#IM GONNA FUCKING LOSE MY SHIT IF THERE ISN'T GONNA BE A SEASON TWO

[rosietrace]

Shout-out to My Happy Marriage for making my standards in men/women way higher than they need to be 🫶

[warderfromtheborder]

Destiny: the year of Very Well Structured Things In Sets of 2

Defiance+Wish: The Sovs Mara and Crow, the Eliksni Misraaks and Eramis, and the Regular Ass Humans Devrim and Petra(PV counts as a regular-ass human she isn't a figure of prophecy or royalty in the reef she's a cop who's been promoted too much out of necessity)

Deep+Witch: The Truncated Heros Sloane and Eris, the Osmium OGs Xivu and Savathun, the Concerned Boss-Parents Zavala and Ikora, and the Wriggly Enablers Ahsa and Drifter (okay you got me) I mean the Nonhuman Guides Ahsa and Immaru

Lightfall: Osiris with no Sagira and Nimbus with no Rohan and Caiatl with no Recognizable Dad and the Witness with no Disciples and Chioma with no Maya and the Vex with no Chill the Living People of Neomuna with no Meatspace to live in. (The dreaming city curse will never end and the people on Neptune will never get to leave the matrix Im sorry but that's the way it is)

The story and themes for this year of Destiny are SO GOOD the writers have done SUCH A GOOD JOB. If making a tighter relationship between the expansion narrative and the seasonal narratives was one of the goals this year they fucking knocked it out of the park, I can't put any of these arcs into its own box because they have been knit together so sturdily. It's all one great narrative, one Very Big narrative, they haven't done it like this before!

(And Im so mad people couldnt stop shitting on Lightfall they are stoping themselves from seeing how good the WHOLE NARRATIVE IS they are probably gonna say come march/near TFS launch "uhh yeah the seasons were good i guees but maybe they shoulda worked harder on Lightfall I mean who even likes Nimbus" and for their Ignorance and Haterism I am sentencing them to reading part two of The Two Towers while they get attacked by Paper-Tube Ninjas and a broadcast system shouts at them 'YOU CANNOT HAVE THE VICTORIES IN RETURN OF THE KING IF FRODO AND SAM DIDNT KEEP WALKING ALL THE WAY TO MORDOR' for 100 hundred years.) (The link there is I didn't get the Point of that part of Two Towers when I first read it and assumed the whole would have been better without it. Obviously...I was wrong, and so are these clowns who think Lightfall has a bad story)

The name of the game this year is Resolution, Catharsis, Armistice, Acceptance. The structuring is so simple and so elegant and so well executed, the 2s, the 3s, the mirroring and the inverting and the unfathomable gloriousness of the victories personal and community and galaxy wide. There is no way to overstate the bitterness of Amanda's death, the relief of exhalation when Sloane retreats, the VINDICATION of Eris's vengeance.

You remember when Zavala 'discovered' Crow's former identity? How that was the crowning on-screen narrative jewel in destiny up to that point? What I am saying is EVERY ARC THIS YEAR IS AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN THAT BEAT AND DESERVES AS MUCH RECOGNITION FOR THE ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SO MANY COMPLEMENTARY COMBOS PACKED INTO ONE EXPANSION STORY.

If Shadowkeep was the first sign of symptoms, if Beyond Light was trying to irradiate the disease, if Witch Queen was a tug of war with scar tissue, then Lightfall is the world after recovery and making peace with what will Never Be The Same, and the home and family that has been changed forever but is still Your Home and Your Family. We don't stop fighting but we also don't stop loving and growing and caring.

One last thing for my fellow Sjur copium addicts out there: Sloane's retreat was mirrored and inverted by Eris's victory, so for the complementary-ness of the story to continue, Amanda's death and Crow's subsequent emotional anguish over losing the person he fought with but who also saw him for who he really is will need to be mirrored and inverted by SOMEONE who Mara fought with but who also saw her for who she really is and I expect you will agree this is SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE reasoning that Sjur's comin back home.

[marsvs-thesun]

SHIT I WOULD WANNA SEE IN A SOW REWRITE: a non exhaustive list in no particular order

(read more for length and generally being critical of SoW)

• give a name to more story relevant weapons. Voltar is cool, but I wanna know what are the names of Ingressus' kickass flame blade, and thalleous' sword, and Achillean's staff! Mostly cause I wanna refer to them more easily for Symbolism(tm)! ALSO an opportunity for Senn&Ria bonding over naming her spear!!

• SPEAKING OF SWORDS give thalleous' sword to Ria. NO HEAR ME OUT; she starts the story with her spear, sendaria burning, killing Tygren ect. When Tygren dies SHE gets the sword instead of Senn, and gives Senn her spear (from her point of view, she's giving back a weapon she trusted to protect herself, she's now protecting him and signaling that she trusts his craftsmanship. Subtextually it signify the rift that forms between them as she gets more into hunting Voltaris down and Senn gets closer to his heritage). She keeps using it throughout the story, culminating in attacking Senn with it when he surrenders in Northwind, which he deflects with the shield song like in canon. Anyways, Senn comes back from Hailstone, rejoins the group and Ria is happy but doesnt trust him the same until the Final Battle(tm). Some random element (doesn't matter what, were doing symbolism here) makes it that she loses/cannot use Thalleous' sword, at which point Senn gives/throws her her spear because PLOT TWIST: THE REAL SOLUTION WAS TO LET GO OF AN ARBITRARY SYMBOL OF STRENGHT AND INSTEAD PUT FAITH IN LOVE, TRUST AND FAMILY ALL ALONG, Pythus gets eviscerated, happy endings all around

• speaking of Ria, you might guess it from my last point but GIVE MY GIRL A CORRUPTION ARC. Gimme women's wrongs! Let me watch her go from 'i wanna be just like Thalleous (the cool ex-soldier with awesome stories)' to 'i wanna be just like Thalleous (the guy who threw a kid off a cliff)' and find herself on the way! I've heard people find her overpowered and honestly,,,, yeah kinda but idk how to fix that (also power scales aren't really real to me). You know what's real? CHARACTER ARCS. Plus free Senn angst and frankly I love that. SUBPOINT: could Herobrine be like,,, a character? You're telling me two major characters made a soul pact with a demon entity from another realm and that never paid off? What is Herobrine even gaining from this I MUST KNOW

• MAKE THALLEOUS A VILLAIN PROTAGONIST 2024 okay ik he kind of already is, and ik im basically Thalleous' number 1 hater, and ik this is my complicated relationship with my own father speaking BUT REGARDLESS. Have him do shady stuff before season 3 and just sliiiightly more often pls. Let him be a bit manipulative! Let him lie a bit more! Let him kill a disarmed opponent or strike someone in the back! Let him even be outwardly prejudiced a bit more openly. I'm not even gonna argue his responsibility in the Great War cause thats no the point but you can't tell me he isn't morally grey. Let that little bastard man shine! Honestly im (more than) a little disturbed by the narrative expecting me to a agree with a guy who preached genocide, after all we've seen him do (once again, the child yeeting wasn't great). Please just have someone tell Thalleous to fuck off. Please.

• ALMRAK SHOULD BE USING CRUTCHES OR A WHEELCHAIR INSTEAD OF A CANE. A CANE IS ACTUALLY MOST OFTEN USED FOR BALANCE ISSUES. THIS IS AN ABSENCE OF LEG ISSUE. That's it that's the point.

• ACTUALLY IM NOT DONE i find Almrak's entire character,,, strange. So the only visibly disabled character in the show is Voltari. Cool! He's the only Voltari portrayed sympathetically (Ingressus does not count, he's the main villain). Less cool! It's heavily implied the reason he's sympathetic is because he's disabled and therefore cannot fight (debatable. Give my man a crossbow). Pretty bad! I'm not physically disabled (diagnosed) myself but I am a Sufferer of some kind of chronic pain and autistic (and the mental Horrors), so idk how relevant my commentary is but there's a bunch of things I don't like here: 1) a disabled character can be optimistic for sure, I love that actually! I dont love how tied those two things are tho. Almrak is the only optimistic Voltari we meet, and while I like the trust he has in his people, his behaviour is oddly reminiscent of those inspiration porn video about how incredible it is that disabled people can be *gasp* happy. This also has the unfortunate implication that the only way a Voltari becomes trustworthy is by becoming/being made harmless? Which is kind of a reach but also tracks a little to much for comfort 2) his death (HE LIVES IN MY HEART, AND SO DOES DELTHEUS) but in canon he dies. And he does so without even really defending himself? Just lays there waiting for the sword? Not only does that seem weird at all (you have a CANE baby BEAT EM UP) it seems out of character for The Only Not Depressed Voltari to just,,, accept death. Mostly the narrative seems allergic to giving him agency. 3) he was created specifically to prove life for the Voltaris was hard (it's somewhere in the supplementals). First, do you think accidents don't happen in other Clans? Thats stupid. And second, ew. This, to me, shows that I'm supposed to look at Almrak, a character living his best life, hopeful for the future, reaping the benefits of a close knit community supporting and respecting him, and feel what, sadness? Pity? That seems incredibly disrespectful. And I say all that as an Almrak lover, he and Deltheus are among my fave. Now, thats a lot of issues but I feel like they could easily be fixed in 3 easy steps: 1) more rep. Just by adding a sprinkle of disability rep to the cast, Almrak stops sticking out like a sore thumb because he's disabled, and starts sticking out because he's a genuinely interesting character with a unique worldview. Wild i know. 2) LET HIM LIVE give him agency in this. Im not saying he should fistfight a Netheran, but let him try to flee or something. 3) now, disability can absolutely be caused by a hostile environment, there's nothing wrong with that. So my solution here wouldn't be to avoid that, but to show some other hardships as well? So it's not Just That? Like, idk, Deltheus remarking how much better the food is in Hailstone because Humans can stockpile and the Voltaris were starving before? Mentions of lacking medicine? Offhand mentions of dead family like they did for Thalleous and Galleous? Idk man, just dont let disability be the Worst Fate in your story. Please.

• Either more of the Necromancer Arc, or none at all. Listen, I love my cat girl necromancy as much as the next guy and Xaria is one of my favorite characters, but, as is, it feels disconnected from the rest of the show and not in a good way. I love the idea of having a more down to earth/everyday pov of the SGW but this Arc doesnt feel different enough to work for me. The characters arent in more danger or difficulties then in any other arc, they arent more developed (actually, kinda less. Why was Lucan in jail? why is Nikaa so anti necromancer? what even was the catalyst of the necromancer movement starting? i guess well never know those important character motivations), they don't really explore more down to earth stuff (human politics! survival in Ardonia during the War! maybe explore WHY people join factions like the Necromancer or the Legion!!) and, because SoW as a story is so focused on individual actions and heros, and the Arc offers neither those nor its own flavor, it ends up feeling pretty redundant, which is a shame. I guess a way to fix this would be to actually lean in to it's separate aspect and maybe focus on the building of a revolt against the Nether (and mayyyybe link that with what the necromancers had going on? maybe? Who am i kidding they'll never give my blorbos the love they deserve. Xan, Xaria, no one gets you like i do)

• I do not know how to fix the K'arthen arc. I do not know if the K'arthen arc can be fixed. To whomever is out there trying to fix the K'arthen arc: you are an endlessly brave individual and i send you power on this journey.

