#Kinda annoyed when polls go out of the fandom and people are like

[onepiece-polls]

so sorry to all but the brook thing got so old so fast 😭

Gotta say I can't disagree with you anon... but this is a democratic blog, so the people decide 🤷‍♀️

[nachosncheezies]

In defense of late-canon x files (including the revivals)

I was thinking about this poll after I commented on it, and I kinda want to be brave and say more.

Short answer to the poll's question before I go any further: If you're a new fan and a sensitive sort who thinks you'll struggle with your blorbos Really Going Through It and you really need a happy ending, I suggest you stop at the end of season 8. Do not pass go, do not look at spoilers. Disregard this post entirely, close the internet, and go look at something that makes you happy. (Also fuck every part of society that characterizes sensitivity as inherently weak and bad and some kind of personal failing, you are valid.)

That said, "quality" as a concept is entirely subjective, and the question of whether or not there's a decline in quality for any story is wholly subjective, too. In the case of x files? I'm not convinced there is a decline. I am going to be upfront that I haven't yet watched past season 8, though I am almost completely spoiled on events after that - and the reason I haven't watched yet is not because of how I know events are going to unfold, but simply because I don't want it to end!!! Ohh, the tension between "I CAN'T WAIT!!!" and "Nooo don't be over D:"

When I first came to txf fandom on tumblr and gradually became spoiled about what happens in late canon though, I was often left uncomfortable and tbh kinda queasy about it. As I said in my comment on the poll, the hate for especially the revival and IWTB, or to a lesser extent even seasons 8 & 9, is very well documented. But! There are other takes to be found here on tumblr if you figure out where to look, and my feelings have changed!

The thing is, I have yet to find myself in any fandom where there isn't a vocal subset of fans who dislike the story after a certain point. I am not joking when I say that no one hates the things they love as passionately as sci-fi and fantasy fans. In my experience, it often hinges on the extent to which a viewer has strong notions on where they would like the characters to end up. In particular with series where shipping is a dominant component for the bulk of a fandom, I have almost universally found that there comes some turning point in the story where "let them be happy you cowards" is the dominant view, and things that compromise the attainment of a degree of romantic stability and/or domesticity are, to many fans, annoying at best and despicable at worst. But! As one tagset on the linked poll said:

and I think for any fandom, that last tag especially is so so so important. (I think that's harder for people watching a weekly series live, bc you have so much time to analyze and speculate and dream before the next breadcrumb drops, but I digress.)

So why am I saying this and how do I apply it to x files? Well, I eventually found that there are also a subset of fans who find redeeming things right up to the very end and actually quite like the whole thing! The things that I had seen people rage and ventpost so much about honestly never quite sounded to me as "out of character" or "untrue to the story" etc as those same ventposts made them sound. And I've discovered I'm not the only one who felt that way. Do I love that the spooky squad had to go through all of those things? No, those poor guys D: Life is hard and they have been through so much trauma. But do those events and their choices make sense to me in light of everything that came before? Yes! And I honestly can't wait to see them fight to overcome those things, breaking, healing, always learning, always growing, always getting better.

So if you're wondering "where does it go wrong"... well, I'm a completionist, as many people who've answered that post are, but also my personal opinion is that I don't think it does go wrong. If you're new and interested in exploring why I've gone from "vaguely queasy" to "excited" about the whole thing, or want to maybe balance out the impressions you're getting about the later seasons before deciding whether or not you want to see the whole thing, I'll put a few blog names in the comments.

Final admission: even once I started feeling a little more confident in the possibility that "actually ok maybe I'm not crazy, maybe this all kind of is in character and does make sense", there was one big plot point that I was NOT looking forward to and I thought I would never be comfortable about. In hindsight, I think my discomfort came from the negative responses being SO seemingly universal that I hadn't stopped to let myself truly consider other possible interpretations on that point. (I mean my initial instinct when I first read about it was, why are we mad about this?? CSM is literally the most unreliable narrator in history???? it's obviously fake news?????? this must be either a fever dream someone's having or it's a misdirection ploy against whatever shadowy forces might still be lurking?????????????? but for whatever reason I guess I had halfway written that off.) Happily, just last month there's a new post-s11 novel out, and although reviews for the book as a whole are mixed, it seems to have laid the groundwork for resolving that plot issue in a way I think most fans would be broadly happy with. If you're interested in being spoiled about that and seeing how, I recommend searching #perihelion on @agent-troi who liveblogged reading it with receipts, scroll back chronological-style to the first post on the subject and see how it unfolded. (And never forget that Dana Katherine Scully is the queen of denial as a coping mechanism lol)

Everyone's mileage will vary. Each person can feel however they want! But for anyone new, I wanted you to know that the very many ventposts you might be seeing are not all there is to this show or its fandom. Some of us love it despite - or even because of - all the things that went "wrong". I think we just don't talk about it as much.

[sssammich]

4?

lol oh ho ho ho i see what you're doing

ask meme

4. Share a dark thought? (Go on, vent a little)

IM GONNA VENT (this is behind oh well i had to get my feelings bubbling up)

honestly i hate canon or bust. it literally kills the joy and sucks the fun out of fandom. and even the source material itself. maybe it's just me being older and having been in fandom for literal decades, but like this crusade for Canon or Nothing At All is just so fucking bad and is just overall detrimental to engaging with the source material, with fanworks, and even just each other!!!

about to just drop everything under the cut because it's long and incoherent

like, okay. yes, do i want representation? sure. do i want stories written for queer characters deserving of story arcs equal or better than what the straights typically get? yeah of course im not a monster. but like, people don't even know how to handle the representation they do get. and then have the gall to ask for perfection when it does show up. that's the burden to bear of being the Chosen Ones is that the weight of expectations is heavier than, like, side character three. so i get it. i get all of that. i want the good things also. i want the ladies kissing ladies on television etc etc

but that's not what im talking about. im talking about the people who literally will just sour the well with their desire that if their Ship isn't canon then it's time to ruin the playground because if i'm not having fun no one can be having fun. and that's literally so terrible and bad and also makes everyone not like being there any more. you shat on their sandbox, you burned down the monkeybars. like, it's not fun there anymore. but the problem there (other than it's annoying and destructive), is that it just further puts fanworks under the agenda of Pushing for Canon Truth instead of, like, a fun thing to share and do with your community.

another caveat here: OF COURSE fandoms have been doing both of those things this whole time, but it just always feels like when i see a push for "make X canon" (X being a ship, 99% of the time), it almost doesn't care about just enjoying yourself??? making a ship canon can be and is important in the larger landscape of media, culture, and representation. yes yes, i'm with you. but i think especially in fandom spaces if canon is not there, then what else is left? is such a bad take.

the rare pairs are there. the multiships. but not even just ships, but dynamics between characters. there are probably other strong contenders for the piece of media that irrevocably changed the landscape of fan/media relations, but since i *was* in the glee fandom, i'm gonna blame that one. i think the nature of how glee essentially opened access to the actors, to the producers, to the showrunners that had direct impact on the source material's canon kinda set up the groundwork for how the rest of media would evolve for the next decade. the ship wars and the ship polls were kinda insane back then. idk if it's still insane now because i've retired from my 'fandom city apartment' to my 'fandom small coastal town bungalo' and just minding my business. all that to say that even as a shipper, 90% of fandom conversations when it comes to Canon is literally just the pursuit of making their two white men (or women) kiss.

which means that we lose out on actual conversations and discussions around character development, dynamics with others as foils or as antagonists, and the larger implication in the plot of the whole thing.

i know the desire for canonifying two characters with insane chemistry and with storylines that lead to romance were they cast as one heterosexual male and one heterosexual female comes from the unfairness and frustration that if it's already right there, why not just fucking do it? listen we're all fighting an uphill battle for equality across the board, so any step forward is gonna be met with a step back, if not more. so like, i'm cognizant of this. so i get why. but when the entire persona that someone displays is just to push for wanting a ship to be Canon above all else, that's when it breaks down for me.

i doubt im making any sense at this point so im just gonna close this out by saying that yeah, i want similar things at the end of the day. i also want the two women with insane chemistry and whose storylines beat for beat match that of a heterosexual pairing had they been cast as such. but canon is not my business, i have nothing to do with that. because i don't make my fun at the doll shop where i bought my barbies. that's not the appropriate place for me to play. i make my fun in the sandbox where i stick the barbies' heads in the sand, as a treat.

[antimony-medusa]

Okay so inspired by nothing in particular (it's inspired by reading the notes on the ace swag final poll, fun stuff in there), I have been thinking about being Cringe. Cause like, you enter a fandom, and usually, you find out shortly that somebody else hates that fandom. There is no fandom niche enough that it's not Weird to somebody, and there's no fandom mainstream enough that it's not Annoying to somebody else. And given the fact that some people do hatred recreationally, there's often going to be somebody mad enough about your fandom that they're going to go on diatribes about how your fandom is bad and actually harmful and destroying the fabric of civilization, etc. They're gonna pull out anything negative and blow it up until it's the size of the skyline and attack you for liking this negative thing.

