#how many cross-franchise ships are there?

[tamilhobbit]

Rewatched Dead Men Tell No Tales/Salazar's Revenge today and boy, was it a disappointment. Absolute low point of the franchise. Genuinely surprised that the original writers were involved.

On Stranger Tides shows a much softer side of Jack but it's still pretty consistent with the choices he made in the original trilogy, and he has quite a lot of agency in the plot. The film lacks the clever cinematography of the original trilogy but it's still pleasant to watch. The night combat scenes are clearly lit, even if the combat itself isn't as gripping. The plot is weak, but entertaining enough. Not as good as the first three, but not bad.

Dead Men Tell No Tales is just awful. For one thing, it isn't even consistent with the previous films in terms of lore. The trilogy establishes, in DMC, that Jack bartered the compass from Tia Dalma. Here, in a flashback, he gets it from his old captain on the Wicked Wench while fighting Salazar?

Also, there is no damn reason for Will to even be cursed, which is what kicks off the plot. The only reason Davy Jones and crew were fish people was that he neglected his duty of ferrying souls. Will knows this. He knows the cost. He wants to be with Elizabeth every ten years. He would not neglect his duty. There is no inherent turning-into-a-monster curse tied into his role as captain of the Dutchman, and at the end of At World's End we see him returning after ten years, looking perfectly human and normal. Why would he suddenly be cursed after that?

Jack has literally no agency in this film. He achieves nothing and makes no difference to the plot! Henry is the one executing the daring rescue. Carina navigates. Barbossa does the double-crossing and also captains the Pearl. Jack has a fight with Salazar at some point but it's at night, poorly lit, and again achieves very little. Nothing has changed at the end of their fight. None of those clever acrobatics that cripple his pursuers we saw in previous films. The flashback to young Jack was cool, I guess. But his total lack of care when he thinks the Black Pearl has sunk is horrifically out of character.

Again, at the end, he's just sort of... there. He is an object for Salazar to pursue, a distraction while Henry and Carina achieve their objectives and Barbossa redeems himself.

Barbossa has a nice arc, though I think the daughter twist is rushed in order to make us feel sadder when he sacrifices himself. And I quite like Carina. There's clearly been an attempt to place Henry and Carina in the places of Will and Elizabeth, and they've tried to make Carina feisty and driven but in a different direction than Elizabeth, which I appreciate. She and Henry fall for each other very fast, though.

Also, I hate that Elizabeth is apparently dressed nicely and sitting pretty in her beach house, waiting and doing nothing. If she knew that Will was cursed, why would she not be out there doing everything she can to save him? She's the freaking Pirate King. She could not be held back in the trilogy. She's not old, either - she was fairly young when she had Henry, and Henry is clearly old enough to fend for himself now. They could have gone looking for ways to save Will together.

In many ways Dead Men Tell No Tales is just Dead Man's Chest disappointingly remixed - undead crew on a destructive cursed ship with special abilities, led by a captain who can't step on land and has a grudge against Jack Sparrow, controlling horrid sea creatures. A POC witch embodying all sorts of racist caricatures. A Turner seeking a way to free his cursed father, and in love with a feisty girl. Everyone searching for a magical McGuffin that will give them control or mastery of the seas, and they need Jack's compass for it.

It's especially egregiously disappointing after how good the original trilogy was. The plot in those certainly wasn't perfect, but it was tight enough and fast-paced and entertaining enough that you didn't care. The stakes were high, the villains were chilling, and the protagonists were cheekily morally ambiguous in their swashbuckling. The cinematography was stunning. The only real good things about this instalment were the music (which was reused from the previous films) and seeing Will and Elizabeth again.

Comments on Pirates of the Caribbean

So, I rewatch the first one after years bc I was sick by the Johnny Depp bullshit and through his presence would ruin the movie for me, thankfully, it didn't.

- Why don't they make blockbusters like this anymore? The scale of the production, everything feels so real, so damn good. They only used CGI when they needed it.

-Now I noticed that Elizabeth, Will and Jack have "friendship" matching scars, as all the three of them have a long cut on the palm of their hand.

-When Barbossa is about to cut Elizabeth, thinking her blood is the one they needed, instead of cutting her throat (something that was expected of him) he just cut her hand and when even Elizabeth looked confused at him, he says "waste not"

At first I thought that he was being nice, like there's no need to kill her, and this being a Disney movie really makes me think that. But now I get it, he wasn't being nice, he was being a nightmare as he only didn't kill her bc he was planning on SA her as soon as the curse was off. That's dark.

And it's weirdly nice to see how their relationship goes from this nightmare, to Barbossa not only actually respecting and acknowledge Elizabeth as one of them, but also with Elizabeth asking him to marry her with Will. It's like they became buddies at the end, almost lol

-People often praise only Johnny Depp for the success of the trilogy, and yes, he was good I got to admit but he wasn't the sole reason of the movies success. The proof of that is that after Worlds End, the movies went down in quality and will not pretend that the writing and production didn't go down either but the thing is that the characters also were not near as charming, charismatic and just as good as Elizabeth, Will, Barbossa, Davy Jones the crew guys...Jack Sparrow is good but he needs good company to truly shine. And the chemistry they all had towards each other plays a big part in the trilogy success. Jack Sparrow is amazing, but only when he isn't the protagonist.

Edit 1: I've saw the second and third ones again today and damn Hans Zimmer was inspired, the Davy Jones theme is the Best villain theme song (sorry Darth Vader)

At world's end, who also is the Will and Elizabeth theme(with some minor changes) is so good. It's not only good, it's a masterpiece. One of my fav original movie songs ever.

-Elizabeth arc is so well done. From damsel in distress, to pirate, to pirate queen. And it was natural, didn't feel forced at all. Even when she was damsel in distress, she wasn't helpless. In the first movie, after the ship battle, she launched herself at Barbossa , to punch in bc she thought Will was gone. She was always fierce.

And now in the second and third movie when she already knew how to fight...she became a menace.

-And Elizabeth lost her dad, her friend and the love of her life in like, just a few days. Damn. And all of the men she kissed, died lol. Jack, Norrington, Sao Feng and Will, and they all die right after kissing her. I bet she has some sort of "black widow" reputation among the sailors

-Jack really cared for both Elizabeth and Will, and we can see it in the scene when he told Elizabeth that her father was gone and when Davy Jones killed Will. And it makes sense cuz Jack was important in their journey from day one, and he saw their growth from naive young adults to pirates.

-Without a doubt, one of the best trilogies we have.

[scrunklyshinyguy]

ctfu xunami's been flirting with tessa testicle on twitter since yesterday and im LIVING!!!

[clayderogatory]

i still find it so interesting how leon is just so incredibly popular within the resident evil fandom. like...i remember seeing this one screenshot of a poll (i dont have it on hand) but it was like a vote for people's favorite resident evil character and leon had like way over 20k votes and then the next character in second place didn't even cross like 10k votes or smth. like it's actually insane...

as much as i do love the other characters of the franchise, i really do think leon is like the poster boy child of resident evil with how popular he is. hell, i remember hearing how many people complained about like him being "too much of a simp" for ada in RE6 back in 2012 so capcom heard their complaints and really toned down their relationship in RE2R and RE4R. like if you compare how the og re4 leon and ada act with one another vs remake its a HUGE difference

AND ANOTHER THING how everyone ships everyone with him too...listen for me i dont really care unless its not illegal/pedo shit...if the art or fic is cool...its cool!!! i just think its a little funny is all

anyways moral of the story leon isnt being let down for a while now especially with games with him as the main protagonist having the most sales and just how popular of a character he is. (till hes 90) like people who dont really know the franchise will probably have heard of leon kennedy before, like hell, i got into resident evil because i watched my girlfriend play re2r and i thought leon was cute and it became my special interest

anyways i love this little blondie freak a lot and i think hes pretty neat 😼

[bluebutlikenotalways]

Laddies we got an Au

Long post below the cut and some disturbing imagery, so be advised.

So it takes place after Pearl sunk Abalone and his fleeting. This time however her sisters actually stuck around to check on her after everything and actually managed to help her open up…some how.

Though her heart wasn’t stained black she will never be the same.

