#even tho that chance might as well be zero.

[yonemurishiroku]

Today on: There's no hope, there's no love, still we exist, so we just have to keep walking - bc I just read a terribly fluffy fanfic and I feel the utter need to balance it with angst again.

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

Being Inarizaki’s Manager

Miss Manager is Shy and Cute 🥹

Inarizaki x shy and cute! Female manager (she/her pronoun)

Warnings: Atsumu starts off as a butthole but we reform him, fluff

A/N: I wrote a headcanon set earlier with a shy reader and well, now I think I’m a shy reader expect 💅 so here’s one of my favs with a shy manager 😌

Oof- you good, girl?

Seriously this team is like the opposite of shy and calm

I wouldn’t say they are Karasuno level but they get HYPED

Now, many of them had given up the dream of ever having a female manager

They were prepared to brave it alone (namely Kita, Aran, Omimi, Akashi, Suna, Ginjima, etc)

They knew what their problem was…

Well PROBLEMS

Atsumu and Osamu

But it’s fine because they were efficient 💅

Kita did everything and well, Kita did everything

But that all changed when one day our precious Angel, Riseki, met someone new 👀

You see, you were the new girl in school

A curse honestly

Being the new kid is never easy, trying to find friends or fit in with everyone is so hard

And to top it off, you were ridiculously shy and a wallflower

It’s not that you didn’t want to make friends but your shy, cute nature made it difficult

When you first joined Riseki’s class, he thought you were rather cute

You kept to yourself, didn’t bother anyone

You were smart and capable

And most importantly, you had absolutely NO CLUE who the Miya twins were 😌

Riseki had watched you a few times, and you showed a lot of promise

You seemed to be able to ignore all the Miya chat surrounding you

You didn’t seem bothered by the fan girls

And most importantly, when a Miya fight would break out, you’d simply ✨ignore ✨ it

The problem was that Riseki knew you were shy

You’d never speak up in class, you barely talked to anyone

But he also knew this was his opportunity

So what does he do? Well he confides in Kita

“Hey Kita, so I think I might have found us a potential manager?”

Kita 👉🏻😐😑 *not convinced or optimistic whatsoever*

“Is this person a teenage girl?” Kita asks in return

“Yes but-”

Kita 👉🏻 No 🫶🏻🥰

“Here me out tho, she’s a transfer student and I’ve been keeping an eye on her,” Riseki says

Kita 👉🏻🤨 creepy but ight-

“She has shown zero reaction to the Miyas at all! Like none, not even a second glance!” He says

Kita 👉🏻 tell me more…

Riseki goes on to explain more about you and Kita agrees to give you a small trial run

Ok now that Kita is convinced, all Riseki needs to do is ask you

Simple right?

“Hey Yn!” He yells as you freeze

You rn 👉🏻😐😳

Please you are looking around like “is he talking to me? Am I Yn?”

“Hey I was wondering if you had a club yet?” He asked as you just stared 👁️👄👁️

Please Yn, function

Riseki realizes that he probably came in way too strong, so he backs up a bit

“Umm I’m sorry to come at you so strong but I was wondering if you needed a club? The boys volleyball team is looking for a manager and I think you’d be perfect,” he says as your eyes widen even more

Please blink before your eyes dry up

“Ohh umm I don’t think I umm- I’m not sure I’d be good- I don’t play volleyball or know anything really,” you say as you blush heavily

Riseki is DYING at how cute you are 😭

“It’s ok Yn! I can teach you everything and the guys, wellmostoftheguys, are super helpful!” He says as you ponder for a bit

Maybe this is just what you need? You never take chances like this and maybe now is the time to start branching out

“Umm I guess I can try,” you say, a tiny smile lighting up your face as Riseki dies inside 😭

After school, he brings you to practice

The gym is huge and all the guys in it are huge as well

You start to second guess your decision

Maybe you aren’t cut out to be social, yeah maybe you’ll just be shy forever

Suddenly you are forced out of you thoughts when you are approached by four guys

You quickly take refuge behind Riseki and peer out from behind him as the boys all smile at you

“Kita, Aran, Omimi, Akagi- this is Yn! Yn these are our third years!” Riseki says as you blush hard and peek out from behind him

“Umm hello, I’m YN from class 1-4. It’s very n-nice to meet y-you,” you stutter out as the third years practically perish

How the heck are you so freaking cute?? 😭

“It’s nice to meet you YN, I’m Kita, the captain. Thank you so much for coming to meet with us,” Kita says, already impressed that you aren’t making waves or causing any disruptions

“T-thank you for having me,” you say as you stand next to Riseki now, a little more confident

“So Yn, do you know anything about volleyball?” Aran asks as you shake your head

“Not really but I’m a pretty fast learner,” you say as the boys all nod

Suddenly, a rouge ball comes flying out of nowhere as you quickly take cover as Akagi stops it from hitting you

“Are you ok Yn?” Kita asks as you nod

“I’m fine thank you,” you say before being approached by a boy with a yellowish blonde hair color

“Hey girls aren’t allowed in the gym!” He shouts as you reeled back a bit

Who was this extremely rude person?

“Shut up ya idiot! Obviously she’s talking to the captain!” A silver toned man says

“Yeah well I don’t need to be interrupted by any squealing pigs during my serves so get out of here!” He shouts at you as you quietly back up

“ATSUMU! Knock it off, stop being so rude! This isn’t one of your fan girls, this is Yn and she’s going to be our trial manager!” Kita scolds the yellowish blonde as he scoffs

“This? This is going to be our manager? She’s tiny and looks like she’s afraid of her own shadow! How is she going to ever be a manager for a powerhouse?” Atsumu says as you whince a little

Man he was a jerk 😒

“Damn Sumu, you’re being a jerk! Leave the poor girl alone,” a tall black haired man says

“Suna’s right! She didn’t do anything to you,” Omimi says as Atsumu stares at you

“She’s literally taking up space! Like how is she going to even be helpful?” Atsumu says as you finally lose it

“Excuse me,” you say, a little anger and agitation now clear on your voice

Everyone 👉🏻👀

“Yes, I maybe a little shy and skittish at times but it’s extremely rude of you to judge someone you haven’t even been introduced to,” you say as the men all look at you

Kita is like mentally taking notes

Suna has his phone out and recording 📱

Riseki is like “who is this?”

“My name is Yn and I’m a first year. I might not be the best but I’m smart and I learn quickly. If I interrupted your practice, I apologize but I won’t stand here and be treated with disrespect,” you say as you bow and take your leave

Honestly Queen shit 👑

Oohhhh Kita and Riseki are BIG MAD

Kita doesn’t say anything, he just GLARES at Atsumu

Riseki turns and goes after you but not before giving Atsumu the death glare of a lifetime

Aran, Omimi and Akagi are ready to kill

Suna is still recording 📱

Ginjima has now joined the pack and is wondering what the heck is going on

And Osamu, well Osamu is 👀 👇🏻

“YOU TYRANNICAL PIGGGGG!” He shouts as he kicks Atsumu in the back

But this time, nobody stops him from beating up his brother

The team 👉🏻 😙🎶

Meanwhile-

“YN wait! Please wait- I’m so sorry about Atsumu!” Riseki says apologizing to you

“Riseki, I’m sorry but I can’t-,”

“Please Yn! PLEASE! Please just give us a shot! I promise, we will kick Atsumu off the team if we have to just please be our manager!” Riseki says, on his knees BEGGING

Dang these guys really want a manager 😅

You sign, “I’ll do a trial run if it means that much to you.”

Riseki 👉🏻😐😳🥹 really?!?

You smile and nod a little

Riseki pulls you in for a deep hug 🫂 as you simply blush

And this began your journey as Inarizaki’s sweet manager

I wish I could say it was all smooth sailing but alas, Atsumu is still on the team 🙄

You aren’t sure why but at first, he’s just not nice at all

Like he refuses to take a towel from you, or even drink the water you hand him

He kind of makes you miserable

He knows how shy you are so he often puts you on the spot just to embarrass you

“Hey Yn do you know what that was called?” He says as he slams a serve over

Omimi and Akagi 👉🏻🙄 here we go…

Kita 👉🏻 😐😑 Atsumu-

Osamu 👉🏻 just say the word Yn 🙎‍♂️🤛🏻

Suna 👉🏻👀📱

“Umm a serve ace right?” You shyly respond

“Well would you look at that, she can learn,” Atsumu laughs as he walks away

Everyone is GLARING at Sumu rn

Literally Riseki was not joking when he said they would kick him off the team Yn

Idk if you bruised his ego or what Yn but man’s has it out for you 😅

However, one thing about Atsumu is that you can win the man over

It’s simple really… 🙌🏻 praise 🙌🏻

And you do just that

“Sumu your sets are really off today!” Aran says as Atsumu glares at him

“Yeah dude you literally almost flubbed our quick,” Suna says as Atsumu rolls his eyes and walks away

He sits on the bench, putting a towel over his head as he ponders

He’s not sure what’s wrong with him today but he’s been off all day

You noticed something was off, thinking maybe he was just having a bad day

But then you realized that Atsumu Miya wasn’t use to having bad days

So you decide to extend an olive branch

You walk over the him as he sits on the bench

“YN wait!” Osamu tries to stop you but he can’t

Suna’s eyes widen in fear for your life as Kita gets ready to save you from certain destruction

You calmly sit beside Atsumu as he turns his head and glares at you

You smile a little and place your hand on his gently

The team 👉🏻😳😲

“Everyone has bad days Atsumu. If we didn’t have bad days, we’d never get better. I still think you’re an amazing setter and if you ever need a hug, I’m here for you,” you say as Atsumu’s eyes widen

Atsumu is to stunned to speak

Quick Suna take a picture!

