#absolute top tier ship imo

[bichobolitach]

Good a time as any to start Temeraire posting. Who wants to talk Temeraire w me Im about to finish Blood of Tyrants

[cyberdragoninfinity]

zane, ofc

ONE OF MY MOST ETERNAL FAVS

Why I like them/why I don’t: ZANEEEE oh i could write a thousand essays about how much i love him and why (and i have) but i will keep it brief for now. GX may have dropped the ball with the writing on half its series's cast but they knew what they were doing with zane. His character arc is so agonizing and he's such an interesting and complicated character. He threw so much away chasing after sky high standards and victory just to feel something and then killed himself when he knew he was at death's door and THEN had to face consequences of not actually dying and now having to start the long road to recovery. god. he's just fantastic. not a villain or even really a bad guy at his core but more of a performative bad guy. heel_turn_2.mp3. i love him so much

What I like about their appearance: the hell kaiser look is still just absolutely top notch yugioh outfit design. the black and silver...the ref stripes down the legs, it's such a kickass color palette that really compliments zane's dark teal hair (i also love how he and syrus really do have the same shape of bangs it's really cute)

Do I prefer their dub names or original names? going to be a Zane Truesdale preference-haver until the end of time i fear....it's just such a badass name it suits him so well imo. i do also like calling him ryozane after seeing a twitter oomf do it. the beautiful bridge gap between a dub and sub liker in conversation: just shoving both names together into one word <3

OTP: it has been a hot minute since ive gone insane about them but know zatticus/idolshipping is still an all time fav ygo ship for me. there is so much love there and also they are a fucking mess. ideal zatticus dynamic is a bit this to me i must say. they need a little sprinkling of divorce in there. they came like that

NOTP: idk man i think if you ship him with his little brother you should get a really big rock smashed over your head tbqh

OT3: do also enjoy the zane/atticus/fujiwara Elite Trio.... three guys who are mentally ill and nonbinary in three different directions. i need them to play dnd together so bad

Favourite card they use: tossup between Chimeratech Overdragon (such a cool as hell monster,) good old Cyber End Dragon (probably my favorite ace monster in all of GX and top three for all of yugioh period,) and, of course, Power Bond (*thinks about the truesdale bros and starts crying sobbing wailing etc*)

Favourite moment they were in: gotta be the zane vs possessed!jesse season 3 duel/zane's last stand of course. everything about it. when gx had a lighting and color budget and it shredded like hell. when zane goes out having summoned Cyber End, his ace and oldest friend, instead of using the Cyberdarks anymore, and all the thematic weight to that. the dub exclusive of zane telling syrus he's proud of him immediately before dying. absolute S tier yugioh.

Least favourite moment: HM. LIKE. i dont even hate it i think it's an engaging and fucked up duel but i will say the zane vs syrus s2 duel because it makes people absolutely fuck up comprehending both of these characters like. atrociously badly. see me after class.

im gonna replace the FKM last question with 'something you associate with the character' (song, animal, flowers, etc etc)' instead: hisuian samurott :^) the hell kaiser pokemon ever to me

[xserpx]

Glokta for the character meme! He was my favorite from The Blade Itself!

How I feel about this character?

He's one of the most iconic characters I've ever read, I think. The way Glokta instantly captures people's hearts is like 90% of why Abercrombie ever became popular in the first place IMO, as good as most of his characters are (like, Glokta isn't in my top 10 First Law characters overall, but he should be the series mascot). The bit where he falls down the stairs in that first chapter is so, so good. I also think the way Steven Pacey voices him in the audiobook, with the lisp in his dialogue and no lisp in his internal monologue, is top-tier narration that adds to the experience. Not only is it a constant reminder of Glokta's disability, but, snake-like, it also makes his dialogue even more sinister.

I also like how Glokta is literally just an employee, shepherded here and there by his annoying boss as you do. In The Blade Itself, he's solving a murder mystery, in Before They Are Hanged he's sent to another city to defend it from a siege, and in Last Argument of Kings he's rigging an election purely for Sult's benefit. That sense of people being tiny cogs in a much, much bigger machine that they have no control over is one of the best things about the trilogy, and the way it gradually zooms out to show more and more of the canvas is spectacular. You realise that even Sult is just a cog himself. And Glokta, for all his disadvantages, still manages to claw his way up the ladder.

All the people I ship romantically with this character?

Ardee and young!Rews. I absolutely love the mutual respect Ardee & Glokta have, and I love the unrequited admiration Rews clearly has for pre-tortured!Glokta in the Sharp Ends prequel. He's so sycophantic it's delightful. There's also a lot of juicy history with Pike/Glokta that could be interesting to reminisce about/explore the implications of. Carlot dan Eider/Glokta is also a great one and would heal him, especially in the BTAH-era, but god Carlot/everyone is my OTP, she's just so incredible and such a survivor she would and should fuck everyone.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Severard and Glokta is the easy answer, the way they riff on each other is delightful (I guess Frost as well, but he's not as interesting as Severard). There's that one scene with Ferro and Glokta that I totally love, and I wish we got to see more of them. The fact they were both tortured by the Gurkish, and Ferro felt empathetic towards him as a result, is something fairly unique to them at least as far as named characters goes. I also desperately want more of Glokta & Leo. I've never really had an in-law OTP before, but the way they both hate and sort-of-maybe begrudgingly respect each other in deeply fucked up ways is so much fun to contemplate. Leo as the new Jezal, Glokta hating Leo for being both nothing like him and too much like him, Leo desperate to avoid becoming Glokta, Glokta admiring Leo for anti-Bayaz reasons, Glokta's hopes and fears for Savine, Leo's resentment of Savine, Leo's lack of a reliable father-figure, etc etc. Climbing the walls tbh.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Oh boy. I guess my main one is that Glokta is not in my top 10 First Law characters. As brilliant as he is, I think he's pretty one-dimensional compared to many of Abercrombie's later characters. People say that Leo is Glokta 2.0, but really Glokta is the precursor to Leo; he click, tapped, pained so Leo could click, tap, grunt.

I also think people who claim Glokta is self-aware are talking out of their ass. He's self-deprecating for sure, and that gives a veneer of self-awareness, but he's still incredibly arrogant and particularly in AoM Savine pretty much tells him to his face how ironic it is that he essentially wants to become the thing he hates. He's a very smart guy who's good at playing the game, but he lacks the ability to properly soul-search the way that guys like Shivers or Temple or Orso can.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon?

Hmm... Bit of weird one but I'd quite like for him to have died in TWOC (or even in TTWP, off screen, would have been even better >:D). I think it would've given Savine and the new POVs (and Pike!) more space to shine, and helped the trilogy feel like it had properly moved forward without being in the shadow of LAOK. His appearance in TWOC felt too much like fanservice to me, although that's probably the least charitable interpretation of it. That said, I wouldn't then have the possibility of more Leo & Glokta in-law shenanigans, so maybe he can keep living for now. But Sholla couldn't carve cheese as thin as the ice he's on. Your days are numbered, Glokta. Body found floating by the docks...