However she was able to build up the strength to talk to Lord Oyster again. She never fully forgave him for giving away her pearl, but he was there after the attacks to take care of the pirates who had somehow managed to avoid dying to take them to justice. This showed the mermaids that some cookies could be trusted. Because of this Pearl became a guardian for The House of Oyster and oh boy did that do wonders for their reputation!

With her making peace with all her pain she didn’t fully become Black Pearl and is kinda grey(-ish purple) I need to work on her design a bit more obviously, but she followed a lot closer to Crimson and takes her job as a protector seriously enough. Some may wonder if she enjoys a good fight more than defending her friends.

Also her sister and Frilled Jellyfish have her tokens to try and brighten her up some.

Through all this Lord Oyster swore he would redeem himself to his moon (she asked him not to call her that anymore lol) So he dedicated a good chunk of resources to trying to locate her pearl! This mission was passed down through the generations until finally…

Oyster Cookie had finally gotten a big lead and was able to send one of the best captains and his crew out to try and recover it.

Unfortunately they ran into a slight problem.

The sea the pearl was said to be found in was rough and could capsize a ship twice their size. Caviar wanted to go alone, but with a crew as stubborn as he they braved it together as one! (Candy Diver died in a different accident and Caviar still managed to find them and bring them aboard because he’s just that good at sniffing out crew mates.)

Alas it wasn’t just a storm.

It was a trap.

A band of pirates forged a letter hoping Oyster herself would show up so they could get a nice tidy ransom, but when a harder than nails crew showed up in their place they were far from pleased.

The Salty Shark crew hold their ground well, but being outnumbered four to one never seems to end in your favour.

Caviar was the last to go down and was thrown overboard to his watery grave like the rest of his crew. After The Silent’s crew was demolished completely the pirates set out to “commandeer” her, but immediately things started to go wrong for them. Things went so wrong that at least two were killed on their scramble to get off the boat while many more met their soggy fates as they threw themselves overboard in preference to whatever was on their with them.

Guess what movie franchise this is based on :D

As the legend says the captain pulled himself up out of the deep that night and sails his waters of the Duskgloom searching for his crew to bring them safely aboard and finally leave that damned place. However the captain’s kindness runs short with strangers who cross his path, especially those who fly the skull and crossbones.

The Silent is still under his full command and all orders are carried out will full efficiency.

Now Oyster wanted the return of her pearl to be a surprise with a big celebration after, but when the captain never returned and those she sent to look for him disappeared she had few other choices than to send her most capable guard.

[minijenn]

Aftter a very lengthy time, I am finally open for writing and art commissions again!

As per usual, feel free to send me a PM through any of the above channels to request yours! Also, bear in mind that all payments will be processed over PayPal and that that all commissions must be paid full price up front before I will start working on them. Also generally all prices are negotiable but I will uphold to the above prices mostly (though the line is blurred a little for the bigger projects)

As for what I’ll draw, basically here’s that list:

Art Commissions:

Universe Falls stuff (regular, AU, hypothetical stuff, you name It and I’ll pretty much do it (with some exceptions of course)

Stuff for these fandoms:

Gravity Falls

Steven Universe

Owl House

Amphibia

Kingdom Hearts (extra cost, see above) (also includes Keys to the Kingdom based art)

Legend of Zelda (extra cost, see above) (also includes Shades of the Sea based art)

Disney (Any of their animated movies fit, also Pixar)

Other Nintendo franchises (Mario, Animal Crossing, Metroid, ect.)

(anything outside this stuff… I’m not very likely to have any talent in drawing, so be aware)

Expect pretty much anything to be in my usual styles, as seen above, unless you have a specific request for a different style (which could cost a little extra, depending on how challenging it is)

The most characters you can request in a colored character sketch is 6 (there is no character limit for uncolored)

I will draw character death/blood/violence/gore/ect but not in an explicit manner

Here’s what I won’t draw:

NSFW (like at the very most I’ll draw a kiss tbh)

Ships I don’t support (and if you ask for one of these, I’ll let you know if I won’t go for it)

Fandoms/crossovers I’m not familiar with

I do reserve the right to reject or accept requests based on personal reasons!

Writing Commissions

These are pretty much only gonna be for drabbles and oneshots and the prices are as follows: 

$10 per 500-1000 word drabble 

$20 per 1000 word oneshot

+$5 per every 500 words over that base 1000 (max I’ll do is 5000 words)

As for the kinds of writing commissions I’ll be taking, basically any theme/AU/prompt goes, but keep in mind I’ll only be writing for these three things:

Universe Falls (this includes all of its AUs)

Kingdom Hearts/Keys to the Kingdom (includes AUs as long as I’m familiar with them/comfortable writing for them)

Legend of Zelda (any game/includes AUs)

And as for the rules of these writing prompts, they’re as such:

I won’t write any sort of porn/smut/lemon, other gross stuff

I won’t write for any ship I’m not familiar with/comfortable with

I won’t write anything with any non-canon OCs in it, sorry fam, they’re yours, not mine

Any and all tones are allowed, from teeth-rotting fluff to the angstiest of angsts

Be as specific as possible when requesting a writing prompt, just so I can make sure I’m giving you what you want (i.e. include a brief blurb of a plot you want me to tackle, or if you don’t have one in mind, a quote or a prompt works too! Heck, even just a character interaction you might want to see me take on is fine)

Lengths are negotiable, everything here is by a case by case basis 

Again, I do reserve the right to reject or accept requests based on personal reasons!

Feel free to forward any questions you may have my way! As mentioned before, please send commission requests via PM please!

Commissions will likely remain open for the next week, depending on how many I end up getting. Very excited to see what ya'll have me draw/write this time around ^_^

[kynimdraws]

INFO POST

Name: Kylee (they/them). 30+

A totally normal Korean American mostly known for my drawings, specifically my Pokemon nuzlocke comics. But I will talk about other things on occasion because I do have periods of being fixated on certain topics. I also am a doctor!

Interests: Pokemon, League of Legends (everything except the game lmao), Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Mother series, Korean history/culture, character design

General FYIs: 

General inquiries/commission work/etc should be sent thru kynimdraws [at] gmail [dot] com! Tumblr messaging/asks/etc is not 100% reliable

I will not follow NSFW accounts but I am fine talking/interacting with them. There may be suggestive shitposting but I like keeping my content on the SFW side

I am VERY picky about who I follow/interact with online. Fandom content in particular is a minefield for me aka I have many things I dislike and don’t want to see, even if it might be a popular thing in media that I otherwise enjoy. Therefore, I will unfollow/block/mute liberally. There are times I accidentally block a blog bc I mistake them for bots. So if you got hit with that, just send me an ask or email me

I am very open about what I like and dislike, and none of those things are a direct attack on your sensibilities. I have never gone out of my way to directly send hate or whatever have you if I end up seeing shit I don’t like. My complaints in my little online space ain't a personal attack on you.

My ask/submission box/DMs  are open for criticisms if you have any issues you want to resolve in private. No one is perfect and I may have done ignorant shit that needs to be pointed out. I have deleted or edited posts in the past if people tell me what I did wrong. PS I get that some of my stuff may upset you, but try to act civil when pointing shit out please.

I try to tag all my things whenever I can. Again, send me a message if anything bothers you. I am all for good debate but if you send me excessive hate or threats bc I have different opinions about matters that are trivial, I will block/delete them.

If you wish to use any of my hcs, please credit me. And if you are comfortable with it, send me the works so I can check them out! Or @ me if that is easier.

---

FIRE EMBLEM FYI: Specifically for 3Houses/3Hopes because I need a separate one for this franchise specificially given how many crazy things I got due to being involved in this fanbase via my fanworks:

DO NOT try to convince me to like or tolerate Byleth/student ships, ESPECIALLY the ones with the lords (aka CIaude, Dimitri, EdeIgard). I already summarized why I don’t like FE3H Byleth ships with student chars here. While the spinoff game FEW3H has now removed that teacher/student problematic situation, the fandom keeps putting the FE3H elements into the FEW3H fanworks (i.e. remembering Byleth from “another life” trope)...so no thanks!! DO NOT SHOW ME IT!!!

As for the Byleth ships with faculty members, my response is here so don’t try to bait me about that topic either thanks.

