her parents in the finale. It's really the end of a big journey for Liliana, but there's another journey to start, about rebuilding (or trying to rebuild) those relationships that got affected by her search for answers. There's a "back from the war" vibe here, and I want to see it.

VM got some pre-campaign comics, M9 got some individual character origins comics, BH also deserves some comics! But what type? I'm not sure how I'd feel if it was exactly as what M9 got, so I'm hoping they'll get some original ideas within the CR crew!

Last (for now) but not least, when is Chetney finally going to die?

[dumpster-diving-rat]

How I think bsd characters (Port Mafia) would react if you hugged them

(Not all members of the PM are here, just the ones I will write for)

Ryunosuke Akutagawa

-Probably thought you were trying to attack him at first

-Literally almost used rashomon on you when you got closer

-And then you hugged him, and he freaked out x2

-Quietly hugs you back in some confusion

-"Why me?" he doesn't understand why you hugged him

-He's a little thankful you did though, it just means you aren't really afraid of him, or afraid of being near him

-Lets go after a while, quietly thanking you for the hug

Higuchi Ichiyo (don't really plan on writing her too often but idk)

-Freaking out, blushing, and probably even fangirling all at once

-Hugging you back immediately, thinking about how this is one of the greatest moments ever

-Doesn't want to let go, but does after a few minutes

-Thanking you for the hug, trying to act normally without freaking out

-Happy for the rest of the day

Chuuya Nakahara

-The most confused person on earth

-You just randomly walked up to him and hugged him? Now he's wondering what's going on

-Is this a type of prank? What're you trying to do?

-Confused yelling at you to ask what you're doing

-Slowly starts to hug you back

-Stays silent for a while and just stands there hugging you

-If you're shorter, he'll put his head on your head or shoulder, and if you're taller, his head is against or on your shoulder (by against I mean his forehead is close to your shoulder but not directly on it)

-Starts calming down a lot

-When you feel safe near someone you love, it can lead you to get tired and sleepy because of that safe state of mind

-Needless to say, he is very tired right now

-He is enjoying this moment a lot, and plans on doing this way more often with you

Oda Sakunosuke (I don't really plan on writing him at all tbh, but I'll still put him here anyways because why not I had this idea at like 3 or 4 am)

-You were in the orphans room when you hugged him

-It surprised him slightly, but he hugged you back

-The kids noticed, and decided to attack you both with hugs as well

-You got knocked onto the floor with Oda, while the kids giggled and smiled and continued hugging you

-You started laughing too, and the kids basically surrounded you both while hugging you

-You couldn't really see, but a slight smile was on Oda's face while he continued to hug you and the kids

-He will definitely remember this

Dazai Osamu (not the 15 arc, this is when he's 18 for clarification)

-If he knew you well enough, he'd let you hug him, honestly if he didn't know you that well he'd probably shove you off of him

-He doesn't exactly hug you back, he just let's you hug him and slightly rubs your back

-Doesn't really enjoy or not enjoy it, he's pretty conflicted with what he's feeling

-After a minute or so, he finally hugs you back

-He has one arm around your waist and the other closer to your shoulder, where your shoulder blade is

-He's hugging you pretty tightly, almost afraid to let you go

-If you're taller than him, his head is against your chest (closer to where your collarbone is) and if you're shorter than him, his chin is on your head

-The hug lasts for longer than expected because he doesn't want to let go, he doesn't want to lose you

-I can see him barely speaking during this hug, but also he might just start venting slightly while joking about his problems

-Might start asking for more hugs, probably even daily

-Enjoys the feeling of you hugging him, even if he didn't at first

Thank you for reading! If there's anything you'd like to request, you could message me or comment it. I have put off figuring out the ask box like the professional procrastinater I am, but I will figure it out soon enough hopefully. If you do request something, do not make it NSFW, noncon or dubcon, and no incest please. I hope you enjoyed reading this ♡

[idrellegames]

I love so much about this game - the world building, the stars system, the descriptions, the variability. It's really really special.

I had a question about Aeran tho. I feel real sympathetic towards him and what he's been through but I have trouble taking him seriously as an RO because, honestly, at times, he feels almost emotionally abusive. The icing you out, the sudden anger spells, the need for the MC to do it his way or they're wrong. I can get with it being bad communication and the result of trauma to a certain extent but it just feels... A little above and beyond.

I totally respect that this is just my interpretation and I'm definitely not saying he's written wrong or anything like that. So, just for me to know if he's worth pursuing, are there plans for any growth on that front throughout his character arc? Or is this just "how he is"?

Once again, I really hope this doesn't come across as criticism, I'm definitely not trying to tell you how to write your story.

Thank you so much!!

So, with regards to Aeran...

...if you are picking up on red flags and weirdness with him...

It may be intentional.

And there may come a point where it all boils over.

And it might not be pretty.

He is also not an RO in the standard sense (neither is Veyer, for that matter - you can see the full list and all the complexities of it on the roster, just sort by "romances", Aeran's is under "conditional").

But what he is is an extremely broken and fucked up man, who has done some fucked up things, and is carrying the consequences of that every day of his life. Is he trying his best? Sometimes. Not always. Does the MC have patience for it? Depends on the MC. Is he worth pursuing romantically...? That is up for your MC to decide.

All of the characters will change and grow throughout the story (and even change and grow differently depending on how events unfold). Is he always going to be like this? Probably not. Is he like this for now...? Yes, because there hasn't been time for any major progress yet.

[yourhighness6]

NATLA Episode 2 Debrief (by yours truly)

Hi again! Here's episode 1 if anyone is interested. This is going to be another outrageously long post, just a tw

I absolutely loved the ominous start and then it's just:

They really captured the Zuko/Iroh dynamic the cartoon had in this scene. I hope they keep this sort of thing throughout the show. Also, side note, but for whatever reason Zuko seems a LOT more violent in this version. This child needs some serious therapy.

I guess this is their version of the map joke, huh? Low-key disappointed but not as mad as I thought I would be.

I'm not sure how I feel about the writers prolonging some of the conflicts that were resolved back in the SWT into this episode. I guess it makes sense that they would have to extend the drama, but I'm a little disappointed these thoughts didn't make it into the first episode. I'm glad they're included, but I think at this point team avatar had started to feel like family already in the cartoon, so it's kind of annoying and misses the mark a bit.

Yes I'm so glad they put GranGran's blessing back in! I was really mad when they took it out, but this honestly feels more meaningful than it did in the cartoon. It's a precious cultural artifact rather than just a couple of blankets. This is similar to what I was mad about with extending SWT conflicts, but I don't have nearly as much of a problem with it, as it seems like they're carrying a little piece of home with them rather than just extra drama.

The burial scene was very sweet and sad. It gave us a bit more insight into Air Nomad culture, and a sense of closure the cartoon didn't really give us. A+ for Gordon's acting as well (he is perfect for this part, even if he does still need some more acting experience)

Zuko has officially mastered the "my uncle dragged me here and I'm an agnsty teenager" face. A+ to Dallas for this entire scene. I am absolutely LOVING the Iroh and Zuko dynamic. Never change (jk I wish you a wonderful redemption arc)

Suki looks just as beautiful as she did in the trailer. Unfortunately can't say the same for the Kyoshi statue (I wish it had been made out of wood), but there is something to be said for the little shrines to the avatars instead of a few big ones. I actually kind of like that they changed that element, and I hope they explore it more in future episodes, because I assume some of the spiritualism surrounding them would have to be changed. Side note: but I've seen nothing of the spirit world so far and I'm getting a little nervous. I guess I wouldn't mind if they decided it was some long-lost avatar trick or is introduced in the NWT, but if they get rid of it altogether I'm gonna be pissed.

