#Really really really wish the writers handled her character better

[iscdisc]

I am wondering I know you mentioned you ship jonetello and such. I was wondering what is your opinion on Raph? And what’s your favorite ship with him?

I like 2012 Raph ! I find his character relatable a majority of the time and I wish his anger issues were handled differently / written better- 😭👍

If you're asking me if I ship 2012 Raph and Casey, I don't-! Nothing against people who do, of course ! I just personally don't see it, and I think how their dynamic was handled in the show plays a part in that perspective-! But ultimately I just see those two platonically ! (I apologize if you weren't asking this though-! I just thought maybe you were because you brought up my enjoyment of 2012 Donnie and Casey, so I assumed you might've been wondering if I shipped 2012 Raph and Casey also since I get that question a lot-!)

However, I do ship 2012 RaMona and 2012 Raphril (Fanonly, since my enjoyment of this ship is primarily founded upon April's character being written better / her character being handled very differently-) a lot ! I enjoy his relationship with Y'gthba ("Mona Lisa") a lot + I find 2012 RaMona to be the most tolerable canonical pairing (Though, I will admit I think a big reason for that is because they had the least amount of screentime compared to the other pairings the writers were trying to push, therefore they had the least amount of opportunities to ruin it in my opinion- Lmao), and I enjoy thinking about a relationship between Raph and April because of how similar they are !

2012 April and Raph are both very temperamental, they both have a strong sense of justice, they both have a difficult time expressing themselves / being vulnerable at times, they both aren't the most physically affectionate people (I know April gave Donnie kisses a lot, but that doesn't count to me since the writers were treating this like an "average girl behavior" which I disagree with completely + these were meant in a platonic way apparently since we see her get physically uncomfortable with hugging from Donnie or Casey, so- 💀), they both are very cocky and prideful, they both are very snarky and sarcastic, they both love animals (Raph with Spike / Chompy / and pigeons, and April with Ice Cream Kitty before she got mutated / a lone rat she encountered in, "I, Monster" / technically Dr. Rockwell before he regained his sense of self / etc.), they both have pretty reserved dispositions overall, they both are incredibly skeptical-

I just feel like Raph would have respected April the way that she deserved to be respected (Especially as a fighter, if that's truly what she wanted to pursue-), and April would have helped Raph feel very seen and understood as a individual (Especially with her psychic abilities, given how difficult it is for these two to express themselves, at least in my opinion-). I also think this growth in their relationship would have been substantiated by Raph not liking April right away because she was a human / him just being very distrustful of humans- Even though April turned out to not be entirely human, she's still very human passing (so to speak), so I feel like that wouldn't really matter to him, you know? Lmao

There's also the fact that I think they're very pleasing to the eye together design and color scheme wise ! I'm not sure if this point is as easy to convey though-? I feel like this might just be a me thing, since I feel the exact same way about 2012 Casey and Donnie- 😭👍✨

[gaykamenridermemes]

[idolomantises]

What do you think of The Owl House? Like, I liked and respect Dana a lot for what she's accomplished, but I also feel like everyone is just pretending that the show doesn't have any problems, as I felt that the cast was always very poorly developed from the beginning.

I like the show, I don't love it, but i think it's pretty good. TOH has a lot of really cool world building and lore, but I also found a lot of the characters really lacking. Three of my biggest annoyances were Luz, the characters having altered personalities after one episode and the underutilization of Luz's friends.

I think Luz is actually a great protagonist, my issue is when the show really loves to tease her as this flawed and morally complicated protagonist when... she isn't? any time she does something bad, its completely accidental. It's funny when the show first came out and people negatively compared her to Mabel because Mabel actually did make a lot of selfish and careless decisions that she had to grow from.

The show also had a bizarre habit of giving characters new personalities after their first appearance, and I think Amity is the worst offender of this. Her first appearance she's the generic mean girl bully, and this is used to create conflict and for Luz to befriend Willow. But then after that, all of a sudden she's super "cold" and keeps to herself, and the characters act like she's just the popular quiet girl? and then the show has the audacity to blame a lot of the bullying Amity did on her friends and parents. I have no clue why the flashback episodes portrayed it like Amity just watched as her friends bullied Willow, SHE was a part of that! Similar issue with Hunter. Introduced as a snarky brat, and then his next appearance he's incredibly angsty and depressed so the audience could sympathize with him. Willow and the Collector were also ones that stuck out to me, but it was a change that was subtle enough that I didn't notice.

I don't know why writers do this. I like it when your characters are messy and flawed, give them unlikable traits so we can watch them slowly be better people. Don't tell me someone is flawed and then don't give them flaws and don't tell me to sympathize with a character by just giving them a new personality.

I think everyone is pretty aware of how poorly utilized Luz's friends are but there are seriously so many episodes where I was like "why aren't Willow and Guz taking Amity's place". They really feel like a studio mandate.

Also Lumity is kind of boring but honestly, I don't really think its as big of a deal as some fans think it is. Lots of cartoons have straight couples that quarrel, get together and their relationship isn't the most compelling in the world, but its still pretty cute. If anything I do wish Amity would work through her issues more than have what little personality she had disappear when she dated Luz.

With your point about how fans handle criticism, admittedly I think part of the reason why people don't want to admit the show's problem is because Disney fucked it over MASSIVELY and it feels like punching down (at least to them). I think there's a very common mentality of "is it fair to criticize a show that never really got a chance to fully find its stride?"

But I also know this is just a massive problem with shows that have queer characters in general. There's just this prevalent attitude that if you have a problem with a piece of media that also happens to have queer characters, it means you're "ungrateful" or trying to insult it on purpose. Though personally, I think TOH fans are a lot better at handling and giving criticism.

[cecilysass]

My (Late, Sorry) Perihelion Review

I’m late on this, but I wanted to offer my review of Perihelion, the official XF novel released this summer. I am going to aim this mostly at people who haven’t read it, so I will go for no spoilers (or minimal spoilers as when you typically read a review), but I will add a little spoilers section at the end for those who have read it.

First off, I really liked this novel. I'd recommend it, especially to those who have Feelings about the revival, which is almost everyone I know who has watched the revival. I think one’s reaction to this novel is going to relate a lot to one’s reaction to the series finale, as the plot here is inextricably tied to the events of that episode. I found this story very satisfying because of how it handled those events while still trying to respect the feel of the show.

To give my own bias: I am not a big revival fan, but neither am I someone who ignores its existence. I think it has many problems and some unwatchable moments. I loathed the twist about William’s parentage with every fiber of my being. But I also find some elements of the revival to be kind of interesting, and there are moments I actually like. I am not someone who is going to stick my fingers in my ears and sing loudly and pretend nothing happened in this universe after the 90s. I’d even go so far as to say I LIKE revival fix-it stories; I have even written some myself.

More coming clean of my perspective on this: I have read the work of the author of Perihelion, Claudia Gray, before, both her work as a YA novelist and as a OG X-Files MSR fanfic writer. In fact, true story—years before Perihelion, I saw her speak in person about her other novels and she mentioned in the Q&A that she once wrote X-Files fanfic. I raced to figure out who she was on Gossamer. (She was Amy Vincent.) So I am a fan of this author, and I like that she’s an old school fan. 

To sum up the story very briefly, we resume action some months after the events of My Struggle IV. Scully is further in her pregnancy (just barely showing). She and Mulder have moved to a DC townhouse together, but aren’t quite back together. They are suspended from the X-files due to the events of MSIV, and they are staggering a bit with dealing with the grief and trauma of the revelations of that episode. In this context, they’re approached with not one but two serial killer cases, one that involves pregnant women and one that involves what remains of the Syndicate.