Aight that's it for now :) there's way more (i havent even touched my beloved abbigail!! barely touched on the voltaris!!) but im trying to stick to canon. feel free to agree/disagree/add your own stuff!! i havent read the script in a while too, so i most likely forgot stuff

@minecraftfanatic your turn ;)

[iantimony]

a tuesday

listening: bionicle nostalgia playlist. ur welcome.

reading: mostly help forums for my dogshit software.

watching: olympics!! specifically fencing and a smattering of gymnastics. i think we all knew that lee keifer would win women's foil but it was so satisfying to watch happen. she really is a fucking steamroller, have not had one like her before and probably won't again for a very long time. her whole situation is insane - father was duke fencing captain and now a medical doctor, and now all three of his kids including lee are ALSO that and international fencers which is. insane. - and i am in awe of her etc. i did bring my fencing gear back to my apartment with me and i'm looking forward to starting that again, it's been like. at least five years since i last did anything with fencing and i miss it.

the other night i watched shaolin soccer with my boyfriend and roommate's bf. insane fucking film. they had both seen it already (my boyfriend saw it at least 20 years ago as a young kid, in the original canto/mandarin (which he does not speak) with no subtitles which i'm sure was a fucking experience) and . film of all fucking time, i think. insane plot and premise, makes absolutely no sense, overall story has confusing holes, but i'll be damned if i didn't have a great time watching it.

saw new house of the dragon on sun. i cannot bring myself to care about ulf. blacksmith guy is a little better but clearly still not great considering i cant remember his name. some of the writing this season has me like. squints. which beloved mutual pngjpeg reminded me that this one was written during the writers strike which does explain a lot i think. i'm still enjoying it, i really loved alicent's decision to just fuck off to the woods for a bit. she's so real for that. ophelia-coded lake float and all (which is ironic, because, fire and blood spoilers, i'm pretty sure alicent is one of the few people to make it out of this alive).

finally, roommate's bf has been putting on modern family every night in the living room so therefore we have also been watching modern family. brainrotting type of content (derogatory)

playing: soooo much pokemon go. it has become a vital part of my workout routine. i catch pokemon in between weight sets and also when im doing cardio LOL

making: made some coaster blanks in pottery for Secret Gifts ... hopefully they are done in time, gonna really grind them the next week or two!

eating: because i am back in my home base: many many good things. pictures courtesy of my boyfriend. we really said Protein Over Rice. in order:

harissa chicken thighs with shallots, this time with real harissa instead of gochujang - that shit is SPICY goddamn. it's really good though. my roommate's bf has an immersion blender and is in his Homemade Mayo era and i used some of that to cut the spice on my portion and my god that was so fucking good. this was followed by chicken and egg bowl (leftover chicken thighs with scrambled egg) and gyudon.

misc: on one hand i'm really glad to be back in my place! on the other i'm losing my mind a little bit because my roommate's boyfriend has moved in and i don't move out til aug 8 so i'm going a little insane with how disorganized my everything is right now. like i can't unpack anything because it makes no sense to so im just living out of my big ass suitcase. it's fine i'll be fine but like aaaa. also he re-organized all the cabinets and pantry so i don't know where anything fucking is any more !!! agony. i can't wait to have my own space for real.

my work ethic lately has been .. not great ... my advisor also is kinda leaving me on read which isn't my favorite. shrug. onwards and upwards i suppose. look at this crayfish hole and swallowtail butterfly from a walk in a park yesterday

[mariusroyale]

I found my people.... I found Raph obsessed sweeties 🥺 I love you.

I want to hear everything you have to say about him, thank you for this blog. It's full of food. Imma start eating

AAAAAAAAAAAAA

GO AHEAD

FEAST

IM A RAPH STAN TO THE VERY END *salute*

i have so many things to say about raph ESPECIALLY after season two + movie

garbled, nonsensical rant ahead:

because I’ve seen SO many posts about how the change in leader would have caused a rift between him and his brothers (worsening it, really, considering how he treats them enables them to behave poorly in the show)

pizza puffs is RIGHT THERE

like all through out, his bros are always reassuring, always saying ‘raph will take care of it’, just always relying on raph

AND RAPH LITERALLY BEATS HIMSELF UP OVER IT

HE LITERALLY HITS HIMSELF IN HIS CONFLICT (yeah sure haha funnie) BUT STILL!!

one could imagine the sudden change strains his relationship with his bros because despite how it, in THEORY, would have lessened the weight—

HE STILL HAS TO SHOULDER IT!!!!!

HE STILL HAS TO SCOLD LEO AND BICKER WITH HIM BECAUSE HE KNOWS THE CONSEQUENCES OF NEGLIGENCE AND ARROGANCE AND IT DOESNT GET THRU LEO'S SKULL UNTIL HIS BROTHERS AND THE WORLD ARE FUCKING DYING

BC LEO’S SELF ASSURED THAT IT WOULD WORK OUT LIKE IT ALWAYS DID EVEN IF THEY DIDNT RUMINATE ON THEIR ISSUES

(i will literally fall to my knees hearing Omar's voice in the movie in how well he portrayed Raph's desperation when he realised they needed to retreat, like he sounds so fucking distraught-- LITERALLY GO WATCH IT RN, THE WAY HE SHOUTS 'im not gonna argue with you!' is so fucking sad bc he doesn't!!! THERE'S SHIT HAPPENING AND I LITERALLY DO NOT WANT TO FIGHT WITH YOU RN--)

WHICH NOT ONLY WORSENS THAT RIFT

BUT THICKENS WHATEVER GLASS BETWEEN HIM AND THEIR YOUNGER SIBLINGS!! he and mikey used to be so close!! and it was to be explored that they distanced BECAUSE of raph’s smothering!! IM FOREVER MAD WE DIDNT GET THAT EP so you can imagine how Leo n Raph constantly bickering would have strained their relationships worse!!!

I can imagine how trying to recover it would be SO difficult, especially with Leo because seriously, causing the end of the world because of your own pride isn't some shit you can put under the rug, I can literally feel the cogs in my brain about how raph would be ambivalent on saying how he feels because it cost everyone so much

and because he picks his silence I can imagine Leo being all like 'be mad at me! be upset! yell at me or something, because you haven't said anything to me at all!' or some shit urhghghghr

and raph wouldn't want to upset him, doesn't want to fight, or yell, or make a repeat of the last few years because

hes fucking tired

he doesn't want to put more on Leo after almost losing him

also!! bad future:

raph’s the biggest!! and he’s so used to carrying that load that i can imagine it fucking KILLS him in the bad future!! ALL THAT- TO BE THEIR PROTECTER, ENDING UP DYING FIRST

BECAUSE OF COURSE HE WOULD

BECAUSE HE LOVES THEM SO MUCH AND IT HURTS HIM

when he shields Donnie from shredder in BN:NY, UGRHDHDH

when he shields both Mikey and Donnie when the Krang pulled that anti mystic bs!! he didn’t even think about what it would do- he just wanted to PROTECT

AND OFC RAPH SHIELDING LEO FROM GETTING FUCKING STABBED

RAPH. DIDNT. KNOW. WHERE. IT. WOULD. LAND.

a few inches lower and he would have fucking DIED!!!

he was LITERALLY doing the thing he knew best and it cost him his own autonomy and COULD HAVE LITERALLY FUCKING KILLED HIM—

BUT GOD FORBID HIS BROTHERS GET LETHALLY HURT, HE���LL TAKE IT HIMSELF BECAUSE HES JUST LIKE THAT

and that part of his character gets me so

BECAUSE he doesn’t HAVE to be such a caring overbearing worrywart like that!!!

all that parentification and the separation it left- he could have really just distanced himself entirely or just become jaded and bitter about how he didn’t get his own big brother treatment

BUT HE LOVES ANYWAY

HE'S STILL JUST A BIG GOOF

AND ITS SO 😭😭

HE CAN GET MAD AND UPSET AND STRESSED OUT AS MANY TIMES AS LONG AS IT MEANS HIS FAMILY IS SAFE AND CARED FOR

AND ITS LIKE *sobs*

i wanna know what a raph ep would be like if he just.. got a break

no really, i was so pumped to have a solo raph ep and then MY BOY GETS THROWN IN PRISON FOR LOOKING LIKE A CRIMINAL?!????

i would have gotten so violent, ong- he deserved a better solo ep >:((

and that ep after insane in the mama train, where he goes to his happy place

HES A SHOOTING STAR LIKE D’AWWJDHSJ

I WANNA SEE THIS BIG BEHEMOTH OF A TURTLE GET A BREAK FOR A LONG TIME AND HE JUST GETS TO CHILL

that being said, i am writing a fic on ao3 called ‘Red Angel Perpetuating Harm’ and i plan on uploading it once i fully manage to encapsulate raph’s trauma and what he deserves to treat it bc this fandom i stg….

guys

i get it, Leo’s there, yeah sure

RAPH IS RIGHT HERE. Y’ALL KEEP MAKIN UP SCENARIOS WHERE ITS JUST MADE UP TORTURE FOR LEO

WHEN RAPH IS RIGHT. THERE.

PERFECT. ATTENTIVE. LOVING. HIMBO.

raph’s trauma does not get addressed enough and i for one am DONEEEEE

HE GOT MUTATED. THERE WAS A SCRAPPED ENDING WHERE HE STRAIGHT UP LOST HIS EYE

HE LITERALLY ALMOST KILLED HIS BROS

RAPH ‘RED ANGEL OF PREVENTING HARM’ HAMATO ALMOST KILLED EM

AND IF YOU DONT WANT PHYSICAL ANGST-- HE'S GOT A HELLUVA LOT OF EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE TOO!!!!! HE'S RIGHT THERE!!!!!

and my fuckass fyp on tiktok is like ‘you want Leo edits?’ NO!!

whenever i get vids of raph, focusing on his loss or just cute edits im always like

bECAUSE HE DESERVES MORE ATTENTION!!!! HE'S SUCH A GOOD CHARACTER AND I ADORE HIM!!!

the fic I have rn + the outlines I've made have so far focuses on:

what happened after he got IMPALED (I really liked writing this one)

deeper into interrogation (im contemplating whether or not to write his savage self considering he is alone but idk how to implement it bc the rise Krang are insanely strong, goddamn)

and making his interactions with his bros as a Krang zombie worse

+ recovering his bonds with each brother (trying to figure out how to put all my feelings in their dynamics with raph together)

and splinter + April too, I want him to be able to vent without feeling GUILTY or BAD abt himself!!

the Leo parts of the fic I feel like u can literally smell the way I feel abt him bc JKSBHLJFBHLGBLHJFLBHJ

(no seriously, idc why fics keeps saying 'its not his fault!!' bc YES TF IT WAS.)

hoping to dive deeper into the aforementioned rift too, because god this fam needs some help but RAPH CENTRIC FIC MEANS HE GETS TO BE THE ONE TO CRY AND BE ANGRY AND UPSET TOO BECAUSE GODDAMMIT HE DESERVES TO

someone pls write other things I haven't addressed bc I wanna write em in the fic--

tldr; he best. the best big boy

here's a tiktok

[fandomfaeofveryfewf4cks]

Hooooooo boy. Um, I just- I just- *sighs in lost for words*

I watched the 3 episodes in season 2 a little over 24 hours ago. I'm still not ready to form words about it properly.