I do not care whom you ingame S-support. 3Houses limits the dating-sim part of the game to that character, so I cannot care less about how you play the game. The main issue I have is when people treat Byleth the “character” as a legit ship material when I personally think they are a cool character ruined by fans who are too obsessed with badly executed self insert otome tropes bc they self-project super hard onto them. Just to be clear, any FE3H or FEW3H OC/Canon >>>>>>Byleth ships personally. Even Byleth-sonas that remove the teacher/student aspects are better than canon FE3H!Byleth

Please don't drag FE VA statements as some sort of “gotcha” on my opinions like this post here. IDC what other people prefer with ship shit, that’s their problem and not mine. I am not gonna bother them about it. So don’t bother ME about it.

---

Links to check out:

Myths of Unova + Episode Grey (Pkmn White/White2 Comic)

Tales of Sinnoh (Pkmn Diamond Comic)

Art Site (Portfolio)

Twitter 

Instagram 

[isitisitearlymichael]

I think there’s a mentality in the Stranger Things fandom, or certainly outside of Byler spaces, that Byler is just another m/m ship.

What do I mean by “just another” m/m ship?

We all know there’s a long history of shipping male characters together when the show they were in clearly had no intentional romantic subplot.

M/m shipping has existed since the days of Star Trek - and it’s existed for many different reasons. But over time, it’s developed a bad reputation because fans of those ships were reading into things way too much and had so much hope that something might happen to those characters, only for them to end up incredibly upset and frustrated by the end.

There has also been a lot of accusations of fetishisation.

Some of this is also because especially in the early 2000s/ 2010s, these shows used to play on those hopes and have a lot of fun exploring “bromances”, where the writing would be intentionally stirring the pot, but not crossing the line enough for there to be any real plan to take things further.

What’s really important here is that Byler are NOT that kind of ship.

There would never be this much animosity if Will was Mike’s female best friend from childhood.

Yes, there would be a Byler vs. Milkvan war. That would never change - but the excuses as to why Byler have no possible chance of being together would be entirely different. Because yes, their arguments can currently include that Mike’s in a long term relationship, or that the 1980s environment would make it difficult for them to be together, but that’s about as realistic as the arguments have been.

Compare the circumstances to other canonical unrequited love stories

Take away all of the analysis about why Mike might be gay or Bi or even interested in Will in the first place, and just look at the plot in its bare bones state.

Will is canonically in love with Will, and Mike is canonically unaware of this and in a relationship with El.

There are SO MANY examples of this sort of love triangle in fiction, and most importantly there are more scenarios than there aren’t of this love becoming requited. It’s so normal for an audience to see a scenario like this and wonder if this is going to be one of those stories.

What’s happening instead is a lot of heteronormativity.

And that’s either down to the environment that Stranger Things fans find themselves in (people still live very unexposed lives) or they are just generally ignorant about anything that isn’t really in their face or what they want to see.

So there’s a heck of a lot of fans who didn’t even recognise that Will is gay, or just disregarded their assumptions and played up the “slow to grow up” narrative because they were more comfortable with that kind of story, or could relate to it more.

And so from their point of view, because they didn’t see anything, it couldn’t possibly exist. Bylers were seeing things and making them up. Now, after the Duffers and Noah confirmed things, they’re finding a lot of comfort in instead taking some of this fandoms bigger reaches (don’t mean to offend here, sorry) and using them as ammunition instead, e.g. Finn glancing at Noah’s lips for a millisecond during a take.

But the main point I’m getting at is that people who are dismissing Byler are not recognising that this is a traditional love triangle premise.

Now compare the canonical story to previous m/m ships

So because there are some similar activities happening in this fandom to what has been seen in those previous famous m/m ship fandoms, many Stranger Things fans are dismissing Byler as an imagined ship.

But how many of those old ships were able to boast about actual confirmed feelings, albeit one sided, with time left to explore things further?

There is absolutely no reason why the Byler ship resembles any of those “bromances” or queer baiting storylines in previous franchises and fiction.

This isn’t me saying that Byler will 100% become a couple

What I’m saying is that if nothing happens between them in season 5, that doesn’t undo the fact that Byler are a legitimate ship. It doesn’t undo the fact that Will’s feelings for Mike are canonical and that their storyline follows the premise of a traditional love triangle story.

There are people out there who are already trying to make Bylers feel stupid or ashamed for even exploring the potential of the ship, and all they’re doing is showing us how incredibly ignorant they are.

But that’s not to say that lessons can’t be learned from those previous m/m ship disasters

The one thing you should take from them is that people did get really attached, and so being let down by the show really hurt. It’s fine to speculate about Byler, but please don’t set your heart on them and let it break.

If we start to get legit info or confirmation that the ship won’t be requited, please don’t let yourself fall down the rabbit hole of conspiracy and set yourself up for disappointment.

But we have no legitimate reason to rule out Byler right now

The set up is there, the filming looks positive and the Duffers haven’t said anything to dispute the ship’s potential. Speculation is more than allowed - it’s normal and an inevitable result of season 4. So let’s have as much fun as we can and know that we’re doing nothing “deluded” or wrong.

[shibaraki]

❄︎ ─ END OF YEAR REC REPORT: THE SHIP AND GEN EDITION

hi lovelies. as the year is coming to an end I wanted to work with my followers to compile a rec list of fics that have stuck with us as one massive thank you to all of the writers in our corner of tumblr/ao3. below you will find ship and gen fic from multiple different fandoms, and everything is in alphabetical order. I am grateful to all of you for the amazing work you do, and to those who participated!

fics: 37 fandoms: 9 total word count: 2.3m...

❄︎ HQ

ampersand by infantblue [ONESHOT] [37K] #: miya atsumu x hinata shoyo - post timeskip - pretend relationship - hurt/comfort - anxiety - falling in love

Atsumu confesses to Hinata on a dare and everything falls apart.

atsu101: how to fall in love with your fake boyfriend by solyn [MULTI-CHAP] [110K] #: sakusa kiyoomi x miya atsumu - university au - pretend relationship - slow burn - fluff - growing comfortable with intimacy

Atsumu needs a fake date. Sakusa needs a fake boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong?

channel: jackal by aka_aka_aka [MULTI-CHAP] [340K] #: multi - social media au - timeskip arc - humour - fluff - romance

MSBY Black Jackals' Jacksuke-kun!! ☑ @.MSBYJacksuke Jacksuke here with an announcement!! 🥁🥁🥁 We've started a YouTube channel!! Trailer's already up and on Friday next week at 8p.m. JST, we'll tell you who you'll be seeing most often (not everyone wants to be on camera after all). See you all then!! 🖤🖤 897🗨 • 16.4K⟲ • 33.3K♡

don’t talk to me or any of my fourteen children ever again by meregalaxiesandgods [MULTI-CHAP] [39K] #: gen - ukai keishin x takeda ittetsu - families of choice - hurt/comfort - team dynamics - implied child abuse - fluff - angst

Ukai Keishin was not—and had no interest in becoming—a father. He’d somehow become responsible for fourteen children regardless.

how to not fall in love with your flatmates twin by ionica01 [MULTI-CHAP] [46K] #: sakusa kiyoomi x miya atsumu - university student sakusa - pro volleyball player atsumu - coming of age - fluff - falling in love - canon compliant

Kiyoomi and Osamu are flatmates, the student life is not rose-colored, and Atsumu shows up at the most unexpected times in the most expected places. Kiyoomi is... dealing with it.

getting it right by akaashism [MULTI-CHAP] [46K] #: kageyama tobio x hinata shoyo - best friends to lovers - pretend relationship - mutual pining - idiots in love - light angst - eventual sexual content

“I just—” he swallowed, bracing himself. “I need you to pretend to be my partner for a few days.” Hinata’s eyes grew wide and something like hurt flashed over his face. “Pretend? I thought we were partners! At least on the National Team. Aren’t we?” Tobio restrained the urge to smack him upside the head. “Not like that, idiot! I mean, partner in life! Like a boyfriend!” Hinata’s mouth snapped shut.

new horizons by popplino [ONESHOT] [10K] #: iwaizumi hajime x oikawa tooru - growing up together - animal crossing - friends to lovers - mutual pining - hurt/comfort - fluff

Oikawa always figured he'd end up falling in love with Iwaizumi, but he didn't expect for it to happen through a video game. Or: Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and the Animal Crossing franchise, through the years.

