#from the most 'never sticks to the canon character ' superior fan ever i want him to NOT show up in the next movie

[synth-spinner]

I had the most idea ever if superior is in there he can only have one scene and it will be of him being comically cut off while speaking by a giant piano falling on his head

[angelic-serenade]

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request: Imagine being Light’s girlfriend and he finds out that you possess a Death Note of your own and wrote his name down in it

requested by: @sacredwarrior88

a/n: I hope this is what you expected, sorry once again for the delay! enjoy 💖

gif, original work and characters do not belong to me

pairing: Light Yagami x f!reader

fandom: Death Note

warnings: angst, death, murder, light yagami being light Yagami, long (!), blood ment, canon typical violence

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Being Light Yagami's significant other had always been perceived as some sort of divine privilege, a once-upon-a-time story one could only hope to achieve in their wildest dreams. It became some sort of unspoken, universal truth spread like a gospel throughout the hallways of his high school, where he was equally envied and admired by students and professors alike. Light Yagami was by all definitions the perfect guy, therefore the public opinion of onlookers and admirers had silently but unanimously come to the conclusion he only deserved an equally perfect match: everyone was well aware that Light Yagami did not do relationships - he was adamant on rejecting every single advance he received regardless of gender and social status and that was a clear sign as any of the hopelessness of the challange itself. Nobody was ever going to be good enough for the golden boy of Daikoku Private Academy. Or so everyone thought.

Light Yagami had never seen you coming, nor had he cared enough to acknowledge your existence: at first you had simply been one of the many anonymous faces he had no interest in engaging with for too long. It never went farther than a polite greeting every now and then, when the pretense of being a wonderfully polite and integrated individual made it impossible to ignore your presence in the hallway or in a professor's study - you were supposed to be one of his fellow classmates after all, a newly transferred student from a foreign country, to make things worse. He could not allow rumors to spread regarding his reluctance to help the new student feel fully integrated now, could he? In precarious moments such as the ones he constantly found himself in nowadayd because of his new found rival, the infamous L, he could not allow himself to slip so easily, not even in his mundane everyday life. Any mistake was bound to have severe consequences and every slight change of his routine - he was certain - would be dutifully reported to the task force. Now more than ever, Light Yagami would not let underestimating a variable be his fatal flaw.

So the charade went on, and things only got worse when he realized every adult in the Academy relied on him to make you feel as comfortable with the new environment as possible. When you missed a class, he'd be tasked with delivering you the materials that had been discussed and analyzed during the daily lecture; when you had questions about the burocratic practices you were meant to fulfill as a foreign exchange student, he had been the one appointed by professors for you to rely on. And the list continued. Soon enough, you had turned from a minor inconvenience and necessary evil to a complete and utter annoyance in the life of the golden boy. You weren't a particularly irritating person per se, but the situations he found himself in as the unexpected arrangement went on took away quite the amount of time, precious hours he could have spent to gain advantage in his battle of wits against that ridiculous detective - the term "wits" was far too generous on his behalf already, he'd get rid of that self-proclaimed genius in no time either way.

Turns out your company had its own perks. Light Yagami was no fool: he acknowledged your beauty, both physical and intellectual, finding himself almost pleased to engage in playful banter during a particularly boring task a professor would assign them both to carry out. And he also knew that many boys and girls in the academy would have been utterly ecstatic to escort you wherever you went 24/7 in his place, even only to experience your own exotic nature and brag about it with their peers.

But (Y/L) (Y/N) was no fool either: she knew how much attention the golden boy brought about whenever he had to hang out with her - it reminded her of the way pollen called out to bees - and decided to make the most of it in order to build her own shiny reputation in the Academy. She soon came to be regarded as the golden girl, as dutiful and flawless as the golden boy himself. That's why it didn't come as a surprise when news spread of your newly blossomed relationship: everyone thought it natural that two superior individuals such as you and Light would be compelled to stick together, one way or another.

For you and Light though, the new arrangement was mostly convenient. You tolerated each other's presence well enough - surely more than any other mindless student's populating the Academy - and the mutual agreement you silently shared only managed to spurr on your enthusiasm about the chance to finally be left alone by other possible suitors. However, what particularly appealed to Light's keen mind was the possibility to further enhance his portrayal of a perfectly normal high school boy in front of the police and its investigators by simply keeping you near: a girlfriend would prove to be a useful alibi in moments of need, and seen as Misa Amane's sudden public appearence as his companion (as per her request) would have been perceived as too suspicious because of the recent messages she had unceremoniously left for the police to find, he'd have benefitted from the company of a new face. Might as well be the only face he could actually stand.

Since when you had become independent in your scholastic endeavors, Light had been able to gain most of his freedom back as well. Irony, however, made it so that by the time you both tried to finally part and go your separate ways, in the end you'd always end up gravitating back towards one another. Light had been utterly baffled at first, thinking it ridiculous that he found himself wishful to hear your witty comebacks when talking to some other nobody student rambling about puny matters he had no care for, or pondering what your sarcastic mind could have come up with when a professor made a fool out of themselves as they appointed yet another responsibility of theirs to a mere student. Ryuk had cracked countless jokes about the way Light would look at you the same way he looked at apples - there were so many times he had threatened the creature to actually cut off his apples supply had he not shut up, he lost count.

Therefore, in the most unlikely of outcomes, he decided to kill two birds with a stone and officially ask you out. That way he wouldn't have to worry about his private life being brought up during the investigations of the police anymore (or at least they'd be less frequent) while finally getting you out of his mind - hopefully.

The first date went rather well, he brought you to a nice cafe you had mentioned once and insisted to pay your share too (you had tried to convince him on splitting it instead, and only after various attempts had he relented).

“No wonder you are single, (Y/N).”

“Oh, am I now?”

You were proud of the way you had managed to bring down most of Light's outer walls, his boy-wonder façade irking you more than any stubborn love-sick fan of his ever could. It was the first to go, right off the bat:

“If we have to do this, might as well get comfortable, boy-wonder. No need for the goody-two-shoes charade with me, I know this is simply business.”

He had smiled but hesitated to verbally reply. Unbeknownst to you, that was the first spark that ignited his admiration for you and the milestone of your budding relationship as well. He had resented your arrogance and had you not been that crucial to his current plans to rebuild the entire world, he'd have found a way to unsuspiciously get rid of you straight away. It was a good thing you proved to be a good intellectual stimulus.

For a time, everything seemed to fall into its rightful place and the relationship not only proved to be useful for Light as regards to his public image, but he also managed to enjoy the time spent with you. He would never admit that the necklace, flowers, chocolates, and other tokens he gifted you were anything more than just for show, not even to himself. He would not allow himself to get too close, trivial things as love were not meant for the future God of a new world. Too bad it was too late for that.

When Misa Amane came into the picture, however, things escalated quickly and dangerously. You were hanging out with Light in his room, as it had been a rainy day and neither of you felt in the mood for a walk under the pouring drops. The sudden call for Light's name from downstairs came as a surprise and only later did you realize it had been the first sign of inevitable disaster; Light's mother usually never disturbed you two when you came to visit and mostly kept to herself in the kitchen, greeting you when you came and then when you went (you were glad for her respect of both her son's and your privacy). When a pretty blonde barged into the room even before Light could get up from the bed, however, you were certain disaster was at that point inevitable.

That's how you first met Misa Amane.

The yelling and crying had been obnoxious to say the least, and it only got worse from there. Light seemed more tense than usual and looked like he was single-handedly wrestling a roaring tiger while also trying to keep his head attached to his neck. Never had you seen him so worked up, trying so hard to restrain himself: it was a strange sight and it made you wonder if there was more at stake than what you had originally taken into account. Needless to say, you were worried.

When the girl took out a black notebook from her purse and started throwing threats your way, your quick mind clicked instantly.

You kept silent however, feigning ignorance: if you wanted to get even just a glimpse of the truth behind this whole tragicomic pandemonium, you'd have to be patient. Your shinigami might have been useless, but you had took the time to read the rules yourself and that would definitely work in your favor, you rationalized.

“You let this wench get in the way of our love? How could you! I did everything you asked of me and that's what I get?”

Calming the girl down had been an admirable feat. Thankfully you were able to control your anger, even though you felt positively livid with the recent developments of what you thought had been at least a mutually respectful relationship. You had grown close to Light, and maybe you had illuded yourself believing that he really did care for you too in his own way. You kept silent still and pondered about the various possibilities brought forth by Misa's mere existence: Light was fully aware of the existence of the Death Note, as he had tried to persuade Misa not to use it against you. The implications of this fact alone brought chills to your spine: why did Light have connections to this girl? Why was he so adamant on trying to snuff out the tracks of Misa's words? Had he exploited the girl to use the Death Note? Was Misa Amane the feared Kira whose killing sprees where making Japan tremble in fear? She must have been involved someway.

And then it clicked. Light Yagami had a Death Note too. He had to have one. The last broadcasted messages sent from a mysterious second Kira suddenly came to mind and you swore a light bulb went off over your head. Misa Amane could not possibly the original Kira - too impulsive, too reckless. If you had learnt something about the one true murderer, it was that the original Kira would never expose themselves like this in front of a stranger. Narcissistic they may have been, but their work was not that of a fool.

Your world suddenly came crashing down and your stunned state worried even Light. Misa had regretfully left, mind full of unfulfilled promises, and you could only thank the odds that her shinigami had not called you out straight away. Same went for Light's. Though you couldn't see them, you knew they were there and you also knew that any wrong move would have led to your untimely demise. If Light Yagami was truly Kira, he'd have no problem in ridding himself of your presence once he realized how much of a threat you currently represented, having a Death Note of your own. Shinigamis could see one another after all.

It was nerve-wracking to be on the receiving end of a gun.

“(Y/N), are you alright?”

A moment of hesitancy, then a tired attempt:

“Yes, yes. I'm just... a bit rattled, is all.”

“I hope you'll stay to let me explain.”

You realized he wasn't asking and you had no choice but to agree. You tried your best to feign hurt during the whole ordeal, but in reality you just felt nauseated and exhausted. He made up a very believable lie and you would have surely fallen for it had you not been certain Misa Amane owned a Death Note, just like you were certain he did too.