Part of Gray’s mission is very clearly to do damage control for the revival’s most egregious offenses, and honestly, this might be my favorite aspect of the book. It’s just emotionally cathartic to see someone do that in a pseudo-canonical text. (I say “pseudo-canonical” because CC backed away from this book a little, but whatever.) Because this is a CC approved book, Gray can’t settle any dangling plot threads completely conclusively, but she offers many suggestions that take us in a more hopeful path.

For example, she does very, very well at providing narrative context for Scully’s behavior in the last scene of MSIV. I’m referring to when Scully—who we saw give birth to William, be his mother, give him up in heartbreak, and then pine and wonder about him for years—suddenly rejects the same child as an “experiment” that was never theirs. This abrupt U-turn always felt like it perhaps could be explained as her entering into some self protective state of denial and emotional shutdown, but the show itself didn’t explain or earn that moment. Gray gives us a whole arc for Scully around this, and she shows how it relates to Mulder, too. It’s much, much better.

Actually, if I am not mistaken, Gray has in mind some intentional fix-it for the show overall. There are more diverse characters in this novel, including a nonbinary nurse (Casey) who plays a pivotal role and an informant who breaks the old demographic patterns. There is a moment in which Scully writes in her journal that she wishes her career at the FBI had not become so defined by her maternity. And while Scully is (again) targeted by those who want to do her ill, Gray seems to really, really resist her being victimized, her being overwhelmed with fear, or Mulder coming to her rescue. Gray gives us a confident, action hero preggo Scully. 

This novel often reminded me of fanfic in the best possible way. It reads sometimes like OG classic XF fic along the lines of Syntax6, which is absolutely a compliment. Yet it also was spot-on at recreating the "feel" of the show sometimes, especially in the characters' journal entries. By the end of the revival I came to hate voiceover monologues on TXF, but Gray found a way to tap into the charm of how they used to be in earlier seasons.

Delightfully, there are MANY deep references to past events and episodes—again, like in fanfic in the best way.  You know how on the show they almost never reference Emily again, and they almost never mention Melissa? Gray doesn’t forget. She also references making tape Xs on windows, Modell, Scully shooting Mulder, running in cornfields, going to Antarctica, and every single tiny thing that happened with William. She’s got a serious fan’s attention to show canon, which I appreciate. 

The novel is mostly about the casefile and their work-related questions. That said, it does include details like that they trade off cooking and that they both hope to be sharing a bedroom some time soon and both agents’ feelings about parenting, both William and the new baby. I would not say MSR is the main focus, but I also would describe this as an MSR story. More than that, though, it is a story about how they recover individually and together from what happened during MSIV.

The actual plot—the casefile(s) starts out very scary, even disturbing, but does (in my opinion) never quite reach climactic stakes. In part I think this has to do with Gray not wanting Scully to be victimized, which I am not going to argue with her about. But I also wonder if it’s because there are limited revelations Gray can make. I would have dropped some more reveals if it were my post-revival fic and I had no limits imposed on me. But it’s not … and she no doubt does. I do have the vibe that we are set up for additional novels in the series, which I would happily read—although I’d say at some point she is going to have to be allowed to make some reveals if she is going to continue the story.

There is one aspect of this novel I did fixate on a little too much. The story takes place directly after MSIV, so … 2018, right? Yet there are some references to specific pop culture (Wandavision, Andor) and some cultural references (remote work, hybrid work) that place the events of the story after 2020. I can only assume this is intentional, maybe to make it not matter what year exactly the revival happened and just set it “present day.” But because we are all mentally dating these characters from the original series, and because the ages of say, William, or pregnant Scully, do arguably matter, it’s confusing. This is such a Cecily thing to perseverate on, but it is what it is.

That said, I would definitely recommend to all interested fans. I listened on audiobook, by the way, which was fun, although Mulder's voice sounds a little like Keanu Reeves. Spoilers section to follow.

SPOILERS SECTION FOLLOWING. STOP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW. SPOILERS.

All things considered, Gray did a deft job of sort-of-kind-of-but-not-quite revealing information. She partially revealed to Scully that Jackson was alive, but she only gave that info to Scully through a source Scully wouldn’t entirely trust. She gave us a gender reveal but took pains to say “it wasn’t certain.” She hinted that Scully’s pregnancy (maybe even both of them?) was caused by her really young telomeres but didn’t confirm that either.

I found Scully’s tendency not to share info with Mulder in this novel to be very, very frustrating, although not entirely out of character. Failing to mention the telomere thing when he was theorizing about her newfound ability seemed really absurd. She didn’t even give it any consideration in her internal monologue, which was hard to understand. I know she doesn’t want to let him down or hurt him, but sometimes it’s just important, Scully.

The number one thing I kept thinking in the second half of the book—the thing that was never addressed, although perhaps it will if there are more books—is that there is a very possible explanation for Scully’s supposed abilities that nobody floated. Which is that it isn’t Scully who makes the electrical shit happen, but the fetus, picking up on Scully’s fear and adrenaline. I don’t see any reason why that couldn’t be true, but the exact mechanisms for these genetic abnormalities being spread were a little vague. I couldn’t figure out if this was just me thinking wild thoughts or if the book was really preserving room for this to be true.

Anyway, anyone else read it? What did y’all think? If you want to talk about it and discuss spoilers, mark them in case someone hasn’t read yet.

[ilikekidsshows]

Hi again, lololol. This is ask number 3

Was rewatching the Paris Special, forgot that alt!Marinette straight-up tried to use the wish to take our Marinette's place. She didn't hesitate, stole Claw Noir's miraculous as soon as she read about the wish in Marinette's diary (note: she also learned there's always a price to pay). The only reason it didn't work was because the Supreme interfered.

Obviously she's a "villain" version of our protag, so I'm not trying to necessarily say this reflects 1:1 on what our Marinette would do, but I still find it...compelling evidence. She's still the same person, the main difference between her and our Marinette is that she doesn't have a support network (as per her words: no kind mother, no best friend, no girlfriends, no supportive partner). So...put Marinette in a crappy enough situation, and precedent shows she'll go for it, potential consequences be damned (remember: she knows about the balance required by the wish/price to pay).

As for alt!Adrien...he's definitely on board with the idea of making the wish once he learns about it (though whether he knows about the price at this point is unclear). However, he gives up pretty quickly once our Adrien tells him someone else would have to lose their mother instead. Sure, Claw Noir doesn't really seem the type to care about collateral damage, as cataclysm-happy as he is. But the fact that he changes his mind after learning this? Gives up "the only thing [he wants]"? I can only conclude that even a villain!Adrien ultimately stops when he realizes the wish would cause another person pain (even if it meant he could alleviate his own). Baring complete character assassination, you cannot convince me Adrien would ever go all Hawk Moth

As it stands, alt!Marinette attempted the wish despite being aware of the consequences and only was stopped by a greater power. She later changes her mind because Marinette tells her to love herself and the world. Alt!Adrien changes his mind when he is given full context and learns the wish would harm someone else (and was encouraged to go out and make friends).

Ultimately Adrien and Marinette are both heroes/narratively the good guys, so I believe neither would actually go through with the wish. But if I had to chose, based on their respective personalities and precedent, my money's on Marinette.

