#Just portrayal and potential. I'm interested in seeing how it goes

[scandalousadventures]

A thought I had about Pathologic 2 Eva Yan is that she's a physical reflection of the player character's motivations and narrative throughline. This is only a thought (I hesitate to say Theory. You get it) insofar as only Haruspex is out, but with news of Bachelor approaching is worth considering. Pathologic Classic HD Eva is a Utopian, reflective of Bachelor. She remains a Utopian for all three routes, unchanging from an ideological standpoint. In Pathologic 2 Haruspex route, however, she's wildly different; perhaps the character with the biggest redesign, visual and ideologically. But her personality is the same. She's airheaded, spiritual, and incredibly naive. In Pathologic 2 Haruspex, now consider her a reflection of Artemy. Not a friend, but a parallel; a manifestation of his narrative strapping itself to Eva. That leads her to appropriating his culture, donning a facsimile of what herb brides wear and dancing among them despite being wholly and fundamentally at odds with their way of life. But she will not back down, forever determined to join them. She will die in the nocturnal ending, of course. She's not immune. But she's not a tabula rasa. She's not reflecting Artemy's motivations one-to-one, but steeped through what is fundamentally Eva. She's reflecting not only him and his route, but on an in-game AND narrative level, the racism of the town. She's a white lady after all, and there's no nonracist way a white lady can reflect the Indigenous traditions and culture of the Kin. Seeing a glimpse of her redesign for Bachelor route makes me interested in seeing her portrayal in his part. I think she will be different than her portrayal in P2 Haruspex route, and instead be more similar to her Classic HD characterization; rewritten into a reflection of the Bachelor's goals and his story's throughline. I think she will be an earnest sycophant towards him, dreamy and romantic about the capital, or perhaps about death itself. That's certainly in line with her characterization in Classic HD. And then, in a thousand years, we would see how she's portrayed in Changeling's route as a reflection of her ideology. Pathologic 2 Eva is a character not only doomed by the narrative but sculpted by it too. Sculpted by the motivations and ideologies of the PC. On a story level she's a woman who once an idea forms in her head, will follow it to its conclusion without a second thought, dreamy yet adamant in her procession. She embodies the soul of the cathedral, embodies the Utopian ideal! Just as she embodies the holistic methods of the Haruspex, for better or worse. I've spoken of Eva on many different levels of meta here. I don't think it will "be confirmed" in the upcoming P2 Bachelor route that she is wholly shaped by each narrative, but I think it would be interesting if they explore her this way. I would, anyhow.

[shysublimecoffee]

I prefer not to sound harsh, but Miraculous has become a fandom where I find more enjoyment in reading fanfics than watching the show. It feels like there's a lack of effort or an attempt to justify and rearrange elements, often ignoring past seasons and assuming the audience won't notice. The handling of Derision is a notable example, with more astute critics than me delving into their dissatisfaction and the evident retcons.

I didn't anticipate the show going to such lengths as portraying Gabriel as someone deserving of a statue, and it left a sour taste in my mouth to see the hero endorsing it. Adrien/ChatNoir's portrayal has become quite pitiful, with a peculiar shift where Ladybug takes on a significant role in the Agreste Saga despite her absence from that narrative. Ladybug, who isn't even part of the Agreste Saga, is the one delivering heartfelt moments. The decision to sideline Adrien and put him out of commission is disappointing. It's his story yet she the one who has to make it about her. She gets to shine along with a cool costume to boot.

There's a palpable bias from Astruc against Chloe, evident in the show's treatment of her character. Despite her being manipulated by Gabriel Agreste, the narrative blames her for becoming mayor, and the absurdity of the situation is magnified when everyone in the story goes along with it. The inclusion of a scene in Revolution where Chloe is crying is perplexing and frustrating, as it seems to perpetuate the negative and irredeemable image the show consistently paints of her. The added layer of her mother being horrid to her intensifies my annoyance, especially when sympathetic scenes are presented in a seemingly contradictory manner.

I mean you want her to be the worst but yet she has scenes like this? Why not go all the way wtf. Why give her depth only to take it away and then make her be so demonized in s5 and act like she was like this from the start. When she's been a joke

I hate to be critical, but seriously, it's hard to ignore how the Miraculous universe is just dripping with untapped potential. Five seasons in, and the movie outshines the show effortlessly. It makes you wonder about the writers' team and their approach—seems like they're just coasting on low effort for profit, and somehow, it's working, thanks to Miraculous inexplicable popularity.

The show's been beating the monster-of-the-week horse for five long seasons, lacking any creativity in crafting interesting villains. Gabriel, honestly, feels like a starter villain, and if they're going to make him the big bad, can we at least get some villains with a bit more pizzazz? You know craft creative interesting villains? KNDS, Original PPG, Totally Spies they got it so why not Miraculous. It's so damn tiring seeing the same old song and dance with Gabriel 24/7 monologuing to his wife and releasing the akuma I thought Mayura would be important but she's barely there.

It's not even an excuse kids do deserve better entertainment so why should Miraculous lower its standards. Marinette is very weird to me as the protagonist because her lovelife is more focused over everything I gauged her well enough to know about her that the rest of the secondary needs more of a spotlight to be cast on them. I like her but am I the only one who just skips when she starts the whining about Adrien and her plan to again get together it was cute at first now I fast forward to the more interesting part of the episode because it irks me i'm tired okay... what other facet of her character do the writers focus on besides her love life? I hope I don't appear to salt on her but Imma tag it just in case. I think she's in neutral treading to dislike because how can I come back from her gaslighting her boyfriends I'm sorry I can't.

You know what I'm afraid of that if Lila gonna be the next big bad they'll just recycle everything from Gabriel onto her. We'll have the same akumatizations same monster of the week formula only this time it's Lila.

I trust more in the fanfic community to come up with a better substantial plot than Miraculous could ever be. I know romance is a big part but the lore is so damn little it's season 5 are they ever going to expand more in the later seasons lol.

I'm tired from writing this long. Imma go to bed now.

[daybreakrising]

so i've been thinking about this for the past few days and finally come to a decision-

i will be implementing a new rule regarding exclusive ships, and periods of inactivity

to preface this, i will say that i take exclusive ships very seriously, in that i don't jump to exclusives often or easily and they're usually based on very specific things. by extension, i also take the breaking of exclusives very seriously too. i don't like doing it at all.

however. in certain cases, if the partner involved in an exclusive ship goes inactive for a long period of time without any hint of returning and/or no communication, this then leaves me hanging for the development of that ship, and unable to potentially explore a similar dynamic with somebody who is active and communicating. i am a loyal person, but i have my limits - i cannot be expected to stay tied to a blog that isn't being used.

so what is this rule?

i am going to start breaking exclusives with blogs (or muses) that have been inactive for long periods of time with no communication or no sign of returning activity. and yes, this will apply even if someone is active on another blog of theirs, or is actively writing for other muses on a multi.

there will be some exceptions to this, particularly if the ship is built very specifically around one portrayal of a muse, but i won't put any guarantees in stone, just to be open about things.

what do you class as 'communication'?

talk to me. that's literally all it takes. if you've lost muse for your blog or a particular muse, that's fine - but tell me. communicate this with me. if you're just taking a short break from that muse but plan to return: great! if you genuinely can't see yourself coming back to the muse? also fine! still want to discuss and develop the ship away from the blog? i'm down for that.

i will not be angry or upset if you're dropping a muse or don't have it in you to be on that blog. i am always happy to park a ship (or ANY dynamic, for that matter) on the shelf for a while, and i can pick it back up again if needed. i find it very hard to throw things out, guys, trust me. i'll hold onto our dynamics until i'm forced to let go.

that being said, i do require continued discussion to maintain my interest in a ship. it doesn't have to be much - i'm not expecting people to send me essays or talk non-stop for hours or even every day. i just need something - random questions about their relationship, little ideas you've had for moments in their lives, even just knowing you're thinking about them on occasion is better than radio silence. so, if i'm not getting that from you and the blog/muse hasn't been used in a while.... maybe it's time to reevaluate that exclusive label.

i will, of course, communicate (or attempt to) with the involved partner if i come to this decision for our exclusive ship. and i want to stress: this is not personal. this has no bearing on how much i value our ship, the things we have developed, or you as a person and writing partner.