You had your own Death Note, yes, but you'd never actually used it. That was the main reason why your shinigami, Lux, had decided to completely ignore you from day one - apparently, you weren't entertaining enough for him. He'd been pretty vocal about his displeasure. But no matter how much Lux complained, using violence and murder to get your way seemed like too easy a solution. But it seemed that the boy in front of you did not share the same sentiment.

When Light took you into his arms to hold you close and tears started streaming down your face, you made up your mind: if Light Yagami truly was Kira, you'd be the one to bring him down.

The day when you finally confronted the boy you had grown so close to finally came and it was probably the scariest experience of your life. You supposed that his shinigami had told him nothing about your own status as a Death Note owner or at least, Light acted as if he didn't know. Which option was worse, you couldn't tell.

“Light... We need to talk.”

It was 22:00 sharp.

A pause, a second in which you realized you life was hanging by a thread.

“Come on in, then. ”

“I will be direct and straight to the point-”

“Yes, as you always are. That's one of the things that I appreciate the most about you.”

You couldn't believe he was trying to manipulate you. A sudden surge of boldness, straightened by pure remorse, made you vomit your next words as if they were venom.

“I take it you know of my Death Note.” you tried to keep as calm as possible and waited for his reply even though by now you already knew the answer.

“I do.” he solemnly conceded.

“Then why have you not brought it up before?”

“I was waiting for you to make up your mind.”

“Make up my mind about what, exactly?”

“About which side you decided to choose. But I take it you may need a little more motivation to pick the side you rightfully belong to. I'm here to provide it.”

“I'm all ears.”

“You have been watching the news, yes? The state of the world is in shambles, the cruel and wicked thrive off of the innocent. It's every man for himself and those in power only think about ways to make more money. The world we know is slowly rotting away, slaughtered from inside out by its own inhabitants. It's sickening. But, you see, I realized I have a cure, I have the power to make it better, to solve the problem once and for all. And I used it, as I intend to use it again and again, for the greater good. Humanity needs rehabilitation and I'm willing to provide it. There's people who recognize the necessity of this method and people who lie to themselves. So now I ask you (Y/N), which one are you?”

Your throat was parched, your hands were shaking and sweating profusely. You stared into those brown orbs of his and found yourself unable to look away. You had grown fond of his eyes, as well as the rest of him. Never in a million years would you have guessed that Light Yagami was a cold blooded killer who thought himself the God of a new world. He had played you like a violin and you had sung along. But no more would you be willing to associate yourself with that idealistic and childish monster.

“(Y/N)...” he tantatively neared your form, raising a hand to your cheek. His once cold gaze was now filled with warmth, but you weren't able to discern how much of it was fabricated and how much was real. You couldn't trust him, you couldn't play his symphony again. It was crooked and violent and selfish in its own right.

“We can do so much together, we can remake the world and save lives, so many innocent lives. No more undeserved suffering, no more unjust violence.”

You found it both unsettling and ironic how his words clashed with his actions. How could he speak of injustice, of violence when he was the one constantly playing with the lives of people? It was not his place to dictate who should live and who shouldn't, it was no man's right to claim the power over life and death. And yet there he was, in all of his fiendish glory.

“Help me, be my right hand in the monumental task of rebuilding the world. Be there when the world becomes our personal heaven.”

Oh the devil has such a way with words.

When his lips fell on yours, you knew you had done the right thing. Light Yagami suddenly wretched himself away from you as if he'd been burned; he took a step back, clutching his chest as spasms overtook his body. And then he fell.

It was 22:15.

He aimlessly fell to the ground just like Icarus had once he came too close to the sun and burned his false wings. You took the piece of paper from your left pocket and opened it only to let it fall to the floor.

Light Yagami, 07.03.2004, 22:15, heart attack

You had been merciful.

You had done the right thing.

And you would keep doing the right thing, even if the price to pay was staining your hands with more blood.

[scoobydoominuscoobydoo]

Okay but seriously have any of us considered really Shag and Daph’s relationship with the other’s parents?

Granted this is somewhat harder to pin down what with the different incarnations of the gang’s families. The differences between A Pup Named parents and Mystery Incorporated parents is like miles apart. I’m not sure what rules to play by since simply stating, “A Pup Named was here first,” doesn’t exactly sit well with me. But I have way too much pride to declare something like MI as the superior show (We all know it’s Be Cool). The Scooby universe is a deep cavern of lore stretching back 50 years and you basically gotta pick and choose what makes sense to your interpretations of the character. 

It’s always easier to write for something with little content simply because there are hardly any rules to follow. Scooby is on the other side of this where a million things speed by you and you only have time to yank up a few things before slinking back to your computer to somehow string it all together.

Parents are typically the furthest thing from my mind since they’re such a non-trivial part of the shows (save for MI but that show likes to brag about how different it pretends to be). So pickings are pretty slim in that department, leaving me to just examine what I already know about Shag and Daph’s parents - throw it out the window and then write something else.

In Emotional Tether it was easier to make a decision on what their parents were like because that was meant to take place in a teen angst setting since it was supposed to read like a Teen Wolf episode (Hark! MI stepped up to the plate finally giving me something I wanted!). I could get away with saying Shag’s parents are neglectful and Daph’s are essentially a train-wreck because that fit with my theme. By that point I was already comfortable with them sticking to those constants rather than jump back into the lore cave to try and form some new parents from scratch. I chose to keep Daph as a 5th child and Shaggy as invisible simply because it makes sense to my versions of them (Always having to be sad because I am a cruel deity).

Because I decided to keep Daph’s screwball family within my canon, I firmly believe that they would love Shaggy. Not just because in The New Scooby and Scrappy Show they seemed to be big fans of him. I think that they would like how unexpected he is as a person, being a star gymnast and bomb cook (plus all the other things he’s amazing at). Regardless of how...eccentric her family is I do believe that they genuinely love Daphne a lot and care about her. They didn’t like Fred because he wasn’t a well-off jock (he was the mayor’s son and could, quote, “bench 220,”) they just didn’t like how strong he gives into his tunnel vision. Or at least that’s how I see it. I just can imagine that her parents always sorta liked the Rogers kid because he was entertaining to watch. And the only person who could get a rise out of their most logical daughter if we take A Pup Named into account. While Daph is probably always embarrassed by her weird and lowkey rude parents Shag never openly makes fun of or disrespects them which makes her all fuzzy inside.They never really see him as a burnout trying to corrupt their little baby. They just see him as a sign that their daughter is doing something differently than what is expected of her and that’s all they ever wanted. Plus her family just adores Scooby with all their heart and soul and every time Daphne says he’s coming over they charge her with crazed looks and say, “Is he bringing the dog!?!?”

Shaggy’s family is a whole new can of worms. 

At least with Daphne’s family you can rely on some constants:

 Her family is always gonna be rich.

 Her family is always gonna be weird.

Shaggy’s family does not get that luxury (whoopee for me) because they’re just all over the damn place. In A Pup Named Shag’s dad is a cop and his mom is a stay at home with him and his baby sister. In that episode where Sugie gets married (I can’t even tell you which show it’s from so don’t ask) all of the Rogers look and talk just like Shaggy, even Sugie which I think is adorable. But then of course here comes MI trying to be different and edgy by declaring, “Shaggy’s parents are stupid rich artists who don’t give a crap about him until the police get involved. Also - what’s a Sugie????” And ruin everything. Thanks MI. It was at this point when I was like, “Okay fine I guess I can do whatever I want.” The final verdict ruled by the all powerful me was that Shag’s dad being a respected cop would explain why he has all of these random skills (gymnast, track and field star, freaking golf champ?). He wants to make his father proud but since he’s far from what the late 80′s expected from a boy it was probably an uphill battle. He’s definitely a mama’s boy through and through. And we all know how much he loves Sugie. His family for sure loves him but he has to cope with the fact that he’s not the son his father wanted. I think that can make everyone happy.

As far as how they feel about Daphne... I think they’d be kinda on the fence at first. Except Sugie who loves her because she was always the one to help Shag babysit. They know who she is and they’ve met her family because she grew up with their son and everything and it’s precisely because of that fact that they’re wary. From their perspective the Blakes are a bunch of wackadoos who have never known a hard days work in their life because money just comes easy to them. And Mr. Rogers ain’t so keen on that rubbing off onto his borderline disappointment of a son. Daphne tries not to take it personally because she knows how Shag’s dad can be. But them not taking her seriously begins to put their relationship with Shag on ice. This resulting in an ultimatum that is hardly logical because Shaggy is a teenager who prides himself on acting on impulse. “Either you learn to respect my girlfriend or I’m outtie 5000 homies!” They have no clue what that means and honestly neither does Daphne. Not wanting to be the thing that finally pushes Shaggy and his father apart for good, she decides to take matters into her own hands. And, clutz or not, that typically harbors good results. Rather than dragging her man over to her family’s bright pink, eight million room estate, she starts spending time at their quaint piece of suburbia heaven. Helping his mom clean up after lunch managing to carry interesting conversation with his father. After maybe like two weeks of this his parents come to a realization which they deliver to Shaggy with a smirk:

“She’s a weirdo - just like her family - but she’s the good kind of weirdo. Plus Sugie and Scooby can’t get enough of her. But we’re enforcing an open-door policy at all times while she’s here young man.” 

[gumceline]

another massive bubbline shipper here too say i got mad respect for this blog. as much as i stand by my ship 1000%, i also stand by the fact its totally okay too ship them with other people. i admit the bubbline fandom can be pretty toxic, but alot of us will stand by you. not only are you being super respectful even when you get hate, but you arent straight washing. also the way you looked at the negative parts of our community with understanding in last post, that was real great

oh i appreciate it! I prefer never to judge an entire fanbase by one dude because EVERY fanbase has THOSE people, no fanbase is ever perfect.

I really wished my experience with bubbline shippers had been better, it really was unfortunate to have countless hate, to have people make posts mocking me, to be put on “Lists to block”, not to mention that i legit had supportive friends who were bubbline shippers, but they pretty much turned their back on me, abandoned me, and called me a “Homophobic uncaring asshole”.

