#haha nothing wrong with shipping their characters of course but ye

[oswildin]

that's why I loved the loki series, I'm sick of all the hate that it gets just because loki is different. It's called character growth people! I mean I love all versions of loki. He was awesome in the movies but I also loved him in the show and the finale really made him one of the top 5 best mcu character for me.

Don’t get me wrong, the show isn’t at all perfect, but nothing is! I do feel it could’ve done with 8 episodes per season to really show the progression more of Loki’s character, deal and address some of his past trauma and accepting his true heritage etc (which I suppose they touch on or it is implied, but for the sake of plot they did kinda brush it aside). It did feel a little quick to happen, but again he was just plucked from his timeline and shown his whole life, so I suppose the reality set in pretty quick for him.

I think a lot of people cling onto Avengers!Loki (like I get it, trust me haha) a little too much, when realistically he was wearing a mask (I also am not a ‘Loki was mind controlled’ truther. He knew what he was doing and why he did it. I think the circumstances and possible slight influence of the mind stone just egged him on though). He was extremely angry and hurt during the end of Thor and in Avengers, hell even the beginning of Dark World. He even says it himself:

“Trust my rage.”

I suppose in the series, S1 Loki is just so defeated in a way because he realises that ‘nothing matters’, because it is all set out for him. Loki was never evil, did he do bad things? Yes, but he was not evil.

“No one good is ever truly good, and no one bad is ever truly bad.”

The people in the series around him help him grow, realise his potential beyond the expectations and limitations himself and others had put on him. Classic!Loki helps him realise he is more powerful than he realised, Kid!Loki makes him realise he could’ve actually been capable of killing his own brother, Sylvie gives him motivation to be better, to fight for something that matters and Mobius makes Loki see he can be whatever he wants to be, he doesn’t always need masks and illusions.

S2 Loki feels he has something worth protecting, a chosen family if you will. He knows he can’t go back to his timeline, and he failed to protect his mother, he failed being worthy in the eyes of his father, and he failed to see how Thor truly did care for him on the sacred timeline. So now… He’s determined to change that. We still see glimpses of the many facets of his character, S2 EP2 with his ability to be the Loki/God of Mischief people expect, S2 EP 5 with his selfishness and of course the finale where he reaches his ‘full potential’ so to speak.

‘Sentiment is a weakness’ has always been something Loki said or thought he believed… When in reality, sentiment drove all of his actions in the films. And that is mirrored in the series too.

Loki didn’t just suddenly become ‘soft’, it was always there, he just convinced himself that he wasn’t the same as his brother because he wasn’t like his brother… But if you strip everything back, the truth is he is just a ‘scared little boy’, as Mobius put it, who in the past latched onto what he knows best - chaos and mischief.

I cannot comment on the reasons people hate the show when it comes to the complexity of Norse mythology being used for his character, I am not well versed in it enough. I also enjoyed the Sylvie and Loki storyline - especially the complexity of S2 and their clashes. And I also enjoy Mobius and Loki’s bond and how they both helped one another grow. I don’t care about ships particularly, and I certainly don’t let it affect my opinion on the show because of that reason. Plus, I do love Sylvie as a character.

But as a MCU Loki fan, who has grown up with him since Thor1/Avengers, I think the show just expanded upon the character we finally got to see more of in Ragnarok/Infinity War. Tom even said himself that Loki has variety, he ‘plays all the keys’… Loki is never going to be one thing. And I love that about him, it’s what makes him interesting.

I could really go on and on but uh… I better not. Sorry, the special interest was really special interesting here lmao. 💚

Edit: would like to add that people who dislike the show for whatever reasons are entitled to dislike it, just as I’m entitled to enjoy it!

[animescapist]

ANIME REACTION YUBISAKI TO RENREN Episode 2

Nice. So I properly listened and watched the opening song this time. The song feels warm and chilly at the same time. It evokes a sort of fuzzy feeling while listening to it and I also a sense of care and worry in how it is sung, so I think it suits the series well. I also really like these types of emotional songs. I think songs from the Fruits Basket remake comes to mind.

Ahhh, I'm on my period so listening to it made me tear up a bit.

Rin, the wingwoman. It's cool to have friends like her, but personally if my friend found out who I liked, I'd feel like running away from it all out of embarrassment and because I know they would do everything to ship me and the person I like. Hahahahaha. Yuki is brave for real.

Pft! Relatable moment.

Oh no. NONONONONONONO

Bro, didn't hold back! Is he just an airhead? Or like, does he blurt words out without thinking much? Straightforward? AAAAAA (*≧∀≦*)

Hmm, so. Yuki. That night. His message. You guys... weren't flirting?? HUHHH??? I'm pretty sure no guy just says that outta nowhere. (￣ ﹌ ￣)>

And, well, if I have to answer this question, Yuki right now is in a crush phase. You cannot tell yet that you love someone just by meeting them a few times or admiring one or two things about them. Love embraces everything. And to embrace someone wholeheartedly is to know them through and through. Yuki has yet to know everything about this... this guy's name I don't remember.

... oh no. A childhood friend who already communicates with her in sign language. You can already tell how much he cares for her. But if he's gonna be salty that she found a person she likes, that's on him, honestly. He's not entitled to prevent her from liking anybody else besides him. Anyway, I'm expecting the worse here. I'll give his character the benefit of doubt. He just looks so insecure, haha. I could be biased, of course.

I knew Rin would pick up on that.

If his character is like this, and Yuki being the way she is, well, nothing would happen between them if he doesn't express himself honestly. If only he wasn't so tsundere about it. If you repress or hide these positive emotions, nobody gains from it but what comes is imminent regret. Remember this well, guys.

See here, Yuki is great for not holding herself back in expressing her true feelings and intentions. She knew that what she truly wants is to create a connection between her and this guy. So instead of withdrawing the offer, she welcomes it and looks forward for their next meeting. That is beautiful and genuine.

The fact that this guy opened this conversation though is also very thoughtful. The very notion of considering whether she would want a souvenir or not would only come to his mind if he felt he wanted to bring her souvenirs, but he also asks her first which I think is even more considerate because if he had bought them without even asking her (and they're technically just acquaintances), that would have been really weird. So this guy also made sure to deliver his intentions across without hesitation.

Mm. I feel another insecure character has appeared. I could be wrong again. Haha. She looks like she has things going on. Also, I'm gonna guess that she likes him. Insecure people attract each other. Who said that? Me. ☆⌒(≧▽​° )

凸(￣ヘ￣) Red flag. Control freak.

That look screams she likes him. Hmmmm.

Okay, I learned his name. Itsuomi. He's able to surround himself with locals and be close with them. That is already a very admirable trait. The fact that he travels suggests his openness and curiosity towards places, things and people. It's the eagerness to understand a culture or a person and the drive for exploration I think make him very admirable.

OH SHIT. DUDE IS SECRETLY LEARNING! ( ͡°⁄ ⁄ ͜⁄ ⁄ʖ⁄ ⁄ ͡°)

Yes, it's good to realize what you want sooner than later. If you want this to be love girl, go for it. Get 'im!

I expected that, but it still caught me off guard. Hahahaha.

So I had a few guys pat my head for no reason when I was still in high school. I also couldn't bring myself to look at them while they patted my head. I don't know, man. What are you supposed to do in that situation? Get angry? Stay silent? Question them? Evade? Neither seems right. I can sort of understand if they were older like a teacher or a parent. But if they were your friends, colleagues, your peers . . .

What would you do?

Oh, so she can also see these things. Then does she know? That he means well, but has a difficult and shelled personality?

Ehh... I mean you did fall in love. But I would say that emotion right now is attraction and adoration, not the kind of realistic and grounded love that develops over a long time, involving mutual understanding and compromise.

Though I can say that she does love him in a sense that she wants to build a bond. Right now, she loves his presence, his demeanor, his looks (of course), his overall aura.

[ominous-faechild]

✦ Character Voice Tag 2 ✦

Thanks for the tag, @honeybewrites ! Sorry this took so long! I've been busy and there's a long list of things for me to do here and irl, haha. I kinda turned this into something more like scenes rather than just lines? But the "line" tends to be the first thing the character says in the scene, haha.

Line used: ✦ "Okay, clearly you can't be trusted with a knife.”

Your lines: ✦ "Why, I oughtta!" ✦ "I have a terrible feeling about this..." ✦ "Everything's great, nothing wrong at all!"

Characters from Sun and Shadow: Freya, Crow, Daleira, Maritza, Soren, Valyarus, Ponderosa, Marlon

"Okay, clearly you can't be trusted with a knife.”

Freya: In the name of the Nine… (*grabs Crow's wrist with one hand, tries getting the knife with the other*) what are you doing with that??? Crow: HEY! (*shifts to turn their arm--and the knife--into shadow, phasing through her and dodging out of the way*) Hands off the goods, lady! Freya: that's--THAT'S NOT WHAT THAT MEANS??? Crow: (*smirks and twirls the knife in one hand*) It is now. 😘 Freya: (*screaming internally, grasps at the air like a lifeline--*) Freya: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF "KNIFE SAFETY"!?!?! Crow: yep! It's known as "I can do whatever I want with them" 😉 Freya: (*brb 'boutta murder a bird*)

(completely separate scene--)

Crow: what... what are you doing? Freya: uh, cutting vegetables? Crow, horrified: that's... not how you hold a knife. Freya: Freya: does it look like I care. 🤨 Crow: Crow: (*quickly steps forward and snatches the knife from her hands before she can even react*) Freya: what!? Give that back! Crow: nuh-uh! (*holding it above her head and out of her reach*) Freya: (*struggling to take it from them*) I SWEAR TO THE NINE, IF YOU DON'T GIVE IT BACK-- Crow: listen, I'll cut them! I can't clear your name if you're dead! Freya: I'M NOT GOING TO DIE FROM CUTTING VEGETABLES?? Crow: (*under their breath*) but I might from watching that handwork. Freya: (*brb 'boutta murder a bird 2.0*)

Daleira: Um… what are you doing? Faer: (*looks up at her in surprise*) Oh! Um... (*looks back down at the mess he's gotten himself in*) Faer: (*shamefully, well aware he's doing something wrong*) ... trying to cut these things apart? Daleira: (*struggles to smile reassuringly, but steps forward*) Okay, look, um... have you ever actually held a knife before? Faer: (*awkwardly*) Is it that obvious? Daleira: (*clicks her tongue and sucks in air through her teeth*) Juuuuust... a little. Faer: (*whines in his throat, dropping the knife on the table*) Daleira: (*helpfully*) Look, here, hand it over and I'll do it, alright? Just watch and then we can practice it together!

Maritza: What-- Frey: (*jumps slightly, spinning on her heel*) Maritza: (*silent heart attack!!! Voice weaker--*) ... are you doing? Frey: (*looks between the knife in her hand and Maritza*) Um... cooking? Maritza: (*weakly, forcing a smile*) Could... you put down the knife? Frey: Huh? (*looks down at the knife again. Loading.gif*) Frey: Frey: (*suddenly*) Oh! Yeah, of course-- (*and puts it down*) Maritza: (*visibly relaxes*) Frey: (*hesitantly*) Are you okay? Maritza: (*forces a smile*) Yeah, of course. I just-- Frey: (*starting toward her*) Are you s-- Maritza: (*closes her eyes, puts her hands up, and turns her head away slightly*) Yes, I'm sure. I just-- (*sighs, drops her hands, and looks back to Frey*) --what are you doing here so late? Are you sure you should be using a knife in the dark? I know you haven't been feeling well lately-- Frey: (*scowls, crossing her arms and looking away herself*) Yeah, but I feel better in the dark, okay? Maritza: (*sighs, anxiously hesitantly taking a look around the room*) ... sure. If you say so. Just... don't get yourself hurt. (*turns to leave*)

Soren: (*for once being a dad; possessing his magic puppet to take care of his daughter while he doesn't have anything else to do on his ship*) Soren: What are you doing? Frey: (*small child caught doing something she shouldn't be.png*) Frey: Um... cutting potatoes? Frey: (*tries smiling sweetly and gives a hands-up-surrender shrug, but her hands going up brings the knife way too close to her face*) Soren: (*nope! Magically freezes it in place, then swiftly pulls it to "his" hand and snatches it out of the air*) Frey: (*"haha, I'm in danger!!".gif*) Soren: (*slow, heavy sigh*) What did I say about messing with dangerous things when I'm not around? Frey: (*stomps her foot and pouts*) But I never know when you'll be back! Soren: So you do this a lot when I'm not around, then? Frey: (*"uh oh, caught" face--*)

Valyarus: (*casually, stepping into the room*) What exactly is going on here? ??? {REDACTED}: I'm just trying to practice with this knife, sir! Valyarus: I can see that. The problem is your handwork. Who taught you to hold it like that? ???: (*helpfully supplies him with the name!*) Valyarus: (*chuckles slightly, striding toward ???*) ???: (*nervous, but doesn't move!*) Valyarus: (*without pause*) Of course. I'll be having a talk with him. Now, can you tell me what exactly is the issue with how you're holding it? ???: (*looks between Valyarus and their hand holding the knife*) I... don't know, sir. Valyarus: (*stopping in front of ???, condescendingly*) Of course not. See-- Valyarus: (*suddenly snaps forward, grabbing their wrist with one hand, yanking them by their arm, and twisting the knife out of their hand with the other*) ???: (*winces, but didn't have the time to react. Massages their wrist and looks up at Valyarus as--*) Valyarus: (*continuing without pause*) --the way you were holding this made it incredibly easy to disarm you. Listen, ???, you need to do better than this. It's important to know how to fight without magic--especially for you. Understand? ???: Yessir... Valyarus: Good. Here, since nobody I pay to teach you is capable of it, how about I show you a few things?