[dulcidyne]

TROPE TIER LIST

Tagged by the wonderful @kirschewine and @whiskynorocks with this Tier List Maker

Wow, there aren't that many tropes I'll go to the mat for haha. One that is in my 'Absolutely Rabid for it' category that isn't here is the emotional slow burn/physical fast burn. I love it to bits. I will always click on a 'fuckbuddies to lovers' fic. Also while 'childhood friends to lovers' is not generally my thing, 'comrades/partners to lovers' is top tier in my book. @kirschewine had this wonderful idea to also post some fic recs that I'm going to copy for the fics/books that completely overwhelmed my inherent skepticism and redeemed a trope for me: Enemies to Lovers: I have beef with this trope in cishet pairings and here's why--it's way too broad to the point of functional uselessness. In tradpub it's full of 'raging misogynist meets normal woman, says heinous things, they fall in love?!'. In fic, it has a lot of 'Fantasy fascist regime footsoldier meets woman on the good side, they fall in love.' To both I say 'WHY tho'. Also if they're enemies they should be enemies and they both should, imo, kind of suck a bit. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - Beautifully written and the enmity is EARNED, damnit, with real external and personal stakes. Manacled by Senlinyu - I don't even go here. Not in this fandom, don't follow this ship, but this is an enemies to lovers that fits the brief, doesn't pull punches, AND doesn't even use a betrayal arc (which imo is the best way to get a compelling EtL dynamic). They start off as enemies with extensive external pressure that somehow manages to avoid the 'unredeemable fascist footsoldier' character pitfalls. Genius.

Slow Burn: I hate insta-love as much as the next person but I'm also impatient and have no time. However, I've read some beautifully written slow burns so I have to give these authors and fics heaps of credit. Two that immediately stand out: The Boy by DispatchwithLove - Beautiful prose. Compelling murder plot and riveting romance. I love every sentence and they all feel earned. blow smoke right in her eyes by thoughiseemtame - The slowburn to end all slowburns in my book. Unfinished and I don't care, it's that good.

Tagging @dispatchwithlove @otemporanerys @diaphanouso @kalliesa

[calkestis]

I FINISHED THE GAME OMG 😭 DID YOU SHARE ANY OF YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT?? (ive been avoiding spoilers so if you have pls link) but if not, please share! i wanna scream with someone

i did not share my thoughts because i needed time to process everything lmao but now that you asked, consider this the thoughts sharing post (below the cut, cause it turned into an essay ofc 💀)

i won't be talking about performance issues because i didn't run into many of those (game crashed just once in over 75 hours of play and i've only had some small issues with the fps) - for me it was amazing and i enjoyed every moment of it!!

it didn't leave the mark that jfo left on me, but i think that's because jfo totally took me by surprise, i never thought i'll end up loving that game as much as i do. i love having so much to explore in survivor and so many customisation options as well as many saber stances (i love them all, it's so hard to settle for just 2, but right now the blaster is my new best friend - also because it has some of the most badass finishers)

narratively, i think what carries the game is the characters and how well most of them are written. it's amazing to see the mark that all the loss and nonstop fight has left on cal and the thin line he's walking between the light and the dark - but like i said before, it makes total sense for him to tap into the darkside without being overwhelmed by it or totally falling. and it's great to see that by reflecting on the villains; unlike dagan, cal's main goal is not driven by ego, it's driven by his selfless need of protecting others, and unlike bode, cal is not trying to gatekeep his loved ones, he understands that sometimes people need to walk their own paths even if it means that they'll be in danger at times.

and speaking of villains, i adored rayvis, it was my favourite boss fight and also my favourite villain. i just have a thing for characters that put loyalty and honour above all else and it was so easy to understand and relate to his desire for freedom; the way he asks cal to free him after all this time, even if it meant dying (and the parallel with the ninth sister, which was also a very bittersweet moment, but set up the tone of the game very well).

the entire part that starts with bode's betrayal and all the way to cal finding cere's body put me through a roller coaster of emotions; i was expecting bode to betray them after the conversation he had with cal the night prior (kudos to noshir dalal for showing so much emotion), but my jaw was on the floor when he revealed himself as a former jedi. then the awe of seeing cere fight, the absolute terror of the fight against vader and the way i felt like someone pulled my heart out of my chest when cal was hugging cere one last time. it was some top tier storytelling not just for a video game, but for any media.

the only thing that didn't totally work for me was cal and merrin's relationship. i never actually shipped them (even if i understand why people do) and imo the romance was pretty cliche, even if i understand why they went that way narratively, what they wanted to show regarding the characters. i would've loved to see more of how the closeness between them develops, the dinamic of a friendship maybe or even a more implied kind of relationship, the kind that we saw with jyn and cassian in rogue one. i feel like the way the did it takes away from merrin's character and kinda turns her into a plot device for cal's character. it didn't bother me much, i would've just preferred they went a different way

anyways i'm playing the main story again right now so there might be more thoughts coming ajksdabh

but feel free to come to my ask so we can scream together

[witsserviceablesubstitute]

The short and long of how I feel about all the BG3 Origin characters:

The best written videogame characters I've ever encountered topped off with truly wonderful performances from their VA's.

Astarion and Gale especially are embodied by experienced and talented actors that have been honing their craft for more than two decades. This + their well written stories = a popularity that isn't surprising or unearned. But I absolutely agree stories and fandom prioritise white men, contributing to characters like Wyll and Karlach drawing short storytelling straws (even if imo their stories are still on the top tier of all videogame canon, they were comparatively rushed and underwritten).

BG3 is a game where the player can make any number of AUs that direct how the origin characters respond and develop. I for sure have thoughts and preferences, but fighting over ships or role-playing choices makes little sense. All it ever seems to me is an inability to appreciate the enjoyment of other people. A desire to justify ones own choices by putting other people down. A need to devalue characters or moments that other people care about, take joy from, or see themselves in to feel secure or superior.

A general disdain for real people and disregard of empathy is not something I'll engage in or contribute to. I'd rather enjoy and take joy from one of the coolest interactive stories and its characters. Feel happy when I see others do the same, you know?

[fadebolt]

Personal room rankings:

1 - The Exterior: J01 2 - Metropolis: highestpoint 3 - The Exterior: D04 4 - Outer Expanse: JUNGLE02 5 - Submerged Superstructure: FARSIDE 6 - Outer Expanse: SEXTRA 7 - Sky Islands: B09

Extra comment: Yeah, it's safe to say that I don't particularly agree with most of the votes here. I will admit that every room in this poll has a lot going for it, but I just don't see SEXTRA or B09 as the absolute top tier/best of the best kind of rooms, that deserve to be around in the top 50.

I personally have developed a bit of a bias towards J01, thanks to a ton of recent Expeditions. Of course, the room does become a lot more enjoyable when you're walking around with perks such as the Vulture Mask and the Backspear, but even outside of that, you can't deny that it's quite an excellently crafted area, even if it can be rather tricky to get through, at times.

There's not much more to add here, as it is a smaller poll, and highestpoint undeniably deserves to pass (JUNGLE02 is a bit sketchier, imo, but it still fits decently enough).

