#but even then there are instances like kicking her out in season 6 that it's just like

[autumnrory]

it's wild that people will be like "i don't like any of rory's love interests, team paris!" as if paris didn't treat rory atrociously a good portion of the time

[jenoutof10]

Thanks for answering my ask before. If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, who are your top 10 favorite characters (can be from books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......

HAHHA don't worry these asks are fun and i enjoy them so don't apologize for giving me a good time. i do apologise for taking such a long time w these asks, im actually horrible at articulating my thoughts (which is why i am not a writer HA) i think i might be forgetting some characters, or maybe i just dont have alot of faves

1. itoshi rin (blue lock)

i feel like he sticks out like a sore thumb here but he's very much no. 1... something about him being an antisocial introverted hater with abandonment issues, but also has skills to back up his arrogance and (besides all the hate he lets fester within him) actually has a pretty healthy lifestyle.

2. itadori yuuji (jujutsu kaisen)

everything about yuuji is so inherently GOOD and it both interests + pains me to see him being put through all these trials and tribulations of a dark shonen mc 😭

3. gojo satoru (jujutsu kaisen)

i think, like rin, what makes him so interesting is that he has this arrogant and disrespectful personality but then again he's literally the strongest so you cant do jack shit about it. but on the other hand he's this playful goofy (incapable) teacher who spoils his students. i also love OP (to the point it dont make sense) characters.

4. dazai osamu (bungo stray dogs)

i find his inability to be truly happy in any universe fascinating.

5. tachihara michizo (bungo stray dogs)

if i explained it would be major spoilers for s4 and s5 of bsd so i'll just say that his contribution to the plot in the recent seasons really did it for me. the jump from s1 to s4 was a KICK.

6. mikage reo (blue lock)

he's a sopping wet sock. i think this is what people call a gap moe... this perfect, highly capable and charming individual turns into the most pathetic instance of man when his best friend leaves him.

7. giorno giovanna (jojo's bizarre adventure: golden wind)

his birth origins are alr wild. his stand is wild. his battle strategies are wild. his ending is wild. he (alongside jotaro) is probably the least expressive but his personality is so unique lol. a lil rascal.

8. kita shinsuke (haikyuu!!)

its been a while since anyone has mentioned haikyuu for me but kita remains as one of my fav characters LOL i think he's just very refreshing since the cast is full of hungry teenage monsters eager to win and he's almost like a breeze of calm HAHA. the inarizaki team is also very dear to me bcs theyre packed w such cool and strong characters that interact dynamically lol

9. tsukumo yuki (jujutsu kaisen)

honestly, she was the most interesting female character in jujutsu kaisen (for me) until gege decided to trash her. her appearances from todo's flashbacks to her in shibuya were all so badass, plus shes a good example of a character type i really like that radiates strong-confident-fighter aura but isnt really the brooding/dark type... but fun! ykyk. (oot but i REALLY wanted yuki at #9 bcs of her name LOL, realistically she wouldve been at #7)

10. raiden ei (genshin impact) + raiden shogun

again, another insanely OP character that it doesn't even make sense. her lore is crazy. the second raiden quest was what got me hooked (best story quest ever lol), i honestly can't pinpoint what it is from that quest since its been a while but it changed my whole perspective on her and i've been a raiden fan since. a combination of design, personality, lore, and strength (and additionally the raiden ensemble)

honorable mentions:

kaedehara kazuha, zhongli (genshin)

higashikata josuke (jojo's bizarre adventure: diamond is unbreakable)

lelouch lamperouge (code geass)

oda sakunosuke (bungou stray dogs)

[mach-speed-spin]

QuadStrike episode1 thoughts (and by extension first impressions on the season)

Bel in DB was a bit of a dumbass and a lot of a dick. Here is is a lot of a dumbass and a bit of a dick. I prefer him here to DB, but the sudden change is jarring

The kid with the Red Eye mask raises questions. Specifically, “what the fuck is this? Who the fuck thought making a Red Eye mask was a good idea? Do they have permission to use Shu’s likeness? Why the fuck would he allow this?”

They’re in England. Ghasem should’ve been there. He would’ve drop kicked Quadra for daring to forfeit

I love the aesthetic they went with. It’s a very particular aesthetic that I adore

The bey models aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. They still suck, but not as much

The battle we saw was disappointing. I fully expected Quadra to win, but Bel just battles really poorly. Quadra didn’t win because she was more skilled than Bel. She won because Bel battled like an idiot. Considering most of his growth in DB revolved around mastering every aspect of his bey and the evolution gears, this was bad. I counted at least 1 instance in that battle where each gear would’ve been useful (V Gear to speed up when Pandora was catching up to it, F Gear to tank hits, S Gear to deflect Pandora when it was attacking the disc, and L Gear when Pandora did a diving attack). Plus the burst stopper. There’s making a new character strong, then there’s making existing characters idiots because showcasing skill is harder than showcasing incompetence

I’m not entirely sold on Quadra. She shows potential, but if they handle every returning character like they handled Bel, I won’t be happy. We’re meant to view her as a highly skilled blader, but she doesn’t show much skill when compared to most characters in previous seasons. Generally, skill in Beyblade is shown by knowing your bey, playing to its strengths, knowing how to mitigate its weaknesses, and having a battle style that’s suited to your specific bey. Rantaro, Sisco, Valt, Toko, Fubuki, Amane, Ranzo, and Basara all did that as starter opponents. I won’t even bring up Sparking since every blader the brothers face is one of the Legends

The new stadium doesn’t do enough to stand out. It’s defining feature is “beys can launch themselves to do more aerial attacks,” but we already saw that in Cho-Z, with the concept being used for most stadiums in GT, Sparking, and DB. This doesn’t really matter though since special stadiums are mostly visual changes and rarely make a real difference in battle (except for the motor stadium in Sparking)

Quadra’s accent has a very specific thing to it. It feels like the voice actress was told to do a British accent midway through recording and the result was Quadra’s accent switching seemingly at random. I’m not complaining though since unique speech patterns are a great way to make characters memorable

I’m not sold on the elemental concept yet. After 6 seasons of a more grounded series, this feels out of place. It’d be different if this was the first season, but as the 7th season, a sudden change in how the world works is a hard sell (though it does show some promise)

Even when Ranzo wins, he gets clowned on

Overall, this doesn’t seem to be shaping up to be a great season, but there is enough in here that I could easily be proven wrong. At least it seems to be better than DB

[destinysbounty]

Poor Cole is just minding his own business, being gay, in season 3 and suddenly his crush wants to fight him over a girl 😭

Abslshdkdjkdkd ikr! Coles just vibing

Like!! Cole didnt even want to be in the love triangle in the first place. Hes just doing his own thing, goofing off with the bus microphone, wearing leather shoulder pads, and having homoerotic tension with all the other teachers. He never asked for this. Jays just like "fight me" and Cole is all "well alright you asked for it".

And really, when you think about it, nobody wanted to be in the love triangle. Jay's rampant insecurity just dragged them all into it kicking and screaming.

Cole, for instance, got chokeholded into it, and then stayed purely because he was mad at Jay.

Nya briefly flirted with Cole, for like 20 seconds, and even initially walked up to Jay after he learned about the Perfect Match, intending to comfort/assure him of their relationship - but then Jay lunged at Cole instead. And then she spent the rest of the season begging them to stop fighting. Like, iirc the double date at the theater wasnt even her idea!

And!! What Jay said in the Versus fight. "I was scared of losing Nya, but I take blame for that. I was more scared about losing you." Their fight was hardly even about Nya anyway! Jay fought Cole because he was insecure in his relationship with Nya, but when Cole fought back he became equally insecure in his relationship with Cole.

If Cole had been the only thing standing in the way of Jaya, then they wouldve gotten back together right after Cole bowed out. But they didnt, not until season 6! Because Cole wasnt actually the problem here. There were already hints of relationship issues at the beginning of season 3, what with Jay being too clingy and Nya being too distant. So honestly i would argue that the real meat of the drama is that Cole inadvertently stepped into an ongoing relationship crisis, got scapegoated for said crisis, accidentally made it worse, and then deliberately made it worse just to spite one of the other people involved. Hence why Cole's apologies often involve him saying, "I should have been a better friend" and "i had no clue."

Its just. So funny to me. The love triangle wasnt really your classic case of two guys fighting over one girl. It was just one insecure guy picking a fight with his gay bestie bc his girlfriend just realized shes poly. Everyone is confused and screaming all the time. Its just pure chaos. Someone get me popcorn.

[gamerkir]

Something I noticed while rewatching Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego season 1 episode 6 rules of the game. When the acme detectives we're jumping from the turret into the water Carmen didn't stop Tatyana or Zack when they jumped. She only yelled for her henchmen to stop Ivy.

That's because she noticed that the water way was too far away now. If Ivy had jumped she'd have hit trees and solid ground and would have died. Ivy hadn't realized that when she kicked the henchman away while on the railing. She only realized it after knocking away the closest person (to be fair he was armed so can't really blame her for focusing on that). When she slipped and began to fall Carmen was the first one to react and reach out asking Ivy to take her hand.

Carmen had been on the upper level of the turret not the lower one like Ivy. Which means Carmen forwent her own safety to slide or jump down to a lower level to try and save Ivy. And when Ivy slipped further Carmen leaned over to try and save her despite how dangerous it was. And she grabbed Ivy's hand. Ivy was the one who slipped. And when Ivy slipped Carmen was horrified and called out to her.

And both when yelling for her henchmen to stop Ivy and when Ivy fell you could hear the worry and horror in her voice but when talking to Ivy she was still worried but she also was much calmer. As if she was trying to stay calm to reassure Ivy.

I have no doubts that if she hadn't seen Zack and Tatyana in the plane coming to catch Ivy Carmen would have jumped out after Ivy and used one of the mini-gliders or parachutes that she usually has to save her and make sure Ivy was okay.

I also have no doubts that Carmen probably needed a few minutes to breath deeply and collect herself to calm down after that. And that when Ivy was there in perfect condition for the chess match Carmen was so relieved and glad she was okay but tried to hide it.

And that isn't the first case either where Carmen tried her best to save the ACME detectives. In the Higher Calling episode when Zack and Ivy are in the water with a shark closing in she fired a life raft at them. Which means that as she was escaping with her prize she noticed them in the water and the shark chasing them and had a life raft ready and fired it to save them.

Then later when Ivy stops Zack from falling off a high up bridge Carmen mentions she already saved them once that day and then slides away as if to leave them to their fate. But she slides down in a way that she can likely see the detectives. She was checking to make sure they were going to be okay even as she brought Ivy's attention to the wires and cables so that she could swing Zack to them so he can get to safety.

She cares about those two and note these instances are just within the first 6 episodes. She's probably saved them more than once.

Those two probably give that poor woman a heart attack with their reckless stunts and I fully believe that the reason we never see any actual adults chasing Carmen is because the adults realize that Carmen won't let the junior detectives get hurt. She won't hurt or let the teens get hurt.

And it's an easy way to get the kids more experience with police work and crimes without the risk of them truly getting hurt by the master criminal.

Those adults trust Carmen with the safety of those kids and teens. And Carmen steps up to that plate gladly and with gutso.

Carmen cares about those kids and I have no doubts that if it ever came down to saving one of them or escaping custody Carmen would save the kids.

[alaffy]

Riverdale 5x17 - Riverdale (RIP?)

I'm a little mixed on this episode. I think I liked the second part more then the first. By the way, did this feel like two different episodes to anyone else? And yes, standard disclaimer, will be talking about the relationships and, yes, I will be talking about the possibilities. I have no interest in ship wars, just talking about the show.

Ok, Hiram is gone. It has been confirmed that Mark has left the series. I mean, they still can bring him back at some point. But I have a feeling we won't see him for awhile. Well, thank Reggie for coming in with the clutch as he finally gives everyone something to get Hiram out of town, even though it's anticlimactic.

Betty is now an agent. And she gets a call from TBK, who is basically like if you leave me alone, I'll leave you alone. And she tells him I can't do that. Which I took as the writers letting us know that TBK is coming, but probably after this five episode event.