AND TO BE CLEAR:

this does not mean i am throwing out the ship entirely: i will still eagerly develop and write the ship if that blog(/muse) returns, we will simply no longer be exclusive for it. if activity continues, and providing i haven't developed another dynamic in the meantime, i may consider reinstating exclusives after a period of time - but i will only do this once, and i won't do it easily, which leads me onto:

i am also going to be stricter with exclusive ships as of this post.

i am usually exclusive for one of three reasons - first, that what i've built with someone is so specific to their portrayal of that muse that i cannot see me seeking out the ship with another portrayal. second, i have very specific ideas or thoughts about a "popular" ship and have found a partner whose ideas/thoughts align with mine and who i trust. third, it's a ship that involves characters no one would normally throw together and only makes sense in the world we've created for them.

as i said at the start of this post, i don't jump to exclusives easily (though it may sometimes seem that way). this just means that i'll need some more back and forth and to feel things out before i'll consider exclusives in future.

tl;dr: i'm gonna start breaking exclusives for ships involving inactive blogs or muses. sorry if this makes me a terrible person but i don't want to limit interactions with a dormant dynamic.

[fallintosanity]

Okay, for the choose violence ask game… I just can’t resist, I want to know 1, 14, and 18!

haha well my own coin toss came up XV so let's gooo!

1. the character everyone gets wrong

Somnus Lucis Caelum, boy howdy. I thought the Episode: Ardyn Prologue anime made clear that Ardyn is an unreliable narrator at best, but most portrayals of Somnus I've seen take Ardyn's word at face value that Somnus is a treacherous, moustache-twirling backstabber. He's not - he's a prince whose beloved older brother is slowly transforming into a daemon and going insane as a result; and Somnus is doing the best he can to keep his people safe from both the Starscourge and the monster his brother is becoming. It just sucks for both of them that the only way Somnus could think to do that was to lure Ardyn into a trap and imprison him for eternity.

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

I'm definitely choosing violence with this one XD

MT!Prompto. That's not how MTs work!!!!!

MTs aren't half-daemonified humans wearing power armor - they are nine-foot-tall robots powered by batteries which run on daemon miasma. Ep: Prompto even goes out of its way to show how the clones are turned into miasma clouds and absorbed into the batteries!

And, okay okay there are lots of reasons why This One Thing keeps happening, I get it, but for whatever reason it drives me bonkers whenever I see it.

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

This one's tough! Hmm.... Okay actually maybe not so tough. Something I find super interesting about the world of FFXV is that it's strongly implied that daemons weren't really a problem until very recently - potentially as recently as a few months before the game starts! Insomnia's Wall wasn't originally raised to protect against daemons, it was to protect against the Niflheim Empire. Some NPCs mention that the longer nights are a recent thing, and all the abandoned buildings and whatnot that you see across Lucis are a result of the war - not daemons. It's a very interesting point of lore and I almost never see it get referenced or used in fandom!

Ask me stuff?

[burningexeter]

Not much is known about her but in one of the few, if not the only interview that she ever did, here's all the interesting information and trivia on Meagan Smith, the voice of Gwen Tennyson in the original Ben 10 series. Let's see how this goes:

• The reason why she isn't as prolific as other actresses is because she prefers to not be out in the open and instead have a private life to herself but would love it if there was somehow a Ben 10 con where fans could gather and she'd be there in a heartbeat.

• She admits that she isn't a fan of Omniverse, just flat-out saying that "as far as I'm concerned, Ben 10: Omniverse isn't canon in my book. It should've ended at Ultimate".

• She also voiced her dissatisfaction with how Destroy All Aliens and its short Road Trip Rumble turned out, saying that the only reason she came back was because she loved voicing Gwen and jumped at the chance to reprise the role but thought that the scripts were "poor" and took issue with the mean-spirited tones, handling of characters and adding nothing to the series overall. Smith did however give praise to the animation.

• On a much more positive note, she did praise both Alien Force AND Ultimate Alien for how they handled and developed Gwen and said that Ashley Johnson did an "awesome job" in the role. The only issue she has is the Anodite retcon, thinking Gwen should've been a sorceress since her learning magic is made less special now but overall, was more than satisfied with the portrayal of Gwen.

• Her favorite movies in no particular order are The Nightmare Before Christmas, Crimson Peak, Ghostbusters, ParaNorman and The Wild Bunch.

• Her favorite TV shows however in no particular order as well are Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Family Matters and Seinfeld.

• On how she viewed Gwen prior to the events of the Original Series, she said that her character was "the exact opposite of Ben in every way but not in a good way at all. She was a mean, obnoxious and just plain snobbish brat who didn't have many friends and never helped people. In fact, Gwen WAS a bully who picked on others because they weren't as smart as her. The summer road trip is what changed her into a better, stronger and definitely more caring person with a stronger relationship to her cousin and that eventually evolved into her full maturity into a good person all around who used her powers for good and to help others in Alien Force and even Ultimate Alien".

• She actually pitched to Man Of Action an idea she had for a potential What If episode for the show for its fourth and final season that was "if Gwen never went on the summer trip, went up against Charmcaster and learned the hard way her behavior and actions have consequences". But it didn't go nowhere to her disappointment.

• She has expressed interest and a want for screenwriting and revealed she has written a screenplay for a horror comedy about vampires dealing with voodoo priests in New Orleans.

• She revealed as well that she actually has an idea for an entire Gwen Tennyson spin-off series that she says acts as a true reboot to the show:

"It's three seasons with about 25 episodes each that tell a complete story with a clear beginning, middle and end is how I picture exactly beat-for-beat. The first season would be a new take on the original show with Gwen having to stay the whole summer with a close family friend, Sandra (Ben's mom), and her actions end up leading Charmcaster to them. The second season would be another new take this time on Alien Force and it would follow a now teenage Gwen, a more mature Sandra and Charmcaster having to team up against a new threat that would affect them in different ways. The third season would be a take on Ultimate Alien with the three of them coming full-circle while they deal with with newfound fame in their lives.

Here, Gwen isn't a Tennyson and instead her last name would be either another pun-type or something slightly irregular like 'Avery', 'Sommers' or 'Goldenthal', Sandra is a witch who put her magic to rest so she could have a normal life and Charmcaster starts off as a deadly and dangerous witch who tracks down other witches like her and girls who have magical auras to collect their powers and eventually turns into a morally grey anti-hero who leans towards the villainous side but has a code.

I don't want to give anything else away as I think I could actually do it depending on what happens in the future. But what I will say is I'm hoping that I can cross-over other media potentially with the show in its third and final season since it would make sense since just like Ben in Ultimate Alien, they're outed now and are celebrities".

[yamayuandadu]

hi! bit of a random question, but how do you view hecatia's and junko's relationship? I've seen a lot of different takes over the years (some completely domestic, basically-married ones, versions where the border between their friendship and something else is more blurry, etc) and I'm always curious about other people's preferences for them specifically since it's a pretty popular ship

Thank you for the ask! I don’t really get to talk about shipping on this blog too often even though I do enjoy it so I'm grateful for the opportunity. My preferred take of junheca is honestly just to take Hecatia’s LoLK bio at face value and expand upon that. In other words, the core of this relationship - and what makes it fun to me - is that Hecatia thinks Junko’s grudge is the coolest thing in the world and thus goes along with her schemes. The bio essentially makes it sound like work as a tag team: Junko has the ideas and Hecatia has the means. It’s simple, but it’s a setup which has a lot of potential. I see it as an abstract fascination which gradually turns into love on Hecatia’s end. I actually don’t have quite as clear of an image of the relationship’s development on Junko’s side. Perhaps it could be interesting if she didn’t quite realize what sort of feelings she is developing but simultaneously kept pushing her scheme further and further into a direction which requires more direct involvement from Hecatia. In any case, Hecatia’s bio highlights it didn’t take them much time to realize they work well together so I like to think it was love at first sight in some capacity even though it was combined with other feelings. Many of my other preferences regarding junheca basically just extend what can be gathered from Hecatia’s bio to other spheres of activity. I generally think Hecatia is more affectionate, for instance.