I'm glad they decided to make Kyoshi Island a matriarchal society instead of having a male leader. It just makes sense based on the lore and I like to see more strong adult women than in the cartoon. Also Suki got a mom! Maybe she'll get some development too!

This Aang speech was very in-your-face storytelling, but I feel like the whole show is gonna be like that so I'm just accepting it at this point. I think it stayed true to his character while getting the point across, and it also kind of helped his character compared to the cartoon. He's very emotionally open and has a charming nativity about him, but he's clearly trying to help. Loved it.

He's so awkward I love it. This whole interaction was really cool, because it expanded on their relationship in a cool way. They're both struggling between doing what their parents expect of them to help their respective villages, but are being faced with a pull to the outside world, Suki with her "big heart" and Sokka with his need to protect Katara. Thishonestly gives more depth to their relationship and I don't mind the writers dragging out first episode conflicts if this is how they're choosing to explore them.

Aww look at these cute little siblings. I like that the writers are giving them more time to progress from strangers to besties. Their interactions seem more natural, and Aang's grief more realistic. It's also great to once again see Katara growing more confident and powerful in her abilities. I love the smell of some good character development in the making.

Look at her face! She's like,"I'm so good at flirting. Mother would be proud." Meanwhile Sokka's scared of her. Anyway I'm living for their scenes and they're making me giggle. (Despite Sokka's sexism being toned down it still exists to a lesser level and I love to see her beating his ass while he tries to flex)

I love the new subplot! I love that flashback! I love this conflict! It gives more credence to his fears as a prodigy. Whatever writer came up with this deserves a hug.

AHH the ship is sailing! I love Sokka learning to be more open minded! I love Suki learning to be more open-hearted! I love when characters in romantic relationships learn from each other! This is giving Suki and Sokka development in ways the cartoon did not without trying to play Sokka's sexism off as a joke and also giving us more screentime and when I say I love it I mean I am doing a happy dance right now!

Okay, so just a quick word on shipping besides Sukka because as Zutara trash I am legally required to do this:

It seems like they are keeping the zutara hope parallel intact, with Katara and Zuko both finding hope in the avatar but in different ways. However, I don't think this really changes anything. So far, there's beven nothing to suggest they're going with ZK instead of KA, and I'm a little worried that they're trying to parallel Sukka and KA wwith the way they're setting up both girls as kind of a "teacher" to the boys in a way and giving both ships a huge amount of screentime in the same episode. Also, and I hate to say this, they might be attempting to fix KA by toning down Katara's anger and her "dark side". She didn't get angry to break the iceberg and they're eliminating her entire waterbending scroll plotline. They're trying to make them a better match for each other by watering her down and therefore increasing her connection with Aang and decreasing the chance of a future connection with Zuko over their anger and shared trauma. It's sad news that I didn't want to deliver, and I've seen spoilers that there is another ZK moment later down the line, but at this point, I think KA is a lot more plausible than ZK. *cries*

In slightly less depressing news, they're inserting the avatar state plotline a lot earlier. This makes sense with the condensed timeline, and I think I like the way they're going with it so far. I hope they keep the concept of avatar guide intact, though, and I'm worried that they're going to play into more of a connection to all of his past lives instead of just Roku. I kind of hate Roku but I do think that's a major concept I don't want them to get rid of, and his inaction during a time of adversity mirror's Aang's own challenges with confrontation. Their dynamic is a good one, and I wouldn't be opposed to changed but I really hope they don't entirely throw it out.

Scratch whatever the fuck I said before. I'm back on my shipping bullshit I can't believe we got a BONUS FIGHT! Also kudos to whoever decided Zhao should burn the village instead of Zuko. I was always so pissed at him whenever I rewatched this episode and now I can sleep easy knowing it was that military dipshit instead of him

I love Kyoshi to an unhealthy extent but I kind of wish Katara had been the one to go off on him. It would have seriously fixed things.

COUPLES THAT FIGHT TOGETHER ARE THE BEST COUPLES CHANGE MY MIND

Also, side note, but I love the hair these in fight scenes:

Most action movies hairspray the shit out of them but these actors are allowed to look a little disheveled while they kick ass. Huge thank you to whoever decided that more natural hair is superior cuz they are 100% correct

THE BONUS FIGHT SCENE IS NO LONGER COOL I REPEAT THE BONUS FIGHT SCENE IS NO LONGER COOL

I think this was the perfect conclusion to Sukka (for now)! Sokka learned something so much more valuable and impactful than in the cartoon, in my opinion. His masculinity is handled very well in my opinion, and even if I would have liked to see him wear the warrior outfit, there's something really great about the way he continues to embrace protectiveness, a masculine trait, while having rid himself of toxic masculinity, such as not being able to learn from others. He's leaving a more open minded and humble person and I love the way they portrayed it.

Okay the speech was a little on the nose but I liked it. One of the best things about ATLA was the way they executed Aang's childishness ending up beneficial for the world. I think the new conflict is expanding on that nicely while staying true to its roots. *pats writers on the head*

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IS THIS REAL I LOVE IT SO MUCH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IM TRYING SO HARD NOT TO THINK ABOUT THIS LINE AND HOW IT COULD BE ANOTHER PARALLEL TO K/A I HATE IT BUT I LOVE IT AT THE SAME TIME LETS JUST FOCUS ON SUKI SAYING SOKKA HELPED HER AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Also the fan was so cute. That last scene on Appa really wrapped everything up nicely. I like the way they tied in the conflicts between the siblings while engineering growth for Sokka.

Daniel Kim delivered in his two seconds of screentime. Zhao was such a bitch but idk what else I expected. Can't wait to see more of these two bastards in future!

Anyway, to recap:, things I did like:

Aang's new conflicts

Sokka's mini arc

SUKKA

Expanding on Katara's PTSD

Zhao burning the town instead of Zuko

Zuko and Iroh's dynamic

Things I didn't like:

Katara's characterization

Lack of Aang's actual avatar guide

K/A hints and lack of zutara implications

Postponing the Zhao and Zuko agni Kai

Overall, I have to say I think that they're playing into the core themes very well while expanding on the characters. If it weren't for the whole Katara debacle this would be a 9/10 episode, but with the Katara debacle imma give it a 7/10. Still, I can at least understand why the writers made their crappy decisions, even if I don't agree with them. Hopefully certain things are fixed in future episodes, but as it stands I think I'll live (barely)

[so-bitya]

As someone who likes the character of Elizabeth and well to some extent Cielizzy. I think something people should take into account is that they both don't know each other deeply and only have an idea of ​​what the other is.

I think what happened from Lizzy's "betrayal" to Ciel is important. Because first he makes Ciel deal with the consequences of lying to everyone he knows. Yes he have good reasons to lie but that doesn't mean people will be any less upset with Ciel because He openly LIED to their faces and even more so considering that he used the identity of his "dead" brother.