The town of Riverdale is back. And will be run by Toni, Tabitha, Frank, and (yea gods) Alice. Couldn't Tom have been a choice?

Hiram is the one who burned Pops, but on the bright side Pop's has decided that he doesn't really want to retire and wants to work with his granddaughter. Which is a sweet moment on this show.

Now as for the characters themselves...it starts with a line from Jughead that I think actually sums up about what happens in this episode. They characters for the past year have been surviving, but not thriving and so we have a bunch of people in this, "where do we go from here mode?" Talking about where their futures are going. Archie is going to reopen Andrews construction. Jughead is reopening the school newspaper and may become a teacher again. Toni wants to get the Serpents more involved in the community. Veronica was going to go back to New York, but finds out that (because she killed Chad) no firm will hire her. So then she decides to go into business with Reggie. And Jughead and Tabitha, who have officially been on one date (look, the show literally says this), may move in together. And during this period, we also had Veronica make it clear over and over again that she and Archie are done forever (I think this is brought up like 3 or 4 times). Methinks the lady doth protest to much?

In any case, as of half way through the show, people are either in different relationships or in the case of (Veronica and Reggie/Archie and Betty) flirting with the relationships.

The thing is, it seems like these are directionless people who are trying to figure out where their lives are going. And as the story goes along, I'm sure some things will work out and others not so much. HOWEVER....

Let's go to Cheryl's story. Cheryl finds a ton of skeletons in her mines (like this should be a surprise). She then finds out the story of a relative of hers called Abigail was killed by the relatives of Jughead, Archie, and Betty (which they say Cooper, which means that it would also be a Blossom, so....). Anyway, Cheryl demands an apology and, when she doesn't receive one, places a curse on the three. And we have a moment where wind kicks up and everyone talking about the ominous wind. Afterwards, we have Veronica and Reggie seem to get back together and Archie and Betty seem to get back together. Until Archie finds a bomb under his bed. And as Hiram leaves the town, we see a fire in the background and we don't know what happened to Betty and Archie.

So, let's talk about the preview and possible futures. The towns sign has changed and it's now called Rivervale and Toni also confirms the name of it. Most of the shots are of very creepy things happening in that town. But there are also shots of Reggie and Veronica as some sort of a power couple. And there is a shot of Jughead and Tabitha who seem to live together, but it doesn't look like things are going well. So, what does this mean? Well, it looks like (but I'm not 100% sure) it is some form of AU (either done by magic or maybe Archie is in a coma because of the bomb). And, as the Roberto said, it does look like the couples we ended with are the couples that will be in 6A. Now, maybe these couples will remain together or maybe not, however if the story is self contained I don't know if that really means anything, if this is a different timeline. For instance, Jughead and Tabitha could rally have a bad relationship here, but then we go back to the correct timeline and they haven't even moved in together yet. Also, this does explain why Roberto said the 5 episodes have their own storyline because whatever they do, probably a lot of it won't affect the main timeline. Like they could turn Betty into a serial killer or the writers actually kill Jughead, but it won't matter when the world rights itself.

So, if I'm right about Rivervail being it's own little universe, then the story of Riverdale continues in 6B. The question is, will any of this affect 6B? And even if it is a dream of Archie's, will that change the relationship outcomes that we ended with in 6A? If Archie and Betty were in a life threatening situation, would Veronica and Jughead reconsider where their romantic lives are heading now? Would Betty and Archie? And, again, not saying they will, just that it's a possibility. I guess what I'm saying is that, while it seems like there are these new couples and they may last awhile, the idea of Betty and Archie almost being killed might be a way the writers use to get the original couples back. And, yes, I have heard some of the things the writers have been saying. But, again, it wouldn't surprise me if what they're saying refers more to 6A, then the whole of season 6.

[rhetorical-ink]

Haikyuu!! SPOILERS: Chapter 401, How We Connect the Dots.

**PENULTIMATE SPOILERS BELOW**

I just posted a video with my live reactions to the chapter, but here are my highlights, because FURUDATE YOU MADMAN GENIUS. This chapter connected so much together. So, let’s do:

My Top 10 Thoughts on Haikyuu!! Chapter 401:

10. Of course. In true Furudate fashion, he has Kageyama block the spike from Hinata, BUT, what Kageyama doesn’t realize is all the training on the beach Shoyo has done to prepare for such a moment. And that heel kick! *swoons* Also, someone reacting to Season 4, Episode 9 of the anime, where Hinata kicks the ball back to himself called this happening all those months ago...Furudate is next level at foreshadowing. Not that we didn’t already know that.

9. Hey, remember how in the VERY FIRST chapter of Haikyuu!! Shoyo did this crazy run across the court to score? Yeah, Furudate knows we remember. And he pulls this -- and Kageyama’s beautiful reaction, only for --

-- Only for it to all be a DECOY. Kageyama, you made this monster, you know. I love that Shoyo has come all this way from wanting to score all the points to accepting that the decoy DOES have a vital role to play, and in this instance, it’s allowing Bokuto to score the winning point for the MSBY Black Jackals. Just look at that smile! And of course, Tanaka and Asahi KNOW the power of Hinata as a Decoy...because they’ve been in Bokuto’s shoes before. 

8. UGH, the aftermath of that moment is glorious, which will detail down below -- but I love Shoyo and Kageyama’s interaction, though. How they’re still keeping track of each other’s wins and losses, exhausting Miya, hilariously, and showing that they’re on equal footing now, after all these years. This chapter is just cementing the last several chapters’ worth of character development. 

7. ARE YOU SHIPPERS READY FOR YOUR FOOD?!

Because these next few pages were healing my shipper heart. I mean, yes, the Kagehina fanbase is raving right now, but let’s talk about THESE ships below, starting with:

Tsukishima x Yamaguchi:

So, Tsukishima, of course, is not sappy about any of this and just points out how the season’s just getting started (ready the fanfics, y’all). 

And of course, Yamaguchi wants to watch Tsuki play! Yachi says she’ll come too! I LOVE how just like he was with Akiteru, he doesn’t want them to come watch (even though we all know he’ll love it when they’re there). Now, some people have commented that Yamaguchi could be with Yachi, but y’all...Yachi is in Tokyo. Yamaguchi and Tsuki both live in Miyagi. I can’t wait for all the Sendai Frog/TsukiYama fanfics!

If you’re looking for an extra Kagehina crumble, just look at the end of this adorable exchange between Romero, smol adorable Rubens, and Shoyo (who perfectly crouches down to talk to him MY HEART I CAN’T), to see Kageyama notice that Shoyo can speak multiple languages...oh, honey! If only you know about Hinata and Pedro’s marathons of DBZ in Portugese and English! ^^

Also, Furudate WE SEE YOU. We see you being meta and implying that now Haikyuu!! is over, he’s moving on...Akaashi’s line about going forward hit me hard...it’s like he’s telling us, the fandom, that going on to start something new isn’t so bad. SO YOU SAY. 

BOKUAKA NATION -- WE CANON NOW, RIGHT?!

I love that Akaashi gets to interview Bokuto (IS HE GOING TO BE THE STAR of the Volleyball manga Tenma Udai is writing?! He would be PERFECT for it!) and how happy Akaashi looks, even if he and Bokuto realize how differently they view the term “normal.” 

ALSO, it’s implied above that Akaashi, Bokuto, and Tenma were going out for drinks...which now....we know that it’s just Bokuto and Akaashi, since Tenma was going home. Uhm, FAN FIC WRITERS ASSEMBLE!

I also love that Udai joins the club, along with Fukurodani’s coach and manager, of people who realize that Bokuto and Akaashi are weirdos but they are weirdos together, so it’s fine. 

Keeping the “Ship Train” going, we get little bits of Shimizu x Yachi from the bathhouse before the Inarizaki Match, where Kiyoko finally acknowledges she is okay showing her legs...thanks to Yachi’s words. I also find Suga wanting to know “the tea” on the situation to be adorable. 

AND FINALLY, YES, Y’ALL:

I was spoiled with Kuroo’s return, but seriously, Furudate, you saved him for the end here so INTENTIONALLY. 

Because OF COURSE Kuroo would work for the JVA. As a promoter. CONNECTING people...with Volleyball...because that’s the Nekoma way.

And FURUDATE ARE YOU SUGGESTING TO US THAT KUROO AND KENMA ARE BUSINESS PARTNERS AND COLLABORATORS BECAUSE MY KUROKEN HEART IS SOARING -- 

-- and let it be known Atsumu Miya rightfully doesn’t trust Kuroo, and neither does Sakusa. A nice SakuAtsu crumb where we actually see Sakusa agree with Miya without sacrasm or question! Poor Shoyo is a salesman’s dream, though. I mean, Kuroo does look a little sketchy in some of those shots...BUT....

6. Kuroo’s speech about sports was SO fitting. Seriously, everything he says here is BASICALLY what makes Haikyuu!! such a great series. I DID laugh out loud at the line about “hardly anybody dies.” 

*Flashbacks to “Dead Daichi” meme*

5. It’s taken us the ENTIRE series, but Kageyama finally talks to Kindaichi and Kunimi. This was so heartwarming, seeing Kageyama wanting to play WITH THEM. AS A TEAM. This made my heart expand three sizes. The character development on Kageyama, and Kindaichi, is through the roof.

I also LOVE Kunimi the most in these panels. Kunimi is a MOOD. 

Y’ALL. I’VE WAITED 400 CHAPTERS FOR THIS PANEL OF THESE THREE HAPPY AND BECOMING FRIENDS AGAIN.

4. I love that Hoshiumi doesn’t see Hinata as a Rival, but as someone that is going to help him show the rest of the world the strength of someone who doesn’t have height. I also find it interesting that we see the Japanese Olympic Coach walking out just as Hoshiumi gives us that beautiful gaze. So...does Hoshiumi know he’s going to be on the Olympic team, with Hinata, maybe? Foreshadowing, perhaps?

3. Okay, okay, I held it together until this page. 

It wasn’t Ushijima’s panel with Washijo that got me.

It wasn’t Saeko and Akane reuniting, though that was sweet. 

It wasn’t the three “Pure Captains” reuniting, though it made my heart happy.

It honestly wasn’t the five first years together, either. They’re all so happy and having a laugh at Kageyama’s expense, and as beautiful as that panel is.

SUGAWARA IN LINE TO GET KAGEYAMA’S AUTOGRAPH.

That is what got me. 

Him in line, so meekly, to get the autograph of his kouhai, the man Suga joked would have to tell about how much he learned from HIM when he was giving out interviews and autographs...I just...Sugawara made me cry. That is all. 

2. Then there’s this last page. 2021. 

"We overcame difficulties and stand here.”

Furudate really said “screw you” to Covid messing up the timeline.

Yes, seeing Kageyama and Hinata in their original jersey numbers was amazing, but I think we all saw that coming if these two happened to get on the Olympic team. 

What I want to focus on are the two countries we see included in the bottom corner here. We see: 

Brazil -- and some fluffy haired man carrying the flag for the team.

And we see the United States -- there’s several American Flags and stars and stripes on the shirts of the crowd, there.

SO, HEADCANON TIME: 

* Oikawa was on the Argentinean League, so could he play for Brazil? It’s not likely, but not impossible....BUT, I don’t think that’s it.

I don’t think Oikawa is on Japan’s National Team for the Olympics.

If he is on the Olympic Team, I think he’ll be on America’s. 

Why? Because, and this could be because I’m the biggest IwaOi shipper, but Iwaizumi was still in the United States with Ushijima’s father at the end of Chapter 395. And if he’s still there, there is no reason why Iwaizumi couldn’t be a physical trainer alongside Ushijima’s father for the U.S. Olympic team. And why wouldn’t Oikawa trek over to the States to be on the same team as Iwa-Chan’s working with? I’m probably wrong, BUT -- 

We also still need to see Seijoh’s banner, and as others have theorized, how fitting would it be to see Hinata, Kageyama, and (probably) Ushijima on the team facing Oikawa? I just....I’m betting money that Oikawa shows up in 402. I hope we at least see him on the Olympic Stage. OIKAWA DESERVES IT. 