I don’t mind domestic portrayals, but I do admit that for me the appeal comes in part from the way they are both involved in the plot of LoLK so that’s not my absolute favorite. Granted, coming up with scenarios where they are working on some sort of plan together is much more troublesome, so it’s not surprising that’s not exactly a common fanwork premise.

As far as I can tell, highlighting Hecatia’s fascination with Junko’s endeavors is pretty rare in fanworks. It’s not uncommon for people to portray her as concerned over Junko’s grudge or outright trying to dissuade her from it - I will admit I’m not a huge fan of that and do not fully grasp where it came from. Not from the game, that’s for sure; and what few reappearances Junko and Hecatia got since do not really point into that direction either.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Three of the newest demons came from African folklores but those three aren’t who I want requested, but an older and neglected one, Holawaka, could you do this one?

Holawaka - Day 39 (Request)

Race: Flight

Alignment: Neutral-Law

May 15th, 2024

African mythologies are painfully underrepresented in the SMT series, as they are in many other circles despite how fascinating they can be. I'm unsure as to if this has anything to do with just how relatively obscure they are compared to the most popular of their group, ancient Egyptian, or unconscious racism, but regardless they're never really given the spotlight like so many other mythologies are. In spite of this, though, the few bits of representation the other African mythologies get throughout the series paint wonderful and enticing pictures to inspire further research, and one of the most standout and interesting demons in this light is the messenger bird of the Oromo people, Holawaka.

The stories of the Oromo people of Ethiopia and Kenya are incredibly varied and also incredibly fragmented, as they were, at first, a nomadic group. Later on, they would go on to conquer the Gibe regions and create sprawling kingdoms, but a good amount of their mythology originates from their nomadic origins, leading to a wild goose chase to even find several of their stories. What we're focused on now, though, is not a history lesson about the Oromo- no, we're zooming in on one specific myth with a lot of influence. The myth of Holawaka. This tale starts simply with a description of a simple bird, but soon expands into a study on human mortality, snakes, and some other stuff too.

Holawaka was once a simple bird given a divine rite as a messenger for the gods- they gave it a message to deliver, one giving humanity the potential of immortality, through the shedding of skins to achieve rejuvenation. Taking this information to the Oromo people, Holawaka was dedicated to its cause in spite of its growing hunger... until it came across a snake devouring a carcass. Swooping down, Holawaka began to wish to partake in that snack, and eventually asked the snake to have a piece, who decided to do a bit of trolling and proposed a trade to the clueless, hungry bird. It had to tell it about what it was carrying. Seeing no real issue with this trade in return for some much needed food, it offered the idea given about humanity, that they could achieve eternal life through shedding their skin... inadvertently giving the snake that same idea and letting him effectively retcon it into only applying to snakes.

As punishment for this and for dooming humanity to a forever mortal existence, the gods were furious and decided to take drastic action against Holawaka, cursing it to an eternal life of torment by inflicting a terrible disease upon it. It's not really described what this disease was, though, but it apparently caused the poor bird to cry out in pain for all eternity, so it was probably a bit drastic. This is, unfortunately, where the tale of Holawaka ends, left as a diseased and dying bird, but his legacy still continues on in the form of slight influencing throughout history and other mythologies.

As unfortunate as this story is, it helps give us a greater insight both into the mythology and lives of the Oromo people as well as into YET! ANOTHER! MYTHOLOGY BIRD!!! Now, how is it portrayed in the series? Interestingly. Holawaka has no real portrayals or depictions in physical appearance- the closest we truly have is simply depictions of a rainbow-feathered bird, but given the relative obscurity of this myth (and Ethiopian mythology as a whole) it's hard to find much to go off of regarding this bird. Hilariously, this leads to most retellings of this story actually referencing the SMT art of the bird, taking it as a typical artistic depiction of it instead of being an SMT demon. I think that goes to show just how fantastic the design is, though- while a bit on the more orientalist side, I find the uniqueness of the design more than enough to make up for that, especially given how early in the series it first appeared. Besides, it's also nice to see an SMT character who has realistically black features that don't fall into caricature. Of course, as a white girl myself, I can't really comment much on its depiction, but needless to say I enjoy the design quite a bit and wish it'd return in one form or another.

Overall, the recent revelations of SMT V:engeance having African demons again has let me reminisce on one of the earlier depictions of African mythology in the series that doesn't just originate from the ancient Egyptians. Like, come on, there are other African mythologies to pull from! Have a little creativity! Where's my Anansi demon?! I know he originates from Akan folktales, but dammit, lemme see my spider boy! Joking aside, this demon is incredibly unique and I love how they're leaning right back into African myth for Vengeance.

[greenlikethesea]

oh yeah like obviously if i'm in fandom it's because i'm all for doing queer readings of non canonically queer characters, and i do enjoy sapphic nancy fan content but i'll never really buy it as a like, very realistic plausible interpretation of her in canon

same goes for mike just a million times more because it's so very clearly just not the direction the show is trying to go with him, like there's only so much blatant ignoring of reality my fannish goggles let me do. nothing but love and respect to the shippers who don't let such foolish considerations stand in the way of their fun though lol

you get exactly what i mean, especially regarding these two characters. i've read some queer nancy content that i have enjoyed (@dallae wrote an incredible gift for me that had nancy in a somewhat fraught and difficult relationship with a woman much later in life, and it was, to me, the most realistic portrayal of how that trajectory would go for her). in general, though, i just do not see her as even a little bi. she enjoys the company of men, and enjoys sex with men canonically, and seeks these interactions of her own accord. while that does not necessarily a straight woman make, it's just a feeling i have for her! sometimes people are straight and that's okay. i think she really just needs a friend who is a girl.

and omg, thank you for saying that about mike. like, all love and light to byler shippers, but it's so abundantly clear that they're going in an unrequited crush direction with will and mike -- and a good thing too! stranger things is not heartstopper. it's semi-rural indiana in the mid 1980s. and i don't think mike is a closeted bisexual by any means. i think he's just a sensitive boy who went through trauma. there's a lot of interesting potential with mike as a character who has grown up and not really found his lane, unlike his peers -- he's not athletic and affable like lucas, or tough and resilient like max, or a whiz kid like dustin, or artistic like will, or superpowered like el. he's the only boy in his family, and has been given preferential treatment by his parents and been the leader of the party and now he's just...not that special. wouldn't having the romantic attention of more than one person be appealing, even if you don't feel that way about one of them? i find that sort of young desperation for any kind of validation so relatable and so interesting.

[thesilverlady]

Omg you ship book rhaegon and lucemond before the show? One of the rare few (sorry i just saw your prev ask while browsing those two tags). Because of that i would love to know your thoughts seeing these two ships pop off because of the show (especially lucemond since its top 3 popular ship in hotd fandom). What does it feel like seeing these crack ship before in your head to suddenly gain sm popularity now? Also i really want to know the difference between the book ships and the show ships and why the book ship attracted you initially? Thanks in advance if you ever answer!

hi! no need to apologize 🥰 Yeah I shipped both of these pre-show and it was definitely an experience. There were 0 lucemond fics and only 2 rhaegon ones to which I still have them bookmarked out of nostalgia 🙈

about the first question: my thoughts upon seeing these two ships pop off are kinda contradictory. For rhaegon, I'm glad people see the potential but due to hotd portrayal lots of the fics are smut (which I have no problem with ofc but I generally prefer plot fics) or some characterizations are entirely based on the show (like Aegon being an airhead and only a toy with 0 ambition /Rhaenyra being manipulative and always in control etc) So i leave a kudo for support and hope I'll find what I'm looking for later.

With lucemond I have a better luck because the community is much bigger, and there's so much variety to choose from. I'm very satisfied with them rising to top 3, and I hope they stay there.