Oh, and well, this is the last non-1v1 poll, which is honestly insane, but it's also very exciting! This means that the room tournament will now be a lot more akin to the other RW tournaments that were hosted on Tumblr. (Specifically, the shipping, region and OST ones. I don't believe we've ever had a fifth one, but please, do correct me if I'm wrong.) I'm specifically looking forward to that, cus it'll allow me to examine every individual room a lot more closely, whereas before, I often had to keep my explanations short, while having to ignore a bunch of rooms altogether. (Cus writing up my thoughts for every option on every poll is frankly too much, even for me. Especially having to do it for 20 rooms on the weekends, like.... just.... no xd).

Pick Your Favorite Rain World Room, Day 282 R4b

Only 4 highest voted room will go through!

There is a hidden slugcat in one of the rooms (they can be in any color). If u can see it comment or reblog with where they are and if u are first, u get a cookie!

Credit for game screenshots goes to: Rain World Interactive Map, Rain World Wiki and me

Congratulations for day 281 winners!

[judasisgayriot]

I wanna hold your hand.

[the-great-lightwood-bane]

alec for the ask game!

ahhh thank u for the ask!

This is mostly based on show!Alec as he's got a lot more screen time, but there'll be some book!Alec as well.

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

Alec is my absolute favourite character, tied with Magnus.

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

(this is based on aesthetic attraction, not sexual, bc, yk, I'm aroace.)

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

ALEC IS ALL THE HOUSES U CAN'T CHANGE MY MIND— but here's some gratuitous reasoning behind each of them:

gryffindor: Alec's obviously brave, definitely self-sacrificing. Most of the time, he's admittedly less prone to recklessness than most gryffindors, but when around Magnus his recklessness is through the roof (remember the deal with asmodeus??? and edom??? and the whole simon-turn-me-into-a-vampire thing???) so it evens out.

slytherin: He's good at politics. He's willing to do anything to protect those he loves, including not-so-nice things. He's ambitious — he's youngest ever Inquisitor (in the show) and Consul (in the books), after all. I also believe that all the best leaders are slytherins, and Alec's definitely a good leader.

ravenclaw: He's smart, he likes to plan ahead. I think his choice of the bow and arrow is about this, too — mostly it's attributed to wanting to protect his siblings (a hufflepuff trait I'll get to later) but it also puts him above the fray, in a position where he can plan things out, think ahead, etc. My personal headcanon is that he's an absolute nerd, which ties in with this.

hufflepuff: He's loyal (to a fault) — to his family name, his siblings, his ideals. He's fair. He's protective of his siblings (remember the bow & arrows). He's self-sacrificing, which is also kinda a gryffindor trait, but I think it applies here too.

so yeah. Alec is all the Houses.

best quality: his willingness to sacrifice everything for those he loves

Alec will do anything to protect his loved ones. (Deal with Asmodeus, marrying Lydia, etc. Do I really need to list all of the examples of this?)

worst quality:  his willingness to sacrifice everything for those he loves

yes, this is also his best quality. It can be both.

Allow me to elaborate: Alec places his own worth far, far below that of anyone he loves — even below that of anyone he doesn't know. (Alec would totally throw himself in front of a demon to protect a random mundane/Downworlder.) This is obviously frustrating, and one could argue that it's unhealthy, too, but it's also admirable — most people have the opposite problem, imo.

ship them with:  Magnus

this is pretty obvious skdjfhskjdfhksdhf

side note, though: I very strongly do not ship Alec with anyone but Magnus. Specifically, not Jace — it's too close to incest, and it feels really... off, to me. Alec pined after Jace for years, but he wasn't properly in love with him, and it's really hard for me to see a healthy relationship growing from that? like if you like it, I won't judge, but it's just not my favourite thing.

brotp them with: Clary, Lydia, Lily & Maia.

(shush, I'm definitely allowed to pick more than one)

Clary: the I-hate-you to I-tolerate-you-because-you're-dating-Jace to I-actually-like-you-but-I-will-never-admit-it thing that Clary & Alec have going on is TOP-TIER. Them going out for tacos in the books is my favourite thing skdjfhskdjh

Lydia: we were ROBBED of a proper Lydia & Alec brotp. They could work together so well!!! I love the idea of them running the Institute together — it's normally done by a couple, so it's really a job for two people, and Alec deserves to have somebody who can take over the Institute and let him catch a break. (Also, I NEED Lydia teasing Alec for walking out on her, all the ex-fiancée jokes, Lydia telling Magnus about the "quite magical" scene — the comedic potential is PURE GOLD).

Lily & Maia: Gonna put these two as one brotp (is it a brot3 now?) because tbh it's the three of them together that I really like. It mostly happens in the book (since Lily doesn't exist in the show 🙄), but what we get of them is just... really good. Like, the three of them working together with the Downworlder-Shadowhunter Alliance? or making fun of ppl & bitching about the Clave? or Lily & Maia teaming up to tease Alec about Magnus? SIGN ME UP

needs to stay away from: Camille

There's just... so much bad stuff with Camille. She's incredibly good at making Alec feel insecure — imo, she's the one most capable of hurting Alec, be it book (page 511, anyone? ik Magnus & Alec could both have dealt with it better, but it was mostly HER FAULT) or show ("40 years from male pattern baldness" or w/e she said).

misc. thoughts: I hc him as grey- or demiromantic, which is possibly just projecting but here's my reasoning (combining hc and canon): Alec's crush on Jace was, imo, because he was the only guy Alec really knew — I don't think he was ever really interested in anyone else. He's never hooked up with anyone, although both Jace and Izzy have. He doesn't get why Jace is doing all this insane stuff for Clary, because he just met her — he only starts doing insane stuff for Magnus after they've known each other for a while. I also hc him as asexual, but that's definitely just me projecting 😂😂😂 (also, read Let in the Rain by @cuubism for more about this... and, if you'll excuse the self-promo, learning to love by yours truly.)

anyway thank u again for the ask!!!

[takaraphoenix]

with the movie news, how about teen wolf for the game?