Seriously he was so mean to you and yet, you were still so nice to him

You smile and stand up, walking back to practice when it happens 🫣

Two strong arms grasp you from behind as a warmth radiates around you

You smile a little, grabbing his arms and squeezing

“Thanks Yn,” Atsumu says as he lets go and walks back into the court

The entire team is too stunned to speak

You say nothing as you go back to your job, handling towels, volleyballs and notes

“Did that just happen?” Ginjima asks

“I think so? Is this a dream?” Omimi responds

“Holy crap Atsumu actually has a heart?” Suna says

“OF COURSE I HAVE A HEART YA IDIOT!” Atsumu screams from the court

“Not like anyone could every tell ya grinch!” Osamu responds

“EXCUSE YOU SIR?!? WE ALL HAVE BAD DAYS, IF WE DISNT HOW WOULD WE EVER GET BETTER!” Atsumu responds

“YN literally just told you that ya dummy!” Ginjima says, rolling his eyes 🙄

The guys go back to practice

This time, Atsumu is much more on point

You smile and clap as the boys all kill it in practice

You don’t cheer loud, simply clap and smile 😊

It’s literally giving them life Yn!

Now when it came time for tournaments, you can’t say you weren’t nervous

This was your first time around so many people

You were still pretty shy, even thought you’d become friends with the entire volleyball team

Literally they were so protective of their shy little manager 🥹

“Ok is everyone here?” Kita asks as you nod

You had been walking in back with Suna, making sure all the members stayed together

“Ok let’s go get warmed up!” Kita shouted as the guys all nodded and followed

You were walking when suddenly, your notebook fell and your papers scattered everywhere

“Crap!” You silently said as you kneeled down to pick them up

However what you failed to notice was that the team had continued to walk

You see where I’m going with this 👀

“Hey guys- oh no!” You said as you stood up, realizing there was every color of jersey surrounding you BUT black and white

You 👉🏻😐😳😢

“Ok Yn calm down, the team is somewhere,” you silently muttered to yourself as you wandered around giants

You felt like crying, scared and nervous because there were so many people around

You had to ask someone for help

Suddenly, you bumped into the back of someone

“I’m so sorry!” You said, tears in your eyes as she looked at you

“Oh it’s fine, hey are you ok?” She asked, gorgeous blue eyes watching you

You shook your head, eyes meeting hers

“Hey Kiyoko, I’ve got the bento boxes all sorted!” A blonde girl said, walking up to you

“What team do you work with?” The girl named Kiyoko asked

“I-I’m with Inarizaki,” you said as they both smiled

“Come with me and Yachi, we can take you to the gym,” Kiyoko said as Yachi stood beside you

“Thank you so much,” you say bashfully to the two pretty girls

Meanwhile…

“Ok Riseki, Ginjima can you help YN fill up the water bottles please?” Kita asks as they nod and look over to you

Only you’re not there 😅

They start looking all over for their precious bby

Please Ginjima even looks under his shoes incase he stepped on you 😭

“Umm Kita,” Riseki interrupts

“Yes,” Kita says looking at him

“YNs not here,” Riseki says as everyone stops

“What the hell? Where is she?” Kita says looking around everywhere for you

“Suna weren’t you walking with her?” Aran asks as Suna gulps

“She was with me just a a minute ago!” Suna says, now panicking too

“Oh my god and I was just starting to actually like her and you lost her?!?” Atsumu says as Osamu smacks the back of his head

Then they hear their opponents say something

“Has anyone seen Kiyoko and Yachi?” Their team captain says

“OH MY GOD WE HAVE A MANAGER KIDNAPPER!!!” Riseki yells as two of Karasunos memebers RUN from the gym

“We have to find Yn!” Aran shouts following them with the rest of the team

All that remains in the gym is Kita and Karasuno’s captain, Daichi

“We could just text them,” Daichi says as Kita nods

Back with you, you are enjoying talking with the two Karasuno managers

They both seem a little shy like you but they still manage a strong school

“The gym is just up this way-” Kiyoko says when you hear it

At first, it sounds like a stampede of elephants

Then you realize it’s just like 15 teenage boys racing toward you 😅

“YN OH MY GOD WE FOUND YOU!” Riseki says pulling you into a hug as your boys gather around you

“Are you hurt? Do you need help? Are you hungry?” Aran says panicking as you watch Kiyoko and Yachi fight off their team

You giggle a little, the boys taken a back

“I’m fine guys, I actually just made some friends!” You says smiling at Kiyoko and Yachi

Inarizaki rn 👉🏻😐😳🥹 our baby is growing up!

“Thanks Kiyoko and Yachi! I’ll see you in the gym!” You say, waving to the two girls as they follow you

You look over at Riseki and give him the biggest hug

Riseki rn 👉🏻😳

“Thanks for inviting me to be your team manager! Now let’s go kick some butt!” You say sweetly as the team stops

The team 👉🏻👁️💧👄💧👁️

No need to worry about the match Yn, I’m sure everything will be just fine 😌

[starbuttons]

My thoughts on this but it’s if they fuck or not

It’s over but I had fun giving giving my own evaluations and also I’m not caught up past the fullbringer arc:

Isshin: I really feel like he wouldn’t have sex with anyone after Masaki’s death and if he did it would be “a moment of weakness” and he would genuflect or flay himself for like a month and come back home like nothing happened lol

Askin: I don’t know him but he probably only fucks because he’s sleazy and coercive

Chad: definitely not a recreational kind of guy. If he gets a partner he’ll only do it if they ask and might find someone to settle down with and only do it with them lol

Urahara: oh he fuckin

Yhwach: idk

Kensei: ya

Grimmjow: I don’t think he fucks because I don’t think he’s interested, but if he does he’s like koutarou from slow damage by which I mean very and casual and noncommittal

Ulquiorra: be so fr

Renji: I feel like he would go to sex workers every now and then but thas it because of his crush on Rukia unless they’re already dating

Aizen: he’s sex repulsed aroace for sure. Probably tried it once and was like “that’s enough of that” 🤣. Either that or he finds one person he’s interested in and pursues them forever. Might’ve used sex as a tool while he was infiltrating the Gotei 13 tho

Tsukishima: probably occasionally, he’s got host club escort vibes…or he takes it up the ass

Ryuken: probably like Aizen but he’s just really picky

Yamamoto: maybe when he was younger but IDK maybe he fucks severely even as an old man

Byakuya: celibate like Isshin after his wife’s death but probably used to sleep around when he was younger

Hisagi: I think yes but he’s the one who’s usually approached Kaien: ONLY WITH HIS WIFE

Ukitake: uhhh no…? maybe once in a blue moon because I don’t think he’d have the stamina for it and would comically pass out in the middle. pillow princess btw

Kenpachi: he fucks but definitely not all the time or anything. First of all he’s scary and second he seems like he would turn away most advances unless he was really in the mood PLUS he's always accompanied by someone so he wouldn't get the chance either way

Shunsui: he’s either a whore or he can't get any I can’t find a middle ground

Gin: uhmmmm he fucks often but only if he is bottoming LMAO but in all seriousness he probably only really has eyes for Rangiku and that's why they're always closed

Starrk: he’s giving picky vibes too

Mayuri: he’s aroace but if he does still have his dick (because I feel like he would’ve cut it off for some reason???) he uses it only for science 💀

Ichigo: he’s not horny and he’s rather chaste in regards to sexual things and he definitely didn't have sex with Orihime until he was well into his relationship with her haha I love him

Ginjo: probably has a hook up every other night to be honest

Kaname: CELIBACY GIF

Ikkaku: frequent visitor of the 100% consensual adult only brothel that’s probably in the soul society lmfao

Shinji: he actually gets zero bitches ever. Got lucky once and never again

Yumichika: acts like no one knows he’s getting plowed every night

[whinesandwhimpers]

rodolfo parra x f!reader headcanons (sfw & nsfw)

SFW

he loves to cook!! esp for u, loves when u praise his cooking and tells him how the meal he made tastes, hes deff cocky about his cooking tho like he knows hes good but hearing u say it!!

honestly u giving him any type of compliment about anything about him not just his cooking skills is like music to his ears

he is a romantic because i said so and we know its true anyway

gives u flowers, not just on the first date

kisses ur forehead, wrist, palm, everywhere, every fucking inch of u

big on physical touch with u

actually listens to what u tell him!! and remembers!! remembers what u like, dislike, if u have been wanting something for a while he'll surprise u with it before u can get it urself

breakfast in bed providing typa guy, doesnt even have to be a special day

a perfect fucking gentlemen. boundaries? respected. hand? held. home? safely. (hotel trivago)

if a bad guy kidnaps/hurts u, he is seeing red and the bad guy is not walking outta there alive, might even torture him a lil if rudys got time?? no one hurts his girl

will absolutely teach u spanish if u dont know it, gets so happy once u start understanding whatever he says in spanish to/around u, when u respond in spanish hes beaming :)

if hes jealous of someone talking/flirting to u he'll silently watch, knowing u can handle it/trusting u, until he spots any discomfort coming from u then hes coming over, putting an arm around ur waist, making it known to this person that ur his and they have zero fucking chance with u

when he proposes, he gets Alejandro's help, makes it perfect, pulls together all your fav things, fav flowers, fav drinks, fav food - its a priv dinner, not at some fancy restaurant, because he wants it to be personal - fav ring, he either already knows what u wanted or he got Alejandro to pretend he needed ur opinions and outright asked u which one ur fav is before he reported that info back to rudy

NSFW

hes not vanilla because i said so

he'd deff be down to try whatever u wanna try, he'd make sure ur never in pain or discomfort tho

switch

soft dom, wouldnt want to see u in pain or degrade u, ur his whole fucking life, his heart, his sun and moon, he is cherishing u and worshipping the ground u walk on

"look at you, mi amor, taking me so well"

"have i told you how beautiful you look lately?" he asks, his hand on your cheek.

you giggle, smiling softly at him and leaning into his hand, "you tell me at least once a day, my love."