So I'd say overall a mixed of bittersweet and smugness. Trust me, if I had a coin for the amount of times I've been called delulu for shipping these ships pre-show I'd be rich by now. There's also a certain amount of validation that comes with finally being able to actually speak about these pairs without worrying too much that a mob will start throwing you tomatoes. And all fanarts are absolutely a treat. 😊

in regards of the differences between book ships vs the show ships, keep in mind i don't speak for the entire rhaegon/lucemond community and I know a big bunch will even disagree with this:

for lucemond, I admit the show did more for them in certain aspects. Like growing up together, certain camera angle choices etc The big difference is again the characterization - which the show ignores a lot. Basically what hotd does is change traits but keep the results the same. So for example, Aemond in the show is supposed to be this calm/in control guy who is into philosophy and history and is more "suitable" to be king compared to his elder brother, but then you have his canon actions (insulting/challenging/chasing an envoy) coming up and that hardly makes sense. In f&b the antagonism is built more properly and you can see why the characters do what they do.

for rhaegon, we didn't even have any scene of the two together (a crime truly) but lots of people find the actors attractive and others love the people-from-opposite-side that goes on with team black/green. So I'd say show rhaegon is mostly vibes while in the book i found things to grab onto.

In f&b we already get seeds to plant the idea from the moment Aegon is born. Otto constantly brought up the succession order so many times he was fired because of it.

Then there's the entire post-daemyra drama when Rhaneyra is still looking for a husband and Alicent kept suggesting for Aegon to be betrothed to Rhaenyra. We learn from that paragraph that "the two half-siblings had never gotten on well" which let's be for real, already sets for an interesting drama if the marriage was to happen.

We also have Aegon's first refusal of the throne before Cole added preasure. “My sister is the heir, not me. What sort of brother steals his sister’s birthright?” I've seen some people (usually antis) believing that perhaps he never said this and the Septon lied to make him look good. Well, I say that's bs because I always believe the truth in f&b is somewhere in between so this moment definitely happened and given how we knew the two didn't even get along in childhood, I find it a very interesting development.

And of course I can't forget Rhaenyra's iconic death - which is by Aegon's dragon and I can delude myself into getting some crimes of passion ™ vibes

As for lucemond, I don't really have anything deep to say. 😅. The fight that costed Aemond his eye + the quote "Prince Lucerys might have been able to outfly his pursuer, [...] but the day was as black as Prince Aemond’s heart" were kinda enough for me to go 👀 oh he truly hates him..... You see, the fight that made Aemond lose his eye was kinda more brutal; he had 3 kids to deal with, not 5. And they were all so young in comparison. Jace was 6, Luke 5 and Joffrey 3 while Aemond was 10. He was able to beat them all until Lucerys slashed him across the face and I imagine he took such a huge hit on his pride because of it.

When they all have the family dinner years later we're told that "Aemond had become a dangerous swordsman [...] but remained a wild and willful child, hot-tempered and unforgiving." So I thought those scenes + lucerys death kinda serve the obsessed trope™ which I'm very into

I hope my reply was intelligible ♥ it's 3 am as I'm writing this so I imagine i may have not explained some stuff properly. Either way let me know and thank you for the ask.

[bluegekk0]

So how exactly did Zote get into this AU? I feel like I see him in quite a bit of the artwork. I feel like none of the pale family wouldn't want to be around him, so is he just there and they can't get rid of him or is he like the one family member they all like to bully?

Well, if there's anything that brings together the family, it's trauma and emotional damage. And yes, Zote is extremely unpleasant, but I do believe there are things in his past that made him push everyone away and act like a jerk. And deep down, he's just as hurt as everyone else in the AU.

This might be a long one cause I also want to get into how each family member sees him, as I rarely get the chance to talk about Zote.

I guess I'll start with his past. I'm aware that he's 100% meant to be a joke character in the game, that much is clear from his portrayal, dialogue and his role in the game. But I think if you read into some of his precepts, they paint a pretty interesting picture. And yes, I'm also aware that he lies about himself all the time, but some of those are way too specific in my opinion. I'll start in the order of the precepts since that's how I wrote them down.

"Laughter spreads like a disease, and soon everyone is laughing at you." - sounds to me like he has some experience with being bullied. Looking at his fighting skills, or lack thereof, I don't think it's that unreasonable to think he would be a laughing stock for his peers.

"The past is painful, and thinking about your past can only bring you misery." - this one is a lot more vague, but it's clear that he doesn't have fond memories of his past.

"You can rely on nobody, and nobody will always be loyal." - if this is his mindset, it would explain why he's so unpleasant to everyone. He doesn't trust them, perhaps out of fear that they'll bully and make fun of him?

"Mothers Will Always Betray You" and "Fathers believe that because they created us we must serve them and never exceed their capabilities." - these two are, in my view, the heart of the problem. The way I interpret it, he was seen as a disappointment by his father, who wanted to control his life, and his mother did nothing to defend him. If you feel like not even your own parents value you, it's only reasonable that you'd grow bitter towards everyone. And in his case, he also deluded himself into thinking that he's better than what he's perceived as. Not the most healthy coping habit, for sure.

"Do not linger in the nest. There is nothing for you there." - and it's not surprising that you'd get the hell out of your home as soon as you could.

"If someone asks forgiveness of you, for instance a brother of yours, always deny it." - yeah, makes sense that he wouldn't want to forgive them. The brother here is most likely just an example, but maybe there's more to it than that?

I may be looking too hard into a meme character, but I really like the idea of him being an outcast that decided to cope with his trauma by being incredibly unpleasant and pushing everyone away. And it only makes sense that he'd find family in another group of outcasts that all cope with their own issues.

Now, I also want to mention that I don't see him as an old man like a lot of people call him. To me, he's probably in his species' equivalent of 20s. So still quite young, and thus with a lot of potential to heal and become a better person, which is an arc he goes through in the au. Albeit slowly, i mean, it's Zote after all.

---

As for how the rest of the family sees him:

Holly is their closest friend, so i'll start with them. Before Vyrm moved to Dirtmouth, they didn't have any familiar face that would talk to them. They desperately wanted someone to acknowledge their presence, and being talked to was, to them, exactly what they needed. Hornet was still very distant, she didn't really speak a lot, and in general it felt like she ignored them. Grimm, while much more open to conversations, was busy - at that point, he and the Troupe were still slowly preparing to go elsewhere to finish the interrupted ritual. So Holly had to find what they were looking for elsewhere - and it just so happens that a very talkative bug was right there, in the town. Of course, he was only talking about himself and lying through his teeth, but Holly didn't mind that. plus, they related to his wish to love up to his father's expectations. And over time, the pair became good friends, to the point that even Zote began to act a bit less unpleasant towards them. He wasn't used to having friends, so it was definitely a struggle for him.

Hornet hated him at first. He was irritating, simply put. She responded to him with mean things, which would often end in arguments between the two. But as time passed, and Zote became a honorary part of the family, her attitude changed a little - makes sense, she does soften a bit over the course of the AU. Their current dynamic is a bit sibling like. Well, the kind where one bullies the other, but is equally as defensive if anyone else tries to do the same. They still bicker all the time, it's inevitable as their personalities clash with each other, but there is a degree of understanding between them. Hornet can see through his lies easily, and relates to his wish to push everyone away as a response to trauma.

Vyrm, similarly, can also relate to some parts of Zote's past, mainly the desire to live up to his parents' expectations and to prove himself. But at the same time, he does find Zote's rambling to be a bit much. He tolerates his presence and even acts friendly towards him, and he definitely sees him as a member of the family, but they're not very close. Zote is a bit afraid of him since he was the one who first found him in Greenpath, and he can't get rid of the mental image of Vyrm covered in blood, ripping an animal to shreds. Especially since he's right about the size of what Vyrm usually hunts.