Thanks for playing, though that movie should never be the reason for anything imo! xD

3 male characters I love: STILES STILES STILES he is one of THE BEST BOYS on TV!!! I love this character so much! Second, Derek with his broody dry sarcasm, absolutely delightful. Ah, let's complete the trio of main characters and take Scott, he's honestly so funny and sweet

3 female characters I love: KIRA! I love Kira so much she is so adorable and such a disaster in the best of ways, also I'm sorry but badass kitsune??? Hot damn! Second would be Allison, I always found her incredibly compelling and I am still mad at how she died (but then I'm also still mad at how they shelved Kira. Mh. Here's a trend for you. Date Scott McCall and you get canned <_< Weird writing decisions imo, considering he's the titular lead). And thiiird Melissa McCall, she's a great mom, even if she took some to adjust to Scott's situation, once she did, she was ride and die

3 romantic ships I love: Sterek, at the top, obviously. Stiles and Derek are top-tier. From the canon ships, it'd be Scott/Allison I was honestly so surprisingly much invested in this? And then Kira/Malia, ever since their dance in the club in Mexico!!! That was so yes, finally a femslash ship has crossed my radar for this show!! They were cute and Kira deserves to be happy

3 platonic dynamics I love: Scott-Stiles, their friendship is the backbone of this franchise. Second, mh, I do find the dynamic of Scott and Derek very interesting too, particularly in fics where the McCall pack and the Hale pack coexist (as it should be). And thirdly the Lydia-Allison friendship, I love me a good girls-friendship

3 favorite moments in canon: When Stiles carried Derek in the pool, that was *chef's kiss*, absolutely. Stiles in the hospital, thinking he's going to die of the same thing his mom did, but then the nogitsune reveal - Dylan's acting was incredible in the dual role. Brilliant. Third one is really hard, because despite having such shit writing for the most part, there are absolutely brilliant comedic pearls in this show. Okay let's go with one of my favorite shots, when Stiles and Scott are in the gay bar looking for Danny and Scott suddenly realizes it's a gay bar and turns toward Stiles, who is just surrounded by drag queens and goes "ya think" like he was in his element there and Jeff still trying to convince us that boy isn't bi lol what a fool

3 favorite headcanons: BISEXUAL STILES. Boyd and Erica and Allison LIVE FUCK YOU. Hale pack coexisting with the McCall pack

3 least favorite things about it: ahahahahahaha *ugly sobbing* how do I narrow this down to 3? *more sobbing* okay top has to be the existence of season 6B that was just shit the only good thing about it was FBI!Stiles and the way Derek carried him bridal style but other than that this shit half-season has no rights. Second? KIRA and how she was shelved, like, they didn't even fridge her the way they did with Allison, letting her die a heroic sacrifice death, instead they took this young woman with her whole life ahead of her and... and... put her in the sand to be gone forever what the fuck what the fuck what the actual fuck (plus the behind the scenes shit I mean hot damn to not tell Arden that they'd write Kira out of the show???) And third is genuinely hard, like, probably the existence of this good for nothing movie sequel and that they want to make a spin-off show from it

Top Three Fandom Ask Game

[veilder]

Hi! Would you happen to have Convin or Reed900 fics to recommend?

Oh, hello! I can definitely help you with Convin fic recs at least, lol! Reed900, not so much, but there are plenty of blogs around that you could ask for that ship. ^_^ But yeah, I’ll try to categorize these as best I can! And give a little summary, too! :D

Longfics 75k+ (Complete)

1. Mission: Unexpected by J11nxed (@j11nxed) Rated E (violence, sexual content, language, abuse): Super great casefic with lots of amazing character development. Very funny. Probably my favorite characterization of Connor and Gavin, lol. The fic I read when I’m feeling down. ^_^

2. Golden by jarpad (@embaggins on Twitter) Rated M (dark themes, mature content, allusions to self-harm/suicide, mental health issues, language): An absolutely beautiful story of healing and overcoming your demons handled in a very respectful manner. The subject matter is very thought provoking and it brought me to tears, both cathartic and not, more than once. It’s a heavy story, but... So worth it, imo.

3. like roses, death blooms by alekszova (@ewates) Rated M (violence, rape, torture, abuse, mental health issues): A very, very dark revenge fic. Definitely the darkest one on this list. If you like heavy angst, this might be for you, though please heed the tags. A lot of this story is about the aftermath of horrific events but there are still some very brutal scenes.

Mid-length fics 20k-75k (Complete)

1. Running Uphill by NHMoonshadow (@sharysisnhmoonshadow) Rated M (violence, peril, language): The ultimate time travel soulmate AU fic imo. Absolutely top tier Gavin characterization and development. Rich backstories and relationships. Definitely some trauma, omg. But ultimately, a happy ending. Definitely a must-read for any Convin fan imo.

2. Traces by berryblonde (@berry--blonde) Rated M (language, peril, minor suicidal ideation): One of the first long fics I ever read for this ship and still one of my faves. Excellent casefic setup, very interesting premise and some very dynamic characters. Also, really A+ backstory for Gavin. This is basically a classic for anyone who wasn’t around in the early days of fandom. Highly recommend!

3. His Robin by wolfetz Rated T (drama, language): Absolutely fantastic coming of age story set in a human!AU world. Really great character work for both Connor and Gavin and their relationship through the years. Love this one.

4. A Scratched CD/A Faulty Code by consecrated Rated T (mental health issues, language): Companion pieces told from Gavin and Connor’s POVs respectively. These were also very early fics I read when I was first getting into the fandom and I love them both dearly. The characterization here went a long way towards me loving the ship to begin with. A great intro to Convin.

5. That Boy is a Powder Keg by QueenHarleyQuinn Not Rated (language, violence, mature content, mental health issues): One of the most realistic takes on Gavin going from his canon asshole self to someone who could feasibly be in a relationship with Connor. I’m definitely due to re-read this cuz I can’t quite remember the details anymore, but I know I really enjoyed this at the time. Good for anyone who likes a more antagonistic take on him.

Shortfics/Oneshots (~20k)

1.  Sedum Spathulifolium by Burrahobbit Rated T (language): This fic... is so dang sweet. I’ve read it so many times. It’s absolutely adorable, what can I say? Love their dynamic here. ^_^

2. Always know that you are not alone by Liveinelf Rated T (language, drama): Another fantastic take on Gavin and his growth as a character. He starts off very close to canon here and is one mean asshole. But this fic does a great job of explaining why he acts as he does. And how he changes. Highly recommend.

3. Some things never change by berryblonde Rated T (language): An absolutely hilarious fic, lol. The view of Convin through the eyes of some rookie trainees, omg. It makes me laugh so much. XD

4. Mankind Needs More Empathy by BrightestStarInTheSky  (@brighteststarinthesky) Rated T (language, drama): Some good old-fashioned Gavin-getting-his-head-out-of-his-ass, lol. I love fics like this. Need a good basis to start a relationship, after all. Apologies are in order. ^_^

5. as i see them by rekal Rated T (language, drama): Same as the previous entry, this one deals with Gavin’s character growth and how he and Connor grow closer in the aftermath. It’s lovely.

6. Sweet/Wise men say... by 99MillionMiles (@99millionmilesaway) Not Rated: Two short, sweet fluff pieces that absolutely delight me every time I reread them. And as a bonus, some beautiful art by @deep-in-mind67, too!

7. Melted Phoenix by Astrapod Rated M (violence, trauma, mental health issues, mutilation, peril): This one... This is a heavy fic. It starts off with a very harrowing description of android violence that might be too much for some folks to handle. Proceed with caution. But, if you can weather that, this is an absolutely beautiful fic about love and healing. Definitely recommend.

8. So Pathetic and So Lovely by alekszova Rated M (language, drama, mental health issues, mature themes): I think the fic’s description speaks for itself here: “ Neither Gavin or Connor think they are capable of being loved by the other, but that doesn't mean it's true.” Definitely worth a read.

