#They're just my favorites and the ones that make him look less like the dumbest man on the planet

[kakusu-shipping]

He's my favorite idiot.

[skittishlikefromthewar]

my favorite headcanon to ponder is that as soon as they enter the Champions League - and it becomes official that this level of cardiovascular training is going to become Jamie's new longterm normal - Roy immediately bans him from running on pavement (so that he'll still have cartilage in his knees by age 60, and because no trainer ever cared enough to do that for Roy and he's gonna do better by Jamie if it kills him).

However...

--they can't limit all his running to a treadmill or track either, because that's a GREAT way to get hurt when he's on the pitch. 

Cue a hilarious montage of Jamie biking to some park, folding the bike to carry over a shoulder while running through said park, hopping back on the bike once he reaches the road, biking until he reaches a grass/dirt track along the river, running until the dirt track runs out, biking again, etc.

Cut to a shot of Roy frowning studiously because This Isn't Working Out, before he turns to Jamie and dead-serious, he asks, "Can you run the pavement on your hands?"

And Jamie is 😭😭😭 on the inside but verbally he's just "uh....yeah! Yeah sure I mean yeah no don't think so but yeah sure yeah why not I'll give it a go?"

Cut to Jamie managing seven whole haphazard steps in a handstand before, "aiyeeee..." and a close-up of Roy cringing with his fists over his mouth. 

Cut to Roy frowning studiously again. This time Jamie's got a big abrasion on his cheek. Again, deadly serious-

"Could you cartwheel the asphalt bits?"

Cut to Jamie cartwheeling over and over and over like. well, like a wheel, making good speed...

in a very much NOT straight line, until he cartwheels right into a bush.

"Well." Roy's got his studious frown, Jamie's got his scraped cheek and leaves in his hair. "I think we're out of options."

And Jamie's face falls. "Coach no. Please I can figure it out. Just need to keep trying things don't I?"

But Roy's shaking his head. 

And Jamie just looks sadder and sadder, and he starts to look a little scared. "Coach really I can just run the pavement like I used to it's f-"

"Nope. I'm calling it."

We linger on Jamie's devastated face. 

Quick cut to Jamie's torso. He's running on the road. He reaches the park. He runs through the park and reaches pavement again. He runs the pavement until he reaches the dirt track by the river. He runs the dirt track until it ends, transitioning straight onto the road once again. Scene cuts to him panting at Richmond Green once he's all done. He slowly straightens up, turning to Roy (who it's revealed bicycled the whole way with him) with the angriest, most murderous glare we've ever seen cross Jamie's face.

Roy breaks into his first grin of the entire montage. 

We finally pan down to Jamie's feet

--clad in every runner's favorite pseudo-orthopedic clown shoes. They let you run on a beautiful, cartilage-preserving cloud (edit: ASSUMING you don't immediately let your stride get sloppy, which people often do! that's important, can't believe i didn't say it initially!) and not even Jamie can make them look slick. 

*This post dedicated to my own hoka-related humiliations. They're lovely at what they're designed for but oyyyye. tbf hoka does make slightly less gigantic, less hideous models (ones that visually limit themselves to the type of loud garishness that Jamie would actually probably adore). But also tbf, you KNOW Roy would insist on Jamie cycling through the dumbest, ugliest, most embarrassing, "it's yer fuckin knees, Tartt come on!" models he could find. 

(Bonus: Practically overnight, Jamie suddenly becomes an expert in every dirt, grass, and otherwise natural running trail in all of London because as long as there's no concrete or asphalt anywhere on his run, he can go back to his normal low drop shoes.) (Edit: which, to reiterate, is a much better choice for both your joints and feet, than running pavement in hokas!)

[proxissima]

Least favorite Ozai take you know (you can also name more if you like too)

Even after taking a thorough break from the ATLA fandom in the past year, that Ozai "isn't the sharpest tool in the shed", that people seem to think that he's the dumbest member in the royal family is the take that came to my mind immediately, and it's the one that I still abhor to this day.

Dishonourable mention goes to Ozai being also the most talentless and/or weakest firebender, which tends to go hand-in-hand with the above-mentioned take.

People who spout this nonsense with such confidence make me wonder if they even watched the same show as the rest of us or if they transferred here from some parallel universe, because what part about Ozai shooting lightning like fireworks during Sozin's comet, what part about him sensing the end of a total eclipse in a bunker deep in the earth, from his inner fire alone (all while regular firebending soldiers hadn't even noticed that their bending was gone in the first place!!), what part about Ozai being the only person that was able to summon lightning from both hands simultaneously (in the OG show tbf), near instantaneously and with just a sliver of the sun (never mind that by this point there were only two other people in the world that were even able to generate lightning and neither were on his level), gave the impression that he's an unskilled or untalented fighter?

And that's just listing his feats regarding his lightning, not even his general technique and bending.