(Also wasn't sure where to put this, but to clarify why immortality came up in someone else's ask, I did mention it briefly in my original ask, as a new flavor of the "Adrien can't live without Marinette/he'd use the wish" rhetoric. I didn't go into it at the time, but I was reacting to a poll I came across that was asking who would handle immortality without the other better. More people voted for Marinette, so I was feeling salty lololol. The true answer IMO is a secret third option, that both would heal. Immortality is...a long time)

---

Oh, I must have tunnel visioned over the immortality part of the ask. Tends to happen sometimes. But yeah, it's pretty much expected that the fandom thinks Marinette is the more resilient one between herself and Adrien because the writers are trying to get you to think like that despite all evidence to the contrary. Marinette can't make it past a single season without going through multiple emotional crises, while Adrien can just deal with anything done to him outside of literal mind control. In addition, not viewing Marinette as unforgivable for the gaslighting requires you to at least somewhat buy into the idea that Marinette's “good intentions” are an acceptance excuse, that shielding Adrien's supposed fragile mental state is important.

And, yeah, while I do think Marinette would have a harder time coping, she also has a well-established ability to get new members into her support network with ease. Marinette would find new people to lean on as she lost the previous ones, easily. It's what happened with the transition from Socquoline to Alya. Over half the cast is catering to her comfort. She’d be fine eventually, she’d just have a harder time getting there than Adrien.

The thing about the wish is, the writers are once again inconsistent and make the wish’s morality unclear. It was wrong for Shadybug and Claw Noir to want to make it, but Gabriel making a wish led to a happy utopian ending for season 5, and, like, I don't think the writers mean to undo it because our protagonist in the protagonist-centered morality show is happy as a clam. And, because of Marinette's Keeping Secrets Arc, the characters aren't discussing why Gabriel gets a free pass ro make a wish. Is it because he ultimately made a selfless wish to sacrifice himself instead of anyone else? But neither the characters nor the audience know what he wished for, probably to use the wish to handwave future retcons and inconsistencies away, so we can't actually know it was selfless. So, if making the wish isn't inherently bad, it must have been that Shadybug’s specific wish was wrong, which was to steal main Marinette's happy life, or the nature of the sacrifice. I’m pretty sure the writers wouldn't go so far in their morally confused writing as to make Marinette sacrifice someone else to get Adrien back. If she could sidestep that cost, though, she’d be all for it, because apparently rebooting the world is an okay thing to do as long as you don't (seemingly) hurt anyone doing it.

I think that's also the reason it's seen as a valid thing to question which of our characters would go to such extreme extents for the other; the show completely trivialized the wish because the writers thought the Gabriel arc absolutely had to end with us seeing how it works (even as they then failed to actually show us how it works because they want to keep Gabriel's exact wish in their utility belt or for the sake of pointless mystique). I think the question people thinking about this were actually thinking was: “which of these two would do a dangerous thing and rewrite reality to get the other back?” and not “which of these two would sacrifice an actual person to get the other back?” In that scenario, Marinette wouldn't even hesitate. But, with an actual exchange involved, I think Marinette wouldn't ultimately go through with it, but would go further than Adrien before coming to her senses, like what happened with Shadybug and Claw Noir. Like, if we're not meant to see Marinette as someone who’d go to extreme extents to stop her unhappiness, they shouldn't have made two Marinette parallels almost do it.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I'm having a GREAT time

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Aug 2024 Week 5

Ongoing Series - Thai

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) eps 7-8 of 12 - I do love these 2 a lot. It’s such a slow burn sweet comforting quiet little romance. It’s not complicated, it’s not stretching my thoughts or imagination, but it is easy and absorbing. I'm entertained by it without being taxed. And sometimes that’s nice. It's what Thailand does best.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 3 of 10 - Oh I’m still enjoying it. It’s only episode three and they’re basically boyfriend’s palling around shopping together and hanging out on a bicycle. What’s not to love? Also he got to meet the in-laws. Well… eventual in-laws. Also the girlfriend character. I totally forgot about her. Good times.

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 12fin - Baby faints. Bad guys caught and beat up a bit. Lots of romantic moments, come checking in with ALL the sides, and it ends.

Summary?

Classic CEO meets ingenue archetypes make for a somewhat banal and simplistic romance. This could’ve come from an 80s Harlequin, except that they’re gay. It's... old fashioned. There was nothing meta about this, there was no subversion or commentary on anything BL, queer, or beyond. It’s just a straight up (okay not straight) romance. I was not wild about these characters for this particular pair, but that’s not the pair's fault, they did a decent job with their parts and I look forward to their next show - here’s hoping it’s a bit more meaty. I preferred the side couple because they were more complex and true to BL archetypes, even if they were also a bit miss-handled. A serviceable show if somewhat lacking in its convictions, but with some beautiful sex scenes, people, and fashion. I was a particular fan of Lin‘s gender bending femme style. It’s groundbreaking to see that aesthetic on one of the leads. There were multiple times they could’ve leaned into well established plot points, paranormal elements, and character tension, and instead just glossed over them.

This should probably get a 7/10, but I’m giving it an 8 because of that one oppa line at the beginning, Tenon's tatas, and the call back to Big Dragon with that iconic musical refrain in the final episode. It was a pretty fun ride, emphasis on pretty and ride. 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 5 of 12 - Lots of kissing this episode. And lots of different kinds of kissing from the same two actors in various different forms and characters. I really liked it. It’s nice to see that this pair can mix it up a little bit, even if it's just with their lips.

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - OK the leg care massage was so boyfriend I can’t even. Who are they trying to fool? I love the way Ing always knows exactly what is going on. Thank goodness for that confession! I’m very much looking forward to the next episode.

(The socratic method, is it?)

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 9 of 12 - Still couldn’t care less about the hets. Yawn. Ah Jane’s ex shows up. (Is that Green? Hi baby!) Meanwhile, Jane gets worried and jealous. I loved Pah in this ep, and almost wish this were a show just about him. Like a grown-up Green Fictions. (Where tf did Poon COME from allasudden? He’s a killer actor. GMMTV better use him wisely.) Also, in that scene with Pat and P’Jo, they’re eating some of my favorite food. I got a little bit of linguistic negotiation with Khun Par Phi. Cuteness. And we end with some actual communication. Yay!!! It’s kind of hilarious to see OffGun in a tentative hug. I don’t think they’ve been that way for a years.

In fact, this whole episode was pretty much about communicating properly between ages and ranks within an office and social structure. I loved that. I’m liking this one more this week. It’s still not my favorite currently airing, but I think that mostly has to do with how much other good stuff is on right now.

SPEAKING OF...

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 3-4 of 12 - Uh huh, a game of one-up-man-ship is it? I think not. That boy wants to jump his cute stepbrother’s bones so bad that big brain of his is starting to melt. I'm here for it. Also, said sunshine cutie is clearly a big old cock tease. Everybody is happy about this. They sure know how to end these episodes on cliffhangers too. I don’t know how I’m gonna wait until next week.

I’m legit mad about how fucking good this is. After Unknown too?! Taiwan is spoiling us this year and THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING IT ALL ALONG.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 3-4 of 10 - Oh my goodness do I love this show. It makes me laugh, I adore the premise, I'm wild over the characters, and the acting is killer. I’m just really happy about this show, OK? I tend to sing and clap: Oh they so cute.

Baby got his first crush and he has no idea what to do about it. I ADORE how angry he is about it. Like... How dare I even consider falling in love with somebody? How annoying of me. It’s great. I even liked the girl in the confession and how cool and sweet they both were to each other over his rejection. Bang up job. This is fantastic BL of the newer modern style. (As contrasted to On1y)

These top two shows are neck and neck for best of the week, for entirely different reasons. But I love all my sons.