Fun times, we've all seen it.

And the thing is, there's an impulse to have this happen and immediately find somebody else to point to and say, yeah, well, I might be weird, but at least I'm not THAT guy. I might read YA, but at least I'm not a Furry— those guys are sexual deviants! I might be into actual play podcasts, but at least I'm not into mcyt— those guys are all harmful and my guy is fine. I might be into danmei, but at least I'm not into bandom— rpf is so gross. I might be a furry, but at least I'm not into mainstream romance novels— senseless drivel aimed at middle class white women. Y'know. Immediately find someone to punch down on.

And boy do I understand why you want to do that, when people are pointing at you, but I don't actually think that it's helpful.

Cause like, every fandom has a logical train of thought and reasonable human impulses behind it. You might not share those impulses— I'm not a furry I don't think, I don't really get true crime— but that doesn't mean I can't have it explained to me by a very patient person in in the writer's workshop common room and go "oh, yeah, kinda pretending to be an animal, but you're gay about it, yeah, makes sense", or "oh yeah, morbid curiosity from the safety of your headphones, it's like a horror movie but real" and nod. Like there isn't a fandom or group out there that doesn't look weird from the outside, and there isn't a fandom or group that can't be explained if someone has thought about the human psyche enough.

And that isn't to say that there isn't sometimes salient critiques for what fandoms are doing or not doing— to grab the two examples above, I have heard people talking about issues with true crime reinforcing the current fucked up justice system, or bigotry at furry cons. But a) most of the time, there is already somebody inside that community that's fighting against those issues, and you just threw them under the bus with the problem they're trying to fix b) you don't usually know the nuances of the actual conversation and problems, you saw a couple callout posts. You saying "Yeah I'm a board game nerd but at least I don't play competitive trading card cames, those guys are doing nothing but feeding the capitalist machine" is not usually helpful towards fixing the ctg scene. It's just a cheap way to score points.

Like, I assure you that the YA scene is aware of the calcification of the genre into a tighter and tighter romantic form and their dependence on going big on tik-tok to sell enough to keep publishing. They know.

You specifically saying that your fandom is better cause it's not [problems you heard about other fandom having] is not actually going to make the person who's hating on you stop hating. They already decided that you're the person they're better than and that they're punching down on, you passing the punching down on to another fandom just makes more people sad on the internet, and potentially starts yet another chain of someone punching down at someone else. The wheel grinds on, everybody gets punched.

I guess this is just kinda turning into a "why hate on the internet, what good does that do" post, which is broader than I meant it to be. But like, there's a difference between thoughtful critique of problems (complicated to do fairly but very necessary) and finding someone new to curbstomp to make yourself feel better/morally superior (look, I'm writing this on a mcyt blog, we've all seen this happen, it does not increase the joy in the world).

Like in MCYT, we all decide to punch down on [other server we hate], or RPF, or people who write kidfic, or people who write e-rated fic/art, or people doing the popular trope of the moment, and sure, it lets you feel morally superior for the moment, at the cost of slapping the guy next to you. Haven't we had enough slapping the guy next to you? There but for the grace of god (got a fun idea/watched the wrong stream/ended up in the wrong brainstorming circle/got fixated on the wrong funny guy) goes I. You're not better than another group just because you saw a couple more callout posts (usually from people inside the community trying to fix things) about them.

We are all Cringe. There is nobody who's not Cringe. Don't say that you're not Cringe because someone else is more Cringe. Stop that.

[mandyposting]

people seriously think coming up with saw traps is bad? like i know those polls show its VERY MUCH a minority within the fandom but also. its not hurting anyone if someone likes to think about potential brutal ways of torturing/killing people with elaborate mechanisms. god forbid people have hobbies.

Right? To me it's like having a horror or creepypasta OC. I don't actually want that oc to come to life and go out and kill people, but it's fun to make them!

Also the people saying that it's gonna cause someone to hurt an IRL person, do you also think that violent video games make people violent, or is it different when it's something you care about?

But fr, ridiculous that people are this worked up about fiction. But people have always wanted to find problems with fiction while ignoring irl problems that deserve their energy, so I see them more as annoying and just kinda ignore it

[jaskierx]

This is probably gonna be quite incoherent so bear with me lol. I see that your askbox has become a place to rant (and this one isn’t even gonna be about izzy!! But I need to get my thoughts out somewhere!! Sorry in advance!!)

Anyway it’s been a relief to see other people in the fandom whose least favourite episode this season was ep 6. I always felt almost?? Mean for not liking it as much as everyone else seems to?? (and it’s not even that I dislike it!! It’s just my least favourite!) cause I feel like there was just too much going on for a single episode, everything went by too fast.

Anyway this isn’t about that it’s about ep 7 which most people seem to dislike. And I understand where people are coming from when they say that, I didn’t like it very much the first time I saw it! but after rewatching it yesterday for the first time since it aired I actually gained a lot of appreciation for it! I love the start and getting to see Stede and Ed be all domestic together!! (I’m a sucker for that shit) And I actually really love their fight too, just cause it shows us how much Stede understands Ed! He immediately notices that Ed is panicking and he responds so patiently even after being told that Ed thinks their night together was a mistake. Yes they said some hurtful things to each other but somehow I think that’s the least important part of that scene, at least to me. And it annoyed me when people kept painting Stede as the one in the wrong in their fight!! (Imo neither of them were in the wrong but that’s just personal opinion)

Where was I going with this? Basically I feel kinda alone in not liking ep 6 as much as everyone else and I think ep 7 is kinda under appreciated. Ahdgags I hope that made sense I’m terrible at expressing my thoughts towards media.

Screaming in your askbox cause I don’t wanna get too involved in the fandom myself cause it scares me lol. Thanks for posting good takes tho as always :) it helps me feel a little more sane

no i agree, ep6 is definitely one of my least favourite episodes (covered this a bit in my last ask). i didn't HATE it but it seems to do really well in polls about 'which ep is your favourite' and i just. do not vibe with it in the way that a lot of people do

and i agree that ep7 is underrated and i think that's bc it's objectively not a very feelgood episode and even though djenks had confirmed they'd end up together at the end, when it aired i saw loads of people worrying that they wouldn't get a happy ending at the end of s2, which i think has coloured people's perceptions of it

it's not a bad episode. it's a great episode tbh! we get their breakfast in bed (with twine for flourish) and 'hehe we didn't pay' and stede's newfound fame and his earring and zheng being really cool and frenchie and the gang getting their grift on and everybody's new favourite dearly departed side character steak knife (fly high with the angels king)

the argument itself is also really well written and feels so real (which definitely contributes to why so many people felt some kind of way about it) and manages to cover a bunch of irl relationship issues while still feeling right in the context of them being ye olde pirates - it's a beautiful realistic depiction of poor communication between people who love each other but not themselves and it gave me brainworms so i wrote a meta about it

but yeah overall the Main Event in ep7 is stede and ed arguing and ed leaving, so i get why a lot of people dislike it (or at least like it less than the other episodes) given that from ep3 onwards every episode has a big positive edstede moment (mermaid scene in ep3, 'i love everything about you' in ep4, 'you wear fine things well' and their kiss in ep5, being protective of each other and having sex for the first time in ep6, and obvs two beach kisses and 'i love you. i love you' and moving into their inn in ep8) (i nearly cried writing that out if you were wondering whether or not i'm normal about them)

[drawnaghht]

@trufflemacandcheese

About the ship tags poll... Ah, sorry for not specifying ^^; I did post that the poll was about Yuichi x Rise!Leo specifically.

I actually want to do a separate one for Leosagi, but this one was specifially just for Leoichi/Leochi! (or, me using mostly my own made-up tag, YuiNardo)

TL;DR - Leosagi and Leoichi/Yuinardo are separate ships :D technically we don't have this problem with other fandoms with newer versions of characters, or even with other ships like Donsagi, but since Yuichi Usagi is a separate character from his ancestor, Miyamoto Usagi, it would make sense to have separate ship tags as well. Especially since the tags already exist anyway, so why not use them per ship? It is also more respectful to both older and newer Leosagi fans and fans of both Usagi characters. I am all of these myself, so hah, this is all silly fanstuff, but I'd just prefer the separation bc the ships are too different to share a tag + it's easier to sort and find fanart/fic later if there are separate tags. So Leosagi poll will go up later!