Grimm sees Zote as entertaining. He doesn't exactly bully him, that's not his style and he does feel pity towards him, but he enjoys hearing him make stuff up about various things. His tales from his travels are particularly amusing to Grimm, as they're almost always completely made up. Grimm likes to "fact-check" him, which usually ends in Zote struggling to keep his narrative and giving up. But since he's part of the family, it means Grimm is still protective of him. Even if Zote himself finds him unsettling and is afraid of being left alone with him hahaha

I love the idea of Zote finally accepting that there might still be family he could belong to, he spent all those years thinking he's better than that, but deep down he really needed to be a part of one. It just so happens that he got "adopted" by a bunch of traumatized freaks, but maybe that's exactly the kind of family he needed

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E13: The Galileo Seven

Original Thoughts

"Okay, this is an interesting setup. Stranding Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and some extras on a planet with Kirk back on the Enterprise, which means we can let some other characters shine. It’s very much a contrast with Kirk being a serious, respected leader who can adjust his demeanor depending on the situation, which Spock is more logical but comes off as more cold and uncaring which clearly puts off the ones he’s in charge of. IDK how much of that is also Vulcan bigotry, but Spock’s logical approach that may dictate say… leaving people behind to a potential demise and not reacting when people die isn’t going to win him any points from the human cast. McCoy also pointing out how Spock failed to take into account the creatures reacting emotionally due to his focus on a logical approach also shows flaws in his leadership and general mindset that make him a great second to Kirk, but not always quite fit for command. He’s doing his job and I get where he’s coming from, especially due to what I know about Vulcans, but I can get the others as well. It’s a nice exploration of the two mindsets, which that and the general episode really kept my attention."

(Original Post)

Rewatch Thoughts

Not gonna lie, I've been a little anxious reviewing this one. Not because I dislike it, this was a really enjoyable one the first time around. But this is one of those episodes where I go completely against the consensus of the fandom, so I'm a little worried about what the reception may be (if I get any at all, of course). But this is my review and thus my opinion, and I'm going to be honest with it. So, my thoughts?

This is such an excellent episode. We take a bit of a different approach from the last few. Kirk serves more of a supporting role. He's still given things to do, but he's confined to the ship. The focus is mainly on the party on the Galileo shuttlecraft which includes Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and four one-shots. Apparently Rand was going to be one of them, but sadly her actress had been let go by then. This also means that we get to see Spock fully in charge this time. Not just taking over from the Enterprise cause Kirk isn't there. Not just running the Science Department. He's given his very first command on a major mission outside the ship... one that goes horribly wrong.

There's been a lot of opinions about the two sides (Spock vs. the crew), as I already alluded to. A lot of opinions I've seen portray Spock as completely innocent, doing his job as the commanding officer and doing what is necessary to save everyone. The crew, mainly McCoy and one-shot character Boma, are utter assholes to him, and it is unwarranted, and I've even seen it exaggerated into being racist cause of Spock being Vulcan. They should have shut up and just followed Spock's command because he's in charge, and they're being so mean to him.

In case my sarcasm wasn't clear enough, I don't agree with that portrayal. Now let me make it clear, I do understand where those opinions come from. It's true that the crew (again, mainly Boma and McCoy) were jerks at points, and it wasn't always warranted. That should be called out. However, that does not mean that Spock isn't culpable for his own actions nor does it make the crew unjustified in... you know, having their own feelings and thoughts of their own. They're also all in a situation where for all they know, they're going to die at any moment, so tempers are naturally going to fly. There's a lot to be said and a lot to consider, so let's get on with it.

Let's go into Spock's POV first. He has been put in command of what looks to be a simple scientific exploration mission that causes the shuttle to crash onto an unknown planet Now Spock has to get the ship working, keep as many of the officers alive as possible, and get back to the Enterprise. That's certainly a lot, but Spock doesn't show concern. Yeah, yeah, Vulcan, I know. But even when McCoy brings up how this is his big chance, Spock is convinced that his logical approach will pull them through at the end of the day. To quote:

SPOCK: I realize command does have its fascinations, even under circumstances such as these. But I neither enjoy the idea of command, nor am I frightened of it. It simply exists. And I will do whatever logically needs to be done.

He doesn't necessarily want his own command, but he's more than willing to take it on. He'll do whatever he logically must do.

Indeed, that's what happens. Every choice that Spock makes is a logical one. He considers abandoning crewmen to lighten the shuttle to increase the chance of escape. He shows little to no regard for the two officers who get killed. He is downright insistent on his methods and priorities, even if it goes against his own logical approach. We see him unwilling to listen to the other officers opinions about dealing with the creatures because he wants to avoid killing the unknown lifeforms for his own moral reasons (unless Jim's about to be killed, but eh) despite agreeing that their plan is the logical option.

Now, all of these decisions make sense, and I even agree with him at points. For example, I'm on his side both times when Boma insists on burials for the men who died. I get where Boma is coming from, especially since they don't know if they'll themselves make it. But Spock is doing what he can to ensure that they can at least have a chance of escape. Yes, he is pretty cold about it, but sadly those men have been lost. If they survive, they can be mourned later, but they to focus on survival. It sucks, but I am fully on Spock's side on that one. Even McCoy and Scotty get after Boma when he started getting particularly nasty. I also agree with him that they shouldn't kill the creatures, though more because if they had, it could have caused an even more violent response, though there's nothing saying that they had to kill either. I think only the one guy insisted on killing, but maybe I'm remembering wrong. Ah well.

So yes, Spock is doing his job and I don't think he's trying to be intentionally cruel. It's how he is, and he's legit acting as he believes is best. That being said, he's still at fault for plenty of things. He stubbornly sticks to his logical mindset, which to his crew makes him come off as incredibly cold. Yes, Spock is Vulcan, but unfortunately for him the other six are human and humans can't just set aside feelings like he himself can. When you hear your commanding officer talking about abandoning crewmen and them getting to be the one who decides who gets to stay and go, disregarding the dead, and unwilling to listen to you, how would you feel? Especially in a situation where you're likely going to die? Some may say they wouldn't act like that... but you probably would. Oh, and let's not forget said guy being perfectly willing to go against that logic when he sees fit such as when dealing with the unknowns despite insisting on it over and over, making him also look like a hypocrite. I'm just saying, Spock didn't make himself look all that great as a leader.

Let's compare with Kirk, for example. Kirk is a captain who has his men's faith and respect. He's not perfect, he can get temperamental and can push the crew too hard. But he's still someone who always pulls through, always corrects things when he messes up, and puts the safety of his men first and foremost. Even in this episode where he's confined to the ship and being pressured in abandoning the search, he continues down to the very last nanosecond in hopes of finding the shuttle. He reluctantly begins to withdrawal when his time is up, showing that yes, he will still put his duty above all else. But he also wasn't going to just abandon his men without giving it a fighting chance, even arguing against the Commissioner demanding that he give it up. We've seen Kirk struggle to maintain an image as a strong captain for his people to look towards and keep their spirits up, not bring them down. He will always do what he can for his crew and correct his mistakes, as we've seen in various episodes (The Corbomite Maneuver, The Enemy Within, The Man Trap, Balance of Terror, etc.). It's why Kirk is such a good leader. He is perfectly capable of being logical and tactical, but also shows care and consideration for those who follow him, and thus they trust him in turn.

Spock doesn't have that ability yet. He is focused on his logic, which is all well and good in certain situations. It works great when he's acting as Kirk's Second and reminding him of what, as a Captain, he must focus on. But he also had to be able to consider the people around him and their feelings and thoughts as well. He has to be able to have his men's trust and trust them in return. Sure, maybe that approach would work on a Vulcan ship, but that's not what this is. Spock is perfectly capable of understanding emotions if he wanted to, but he won't. He's a perfectly good Science and First Officer, there's no doubt about that. But this shows us why he isn't fit for command yet. He's unable to have that understanding or be willing to step away from his own mindset. He thought that his logic of scaring away the creatures would work, but he didn't at all consider that they would react with fear/emotionally, as McCoy bluntly points out. He'll get there one day, as we saw at the end where he took the risk with the fuel to signal the Enterprise. A risk that worked. But until he is able to learn that he can't rely on logic all the time, or at least adjust his demeanor to not be so cold-hearted, he won't be fit for a command like this again.

Alright now the rest of the cast. The one that gets the most blowback for the episode is McCoy. Boma does as well, but he's a one-shot that we never see again, and he's properly framed as in the wrong. Scotty was more focused on the shuttle than having any arguments and aside from one of the yellow shirts, the other crewmen don't give Spock much issue. They may get a little testy but again under the circumstances I think that we can forgive that. But McCoy is the one most willing to talk back and speak his mind, and with how they argue later on, I can see why some use this as a basis for 'McCoy hates Spock/McCoy is an asshole' opinions.