Obviously, Im loving it beyond my own comprehension, but still. Words are being drowned out by the frantic screaming and crying of various extreme emotions in my head.

Anyway... here are some of the thoughts I had while watching these three episodes. Spoilers, of course.

"I wasn't expecting a beard to suit Rhys Darby quite as much as it does."

"I wasn't expecting being a merman to suit Rhys Darby quite as much as it does."

"He's dreaming. Izzy isn't dead. Not this soon. He's dreaming. Izzy isn't dead. Not this soon. He's dreaming Izzy isn-"

"Swedish massage... You made this scene both a sex joke... and a pun............ On brand."

*sobbing with Fang over Ivan's death*

"I desperately want to give Fang a hug."

"Who is this? [Archie] When can I marry her?"

"Who is this? [Susan/Zheng Yi Sao, the Pirate Queen] When can I marry her?"

"Glad to see someone appreciates Buttons' sea witch status. ... This is a new ship for me to obsess over, isn't it?"

"Soft? Yeah....that's totally what you meant. I definitely believe that.(sarcasm)"

"Shit, did they eat Ed? He's not supposed to die though, right? Where would they go from there?"

"Okay, no, they look seriously guilty. I think they ate him."

"Who the hell is the body in the basement?!"

"Do you call it a basement if it's on a ship?"

"No, that's not Ed. He can't fucking die. Not like this."

"He's fucking dead?!?!"

"Oh, good, we get to meet this Captain Douchebag who Ed has, apparently, hated because of traits he himself has taken on. Cause he needed more father figure issues."

"People are gonna ship Ed's first dad and Ed's Captain dad as a crack ship now, aren't they?....I'll figure out how I feel about that later."

"Frenchie. Honey. I love you. I fear for you. I can't wait to see you finally lose your shit. I think it will be beautiful and absolutely terrifying."

"Stede, get your fucking towels off of my queen's desk."

"Stede, affectionately, get your head out of your ass and stop denying the trauma your boyfriend has been dealing out to your crew."

"[After his talk with Lucius] Well, that's a start."

"[After he literally runs from Lucius just as he gets into the really bad shit] Get used to it shithead (affectionate), you're gonna have a lot more shit to talk about once you get back to Ed."

"Also, Lucius, baby. Holy fuck. Once your captains get their shit together, make them give you and Pete a vacation or something(one you'd actually get to enjoy this time). You really fucking need it."

"[The last scene]...Fuck, maybe there's hope after all............... The next two episodes are gonna fuck us all up so bad, aren't they?"

[panicv0mit]

seeing the netflixvania posting im so fucking sorry. ive yet to watch it (will suffer through it with my friend who, like myself, is also a long time castlevania fan) and this is like. seeing a forest go up in flames and deciding to walk in anyway.

my expectations were low but it seems i'll have to set them even lower. what have they done to my favorite belmont

My netflixvania posting is but a crumb compared to all the shit I got stored in my brain but if I started rambling it would never end (except I am gonna ramble a lil bit now) spoilers (?) incoming.

Let me just say that the first 2 seasons of netflixvania were actually pretty good, I loved the final fight in season 2. It was FINE, it ended on a decent note, opened the door for the other Belmonts to step in etc etc........and that's not what they did at all. They just HAD to make 2 more fucking seasons and those had MAJOR issues between the severe mischaracterization of Hector and Alucard (I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT HECTOR ALONE) and disgusting unnecessary SA scenes...it was fucking abysmal. And you know what? It hurt to watch like genuinely. Everything that could have gone wrong in a show did go wrong. I liked Isaac's story, Sypha and Trevor were fine. But the horrible writing could not hold the show together at all. I was RELIEVED when it ended but OOPS SORRY!!!! AT THE VERY END THEY LET DRACULA PASS ON WITH HIS WIFE!!!!!!!! HEEHEE!!!!! HOOOHOO!!! Let me ask you a question. Walk with me here, friend. What is the story of castlevania? Who are they fighting? If you answered Dracula, then you're correct.

I'm not saying you have to keep resurrecting the same villain over and over again, HOWEVER. Dracula is a ginormous part of Richter's story. THAT'S THE WHOLE THING!!! BELMONTS VS DRACULA!!!! AND THEN ALUCARD WAKES THE FUCK UP AND IS LIKE AW SHIT THE CASTLE IS BACK!!!! They literally locked themselves out of TWO storylines!!!!! There will be no rondo, no symphony. They are using the characters in name ONLY. and it fucking BLOWS. I was actually somewhat excited to see the new series, I wanted to see Richter really bad he's my GUY....and then the reality set in and I'm wait a minute....NO...NOOO NOOOOOO!!!!!! bc I knew in my heart they were gonna fumble and fuck up severely. And they ARE! I am THREE episodes in and I have felt NOTHING, the show just isn't doing it for me. The pacing is fucking weird, dialogue feels unnatural sometimes, and the overall story is just.. meh. Especially with Richter. If Annette was the only main character, I wouldn't be so disappointed bc her part is really the only one that matters, it's clear she has more of a focus put on her instead and THATS OKAY! but for us Richter fans it feels so empty, he as a character in this show feels like fucking wet cardboard. They're giving him NOTHIN. That's not him at all. It feels off everything feels wrong. The first episode was the worst so far. There was no set up, no slow pacing, just them going from plot point to plot point like they were checking off a list. It all plays out, in my opinion, like if someone was fucking around in AI dungeon and trying to make their own castlevania. That's how unnatural things feel at times. As I'm writing this I'm like losing train of thought like what am I even saying I HAVE NO IDEA. At the end of the day, it's just a huge let down. My expectations were low and initially watching it isn't THAT bad, but when I sit down and let my mind simmer on it...I just get kinda sad. Why do they keep letting ppl who clearly don't know anything about castlevania in general write these shows. I don't feel passion from it. It shows horribly. I don't wanna see another one after this but no they've already confirmed season 2 and Alucard is gonna roll up and they're gonna do whatever the fuck idk. I'm gonna go play curse of darkness and symphony of the night and make out with my wife Hector or somethin

[just-some-random-blogger]

400 Flowers

Chris Evans x Actress!Reader Summary: How does it feel to lose to an Italian group of 20 year olds, Chris? Word Count: 1k+ Warnings: Måneskin because I wanted to add them, dont fight me on this i need a plot, crack fic, fluff, i still use y/n /:, google translated Italian for like one sentence, typos, jealousy, etc.

A/N: HEYA as I promised, I would make another addition to my actress!reader crack fics. because im tired grandpa. i hope yall enjoy this cos it's what ur gonna get 🤩

Also pardon my google translate Italian T_T

If you're new here, here are the said fics, which you dont have to read btw to understand this fic: Dude, She’s Just Not Into You | White Bread | The Other Guy

Here's another part cause yall wouldn't let me sleep 😴

I forgot who wanted to be tagged so im just tagging everyone from The other guy and the ones who asked to be @time-for-a-lullaby @christmaswonderworld @readsreblogsfics @marianastudiesart @r2gers @undergroundstyle @notbrooklynsblog @marc-rogers @lam0ureuxq @mickymouselol1 @kimmyevansblog @captainwans @lizamango @freyathehuntress @freshfreakoaftrash

Watch: Y/F/N Talks About Chris Evans and Måneskin While Answering Questions From The Internet

"Hello everyone," I start by smiling and waiving. I introduce myself and what I'm doing, "and today I will be attempting to answer all the questions you have for me, gathered from the internet."

There is a cut.

"Ah," I look up, "I would say my current obsession is this Italian group I encountered." I clarify, "well, I'm not really in the business of being obsessed anymore, I think," I sigh and shake my head, "not since my One Direction phase. But I do very much like this band.

"They're called Måneskin," I then break into a laugh, "and I had, like, a mental break down when I found out that they weren't in their 30's and were just in thier 20's," I sigh and throw my hands up, "I'm..." I give a confused look, "so old?"

There is a chorus of laughter from the staff behind the camera.

I shake my head again and sigh, "at least," I chuckle, "I will eternally younger than all of my male co-stars ever."

The chorus of laughs get louder.

Another cut.

I am now furrowing my brows over a photograph they were showing me. Said photograph is flashed on screen. It's a worms eye view of me up on stage, barely holding onto a plethora of flowers. It's a screenshot of a tweet that's captioned: where/when is this from and why are people talking about Chris Evans because of it.

"Ah," I nod, "that was taken," I puff out air from my cheeks, "I don't know when exactly, but it was during one of the nights in our two week run of Seasons In Osaka, which is a musical play I starred in.

"I can guess that this was most probably when Chris watched opening night, judging by how overwhelmed I am carrying that large bouquet I have in my arms."

Another cut.

I nod and raise a hand, "Chris Evans." I look away in thought, "I... he watched the show a total of four times," I break into laughter, "which was already excessive in and of itself, but every time he would watch, he'd bring me a bouquet of 100 roses and I would distribute it to everyone on set, the cast, the actors, the extras, the crew, the director, the musicians, the technicians, the producers. I actually did that with all my flowers, because without them I wouldn't have shone as brightly as everyone said I did, so," I shrug, "it was the least I could do.

The comment section of this video:

I'M FUCKING FERAL CHRIS EVANS BOUGHT HER 100 ROSES PER SHOW AND I TAKE SHIT FROM UGLY MEN WHAT THE FUCK [10k+ likes] >>>200 REPLIES<<< FOR REAL THO HE'S SET THE BAR SO HIGH [1.6k+ likes] REMEMBER IF HE WANTED TO HE WOULD [5k+ likes] RIGHT. They are literally perfect for each other I'm sobbing. [905 likes]

Y/N having a mental breakdown over Måneskin issa mood [3.6k+ likes]

Everyone who thinks Y/L/N-Evans isn't a thing 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 [5k+ likes] >>>62 REPLIES<<< People who say they aren't together 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 [598 likes]

Chris Evans Settles Dating Rumors With Y/F/N Once And For All | CONAN on TBS

Conan leans in and sighs, "Chris, just give it to us straight."

Chris breaks into a laugh then falls into a poker face, nodding his head all serious, "yeah."

Conan looks him dead in the eyes and asks, "are you or are you not dating Y/F/N?"

Chris sighs and slaps his lap, "you know," he turns to the audience then back to Conan, "I've been answering this question for what feels like forever, and I feel like no one's listening to me."

"No, no, no, no," Conan shakes his head and his hands, "I'm listening," he motions to his side, "America is listening," the crowd cheers and Chris laughs, "we're all listening."

"Yeah but," Chris chuckles then regains composure, "I keep saying yes, but it's like you're looking for a no."

Conan protests, "well maybe if you weren't so darn confusing, Chris, this would all be behind us!"