"hm, not nearly enough then, hermosa." he replies, leaning in to kiss you.

orgasm denial tho if ur bratty, asking "are you gonna be a good girl for me, amor?"

...or edging until ur a pathetic blubbering mess pleading with him that u will be good and to let u cum - rare tho because ur normally such a good girl for ur sweet rudy and he hates seeing u cry no matter the situation - afterwards he's taking care of u, kissing any tears off ur face, spooning u

unintentionally leaves bruises on ur hips from gripping u too tightly, he just gets carried away with how good it feels holding on and thrusting into u :(

kisses any bruises the next morning, mumbling apologies between each kiss

likes leaving hickeys on u tho and spotting them later peaking over ur shirt, or the fully obvious ones that everyone can see, loves knowing everyone knows ur taken, ur his

his fav positions are ones where he can see ur face, ur eyes, kiss ur lips, its not just fucking to him, its intimacy, its special, its love

likes cockwarming because it means he gets to be physically close with u, u cradled against him, ur arms wrapped around him - while he's working, he has a strong will so if u shift a lil on his cock he wont let it bother him, "stay still, amor, im not finished with this paperwork", but it will bother u and when u get impatient and needy and start begging in his ear he'll take a break from his work to make u cum

hes the wide eyed, pouty, pathetic, whimpering and begging type mess of a sub, he just wants u so badly :( wants to please u, wants to cum in u :(

if u haven't cum before him he'll beg u to let him help u

if hes tied up he will be pulling at those bonds trying to get free just to touch u

if u tell him "no touching" he'll try so hard to be good but then his will snaps at a particular noise u make or how u work urself on his cock and he WILL desperately beg u whining out a "por favor, i want to touch you, mi vida"

his fucking wide doe eyes looking up at u (i cant-), if ur strong enough to resist that look good 4 u

dom or sub his focus is on u and making u feel good

king of aftercare ofc, hes bringing u some water, cleaning u up, cuddling u, etc, whatever! u! need! after the first few times hes got u figured out and doesnt even need to ask anymore

[terresdebrume]

Anyway, the stay in France went well, actually? Which was probably helped by the fact that I didn't bother correcting anybody about my pronouns and only ignored my dad when he used my deadname instead of fighting him about it (he settled on a compromise of not using any name at all, tho I did make a point to introduce myself as Matt to the people I met for the first time)

I actually was surprised that my dad's older brother & his wife both called me Matt (might even send them a thank you note about it) & that their youngest daughter gendered me correctly the one time she used gendered language related to me, so that was nice

Mom's family is still "slipping" (aka only using masculine pronouns when talking to me not about me) but IG it's bearable. Grandma is still doing the "[Deadname] OH! Oh I'll never get it, I'm too stupid! You're not angry, right???" circus but when my mom asked if the "slips" bothered me I stuck to mentioning said circus so hopefully that might change, idk

(My grandma is 85 yo though so there's a non zero chance people are just gonna "She's too old to bother" the whole thing, tbd)

Anyway. It went well overall it just sort of came at the price of me making an active choice to 1. Not assert my identity too hard and 2. not give a fuck about anything that happened which uh. Isn't the best.

But oh well, I guess we'll have to measure how impactful things were by how quickly I get back to normal stress levels and/or how many surprise rants I inflict on friends about things I didn't dwell on in the moment x)

Shout-out to @wenceslas for listening to a couple of those already tho, that's a great friend right there

[omgshiftercat]

BG3 Blogging: Could this guy be a vampire? Nah, he's just a cat.

Now that I'm playing as Karlach rather than Astarion, WOW that vampire cannot help dropping hints by the dozen about what he is. The rest of the group must be thinking, "If this guy weren't walking around in direct sunlight, I'd swear he's a vampire."

The vibe:

During my Origin Astarion run, back at the crashed nautiloid I was like, "Ooh, I have a bite attack? CHOMP!" and that triggered the reveal dialogue with Shadowheart. No waiting around.

🐇: Part of the Vampiric Drama Compulsion includes dropping hints that you are a vampire.

Though there's also this: Astarion: Have you ever heard of a vampire lord named Cazador? Wyll: Not ringing any bells. Gale: Head of the Szarr family. Nasty piece of work, if the histories are to be believed. Astarion: (quietly) They likely are.

(Note: some dialogue might not be word-perfect, since I'm often going from memory.)

Now musing on how much of that "drop broad hints that you are a bloodsucker" thing is Vampire Drama Instinct and how much might have developed as a covert attempt to alert someone, anyone, about what he is without going against the Purple Man levels of control that a master vampire has over their spawn. "No, master, I have no idea how the monster hunters figured out that I'm a spawn and therefore there must be a vampire lord in the city somewhere!"

This explains why the boar carcass is still in the middle of the road: he only has 8 strength.

My friend 🦀 explained he'd been playing a wizard Tav with the attitude of, "I've had a very bad month. Everyone gets ONE chance. Threaten me at your peril," which meant that a few key NPCs got immediately nuked by fire spells... including Astarion. (Lae'zel lived, partly due to what was almost certainly the Dream Guardian's direct interference.)

Me: Just think of him as a cat who somehow acquired elven form and passed the Baldur's Gate bar exam. 🦀: 😆👍!

...I mean. It's not just that he's so frequently drawn as a cat. Or that he approves of showing proper deference to His Majesty, and disapproves of telling Tara not to eat pigeons. As a cat owner, I can confirm that "tries very hard to seem cool and dignified, but in fact has zero chill and is prone to comical overreaction" is a frequent feline trait.

(Also, if you pass your Perception check, you don't even have to do the thing where you calm the hissy cat by not pulling away when he sticks his claws into you.)

And yeah... people (including me) go on about this, but it's worth it to treat Astarion like a half-feral cat in need of proper socialization (and the occasional spritz with a holy water bottle) because the acting and dialogue for his story is So. Damn. Amazing.

A friend who hadn't yet seen Avatar: the Last Airbender got tired of hearing all the fan-babble about Zuko.

I think a lot of us feel kind of starved for redemption stories that are actually well-written? Like, so often we get heel-face turns that just feel very sudden and unearned (looking at you, Kylo Ren). And, well, I have a lot of bad feelings about the way "forgiveness" is so often presented as 1. compulsory and 2. more important than, if not an outright replacement for, accountability.

For a long time, it looked like they were going to do one of those sudden HFTs with Catra in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and I was actually glad that they kept her a baddie for so long! When they finally had her change sides, she'd had to hit rock bottom, and I got the impression that her progress wasn't completely finished at the end of the series.

So much media doesn't want to address stuff like, "extended trauma may turn someone into more of a prickly asshole than a smol bean", "someone on the path to rehabilitation may sometimes backslide", and "sometimes the best you'll get from a character is 'morally grey'."

[speedofsoundsketches]

I'm curious, do you have specific favorite voice actors for the Sonic characters? (Like just the main few, Sonic, Shadow, Tails, etc.) if so, may we know your favorites?

Brace yourselves, this is gonna be a long one so under the cut.

Jun'ichi Kanemaru is THE standard for Sonic. The guy is passionate about the role and captures him perfectly. Plus, he's a great singer! The English VA that came closest to matching him is Jason Griffith. (honorable mention to Devon Mack. Low as my opinion is of Prime, Devon's voice is actually pretty suitable for Sonic. Would like to hear him in a better product!)

The late Chikao Ōtsuka for Eggman was wonderful, but I have zero complaints with Mike Pollack. Really, no matter what style or tone he's portrayed Eggman in, he's always done it superbly. I'd say of all English VA's that worked in this series, Mr. Pollack's probably been the one who's NEVER had a miss. Guy's got incredible range even in his work outside of Sonic (using this as a chance to shill the Pluto Anime since he starred in it. GO WATCH IT PLEASE.)

Tails is really really REALLY hard to mess up. His voice actresses have typically been great at capturing him (save for OVA Tails who talks like he has a cold). Coleen's a fine Tails and suitable replacement for Amy Palant but I may still prefer Palant just because she's the nostalgic one for me being in all the 2000's games plus Sonic X.

Knuckles voice preference is a tough call. His VA needs to be able to play up both his aggressive and gentler sides. It's a toss up between Dan Green and his current VA Dave B Mitchell. Mitchell has been doing good work in the animated shorts so I like him and he's the best we've had since Dan moved on. His Japanese VA, Nobutoshi Kanna, is great as well for the same reasons. :)

Amy's best actress is still her JPN VA, Taeko Kawata (who is also a lovely singer!) Lisa Ortiz to this day is STILL her best ENG VA. She captured Amy's youthful, cutesy appeal but can IMMEDIATELY switch to her assertive side naturally. Fantastic range and it's too bad that Amy's assertiveness has been subdued so much lately that this can't be fully appreciated anymore.

Cream's had far fewer options to choose from. I like both her actresses in JPN (Sayaka Aoki) and ENG (Rebecca Honig) honestly. I do like the almost whispery gentleness to her ENG voice particularly. Just helps her feel very soft and sweet.

Shadow's JPN VA, Kōji Yusa, is so good. You really can't go wrong here. For the ENG VA, this might be a bit controversial because while I appreciate David Humphrey as Shadow's debut in SA2, I'm still partial to Jason Griffith purely because once he got accustomed to Shadow as a character, he really elevated the role. I think his performance in 06 was one of the best moments for the character overall.

Rouge might one of the few times where I actually prefer her current ENG voice actress, Karen Strassman, to her older one. Her JPN VA, Rumi Ochiai, is THE standard tho so Karen just suits her best as a close match! Youthful yet still mature and her flirty quality doesn't sound too forced.

Omega's JPN VA (Taiten Kusunoki) IS SO AMAZING. It's hilariously deeper than I expected but still robotic so something about it just WORKS. His ENG VA is alright too. But I just love the JPN Voice, I don't know why.

May do a part two if I have time for the others!