I don't want to talk about this too much because I am planning a whole Spock/McCoy analysis for later, and this episode is very much one I want to use in detail for that. But I think that for the most part... McCoy wasn't that bad? Yes, he does get heated a few times, and yes, he gets on Spock's case about being wrong about the creatures. But to be fair, it was after Spock's insistence got a second man killed. And regardless, McCoy actually does follow Spock's command the whole time. He's speaking his mind, which he also does with Jim (The Corbomite Manuever's a good example), but at the end of the day he still stands by Spock.

Really, McCoy came across more as disappointed in Spock than anything to me. He knew that Spock is a logical being. He himself pointed it out to him. But I think he expected better from Spock, especially now that he had his chance. He even tried to tell Spock that it's going to take more than logic to get out of the mess they're in, but to no avail. Right after that is when Spock discusses potentially abandoning people and just seems... sad. Not mad like you'd expect. Not disgusted as Boma is. He comes off as sad if the comment about his heart is anything to go off on. He gets annoyed when Spock tries to push memorializing one of the dead men onto him, despite that being a job for the commanding officer. Even when McCoy points out that attacking first is a logical option, he's ignored. McCoy was at least trying to be cooperative and maybe even help Spock like he would Jim, but it clearly wasn't wanted nor accepted. Given all that, I don't think it's hard to see why McCoy eventually snaps at him. I'm not saying it's right, the 'attack them directly' approach may have done no better. But I can see where he's coming from.

But even after all that, when Spock gets pinned by a boulder, what does McCoy do? Rush right on over to help him. Yeah, Boma ran over too, which he was even more pissed at Spock than McCoy was and still helped save him. But he was following McCoy's lead, and of course McCoy wasn't going to abandon Spock. IDK if I can say that they're friends yet, but they're still crewmates, and they have something going on between them at least. McCoy wasn't going to leave him to die, or anyone if he could help it. And when Spock made the more emotional decision? McCoy was actually proud of him. He saw that Spock could do it. Sure Spock tried denying it when McCoy blabbed about it to Jim, but the look of pure joy on his face... he truly is fond of him, whether he wants to admit it or not. There's so much with these two and their relationship, and this just adds more to it. So yes this provokes a rough patch, but it doesn't cause McCoy to hate Spock either. That's never going to happen.

If you want a better version of what I'm getting at, there's a really good meta here that I highly recommend. It says everything about Spock and McCoy in this episode and how it affects them going forward really well. But let's go ahead and wrap this up.

I guess my ultimate point here is yes, Spock was doing what he thought was right, and yes, certain crewmen were jerks. But Spock also gave little to no reason for them to want to listen to him with how pragmatic, cold, and even kind of bossy he was with them. To them, he lacked any kind of respect for them and came off more as demeaning with a superiority attitude to boot. To Spock, they were being overemotional, and he was acting as a proper commander in the most logical way that he knew how. I don't know how well I'm explaining this, I'm sure that others have done a much better job than me. But to me, there is a lack of understanding and arguably a culture clash. Everyone has a lot to learn from this. Everyone made bad choices and need to focus on improvement. The crew with understanding Spock's logic and why he acts in such a manner, and Spock to realize how he is perceived and why that's detrimental for everyone, including himself.

So with all of that said, this episode was great! It gave me so much to talk and think about. There's so many great character moments, and it's such a nice change of pace from what we've had so far. This was one I'd already liked the first time round, and I think that I enjoyed it even more this time, especially since I know and understand these characters so much more. Very much one that I will gladly watch again... and in fact I might right now XD

Original Rating: 4/5 Rewatch Rating: 9/10

[My TOS Reviews]

[TOS S1 Reviews]

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[cak31ssuperi04]

Also also for the ask game The rest of the hackers + Izuchi n Sagara + Nanase!!

time to run away from ur ask box again just to show up again later

ding dong ditching via askbox real /j

YIPPE! WOO!

Sagara:

favorite thing about them- BEST GIRL???? I'M SO ILL ABOUT HER???? she's so silly......... I think there's something in her casual edginess and how she dresses in frills and likes cake and just how chill she is about it all. Love that she threatens Nanashi 0.3 seconds after meeting him. I like her general demeanor. Or how much she talks herself up in spite of how pathetic she is. She's a fun character and just everything about her appeals to me specifically, I can and will read to deep into her character sheet calling her jaded.

least favorite thing about them- Her saying Sagara was her temp name was the perfect setup for her to eventually reveal a chuuni alias and I'm so bitter that they didn't do that.

favorite line- "Heehee... Then Nanashi, you will have to perform the official pact rite!" (What's the pact rite?) "You must help with this lunchtime cake set that's being sold starting today!" (T-that's the rite?) "I have a quota to meet this month, see..."

brOTP- Nanashi!! Their friendship and interactions are so great to me. I also really like the idea of her befriending Yukinaga. Weirdboy-to-Weirdgirl communication(for both friendships tbh).

OTP- IZUCHI AUGH I M SO OBSESSED WITH THEM. They're very different but hear me out. They have a funny dynamic. Menaces to society and also each other. I do actually think there is potential for them to contrast and complement each other in interesting ways though. I appreciate that their one interaction establishes that she visits him regularly just to mess with him, and how he's probably just used to her atp. I think they could be schemers together.

nOTP- eh.

random headcanon- Her chicken avatar is based on a childhood pet, she starts keeping chickens again sometime in the future. Also timeskip Sagara wears crocs.

unpopular opinion- I've only seen this like twice but I disagree with any portrayal of Izsg that involves her pestering him because she has a crush because I think it's infinitely funnier if she's just Like That(and maybe the local asshole is one of the few peoples she has that's close to an actual friend but it's not a crush. at the moment).

song i associate with them- Egorock

favorite picture of them- From her VA's twitter

Izuchi:

favorite thing about them- Smartass. I love him dearly. Self aggrandizing mad scientist with the brains to back it up, who just does whatever he wants without regard to what other people think and goes about it with a cool and collected(/albeit arrogant) air. How he's not really on either side but just gives the time of day to whatever benefits him/his research, yet is still patient enough to explain things and hear out other perspectives. Who maybe does have a nice side but it's overlayed by 50 layers of conceit.

least favorite thing about them- I want him to face tangible consequence for what he did to the Potetes.

favorite line- "...What is it, whelp? Do you love my greatness? Well, I must apologize... I already adore myself far more than you do.", why is he like this I'm sobbign

brOTP- Nanashi, mad scientist-guinea pig duo ever. I think his relationship with Kirai is interesting too.

OTP- SAGARA. Look I think it's so real of her to be canonically able to knock him on his ass in like 1 minute flat. I have full reason to believe this happens regularly simply because of how easily she does it here, and the only reason it doesn't escalate is because Nanase drags her away. Izuchi is a voice of reason to her out-there way of thinking and general immaturity and Sagara not only doesn't take his shit but is fully capable of smashing through his ego.

nOTP- I can see how Izuchi/Saaya would be interesting but it just isn't for me idk.

random headcanon- Keeps and labels seashell displays. It's some of the only actual decor his room has. Also is a relatively decent cook.

unpopular opinion- The fandom doesn't bully him enough like actually. Look at this guy.

song i associate with them- What The World Needs, this was so hard I have too many.

favorite picture of them-

Kirai:

favorite thing about them- He's such an unapologetic turd but also weirdly competent for a 10 year old. I like how he spends his entire friend event complaining then just gives Nanashi trash as a gift. That's so mean. I feel like he veers more into being just an outright asshole vs Nomare or the twins being kind of clowns about it, but I love that for him honestly.

least favorite thing about them- leave the old man alone bro(who isn't even an old man he's 34 but Kirai's 10 so I see how it'd seem that way to him)

favorite line- "Yeah, yeah. Let's slaughterize 'em all."

brOTP- The hackers but I think Kotora being his babysitter is funny. Sorry for the constant torment dude(it's entertaining.)