Lizzy makes sense in feeling hurt and betrayed because first they lied to her face and played with her feelings. But it is necessary because she must finally question why she "loves" Ciel. And what meaning does her indentity and life have next to Ciel (who she really doesn't know at all) I hope Lizzy can finally decide what she wants for herself and not what she expects from her and decides to return to Ciel (or Sirius?) and maybe finally THEY CAN SPEAK THINGS WITH THE TRUTH And well, maybe Lizzy will finally decide BY OWN DECISION to love Ciel/Sirius.🩷 And as for Ciel, I'm not sure how things will be on his side, but maybe he'll finally know and understand Elizabeth, and well, who knows, maybe he'll appreciate Lizzy more. 💙

Although knowing Yana I have the feeling that this could end very badly and painfully 💔But well just my thoughts I love your content of Elizabeth and Ciel 💕hasta aquí mi reporte Joaquín 👍

YES! this is everything I find interesting about them. that Ciel and Lizzy only know an idea of each other. they both hide behind masks and rely on each other for their identity as "Ciel" and "Lizzy". they've both been using each other to play their roles, but that's what makes their bond so strong to me? because that constant devotion, even when it comes to sacrificing themselves, is their sense of love.

And the betrayal!! that's what i don't understand fandom, the betrayal was incredibly well-written! fans just place the burden of the relationship on Lizzy constantly "oh she should've just asked first, how could she not trust him?" um... why would he answer her. why would she ask him?? her not trusting him is what kicked off this arc! how could they ever be honest with each other when this whole time they've been playing pretend!

and that's what im trying to get to here, that Lizzy's just like Ciel. she placed all her pride on being a fiancee, made an identity out of it. "how could Lizzy lie? how could she not trust him?" well just like how Ciel lied! like how Ciel didn't trust her, she's mirroring him! she repaid him for how he lied to her for all 4 years in one fell swoop! people cry about her not communicating, but this was the best way for her to communicate. how it felt for all those years not to matter, the humiliation of being lied to, the betrayal.

and im looking forward to them meeting again and speaking honestly for once. i like how you pointed out, it wont be just Lizzy coming to understand Ciel (the burden still falling on her) but Ciel coming to understand her too! how tragic it'll end up, i cant say for sure, I feel like Kuro kinda lost it's edge (i know, snake and agni, but an even more prominent character needs to die before i change my mind) ...and yana does have a soft spot for Ciel and Lizzy. however it turns out, as long as the characters are giving justice im happy.

anyway thanks for enjoying my writing lol, its kinda all over the place lol, but im planning more bigger posts in the future. i hope you'll enjoy them 🤞🏽💕

[spacedadkronos]

Ooo, lol, looks like someone got their knickers twisted so hard they wrote a whole essay about how they're categorically correct about an ultimately subjective matter. That's always a winning approach.

Please do not try to "educate" me the difference between writers and executive producers in animation. I have an animation degree. I'm not a child.

 I follow both Brent and Alan on Twitter and have been for like 3 years now. I have been watching their updates since the announcement of the show 2 years ago. I have pics of them celebrating finishing up the writing. Here's proof that they wrote it, including screenshots of the IMDb Brent had linked on his Twitter. 

I said this is not what they consider THE sequel. Obviously it is *a* sequel. I'm saying people should not be treating it like Megamind 2 when it is a pilot for the TV show. They want a real theatrical sequel.

This is a random screenshot I felt was important

I think this person better put what I meant about not as many people would care this much if it wasn't on streaming:

Megamind was an arrogant little egomaniac for the entirety of the first movie. Not sure how you missed that. Roxanne appears dissatisfied with her place in life from her recording at the Metro Man Museum with Hal onward, and does her level best to become the hero her city needs because no one else is going to stand up and do it - not sure how you missed that, either, but her whole character arc is about stepping up to the plate to do good. Well done reducing her to a single career point and then discarding her. I wasn't surprised to see her frustrations with going right back to reporting. That was a headspace that made a ton of sense for her. It was set up incredibly well.

And Megamind himself says, "some days, it felt like it was just me and Minion against the world," so you might think I agree with you there - but in fact I'm going to point out the SOME days, it FELT LIKE. There is no reason to believe that he never had any other professional associates between the time he left the schoolhouse and the time we see him as an established supervillain. In fact, I can and will argue that there's room to interpret *he himself* saying he wasn't always flying solo. It's up to interpretation - but it's there.

And no, Roxanne and Megamind are not and should not be "quasi-dating" unless you want to look past the enormous Bernard lie. Which I can't say I'm surprised you did, since Roxanne doesn't matter as anything other than Reporter Romantic Interest, apparently. The end of the original implies they have *potential.*

But I'm not trying to convince you. At the end of the day, you didn't enjoy something you hoped to enjoy. You missed a few key points about the original, so the pilot of the show didn't line up with some of your expectations and it pissed you off. That's a shame. But instead of offering some grace and recognizing it for what it is - a movie designed for a younger demographic than the original, the first ounce of love Dreamworks has shown this IP since its initial release more than a decade ago, and as much story as could be crammed into 83 minutes because the people making it only had so much time within which to work, which is *honestly a fun ride* if somewhat tonally dissonant compared to what YOU were hoping for - you've decided instead to focus on what it wasn't: What You Personally Wanted. And you've decided to make your disappointment everyone else's problem instead of processing it like an adult and moving on.

I think you're boring, I think you're unkind, I think you're a whiny little bully who came onto MY POST to bitch and complain about how you're the god of what I'M allowed to enjoy. Block me, if I make you so miserable. I'm busy having fun.

[sikkdog]

I decided that i should start reading paragon and i’m only on chapter 10 and i absolutely hate it. It’s possible i’m just overly picky with my fanfic but i honestly think it’s just genuinely bad. I bet(and hope) i don’t have the full story with how will got in prison in the beginning but having hannibal meet formally after will is accused does not feel natural at all. The pacing is something that makes me incredibly mad. On the first fucking chapter i felt like we just went through a season long arc. Hannibal should not be so blatantly in love with will in the beginning, and neither should will. Both of them should take a significant amount of time to accept these feelings in the first place. Will isn’t the only one to struggle with accepting himself. You know how jarring it must be for the goddamn chesapeake to form an attachment to a person he’s playing little mind games with and trying to frame. I also don’t believe hannibal would’ve gained that severe of an attachment if he didn’t manipulate will. Hannibal and will cannot exist without resistance. Will falling in love with hannibal is parallel to him discovering his unconscious. Wills tendencies towards violence are primal and so is his relationship with hannibal. For hannibal it is significantly easier to accept his attraction to him. The main issue with him is his tendencies and wills resistance to them. They both must resist eachother to be together. On the other hand they could just keep resisting eachother and trying to kill eachother and i would be much happier than whatever paragon has going on. Paragon pretty much takes away what makes hannigram so enticing and replaces it with smut.

This is definitely going to be a longer post because i have a lot of criticisms just for those 10 chapters. Pretty much every interaction feels out of character. The hannibal depicted in paragon is solely centered around his relationship with will. Though i don’t usually have an issue with portraying hannibal as obsessive i don’t think that really scrapes the surface of my issue here. Hannibal is a character who’s ego is constantly battling his id. In paragon he is not battling anything it’s like the solely will part of his id was only highlighted and it doesn’t feel as personal as it would if it didn’t completely ignore how he’s a killer. That is also something that pissed me off. We all know who we are talking about when we mention hannibal lecter. Therefore i think that making his killings a little secret that is only gone over in subtext is pointless. Hannibal is only a shell of himself when you completely separate him from violence. One can separate the monster from the man but not without either part being unaffected by the other.