9. An unexpected turn of events by Smokey310 Rated T (language): This one is freakin hilarious. Connor and Gavin and a night out at the club, omg. I love this fic to death. XD

10. As Do I by berryblonde Rated T (drama): A human!AU where your soulmate can feel the injuries of their other half. It’s the story of a lifetime together. All the way til the end.

11. because the bed’s warm and it’s cold out by voidpants (@voidpants) Rated G (no warnings): Connor and Gavin being old men together. It’s beautiful. Such a lovely take on the two of them.

Unfinished Fics/Honorable Mentions

1. Spinning Yellow by sheepishwolfy (@sheepishwolfy) Rated E (violence, language, mature themes): Amazing casefic with top-tier characterization. What’s written of it is still amazing, even if it’s not complete.

2. Amidst a Crash of Worlds by fireplanetz Rated T (violence, mature themes, war, language): A fic told entirely through letters between Connor and Gavin in the aftermath of the bad ending of the game. It’s such an awesome idea and it’s executed so well. Definitely recommend. 

3. The Bet by Pence Rated T (language): Brooklyn 99-inspired DPD shenanigans. Need I say more? It’s so funny and I love the characterization of Connor and Gavin. Mostly finished, too! Just the final chapter missing!

4. Wicked by MercuryPilgrim Rated M (language, mature content): I love this one. It’s such a unique take on Connor and Gavin and it works so well, too. They are delightful here. Love the dynamic!

5. (can’t say) i don’t love you by Chibbers (@teh-chibi) Rated M (language, drama, sexual content): An angsty hanahaki!AU fic where these two idiots don’t realize they’re in love with each other. Really great writing here. Very emotional. Made me feel a lot.

And I guess I should mention that I have fics of my own, too, about half of which are Convin? You can check them out on my AO3 here! ^_^

So yeah, there we go. Those are really all I can think of off the top of my head. I know I missed some amazing works, too, alas. But at least this can give you a good start, yeah? Hope this helps @pancrystal! And thanks again for the ask! :D (Also, if I messed up any of the link or if there’re any glaring typos, lemme know. This was a lot of janky, Tumblr formatting, omg. >_<)

[phoenixyfriend]

I’ve been trying to figure out the best obi wan ship. They all have one slightly problematic thing this way or that. I’ve landed on the idea of obi wan and an equal is pretty top tier. But then I saw a picture of Coran from voltron. Coran and Obiwan might be a disaster but also both are dad shaped, both are bad ass, both are ginger, both have an accent. I think it could work. But another part of me is like Coran is just obi and jarjar mashed together. At the very least they hooked up.

Hey I just had restaurant ramen and Starbucks and actually feel like a human being so let's do something unnecessary but funny. I'm taking this as a challenge, anon.

Also IMO Coran has more in common with C3P0 than with JarJar

So obviously, both of these happen in Big Space, but the difference appears to be density. We see about the same complexity of culture and species interactions, but Voltron covers more galaxies. It's vaguely implied that Earth, at least, is the only planet with sapient life in the Milky Way.

I think the way I want to play this out, culturally, is that the Voltron area of the universe covers a much wider, but much more sparsely populated area, while the SW-verse is just the one very densely populated (in part because apparently humans just went Literally Everywhere) galaxy, where they didn't necessarily bother with developing the tech to go to other galaxies (except Rishi, which only sort of counts) because they haven't really even charted out their own yet. It was never contacted by the Voltron side of things because [checks notecards full of excuses] it's really far away from Altea and all that, and the Force shielded the galaxy from Galra interests because Reasons.

All this to say that the two franchises didn't interact until after the Voltron plotline was already over. We'll say it went mostly canon, except Allura survived because uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh fuck that.

We'll say that this is mid-TCW, you know, before Obi-Wan is a bundle of repressed traumas and bad coping mechanisms that's lost almost everyone he's ever loved to the dark side through death or corruption. He's still (mostly) okay! Anakin's not dark (or at least, not as dark as he could be; Obi-Wan doesn't know about the Tuskens), and Ahsoka's still in good standing and most people are alive and--and okay the army is a massive ethical violation he hates with his very soul and he misses Qui-Gon and Anakin's keeping secrets and pulling away from him every day but He's Fine, Guys.

He's Fine.

In comes a ship from not Wild Space, but beyond that. Intergalactic visitors, from the direction of the deeply concerning Force bullshit they felt a few years ago. Translation tech is decent enough on both sides that they get to talking pretty quickly. The explorer is actually a member of the Blade of Marmora, who gets the absolute most basic info (approximately this many inhabited planets, approximately this many trillions of sapients in the recorded galaxy, basic structure of the government for the past however many years, most recent conflict, etc.)

BoM person is like "cool, okay so you guys are really well set-up so I'm just gonna head back and kick this up a few rungs of the coalition ladder because this is way above my paygrade, I'll make sure you get some diplomats who can maybe help out with the whole galactic civil war situation as neutral parties."

The Voltron Coalition does send a diplomat! They, uh, also send Coran, who isn't technically a diplomat, but he's high-level.

The thing is, okay, that Coran is mostly just... passably competent at things. He's a jack of all trades, master of none type. He knows a lot of things, actually, but his practical knowledge in high pressure situations tends to be up in the air. He knows how to fix the Castle Ship and various technologies, but all of that info is ten thousand years out of date. He was a competent fighter at one point but these days his back gives out. He's very knowledgeable regarding intergalactic politics but, again, that information is ten thousand years out of date. He's also a little prone to social gaffs in dicey situations (e.g. the inciting incident in the Voltron Show episode where he misses the single day with clear skies), but puts in so much goddamn effort to make things happen.

In this manner, he's like a warped mirror of what Obi-Wan is and could be.

THAT SAID

Coran is actually really good with teenagers, and specifically with training them.

And Obi-Wan... isn't.

Obi-Wan's snarky and snippy and sassy, and he's decent enough at teaching and he's great at being a jokey friend and all, but he's not necessarily very good at emotions. And unfortunately for Obi-Wan, the teenagers he spends the most time with are Really Full Of Emotions. He tries, bless him, but he's just... he doesn't respond well to emotional conversations at the best of times.

His son-figure saying "You're like a father to me" leads to a response of... radio silence. Guys. That's not the mark of a man who knows how to talk about his feelings with the people he cares about.

In swans Coran with the various other diplomatic envoys of the visiting extragalactic community. The entire situation is really leading to a lull in the war because nobody wants to risk pissing off this clearly well-funded, well-powered third party. As a result, many of the High Generals can interact with the envoys, even if they spend quite a bit of time eyeing the Separatist representatives on the other side of the room, because clearly Everyone Needs A Seat At This Table.

It's a very tense situation.

Obviously, Coran is exactly the weird uncle that goes around telling plausibly-exaggerated stories about Weblums and Yalmors and Balmeras. I'm going to say at least one former Paladin is there, maybe Hunk. Hunk's fun, and also very willing to help Coran make friends and seem Amicable instead of Distant by correcting some of the exaggerations. There's a nice, calm atmosphere in a bubble around Coran and his nonsense, and it's a weird situation but arguably just... you know. It's good. He's good at making people feel safe around him.