It really broke my heart dealing with the stuff i did, and i wasn’t perfect either, but i still don’t think i deserved what that was. I was a kid at the time, and was still having fun and i REALLY wanted to be a part of the fanbase because i love the series and loved the characters, but the fandom just....hated me.

Because i was a multishipper and had different opinions on the characters.

It really didn’t matter to them that i also shipped the characters with other female characters, or i said myself i don’t consider them straight. Because the fandom didn’t really care, they took one look and decided nothing i said mattered.

Being in the star fandom is widely different because the biggest ship there is Starco, a MXF (Which i personally don’t really like but that’s just me), and my favorite ship was...and still is Tom and Marco, because i love their chemistry so much and i genuinely consider them to be a much more believable relationship then the romance they wrote for star and marco.

And trust me, it’s always annoying if you don’t ship the most popular ship and like another pairing more but are succumbed to it everywhere regardless of the characters themselves.

But me not shipping star and marco didn’t make me someone who hated straight people, so i don’t think it’s collectively fair to tell anyone who may of liked marcy or bonnie with finn or maybe they ship them with a male oc of theirs....hate lesbians or were just homophobic.

it’s Like if i took finn out of his (Maybe) relationship with huntress and shipped him with....Tiffany (Who is a male character)...that wouldn’t mean i suddenly hated all straight couples and think finntress should burn.

That’s still a huge leap to jump to and extremely dangerous because you’re collectively accusing someone of something serious without really knowing much more about them then “They like this ship”.

Without any knowledge of them outside of that.

You could effectively damage their rep and make their time in the fandom a living hell out of something minor or something you just assumed, i would know.

I welcome progress, i am quite happy for the bubbline shippers who got their ship, heck...i’m STILL mad that we didn’t get poly tom x marco x star on star vs and felt VERY baited by the crew on that.

but even though i am happy for those people, i don’t think it’s validation to beat up on other shippers either, it does nothing for anyone’s case to do that. If the people are actual bigots who are actively acting terrible and throwing around nasty words and doing terrible stuff, then by all means, call them out.

But people who are just causally shipping stuff for fun? In a way it just feels like using them being a gay ship as a weapon against everyone else, because if they disagree with you and have a different opinion you can effectively boil them down to a bigot and no one might question it...especially when it’s the vast majority.

And that should not be acceptable to do, i ended up hearing from a friend of mine that this fandom actively started purging out other creators for having opinions people didn’t like, and now people are starting to regret that they shunned out so many members of the fandom based on things that were probably incredibly trivial in the long run.

And i get it, it’s an important ship, but it’s important as a rep of that ship to be respectful to others, because if not what you’ll end up doing is turn people away. I would like to be more celebratory of your success in getting the ship canon, but it makes it harder if i’m getting several messages asking when i’m deleting my “Hateful” blog because bubbline was now canon.

I’d like to get along with and support these people, but they don’t want to try and support me and have almost just decided to hate me and it sucks, and there’s not much i can do. That’s why i am thankful for those who don’t just immediately decided to judge me and want to know more about my views on the characters. 

This of course does not apply to the community as a whole, not everyone is acting like this, but it is a problem and it has consequences and i hope the fandom does work on it in the future. Please do better in the future.

Now when it comes to shipping, I have my limits personally, like if the characters have canon sexualities i tend to stick to those sexualities, i for one, have a oc that’s gay. I effectively tell others if they make fanart with him for fun that’s great and i love it, but i want his sexuality respected if ships are involved.

Since the AT ones are left in the air, it means i am left to come up with my own ideas, so that’s what i do. I think everyone should be allowed in that regard to have their own interpretations, marcy could be bi, lesbian, ace,pan, ect and all of those are perfectly acceptable headcanons.

i don’t think one should be held superior over another.

I’ve never looked at Marcy or PG and said “Oh yeah, these two are so obviously straight”, they’re about as straight as a bent nail. XD The people who say this stuff clearly don’t follow me to know that they’re not treated as straight here and i think that’s just frustrating because it’s attacking for completely incorrect information.

And the main problem i think i have, like the biggest issue, is i see the F&C characters differently.

Because i know where the fandom is getting this impression people who these other pairings are homophobic is coming from, it’s because most of the fandom doesn’t really see those characters as much more then well...GB characters.

If i saw tomco, and one was turned to a girl to avoid them both being boys, i would be annoyed, i would, i wouldn’t assume the person was homophobic without other evidence but i’d be annoyed. (I mean for all i know it could be an au and i could be mistaking the situation entirely)

What makes this different for me, is because for one, these aren’t fan-characters, the fans didn’t make a genderbent world and design these characters for fun or anything. These were show characters, that were in episodes and have their own comics and all that.

The way the show approached them for me, makes me feel like they’re kinda misjudged, and people don’t have to agree with me on that fact. But i just feel like between them being fanfiction characters ice king made up, the fact their canon is different, the fact the characters do things the F&J characters don’t do, i just can’t help but feel like treating them as if they were something fans did for fun and have no difference outside of their gender is not the right approach for them.

(I mean ice queen died in one comic and has her own unique origin story which is apparently tied to cake’s, flame prince apparently speaks cat and is the most nervous and awkward cutie I've ever seen, gumball is apparently a card wars superfan and legit takes it WAY too seriously, i just can’t really look at these characters and say “Oh, these are all just Ice King, Flame Princess, and Princess Bubblegum but the opposite gender”).

I feel like the show does enough with them,and had a unique enough approach, that i feel like they should be judged as different characters. Like the redraws of regular episodes with the F&C characters are cute but they’re for fun and probably not what ice king wrote for them in his weird stories.

Like i can’t imagine ice king knew PB so well he made sure gumball had her entire backstory and motivations.

And i feel like the people who do enjoy these ships, heck, ALL FOUR of these ships, feel the same way i do. I’m sure some could def be shipping them for the wrong reasons, but i can’t help but think it’s less about their gender and more that other people recognize they’re different and have considered the different dynamics...like they would if they were shipping any other pairing.

And people don’t have to agree with any of us on that, but i don’t think the alternative should be to accuse us of something so heavily either.

These days i have newer friends who like bubbline who are chill with me, and yeah that’s cool, and i personally don’t really draw the ship myself because i’m still not too comfortable in the AT fandom or with the community right now....the situation with it never leaves me feeling safe frankly.

But we get along, they’re lovely, and the shippers who like bubbline but support the blog are also lovely people and i adore them.

At the end of the day i just want to have fun, i’m fine being in a small subsection of the fanbase and who knows, maybe i have gotten people to think about the F&C characters in a new light, i’m not sure.

But i hope maybe at some point the fandom can chill down and we can support each other without turning it into...whatever that entire situation is. Because i don’t want to be fighting with that community and would prefer to get along with them, but only time will tell.

But thanks for the support! I wish you the best ! I sometimes still have a lot to learn but i hope throughout this whole thing I've gone about it as respectful as possible.

I love the show and all the characters and the fun ships and relationships, i hope someday in the future i can be comfortable enough to get back into the fandom as much as i used to be! ^-^

[true-intha-blu]

I propose this simple Question

First:  why I ask this. Since the infancy of the KH fandom all the way back from KH1, I noticed this simple trend one that picked up tremulously after kh2. No this has nothing to do with shipping. Also to note; I have genuine curiosity if anyone else notices this and this is from my perspective and experience with dealing with the Kingdom hearts fandom. Others may have very different accounts but others (that I have asked) have indeed noticed this as well in my own view. I am not aiming to stir up hate or discourse. I aim for peaceful fandoms. However, this subject is something I see no one ever addresses and well... maybe breaking a status quo or ‘unspoken rule’. I hope this can be a reasonable discussion where I can learn another perspective or some people may notice it and just go... “Oh yeah. That is a thing.” To which the question at hand. “Why does R*ku always have to be cool?”

(Disclaimer I do not hate this character. This question is not hateful. It is not anti or whatever. I mean exactly what I say. I will not be tagging this in the R*ku tab to prevent any misunderstandings. I ask others do the same. Anyone who reblogs this with hate is in no way associated with me.)