never stood a chance by litalana [ONESHOT] [9K] #: kuroo tetsuro x kozume kenma - fluff - jealousy - feelings realisation - coming out - love confessions - getting together

When the entirety of Nekoma finds out Kenma is gay (which was never meant to be a secret), Kenma becomes the focus of many of his male classmates. He could really live without all these love confessions though. So could Kuroo, for that matter.

no thoughts required by tawaki [ONESHOT] [9K] #: miya atsumu x hinata shoyo - friends with benefits - sexual content - heavy pining - introspection

It's the same shit, just on a different day: Atsumu is sleeping with Hinata. Atsumu wants to do more than sleep with Hinata. And Atsumu is—regrettably, completely, pathetically—whipped.

other boys in other ports by buttonstuck [MULTI-CHAP] [26K] #: sakusa kiyoomi x miya atsumu - science fantasy au - space sailor miya atsumu - bartender sakusa kiyoomi - fluff - sexual content

It’s stupid, waiting a year and a half for three meager days. Three days is all Kiyoomi gets, because he’s in love with a sailor who only makes port every few months. A sailor who has other lovers in other ports across the galaxy. But Kiyoomi can be happy being a warm bed, if it means he gets those three days every few months with Miya Atsumu.

that should be me by dillpicklechipsenthusiast [ONESHOT] [10K] #: iwaizumi hajime x oikawa tooru - love confessions - fluff - crack treated seriously - pining - first loves

After a disastrous night, Iwaizumi only has one solution for dealing with his drunken confession to his best friend: enlisting an unlikely group of friends to help him run away.

vren by icandigelvis [MULTI-CHAP] [100K] #: kageyama tobio x hinata shoyo - mythical beings and creatures au - historical fantasy - slow burn - fluff and angst - protectiveness - creature kageyama tobio

It was the boots that caught Shoyo's attention. They looked new and expensive sticking up from the tall grass, visible from the small trail he was walking on. He cautiously trudged closer, almost against his will. What Shoyo didn't notice, however, was the creature watching him; blue eyes following the oblivious human.

❄︎ BNHA

accidental (problem) child acquisition by shadecrawler [SERIES] [209K] #: gen - canon divergence - foster parenting - social services - child neglect - emotional hurt/comfort

After Aizawa Shouta's famous Quirk Assessment Test where he chews out his newest Problem Child for lack of Quirk Control and tells him blatantly that he can't become a Hero, he finds out two things. That Midoriya Izuku's Quirk came in on the date of Yuuei's Entrance Exam and that he is now in need of a foster parent. And it just so happens that Aizawa Shouta is in the best situation to raise a kid with such a self-destructive Quirk.

as small as an elephant by feelingstabby [MULTI-CHAP] [43K] #: gen - quirk accidents - animal transformation - fluff - angst - platonic cuddling - parental aizawa shouta - hurt/comfort - trauma

The one where Izuku and his sensei are turned into cats and have to learn to trust each other while struggling to find their way back home.

cardiac arrest by amournfulhowlinthenight [MULTI-CHAP] [190K] #: gen - psychological thriller - canon typical violence - kidnapping - character studies - character death - metafiction - revivals

All of the dead at Kamino Ward had been accounted for, sans one. One body had been pulled from the rubble, lifeless and limp, and taken away.

candy canes and christmas crackers by bigdorkenergy [MULTI-CHAP] [103K] #: bakugo katsuki x todoroki shouto - fake dating - christmas - fluff - romantic comedy - mutual pining

“So….your huge family somehow all think that you have a long term boyfriend and are insisting that you bring him to your week long Christmas family reunion?” Despite his efforts the end of his question raised in pitch as Kirishma swallowed down a giggle.“How does that even happen?” Kaminari added popping some of the hashbrowns Bakugou made into his mouth. OR Your classic holiday romcom where Bakugou needs a fake boyfriend to bring home for Christmas and Todoroki is willing to take that bullet

conversations with a cryptid by amournfulhowlinthenight [SERIES] [187K] #: gen - canon divergence - metafiction - midoriya izuku centric

The man was over a century old. There had to be more to it. In hindsight, it hadn’t been one of Izuku’s better ideas.

ground walker by kinguo [TWOSHOT] [42K] #: bakugo katsuki x todoroki shouto - slow burn - canon compliant - pining - fluff - angst

Tired of the way Bakugou Katsuki is treated unfairly, Todoroki takes matters into his own hands (though with careful scrutiny) to solve what he thinks is an issue. He doesn't expect to see new sides of one Bakugou Katsuki though, and he doesn't expect to become maybe a little more curious than he previously let on.

he calls you kacchan by bdugo [MULTI-CHAP] [50K] #: bakugo katsuki x midoriya izuku - introspection - friendship - pining midoriya izuku - oblivious bakugo katsuki - fluff - physical affection

After Katsuki apologized to Deku, they hadn't really gotten the chance to just exist with each other without some sort of life-threatening, world-saving shit going on. So Katsuki is picking up where he left off by extending his hand to Deku in an offer to rekindle their friendship, if that’s what Deku wants. Of course, Deku very much wants that, but the degree which Deku wants Katsuki in his life comes as a bigger surprise to Katsuki than anyone thought it would.

(phone) call for help by rejectscanon [MULTI-CHAP: ONGOING] [96K] #: gen - todoroki family centric - canon divergence - child abuse - angst - hurt/comfort - escaping abuse - sibling relationships

Touya wants nothing more than to get him and his siblings out of their house and away from their father. To do this, he makes a last-ditch attempt and calls into Present Mic's radio station.

message delivered by dekusneakers [MULTI-CHAP] [20K] #: bakugo katsuki x midoriya izuku - manga spoilers - pining - hurt/comfort - texting

Kacchan: i miss you [2:03am] Kacchan: that was a typo [8:16am] Kacchan: go fuck yourself [8:17am] In which Katsuki grieves in the only way he knows how. With rage and double texting.

🔒 my (favourite) person by deviance [ONESHOT] [6K] #: bakugo katsuki x kirishima eijirou - established queerplatonic relationship - mild aphobic behaviour - asexual bakugo katsuki - hurt/comfort - alcohol consumption

Kirishima squeezed his hand, leaning into Bakugou’s other hand in his hair. “Have I told you lately that you’re my Favorite Person?” Bakugou huffed a quiet laugh, nose scrunching a little like it did when he was hiding embarrassment. “Only every day, hair for brains.”

no, I’m not afraid of hard work by froggenbie [ONESHOT] [12K] #: bakugo katuski x midoriya izuku - manga spoilers - friends to lovers - PTSD - fluff - shared trauma - literal sleeping together - hurt/comfort - getting together

Around the anniversary of the war’s end—of Izuku’s vigilante phase, of All For One’s return, of Katsuki’s death—Izuku gets clingy. Katsuki deals.

reconcile by whatagoodegg [MULTICHAP] [150K] #: gen - canon typical violence - imprisonment - slow build - hurt/comfort - platonic intimacy - forced proximity - angst with a happy ending

Midoriya and Shigaraki get hit with a Quirk that basically locks the both of them in an indestructible box and makes them unable to physically harm each other. The only way for them to get out? They have to reconcile their differences. Obviously, this is easier said than done.

❄︎ JJK

at the end of the world by freckledgeto [ONESHOT] [20K] #: itadori yuuji x fushiguro megumi - post-canon divergent - road trips - emotional hurt/comfort - yearning

Megumi does this routine everyday without difficulty. But he’s already awake when his alarm goes off today, like he was the day before and the day before that one— so he reaches over and turns it off and doesn’t move from his bed for another ten minutes, staring at his blank wall instead. Because it’s the beginning of February, and Itadori Yuuji only has one more of Ryomen Sukuna’s fingers to ingest before he’s set to be executed in the morning.

eternity enshrined by apartment [MULTI-CHAP] [134K] #: ryomen sukuna x fushiguro megumi - canon typical violence - time travel - dubious consent - sexual content

Transported back in time, Megumi must rely on the only familiar face in Heian Japan. Ryoumen Sukuna, a curse to some and deity to others, decides to keep him.

hey son, I killed your daddy by missingnooo [ONESHOT] [5K] #: gen - parental gojo satoru - character study - canon compliant - hurt/comfort

Gojo admits something.

heart on my sleeve by katarasvevo [ONESHOT] [2K] #: itadori yuuji x fushiguro megumi - yearning - injury - intimacy - friends to lovers

Megumi’s throat unsticks. “You can’t—you can’t just say things like that,” he murmurs, quickly averting his gaze. “And I thought you liked girls who look like Jennifer Lawrence.” Itadori gives him an odd look. “Yeah. Girls.” He smiles sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. “Never said anything about the guys, though.”

moth light by chuuyasoup [ONESHOT] [1.3K] #: gen - sneaking out - fluff - friendship

Shoko stops in front of the sports drinks, gazing at the wide selection. “What’s so interesting?” They look up, twin grins in place. Shoko squints, then dismisses the possibility that they’re making fun of her. An inside joke, more likely. “The sugar content,” Gojo says, waving a can of sweetened coffee. He snickers. “Yeah, the sugar content,” Geto parrots, and then they both burst out laughing.