With wills characterization is a whole other thing. Wills character makes me genuinely so frustrated because it is just straight up not will graham. That is not the traumatized man being pushed to the edge by the fbi(and also had encephalitis but it hasn’t been explain how it would affect him on the levels it did in the show.) Will had just spent so much time in prison(still don’t know why) for crimes he did not commit and this time having no one to blame and no evidence to back it up. If anything he should’ve stayed non verbal much much longer. It make’s absolutely zero sense for him to have a few angsty monologues about his experiences in prison and that be it.

Another thing abour will is that he does not act like will in the first place. He is strangely much more casual and talks in ways i can’t picture coming out of wills mouth. He also acts so much younger. It’s not just that, he is portrayed as much younger. He is written as a lot younger and innocent and sometimes it is difficult for me to picture the real will graham whilst reading. I saw something about will being 29 during paragon. First off, ew please stop aging him down to make him more innocent it’s fucking weird. Also it’s just not possible. There is no way a 29 year old was in wills line of work unless he was young sheldon or someone. Seeing will aged down or infantilized always makes me feel really icky and that is exactly how paragon made me feel.

Will and hannibal are nothing like their actual characters and all of their interactions feel so awkward. Honestly every characters interactions feel unnatural and weird in this fic. This is mostly just me criticizing the quality of paragon but in my opinion it’s not good quality at all. The pacing makes absolutely no sense. This causes the characters to have no build up whatsoever and the only meaningful moments they have are just venting about shit. A lot of the times it doesn’t even make sense for them to be explaining how they feel because it’s either way too soon or completely out of the blue. It feels as if the story is attempting to have content but is failing. It is just poorly done form with out of place content and it’s pretty disappointing.

I knew when i picked up this fic i wasn’t going to get something life changing but more of a haha hannibal sex kinky sex hannigram sex yaoi smut sex haha. I honestly think it would be much more enjoyable for me if it was. I know that a lot of people really enjoy this fic and i don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I see the appeal as a “Oh this doesn’t have to be good it’s just for the silly.” Unfortunately it got on my nerves far too much to be that. One thing i have to say is why is this the bible. Can we pick a new bible like one thats actually good, just saying.

All i want to do with this post is share a perspective i don’t see very often when regarding paragon. I mostly see jokes and praise but i wanted to give some criticism. I don’t mean to do any harm with my opinions, I am simply just stating my truth.

[theoldworldsrunnerup]

hello this is out of the blue but do you have any soichello thoughts/takes/headcanons right now. just anything is cool, can be a totally random thought or anything

OH BOY DO I

I’m absolutely awful at putting my thoughts into words and tbh 90% of my thoughts about them in particular are hard to express (also it is ridiculously late at night for me rn) but I’ll try my best. I hope all of these make sense (both in the sense that everything written here is comprehensible and also vaguely makes sense for their characters)

Okay so um. Starting with general stuff

-I enjoy the kind of like,, duality?? of the pairing because on one hand it’s objectively ridiculous and it’s fun to lean into that. On the OTHER hand it’s also fun to take it seriously because you’re then presented with the challenge of making it seem plausible. My personal favourite part of shipping is not so much focusing on canon interactions (although I definitely enjoy that too) but thinking about the potential. What would make these two characters attracted to each other? How would they both feel about that? What would they do about their feelings? And with soichello I feel like it gives me a lot to think about

-(That being said, I DO enjoy their dynamic in canon. The mafia arc is pretty much my favourite part of the series and I love them both as individual characters and in general I just find their interactions interesting. But that’s not the point rn so whatever)

-I definitely think that Mello would have to initiate both the relationship itself and a lot within the relationship because like. Soichiro is MORTIFIED at the concept of being attracted to a man with basically no regard for the law and who is younger than both of his children, and he would certainly not make any attempt to act on it (which IS the sensible choice, but where’s the fun in that??). I also imagine he’d be quite baffled and concerned about it being reciprocated lmao. But in contrast, Mello’s the kind of person to do pretty much whatever to get what he wants, and if he wants to fuck that old man then by god he is fucking that old man no matter what

-Though I can also see Mello being too stubborn and embarrassed about it to do anything so they both just don’t act on it but unresolved tension drives me a little insane so that’s a sometimes thought. I guess it really just depends on how you want Mello to feel about it??

-It’s honestly pretty weird for both of them because they both have lived very different lives and have very different expectations and ideas of what a relationship looks like. Mello feels like he has to have, like, constant control of the relationship (as in he kind of attempts to present it as like. ���you are the one who wants this and I am indulging you for my own pleasure/amusement” when that’s not actually really the case) (this is both because he’s not the best with vulnerability but also because he grew up in a particularly competitive environment and has this idea kind of engraved into him that if he is not “above” someone than he is beneath them and therefore inferior. Or something like that idk), which is just... not how relationships work. And I imagine their relationship is built largely on sexual attraction more than anything, and Soichiro just isn’t used to that.

-Despite Mello trying his hardest to seem somewhat nonchalant about the relationship (which kind of fails because he’s very obviously emotionally invested enough to put in the amount of effort he does), he is fond of Soichiro. He was rather thrilled upon discovering that his feelings were mutual, and on the occasion Soichiro initiates literally anything he’s pretty pleased about it.

-Moving onto slightly more specific headcanons, Mello loves biting. I mean he enjoys pretty much anything involving his own mouth but I think he likes biting the most, both for his partner’s reaction and also just because. Nom. Soichiro was initially VERY conflicted about this but decided it was fine as long as he didn’t leave any marks in any obvious places or bite down too hard.

-I feel obligated to include something relating to the cute grey hair line from htr because that’s the one singular crumb of the barely canonical basis this pairing has so,, Mello likes playing with Soichiro’s hair. He’s just sort of weirdly fascinated by it lol

God okay I just looked at the time and I NEED to go to sleep so I think I’ll leave it there for now. Thank you so much for letting me get a small portion of my thoughts down, and again, I hope this makes sense to you. If you ever want my thoughts on anything more specific (or if you ever want to share any of your own thoughts about them!!!) my asks are always open.

[kittenn1011]

Okay, I'm heartbroken, but I have thoughts...

... first off, something about the music cue as the scene ended makes me feel like this arc isn't... over. And maybe it is, 9-1-1 is a weekly serialized show, arcs can end abruptly due to actor availability and other things not under the control of the writers. But that music cue... no matter what happens, I currently do think that the team wanted to leave themselves the opportunity to invite Lou back and potentially let this be a temporary breakup sometime after what's currently scripted and contracted. Even if Lou does never come back, the editing of the scene just makes me think that in this moment, they wanted to leave the door open behind him on the arc. It's just that music, it was... tense, but in a "to be continued" vein and not in a "be sad" vein, and the way it just cuts off makes the scene feel like it's part of an incomplete arc.

Now onto my more story-based thoughts: personally, I don't think the scene was out of character. Tommy's character has really struck me, this whole time, as lonely. You don't do a potentially life-ending and if you survive career-ending favour for someone you barely talk to because you're secure in your current relationships. Tommy has a bad relationship with his birth family and never seems to have built a found family of his own. And his longing to be part of something is such an important part of his character that has been present from his reappearance to now.

I think Tommy was scared, when Buck asked him to move in-- Tommy saw himself falling in love with Buck (who gets a six month-aversary present for someone you don't see a future with), and when push came to shove, was too scared of the heartbreak of being left alone one day in the future that he decided to save himself the heartbreak and end it now under his control. It's just that line, "no matter how bad I want it to be"-- Tommy is already head over heels, lost on Buck, I think, and he broke his own heart because he was too scared of risking someone else breaking it for him.