Cue the hissed argument between Skywalker and Kenobi. The actual cause of said argument isn't important, just the fact that, in a dark corner where they're less likely to cause a PR issue, Anakin and Obi-Wan are having it out. Anakin's maybe twenty, still a lanky ragebaby, all that fun stuff. Obi-Wan is a the endpoint of every too-young brotherdad. He's thirty-six but feels like he's sixty-three. He's tired, but trying so damn hard to still connect with Anakin and just--just--

Obi-Wan gives himself a few minutes to calm down before following Anakin. He doesn't even remember what they were arguing about, really, but he has to mend the bridge before it frays even more than it already has. If Anakin goes to Palpatine for advice again, he's going to... do something. Obi-Wan isn't sure what, but he just has to fix this.

What he finds is... well, Anakin did end up going to vent to a man of an earlier generation who acts like a slightly eccentric older relative, but it's not Palpatine for once.

The goofy, slightly abrasive but mostly charming, brightly-colored representative of the Voltron Coalition is standing in the little balcony that Anakin's made it to, listening as Obi-Wan's recently-knighted padawan vents. The man nods and makes noises at the appropriate times, and then asks questions that are... maybe a little too accurate.

"You said that you view him as a father, that he raised you after you left your mother."

"Well, yeah, but he doesn't think I'm ready, or--"

"No parent ever does."

"...my mom thought I was ready to become a Jedi."

"I can't speak for your mother," the representative says, "but the princess of my people, Allura... I half-raised that girl from the beginning, and after the destruction of Altea, we were all the other had left. I watched her lead battles and bring life to planets, trying to rebuild a universe out of the ashes of what we'd left behind... I saw the evidence with my own eyes, and I still, every time, I worried for her."

"Why?"

"I worried that she'd be hurt, that she wasn't ready, that she'd make a decision she regretted. Often, she did, and I had to help her back up, and while she's always come back, stronger than before... she is the closest thing I have ever had to a daughter, and I will always worry for her. Every parent does. Do you think, perhaps, that your own Jedi Master, that you consider a father, may worry because he looks at you like a son? That it's not that he doesn't trust you, but that he doesn't trust the world around you?"

Obi-Wan feels his heart in his throat.

The conversation continues in that vein. While Obi-Wan can't say he likes the fact that this stranger is putting words in his mouth, if only as hypotheticals, he can't deny that there's a part of him that relaxes as Anakin does, as every frustrated fresh-knight question gets a measured elderly-steward response that's angled to consider the interpretation that favors Anakin and Obi-Wan in equal measure. Every word encourages Anakin to talk things out and lay boundaries and express his frustrations to Obi-Wan in the plainest words possible.

There's a story in there, more than one. The representative tends to go off on tangents, ones that Anakin sometimes finds interesting and sometimes just resigns himself to. Mostly, though, it goes well, and Obi-Wan... well, he's always been 'a nosy little bastard,' according to quite a few people.

(In his defense, the terms they'd used about Quinlan's 'investigative personality' had been quite a bit stronger.)

He eavesdrops to the end, and Anakin doesn't notice at all. Obi-Wan's not sure if he should try to address Anakin's lack of awareness of the world around him. He's not technically Anakin's master anymore. The comment may be taken as a criticism of his worth and capability, rather than a sincere desire to see his padawan not die.

He approaches the representative instead. He intends to introduce himself. Instead, the first words that tumble out of his mouth are:

"How do you do it?"

The man--older than he looks from a distance, more wrinkles than the bright hair would suggest, but not quite elderly yet--turns and lifts a brow. "Hm?"

"I'm sorry, I'm--" Obi-Wan grimaces. "I'm Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The young man you were just talking to is my former padawan, er, my former apprentice. I've been finding it harder and harder to speak with him over the past few years, and it seems that every interaction we have leads to an argument. How do you... manage that? I can't get him to listen to me at all."

"Ah, teenagers," the man sighs.

"He's twenty."

The representative pauses, and turns to him. "Are you the one he says raised him? The father?"

"Well... yes, I suppose that's one way to phrase it," Obi-Wan says, eyes darting to the side. He doesn't know how to explain the whole attachment situation to someone who barely knows what a Jedi is. He has even less of an idea of how to explain his own broken ability to speak of emotion, the parts of his mind that Bant clucks over and attributes to his own complicated relationship with Qui-Gon. "I had custody as his primary guardian from ages nine to nineteen and was the primary individual for handling his schooling, health, and general upbringing."

"That sounds to me like a very convoluted way of saying you were his father in all but name."

Obi-Wan grimaces. "I'm not exactly old enough to be his father, and I wasn't exactly the person he was supposed to learn from; I was the... back-up option."

"It seems he cares for you very much."

"He didn't have much of a choice," Obi-Wan says, with the kind of helpless smile and awkward shrug he's long gotten used to sharing with people when they ask. "And I assure you he'd have been happier with the man that was meant to teach him."

"I'd say that the 'would have' in this situation is much less important than what is," the representative says. Obi-Wan probably should have paid more attention to his name. "I wasn't in a position to define my relation to Allura or her father in the way that truly suited our situation, by... oh, tradition, social norms, public relations, take your pick. I was a very well-regarded official, of course, but I wasn't royalty, not even nobility, and I certainly wasn't wasn't legally or publicly part of the family. But for all the limitations there, I was still able to find ways to tell her and her family what they meant to me, and they in return. Your apprentice cares for you very much, and I'm sure you care back, but I'd hazard quite the guess that you've no idea how to tell him that."

"I... I shouldn't," Obi-Wan says. "I'm fond of him, of course, but I've no wish to smother him, and to simply say it would be undignified. I imagine he'd laugh in my face."

The representative raises one eyebrow and takes a sip of his drink.

"Master Kenobi," he says carefully. "Might I suggest you go find your young man, tell him you love him, and perhaps give him a hug?"

Obi-Wan's face flares red. It's been years since anyone short of Yoda has spoken to him like that.

"I'm not a child," he sniffs, trying to angle enough away that the blush isn't as noticeable. He's damnably prone to such things. "You're not that much older than me."

The man laughs, and Obi-Wan lifts his glass to his lips in a futile attempt to hid the embarrassment a little more. "Oh, not counting the stasis, I've well reached the age of six hundred and twenty-four, my boy!"

Obi-Wan chokes on his drink.

The man laughs a little more, but thumps him on the back until he's breathing normally again.

"Yes, most of the humans I've told have had quite the reaction!" the representative assures him. "But yes, even with the times adjusted to what any given local year is, I am significantly longer-lived than most species."

"No kidding," Obi-Wan manages. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand and looks over at the representative. He takes in the wrinkles and bright eyes, and says, "Well, I must say you look very well for a near-human of such an age. I can only name one person in that category that has managed better, and I haven't seen her since I was a child."

"I shall take that as the compliment it's intended to be," the representative says, twisting the edge of his mustache and beaming.