❄︎ MP100

out of body by bobmoss [MULTI-CHAP] [50K] #: reigen arataka x serizawa katsuya - slow burn - case fic - mental health issues - hurt/comfort - recovery

Serizawa's recovery seems to be going so well, but then he suddenly develops a habit of accidental out of body experiences during panic attacks.

❄︎ BALDUR'S GATE

all our missing parts by viraaja [MULTI-CHAP: ONGOING] [30K] #: halsin x astarion - smut - touchstarved - ritual sex

Halsin discovers Astarion was turned before his maturity and all the sacred elven rites that come along with it. Including the sex one.

friday nights by sadinasaphrite [MULTI-CHAP] [28K] #: gale x astarion - university au - modern with magic - getting together - blood and violence

Professor Gale Dakarios loses his research, his magic, and his lover Mystra all at once and only has himself to blame. When he goes to drown his sorrows, he meets a pale stranger with mysteries of his own.

❄︎ GOOD OMENS

flowers from hell by entanglednow [MULTI-CHAP] [40K] #: aziraphale x crowley - slow burn - idiots in love - pining - romantic gestures - sentient plants - family bonding

In which Aziraphale makes more of an effort to be involved with Crowley's interests and hobbies.

❄︎ MARVEL UNIVERSE

"the more you say the less i know (wherever you stray, i follow)" by notcaycepollard [ONESHOT] [22K] #: bucky barnes x sam wilson - mature - canon typical violence

It starts in the desert.

my big fat wolf wedding by aggressivewhenstartled, galwednesday, quietnight, silentwalrus, skellerbvvt [ONESHOT] [12K] #: bucky barnes x steve rogers - supernatural elements - wolves and vampires - fluff - accidental marriage

“I can’t just promise him a ring, take him home, drink from him three times in a row and then wake him up the next morning to say oops, just kidding!” Steve casts around, looking at his wreck of an apartment. “I don’t even have any good champagne!”

❄︎ PERSONA 5

the definition of insanity... by twilight_starr [MULTI-CHAP] [183K] #: akechi goro x kurusu akira - time loop - canon divergence - hurt/comfort - suicidal thoughts

...is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. They're disjointed. Confused. And Akechi isn't giving him anything to work with.

❄︎ FINAL FANTASY

the strength of a thousand by toastedcatbrea [MULTI-CHAP] [147K] #: sephiroth x cloud strife - time travel fix-it - romance - comedy - everybody lives

Cloud Strife was older than most of the typical cadets, but his blue eyes burned with the strength of a thousand men. The Firsts (and Zack) find out exactly how strong he really was.

[crossovershipstournament]

Crossover Ships Tournament

🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆

Are you passionate about a ship between two people from completely different canons? Were you big into those Disney edits from some years ago that had entire plots focused on two characters from different movies falling in love? Did you come out of the Jimmy Timmy Power Hours with some Thoughts? Maybe you started shipping something as a joke, and now you’re deep into an AU where they’re engaged with an adopted penguin baby from Antarctica?

If any of the above apply to you, then you’re in the right place! Welcome to the Crossover Ships Tournament! Whether it’s two characters from a canon loosely connected by the same property, characters who once shared a crossover or two, or even a random anime character with a Disney princess, we’re here to see which pair of canon-crossed lovers can beat the odds and make it to the winner’s circle!

🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆

Further details/rules below:

Rules:

Characters must come from different, unconnected canons.

Characters from multiverses, rebooted canons, canons that span across multiple series, media whose entire gimmick is being a crossover, reboots, etc, will all be judged on an individual basis, as there are so many tiny details on what a crossover could mean on a technical level. If you have any questions on whether a ship counts or not, just ask!

Two characters per submission, please! We support polyamory here but it simply wouldn’t be fair to pair up a duo with a whole polycule.

No ships with real people, please! Also no MCYT characters, unless they fall under the Mogar Clause (that being; they are eligible if they originated from a MCYT series but ended up in another media that is separated enough from the source to be its own thing, and the character its own character rather than just an extension of a real person). Other than that, you’re free to submit characters from whatever franchise you want, but I will have the final say on what characters and franchises I want in the tournament.

In the wise words of my buddy, Roman; meme ships are acceptable as submissions as long as you ship it for more than just the memes. If you’re going to slam Sansmaeda or SansReigen into my submission box, you’d better do your hardest to convince me you ship it fully and unironically. Silliness and earnestness go hand in hand but the earnestness must also be present!

Following up on that, if you’re only here to point and laugh at the ridiculousness of the submissions, I humbly request you leave. We’re having fun here, and while a lot of it is very silly and acknowledging that silliness is well and good, this is being run by someone who has always loved crossovers and crossover ships. And I can only assume those who will be submitting ships of their own likely feel the same. This is a contest for love and appreciation, not cruel mockery.

Infodumping on how you came to ship your submission is ENCOURAGED. I wanna know as much info as you’re willing to give, even if it’s ‘I just thought they looked cute together!’ Maybe I’ll even publish some of the infodumps I like beneath the submissions that get in, with permission from the writer of course! But even if I don’t end up doing that, I’d still like to see them anyway!

Fan art submissions for the bracket pics are welcomed and will be accepted via the submission option on the blog. Please either provide proof that you are the artist or provide proof of explicit permission from the artist with your submissions, otherwise it will not be considered. All artists will be credited, and all art is welcomed! Even if you so much as smush two screencaps together! (It’ll be one less pair of screencaps I’ll have to smush together, hint hint 💗)

If you’re looking for a similar competition focused on non-romantic crossover dynamics, please follow the counterpart blog of @crossovernonshipstournament, run by my aforementioned buddy Roman! This one is strictly romance-based, while his is more focused on non-romantic dynamics! For the sake of avoiding any confusion or mini-heart attacks, I’ll be tagging any posts from his blog as #NonShip. 

More rules will be added as needed, and submissions will be open until an undecided date that is subject to change, depending on how many entries are initially submitted.

[Submission Link Here] SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

Automatic Entry Ships (No Need To Submit):

Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera (Ducktales 2017) and Clover Ebi (RWBY) Gyro Gearloose (Ducktales 2017) and Hazel Rainart (RWBY) Gandra Dee (Ducktales 2017) and Winter Schnee (RWBY) Dewey Duck (Ducktales 2017) and Whitley Schnee (RWBY) Mogar (Xray and Vav) and David (Camp Camp) Jimmy Neutron (Jimmy Neutron) and Timmy Turner (Fairly Oddparents) Jane Porter (Tarzan) and Captain Amelia (Treasure Planet) Max Goof (Disney) and Yakko Warner (Animaniacs) Huey Duck (Ducktales 2017) and Wakko Warner (Animaniacs) Dewey Duck (Ducktales 2017) and Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) Wirt (Over the Garden Wall) and Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) Webby Vanderquack (Ducktales 2017) and Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls) Max (Camp Camp) and Phineas Flynn (Phineas and Ferb) Sora (Kingdom Hearts) and Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet)

Happy shipping, everyone! 

🍊Tangy🍊

PS: Have an edit of one of my own submissions that I’m far too proud of to simply keep as the icon alone.