Chris boobie grabs himself as he laughs, "you wanna hear the truth or do you wanna hear what you wanna hear?"

Conan looks at him for a moment then bursts, "I wanna hear what I want to hear and that's the truth! This is literally what Captain America stands for!"

Chris raises his hands, "I haven't handled the shield in a while."

"JUST TELL US!"

Chris chuckles and shakes his head, "we're," he sighs, "very close friends."

Conan looks at Chris

Chris looks at Conan.

"Friends?" Conan asks.

Chris nods, raising his hands in defeat, "that's the truth."

Conan's eye twitches.

The crowd begins to boo. Chris gives a look to the audience, "really? You're going to boo me for being honest?" He clicks his tongue.

"But you- and she- and- but the-"

Chris turns to Conan, "it's okay. You'll understand when you're older."

Conan makes a face, "understand what exactly? That love is dead?!"

"Hey! I love my friends!" Chris defends for absolutely no reason, "and I love her bits and pieces, so don't be so dramatic."

"Dramatic?!" Conan shouts dramatically, "you don't love your friends, Chris."

Chris breaks into a chuckle, which morphs into a concerned look on his face, "I- uh... you don't love your friends."

"NO!" Conan shouts back, "I would sell Andy for spare change and some candy!"

Chris loses it as he turns over to Andy, who was spectating everything from the other couch and nods slowly, "it's true. He's tried."

"Aww," Chris chuckles then eventually frowns.

20 min video titled: How Måneskin Is Making Y/L/N-Evans Extremely Volatile

It all started when, *insert clip*:

"I would say my current obsession is this Italian group I encountered."

*CUT*

"They're called Måneskin."

... happened.

Since then, all hell has broken loose.

*CUT TO*

A clip of a red carpet event.

Måneskin is at the AMA's in their suits and the interviewer asks them, "do you guys know that you're Y/F/N's current obsession."

The group all breaks into a smiles and starts getting excited.

The only girl in the group, Victoria, replies with a wide grin, "yeah, yeah! Our fans were freaking out about it."

"I saw it on twitter," the vocalist, Damiano, says, "then," he breaks into a giddy laugh, covering his face, "I started freaking out. I ran to the other room and started telling everyone about it."

The group agrees with him.

"It's like a dream," Damiano shakes his head.

The long haired drummer, Ethan, raises a hand and chimes in, "I love her very much. She is amazing."

"I lover her too," the guitarist, Thomas, adds, smiling.

The interviewer smiles back at them and agrees along, "and I'm sure it's mutual, you guys."

Damiano then, with his mischievous lopsided grin turns to the camera and says, "I don't mind dating older or younger." He points to the camera and shoots his shot in Italian, "if you want to go out with me, call me, "se vuoi uscire con me, chiamami." He seals it off with a wink.

His members turn to him and holler.

The interviewer, living for the drama, asks, "hey, hey, what was that?"

"He asked her out," Thomas laughs.

Ethan continues, amidst his chuckling, "It's like, if she wants a date, call him."

"Yeah right," Victoria says in a scolding manner, "as if she'd go for you."

"Well," Damiano clicks his tongue, "you never know."

"Well, I'm also available," Thomas says.

Victoria knits her brows in offence then says, "me too!"

Ethan, seemingly not sure of what was going on chuckles, "me three!"

There is an argument amongst them in Italian and it's all pretty chaotic.

*CUT TO*

I'm in a sparkly, golden dress for I too am at the AMA's, smiling at an interviewer.

"You have Måneskin quite whipped for you," the interviewer says, making me laugh.

"Why? Did you talk to them, did they say anything?"

"Uh yeah!" she nods, "I just talked to them a few minutes ago they were all all shooting their shot at you. Damiano specifically asked you out in Italian."

I throw my head back in laughter, "what? How do you know that, do you speak Italian?"

"No, but I have my sources, as in their cute drummer Ethan translated for me."

I break into another laugh then fan my face, "well," I click my tongue and wiggle my brows, "I know what I'm going to be doing tonight."

*CUT TO*

A photograph of Måneskin with me in the middle. A normal photo, one with all of us with our tongues out, one where Damiano was carrying me, one with Victoria kissing my cheek.

Yeah that was the equivalent of a forest fire on the internet.

*CUT TO*

A screenshot of these tweets:

@ChrisEvans: Why is everyone telling me to learn Italian? @ChrisEvans: [replying to @ChrisEvans] I have a strong inkling it's not because my maternal grandfather is Italian...

And replies to that tweet

@pepanna: [replying to @ChrisEvans] this man literally ON the internet and still can't google? @marvelsloot: [replying to @pepanna] disappointed but not surprised

@y/nisqueen: [replying to @ChrisEvans] sir, with all due respect, if you're going to lose to anyone, maybe dont to someone half your age ☠️

@steve0ger$: [replying to @ChrisEvans] IF I DON"T SEE AN UPDATE OF YOU AND Y/N IM JUMPING INTO TRAFFIC

@teaishotloser: [replying to @ChrisEvans] ok but chris evans vs maneskin when @donttalktomerat: [replying to @teaishotloser] ngl vic could kill chris no questions @chrissleftboobie: [replying to @teaishotloser] me but chris v simu

*CUT TO*

Chris getting asked by one of the fans at a press con whilst a couch interview.

He makes a face, repeating what was asked of him, "do I have plans on marrying Y/F/N?"

The fans go absolutely livid and scream their head off.

"You guys," Chris makes a face as he grits his teeth, "wrong movie."

His costars and the audience laughs.

The director of the new film he was in says after laughing, dead serious, "answer the damn question, Evans."

Chris turns to him in shock, breaking into a laugh. He points at the woman and says, "hey, I don't like your tone."

Someone in the crowd echoes, "answer the damn question!"

Chris turns to the crowd and chuckles. He places his hands in his pants and licks his lips, "I don't like your tone."

After a moment passes, Chris eventually answers, "well," he pulls out his hand and pats his thigh, "apparently I lost to this Italian band." He pinches his nose bridge then fake cries, "it's over you guys."

*CUT TO*

A clip of someone screaming BITCH WHAT THE FUCK

*CUT TO*

A screenshot of more these news articles:

See: Chris Evans and Y/F/N Lock Lips In An Audi

It looks like they really enjoyed themselves.

Y/L/N-Evans Caught Kissing in Evan's Car

What a time to be alive.

If You Were Wondering If Y/L/N-Evans Is Real, You Have To See This

THEY MADE OUT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

Evans and Y/L/N Confirm Their Relationship

But for real this time

Y/F/N: We've been telling everyone we've been dating.

It's time to get that betting money.

*CUT TO*

Onto literally the pettiest video on the internet, this:

"Me or Måneskin," Chris asks as he holds up a phone to my face.

I look at him, past his phone. He covers his face with his phone and whines, "Måneskin or me!!!!!"

"Why are you doing this? Where you paid to do this?"

Chris replies, "I'm trying to prove a point."

I roll my eyes, "Måneskin."

He turns the phone to him and smiles, "see, I told you!"

The comment section of this video:

HELP WHY THE HELL ARE THEY LIKE THIS [13k+ likes] >>>50 REPLIES<<< Because it's real 😌 [1k+ likes]

[central-finite-curve]

my solar opposites theory for season four

this is gonna be like. All spoilers all the time so check below the read more if you're cool w that

so i am sus as fuck of this ending. i think it's super fun, because i am the way that i am, and every time i see a fucked up little businessman doing mundane tasks i lose my shit. but also it doesn't bode.

my theory hinges on the beyblade

so im thinkin we got a fake pupa on our hands. mainly because this season has a strong emphasis, at every other moment, on how much the pupa loves his family and fucks with sci fi bullshit. this is a brand new pupa who uses his innate telekinesis to shatter glass and levitate objects and shit, instead of the preferred intricate, batshit insane, and inherently sci-fi hijinks of who/what i will now be referring to as pupa 1

pupa 2 is, as pointed out by jesse, speaking in full sentences. he's acting out. he's screaming at his family. these are all things that come with growing up, sure! but pupa 1 was at two-word sentences an episode ago. and earlier this same season? he was painting a fucking mural of just how much he loves his wacky sci-fi family. and he was crying over it! this is the behavior pupa 1 has been set up to display.

pupa 1 has been a deeply emotionally intelligent thing since his introduction. he does everything to get his favorite little baby items, but that doesn't mean he's not conscious of just how well he knows how to read emotions and use them to his advantage. our pupa, pupa 1, is smarter than pupa 2, more savvy than pupa 2, and does not care about material things. pupa 1 would not steal earrings, he would wear a mecha suit of a lady to charm a man into buying them for him and then use those earrings as collateral to get to the harry potter whistle.

anyway. pupa 2 is fake as hell. and this whole season has been setting up how they like to write "fake" situations. tim's whole death episode, along with the one where they did a the truman show, really stick out to me. tonally? the finale was juuuust off enough to make me pretty fucking convinced that this is all one big fucking ruse

idk who pupa 2 is. maybe he's the pupa of the other shlorpians on earth. maybe he's a shapeshifter. maybe he's a collective hallucination, but whatever he is, he isn't our baby.

i think our pupa is still playing with that fucking beyblade in the school

[maschotch]

spencer for the character ask game if you 're still doing it/ havent already done it. also, opinion on the "i almost went back on dilaudid" scene in 7x02 because i've seen a lot of people say that's reid's most toxic moment

spencer reid

first impression: oh god the white girls are gonna be freaks about this one for sure

impression now: they sure are!! they sure are!! wow they went exactly where i thought they were going with this character, guess i cant be too disappointed bc idk what else i expected

favorite moment: when he gets shot in 5x01 and he's lyin there bleeding on the ground talking about anything other than himself askjdhalsd GIRL GET HELP

idea for a story: i would love for him to leave the bau the same way gideon did.

unpopular opinion: he's not my favorite?? he never has been?? his whole character archetype (white, skinny, austistic-coded-but-we're-not-gonna-talk-about-it-but-still-call-it-representation-and-pat-ourselves-on-the-back-for-it) is really just not something i'm really interested in, especially when done poorly. i liked him more in the early seasons, before they started dumping as much shit on him as they possibly could just for the sake of it. i still like the character, but i don't understand the hype

favorite relationship: three way tie between morgan, garcia, and elle. currently garcia's edging ahead of the others bc im thinkin of when he got her a blueberry muffin or smth.. they're just so cute in that scene akdjshla okay but for realsies i love that they're both undoubtedly the smartest on the team, and i love that it's constantly brought up that one isn't necessarily smarter than the other? it's hard to quantify bc they're intelligent in different ways, but i like that it's something they don't just ignore: she's just as smart as him. and i love their "two youngest siblings" dynamic when they're forced to work together

favorite headcanon:

i did not know that this was a popular opinion?? i think that's... really fucking stupid actually asdkjhglas like im not even gonna pretend to be nice about it

this guy has been dealing with his addiction for years. that's not something that you solve once, move on, and it's never a problem again. this is one of the very few times that we see him bring up that it has been a continued struggle: just because you haven't relapsed doesn't mean it's not a battle you deal with constantly. so of course it's understandable that losing a close friend for the first time would make the issue flare up again.