Ponderosa: That's hilarious! Grunt: (*was literally in the middle of threatening a hostage--*) Grunt: (*sweating profusely, looks at them*) Uh... what? Hostage: (*nervously looking around*) Ponderosa: (*grinning, drifts around as they float over Grunt's head, ignoring or unaware of Hostage*) Ponderosa (*joyfully*) You heard me! You're pathetic! Grunt: Err... why do you s-- Ponderosa: (*scoffs, zipping through the air and into their face*) Grunt: (*tries to step backwards, but their back hits a swell of pressurized, near-solid hot air*) Grunt: (*winces in pain, but instead just watches as--*) Ponderosa: (*sneering*) I'm insulting you, you twit! Have a spine! Grunt: R-right, sir--er, ma'am?-- Hostage: (*seeecretly inches away... and hurries off, unnoticed?*) Ponderosa: (*flies backwards in the air, throwing their hands up*) what's with you bunch of sniveling clowns!? Can't I have any fun with around here? Saifel, Marlon would be pissed with me if I punished you for this! Grunt: (*profuse sweating intensifies--*) Ponderosa: (*smirks, floating higher as they literally perk up*) Actually... Hostage: (*zips through the air, slamming to a stop in front of Ponderosa. Panicking--*) Ponderosa: (*grinning widely*) --I have a better idea. Where did you think you were going, hmmm?

(btw, Ponderosa's pronouns are they/it! They're a storm spirit! What do you think of them, haha?)

Marlon: (*amusedly*) Is that how you think you're supposed to hold a knife? But that's in general! Alternatively: Marlon: What in the seas are you doing, Ponder? Ponderosa: (*oops, caught. But magically zips the knife behind their back as they turn to him and grin innocently at him!*) Nothing? What do you think I'm doing, hm? Ponderosa: (*floats toward him, "secretly" shooting the knife behind a bookcase*) Marlon: (*quirks an eyebrow, vaguely amused*) It sounded like you were talking to someone. What were you doing with that knife? Ponderosa: Knife? What knife? I've never seen a knife in my life!(*smiles sweetly as though it'll change Marlon's mind*) Marlon: (*humoring them*) Mhm... so, on another note, have you reconsidered trying to learn to defend yourself without magic? Ponderosa: (*groans, dropping toward the ground before twisting in the air to hover in front of him*) No! I don't care to be like those stupid--stupid... (*struggling for words*) fucking--landers! Marlon: (*runs his hand back through his hair stressfully*) Yeah, I don't like it either, Ponder, but what if you get caught in some kind of anti-magic zone? I don't want-- Ponderosa: (*pouting, crosses their arms and legs. Drops closer to the ground, but still floating*) I don't care! I won't! Marlon: (*sighs heavily and rubs his face worriedly*)

I know everybody is either going to absolutely love or hate Ponder, haha. They're a little brat of a (basically) demigod. I came up with their character before I watched tOH, but the Collector is basically the exact kinda thing I'm going for with them! (If that wasn't clear already to my fellow Owl House fans!)

Just... they're a little different and knowingly "evil" sometimes!

Also, I'm debating things with Crow's character color. I worry that the dark blue I was using made it too difficult to read on some themes and devices. Then, idk about the alternate purple? What do you guys think?

Tagging (gently, and those just interested!): @the-letterbox-archives @yourpenpaldee @paeliae-occasionally @mysticstarlightduck @illarian-rambling

@darkandstormydolls @the-golden-comet @ath3alin @wyked-ao3 @urnumber1star @the-golden-comet + open tags!

Dividers by @cafekitsune !

I'm just over here, working on SaS because of the upcoming contest... 🥰

[marsvs-thesun]

Promised myself I'd comment on this properly when the time was right, and i can't sleep, so the time is now! Added a cut for length, and the few people who don't wanna read me gushing about SoW fanfiction (WRONG)

First off, love that ship name. Wildfire! Fuck yes. We as a society have really regressed when we stopped using metaphorical ship names and started mushing character names together instead

Kiyoshi you fucking prick, setting up your frenemy on a date like that :( good thing at least one of them is having a good time tho! plus Lucan just wanting to hide away in Niika's house is so cute-

Lucan is very much a "take what you can get" character to me and it makes so much sense he drink whatever is available, no matter his preferences. Tbh in this situation, he might as well get drunk so time passes quicker haha. Though, then there's the matter of vulnerability of course :)

Ooooh Skorch is sooo manipulative here aaaah O///O what a horrible man. Terrible. I hope he does this forever.

Ah Netherans cooking for their partners, my beloved! That's honestly so sweet of them! Plus with the "edible" comment I wonder if Skorch is also fearing poison here.

The only problem with your writing is that it makes me hungry lol. Now I'm kinda wondering if pumpkin might work in the right kind of fish stew. I dont know about beetroot tho. Plus, hey cider! The objectively best alcohol! To go back to the fanfic at hand, cooking and sharing food are two ways I have of loving people and the implication of Niika (a generally standoffish person with attachment issues) letting Lucan have some of her fish pottage makes me want to hug myself and cry a little.

Damn, harsh reminder that Lucan is in here 100% against his will, uh. If not for his prison sentence he would have skipped town and never gotten involved in that mess. (I have Thoughts about the Felden Prison Labor Exploitation System, but they mostly boil down to YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS, and an unrealistic amount of trust in whatever Xaria had going on. Anyways.) My point was, Lucan is a deeply sad character, not in the amount of tragedy he goes through, but because everything he does go through could have been so easily avoided. Poor guy was just wrong place wrong time.

NOOO HE FLIRTED HIS WAY INTO NETHER REINFORCEMENTS!! he's so stupid,,,, I love him,,,,,,,,,

"Little rabbit" is such a cute threatening nickname. I liked in the first fic and I love it here, especially how casual Skorch is about it, like that's Lucan's name and not a threat at all... ugh

I love how much Lucan wants to punch Skorch in this fic, like that's not the stupidest thing he could do in that situation. Go white boy, go! Punch your captor in the face! Surely this will have no consequences! (Tbh I admire his self control, I would have broken Skorch's nose a lifetime ago in his place)

"Love is a different matter. Let's stick to endearment for now." THATS THE LINE YOUR HONOR! THATS THE LINE THAT MADE ME GIGGLE AND PACE THE ROOM FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES! I'm kicking my feet as I write. Whyyy does this have such an effect on me whyyyyyyyy

Oooh and that ending! Skorch going full cards on the table, Lucan's panic, it's so so good. He's really willing to go through it to save Niika, gotta love that about him. And Skorch refilling his glass is such a power move too,,,, I will go scream now, if you dont mind me. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

A continuation of the below link:

Why was he doing this again?

"And here I was expecting you to prefer beer. How civilized of you."

For real Kiyoshi, wherever you were now, you owed Lucan the biggest favor of your life. The minute this was over he was going to retire to this nice tree house filled with strong branches, bridges, and geared to the nine in lights and traps and whatever Niika could cook.

"Sticking to the silent treatment? In front of your host no less? I thought you knew better, what with your friend in custody." Skorch poured himself a second bottle from whoever owned this restaurant. Privately Lucan apologized, commiserating with the terrified staff--hard to hold it against strangers for wanting to stay alive, overlord wining and dining with some nobody using their fancy crystal flute glasses. He didn't want to be here anymore than they did but Marcus was counting on him and he needed the man's muscles as much as he needed all that iron he was melting.

Props to the chefs, cooking's ten out of ten. Didn't know what he was eating but it was good stuff.

"I'm glad to see you like dinner. I ensured it was edible beforehand."

It took Lucan a solid minute to parse it out. "Wait, you made this?"

That smug bastard had the audacity to smirk at him, sipping his wine like some cheap book antagonist. "Did you think I spent all my time working?"

"Yes." He made this? Ugh, he took back everything good he said--trashy, weird, deserved nothing good in life to waste ingredients like that. First chance he got he's washing it all down in cider, then he'll check if Niika's got anymore of that fish pottage. He doesn't care if it got beetroot and pumpkin mashed together so long as-

...Why was he frowning like Lucan spat at him? "What, cat got your tongue?" Oh thank god no Felina heard that, "Not like it's my fault you're so busy everyday that all we see is you beating some random old lady for her groceries."

Okay, he didn't actually see that (but that would totally happen) due to living in the wilderness and trying to organize a plan. Honestly, if it wasn't for one of his ex-inmates ratting him out he'd be long gone by now but noooooo. Now Lucan was in this bizarre dinner with Netheran slavemasters who showed off how rich and powerful they were by dazzling feeble minds with their cooking prowess.

...At this rate, he was going to drink his brains out.

"You have a point," huh? "I've been making rounds to remind Felden exactly who holds their leash, but why not delegate? It would be easy to fill ranks." Uhhhhhhhh that's not what he meant. At all. "I know more than a few who've been chomping for a glimpse of glory. A few checks to ensure competence and I'd finally have some free time."

"Holy shit, I was just joking." Lucan blurted out. Dude, don't do that--he was trying to organize a rebellion here! He was NOT apologizing to Niika on how a simple recruitment exploded into Nether reinforcements. Hells, he didn't want to explain this dinner either! "Also, why are you listening to me--screw that, why are we even here? You literally made me sit and eat for an hour so what's the point?"

"Little rabbit, do you honestly have no clue why we're here?" Smug prick why don't you move that mug closer where I can-- "You're the one that started it. I'm simply reciprocating your affections by the traditional approach."

Lucan stared.

Stared.

Staaaaareeeed.

"Are you quite done yet?" The sheer punchableness shocked Lucan back into reality, gawking at Skorch like that napkin he was dabbing his mouth with was a live toad.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU????"

"...Rude."

"Rude my--affections! In case you didn't notice genius, I never said I loved you. PERIOD!"

"Love is a different matter," Skorch replied blandly, "Let's stick to endearment for now."

"That's the same thing!" Oh HELL NAW! Lucan was not doing this. What did this loon think he was in--a theatre drama? Pushing out of his chair he goes, "Look, I'm sorry you got the wrong idea this whole trip but I'm definitely not into you that way and this was a sorta nice night but I've really gotta get going and--"

"Find your pet?" He can't breathe. His brain stops working, Skorch is smiling, bugs are crawling up the table leg on his right, and he can't breathe. "You've done a fantastic job doing the work for us. I was wondering where you were ever since my subordinates reported your pet's arrival, but then you walked up to my door." Giving a glance at Lucan's untouched wine Skorch refilled his cup. "But please, do go on ahead. It would help track down your pet." Glass softly chinked on green table covers trimmed gold. "It would be irresponsible of me to leave a frightened kitten alone in the dark. Isn't that right little rabbit?"

Lucan pushed his chair back in place.