1. So, who are we missing that hasn’t been shown yet?

We still need to see the rest of Nekoma (Lev, Yaku, Yamamoto, Kai....could they be in the stands or on the Japan team? I guess we’ll find out!)

We haven’t seen Daishou and Mika -- I would love to see them watching or narrating in the audience during the Olympic game.

And finally, yes, we’ve seen Tendo in the Chapter 395 flashback, but we’ve never seen what he’s DOING. Furudate has shown us with every character what they’ve been doing since the timeskip....EXCEPT TENDO. I’m calling it that he’ll appear one more time next chapter, too.

So....guys....I’m staying off of Social Media from Wednesday to Sunday next week, to prep for the last chapter and not be spoiled. I’m going to do a live reaction for YouTube, and I’ll post it here. You can see the one I did for 401 now. 

Furudate, this series has been immaculate. Time for one more round.

Let’s all cry together next week.

[object-show-analysis]

Why does MePad lie?

This is a question I was asked to answer a while ago. So let’s talk about it.

Now it is a fair question. Why would MePad lie to MePhone about where Marshmallow was if he doesn’t have emotion? He claims that he can’t feel anything, so why’d he make the choice to lie to MePhone

the answer to this one is pretty simple, (and most people I’ve talked to seem to agree with this, I’m just here to put things into words the best I can) but the main reason MePad chooses to keep where Marshmallow is a secret (despite the fact that he cannot feel anything for her) is that he’s a liar.

Marshmallows whereabouts aren’t the only lies he tells in episode 11. Kick The Bucket parts 1 and 2 are the only instances in which MePad mentions his inability to feel emotion. And I am positive that this is also a lie.

Let’s go over the facts

Season 2 Episode 2 we are introduced to MePad. Right away he is established as very different from MePhone in many ways. Mainly through his friendly demeanor, and his compassion. In his first episode, MePad is incredibly friendly. We see him “smile” throughout the episode and he seems to show compassion towards the contestants

As early season 2 goes on we continue to see a wide range of emotions from MePad

He shows sadness or anger when arguing with Toilet. He becomes sarcastic and sometimes even rude towards MePhone. Which, while unkind, is still an emotional response. But he’s also shown to be incredibly compassionate. From the start he applauds MePhone for caring so much about the contestants, though MePhone shuts him down.

One of the biggest indicators of this sense of compassion comes from his behavior towards his fellow assistant/cohost, Toilet.

MePad and Toilet are both hostile towards each other in the beginning of the season, though MePad doesn’t understand exactly what Toilet has against him. Their talk in the falling balloon opens MePad’s eyes to the reality of the constant workplace abuse that Toilet experiences. From that point there is a very obvious shift in MePad and Toilet’s behavior.

MePad takes time to give credit to Toilet, even when it isn’t deserved, in the name of trying to get MePhone to recognize him. He works with Toilet in an attempt to get MePhone to let him read the votes. And when MePhone shuts Toilet down again, MePad appears angry with him.

It is important to note here that MePad is not one for open confrontation. He never actively stands up for Toilet but he takes steps to ensure that Toilet gets the recognition he deserves. When MePad is upset about something, he dwells. Never directly asking for answers but trying to figure things out on his own (we’ll get back to this point in a moment)

Episode 13 and 14 give us a lot of insight into many characters, and MePad is no exception. As episode 13 comes to a close, this unwillingness to actually stand up against MePhone becomes his greatest downfall. MePad tries at first to insist Toilet would never mean any harm, but when push comes to shove MePad stands with MePhone. As Toilet turns to him for help, MePad can only look away.

MePad clearly has some inability to directly fight back against MePhone, even when he really wants to. It’s a limitation of his.

We see in this scene and in future scenes how Toilet leaving emotionally effects him. MePad is visibly distressed when Toilet leaves, and later becomes angry with MePhone for trying to get rid of his memories again and abandon the contestants. Just another example of MePad responding in very emotionally driven ways

But I’m rambling now. Back to the topic at hand, MePad and emotions. I do believe his emotional expression is very clear, but also lore wise it would only make sense for MePad to have emotions.

It was confirmed on tumblr that the Meeple products ability to feel emotion has been on a decline since MePhone4. MePhone4 being the most capable of complex emotion, and the phone that attacked Toilet (commonly assumed to be MePhoneX) being the least emotional that we’ve seen so far. We see MePhones be capable of emotion up until MePhone6 (though they could still be capable of it. As we don’t see much of them, or 6+)

Timeline wise, we know MePad was created somewhere between MePhone4 and MePhone5 (he was most likely built before MePhone4S as well, though we aren’t entirely sure). But this means that MePad should be even more capable of feeling than 5, 5S and 5C (who we know can all feel emotion.)

Case in point: MePad Does feel emotion. He absolutely must in order to line up with the confirmed lore, and what we’ve seen in the show.

Now with that out of the way we can circle back to the original question: why does MePad lie to MePhone about where Marshmallow is.

I don’t believe it was his original intention to do so, as he seems concerned for her well-being at first. And doesn’t seem to have any intention of lying when he first confronts MePhone about it.

However Marshmallow doesn’t leave his mind. Even though he tells Toilet that he’s been watching the competitors, we see he’s also got Marshmallow’s drawing of Bow with him. He’s been thinking about her, and the other contestants as a whole.

MePad is unsure why Marshmallow would choose to leave, but I believe this is the moment where he comes to his own conclusion. MePad notes to Toilet that he’s realized how miserable the contestants are. He sees their struggles and how much the competition is ripping them apart. Toilet re-solidifies this idea, as he shows he relates to the contestants in their need to please someone without ever getting anything in return, which MePad knows makes Toilet miserable.

When we see MePhone and MePad together again after this conversation, that’s when we learn MePad has lied about knowing where Marshmallow is. Because he knows why she never came back. He understands now that this was a bad environment for her.

So he makes the decision to let her be. It’s unclear what he thought would happen if he told MePhone where she was, but it’s possible they’d try to bring her back. And he understood that wasn’t what she wanted.

But there’s still one question that remains: why does MePad lie about not having emotions?

MePad’s ability to feel is mentioned twice in Kick The Bucket. Once in part 1 and once in part 2. Though his story changes throughout the two parts

In part one he claims that he can’t feel Much. Which isn’t a complete lie, as I already stated his emotions aren’t as strong as MePhone or the contestants. Though there isn’t much of a visible difference.

But in part 2 he states that he can’t feel Anything. Which surprises MePhone. It’s also important to note in this scene he appears very distressed Until he claims he can’t feel.

It’s unclear exactly what he hopes to achieve by claiming he has no ability to feel. But as I’ve already discussed, there was a clear shift in MePad’s understanding of the game in episode 11. He now sees Inanimate Insanity for what it really is, and all the pain that comes with it. We don’t know his exact reasoning. But it’s clear that this realization is what caused him to begin to lie about his ability to feel.

I hope this answer was satisfactory

[b0rista]

— ❝︎ 𝐘𝐎𝐔 & 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐎 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍! 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐔. ·˚ ༘

♡︎ : the atmosphere i'm going for is frustratingly difficult to describe djjfjg the word "somber" doesn't really do it for me, but it's pretty much these emojis 🌑🌨🎞💸🚬⛓🔭

lowkey just wanted to put this trio & y/n (aka the loml) in a really dark, gloomy, modern metropolis type of place full of cold weather, inner monologues, and cigarettes JFKGK

ALSO my insp was the reiner + annie fanart in the center of the divider i made!! i really wish i knew the artist, but i couldn't find them :(( definitely NOT taking credit, it isn't my art whatsoever. but LOOK AT THEM UGH THE AESTHETIC

to balance things out, i wrote the reader as female! && characters are aged up to their early twenties.

the bunch of you met through your college courses— of course, the three of them had known one another since childhood, but you managed to weasel your way into their close-knit friend group. ever since then, you all share the melancholy city life.

during your guys' campus days, reiner worked for his master's in kinesiology. it isn't that big of a shocker that he aimed for something that pertained to his bulkier build,, mans grows up to be an absolute unit, lmao. wanting to maintain an above average salary, he used his education to earn himself a place in the certified training department. currently, he's a personal trainer of many clients, all of which he does his best to maintain.

bertholdt majored in philosophy, and worked toward his master's degree. with his intelligence, he got it. while all three of you (reiner especially), urged him to pursue non-profit professionalism, praising his skill and all around ability to do so, he lacked the confidence to push for it, and ended up going down another path. currently, he's sticking to the safe road, aiming to become a professor in the very course he excelled in. he's yet to get there, though— right now, he's a professor's assistant. it's less tiring, at least. still, he was capable of becoming something better.

as for annie, she majored in political science. unlike the other two, she worked to obtain a bachelor's degree. with that being said, she attended college for a little longer. eventually, she got her degree, and while she was a little lost after graduation, she made her way into the policy analyst game. she had the writing skills, sOmewhat of the drive, and while she's the youngest worker in her office, she's also the brightest. they're all also terrified of her, she speaks .6 words a day.

of course, what you did is entirely up to you! if you took two or three years to get your degree, you likely graduated alongside the boys. if it took longer, no worries, annie's degree took quite a bit.

now, the four of you are living in the same city, and you're all experiencing that said city's constant mournful, dingy atmosphere. the aesthetic is calming, actually; the weather is never nice, it's a rarity that you ever get an actual glimpse of the sun. no matter the season, so long as it isn't summertime, layers are a must. rainfall is a weekly occurrence, as well as the occasional thunderstorm. the merged stench of coffee grounds and burnt oil linger within the streets of the city, simply adding to the melancholy. basically, the general scenery is dark, cold, wet, and quiet. it's a gloomy place,, definitely comparable to forks, washington, but more of a metropolis than a town.

even with all of that being said, you and your friends have a good time. honestly, if you didn't all have eachother, you'd all probably go mental.

while reiner and bertholdt have their own seperate apartments, you and annie share a place. the rent was cheap, especially once split between two homeowners. two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a single kitchen & living area. it was too good of a deal to pass up. fortunately, you and her are compatible roomates.

with that being said, of course, it's often that the four lounge around at your guys' apartment. bertholdt always makes sure to check in before visiting, while reiner has the sour habit of showing up unannounced. you've both had to deny him a key, despite his pleading. you love him, but not that much.

sometimes, the two of them crash in your living room. typically, it's reiner on the couch while bertholdt takes up the floor, waking up the next morning in whatever flamboyant position he'd folded himself into during the night. every now and then, you and annie forget to head back to your rooms, and you crash right there with them. before you all fall asleep, you're typically all huddled up near the glass doored balcony, allowing the rainfall to serenade the four of you into a deep slumber whilst sitting within the crisp remnants of cigarette smoke and freshly opened liquor.

in a way, it's funny, because you all have a tendency to do that on a work night. just the four of you, sitting in your living room, drinking your alcohol, coating your furniture in the brisk stench of pure, solicited nicotine, watching your very own city drown within the darkening sky's tears as little to zero words are even spoken. when it comes to you and your friends, that's something that can never be contradicted; the quiet. these were how you spent your evenings together, especially after a rough day— silence, smoking, and the most peaceful sorrow imaginable.

of course, when you aren't wallowing in your own self pity, you're known to get drinks together. there's this certain booth in a local pub, it had burnt burgundy seats made out of leather. it's your guys' booth, and whenever you go out for a drink or two, that's where you sit. it's way back in the corner, where none of you can be bothered. one time, a couple of rascals had stolen it, and they refused to move. without a second thought, annie slammed one of those motherfucker's faces into the table. in suite, reiner took care of the other one, yanking him from the collar and kicking him to the floor. you and bertholdt only watched,, you were laughing, poor bert simply dragGed his palm down his face.

hey, at least you got your seats back! absentmindedly, you etched your initials into the bottom of the table with your pen. without a thought, the other three did the same, marking the corner as their own. don't fuck with that table, you'll be slaughtered.

when winter hits, it hits mercilessly. it's insanely aesthetic, seeing your group standing on the side of the busy street, all absolutely layered up in buttoned up winter coats and thickly knitted scarves. because they're both unnecessarily large, you depend on them for warmth every now and then. the amount of times you've buried your face within reiner's side while sitting on the subway during the midst of wintertime is stupid. as for bertholdt, he occasionally takes off his very own coat, draping it over you or annie's shoulders whenever either of you are seen shivering. he doesn't mind getting a cold, so long as you're warm.

speaking of the subway, your city has one. it's a pretty average way to travel, and due to none of you actually owning your own vehicles, it's where you go whenever walking or taking the bus isn't an option. the only one who isn't allowed to ride the subway alone is you. there was instance where on your way home from work, you had a run-in with an unpleasant bystander with the means to hurt you. ever since then, a code has been set where if you want to travel underground, you do it with one of them.