I will state the positive traits about R*ku. He has had the greatest character arc out of all the Kingdom Hearts Characters. A great redemption arc from his lowest to blooming into practically a whole new person in his own struggle against his KH1 self. He’s loyal to his friends. Smart. Gets along with Mickey and Yen Sid. Mellow. Saved Kairi and Sora. Knows what he has done. He’s honest and shares his concerns with others. Since KH2 he has always been trying to help Sora in the best of his ability. In acknowledgment of his misdeeds in CoM and Days is very good and we see a character who has genuinely f’d-up and his trying his best to move past that by helping his friends despite the limited resources offered to him. ^These are very good traits for a character to have. Any character. Besides his one time self in KH1, what else is there to him? What can be addressed as a flaw or criticism of him? (I approach characters as even though a character goes through a development arc, does not mean they are void of flaws. No one works like that. Not characters or actual people.) I say this. I love Sora and Vanitas in the Kingdom Hearts fandom. However, I am not afraid to draw them doing stupid or silly things and point out they have various of unfavorable flaws. Sora is utterly dense and I hate the fact how he was portrayed in DDD but I accept it and I will drag him along pointing out that fact. It is part of his character. He’s a dork (and not always in a good way). He impulsive and is kinda a mess of a human being. He's stubborn in the worse ways and volatile. Vanitas appears to be on the surface a straight up evil villain. As far as the games go, he is just utterly vile in his contempt for the characters and his actions have brought suffering and misery to various of characters. (though there may be other traits that could set for his own arc) (I still love them both) But note how none of these flaws listed above are ‘endearing’ or even remotely positive. They are problems, that hinder the characters and those around them. These are persistent traits even though both Sora and Vanitas have mellowed. Sora far more than Vanitas. I just do not see this done with R*ku. I rarely (they do exist but in comparison to the likes of Sora, Org XIII, even foretellers, or Roxas [who could be compared to be as “badass” as R*ku], its rarely ever there) I don’t see anyone talking about Riku doing dumb stuff. Being silly or being the butt of a joke or just not, not being good. Example of the latter:  When there was talk about Sora cooking in KH3, rarely did I see that, ‘oh, Sora learns how to cook and becomes very good at it’ and most I see ‘R*ku is already a fabulous cook’.... what about Kairi? What about even Lea? Aqua? There is no mention of these other characters being good at cooking. R*ku is usually A.) always the cooler looking one, or must be made to look cooler and B.) always be the better or best at something. I know that is kinda the thing in KH, that R*ku is talented and gifted as a person. As for the coolness factor, Nomura does this as well. Sora gets a keyblade, R*ku gets an edgier cooler keyblade with more details. Riku gets the powers of both light and darkness. R*ku gets the Keyblade Master title. R*ku gets actual growth in his body. He gets the more competent companion (Mickey). I am not saying these things are detractions or upsetting, they are just there and be defacto, cooler than other characters. He becoming edgier and emo was a good play on Normura because back in early 2005′s people thought that was cool and hot. Silver hair is automatically an attractive trait and western audiences love a person with a muscled body like R*ku’s. I don’t blame fans for being appealed to his character. But I suppose I am getting off-topic. Why do fans keep feeling compelled to make R*ku perfect? When people make fanart of him like say a monster form or pirate outfit, they always make it more detailed, edgier or just cooler than anyone else who would be drawn that way. He always looks more impressive than an original canonical design when other characters are drawn or written in ways that are not as impressive or equally the same to a canonical design/form/power. Has the cool wolf animal companion or the cooler weapon, the more detailed designs etc etc Even Axel who is a badass assassin can be silly or dumb-looking. Heck, they even did that in games. They made Axel failed and acknowledge it.  I see Aqua who is awesome in design and badass moments, be criticized for her flaws that persist and others who wish to see her have more moments of weakness even with what we have seen in 0.2 Xion who has had a great arc in Days (Character arcs don’t always have to be a positive development) doesn’t get the coolness factor. Roxas who is probably the second most popular character still is known as a goofy boy who thought he could fight heartless off with a stick. That’s hilarious. The most notable thing about R*ku recently that wasn’t cool or badass or edgy was his infamous “WHAT?” response to Mickey in Kh3. And that was one thing. Only really that. But how Mickey worded it, anyone would have done the same. And I noticed that people use what Mickey said “Aqua is like Sora’ is a way to poke fun at Sora by implying that Aqua is like a dense 15 year old. (Again these are just observations I have made over a decade worth watching the Kh fandom). In talks with other people who are Sora stans or other stans, there is nothing but a lot of talk about R*ku being really good about things. Being superior to Sora, or Kairi, or Aqua and Terra. Over Roxas.  Giving Axel two keyblades is never done, but people have given two to R*ku.  I get it, people who love characters like to do so much with them. I do the same. I just... never seem to regard the characters I love as perfect as others see R*ku. Also... I just don't see anyone criticizing him (I mean criticism in actual acknowledgment of his character and not hating on said character). Or taking about traits or flaws that are not endearing “He cares too much about his friends” is not really that bad of a flaw in consideration. A lot of people would prefer to have that over say... anger issues. What about the fact he falls back into following the orders of others or doesn’t often decide things for himself?...  What about Minor flaws? I just never see them in regards to these characters. Alright, so these are my observations I have made over... 14+ years of watching this fandom. And I want to ask, why do fans see him as such? Besides the only reason being for them is “I like him.” Has it just become such a normal thing to make R*ku better? Is he really that good of a character than he is so universally loved? Or is the backlash of actually criticizing R*ku and seeing that maybe, making him too perfect is... not doing favors for him? An arc is just that, an arc. Doesn’t mean a character is perfect or done with. Doesn’t mean those flaws that persisted in him, are gone.   Make your favorite character silly, or doing something very dumb (that does not even have to do with shipping), or put forth of what you would like to see improve in this character or express more about their flaws and their struggles. I love pointing out the negative traits in all my characters because I like seeing their struggle and how that makes them interact with new nuances in other characters. Maybe it's a running joke that R*ku is ‘Mr Perfect’ in the Kh fandom and I am just not seeing it. But it's daunting and just kinda rubs me the wrong way that all these characters in Kingdom Hearts have so many nuances to them and the one who has the best character arc so far in KH is regarded as... ‘Perfect’ I would like to know your opinion and if anyone else who is not a R*ku stan notice this, or is it just me and my own personal bias? (anything said above is in no way should ever be used to promote hate against R*ku or even bash him. In no way, I want to make others hate R*ku. I do not blame people who love this character to portray him in a superior way over everyone else. My address is that I just see this all the time. And I was wondering... why is it so widespread? Not even Axel who has a great redemption arc gets this.) (also another things is the whole sexgod R*ku that is also about however that may go into shipping and that I will not poke a stick at)

[greeblingyaoza]

Just because it’s been on my mind, here’s some of my unpopular or at least maybe somewhat controversial FMA opinions. Just for fun. Putting it under a read more because it’s kind of long and I also don’t know how to make things short and simple at all, lmao. 

-I find Greed smoking to be very unattractive. I find it unattractive in general, anyways. I know he smokes in 03, and it may be implied in the manga, idk, but I just grew up to despise cigarettes due to how I grew up and I just...the smell...the way it discolors things and sticks to things... I love Greed but he’d just have to keep it outside, away from me, lmao. 

-I find Ling/Greedling to be more attractive than first Greed. There, I said it. I love Greed. First Greed is very attractive, don’t get me wrong. But I’ll be honest...when I first watched FMA, he really was not my type. Not quite pretty boy enough for me, I guess. After I got to know his character later on...he naturally became more attractive to me. But I still have a bias towards the overall Greedling look. That’s totally my type. 

-I know some people see the slapstick in FMA as glorifying abuse, but I think that’s a stretch. I don’t think Winry is automatically an abusive wife because of the slapstick in the series. Going by Arakawa’s works, she seems to enjoy using physical slapstick a lot. Maybe physical slapstick is not something that should ever be used for comedic purposes, but it happens in so many cartoons that it seems to be kind of the norm. It personally doesn’t bother me, and I can see where it my bother some, but I don’t think it’s something Arakawa or her characters should necessarily be condemned for. 

-I don’t think the reason that the fandom seems more saddened by the Nina situation and Hughes’ death than the Ishvalan genocide is necessarily because the fans are racist. Nina and Hughes were named characters the viewers got to see and maybe even get attached to. They were also personal to Edward’s story and experience. Yes, the Ishvalan genocide is definitely a greater tragedy, but it happened pre-series, and there weren’t any Ishvalan characters shown who died in the genocide for people to get attached to beforehand. It’s kind of like watching an anime where lot’s of people die, but lot’s of those people are background no-name characters. Of course people are going to care more the named characters that were established in the story. That said, I’m most saddened by Greed’s death above all else in the series. Yes, I realize the genocide was worse, but Greed was a character that I love and feel attachment to. It’s just that simple to me. 

-It’s okay to be a Kimblee fan. Liking villainous characters who are all around bad people is totally okay. It’s different if someone is excusing their actions. Envy literally killed an Ishvalan child with no remorse. He’s still pretty loved. I like Envy as a character, but he/they’re still a pretty remorseless piece of lizard dung. 

-The thing with Nina doesn’t make me as sad as most people. I knew about it way before watching the anime and it’s been memed so much that I feel unaffected by it at this point. 

-I think Roy and Riza are inherently good people at heart and don’t deserve to suffer/die/be unhappy for the rest of their lives because of what they did in Ishval. They’re working hard to make things better and help the Ishvalans, and that speaks volumes to me. 

-I’m neutral on whether Roy should have stayed blind or not. Either way, I’m fine with it. I can see both sides of the argument though. 

-Lan Fan isn’t as bad or flat of a character as some people may think. The anime missed out on a big part of her character development, though granted it’s because her Japanese VA couldn’t be available to do those parts. It’s understandable, life happens, but it’s still kind of disappointing. Also, she’s not just some obsessed Ling fangirl. She doesn’t even act that way. She’s protective of him mainly because it’s what she was raised to do. That said I totally think she loves him and Lingfan is beautiful. 

-The color blindness thing with Ed and Miles was poorly executed. I won’t lie. But I can also see where it came from and can understand where Arakawa/dub script writers/etc may have thought it was “progressive” or “good.” I myself used to think that was a good way of thinking until I learned better. Also, I think the dub did make it sound worse than it was originally intended, but it may have still been a bit...eehhh beforehand. I get where it’s a flaw that shouldn’t be ignored, but I don’t think Arakawa/the series should be dragged for it either. Good intentions, poorly worded/executed. 

-I can see Ling being bi/pan, even het. Not so much gay. 

-I don’t see the Win/Fan ship so much. I get where it would be interesting if they actually had some meaningful interaction in the show, but they didn’t. In theory maybe I could see it? But I usually don’t pay much attention to ships that don’t have a lot of canon backing/heavy interactions. So it’s probably just a personal preference for shipping. 

-I’ve said this before, but I really don’t like the idea that Ling went back to Xing, took his 50 wives, had babies with them, and continued the same twisted system that’s hurting his country. It does’t align with the fact he said he’d accept all the other clans and not continue the clan wars. 

-Adding to that, I don’t like when people say Lingfan CAN’T happen because Ling MUST take these wives and have a bunch of babies, and he has no choice in the matter, or he wants to keep the 50 wives system for some reason (because he wants trophy wives??Idk?) Or you know, because Lan Fan is a guard and it would never be allowed. No one knows for sure what happened after he went back. Lingfan could totally happen...or not. No need to shatter hopes.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-Not saying fma is some ultra feminist series or feminist at all (not intended to be at least), but I think the female characters are in general well rounded and have different things they do in their lives, and that makes it feel more realistic. We have badass fighters, leaders, guards, housewives (nothing wrong with being a housewife if that’s what someone wants), mothers, mechanics, etc. It may not be perfect but the reason it gets praised so much for female characters is that it does them better than a lot of anime. Could it be better? Yes. But there are those that claim that FMA is just so misogynistic that it may have well been written by a man (I’ve seen this)...and well...can’t agree at all. It’s pretty well handled considering cultural context. 