[nobodysdaydreams]

The Mysterious Benedict Society Liveblog Season 2 Episode 3: A Gold Bar in Fort Knox

Alright folks. I'm tired, I'm procrastinating, and ready to hyper fixate. Will SQ Garrison and Martina finally come back in this episode? Or was Disney+ unable to get the actor's contracts renewed and are hoping we don't notice? I hope not, but either way I'm still watching. Just the episode summary is getting me excited "Benedict takes a gamble with Curtain"- after a season where they didn't interact until the last episode (and in flashback land), I really want to see that dynamic between the brothers.

1:30- Alright her comes the polo team. Oh this is when they are hiding on the rope thing from the trailer aren't they? Yep I knew it. Time for the theme song!

3:00- Good point Reynie. There's really only two reasons someone as crazy as Curtain would kidnap you. 1) to cover his tracks and 2) get his son some friends. And he's clearly shown where his priorities are at considering how much of his son we've seen this season.

3:30- in hindsight it was very considerate of Curtain to kidnap them around the same point the scavenger hunt ends so that the kids can find them. He could have just kidnapped them at a random point, sent his spies after the kids, and made this impossible on their end, but at least he plays fair.

4:00- "People are becoming dependent on an artificial state of mind", do I smell social commentary coming? Because I'm just here to see Curtain get hit with the golf cart. YES TACTICAL FUNGAL INFECTION. PFFT- "to infect my brother with love" "he craves my approval", oh my gosh, poor Nicholas. Out to destroy his brother with the power of love and friendship. "well that was on his turf" "So is this" lol, what would Benedict's turf even look like, didn't Curtain's spies kick him out of his house multiple times?

6:30- Oh my gosh they are searching for phones, I told y'all last episode: you have the tech for brainsweeping. Just invent an iphone, it's much less complicated and will save you the trouble of looking for a landline.

6:30- "at least they are away from danger" and... cut to danger. Yes. I love this flight announcer. Yes Rhonda, helping everyone out, she's honestly the most stable person in this show.

7:17- YES NOLAND AND CANNONBALL. I've heard their characters in the show are nothing like the books and I don't remember and I don't care they are funny, so they get a pass. I love how into this conspiracy they are and I love when B plot characters act like they are not only the A plot, but the be all end all of everything. "Not just stowaways...they undermined our culinary excellence" "why haven't you found them" "some are quite small" I mean, he's not wrong. TWO HOURS LATE? THREE? oh dear. Faltering Marriage? Losing his house? Man Noland is going through it.

8:50- are the kids finally gonna get to hustle people like in the trailer? Of course the girls want to gamble. I'm with you Reynie, but I also saw the trailer and know you're gonna make bank. I love how the guy looks at Constance like "ok kid, you're in" IS CONSTANCE PLAYING WITH LOADED DICE? I know 7 is the most common combo, but that was a lot of 5/2 dice combos. Yeah Reynie, you probably should have sat this one out.

12:00- Oh my gosh his stupid little television show. False. Your name is Nathaniel Benedict and you are known for being a pathetic fool who has no idea where his son is. Oh great is he hypnotizing him.

13:30- not the cough drop ad, poor Milligan. Very true about the worrying. Not sure how I feel about the potential relationship here. Never really shipped anyone in the show. No strong positive or negative feelings yet. I do love that they can talk about their parenting struggles together.

16:00- Reynie, it's just card counting, I don't know if I'd consider it cheating. HAHA-- KATE. It was very obvious cheating too, I'm surprised no one caught them. Sticky's version was the smartest option here. Reynie, calm down, Sticky's money is fine, it was strategy. Awe Sticky <3. CONSTANCE. "when Benedict is in the ground"? She is hurting bad. Oh this is such an awkward confession.

18:40- Awe, he's so nice to them. Honesty really does pay. Too bad those water polo players are gonna steal all their money. Maybe they'll apologize and give it back later.

20:00- YES TELL HER KATE RESPECT THE SPORT. Yes Cannonball! Oh dear he's pretty winded. Take a breath man, you've worked hard. Lol, "reformed gamblers". I love how he says stowaways as if he's saying the world "murderers" and asking zero questions about the potential kidnappers or gamblers.

21:00- I love these extras. "and you always show up at the same time every day?" "WHY AS A MATTER A FACT I DO SHOW UP HERE AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY INDEED NEVER LATE JUST THOUGHT I'D LOUDLY REMIND YOU OF THIS FACT"

21:30- "I care about everyone" ok Curtain. meanwhile SQ is still stuck in that well

21:50- oh poor Nicholas that applause is insufferable. How much attention can one man need? Hold up is the applause like, a trigger for his hypnotism?

22:00- that's right cannonball tell him! Oh my gosh Constance's backstory gets darker every time. Poor Cannonball, he was really tested there, clearly he knows something about her fake "parents".

23:00- whoever does the announcements on the flight deserves a raise "hopefully you can experience the raw, terrifying beauty of nature's power" haha... "very slight deflation issue", we will need to throw your bags overboard. Such a professional delivery on that.

24:00- He's so proud to have caught them <3. And yes maritime court, finally what the season has been building up to. Yes Kate. Offer your engineering skills. Oh dear poor Cannonball, all his work traded away.

25:50- "abandonment and betrayal can come from anywhere even family", oh shut up Curtain I see exactly what you are doing, trying to make him feel guilty and make him susceptible. "I didn't let it affect me" ok Curtain, do we need to flashback to your season 1 episode 8 breakdown. "I'm not sad, I'm completely fine" *falls over*? Heck, you're clearly letting it affect you, you started a cult.

27:00- I really hope this works out for number 2. Oh no. Sebastian. Poor Sebastian. I love how Jillson and Jackson are treating him like he's their pet. "he never misses dinner, we should go out and look for him" like he's a stray dog. OH NO. Curtain you better not do this to your son. Or your brother. Or the world. "Seize the power together" is he trying to hypnotize Nicholas into this world domination plan?

29:00- Yes Sticky, getting your name out there. Um.. what does took care of them mean... no not tangerines, the only thing worse than stowing away. That's right drag them to prison. Kidnapping is forgivable, but tangerines? "citrus allergy', please, something tells me that story is not gonna hold up in maritime court.

30:30- "they have to be ok". "Mr. Benedict is not strong" Oh no. Poor Constance. She knows her dad too well. But there’s nothing wrong with have vulnerable emotions. And yeah, I guess Sticky's friend is coming in and out of the story now. Awe, see Reynie, you do matter to him, you're his best friend.

31:40- Ah, hello Jeffers. You're not the SQ, Garrison, or Martina we wanted, but you're funny so I'm glad to see you. I love how Curtain makes a point to get the name "society" right. He even seems to have some respect for them, oh yes he just said it... oh dear. Without mercy, dude calm down, that's pretty much what you've been doing the whole time. Lol, Reynie's broken polite Portuguese while Kate just yells go at the poor driver.

And that's all! Still wondering exactly what Curtain's end game is here. Does he want Nicholas to join him and love him or does he want him to suffer? Maybe both. Still wondering where SQ, Garrison, and Martina are. Don't hate love or care about the maybe maybe not adult romance. Need more Constance backstory ASAP. Nolland and Cannonball will be missed, and I hope they come back.

edit: also, I think we’ve covered most of the trailer shots in the first 3 episodes, so hopefully the plot is gonna start picking up here (@ SQ, Garrison, Martina, Constance Backstory, flashback land, etc.)

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞

[bogkeep]

i wanted to write another blog post about my relationship to Stories again, and this time i'm revisiting the topic of Shipping. it's not the first time i have written about my relationship to it, and it PROBABLY won't be the last, but maybe i say something i haven't said before, hey? and don't worry, this isn't about The Discourse. or not that discourse, anyway. this is more about how i went from a bitter aroace "I HATE SHIPPING" kid to creating elaborate relationship dodecahedrons with my own characters for fun and personal fulfillment. this one was actually pretty hard to write and also pretty personal, so i'm readmore'ing it!

i've changed, the internet's changed, of course my feelings about it have changed over the years. i had a lot of stuff to work out and i still probably have! sometimes it feels like i'm just shoveling shame from one side to the other. why do i have so much shame i'm not even catholic!!!! so back when baby haiz found out he's aroace, it was still very niche. i think awareness about asexuality was juuust starting to pick up on tumblr, aromanticism was still thought of as a subgroup of asexuality rather than an identity in its own right, and the worst discourse going around was people denying its existence and making amoeba jokes. simpler times. i was a fresh fledgling aroace who didn't know i was autistic yet, i was a teen, i found anything sexual DEEPLY uncomfortable and was wrestling with that in a heavily sexualized society and also high school where everyone is making dumb sex jokes and trying to trip you over with stupid innuendos, and i was STARVING for any kind of acknowledgement that i'm Valid. i was so very very lonely about it! i'm still mutuals with the first irl ace person i met, and i think i went several years between picking up that identity and sharing a ticket booth at the convention we volunteered at. shipping culture at that time had a completely different vibe, too. the attitude was like, if you're not shipping anything, why are you even bothering with media? how do you have FUN? (i didn't like drinking or partying either, so i was already pretty familiar with that attitude). people would deliberately put on their shipping goggles and my feed would be full of analysis about THESE TWO CHARACTERS ARE SUPER DEFINITELY IN LOVE LOOK AT THIS 0,2 SECONDS WHERE THEIR EYES MEET. OH MY GOSH THEY HUGGED!! of course that rubbed me the wrong way - i had spent years trying to explain to my classmates that nO, my best friend and i AREN'T A COUPLE, STOP READING INTO IT!!!! and then i would log on and everyone would keep reading romantic intent into every single character interaction. it drove me up a wall. i was already so anxious about saying something that could be taken as innuendo in some way, and then i ALSO had to worry about how anything could be read as romantic? exhausting. and yes, NOW i know that's not the worst thing that can happen. people will assume wrongly all the time and sometimes there's nothing to do but accept that i can't control how other people percieve me. suffice it to say i used to be really really uptight about the whole shipping deal, haha. even worse when i latched on to pretty much any vaguely ace-coded character (yes yes i joined tumblr because of bbc sherlock leave me alone) and had to make peace with the fact that thousands of other people were extremely insistent that these characters were actually super gay and super sexual. which is silly in retrospect - those characters were never confirmed to be canonically ace or gay (or both!), so there would be all that fighting about what headcanon is the best representation. that's not how headcanons work!!!! it sucked when you just, really crave a depiction of a close friendship that never turns romantic - and no, not just the queerbaity bromance ones, at the time i would've killed for a girl/boy friendship that got to stay that way. it really pains me to admit to just how much i relate to all the "why can't they just stay friends" guys. i don't have that attitude anymore, but it was never because i didn't want canon queer relationships on tv, it was never because i thought there was already lots of gay representation, i knew there wasn't. but it was so lonely and disheartening that every single time i could relate to anyone on a screen, every other watcher would go "oh yeah those guys are totally fucking". i know!! we were fighting over the same breadcrumbs!!! we all wanted different things from the same show and NONE of us got what we wanted! it was such a stupid thing to clash over!!! it was so hard to explain the othering and the loneliness and the absolute dismissal i felt as an aroace person in a world that put romance on a