Longer explain: there was discussion around it a year or more ago, + posts here and there on tumblr mostly, about how technically Yuichi Usagi x Leo is a whole new ship bc Yuichi Usagi is a whole new character from the Samurai Rabbit show... and how maybe it's good to use just the one tag for it? So the oldest unique name/tag for them seems to be Leochi/Leoichi. Since Miyamoto Usagi x Leonardo is an older ship that's been around for 19 years since the '03 turtles show and Leosagi has been the tag/ship name that stuck with that, it's a separate ship. So are the tags associated with it, such as Katanashipping and older tags (which I haven't seen people use anymore.) But people saw the similiarities of the two Usagi's (family after all, lol, but I wonder if there's something else simmering under there), and started tagging the newer ship as Leosagi too, almost as an umbrella term, since we'd briefly had 12!Leosagi as a ship, and people just like the dynamic that the 03 show introduced, but people liked the new TMNT cartoon too.

ROTTMNT didn't have any Usagi eps tho, so - some Rise fans had started making their own Rise versions of Miyamoto Usagi as well, well before the Samurai Rabbit show. And this new ship clashed with that a bit, because people were either taking the character of Usagi from the show and just giving him book/2003 Usagi's personality (so continuing what Rise!Leosagi shippers were already doing, but confusing the pool of thoughts there bc it's a new character w a new name). So the fans who use tumblr and draw/write for the ship got upset that this new ship was taking over the tags and clogging the tags with just Yuichi x Leo content. There’s also the distinction that og Leosagi in 2004 is a ship where they’ve interacted in canon - Usagi exists next to the TMNT in the cartoon, and I consider 03 Usagi a whole separate version of him because they seemed to have changed his backstory a bit + made him younger to match the turtles. There’s also history of the characters interacting in the comics, because their creators Peter Laird and Stan Sakai were friends and Leo is Stan Sakai’s favourite character of the TMNT. Yuichi x Leo is a crossover ship however. so the new ship was a surprise.

Perhaps at first, it was kinda fun to see new art or fic, but then I guess people started getting annoyed for how many fans were using multiple tags and including Leosagi in their posts too, even when Miyamoto Usagi is not there.  A lot of people treated the two ships as the same or made the name an umbrella  tag, which I sorta did too at first bc what, it’s not like there’s guidelines pinned to the start of a tag page on tumblr, are there? So imo, it’ll just sort itself out eventually the more people start using the unique tags exclusively vs the old tag. Sliderbunny was the Miyamoto Usagi x Rise!Leo tag for a while, but that's also become mainly used for the newer ship. I’m not sure if tumblr shows the contents of tags from over a year ago anymore, but there are most likely blogs still active which jave those older posts with tagging prior to Samurai Rabbit coming out on Netflix.

I'm more annoyed personally that people also mis-tag the characters and the book/show. They are not interchangeable! So yeah, it's been a whole many-posts-long discussion over this ^^;;

I also made longer posts thinking abt these myself but I'm not gonna link them here cuz these are just general polls of curiosity. But you can find them under "ship tags" tag on my blog if you get curious. RABNerd28 on youtube made a very succinct (imo) video about this topic as well, which summarizes many of the issues the older shippers find when going online to see content for their favourite ship.

I actually have no idea where Leoichi or Leochi came from as ship tags or why there are two spellings of it (almost like "two pronunciations" lol), but so far, it's a pretty popular tag. So there seems to be no need to double-tag it with Leosagi, when it's 2 different ships. I find it also that whatever the fan content for 2003 Leosagi or just Leosagi is in general, it would be nice to just respect fans who made the ship popular at first, when TMNT03 aired their Usagi eps in 2004. I actually shipped this too back in the day and still do, so for me personally, it's nice to have separate tags just so I can find things better on my blog + so if people who don't like one ship, they can always block the tag and not see those posts from me. Or just general consideration ^^ I think we don't have this discussion around the other usagi ship tags bc well, there are a lot less posts about these other ships both on tumblr and elsewhere, maybe the fans don't have the energy to argue about this?

Another result of earlier discussions and the general tag-clogging, lots of people also dislike the show and the character of Yuichi Usagi. I as a fan of both show and comic, really don't like that, so that's one more reason why using separate tags is better - so at the least: Leosagi and Leoichi separately.

i still prefer my own made-up tag bc it's more unique + sounds fun. also reasons why I made my own unique ship tag: fans make Yuichi really OOC in their art/fic, or they haven't seen the show or the flat-out hate the show.... which is all fine, ordinary stuff even, as far as bigger fandoms and fanworks go. folks make Rise Leo OOC often too, but no one bats an eye. But hey, it's just other fans having fun with concepts and ideas. That's what fanworks are. Transformative fiction. People can change anything they want. But I personally like the show and character, and I like the Usagi Yojimbo books too. So reading/watching and making theories and in-character or just plain meme/funny stuff is how I have fun.

whatever the reasons for the tag names, for this poll I just piled all the reasonable ship tags I could find for it (i.e. used in at least 2 posts) just to see what people use the most. seems that Leoichi is winning so far, which makes sense as it is easier to pronounce.

[captorcorp]

ok im rambling about my thoughts on tadc bc i have many (long post)

ok first of all general character opinions with walk cycle gifs to break up the walls of text (gifs from here):

caine: the silly guy... literally why red recommended this to me was the digital world setting + an ai character and they know me too well because every ai character is my favorite by default. i'm very excited to see what we end up learning about him throughout the series, also i absolutely love that he was inspired by AM from ihnmaims but 'if he was a silly little guy instead of fueled by hate' or whatever the creator said about him. his weird head design is really creative though it does discomfort me a bit sometimes, something about the combination of eyes and teeth;;; still think he's kinda tumblr sexyman coded besides the teeth head but most people are too distracted with objectifying jax so he gets a pass

pomni: she's cool!! it's hard to form a solid view of her so far bc most of what we've seen is her being understandably overwhelmed with and O.O at everything, but she seems like she'll be a pretty interesting protag - i liked them showing her moments of weakness with leaving ragatha behind too. that being said i think she stretched out the 'omg this isn't real what's going on???' freaking out bits way too long but that's just a personal gripe with that sorta stuff in media like this. if i was isekai'd into the digital circus i would simply be so chill about it after only 5 minutes of panic. rip to pomni but i'm different /j oh yeah also a fun character design even though i don't really like clowns she's just very Shaped

jax: motherfucker. jk i actually don't feel that strongly about him i just find him slightly annoying at times. at first i thought 'oh ok he's a loveable asshole yeah he's kinda entertaining so he's cool' and then he just ended up being more asshole than loveable. also thought he was sexyman coded and was unfortunately right this time ^^; apparently he's the creator's fave too?? so hopefully he doesn't get away with too much stuff without consequences, or he's gotta actually get some positive traits yknow. however i do love his design with the big grin and semicircle eyes and etc, very cartoony and fun. if the controversial blorbo poll was still open i would submit him bc it seems like the fandom is split on him. but also kinda tired of him from fandom overexposure

ragatha: she's really nice and i want to be her friend - looking forward to seeing where her character goes in the future though, bc we've only seen her being polite and forgiving and sweet and etc, and i think she should be allowed to kill people /hj. it was cool seeing her get glitched too even if ;-;. i was never into raggady ann stuff like i've heard the creator is but her design is still cute too, even if less surreal than some of the others ^^

bubble: keep forgetting this guy exists, not a huge fan tbh? gets some points for being another ai though. looks like a chain chomp. i do like that they're able to be popped and respawn though, that's a fun quirk. the scene with them cleaning up after pomni is p gross

kinger: i barely thought about this guy during the pilot tbh so was surprised to see the fandom all adoring him. kinda just reminds me of fear from inside out. but actually overexposure of him from tumblr and other people enjoying him kinda made him grow on me a bit (reverse of what has been happening w jax). he's pretty cool to me now. i can't believe fandom already gave him a tragic backstory with that queen chesspiece we see crossed out...

zooble: another character i didn't really think about, though i like their design and detachable body parts and such. i also couldn't really get a good sense of their personality tbh? i think they just need more screentime honestly

gangle: i wanted to like her a lot more than i did when i first saw her bc her design is very fun, with the ribbon-based body and comedy/tragedy masks and etc. but ended up not getting too interested in her as a character. but i think she's in the same category as zooble where she needs more screen time and character development though? bc she still seems like she could be cool if her personality gets explored more

thoughts on the overall pilot:

ngl i have a whole bunch of gripes about it despite also rotating it in my mind. i feel like a lot of the characters are a little 1-dimensional currently, even if i do find those dimensions appealing for the most part, hoping they get more characterization in the actual main season though. also most of the pacing/jokes didn't really land for me or felt a bit forced, though there were some good bits like king's hands following zooble's head, pomni opening doors to surreal scenes like the bathing mannequin, jax getting choked by zooble's hand, the randomly generated 5-letter names, also any of the cartoony imagery gags like the censor bars or cartoon dust cloud of gloinks.

however, overall i enjoyed it still!!! all of the animation has so much charm and character to it, surreal semi-human character designs are always great, it's very colorful and bright and reminiscent of old early 2000s activity center games, etc. it gives me kinda 'welcome home' vibes, with both being bright and cheery exteriors meant to mimic old media style that mask darker stuff under the surface. also the general plot of like. people being trapped in this weird setting and forced to participate in fucked up (?) games by some mysterious mastermind (well we know who the mastermind is but not much about him) while struggling to escape or understand why they've been trapped here... very common plot but always is intriguing to me. also of course [holds digital worlds and ais in my hands] my beloved tropes...

thoughts on the fandom:

i am. concerned. that there seems to be an overlap with the h*zb*n h*t*l fandom;; but also i don't know anything about that show's status besides like. callout posts about the creator and people complaining about the pacing/character designs and etc. so i don't really know if all of the hh fans is bc it's like, also an animated series that appeals to the same audience? or if it's going to be too similar or inspired from it or also have a problematic creator somehow 😔

otherwise it's whatever, maybe a bit on the :I side bc i already saw someone make a y*nd*r* jax imagine post and it scared me hjkdfs. otherwise mostly just usual fandom stuff i think? dunno.

actually nevermind i just got back from twitter and apparently the creator is already feeling :/ about their own fandom and apparently people on tiktok are hcing some fucked up stuff about jax so. can fans be normal for 2 seconds please.