[cliophilyra]

Taken

Turns out I had an idea for a second @saltommyweek2024 prompt. This one is for day 2: Celebrity Hall Pass/Getting Hit On/Marked Up - this only includes the second and third of those. Check me out with my two whole prompt week fics tho! 😇

Tommy wraps his arms tighter around the hissing bundle in his arms and carefully backs down the ladder, craning his head back to avoid teeth and claws. At the bottom Sal stands aside as Tommy hands the furious tabby cat to it's owner, a man about ten years younger and a few inches shorter than him with soft dark brown eyes, who gives Tommy the biggest smile as he takes the cat and holds it to his chest.

"Buttons you are a nightmare animal! Oh my god thank you so much," he says. He mutters to the cat again in tones of relieved annoyance. "I don't know how he got up there. I felt like such an idiot calling again for something so stupid but after last time…"

They had attended a minor fire in the same apartment block one night the previous week. Tommy vaguely remembers talking to this guy, helping him, and his cat, out onto the lawn. Luckily it seems the damage wasn't too serious.

Tommy smiles back. "No problem, it's all part of the job."

"So I didn't really get a chance to thank you properly last week," the man says, juggling the cat in his arms to hold out a hand. "I'm Jack…"

"Tommy," Tommy replies. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Sal and Howie packing the ladder away. Sal is not looking in his direction but he can tell by the stiff line of his shoulders that he's listening.

Jack shakes his hand, holding it just a fraction too long, smiling up at him almost shyly. "Hi Tommy. Sooo, I know this is kind of a cliche but…um…would you maybe like to get a drink sometime? With-with me?"

"Kinard! Get your ass back on the truck!" Sal's voice snaps out.

Tommy tries not to laugh for Jack's sake. "Jack, you seem great but I—"

Jack sighs. "Figures. You're clearly way too hot to be available. Ah well I had to try, right?"

"Kinard!"

"Well if you ever want to just have some fun, hit me up ok?"

Tommy laughs. "Uh I—thank you. I—will-- It was—good to see you again. You and Buttons stay safe ok?" He turns and heads back to the truck in record time.

Sal sits across from him and stares. He doesn't say a word the whole way back. Tommy fights to keep a straight face, meeting his gaze evenly, feeling his ears heating up.

"What's up back there?" Gerrard grunts, apparently even he isn't immune to the atmosphere that hangs over them. "Lovers tiff?" he says, laughing to himself.

Once they're back at the firehouse the others head to the shower block. Tommy jumps down from the cab and is immediately ambushed. Sal shoves him back, crowding him against the side of the truck, hands on his chest.

Tommy smirks at him, chest rising and falling heavily. He supposes, if someone was looking down from upstairs this might just look like a fight. As long as they weren't paying much attention.

"What the fuck was that?" Sal hisses, lips close to his ear.

"Pretty sure that was someone hitting on me," Tommy grins, flushing, relishing the flash in Sal's eyes.

"Yeah, I heard that. Didn't hear you say you were taken."

"Why? Am I?" he asks quietly. He's being a shit and he knows it but he can't help it, he loves Sal like this.

Sal presses his lips to his neck, mouthing over his Adam's apple, shoving a hand under his turnout coat and t-shirt to slide over his abs. Tommy shivers and turns his head to give him better access, hissing when he bites at the thick muscle and drags his teeth over his earlobe.

Tommy absolutely fails to stifle the moan that bursts from his throat. If anyone overhears him he knows he's got zero chance of passing this off as anything else, but at this moment he couldn't care less. He's already rock hard under his turnouts.

"I don't know Kinard, are you?" Sal growls, digging thick fingers into his hair, pulling sharply.

Tommy nods. Panting against Sal's neck, grinding down on the thick thigh between his legs.

"Tell me."

"Yes," Tommy gasps, he knows he sounds wrecked already. He feels drunk on the heat of Sal's breath on his skin, on the dark, possessive edge to his voice. On how much he wants him.

"You're mine," Sal says, sliding his hand further up under his uniform, raking blunt nails over his nipple. "Say it." He shoves his thigh harder against Tommy's cock.

Tommy gasps, chasing the friction, pleasure building, driving him closer to the edge. "Yes baby, I'm all yours."

Sal's smile curves against the crook of his neck and he bites down, hard enough that he knows there'll be a mark later. Tommy swears, mouth hanging open. He's so close.

“Please—“

Sal pulls away and looks at him with a smirk, tilting his chin up with a finger. Tommy can hardly see straight, his breath is shallow and ragged. He's pretty sure his hard on must be visible even under the heavy fabric of his turnouts.

"Good boy," Sal smiles and turns away. "To be continued," he calls over his shoulder as he walks off with a grin.

Tommy nearly cries.

[wildernezz]

dead poets society scene that cannot be slept on any longer (im just rambling and analyzing the sillies and pretending to be smart. also spoilers loll)

I GET THAT THE DEAD POETS SOCIETY BARELY HAS A FANDOM BUT WHY DOES EVERYONE SLEEP ON THE PUNCH SCENE WITH CHARLIE AND CAMERON?? IT'S GENUINELY SO WELL WRITTEN AND PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST DIALOGUE SCENES I'VE SEEN IN FILM??? HELLO?????

every single actor in this scene does such an amazing job. they genuinely all feel like such real and complex characters it's insane.

i don't care if you hate cameron's character but you cannot deny that his scene was amazingly pathetic. his actor did such a perfect job at portraying him almost like a rat backed into a corner. he's doing everything he can to save himself, telling himself he's the one in the right, the one with common sense, when he knows he's faking it. all his dominance is such a pathetic lie and it's genuinely impressive to watch it be portrayed so accurately. it is exactly what it's like to watch someone desperately claw for an ounce of respect. cameron was always a desperate character, and the moment he got the chance to drop his friends and come out "higher" than them, it just made him even sadder to watch.

and meanwhile charlie's the perfect example of failed justice and passion being outpoured all at once. he has so much determination and desire to stand up for what he believes, but it's all pouring out at once. he doesn't know how to handle all of it. he knows he's done for but he can't give up for the life of him, and it all comes out in a solid swing to cameron's face. that single punch probably sums up everything about charlie, and honestly everything i love about him as a character. he seems like a menace-y little bastard, but at the end of the day he just genuinely wants to do what he thinks is right. he's fiercely protective of the people he looks up to but he'll never admit it. that little shit has ZERO clue how to handle his emotions rationally and it's honestly respectable. he doesn't know exactly who he is, but his values are so strong that he's unknowingly guided by them. basically he's just a silly little guy and i hope he punches people more often :3

AND TODD THE BELOVED <33 he is so underrated in this scene it's insane. every word feels like it's falling out of him. he's lost his best friend and he's lost all control over himself. it's powerful seeing such quiet and reserved character unwillingly transform into everything they've been trying to keep down. i will forever be in love with how his character completely breaks down after neil's death. this is kinda just me projecting but he fr feels like a representation of all of my own thoughts when breaking down, except he's actually voicing them. todd supremacy for-fucking-ever.

THE OTHERS ARE ALSO SPECIAL TOO BUT THEY DONT GET A LOTTA LINES FOR ME TO ESPECIALLY ANALYZE SO IM JUST GONNA ADD RANDOM TIDBITS OF THE OTHERS HERE.

i absolutely adore how knox acts in this scene. especially his lines of "don't touch him charlie, you do and you're out," and then for that to be followed by "you don't know that" after charlie's little "i'm out anyway"?????? knox's entire personality in this movie might be about trying to rizz up girls (and it's a little concerning now but it was a different time guys please he's silly guys i swear), but he's honestly SOO sweet when he's not focused on that. he's just as protective of his friends and it's so nice seeing him be the voice of reason. like did u guys not see how quickly he reached for charlie when he was about to kick cameron's ass????? he genuinely wants the best for his friends and he knows them well enough to try and stop them from doing any irrational shit (even tho it failed later but shshsh). love knox for that.

meeks and pitts don't say anything in this scene, but their looks alone give off so much. you can just SEE how much meeks feels betrayed by cameron, and then pitts looks like he's still trying to process the fact that cameron would even do something like that. it's honestly so sad but god it's so amazing to watch.

anyways thank u for coming to my ted talk plspls ask me about films or drop ur random analyzations to me im so desperate to analyze my favorite little guys :33

[nomsfaultau]

ok important question

which one of your technos could i probably fight

I’m assuming you want to come out the other side swinging, because truly you could fight most of them and die rather nastily. I’m also going to let the tone of the piece be an influencing factor. Let’s a go:

Fault: You are now a little red smear. The fight is over so fast The Blade doesn’t even register The Blood God took over. For the corollary ‘Where then do your loyalties lie?’ The Blade where he’s like ~14 years old: same but The Blood God has a voice crack while trying to deliver a threatening quip, feels rather embarrassed, and makes your death extra painful. Golden Apples, Gilded Atrophy: The Techno least likely to feel even a hint of remorse. This guy is craaazy he’s waiting for an excuse to murder you, ohh he wants to murder you soo bad- Lord, what fools these mortals be!: He is so ready to throw down, but he’s also like really friendly the whole time? He’s utterly vicious but is funny about it. You’re probably dying to some looney tunes esque nonsense UNLESS you can make your victory funny enough that the absurdist nature of the fic finds a contrived series of wacky events that contribute to your unlikely W. Mandatory Family Reunion: Probably has one of your better chances of fighting, since he’s human and has zero powers. Except the power of knives, which he will possess inordinate amounts of. Likely to lash out really harshly in pure ptsd mode, catch himself halfway through attacking you and have an entire monologue crisis about how he’s inherently violent and corrupted by his various parental figures, there’s no possible redemption if violence has been beaten into his instincts, etc etc angst angst angst. Perfect time to clock him right in the face. This is one Techno guaranteed not to kill you, though he shows serious ingenuity when fighting. However, the MFR universe is stacked against him so you’ll probably win simply for the fact that it would create more Techno angst. The Lambs Wolves Wear: Well Technoblade is debatably a dead corpse being possessed? And is maybe 14? So I feel like you could EASILY take on a skeletal child. However if we’re talking “Technoblade” you’re screwed. One scratch on their vessel and undead legions will be summoned to drag you to hell. Might hesitate since Philza will chastise them later, but will still rip you apart with ghosts. Lighting Lanterns to Bring You Home: Well, he’s a god. So. Good luck buddy ? At the start of the fic he’ll just smite you no questions ask. By the end he might just ignore you while you fruitlessly punch his belly. I suppose if you timed it right before Lady Death killed him for the winter you could technically claim the win, but he’d just be sleeping through your attack before succumbing to the allegory of the seasons, so, wouldn’t feel very satisfying. The Altars We Sacrifice Our Futures On: See above on trying to fight god! But also literally an evil violence deity. So enjoy getting ripped apart by wolves or terrible blood magic. At least, until Techno learns that apparently you’re allowed to kill ABSOLUTELY NO ONE in front of a six year old or they cry. Loudly. There’s snot. At which point he will fume and snarl and seethe and not actually kill you. But he will be EXTREMELY grumpy about it. Absolutely zero chance of winning though he’ll just trap all the blood in your body in a loop that won’t let you die but also won’t let you move. Where do babies come from? You obliterate him. No questions ask. Bro he’s twelve not even a question. All his pent up street kid rage will mean he’s vicious, but like he’s ye high, you’re good. He will bite, but you’ll bite back. Now there is the angle that he literally will never stop trying to defeat you, refusing to give up long past the point a reasonable person would and getting really hurt in the process. But like that’s an unarmed child. Your victory is assured. Philza Minecraft WILL find your location and have a “talk” with you tho. And you are not winning that “conversation”.

[faejilly]

i absolutely love your sh meta so i was wondering what are your thoughts on Alec’d relationship with his sexuality bc i always sort of read it as him knowing that he was gay but absolutely not saying it out loud

absofuckinglutely nonny

There's an excellent post by amorverus that I cannot find the original of so have my reblog HERE that articulates it really well

I even wrote a fic about it! #shameless self promotion [tumblr / ao3] (That is, in fact, one of my favorite things I've ever written.)

I do strongly believe that Alec knew that he was gay, and felt no shame about that in and of itself. He is not offended by Magnus flirting with him, would not, I think, be offended by anyone else flirting with him, regardless of gender. (Tho prior to Magnus I also think he just... wasn't interested, but that's a separate conversation.) He knew, however, that it was not allowed in his culture and it would hurt his family and not just him if it came out.

(This is why Izzy makes me so uncomfortable in s1 regarding Alec, tbqh, because she lives there too, but refuses to see the danger to herself and, more egregiously in Alec's mind, because obviously she can chose to risk herself for him if she wants, for all he doesn't like it, but she's causing risk for their little brother if Alec is outed, and that's unacceptable. Even if I'm quite sure Max would agree with her priorities.)

I do, however, think Alec felt a lot of shame regarding his attraction to Jace. Jace was hurting and was supposed to be his brother and yet... Alec felt an attraction that he knew Jace wouldn't return. So he's got all the societal pressure on him not to be gay, and all this personal pressure not to manipulate or abuse someone in a vulnerable situation (because Jace was, even if he wouldn't admit it), PLUS all the normal human issues with feeling attraction for someone who is important enough to you that you can't lose them, and you can legitimately be terrified that if you can't get it under control you MIGHT... (Even more so for him than a mundane romantic vs platonic situation, obviously, because there's questions of command and exile and punishment, not just ruining an interpersonal dynamic in a way it never quite recovers from.)

Plus Alec's kind of also Jace's commanding officer which is yet ANOTHER unequal power dynamic, and he's supposed to be protecting an entire Institute, not just this one person, but he can't stop thinking about it because it's fucked up and he knows he should stop and he can't.

(Because, he realizes with the benefit of hindsight after he meets Magnus, by fixating on Jace he was safe, he was never going to fall in love for real with someone he might have a chance with, would never have to actually choose between his culture and his personal desires, while still telling himself that he already had, that he'd chosen his family and it was fine, he was FINE.

(He was so not fine.))

And so, even though he truly believes there's nothing wrong with being gay in general, he does believes there is something Very Wrong with him specifically being gay.

But he still never has any doubt about it. He never tries to project heterosexual interest in anyone, is very up front with Lydia about the terms of their engagement. (It seems clear, even if we never see that conversation, that they're both aware that their marriage would never be romantic or sexual unless they mutually decided to go the so-called traditional route for children.) And she agreed to it! She, unlike Jace & Izzy, had zero illusions about her relationship with Alec, and I ADORE HER FOR THAT.

And I've totally lost the thread of this rambling, I'm not sure I have a conclusion for you? 😅😅😅

Alec is, imo, refreshingly self-aware about most things, and many of his issues are legitimately external stupidity punishing him into a life of self-recrimination rather than him having internal bigotry or biases against his own sexuality in and of itself.

[soapskies]

Could I request some general yandere hcs for capullo/zero year riddler?

Im down bad for this man

Also just found your blog, and even tho it's new, your writings amazing!

YANDERE CAPULLO RIDDLER 🧩 ?¿

MALE READER. RELATIONSHIP HEADCANONS. CONTAINS YANDERE TROPES AND SUGGESTIVE CONTENT.

— Thank you, anon! :D

One of the most difficult Riddler’s to put up with, even more so as a yandere, simply because he has absolutely no qualms about getting rid of anyone who gets in his way, especially if they are of no use to him.

That woman who gives you flirty looks at your job? Gone, off the face of the Earth, she may as well have never existed. That guy who brushed against your shoulder one time? Edward will run him through a meticulous puzzle trap, enjoying the way the blood leaves his face as he nears death, the pathetic brain-dead worm. He might even make you watch just so he can force you to play nice.

When he first grapples with his feelings, he’s beyond frustrated. He tried his hardest to forget about you. You’re just another average, brainless fool in a city full of them, and he’s the Riddler, for god’s sake!

But he can’t stop his thoughts from spiraling, can’t help envisioning you at his beck and call, subservient to him, being able to do whatever he wants with you…

Sooner or later he’ll kidnap you. It’s painful not being able to control a problem like this for him, you understand.

He convinces himself that it’s completely your fault that things had gotten to this point, like your a man sent by Satan himself to ruin his plans… not that he believes in such things.

He’s one of the sleaziest Riddler’s, and that definitely plays into the way he treats you

He sees you more like an object than a person, something he’s entitled to, and he makes damn sure to remind you of who owns your body and controls your autonomy.

He can never keep his hands off you, whether they’re gripping your waist, slung around your shoulders, caressing your chest or lingering on your thighs, all while he watches you squirm with a smirk.

I’d imagine his obsession with you is a love-hate sort of relationship. He views you as inferior, yet he wants you around him at all times, practically attached to the hip.

And my god does he love controlling every little aspect of your life, and keeping you tightly under his thumb. He’ll decide what you wear, what you eat, where you are, at all times…

It’s the only way he can scratch that insufferable itch in his brain, and deal with his obsession.

The only way he’d let you be around others is if he wanted to show you off, or embarrass you enough to bring your self-worth down.

He’ll humiliate you in front of others, hold you down, make you do unsavory things for him… all while enjoying himself.

If you dare act defiant, oh boy…

He’s not above keeping you on a leash, marking your skin up, branding you if you refuse to stay in your place

He wouldn’t severely injure you in any way, you’re already pathetic enough as you are… just enough on the skin so that it’s visible and permanent

Edward’s not particularly concerned about you “loving him back”, as long as you do what he says and behave. He accuses you of lusting after him, never admitting to it himself.

He’ll make sure there’s no chance in hell you’ll escape him, even if it means inserting tracking devices under your skin. Not that there are many chances to get away, given how you’re forced to be at his side practically every hour of every day. And who would even dare mess with the Riddler?

He’ll leave dark purple welts on your skin from where he bit down too hard, especially on your neck in the most visible of places, just so he can force you to wear shirts that show everybody who you belong to.

He’ll make you sit in his lap when he’s working or out in public, taking pride in how embarrassed you get

Maybe he’ll even tease the waistband of your boxers and threaten to take things further under the table if you don’t stop acting like a brat…

“What’s wrong? Afraid someone might notice how pathetic you’re acting? Why don’t you be a good boy and stay still for me…”

[thoughtspresso]

Hello, sorry I just need someone to voice my op to since none of my circles read or watch OnK :'(

It's so weird to me how Akane's fans interpret that scene when the girls are filming an MV as Akane only having good intention and care for Kana, 'cuz imo even if there is, what she said was still one of her attemps to get Aqua to stay with her. Look at how things played out to her: her business bf wanted to break up, he even straight up refused sex when she offered, and now she found out that right after that he took Kana on to a proper date, Akane's chances were close to zero. She was grasping at straws when she said that and played it under the guise of being considerate about Kana's safety, just like how she said she's okay with breaking up with him yet cried - showing that she wanted the opposite. Because if she only cared about Kana's safety, then what's with the side comment about how actors have it easier? It's like she was saying "Choose me, I'm the safer choice!". I'm not saying Akane didn't have good intention, but it's more like a two bird one stone typa thing where she wanted Kana to be safe and Aqua to continue with dating her (her own selfish want). It was kinda a dirty move from Akane, consider how she knows very well what happened to Ai and how much that'll affects Aqua. Akane always strike me as a good in nature yet also self-absorbed character: She decided what's best for both Kana and Aqua that also benefits her selfish wants regardless of how the other two would feel (& we all know how miserable both Aqua and Kana was during that ghosting period); She decided what to do to Aqua's father without thinking about how he might feel (again); The signs were as early as the LoveNow arc where she tweeted the apology thinking it was the right solution without consulting with her manager first because she thought she knew what was best for her to do in that situation. Even her acting method also kinda reflect this, where if the character's portrayal clashes between her and the director/scriptwriter, she already has a concrete image of the character from her own interpretation and thus has difficulty compromising and adjusting with the production team.