Speaking of...

Cosmetic Playlover (Japan Tues Gaga) eps 7-8 fin - Oh it’s so adorable with the drama and the little subordinate coming to their rescue, and them meeting each other’s family. "I want to become someone who is essential in your life" = peak romance.

Summation?

I loved this little show. It was a classic office BL about the older workaholic who loves his job and the younger upstart who unexpectedly loves his boss. It’s a hyung romance where everybody is extremely earnest and sweet and pretty about everything. Except our seme, who is slightly unhinged and a little obsessed in all the ways one likes best from Japan. Plus the kisses were good! I can’t ask for anything more, utterly charming unexpected gem of a show. What a great time! 9/10

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - The lack of communication between these 2 may actually drive me insane. But I still love them. Such a sad ep. 

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 3 of 8 - Argh but also oooooo. I bet the uncut version was fantastic this week.

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) eps 5-6 of 12 - I'm starting to like this better. I’m still not convinced, but I did enjoy watching it this week. I’m getting some chemistry off the leads. Admittedly. that’s because they both behave like 16-year-olds. Surprise MosBank cameo - looking handsome as ever, boys. (Honestly, Taiwan really wants that King of the Cameos crown.) And FINALLY our side couple. I’m looking forward to next week primarily because of them. And I don’t even have them yet!

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 9 of 10 - OK the lap cuddle was v cute. As was the handholding. But hiking with a metal griddle? Insanity. Might be the craziest thing in a BL this year. And The Sign aired this year. Meanwhile, not a dead fish kiss! Yay! 

It's airing but...

4 Minutes (Sat Gaga) eps 1-6 of 8 - Gaga picked this one up so we can watch it there. I'm waiting until the end, it seems angsty and confusing and full of awful people being awful. But also... high heat and I'm shallow. So we shall see which devil wins (and how it ends).

In case you missed it

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - I'm eating crow, binging the fucker, and live blogging. It's just taking me some time. This isn't really a bingable show, not for me anyway. It's A LOT to take all at once.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming SEPTEMBER 2024:

9/? The Time of Fever (Korea iQIYI) 6 eps - HoTae & DongHee are back! Side couple from Unintentional Love Story, same actors, same character names I an WILD for this.

9/1 Live in Love (Thai Sun Gaga) 5 eps - Short series featuring and online romance turning IRL.

9/3 Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - Based on a manga, longer than usual run time. A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL. Here it is!

9/6 Kidnap (Thai Friday GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - Ohm Pawat is back for Frigays it's gonna be a blast.

9/7 The Hidden Moon (Thai Sat ????) 10 eps - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) ‘เดือนพราง’ by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger)... A Bangkok writer is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai which is being converted into a café. He gets into an accident and nearly dies on his way there. After that, he sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, one boy catches his attention. Was substantially recast.

9/9 Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) 12 eps? - Be gay YinWar, do crimes. Dehup gives us Yin, War, Mark and a few other familiar faces in a Leverage sitch, only queerer.

9/14 Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sat ????) ?? eps - Remake of the original. I'm scared too.

9/15 Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - Assistant to a player boss who is in love with that boss decides to quit to save himself. The boss then makes a move. (A gay What's up with Secretary Kim?)

9/17 Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 10 eps - Lawyer and a con artist meet at a bar, pair up, fall in love.

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

Adventures in miss-captions

(been a while since we had one of these)

SNICKER "nail you" and a "nail you down" = completely different things. But this being Japan they might have met either or both. (Cosmetic)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Why yes, you do have the prettiest lips in the biz. No need to tease us like that. (Battle)

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

[nyxtsu]

Yap session about Zane~Chan

Zana/Zane~Chan gets a lot of hate as a ship, but I think it's the healthiest romance in the series.

I personally don't think it's THAT rushed, maybe towards the end, but they didn't just come out of nowhere, it was set up in s2 and they had moments here and there in seasons after that. It was clear even before Starlight that it was set up to be something in the future. But that's besides the point. Their relationship shows healthy communication and growth between two people, and an overall good representation of how a relationship should be. It shows mistakes and flaws within the relationship, and how it's important to communicate and try to fix these things.

Despite how Nana is in relationships, and despite how Zane had never been in a relationship before, it's surprisingly the most mature romance we see.

In the beginning, we see Nana sort of trying to rush things, like she's known to do. Zane tells her that it's okay to go slow and that it's best for them. She takes this criticism and tries to better herself. Zane comes out of his shell a bit more thanks to Nana. In the 'Nana accidentally kissing Garroth' thing, Zane showed true maturity in the way he handled that. He was sad at first, but once Nana explained, he said he believed her. He believed her because he trusted her. That kind of trust is so important in relationships. I think they both truly try to understand each other, because they genuinely care. I think that's a great representation of problems within relationships and working past them. For a Minecraft roleplay.

A lot of Zane's growth as a character was on his own or with the help of Aphmau at the beginning of Mystreet, but we definitely see even more of it in his relationship with Nana. This is how it should be! A character going through self improvement on their own, throughout a series. We see him grow as a character, we got more lore as we went on, saw him warm up to the people around him, etc.

But Nana... my babygirl... what did they do to you...

In Starlight, Nana felt like a character thrown in there as a love interest for Zane. Her character didn't have much growth or depth before that, and all of a sudden in Starlight she's telling her deepest darkest secrets to Zane. While I think that they really did grow closer in "Aphmau's Year", and I do not think she was wrong for suddenly telling him about her past, it felt like bad writing on Jessons part. It just gives the feeling of "oh lets finally give this female character some depth so she can be with this male character." If that makes sense. I wish she had that growth or that lore was revealed earlier on, not just for her relationship with Zane.

So, of course Zana has its faults here and there, but I don't think it's because of their relationship dynamic or anything, I think it's the fault of bad writing (especially on Nana's part). If their story had more thought put into it, and the writers weren't so focused on one ship(Aarmau), it would have been much better. I still think it's great, and I love them, but it could have been better.

Nonetheless, they have a healthy relationship, and they send a good message to the young audience about how things work in relationships. They don't have a very suspicious age gap! And they don't punch each other or sexualize each other to a concerning degree!! Stares at Aarmau and Travelyn.

[midnight---hollow]

Mk finished season 3 of dr and i think overall it was good

Personally you could not make me care about the bug main plot, that was so boring imo. The forbidden five where annoying and badly written imo and didnt even look cool (tho the bug guy was pretty cool I’ll admit) the main plot of the chaos dragon also felt really stupid. i wish ninjago stopped trying to make new “the first evil” enemies, it feels quite sloppy and i dont think anyone would care if you added onto your story ld stuff instead of trying to almost rewrite the lore. Even if you wanted to go this way you could have included the oni in the dragons lore instead of it just being some all evil dragon that came out of nowhere

despite my distaste for the main plot though i really like how they handled their characters this season. For example; the past two seasons i been really disappointed in sora. I loved her at first but the constant self hate and talking down about herself got on my nerves and i started to really not like her, this season changed that. I genuinely love what they did with her and arin and their relationship.

Speaking of arin i love his plot, him learning from ras was so good but i find it even better how he still stuck to his morals. Arin isnt a bad kid, he is just desperate and i love how they didnt just let him fall for ras 100%. I also like how he treats ras like how he treats others, another show of how kind hearted he really is.