pedestal above everything else - even before the acecourse took a turn for the worse. i don't really want to go into details about it, as it was frankly traumatizing to me. but there was something about the way people would act as if real people's actual identities were good or bad representaiton in some way, as if we were all characters in a tv show - and being ace was bad representation. somehow. it was cringy and reflected badly upon the rest of the "community". i hate hate hate how ashamed i became of my own identity and myself. i hate how much i would just accept my own friends trashing a core part of my identity right in front of me, and felt too wounded and vulnerable to take a proper stance. i can't say i handled everything perfectly or even gracefully - that i've never had stances or said things i now regret - but i was a teen still trying to figure out how to be myself. i suppose the same goes for everyone i knew at the time. i think something about being 19 sets you on fire and you're just burning a lot of anger out before you lay back in a bed of ashes. or maybe that's just me. i don't think i've ever stopped being aroace. there is no point in my life where i woke up and thought, i'm a different person now. yes, i'm different than who i used to be, but what's turned the wheels inside me is the experienced i've had that i didn't have before. even stubbornly aromantic and asexual i still craved companionship, or at least, to try it, figure out what the big deal is. i'm still very happy i got to try it out with my first girlfriend (and now my close friend). it was a lovely time, and i don't think either of us did any of it 'wrong' - but i really did pressure myself into being someone i'm not capable of being. i got crushed under the weight i piled on top of myself. even with all the acceptance i was given for my identity, even with all the ground rules figured out on day one, i was still so ashamed of not feeling things the 'right way'. and with the horrible acecourse dangling the carrot in front of me, that i was only allowed to Belong as long as i was a REAL gay, it wasn't helping, you know? (sidenote that isn't really relevant to the topic, but one thing i DO regret is how public i was about my relationship. i mean it's no wonder, it was very exciting and it was fun, but it very quickly became less fun when people would comment things like "omg u two are relationship goals" or "i'm going to live vicariously through you". it's already so incredibly hard to break up with someone you do actually love and care about, and even harder when other people take it as some kind of personal offense or make all kinds of wild assumptions about it. sometimes things just aren't working as they are! it's nobody's business but ours either way!) i'm still in relationships. i've had brushes with crushes. i don't really care to put a word on what my exact identity is anymore, it just is what it is. i'm definitely somewhere on the aromantic spectrum. i'm non-monogamous. i'm definitely asexual - i've had to reclaim my own identity from the claws of shame and discourse, all the while i've reclaimed my own personal sexuality from years of being turned into 'sweet innocent cinnamon roll, too pure for this earth' by my peers in the past. do you know how humiliating it is to be in your mid-twenties and still struggle with this stuff?? so often i have to remind myself i'm an adult, it's NORMAL and OKAY. and like, it's nobody's fault that i'm Like This. i'm not gonna blame high schoolers for my weird brain prison. for all my bitterness, i don't hold anything against people in my past. we were all messy. that's just what being a teen was like. what i have really really done is this. for one, i accepted that the way i'm going to do relationships is never going to be the "normal" way, and there's no point in trying to, or forcing myself through motions that goes against my grain. for second, in doing so i've just... dismantled and deconstructed what a 'relationship' is. you take all the pieces apart, keep the ones that make sense to

you, and reassemble it to a new structure. it might not even be that different from what you started with! maybe you just delete all the bloatware. here's the big thing. at the very core of it, all interpersonal relationships are the same. it's a Connection To Another Person. so many mechanics are the same. circumstances differ - family member, coworker, friend, acquaintance, romantic partner, sexual partner - of course these aren't the same, but also, no familial relationships are the same, all of your friends will mean different things to you.. i don't know, we all exist in this huge world and there's so many people, and we create so many bonds. there is so much overlap. maybe a marriage doesn't depend entirely on whatever tingly feeling you get from being in love. a sexual partner can be a stranger or a friend, not just your One True Love. where does the line between really really loving your best friend and being in love with your best friend go? for all the attention the concept of a 'romantic partner' is given in our society, i think it's a thinner slice on the pie chart than what 'friend' might be. do you know how MANY different kinds of friendship that one category has to make room for? i don't know, either. and i think there's a huge slice that exists between 'friend' and 'romantic/sexual partner' that just... there is no language for it (or when people do try to find language for it, there is so much backlash), most of the time, or gets placed in a category that's easy to explain to others. it's like... the expected structure buckles under all the variety of love and connection we actually experience in our life. am i making any sense? i think my main problem with Shipping was this - the flattening. for the longest time, it seemed to me as if you Shipped two characters, you had to put them in the same mold as every other Couple. it didn't matter what their dynamic was in canon, if you shipped them you'd just slap them onto the pre-made relationship dynamic you already had lying around. i KNOW that's not universal. nor do i have anything against the vocabulary of shipping - it's very useful and it's important fandom culture. but as that culture has evolved, i do think there's this kind of dissonance, where Shipping A Thing might mean A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE. everything from "to me these two are soulmates and they love and respect eachother so much across every timeline" to "yeah they tried to kill eachother several times and they're both awful wrecks but it's hot" to "these two are extremely divorced" to "person A pines for person B endlessly and they never end up together" and a million other dynamics and outcomes. between you and me, i think a lot of shipping wank happens because the term 'shipping', like a lot of other terms, can have such broad meaning. hard to be on the same page when you're reading different books! there are SO MANY STORIES TO TELL!!!! and i LIKE stories. interpersonal relationships are incredibly fun to explore. and yes, i have over the years finally managed to make peace with Ships - it was difficult because i never wanted to be a hypocrite (sometimes you are a hypocrite!! it happens when you change your opinion about something! it's fine!), but i finally accepted that i Did in fact ship some things. it was also a lot easier when it didn't feel so mandatory, when i could ship things out of my own volition rather than "how else are you having fun". when i can delight in a specific dynamic rather than Standard Relationship. but for me it's also like, the Story. now that i'm focusing so much on my own characters i am having a Fantastic Time exploring rejections and pining and weird friendships and awkward family. i don't care if it's Good or Bad representation, because that was never the point. people experience things, people change, people grow close and grow apart, the boundaries one draws, the reclaiming of the self, the holding of a hand, the holding of a heart. you know? i used to groan at the Mandatory Romantic Relationship in every story, but

now it's like, yeah okay, sell me on it. give me something interesting. tell me how it happens. because i think a lot of these feelings, a lot of these experiences, they aren't exclusive to any one identity, or any one type of relationship. if you ship for the sake of shipping because that's how you have fun, by all means! have fun. here's a fibre cloth for your glasses. my way of reading things isn't Better or More Sophisticated. it's just how i prefer to read my stories and watch my shows. i'm having a much better time now that i've grown up a fair bit, relaxed a whole lot. i don't even entirely know what "my way" is. i just deconstructed a whole lot of words and concepts and im poking at the debris. as you do.

[my-mt-heart]

Thoughts on The Daryl Dixon Origin Story

Can’t speak for anyone else, but I didn’t really gain a lot of fresh insight into Daryl’s character from this. If anything, it just re-solidified to me how Daryl has been stuck on this path of trying to save people, often in vain, and the impact that has had on his sense of belonging. No doubt we will see that finally come to a head in S11. Otherwise, it really was just another marketing ploy, which again, figured as much.

  For anyone who can’t watch, I’ll just note that Norman Reedus’ narration throughout was scripted, not interview style. It felt very compressed, which, fair, because that’s a lot to cram into the span of an hour. There were some good quotes of course, and yes, duh, ones about his relationship with Carol.

For example, he says “Daryl begins to bond with Carol whether he likes it or not,” basically describing it as something simply meant to be.

While the search for Sophia continues, it’s stated that Daryl “doesn’t know how to accept Carol’s affection, so he rejects it.” The subtext is that Carol really is the first person to show him he’s worthy of kindness and belonging. Then to no surprise, finding Sophia dead makes him feel like “he failed Carol.” That sense of failure is reiterated by the time they find Henry’s head on a pike. Apparently it’s “literally his worst nightmare. He felt responsible for Henry. He agreed to look after him because “he can’t say no to Carol,” (haha, true) and ultimately “failed her again.” Thankfully he’s there to “hold her up until her wall comes crashing down.”

When season 10 is broached, Daryl’s emotionality is shown to be strongly connected to Carol, his overall goal being to protect her. I love when he’s talking about the scene where Daryl threatens to punch holes in the boat, shading it to mean he’s “not ready to say goodbye to her.” Even more, I love that their score (there’s a Caryl score, you guys) played over the bracelet scene. I can’t remember if that’s how it was cut in the episode itself, but wow, it really amplified the love between them.

All of that being said, it would be a mistake to read too far into anything. Nothing proves or disproves Caryl, and that goes for the other ships too. Ironically the only confirmed love interest was downplayed the most. It’s mentioned that Daryl and Leah “clash at first but end up spending a lot of time together, but he can’t stop searching for Rick…if he lets another person in, he’ll lose them so he leaves.” And then we move on.

As for Connie, there’s actually no emotional language about her in narration. We just see some of their scenes play out, including the one on the dock, but that’s really just to highlight Daryl’s “new skill,” in other words sign language. Still, editing paints a picture they want you to speculate about.

I’ll say that the one thing that did throw me off was the line about Beth being “the first girl that’s ever been nice to Daryl so he misreads the situation.” Not only does that contradict what had been suggested about Carol, but the language comes off a little predatory in my opinion, which does not accurately reflect who Daryl is at all. Of course they were going to milk that relationship, like of course, and don’t get me wrong, I adore it, but…hmm. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the most overt romantic expression is given to the character who’s dead now.

Other points of emphasis include his relationship with Rick and the impact of Merle’s and Glenn’s deaths. Aside from those, I can’t really think of much else to mention. Even the sneak peek of Daryl and Dog looking at all the graffiti doesn’t offer much (am I the only one who noticed the emphasis on the crowns though??) Ultimately, nothing has changed in my eyes and I guess I’ll just go about my day now. 

[a-little-birdie]

Basics of space au head cannon style.

This is the general story idea and character basics. I’ll build on this more as I go. Thinking of naming it Give Me Space and will mostly focus on April. Of course I will focus on the turtle brothers and splinter and everyone else as well. Don’t worry.

This is pretty long, I was gonna add more because of Baron Draxum and Big Mama but I didn’t want to make such a ginormous post. Sorry.

Tw: violence

Story idea: The brothers live on their ship travelling around space just living their life. They stay planet side more than they travel through space. Recently they’ve gotten into trouble with a few other aliens but most notably Big Mama and Baron Draxum. Now they need to figure out how to live while being wrapped up in a huge net of danger.

So humans, this is a space au with humans are weird themes because it’s just good for plot, humour and a ton of other stuff! Side glances my angst. So how are humans treated in this world? They still aren’t technically an official species under the councils eyes yet so that leads to humans not always being seen as people. I don’t know how much I’ll touch on that subject in the story, I mostly wanna get the world building and stuff up first. Humans are a generally new species, especially to the further reaches of the universe. Not much is known about them except some of the basics. Most of them speak a language called English. They have an omnivorous diet although some choose to live a more herbivore life. They are historically persistence predators, chasing after their prey at a sustained pace to best conserve energy. They are very tough. They can bleed and are therefore, killable. Humans aren’t seen much outside of their own galaxy and are therefore usually a huge attraction.

APRIL O’NEIL! The one. The only. The short Queen. Can you tell I love her? In this she’s still the same age in the tv show but she’s a pilot in training. On a practice mission gone wrong April gets lost and crash lands on an alien planet. Eventually she finds an beat up looking ship that’s way to old to not be abandoned and decides to hole up in there. Only to find a rat looking alien staring at her in shock when she wakes up from a much needed nap.

Splinter, the man. The dude. The depresso espresso machine. This guys is still a human and an actor in the beginning, I can’t take that from him it’s a huge part of who he is. My thought is that he gets abducted by Big Mama and put in the Battle Nexus. The whole thing with Baron Draxum goes down and Splinter makes off with the turtles. He finds an old abandoned ship and decides to live there until he can find a better living arrangement. Spoiler alert. He doesn’t. The boys and him fix it up until it’s safe a flight worthy. So now his life is pretty Rinse and Repeat until he finds a Human sleeping in his hallway and doesn’t know if he should give them some warm food and a blanket or panic and call his sons.

Raph. The oldest of them all. The ancient fossil. Yes I’m making “haha old” jokes at a cartoon character. Literally nothing changes with him, with all the turtles tbh. As a kid he spent most of his time going out to find stuff to fix the ship but never went far enough that he would lose sight of the ship. So most of the stuff he got was branches and leaves. He also took care of his younger siblings the most and knows what’s dangerous and what’s not in terms of local flora and fauna. He didn’t read a book on it it’s just mostly from experience and watching the other animals. In the beginning, Raph is the most concerned with the humans well being when he first finds them in the hallway. It cannot be comfy to sleep there.

Leo, the smug man. The anything-but-straight disaster, the one that resonates with my very soul. Yes he’s still a theatre kid, of course he is. I think he’s got a little more sleight of hand skills though. Everyone in here is a little more morally grey. The boys kinda had to steal to be able to make money and get supplies to, ya know, live. Leo just became the best at it, his moral compass when it comes to that stuff is the most broken. When Leo first meets the human he’s actually scared of them. The human yells at him for getting to close and he screams. Donnie never lets him live it down.

Donnie, the neurodivergent dude. I love this man so much, it’s unreal. Sadly I don’t have much for him yet. But, he makes a translator for the humans English. He gets it to work by recording the human while standing near them, they’ll just shout and yell and he’ll just stand there until he has enough English to work with. Unsurprisingly, most of the words he gets are swears, detailed threats, go away, leave me alone and *insert guttural screaming.* It’s actually kind of funny.