[kelvintimeline]

why do you think stevebucky lost that poll? is it because of endgame? recency bias? the other ship being canon?

Most important reason is just this website sucks.

But it's multifaceted.

Biggest bit is just stucky fans are older, probably have migrated off the website, or at least are not engaged in stucky fandom anymore. It's been a while, it happens. Canon said fuck you, get gone, so many did.

But almost equally as big? OFMD people have a victim complex the size of fucking mars and use polls to exercise said victim complex. It's undeserved--they've been called out and mocked for valid reasons--but like... also a WEE bit deserved in the sense that they are THEEEE punching bag because OFMD is so emblematic of so many things people on this website are annoyed with--diversity to pretend to be "inclusive" and "progressive" while the narrative is the opposite, people who think "gay" is a genre, the weird acting style that's camp... but it's intentional and so it's just like... pathetic and theatrical in an annoying way, so it feels more superwholock than it does like... whimsical... the slavery apologism is a big one, can't forget that... the Taika stanning that popped up right when everyone realized he's a. annoying and b. kinda fucked up (the antiblack racism that keeps popping up in his works, the weird affair thing, and now everything going on with this soccer movie).

So... after Black Sails last treated them as a punching bag, showing them what REAL gay piracy is about... I think OFMD people put more stock into voting and therefore mobilize more around polls to be like "SEEE WE ARE THE GAY REP EVERYONE WANTS" when really, they're not, they're more invested in it (like the average person who has ever cared about stucky isn't... really caring about validation at this point), it's newer, and they have more to prove.

Go through the notes on the post and it's just "WOOO WE BEAT THE GAYBAIT" as if their show isn't just... worse gay bait? Like... it invented canon gaybait. That is to say... they baited in people with gayness because it had little else to offer.

It's not good gay rep. It's just... canon.

It's still shit.

And it still has incredibly weak fandom output outside of poll engagement because people are satisfied with the world driest gay kiss.

They fought harder to win the poll because it's the most attention they'll ever get from people with taste.

[negative-speedforce]

🤍💔💖💕💀

Gonna answer this one for Star Trek because I can-

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

The fandom demonizes Agnes Jurati a lot, and I kinda can see why. She killed her lab partner/ex, then willingly joined the Borg Queen and started her own Collective. However, the murder thing was under partial mind control, and with the Borg thing, again, you could also count that as partial mind control, and also, she looked so sexy doing it! God forbid women do anything!

💔: If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

Wesley Crusher. God fucking damn it that kid annoys me so much. Any episode of TNG featuring him makes me want to claw my own eyeballs out.

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

As much as I love Ezri Dax, they should have never killed off Jadzia. Remember that poll that was going around about "Did you ever stop watching a show because they killed off a character?" That was me with Jadzia Dax my beloved (I picked up DS9 again later when I wasn't pissed off anymore). Nonbinary Worm Queen, you will live forever in my heart.

💕: What is an unpopular ship that you like?

Borg Queen/Agnes Jurati. God, they're so horrible and toxic but at the same time, they're the only two people who seem to truly understand one another. Yeah, my taste in ships is weird, but I don't really care.

💀: If you had to choose one major character to die, who would you choose?

Harry Kim. Not because I don't like him, but because of the tragedy and angst potential. Just think about it... a young man on his first mission, trapped 70,000 light-years from Earth and everyone he ever loved, dying alone and afraid in the void of space... that'd be some good angst.

[hiro-doodlez]

HELP I can't see my therapist for a couple of weeks and am currently having something i like to dub "yet another hiro autism crisis" where i contemplate if my therapist gave me the right diagnoses (she has told me she is not certified to give autism diagnoses, and instead more things like depression) Right now, I am diagnosed with ADHD, Anxiety/ Social anxiety (its still up in the air, DPDR, and depression. idk if that matters SO NOW I LIST RANDOM THINGS that could be considered symptoms or not I DUNNO HOW TO DO THISS feel free to ask questions about some of the crap i say here half of it doesn't make sense

First off, I have a general trouble understanding most social situations, and struggle sometimes when talking about practically anything. For example, earlier today my step-mom basically said she wasnt going to finish her food and let my brother have it. my brother said he would leave 2, he didnt (BOZO) and later after he left she found the empty container and said something along the lines "HAH! I thought he said he was gonna leave me 2!" and immdeiately without thinking i went "hey! you said he could have as many as he can! and hes working 10 hours a day and needs his energy!!" half jokingly and she got mad at me for it, we got into a mini argument over that.

When saying something thats serious, i tend to make a joke around it and i have NO CLUE why. I just CANT be openly upset around people. For example, when being told about something that happened to me as a kid that NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED RAGRHAGHAG, instead of having a breakdown and being reasonably upset, i burst out into giggles and laughs while my brother was just so fucking confused on what was wrong. It was kinda like i couldn't stop and it fucking sucked

The TINIEST things can upset me, and other HUGE things can have little to no effect. Its so incredibly annoying

I have INTENSE fluxuations in interests, hobbies, and motivation for certain projects. I will start on this huge project that im INCREDIBLY excited for, and then a week later have little to no interest in continuing it.

I make everything about my personality a joke, i dont know why. EVERYTHING i tend to say or do has to be funny. it's like i dont want people to see beneath that

I fluctuate in personality A TON, especially depending by the people i am around. At school, I'm the quiet kid. I don't talk to anyone except maybe 5 people, but other than that i tend to stay completely silent. It could be a mask? i dunno. but when im at home, ask my brothers, i am BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS. it might also be me just getting some of my energy out? RRAHHH I DUNNOOO

I will simply forget to do very important things to the point of endangering my health. Like forgetting to eat for a day straight. my step-mom thinks i have an ED AND I DONT. i literally just keep realizing suddenly at like 6 pm all i have eaten is a couple of skittles and pringles.

i have no clue how talking to people works and im constantly winging it. I forget how to have friends especially how to even talk or interact with them and its so stupid. I can't ever start a conversation with someone without having at least 5 minutes going "am i weird for this am i being annoying am i being clingy".

If i say even one thing wrong i WILL be thinking about it for DAYS thinking about how they probably hate me now and im a terrible person ect. ect.

I tend to hide many of my traits (especially good ones) because i am incredibly embarrassed and never want anyone to EVER compare themselves to me.

im a people pleaser does that count

i tend to get extremely upset if i get told one bad thing about something that i like or just a project i have. For example, I had this fandom silly man poll because i just wanted to find out who was silly. Then one of my friends just posted something like "i hate fandom polls theyre the worst" and i just lost complete motivation afterwards. I haven't touched that blog in WEEKS at this point becuase i simply have no more interst

I have had a meltdown or 2 before, and they both stemmed from being told about how i was a bad person. i don't know why the hell thats a thing

I can't stay focused on one thing for long periods of time (ADHD cough cough) Like literally earlier i was watching this video about autistic traits and i kept having to back the video up because i would get sidetracked in my mind to the point where im just not listening anymore

if im not paying attention to people sometimes I SWEAR theyre saying "ffajaleifnanamzmaldafjkjeffnma" and as soon as i start noticing it suddenly theres words again. hate that.

i have times where it can kinda seem like i cant speak, and if i do everything comes out wrong and jumbled. Like when my autistic friend would have a sensory related meltdown, i would never know what to do and end up going dead silent because of being so mad at myself for not knowing how to help (any tips actually hahahahaHOW DO I HELP)

i have little idea who the hell i am. had a mini-crisis because i didn't know what my favorite color was because before, it was the color my friend with synesthesia said i was and i just went with that (i think its purple or blue i have no fucking clue JFALJK)

i will have spikes of random motivation on one thing. like learning lanugauges, i will have a week where its so easy to get like 10 lessons on duolingo done a day and then the next week its a struggle to get even one done.

i focus better with distractions ??? I can't focus without music and tend to do better on reading tests if everyone else in the class is talking ???

i remember the most random things about certain things. Like, i could not for the LIFE of me remember what color that one persons hair that i was talking to for 15 minutes straight. but i can remember that they had pink socks on. WHY IS THAT WHAT I REMEMBER??