^ one time, you didn't listen, and you went by yourself anyway— unfortunately for you, reiner was boarding the exact same stop as you, and gave you quite the scolding. however, it's only because you're special to him. to all of them.

you and annie are actually closer than you'd imagine. being one of the only female friends she's ever been able to keep, you've grown to be an important figure in her life. of course, she'd never admit that to you, but you know. some nights, the two of you lean against one another on the sofa while black & white reruns play on the television, ultimately sending you both to sleep.

once a week, you have lunch with bertholdt at the university he assists at. you know just how glum the work makes him, and fortunately, you showing up every single sunday with coffee and sandwiches never fails to brighten his day. sometimes, you're the only one that can get him through the week.

bert's crush on annie is still very much a thing, even in this universe. of course, he's older, and for the most part, he's grown out of it. still, he stares. not as much as he once did, but he does. you and reiner only watch from afar, quietly sullen that he'd never quite gotten the guts to act on it.

bertholdt is also the group's umbrella holder. it's constantly raining, and due to his height, he's the one holding the bigass umbrella over the four of your guys' heads. when there isn't an umbrella, you just sort of seek refuse underneath his arms, which he gladly gives you. reiner and annie don't really mind, they get wet. it is a thing where you're all rushing to get out of the rain, the two men shielding the women's hair from the storm with their jackets as they run for shelter.

you all smoke. well, actually, whether or not you smoke cigarettes in this scenario is entirely up to you. if you'd like, ignore this part. anyway, cigarette sharing is a given. while reiner's preferred brand of darts is far more lucrative and more likely to kill him (he's dead inside, it fits), he won't hesitate to snatch a cigarette from in between the tips of your lips, bringing them to his own. it's something all of you do, even bertholdt. sharing is caring, you all say. you tend to do the same thing with wine glasses, or beer bottles.

it's practically gotham city, you're all dead inside grownups, god isn't real.

irllydidn'tlikehowthisturnedout-

[dollfaced-erin]

Not So New Afterall (Sdv Sebastian x F!Reader)

A/n: this chapter may be a little gory for some people. It contains lots of blood and angst and tears, broken bones, and the like. If you are uncomfortable with it, you can read until bold words after the cut. That’s when the gore starts. Then it ends at the highlighted, bold word, you got me?

Present Sebastian means the adult Sebastian, orite? In this time frame, everyone will be aged down, so here’s a headcanon of their ages. All the ages of bachelors and bachelorettes have been taken into account by their appearance, current height, personality and maturity.

(Y/n) and Abby: 6 years old (currently 23) Sebastian: 8 years old (currently 25) Sam: 7 years old (currently 24) Penny: 7 years old (currently 24) Maru: 3 years old (currently 21) Emily: 9 years old (currently 26) Haley: 7 years old (currently 24)

Lewis, Evelyn and George: mid Forties Robin, Demetrius, Caroline, Jodi, Pierre, Gus: late twenties to early thirties Pam, Marnie: late thirties

CHAPTER FIVE

‘Where am I?’ Sebastian wondered to himself. It was bright all around him, but it was quite cold. He looked around him, trying to figure out where he was. 

‘The bus stop?’ he concluded as his eyes landed on the meter that stood at the side of the road. The foliage around him was somewhat similar to what it was now, but the trees were bare of their leaves and if they did bear any, they were orange and yellow.

But he knew this wasn’t in present time. 

The bus that stood idle on the tar road was gone, most probably still up and running in this time frame. But if it was, then, this must be pretty far back. But when exactly was th--

“Sebby! Wait up!” his train of thought was interrupted by the voice of a little girl. Instinctively, Sebastian turned his head around, accustomed to the nickname he had been called by people closest to him.

But it wasn’t regarded to him, well....not the him now.

A young black haired boy in a dark colored, sleeveless hoodie was in his sight, despite the cold autumn wind, was running towards him. He flinched, as if preparing for the impact from collision.

But it never came.

He slowly opened his eyes and chuckled to himself. The boy had run through him, telling him that this wasn’t reality, despite how real it looked. 

He turned to see a little boy, before his right hand unconsciously grabbed his chest. Right above where his heart was. It hurt. But why? Was it this child? The child that was without a doubt, him?

The same thing happened when (Y/n) first moved here. The same feeling before his vision temporarily swapped with an old, worn-out memory, too muddled for him to even identify who was who in it. And suddenly he had a small horrible feeling in his chest.

He decided it was nothing though, and just shrugged it off.

The boy turned around, his bright black eyes glimmering with joy and innocence of a child as a large smile had taped itself permanently onto his face.

“Abby! _____!” Wait, what was that? He heard Abigail’s nickname, but the next was just plain white noise. And all noise disappeared when her name was spoken. As if a chunk of sound was extracted from a record and was left empty before playing the next part, leaving it incomplete.

But before he could think any further, two more figures came running over, hand in hand. Two little girls. A girl with wavy chestnut hair in a frilly blue dress and another with long (h/c), hair reaching her waist who wore a white turtle neck and (f/c) cotton skirt with flower patterns. 

“What are we going to play today?” the (h/c)-haired girl asked, hand still lingering in the girl who is apparently Abigail’s past self. Young Sebastian thought, his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Let’s play tag!” he suggested, but Abby refused. 

“No! It’s no fun with three people!” Abby retorted, sticking her tongue out. The other girl remained silent, as if she were thinking up a better solution.

“Well, Sebby, if you still want to play tag, lets invite the others, then! At least, if it’s four people or more, it would be more fun!” she offered, her sweet voice sounding outstandingly familiar.

Sebastian had no idea why this girl was radiating a strong sense of nostalgia. And he was heavily confused why he had proposed the game of tag. For as long as he remembered, he hated the game tag. All this was surely just a dream.

“Okay then,” Abigail agreed. “Let’s bring Emily and Haley and Penny and Sam, then!” she said happily, looking at the other two who nodded their heads.

“Abby, since you suggested Penny and Sam, you go get them!” Sebby said. But Abby refused, stomping her small foot on the ground. “No! Then _____ has to come with me!” she protested, grabbing hold of the confused girl’s hand.

“No!” Sebby said, grabbing the other (s/c) hand. “She stays with me!” he shouted back, tugging her arm. “_____! You’re staying with me, right?!” he asked, but Abby shouted back. “No! She’s coming with me, right? _____?!”

“I’ll go with Abby! Then, I’ll come back Sebby! How about that?” she asked, “I’m still gonna come back to you anyway!” the little girl spoke boldly, making past and present Sebastian’s face redden. Who was this little girl?! Why is she so determined? Why does this feel so familiar? It was starting to mess with him. As if the white noise whenever the little girl’s name was spoken wasn’t already bothering enough.

“Fine! You two better come back, got it?!” Sebby gave in, letting go of the small wrist with a red face. Sebastian chuckled. His imaginary younger self had a crush on this unknown girl? This dream really was something.

Or so he thought.

Abby grabbed little _____’s hand, as the two departed. As they were out of sight, Sebastian heard his younger self say, “I wanted to tell her something. And this was her last day here! Why does she stick to Abby so much?!” he grumbled, kicking a nearby stump. Sebastian chuckled. Was this dream to fulfil his unfulfilling childhood?

Cliche. A young boy wanting to confess to his childhood crush that was going to move. But was she really a citizen here in Pelican Town? Abigail told him, well, Sam, at the Saloon, that there was a little girl that visited during a certain season. Was this it?

Moments later, the two came back with another four in tow. Young Sammy, Haley, Emily and Penny. And the game of tag began.

“Remember! Avoid the road!” was the only rule little Abby stated before all of them scampered around, avoiding the first person tagged. Little Sammy.

The game went on, each child successfully tagging another. Sammy, Abby, then _____, Sebby, _____again, Penny, Emily, Abby, Haley, Sammy, Haley and the list kept going on.

Until Sebby was tagged again by Abby, he ran to tag someone else. Of course, it was common sense to avoid everyone, right? And little Sebby was chasing the closest person to him, their blonde blue eyed boy, little Sammy. 

Sammy was cornered and the only way he wanted to evade the dark haired boy’s attack was to cross the road, even though it was considered out of bounds. He ran and crossed the road, ignoring all the cries and shouts from his friends and stood triumphantly on the other side. 

Sebby wasn’t about to give up though. He was going to chase Sammy and tag him next. So the black haired boy ran right after him. But from all the noise and excitement, he never realized an incoming vehicle from the tunnel. And Sebastian had heard it even when Sam was crossing.

Sebastian felt himself calling out his own name, repeating the same words, ‘No’, as if his younger self could hear it. Tears began running down his face for no apparent reason. His chest hurt so much, despite not knowing why. This was bad. The horrible he shrugged off earlier was growing in him rapidly. 

~Something bad was going to happen.

Despite all the shouts, little Sebby ran to cross the road, before a large blue lorry entered his sight. He stopped in his tracks, too afraid to move. His black eyes watching as the large vehicle was going to hit him.

Everything happened so fast.

“SEBASTIAN!”

Sebastian felt a hard push in the back and he stumbled to the ground. 

Screeching tires. Panicked yells. Scrambling on the grass. A loud colliding sound between metal and something hard. A dull, sickening thump on the ground. Horrified screams and wails. 

He remembers everything. Everything came back to him in that small instance. Despite looking at the ground, he can see everything that happened. He lifted his head, wishing that what he’s about to witness wasn’t what he hoped to be.

“No...no it can’t be! NO!” he screamed, scrambling to his feet as more tears ran down. 

The children around him were screaming, crying, wailing, in fright, horror, sadness, pain. 

For the one that laid still on the tar road.

A pool of blood circled the head of the young child, it’s long (h/c) strands mercilessly disheveled and painted in the warm liquid beneath, staining the white shirt she wore. Her clothing was slightly torn and dirty from rolling on the ground, but that didn’t conceal the horrifying angle her right arm was. 

Her left side was vulnerable to the lorry, but when she rolled, she used her right arm to stop herself. And that horribly failed. Her shoulder was completely shattered, but bits of bone were poking out of the tender flesh and white cloth. Her face wasn’t visible. But he knew there was a horrible gash across her forehead.

The children were calling her name out repeatedly, running over to their fallen friend. Calling her name to get her to respond. Kneeling by her side as the lorry driver came running out. The cries of the children bringing attention to the townspeople. All of them came running to see the commotion. 

“No....” Sebastian whispered once more, tears endlessly dripping from his eyes. “No! No! No!” he stood there, too shocked to even move. What was all this?! What was happening?! What was--

“(Y/N)!!” 

He shot up, sitting up, tears running down his face from the dream. He was in the safety of his dark basement. He looked at the time. 2 AM. But he knew it wasn’t a dream. It was a memory. A trauma that left him trembling for years. That locked itself up in his mind. Too shocked to remember.

The dreams before this were just snippets and altered versions of the real event. The more twisted, but safer version that never disrupted or triggered his memory in any form.

He remembered everything that happened.

When he ran to chase Sam, he froze in the middle of the road. Young (Y/n) moved fast enough to push him out of the road. But in exchange, she got herself hit. And that horrible event brought despair upon the children, to the point where they grew up completely opposite of what they were during children. Closed off to their memories due to trauma, unnerving and odd feelings towards childish things like the game tag.

He remembered all the adults that rounded them. First it was Jodi and Caroline who were chatting in the town square and heard the collision. Then, it was Robin who was taking a break from her blueprints. Being the adventurous and boisterous female she was, she immediately bolted down the mountain, through the Farm. 

She called out the old man that resided there, asking about her child and his grandchild before the two ran off to the bus stop. Evelyn with George outside together on the bridge near the empty lot Joja was on now. Even George was worried, so he asked Evelyn to push him over.