Mikey, is still Mikey. He’s the ADHD, acrobatic, artist that we all know and love. Damn that’s some alliteration right there. When Mikey first got into art it was when he found some old spray paint cans that were abandoned in the area. After that he started experimenting. Over the years he got the proper equipment he would need, such as a gas mask, ladder to reach the higher places, etc. Him with a gas mask is actually kinda scary. He was wearing it inside the ship when he met the juman sadly and now they don’t like him. Even with the gas mask off. However the two find common grounds over drawing and food. So that’s good!

[jacketpotatoo]

character ask game

thor, if you've got any opinions

I have multiple opinions, yes.

1. Favourite thing about them

He’s the definitive himbo. Literally the guy that pops in my head when I hear the word himbo. He’s built like a brick and full of angst but he’s so goofy and dumb and effortlessly hilarious.

2. Least favourite thing about them

Hm. I am one of those conflicted people on his portrayal in Endgame. I get what they were going for and I like the representation and later acceptance of grief (“I’m still worthy!” Is a great line) but he was the butt of the joke for basically the whole movie and not usually in a good way. I have nothing against fat Thor but I am a little eh about the way they utilised him.

3. Favourite line

“Well if I’m wrong, what more could I lose?” So. Good.

4. brOTP

Thor and Banner! Specifically them in Ragnarok. I love them so much. (And Thor and Loki of course but they’re literally brothers so)

5. OTP

I don’t ship him with anyone haha. Him and Jane never sat well with me; I don’t do very well with ‘love at first sight’ stories generally and their chemistry wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of development

6. nOTP

Erm I don’t particularly hate a ship, I just have no strong feelings for any of them. I really just don’t ship him with anyone at all pfff

7. random headcanon

He leaves insanely huge tips when he goes out to eat because he doesn’t know the value of money and one of his points of reference is Tony Stark

8. Unpopular opinion

I will reuse my Endgame discourse thing PFF. Also this is an unpopular opinion only among the Thor or Loki fandom (from what I’ve seen on the periphery at least) and not the majority of the MCU but Ragnarok!Thor is my favourite.

9. Song you associate with them

The Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin

10. Favourite picture of them

His best look imho

[skrivarmelodi]

Now AOT is over...

So, I read the final chapter of Attack On Titan and there are a lot of thoughts and feelings. But overall I'm pleased with the whole story and the ending. I trusted Isayama and he didn't disappoint me.

There are certain things I'd like to go into detail about Levi, Ymir, Mikasa, Eren etc and certain moments during the story.

So if anyone cares here we go. (warning, this got long and contains spoilers for chapter 139 and obviouisly the whole story!)

First, Ymir Fritz, Eren, and Mikasa.

The more we got to know Ymir, the more we knew about her circumstances and how it all started, the more I asked myself, why she doesn’t simply stop all of the misery, if she can and, obviously, has the power to do so (chapter 122).

I thought, perhaps, because she loves King Fritz so much, after all, she sacrificed herself in order to protect him (which I didn’t like at all, because he was a shitty person). But then I wasn't sure if Isayama would use 'love' in such a way. He did and it's nothing new but it's something we can all understand. Love is good, but it can also be something bad, something toxic, and Ymir was most likely a slave of her own feelings because she didn't know better. Her life was miserable until she got the power to become a Titan and gave birth to the daughters of the king. But as you can see, at the beginning of chapter 122 she watches a couple getting married and that was what she wanted too. To be loved. This was the love she knew and the love she protected and believed that was true love (most likely) because she didn't know a different kind of love.

When Eren told her, that she can decide and asked her to give him the power he needs, it didn’t sit well with me. I guess because I never connected Eren to have any romantic feelings (though I guessed so much when it comes to Mikasa and he simply wanted to be cool or something). But AOT in itself doesn’t display love in the way we usually see, that became very clear to me with each new chapter. And love is not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about AOT.

Now about Eren.

Oh boy, look at that. When Eren slowly became the villain I liked the idea but at the same time I was questioning it. It simply made no sense to me why he would want to kill everyone and yet care so deeply about his friends. Also, Isayama is not that sort of person to let his characters act out of character. Whatever the characters I agreed with it because that was how Isayama created them. That's why, when it came out that Eren was able to see the past, present, and future, I thought he probably saw a way to stop all of this and protect his friends. Isayama played us good, when Eren was rude towards Mikasa and Armin and then the rumbling came, but I constantly thought 'No, there must be more to it'. And yeah, Eren saw a possible future because everything was unclear to him and he grabbed that chance and took it.

Remember in the first season, when Eren, Levi, and Levi's squad were fighting against the female titan and that Eren has to decide what he should do and what not? That he has to accept the consequences? Yeah, Eren did that and he knew it was bad but it was the way he believed in and saw, even if it meant to kill 80% of humanity (what the...) and sacrifice his own life. I don't see Eren as a hero nor as a villain. But he definitely acted on his own free will and accepted the consequences.

Now about Mikasa.

Well, I'll be honest, I was never a fan of Mikasa. I didn't like how she was solely focused on Eren and didn't seem to have her own goals that were not connected to Eren. I simply didn't like that and Eren wasn't my favourite either, but I love their development. The moment I started to feel sorry for her was when Eren said he hated her. You see, I get it, I understand why Mikasa is the way she is and I'm simply no fan of this 'I do everything for you, fuck everyone else' especially not in a world like AOT, I also understand the Ackermann Bond (I ship Eruri after all). So I was really pissed at Eren to stomp on her feelings like that because, no matter how much I like or dislike a person, you don't treat them the way Eren did (also toward Armin). From that moment on, I enjoyed her development and when she cut off Eren's head I was sad and happy for her.

So, in many ways, Mikasa is like Ymir, or rather, Ymir is like Mikasa, but on a whole different level. Mikasa, who devoted herself to Eren, just like Ymir did to King Fritz, saw that what he was doing was wrong and she decided to stop him. She loves him still, of course, but she was able to do what Ymir couldn't and she did it for the greater good. Because there is more than Eren, there are more people who deserve to live. I did like that and also that her action was the eye-opener for Ymir. It doesn't change the way Mikasa feels about Eren, and that's okay, but she was willing to kill the person she loves more than anything because it was the right thing to do. Ymir simply couldn't do what Mikasa did because she didn't know better.

About Levi, Erwin's death, Armin saving humanity, Berthold wasn't supposed to die, and just some thoughts about AOT in general.

Now, I do ship Levi and Erwin together and I was sure Levi would die and meet Erwin in the afterlife and then Isayama would out them (haha). But I'm just happy that Levi survived and is now the adopted uncle of Gabi and Falco. He's my favorite character and a lot of things would have ended badly without him. For me, he and Erwin and their squad represented not only a strong force and saviours but also how you probably have to be in order to survive/handle a world like AOT.

So I was shocked, at first, when Levi saw Erwin and the others because I thought he would die, but when the tear ran down his cheek, I could feel how everything fell of his shoulders. Levi never cried, never had time to mourn his comrades because he understood the world they were living in and that he needed to keep on moving. I never considered him as someone cold because he clearly wasn't. But he also never cried and seeing that... finally. And I'm sure he cried some more after everything. I thought he would cry (he was close to though and perhaps did when he was alone) when Erwin died because that fucking broke him.

Their relationship fascinated me even before I started to ship them but it broke my fucking heart when Erwin died too.

And here we come to the part about Armin and Bertholg.

I was so pissed that Armin survived and even more when things just became worse. I thought, in AOT, you can't solve everything through talking. It worked during certain critical moments, yes, but it simply isn't the main key for everything when it comes to the world of AOT.

So, I never understood why Armin had to survive and not Erwin and it became more and more confusing for me as the story continued because Armin, clearly, is not Erwin and he doesn't have what Erwin has. I don't know if things would have been better with Erwin being in charge, but he would have definitely done something while Armin didn't know what to do. Sure, he is younger than Erwin, doesn't have the experience as Erwin does and in his core he is very different, and that's totally fine. Armin is fine the way he is, but during the story. I constantly found myself thinking: 'With Erwin and his mind, we wouldn't be in such a situation'. I once read somewhere that Levi and Erwin are too smart to be fooled by, for example, Yelena. I can't help but agree.

And today, when I read the final chapter and Eren said 'Berthold wasn't supposed to die on that day' and also, that he couldn't see the past and future as separated paths but everything at once I thought, that this is Isayama giving us his version but there are also many many other ways this story could go. Which is, for me, such a sweet and grateful message. We are free to choose our path (fanfiction/fanart etc) and to create a different story, but this AOT version is his version and how he imagined it, or rather, how Eren saw one possible happy end.

I'm still certain with Erwin around things would have been different, better even, but I understand Eren too. I guess, he didn't only choose Armin because he knew things would have a happy ending for his friends. He also choose Armin because of personal feelings. I wonder what would have happened if Berthold survived, was there also a happy end but without Armin? And perhaps without the rumbling? I think it's nice that Isayama did this and that he, basically, points at a different way but it's up to us.

Now, the rumbling is over and so is the power of the titans and in such a world, someone like Armin is the right person to be in. Now it's all about talking, having a proper conversation, creating relationships through words. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Erwin would have been able to do that as well, but Armin is much more diplomatic than Erwin because he doesn't want to fight or kill, it's really the last option for him. Erwin on the other hand wouldn't hesitate, and someone like him was important for the world before the rumbling was over.

Now some general thoughts about AOT now that it's over.

Okay, so, I watched tons of Anime when I was a teenager and the best thing for me was Death Note. But after Death Note I found nothing that really interested me and a lot of weird stuff. I don't know, it simply wasn't for me. However, I continued reading my yaoi Mangas and even studied Japanese for a year. Then, I did hear about Attack on Titan but I was so used to shitty Anime that I thought it would be shitty too (the next best thing I found was Yuri on Ice). However, a friend of mine gave me the first season and I thought, well, why not. I was so wrong and through AOT I found my way back to Anime.

It's not just the story, not just the art-style I like, it's Isayama and his brain I enjoy so much. I'm a very logical person and I like it when stories and things make sense and are connected from the beginning till the end and when it never feels forced but natural, true, loyal to the characters and the world they created. I don't know how he does it but I'm so grateful for AOT and that he decided to share this amazing story with us (even though it was fucking painful and my poor Levi). It's really been a while for me to find a story that caught me like Death Note did many years ago.

So, ありがとう、Isayama-San!

But I'd love to know more about the Ackermans and Levi and perhaps we'll get a book like Answers etc later. That would be great.

[villa-kulla]

Fic Writer Review

Tagged by @fontainebleau22, thanks for the tag, sorry for the delay!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

26 at the moment.

2. What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

722 309. I’d have thought it would be more considering how long some of mine seem to get, although looking at other people’s answers to this meme, I guess 26 isn’t really a huge number!

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

My first fic ever was a little Lord of the Rings experiment for an exchange thing. But my first proper dip into writing for a fandom would have been Breaking Bad, where I wrote for a couple of years before it felt like my ideas had run their course. Then there was a Kingsman fic, and then Mag7 where - similarly to BrBa - wrote feverishly for a couple years until it felt like the well had been plumbed. Oh yeah and then jumped into the Marvel fandom to drop one Marvel fic before immediately jumping back out lol.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

So the Marvel fic has officially just become my most kudoed fic, which is kind of hilarious considering it was a SUEZ! CANAL! FIC! But in my opinion, a good one lol. So yeah, it would be 1. The SamBucky Suez Canal fic, 2. The Kingsman soccer AU, 3. Desert Sand, 4. Chisolm’s 7, and 5. Blue Devils. That last one surprises me, but I guess it was an early one for the fandom, so I think it became an automatic read.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not

I do! It’s possible I’ve missed some here and there, but generally I try to get them all.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t think any of them! While my fics definitely include angst, ideally it’s still in a fun way, or at minimum, bittersweet? I don’t generally want the last taste in a reader’s mouth to be angst. ALTHOUGH. I really really wanted to include an epilogue to the selkie fic that’s kind of angsty. Basically the story would end, but then many years later we’d see an old man get off a bus on the coastal road, carrying a suitcase. He’d be wearing a suit, clearly back from many years travelling. He’d walk to the coast, back over a hill where there’d once been a little fishing cottage, long since torn down. He’d walk down to the beach and into a little cove where he’d kneel by the water he knew better than anyone. Opening the suitcase he’d take out a box which he’d then empty into the ocean, ashes spreading across the water. He’d take out a folded bundle of cloth and wrap it around his shoulders. Then he’d dive into the water, disappearing into the waves, leaving nothing but an empty suitcase behind him, and a folded pile of clothes.