im not saying reid wasn't bitchy that episode lmao he was definitely an ass. so i understand people saying that the way he acted was childish and petty. but the moment where he talks about his addiction? that's the most adult he's acted the whole ep. that was him talking about what the heart of the issue was: jj knew he was hurting and struggling and continued to lie anyway. no more games, no more underhanded comments. he's getting straight to the point. this is how serious the issue was. this is why the betrayal stings so much.

im not saying jj was in the wrong for making that decision either: she did what she had to do--what hotch told her to do--to keep emily safe. but that doesn't erase the pain it caused, even if she had a valid reason for it. i also have a lot of personal thoughts on how jj really doesnt like taking responsibility for things and how just expecting him to automatically forgive her is ridiculous but thats irrelevant rn.

reid was extremely close with emily. she was the one he felt comfortable opening up to; her stability and support played a big role in reid not relapsing when gideon left. it makes sense that his addiction would resurface with her death. i don't think he's blaming jj for it, but he's upset with jj for knowing the kind of pain he was in and not bothering to do anything about it. he came to her house crying for six weeks. it's already hard enough for reid to be vulnerable around anyone, so to have that trust shattered like that was just salt on the wound. i think he's entitled to be upset about that

i understand people saying that the way he acted in the rest of that ep was ~toxic~ ig , but that particular moment? he's expressing the gravity of that situation. reid is an addict, it's not like he's making this up just to hurt jj's feelings. but he's not toxic for bringing it up: he's saying what he's feeling, why her actions caused him so much pain, and why it's not easy to forgive her for it.

idk i think that people have started to use the word "toxic" very flippantly. it's not when someone's being a big meanie :( or when someone makes you feel bad :( confrontation is not toxic. it's just a part of life, and a healthy part of a relationship. otherwise reid would've internalized that hurt and things would've gotten much worse between the two of them: addressing it was the healthy thing to do. maybe he didn't go about it in the nicest way, but that doesn't make him toxic for it lmao

[checkers-dance]

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT. this fic. this FIC. holy shit. its both the best and worst thing to ever happen to me, its so fucking good but its also the biggest heartbreak i've ever experienced because it's been on a hiatus since 2017 and last chapter was a fucking cliffhanger. i've been waiting for YEARS. i have hope that it MIGHT get updated some day because the author hasn't said anything abt not continuing the fic, they just said it was on hiatus and did answer a comment like two years ago saying they planned to continue the fic at some point so. are the odds against me? yes. do i care? NO. its been five years but i will NOT lose hope, i refuse to, it'll have to pass an actual decade before i reach the acceptance phase.

anyway i found this fic around the time i was getting into tmnt for the first time. the fic seemed interesting and not only that, it featured my two favorite tcest ships which are MASSIVELY underrated and extremely lacking in content. its rare for me to find fics that are relatively long and have a story as complex as this one for these particular ships (life would be so much easier if i was a raphleo shipper but god made me different) so i was immediately really interested, i read the whole thing, became obsessed and now i return to it every once in a while because its just. this is THE epitome of incest fanfiction.

anyway so whats it about? for context, by the end of season two dudes get their asses kicked and leo nearly dies, plus they think their father might be dead (he's not, but it's kinda funny how the show kept doing fake out deaths for splinter and then when bitches were so desensitized to it they just straight up killed him for real NVJNJDVN) and they have to leave the city and hide on a house owned by april's family in this really isolated place. they're all very scarred emotionally and leo won't wake up, plus he suffered some major injuries and his leg got really messed up so for a lot of season 3, leo really struggles to walk.

but this fic is like. alright thats all fine and good but what if we made it WORSE. so leo isn't just a little hurt on the leg, oh no, he straight up LOST HIS LEG. THATS THE FIC.

its all very fucked up and leo feels kinda guilty because he shouldn't have allowed that to happen (according to himself) and he feels like he wont ever be able to lead his team again. hes feeling lots of emotions, naturally, dudes just kinda suffering. but donnie is determined to do something about this. he decides hes gonna build a prosthetic leg for him that will be able to do all the things he could do with his previous leg.

and thats the fic. leo lost his leg and donnie wants to build him a new one and its just an exploration of all that comes with that and, of course, the incest. there is SO much i like about this story but im gonna start with the non-incest related things:

the characterizations are on fucking POINT. like heres the thing. tmnt 2012 is a messy show and so there are some characters that are very underdeveloped (im specifically thinking about donnie and mikey because they got done so dirty, ESPECIALLY mikey) BUT somehow the writer does a really good job of making sure they stay the way they are in canon WHILE also fleshing them out in ways the actual show never did. the season this fic is supposed to take place in is always one ive never liked much because it felt like so much good character development was just kinda skipped (how do you follow up such a brilliantly written season with THIS its beyond me, but thats 2012 for you lol) and some really important character struggles are kinda brushed aside. this fic does everything the show couldnt and actually gives the characters space to process the very traumatic events that happened to them. leo is dealing with loads of self loathing and feeling like he is now somehow incomplete, and hes really struggling with seeing a future for himself again. everyone tries to cheer him up but while it works in the moment and we do slowly see his mental state improve, leo is a much more pessimistic character now and his confidence is completely gone. i really like that, it makes sense with the type of person leo is! any fic that gives us any insight on his mental struggles is one i welcome because while hes definitely one of the better developed characters theres still a lot we didnt see in the show itself. then there's donnie!!! my beloved!! okay i have such a huge soft spot for this guy, he was my favorite character in the show for the longest time until leo kinda stole my heart. don is one of those characters that arent as fleshed out, but the fic takes all the little things canon never properly addresses and actually does something with them which is SO good nfvhb. don is an overthinker who the whole team kinda relies on, and we do see some of the consequences of this in canon, but definitely not enough. but this fic takes that concept and runs with it. if leo is depressed, donnie is on the edge of a panic attack. he knows he's the only one capable of giving leo his leg back and hes terrified of disappointing him so despite his own health, he puts his everything into his work and represses every doubt he has. he pretends he knows what hes doing and acts like hes confident in himself when really hes terrified, but at no point does he ever tell anyone because he feels like its his duty to deal with this all on his own. there's this scene that absolutely gets me where he's all alone in the forest and then breaks down and starts to curse out loud at all the things hes unsure of and how he has absolutely no one to share them with. or so he thinks. and idk man i just feel so bad for him nvf jnvjnfv

and then there's mikey and oh god!!! the author did such a wonderful at writing this guy, like its insane how they took a character that was mostly used for comedic relief but then every scene they write him in is the most deep shit ever. and SOMEHOW it still feels very in character. mikey is an optimist and he's very perceptive of other people's emotions, he has a really good sense of empathy and is more emotionally driven so hes kinda just better at feelings than anyone else in this fucking family. hes able to see how everyone in the house is keeping secrets from each other and how its tearing them apart, and hes able to provide some really good emotional support. one of my favorite scenes is one where leo and mikey are alone together and mikey tells him that he understands why he feels like he does and that he doesnt want him to pretend to be happy. sure, aspiring to be happy is a good thing but you need to go through things before going past them. that little moment between them was so sweet, it felt like something leo really needed to hear.

part of the reason this all feels so in character is because there's crumbs of this in the show even if its never the main focus. sure, maybe don and mikey never really get much development or focus but we do have moments were donnie's stress is very present and we do see how much the others rely on him. and some of my favorite moments with mikey involve him and leatherhead, a very traumatized guy who mikey befriends precisely because he can empathize with him and show him kindness. so all the pieces are there, the show just never really uses them. this author does though, and thank god.

i havent really talked about raph because i feel like out of all the characters hes the one whos struggles relate more to the incest part of the story and i wanna talk about that last, but hes also very well written.

but in short, this family is very dysfunctional and unless they start talking to each other shit wont get better (spoilers: they wont)

another thing i like is how much the fic plays off the "otherness" inherent to the guys being mutants. they never had anyone but each other so their ways of interacting differ from that of average siblings. when one of them is hurt, they all get the need to cuddle with each other for comfort. they avoid this because they know the humans in the house wouldnt understand but there's this desire for closeness that makes a lot of sense to me. there's also some brief discussions of nightmares that are SO good and that i've adopted as my own headcanon. basically, don and leo have a conversation about nightmares and apparently there's some common themes that pop up: dissection, being experimented on, you get the gist. which is just a result of being a literal mutant. it makes a lot of sense to me that the guys would have nightmares about that kind of stuff since they HAVE gotten threats of that type and is just a risk they have to constantly live with.

ANYWAY. lets talk about the incest. oh my god, THE INCEST. okay so. the main ship is leo/don because duh. and man, i love them but they have such an unhealthy relationship nvfnvjnvj they dont communicate anything to each other because they both have this idea that they gotta deal with stuff on their own. i def feel like the one being hurt the most by this is don. leo thinks the world of him for all that he does and kinda views don as his only salvation so even if it isnt his intention, don ends up feeling very pressured. he wants leo to be happy and in order to make that happiness a reality he sacrifices so much of himself. this is horrible in all ways. like, donnie shouldnt feel like everything depends on him and he should feel free to vent and confess to his fears, but because he doesnt want to burden leo he doesnt say anything. he wants leo to be happy even at the cost of his own well being. and so we end up with really fucked up scenes where leo is trying to be reassuring by saying stuff like "it's fine. i know you can fix it" but because we know how donnie feels we understand that to him this isnt comforting, its just a reminder that there's no room for him to fail. and its also just incredibly unhealthy how leo has this vision of himself as incomplete and projects that into what donnie does. hes not whole without his leg and therefore hes not whole without donnie and like??? thats so fucked up??? they both struggle with feeling theyre not good enough for each other and its so unhealthy. half of their problems would be solved if they OPENED UP AND TALKED but they just WONT.

i really like how their relationship develops. they both kinda just rush into things. this whole situation has brought them so close to each other so they kinda cant help but feel differently about each other. some of the first chapters are really sweet because theyre just acting like fools around one another. leo is kinda like "okay its fucked up that i wanna kiss my brother but also??? i kinda dont give a fuck lmao" while don definitely feels more guilty about it. most of the guilt is gone by the time they get together though.

and then theres my BELOVEDS. raph and mikey. oh god. i love these two SO much and this fic gives me so many crumbs. so they have a really cool dynamic here. life's a mess so they kinda start turning to each other in the same way leo and don do and of course, it all kinda starts to morph into something else. and the way they each deal with their feelings is really interesting.

their scenes are so fun because theres this really awkward romantic tension and even before the plot starts focusing more on them you can start to notice little hints that theyre already starting to develop feelings for each other. raph gets really tense when his brothers mention mikey, mikey starts to cling to him and they have some really weird passive aggressive conversations that are just nfvjnvfjvnbvb what is wrong with them.