I hate organization and doing the same thing every day. i NEED chaos. My brother a little bit ago helped me out and got me to make a personal to-do list. i couldnt do it a single day even though the things were extremely simple like "brush hair, make bed, eat breakfast ect."

i zone out a LOT. especially when people bring up topics im uncomfortable with or conflict with my current feelings. i go into a kinda little talking (not nonverbal, i can still talk) or just confused state that freaking sucks.

when im in a high energy mood i tend to not feel.. reall???? I do many things overboard and annoy the heck out of my brothers. i always feel terrible afterwards.

Idk if this is weird to say but i tend to get really off put when people im comfy with get haircuts or major changes in their appearance. I never like the change no matter what the hair cut looks like. i dont have any clue why

i have no clue whether or not any of this is real or if I have managed to make it all up in my head. (bascially when i was younger i wanted attention and ended up faking depression for a year straight and was an absolute ass to my friends and blah blah blah)

[avo-kat]

sometimes i see a Bad Take, then hover over the ops name and see their bio and almost always it says that the op is 19 or 20. so instead of getting annoyed i just scroll past.

im not saying young people are stupid, but this gives me an explanation how somebody would come to this conclusion. they simply havent yet learned enough about topic x and its understandable why they have come to this opinion actually, because i have had bad takes when i was younger, too. (and still do obv.)

its just always a bit... i see a post with a lot of notes, see its a bad take, feel myself getting angry or annoyed, but then i check out the bio and go, ah, i see how it is.

theres no point to this, but this happened a few times now and it makes me think just what a strange creation tumblr is.

when i make my lil text posts it feels like im posting into the void. i dont really think about how all these people that are following me are going to read this and may have their own thoughts about it. and may even answer. and i almost definitely do not imagine one post of mine suddenly getting thousands of notes and a lot of people from completely different "bubbles" seeing what i wrote and having a multitude of different reactions to it. its very strange.

there was one poll made by somebody on tumblr that a friend of mine shared on discord because it was kinda funny, because the poll was so obviously ignoring large demographics on tumblr - but then i realized, well, duh? if i make a silly poll for my circle of mutuals/followers, im def not thinking how some other fandom circles will react to my poll. if i mainly interact with ppl with my interests, especially newer fandoms that have mainly younger fans, i would prob not think to include things i dont even *know about*. me asking what anime was the first anime my circle watched and listing anime that i *know of* and that have been *the first* i was aware due to my age does not mean im a stupid, naive, exclusionist dumb kid or whatever.

idk. i guess what im saying is just another repeat of: not every post is adressing u.

tumblr is a strange creation of private blogs connected to thousands of other private blogs and u can simply "copy" somebody else's post on your own blog and everybody sees that. its weird.

[enzo-zzz]

A vent on the fandom + cg

If you dont wanna hear any negativity, please just ignore this post. It includes dissatisfication on the yttd fandom and ongoing belief in it. I'm not going to use very kind words here, so just ignore this post. 3b spoilers included.

I like yttd so much, but the english fandom, i cannot interact because how toxic it is. Even the smallest different of which route you choose, will attract anyone to abuse, harrass, ridicule or humiliate you. And to be truth, there are many of them who are so judgemental, to the point that there is only one thing that are right and the other are wrong. Black and white mindset. The term "canon route" is what fans created itself. I guess there are many of them who are teens or kids, since most of kids who havent grown up yet tend to lean towards black and white mindset, even if they believe they are not. If you find people who keep arguing especially on social media, you can bet that its teens. Adult are too tired to involve in things like fighting with strangers. There is one time when the poll asked your age and the age range quite small to teens age. I guess thats why i think so.

OTHER THAN THAT, THERE'S ONE THING I'M ANNOYED WITH. ABOUT THE CG AND HOW THE FANDOM DECIDES THAT THE MORE CGS, THE MORE CANON IT IS. To be perfectly honest, i'm the one who came up with the analysis that on certain route 2-2 ending the cg is more. But people really use it the wrong way and now thought that anything that has more cg is the canon route. The word canon route is wrong in itself, who tf come up with the term canon route in yttd? Is the reason for creating two route is for one to be canon only, or for sparing different characters, or for having different storyline? (I personally think that on different route, the story will change and the ones who got to live at last is probably different ). Now i see those who misuse that information everywhere. "In sou route 2-2 ending evil joe AI dont even have new cg but in kanna route he has. See how biased the devs are? he should have drawn more if he really meant the route to be the canon one. Kanna route will get happy ending, sou route is bad ending." I think thats stupid. B*tch, he keep reusing his old art here and there. You can check for yourself. Joe and midori has same hand based on the cg? He's just reusing the hand art. The arm in 3b and 1-1 is the same arm he reuse. Sou and kanna 2-2 ending basically use the same sou drawing, he just changed it a bit. Sara in 2-2 kanna ending use the same cg as when keiji try to calm her in front of computer, he just changed the face. Midori and sara on the 3b game screen cg basically use the same cg in the 3b content, but changed a bit. So i can think why need to create new cg when joe is still malicious as the hallucination in 2-2 sou ending? If i want to create something i will also reuse this to save my time.

So if you wanna really use this cg argument, then maybe you can consider why alice memory game got so many more cg than reko's? and how ranmaru gone insane has so many new sprite and pose with the hair like that. And why when dummy is dead they got cg's. Especially the ranmaru dying one, he got moving cg's and how it was put more effort into that. Then that means dummy dying is actually the canon route since when they alive they got no addtional cg? This is my assumption, but i think the devs just do as many cg as it takes depends on how impactful the scene he's working on, not because its canon, thats really a lazy take if he is actually unwilling to do extra route but still forcing himself to do it anyway. Imagine if dummy is dying but no cg, instead a message " ranmaru/mai/anzu died ". Do you think that will really give impact to you? This game clearly hinting that joe is going to be the spotlight of the game, even in 3b. So when sou set the real joe ai in kanna route for sara, the script is written for the real joe to genuinely react to sara. of course thats going to be heartwrenching since joe himself is the very important part of sara's life. When the script is made that way, lacking of cgs will hamper down the storytelling nankidai genuinely want to deliver. All i can say is it come from the heart of the author himself. If it is just only text for something as tearful as that moment and no cgs, it wont really touch the feeling isnt it? It is the same with alice memory game that tells about how alice "kill" midori. I'm not sure how many it is but atleast there is 3 cgs with one of them has variant. The story of how alice kill midori is also important and should have impact, thus the extra CG's. I can say its about being passionate and indulged in the storytelling.

I dont even know if joe will ever heal sara in sou route, but based on how the story still keep joe relevant til the end, then there must be something that need to happen between them in the end right? Nankidai even made sure that sara see the dog keychain in 3a if player probably choose to not ask gin about the dog keychain he's hiding in ch 2. Its also for relating ranmaru and joe. Having closure or conclusion with joe in the middle of game is still valid, and having a closure with joe at the end of the game is still valid. Imo, having closure with joe at the end of the game after all of those suffering involving him makes the better climax or impact for sara chara development since the game build up to highlight joe and mr. Policeman, it can be even better if all of it are to be pull together in the ending.

Even if the devs has route he prefer, he's not abandoning any route he less prefer, only if its true that he ever have a route he prefer. Plus you dont know which route he's prefer if any. He's taking his work seriously, it just some "fans" looking down on him, even to the point calling him biased, he's punishing the one who take another route, treating like he only use his career for egostatiscal reason (it somehow clearly mirrors that you are the one who egostatiscal to the point of wanting to find any excuse to punish other, you just using the devs name to validate your mindset). If he's dislike people who chose that route that much, then why create that route? If he know its tiring to make alternate route, then why still make the choice to let 3 dummy alive route at the end? It will make more work. I can only assume its out of passion, or just that he deep down wants the character to be alive atleast in a route ( idk if this is correct, i just read google translated version of his public fanbox that he's actually very reluctant at first when the time comes and "crying" so hard when he had to kill joe in chapter 1. So the part where he wants to spare some character is only my assumption ). By this punishing logic, shouldnt he not make alice die when you push reko ai to spare gin, and only do it to those who dont push the ai to save gin by killing real reko? I am more sure that the variants is to tell a different story or who to spare, and specifically for who sara actually was.