Ozai is both powerful AND capable of extreme precision, something people also just love to ignore when they're forced to admit that Ozai is no chump in the power department.

EOS Azula would absolutely NOT defeat prime Ozai and Iroh would at least have a hard time with him. Jeong Jeong, however, is decisively getting smoked, never mind anyone less than a master; some people need to come down from cloud cuckoo land.

On a side note, I like how in the bottom right picture, it looks like Ozai is bending blue fire when he's unleashing huge lightning bolts in reality.

Another take I despise is the common notion that Ozai wanted to have Zuko dead since his birth, or that he couldn't wait to kill his infant son, which is factually wrong. Even the comics, despite instigating this whole mess, made it clear that Ozai wasn't that bad.

Okay, further tonal whiplash incoming, but there's another topic on my mind. That's your warning.

I also used to hate the notion that Ozai is a rapist and that the relationship between him and Ursa was one of constant abuse. (I think it was a bold move of Bryke and generally everyone to portray Iroh, of all people, as the polar opposite and a demure character, considering his history with women... but Iroh is a whole different can of worms.) Let it be said that I still think the plot of the comics is complete horse-shit in that regard, so my opinion on that hasn't changed.

However, I won't lie and say that there isn't a certain, morbid appeal in Ozai using sex as a weapon to exert control over people.

There was a fic, I think it was called Queens and Consorts that portrayed Ozai's manipulative and subtle side quite well, where each chapter is written from a different woman's perspective that all are either in or have some business with the royal family. Ursa felt unloved, but when it turned out that she was the only one Ozai truly loved? *Chef's kiss*. The fic deals with the inner workings of not just the royal family but also the political intricacies of the royal court in a captivating manner. I remember it being worth a read, but I digress.

Back to my original point though, I do also have to give Dominion credit where it's due, because the particular chapter, chapters? where Ursa departs, written from her POV, were an interesting read that gave insight into Ozai's character and their toxic and abusive relationship. I liked that Ursa was actually in love with him, but turned to despise him all the same. One part that has stuck with me was, paraphrased, how Ozai would sometimes forcefully take her, but she would spread her legs for him willingly on enough other occasions.

The abuse, in general, is a touchy topic and it's a delicate balance to strike, between giving Ozai edges, without taking away from his humanity entirely, and avoiding making it grotesquely obscene, but if done right, it can add a whole lot of complexity to their dynamic. Needless to say, the comics busted it miserably. Like, so thoroughly, a twelve year old could come up with a more cohesive and interesting plot.

I think this type of characterisation of Ozai works best, when it's not just him, but also the rest of the family to be depicted to have extremely dubious morals that serve as a reminder why exactly no one was objecting to perpetuating a century-long war their ancestor started, but also why practically every member of the following generations was either willing to carry out a genocide/mass murders on their own, have successfully done so, or were actively endorsing it. (It's certainly noteworthy that we know nothing about Lu Ten's mother, and that any of Iroh's past in the military has been carefully tiptoed around in all official portrayals post-ATLA.)

All of this being said, I don't get it when Ozai is the one portrayed as this depraved, sadistic rapist, all while characters like Azulon and especially Iroh, out of all people, are treated as the bastion of moral superiority in the meantime, or something, like they'd genuinely be outraged by... (marital) rape and abuse. These two. It's a bold assumption at best.

It's just kind of a pointless endeavour, trying to apply modern-day (western) morals on the setting ATLA takes place in and pretending [favourite] characters would hold those same values and act accordingly, when it's more comparable to the late 19th century. (Yes, there's enough people on stan Twitter and Reddit who actually seem to forget about this)

Obligatory disclaimer that I've got nothing against modern AUs or whatever. I just don't like it when people are genuinely pretending that is how characters would be thinking in canon.

[thaliagrayce]

i've been talking abt my voltron playlists and @iveofficiallygonemad asked to hear them and i want to share with anybody who wants!! i know they're not perfect, i'm working on them & trying to make them better. if you have any recommendations for any of them, let me know!! there's like A Lot and i want to give a lil explanation for most of them, so i'm putting them under the cut ^-^

SO first i have my favorite one <3 it's just. all of them. it's the whole team. it's a mess and it's a bunch of different genres because it's them fighting over the aux cord on a road trip. it's them trying to make each other laugh or annoy each other or play something catchy enough it will infect everyone in the vicinity with brain worms.

Hunk: i'm pretty happy with my Hunk playlist! chill vibes. he strikes me as the kind of guy who listens to calm music to try to find his own calm, and that's what i got here :)

Pidge: this is messier and less cohesive than my usual playlist because frankly i think pidge would have a shit taste in music. all over the board. this is a mix of meme songs and 8-bit covers and vocaloid and stuff that i think pidge would genuinely connect with, and i think pidge listens to all their music on shuffle without any regards for genre or mood because they're a gremlin. nobody gives pidge sole control of the aux.