OTP- N/A

nOTP- N/A

random headcanon- Makes a fuss about how he's eventually going to get a growth spurt and how That'll Show You All but stays short into adulthood. Never hears the end of it.

unpopular opinion- I feel like Izuchi's personality gets conflated with his sometimes which I get but. You know(will not elaborate(this isn't directed at anything you said in your answer btw just to be clear, you're good)).

song i associate with them- Oh No!

favorite picture of them-

Mikado:

favorite thing about them- Great antagonist. Very good parallels to Nanashi(for obvious reasons), with this being how he would've turned out if he stayed the way he was at the start of the game, down to his ultimate goal being a warped version of Nanashi's initial wish of World Peace. His attempt to start a team only to have them all hate and betray him in contrast to people being weirded out by Nanase before eventually warming up to him for him is neat.

least favorite thing about them- How do you just pretend to be a guy's cousin who he's known all his life and have his family accept that and let him stay with you. Where does Nanase go when he disappears. I can and will draw conjectures but I wish that was elaborated on.

favorite line- "Had it not been "me," there was no way I would have offered you hot cocoa in the dead of summer as if it were a reward." On levels of passive aggression incomprehensible to mere mortals.

brOTP- Nanashi and Misane!

OTP- N/A

nOTP- Nanashi ew

random headcanon- Would try to hold hacker Game Nights to build rapport and cooperation, you can imagine how well that went.

unpopular opinion- Not exactly Mikado himself but never forget that Nanashi is canonically capable of becoming a fucked up guy given the right circumstances. As in "can and will commit so many crimes against humanity" fucked up.

song i associate with them- Technocrat, I probably Do have better songs for him but I just want to raise this in the vein of him trying to pitch the master program to the higher ups and doing it in a really backhanded concerning way(although it gets passed anyways so.)

favorite picture of them-

Kotora:

favorite thing about them- Only Sane Man of the hackers but is so spineless that it doesn't even matter. He gets bullied by a 10 year old, guys. Hge's so tired guys give him a break. I enjoy the potential thread of him being so stressed and tired that he turned to crime despite not usually being that type. I like the moment in his friend event where Rocca breaks a plate(?) and he's more concerned about her safety. Nice fellow.

least favorite thing about them- Who runs the cafe while he's running from the law? Because Rocca is definitely still working there.

favorite line- "Ahaha… I wouldn't say "don't judge a book by its cover," more… "you don't know what a really fatigued guy will do.""

brOTP- The hackers but I like to imagine him and Tobari having regular meetups(tea parties? coffee? Whatever) after the group splinters off to do their own thing. I'd say they could bond over the more mature of the four but I wonder how he'd feel, with him being burnt out(albeit I do think all that trouble would give him a new appreciation for his life, but that doesn't change the fact that the feeling was there) and running a struggling business and her being born rich and choosing to gallivant around because she's a thrillseeker? I think there could be something to explore there.

OTP- N/A

nOTP- N/A

random headcanon- Majored in computer science for a minute in college; Went back to coding when he started feeling stuck in his own life and that's how he managed to have any success with hacking.

unpopular opinion- N/A

song i associate with them- Coffee and Syrup

favorite picture of them- He's kindof pathetic but that's how I like my men

Nomiya:

favorite thing about them- Hell yeah, go funny loud man.

least favorite thing about them- We have Sho Minamoto at home.

favorite line- "Ya better show me somethin' giga-fun next time!!! If you yotta-bore me again, you're packed!! Zipped! DELEEETEEEEEED!!!!!"

brOTP- The hackers but I like to think of him and Kirai being disasters who cause problems on purpose. I bet they fight all the time.

OTP- I don't always go there but I do see the Nomihiyu vision

nOTP- N/A

random headcanon- After the master program gets re-made he gets brought onto the team to help with code maintenance. He creates viruses and Hiyu figures out how to protect the master program from them.

unpopular opinion- N/A

song i associate with them- AC/DC

favorite picture of them-

Nanashi:

favorite thing about them- His arc! How he starts the game constantly trashing on himself and through his efforts to befriend the characters, he learns that everyone's a little messed up. He learns to start loving himself and what sets him apart, and that he deserves to be live and love and have friendship through his relationships, because people care for him. How his arc carries into the next game but not in such a way that they just get rid of his peculiarity.

least favorite thing about them- I feel like it does get toned down from Ch.XXX to 1beat but some of his interactions with Misane post-timeskip... yeesh.

favorite line- His whole speech at the end of the first game makes me feel things.

brOTP- Misane big obvi, they're so precious to me. Can a catgirl and a bunnyboy truly solve crimes together.

OTP- I have a few ships I like with him but nothing I'm entirely committed to.

nOTP- Gosh where do I start. Mikado maybe.

random headcanon- Moves in with the Real Aisakas permanently after the game, mostly I just feel bad about the idea of having him move too far away from his friends.

unpopular opinion- Okay for how much people like to rag on his post-timeskip behavior lbr even some of his comments toward other characters throughout the first game were kind of. weird(derogatory). Also maybe not shipping him with Misane is an unpopular opinion but the fandom seems to have fallen off that boat anyways.

song i associate with them- Saying the 1bit ed might be too obvious so. uh. Be A Friend. Also Self-Inflicted Achromatic for a more angsty(normal end) angle

favorite picture of them-

[its-ashley-95baybe]

Honestly more concerned about the amount of CO2 those two's private jets must be pumping out... PR or no I would feel morally icky about visiting my partner so often like that when we're witnessing so many climate disasters. I'm an actor too. I always fly economy or train if it's available. It's in my contract. I'm sure they could make do like all of us non-millionaires do with long distance relationships.

Honestly I'm still mad that Zendaya had that big birthday party during covid, made sure it was super quiet and no one could post about it, and got zero flack.

It kind of creeps me out how good her PR team is. Never more than a whisper of her being less than perfect. I don't think she's a bad person, I just think she's human. It's a little culty.

Tom is my ultimate 'I can fix him'. I don't know what him and his agent are doing but one of them needs to learn how to read a script and tell whether it's good or bad. He said Cherry was the best script he's ever read :/ Honestly perplexed by his decisions from a business standpoint. He could go anywhere for his TV debut and he goes Apple TV with a story about a criminal with DID which has been established as a thing Hollywood cannot be trusted to portray with accuracy or empathy. The only rationale I can see is that he signed an old-school Hollywood studio deal (these are coming back, look at Chris Hemsworth and Netflix) and Sony got to him when he was young and naive and excited about Spiderman. The whole thing reeks of an old hollywood business deal. I think that's part of the reason he appears so unhappy. Studios secure actors for a 'type' of role, think Judy Garland = ingenue, and that's left him playing one type of character, which I think he's great at but he's not going to win awards and that man clearly wants an Oscar. Awards are so political and the academy just don't nominate dorky young man #2. If I was him I'd work on those films I've said I always wanted to direct, hire a writer other than my brother because I can't tell a script with potential from a trashfire, and cast myself in a role I've always wanted to play and no one would ever cast me as. He's got the clout to at least get an indie film up.

This somehow turned into a business rant. Sorry. So much of your worth relies on your image so when you get to a certain level you've got to be carefully picking your projects. I think Zendaya will be fine and practically untouchable. Her and her team are very smart. It'll be interesting to see if she has more range or whether she'll remain a 'face' actor or a character actor. Some of that is probably not her fault as there's only certain portrayals of a black woman that Hollywood currently accepts. No matter how skilled she is as an actor she will always have jobs because she's established herself as a marketable brand. Weird comparison but I think The Rock has done the same thing just very different ball park. You don't hire The Rock because he'll give you a killer performance with a nuanced character, you hire him because he's The Rock. I honestly can't think of anything problematic enough she could possibly do that could cut her down now.

okay rant over.

First off let me just say that I don’t read a lot of long messages and even more so want them to keep going.

Also I don’t know if you’re new here or not but I enjoyed the breakdown of everything.