Happy endings? I'm not sure. I've expected that once from story with a lot of deaths, wishing for atleast the protagonists alive. Anime or story with a lot of death is definitely my jam, but from what i see, most of them has bittersweet ending, it depends on how the author wants it to be. Some author dont mind killing them all till the end, and some author just easily kill them all because they plan to revive them later. And everyone sense is different. Some japanese people sense in storytelling is a bit different imo. As the one being the audience, happy endings is the most common wish the audience wants. But its all up to the sense of the author. This is why i'm annoyed with some kids from overseas who rarely watch or play many things that involves a lot of death from japan suddenly says that this "one happy ending, this one bad ending! Everyone will survive in this route, everyone dead in this route"

Just play any route you like, nothing wrong with that. Whats wrong is to start this war of ridiculing others or have that irritating attitude towards those who play their own first route and start bad mouthing or desperately throwing bad assumption that one route will end very bad just for the sake of feeling better for your choice and to scare others.You do know that when you read a book, you'll only know if the overall story is good or bad until you know the ending right? The ending will conclude everything that happened. What happening in the fandom is now like, you only read 3/4 of the book and already expecting that this one will have good ending and bad ending. What if its not about the binary, but for the difference in direction? Its not that bad if the story of the book is kinda predictable, but with how plot twists become the main part of yttd's charm, its getting more difficult to predict how it will end. There's a lot of story which was masterpiece in every part as seen by fans, until the ending hits. Its what the author wants, but its not what the fans wants.

If you pick fights with others, even passively, the consequence is all on you. Good luck taking care of your mess.

Thats why i'm reluctant to publish any theory because the fandom will always use it as an excuse to pick fights with other and say " i'm more right bcs i got this proof" . U see in my caption i dont want any of those harasser to even digest my theory. If you are one of them get out of my blog.

[sweet-sammy-kisses]

The Annual Shipping Polls

Fandom: Batman/DC Pairings: Dick/Tim, Bruce/Diana, Roy/Kory/Jason, Stephaine/Cassandra, mentions of fandom Kon/Tim, fandom SuperBats Summary: Dick is brooding, Jason is amused, Tim is confused, Damian is annoyed, Stephanie and Babs want to knock some heads, and Cass and Diana are all-knowing. Author notes: This is my first time writing Dick/Tim and I owe a huge thank you to @iphoenixrising who’s amazing Tim stories got me longing to write my own Tim stories. 

Like many things Jason will claim that it was all Roy’s fault he discovered it first and after laughing for several moments sought out Jason.

It was the annual shippers poll that happened once a year where fans of superheroes would vote for their favorite ship as they went head to head to see who would win. There was favorite slash, female slash, het, poly and superheroes, and their villains.

When it was first discovered an amused Lois sent the links to Clark.

Diana had been amused.

Bruce grunted and glared.

Clark feared just a little for his life.

SuperBats had won favorite slash pairing while WonderBat had won for favorite het pairing and The Trinity had won for favorite poly pairing.

It stayed like that for many years until other heroes started appearing Wally and Dick to their amusement learned that they were a much loved BirdFlash and one of the few that could give SuperBats a run for their money but sadly always came a little short of beating them. Nightwing/Starfire was a much-loved pairing and one year managed to defeat WonderBat only for the WonderBat fans to come back next year and claim their crown.

To Barry Allen's shock and Leonard Snart amusement, ColdFlash was undefeatable as the fans' favorite hero/villain pairing. No one was really surprised when those two actually did end up together.

Roy had been checking to see where the Outlaws ranked and was pleased to see that they had won favorite poly pairing. "Finally, good to see that people have some good taste."

Continuing on Roy fought back the laughter when he saw that Nightwing/Red Hood had made it pretty far. "Oh, this is priceless." Roy printed out he wondered how long it would last before Jason used it for target practice.

Moving up the list Roy was waiting to see that once again SuperBats was named as the top slash pairing only to stop and stare. "No way."

But it was there SuperBats was in second place.

"JASON! SOMEONE BEAT SUPERBATS!" Roy shouted with glee.

Jason was at Roy's side in a second all but shoving him out of the way he was a little bummed to see that Bruce and the boy scout were no longer number one, he loved using it to annoy Bruce. Jason loved the little twitch Bruce developed when Jason brought it up. "Who beat them?" Jason growled out. "It better not be me and Dickie!" Jason could do so much better than Dick. 'So could replacement but for some reason, he is hooked on him.'

Roy's body hummed with amusement, "A new version of SuperBats."

For several moments Jason could only stare at the computer screen as he processed what he had just read. “Oh, this is just too good.” Forget teasing Bruce this was glorious.

+*****+

Diana Prince -Wayne wasn't at all surprised when Jason breezed into the cave a mischievous look on his face. She knew that she shouldn't play favorites and she did her best not to but Jason out of all of Bruce's partners had a special place in her heart. "I take it that you have seen the outcome of the latest results of the annual polls?" She knew that Jason loved to tease Bruce about the fact that people loved the Batman with Superman he had even gone as far one year to cover the cave in fanfics and fanart of the couple and even got Babs to have the bat computer play Superman's theme for every little thing.

A small smile appeared on Jason's face she was one the few people that he genuinely liked to see. Personally, Jason thought Diana could do better she is fucking Wonder Woman after all! But for some reason that Jason couldn't understand she had fallen in love with Bruce. 'Bruce is one lucky son of a bitch.' "I did indeed but I am going to wait until everyone is here to tell the wonderful news."

"Just go easy on Dick, he is still in denial." Diana already knew she was curious about the outcome of these polls and she knew what had Jason so happy.

Jason knew that Diana had a point, he wasn't blind he saw the glances Dick tossed Tim’s way when he thought no one was looking, the longing and desire to fix things. Jason knew that Dick’s feelings for Tim were far from brotherly but he wouldn't act on them. Dick still carried guilt when he made Tim think that he wasn't wanted anymore when he took Robin from him and gave it to Damian, Tim was just starting to come back to realize that they did want him and Dick wouldn't risk Tim running away again.  

"Alright, I won't tease Dickie too much," Jason promised.

"That is all I ask of you." Diana smiled serenely at him before pulling out a copy of a much loved Jane Austen novel, "Something to keep you entertained until the others get here."

Taking the novel Jason pressed a kiss on Diana's cheek, "And this is why you are my favorite."

+*****+

Dick Grayson stepped one foot in the cave and saw that Jason was already there, the grin on his face promising a good time for Jason and humiliation for anyone but him. Dick knew what day it was today but he never cared much about it, unlike Jason who loved it, mostly because he loved to tease those who won.

Jason grinned at the look of dread on Dick and Tim's face, the grin that grew as Bruce looked even more gloomy than normal.

Stephanie's hand in hand with Cassandra entered the cave with a bounce and a wide smile on her face, "Guess who won favorite female couple?" She beamed at Cass who returned it with a small smile.

Tim smiled at them, he was happy his favorite sister and Stephanie had found happiness with each other. "Like there was any doubt."

Stephanie preened, "It just shows that people have good taste."

Tim did not like the look on her face, it matched the one Jason was wearing.

“It would seem that after many years ranking at the top SuperBats has been at last defeated!” Jason announced.

Bruce grunted he didn't understand why people shipped him and Clark together but he was curious as to who finally dethroned them. ‘Maybe this will finally stop Hal and Barry from sending me SuperBats fanfiction and artworks.’

An unholy gleam appeared in Jason's eyes, the look that he aimed at Dick and then Tim before pulling up the article on his phone, “Yes folks, it has finally happened the long regaining SuperBats has been defeated by another that has been gaining on them for years. Congratulations Superboy and Red Robin.”

“WHAT?!”

Dick’s enraged bellow sent bats flying as Tim could only stare at Jason.

"Kon and me?" Tim could understand why people shipped them, best friends to lovers was a very popular trope but he didn't think that he and Kon had that big of a following. He felt kinda flattered even if he never thought of Kon like that. No his heart belonged to only one person.

An annoyed look appeared on Damian's face, he didn't understand why Todd and Brown made such a big deal about these foolish polls. "Ridiculous, if anyone should have defeated father it should have been Grayson and Drake they have been pining over one another for years it is sickening."

Dick and Tim both paled, both had been so sure that they hid their feelings for each other so well that no one else in the family knew, let alone their crush.

"Silly." Cassandra moved away from Stephanie coming to stand between Dick and Tim she took their hands in hers.  "Love each other. Stop denying it."

“I couldn't have said it better. Everyone is tired of the two of you pining for one another." Babs voice echoed around the cave, no one was surprised that she hacked the comm system.

Rising gracefully to her feet Diana took Bruce's hand in hers. "I think that we should give them a few moments alone."

Never one to deny his princess Bruce led Diana from the cave. 'At least now I don't have to put up with Jason decorating my cave with all that artwork of Clark and I.'

Dick and Tim avoided looking at one another as the cave emptied as their family left them alone.

"Do I need to worry about you going after Kon with a chunk of kryptonite?" Tim found himself asking the last thing he wanted was for Kon to be in danger.

'Now that is an idea.' Dick was tempted, oh was he ever tempted to take some and hunt down Kon and ask him what his intentions were towards Tim. 'No Tim would be mad at me.' Dick forgot the idea right away.

Dick looked at Tim and was once again blown away at how beautiful Tim was. "All I want for you is to be happy and if that is with Kon then so be it."