WHAT IS THISSSS SUPPOSED TO MEAN NVJNVFJVNVN

theyre such a mess, i love them.

anyway, part of the way mikey is characterized here involves him being REALLY aware in ways not even his brothers seem to be able to. so since hes very in touch with his feelings he kinda realizes quickly where things are headed and he doesnt really feel bad about it. there's this really messed up scene where raph is really pissed off at him and mikey is secretely staring at him and gets VERY horny FHBHFVBFVB THEY GOT SUCH A FUNNY DYNAMIC. but i love how in touch mikey is with his own feelings and how he just goes with the flow like "oh yea i wanna fuck my big bro, no big deal" fnvfvfnv of course he of all people doesnt care.

raph has it all backwards. hes CONVINCED mikey is just unaware of all thats going on between and its all on him. so hes DETERMINED to bury those feelings deep inside since hes terrified of not only hurting him, but also what others might think if they knew. out of all the characters i think raph is the one dealing with the most amount of guilt in regards to the incest thing and i think thats interesting? like the more coldheaded characters (don and leo) kinda just rushed into things and meanwhile raph and mikey who are far more impulsive are kinda just awkwardly dancing around the subject. that is until mikey just straight up kisses him and of course they cant really ignore it anymore. BUT THEN. THEY HEAR APRIL SCREAM AND THEY HAVE TO RUN OUT, THEY DONT EVEN GET TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. AND THATS THE LAST CHAPTER.... NOTHING GETS RESOLVED, IM GOING TO KMS VBHFVHJVVB

I can't believe ur rarepair shipper curse keeps following everywhere this is so tragic 😭😭😭

HOLY SHIT THE TURTLES HAVE A FUCKING FATHER?????? HOW DOES THAT WORK. I THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST........RANDOMLY MUTATED TURTLES. LIKE THEY SPRANG UP ONE DAY AND WERE LIKE HEY WE CAN TALK. DO THEY HAVE A SECOND PARENT TOO???????

U: "leo nearly dies", me: INCEST WHUMP????? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

But seriously I think it's so rewarding to find that type of fic where the characters' issues are explored and they go thru trauma and u actually get to see the consequences. It's rlly up there in terms of my fave type of fic to read. Also so far this sounds like it rlly fucking slaps???????? I would ask for the link but it's unfinished and u said it ends on a cliffhanger so Idk if I wanna do that to myself 😭😭

Mikey oldest sibling syndrome??????

Nightmares abt dissection.......nero stop selling me this fic I might actually read it.......

These bitches are so fucked up and codependent. I love that for them <3

NOOOOO THE "so what I can draw too" HE'S SO.....SHAKES HIM BY THE SHOULDERS

Mikey rlly said brotherfucker rights and raph rlly said no to that huh 😔

Also noooooo that cliffhanger...Idk who april is but it feels like shit's abt to go down

[hypnotised-hazard]

Could I just say something here considering the rise movie is coming up and shit I wanted to share my predictions since it's just a week away. So yk how everyones going on about this being similar to mutant apocalypse from 2012 and considering a lot of 2012 references and hell even va cameos in rise I find it fair to draw from that conclusion

BUT being the zany little 2003 tmnt fan I am I have found a few things that REALLY SPEAK TO ME and some 2003 fans may know exactly what im going to touch on. Which is the season 3 episode "Same As It Never Was"

Before we unpack I would like to say spoilers for 2003 tmnt and I 110% agree you should REALLY CHECK OUT THIS SERIES it's highly underrated okay ON WITH IT!

First off im going to be pointing out the obvious the apocalypse like future [because imagine if I had a nickel for everytime thats happened in tmnt.] There's a sorta form of opposite into how the future is told but they are both alternate timelines were everything is taken away by a krang/umtron antagonist of the present dimensions time which...

Both take the role of a very familiar guy we all know and love.

And weight is on one person who wants to defeat it and therefore has to come up with a plan to stop them or else everything they know will be destroyed that person probably knowing they could lose something in the process.

And while I'm on it I wanna address some speculation I have about that whole machine Leo's coming out of in that shot. He looks heavily traumatised by what he's seen in that pod of some sort with the whole plot line about the apocalypse future I wouldn't count it out of the question that he's seen the future Casey's from or something similar to that and he could've seen that he's lost almost everyone and probably due to him being the leader this weight has been put on him even more because everyones looking towards him for advice and more amplified by casey being his student he doesn't know. So if they lose he truly believe its his fault. it's absolutely similar to Donnies experience in 2003, were the whole world goes down the drain just because he went missing so theres this giant burden on Don were he tries to fix everything hes supposedly done in this alt universe only for his plan to kill his brothers in the process going back to his dimensions brothers traumatised.

So that's lovely two traumatised turtles who definitely aren't scarred for life.

There's also some smaller similarities I've found between the two like

-A future were at least one or more of the turtles are dead [rise please have the balls to kill raph and don on screen like 2003 /j]

-uh oh looks like someones lost an arm

-present Casey dying [or at least its most likely that rise Cassandra has died as Casey was named after them and we didn't see her anywhere in the trailer and probably if your grandson is basically going back in time to save you and your family you'd probably be there lmao.]

-April's a commander and alive [listen rise future April isn't seen in the trailers but I presume shes alive because she's greeted by Casey meaning Casey knows her and Casey also looks like they see April first rather than the turtles because he's probably looking for his next instruction. Even though its a bit of a stretch why shes not in the trailer is probably because she's kinda doing the same as 2003 april in same as it never was which is running camps or forms of rebellion camps and probably is why shes stated as a commander.]

Okay again some of these are speculation but GOD DAMN a lot of these can definitely be classified as similarities and damn as a 2003 fan I can see where they're going with this and even though same as it never was is literally the greatest tmnt episode of all time HOLY FUCK it's a mental RIDE and going into this movie is definitely kinda like how i felt going into same as it never was for the first time everything seeming perfectly fine THEN BAM HIT THE FAN this movies truly gonna be awesome I can feel I'm not ready

[gcnedark]

all of the people and the plants & nature ones for any of my boys

Gonna do this for Shane bc fuck it

Eye: His eyes are brown, nothing special.

Lying: Oh, hes a fucking GREAT liar. There's not really any signs that he is lying, so good luck trying to figure it out.

Ghost: This man has seen shit that most people wouldn't even believe, ofc he believes in ghosts.

Collision: anger. When this man gets into a rage, he fucking loses it, there's basically no way to pull him out of it, just wait until he comes down from it.

Crying: Oh he cries very easily, he just doesn't do it in front of other people. Animal death gets to him the fastest.

Punch: ..yes. thats an obvious one

Family: He, doesn't really know his family. Well he doesn't remember them is what I should say, they abandoned him. He remembers his grandfather before he passed in Italy, they had a good relationship. But that was the only good one he had with anyone in his family

Fearful: Fight, nothing makes him run.. except two AK47s, we don't talk about that.

Sleeping: Shane rarely sleeps, he's very paranoid.

Bouquet: I don't know shit about flowers I'm skipping this-

Moon: His wish is to go back to Italy, go home. See old friends,, learn what the fuck happened to them all.

Volcano: Shane tries to stay level-headed, but when his temper starts to rise- its an immediate boom.

Hibiscus: No allergies.

Maple leaf: his favorite season is spring! The weather is just nice enough to let him go around and murder without sweating bullets

Falling Leaf: uhhh,, not really. He doesn't have an outdoor activity besides violence either.

Sun: Absolutely a morning person, loves to watch the sunrise and its usually when he tries to be the most active.

Spider: His biggest fear is heights.

Rose: Oh, he hates Valentines Day. Despises it with every fiber of his being.

See-No Evil: Shane doesn't like to show the side of him that still sorrows and mourns, to him- it means he's weak. Fuck that, no one needs to see that.

Speak-No Evil: Shane refuses to stay quiet when he believes something isn't right, there's a reason he beat the shit out of anyone who fucked with him in highschool. It wasn't right, he didn't stay quiet and he defended himself.

Hear-No Evil: The worst thing he could hear? I have no clue, im skipping this one nfndnsna

Seedling: His most vivid memory is being dropped off at that orphanage by his family and left there, not one he likes to remember but it is there.

Clover: Shane believes in luck, the man has survived things no one should be able to. If he didn't have luck, then Obama was white.

Earth: Shane remains rational when he's in love, he's able to recognize when something needs to be dropped, and if it's the world or his partner- bad news, chief. He's not dropping the world for one person.

Milky way: There was none, when I first made Shane I was just going to drop him completely.. then he became a genuinely interesting and complex character, and here we are.

[tsukidrama]

hello!!

omg i listened to hange’s eng dub and… youre right it doesnt match 😭. it sounds like a disney channel voice, which isn't bad in itself but not in this context. i wouldn’t roast you for liking/not liking dub voices don’t worry, as i said there are some i can’t stand in my own language. it’s pretty hard to do better than romi park too, though the french va does a pretty good job (i found an extract here if you’re interested! you can hear a few others too, mikasa and erwin are pretty bad imo) and sometimes her voice sounds pretty hot, at least to me ahjdkfhdf. but i also watch in sub except when i’m watching it with someone and the japanese cast is really great in general.

im telling you, i couldn't get through 30 seconds... romi park EATS every role she has and she alone is enough to keep me on team sub tbh. i tend to default to subs when watching anime anyway.

kaj,nbsd,jfnsdk her voice is definitely a little sexy, catch me letting the whole video clip play just so i could listen to her talk 😭 also idk what it is but the way she looks without her glasses + the eye bandage just. .oohoo hohoh ohhphho (i groaned out loud when mikasa started talking, i hate it??? - jean's VA is killin it though).

and that’s including yelena WHO WAS SO GREAT IN THE LAST EP, i’m so glad you converted me to her cause between the two parts of the season because UGH akejzhfkjgfjhfezqkjfhzlf what a woman. bat shit crazy and hot woman. mappa did her SO GOOD. and that was a really good distraction to everything happening around because next week’s episode is going to be ROUGH for everyone. (spoiler alert if non manga readers are reading this, don’t continue) but porco’s death should be next week right? same for colt. i think it’s impossible to not be moved by what’s going to happen even if you don’t like the characters. isayama and mappa are great at making us sad about every character.

YESSSSSS I'D BEEN WAITING FOR THE AIRSHIP BOW SINCE THE PART 1 TRAILER DROPPED and in my heart i knew we would have to wait like a year but it was worth it. so much shit is about to hit the fan but it's a .001% reprieve every time her crazy ass limbers into view. i'm so excited for some of her cuter passive moments after the fighting.

[anime spoilers below]

yep :// almost definitely. last week's episode ended on the same cliffhanger as chapter 118, and 119 is where everything goes tits up. crispy colt, porco's literal fucking skull, falco's traumatizing rubber chicken titan, and then the 119 cliffhanger is the gunshot decapitation. im gonna lose my shit. typically mappa tends to put more like 1 1/2 or 2 chapters per episode, but A LOT is about to happen next week. personally i hope they show paths even it's just for a moment and makes me wanna rip my hair out when we see the to be continued...

as the oldest of all my siblings, colt's death hits me as one of the worst in the entire series. i can't, it literally guts me. i don't even care about him. and i don't even want to talk about porco (A TOTAL LIE) he's just such a sad character, i get so upset over him. he's such an asshole but it still hurts so bad... and then i ended up getting more attached to him when s4 was animated him as the sexiest mf man i've ever seen 😩 and now he is my husband so this next week will suck. and then i can quickly

i promise i wont send you tiktoks all the time but i saw this one and it reminded me too much of the latest trnt chapters to not send it to you.

have a lovely rest of your week! i hope you’re doing well.