I loved that ending but I’m still not 100% sure if it was keeping in tone with the actual ending, so I left it out. Maybe one day I’ll go and add it as en extra chapter snippet.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t know if I’d call them ‘crossovers’ exactly, although I did stick Goody and Billy into a Some Like it Hot ‘jazz band on a train’ situation, and I also did a Breaking Bad one that used some elements of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Those feel more like ‘AUs’ though. I like situational crossovers, but I’ve never been super into fics where characters from different fandoms actually interact.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Thankfully not. The most off-putting comment I’ve gotten was someone who - despite being very complimentary - decided to make a full-on laundry list all the anachronisms in a chapter lmao, like what. Stuff like "interesting that this character used this expression when XYZ would only been invented 10 years later!” etc. I’m positive they didn’t realize how it came off, but still, that was kind of hilarious in its.....obliviousness lol. It was special.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do. And I guess I’ve done the full spectrum of ‘fade to black’ to ‘describe every bead of sweat in pearlescent detail’. It really depends on what the fic calls for! I’ve done some I’m quite proud of tbh, but there are others I’d like to go back and have another stab at, just because they felt kinda cookie-cutter.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

There’ve been a couple! I can’t remember which ones specially, but I had some people asking to translate some Breaking Bad ones, and I think a Mag7 one too. I remember someone messaging to ask permission like “We love your fics in Russia!” and that was a very sweet and wild thing to hear.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, I wrote one with @yoporkchopsandwiches! Our Victorian opium dens Breaking Bad AU lol. I was just thinking of that recently actually and remembering how fun it was to read what the other wrote! We plotted out most of it together, and then took turns writing chapters or scenes. But of course while writing you come up with other details or ideas, so we’d then present the new chapter to the other with all the new bits added. And it was so fun to read what the other came up with like ‘omg no way didn’t see that coming/good idea!’ and then picking up their idea from there. In that sense it was almost like improv but for writers.

13. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

That I’ve written? I think I’ve had the most fun with Goodnight/Billy, partly for the time period, partly for the dynamic, but mostly for the plausibility. While I really enjoyed writing BrBa, it felt more like it came from enthusiasm for the show, not the central ship lol. Don’t get me wrong, the chemistry and its potential was extremely fun to write in a fic setting, but I don’t find I actually shipped it while watching the show itself. Whereas it’s been nice with Mag7 to write for a ship that’s actually....more believable lol. 

14. What’s a wip that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Ugh I can’t beLIEVE I have an unfinished fic up on ao3 lol it haunts me. I was sure I was done with Goodnight/Billy, and then early quarantine last year I had a train robbers AU idea, so I posted a couple chapters. But I don’t think my heart was super in it, I was more just messing around with the idea. I don’t want to delete it, but I’m also not super motivated to finish it haha, but we’ll see what happens. But tbh I like the poem summary better than the fic itself:P

15. What are your writing strengths?

Plotting, keeping things moving, and making stories feel visual maybe? They’re almost all movies in my head anyways, so I think I have good instincts for ‘cinematic moments’.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I’m a little lazy, and also ‘end-product oriented’. In some ways it’s helpful to picture the whole fic before you write it, but sometimes it results in some scenes feeling slightly slapdash because I’m just trying to get them out to move onto the next. Like ‘everyone did everything I wanted to in this scene? Great, next.’ I could stand to ‘stop and smell the roses’ more while I write, and actually see what else I can do to improve a scene.

(also if I use a word once it sticks in my head I end up using it like 5 other times in a scene and don’t notice lol, I need to stop that)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

All for it! Depends how it’s done though. I personally find long scenes of dialogue where you have to constantly jump down to the author’s notes for the translations to be distracting. I like when it’s integrated more naturally where actual translations aren’t super important. Like in River Grit, Billy overhears this little exchange between Goodnight and his childhood nanny:

“Ah c’est vrai, mon petit Bonsoir! J’en peux pas le croire!” she cried out and laughed as she embraced Goody. Billy realized with a start that he actually recognized one of the words: ‘Bonsoir’. Goodnight. (insert brief flashback of Goody teaching him the nickname) / “Ma Serafine,” Goodnight said with a laugh. “C’est vrai que tu ne vieillis pas. Tu vas me rendre jaloux, heh?” / Billy had no idea what Goodnight was saying, but he sure as hell recognized Goodnight’s tone for flattery, and it was confirmed when the old woman laughed and smacked his arm.

What they’re actually saying is: “Oh it’s true, my little Goodnight! I can’t believe it!” / “My Serafine, it’s true you never age. You’re going to make me jealous”. But it doesn’t matter because this fic is from Billy’s POV so it’s about how he experiences the language around him, which is why I wouldn’t have included a translation for the reader. If you understand it then it’s a bonus, but the words themselves aren’t really the point! 

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

That lil Lord of the Rings fic.

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Hmm for Mag7 I’ve always liked River Grit and love how it turned out. I also think Ashes feels very complete as a fic and I liked the flashback format. And while it’s not my favourite fic, in hindsight I’m impressed with the Kingsman football fic and how I had to write about 5 different soccer games and make them all feel different and exciting, and not just some variation of ‘He kicked the ball!’ I’m really pleased with how those sequences all turned out.

La fin! Not tagging anyone this time, but please feel free to do this if you see it! I love when people just take initiative to do these things without waiting for a tag (also please tag me in it if you do, ‘cause I love reading these things lol)

[bokutouch]

Hi!!! I was wondering if I could get an eternal matchup pls??

- my names Olivia and I’m 17.

- I go by she/her pronouns and I want to be matched with a male character from Haikyuu!! please.

- My birthday is January 6th, 2004 and I’m a Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon, and Libra Rising (my Mercury is in Sagittarius, my Venus is in Aquarius, and my Mars is in Aries if you wanted to know the rest).

- I’m 5’2, I have brownish-red hair and blue eyes.

- I spend a lot of time doing school work because I’m really driven by it and I’ve had good grades a majority of high school. When I’m not doing schoolwork I enjoy listening to music or going on a walk! I really like going on sunrise/sunset walks bc they’re always really pretty! I try to do community service in my free time because I really enjoy helping others out. I'm currently a summer camp counselor but I hope to be a lab tech one day :)

- If I were to go on a date with a partner I don't really mind what we do, but I like book dates, movie dates, and especially museum dates!! In a partner I'm looking for someone who shares the same interests as me, is kind, has a good sense of humor, and most importantly can understand and work through my emotions with me. I get really bad mood changes so if he can work with me through that I really value it. My love languages are acts of service and quality time.

- I think that one of my fatal flaws is that although I appear kind and respectful when I’m out in public, I have pretty severe anxiety, depression, and anger issues so I struggle with that a lot. I also get really defensive and stubborn when someone says something that annoys me so i kinda never stop talking lol.

- To finish off I’m an ISFP and Enneagram Type 9v1.

- I hope you have a great day! Ty if you do this! ❤

Hello olivia, thanks for coming to my brand new rocket ship!! 🚀

first of all I apologize bcs I'm not really educated about astrology,

so I'll just use your other description as best as I could okay??

I SHIP YOU WITH AKAASHI KEIJI!

"why akaashi?" you might askㅡ

first of all, some part of you reminded me of bokuto.

and some part of you definitely reminded akaashi of bokuto too. it's not a bad thing really.

Akaashi looks at you and think, "ah, she is my home."

because "home" supposed to be comfortable, because home supposed to be familiar. Being with you bring him peace. You are his home, his tranquility, his safe haven.

Most people told him, "God- you are such a boring person, Akaashi." and as the time goes by, he is starting to believe that tooㅡ but thats until you come into his life.

You're one of his classmate. And not gonna lie, at first akaashi only know you as the quiet girl who always buried her nose in books. "If I am boring, she must be a lot more boring than me." that's what he thought of you, bcs really everytime he sees you, its always you and your books. He understands the importance of having good grades, but should you really be doing that everyday?

The first time you two have a really long talk was when one day akaashi saw you still sitting inside your shared classroom, all alone bcs it's almost 6 pm and of course everybody left already. Nose buried deep in books like you always do, but this time he could hear you humming a song- it's a song that he also enjoyed listening to. He never sing in front of other people before, but for some reason he wanted to join your little secret concert at that time, so he did. He sing along to your little hummingㅡ 1 song turn into 2, turn into 3, and you still didn't notice him at all. He laughed a little because "what's so interesting in that clinical laboratory science book that she doesn't even realized I've been here for almost 10 minutes already."

He tapped your shoulder two times, and you jumped at that.

"H-hey? Um, sorry, I just.. I've been waiting here for you to finally notice me but I guess that book is really interesting, huh?" he smiled at you, feeling a little bad after seeing your reaction at his little tap tap on your shoulder.

"Oh, yes... I want to be a lab tech in the future, so um you know, just preparing." you awkwardly smiled back at him.

"Well, uh.. I know you definitely going to be an amazing lab tech one day. I saw you reading tons of books related to that job everyday in class, so... I believe your hardwork will be paid off."

"wait... that was so nice of him." you stared at akaashi who's currently fidgeting with his fingers.

"Thank you for saying that, Akaashi. That really means a lot to me. People have been telling me that my dream job is just that, a dream. Hearing you saying that someday my hardwork will be paid off really motivate me to prove them wrong. I swear I'm gonna rub it on their face once I got the job." you grins at him.

And at that, Akaashi heart beating a little bit faster than the usual. Was it your thankful speech for him? Was it your cute little grin? He doesn't really knowㅡ one thing he knows for sure though, he wants to keep talking to you. From today, tomorrow, and as long as you would let him.

"Hey, uh... it's going to get dark soon. Do you maybe want to go home together with me?"

You could see how nervous akaashi was after asking you that question, so you just nods and start fixing your books into your bag. Right before you zip up your bag, you remembered the main reason you are still in the classroom at that hour is because you were planning to see the sunset on your way back home, "Wait Akaashi, I actually want to see the sunset today..."

"Oh? I usually go home as the sun set due to my volleyball practice. The sight look really pretty if you see it from on top of the hills behind our school. Do you want to go there? I can show you the best spot."

Of course you accept his offer enthusiastically. So yes, that day is the beginning of your friends to lovers type of relationship with Akaashi.

Akaashi confessed to you first.

His friend circle are full of annoying people. They all be like,

"COME ON AKAASHI!! CONFESS YOUR UNDYING LOVE TO OLIVIA ALREADY."

"AKAASHI, DO YOU WANT TO SEE OTHER GUY SNATCH HER UP? HUH? ANSWER ME. AKAASHI!! AKAASHI!! WAIT UP!! "

"AKAASHI, WHAT IF OLIVIA DECIDED TO FALL FOR SOMEONE ELSE BECAUSE YOU ARE BEING SUCH A PUSSY AND WON'T CONFESS TO HER?"

"AKAASHI THIS" "AKAASHI THAT" "AKAASHI" "AKAASHI"

so during your usual study date day, he just decided to straight up ask you to be his girlfriend.

"W-what?" you just sat there for a whole minute because... what if things gonna feel different once you two put a real label to your not so friendly friendship? What if being friends with Akaashi is a lot more better than being his girlfriend? What if he ended up leaving you because he doesn't like the real you? There are so many ugly things that you hide from him, would he still love you the same after seeing all those imperfection? so many what if(s) going inside of your head, so little time to actually process each one of it.

"Umm, you can say no, you know...." all the messy thoughts inside your head stopped right away after hearing that.

"NO! wait, Keiji- I mean, not no to be your girlfriend, its no to me saying no to be your girlfriend." God, its hard to be in love. You can't control your heart, your brain, and now your tongue. God bless your soul, olivia.

"So.... is that a yes to be my girlfriend then?" Akaashi looks really small in that moment. He is still not sure if he can finally kiss you or not. Only being a friend to you for these past 6 months kept him from doing a lot of romantic stuff with you. Kissing you, holding your hands for no reason, hugging you any time he wants to, actually go on a study date with you instead of a childish study day. So now he really won't waste a single time if you answer his previous question with a "Yes" ;

After having a long talk about your imperfections, all your insecurities, and also tons of frustrated tears coming from your eyes, you finally say yes and there you have your new title as Akaashi Keiji's new girlfriend. He definitely got his long waited kiss from you too 🌻.