"Kon and I are friends, best friends but just friends." Tim wanted to say, 'How can I be in love with Kon when I am in love with you?'

"You're in love with me?"

Tim's eyes widened in horror as he realized he had just said that out loud. Slapping his hands over his mouth Tim took a step back.

Only Dick followed his moves smooth and seductive until he had Tim pinned between him and a workbench. "Answer me baby bird. Are you in love with me?"

Tim was tempted he could nerve strike Dick and high tailed it out of the cave but he knows that Dick will just follow him. "I have been for so long. Before I even knew what love was."

Reaching out a hand Dick cupped Tim's face and nudged his head up to look him in the eyes, "I love you too, pretty bird. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to push you away not when you have just returned to us." Dick explained.

Tim was sure that his heart was pounding so loudly that Dick could hear it. "Kiss me?" Tim pleaded softly.

Dick's face lit up in a smile, "Nothing would make me happier, pretty bird." Dick had dreamed of his moment for so long and nothing he had imagined was like the real thing. Tim fit perfectly against him like Tim was made just for him.

+*****+

Jason grinned as he heard Bruce mutter about "slideshows" and "protection" this turned out even better than he thought and if Dickie got one his nervous he had tons of Baby Bird and Superboy artwork saved away for revenge.

[toooldforfandom-liveblogs]

RWBY V07E04 - Pomp and Circumstance

For some reason the title really reminds me of Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility, Pomp and Circumstance and Pride and Prejudice. It almost fits. It makes me think of Weiss, but maybe that's because I got spoiled about the title and the thumbnail had Ruby looking at Weiss.

Pomp also makes me think about doing things for show. A theory I had earlier in the season was that Robyn Hill was a prop for Jacques, to set up an election that ultimately wouldn't matter, to give it a veneer of legitimacy. It could also be about Ironwood's security theater, but is it theater when the threats are very real?

I don't know so... let's do this!

IS THAT A SHEEP FAUNUS!? I already love them.

Also, that symbol is from Robyn Hill's group. Are they spying because they intend to sabotage Ironwood's operation or are they there simply for information?

What's with the facial tattoos? First Vine and now this guy. Is it a religious thing? It could also be a clan thing, maybe they were both from the same bandit group before going different paths or something like that.

This looks like a military recruitment ad.

OH

MY

GOD

Oooh. I like this.

I bet at some point this season the show is going to go "but RWBY is better because they are friends and power of friendship etc" but it's very realistic to show a group of colleagues that work very well together but are not really friends.

Volume 4-5 according to a lot of the fandom.

So Tyrian _is_ picking targets specifically to cause unrest. But what's the end goal? Cinder's goal was to cause enough unrest she could kill the maiden without much interference. Are they trying to repeat that process to steal the relic? Maybe they want to cause enough unrest in Atlas so that the Kingdom won't be able to provide support to Vacuo when Salem attacks it?

That's the Schnee logo. Welp, time for Jacques and possibly Whitley. Is Weiss going to confront them or avoid them?

Wow. I love _love_ the animation here. Just the slightest reaction at being noticed.

Sassy Weiss is best Weiss.

Oh fuck off.

AAAAAAAAAAAA

This made me get teary-eyed. It means _so_ much that it's Blake the one who grabs Weiss's hand to support her. The entire team is obviously behind her, but there's _history_ between Blake and Weiss. They just talked about this last episode (to set up this). That hand hold is seven volumes of progress, of friendship and forgiveness.

My heart. This is too much.

Ruby's change of expression is everything. Yang smiles too, but her smirk is more "Yeah, so get out of here." Ruby's smile is like Christmas came early.

For a second I thought Weiss was going to cry and that would have made me cry too. The way they all turned to check on her because they know how hard this was for Weiss...

She totally did it on purpose. Wow, her face.

This episode was already too good and now Penny? I feel blessed. Also, Blake jumping like a startled cat is _everything_ I didn't know I needed in my life. Wow.

This episode can't get better than this.

Winter looks like she's absolutely done with Penny but resigned to her life.

AAAAAAAAAA

This episodes confirms their emotional growth _and_ their professional one.

They definitely deserve their licenses but I wonder how much of a coincidence this is considering this is definitely going to put a stop to Jacques's plans to annoy James since I doubt he can complain about Weiss now that she's a licensed huntress.

Another knife twist in Ruby's heart.

He obviously expected a bit more... excitement from everyone. The show is really doing its best to make Ruby's lie as uncomfortable as possible for everyone.

...considering Pietro made Yang's arm and Penny, wouldn't that make them some-kind-of-fraction-sisters?

That's the most awkward smile I have ever seen and I love it.

That "others" sounded a _lot_ like Iroh from ATLA.

AND YES! FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT! THERE'S A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT THEY ARE DOING! THANK YOU SHOW!

And the episode somehow got better.

And better.

Ruby was _dying_ to do that to someone since Elm showed her the possibilities of being strong. Also, Ruby has grown so much! Or Penny's new body is a lot lighter than the last time she tried to hold her up.

...I kinda like that hair style for Penny.

Elm is the best character this show has introduced since... I don't know, but a long time.

Jaune is 100% going to end up having to defend those kids from Grimm and become a hero somehow.

Yeah, Elm is the best.

This kills some of the theories I had since this means there wasn't any plan _before_ this scene. Jacques wasn't "in" until now.

It's like someone read my "less punchy, more talky" complaint about last episode and decided to give me everything I have ever wanted from a RWBY episode.

I was expecting Robyn Hill in this episode since she's so prominently featured in the OP but we _did_ get a bit, with that couple of people bearing her symbol. They know what's going on so I wonder if they'll attack or sabotage Amity Arena at some point. It'd be easy to misinterpret what's going on (orbital weapons.)

The Ace-Ops being excellent colleagues but not necessarily friends is great but the show is 100% going to show how being friends is better at some point. Something about trust, maybe they are going to suspect each other because of some manipulation by Watts and RWBY is going to stand firm due to their friendship?

I'm not sure how to interpret Ruby's talk about wanting to go exploring. It's not like she hates doing missions and spending more time with her friends is always a good thing but maybe there's something more than that going on. Maybe she wants to distract herself from everything that's going on?

I'm glad that the episode confirmed that Tyrian is specifically killing Ironwood's opposition, it makes a lot of sense if their objective is civil unrest. I'm somewhat worried about how they are going to handle this plot though but maybe I'm just being too sensitive because South America is going through a lot lately, all related to how weak all of our democracies really are. So, seeing it here in RWBY is making me go "hmm" Hopefully they'll handle it well.

After that the episode starts going up and it just never stops. How awesome was to see Weiss stand up to her father _and_ get the support of everyone, Blake especially? TOO AWESOME, THAT'S HOW AWESOME IT WAS. And heartwarming. And cute. And everything. It means so much!

And then Penny!

And then the licenses!

The introspection about how much they have changed and how much (or little) the licenses mean after everything they have gone through!

It's like the writers went and took a peak at all the character develoment everyone has gone through and decided "you know what, it's time to show what all of that was for" and it was perfect.

And then Qrow talks about Summer!? I can't really blame Qrow for the lack of information in the past, it's not like Ruby has ever been show asking anything. BUT YES, FINALLY SOME INFO. And they managed to make the mystery around summer actually grow! It wasn't a Ozpin mission, it was something for Summer herself.

I wonder how long Qrow and Tai waited before they gave up. The show still hasn't confirmed her death but I'm not sure I _want_ her to be alive. The show seems to be saving that card up its sleeve until it's time but I wish they confirmed it one way or another.

Qrow supporting Ruby in her decision is so good. The show has been really intent in showing how uncertain Ruby and the team are about that choice so I'm glad at least Qrow knows what's up and straight up tells her how different it is from what Ozpin was doing. It's still a mystery about how Ironwood is going to react but I think this talk confirmed her decision as the right choice even if it ends up hurting the general's trust in them in the future (it moves the responsibility of whatever happens from Ruby to Ironwood)

I feel everyone is going to die in the next couple of episodes because the episode was so good and heartwarming. Like, something bad _has_ to happen and Watts reunion with Jacques confirms that that's where things are going to go.

I'm very happy but also very worried.

Until next time!

PS: I’m running a very informal poll about what I should liveblog next after Gravity Falls.

[daikenkki]

MrDonald09: Since Series 22, what new change has annoyed you the MOST??

tttedrawings: Fantasy sequences and the intro/life lessons outro, they just make the episodes shorter, and most of the time aren't really needed at all.

MrDonald09: Ah yes unfortunately you can only have 4 options on Twitter polls, I’m sure the list would be huge if you could have more.

MasonDey1: To me the whole concept of the Steam Team is just pointless.

MrDonald09: Yeah it limits the characters that are used most of the time.