-j

i like the tiktoks! jda;slkjlkn very true and canon. best part of emotionally healing lesbian relationships.

i'm hanging in there! i hope you have a good week too, good luck this sunday lmaooo

[calpalsworld]

Not "autistic anon," but also autistic, (being called maybe ableist made me want to put this out there before go to bed) i thought Zane was depicted that way purposefully by the writers. He has stereotypical traits like taking things literally, and has an actual humor switch. The writers have done things with Zane before like have him lose bodily autonomy (during that one Wu's teas short) and did something with his voice be it making him unable to be understood or talking too loud and the forced pirate voice by Jay. (what you're doing isn't too different from that, right?) I thought it was just a little iffy to distort his body and memory bc that could be interpreted as something not that I'm sure what exactly, it's some kind of disability. I dunno. I'm not good with putting this to words. I hope this makes sense.

Sorry I went to bed but now I’m awake 😭

Also I ended up totally spilling all my thoughts here rather than only specifically replying to you please forgive me context: my scary zane concept design, & my ninjago rewrite i refer to a lot 

Im a little confused but I think I get what you're saying? You're saying the Ninjago writers absolutely DON'T write Zane well (you listed examples of this) and you don't want me to fall into the same trap?

I had the opposite logic earlier. I thought: If Ninjago writers made Zane have stereotypical autisitic traits while also being a dehumanized robot, I may as well embrace it, say he is autistic blatantly, while also making him do funny/cool non-human robot things, so its clear as possible the two aspects of his character are literal and separate and not a metaphor for each other. But you're right! I do have a choice and I dont have to embrace things! :)

Like there were a couple ways I was gonna reject the original, for example, I never wanted Zane to have a funny switch, and I hated how other characters could fuck with Zane and he didn't even care 😬. I want to change that stuff. So youre right, if I am changing shit like that, it would be counterproductive for ME to GIVE him MORE traits along that theme. 😬😬😬 I should try to feel less obligated to portray Zane like he originally is. I still like the concept of "scary zane" (for reasons i explain below the cut) but I might tone it down a bit like with the claws and weird proportions and shit. I’d def make him look more skeletal and undead. That was my original intention, but i didnt execute it as good as I could have.... idk if anyone could tell thats what he was supposed to be like...my bad! But rn I dont wanna redesign him I wanna draw other stuff like normal alive Zane. Sorry LMAO 😳. Like I said in some earlier asks I think, I think Im gonna focus rn on how I should portray season 1 normal not dead Zane so thank you and feel free to share any other Zane thoughts ^_^ SOME OTHER THOUGHTS:

Also I Wanna Argue Some Stuff But I Understand its a Weak Argument Since All of This Context was Just In My Brain (so don't take this as an argument, just as me rambling): I don't want messed up things to happen to Zane and for it to just be ignored. I think if Zane is going to have fucked up things happen to him, as all characters must, its best for it to happen during a season where he actually addresses his feelings about being a robot (learning to accept that he will always be himself, regardless if hes "human" or the "original" or whatever. (thats how I always interpreted his emotions)). But I wouldn't have the other Ninja be very phased by Zane's looks because the whole point is they already love who he is (seasons 1-3 were about getting to know Zane) and now Zane himself just has to learn the physical, robot part of him is okay. Its about person-hood rather than humanity. Because the season focuses around Zane's soul, and because he lost his original body, I feel like I could mess around with his current, temporary body and have fun and make it scary. Because that body should be irrelevant. I understand it possibly being upsetting for an autistic character to be designed like this, but other people I talked to see it the opposite way. They find it comforting for him to look so different but still be himself and be so loved. SO IM ABSOLUTELY NOT saying its wrong to be bothered or to hate it or to feel any way. Just that I personally think it would be cool for Zane to be portrayed with a little spice lol, so thats why I like scary Zane for season 4.

Another Thing I Wannna Say But Is REALLY Hypocritical: (this isnt directed at anyone I just REALLY want to say this) I know I say "this is Zane but scary, he looks like fnaf" so he's obviously dehumanized, but I always felt like "scary" is more of an objective fact. Its an instinct. But what's "not human" is subjective. I think there is a problem with saying anything different from "average" human is dehumanized because that could extend to real people. Lol I know its bad for me to compare FNAF-ass Zane to real people, but I mean he could be real. People can have exposed teeth, and people can be shaped weird. And when someone first sees a person who looks like that they'll probably think "woah those features are scary" by instinct. And that surprise doesn't make someone ableist obviously. But bring that person’s humanity into question is NOT an instinct, and is fucked to shit. This is kinda a bad point for me to make since its about the fictional FNAF Zane I drew, and I am NOT implying ANYONE was thinking like this. [especially not the original asker anon who I am totally forgetting about at this point OOPS]. But I just thought it was an opinion of mine I couldn't go without mentioning when talking about dehumanization and disabilities.

^^^ I think you (anon) understand what I mean and might’ve said the exact same thing as me if you were writing a long ass response? I think this because you started to bring physical disabilities up and you said it was "a little iffy." ^_^ So we agree, but I don't see Zane's relation to real life disabilities as "a little iffy" I see it more like "complicated"? IF THAT DIFFERENCE EVEN MAKES ANY SENSE?????? I feel like a lot of things about Zane are really just complicated and need the right context, rather than the concepts necessarily being wrong -- NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT! THATS THE WHOLE REASON I DO THIS STUPID REWRITE! XD thats why a lot of my rewrite SO FAR has been the same concepts and plot beats, but different dialogue n specifics and such. I like a lot of concepts in Ninjago but I dont think they were presented correctly.....! :( So I guess all we can do is wait and see if I make Zane offensive or not....???

Also something about the memory part - yeah i agree i was surprised no one thought that was weird to make jokes out of his memory issues..... BUT I am like 100% firm on making his memory take longer to come back because I think its stupid how quick Zane was able to recover from literally dying. Like its just dumb to me. Hate it. (also bc memory & soul mechanics is ummm kinda important in my rewrite.... for reasons). Another memory thing btw, I was going to make his original amnesia come from hitting his head in an attack against the Skulkin when they stole his dads corpse, rather than his dad fucking choosing to make him forget. (its a sweet & iconic scene, but Um, WHY?!!!?!?!?!?) He has to follow data recovery instructions he finds in his dads diary. I think in that context it makes moments of memory loss somewhat different for Zane's character? Instead of loss of autonomy associated with disability, its a literal violent loss of autonomy associated with being traumatized by physical force. Idk how to phrase it exactly but I think that makes some vibes different?

Sorry, I think I got really distracted, and I don't know if I responded well to your points. Because uhhhh I think I agree with your stance actually? If I understand correctly? Fuck Ninjago writers for making the robot lose autonomy (a stereotypical robot theme) while also making him seem clearly autistic (NOT A HAPPY THEME FOR AUTISTIC PEOPLE) and not addressing it. And also auuugh Zane with a weird body is a difficult topic - kinda sussy pretty iffy.

Lol anyway idk if this made any sense and I REALLY rambled on you. but this was nice 👉👈 more Zane criticism pls love you and i love zane. i hope u dont feel mad at me because then it would be weird that im saying that lol. if you do feel mad at me tho you can send another ask (ILL TRY TO JUST LISTEN NOT RAMBLE NEXT TIME) but assuming ur chill rn, love you thnx

Take this page, don’t mind cole’s ass.

[beautiful-rebellious-sunflower]

Hi! So I'm trying to convince a friend who isn't really a fan of Abby that she's a precious cinnamon roll. What evidence/arguments/gentle nudging would help to show them the light? :)

You know what? I started writing out a whole long essay of feels about Abby Griffin and why I love her so much, but I realised anything like that was gonna be WAY too long! So here it is condensed into handy bullet pointed list form!

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧  DISCLAIMER

Someone not liking Abby as a character is fine! I don’t expect my fave to be everyone’s fave, and sometimes you get a character who just rubs you the wrong way and you might not even be able to explain why. But, since I was asked, these are some of the reasons *I* love Abby Griffin, and some responses to common criticisms of her (many of which I genuinely think are deeply unfair and based on ridiculously inaccurate interpretations of her character)

Onwards!

she’s a talented Doctor and Scientist

she designed the wristbands! the whole ‘sending the 100 to the ground’ thing was LITERALLY HER IDEA IN THE FIRST PLACE THERE WOULD BE NO SHOW without Abby Griffin

“the most respected person in this camp" 

when Clarke destroys Mount Weather she immediately wants to use all that tech not for killing Grounders like Pike does, but for opening a hospital and healing Grounders and Sky people alike god whatever happened to THAT storyline btw??

saves Nyko’s life

saves Raven’s life

saves Lincoln’s life with an amazing smart, brave moment of sheer shocklashing badassery, and by doing so…

becomes the first person EVER to bring back a Reaper!!! Thus enabling Clarke to win an alliance with the Grounders and presumably becoming a legend with them because she LITERALLY BROUGHT A DUDE BACK FROM THE DEAD YO INDRA DID YOU SEE THAT SHIT

saves Finn’s life long-distance over the radio (look we all have our faults but Clarke, Raven and Octavia are equally to blame for this one so no foul to Abby)

saves Marcus’ life under the rubble of Tondc

saves Roan’s life when he’s shot

…literally are you getting my point half the people in the show would be dead if it it weren’t for her

keeps Ontari alive (and thus helps Clarke save the world) by CRACKING OPEN HER CHEST AND MANUALLY PUMPING HER HEART look even Murphy was impressed by that

she’s super badass and incredibly brave even without resorting to violence and killing like other characters

willing to go to jail and the airlock (!!!) multiple times to try and save the people due to die in the Culling

willing to fire herself at the Earth in an ancient rocket cobbled together by Raven just for the chance that she can prove the kids are alive

goes to meet Indra, a heavily armed enemy warrior leader, alone and unarmed, and doesn’t back down even with a knife held to her throat

climbs into the rubble of Tondc to save people even though she herself was safely out of it

saves Raven’s life (again!) by taking the chip when ALIE makes her cut her wrists

saves Jackson and Miller’s lives on Science Island by distracting a drone

she’s a devoted, loving and good mother (FUCK YOU I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL)

kind of a surrogate mom to Jackson who lost his mom at a young age

clearly wants to adopt both Raven and Murphy too

willing to move heaven and earth to find Clarke and protect her

stands up to Jaha to back Clarke in season two even as he tries to have her deposed and thrown into the stockade because…

“I have faith too. In my daughter.”

also in season two, defers to Clarke and gives up any chance of finding survivors from the other Ark stations to focus on rescuing the kids in Mount Weather

understands why Clarke left post-season two and even though it’s clearly hurting her she doesn’t try and drag her back before ‘she wants to be found’

look I don’t want to go too far on this because some of the time Abby DOES show poor judgement and go overboard in trying to protect Clarke?? I can’t deny that but honestly if the worst u can say about Abby Griffin is that she loves her daughter too much then you’re reaching pretty badly tbh, considering other characters have list of faults that literally include ‘torture’ and ‘genocide’

she’s a woman of extraordinary integrity and deeply held ethics, but also pragmatic and not stupid about it