I don't think it helped Tommy, the way Buck was talking about the discussion he had with Josh about "brave people who came before him" because I don't think Tommy sees his actions before coming out the way that Josh sees "pre-Glee" gay people. Remember, Tommy also came out in a post-Glee world. I think Tommy doesn't see himself as brave, he's terrified. He was terrified of Gerard, terrified of coming out even after Gerard left... and terrified of his feelings for Buck. And Buck talking like that may have just drove the stake in, Tommy sees that conversation where he didn't think Buck was seeing Tommy as he was and that just drove in the stake that Buck is a baby gay who maybe likes Tommy more as the idea of a boyfriend rather than a full unique person.

Right now, Tommy strikes me as one of those lonely people who pushes people away because people have disappointed them too many times before and just can't trust anyone with their heart. And maybe his whole arc is going to be left that way-- I hope not-- but I think it's extremely consistent with everything about his character. Honestly, I think when we look at Tommy not letting himself have the thing he desperately wants out of fear... I think we're looking at who Buck might've become if he never found that found family he was so desperately trying to grab onto when he joined the 118. Buck found security in the 118 and his returning sister all proving that they could still be with him, even if Buck fucked up, until Buck could become the person who is secure in his relationship and feeling like he's ready to move forward. And Tommy didn't have that, and that makes him such an interesting character to foil against Buck right now. Tommy is presenting himself as the older, more experienced Queer man who Knows that someone's first boyfriend can't be their last, but Buck is the one who is experienced enough to feel secure moving forward with serious steps in a serious relationship because Buck feels secure in himself and in loving someone.

And I have to say, even in a breakup, I think BuckTommy wins. No matter what happens going forward, Buck himself has said that he's not felt this way since Abby. No matter what, I think Tommy was already in love with Buck.

And honestly, right now I don't think Buddie is in the cards. I have always thought since the "Buck is bi" reveal that if Buddie is endgame, it's going to be end-season endgame. But the episode of Buck/Tommy breakup featuring Eddie saying on screen that he's straight? With follow-up interviews that emphasize Eddie's straightness? That just feels so deliberately like it's intended to say to Buddies that just because Buck is single and gay doesn't mean your ship is going to happen any day now. And after this shipwar, while I was okay with Buddie endgame going in, this breakup left me feeling so incomplete that I do honestly hope that Buddie doesn't happen anytime soon.

Anyways, I'm going to go comfort myself with BuckTommy fic, which I am going to continue to read... and now I really want to write something that really smashes Buck and Tommy together rather than as the "older more experienced queer Tommy" and "baby bi disaster Buck" that we've all been interpreting for the last few months, but as two extremely lonely people scared of being left alone and hurting each other in their fear even as they desperately try to hold onto the other, pining even within a relationship.

[astridthevalkyrie]

Okay where do we start with cobra kai part 2 now that you’ve finished watching it

i'm SO glad you asked! here's my thoughts (prone to change since i just finished it last night), spoilers under the cut:

the bad:

oh my god we GET it. miguel should've been the captain. making everyone else get their ass kicked so easily just to hype him up was lame. once, sure. the "watch how it's done" scene was cool. but like three four different times? come on.

there was just so much repetitiveness in general. robby's distracted by tory. kwon is an asshole because he is. daniel and johnny argue over the same things they always argue about. zara is a mean influencer because she's a mean influencer. we get it we get it oh my god.

not specific to season 6 part 2 and far be it from me to be a superfan of miguel and johnny but oh my god johnny is so shitty to him. why the fuck are you bothering him on the place leave him ALONE. we've lost the heartfelt moments with miguel and johnny, and we've lost the plot with daniel and robby (which was one of the best relationships in the show).

sensei wolf was hot but useless, silver might as well have just been the iron dragons' "anonymous sensei" that they reveal later on. was silver waiting for daniel to find out before making himself public? like why was he hiding if he was just gonna come out and be there anyways.

they kinda have hit a snag with silver. he was a really good villain, the actor has a really good screen presence, and so they didn't wanna write him out of the show, but his arc was over. bringing him back now, again, becomes repetitive, and adds very little to the plot, even if it does make the iron dragons kinda relevant instead of just being super strong side characters.

what the actual fuck did they do to demetri. why were they trying so hard to make him unlikeable. i was rooting for him in part 1. he's hurt and lashing out at hawk, he's clearly still traumatized from his best friend breaking his arm and imo a shitty apology afterwards, but now? consistently talking about MIT, not trying hard, cheating on his girlfriend? it sucks how much he shouldn't have been part of the competition. more s6p1's fault for the dumb as fuck way they chose the team, but demetri was never a super strong fighter. so if you send him to sekai taikai, my god, at least give him a moment or two to show he's there for a good reason. character assassination at its finest. also very clearly done to make hawk look better in comparison.

carmen's appearance in this season was just another disgusting hammer in the nail of everything they've done with her this far.

stop making johnny a right wing conspiracy theorist i'm begging, stop sacrificing his character that should be mature af by now to make him say haha woke mob jokes.

while i love how mature sam has been the entire season, she has no goals right now. i don't know what it should've been, but they should have given her some stakes in the sekai taikai. her arc in season 4 and 5 also kind of concluded, without her ever beating tory and without tory ever honestly beating her. my samtory heart says i don't want them to fight, i love them fighting for each other and protecting each other (for once want tory protecting sam instead of the other way around), but my samantha larusso heart wants her to have a solid win against tory on the mat.

she was also ooc. i think she was right to call out johnny, but s4 sam would not say this!! s4 sam was johnny's student too! come on now. sam is not just miyagi do. sam has mastered both elements as much as the boys have. them deciding to switch up sam and amanda every season.

didn't want drama between miguel and sam but was hoping for a moment. ig if they're not broken up we're not supposed to care about them.

hawk's hair is tacky. hate it.

the cgi/ai mr miyagi thing was incredibly awful. why the hell did they do that it was so disrespectful.

WE SHOULD'VE HAD MORE SAM ROBBY SCENES. GIVE ME THE LEGACY KIDS GODDAMMIT.

the big thing. kwon's death (if he is dead that is). it's hmmmm. idk how i feel about it. on one hand, yes, good for everyone to finally realize this has gone way too far. absolutely fucking ADORE daniel trying to reach him and stop him. daniel lasrusso my beloved the only one who acknowledges these are kids. on the other hand, and i don't mean in this in a super mean way, who cares. right now the only thing that makes this sad is kwon's age. otherwise, his teammates didn't like him, his competitors didn't like him, the senseis didn't care about him aside from his skills. maybe this would be different if he was kim's favorite instead of yoon or if him and kreese had a relationship like tory and kreese did. or if he had a SINGLE humanizing moment. or a friend. they just did his character dirty tbh. also made him seem like a hotshot with nothing to back it up when part 1 showed him as very formidable. brandon lee is mega hot and his acting was fire he should've had more to work with it.

i also think the way it happened with him stabbing himself is dumb af. at this point it might've been better if he just stabbed axel.

and what's gonna happen now? if they continue the competition that's insane. if they don't then it's disappointing. we hyped all this up only to not have a winner? my god that sucks.

the whole brawl was just. meh. it's nothing like the high school fight they didn't even come close.

the good:

sam and axel were so fucking adorable. i really wish they hadn't gone down the he likes her and tries to kiss her route. would've been so much better if they were just friends, and kinda wanted to see a brawl of the two of them versus kwon and yoon.