Coran hears 80's music for the first time and loses his mind. He thinks ABBA is humanity's single greatest achievement.

Lance: i have ideas about where I'm going with this but haven't really settled yet. Lance seems like the kind of boy that loves to dance (is that canon? i forgot) so most of these are Bops That Make You Move in some way or another. he likes to present an upbeat face to the world, so there's no angsting in this playlist! we are clinging to the things that make us happy with both hands until our knuckles turn white!

Keith: i'm gonna be honest. i made him a playlist but i honestly don't think he cares about music very much. it's very important to some people! he's just not one of them! i haven't cracked this playlist open in a while but i'm pretty sure it's full of songs that i think he would conceivably train/work out to.

Shiro: this playlist involves the dumbest headcanon i have for shiro that has just not left me alone since i first thought of it. most of the playlist reflects the fact that he had an emo phase in middle school (that one isn't a headcanon, you just have to look at him to know) but BUT there are a few songs on here that are on here because. little known fact. he also went through a Twilight phase that he told nobody about. (keith knows. keith was there.) he has the entire twilight soundtrack memorized. he moved past the story but the music stays forever. he used to daydream about slow dancing to Flightless Bird, American Mouth. the first time Coran mentions that they have to avoid a place because there's a supermassive black hole there, he has to bite his tongue in order to keep a straight face. do NOT ask me why i believe this so wholeheartedly.

Allura's playlist sucks right now. I think it's because in my heart of hearts i know that, were she on earth today, she would go fucking nuts for taylor swift. i have ambivalent feelings for taylor swift. i cannot do allura justice like this. if you see my vision and have recs as to what might actually fit her, PLEASE.

Klance: i haven't done it yet but i'm gonna go through this and sort it to be a sort of progression of their relationship, starting with the more combative Rivalry songs, then slipping into "oh shit oh shit" songs, then maybe ending on the more lighthearted purely romantic songs <3

(i have two songs in a shallura playlist which does not at all encapsulate how much i'm obsessed with them. the tiny cop inside my head is just constantly screaming at me that i'm going to get yelled at for liking shallura. i am going to kill the cop inside my head.)

[mlobsters]

supernatural s13e2 the rising son (w. eugenie ross-leming, brad buckner)

kind of pissy and upset that crowley is actually dead-dead and it was such a weird anticlimactic sendoff that i didn't even realize it while watching. so seeing his dumb little topside throne room i'm getting all weird and protective over it being his space.

sure felt like a problem behind the scenes and i was avoiding looking it up and well, this is wholly unsurprising

via screenrant

Not long after the Supernatural Crowley death, there was a moment on X (formerly known as Twitter) in which executive producer Jim Michaels hinted that Crowley and Mark A. Sheppard might not be done with the series for good. However, Sheppard responded by accusing Michaels of intentionally misleading fans and stated bluntly there were no plans for him to come back at any juncture.

oof, and the nycc comments summarized by looper

"Once they decided they needed to do something different [with the direction of the show], they tried to get rid of me without telling me that they were going to get rid of me," Sheppard revealed during a solo panel at 2018's New York Comic Con. Never one to mince words, Sheppard expressed his disappointment with his demise on the show, continuing, "I'd gone from being the smartest character on the show to being the dumbest character on the show in two seasons. They ran out of what to do." Needless to say, he did not leave the show on the best of terms.

oof x2

asmodeus, great, sure ok. now he said it the way i thought it was pronounced originally (asmo-DAYus). and then on the magicians, they pronounced it asMO-deeus. i believe they're all accepted pronunciations?

the magicians s1e10 homecoming

the white suit and the thick accent and the speechifying, it's giving confederate general slash colonel sanders vibes. the foghorn leghorn knives out treatment. also feels like he's doing an impression of someone. i keep thinking mcconnaughey but i don't know why, different accent

eyes rolling into the back of my head

i didn't think the show could get bad enough that i wouldn't be able to finish watching, because i have such a strong attachment to sam and dean... but i feel like that they might be proving me wrong

DEAN You can slow down, you know. That’s stuff’s not gonna disappear. SAM Ever seen you eat, Dean?

seriously. one of my least favorite character traits

that interaction was cute, mainly because jackles seemed way more... i dunno. relaxed? and that little small expression to sam where he widens his eyes to jack getting what teleport is, just feels really natural. also his voice seems slightly different? more like jensen's actual voice dropped a little instead of putting on the voice for dean. less raspy, more resonant and rounded sounding but still deep. well and likely that's been happening and i just didn't notice or they're doing the audio differently

wheezing over the perspective of this making sam look like gandalf with the hobbits on the couch

speaking of resonant voices, donatello the new prophet that i 90% forgot about

JACK Is that why Dean hates me? SAM Dean doesn’t hate you. It… Look, sometimes the wires in Dean’s head get crossed and—and he gets frustrated, and then he mixes frustration with anger, and—and fear. JACK Why would he be afraid? SAM Because Dean feels like it’s his job to protect everyone. And right now, we need to protect you. But we may also need to protect people from you. JACK Maybe I’m not worth all this. SAM Your mom thought you were. So did Cas. So do I.