Pixels back!! Im so happy for it, i dont mind her redesign im just not a fan of the sleeves but thats just me. I love how “my shayla” zane was until he found her, pixane is so good and im happy they are together and we get to see more pixel again. Morro i already stated in another post i was really happy with him… UNTIL THEY FUCKING KILLED HIM WHAT WAS THAT. unforgivable

Jay…. I dont hate it but he felt kinda weird i like the fact that they brought back how he is an inventor but god this emo phase. The voice changer made him seem more annoying than usual and those goggles where so ugly, THE HAIR REVEAL HAD ME REELING. HOWD THAT FIT UNDER HIS HAT?!? Im glad he is back and i hope they keep him annoying and mean but not emo emo cus im down for angst but idk how i feel about how the writers wrote him

Mk final though, main ninja are iconic, kai is the mvp vincent is a phenomenal actor and his jokes land the most imo. Wyldfire and rodi are so cute/gen i love how they draw selfies and i also love how ready kai was to beat his ass when he thought they broke up. Nya i kinda wish we got more of her but next half ik we will get more cus of the jay arc stuff. Lloyd is lloyd, you got to love him even if his one liners never land for me

Oh and cole just wasnt there :(

[spacerockfloater]

Hi, I just wanted to say that I wholeheartedly agree with your recent post. It really bothers me how the fandom, especially those who are supposed to be green fans, are turning on Aemond. Don't get me wrong, I loathe the way they handled his character this season, but it's really interesting how for the last two years we had to listen Aegon stans complain about him being ruined by bad writing. Yet, they never turned on him. He was just the writers' victim, according to them (which isn't untrue). However, those same people (you saw it in the replies) are unwilling to extend the same courtesy to Aemond when he's being treated even worse by the writers for the whole f**king season, all that without having a decent amount of screentime or an actual POV (unlike Aegon who actually got a much better material this season). I guess these fans only "liked" Aemond while he was what Aegon thought of him, "a loyal hound he could set against his foes and who knows his place". Double standards much? Let's get this straight, I hate what they did with RR and Aemond burning Aegon is another dirty trick of the writers in order to divide the green fandom. Apparently, TG fans are unfortunately eating it all up. Nevertheless, it's not the reason the greens are in a bad situation because we saw that Aegon and Sunfyre wouldn't be of much help in battle anyway. Sunfyre could go against dragons like Vermax and Moondancer, but that's it. And Aegon is not a great warrior or a leader. Therefore, just like you said, Aemond can't fight alone so him asking Helaena to join with her big ass dragon isn't unreasonable. Yes, she isn't violent and doesn't want to burn anyone, but nether is Rhaena and I can bet she'll get the Nettles arc, ride the dragon and burn things.. So why does everyone treat Helaena as a little fragile house pet? Aemond is right, she can't defend herself and they would tear her apart. But no, he's also in the wrong here (showing him being violent towards Helaena is so OOC I won't even comment on it). And don't get me started on Alicent. She practically betrayed her faction twice, in ep 3 when she let Rhaenyra go. And she could have ended the war there and then, even before RR. Now she goes to Dragonstone to tell Rhaenyra she'll open the gates for her and this is framed as a good thing because her son is awful and she just wants to save her daughter? Yeah, no. However, Alicent is also defended, it's all on Aemond now, he is the evil villain ™. Aegon can be forgiven , Alicent can be forgiven, but Aemond can't? It's ridiculous. The worst thing is that I'm saying this as someone who has loved Alicent and all her children since s1.

THANK YOU SO FUCKING MUCH FOR THIS!

You’ve done it, you’ve said exactly what I have been thinking!

I wish I had something of substance to add to what you said, but I don’t. This needs to be a post of its own.

Aegon was treated horribly by the show. I am a huge fan of his. But now they’re doing the same thing to Aemond and he doesn’t deserve that shit.

Aemond is all that left of the Greens.

This show has butchered every single TG character.

[themiraculouschatnoirblog]

ATP i'm just not even sure why they put CN's name in the title...

Like, thinking about it, there's no way they ever planned for Adrien/CN to be near as much of a main character as Mari/LB.

First of all, they only gave LB a way to purify akumas/amoks. If LB and CN are supposed to be partners of equal standing, how is it that one can exist without the other? Bc no matter how many times they try to claim otherwise in the show, LB can handle herself just fine without CN. This is just the simple, sad truth because the writers decided LB needed to come off as a more competent hero than CN despite the fact that he has the same basic fighting ability that she does, if not better bc of his fencing skills. Actually, we don't even know if he could defeat a villain himself as they never give him the chance to. They always have to have LB be the one to save the day. They very easily could have LB be affected or trapped by a villain in the same way CN is all the time, just to have her be saved to perform her miraculous ladybug and purify the akuma. Like something similar to CN in Dark Cupid. They have the ability to do this, they just decide not to.

Second, and I mean this one's pretty obvious: the theme song, the shortened one they actually use for the show. Self-explanatory.

Third, Mari is the only one who got to meet with Master Fu for a long time, resulting in her being the only one who gets to know heroes' identities. For what reason? Now, I get why two people knowing one hero's identity could be risky, but CN could've gone to Master Fu, chosen a hero or two, and returned the miraculous after the battle with no problem. And when the issue of LB not having enough time to collect all the miraculous after a battle came up, I don't see why CN couldn't have helped. There would've been ways for holders to return miraculous without identities having to be shown (see: Alya's first outing as Rena).

Now, I could probably keep going for a really long time so I'll just make this final point: Adrien/CN is always left in the dark!! No matter how many times he expresses how much he hates secrets, Mari/LB was/is always leaving him out! For why??? Now, keep in mind that I've only watched through the first few eps of s5 and I barely remember them, so maybe she's told him some stuff now, but it's legit so frustrating. And now with s6 and the whole Gabriel secret... it's just gonna happen again, I can feel it. But fr: Adrien/CN deserves to know things!

I'll stop myself here. I wanted to make a quick clarification that I don't hate Mari or LB; I actually love her and I think she makes a great main character! I just wish that the show lived up to its name and had two mcs instead of one. They should be on equal footing with equal screentime (and importance), but unfortunately that's just not the case, and makes the show title seem pretty misleading. Anyways, since I apparently have more to say (more than even I thought lol) lemme know if you want me to continue this post or go into more detail about something!

Thanks for reading my first rant on this blog! <3

[moonlightreal]

How can we help?

I dunno about y’all but I’m very keen to live in a world where LJ Smith has some good things happen to her for a change, and we get to read Strange Fate. So is there anything we can do to make those things happen?

First, Strange Fate.

The only thing I can think to do is spread the word. Post on your socials, drop the news into the off topic channel of any remotely bookish discords you may be in. “Anybody read these books back when? The author reappeared!” Tell random YA readers you know. There are a bunch of people who liked the Night World books but haven’t thought of them in years, and a bunch of people who remember them and do the Strange Fate deepdive periodically, and those are the people who’d like to know that things are moving again.

I just wish we knew how fast things were moving! Spreading the word is a bit suboptimal when the word is, “Strange Fate is coming… sometime in the next few years, really this time!” But still, folks will want to know. Alas, fan enthusiasm cannot grease the slow wheels of publishing!

I think there will be a time for telling the publisher how very excited we are, but I’m not sure that time is yet. And if things don’t work out with publishers, there may be a time when we can kick in to a Kickstarter, but that time is also not yet.

Second, Ms. Smith.