KENNNYYYYYYYY. dumb as fuck that hawk and demetri didn't trust him for such dumb reasons, but oh my god they like my baby finally have a win. loved his middle finger to silver. wish there was a robby kenny scene.

sensei kim's hair down oh my gooooooood. she's so gorgeous.

i didn't wanna put kim/chozen in the bad, idk if i should put it in the good, it's just. there. lol.

tory and sam for the most part. no rivalry. just two traumatized girls knowing they need to fight each other and grimly resigning themselves to it. poor babies.

johnny's divorced wife ass voicemail. "the kids need you, i need you." the middle aged gay men have once again gotten me. silver called him a pretty boy this show is OBSESSED with calling johnny a pretty boy what the fuck.

silver also put daniel in a dog cage. no explanation as to what would've happened if daniel didn't use jesus (?) to escape. jumin han ass plan.

fight choreography was insanely good. personal fav is kenny's little flip when he's tapped in.

liked anthony and kenny's resolution.

training montage in the last or second last episode was super cute.

ADORABLE scene in the locker rooms with the whole "who are we? miyago do!" call me cringe. i loved it. i'm glad they realized this is it, they're not gonna be fighting as a team forever and they need to savor it.

miguel's maturity after he comes back to the competition was so refreshing. finally.

i know i already said brandon lee is hot but brandon lee is hot. the way they did his hair, his smirk, the way he talks, ohhhh my god.

carrying from season 4 part 1, whoever is doing peyton list's makeup makes it look like tory is constantly crying. at first it was jarring, but it really adds to the scenes and makes you feel bad for her.

hopefully in part 3 we'll get core 4 stuff. i want miguel sam robby tory hanging out. not on awkward double dates, but as friends who all like and love each other. the characters are all in a good place with each other right now. please please please.

there was probably more good? but i can't think of it right now lol. anyway watch cobra kai as a comedy and it's insanely good. take it seriously and you'll suffer. i have done both and will continue to.

[bringthekaos]

Your "Jayce is the one to banish Viktor" theory is a very fun idea to rotate in one's brain, but may I suggest another potential way that things could go down. Mel's weird back thing brings up a shield, that protects herself, Jayce and either partially or fully Viktor. What Jayce does in the seconds before, during, and after the explosion are probably going to be major plot decider for that side of the story. Being if he chooses to try and protect Mel or Viktor (I guess he could keep himself safe, but for plot dramatics I doubt that'll be what happens). If he goes for Viktor, then what I'm thinking kind of falls apart, but if he goes for Mel, then it can also serve as a parallel to him walking out on her to be with Viktor when he was diagnosed. In the chaos of the aftermath, Viktor has the time to slip away and begin to make his way to the lab. Jayce eventually follows him, and while I like the idea of Jayce using the Hexcore to save Viktor after he swore to him that he'd destroy it, I don't think Jayce is in the room when Viktor uses it, because as we saw with sky the Hexcore will just kill whatever life is in the room that isn't its user (be that a sign of it being aware and possessing some degree of want to keep Viktor alive, or not), but also I don't know what the Hexcore takes in the place of Viktor's life if he were to try and use it solo, so I don't know. But Jayce walks in on a Viktor with his Void augmentations on full display (Maybe he was too close to the Hexclaw while doing this and this is how it gets merged to his back), able to not only stand straight and unaided, but also walk. And Jayce freaks out, but doesn't betray Viktor, at no point even considering turning him in. I think he does end up getting Mel involved though, maybe without letting Viktor know beforehand because he isn't able to see that Viktor and Mel don't exactly get along or why Viktor may not want anyone at all to know what's happened, regardless of if Jayce trusts them or not. I think Mel's the one who ends up spelling it out for Jayce that as someone from the undercity Viktor is in massive danger, and maybe even the one who suggests aloud first that Viktor should flee to Zaun. It could be a great opportunity to give her some more moral dubiousness, the question of if she'd suggesting this because she genuinely wants to help Viktor, if it's because she understands Viktor as someone Jayce cares for and thus Viktor getting hurt would hurt Jayce, of if her motives are entirely selfish and she just wants to get rid of Viktor (much in the same way that if she's actually romantically interested in Jayce or just manipulating him for her own gain is kept obscure for the majority of their relationship). I could see Jayce wanting so bad to go down to the undercity to see if Viktor is okay, and when he finally has a window of opportunity to find him, he's met with a very different man to the one he last saw. A butterfly who has emerged from his metamorphosis, a magician having completed The Turn, taken an ordinary dying man and turned him into something extraordinary. Sorry for the ramble.

No no, keep rambling!!!

I love hearing everyone’s different takes on what they think will happen. I saw the “Mel golden shield” theory a lot in the early days, also that she is a Mage in hiding. And while there are degrees of legitimacy to all these theories, I just… really want her to live. From a story standpoint. We’ve already seen one female character fridged, and I’m honestly just sorta… tired of that storyline? We really don’t need yet another woman destroyed to progress a man’s character arc. Not just for Arcane, but like… in all storytelling. That plot point is so played out, it’s beyond stale and growing mold. So I’m just really hoping she lives.

So assuming she lives, this could be an interesting path to take, kinda building off the “Jayce is pulled in two different directions and trying to do both but not realizing he’s splitting down the middle” that they’ve already set up in season one. But this too would have to be done delicately, cuz we certainly don’t want Mel’s role to devolve to jealous lover. She’s so much more than that, she’s smart and cunning and wise beyond her years. I just don’t see her stooping to getting rid of Viktor purely out of romantic interest in Jayce. But perhaps it could be a culmination of things, say maybe if Viktor’s connection to the core starts to affect his sanity… it could be one of those “wrong thing for the right reasons” type deals—she thinks she’s helping both of them, but in the end it gets twisted by outside forces/misunderstandings?

There’s also Ambessa to consider. No matter what happens to Mel, I think we can all agree that Mommy Medarda is not going to take an attempt on her daughter’s life lightly (whether her reaction is borne of actual care for her daughter or a twisting of “care” into a more political/military opportunity remains to be seen). But either way, Ambessa wanted Hextech weapons for herself and for Noxus. So in the aftermath of this attack, Viktor’s voice for “we don’t build weapons” will likely get even smaller, and perhaps that is where the split starts to happen. Jayce even said “we have the knowledge to defend ourselves.” So I’m sure there will be a degree of guilt on his end, if he’d just built those weapons like Mel asked, this may not have happened (spoiler alert: it would have). But therein could be another opportunity for the split between Jayce and Viktor—this is the line they draw in the sand.

Anyway, now I’m the one who’s rambling. (Also sorry it took me so long to answer, the Holidays steamrolled me. But I always love to discuss these theories with you guys!)

[epickiya722]

I really hate the "Deku is the most annoying anime protagonist" take because a lot of the things he does that haters says is annoying is something a lot of other anime protagonists that people oh so love (regardless of genre) do!

"He just sits in the corner and cry."

Oh, please. If you're really going to call him a "crybaby" be prepared to say the same thing about 100+ other characters y'all be saying are badasses.

I also want to say that it's obvious that it be flying over heads when there's a gag scene of crying that supposed to be played for laughs compared to one that is more emotional and meaningful... WHICH AGAIN A LOT OF OTHER CHARACTERS HAVE IN THEIR STORIES!!

The fact someone even said "cry in the corner"...

This is the same Midoriya who actually was going to step out his hiding spot to rescue Bakugou, despite being petrified with fear due to All For One's presence during the Kamino Arc. The same Midoriya who took on Stain, an actual killer and then later, Lady Nagant, a trained assassin. Midoriya Izuku who faced Muscular TWICE. Midoriya who fought Overhaul MAD.