PSideplates: I voted for bouncing since it's closest to the general "kids show" tone that BWBA takes on. It really is like watching a show you put on for your 3 year old so you can leave the room in peace. It hurts to watch. If we were getting the Brenner era where the engines bounced, had ugly details, went worldwide, and got Nia and Rebecca, I'd be miffed but accept it. But BWBA just claims to be TTTE and acts like a generic preschool show. And I don't wanna be in a position where I'm an adult watching a preschool show.

MrDonald09: Agreed. I feel proud to be a fan when I watch classic era and Brenner era, but if it was like BWBA throughout the whole show I can tell you I would not be supporting it now.

TCKRangeltoon: I blame Chuggington.

PSideplates: I don't. Chuggington ended before they came up with BWBA. If anything, Chuggington made the market for train toys/shows competitive which forced HiT to make good Thomas products, well toys anyway.

ronniethe14xx: Honestly, disagree with the point it's the most general kids show tone. Travelling seems to be the new hip and cool thing to do in kids shows, I'd argue that makes it slightly worse then the bouncing because it's clear Thomas only jumped on that trend to be "hip".

JovanniChavez11: Faster pace and Thomas losing his identity. I don’t mind Thomas going on a trip but that wasn’t the way to handle it.

MrDonald09: Yes. IMO it should have stopped after the BWBA special, I think it should have only been a special.

Bostonthomasfan: Don’t really mind the bouncing but it can be over done at times. For around the world? I wish there were more episodes on Sodor and less around the world. Like 18-8 would be good.

MikeArc31375512: The bouncing. Loathe it with a passion.

ThomasTVNostal1: The thing I hate is constant arguing over opinions.Some people have been told to fuck themselves for disliking an episode of BWBA that the majority of the fandom likes and vice versa. This is unacceptable. As a fandom, we're a team and we help each other out.

ChillerB3: The forced feminism with Nia, Rebecca and the newer Steam Team really rubbed me the wrong way, more than hyper bouncing and worldwide shit did.

MrDonald09: Same, especially how the majority of the audience really doesn’t care about that, having more females, great! but don’t mess with many people’s childhood to make SJWs and toxic feminists happy cuz I guarantee you the people who wanted this change probably don’t even like the show.

ryanburges4472: I didn't read properly and the real thing since Series 22 that has annoyed me the most is the bouncing. I've been more bothered about the steam team without Henry (Just Henry). I'm happy with Edward sleeping at Wellsworth.

MrDonald09: Yeah, I completely agree honestly i’m not mad that Edward isn’t in the Steam Team anymore. It's Henry that annoys me the most.

ryanburges4472: I know! Gordon and James sleeping at Tidmouth without Henry. Edward is best at Wellsworth because he has a branch line which stars from Wellsworth.

CoolCar161: Henry and Edward stopped appearing as much anyway. They haven’t been good characters since series 4, even in the Brenner era they had little to no appearances due to writer's block. Rivets is a nice little detail that makes them seem more real, Thomas always wanted to see the world and the bouncing is hardly that bad.

TheBlueE21: Thomas' world tour. It's so inconsistent. Doesn't tie into the movie that hyped it up, never explains why or for how long Thomas is in each country, 1 ep he's in China, then Brazil etc then Sodor eps act as though he never left due to always being there. Plus most sets aren't great.

halfbakedhex8: For the record, I voted the 'rivets' option because the inclusion of the new detailing runs so counter to what the show is now, that trying to inflict reality onto the now-very-unreal engines feels very confused as to what the show is trying to achieve.

BluebellThEngin: The "bouncing" doesn't bother me much at first, but as time went on, it starts to get a little out of control and it kinda bugs me. I don't have a problem with the added details like the rivets, but they do look a little too big. Shrink them in size and they'll be okay. I'm mixed on Thomas travelling around the world if I'm being honest. The new Steam Team is what bugs me the most out of all of these options. I never liked it to begin with (minus my child self). It makes the other characters look useless. What I love about the Classic Series is we got lots of stories about almost each and every single one of them it makes the series interesting. But with the Steam Team, not only does it focus on the main characters so much, but it also brings them out of character. Especially if it's for the sake of the plots.

fan_ttte: The New Steam Team with Nia and Rebecca is what I don’t like most. I don’t mind the bouncing or rivets, Thomas going worldwide is okay. I don't know, I just feel like it would’ve been better if Nia and Rebecca did join, but also keep the others, for some interesting interactions and episodes.

islandofodor: If Thomas hadn’t gone worldwide, we’d probably still be in the Brenner era. Granted, it’d still be a slight step down but the international episodes barely take advantage of the different setting and opt to use generic plotlines that we’ve already seen on Sodor.

thesaddletank18: Bouncing, rivets and worldwide idea are bad but the new Steam Team is just....why was this done to the show?

Jacob34335638: I liked the new details, I’m mixed on the New Steam Team, and Thomas travelling the world. But the bouncing is what pisses me off the most, it literally makes the show look like Chuggington. The bouncing was at it’s worst in Journey Beyond Sodor and Thomas’ Magical Birthday Wishes.

TWR_Douglas_10: ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!!!!!

DFox1203: Is everything an option?

TheWinnerGuyCJP: Voted worldwide cuz it makes Thomas completely out of character.

SoupyGunzilla: I think a lot of the stories suffer from the shorter time. A lot of them could be better if they had more time.

kofi_milky: The bouncing, more sing alongs, replacing Edward and Henry with Nia and Rebecca. Even Thomas going worldwide. When the Rev. W. Awdry said "Here is your friend Thomas the Tank Engine. He wanted to come out of his station yard and see the world", the world that's he meant is Sodor.

sodordaily: Choosing New Steam Team because I miss the old SO MUCH!

peter_sam_no4: I think for me the bouncing as it’s so unrealistic . A 1 ton lump of metal can not swing all over the place like it has no weight.

Growlithemaste1: I hate the bouncing the most, but the rest are all useless too.

sixteen_dnw: Worst is the New Steam Team, then worldwide, then rivets, and then bouncing. TBH it doesn’t bother me too much.

BearsFlush: It annoys me that Thomas travels the world, as they remove chapters that might be focus on Sodor, and the locations and some engines are not represented correctly on the railroad.

VacentTest: I’m fine with the New Steam Team changing Edward and Henry out for Nia and Rebecca, I’ve always supported it in the beginning because increased feminism is good. Thomas going worldwide, that didn’t annoy me cause I was interested in that, the rivets is minor and nothing to worry about. But the bouncing, annoyed me the most at first but I’m used to it.

SnatchyBoi: The bouncing and the New Steam Team.

GWREngine: The New Steam Team is the most annoying change. It feels like Mattel doesn't care how special Edward, Henry, and Toby are. Plus we don't need to have more than 1 female main character. Emily being the only girl used to make her special. With Nia and Rebecca around, she isn't special anymore.

TurnTable2002: Chris Renshaw's music really annoys me.

MichaelfromNZ1: Bouncing, worldwide and New Steam Team. They represent how far Thomas has fallen since Mattel fully took over.

ArmchairRailway: New Steam Team.

TI4MGP: This is probably the hardest time I’ve had deciding on one of your polls lol. I went with the Steam Team though, but bouncing comes in a REALLY REALLY close second. The other two are less but equal with each other.

jack_bench: TBH, I'm fine with all of them? But I chose bouncing because the rivets are neat, world-tour - while it makes no sense - has a valuable goal (and is kinda fun), and the Steam Team really needed more female representation which we got with two positive role models in Nia and Rebecca. Bouncing is unnecessary, but not horrendous.

Holycro1Michael: Everything!

JosefSnowBall: Rivets was something I actually liked seeing on some engines. Bouncing is something I’m OK with, it’s kind of grown on me. New Steam Team sucks because it gets rid of the 2 best engines, Edward and Henry, and Thomas worldwide sounded like a bad idea to begin with.

TheThomasFan: Probably Thomas going worldwide . The animation is shit and it’s all just recoloured.

TheUnluckyTug: The new Steam Team. I think I'd be a little more accepting of BWBA if Edward and Henry weren't so transparently and obviously thrown to the side and treated as if they don't exist. It was like the biggest "fuck you" to fans ever.

MrDonald09: Yeah, not to mention Nia and Rebecca have such generic personalities they can barely hold a unique episode nowadays. I can understand Edward staying at Wellsworth but they did Henry DIRTY by slapping him at Vicarstown so he can focus on his Mainland duties yet not do any episode focused on this new job.

SteamEn83954980: Ok so ignoring Emily, it was a perfect 1-7 number of characters and now it's just 1, 18, 22, 4, 5, 6 and 12. Like I know it's minor but that fact gets under my skin.

DBlue02: I voted for the bouncing, but yeah, I kinda have to agree with Simon Martin’s opinion on the Steam Team concept, it’s long since overstayed its welcome. I’d prefer a nice balance of the main and side characters getting their share of the spotlight, like in the classic seasons.

TFan512: What if Edward, Henry, Nia and Rebecca were all part of the main cast.