i'll take sam talking about dean every day of the week but eh. grating on me a bit this thing with sam being calm and reasonable and dean being stubborn, either it has happened a lot in the past couple seasons or i'm being grumpy because i'm unhappy with the show in general

BARTENDER I hated my old man. I ran away myself. See, my mom would never stick up for me. But… (sighs) you know kids. No matter what, they still want the old man’s approval. Well, that’s how it was with me, just… DEAN You know, that’s, uh, that’s how it was with me, too.

frustratingly in-character that dean will dump out his emotional issues to randos. and oh no it was actually the latest bad guy demon

so whatever fic i read that i thought was about purgatory i'm wondering if it was in this hell-au/apocalypse world because this is more like what i was expecting from purgatory. gray and dirt

sitting down to talk through their disagreement in obnoxious slatted light

SAM Point is… if you and I are gonna do this, keep Jack on the right side of things, then—then we have to be on the same page. DEAN Okay. Well, that’s the problem, though, Sam, ‘cause we’re not on the same page. Like, at all. SAM All right. You know what? I know what’s going on here. DEAN Oh. Okay. Well, please, tell me, what’s going on here? SAM You thinking Mom is gone and Cas is gone, and that Jack can’t be saved. Dean, after everything we’ve gone through… We just lost people we love, people who have been in our lives for a long time. Everything’s upside-down. I get it. But we’ve been down before. I mean, rock bottom. And we find a way. We fix it because that’s what we do. And Jack w—wants to do the right thing. Jack’s scared to death of who he is, and he’s scared of you.

very rousing speech, sammy. i'm not feeling it but sure

listen. this is the most ridiculous plot choice. 1) we need to protect jack and take him to the bunker because angels/demons/etc all want him, tried to get him warded via tattoo 2) not-hunter donatello shows up so hey, jack can stay with him because things got tense yesterday. he doesn't need that close of protection that we should tolerate unnecessary tension. 3) oh no. general colonel sanders has found him and now he's gone ;( big sad face

who choreographed this fight scene??? laughing and distressed. stunt person getting some up close and personal time with jackles's (or his stunt double's) crotch/ass

often wondered why they never throw the angel blades, since they're dime a dozen these days. can't have anything too op though right, why they had to melt down the colt. also sam's hair seems to be sort of reverting more to that... s10? styled-ish bob thing

foley of the outside sounds is very nice and interesting location at least

the monsters crawling out of the pit very slowly was so so cheesy, good grief

every time we check in with mary and lucifer i'm wondering how she's not going to die from dehydration. and michael and lucifer are gonna have a little throwdown punchout, sure

SAM These yellow-eyed things just keep on comin’, huh? DEAN Mm—hmm.

how it feels as a viewer too 🥴

this episode had some new angles and lighting and getting a little more creative in shot selection, so that's nice at least. also less music? there's still some score but i think like this sequence not having music is really effective. and hey this guy directed 11x04 baby too

JACK Exactly. What the hell am I? I can’t control… whatever this is. I will hurt someone. DEAN You know, my brother thinks you can be saved. JACK You don’t believe that. DEAN No, I don’t. JACK So… if you’re right? DEAN If I’m right… and it comes to killing you… I’ll be the one to do it.

i'm all for them having a kid, because why not. you know i eat up that domestic bullshit with a spoon. but this very clear setup of a character arc for dean and jack and whatever, just feels very set up.

i keep thinking about how like, if xyz that happened in this episode happened in s4 or something, i think i'd genuinely appreciate it then. but like.. we have been down the same path so many times now, i can't really appreciate the things anymore. i don't want to hate everything, and i'm really trying to come into each episode with limited baggage and appreciate when i can because otherwise i will just give up. this is the only thing i do in the evening after the kids are in bed. if i hate everything about it every day, i'll have to find something else to do sooner rather than later. but i'm also invested in completing it. if i've made it this far.. buh. anyway.