He didn't once go "Oh, woe is me, someone save me, I can't do this".

"He's too positive."

So him smiling through the face of adversity, not letting himself give up, sticking to the villains, inspiring hope to other characters who lost their way and need someone to be there is annoying?

You better not like no anime protagonist like this, period, if you find this annoying.

The crazy thing is... Midoriya doesn't even talk first, ask questions later. He will actually fight you first and then try to talk it out.

Also, let's be fucking for real here. If Midoriya wasn't a positive character, the same people would still hate him for being "too negative".

Someone in a clip even said "he's a little slow". First, that is just offensive. Second, HOW?

I swear when it comes to calling characters "annoying" or "frauds" or saying you hate them, people just be pulling reasons out their asses and sometimes, the reasons don't even make sense to the character.

I honestly think this hate just comes from people not liking the fanbase. I don't blame folks for hating the fanbase because some of you really do need to chill the hell out. But I wouldn't hate the manga and anime because of that and then spew out "hate... I mean... hot takes" like this.

Just makes it look like you didn't get past season 1 or never actually picked up one volume.

Personally, I limit myself from any fandom of the media I decided to engage myself in.

[roses-red-and-pink]

I’m about to say something, as a books purist, that would be controversial in the AWaE fandom, so proceed at your own risk

I don’t think Anne and Gilbert (from Anne with an E) had that much chemistry or were that good together.

Explanation

Because I need to rant

I finished watching AWaE yesterday, all 3 seasons. Now I know they had to rush the end a bit because they got cancelled, but I think my points still stand.

It’s no secret I love Anne/Gilbert (or shirbert), and I’ve shipped them since before I knew what shipping was. But as I was watching the show, I kept waiting for them to make me care about Gilbert/Anne and I just… didn’t. I wanted them to get together, but mostly because that’s what happens in the books. Not because these two characters seemed drawn together or had any sense of shared purpose or… well… anything.

Let’s start with Anne. Book!Anne is a bit of a firecracker. She cracks her slate over Gilbert’s head for teasing her and then proceeds to hold that grudge for the next 4 years. And yet she is never mean to gilbert. Competitive? absolutely. Haughty and a bit disdainful? Yes. But show!Anne is just downright mean and hurtful to him for no reason. He tries his best and instead of just ignoring him she will yell at and insult him. For what??

This ties back into one of the main problems I see with show!Anne, in that she’s far too aggressive. Book!anne will tear you to shreds, but only if you insult her first. Show!anne is just out here assuming the worst of people and yelling at them left right and centre, with no provocation. I know the show is trying to show us her trauma response, but I believe that does a huge disservice to Anne’s character. Anne is Anne, because she holds on to her hope and goodness and kindness despite the sadness and darkness.

Another thing that irked me was whole enemies to friends thing in the show. Because we know in the books there was one sided enemies (on Anne’s side) broken finally by Gil rescuing her, which led to best friends (like besties) then to love. But in the show it was like enemies (kinda) to sort of friends, to kinda enemies, to Anne yelling at him for no reason, to friends, to kinda besties?? To ignoring each other a bit, To lovers????. It was just confusing how one episode they were on the same side and the next mad at each other. One thing to note is that Anne ignoring gilbert started in the show because the other girls told her she couldn’t talk to him. So when he tried to mend things after the slate incident, she would not talk to him so she could fit in with the girls. Which seems like the un-Annest action ever. I’m here for the Anne who keeps herself above the petty meanness of the other girls and does her own thing based on her sense of morality!!

Ok now to Gilbert. Gilbert was better than Anne, but honestly that made me like the ship less. He was this golden child who did no wrong. Anything Anne did or said to him he just sort of took it. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him when he decided to go after that other girl Winnifred because she was nice to him. He’d finally had enough of Anne and honestly good for him! But seriously, my main problem with Gilbert was why did he keep going back to Anne? What did he see in her?? she was overly awkward, she was mean to him, she was his friend one minute and yelling at him the next.

Honestly Gilbert’s arc in this show was pretty cool. Going on a ship, meeting bash, coming back to farm, learning he wanted to be a doctor. He had goals! And ambition! And a passion to help others! As any good Gilbert should. I loved him with Bash and Mary. Didn’t like that they made him an orphan to connect with Anne. It was like they were trying to shoehorn in some connection between them (that they then didn’t really explore further lol).

I wanted to see true connection with Anne!! Show me their love of books together! You want to go with the both an orphan route? Show me Gilbert talking to anne about his dad and anne listening, and anne searching for her parents with Gilbert (not cole???? Why did they give those scenes to cole and not Gilbert?). Show me anne encouraging Gilbert in his medicine and Gilbert encouraging Anne in her writing! (Instead of just Anne’s social failures in writing, or them arguing about it). Make me care about them as a couple beyond a couple longing looks. Make me understand why Anne can be with no one but Gilbert and Gilbert can be with no one but Anne. I want to see their shared passions and goals!!

I think my main displeasure is From Anne’s character. I think they changed it too much and the ship, and the show, suffered as a result.

Anyways my apologies if any shirbert fans from AWaE find this. This is purely my opinion. I am happy they got together. But I will continue reading the books happily.

[akolnoix]

I've been following for a bit and I was wondering about your p4 au(?)/rewrite that you have going on honestly seeing you p4 posting has been making me think about it a lot more recently. Also you have a lovely art style!

thank you! it's honestly nothing very concrete, just an assortment of musings that i play around with in my mind for fun... might as well post some of my ramblings (apologies that it's long and a mess)

-im kinda obsessed with trying to make accomplice ending work? the ending itself in p4g is pretty great (seeing the "yu has forged a bond that cannot be broken" text you get for max social link is sooooo good) and fits thematically, it's just that it has like NO proper buildup to it to make it feel even remotely plausible.

so i'm thinking you'd have to really go out of your way to get it. like in addition to maxing out adachi's SL, you can't advance any other characters' SL past like rank 3 or something early on, and you have to select certain dialogue options (like the original game has so many mean/detached responses you can pick to be a dickhead lol), you have to refuse optional hangouts with your friends. and Then you have to choose to not reveal him. so through consistently refusing to truly connect with/care about the people around you, the protag can somewhat reach a similar worldview to adachi, and conceivably relate to him.

-izanami brings up the tv world also being a product of outside perception, but the actual implementation of it in the game feels messy and often like it's just there as a way to give reason for the shadows desiring transgressive things for shock value without committing to them being real aspects of the characters (like, how kanji's shadow is extremely stereotypically gay not just in mannerisms but in overtly showing interest in men, but in kanji's acceptance+future appearances they make sure to assert that the real kanji is not actually gay)

so i've been kinda toying with the idea that instead of the shadows as presented in p4, there would be like multiple fractured shadows in conflict? like i think it would be neat to play more off the tension between how the characters are perceived by the town vs their repressed selves, idk

-i've been turning naoto's arc around in my head a lot over the years... like the easiest thing to do would be transplant the existing (attempted) narrative to a trans woman naoto. but i also want to do right by canon naoto, who sees himself as a man, desires to be one, only gives up on that because he believes he can't become one, and gets treated like dogshit by the narrative for it. so lately i've drifted to the harder challenge of working out the logistics to make a satisfying+believable arc for trans man naoto. i've got concepts but i don't have enough worked out in this regard yet to talk about here.