HEADCANON(s)!!

Bokuto once joined you and akaashi's museum date and he broke a statue hand after trying to handshake the statue. He grabbed the broken hand and show it to you and akaashi with teary eyes. Can't do nothing but running for your life and never comeback to that one particular museum 😭

You and Akaashi have the same love language, "Act of Service" ; So the two of you enjoy giving each other little massage here and there.

Just like you, Akaashi love being helpful for others too, so he really enjoyed the time he spent accompanying you to all your community service agendas. People that you two have been helping together ship you guys so much, especially the elderly couple. They keep saying "You two will make it until old days like us two."

After a long time dating eachother, you two decided to adopt a cute siberian husky that you named "Bobo". Akaashi rejected that name at first, because "Honestly love, I don't like how you picked a name so close to Bokuto's name. Our dog deserves better." You gasped at that, "How dare you, Keiji. This is our son! And his name is Bobo. I don't take no for an answer."

RUNNER UP(s) !!

OSAMU MIYA

SAWAMURA DAICHI

SHINSUKE KITA

alright this getting too long haha.

I hope you enjoy the results, love 🦋

[theendofeverafter]

My personal Ever After High ships

No one asked but I’m doing this anyway. Here are my own EA ships. Maybe I’ll make a separate page or something on my tumblr to list them (idk the lingo here haha). I’ll include my anti-ships at the bottom because there are some I’m personally really opposed to. 

In no particular order:

SHIPS

Darling Charming x Holly O’Hair - This is probably my one of my all-time favorites. Was there sufficient interaction in the show? Hell no, they spoke to each other one (1) time on camera. But they’re perfect for each other, I swear. Darling is a knight in shining armor, and Holly has always dreamed of the whole Prince Charming thing or whatever. She writes fanfiction about it, for chrissakes. Darling can be that for her. Plus, I’ve always pictured Holly as liking girls (no matter what she said in Thronecoming lol). Appling/Dapple is nice, but I think Darling can do better than Apple.

Raven Queen x Dexter Charming - One of the only canon ships, but a good one nonetheless. I really like them together. I forgot which post spelled it out on here, but someone else said that Dexter serves as the privileged, down-to-earth guy who feels misunderstood by his family, while Raven is the rebellious girl from the “wrong side of the tracks”. Even though Raven is still wealthy as the daughter of a king and queen, she’s still an outcast. I love that kind of pairing! Dex is one of the only non-Rebels to treat Raven like a real person. Raven teaches Dex how to color outside of the lines. I think they’re a good match for each other.

Lizzie Hearts x Daring Charming - No, I will not be swayed on this. Lizzie and Daring were the OG ship and another CANON pairing. Let’s dissect: Daring is dared by his friends to get a date with her. She has high standards (as she should) and doesn’t give him the time of day. He has to prove himself to her, not use cheap tricks to get her attention. After he takes her on an adventure (getting her out of her comfort zone), she warms up to him. Then she asks him to keep their date a secret, and he does! He takes the dare’s consequence on the chin to protect her reputation. This is honestly out of character for him, which is why I’m hyping up this otherwise bare-minimum act. This friendship continues into the books, as they interact a lot in A Wonderlandiful World. Lizzie and Daring complement each other, too: she’s a responsible, dedicated princess who never loses sight of what’s important. He’s a fun-loving prince who revels in public admiration. Lizzie can teach him to be more responsible while Daring can teach her to relax and have fun.

Ashlynn Ella x Hunter Huntsman - Not much needs to be said. Ashlynn has a vegan cheerleader significant other and you don’t. Jealous? I know I am.

Kitty Cheshire x Ramona Badwolf - She was a werecat, she was a werewolf.  Can I make it any more obvious? They’re both snarky and mischievous. Plus, Kitty would have a chance to redeem herself after almost outing Cerise and her family.

Briar Beauty x Hopper Croakington II - I’m so sorry for all the straight ships :( I promise the sequel to The End of Ever After will NOT be as straight as EAH. Anyway, Briar and Hopper have so much potential. You can tell that Briar has warmed up to him throughout the series. First it was her turning him down and being grossed out by his frogginess. Then she enlists his help with the True Hearts Day dance (though I have a hunch that this was all thanks to Cupid). Then she tolerates his existence at Spring Fairest (and even saves him from being blown away on the Fairest Wheel). Then she enlists his help again with the recreation spell in Epic Winter. She likes him, people! I think Hopper is a really nice guy and a perfect love interest for Briar, who deserves everything in the world.

Duchess Swan x Sparrow Hood - I will die on this hill. They’re together in the *show* and I can prove it. After they “break up” in True Hearts Day (they were just friends then), you see them in the background together all the time. In Epic Winter, they were together when they were spying on Grimm. Why do they spend so much time together? Are they just friends? Or is there something going on between them? I think the second is much more likely. I love their dynamic and wish it was explored more in the show. Also, someone has pointed out that Sparrow’s necklace is the same shape as Duchess’s earrings. This can’t be a coincidence.

Chase Redford x Justine Dancer - I’ll admit it, this ship came out of nowhere for me. It is entirely based on the fact that I think they’d look good together. Ramona/Justine shippers are entirely valid.

Jillian Beanstalk x Lilly-Bo Peep - My final wlw relationship, unfortunately. I feel like Lilly-Bo is a girl who wants to go on adventures, but can’t because of her needy sheep. Seriously, those animals are constantly crying for her attention. Jillian is freewheeling and can help Lilly-Bo chase her dreams.

Alistair Wonderland x Bunny Blanc - The two most boring Wonderlandians deserve each other. Mattel screwed ‘em up badly. Chase/Alistair shippers are valid as well b/c I don’t even know with these two. I guess I like that they’re such close friends? And that they can’t tell that the other person has a crush on them? Who knows.

Nina Thumbell x Humphrey Dumpty - This is another wtf ship. I headcannon these two as being a year younger than the main EAH characters, and I think they’d be cute together, so it’s a ship. No questions please.

The rest of the characters will either find people outside the school to date or not date anyone at all (yes, I’ve headcannoned Cedar as asexual and aromantic, even as a “real girl”).

ANTI-SHIPS

Raven Queen x Apple White - I think @rebelliouslyeverafter had a great post on this. I’ll link it here.

Rosabella Charming x Daring Charming - This is a personal preference since I’m a hardcore Dizzie shipper. I cringe every time I watch Epic Winter because the show pretended like Daring and Lizzie weren’t romantically involved. There’s nothing wrong with the ship inherently, but I much prefer Daring being the Beast but not in love with Rosabella.

Cerise Hood x Daring Charming - Same reasonings as above, but there’s even less material to refer to with this ship (in my opinion).

Duchess Swan x Poppy O’Hair - Why.

All other ships are fine to me, even if I don’t agree with them myself. And of course, you’re free to ship whomever you like. These are just my preferences.

[bleuspirit]

A take on some “analyses” about Zuko and Katara’s relationship

Ever since A:TLA aired, I have always been (and still am!) a Zutara shipper. I was already around deviantart back in 2008 and so for many years I’ve seen countless arguments and counter-arguments about this ship and almost all of them were in comparison with Kataang (w/c is understandable). Admittedly, I used to agree with the anti-Kataang sentiments back then, but over time (and with age and experience! Ahaha), I learned to appreciate the different ships in ATLA better — even Kataang. It’s just personally, I enjoyed the canon development of Zuko and Katara’s relationship more. I find it more fleshed out I guess — probably because they’re literally the “textbook definition” of relationship development (enemies to best friends kind of thing). But anyway, I’d like to point out that what made me do this is because a lot of the arguments surrounding Zutara and Kataang seem to disregard the canon development of each individual characters, and are specially enclosed in a spicy worded “analysis”. What actually made me see the other ships in a better light are those posts which nicely point out their strengths rather than banking on the weaknesses of the other ships. And since I ship Zutara, I’ll only be talking about their relationship here.

(Long post ahead)

One of the main arguments against Zutara is that Katara wouldn’t want to be the Fire Lady and be the mother symbol of the nation who literally killed her mom. This will be my starting point.

There are already a lot of Katara-centered metas out there which discussed her character development. One of the recurring points in them is that as much as Katara held so much anger against the Fire Nation, The Puppet Master and The Painted Lady proved that she doesn’t take it out on the innocent citizens of the country. Hence, we can safely argue that Katara was mainly angry at those who held power. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of people still overlook this aspect of Katara’s character — even if it’s what makes her more nuanced. This is the Katara that we love. She’s fierce, compassionate, and fiercely compassionate.

Now, in The Southern Raiders, Zuko himself realized this. Katara told him back in Crossroads of Destiny that “It’s just for so long now, whenever I think of the face of the enemy, it was your face.” Katara knew Zuko was the Prince of Fire Nation. She knew that his forefathers started this war. She saw how persistent he was in (her words) “capturing the world’s last hope for peace”. To her, he was THAT “power” that she hated. That blurry image of the Fire Nation that she hated now had a face (of course, there was Yon Rha but Zuko was the prince). “But what do you know? You’re the Fire Lord’s son.” 

And Zuko realizes this. “I think she’s connected her anger about that (her mother’s death), to her anger at me.” And as we’ve seen in The Southern Raiders, Zuko genuinely tried to atone for every hurt that he has caused her. He sought out for her forgiveness, for her to see that he’s a friend that she could rely on. And he did atone himself!

Unfortunately again, most anti-Zutara sentiments seem to brush off Zuko’s entire character arc. Zuko undeniably has one of the best arcs in the history of television entertainment, and he is hands down one of the most beloved fictional characters of all time. But then in trying to deconstruct his plausible romantic relationship with Katara, I often read “but he was a bad person!” or “he’s a bad influence for Katara!”. And honestly, it pains me to read those. We were given one of the greatest scenes in A:TLA where Zuko himself denounced the “Fire Nation Legacy” against the Fire Lord himself. A lot of good commentaries about the show expressly said how glorious that confrontation with Ozai was especially when he called him out on his abuse and their propaganda. “What a great lie that was!” As known to us fans, that was already the turning point of Zuko’s character. From there, he broke free from being part of that line of power.

The conclusion of the The Southern Raiders has shown us that Katara no longer viewed Zuko as the enemy; that he was a good Fire Nation guy. And in fact, she has fully accepted that Zuko represented change in the Fire Nation; that he’s not going to be like his father or grandfather. She forgives him and trusts him completely at the end of the episode. That is why by The Old Masters, Katara readily accompanies Zuko to face Azula because she knows that by defeating his sister, Zuko will be the Fire Lord who will bring a new era of peace to the world. She has to help put Zuko to the throne, and Katara knew damn well that she’s capable to go toe-to-toe with Azula. And we could always view this without the romantic undertones.

It’s actually amazing how the Last Agni Kai parallels the Crossroads of Destiny because if Katara still had reservations about Zuko’s intentions, then she wouldn’t be so down to fight in the Fire Nation capital alone with those two surrounded by comet-powered soldiers. It’s so satisfying to see Zuko and Katara’s canon relationship journey (like as friends) come to full circle in that episode.

And with that, I don’t think Katara will hate the idea of being Fire Lady just because of her previous hatred towards the Fire Nation. Putting on my Zutara glasses now (ahaha), as the Fire Lady, Katara will most likely push for education reform debunking the previous propaganda set by Sozin’s era. As shippers, we can only explore as to what kind of Fire Lady Katara would want to be; and I can even see her and Zuko making some changes regarding traditional marriages. Who knows? Only fanfics can tell haha.

We can probably argue that there might be other reasons why Katara wouldn’t want to be Fire Lady (or like a traditional Fire Lady), but surely it’s not because she hates Fire Nation citizens or that because Zuko did them wrong before. I just wish we won’t overlook their character developments often. Yes, Zuko deserved the anger Katara held against him before, but he had already atoned himself to her. We all know that by the end of the series, they would literally and canonically die for each other — with or without romantic feelings.

Additionally, another thing that I adore about Zuko and Katara’s relationship is that they have a strong emotional bond. Of course, it is already granted that Zuko shares strong emotional bonds with the rest of the gaang as well, and I’m not here to point out that he has the best bond with Katara, because in canon, he’s great with everyone. We’ve seen him have a heart-to-heart talk with every member of the gaang. And now for a shipper, I think this is a great foundation for a healthy relationship!