Demetrius had to stay with Maru since he saw his wife bolt in front of the house in a hurry and panic. Lewis was out tending his garden when he heard the shrill screams.

All the adults began to run over and Lewis immediately dialed the ambulance when he arrived. All of them were shocked, shook by the gruesome scene before them. But only (Y/n)’s grandfather didn’t freeze in place. Instead, he ran straight to his beloved granddaughter.

The old man broke down crying, holding the limp left hand of his precious but unconscious little girl, too afraid to move her. Robin next to him, grabbing her son, checking over for injuries before pulling him to her chest, weeping silently from worry and sadness. Pained, from the broken shouts of her son who still scream the little girl’s name before evidently breaking down.

Jodi stood pale before bolting over when she heard her son’s cries pulling him into her arms. Caroline and Pierre cradled little Abby in their arms, shutting her eyes as she continued to weep on their embrace, her throat too hoarse and dry to call out her friends name anymore. Emily and Haley’s parents turned their children’s head away from the bloodbath scene, the image of the limp girl burned permanently into their memory core. Pam ran to Penny, who refused to turn away from her friend, screaming out her name none stop between her wails.

All of it returned to him. The most impacted one, was undoubtedly him. The one he loved being run over from trying to save him. She was taken away by the ambulance and he was brought along with the rest for a check up. 

It was blurry when they had the check up, but they stayed the night. (Y/n) was wheeled into the ER and brought into the room when they were all fast asleep. Her head and arm were all wrapped out, her left ankle was bandaged.

When they woke up, (Y/n)’s parents had come and had a huge fight with her grandfather, his mother, Abby’s, Sam’s, all while cradling their unresponsive child in their arms.

Remembering all that in an instant took a heavy toll on Sebastian. His tears never stopped falling, and brought his knees to his face. He muffled his sobs that were filled with guilt and pain, but relief that the girl was still alive, and came back like she promised.

He had to make things right. 

But with the way he is now, he’s a little uncertain how to approach her. And the crush thing was long gone. Perhaps already replaced with Abigail over the emptiness. 

Maybe he should just stay quite and let time work its wonders.

[miggydiaz]

For the salty ask 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 26 for cobra kai pretty please

My answers are so long, so I am putting this under the cut @wonderwolfballoon! Also I just noticed your Daniel icon I SWEAR I’M NOT DRAGGING HIM TO BE MEAN!!!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* My biggest IDGI ships for CK are probably Elimetri or Kiaz. I’m not here to yuck other people’s yums or anything, but I do think there is something to the idea that Migueli isn’t popular because it’s a ship predicated on mutual respect for one another. Kiaz has the obvious enemies to lovers vibe and I just generally don’t sail those ships. Elimetri has... its problems, IMO, most especially around the idea that Demetri has to like... save Hawk from himself? Idk. I just like romances that I feel are based on love and mutual respect and not ...tropes.

 I am also not a Lawrusso shipper although I have a lot of those on my dash and you all are great! Again, not yucking yums! Daniel just makes me want to head butt him too much to pair him romantically with anyone 😂 I don’t even want his wife with him. He needs to self reflect~ 

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* 

I once saw someone ship Amanda and Anoush and I noped out of that so fucking fast I almost tripped over myself. I’m not sure if they’re popular. I just think some people feel the need to get Amanda out of the way to sail their ship and stuck her with Anoush which... no. Just no. Let Amanda be a messy single queen with a martini hobby, thanks! 

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* 

Not in CK. I’m lucky because I pretty much stick to my little Migueli bubble and I’m okay with that? Lmao lord knows the Squad on my dash is all about the DISCOURSE™️ so idk if I just don’t feel the need to get sucked into the wider ship wars because we have good healthy debates, but so far, so good. 

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* 

I never hated it... I just didn’t have many feelings on shipping with this show in general at first. Then I was in the CK tag one day and I saw Migueli fan art. Then I discovered @afurioushawk‘s falconry series and it was all over for me after that! So fandom DID make me love a ship, just not one I hated.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why? Oh boy. How much time do you have? In some instances, it’s a good thing season 3 happened because otherwise, this would be a multi-page essay on the problems with race and class privilege as it pertains to Sam LaRusso and just some... generally not nice comments about Demetri that I’m conflicted about because I’m not sure if the writers are intentionally trying to write him a specific way and it’s just not translating to me or what. But season 3 revamped both of their images with me a lot. I’m way more flexible in terms of Demetri, but lmao I was the number one Sam LaRusso hater for a minute there (or maybe number 2, I can think of at least 1 other person who was in that boat with me back in like... August/September, but I won’t call them out because I don’t want them to get hate...) However, I have grown a bit in my opinions of Sam, and even though I still think she’s responsible  for a lot of shit she NEVER gets held accountable for, I also think that’s a reflection of the adults around her too, and this includes my otherwise unproblematic queen, Amanda.

But honestly, my most hated character (other than the obvious villain that is Kreese) is Daniel. No matter how handsome Ralph Macchio looks in cable-knits, because Daniel has always been a sanctimonious, shit starting drama king and I say that about KK Daniel too. I’m not saying Daniel was the ~true villain~ or anything, or that Johnny was innocent -- I can only drink so much Red and Yellow Kool-Aid -- but Daniel’s always been annoying to me as a protagonist, and turning him into a smarmy wealthy car salesman who is also a class traitor did not do him any favors in my book. I will say, I also like Daniel more in season 3 than I have in previous season, but since he is the adult, I will be mad at him longer than I will be at the kids, ya feel?

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

 Johnny’s entire season 3 storyline. The sheer level of REGRESSION at every turn drives me bonkers. It’s like watching him go through all of the stumbling blocks of season 1 all over again, but without the “he’s learning! He’s going to make mistakes!” free pass that I was willing to give him the first time around. He regularly jeopardizes Miguel’s recovery and it’s played for laughs. He fucks up on every level with Robby. He spends most of his time running away when things get hard or too real. He drops the ball completely with Hawk, and like, not to put too fine a point on it, but a lot of Hawk’s issues are because Johnny put Hawk on this ‘flip the script and be a badass’ path and then offered him no guidance for how to walk that path and instead left him in the hands of Kreese. And then he has the nerve to go to Hawk and basically be like “I made you what you are!” lmao yeah Johnny, you sure did, that’s why he’s breaking peoples arms, hoss. And then all of the nonsense with Ali and Carmen, like... if you were planning on teasing KK fans with Ali and him getting back together, why write her as married in the first place? Why even tease the idea of Carmen and Johnny until after you were sure what you were going to do with Ali as a character? Instead, they do what they did in season 3 and it makes him look like a colossal jerk. So yeah. Literally every choice they made with Johnny this season, I hated.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom? People who hate Tory are not valid, sorry not sorry.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? I would have kept Miguel entirely out of Tory and Sam’s beef. Or at least not directly inserted him into it like he was with the kiss. I know the writers thought it was necessary to push Tory to the point of inciting a fight at school, but I am just so exhausted over girls being unable to fight about anything but boys. Also I would bring Aisha back.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom? 

I am probably biased, but I still maintain it’s Migueli. Look, Miguel stood up to Kyler for Eli and Demetri both. Hawk joined CK because he saw what it could do for some skinny nerd who was getting his ass kicked. And he took to CK, really took to it! Even flourished before he started getting mixed messages. And he and Miguel were pretty much inseparable after that. They coordinated their wardrobes ffs. Hawk dubbed him El Serpiente and no one else calls him that — it’s Hawk’s nickname for him. Miguel confides in Hawk only secondary to Johnny, who is like a father to him. The entire Coyote Creek exchange shows they can fight and disagree but... well, to use the cliche, they don’t go to bed angry, you know? They’re square the very next day. Hawk is the first person at Miguel’s side when he gets kicked over the balcony and the LOOK he gives the second floor where Robby is? That boy is out for blood immediately to avenge Miguel. So much of his s3 behavior is fueled by that need for vengeance because MD is wholly responsible for what happened to Miguel. And Miguel is so confused and betrayed by Hawk’s shift in behavior, and yet still holds out hope that Hawk will see through Kreese’s BS and come with him to The Dojo I Refuse to Name. And when Hawk does make that deflection finally, he shows up at MD with Miguel. There’s so much more that I know I’m missing but whether someone ships them or not, that is a tried and true love and respect for one another, a willingness to fight for and defend one another that you don’t often see in TV friendships... or even in most tv relationships. And I just think that’s the best ❤️

22. Popular character you hate?

 Daniel, hands down. I mean... I don’t even necessarily hate Daniel, you know? I just think it’s really, pardon the pun, rich that a guy of immense wealth and privilege can’t get a therapist or turn to his far too patient wife for help with his existential crisis over his high school bully opening up a karate dojo to make some money and help a kid who is getting the crap kicked out of him. I get that Daniel’s narrative is necessary for the rivalry, but it does nothing to make him sympathetic as a character.

23. Unpopular character you love?

 Tory, definitely! Everyone hates her and then there’s me and the Squad over here banging away on our Coors Banquet cans yelling TORY RIGHTS! Seriously she catches so much flack for a teenage girl who is... the sole income provider for her family? At 17? While caring for a sick mom and a little brother? And fending off a creepy landlord? Tory has it so rough and then she meets a cool girl at her dojo who asks her to hang out at some fancy ass country club which is probably the nicest place Tory has ever been in, and then she gets talked down to and accused of being a thief and has another girl lay hands on her, only to find out that same girl is her new boyfriend’s ex and... ugh. I HATE that Tory gets shit all over when Tory and Sam wouldn’t even have beef if Sam had apologized to Tory as she SHOULD have. Tory isn’t innocent, but damn, I’d be pressed too.

 My other unpopular character I love? Nathaniel. Seriously that kid is THE best. He’s a literal child but is out there like I WILL FUCK YOU UP, even though he’s MD. Honestly, his Cobra Kai energy is so ferocious I won’t be surprised if he moves back to CK eventually. Anyway, I love him.


26. Most shippable character?

 Miguel, hands down. It’s because he’s so affable and sweet overall. And because his hair is so fluffy and pettable that no one can resist touching it. I like to imagine that one day he and Hawk are talking about their hair and Hawk makes a joke about how Miguel’s mane is getting so long that it’s going to be bigger than his own, and then he reaches out to ruffle it and internally has a bisexual meltdown because oh no IT’S SO SOFT AND NICE. But uh... anyway, yes. Definitely Miguel.

[ciggylungz]

Rivals. c2

Rivals: chapter 2

3.2k words

Summary: Y/n and Harry are both CEO’s of their parent’s companies since they inherited the businesses from them, they’ve been rivals since they were kids- now that they’re professional adults how will their rivalry affect them?

__

When Friday rolled around Y/n was excited, she’d had a grueling week and been working 18 hours a day for the past 6 days so she was more than thrilled to have a break. Friday’s were usually pretty tame in the office, but just her luck that day a new product design was dumped on her desk and she was tasked with going through the mountains of papers filled with advertisement ideas, promotion pictures and commercial ideas for the new line of clothes and perfumes coming out for the winter season since they were a few weeks away from December. Due to the time crunch she couldn’t really afford to push it off, so she sat at her desk and reviewed everything well past her normal hours.

It was around 7 in the evening when she pulled out the bottle of tequila she kept in her desk for late nights like this, grabbing some ice from the office kitchen and a tonic water from her own mini fridge stashed in the closet in her office. She kept the lighting low, her eyes already feeling the strain of the fluorescent bulbs and fine print papers after hours of reading and she’d like to save the headache for the next morning if possible.

She was a tad bit startled when a knock sounded at her office door, she glanced to the clock seeing it was nearing 10 at night and she knew her assistant left at 8 so she was a surprised by the interruption. Of course, he had to be the one knocking. Even through her mild intoxication she could tell that curly mop of hair as him, his face joining his locks a second later as he waltzes into her office. His lips were tugged in a small smile, hands holding a binder with a plastic bag cradled in his left one.