[rigginsstreet]

I feel like we have a very unpopular opinion in common: we both really like Lucas! I find him a really interesting, layered and cerebral character, and I can relate to his flaws and mistakes. Plus, like you said, I never doubt that he's a genuinely good person. I feel like we're nearly alone even among the OTH/Leyton fandom in feeling this way :) Other UOs about OTH: 1. I'm mostly indifferent to Naley 2. I don't like the acclaimed school shooting episode 3. I truly don't believe the real life Sophia/CMM drama had anything to do with Leyton being endgame 4. I have an irrational dislike of Mouth and Millie despite being pro-nerd 5. I couldn't possibly care less about Julian (ITA with you and an anon who said his personality changed completely at least once or twice a season, and the actor just irked me) 6. I care much more about the Peyton/Brooke friendship than the Brooke/Haley friendship 7. Season 6 is probably my favorite season of the series due in no small part to Leyton being happy, pregnant and engaged and 8. OMG the way they have all fabulously successful careers in nearly impossible fields to break into drives me nuts (like Lucas gets his first novel published, it immediately becomes a bestseller and is made into a movie lol---that happens to like .1% of authors, Nathan makes the NBA, Haley goes from casually singing in a coffee shop in high school to being asked to perform on tour, Brooke owns her own fashion line before they're old enough to legally drink, Quinn goes from idly deciding to become a photographer to immediately being paid to fly around and shoot for major publications like Sports Illustrated (riiight) and so on. And they can all have these impossibly glamorous and successful careers not in a major city but while mostly living in a small North Caroline town? Please! I don't mind when the show is unrealistic about crazily entertaining drama like the way there are about 25 different stalkers, but the way these athletes/cheerleaders are all insta-successful in other fields too just stretches credulity for me. Haley being a teacher was the most I liked her because I think it suits her perfectly and it was actually a normal, relatable career! Thank you so much for listening to me rant, and obviously I would love to hear your UOs too---I think we have a few of the same ones?!

Ok let’s take this point by point lol

Yes about Lucas! He’s such an interesting character and he’s allowed to be wrong and flawed unlike other male main characters who generally are written making the dumbest choices/making bad decisions but the narrative will justify it and that’s so annoying. People just hate Lucas because Brooke’s the fan fave please get over yourselves

The school shooting episode is what got me into the show so I cannot relate to that sorry lol top 5 episode to me and I think should be required viewing

It’s basically been debunked chophias divorce had anything to do with endgames.

I like mouth and Millie (at least seasons 5 and 6. Idk what the fuck happened by the time I watched 9, skipping 7 and 8)

I like Austin Nichols lol not like a FAN or anything but I think he’s nice to look at

I prefer Brooke and Peyton over Brooke and Haley (because people only love them out of hatred for Peyton you cannot tell me I’m wrong) but Peyton and Haley reigns supreme to me

Season 6 is so good! Exactly for leyton reasons lol but I do enjoy all the storylines going on

I always laugh about how successful everyone was from this random ass town lmfao but like they all did have their struggles too it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Idk it’s a teen drama where a guys heart gets eaten by a dog, their career paths were the least of its problems 😂

[amazing-spiderling]

So for the two ask games: 3,12, 17, 21, 36, 49 for murderdock and 4, 9, 13, 23, 27, 31, 35, 44 for Gwen, then 🧭, ♻️, 🤔, ❤️!

I think I already answered all of those WIP asks (and honestly, I don't have that many going at a time) so I'll answer the character asks!

MURDERDOCK:

3. Obscure headcanon

The Hand tried to diversify their portfolio by breaking into the entertainment industry, starting in Japan with musical groups. Matt had a short-lived stint as a solo artist but the project was eventually scrapped. He still misses it sometimes. Nobody knows about this until Foggy finds a beat up CD case in used music store one day and spends a full minute gawking at the familiar brooding face on the cover.

12. Crack headcanon

I just think it would be funny if he was a vegetarian. I don't even know that I consider this a headcanon, it would just be funny if the guy going around murdering people with his sword cane ate a lot of tofu.

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

I've made a few playlists over the years, but a song I haven't had a chance to put on one yet is "Promiseland" by Mika

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)

Robbi Rodriguez has art of him with a martini glass on his IG and I decided it was an appletini not because he likes the flavor but because he's committed to the bit. In the privacy of his own home, I see him as an unsweetened hot green tea kind of guy

36. Their favorite season

Winter. There's less people around, the snow helps muffle the sound and things smell less when they're cold.

49. Favorite toy as a child

Gwen Stacy (65 I presume)

4. Favorite line

"But if the only way I can help is with my fists -- then I've already lost. I have to try a different way. I have to know I tried."

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

I read Spider-Verse before it was cool (JKJK I mean before the first movie because I was deep in my Spider-Man era) and there's a part in the story where a lot of the main Spider-People split up into pairs to go and visit other universes to recruit more heroes/ ward off the Inheritors etc. Gwen ends up in a world where Peter Parker has become the Goblin, going down a path not too dissimilar from her own Peter's. This Peter also ends up dying in her arms, but she shows a great deal of compassion and understanding towards him and I think that was the moment that really made me want to check out her series. (Which had been written at the time I read that comic, but didn't exist when it had been written, which I think speaks to how good of a job that one scene did at developing a character who had literally just been invented.)