This lady fought her way through some serious slings and arrows of outrageous fortune to finish the book we want to read. She deserves some good stuff to happen in her life and we can deliver some of that good stuff!

Ms. Smith would like to have action on the website. Importantly: emails do not go directly to Ms. Smith, she has her “staff writer” Jesa who seems to be both assistant and friend handling correspondence. Which is good! Dealing with a whole entire fanbase of delighted but very impatient people might be a bit too much for Ms. Smith who is still having medical issues, she needs a buffer and I’m really glad she has one. So say nice things to Jesa!

-Send questions for Ask LJ. I tried to think of questions that I really am curious about, that would also be fun for Ms. Smith to answer. One was what kind of anime she’s into, and I'm super curious to know if we have the same taste.

-Send fun stories. Did anything really wacky ever happen because you’re a Night World fan? Ever had a funny conversation with another fan in the wild? Did you roleplay or cosplay as your favorite character? This series has been part of our lives for ages—probably not a super big part, I mean there’s lots of fandoms, but if you’re here now it’s been a part for a long time.

-Send fanart. Jesa reports that Ms. Smith loves to see fanart! Also while I know we all have lots of opinions on AI pictures, Ms. Smith likes them and if you can wrangle a prompt to make a scene from one of the books she’d probably get a kick out of it. Or if you can draw, think of it as giving her some better art!

-Do not send fanfiction or story ideas. This is a bummer for those of us who happen to have the written word as our medium, but there are tangled legal and copyright things that make it VERY BAD for official authors to read any fanwork of their own stories. Ms. Smith wants to interact with her fans, so we need to make sure we’re fans who are safe to interact with!

And be nice, and be patient.

[ninja-confession-go]

I actually really don’t like any of the canon Ninjago ships between the main ninja. All of them boil down to forced obligatory straight ships that I never could get into.

Jaya started out with Jay being weirdly creepy and possessive over Nya, ESPECIALLY in Skybound. Like, the first time he hears of her, not even having met her yet, he asks if she’s hot. I think, if he maybe had a little crush at the beginning (after he got to know her), and she reciprocated on her own, I would like it a lot more. I even did like the episode where they go on a date and Jay learns to be his true self, I think that’s probably my favorite moment involving Jaya. The whole love triangle was weird bc I think all three of them were OOC, so I chose not to count it. Skybound is particularly bad because Nya openly expresses that she wants to have an identity outside of being with Jay, and a few minutes later, the writers just have her say she wants to be with him.

Pixane also felt forced because of how quickly they “fell” for each other after such minimal interaction. They never felt “compatible” because they have virtually no connection outside of being “the robots who are smart”. They don’t have any chemistry until maybe SOG, and I think that’s because Pixal herself isn’t allowed to have much of a character other than “Zane’s love interest” and “the other smart one”.

Kailor has pretty much the same problems as Pixane, but at least they have more chemistry. There doesn’t seem to be any real reason they like each other, other than Kai thinking Skylor’s hot. Skylor doesn’t even seem to be that into Kai when she’s not putting up her facade, so I don’t necessarily mind that they’re not technically together yet.

Llorumi is abusive, I don’t think I have to explain why I don’t like it.

Overall, I think the show handles these ships better in later seasons, but they’re still far from perfect. My biggest problem is just how forced they were from the start, and how it never feels like any of the characters have a legitimate reason for why they’re attracted to their love interest. I don’t outright hate any of them (except for Llorumi), but I wish they were executed better, and the female counterparts got more character and agency in their respective relationships

.

[defendingtheowlhouse]

Hey, I know you’re a big defender of The Owl House and I'm assuming its canon ships, including Lumity, but I just never really connected with the pairing. It felt rushed—like the writers focused more on making them a cute couple than fully developing their dynamic. Amity’s redemption didn’t feel earned, and her relationship with Luz lacked meaningful conflict, which made it feel less organic.

On top of that, I feel like Amity's entire character arc starts revolving around Luz too much once they get together. Before their relationship, Amity had compelling struggles—her toxic family, her inner conflict about breaking away from the elite social hierarchy—but once she and Luz become a couple, all of that takes a backseat. She doesn't get much development outside of her romantic role, and her personal growth starts feeling less like her own journey and more like something that happens because of Luz.

I wish Amity had been given more space to grow independently rather than having so much of her character tied to their relationship. (I actually made a post about this, but I’m more interested in hearing your thoughts since we seem to have very different views on the show.)

I know you probably see it differently though, so I’m curious—what makes Lumity work so well for you? What do you think about the way the show handled their relationship? Also, do you prefer any other ships in The Owl House besides Lumity? I'm curious if there are any other pairings you think were better developed or more compelling. I personally prefer Willuz and Lunter over Lumity.

I'm not the biggest shipper as stated in all other ship based asks but I also recognise I the other points and the way their relationship is in the story

1. I and a lot of people actually quite enjoy the 'rushedness' (I don't have a better word for it, but I wish I did)because it's nice to see a relationship have more screen time than the pining stage. It's set up in most shows for romantic relationships to be an endgame where they focus on pining towards a relationship for seasons and seasons before they get together near the finale and I like how the owl house subverted that and cut to the chase (At least because I understand relationships themselves more than atrraction).

2. really think her redemption was earned as it was so self reflection driven, especially in lost in language where she chooses to reflect on her own patterns of behaviour completely of her own volition, she's less actively mean but still is enabling the bad behaviour of others showing she still has a way to go. I like how when she messes up, she chooses to undo her bad actions, in covention the everlasting oath and admit her fault, albeit in an indirect kinda harsh way and in understanding willow where she fixes willow's mindscape before choosing to address what she'd been avoiding, explain her actions while taking them on as her responseability and the weak thing to do and then how willow still hasn't completely forgiven as a friend her but accepts amity's choices as a start and then she from then on stops allowing her old friends to be mean to her either as well as herself. (Sorry for spending so long on one small statement)

3. I don't understand the lack of conflict points itself because lumity had quite a bit of conflict, from amity realising Luz's meeting with her mother didn't go well and that luz was keeping secrets before deciding to respect her privacy and confront her about it and the whole of reaching out. So, for this point, I just don't understand.

3. While I do think we should've gotten more of amity with other people, they also got together just before season 2b, where they'd try to develop lots of characters per episode, so they probably wanted to do them at the same time. That being said, there was definitely still time they could've developed amity on her other arcs, which would've been more of a good thing.

I don't really ship any non-cannon ships, I'm not a big shipper, and I like friendship.

[gellavonhamster]

Yellowjackets season 3 finale/overall season 3 thoughts:

I agree with those saying that it was not as good as the previous two seasons. Someone in the tag mentioned that the writing for the adult timeline felt like different mini plots were picked up and then discarded too quickly, without developing each of them much, and this is precisely the feeling I had. Some things happened too fast and some took way too long without anything really happening. For example, I get that the scenes of Jeff and Callie were necessary to explain how and why Jeff goes from being ride or die for his crazy wife to wishing to get away from her, but a lot of those scenes were just so dragged-out.

The teen timeline was better, in my opinion. All the moments of the season I found most powerful belong to it. The horrifying force-feeding of Ben and him being mercy-killed by Nat, Travis watching Lottie walk over the pit of stakes, Nat sobbing as the first snow starts to fall. Those were very good.