“Ah! Getting a bit wild in the office tonight? Tequila, you naughty girl!” he gave her a fake disapproving look companied with a stern finger pointing between her and the now half empty bottle. Y/n was always a bit looser after a drink, so she didn’t have her usual bitter comeback loaded she instead felt a strange shot of happiness? Relief? Fondness? She couldn’t put her finger on it. It was too foreign of a feeling to be associated with the man. The woman didn’t understand why she didn’t feel the sense of loathing tugging at her when he spoke, instead she let out a small laugh before flipping him off.

Harry was surprised yet pleased at her reaction. He always loved tipsy y/n, the booze seemed to soften her overly serious nature and make her a bit sweeter. They had some of their best moments together after they had a good buzz going, they’d even had a few instances of cuddling during their alcohol induced haze. He remembers those times fondly; he thinks back on them at times when they’re arguing or in the middle of a grudge holding session. Harry knew she’d never admit it, but deep down behind all her walls she really was a loving, sweet girl. She always had been yet her pride and fear of vulnerability would never let her admit it.

“Hello Harry, any reason you’ve broken into my place of work?” she tipped the glass back to her lips, taking another sip of her cocktail as she waited for his response. She watched him set his things down, shrugging his suit jacket off before rolling his sleeves to his elbows. “Saw you through the window, was workin’ late myself. Thought misery needed a bit of company, and knowing you I knew you’d probably need a designated driver for the night miss tequila.” He lifted his eyebrows in a slight teasing manner, a smile growing on her lips as she giggled quietly, raising her hands in surrender. “bad habits die hard, huh?” she retorted, the smile didn’t drop from her features and Harry loved it. She always had such a beautiful smile. Her plushy lips molded into the shape, her braces did their job giving her a perfect even smile. She had a genuine smile on, he could tell by the way it met her eyes that seemed to brighten when she was in a good mood. She was beautiful. He truly didn’t understand why she had always been so self-conscious. he hated when she’d talk negatively about her looks, weight, body etc. He’d always found her to be a very beautiful woman, and her strong personality amplified that even further.

“That they do miss Y/l/n, they do indeed.” He agreed with a nod, reaching his hand into the previously noted bag pulling out some bread, followed by small slices of cheese and finally a container of grapes. They both shared a love for the particular grouping of food, often having it for snack as kids or packing it when they went on little trips with their friends. It was their thing in a sense. He might amp it up a bit to feel a special bond with her in some way, even if it’s just over a love of the same foods.

“Brought some goodies, might share with you if you’re nice to m’.” Harry made himself comfortable on the couch, toeing off his shoes to leave him in his red dress socks. He liked to have accent colors when he dressed for work, often opting for pocket squares, socks or collar pins to tie together his outfits. He had decided early on just because he was in a work environment didn’t mean he had to dress boring, he worked in fashion for Christ sake so he enjoyed a bit of complimentary accessories. Tastefulness is key though, and he knew how to pick them right.

Y/n polished off her drink, reaching to pour herself another mixing it with a coffee straw she snagged from the kitchen during her original venture out. the woman shrugged slightly, taking a sip with a little smack of her lips at the strongness. She went a bit heavy on the tequila this time around.

“Eh, I’m on a diet anyway.” Her response amused Harry, chuckling lightly before popping a grape into his mouth. He always appreciated someone with a quick wit, and Y/n checked that box for him. He was starting to realize she checked most of his boxes regarding things he found attractive…and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

__

It was nearing midnight when Y/n started to show signs she was fully drunk. Her head bobbed slightly, body lightly swaying and Harry saw her eyes flutter every so often. He could read her like a book, he knew she was stressed, tired and wasted just from a single glance. The man found it quite cute, she looked so soft and cute when she was in this state. She radiated that type of energy that made you want to hug her; she wasn’t as guarded and flighty. She looked utterly trashed but relaxed and he didn’t mind the drunkenness if it meant she wasn’t as worked up as usual. She worked hard; the woman deserved to let loose once in a while.

“Hey, think it’s time to head out hmm?” Harry slowly sat up as he spoke, stretching with a few quiet pops of his joints. Y/n lifted her head slightly, giving him doe eyes and a pouty lip. “but I have work to do…” a hiccup sounded after she spoke, making her body jolt slightly. “It’ll be there on Monday, it’s late and you’re wasted love. C’mon time to go, hey don’t get all misty eyed on me it’s okay. Swear it’s alright, everything will get done.”

Harry frowned mid-way through his sentence seeing her eyes gloss with tears. She could be quite an emotional drunk, she bottled up her feelings 24/7 so in any sort of weakened state she began to crack. Harry had seen it only twice in the thirteen years of knowing her. The first time they were 15, she’d just broken up with her boyfriend at the time who was a total douche and he’d spent the six months the pair were together practically bullying the girl and mainly spending the time they had together fucking her. she had gotten absurdly drunk and walked to Harry’s home, sobbing and shaking only to spend the rest of the night cuddled into his chest. it was a toxic relationship and Harry always hated that guy; he gave the boy a few swift kicks to the ribs a few days after the incident. The second was during spring break, the pair were freshly 20 and someone had groped her at the club. Y/n had a panic attack on the bathroom floor and Harry sat with her the whole time, even though the filthy floor was sticky with booze and god knows what else he didn’t even think of leaving her behind.

Y/n took in a deep breath nodding her head slightly, letting Harry put the bottle back in it’s hiding spot and organize her papers before getting himself situated and heading to the car. With some episodes of tripping over her own feet and dizziness he’d managed to get her into the passenger seat, buckling her and joining her in the vehicle.

__

 “Y/n no, you can’t smash the window! Where are your house keys? Put the rock down”

Bargaining with someone who’s intoxicated was never easy, but he was worried about the woman chucking a random stone through her first-floor window instead of just unlocking the door. Drunk minds aren’t the soundest he supposed seeing as he was prying a rouge rock from y/ns hand.

Eventually the keys were located and used to forge entry into her modest town house. Unlike her parent’s y/n wasn’t into flashy mansions and cars. She didn’t see a purpose for such a large home when she was the only resident, plus it creeped her out knowing there would be more room for potential squatters if she had opted for an 8-bedroom 6-bath mansion like her parents had for the 3 of them. She was never someone who fancied showing off expensive thing, she found it tacky and risky because you’re flashing to people that you have expensive things to steal. So, when she purchased a home, she opted for a modest 2-bedroom town house and she really did love it.

Harry was greeted with a subtle scent of cedar and nutmeg, reminding him y/n always opted for fall themed candles and home fragrances. She felt it made places feel cozier and warmer. contrary to her guarded and sometimes cold personality, she always wanted her home to feel welcoming.

Her décor was nice, a large leather couch with some dark red throw pillows along with a fuzzy blanket folded and draped over the back of the furniture. Some arm chairs also filled the Livingroom, art hung evenly on the wall and a tv mounted right in the center of the adjacent wall. A nice area rug and coffee table really finished off the center room, it was an inviting set up and Harry had to resist the urge to sit on the large couch that seemed to be calling to him as he started walking her up the steps.

The bedframe groaned as she flopped herself down on her mattress, a content sigh leaving her lips as the woman kicked off her shoes. “mmmm love my bed, missed it.” The woman placed an affectionate pet to her pillow, Harry laughing slightly at her antics whilst searching her dresser for clothes to change her into. Pinching a pair of sleep shorts and a tshirt before tossing it on the bed making his way into her bathroom so she could change in private.

Once the girl was situated, he reappeared, picking up her dirty clothes and putting them in her hamper for her. everything was going well, they weren’t fighting and she seemed to really be enjoying his presence but because Harrys an idiot he had to ruin it.

“maybe if you weren’t such a raging bitch, I wouldn’t have to come take you home and you’d have a boyfriend who could huh?”

He intended it to be their playful teasing, how they usually pick on each other and make rude comments but it came across harsher than intended. He sounded utterly mean and spiteful, and after Y/n had spent the evening warming up to him and even enjoying his company that felt like a smack in the face. Just when she thought maybe he’d changed or wasn’t so bad he had to make a comment, picking a topic she was already very sensitive about because all her previous relationships were very abusive and put her in the position she was in now of being so guarded and cold she was left to a life of loneliness.

There was a beat of silence, Harry registering his tone and how he’d just switched the atmosphere entirely. There was no sense of playfulness anymore, just hurt and anger. He regretted ever opening his mouth, seeing the woman look away from him with veins visible on her neck from the restraint she was using to hold back her tears. She cursed herself for drinking, it always made her more sensitive and she felt like a fool for not seeing Harry was just waiting for her to become vulnerable so he could strike back even when truly it wasn’t his intention, his actions left her with only that theory to believe.

Y/n cleared her throat and shot him the best glare she could while her eyes burned with tears begging to escape. “You can see yourself out Harry.” The dismissal was curt and quiet, there was no option for bargaining or pleading because she didn’t want to hear anything else he had to say. Harry knew when to pick his battles with her so he knew it was best he left, sighing slightly before leaving the bedroom making sure he locks her front door for her on his way out. he’s never wanted to beat his own ass so bad in his life.

__

 As much as Y/n tried to hide it under her cold, blunt exterior- she was extremely insecure and broken inside. She never learned how to express her emotions or hurt. Y/n never had parents there to guide her nor comfort her in her times of need. She’d never had anyone who cared about her to look out for her besides neglectful nannies who left her to her own devices most of her childhood. She was emotionally stunted, and it had made her vulnerable to shitty people her whole life. It led to her having a 17-year-old boyfriend when she was 13 that pressured her into losing her virginity and emotionally abused her the entirety of their year long illegal relationship. It put her in the position of having a revolving door of toxic abusive relationships with cruel boys who treated her poorly, her father was never around so she never had an example of a good man so she resorted to getting attention and validation in whatever form she could even when it was harmful and a façade to use her body and status. The woman was never taught how to handle her emotions and it led to her clawing for control in any way she could, any sort of distraction and turned her to dark, destructive behaviors in her teen years that still haunt her in the form of physical and mental scars now that she’s in her adult years. She’d practically had to raise herself, and now that she’s grown, she’s running the company that stole her parents from her. she can’t tell who she hates more, her parents or herself.

Harrys word seemed to pop the stitches on an internal wound she thought was close to healing. While he was joking, she couldn’t tell. It was said with such a bitter malice it made her skin crawl. Sure, they’ve been mean to each other for 13 years but in her vulnerable state and the knowledge he had of her past his words seemed deliberate and cruel for the sole purpose of hurting her. not a stupid joke like he’d intended.

She couldn’t get it out of her head, she spent the remainder of the weekend nursing her hangover and a wounded soul. Her mind was screaming self-hating words, cruel statements towards herself and pushing her to look for comfort in another person again even when she knew she was vulnerable to falling back into the arms of yet another man who wasn’t good for her but she couldn’t bring herself to care enough about herself to make the best choices for her. she felt like she had something to prove to Harry, herself and the universe that she wasn’t so horrible that no one could stand to be around her even if the person she chose only stuck around to leech off her. it was a stupid mindset, one that’s left her torn to shreds numerus times since her early teenage years but the spiral Harrys verbal bite sent her into had her internally turning back into 14-year-old y/n who just wanted to feel like she mattered. She was setting herself up for pain again, she knew it. But like she stated before, old habits die hard.

and y/n decided she must be a glutton for punishment when her fingers started typing in the familiar number of her ex.

[cheesomaru]

To the whole thing about Mary Sues, I just quickly looked it up and gathered definitions.

This one article really goes into depth, telling both sides of a Mary Sue. I skimmed over it and it basically said what the definitions below will say. However, I’ll leave the link to anyone who wants to read it.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue

Moving on, here are several definitions from different users that explain what a Mary Sue and its’ male counterpart is.

Looking at this, yes, Towa does fit some (even if it’s loosely) criteria of what is a Mary Sue.

But realize that multiple times, the show has pointed out Towa’s various flaws as well.

• Towa being naive.

1. Giving Riku the pearl

2. Relating Homaru’s obsession with addiction to a cellphone

3. Trusting Riku after he gave her the sword that got her captured by the Shogun.

Note: Albeit, all the girls are 14 so they are allowed to be naive since they have room to grow (which may be what season 2 shows). Yes there was barely any character growth in season 1, but we can’t say there won’t be any in season 2 to completely say this part is 100% true.