Zuko grew up suppressing a lot of things and he needs to be in an environment where he can freely express himself, especially that he has a tendency to have self-destructive thoughts. And I’m really glad that he got to have that safe space with the gaang. Zuko could openly air out his frustrations and worries to them, and the gaang understands where he is coming from and helps him sort his issues out — including Katara (see: The Old Masters, conversation outside Iroh’s tent). As for Katara, we can safely infer that Zuko is a good listener and makes good responses. (”Your mother was a brave woman.”) If Zutara did become endgame, it wouldn’t have been a stretch since the series have already showed us that his relationship with each member of the gang is healthy. 

The entire show is complex and it was written extremely well that it reflects a lot of things in our world — including relationship dynamics. Meaning, nothing’s really perfect.

Finally, to end this, I’d like to remind everyone that there’s no point in trying to engage in a messy fanwar. Just enjoy your ships in peace and if you don’t agree with one, then don’t go around asks insulting people about their ships. There’s more to life than that. ✨

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Trails of Cold Steel IV:

WHY ARE THEY CALLED CLASS VII?

WHO ARE CLASS VI?

Anyway - I started playing Trails in August, and I’ve finally, finally caught up (yes I know Hajimari I can’t read Japanese) and like... what do I do now?

It’s a fantastic series and I’m so, so glad I picked up Trails in the Sky on a whim last summer

This game was long. Is it longer than the other ones? It felt that way

The best part was the first chapter because Rean wasn’t in it and yeah I still don’t like him!!! But seriously, it was astonishing how much more I was enjoying things without him

I audibly groaned when goddamn bonding points returned in the second chapter

Actually that was a lie, the best part was Any Time My Angel Estelle Was On Screen

I missed her so much

I let her get the final hit of the game against the boss because she’s the best

Speaking of angels I caught three Wazy cameos!!!

Also Gilbert came back and if there had been a camera on me... I quite literally teared up a little I was so thrilled

I hate the curse it is dumb and rips all the nuance out of the characters. People do not need a goddamn evil curse to be swayed to extremes by overzealous nationalism. Trails I know you are better than this, I played Sky and Crossbell

Fav new location was Milsante (liked Alster too, though). I really like going to tiny little outposts and villages in JRPGs, they make the world feel more real

What the hell was up with the Osgiliath Basin? As in, Giliath Osborne??? Is this going to be a Hajimari thing?

Oh yeah, HOT TAKE, Alan Richard >>> Giliath Osborne. I was reading an LP of Sky FC while playing the game, and Richard’s motivation is clearer and less over-complex, more sympathetic, and he’s just generally a far more human character

Alan Richard best political antagonist in the series fight me (Rufus Albarea distant second)

For best supernatural/cult-y antagonist I’m stuck between Weissmann and Joachim. Or maybe Campanella lol

Oh uh speaking of characters named Georg I will never not hate everything about the George and Angie subplot. Angie should have died and George should have stayed evil, or it shouldn’t have happened at all. As it is, it was a complete waste of time - you could take it all out and NOTHING would change

Angie would have been the perfect character to sacrifice as well, she’s just important enough that it would feel like ‘oh shit’s getting real’ but not so important that it’s unbelievable

(like Olivier. I could not fully believe they’d actually kill him, and the moment Laura told me ‘they never found the bodies’ I was like, oh, so they’re definitely all still alive, cool)

I mean, it would be a Bury Your Gays, but honestly... there are things I like about Angie, but is anyone really looking to her as a lesbian role model? I hope not. Yikes

So yeah I guess I hate George now for getting my hopes up and then being boring. Shame

I did the Towa romantic ending, of course. I genuinely think she’s the best match for Rean, of all his love interests

Chaaaracters

Rean: Still the least interesting person. Not a good sign when I’m sadder about the robot dying than the main protagonist yeeting himself into the sun (side note, the two endings thing? Unnecessary and dumb). There is no reason girls would like him this much, blah blah I’ve said it all before. Liked his new hair. Honestly would have respected it if they’d had the balls to kill him off. I basically never even used him in battle lol, Juna became my new team leader

Juna: Honourary protagonist imo. I’ve changed my mind since CS3, she’s my fav new Class VII without a doubt. She’s just really good and full of personality and depth and OH GOD WHY IS SHE CRUSHING ON REAN WHY FALCOM WHY

Kurt: pls falcom don’t try to force this aroace king into a nonsense ship with Sully I liked her but what are you doing, anyway Kurt is great and he got cool new swords and he got to hang out with Mueller, who I adore, I love Kurt

Altina: I also love this little bunny. Her relationship with Millium is so lovely and seeing her grow and become her own person made me so happy and OH GOD WHY IS SHE CRUSHING ON REAN WHY FALCOM I LITERALLY SAID SHE HAS THE BEST RELATIONSHIP WITH REAN OF ALL THE GIRLS BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T DO THAT IN THE LAST GAME WHY DO YOU HATE ME????

Musse: Yeah I’m still not sold on Musse but I liked her better this time! I like a smart, confident girl! Just stop being weird about your teacher and we’d be golden!

Ash: Good boy. Sweet boy. Ash and Joshua game now Falcom

Alisa: Still cannot believe she’s presented as the deuteragonist by the marketing - but you know what? Solid arc, she got some closure with her parents, maybe she and Jusis can get together for tea and complain about their messed up families. She’s never going to be a character I like all that much, but I don’t dislike her. I just wish she hadn’t clearly been written as ‘Rean’s love interest’ before anything else

Elliot: I love Elliot, I really do. I mean, I wish he hadn’t been flanderised to the point of speaking in music puns half the time, but he’s a solid, consistently pleasant character

Laura: Goddamnit Falcom please give Laura anything resembling an emotion regarding her dad dying. Also you tell me she’s kind of oblivious and stuff but we never see it. I like Laura but she really could have been more

Machias: I love Machias, fight me fan base. He’s so funny to me. It feels like, at this point, all he really wants is a nice office job, near a nice coffee shop, where he files papers and sometimes gets to yell at corrupt rich people, but NO, he has to run about in dungeons and fight monsters, and are you FUCKING kidding me, ANOTHER crazy snake cultist!?!? It’s great, he’s the only one who’s just done with it all and love it

I low key headcanon that he and Jusis are kinda dating at this point, but we don’t see anything because the games are from Rean’s POV and they don’t want to tell him because they know he’d be weird about it

Jusis: I still really like Jusis! He’s interesting, and his surrogate brother-sister relationship with Millium is so sweet (yes, I saw that bouquet catch, Falcom, and I hate it, stop it, gross). Awesome to see him confront his brother, obviously I let him have the final blow. Rufus was a great antagonist. Jusis has some of the best development over the games, and is also really fun to use in battle (apparently I am the only one who feels this way though :/ ah well)

Fie: I was surprised by how much I liked Fie’s confession scene, seeing as I don’t like Rean/Fie at ALL. Fie finally gets to have feelings about her dad, and we see her working with Zin at the end! Very happy for Fie, best girl

Emma: Ahhh I still find Emma kinda dull and exposition heavy, but she also had a nice arc, I liked her relationship with Rose, all good

Rose beat me at Vantage Masters for 40 minutes lol

Gaius: It’s still extremely funny to me that Gaius became one of the most important people on the continent *off screen*. And he still doesn’t really do anything. He has his own airship now, I guess. Justice for Gaius

Sara: Kind of faded from relevance after CS1, but I do really like her all the same. And I loved her speech at the end

Crow: At the end his hair got darker and everyone was like ‘you’re back to normal!’ and I literally did not realise he was meant to have been looking different

But anyway Crow is a really good character and I literally never didn’t enjoy him. I love the bit where Jusis and Machias team up to call him a cringy edgelord, because they are right. Crow is fantastic

Towa: Towa has never done anything wrong in her life and all of Erebonia should pay for her therapy

Patrick: I cannot believe how much I love Patrick now, compared to CS1. He’s just such a sweetie. Good boy

Elise: Take her to the sun with you, Rean. Pointless character

Alfin: Is she the heir now? I hope so. She’s such a funny character, not my fav, but I enjoyed her

Angie and George: Should have died, moving on

Celine: I love her, but did she really need a human form? No, no she did not. Great character though

Tita: Special mention, because you know what? I do not like this version of Tita! Like I said, I was reading FC recently and she was so much better there! Now a third of her lines are just her saying ‘Agate’ in various different tones. And it feels like she’s lost a lot of her confidence, where’s the little girl who followed us up Carnelia Tower? I would have preferred them to just not bring her back at all

Duvalie: Haha I love Duvalie she’s great. Stop implying that she’s crushing on Rean. Literally WHY would she. Ugh

Rose: Everything about Rose is great, I would play a full game about her backstory. More Rose

Ships!

Obviously I like Machias/Jusis because I am BASIC

I didn’t like Olivier/Schera back in Sky, but you know what? They sold me. It’s cute (even if I feel Schera’s character was neglected in favour of Being A Love Interest, sigh). Though I’m not sure when Olivier made the switch from ‘Schera is one of many people I flirt with’ to ‘Schera is my one and only’?

But am I the only person who’s kinda on the Oliver/Schera/Mueller train? I’m not normally into OT3s, but Olivier and Mueller have one of the best dynamics in the series, and Schera and Mueller would probably get along great if they were ever allowed to properly interact. And you know Olivier would be down

Like I say, I do not like Jusis/Millium at all, it’s not a ‘I like another ship better’ thing, it just massively skeeves me out because of the maturity difference 

Ash/Tatiana was unexpected but adorable

Patrick/Elise, because I want Patrick to be happy and Rean to be mad

Also Elise/Alfin, sorry Patrick

I hope Anton and Sharon really do get together. Sharon deserves unconditional love and Anton deserves a happy ending

Sharon also deserves to hook up with Sara like once

I also sort of feel like Sara/Claire would be fun

I’ve actually like Gaius/Linde from CS1, I’m happy it’s kind of a thing now!

If Lila/Maybelle is the LET’S GO LESBIANS Trails ship, then Emily/Theresia is LET’S GO BABY LESBIANS

Vincent/Margarita. They’re both horrible people. At least this way no one else has to deal with them

Joining my Kloe/Josette in the ‘crack ships I love that have very, very little canon basis’ is Fritz/Kairi, based on their interactions in that one mission and then that they’re eating together at Mishelam. It’s pretty much just a height differences thing, lol

Miles/Elnan. I have literally no justification for this

Other stuff There was this one scene where Gaius says how nice it is that Mueller cares about Olivier and Mueller just snaps his head round and the scene ends, and I don’t think it was meant to be funny but I laughed for like a full minute

The intro to the music at Mishelam is extremely creepy to me

I love the Pom Party mini game a whole lot

There were... a lot of typos in the second half of the script. It’s massive, so I’m not mad, but I hope there’s a patch at some point

BERYL BERYL BERYL BERYL BERYL I love her

Uh if we’re still doing romance next arc please give us a gay option, no Crow did not count

I hate divine knight battles! I really do! That last one against Ishmelga was really hard and not in a fun way! In a ‘this is bullshit fake difficulty’ way. Please don’t bring them back!

The true final battle, though? FANTASTIC, now THAT is a final boss! One of the best in the series, like that’s such a fun gimmick!

I got it trapped in break state and spammed Heaven’s Kiss/Quick Star, because I’m a strategic gamer 

I am embarrassed by how long it took me to recognise Lucy

KLOE CAMEO!!!

Oh and I assume Kaela is going to be important next arc, since it’s in Calvard?

I love Thomas??? And Rosine???

Why was the grandmaster reveal hidden behind watching the ending twice, why do that? Great scene, though

My theory is that she is Aidios, I will cling to this for as long as possible

I probably have like a million other things to say that I’m just not remembering right now. Look forward to random shouts into the void about it in upcoming weeks, followers

I really enjoyed this overall, despite the problems I mentioned above. It was just fun, I like the cast, the gameplay is great... just a solid game

Trails is a really fantastic franchise - not perfect, but what is? I’ve had such a fun time with it over the past half-year, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Thank you, Falcom, the localisation team, the VAs - stellar job all around

This is normally where I’d end on a joke but like. Nah, I’m just happy. Cue ‘The Whereabouts of Light’