(Blog inspirations: @artificialkids-2k23-official​ @orangecharactersmackdown​ @eggcrackerbracket​ @servescuntcompetition​​ @best-kirby-character-tournament​​ @mad-scientist-showdown​​ ​

(Huey/Wakko fanart by @justadoll​ and @krillconoisseur​, remaining edits by me)

[seraphjewel]

Star Trek Prodigy Season 2 thoughts

This show is everything I love about Star Trek. It may be produced by Nickelodeon, but it doesn't dumb anything down just because it's "for kids." I love how none of the main characters are humans, which not only takes advantage of being animated to give us cool alien designs, but also acts as a great visual for Starfleet's ideals. It's visually stunning and the writing is superb. It gives a season-spanning story while also making time for those wacky space shenanigans we expect from the franchise. It's funny, it's creative, it's heartfelt, it's emotionally powerful. The season finales for both the first and second season had me in tears.

Aside from adding to the chorus begging people to watch season 2, I'm just going to share some thoughts on this season. I tried so hard to watch it slowly but it's easy to binge. I'm now watching through it a second time. Cut for spoilers.

As a fan of the older Trek shows, I love how much the show clearly loves older Trek. We saw it a lot in season one, but since season 2 has the legacy characters in more prominent focus, it's more obvious. They are written with such loving care, every part of who they are is nailed down perfectly. There are so many callbacks and references and small touches that are scattered in the dialogue and visuals. Amazing Easter Eggs for Trek enthusiasts-- and another reason to go back and watch, to find ones you didn't notice!

This season made me much more interested in Chakotay and Wesley as characters. I was pretty ambivalent toward them both when watching their respective shows. I didn't find Wesley annoying, I just didn't care for him one way or the other. So having him return as this slightly unhinged Time Lord made him so much more appealing to me as a character. The fact that he was willing to go to some extreme lengths in order to get the timeline just right was some fun gray morality. I also liked that he seemed like he wasn't always sure when he was in the timeline. It reminded me of Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy game. And that made perfect sense coming from someone who could jump through multiple timelines just through thought. Wesley was complex, intriguing, and I'm so glad for him and his actor. He deserved it.

In a similar vein, Chakotay was one of the least interesting Voyager crew members to me. This isn't necessarily his fault. He was going up against some pretty big personalities, like the Doctor, Tom, B'Elanna, Seven, and Janeway. I also don't think the writers really knew what to do with his character. But again Prodigy wrote in some depth and complexity. They actually identified what tribe he was from. Watching the episode where the Protostar crew finds him made me want to write fanfic about Chakotay. That's how good they were at making this guy interesting for me! I loved seeing his slow descent into isolation and bitterness; I loved how almost insecure he was at times; I loved how he took command and led the crew. I'm a fan now and I want to go back to watch Voyager for him.

The season also made me a Janeway/Chakotay shipper. I saw the episodes in Voyager where they were feeling things, but personally I'm glad that they never crossed that line. There are way too many stories with female leads that act like they have an obligation to give her a romance, when the same would not be true if the lead was a male. In my opinion, it was better there was no definite love story for Janeway on Voyager since that was going against expectations. As Prodigy season two told its story, I was definitely picking up on strong love vibes between Chakotay and Janeway. I was convinced they were separated lovers, and when they were together they couldn't keep their eyes or hands off each other. It was excellent visual storytelling. I wanted them to be together at the end. For someone who didn't ship them before (I was more into Tom/B'Elanna), I'd say that's a big achievement for the show.

To sum up, I love this show so much! My only request is they try to incorporate Deep Space Nine somehow. #SetCoordinatesforSeason3

[abarbaricyalp]

do you have any advice for a new writer trying to post on ao3 I want my stories to be noticed (also thanks for not leaving -- so many writers are gone now)

*Looks at my recent hits counts* I'm not sure I'm the best reference for this 😅

I think there are two aspects to getting engagement on fan works:

1: There is the actual work you put into posting your fics. This includes tags, cross posting, and self promotion.

Tags: Make sure you are tagging what is relevant to your fic. AO3 doesn't run on an algorithm, so the way people find your fics is primarily through searches. There is an excellent post on tumblr somewhere that discusses how to accurately tag your work, and I highly suggest starting there! (Post here) Also when tagging, I would suggest considering what YOU would search if you were looking for a fic like this. Quite often, I've found that the tag I was looking for isn't on AO3 yet. Don't be afraid to type in the specific trope or AU you are writing. Look at other tags to get a feel for the structure of the tag, but other than that, have fun.

Also, it may seem counterintuitive, but don't over-tag, by which I mean tagging a bunch of tropes or characters or ships that aren't in your story. It's a fast way to have people disregard your fic instantly, or even mute your name on AO3. Especially in smaller fandoms, I totally get the desire to tag a bigger ship, but it just makes more trouble for you in the long run.

Similarly, on tumblr, keep tags tight. I tend to only tag ship, character (name and superhero name), show/ movie, franchise, and the challenge I'm answering if I am. I know other people tag the actors of the characters. I don't because I know when I go into an actor's tag, I don't want to see fic (of their characters or them either) but that's entirely up to you. But don't tag characters or shows etc that have nothing to do with your fic. This is just courtesy in fandom spaces.

Cross-posting: I admit, I can be kind of bad about cross-posting, but I do find that it helps drive engagement when I do buckle down and get it done. Cross-posting is publishing or promoting a fic on multiple platforms. For instance, I use AO3 AND tumblr. On tumblr fic posts,I link to the AO3 (if there is one, I'm pretty bad about publishing shorter things on here only) And when I publish the fic on AO3, I'm supposed to be linking back to my tumblr. This helps more people see your fic and it grows your community when people are able to follow you on various platforms and spread your fic and kudos around. If you have fan accounts elsewhere and you're comfortable with it, feel free to promote there as well. Also check any discord or group servers you may be on for rules about promoting or channels meant exactly for that.

Self-promoting: this is pretty similar to the above. Because AO3 doesn't have an algorithm, it's kind of up to you to keep interest alive in your fics, especially if you want eyes on it for the first several days afterwards. I know it feels embarrassing to reblog your own fic posts all the time, but it's impossible to tell who may have seen or not seen that you posted a new fic. I don't have any set times for this, personally. I try to catch what I consider active times on tumblr, but that's entirely subjective. It's just trial and error, really. Secondly, don't be embarrassed to recommend your own fics (I'm kind of bad at this) If someone is looking for recs on a specific trope or AU and you know you have just the fic, tell them! Unfortunately, you have to be your own biggest cheerleader when it comes to your own art because no one knows and loves it as much as you do. It feels awkward and I know I get embarrassed if people aren't reccing my fics on their own, but you really are your biggest advocate. Fandom is kind of a popularity contest sometimes 🤷‍♀️ Hype your own self up

2: Now that the technical stuff is done, let's move on to the community aspect of fic posting. (This is not really what you asked for, but i think it's more important sometimes than the actual tags and AO3 procedures) Curating a community and making friends is HUGE as far as readership goes. Especially in smaller fandoms (I assume this is about Sambucky fics/fandom) community is everything. Being a name people recognize and trust is important to regular readership.

Building community: don't be afraid to interact with other writers on this platform or others! The Sambucky fandom has this delightful habit of playfully creating headcanons and ficlets based off of text posts. The Daily Sambucky Fluff Diary project is so much fun and so interactive. I have honestly never been in such a fun, supportive group as the sambucky writers on tumblr. I highly suggest playing in this sandbox and getting familiar with other writers. We hype each other up all the time.

Understanding the rules of play: this is kind of an addendum, but the sambucky fandom is rightfully protective over Sam and his portrayal in fics, as well as Bucky. Reading fics, community interaction posts, and even the rules laid out in various challenges (like the bingos that are hosted at various times) will really help you get a sense of how to respectfully tell stories with Sam and Bucky without being racist, ableist, or disregarding to these characters. Quite often Sam (and Bucky, and especially Sambucky) is only there to prop up other characters. This is something the fandom will (again, rightfully) push back on and avoid. I highly suggest looking at the rules that are laid out in the Sambucky Library's bingo rounds to get an idea of the sandbox rules.

Engagement: the sambucky fandom is small, so we don't really have big organized events like Bangs or Reverse Bangs. However, we do have lots of fun, smaller challenges, namely the bingos! There is also Samtember, the Anniversary Challenge (I don't think that's what we called it) and various prompt week challenges, including an AU week (and we like birthdays here). I highly suggest following @ sambuckylibrary to keep apprised of challenges and prompts. Filling out these prompts when you can and want is a great way to break into the fandom and get engagement with your fics. They are all very low stakes and the reward is new fics, friends, and interaction!