The man is... well, goofy, really, and quite a bit older than Obi-Wan had thought, but he's quite the charmer. Obi-Wan faintly compares him to a few different people in the back of his mind, but nothing quite fits. For all that the man is quite the jokester and--going by some things he'd seen from the corner of his eye in the main party--a master of physical comedy, the representative is actually more competent than he looks, and for all his visible age, not bad to look at. He is also, seemingly, an expert in dealing with teenagers and young adults, something Obi-Wan himself is... decidedly not.

He really should go speak with Anakin.

And there's a war to fight.

He doesn't really have much time, even with the recent lull.

He's in no place to be looking at the clean-shaven jaw and wondering what it would feel like under his lips, or to let himself consider whether this man would be the kind to have an hours-long discussion as to the narrative forms common in other galaxies, and whether they have anything paralleled to those in Obi-Wan's own, or if this man would show the same enthusiasm over teas that he'd shown over the hors d'oeuvres inside.

He should... really go find Anakin.

"I suppose it's time to find my padawan," he says, more to fill the air than anything. "Er... thank you, both for speaking with him, and for speaking with me."

"Not a problem at all, Master Kenobi!" the representative says, and Obi-Wan realizes that there's one last thing he may have... forgotten.

"This is terribly embarrassing, but I don't believe I caught your name?" Obi-Wan says.

"Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, at your service!" the man says, with a sweeping bow. "As you can imagine, most simply call me Coran."

"Then I insist you call me Obi-Wan," he says, and before he can stop himself, "Might I bother you with an invitation to a shared tea time? You seem a knowledgeable fellow, and I'd appreciate the chance to... eh, pick your brain, shall we say."

It's not the smoothest come on he's ever put out there, or the most easily interpreted, but... well. Perhaps it's for the best. He's rather often found his tastes going in irresponsible directions, and it'll be much easier to brush this off without diplomatic incident if there's room for Coran to politely ignore the less platonic options.

Obi-Wan hopes he doesn't.

It's very selfish of him, but a dalliance with an older gentleman... well. He does, perhaps, make such irresponsible decisions, even now.

"I do believe I'd enjoy such a thing!" Coran enthuses, grabbing Obi-Wan's hand and shaking it in large, effusive movements.

Oh, this is a terrible idea, Obi-Wan thinks, even as he exchanges comm numbers and says goodbye.

Still.

He likes the idea of having at least a little fun, sedate or less so, while they have some time to themselves.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

What are your thoughts on Star V.S The Forces Of Evil?

I used to follow this show back when it was airing. I had a friend who was absolutely obsessed with StarCo.

Said friend just became super depressed at the finale and stopped talking to us because of it.

Everyone knows the finale of this show is a bit of a dumpster fire. However, the most popular vloggers - such as Blue Order - say that ships like TomStar were "clearly being built up to". This is wrong. The show was clearly baiting StarCo the whole time. It would have impressed me if it actually subverted StarCo but alas we need our series-long-slow-burn-to-finale-kiss :/

i guess they didnt actually kiss in the finale they kissed before then on top of some pigs, which is... better? but

imagine an au where there were a couple for like an entire season or two and we got to see them be a pair ala finn x flame princess, which imo is still one of the best teen relationships ever portrayed on television, realistically awkward and honest and flawed.

i think it was starco which cemented my idea that series finale pairings are bland hetero bullshit. though harry potter movie 8 certainly helped.

I think the point where the fatigue REALLY hit is when they were acting like Tom and Star would get together, then there was Marco and Kelly, and suddenly Marco and Kelly brOKE UP OFFSCREEN and Kelly was written out of the show entirely during the Cleave. Stuck in her own universe. Holy shit. Tom was as well, if I recall? I can't remember where he ended up.

anyway enough about shipping, time for the actual plot.

the first season is a bit agonizing. it has its fun moments but it's mid to low tier. it's commonly agreed that the show peaks at the Toffee storyline, and I totally agree here, there's enough going on emotionally - especially with poor Moon, and when Marco punches Toffee - while still being small scale enough to feel personal. i am also SUPER crazy for the use of dark magic in these early seasons, like the Whispering Spell, or the curse that Eclipsa taught Moon. It was nice that you have these magical girls but not all their magic is light, some of it is very grim.

i found Eclipsa's storyline mostly interesting, but largely wasted potential. I didn't feel like Eclipsa becoming queen was a natural conclusion, since she doesn't WANT to be queen. She wants to run away with her monster husband! To make a comparison, in Adventure Time, an AU in the comics has Marceline become a Queen alongside Bubblegum, but the show itself heavily implies Bubblegum eventually steps down to live her best life with Marceline, and I think the latter is far more fitting. Eclipsa is even closer to Marceline in this regard! I still think Star was a more fitting Queen, even if Eclipsa was the rightful heir, and I was sure season 4 was building to her just giving the throne to Star (before it was eventually destroyed... or not? i don't know).

The whole stuff with Mina in the final season... the thing is, the story wanted us to be invested in the Monsters vs Mewmans war, but spent absolutely no time with any relatable/likable monsters. It just assumed we would automatically be invested in the Right Thing, because Star is, but Star is just an aristocratic ally. She's great and all, and I think the arc she goes through is genuinely good as a maturity storyline, but Star agonizing over all the monsters being discriminated or leaving, it was not fun. The Mewmans themselves were so annoying and agonizingly narrowminded anyway, it’s not like this was a conflict we cared about. 

What I found somewhat ballsy, politically interesting even, was the episode with Moon and the Mewmans who had either been displaced after Eclipsa gave the monsters back their homes, or who left just because they felt uncomfortable with monsters being around. The episode makes it very clear that the Mewmans are largely bigoted assholes, but they're also people, and some of the reparations under Eclipsa actually hurt them. Like a family whose home they had for generations got returned. It's not the fault of the Monsters, it's the fault of Solaris and the kingdom leadership for invading the monster homes and putting Mewmans into it, rather than working on solving the problems within her own kingdom.

As a result, even though Moon has not made any political statements against Eclipsa, she finds herself surrounded by a bubble of displaced or agitated Mewmans who do not want to integrate with monsters, and as the former Queen, she feels it is her responsibility to look out for these idiots. But what makes her different from Star is that Moon herself has a hatred of monsters, especially because of what Toffee did to her family ( yet it turns out Toffee only existed BECAUSE of her family). So Moon hasn't decided what she thinks is right, and has a pseudo nation forming around her, while Star has already set her mind on doing the right thing but is losing a lot of allies over it. This episode made the world feel more alive to me!

Unfortunately the way this arc was concluded was aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Namely, whatever the fuck Moon did with bringing the Solaris soldiers to life (WHY??? WHY WOULD SHE EVER DO THAT? SHE WOULD NEVER RISK STAR GETTING KILLED), versus the whole "destruction of magic" (WHAT), and finally the Cleave????????????

Because fusing the two worlds together is clearly the best solution, anyway don't mind that we literally destroyed all magic for some reason, only the magical beings you dont care about died or got debiliated (which makes no sense but whatever).

Overall a decent show mired by romance nonsense and by a misguided attempt at politics for two groups that nobody gives a shit about.