-03 and Brotherhood are good in their own ways. I prefer Brotherhood a million times over (plus the manga!) for my own reasons (Ling and Greed’s development are huge reasons why) but sometimes the hate for 03 gets a little out of hand. A lot of people hate it only for not following the manga and characterizing the characters a bit differently. However, that was a part of the point. It was supposed to be different. And Arakawa herself approved of it and loved it (also if anyone thinks they “took her work and bastardized it” she wanted them to make it different). The 03 vs BH comparison arguments are so tiring and pointless. Actually when I see people who think 03 is so superior and constantly put down Brotherhood, it actually at times made me feel bad for preferring BH (because I’m insecure), and drove me further away from 03. I also know that 03 fans have to deal with people crapping all over their favorite series far more than BH fans do, so it’s all annoying. 

-There should be more FMA Pokemon aus. The characters with Pokemon teams. I’m always a slut for Pokemon. 

-Greed has a good heart. (Is this unpopular? Probably not, but adding it anyways)

-Ling is a good-hearted caring person who would try to do the best for his country and people and make it a better place. (Probably not unpopular, just have to say it. 

-Ling and Greed, at the end of the day, are wonderful people, no matter their flaws. 

-okay these opinions are becoming less unpopular so it’s time to stop. 

I may have more, but I just can’t think of them right now. If anyone wants to debate or throw their opinion in, feel free too. Also feel free to reblog with your own unpopular opinions. 

[wingheadshellhead]

So I just read Jonathan Hickman's Avgers, Vol. 1: Avengers World which has that scene about how "it started with two men; one was life and one was death" in reference to Steve and Tony. What really confuses me and kind of makes me angry is why Tony is death? I don't really understand what it's referencing or what he's done to be Death. Like merchant of death and all that I get. But he's past his history now right? Even poetically in an avengers comic why is he still death? Wondering if you know?

i mean,,,,,,, i know fandom was briefly up in arms about this (not really but it was a Thing ppl were mildly salty about) but hickman never specifies who he’s referring to here. (the placement of the captions means nothing lmao, it’s literally just positioned in standard left-to-right reading order.) and actually, many ppl in fandom have taken that exact ambiguity and spun it on its head in edits and fics and especially re: mcu after ca: cw to cast steve as death, and tony as life as an interesting subversion of popular understanding of that quote where 616 tony = death, 616 steve = life. 

hickman’s writing style is very much about intense concept ideas and the big picture, he goes HARD on metaphors that make for great quotes and oneliners taken out of context but doesn’t often attempt to explain or further clarify what they mean. as someone who’s read most of his original comic east of west over at image, i can tell you it’s Classic Hickman to throw out that kind of dramatic ass statement and leave it up in the air as to who’s who just because it was memorable, it sounded fucking good, and it’s going to stick in people’s heads long after they’ve finished reading. and it definitely works bc this one ticks all three boxes.

personally, i don’t think hickman specifically intended one of them to be Life personified or Death personified; that’s hyperbolic even for hickman’s level of drama. and with steve and tony, at least, i think he knows full well that he’s dealing with Humans at the end of the day and not metaphorical embodiments of things. 

so what i think about the quote, specifically: 

1. it’s more useful as an axiomatic representation of tony and steve as polarising forces then as a literal statement where both correlate exactly to life or death; this is the unstoppable force meets immovable object facet of their relationship. 

hickman’s vol. 5 was very much about exploring and interrogating this part of steve and tony’s dynamic and driving it to its very limits. while i don’t know that i was totally satisfied with vol. 5 as an avengers comic bc i like seeing my kids get along and not constantly trying to murder each other, hickman definitely Gets steve and tony. he Gets their dynamic and the drama and tragedy that can come from such an important, intense and deeply profound relationship that’s grounded in so much history and personal stakes and emotions. tony and steve being best friends for over a decade and such important figures in each other’s lives will never negate the fact that they have very different ethical alignments and moral philosophies. and for two people who are absolutely compelled by those things in everything they do, going head to head with someone that happens to land at the polar opposite of them on the spectrum is always going to go down like… well… y’know. civil wars. universes dying. just bc that’s literally how much marvel has invested in them lol.

but i respect people / characters who respect themselves too much to bend just bc someone they love, or people they love, wants them to. i respect characters that will stand their ground and stick to their convictions even though it’d be easier not to, esp. when they’re risking someone they love. and conversely, just because steve and tony can’t agree on everything doesn’t mean their relationship suddenly becomes null and void. they’re too vastly similar but also different people who’d sooner die then stop fighting for the thing(s) they believe need to be fought for; this is something they know in their bones about each other, they know each other too well to expect anything less from the other person.

2. they can both be both. and this is Literal given that steve’s last act in the final moments of the 616 universe ‘as we knew it’ (bc there’s some debate – spoiler alert? – that the all-new all-different universe that marvel is currently set in is not 616 but a completely different universe and the 616 that existed before is legitimately just dead) was to take one of tony’s suits and try to murder him. granted, the ‘tony’ that was tony in the final moments of the 616 universe ‘as we knew it’ was also Not Really Tony, and i fully believe that the influences of Superior Tony were still lingering and tainting his overall Tonyness. in that instance, if you were going to be very simplistic and reductionist abt your interpretation of the quote, steve was definitely death. but Again, they are Both Both. tony spent (spends lbr) pretty much all his time in vol. 5 prophesizing death and destruction like 616′s very own cassandra; as Not Really Tony / still sorta superior iron man he pilots the godkiller to massacre an entire alien race from invading and destroying earth; building bombs, and being fully behind the plan to kill other planets to save earth-616.

you’re right that 616 doesn’t bring up his past as often as mcu does anymore because it’s considered literal ancient history (as in bronze age 60′s history that’s been written to death, although i’m of the opinion any good tony stark writer Can and Will find a way to write his past into modern relevance). tony’s narrative and the nature of his character, however, (sb driven by guilt and accountability and the knowledge that he’s alive bc of the sacrifice of a man who died to save him – i.e. yinsen) will always inevitably feature death, his history, and his subsequent transformation. talking about 616 and specfiically tony’s actions and choices in hickmanvengers doesn’t really help my point but to talk about tony + death in general, regardless of the universe, ‘death’ also doesn’t have to be the BadTM concept it’s usually thought of as. mcu tony canonically refers to himself as a phoenix, and the Afghanistan / Vietnamistan incident is metaphorically a ‘death’ for tony stark the charcter and his rebirth as Iron Man, the Golden Avenger. in any universe, tony’s hero narrative hinges on that rebirth and transformation as a symbol of his capacity for heroism and Goodness, of taking his ugly past and former ignorance and mistakes and transforming it into something wholly and purely driven by bravery and sacrifice. 

i mean, yes, sure, if ppl are going to sit there and only take the label at face-value: death = bad / awful / terrible / only referring to his past as a weapons manufacturer and merchant of death, then yes, that would be a shitty interpretation to swallow as a tony fan. but seeing as how comics is a medium that’s built on constantly evolving and changing characters / worlds / entire universes, death as ‘rebirth’ is a very justifiable and canonically valid reading of tony. 616 tony has died multiple times, literally and figuratively, and every time he’s rebuilt himself bigger and better and stronger. the connotations of death within hickman’s own narrative and world-building is heavily linked to metamorphosis and resurrection. the final act of his avengers run and the centrepiece of the secret war event ended with the revival of the 616 universe. not to get too philosophical and existential here but death isn’t even really an End in the comics medium bc nobody and nothing ever permanently ‘dies’; it’s not possible to associate the concept with a definitive ‘end’, which makes most of the negative imagery surrounding ‘one was death’ redundant. i’m all for intrepretations of ‘death’ that are closely interlinked, if not entirely hand-in-hand, with ideas of rebirth, rebuilding, evolution, etc.

anyway, avengers world is great and i fucking love it so even if i haven’t swayed your opinion, i wouldn’t let the quote override your enjoyment of the overall comic. which, i hope you do enjoy, bc the happiness doesn’t last in hickmanvengers. buckle in for the long haul my guy.

[dirtylevi]

The Mystery Lurker: Is It Eren?

Okay, so apparently me writing an entirely too long meta about why the lurker, long haired beardy man might very well be Eren based on a metric fuckton of speculation and the fan translation won out over waiting for the official translation. I will be putting this under a Read More due to spoilers and because it’s quite long. So first and foremost, before we even get started:

DISCLAIMER: This is my personal opinion. In no way am I stating what I say here is canon or completely accurate. if you disagree with my opinion, that’s perfectly fine! Everyone has a different point of view, but if you are going to send me messages trying to argue points of view with me or send me hate messages, do me a favor and please just don’t even bother.

Please try to read this with any other method outside of the mobile app because the app will butcher this post in the worst of ways. Also, I am far too tired to edit this ridiculously long ass post so sorry for any grammer or spelling errors. Now then, I’m am still on the the fence with this, but with each passing minute I lean closer and closer to truly believing this man is Eren, and for a ton of reasons too, but since I am always a slut for some imagery, let’s start this with some panels, shall we?

I won’t lie, when I first saw speculation that this mystery man may be a Paradis spy last month when chapter 93 dropped, I brushed it off immediately. Thinking that it was too easy and just kind of cliche. Also believing that maybe the armband being worn on the wrong side was a mistake. But, then we see this same man wearing his armband on the wrong arm AGAIN this month:

I have a lot to say about these panels so allow me to delve a bit deeper here:

1:) Falco just so happens to be the soldier that helps Myster Man, when at the beginning of the chapter, this kid seen silently thinking that he desires to free all Eldian’s. Not just the one’s on the mainland, but the one’s on the island too. He is also wondering if Reiner is thinking the same and if he can trust someone who was so dedicated to Marley and the iradication of those on Paradis island:

I have a lot to say about Reiner in this chapter too, but that’s for a different post when the official translation drops. For now, let’s focus on mystery man. 

Falco has been shown to think quite differently from his counterpart, Gabi. He’s sensitive to human life, even that of enemy soldiers that he blatantly tries to save on the battlefield in the midsts of war. He doesn’t see inheriting one of the titans as an honor. He see’s it as a burden, and he obviously hasn’t been so easily brainwashed into thinking he’s superior than those who share the same curse as him solely because they walk on different soil.