“You don’t have to justify yourself.I broke the rules and I accept the consequences”

she ALWAYS does what she thinks is right…but she also NEVER shies away from the consequences

horrified by what Clarke does in letting Tondc be bombed…but keeps the secret anyway because she knows it’s necessary

deeply hurt by Clarke’s coup in S2 and shocked at the change in her daughter…but steps aside for her anyway to avoid more bloodshed from an actual fight

haunted and grief stricken by her beloved husband’s death…but was the one to turn him in, because she believed that risking the life of one person she loved couldn’t outweigh the risk of many more lives being lost by his actions

she’s the kindest, sweetest darling

befriends Raven, sees potential in her and treats her as an equal and an ally

besties with Purest Cinnamon Roll Jackson

sees the potential in John Murphy

respects and trusts Lincoln as an advisor when she’s Chancellor

constantly torn between worry and pride for her wayward daughter but would do anything to keep her safe 

forgives Marcus Kane for all the bullshit he put her through and ends up being his biggest supporter and ally and helping him to become a better man

constantly trying to heal everyone and save everyone even though she knows she can’t

constantly trying to find solutions that don’t involve violence and death

wracked with guilt for things she couldn’t have forseen and couldn’t change, worries that she isn’t a good person and doesn’t deserve to survive

led Arkadia in three months of real peace, turning a ramshackle camp into a growing, flourishing home even while dealing with her own personal grief over Clarke being missing

doesn’t get enough sleep

her smile is like the sun coming out from behind the clouds

Abby Griffin in conclusion

she’s incredibly smart

she’s extraordinarily courageous

she’s self-sacrificing

she’s kind and compassionate

she’s passionately driven and principled

she’s willing to get her own hands dirty

she takes care of everyone even though no-one ever takes care of her

she has to try and be a leader AND a doctor AND a mother all at once and even though it means she’s constantly overworked and has to make impossible choices, she willingly bears the burden of those responsibilities

BONUS ROUND UNDER THE CUT!!! Common reasons people give for disliking Abby, and my response to them! :D

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧  DISCLAIMER THE SECOND

Again, this is all just my opinion, and I don’t want to start an argument with anyone who disagrees. The ask here was ‘what evidence/arguments would I use’ so I thought a useful thing would be to lay out why the common arguments of those who don’t like Abby as a character do not sway me personally. My intention is to counter these criticisms with my own thoughts on the subject, not invalidate them.

Onwards!

**

“She’s an overbearing mother who doesn’t believe in Clarke’s leadership and competency even though it’s been proven again and again. She constantly tries to protect her when Clarke can clearly take care of herself and is trying to Get Shit Done without her mom’s interference.”

This is probably the most common one, and honestly I’m afraid I’m gonna have to repeat myself from my point above - if the worst thing you can say about Abby Griffin is that she loves her daughter too much…assuming that most people who make this argument love Clarke too, it seems like a bizarre reason to dislike Abby?

It also strikes me as oddly lacking in context. Overbearing parents can suck, sure, but…Abby Griffin isn’t getting mad about her daughter staying out late partying with friends or getting poor exam results. Abby Griffin is a mother desperately trying to prevent her only child from being brutally killed, or turning into a cold, ruthless killing machine herself, or else just ending up so broken and emotionally scarred that she loses her forever in another way.

These are not unreasonable concerns. These are things that happen to characters on this show!

Abby doesn’t want to lose her daughter. She doesn’t want her daughter to be hurt. She doesn’t want her daughter to have to make the terrible choices and unbearable sacrifices that a leader in Clarke’s position is so often called upon to do. And you know what? In her position I wouldn’t want that for MY daughter either! Is Abby selfish to want to spare her daughter these burdens? Maybe. Is she naive to think she can continue to protect Clarke under these circumstances? Almost certainly. But I can’t find it in my heart to blame her for trying.

Another thing I would really like to point out here that I think is often shamefully overlooked is that this is a flaw of Abby’s that improves with time. Yes, Abby does often question Clarke’s authority in season two and she is stubborn and open in her dismay at the change in her daughter that the Ground has wrought. But as time goes by Abby consistently backs Clarke and defers to her time and time again - standing up for her against Jaha, prioritizing her friends in Mount Weather above finding other Ark survivors, keeping the secret of the Tondc bombing…by the time season two ends Abby has come to terms with the person Clarke has become, and throughout season three and four she is nothing but a supportive and staunch ally to Clarke’s plans.

When they disagree on something Abby will always speak her mind, and when Clarke is in danger Abby will always try to protect her…just as any mother would, and as any of Clarke’s friends would. But if there’s one thing Abby Griffin has, it’s unwavering love and faith in her daughter. Clarke is clearly the person Abby cares most for in the world, and their relationship is one of the most important in the show - whether they’re at odds or working together, that relationship always makes both Clarke and Abby more interesting and more sympathetic to me. It feels like a genuine shame to me that some people find it a cause for resentment towards either of these characters instead.

**

“She’s reckless and doesn’t think through the consequences of her actions. She gave Finn a gun and he slaughtered a Grounder village! She smashed that machine in season four just to save Clarke when the entire human race was at stake!”

Actually I somewhat agree with this one! One of Abby’s faults throughout the show is that she often acts impulsively and makes unilateral decisions to do what she believes is right. Sometimes she turns out to be right…sometimes not. Either way this is something that makes me like Abby more as a character - she’s fallible and human! She makes mistakes! She’s so single minded about protecting her daughter that it can blind her to other concerns!

It makes her a much more interesting character, in my opinion, than an Abby Griffin who is unequivocally Right All The Time. As something of a moral compass for the show, it would be very easy for her to be boring, and having that stubborn, reckless streak makes her far more fun to watch. Give me morphine-stealing, black-market-dealing, do-whatever-it-takes-and-lie-through-your-teeth-to-get-what-you-want Slytherin Abby Griffin any day!

Because…at the end of the day, everything Abby does, good and bad, is done out of love for her daughter, and responsibility to her people. She’s not always right, but she is always - to paraphrase Jake Griffin - ‘doing the best she can.’ And I can’t help but love her for that, and root for her to succeed.

**

“She slapped Raven that one time.”

Yeah, that was a dick move. What, you expected something different? Just because I love Abby doesn’t mean I have to blindly agree with everything she does! As it happens, I share the opinion of a lot of people who think the writing for the show was at fault in this instance - I don’t think that slap was AT ALL in character for Abby to do, but that’s a discussion for another time. Assuming it IS taken as canon…yeah it was a total dick move. I hope (and genuinely believe) that Abby apologised to Raven afterwards. 

But again, I can’t help but think…if the worst charge you can level against Abby Griffin is ‘she slapped someone who didn’t deserve it one time’ then in the context of THIS show that speaks pretty well of Abby, to be honest. Of course it’s absurd to argue that any bad thing Abby does is just fine because other people have done worse things but…just…it’s not unreasonable to get a little perspective here, maybe? This one instance of Abby doing something admittedly unpleasant and unjustified to Raven in a moment of stress is nowhere near enough to cancel out the genuine and loving friendship the two share for the rest of the show, and seems like a pretty thin reason to Hate Abby Forever, especially considering all the awful things literally every other character in the show has done at one point or another except for my precious son Jackson

So although I agree in principle, a lot of the time when people trot out this particular argument it feels a lot to me like playing on everyone’s love of Raven to try and get them to hate Abby…which leaves a nasty ‘pitting women against each other’ taste in my mouth, to be honest.

So yeah, I don’t like this scene. I don’t like what Abby does in this scene. I won’t make apologies for her behavior here. But what I like least of all is anyone who tries to use this scene as some kind of unforgivable indictment of Abby’s character, when it is quite clearly exceptional and uncharacteristic behavior for her; something never seen before or since.

It was a dick move though.

**

“She killed her husband!”

*sighhhhhh*

I don’t hear this one a lot these days, but I really don’t know why it ever comes up at all as a reason to hate Abby? I mean, I can’t believe I have to spell this out for people because it is all explicitly laid out for you on screen in the show, but here in handy list form:

Abby clearly and demonstrably loved Jake Griffin, was terrified that he might be killed for exposing secret information and begged him not to do it

when he refused to back down, Abby confided in Jaha about his plans, because she genuinely believed that Jake was going to doom everyone on the Ark by going public, including Clarke

Abby and Jake were both personal friends with Jaha, and Abby believed that he would not execute Jake - a reasonable thing to think, as Jake had not yet committed a crime and Jaha HAD the power of pardon and was more than willing to use it on Abby when she later broke the law to save HIS life (hey fuck you Thelonius by the way)

when this did not happen and Jake was executed anyway, Abby was clearly and demonstrably horrified and grief stricken

even though Jake Griffin’s death was neither her intention nor her fault, she still obviously bears terrible guilt for her role in it and will have to live with the pain of losing the man she loved every day for the rest of her life

…seriously, this is all there on screen. Why some people persist in portraying Abby as some kind of cackling murderess who happily shoved her husband out of an airlock is beyond me. She trusted the wrong person and made a terrible mistake; an attempt to save lives that ended up losing the life of someone she loved deeply. It was a tragedy for everyone involved, born of the choices made by several different people all acting out of the best of intentions. Abby never came across as anything but deeply sympathetic to me when I watched this storyline play out on screen, and I’m just baffled that anyone feels otherwise? What show were you watching?

“She’s old and boring.”

Hey: fuck you!

Ok so not a lot of people straight up come out and say this, but a lot of the hate towards Abby Griffin really does seem to be because she has the audacity to be a woman over forty on TV. If you hate Abby because she displays characteristics or acts in a way that you would be swooning over if given to a sexy young man in his 20s, then the problem is a whole lot of socially ingrained ageism and misogyny, and there’s not a lot I can do to persuade people out of that.

~**~IN CONCLUSION~**~

A lot of people have different reasons for not liking Abby Griffin as a character, just as is the case for any character in any work of fiction. Some of them I can understand, even if I don’t personally agree with them. Some of them I think are both unfair and unreasonable. However, at the end of the day, all I can do is try and explain my own reasons for Abby being my favourite character, which I have done at…uh…some length. WOOPS.

I love Abby.  I think she’s an interesting character,a  sympathetic character, a vibrant and complicated and vital character. She’s someone I look up to, the kind of person I would like to be. And it bums me out to think that there are fans who just don’t like her, or simply don’t care about her, and that I will probably never be able to change their minds on that.

But there are plenty of people who feel the same way I do too. So Anon, if you are still reading this - and frankly I wouldn’t blame you if you had given up some time ago - my advice for you is this:

Agree to disagree. Talk to your friend about characters you both love in the show. Ask them to keep an open mind about Abby, and try to find out why they just haven’t warmed to her in the way you presumably have. And if you ever want to flail over our smol cinnamon roll science babe queen…there are plenty of us ready and waiting to join you :)