• The battles

1. Towa may have defeated Kyuki, but she never killed her. Riku was actually the one to kill Kyuki.

Note: This happens because either Towa is too kind, or still hasn’t been able to master her powers. The show has also repeated Towa being too kind in the Feudal Era is a flaw that she should correct, quickly.

2. In every fight, Towa isn’t the only one to attack an enemy. And/or defeat them in one blow. Normally all the girls attack said enemy together to find its weakness, and using their wit find a way to kill them. I will agree though, Towa is typically the one who deals the final blow (minus some cases; Kyuki, Yotsume, Homura, the Pond Demon, etc.)

3. When fighting Kirinmaru for the first time, none of the girls managed to do anything. They were all beaten down, (Towa only managing to scratch Kirinmaru’s face after she got pissed) not being able to defeat him. Sesshomaru was the one to step in and stop the battle.

Note: One of the criteria for a Mary Sue is that she gains mastery of her powers within a short time. And she is able to defeat the op characters of the series with little to no effort. That’s not the case here. But yes, there are instances were Towa can easily manage to do something that Setsuna or Moroha may have taken years to learn (absorb demon energy, manifest her demon energy, use her demon energy to bind, etc.) Another thing, Towa can’t use her dog demon abilities, such as sniffing like Setsuna or Moroha can, right away. Overtime she does learn how to (ep. 1 she’s only able to sniff out Mei because she cries; after ep. 3/4 in the Feudal Era, Towa isn’t able to detect demons because she doesn’t know how; ep. 18 is when Towa learns how to sniff out demon energy (wind scar type of situation)).

4. In the second fight against Kirinmaru (ep. 24), not only is Towa able to go full demon, so is Moroha. There’s a double standard here if you’re judging one character and not the other.

Note: (Speculation) This could be explained because of where the battle took place. In the previous ep. we saw Moroha do an attack only for Toga’s ashes/dirt negate it. It could also work by calming the girls’ demon blood.

Now I’ll move on to some of the other traits a Mary Sue is suppose to have.

• Connections

Here is where it gets a bit iffy since it can go both ways. But let’s start with the definition of unconditional love. It’s defined “as affection without any limitations, or love without conditions.”

1. The Higurashi family would obviously love Towa since they raised her, or grew up with her in Mei’s case.

2. Setsuna didn’t like Towa at the start; she even tried to kill her (ep. 2). Only with time did their relationship grow.

3. Kirinmaru is, in my opinion, neither here or there. He is portrayed as the villain but it’s complicated since he doesn’t act as hostile as the other villains of the show towards the girls or Towa. After ep. 24, he seems like a crazy uncle trying to teach the girls a lesson. And that’s plural, as in girls. Not just Towa.

4. OG cast. Even if the interactions with them are limited, Towa doesn’t receive unconditional love or anything from them the very second they meet. Every character is just nice and polite, as even one of us would be with a stranger. Heck, Inukimi whether she likes the girls or not doesn’t show it and specifically said “I don’t care about them.” So many antis cheered about this and made memes (ep. 23).

5. Riku was portrayed as a mysterious, sort of villain-like character throughout most of the season. He approached Towa out of curiousity and maybe evil intentions. But after talking with her, he was left curious. Towa just piqued his interest. Only after whatever episode it was did Riku express he liked Towa (be it later platonic or romantic).

6. The Reiwa Era bullies can definitely be painted as enemies as they harmed Towa and tried to hurt her family. But that doesn’t necessary portray them as evil in books (since evil is more wicked), as they are just bullies due to their own insecurities. Either way, this is a type of connection so I’m listing it.

7. Zero and the Perils are portrayed as evil, yes. Because they are the various enemies/villains of the story. If we didn’t have them, there would be no story. But with the Perils, not all of them wanted to kill the girls right away just for being Sesshomaru/Inuyasha’s daughters. They just wanted to kill the girls, because they stood in their way. Konton was just lounging, enjoying his view until the girls came to kick him out. Totetsu was eating monks, the girls just stepped in to protect Hisui’s father. Both Konton and Totetsu stated they didn’t even know who the girls were.

Note 1: Don’t anyone start with the comment “that would have been for the best.” What’s done is done. You can give your opinions and views, but that’s not going to erase Yashahime from the internet.

Note 2: Out of the Perils, Kyuki was the only one who tried to kill the girls off the bat. Tokotsu is unknown since we never saw that first battle between him and Moroha.

Now this one isn’t mentioned all the time in every definition, but it does pop up at times. And that is the.....

• Tragic backstory from either abuse, abandonment, or etc.

Towa has none of that. Her only backstory is being separated from her sister. I’m sorry, but that’s not even tragic due to her having the Higurashi family accept and take care of her right away. She wasn’t even negatively affected mentally, emotionally, or physically by this.

Now this is getting rather long so I’ll stop it here. But all in all, Towa is not 100% a Mary Sue.

But if anyone wants to keep saying it that, go ahead and by all means counter this. Please provide examples to since that would definitely help make the Mary Sue case.

Either way, thanks for taking the time to read as it got particularly long ^^”.

Wow!  I hope that Mary Sue!anon sees this, because I am not very well qualified in laying it all out like this! I think if Mary Sue!anon wants to reply, its best they do so on your blog.

I agree I don’t think Towa is a Mary Sue either. She has a lot of battle shonen protagonist traits for sure!

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Me, throughout the entirety of 6x05:

And I suppose I could just leave it there but NO, we’re doing a LIST. Of all the excellent things from “Prom Night!”

SPOILERS!

AV Club reviewer giving this episode the first ‘A’ of the season: :D

AV Club reviewer still insisting that “Midvale” was filler: D:<

Forever destined to disagree with the AV Club reviews in some way or another...

Okay, so! We begin with a very helpful reminder from Alex that things are different, in this Post-Crisis World!

(I mean, on the one hand, am I slightly distressed that key aspects of the Pilot and the WHOLE of “Midvale” are now gone, along with Earth-38? Yes. 

On the other, Kara remembers her lived-experiences of everything that had transpired in the Earth-38 timeline, so they still sorta happened and have informed her characterization. 

So...it’s fine. It’s fine. This is fine.)

I do love that, ‘Kara punched a meteorite out of the sky’ is now a Thing That Happened, though. 

(Well perhaps NOT ANYMORE but I’m getting ahead of myself.)

KENNY LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!

“Scooby-Duo” listen, as someone who has already imagined all these kiddos in Hanna-Barbera cartoon style, running around Midvale, solving crimes and saving the day, I loved this description.

Alex being like, ‘DO. NOT. SCREW UP. MY PAST.’ ahhhhh we love to see that scary Older Sibling energy on full display.

And then Brainy and Nia are off to the past!

The only thing that could’ve made the utterance of ‘totes’ worse would’ve been the addition of, ‘magotes’. Thank goodness they exercised restraint in the writers’ room.

FORTUNATELY the terrible ordeal of reliving dated slang is offset by some truly excellent lines and line-reads throughout the rest of the episode.

For instance! Loved Brainy’s, ‘the perfect optical illusion’ and ‘off the dash, please.’ So great.

Other honorable mentions: ‘Damn it, Mitch!’ ‘That’s a LOT of exposure’ and I forget the line itself but when Cat’s like, ‘normal town my a--’ and then the cut to commercial break AAAAAHHHHHH so good.

Okay, back to the episode, Nia and Brainy, on the Legion Cruiser, AND THEN!

AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN!

OUR KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS!!!!!

I love them. It won’t happen, but gosh, I want a Midvale spin-off so bad. 

Like, the Crisis retcon made some space in the girls’ past for a spin-off to actually...kinda work. 

(But sustaining the premise across multiple episodes/seasons would be tricky and there would always be the threat of running up against like. The current show’s continuity.

But hey! They could just ignore it, I guess! That’s what the Superman show is doing!) *insert frowny emoji here* 

So the kids have gathered with Alex for milkshakes, which is delightful.

But ALL IS NOT WELL! As Alex reads about the ‘luckiest town’ and is like:

(Except with a lot more anxiety and frowning)

I feel as though we already knew Alex went to Stanford but I can’t remember if Kara’s (terrible) resume revealed that she went to National City University?

*Checks* Yes it did.

Another thing I LOVE is just. Alex as the Responsible One, whose anxiety is perpetually cranked to a 9.5, driving the Scooby-Duo around in the suburban mom van for super-ing jobs.

Also, ‘super-ing’ is an excellent verb, 15/10

Young Cat Grant! ....More on her later.

Nicole and Jesse did such a great job with the comedy in this episode--their initial attempt at a cover story/lie is so good. 

And the masterful transition into an actual good lie that Nia knew would win Kara over...VERY NICE.

Kara being so obviously thrilled that there are OTHER ALIENS! WITH POWERS! HERE, IN MIDVALE! RIGHT HERE!

Fandom has ruined the whole ‘Kara has golden retriever energy’ as is their way but I must say...very much getting ‘excited puppy energy’ here. 

Nia and Kara comparing powers was so CUUUUUUUUTE!!!!

As was the picture on Kenny’s desk of him and Kara. D’aaaawwww.

(But OH NO SADNESS...BECAUSE A BREAKUP IS IMMINENT.)

Okay in addition to all of the incredibly adorable content we also get lots of FAMILY FEEEEEEELINGS, which: Yes, good, yes.

But Eliza is only here as a PICTURE on Kara’s nightstand and a NAME on Alex’s badge, I am sad. :C

(Hope Helen Slater is in this last season at some point...need that soothing mom energy after all the Phantom Zone angst)

I think I’m out of order now but Kenny wanting to help Kara help people is just. The most adorable thing. 

Spoiler alert: I use the word ‘adorable’ a lot in this list. Sorry...but also not. 

The Brainy music when he’s in the school computer lab watching the printer is really great. I think we’ve heard it before, but it meshed so well with the whole vibe of both the character and the episode, just stood out nicely, I guess.

Okay, so. Do we think that Jesse could always do the baseball bat tricks, and the writers wrote it in, or do we think that he learned them for the show? My money is on the former.

Either way, very impressive.

And now for the truck situation! I kinda thought it would turn out that it was Cat’s doing, as she was trying to suss out the ‘super’, but nope, it was the blue dudes.

(Which makes more sense, since they have no qualms about endangering other people.)

And ON THAT NOTE, the blue guys! They are the perfect level of ridiculous, and they are wonderfully straightforward in ways that the Phantoms are not.

Also, I love that one of them is named Mitch?

Nia and Kara save the day!

After Kara busts the brakes and is like, ‘uhhh....they’re not working’

I noticed the Metropolis license plate and while yes it’s a little strange that plates are...apparently city-based in this corner of Earth Prime, stranger still is that Cat presumably drove clear across the country to check out this story. Right? Like, that’s the only way she has that plate out in Midvale?

Wait, wait. Totally forgot to mention Kara and Nia’s EXTREMELY OBVIOUS ‘don’t be suspicious’ sunglasses gambit at the Midvale College campus you absolute DORKS.

Right, so.

Remember those FAMILY FEELZ??? WELL!

We’ve got Nia’s call to her mom, which, oof. OOOOOF. 

And then we have even MORE FEELINGS aka: The garage talk.

Okay. OKAY. So even though I’m a little sad “Midvale” no longer occurred in Earth Prime’s timeline, I am fascinated by the ways this new series of events have impacted Alex, Kara, and their past. (Also thrilled that Kenny lives, natch). Alex’s resentment and the burden of ‘protect Kara, PROTECT KARA’ have been left to simmer while Kara’s determination to help people has led to some...earnest but slightly careless secret hero work. The building blocks of the conflict introduced in “Midvale” are still there so while it might at first seem a little...repetitive, for Alex to lay all this out to Kara, it’s really just the reveal of a new boiling point; a post-crisis update on the scene in Midvale where Alex is like, ‘I had two parents before you showed up.’

AAAAAAAAAHHHHH IT’S EMOTIONALLY DEVESTATING I LOVE IT. 

And then like. The new, but also not-new angle, of Alex leveraging her world-weariness against Kara’s youthful optimism/somewhat reckless desire to help, and then Kara throwing BACK that she’s explored other solar systems. 

The LAYERS.