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done

Not dumbest in that it was a conscious decision she made, but her complete misreading of the emotions of her friends (Peter's obvious crush on her, MJ's annoyance at Gwen's missing Peter's crush on her, MJ's jealousy and motivation for creating the band in general) sort of stretches the limit of general obliviousness, especially since she CAN read people when she's trying to.

23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like?

Backstage sweat and like... raspberry body spray from the drugstore

27. Their guilty pleasure

I'm low-key obsessed with Dollar Dog and I love that for Gwen. I wouldn't say she felt guilty about it before it became a hipster nightclub but she sure does now. I hope it fell out of fashion and Mr. Alby got to run it again.

31. If the had a tumblr what would it look like?

She stayed up late one night picking out some cool colors, hot pink, purple, something very chillwave, and like a very heavily filtered landscape photo of the city to go at the top- she posted semi-regularly for a month and a half and then forgot about it.

35. Their idea of a perfect day

She gets to sleep through most of it, but wakes up and finds out that her dad has invited her over for brunch and she's got time to make it and pick up juice on the way.

44. Their happiest memory

Probably something like a middle school holiday spent with her parents and the Parker family. Before things got complicated. She understands now that the roots of her larger problems were always there, but she can appreciate the comfort her innocence afforded her back then.

[itfitsitshipsart]

1 and 5 for f/os of your choice.

Though, I'd love to hear some "Tales Of" Hot Takes so if you have a general one not related to your F/Os please shout it. XD

Alright! Time to go on a limb here then!

1) what’s a Hot Take you have about your f/o?

Alright. The hottest take I've got for Tale of Vesperia is... that LeBlanc and Co. are hands down the BEST characters! And it is a SHAME that I never see anything about them! Like, okay. Story time.

Tales of Vesperia was me and my brother's first Tales game. All we knew was it was a jRPG that had co-op. So we started up the game without any expectations. And not long into it, before our first battle, we saw THIS.

such a face, after some pretty average (no offense, Yuri) looking anime/jRPG characters, my brother and I just had to pause the game and laugh. We were delighted by this duo's appearance. The tall and short one, a classic pair for media.

we just KNEW the game was gonna be good once we met them! They're both (and LeBlanc when we meet him) hilarious, and the fact that they go above and beyond they're duties, and end up being true knights and very good people. Hands down the best characters. THEY DESERVE MORE RECOGNITION AS BEST CHARACTERS

(Also, does anyone else question how the heck they got Raven and themselves to the Heracles before the group who had a fricken DRAGON to fly on! Especially considering when the main cast left, they had to dig the man out of the ruins first. Like, All I imagine is they're experts at rowing in a little rowboat. That's a second hot take I've got. They've got a rowboat and are faster than a speedboat.)

Another hot take I suppose is... that I don't think Tales of Symphonia is that great. It's fine, I suppose, and matches other tales games in what it offers. But for some reason I just didn't care for its story and the character interactions. They didn't feel as together and bouncing off one another as other groups in other games do. It's on the bottom of my Tales of list, and considering I've played 6 of them (Vesperia, Berseria, Zesteria, Symphonia, and Xillia 1 and 2), and watched 2 of the anime (Zesteria the X and Abyss), I find it odd that one of the 'best' titles people say is one I liked far less than others. The characters just didn't make me feel like the others do.

5) what’s the dumbest thing you’ve heard about your f/o, either on the internet or irl? 

So, I kinda answered this one broadly here, so... yeah. I'm gonna be crazy and grab another question to answer! Mwahaha!

10) how did you feel when you realized “oh of course i had to like That Character”?

So. One of my favorite stories to share about me irl falling for Raven, and I'm sure I've told it many a time before. BUT I'm still baffled by how I fell in love with him!

Cause I didn't even notice him in the opening animation. He was just another character. I wasn't looking for live, but anticipated I may find a favorite for the length of the game. And I decided "that guy looks cool and kinda pretty. I bet I'll like him!" When I saw who I'd learn much later was Yeager. Oh the irony.

So we started the game, and I thought nothing of the few times Raven popped up and did the group dirty. And when he joined the party for the first time, I saw he had a bow and figured I would try him out. Before that, I was just kinda playing as Yuri, and it was okay.

I didn't realize I was falling in love right away. He was funny, but very much not my type. And as I slowly grew more fond of him and got some less than pure thoughts, I was actually put off by it all. I was falling it love the longer we played. I loved playing as him, and was hanging on every word he spoke, and I wondered what secrets he was hiding.

Then he left, and Estelle disappeared with him. I was worried and had a bad feeling at him possibly betraying the group. And him being revealed as Captain Schwann gave me... *ahem* mixed feelings. Suddenly, that serious gaze and beautiful hair that actually was my usual type was there, and was quite attractive. But it was also concerning because of how different he was to the Raven I had finally admitted to myself I maybe fell in love with.

And then.

I thought he died.