My main problem with this season remains how they handled Lottie's death, and I think it would've been a problem for me even if she wasn't my favourite character. And even putting the behind-the-scenes stuff aside (I don't wanna play the game of telephone but wasn't Simone Kessell extremely dissatisfied with how her character was handled this season?). It was one of those plots that was quickly discarded in favour of other plots (Melissa being alive, Van's illness getting worse), and that after not even giving adult Lottie enough stuff to do this season. After s2, I expected her being put into a mental institution again to be a bigger deal (it wasn't, she was just... let out?) and her dynamic with Callie to take up more screen time (as someone who was screaming "Callie is the real Wilderness Baby" since s2 finale, I was somewhat vindicated in the last episode, but it still didn't feel like it was enough). And if the writers are trying to construct some consistent afterlife/other world/whatever for the adult Yellowjackets who die, then not giving Lottie the plane scene that Nat and Van had seems to disrupt the idea.

In comparison, Van's death seemed to me to be better written. It felt more impactful, and where Nat's plane scene was pure despair, Van's felt more like a passage to some other plane (ha) of reality. Which brings me to...

...multiple realities being alluded to several times this season. Travis asking Shauna if she ever wonders whose reality they live in, Mari telling Ben she sometimes thinks there are two versions of reality, possibly Lottie telling Mari she's been there before, possibly young Van telling adult Van that's not how their story goes. I'm very curious to learn where they're going with it and whether they can pull it off successfully. Considering how the quality varied in this season, I wouldn't be too optimistic, though.

All the awards to Sophie Thatcher as Nat. She was always good, but this season she was great. Also, young Nat and adult Nat have seemed to me the most unlike each other compared to other YJs that we see both as teens and adults, but now I finally see they're one. The same mannerisms, the same facial expressions, the same manner of speech. What made teen Nat into adult Nat has finally occurred.

Mari was the star of this season (which immediately made it clear that she's not surviving it). More depth than in the first two seasons combined, banger lines, the surname. Her death was really disturbing, especially as it came just when rescue became possible. Plus Shauna... outright revelling in in it. I used to think that the strands of hair on the Antler Queen's dress were of different girls, especially as we had Shauna toying with a lock of Hannah's hair earlier this season, but the fact that she just. Basically used Mari the way they use pelts of the killed animals? Especially considering the racist undertones of it. Rubbed me the wrong way.

I don't think Shauna becoming the most brutal this season and other girls teaming up against her suddenly erases everything other girls have done. No one there is innocent; that is the point. But I do have trouble buying the "everyone repressed their trauma and this is why they all hung out civilly with Shauna afterwards" explanation unless anything game-changing happens in the next two seasons (if they get made).

Speaking of. The rescue won't arrive immediately, of course, but I don't think it should take, like, months. How are so many characters going to die in such a short timeframe? Definitely Hannah, likely all or most of the younger/background YJs, probably Akilah. How?

My current prediction for the ending of the show is that all the surviving adult Yellowjackets are gonna end up dead (Melissa included - I don't believe she'd be able to go back to her cozy little li(f)e now) and Callie will be the final girl, with the implications that if It is real, then It lives in her now. Jeff will probably get killed as well, possibly by accident, possibly by his own wife or daughter (of protecting them).

[ilikekidsshows]

"Adrien using the wish" anon here again!

I was just thinking of the potential counter-argument based on rhetoric I've seen floating around, of "But because Adrien is so reliant on Marinette these days since he hardly has anyone else/lost both his parents (true), he'd be emotionally devastated to lose her (also true), so this means he'd...be willing to make the wish/wouldn't be able to handle life without her (ehhhh no)." Tempted to use the wish? Sure, I'd be surprised if he wasn't. Forever unable to live without her and/or willing to turn into the next Hawk Moth? Yeah, no.

Adrien being the next Hawk Moth only makes sense if you know nothing about the characters and decide to go with the most surface level 'like father like son' plot-line ever (which also explains why I see poorly executed 'villain! Chat Noir who sides with Hawk Moth' fics waaaay too often for my taste).

I know the idea that he'd be able to heal after losing her doesn't sound very "romantic" (I have different opinions on love and what's truly healthy and romantic but that's neither here not there), but...like I said before, he's already proven he can handle loss? If you give him enough time? If he coped with losing his mother with almost no support, something tells me he'd find ways to heal from losing Marinette, too. He does have a better support network now after all, such as it is. There's no reason why he couldn't even...find new friends and develop a new one, need be. Hell, I just remembered the boy has already said "if you wanted to dump me, I'd understand" in Illustrhater. Tell me that sounds like someone unable to move on from her.

Also sidenote, but being able to heal would be what's best for him as an individual (and a sign of character growth and a contrast with his villain father who very notably couldn't and wouldn't move on), but since that doesn't focus on Marinette being the center of the universe, I get why it's not popular with Marinette stans.

In before I'm wrong and the show has him trying to use the wish despite all evidence to the contrary, because only ~romantic love~ and/or Marinette truly matters apparently

Instead. To be honest, at this point I'm full on expecting something will happen to Adrien one day, something severe or even permanent, maybe caused by Marinette's lying or some other mistake, to the point she will try to use the wish. Parallels with Gabe and all that. Her already over the top and questionable behavior all in the name of not losing him, yadda yadda. Don't know if they'll go this route for sure, but...the foreshadowing/potential is there.

I laughed at "mouthy amphibian" btw. 🤣 Thank you so much for the response!!! And apologies this two part rant got so long, I've just been really annoyed by this and didn't want to keep silent any longer.

---

I totally get it. It's a complete misunderstanding of what Adrien's character stands for, the little bit of character growth he’s actually been allowed even as the writers try to drain anything interesting about him away to make him less popular. Frankly, with the writers' disregard of their characters’ personalities, their obvious disdain for the very idea of Adrien having concerns outside of Marinette and their very obvious belief that Marinette is the center of the universe, I would not be surprised if they actually did write Adrien unable to deal with losing Marinette. After all, the biggest concern of any sympathetic character should always be Marinette, unless them not prioritizing her is going to be milked for Marinette sympathy.

Realistically, in terms of what has been established about Adrien's character, he would be heartbroken to lose Marinette, but he could survive her and move on and find new happiness. However, also realistically, in terms of how the writers operate, Adrien's personality doesn't matter if they want to throw the ultimate pity party over how sad and pathetic everyone would be without the most amazing, wonderful Marinette. Ignore how a lot of them would be better off without her with how exhausting the writers made her to deal with.

If Adrien got to move on, the shippers would be so angry at him for “not loving Marinette enough”. There's this idea in media that moving on from loss is healthy as long as it's not the main romantic couple. Romantic couples should never move on, because that's more dramatic and so romanticized, just like codependency is so popular because it's more dramatic and so romanticized. And, like, I’m not saying I don't see the appeal, I enjoy the occasional codependent relationship in my media. But, that's just the thing: my media. I’m a grownass adult with critical thinking skills and emotional skills. I don't wanna see that shit romanticized in cartoons made for preschoolers with neither of those skills. Anything in between there is a case-by-case basis the parents should probably be responsible for depending on how much harmful behavior is being taught to youths and how mature the youths watching and reading that stuff are.

I used to call myself a Mudkip during my iconic “Mudkip with Juniper Lee hair” profile pic era in a cheeky “but what do I know, I’m just a Mudkip” way. I figured amphibian works, since, among my changing user pics, amphibians are the most common.

[tobiasdrake]

Ranma 1/2 Reboot 01x09 - I'll Never Let Go

Here we go with more of the ice skating arc. Fuck these people up, Ranma and Akane.