-im autistic and rise has always read as such to me, so i'm being self-indulgent and making that an overt aspect of her arc. i grew up subconsciously masking my autism, and it wasn't until i experienced autistic burnout just after graduating highschool that i discovered just how much of myself i had been suppressing, and how much was constructed. it was like i had never known my true self until age 18, or noticed just how badly that repression hurt me.

so um. you might say i saw a lot of myself in rise. she's got a slightly different scenario, but still a pretty autistic one. a child with no friends because everyone thinks they're strange, who decides to learn how to be Normal in hopes of obtaining any human connection. but because she can't be herself, the connections she does make don't feel genuine. her becoming an idol specifically is really fantastic thematically, a career all about commodifying not just your body or talents but your very personality, for a girl highly manufactured on every level to appear Normal.

for the brief period you see her in person before her shadow, rise practically has a flat affect and monotone, with everyone commenting on how different she is from her idol persona, and i'd like to actually retain that as an aspect of her character. i'd like to shift her arc to being about relearning that aspect of herself, and allowing herself to be that. even if just among friends. her idol persona is still part of her (she made it after all, and it can be useful), but she was harming herself by thinking it was all she should be.

i've always hated her going back to being an idol (especially the way they executed it ugh) but it might be nice if she stuck with music...

-yosuke internalized homophobia arc is a gimme

-naturally a major aspect is in the differences btw a playthrough as yu narukami vs femc. as an ex-delinquent she experiences more hostility from the general populace and dojima. oh and i don't care for super self-inserty protags so yu and masami have more established personalities+history+etc.

i imagine the narukami sibling dichotomy is that yu tries to be perfect and masami intentionally disappoints (opposite attention-seeking responses to their ambiguously distant parents), and in their trip to inaba yu takes the opportunity to let loose, while masami reigns in the delinquent behavior (because dojima will actually react to what she does). and they both benefit from the power of friendship etc etc

-sometimes i enjoy daydreaming about a "cross-dressing" sequence that's actually fun. where the crew hang out in yu's room or something and try on each other's stuff for fun. and chie gets a buzz cut

-while it's very true that women can be bigots, that p4 claims that kanji would think that men are more accepting of gender nonconformity in men than women is something just. utterly detached from reality. it makes more sense that he thought there was no possibility of acceptance from boys so he never tried, but he thought there was a chance with girls but was rejected by them too, so he distances himself from everyone.

and i think kanji can be gnc AND gay. for many people there is a real fear of stereotype, of reinforcing them, but that repulsion is misplaced. stereotypes are bad when they are used to dehumanize, but to be a effeminate gay man, a fat butch lesbian, a trans woman with a beard, are not bad things to be. and i think it'd suit kanji to have that sort of conflict, and metatextually to take those aspects of canon that were so negatively presented and transform them

and i think it would suit his love of cute things to eventually start dressing cutesy.

-i've definitely got more in my brain i could say or i forgor but this post is long enough

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Pokemon and Hunter x Hunter as decided by my friend @doodle-storm after only seeing Hunter Exam and Zoldyck Family Arcs... Part 2!!! As always friend, add onto this post if there's any reasoning I've missed!

Netero: Medicham (I think the rationale here was that despite looking a little goofy, it's actually quite strong. I think this guy is very appropriate for Netero, for reasons I can't tell my friend yet.)

Hanzo: Greninja (It's a ninja pokemon. However, my friend laments the fact that Greninja is not bald enough, nor does it have "bedazzled eyebrows". She has therefore made an entire team for Hanzo that is purely comprised of bald and bedazzled eyebrow pokemon. She took this very seriously I'll have you know.)

Pokkle: Decidueye (An archer! She hopes Pokkle gets to finish his pokedex.)

Satotz: Omanyte (I honestly can't remember the initial reasoning but they both have mustaches and no visible mouth so that's cool.)

Menchi: Dachsbun (Bread dog. As befitting a Gourmet Hunter.)

Buhara: Snorlax (Probably needs little elaboration.)

Lippo: Rotom (Because of all the cameras in the prison and the fact that he operated from behind screens using electronics.)

Beans: Politoed (She can picture politoed in an identical suit.)

Tonpa: Trubbish (...she does not like Tonpa very much.)

Ponzu: Beedrill (Bee pokemon. She has bees in her hat.)

Bendot: Machoke (He's a fighter pokemon. Also he was going to choke Tonpa so there's that too.)

Sedokan: Litwick (It's a candle. It's also got one eye hidden.)

Majitani: Wishiwashi (We spent a long time trying to find a pokemon that sort of gives that impression of guy trying to look way more intimidating than he is... She decided on Wishiwashi because its school form is powerful but it also reverts back to weaker solo form when wounded.)

Leroute: Salazzle (I did not know there were pokemon people thirsted for and I don't think I needed to know that. Anyways, Salazzle is kind of an exotic creature and she was involved in exotic animal trafficking so. Checks out.)

Johness the Dissector: none. (She tried to think of one but really couldn't. We both kind of agreed that he probably wouldn't have any on account of... probably killing them.)

Geretta: Aromatisse (I don't know lol. I think this was just vibes.)

Agon: Galarian Farfetch'd (He appeared to have been a fencer so I think this was the closest thing. Plus eyebrows.)

Bodoro: Gallade (She was trying to think of an honourable type of pokemon. I don't think she was entirely sold on Gallade, especially since she gave Kurapika one later on, but we moved on.)

Bourbon: Seviper (Viper for the snake charmer.)

Nicholas: Abra (Abra just kind of sleeps, and though Nicholas tried to predict the Hunter Exam, he wasn't prepared for it, so I think that was the rationale here.)

Siper: Inteleon (A sniper pokemon for the sniper. I questioned why she was giving this minor character a pokemon when I'm pretty sure she didn't even have a speaking line, to which she replied, and I quote, "Yeah, but I want her to step on me.")

Sommy: Aipom (Mischievous monkey for the monkey trainer.)

Todo: Hariyama (Sumo pokemon for the sumo guy.)

Amori Brothers: Falinks (Yes, all three of them have the same pokemon. They work together for team attacks and so do the brothers. Do not separate.)

Zeno: Roaring Moon (I brought up Zeno's association with dragons. She liked the vibe of this one for him.)

Silva: Kommo-o (I think she wanted to keep the dragon theming. ...she also refers to Silva as "evil He-Man". Just thought you should know.)

Kikyo: Hatterene (She picked this one because of its elegant look... and the fact that it attacks anyone who is too loud or hostile within its home range.)

Illumi: Ferrothorn (It's absolutely perfect omg. She said it attacks using spikes and thorns, and it also "has the eyes". She also cheerfully informed me it's weak to fire. She does not like Illumi very much.)

Milluki: Forretress (Also has the eyes, and stays in a shell. It shoots things I think. She was trying to pick one that calls to mind Milluki's bombs.)

Kalluto: Kartana (I mentioned Kalluto's association with paper, so she picked this one.)

Gotoh: Meowth (For the coin association. Also she thought it'd be kind of funny if all the butlers had cat or cat-like pokemon.)

Canary: Espeon (Because it evolves based on friendship... augh... also vibes.)

Zebro: Cinccino (Zebro's kind of the janitor, and Cinccino likes to clean, if I'm remembering correctly? Also it's kind of disarmingly cute and harmless looking, which fits Zebro's "taking the key from the hapless guard" shtick.)

Seaquant: Watchog (Vibes, I'm pretty sure. hjdfkbvdshjvh)