I would also suggest joining a discord server, if that is something you're interested in. (I personally am not in any, but that's because I don't like making new accounts on things, not because I don't want to be part of the fun) This is a great place to interact with other fans, promote your fics, get new recs, and generally reap the fun of fandom in a more condensed space, rather than the entirety of AO3 or tumblr.

One last thing to keep in mind: you've already pointed out that fan fic/art/engagement is decreased in our fandom. This will be reflected in your hits/kudos/comments, especially if you're coming from a bigger fandom. Don't let this discourage you. In fact, I really suggest not looking at stats as much as possible. The wealth of engagement in this fandom will be seen in your relationships and interactions with other fans, not in skyrocketing numbers. Allegedly, Cap4 and Thunderbolts come out in 2025 and our guys look to have an episode in the next season of What-If, but without new content, interest will lag and numerical engagement with it. Just keep this in mind as you begin/ continue your journey into the fandom.

That's a lot of words to say: tag properly, make friends, and have fun ❤️🤍💙❤️🩶🖤🪽🐺

[x0401x]

Hi, if you don't mind, can I ask from this ask game :

https://www.tumblr.com/theclearblue/761071267749265408/anime-asks-because-why-not?source=share

For no. 4, 6, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 23, 24, 28

Thanks if you want to answer whichever that you want.....

Ayyy, sure! Sorry for taking so long to reply to this!

4. Least favorite anime character: Kinoshita Kazuya

This one was hard. I usually have lots of characters I like and lots that I’m neutral about but none that I quite hate. One character that left me particularly grossed out, though, was this guy. I can’t say I hate him, but I’ve never been so instantly put off by a fictional character. The combination of being plain disgusting and stupid with having absolutely no redeeming qualities and nothing going on for him was particularly unsettling. It’s not even that he gave us nothing; he really only gave his worst.

6. Popular anime that you didn’t like: Violet Evergarden

Y’all know me. Y’all know where I’m coming from. 🫠

8. Anime character you’re the most like: Honestly, no idea. I’d like to know people’s opinions on this one.

13. Funnest anime you have watched: This one is kinda abstract. I have no idea how to measure the fun. My all-time favorite isn’t exactly what I’d call “fun” and I have too many that I consider fun animes.

14. Saddest anime you have ever watched: Midori Shoujo Tsubaki.

I know that this one aims to be a lot of things way above its intention to be melancholic, but it’s definitely the anime where I’ve felt worst about the protagonist. The ending is surrealistic yet too real at the same time. It’s probably the anime that had me going “damn, that’s sad as hell” the most.

15. Anime you never get sick of watching: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

I have quite a few anime that I’d rewatch anytime if I felt like it, but this is the only one that I feel like rewatching whenever I see anything related to it. I probably have answered this in every anime ask game I’ve played, but Sen to Chihiro is my all-time favorite anime and movie.

Another anime that I never get tired of rewatching is Gakkou no Kaidan. I used to rewatch it every year on Halloween as a personal tradition when I was a kid and I have a physical copy of all the books in the series. I only don’t rewatch it anymore because I hardly have time for binging nowadays, but if I could do it again? Damn right I would.

16. 10 best animes you have watched: That’s tough! I have a long list of favorites. Aside from Sen to Chihiro, in no particular order:

1. Heike Monogatari

2. Fullmetal Alchemist (I’m combining the first one with Brotherhood here because I love the whole franchise and I’ve always felt that they complete each other)

3. Mushishi

4. Card Captor Sakura

5. Inuyasha

6. Rurouni Kenshin (the first one)

7. Soul Eater

8. Nana

9. Yu Yu Hakusho

10. Monster

18. 10 worst anime you’ve watched (this one is also in no particular order and there’s actually way more than just 10 but here we go):

1. PUPA

2. Diabolik Lovers

3. Drammatical Murder

4. Kaze no Na wa Amnesia

5. Nora

6. Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2025

7. Berserk (2016)

8. Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete

9. Ro-Kyu-Bu!

10. Kamierabi GOD.app

20. Least favorite anime ships: Literally any inc*st and p*do ship.

23. Unpopular character you love: I don’t really have unpopular characters that I love, but there sure are characters whom I love yet a good chunk of the fandom detests.

24. Popular character you hate: Also don’t have any. I’m either neutral or love them. But then again, there are characters that the fandom is obsessed with yet make me feel next to nothing.

28. Most upsetting moment in anime and why: The entirety of Tsurune, lol. Because the novels (albeit not well-written) are leagues above it in content, depth, overall plot and character handling. It’s pretty much a spiritual experience once you realize what the author is trying to convey, which the studio not only didn’t understand but also tried to run from like the devil runs from the cross. Pretty sure the author also wasn’t too hyped about some things in the anime, as implied in one of her afterwords.

This was fun to do! Thank you!

[ryukang1995]

My latest collage of possibly the most prominent ships within my works based on Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Double Dragon.

Ryu x Cammy (American Street Fighter AU)

This pairing largely came from the what-if artwork that Akiman did of Ryu and Cammy's son, but beyond that? I do feel the two have quite a lot in common, especially personality-wise. Plus, Cammy actually admires Ryu in canon.

Guile x Chun-Li (American Street Fighter AU)

The idea of this pairing did technically start with Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie where Guile and Chun-Li teamed up to take down Bison and Shadaloo, but because Guile is more or less the main hero of the American SF AU, it just made sense to pair him with Chun-Li.

Even so, they do have great chemistry together in pretty much the entire franchise.

Liu Kang x Kitana (Main Mortal Kombat timeline)

The pairing that John Tobias intended as far back as the development stages of the first MK game where Kitana was planned to appear as a background character named Kitsune. It eventually was integrated into the canon starting with the 1995 MK movie, and to this day, fans wonder when will they have an offspring.

To me, this is like a mix between a classic fairy tale romance and the traditional tale of star-crossed lovers who may or may not be together in the end. Ultimately, I do want to see them settle together.

Johnny Cage x Sonya Blade (Main Mortal Kombat timeline)

This pairing was technically first hinted at in the MK comics by Malibu, but it first got major focus when it was featured in the 1995 MK movie. Since then, it was hinted at in the 3D games, and it eventually became integrated into canon with the NRS timeline where they ended up giving birth to Cassie Cage.

Despite my ups and downs with the relationship as well as how Johnny was often portrayed in later incarnations (mainly the NRS timeline and the Legends animated films), I do feel it can be done well when given to the right people. It's definitely an "opposites attract" dynamic, for sure.

Ryu x Chun-Li (Japanese Street Fighter AU)

Possibly the most popular SF ship, regardless of it not truly being canon. Many fans, myself included, have always wondered if Ryu and Chun-Li would ever hook up.

Even the SF2 manga from 1993 had it to where Chun-Li had romantic feelings for Ryu, so that might have been one of the seeds that planted the idea of them being a thing in our minds. Since then, Capcom have been teasing fans hard over whether or not they will get together.

Both characters greatly admire each other, and they definitely look cute together. I definitely wouldn't mind it being official either.

Liu Kang x Sonya Blade (Alternate Mortal Kombat timeline)

I would say this is my most prominent ship I have done fan work of, despite it not being the most popular out of these, especially when compared to Liutana and CageBlade.

The pairing was first hinted at in the MK novel by Jeff Rovin, but they never attempted to make it canon, or even drop hints of it in later incarnations. Regardless, I do feel it has great fan art and fanfic potential since the two actually have a lot more in common than you would think.

It genuinely helps that both characters respect and admire each other in canon too. I would also say both this pairing and Ryu x Chun-Li just make sense, considering it's the main heroes and the first ladies of both SF and MK.

Billy Lee x Marian Kelly (Console Double Dragon AU)

While Billy is indeed "player 1" of pretty much every DD game, several of the games also had it to where Billy and Jimmy had to fight for Marian (they were also a trio in the River City Girls games, but I digress).

However, it was the DD games for consoles such as NES that established Billy being Marian's true boyfriend, and so, that is ultimately why it's the case in the "Console" DD AU.