[synnthamonsugar]

Not to be insane on main, but: if they can manage to find their way onto the same side, Eris/Savathun would be an absolute top-tier ship, IMO.

I realize this is probably going to make sense to me and me alone (because of my shipping tastes / terrible brainworms) but I still feel like rambling about it so here goes lol.

IDK!! I just think there’s something to be said for the weird, twisted, quasi-romanticism of all-consuming obsession and how it could turn into infatuation with a change of perspective. (And let's be real - they are obsessed with each other. It's Eris' life's ambition to take out Savathun (not in a fun way), and Savathun's out there penning rpf about how strong and cool Eris is, while also like, leaving her mean Yelp reviews.)

I’m a fan of what I would define as high stakes enemies-to-lovers, and Eris/Savathun offers the possibility of that dynamic on a scale that’s nothing short of galactic - opponents who represent civilizations that would annihilate each other if given the chance. But even while the fate of hive- and humankind rest on their shoulders, the stakes are also deeply personal and intimate, both having robbed each other of some of the closest people in their lives. (Albeit somewhat indirectly in both cases.)

And, of course, the little detail of them being so alike that it almost hurts that they can’t be on the same side, because both of them need to be understood and there is somebody who can. That somebody just happens to be a mortal enemy. The drama!

There’s some of the wider thematic stuff that I like, too. Enemies-to-lovers is sometimes regarded as being as much a metaphor for embracing the unlovable parts of oneself as it is others. While I have mixed feelings about this interpretation, and don’t think it’s the main appeal of enemies-to-lovers in every case, I believe Eris/Savathun embodies this idea nicely. Two people caught between worlds coming to terms with the terrible and uncomfortable alien parts of themselves by/while learning to love each other. And what that symbolizes for humanity and hive-divorced-from-darkness, since if the two "representatives" of these respective civilizations can lay down their knives and learn to love each other, what could possibly stand in the way of their species making peace?

Of course there are logical leaps in this - Savathun breaking with the Darkness, Eris reaching a point where she isn’t willing to strike her down on sight - which is why I started with “If they can manage to find their way onto the same side”, because it’s a huge if and there’s no indication this will come to pass. But, like, I can’t not indulge this idea because there’s so much of it that’s suited to my particular tastes.

[stix-n-bread]

8 songs / 8 people

rule: answer the 8 song prompts, then tag 8 people

ayy thank you lots for the tag @yes-hey-buddy! <33

1. your favorite song at the moment

i’d replay this whenever i can it’s like…. very tender imo i love it

2. a song you associate with your favorite ship

don’t necessarily have a favorite ship so i’m going to put a song i associate with a ship and you’ll never know what it is or the fandom it’s from <3

3. a song that could be about you

this is a jokey answer fhJDJDJ

4. a song that you think is overrated

uhhhhhhh ummmmm i don’t think i can link any but fjJJDKSK for me (first i can think of) it’s anything by justin bieber or taylor swift? not feelin anything for them or their songs djsjs i’m sorry

5. a good song that reminds you of a good memory

i see the trend here is “played-by-dad-during-car-rides nostalgia”

6. the last song you listened to

7. a song that makes you laugh

this song makes me have a bit of a crisis every time i listen to it and i cannot think of anything more top of a tier than it or two trucks

8. a song that you want your mutuals to listen to

i know that y’all have different tastes which i absolutely respect, tho if you want go have a listen to this song and it’ll be completely up to you whether or not you would like to listen to it again <3

tagginnnn maybe more than eight (completely optional!) @soulsbefore @furblrwurblr @twistedmashup @angelique-fleur @cloverhead @renee561 @greentrickster @feather-dancer @prismarts @blixeon @keepin-it-crispy aaaaand anyone else who sees this and wants to do so is also considered tagged by me :D

[cluescorner]

I enter and leave with this (THH)

Hello dango rango fandom. I’ve had some bad experiences here before (not on this account), so I just wanna say my piece and then dip. Solely a positivity post here, but don’t start shit in the replies if you don’t see your favorite stuff mentioned. 

- Case 4 in the first game was truly top-tier, even if I figured out the twist pretty quickly. It’s filled with wonderful character moments for everyone, but Aoi shines especially. 

- Sakura is my favorite character from this series. She’s one of my favorite characters in basically anything ever. She’s loyal to a fault and truly looks out for everyone, even if she is a traitor in the beginning. Her FTEs are some of my favorite in the series and her relationships with the others help her personality shine. Sakura also doesn’t fall into the ‘strong-female-character’ trope of demeaning other women or solely being buff and that’s her entire character. She offers to help others get stronger, has moments where she’s extremely emotional and shows ‘feminine’ traits, and is one of the nicest characters in all of the games. God I love Sakura, she’s so fucking under-appreciated.

- Sakuraoi is my favorite ship in the series. The WLW truly triumph with this one. I shouldn’t even have to explain why, it’s about the strong friendship and genuine affection for one another. It’s about the loyalty and being extremely comfortable about each other. It’s about being arguably the most developed relationship (platonic or romantic) in the entire series, to the point where their extremely close friendship is literally a FUCKING PLOT POINT IN THE 4TH CHAPTER. I love them so much. If you draw them getting married and put Sakura in a dress, thank you so much I adore you. 

- Junko is a great antagonist. Have I gotten tired of her over time? Yes.  But she’s a phenomenal villain for the 1st game. Her various sprites are iconic, her VAs do such great jobs every single time, and she’s just so fucking evil. It feels great to take her down a peg. 

- I love Kyoko. Like, an elegant detective who appears cold and later warms up to you?? With a mysterious past and absolute dedication to her craft?? Plus a really good character design?? Sign me up! Her dynamic with Makoto is what made Makoto grow on me. I typically hate protagonists who are intentionally designed to be kinda bland in order to help the player insert themselves into the story, but Makoto’s interactions with Kyoko is what helped his optimism and devotion to helping those around him really come to the forefront. She can also be unintentionally funny sometimes, with how vague she is being simultaneously endearing and exasperating. 

- Stop calling Sayaka a snake. Just, fucking stop please. Like, how the fuck was she supposed to know about the class trials?? She tried to kill a dude (which can be said for almost 1/2 of the characters in the series), but I personally relate to her motive and find it to be one of the most justified in the entire series (Sakura’s being the most justified but that’s barely a fucking murder). IDK why she tried to frame Makoto either, imo it’s just bad writing, but she definitely wasn’t just planning on doing this from the start. Like, she was friendly even before the murder-shit was revealed and, until she saw her motive video, Sayaka was still just a generally kind person who I think had pure-ish intentions. I don’t even like Sayaka that much, but stop acting like she’s the worst person in this game, let alone this SERIES. 

- I vibe with Chihiro, because I too am weak and want to be stronger. 

- The character designs are all pretty good, though that’s a given in Danganronpa. I particularly like Sakura, Celeste, Chihiro, and Kyoko’s, though that might be my lesbian brain coming into play. 

- 3rd case is the least bad in the series. Like, it’s at least fun and has great voice-acting moments for Celeste. 

- 1st case was a great tutorial.