I might even take a wild guess that she was in love (obsessed) with the idea of saving prince charming rather than Aqua himself because to her, their story literally went/was gonna go like the old classic story of prince charming saving the girl -> the girl learns about the prince's past, decides to help him to repay him saving her -> prince charming defeats the bad guy (his dad in this story) with the girl's help -> happily ever after. Akane being a teen + Aqua saved her + it's her first dating experience caused her to have an idealistic view of dating and probably why she tolerated Aqua dating her despite having his eyes on Kana for he did act like the perfect bf on the surface, and that to her was enough to fulfil her prince charming fantasy. Akane is, actually, not that mature in her relationship with Aqua like how her fan keep praising her for, tbh imo it's more akin to what teens think "being mature" is. I know this is one of the appeal of her ship with Aqua, even though some might deny it. As oppose to Kana who might be a potential obstacle to Aqua's revenge whether good or bad, Akane is narratively there as a bonus reward for Aqua after finishing the main quest of avenging his mom if the ship ever be canon again. Akane and Aqua have unfortunately became perfect self-inserts for those who are into revenge and/or trophy girl fantasy (nothing bad about this itself tho). But perhaps because of looking into those fantasy fulfilment rather than the actual context of the manga/anime, they accuse Kana of not understanding the "real" Aqua (I have alot to say about this, maybe 3 paragraphs at least lol) or how she's useless for not helping him kill a person and ignore the entire other half chunk of the story about showbiz problems, where Kana's own story entangle more.

If you've read this far, thank you so so much.

P/s: My wild guess no.2, rather than being a damsel in distress (being Kamiki's target) for Aqua to come rescue, Kana already has a close relationship with Kamiki prior to reuniting with the twins (maybe a mentor-student relationship?). I've always find it weird how Aka just glossed over Kana's past, like he's holding back important info regarding her past that he can't show the readers too soon. So that's why I have this guess. This explains why Aka's been keeping her out of the revenge plot for so long + better than Kana just being a damsel in distress + raises the stakes for Kana (will she choses the mentor who helped her through her dark days being abused by her mom or the twins who she can see the light and bright future in?) + makes Kana a key player in the revenge plot.

Hey Anon! I'm happy to talk to you about some OnK Character Analyses anytime. Sorry to have taken so long to respond, I really wanted to sit down with your question. I've been thinking about this a lot. And I'm afraid my response might be even longer than your ask hahaha!

I want to summarize your main points for everybody else, so that we're all on the same page:

Akane was manipulative when she reminded Aqua that Kana was an idol, and pushed him to choosing her.

Akane wants to reverse the damsel-in-distress and Prince Charming trope, and decides on behalf of others.

Akane fans accuse Kana for not knowing the "real" Aqua

(Bonus) There's a possibility that Kana already knew Hikaru Kamiki.

So, my responses:

#1 Was Akane being manipulative in Ch. 76?

Well, yes. And no.

I actually had a short discussion (argument?) with Skania (who I will not tag for the sake of their mental health, but mentioning here to credit them.) about this very topic. (And I want to thank them for their time and also apologize to have annoyed them!) We have really different interpretations and disagree each other on this part.

To get the fast answer out of the way: Yes, I believe Akane was wholly aware of what she was saying.

She already knew from the Tokyo Blade arc how badly Aqua can get triggered on the topic of Ai's death.

Put it this way: imagine being a teenage girl who was depressed or bullied, and the boy who saved your life started dating you but admits that it isn't because he likes you that way. You start offering him sex if that would fulfill his wants in a relationship, but he tells you that your relationship is about to end soon. You find out from another girl that they went on a date--shopping for suitcases and Brazilian barbecue--a kind of date he never did for you. Then when he invited you to go on a trip, most of what he did was walk you around his hometown to look for something else, and then watch this other girl be really cute in a dress he was stunned by.

Akane is allowed to be a teenager who would want to nudge her boyfriend to stay with her and away from his other crush.

Akane fans like to argue that she was being completely selfless, and was just looking out for Kana's safety too.

I really dislike this reading of Akane's character, because it strips her of agency. Of course she has personal goals, wants, and flaws. She's allowed to be a teenage girl who wanted her love to be reciprocated. She's allowed to be a teenage girl who gets a little jealous, and try as she might to be professional and civil because all of these people are her work colleagues too, she still does things that fulfill her goals. She is allowed to be self-interested, and act on opportunities that align with those self interests.

I also think that if Akane's fans want to believe in her intellect and her masterful ability in understanding people's psychology and detective work, then it stands to reason that they should also believe that Akane was deliberately aware of the effect of what she said to Aqua. She doesn't always make 100% correct bets, but it's reasonable to conclude she made this bet hoping that it could get him to stay.

Akane and everyone else is already aware that Kana is actually not a person who needs scolding on the dangers of being under public scrutiny:

Under any normal circumstance, if Akane simply cared for Kana's safety, she would have simply responded to Kana when she was bragging about the date. Like, "hey be careful about dating in public spaces okay? I dont want you getting in trouble." Or, if she would talk to Aqua about it, she might say, "Please remember to book a private room next time you eat in a restaurant."

But no. If Akane would remind them of safety tips of dating as public figures, it would just lead them to the advice to do Home Dates:

And she doesn't want that now, does she?

She didn't say something as straightforward as that, and neither did the author write it in a more neutral tone. It was deliberately written with Akane implying that if he didn't want Kana killed, he should just date a fellow actor. (Preferably one that the public is actually cheering on to be together, because they were already in a Love Team due to the show.)

I just don't like ignoring what the Author and the Illustrator clearly put on the page for me to absorb the way that it was. I think pretending she was being wholly selfless is an insult to the writers.

#2 Is Akane motivated by the want to Save Prince Charming?

This is the "and no" part of my answer.

When I think of Akane, I don't think of an outright evil person who manipulated Aqua into doing things, wanting to be a hero for that reason. And just like how Tokyo Blade serves as a parallel for the show, it in turn informs us that it is an incorrect interpretation of Saya-hime (or Akane) to think that she outright wants the violence herself.

This part I agree with Skania on: Akane's main flaw is her low self-esteem.

Akane doesn't personally believe that she is inherently worth any value, and any value that she holds is attributed to her hard work.

People have taken notice to the fact that, unlike Kana's experience of abuse and abandonment, Akane had a really good support system behind her when her suicide attempt happened during the LoveNow arc. She had a loving mother and a really kind-hearted manager that believed in her. Yet she clung onto the validation from the agency President more. She ascribes her personal value to the approval of other people, especially positive feedback from her superiors in the industry, her theater troupe calling her a genius, her fans applauding her.

And, on the opposite side of the same coin, she has immense Rejection Sensitivity that makes her extremely defensive when she received cyberbullying, leading her to want to make a public apology right away and appease people.

This leads Akane to be an extremely hardworking person, but also seeking validation and direction from other people (like the LoveNow crew), unable to voice out her views unless it is supported by an authority figure (like when she wanted something changed in Tokyo Blade), and also why when meeting her personal hero and idol Arima Kana in person, when Kana lashed out at her, instead of simply thinking, "okay she's a terrible person, I'm done with being her fan forever", she rejected that idea and went on to study Psychology in the hopes of understanding people like Kana.

All of this manifests in her relationship with Aqua being okay with receiving bare minimum from him, not complaining when she realizes he has feelings for someone else, and also doing anything and everything for him, whatever he needs whether he asks for it or not.

I'll go a little further into my interpretation of her (which I know Akane fans might be resistant to or disagree with, but I hope you stick with me here.)

I also think Akane has a co-dependency on Aqua, and herself has Inverted Narcissism, with Covert and Cerebral Subtypes.

I agree! I sound nuts! This interpretation is crazytown.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) has several subtypes, including Inverted Narcissism, which is a subtype where the person craves the co-dependency on another narcissist. They are self-sacrificing to their primary narcissist, feel they are not entitled to anything, but seem emotionally level-headed and highly attuned to the primary narcissist's needs but not much empathy for anybody else.

Because of how little they think of themselves, it gives them a feeling of power and control to be with a person who believes himself to be so special, to have a crucial mission whose victory she can partake in. In a sense, Aqua was someone Akane looked up to so much for having saved her from her suicide attempt, and for turning the public's view of her from negative to overwhelmingly popular.

Akane definitely thought, "I want to be useful to him! I want to make him happy!"

And this man had his own amazing detective mission going on in his mind and trauma to solve. And so Akane thinks, "Let me solve that for you! Let me be useful to you even if it kills me! Use me as you need!"

They say true love is unconditional and self-giving so I will aide my enabler in patricide to prove my worth to him!

According to Professor of Psychology Sam Vaknin, the DSM gives us 9 criteria to diagnose an Inverted Narcissist, and you need to have at least 5 to qualify. Here are some that he mentioned that I think fit Akane:

The inverted narcissist is emotionally stable, but her self-esteem is very low. The inverted narcissist devalues herself as an offering, as a sacrifice to the narcissist in her life. The inverted narcissist is compelled to filter all her narcissistic needs through the primary narcissist in her life. The inverted narcissist feels amplified by the primary narcissist's own accomplishments. The inverted narcissist is pre-occupied with fantasies [...] of an ideal love to be accomplished through the narcissistic partner.

The inverted narcissist feels like she is undeserving and not entitled to anything.

The inverted narcissist is indistinguishably selfless. She is sacrificial. She is anxious in her interpersonal relationships. She avoids assistance of others at all cost. She can only interact with others when she can be seen to be giving, supporting and expending an unusual effort to assist. So she is sacrificial, she sacrifices herself, but ostentatiously, in full view.