I fully accepted that this game could be cruel enough to kill one of our main characters, and it HURT. So to my joyful surprise that he was alive, any hint of doubt about loving him was gone at that moment.

So that's the long tale of me falling for the old man. It was unexpected, but he's now the most important man in my life, my beloved.

[the-firebird69]

The Fugitive (1993) - IMDb

And what up man hits I think Sarah and I think it's because of this movie that happens virtuosity prior to The fugitive not really sure why I saw it and I think he's an investigator and she said that the lady got shot by Uncle Paul and not by Denzel Washington I started an argument of some kind

Zues Hera

It's just that he's retarded you see and he hates her because she just kept disagreed with him and all these people said that it was Denzel he looked at the tape and he couldn't figure it out saw him fire and she kept saying that it was Uncle Paul so he goes there and he Uncle Paul is there with Sarah and he attacks Sarah and kills her or less temporarily it's a pretty bad and blames Uncle Paul to the police and frames him for it because she was seeing that it was him who shot or not Denzel possibly thinking Uncle Paul is threatening her or showing favoritism more likely he does stuff like that to our r son all the time, and this is his mother we're talking about his mother not Mom now it's both he's a horrendous loser is this big face a big head and things is smart like doing it he's just a massive animal it's the dumbest s*** I've ever seen so she's taking Denzel side and being mean to him doesn't make much sense except he was Dennis and played the son of Uncle Paul so he frames Uncle Paul for homicide well so he has an angle he wants to be a cop and he wants to have him in jail she's on this team it's chasing alcohol afterwards and you see him there and he's an a****** and eventually he gets in trouble for murdering his mom has all coming up real soon possibly tonight it begins as the West is completely in a nightmare because Uncle Paul is one of the fugitive already he's the last of the clans the last big guy running around and he has people and they see tons of them out there and they think he's huge and they think he has all these restaurants and businesses and was using our son

Thor Freya

It dan is insulted. And then goes on in this movie he got sent you a little here and there twisted ankle this little hypothermia it's kind of a big baby and for some reason he has a few more movies and they're quick and gets hit them and he goes into natural Born Killers he gets hit a lot several times completely gone Trump said shoot him and then he goes into the Bronx tail gets murdered completely for those part about 80% of them and 90% gone maybe not that high about 70 or 60 shot three times in the head twice point blank is very bad hey what the ammo is by Tommy f and then he goes up he comes Jaws gets killed a bunch and incinerated and people think his brain was taken out he died wrestling the anaconda because he saved James Bond not even from the anaconda... Jason says what you see the tie yes is that shitload of those things out here well I looked a lot of them look like paper and I walked up to him and they weren't I'm kind of a brilliant person and you're watching for them and so you look really fast and his anaconda don't like that he'll like praying it's aware like tigers and lions are real fast and they slice them and these things are nasty they're very aggressive and big the glass or a man if they're big enough I saw one of them that you said was like 15 ft long it's 30 ft long so we got to kill her out there and we're all hunting it and you said it might be worthwhile and valuable because I don't think the hormones are here and I don't either and it might be prehistoric we might get bigger than that like 150 ft long and about 10 ft thick we might have a dinosaur and it's part of the Jurassic Park thing then again anaconda I think backs out at 30 ft and they do I analyze the skin and it looked normal and so next to me said we might have a problem here I showed well and pill and they said it might be a dinosaur and they're a little bit different they're venomous and more aggressive they don't care who it is either but my people watching dinosaurs you might have someone watching the thing bja even but I don't think so Mac would probably know if someone was is it all of anyone doing it says we're stupid but you had looked at, can swim pretty far

So those can swim and they noted that the island sucked and they're not getting a food and there's too many assholes there so they call him the mean and big and can hurt them pretty good kill them pretty easy so they call him that name they despise him and hate them they tolerate him a little and they left and yeah they can swim real far sorry in fact you swim all the way up to the glades got really big it's like 50 ft around so this is stupid I'm way too big I heard him and he said where I said that's all this parks and stuff nobody in them is out there eating away sees him so I can come up here tried to go over there and he couldn't he says what's here watching them start those guys it's kind of like my kids this is what the hell is that it looks as no way this guy is nuts no it's on there everything dies you said this this is what it's like who am I anyways no he's trying to figure it out so you figured out something very very old so he knows what he means he's out there and probably have to move him since you move to Hawaii that's in broiled all the time what about Brazil it's huge there's nothing in it and get ready to go over the wall I can help you get over the wall something that says a jungle why don't I think that I don't even think this dinosaur is there just little guys this house which way it's like this and it's kind of like but this is so he notices well on that says people I think over here it's like all green it's true and some people grow cocaine out there and some other stuff but really most of it's like that you know that is interested in going there he figured out something there's something down there secreting something and something really big that it's just dormant it's like it's a so you understand something it's this giant lizard and it's not alive so he gets it it's probably going to go out there I'm trying to attack him but I hope not some people know you're here and it's not safe anymore and he can do it says it burns. So you said dude you're still in oils that you know fish out so now I figured out something but you should probably get a little big or you won't be able to get there that's going to explain this I seen those guys he figured out something he kind of knows what you're saying in Brazil nuts stand there before now it's like Amazon has been there isn't he it's from there well it's like that and it goes oh but over here so there are those people now you have to see is what you're saying and that's kind of my country down there