If Mystery Man is indeed Eren, he just stumbled right into a potential ally. 

2:) What Flaco says to Mystery Man. “You don’t have to fight anymore.”. That is one hell of a statement to make if it is Eren because if it is actually him, I imagine his entire reasoning for being there would be to scout for a way to fight and win. Foreshadowing, anybody???

3:) Mystery Man just so happens to be with mentally injured soldiers who have no family in the city. However, he seems quite calm compared to the rest walking in the line. Seems quite convienient. 

4:) He also happens to be walking into a hospital in the very city where The Owl spoke of a Doctor ally for the walled Edlian’s. 

5:) He’s seen wearing the armband on the wrong arm in two different chapters, not once showing his full face, and NO OTHER CHARACTER IS SEEN WEARING IT LIKE THAT. This character is obviously new to wearing military uniforms from Marley. 

On top of these things, It is painfully obvious Isayama is going out of his way to hide this character’s face. I’m sorry, but I do not see why he would do that for some random character we have never seen before (such as the elusive 9th titan shifter). Isayama might as well be planting a neon sign over this guy stating that he’s someone extremely important that we already know and probably doesn’t belong in Marley considering his armband is on the wrong arm and we’ve seen him lurking covertly in Reiner’s vacinity for two chapters now.

Logically, I can only pin this man as Eren. 

The last time we saw Eren, his hair had grown out considerably, and yet no other character’s hair had changed at that point in time. We see him pointing across the ocean with his long locks and asking if killing the enemy across the water would free them. 

He stares across the sea with this question heavy question and his newly grown out hair. Again, forshadowing anyone?! Eren is also the only known character with that hair style, and the ability to regenerate his limbs. Now, I’ve seen a lot of people debate over this so allow me to add my two cents. Titan regeneration abilities can be controlled or postponed. We’ve seen it before. 

Once with Reiner after his arm is bitten at Castle Utegard:

Once with Eren after his failed titan transformation in the well:

And once again with Annie as the female titan:

So this is easily probable for Eren to do after five years of using his titan ability and learning how to control everything he can and can’t accomplish while experiementing with Hanji. Plus, an injured soldier with no family in the city doesn’t draw much attention. It’s a perfect disguise. But this leaves us with two massive, burning questions so let’s start with question one.

Why would Paradis send Eren, one of their greatest assets, to an enemy nation?

I can think of a lot of reasons for this, but two ideas stick out the most. 

INFORMATION:

Something I notice a lot of people overlooking here is the fact that Eren is a member of the Survey Corps. The Survey Corps main duty as a military force is to SURVEY. Whether that be survey new territory, enemy forces, or search for truth; all apply to this situation. Scouting is their primary objective. Especially now that all of the titans that posed a threat on Paradis have been exterminated. 

Also remember that Hanji is now their Commander. This is the same individual who stated that the best way to defeat your enemy is to study them down to the finest detail until you find a weakness you can exploit for victory. I wouldn’t be surprised whatsoever if this was entirely Hanji’s idea and being followed through on her orders. Mainly because she isn’t one to simply sit around and consistently wait for the enemy to attack over and over again, but especially after fighting off a number of enemy battleships. 

They have taken out every single one of those ships and I’m positive they would have managed to capture a few soldiers on board for questioning. An opporation like this would be nearly impossible if they hadn’t, and Hanji isn’t one to miss out on a opportunity to gain knowledge, and an upperhand. This would also explain how Eren would have gotten his hands on a Marlian uniform, knew where to find Reiner, knew to pose as an injured soldier, where to go, and so on. 

But, why send Eren for information, right? Well, if that man is Eren, I doubt very, verrryyyyyyyy highly that he is there alone. Regardless though, Eren is the only one with access to memories that paint a vivid picture of Marley. He’s also one of two people with the ability to shift into a titan. If you were going to send one out of two of your greatest weapons to an enemy nation, probably best to leave the Colossal behind to deal with any enemy ships that may pop up, and send the one with the most information already at his disposal instead, yeah? Also best to send someone who can easily disguise themselves as an injured soldier in a believeable manner without permanent damage. Especially if part of their plan was to seek out a Restorationist doctor. 

Also, for those of you wondering how he would find said allies: 

All Eldian allies wear that scar, and Eren knows this thanks to Grisha’s memories.

COVERT OPPORATION:

I’m sure that after four years of taking out battleships without any shifters present aboard them, the Survey Corps knew that the clock was ticking on their end. Eventually, Reiner, Zeke, and Pony Titan would return along with whoever ate Ymir to attack again. Plus, since they are all aware of the 13 year life limit thanks to Eren having Grisha’s memories as well, after some basic math, they most likely quickly figured out that Reiner was running out of time. 

Personally, I believe they quite possibly sent Eren to the mainland for the sake of both information, and also for a covert opporation to take the power of any titan shifter within grasp before it could be passed off. Obviously this would need to be done very delicately, but pulling an opporation like this is the best chance they would have even though it is very risky.

No one in Marley would ever expect someone from Paradis to infiltrate their land, let alone their ranks in military. As far as most of them are aware, those on Paradis are still boarded up behind walls thanks to the hoards of titans they created from other Eldians. Plus, they are known to be very behind on tech and have no clue about how to build or steer ships. No one would even expect them to be able to get there. 

They had tried to kill Reiner a number of times and failed. Levi also failed to kill Zeke. However, if they could sneak in unexpectedly and catch them off gaurd at a point of weakness they discovered thanks to going undercover; game over. Taking the titan power’s away from Marley’s control would render them as a nation completely powerless which they would know by questioning enemy soldiers captured from the ships as I stated before. Not only that, but it would also grant Eren the ability to control the Coordinate. 

Eren has Grisha’s memories and his notes. He knows his father birthed a son with royal blood that was enlisted as a Warrior, and Eren figured out in chapter 90 that in order to control the Coordinate, he needed blood of the first king. Not wanting to risk harm to Historia, he kept this a secret, but I am positive Eren figured out that Zeke is his half-brother. Especially after Zeke’s little spill of how he knew Grisha, and that he would save Eren from their father’s brainwashing. Eren even saw the resemblance as he spoke to him. 

So not only does Zeke have the power to turn people to titans, to control pure titans, and have the ability to shift into the beast titan - which makes him a severe threat - but he also has royal blood which allows him a lot of his abilities. If Levi happened to be there with Eren, he could fufill his promise and Eren could gain another titan, and the full use of the Coordinate.  

Not then. Question two:

How in the ever-loving fuck did Eren get there?

Truthfully, I have no idea, but I have a couple of guesses. 

BY AIR:

This is an extreme long shot, but not impossible. I won’t rule it out entirely solely because it isn’t all that ridiculous to consider it an option. 

BY SEA:

This is the most likely option, but I see a lot of skepticism here too, but let me explain. It is entirely possible that in four years, those on Paradis could learn how to make a functioning ship using rubble from these Destroyers. Hanji made the thunder spears in a freaking month, and it’s been shown that Eren can build large structures extremely quickly in titan form. 

Though I doubt they would sail straight to Marley on one of their own ships. Too suspicious. The more likely option would be that they redesigned a new ship using scrap from the wrecks they caused, and pinpointed a good landing spot on the coast using info gathered from captured soldiers aboard the original Destroyers. 

                                            IN CONCLUSION

In all likelihood, the long haired beardy man is indeed Eren. I cannot, for the life of me, think of any other character that he could possibly be. If it was a character we hadn’t been introduced to yet, Isayama wouldn’t be so inclided to hide their face while still making it obvious they’re important thanks to thrusting him into two chapters with his armband on the wrong side. 

If my theory is correct (which you never know!), I imagine Eren’s purpose for being in Marley would be to seek allies within Marley’s ranks, to gather information about the enemy and pinpoint a weakness to exploit, and to snatch any of the four titan powers they have in their military pocession if at all possible without discovery.

Essentially, it would be to try and shred Marley’s hold of power from the inside out. Exactly like RBA did when they infiltrated the walls. It also aids Paradis to do something like this in the midst of Marley’s combat with another nation. Infiltrating Marley in the middle of a war would make it a LOT easier to get in unnoticed. Also a strategy RBA pulled to cover as citizens in the chaos of Shiganshina falling.

The greatest weapon against an enemy is another enemy. Especially when you don’t expect your first enemy to make a move against you while using your own strategy.

[eenefangirlanalysis]

“Hey, no neck!” I have to admit that I always forgot what Kevin calls Eddy to get his attention. Probably a good thing because I hate whenever Eddy is insulted. 

And his is an insult geared toward his wait. Eddy is one of the chubbiest kids on the show. That is not a problem at all and Eddy doesn't care either. He is happy with his self image.

Another awesome message delivered by AKA. We all come in different shapes and sizes. Be happy with yourself. 

It’s implied that Eddy has always thought negatively about himself. He won’t let people in since he has trapped himself inside his mind ridiculing everything he has done wrong.

Eddy turns to face his tormentor relinquishing a familiar Bro look. 

“You’re go!”

[WHAM!]

Kevin gives Eddy an unneeded detention and smacks his face clear off with a rope. What does he have against Eddy? Yes, this is an obvious question, but did he really hate Eddy from the beginning? Or is it mainly because of Bro?

I have a head canon that Kevin’s parents are divorced. And the reason they are divorced is because of Eddy’s brother. It’s not all because of him, but Bro was the final straw. Kevin’s father moved them into Peach Creek to live closer to his job. Kevin’s mom never wanted to move. They have had problems before then. Bro nearly hit Kevin with his car. And the night Bro was kicked out Kevin’s mother left. That’s why Kevin detests Eddy and fears Bro. 

Eddy refuses to climb the rope until Kevin threatens to tell the teacher. 

The adults are used as a threat. The only adult we have ever seen is Bro. It’s not enough evidence if the other adults really act like that. Adults are superior to the kids. They’re the ones in charge. If kids get into trouble they’ll avoid adults thinking they’re against them. 