Modern dubbing has gotten really good. I have my beefs with some modern dubs, like the way Spy x Family translates Anya's comical gaaaaaaan shock noises into just... generic gasps with no funny sound whatsoever. But they're a lot better than they were in my day.

Sometimes I'll flip over to the dub when watching something just because I'm curious how the dub team for this specific piece handled something.

For this bit, the joke is that Ranma called him 慢性発情男 Mansei Hatsujou Otoko, which sounds kinda-sorta similar to Sanzenin Mikado and means "Chronically Horny Man". Or "chronic horndog" as the subs translated, which is accurate but doesn't sound anything like his name.

The dub opted for "McHorny Sex Pest" as a kinda-sorta for Mikado Sanzenin, and that's perfect. Chef's kiss.

This man is so gross. He already forced himself on Ranma and now he's going to use their competition today as an opportunity to force himself on Akane.

I kind of want him to die. I am so glad he does not get to stick around and join the cast full-time.

That is easily the best photo of Ryoga that he has ever had taken of him in his life.

A kolkhoz is a type of Soviet farming co-op. I'm not sure why this was chosen for the name of Azusa and Mikado's school.

Do not attempt complex figure skating maneuvers without proper training. I need y'all to understand how many places Akane's skates could have ended up just now after Ranma slipped. This maneuver was way too complex for him.

Okay but felt though. When I was her age, I was exactly this sore of a winner. I hate that this character speaks to me as much as she does.

(Sharp blades hovering over very dangerous places right now.)

Seriously though. Fuck her personally but she is so goddamn cool.

How can you not wish you were this cool? But, y'know, with better taste in partners. And... also better lifestyle choices. This is why people adore villains. Because villains have style.

RANMA

RANMA THERE ARE KNIVES ON YOUR FEET

YOU CAN END THIS RIGHT NOW

RANMA

RANMA

Mikado does this so often in competitions that it's considered a signature move for him. I hate that. I hate him. Ranma, stab him with your footsy knives.

See, what Mikado doesn't know about Akane is that she is basically Furinkan's #1 expert on guarding yourself from pests like him. For her, this is Tuesday.

(Should have put a little more force on it. Ice skates have blades but they aren't ultra-sharp. It takes pressure to cut. Don't worry, Akane, we all make mistakes.)

I love how even Azusa gets in on the karmic steamroll that Mikado's earned for himself.

These two are way too invested in breaking up couples.

Narratively, the purpose this serves is a pretty on-the-nose test of Ranma and Akane's budding relationship. Writers do this with canonships all the time. "Once you swallow this pill you will die a gruesome death unless your feelings for your designated love interest are TRUE!"

This certainly explains Mikado having a signature kissing move.

But it's crazy that these two, whose relationship with each other seems entirely platonic, have made it a point of pride to destroy other people's relationships.

Azusa has shown zero interest in Ranma up to this point. Her thing is losing her cool about cute things. She and Ranma have barely said two words to one another.

But then she's like, "Oh, we're doing a Matchbreak? I'm on it!"

Like. It's not enough for Mikado to be a sex pest and for Azusa to be a cutesy kleptomaniac. They have a vendetta against romance. These two are My Little Pony villains. Who hurt you both?

An interesting detail of the Goodbye Whirl is that Azusa's connection to Ranma is the bond that breaks.

It would have been easy to set up Mikado and Azusa as a high-skill but low-chemistry partnership for Ranma and Akane to overcome through superior trust in one another. But Mikado and Azusa click very well. They both reflect one another's flaws and they have a fantastic level of teamwork, experience, and cooperation.

They didn't become masters of a cooperative sport by being islands.

So it isn't Ranma and Akane's connection that breaks, despite that being the intent of the Goodbye Whirl.

And it also isn't Mikado and Azusa's connection that breaks, because their bond is just as strong if not stronger than Ranma and Akane's.

It's the connection between the two pairs. Ranma and Akane are an iron-forged bond, and Mikado and Azusa are an iron-forged bond, but never the two shall meet.

Ranma and Akane don't outlast Mikado and Azusa. But they do implicitly outlast every couple that the pair have matchbroken in the past. The impulsive and self-indulgent Azusa getting tired, ceasing to care about this, and letting go is the weak point of this technique. But it's a weak point nobody's ever held on long enough to discover before.

There are a lot of words in Japanese that can be translated to the English catch-all "monster". The one here is け化け物 bakemono, which is a shapeshifting occult spirit that impersonates people or objects. It literally translates to "Thing that Changes Shapes".

So, literally, this line translates. Azusa is saying that no human would have survived that, and only a bakemono impersonating human form could still be alive now. "Only a monster would survive that."

But. In context, knowing Japanese, I need y'all to understand how funny this is. Azusa claims that only a bakemono could have survived that, and then Ranma wakes up.

Ranma is a person, not a bakemono. But. I mean... He and P-chan kinda are. They are Shapeshifting Things, which impersonate other kinds of being.

That's not why he survived. He survived because he's been doing Anime Warrior Training for his whole life. But she's not wrong.

And then Akane got unceremoniously ejected from the Couples Duel. Now that her role as Primary Love Interest has been firmly reinforced, she is of no further value to this fight scene. It's time for the boys to take over. Great.

Oh well. At least she got to do that cool flip-kick.

This is not a fakeout, either. Much like when Ranma stole her match with Kodachi from her, Akane will no longer be directly participating in this fight from this point forward.

That cool flip-kick was Akane's one and only contribution to this entire confrontation. Other than that, she's been tossed around by Ranma a couple times, survived the Goodbye Whirl because Ranma wouldn't let go even though she wanted to, and now she's fired so we can have more Ranma and Ryoga shenanigans.

It was the one flip-kick and that's it. That's all she gets. She defended herself from the predator like she said she could last episode, and now she's done. She has no further value that she can add to this fight.

Like, they even made a big fuss over how injured Ranma is. Ranma is so badly hurt that it... inexplicably warrants benching Akane? She has to leave because of his injuries.

Ranma wants to keep Akane from dueling with Ryoga and Akane wants Ranma benched because he's injured, so the compromise they come up with is that the injured Ranma will duel with Ryoga.

Like. I get that Ranma and Akane can't go out there together like this because heteronormativity, gotta have a M/F partnership, all that jazz. But if Ranma's injuries aren't going to be a problem then they can just excuse themselves for a moment, hot water Ranma in the back room, and get back to Ranma and Akane dueling.

I mean. Hell, they could probably get away with doing it right out here. Azusa's already pegged Ryoga as Charlotte and requires no explanation for how that's possible.

She doesn't even know about Jusenkyo curses and she accepts this without question.

There is absolutely no reason why Akane would need to retire from the rink right now and I'm kinda mad about it, especially right after the Kodachi thing.

This is why people think she's boring. This is what makes her the most divisive character in the series, with a fandom either loving or hating her with no middle ground. Akane is an interesting and relatable character, but she isn't allowed to do things. Even when it makes absolutely no sense to suddenly banish her from her own storyline like this.

I honestly think Takahashi just couldn't think of a good way for Ranma and Akane to win this fight. The match has thoroughly been established to be too heavily skewed against them for them to prevail. Last episode/chapters established that they'd take this in a street fight, no contest. But this episode/chapters establishes that their skills just aren't enough to overcome the disadvantage of the ice rink.

So... bye, Akane, I guess. Enter Ryoga and the Ryoga-esque complications that will form the answer to this unwinnable fight. Now we get the absolute shenanigans of this episode's back half, as well as the arc's final chapters that will form the next episode. For which Akane will be nearby cheering for her boys.