So he's waiting for you to go out there I said I'm not going out there and see if you want to but tonight they're probably going to go out there looking yeah that's the same cuz it's not really safe here I'm trying and I don't want to see you in a museum you get that they're worse than them if you know about you

Inside we can hear roaring laughing outside happy about it so we might have to help him and he goes you're off friends I can do talk and he leaves ever since you smell like this it taste like us it react like us what are you doing well here's trex.

[tacosandtomcos]

Hey! I've been following this blog for awhile now and I love it! I love the analysis and theories you post here, I agree with a lot of them. :D Including what you say about Tom and Jackie and how they're treated by the fandom. -_- I honestly don't know why Starco shippers continue to act like such children(even if some of them are). I'm pretty neutral when it comes to Jarco they aren't my favorite(Tomco FTW!), but come on Jackie is adorable and she treats Marco well! And Tom needs more love!

Awwww, thank you!!!!

I’m doing my best ^^;

((Watch as s3 proves all of my theories wrong just to mess with me))

The fandom can definitely bash a lot when it comes to characters and ships but in my experience, Tom and Jackie get it the worst.

Now with Tom, i might be able to understand where it comes from, since he’s a flawed character and he’s done bad things. I love Tom, I like the idea behind him, I’m fascinated by his choices and how complex his emotions are, and I ADORE his design. But i could see how someone might not enjoy him very much because of the bad things he’s done.

((If i am right about his home life though, that might change people’s minds about him in the future.))

Based on my own views, I see him as a flawed teen, he’s desperate for attention….desperate to rekindle and have a close relationship again, and desperate to look good in people’s eyes so much he’s willing to change everything about him. So when people paint him as being this horrible, abusive, person….i can’t buy it, Tom is clearly willing to makes sacrifices for people he cares about, and it clearly pains him to hurt people. 

Yeah, he’s made threats, kidnapped Marco, but he hasn’t really hurt anyone…who knows if he’d even go through with them.

If you aren’t big on Tom, it’s ok, he’s not perfect. But abusive is way too far with a character that they’re clearly trying to make sympathetic, and it doesn’t even fit logically with his character or the story all that well either.

Tom being portrayed in these ways feel like they’re trying to paint him worse then his character is supposed to be. He’s screwed up, but it’s not really in his character to hurt Star or Marco intentionally.

Lucky for Tom, his character has improved more from s2, and he’s had less fandom issues then he used to.

Jackie, has also improved much from s2 considering she really didn’t have much to go on in s1.

But as far as characters go, she has it much worse then Tom.

And it sucks worse, because her hate isn’t even really justified. Ok, maybe you might find her bland, or not very interesting, but the fandom makes it sound like she murdered Star and took over the world.

There’s really no reason to be angry with her, she hasn’t offended anyone, hurt anyone, she’s so far the most innocent character on this show.

If you’re going to flat out bash her in front of me saying how she’s a horrible person, then i’m sorry, i can’t take you seriously as a person because she’s done nothing to get angry about.

Yeah, i think she needs more screen time and her character could use some development but she’s not worth getting so upset about.

Tom wasn’t given too much character considering he’s been in few eps, but a lot is implied and it makes it easier to figure out his character and what might be happening with him, Jackie hasn’t really had nearly as much focus in order for us to understand her…but that’s not her fault.

I could make a LIST of the dumbest things i’ve heard come out of Sta//rco shipper mouths and most of them would involve her, and all the excuses made to justify all her bashing.

She hurt Star!!! Literally no one knew about Star’s crush, at all.

She Stole Marco!! She and Marco both willingly wanted to date each other. Not to mention Marco was never Star’s in the first place.

And you know well if these same people were in Marco or JACKIE’s position, they would not be feeling the same way about this situation. They wouldn’t wish death upon jackie, they wouldn’t be telling marco he should be with someone else.

Because you know, it’s not ok at all.

Jackie is honestly a sweetheart, I love how much she supports Marco and isn’t fazed by all his weird insecurities. The show really has been taking their relationship seriously and wants you to support them and i’m glad they’re not making jackie evil or making their relationship bad for the purpose of Sta//rco.

Jackie better not be thrown under the bus next season,and definitely not because of Sta//rco, if she and marco break up i want it to be handled maturely and i want it to be because of their relationship…not Star.

She deserves better then that.

If Ja//rco remained canon, i would be perfectly fine with it.

Protect these two at all costs, they deserve so much more.