Eddy finally realizes how much his parents are right in Big Picture Show. It’s suggested that Eddy is never on good terms with his parents. They’re trying to steer him down the right road. It’s one of the reasons why they give him permission to use Bro’s room. arguably, it was the easiest way for Eddy to learn. It affected him, but he learned. 

Eddy shows off his upper arm strength to the audience. Wow, I had no idea how strong he was. Eddy never shows this trait off because he’s always making other people to do the heavy lifting. Eddy must be self conscious and he’s also following along with the words of his brother. Make other people do the work for you. You can tell he doesn’t like doing this to Ed and Edd. 

Eddy struggles to make it the top.

Right when he is about to ring the bell he slips.

And crashes on the mattress.

Thank God there was a mattress! I would have been really mad if the writers didn’t put in a mattress or made him miss it. That abuse was getting old in season 5. It’s nice to see them finally taking care of their protagonist.

“ROPE BURN!”

Okay, maybe I spoke too soon. Ugh, that looks painful.

Kevin could care less about Eddy’s injuries. He moves on to the next Ed to climb the rope. He calls out to Edd who doesn’t hear him. Ed has to pull on Edd’s hat to get back to pay attention. At least he notices something off about Edd.

Edd circles around Kevin acting as if he is trying to fly around. Yes, I know this is supposed to look like a KevEdd moment. It’s just a tease at a couple that would NEVER work out. Sorry to disappoint KevEdd fans. I have never understood this ship.

Edd takes the easy way out and has one of his machines maneuver him up to the bell. Looks like a mixer hooked to a blender.

I love sassy Edd.

Would he have done this if he weren’t under the love curse?

And hasn’t Edd been permanently excused fro gym class? It’s written in the series bible that due to the dodge ball incident from when he was kid he doesn’t have to take gym. Whether that was forgotten about Edd is seen in gym class twice. I like that he remains in gym class because you see how the events from the past affected him.

May dreamily watches her ‘muscular’ man and mumbles how she wants to wear his beany.

Is everyone obsessed... wait, dumb question, yes they are obsessed about his hat and what lies under it. May and Ed always express wanting to wear Edd’s hat. Ed is the most intrigued by what is under Edd’s hat out of anyone. To him, it doesn’t matter.

Lee and Marie finally notice that something is up with May.

Oh look, Lee broke her racket.

Marie sticks her arm right through Lee’s hair to point out that May is probably constipated again.

This is the first and only time we ever see Lee’s legs. 

I LOVE Marie’s shorts. I can’t tell what symbol is printed on her shirt.

May’s outfit is cute. Do the Kanker’s wear hand me downs from their mom? There are many head canons one whether or not the Kanker’s are poor, but I like to think that once in a while the Kanker’s will go on a little shopping trip to buy a new outfit. It must be their little outing whenever their mom has a day off from work.

The impact of Nazz’s whistle catches the girls off guard. 

Lee’s hair is practically torn out when Marie pulls her hand out.

Oh, the elastic holding Lee’s hair doesn’t break. Is her hair extremely knotted? This is a plausible theory seeing how Lee might be hiding three eyes. She keeps her face hidden with her hair. Lee’s hair is the most important trait. Lee wants to protect herself so nobody will find out . It’s nothing to be ashamed about . Lee is scared of what people will think.

Nazz wishes for the girls to get back to their game of bad mitten. 

Nazz is obsessed with her outer figure when it comes to physical exercise. This is the first time she has worn clothing that shows her belly. I like her work out uniform though. The pants are really cool. 

Now I’m obsessing over Nazz’s hair. I almost like that her hair is ruined in the movie. Her hair distracted people from understanding her character. She was obsessing about her looks later in the series because she wanted people to notice her. She became desperate to know wehat others thought about her that Nazz changed her personality and looks. Nazz learns mental health is more important than anything.

Nazz starts up the game only to get whacked in the face with the birdie by Marie. 

Okay, I shouldn’t be laughing, but it was actually kind of funny.

I remember coming across the ship Nazzarie. I’ve never understood why Nazz and Marie are shipped together when the only two times they interact Marie hurts Nazz. Three if you count off screen in Run for your Ed. The only trait they have in common is they’re two of the most underwritten characters on the show. And they’re both hiding so much. 

[fan-tastic-fiction]

Fanfiction Author Profile Friday

This is the ninth interview in what I hope will be a long running series! I think people need to feel more connected to the brilliant authors behind their favorite fics, I also feel that fic authors need to be taken just as seriously as published authors and treated with respect and admiration in the same way. Making money should not be the only way to gain prestige! Some of the best peices of writing I’ve ever read have been fanfictions and they are often equal or superior to published stories. If you have a story or author recommendation, let me know! And if you have a question you’ve always wanted to ask your favorite author, message me and I’ll try to make it happen!

Pen name: feliciacraft

Age: 37

Is English your first language? Nope, though it’s my best and primary language.

How long have you been writing? Since around 4th grade. Tbh I resisted the call of fandom for a long time, until I felt bursting at the seams with words. I’ve been writing fanfiction (for the Buffyverse) for two years, debuting on Valentine’s Day of 2015 with a story for my OTP.

What do you think your strongest piece of writing has been? I’m partial to Edge of Sorry, Heart of Truth, a WIP Buffy Season 6 rewrite that opens immediately after Buffy’s self sacrifice. It’s my most ambitious project to date. The amount of time I think about it and plan the next chapter in my head is way past the threshold for obsession. :) Chapter 4, “I Am Not Resigned”, a stand-alone chapter I’m partial to, is my version of the funeral missing from the show. http://archiveofourown.org/works/3625725/chapters/8005827

For those reluctant to read a WIP, the Spuffy one-shot, “The Right Words”, gives you a good idea of my style, and my penchant for experimentation. This piece is told from the rarely used Second Person narrative, with intentional disuse of quotation marks around dialogue. http://archiveofourown.org/works/9284084

For Giles fans, my short fic, “Someone (Or, The Watcher’s Night Off Continues)” just won Best Romance category at the Headline Awards, surprising me perhaps more than anyone else. I’m grateful that people like it: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8433775

Your weakest? “New Territory” was my entry into fanfic writing. It occupies a fond spot in my memory, but I hope I’ve progressed since then.

What is your favorite website for posting your writing and why? I love LiveJournal for the connection I feel to my little fandom friends. Perhaps because I blog more than just my fanwork there, the blog feels “mine” in a way that social sites and large archives do not. For my Spuffy work, fans at Elysian Fields (a Spuffy archive) give the most consistent and insightful reviews. Lastly, it may take me some time, but I try to (eventually) upload everything to AO3 for archival purposes, because it’s independent, free, inclusive, enormous, and most likely to stick around for a long time.

What do you find most challenging about writing fanfiction in particular? Lack of time due to Real Life ™. :) I’m a working mom with two little ones, and I have a stressful career. My writing has been coming directly out of my sleep deficit, which I’ve realized does not a long-term strategy make. ;)

In your opinion, what can the fanfiction community do to encourage fanfiction writers to continue their art? Read, review, share, and recommend. I dabble in fan art for my own diversion, creating icons and banners for my stories and such, and my mediocre fan art gets far more likes and reblogs than my writing (which easily takes ten times as much effort). It’s a bit disheartening.

What was your favorite review or comment? I love all of them. :) I’ve recently resumed updating Edge of Sorrow, Heart of Truth after a long hiatus. One amazing fan on Elysian Fields is re-reading the story from the beginning for continuity, all 55,000+ words of it, and leaving me appreciative, encouraging reviews chapter by chapter. I’m beyond moved by the gesture. I’m not a fast writer, and I tend to rephrase a sentence a number of times before I’m satisfied with it. I’ve scraped whole chapters and rewritten from scratch because they just don’t feel right. Reviews are my rewards. They are the extra boost of motivation that helps me stay up at night and write after everyone else in the house has gone to sleep. They are the voice that stamps out bouts of negativity and self doubt and answers affirmatively when the *other* voice in my head asks, “How do you know if anyone would care if you update or not?”

What type fanfiction do you enjoy reading? Anything well-written. :) Good characterization, emotional resonance, moral ambiguities, sharp dialogue and beautiful language are my weaknesses. I’ll read anything that gives me (most if not all of) the above, regardless of pairings. I like to root for the little guys, relationships that are hard fought, against all odds. I tend to stick to canon ships in my own writing, and I’m Spuffy at heart, but I’ve read and loved all kinds of pairings (including unusual ones like Buffy/Tara, Angel/Joyce, etc.).

What are some of your favorite fanfictions or fanfiction authors? There’s a long list of them—no way I can be inclusive, so I’ll only name a few:

Rahirah’s Barbverse (@rahirah) is a must-read for any Buffy fan. With 131 works, including everything from one-shot comedies that are laugh-out-loud funny, to novel-length sagas full of intricate plot, from hawt, hawt smut to metaphysical insights about the soul, it’s got something for everyone. http://archiveofourown.org/series/514

Anaross’s most famous work, My Life Closed Twice, may have gone offline, but there are still plenty of gems to be enjoyed. The poet in me just loves her language (and her clever use of POV). http://archiveofourown.org/users/Anaross

For Spuffy fans addicted to angst, who like cosmic levels of emotional impact, and don’t mind tragedies befalling their favorite characters, Herself_NYC’s (@herself-nyc) Bittersweets series should fit the bill nicely. http://archiveofourown.org/series/118774

If you’ve never read anything from the late NanDibble, you’re in luck. Her stories have been uploaded to AO3 recently. Tight prose, a right-on Spike voice, a beautiful Spike-Dawn friendship, and original plot await your discovery. http://archiveofourown.org/users/NanDibble/

What are some major influences on your writing? My parents like to brag that I’ve been reciting poetry since I was two and a half, but it’s accurate to say that poetry remains my true love. I have a volume of T. S. Eliot’s collected poems that I frequently return to for inspiration as well as for comfort. Other writers/poets I aspire to include F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, Sara Teasdale, and Sylvia Plath. I read Hemingway from time to time to reorient myself what a writing style on the opposite spectrum to mine looks like, and to remind me that while it’s fine to emulate a successful writer, it’s also OK to have a different voice that is my own. Lastly, since I’m playing in Joss Whedon’s sandbox, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank him for sharing the wonderful characters of the Buffyverse with us.