Tom’s roles make sense especially when he’s been lobbying to play Fred Astaire for the longest( Lip Sync Battle and probably further) I’ve been saying his team is severely slacking and after the first Spidey he should’ve been everywhere. Idk if Tom wants things handed to him because of his role as Spidey but I just don’t see him reaching that “star” level. I’ll continue to say there’s no way you’re around Z and her team that much that you don’t want more for yourself…..or maybe you don’t and just want attention based off of your relationship but again that’s not how you get your Oscar.

Flipping to Z…..she again has an amazing team that was built since she was 12. Always at red carpets and her name was always spoken(wrongly of course lol) I remember when people would ask what did she do and even that was enough to sustain an identity. They took their time,perfected their craft and now she has two Emmys and a fashion icon award and if her label wasn’t complete money hungry idiots she wouldn’t had a Grammy. They get it. They perfected it and everyone who works with her express nothing but love. She will be fine no matter what direction is taken.

[theshampyon]

Finally getting around to watching Psych, which friends told me to watch when it first came out. Mostly fun, although there'd definitely a bit of... uncomfortably dated material in there. I'm going through season one, and so far we have:

A character that is both DID and trans, but only trans in one personality, and one personality is a murderer, and also the main characters are visibly disgusted by the trans personality being attracted to them, and the character is just able to queue up bottom surgery after a single therapy appointment without the alters ever being discovered or made aware, and the main characters freak out at the idea of "having bits cut off", and...

Ep set in a comic con with a level of dismissive "lol, nerds! comics and sci fi are for losers!" attitude that you almost never see today.

Ep where a character is disturbed by the idea that a manly man would have a skin care routine or watch Queer Eye,

Female cop introduced in the opening episode who's transferred because she had a relationship with her technically married detective partner. She's never mentioned again, and the male detective suffers no consequences.

Detective who openly uses police brutality (smacking a suspect's head against the door frame while getting them in the patrol car) (he's one of the heroes, folks!)

Pregnant police captain who goes to work the day after giving birth and shrugs off the suggestion that she'd need time to heal and recuperate (women who belong in the workplace don't need to recover or care for their new-born, they just Do The Job!).

Also every (mostly blonde) white girl in existence seems to want to jump the smarmy douchebag main character's bones within three seconds of meeting him?

And lord is he smarmy. He constantly makes a mockery of anything he isn't personally into. His whole vibe is Ave Ventura From Wish.com. And he loves shitting on his friend's interests, and setting him up for humiliation. And so far it seems like he was a bully as a kid, but it's because his dad was a bully, and also his dad was right to bully him because it made him the man he is today, and...

Potential love interests for the characters are very clearly racially segregated. White girls for the white guy, black girls for the black guy. Never may they mix. This is for Middle America, after all.

Lots of portrayals of women as flighty and irrationally emotional (e.g. woman who instantly decides to cheat on her boyfriend because she didn't realise he was about to propose, woman who breaks into a snotty blubbering mess because a guy didn't want to make out with her in a field, etc)

Overall it's a fun show, I'm gonna keep watching. I was already an adult when this aired, these shitty aspects were a constant white noise back then , so it's pretty easy for me to look past it and find the bits that still work (kinda like living with tinnitus). Might be different for someone who grew up in a time when writers started to learn not to trot out these tropes. It'll be fun to see if or how this stuff changes over 8 seasons and three movies. So far it's fun seeing Gus become more of an active participant instead of just Smarmy White Man-Child's foil. But man oh man, are there ever some elements in these early episodes that have aged poorly.

[thronehunger]

#THRONEHUNGER. [HIGHLY SELECTIVE AND MEDIUM ACTIVITY MULTI FOR CHARACTERS FROM THE ASOIAF UNIVERSE] BY BRI, 26, SHE/HER.

CHARACTER DIRECTORY. THIS BLOG IS TRIGGER HEAVY BY NATURE THEREFORE I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE READ THE RULES FOR FURTHER ELABORATION. DNI IF YOU WRITE INCESTUOUS SHIPS. + BLOG ROLL: TESS SERVOPOULOUS, LADY JESSICA, GENERAL MULTI MUSE.

GENERAL RULES -.

001. i do not claim the rights to any media found on this blog. i am not apart of creating any of the characters nor their canon material. what i do take pride in, however, are my portrayals therefore i'm making it known that i do not tolerate stealing of any kind. while i don't think i'll have an issue with this — i have in the past so i like to get it out of the way. if you do steal from me, i'll approach you privately to discuss.

002. i do not follow everyone back. i've been on tumblr for many years now and have learned how best to curate a space for myself that i am happy to be in. this can be said for all of my blogs but especially here in the asoiaf fandom. i'm mostly just here to write with my friends and create cool story lines with other people. i typically will not be following first but please do not let that discourage you from following me. for the most part, i tend to follow people back within twenty four hours if i can see us writing together. otherwise i do make sure to softblock unless rules state you'd prefer to be hardblocked.

003. if you support or condone racism, homophobia, transphobia, white-washing, suicide baiting, bullying or bigotry of any kind i will immediately block you. this also goes for zionists. we have nothing in common and i do not want that energy in my space. this is your one and only warning.

004. in terms of callout culture: i do not partake in it just for the sake of it. i typically do not reblog or engage with callout posts, but if someone is actively harmful to the community as a whole then of course that's different. i'm not interested in watching anyone to try to chase somebody out of a community simply because they don't like them. i am an adult with a mind of her own who can make decisions for herself. just because i don't interact doesn't mean i don't see it nor does it mean i'm supporting or not supporting it. 005. lastly, the contents of the asoiaf and the respective hbo shows are heavy. i do not pretend they aren't nor will i be shying away from this in any of my portrayals. while i refuse to write incestuous ships and interact with those who choose to do so — heavy imagery of violence, potential gore, murder, war and grief are among the many things you will see featured on this blog. i ask that you follow at your own discretion. this blog is not meant to be your sounding board for controversial opinions and i'm not interested in catering to the dislikes of others. all i wish to do is write fictional characters whom i love.

[alexwatchesshows]

Grace & Frankie S3E1 review

Spoilers for up to and including S3E1.

Woohoo Frankie moment!

Honestly I just love seeing Frankie happy and doing well and this episode had a lot of that yay Frankie! Aside from the art show success she also handled Sol and her family in a way that felt really mature and I do just love her so much.

Grace is also definitely changing. Her openness with Robert shows a lot more vulnerability than she was willing to show in earlier seasons and I think she could really be laying the ground for more successful relationships (romantic and otherwise).

Sol, on the other hand, I'm starting to get annoyed with. I feel like he's shown very little character development and this episode really brought that out. He hasn't been great at accepting responsibility for his actions or letting other people dislike him, boundaries don't seem to be something he's ever even heard of and he just seems to wreak havoc on anyone he becomes close to. He does have wet cat vibes, but more along the lines of my cat who goes out when she knows it's raining, even though she can stay inside then comes in two minutes later sopping wet and annoyed.

We did get a little bit of Robert too and he's actually becoming a more and more likeable character. Standing up for Grace and looking out for Sol really showed that he can be quite an intuitive and caring person when he puts his mind to it and I'd love to see more of that side of him.

Coyote is moving up in the world (sort of) and I'd like to see more of the whole putting his life back together thing because whenever we get hints of it it sounds like a really emotionally complex process and what we do get seems pretty well-done.

Brianna is also experiencing life changes, and the conflict between her and Barry is definitely one that runs deep in both of their characters. Brianna has a fear of commitment and avoids it at all costs whereas Barry falls hard and has big hopes of a traditional committed relationship, and there doesn't seem to be huge amounts of communication about this on either side. With Brianna, the comparison to Grace is glaringly obvious and, although it hasn't been explicitly discussed yet, it's interesting to see how the unhappy marriage of G & R has affected their children, with one unable to believe in comitted and happy relationships and the other one in a marriage that looks more and more miserable with every passing episode.

Also I'm going to come out and say that I really don't like the portrayal of Alison. She has the potential to be a great character, but instead just seems to become a running joke about chronic illness, belittling genuine and real struggles. I hope the portrayal of her changes and actually catches up with what is real and relevant because currently it just gives off big making fun of disabled women vibes.