The inverted narcissist lacks empathy like a classic narcissist. She is intensely attuned to others needs, but only insofar as it relates to her own need to perform the required self sacrifice. She needs to self sacrifice in order to obtain her narcissistic supply from her primary narcissist. But to do so, she must be attuned to his needs. So this is her restricted use or leverage of empathy.

The inverted narcissist displays extreme shyness, lack of any real relational connections, is publicly self-effacing, is highly moralistic and critical of others, is a perfectionist, engages in lengthy ritualistic behaviors that can never be perfected.

I also mentioned that Akane has Cerebral subtype, in that she believes she has superior intellect, and the Covert subtype, where she seems altruistic and selfless on the outside but internally she is driven by a self-serving need to be useful, to be wanted, because she chases after this external validation to fill in the gaps of her own self-esteem and call to perfectionism.

There is room to argue that Aqua is actually the inverted narcissist and she's codependent on Akane who is the altruistic/communal narcissist subtype. I reviewed it, but it seems she's the codependent one in this scenario.

I think this answer entails that Aqua himself also has NPD, and I think he does have Vulnerable Narcissism with Cerebral subtype. Kana actually picked up on it pretty well:

He does tend to think that he is the sole person who can accomplish this mission of revenge, even though it took him 4 years to crack a passcode and he actually didn't solve anything himself. Like, ever.

He thinks that he has some superior ability to read people and manipulate them (and it's not necessarily true, he just believes so).

And he likes bringing it up out loud a lot, like I used you, or haha she's so easy to manipulate, regardless if he actually did anything.

When Ruby points out he hasn't made any friends, Aqua deflects and becomes defensive.

He also initially thought that he was going to make it big as an actor after the one time he did well as a child, and entreated Gotanda to take him in, but when his PTSD was getting in the way of his acting, he just chalked it up to saying no actually I was never talented in that, because he doesn't want to admit to others that he doesn't have the supernatural inhumane acting skills he thought he did. (Note: He's not comfortable showing those old acting videos to Kana, but is okay with showing it to Akane for this reason.)

He truly believes he's everybody's savior. Unprompted he just thinks he's some main character that caused everybody's suffering. His Behavioral Self-Blame (BSB) about the death of both of his mothers is a manifestation of his wish for control over the situation, which is a known coping mechanism for those with PTSD or Major Depression Disorder (MDD)

Vulnerable NPD subtypes also feel uncomfortable being praised, which is why he reacts that way with Kana.

Vulnerable NPD subtypes also hate being asked to compete, which is why during both LoveNow and Tokyo Blade arcs, he keeps out of the way.

Vulnerable NPD subtypes really really hate rejection, and that's why Aqua says that he can't confront Kana without a Pieyon mask because he's too weak to be shot down by her again.

Vulnerable NPD subtypes are quite anti-social, but again if you confront them about it, they'll just deflect you and say things like they had no intentions to make friends or they're busy observing or something like this.

I mean, look at this dumbass intellectualize having feelings for girls his age like Akane and Kana:

Kana gets it though:

ONLY A NARCISSIST WOULD (half-joke)

This is of course a reminder that people with NPD aren't inherently bad people, they also don't come in one shape or form as there are many subtypes, and they can swing in severity. Most of them are a by-product of either a traumatic childhood or an overly doting one. Akane and Aqua just simply happened to be both of these.

I just came to this interpretation when I kept thinking of why was it that it felt like both Akane and Aqua were using each other. They both felt miserable and yet felt necessary and dependent on each other's emotional comfort. They both lie to each other too. I think a lot of people have picked up on the "feeling" that the two are using, manipulating, abusing each other, there's something dysfunctional about them together, and yet they also genuinely care about each other a lot. And people couldn't pick the right words to describe that. Co-dependents and their primary narcissists can heal together into a healthy relationship, they don't have to stay that way forever. But for the most part, nobody really recognizes that that's what was happening, because the dance they do together looks completely synchronized as a relationship. Who ever says no to a sweet and completely self-giving girlfriend? Who would leave their boyfriend to die alone in a revenge plot?

ONLY A NARCISSIST WOULD (not joking)

#3 Does Kana know the real Aqua:

I think a lot of Akane fans love to cite that Akane knew about the revenge, the trauma, the using, the manipulation etc. She also knows what he's like when he's being silly and playful.

And I don't deny that Aqua and Akane cared for each other.

But I also think that Kana knew Aqua even when he was being unpleasant, making crude jokes about her when they were kids. Kana observes Aqua's acting meticulously and understands the fine details of his style. Kana also has actual conversations with him about his interests too. They read the same books and they jog together, and they're very comfortable arguing with each other about anything.

Most of all, of anybody, only Kana has pointed out that Aqua has chuunibyou/grandiose thinking, narcissistic tendencies, and that Ruby has a co-dependent relationship with him (even when she didn't know about their past as Sarina and Gorou, she just picked it up as the core reason for their clinginess).

#4 [Bonus] Does Kana know Kamiki?

I don't think so.

When Kamiki opened his production company/agency, Kana would have been about 11yo. It was around this time that she had been recording Full Moon and her other songs, and her career had been on a decline. Then her company left her and she started freelancing instead.

Kana's acting style is also diametrically opposed to Kamiki's acting. Which as Akane has pointed out is similar to Ai's acting style. Kana's acting is very emotionally honest and is rooted in her personal understanding of her own emotions, whereas Kamiki and Ai act to deceive others based on the calculated perception they know the audience wants of them. Given this, it's unlikely that Kamiki mentored her in any form.

Lastly, I think Kana would have been the first person to point out that Kamiki looks like Aqua if they knew each other, even if he was acting as the Miki-san persona.

But I did joke before that I think if Kana and Kamiki met each other, they'd just traumabond and be friends until the cops haul Kamiki away. And that'd be the funniest thing ever.

That's it! That was a very long rant. Thanks for the question.

[dynamic-k]

oki doki I have returned with another question >:D

I'm obsessed help-

Okay, you don't have to answer this question if you don't want to/don't know, so:

Is Madame Pop-Up going to stay a villain? Is she going to annoy Ballista like she said?

Is she even sorry about Chosen's trauma?

I swear to God if it's a no I will strangle her-

Will Primal becoming a hero change her mind? Or will Madame Pop-Up take it as betrayal and then become the antagonist of a whole Arc-

I feel like she wouldn't be one to do that though. She's more like jokey about it, if that makes sense.

Unless... Does she have any trauma? Does she really just like being the villain for fun? Are the villains actually even bad?

Have a great day! :D

-R

Finally done with this one. = w=’ Speediest answered ask in history, yep yep.

[LONG LONG RAMBLE BELOW~!!!] [shorter than the other one tho]

So. I got asked about one of my minor OC’s for Super Sticks. That is a first. A daunting first, but a challenge to respond I will not deny.

Typically, I try not to focus on my OCs, it just seems awkward sometimes. Unless, I guess, I happen to have put a lot of particular thought into the character and am happy with it. The more built the OC is, the longer that character has been created, the more comfortable I am with writing said character more frequently and offering the OC more chances to shine.

Yes, I would say that I prefer to write the main cast more than I do OCs. I feel like I know our dear and beloved sticks better than I do my own characters, which is strange to say because I technically know my own OCs better than everyone else- 

I don’t remember where I was going with this. Maybe just insight on how I think or something- I’ve forgotten-

Anyway. Madame Pop-Up, or Poppy. 

Welp, you better get your strangling hands ready then- XD She, uh. She is not very sorry and doesn’t feel bad. There was some mild sympathy and wince of genuine “Oooh, owch” when the building fell on Chosen, but- Other than that little moment there, she is generally uncaring to what she does. 

But hey! You know what could fix that? A LENGTHY CHARACTER ARC- [*is cut off*]

Uhhh, I actually didn’t know how to answer this for the longest time, and I had to think on it for a few days. As I mentioned prior, I have a habit of not including OCs into very many scenes, and sometimes they are all harder to write than the main cast!! XD

There are a few OC exceptions, in which I can write them very well. 

Jade, for example, from A Second’s Tale. He’s shown up enough times, I have enough plans for his story, it’s good.

Dune is pretty easy, as he’s a quiet stick. XD 

I also, of course, have other fandom original characters, and additionally zero fandom original Scarlett works with original characters. [Aside from “The Last Veracion”, most are unposted because I deem them really terrible in composition, or they are incompletely written. WHEN YOU HAVE THE ENTIRE STORY IN YOUR BRAIN BUT THE WORDS DON’T WANNA WORD-]

Poppy is an eccentric figure. The crazy aunt, you might say. She can be a little bit of a sadist... and, uh, not in the silly “whump angst torture suffer on this fictional character” way, that I am. 

Which does make for a good villain character! I needed that.

Poppy and Primal were really only friends because of Ballista, originally. Ballista and Poppy had known each other first, having met some time before Agent’s leg incident. Just around the time Ballista was caught and arrested for trying to fulfill Vic’s order, and Agent had already left Rocket with Hazard, Primal ended up meeting Poppy officially when the advertisement-wielding stick came wondering where her enthusiastic mini friend had gone off to.

They, Poppy and Ballista, probably had made plans for that day or something, I don’t know. I never needed to think on this too much, since it wasn’t relevant to the major plot.

Will she stay as a villain? Uhm. I... Maybe??

You know what? I do not know yet. It is definitely one of the things about Arc Two that is not fleshed out just yet, that I really should get to thinking and deliberating on soon so that I can ominously hint at it- XD

For fun of course. And also, I love it when the audience suffers from lack of information- /silly

Madame Pop-Up will definitely annoy Ballista, if a nice opportunity comes along. [I have some scenes planned already] As the plotline may have suggested, she is quite the cautious individual, an opportunist that seizes the right moment when it comes and shys away from things that hold too much risk. 

A more covert villain than most. She doesn’t have too much an interest in pillaging and robbery anyway, just... teasing. She’s more of a bully villain than a grabby one.