Anything else you would like to tell people about yourself? I love hearing from fellow Buffy fans and other fanfic/fanart creators! I’m on Tumblr obviously. If anyone’s on LiveJournal/Dreamwidth and we’re not already connected, feel feel to add me (same username) there.

I would like to thank the fantastic @feliciacraft so much for their time! I would like to encourage you to go and read their fanfiction! Remember to leave comments and kudos in support!

[reminiscingdreamer]

Thoughts on The Final Problem

This seems like a very popular topic here wow! When I went to explore Tumblr after watching the last episode of season 4, things were on fire; people were crying, rocking themselves, and/or mumbling logic/denial to themselves in the corner; and above, shining dimly, a phantasmal salvation hovered over people’s heads, created by the feverish dreams of thousands of disappointed fans. Wow, it’s amazing! I personally could only see the shadow of this salvation (aka the 4th episode), but some people seem to believe in it wholeheartedly. 

It appears the most popular theory for TFP is that it’s John’s nightmare sequence as he’s dying. Well, besides the fact that I don’t know why, if that was the case, John would imagine himself as a little girl, there’s also the fact that I don’t know why the producers would want to waste essentially an hour of viewers’ time if it served no purpose other than a deeper glimpse into John’s mind. TAB was different because it was meant as an aside and it’s clearly an aside. This is in the storyline proper. It’s meant to be canon.

I’m not looking to bash the episode or the people here, however. I just want a place to put down my thoughts about why I didn’t like TFP personally. Some people liked it and that’s fine. Some (maybe a lot) of people hated it and that’s fine too. Some people will read this and hate it/love it/meh it. Fine. Some people will ignore it and that’s fine too. It’s all… fine.

So where to begin? I’ll start with

General impressions

First thing I felt while watching was that TFP didn’t feel like Sherlock to me.  TFP felt more like the game, Amnesia: Justine with a hint of GLaDOs. If Sherlock was a straight line of film reel, TFP would be the tangled mess at the end. Of course, even before this, series 4 felt progressively stranger and stranger. TST still felt like Sherlock if a bit different somehow and TLD was kind of starting to push it a bit, but it was still okay. TFP blew up. 

When they mentioned a third sibling and Sherrinford, my first thought was that “someone’s been through AO3!” and when the episode ended, my first thought was, “someone’s been through AO3 and Tumblr and was desperately trying to avoid everything already predicted there in a desperate bid for a surprise ‘clever’ reveal!”

What made up the components of such detonation? Well first, 

Eurus

Kudos to this post for being the first, and only post, to come the closest about the hidden sister and even about the part where she’s rarely visited, although the proof for it felt like it stretched a bit. With that said, Eurus still felt like she came out of nowhere and her character is like the shock of being dunked in ice water, partly because while her existence might have been hinted at (and not even all that much and with a lot more evidence against her existence) what she’s like wasn’t.

Eurus is the big-fish-eater, the one smarter than even Mycroft. Now, the question is, did they put Eurus there because it made sense for her to be there and she really has been there all along working behind the scenes or did they run out of viable antagonists and so put her up so that she’d seem like the biggest threat by being someone even Mycroft fears? If there was going to be such a desperate grab for a new series antagonist to pit Sherlock against, they should’ve just kept Moriarty alive. It’d be a lot easier than whatever convoluted mess this turned out to be, but they missed the last road sign when instead of the pearl out of Thatcher’s bust, they had the AGRA stick instead.

Anyway, her existence aside, the part where Eurus could brainwash people so thoroughly was unbelievable, but her character itself was interesting. In the beginning, I got the sense she was the true psychopath dictated by pure logic that neither brother could be, try as they might. By the end of it, she’s shed in a sympathetic light.

… Look, I did feel something for Eurus, but why did they go and do that? She was just fine as she was. It was like a little jolt out of whatever immersive experience I had left for the show. It was like a last-second gambit to evoke pity on her and to forgive her and it was an abrupt bump in the road. The whole of the episode was dedicated to showing me how disturbed Eurus was and to serve as contrast against the Holmes brothers, which was what made her so fascinating. But no, she was just a misunderstood little girl trapped inside who killed people for some love and affection from Sherlock to make her manipulative and killing tendencies go away. Haaaa. 

By the end, the Holmes parents aren’t going to insist on taking their daughter, who they thought was dead, back home with them because obviously, shutting her away again is going to solve things.

They’re not going to try to teach her that it was wrong of her to have killed Victor and all those other people and to put her brothers and perfectly innocent men through such traumatic experiences; that it’s wrong of her to play with people like dolls just to get Sherlock’s attention.

And they’re not even going to discuss what happened, what Eurus did, Eurus herself, Sherlock’s past, and the consequences. Sherlock, Mycroft, and John weren’t scarred by the experience of having indirectly killed so many people, especially with their morality which was what made the whole thing harrowing in the first place, and Sherlock almost being forced to kill one of the people he cared about in an impossible situation. Trauma? What trauma? Everyone’s happy. Everything’s wrapped in ribbons, which leads to the next point.

The ending

I got the feeling that the show pushed waaay too hard for the happily ever after to the point it was almost bizarre. Why does it have to be happily ever after anyway? If happily ever after means so many things would be left open-ended rather than a, “You’ll see next season” then I don’t want a happy ending.

The trauma induced by Eurus I mentioned.

The thing about Sherlock’s confession to Molly was left unaddressed. She appears for a glimpse smiling at the doorway like everything’s alright. So is everything alright? Are they in a relationship now? Or was there heartbreak that Sherlock had to apologize for? Was there a lot of screaming, slapping, crying? Or was there discussion? It’s left completely in the air and it disoriented me.

Despite seeing John go through his ordeal after Mary dies, I never really got to see Sherlock go through any form of grief even though Mary was just as important to him as she was to John. Maybe part of how he coped was through the drugs but that felt like it was more over John than Mary so that problem was steamrolled over.

Mycroft

So this is the first time Mycroft played a visible and prominent role in the story and it was the chance to showcase his character. Now, I’m not saying this man can’t be human or deny he has emotions, but all along, I’m always told that Mycroft was the smart one between the brothers. Told, not really shown. I thought that this would’ve been a good opportunity to demonstrate Mycroft’s intellect and his status as warm-blooded-after-all by noticing the things Sherlock failed to (like with the non-existent explosives under Molly’s house) and being the one who would help John and Sherlock escape through this seemingly impossible situation. Or demonstrate what the trio could do by teaming up together. Or to see Mycroft and Sherlock reach an understanding. I would’ve liked to see Mycroft’s colder, more practical approach to the situation but showing he had a heart by making decisions that would’ve been out of his Iceman character. I'd like to see him try to go up against Eurus to not only demonstrate his own intellect, but Eurus's supposedly superior mind outside her bullshit brainwashing.

Instead I got to see Mycroft as a hot mess who didn’t really contribute to anything and he just breaks under the pressure. If he could run governments, I’d think he’d have ways to deal with stress and keeping calm. I know he cares a whole lot about Sherlock and the idea of him put in danger makes him panic and the whole situation he’s put in would make anyone panic really, especially if this is his first time in “field work”, but I feel like they missed a defining moment in his characterization if only he could pull himself together enough to think of a solution to at least get Sherlock out. Even a failed attempt would be fine! Eurus is supposed to be the big-fish-eater, but it’s a missed chance at illustrating Mycroft in a more in-depth way as someone other than a man defined only by his relationship with Sherlock. Disappointment.

Sherlock’s memory

Sherlock’s memory, which would’ve been a great gateway into slowly introducing aspects of Eurus and Eurus herself before her appearance to make it feel less like being thrown into a winter lake, was rewritten. 

These rewritten memories feel like some kind of fantasy. I know this show did incredible things with logic, asking me to kind of hang myself with my suspension of disbelief, but this cut the rope entirely. The memories felt too… big to have been simply forgotten and rewritten. I understand traumatic things could be repressed, but the thing is that repression or amnesia requires a certain amount of shock from a sudden, concentrated event like a natural disaster, or at least, that’s how I understand it. With Sherlock’s childhood, I don’t see it? I’m not saying Sherlock wouldn’t be scarred by this I mean, even if he’s considered the dullard of the siblings, I think he’d still be smart enough to know that his sister had murdered his best friend. But I mean, I don’t see how Sherlock could’ve been traumatized by it to the point of, not only amnesia, but rewriting his own memories, since this was over the course of a period of time.

And then they wanted to add how Mycroft had key words to check on Sherlock’s state of mind like some kind of directory? No. Way too unbelievable. And even if his memories were altered, reality wasn’t. So the Holmes parents should still have pictures with Eurus but a dog conspicuously missing from any of them, they should have some kind of grave or item of remembrance, and if Sherlock kept mentioning a dog, should get weird stares along with a host of other things an rewritten memories would bring. Point is, Sherlock’s altered memories would’ve been torn open like a hole in wet paper before he even reached teenage and smart and powerful as Mycroft is, there’s no way he could account for them short of burning all photos and altering his parents’ memories too, which he clearly did not.  

Sherlock

Sherlock has come a long way from the very first episode, ASiP. He’s gained an understanding of the people around him and of himself and watching him going through that character development while still keeping to who he was is amazing.

Come season 4 and it started to feel less like development and more like being slapped in the face with a fish, especially with the little bookend at the end with Lestrade telling that one guy that Sherlock was a good man, not just a great one, to which I rolled my eyes because at that point, it just felt plain corny as opposed to the weight of Lestrade saying the reverse in the first episode. Too heavyhanded. I know without needing this episode to tell me that Sherlock has standards and that he has a heart. I get it. No need to focus so much on it. Why not explore Mycroft instead? Y’know, the one other character without development? Or start wrapping up threads?

I probably still have more complaints about this episode, but it boils down to these things, pretty much. It was disappointing and disheartening. This isn’t even to mention all the thousands of little plotholes and inconsistencies. I’d gladly skip over the details if the story and characters were great. Too bad  it just so happens that TFP had neither.