Also that Alex is like, ‘we need weapons, let’s tell mom and also call the DEO,’ classic Alex.

The garage talk ends with Kara determined to come clean to Kenny...BUT OH NO, THE HERO HIDEOUT IS SO CUTE, AND KENNY IS SO DEAR. 

And the reveal that the almost-kiss in “Midvale” actually happened d’awwwww these kids. 

Like. I am legitimately torn, here. I totally understand and support Kara in being honest with Kenny about the whole college situation--but also GAH. KENNY IS SO NICE AND CUTE AND EARNEST. 

You know what ELSE is nice and cute and earnest?

Nia singing “9 to 5″ to Brainy to cope with stress and boost morale.

Heckin’ adorable, gosh.

Aaaaaand some other stuff occurred as the episode closed out but I don’t have them in my notes and BASICALLY I want the next hour like, now. Right now. Because this was WONDERFUL. FROM START TO FINISH.

So some Overall thoughts!

I said we’d get to Cat ‘CJ’ Grant later, so here we are: I...think I liked her? Overall? It was a performance that gradually won me over, is how I would describe it.

Absolutely wild that Cat built a media empire in a mere six years. 

Also her whole, ‘I am going to find this extraordinary being and name them and kick Lois Lane into the classifieds’...I mean she eventually gets two out of three, there.

As I already started to mention, sad that Eliza wasn’t here! But it makes sense, since a lot of this, Kara is trying to keep on the DL.

Obviously, I am ALWAYS down for these flashback situations with the young Danvers. But it was also nice to take a break from the Phantom stuff. The plot here is simple/streamlined in a way the Phantom stuff...isn’t. I love the emotional character stuff coming out of the Phantom Zone arc but wow, the Phantoms are just. Needlessly complicated. 

The little episode recap where Lena is explaining that Phantom Prime is like a bloodhound was like, ‘oh right, they do that too...in addition to all the other stuff that they apparently do.’

So, yes. Welcome change.

The change of scenery + type of action was nice too!

Though RIP to everyone’s hair, fighting against the moisture.

This episode also handled the Brainy/Nia relationship really well, IMO. Like, due to the whole, ‘trying to fit so much in, always’ approach to Supergirl episodes sometimes results in a bit of...one-sidedness, for various characters. Think for instance of Kelly needing to cheer everyone on in episode 2, but not having space for her own feelings/emotional needs in that episode.

I’ve felt that a bit with Brainy and Nia thus far--one will sort of take up more narrative space, so the relationship feels a little lopsided.

NOT SO HERE! They are both going through some stuff, they are both struggling to cope, they both come to rely on one another for help. 

YES. GOOD. YES!!!!

Something I’m loving about season 6 overall is that so far, it doesn’t feel like the plot is stepping on character development too much. Like, it still isn’t a perfect balance, and some episodes manage it better than others, but compared to season 5? Leaps and bounds.

Everything was so nicely tied together and the dialogue was witty, the humor was delightful, EVERYONE WAS ADORABLE AND EARNEST AND DID I MENTION ADORABLE?* but they never lost sight of the themes and emotional through-lines and GAAAAAHHHHHH MIDVALE EPISODES ARE THE BEEEEEESTTTTTTTTT!

*Okay Alex was mainly stressed out but that’s to be expected.

TL;DR - Best episode of the season thus far? Best episode of the season thus far. 

[smallfrost]

Determined!Raelle, a cinematographic motif

The cinematography on Motherland: Fort Salem is phenomenal. It has led us on a beautiful journey through this amazing universe. But one of the very first things that caught my eye, even before the season dropped from the trailers alone, was the very intentional camera positioning that trails behind Raelle. I’ve seen a few people bring this up now that we’re later in the season, so I figured I’d compile a list of all the times we’ve seen it so far. Sorry if someone has already done a post about this. There will also be a Crack Post companion piece to go along with this, so stay tuned.

I call this camera angle the Determined!Raelle Motif. Because it always seems to follow her when she has a plan in mind; a goal to reach.

Let’s start at the beginning: Episode 1 

Interestingly, the first time we really trail with the camera Raelle isn’t the exact motif but I wanted to include it because it still makes a point to follow her from behind towards wherever she is going after she ditches vocal training her first week on base. In a way, it is our introduction to Determined!Raelle as she experiences the new world around her. 

Then it shifts to follow her closely and we next see it when she is marching in to confront Abigail, determined to kick some butt.

And the episode ends with Determined!Raelle being determined to get to Scylla’s room to continue where they left off/to recharge.

In Episode 2 we see it a couple times.

First during guard duty, with Raelle determined to show Anacostia she can follow orders even though she is exhausted.

Then the next day, we see it when she sees Scylla and is determined to catch up with her so they can talk.

In Episode 3

There is a moment in Memorial Hall that is close but not exactly the motif. But we do see it at the end of the episode when Raelle is once more determined to get to Scylla’s dorm but is met with a fallen Porter instead.

In Episode 4 it gets dark

On the way out of the infirmary; Raelle is likely determined to find Scylla here because she immediately senses her after this shot.

And when she begins re-living Porter’s memories, she is determined to get answers from Scylla.

In Episode 5 we get one clear instance and another I’ll include more so because of the determination than it fitting the exact motif. 

Even though this is short and doesn’t really follow her the same way, we definitely get a Determined!Raelle looking for answers as she confronts Petra.

The actual use of Determined!Raelle in this episode is adorable. Raelle is walking back towards Scylla after she learns Tally is going to be heart broken,  determined to get back to her girl and only has eyes for her.

In Episode 6, Raelle’s determination to do anything begins to fade.

Her profile is now shrouded in darkness but Raelle is still determined to get answers about Scylla’s whereabouts as she creeps through the Necro Mausoleum.

And interestingly, I couldn’t find any examples of this motif in Episode 7 and I would actually argue that it was left out on purpose. Raelle is completely hopeless and broken in Mother Mycelium; she has no more sense of purpose so therefore she is no longer determined to do anything. 

But because Raelle now knows Scylla is alive and is livid about being lied to, we’re going to see a resurgence of Determined!Raelle for sure. 

[ericamzdm]

S5E6 Pick-Apart - Pt 2

Continuing on from Pt 1 - We’re still on ‘Adora Never Really Owns Her Shit (and is more than a little terrifying)’

You’re holding her prisoner, Adora.

YOU’RE HOLDING HER PRISONER, ADORA

...that’s Shadow Weaver language, Adora.

(~6:40)

Adora: “Catra is driving me crazy. I thought we actually stood a chance at fixing things this time. But after everything we’ve been through, she’s still a stubborn brat.”

After a brief interlude on Etheria, we’re back to Adora being angry about Catra’s lack of compliance. (At least this time she’s just complaining to Glimmer and not, you know, assaulting Catra).

This is just reinforcing my existing impressions - Adora is upset that Catra isn’t falling in line. Adora’s version of ‘fixing things’ is ‘Adora tells Catra what to do’. Adora views Catra as a ‘stubborn brat’.

That is some Bad Shit.

Adora continues to treat Catra, her peer and supposed love interest, as a child - except that I would also be upset to see her treating a child like this.

Because ‘brat’ is an awful word, especially when used against actual children. It is, by design, an attack leveled on the powerless by the powerful, defining them entirely by how convenient they are for their caretakers. It pretends that any inconvenient reactions or desires are the product of intentional, unearned spite and ‘stubbornness’, not the result of the target being a full person with real, independent feelings, needs, and goals (and in this specific case, boatloads of trauma).

Again - all of this is Shadow Weaver language. Adora is still letting Shadow Weaver live rent-free in her head, defining her perception of Catra, her agency, and her actions (and it’s an ugly, abusive perception). Their relationship is never going to be healthy until Adora recognizes that, and works to correct it.

(~6:48) 

Glimmer: “Did you think she was instantly going to become a different person?”

Adora: “I thought she’d at least try. We all risked our lives to save her and she can’t even say thank you? Can you believe it?”

...yikes. Where to start.

(a) Adora’s complaining about Catra not performing gratitude sufficiently continues to be a real bad look. You do the right thing because it is the right thing, not because you expect people to lave your ego afterwards. You definitely don’t pitch a fit when the fail to adhere to this bargain you struck with them inside your own head.

The impression is very much that Adora rescued Catra, not because she wanted Catra to be safe, but because she wanted Catra back (under her control).

(b) It’s pretty creepy that, in this conversation, Adora is outright admitting that she wants to make Catra into a ‘different person’. Because if that’s what she wants...who is Catra-as-she-is to her? A child, in need of her guidance? A lump of clay, waiting for her molding influence? What is she in love with, if not the person in front of her?

It’s one thing to want to help someone you love to grow, and become the best possible version of themselves. But that’s working with them, to find that version and bring it forward, not imposing some external sense of ‘better’ on them.

(c) Adora continues to act out violently throughout this scene - kicking over boxes, lobbing Space Jello around. Catra’s not the only one with emotional dysregulation issues.

(d) Not thrilled with Glimmer/the use of Glimmer in this scene. If she’s supposed to have grown emotionally over the season so far, I’m not seeing it.

(~10:30)

Adora: “That signal’s coming from her chip, isn’t it? Once again, Catra is ruining our lives.”

Good job victim-blaming, Adora. Man, you really are just breaking out all your old tricks in this episode, aren’t you. 

(To clarify: Adora is explicitly blaming Catra for something she had no control over, a side effect of her trauma, and something she is not even aware of. It is deeply fucked up.)

(~12:30) 

Adora: “Grow up and let us remove [the chip], or we’re all dead.”

I will address the Entrapta-related content in part 3 - that said, Adora is once again marking up Catra’s not actually unreasonable fears and trauma reactions to “childishness”, and doing a hell of a lot of threatening looming and grabbing.

Yes, they need to remove the chip for everyone’s safety, but that’s clearly not the primary driver to Adora’s anger here; that continues to stem from the fact Catra isn’t just Doing What She Wants, even when Catra has no way of knowing what the situation is.

(~12:47)

Adora: “If you think hiding from the people you hurt will make you feel better, we’ll drop you off and you’ll never have to see us again. You’ll never have to see me again.”

Which makes it hard for me to really buy this in the way (I have to assume) it was intended. 

Structurally, this is Adora finally, fully releasing the idea that she should control Catra. She is accepting that Catra’s decisions are based on Catra’s wants and needs - they’re not fundamentally ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’, simply because they conflict with Adora’s own desires. She’s admitting that, however much she wants a relationship with Catra, Catra can chose a life without her in it.

All very vital and necessary stuff.

And it feels desperately unearned. There’s no build up, no moment of realization. It just kind of appears in the dialogue, which itself is delivered in tones of anger, frustration, and defeat. It comes across as Adora being bitter that she can’t force Catra into choosing her, not as her reconciling herself to the idea this is Catra’s choice to make, as her own full, independant person.

(~13:00)

Catra: “Adora, wait. Please. Stay.”

But it’s close enough to giving Catra a bit of space, and the narrative treats it as such.

Because this is what Catra needed to continue her growth - the freedom to chose. The chance to look at her options, and decide what she really wants, without anyone threatening her, or making demands, or trying to force her hand.

And what she wants is for Adora to stay.

NB: This is not some kind of trick being played on Adora; this is Catra finally - now that she has the space and the choice - opting in to to relationship that Adora has been trying to force for the entire episode (and series).

(~16:50)

Catra: “I want to go home.”

Adora: “I’m getting us out of here.”

This is another instance of Catra making a choice - Going home is now a thing Catra has chosen for herself, rather than a statement being imposed on her by Adora (however well meaning).

This is also a shift in how Adora speaks about Catra - it’s now “Us”, not “You” - important and welcome! It signals a shift in how she’s treating Catra, where she’s now an equal partner in the relationship, not a junior to be controlled and overridden. (Again, I would just be happier if it did not feel quite so out-of-left-field.)

(~21:30)

And at the end of the episode, Catra is finally given the space to come out and start dealing with the rest of the BFS at her own pace, with her own bondaries in place.

She’s still got a long way to go, but now that she has the freedom to chose, what she’s chosen is to take the first steps towards building healthy, non-abusive relationships.

================

Part 3