NOW. Primal finally embracing heroism, and going on the climax of her redemption that I haven’t finished fully planning yet- THAT. THAT is definitely the sort of thing that would affect Madame Pop-Up, as the two are much closer now than previously, having bonded during Ballista’s imprisonment.

This is exactly the thing that could help along and switch the tides over for Madame’s own character arc, whether it be a full redemption, or at least an acceptance of what her friends’, Ballista’s and Primal’s both, chosen [*COUGH-LAUGH*] paths are. 

Much of this planning still needs to be done, and some of it will inevitably end up being a spoiler, so I shouldn’t outloud plan too much on this Ask here. I SHALT PLAN IN A PRIVATE DOCUMENT THOUGH, I SHALT PLAN THE THINGS AND ALL OF THE THINGS- And maybe with my sister, or a close friend of mine, eehehehe.

Taking Primal’s decision as a betrayal, giving Madame Pop-Up the opposite of a redemption and instead, a full on RAMPAGE of villainy and anger and betraayyaaal, is also an epic idea. I may actually save that in my brain cogs for Arc Three as an emergency, uh,  I-need-a-force-against-the-protags option? [And I’ll obviously mention the idea came from you hehehe] 

:3 Currently, I have no antagonist for Arc Three, as Arc Two is going to be brought to a neat conclusion. [albeit with a big cliffhangery scene- *cough*]

[stop it, Scarlett, stop talking about Arc Three-]

But for now, yes. Arc Two is gonna tie a lot of things up at the very end, even with as chaotic and all-over-the-place as the journey may be initially, leaving us with an ending containing no extra or hidden main big-bads running amok. Sure, there will be small-time ones, of course, but not enough to be the cause of enough trouble that in turn would merit a big journey of entertainment whump-

Now, the reason Madame would not be the antagonist of Arc Two, is literally because there is a big bad(s) already. I just... haven’t yet... gotten far enough along for that to show very much. 

[IT’S THe GoVeRnMEnT- *gets cut off again*] 

...Ignore that “s”. Ignore it. There definitely is only the government and nobody else. Nothing. Shhh. I said nothing. SHHHH. Nope. Nothing. Don’t you dare look over at King, he’s not here. Sh. SHHHH. /silly

Technically, none of the villains I have made right now, are TOTALLY bad. Nobody here is like RedMenace!Dark. No one is COMPLETELY pure evil in Super Sticks. [yet-]

Rum I could ramble about. SuperSticks!Jade I could ramble about. The Alcoholic twins I could also ramble about. Mudd might be a little closer to evil than them, though- Not totally, but significantly closer-

Madame Pop-Up having trauma?? Now that’s a thought. Now that is a thought. O O

And I don’t have an answer. If I tried to answer, it might be a spoiler- Q w Q

Ehehehhehehehehe

OH I JUST NOTICED YOU SENT ME A NEW ASK!! AJHKJEHWQ

Just at the end of answering this one- XD Niceeeeee

Igoworkonthatnow, okaybye

[noblechaton]

That looks more like Zod than Braniac.

oh that's totally valid to think! and I can absolutely see it, what little we know does fit Zod's typical traits and it would work for an Evil Krypton sorta thing, but for me it's sorta down to two things as to why I think Brainiac - the faceplate thingy opening up in that weird way when they did a big ol' heat vision laser blast(?) that felt. overdramatic for a humanoid face lmao. and more importantly imo, the logo on the machines - and the one on the big bad, how it's just a plain triangle that's maybe raised up -

and I think they'd show his shield if it were Zod - Zod's crest has been different across adaptations iirc (snyderverse's had sort of a horseshoe/U shape? smallville had a funky Z etc.) so there wouldn't be much given away there for the more casual audience at least - it could look like anything, might even be just a fancy Z similar to the S on Clark (which would be reason to hide it ig. keep the surprise till the end. or maybe that IS the Zod logo here which uh. weird but it could work? eh?)

but also personally my theory all season long has been that Sam/etc. misunderstood the events of Zero Day in some way due to it being Brainiac's doing - with Brainiac being some creation on Krypton (ala TAS, iirc) that rose up and doomed the planet, then sought out other planets for the typical Brainiac reason of putting them in a bottle, and that misunderstanding can be more. well. understandable if Brainiac looked Kryptonian, if he looks somewhat like Supes - the cape, the build, the triangle on the chest, etc.

now don't get me wrong, again, super valid read on things and would make sense, Zod loves him a good conquest, typical Zod Stuff, totally works, and really I'd love it to be him because he might be my second favorite Superman antagonist at this point - really wished he'd shown up in S&L - but I feel this more a Brainiac thing given the machines and how indirect this has all been. and also Zod's been weirdly absent in Supes stuff since MoS for whatever reason

tho there is a chance that it might be Zod and Brainiac which would be kind of wild lmao. could work tho. also thank u for giving me an excuse to speculate on a show I love - I haven't done this out loud in a long time anon and I appreciate u

[the-ace-with-spades]

I've had mixed feelings about this season of 9-1-1...

Some of the issues about this season are, I'm pretty sure, caused by how short it is and the pacing being messed up for a lot of plotlines there.

The first two episodes felt overstretched to me, like the whole cruise bit could have been fit in two episodes instead of three - the third cruise ep was better but that's because it was oversaturated with characters and side plots and you couldn't compress that much of it. The first two just felt very slow and had put a lot of boring exposure on Lola and Norman that didn't really parallel the struggles Athena and Bobby had that well in my mind. 9-1-1 was always really heavy on narrative parallels in episodes (rescued people's dilemmas paralleled the crew's personal problems and guided them to have a look inwards into their own lives - it's quite common in procedural dramas and serves well if done with heart) but this time it feels very disconnected and mismatched.

Buck's arc was mostly good, very in character and paced in a way that didn't feel very rushed - stuff happened fast but it still felt realistic and natural. I do think it could've been done more in depth and show Buck's thought process more in some occasions but it wasn't bad.

I didn't like the wedding episodes as much as I thought I would (Jennifer and Kenneth were brilliant acting wise tho). I have a big problem with how Maddie's relationship with her and Buck's parents is treated in the show (mostly I don't think 'the united front' was really there as much as the writers tried to push but that's a typical depiction of 'parents are always going to be your parents no matter how shitty and deserve countless second chances' that you see in media and never like) but the idea of a huge wedding for Maddie and Chim seemed so out of character for them and the hospital wedding was also less private and romantic than what I'd imagine for them. I didn't like the bachelor party bit, it seemed very pointless to me and took some time from Chim's story that could give it a better pacing. Not to mention the depiction of encephalitis was very jarring as someone who actually had treated patients with encephalitis...

Eddie's arcs are... well, a bit ridiculous this season. Marisol has zero depth from the beginning, adding that whole almost a nun background didn't make it better. It might be just me, but in the scenes where Eddie is alone (not with another main cast member) he almost seems to be lacking personality?? Like his behaviour feels like a plot device more than something that matches what we could see of him beforehand?? The Catholic guilt took the worst turn possible with the whole nun bit, there's so many ways you could show Catholic guilt without making it about something as shallow and impersonal as having sex with an ex almost nun. It's literally not related that much to what Eddie's Catholic guilt (that is implied to have existed for years in him) would relate.

Kim is a whole other thing. Not an affair but still feels like an affair. The most unrealistic, farfetched way to deal with guilt and resentment for your dead wife ever. People don't just meet doppelgangers of their dead wife and decide to use them to deal with their issues and said doppelgangers don't just agree to it and find it normal. It's just some messed up way to push Eddie into that direction faster but it's just taking away the complexity of Eddie's feelings about Shannon and pushing it into a couple of short scenes that seem like they were taken out of a bad soap opera.

Mara's story line is...ugh. Look, foster kids in TV are my pet peeve. Especially troubled foster kids and the way people treat them and how people treating them is portrayed. Karen wanting her rehomed the minute she showed troubled behavior took away a lot from her for me, even if she retracted later, this just shouldn't be the first instinct of a foster parent and should not show. The way how they portrayed the whole investigation of Mara's past also pissed me off - this is not how it'd look in real life, so many of the foster parents just don't know what happened to the kid and have to work on figuring it out with the kid, on earning their trust by putting actual work into the relationship than just playing a detective and finding out how they got 'messed up'. Denny is literally having the most empathy out of all of them and that's just so bad. The way Mara magically opened up in such short notice and seems to be now an angelic child that trusts Hen and Karen completely is also something so jarring.

Involving a councilwoman into it all felt like such an overinflated way to stir trouble again. The realistic problems foster parents and adoption parents face are much more mundane than a whole ass politician suddenly deciding to run a vendetta on Hen. Hen and Karen are lesbians and black, Hen works a demanding job with long hours. CPS could get fussy about such a small thing as a teacher that is not the most tolerant reporting them for late pickups or forgotten lunches or even someone from social services Mara isn't making enough progress fast enough. The adoption judge themselves could be biased towards them and make the process difficult. There's so many ways it could have been done without involving the councilwoman and the incidents Hen's been either cleared off charges or acted with the protocol. That is, in my opinion, a cheap way to make it a conflict that is relying, emotionally, on hating the villain only (the councilwoman) and not showcasing the real struggles Karen and Hen could actually have, which would take time to expose in plot.

I did like Bobby's episode(s). A lot. Amir, as a character, is well rounded as well, it's just that any time other characters interact with him, they just seem to be acting so illogical and out of character - this is mostly about Maddie and Athena, I can understand why Bobby would act the way he does. I think Bobby is by far one of the best explored characters in the show and they didn't mess it up this season like they've done with the rest - the rest feels actually a bit two dimensional almost.

On another note, this season feels like a drama rather than procedural drama. I barely remember any rescues and emergencies and the ones that happened were really short and uncomplicated and brought almost nothing into the episodes.