Jimmy Lee x Marian Kelly (Arcade Double Dragon AU)

The official artwork for Double Dragon II: The Revenge has it to where Marian is holding on to Jimmy as he and Billy battle the Shadow Warriors, which did sort of imply that Jimmy was Marian's boyfriend.

Since the arcade games never truly explored lore details, I decided to fill in the blanks as well as take some liberties by making Jimmy x Marian a thing. It also helps that Jimmy is the more mature and stoic Lee brother in this AU while Billy fills such a role in the "Console" AU.

There are some other pairings I left out, such as Ken x Cammy, Kung Lao x Li Mei, and Kitana with both Johnny Cage and Kuai Liang (again, as both Scorpion and Sub-Zero), but I would say these are the most prominent ones.

[maplesamurai]

Soundwave for the character ask, and to be silly Dry Bones too

For Soundwave:

How I feel about this character

One of my favourite Decepticons and definitely one of the major legacy characters of the franchise for good reason.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Shockwave for our fic and just generally speaking, but as for specific continuities, I ship him with Cosmos in IDW1, Sideways in Cybertron, Hot Rod in Cyberverse, he and Megatron are definitely divorced in Earthspark, and this is going to sound like an odd choice, but in Animated I kind of ship him with Slipstream, since while they never met in canon, back when the series had just ended, I read a continuation fic that had them meeting after the series finale and forming their own team of Earthbound Decepticons before eventually forming a romance, which has since stuck in my brain when it comes to shipping those characters where Animated is concerned.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I've always seen Ravage as the cassette Soundwave gets along with the best, and I also loved his friendship with GI Joe's Mainframe in the IDW comics.

My unpopular opinion about this character

As much as I like the Megatron loyalist characterization from the cartoon that's become the definitive personality for Soundwave, I wish we'd see more iterations that drew from other versions of the character, like the self-serving blackmailer he was described as in the original G1 toy bio.

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

I want to see him interact with more of his classic cassette companions than just Ravage, Laserbeak/Buzzsaw and Rumble/Frenzy. It'd especially be fun to see a traditionally loyal Soundwave bouncing off a Marvel/IDW style self-serving would-be Deception leader version of Ratbat.

For Dry Bones:

How I feel about this character

I really like playing him in Mario spin-offs for the aesthetic, and I like the "like other easily defeated grunts except it won't stay dead" gimmick as a Mario enemy.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Can't actually think of any for this one. Probably doesn't help that I see Dry Bones more as a species than as an individual character.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

For this one, I can actually say I've always seen Dry Bones and Boo as a de facto duo in games where they're both playable, and think they should be treated as an official pair the way Peach and Daisy or Wario and Waluigi are.

My unpopular opinion about this character

...Got to be real with you here, I don't think there's that many unpopular opinions one can have about Dry Bones of all characters.

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

If we ever get an all-new classic style Paper Mario game (fingers crossed that the Thousand-Year Door remake's success leads to one), I hope we get a Dry Bones as one of the partner characters.

[cosmos-daughter]

A detailed psychological analysis of Leon Kennedy and his relationship with Ada Wong: the agent's endless struggle with guilt & dysfunctional romance with the spy in red.

The reason why I decided to write this is because I have seen some complaints about Leon apparently "flirting" with someone in the DI movie (not sure who or if he even does, since it's not out yet as I write this) and accusing him of being out of character because of that. I was confused as to why people were suddenly acting as if Leon being flirty with women was something new, surprising or unexpected, since that's a character trait of his ever since 2004. Then I finally got the context and apparently, the reason why they are upset over this is actually because Ada.

It seems the cause of people's frustration is that they expected Leon's flirty behaviour with other women to be gone on the events that are set after Resident Evil 6 in the timeline, since his feelings for Ada were finally adressed in that game. And naturally, many assumed they'd be in a relationship in a recent timeline, and therefore are treating this as a case of infidelity.

Seeing that made me realize that some people, usually fans that are rather new to the franchise and joined the fandom after the remakes, don't quite understand what Leon and Ada actually have going on or what they mean to each other. It is much, much more complicated and deep than it actually seems, and I want to talk about it in detail here while also providing some canon information to prove the points I make.

Content warning: mentions of alcoholism, depression, suicidal ideation and unhealthy coping mechanisms.

─

Leon and Ada’s dynamic is tragically funny. Talk about an dysfunctional, unstable relationship. It is definitely not the healthiest. What they have going on is messy and complicated, sure, but that's what makes it entertaining for us, viewers, and what makes Aeon a appealing ship that many love, even if watching them can also be quite frustrating at times. They are the true meaning of star-crossed lovers -- two people who love each other but aren’t able to be together, a love that’s doomed from the start -- and that's why their relationship has always been presented and described as complicated.

That makes two things clear: Leon has feelings for Ada, and he’s also a hopeless romantic. He knows when she’s using him, he’s not stupid, but he can’t and doesn’t want to let go of her. Anyone can see that, each time they interact you can sense Leon’s hesitancy through the screen, he always seems conflicted, wary, as if going through a dilemma of “which one is more important: love or duty?", because even if she’s the woman he loves, that doesn’t change the fact that she’s shady and has worked for the opposite side before -- for the people that produce bioweapons -- and Leon's determination to keep fighting despite of how exhausted he is comes precisely from his hatred of people who make use of bioweapons and his desire to end this for good. Loving her or not, as long as he's not sure of what her true intentions are, he can't fully trust her. He won’t risk getting innocent people hurt, after all, that’s what he fights for: to protect them. He'd do anything to stop something like Raccoon City from ever happening again. It's the only thing he has. The only part of his old self -- of the Leon that was lost after the outbreak -- that still lives is his urge to protect. Serve and protect.

Following their escape, their paths would cross from time to time, Leon as a U.S. government operative and Ada as a spy. Ada makes no qualms about using Leon when it suits her needs, but Leon is loath to bring himself to be done with her. They don't consider each other enemies, but it's hard to tell how they feel for each other. Complicated is the word that aptly summarizes their relationship.

[File from Resident Evil 6 "Leon and Ada"]

In RE6, he protects Ada from Chris and Helena when they try to kill her, but he’s not sure himself if she’s innocent or not. His uncertainty becomes even clearer during the final scene before they part ways again, when he asks her: “What are you? Why are you helping us?”. Again, he’s not sure of what she wants, whose side she’s on, why she's doing what she does, what he means to her, or anything at all. But even if confused and probably curious, he doesn’t go after her for answers when Helena tells him to. And since RE6 takes place after Damnation (both are in 2012, but the events of RE6 starts in december), I’d say that’s enough evidence that they are not in a relationship at that time, even if they got intimate at some point (also the fact that he shamelessly flirts with Helena at the beginning of the game and he would never if he was in a relationship, since loyalty is a big thing of Leon's character too).

Krauser: What is it that you fight for, comrade? Leon: My past, I suppose. [Optional dialogue from original RE4]

It's also important to mention the reason why I believe Leon accepts to be in a "relationship" like this one even if he knows it's not good for him and yearns for more (even if he doesn't admit it -- he's a big softie: emotional, romantic, loves people and company, of course he wants more than that). I'd say the reason it’s not only because he loves her -- even if that's great part of it -- but also because he doesn't think himself worthy of having a loving, stable relationship. Leon is an alcoholic who suffers from depression, traumatized, barely has any free time to rest and also happens to work in the most dangerous job in the world that could get him killed anytime. So... he's not very boyfriend material. He would most likely spent the entire time thinking the other person deserves better, deserves someone present in their life and who can give them the love and attention they deserve. And with Ada, he’s able to fulfill his emotional and physical needs without having the responsibility of having an actual relationship, and without hurting anyone's feelings, because Ada doesn’t expect more from him too. They both know they can't go there. A romantic relationship is probably something he no longer knows how to deal with, ever since his life has changed so drastically. Hell, he can barely take care of himself. So he's fine with the little that Ada gives him (or at least he pretends), he'll accept whichever parts of her she'll allows him to have. He knows that she’ll never be his, so he has to be fine with having her only for a night. It's no news that Leon Scott Kennedy is the master of self-sabotage, no one is more cruel to him than himself. After all, everything in his life is a mess, his love life would hardly be any different.

What I make up of their relationship from the content they give us and what they’ve been hinting since their first appearance in 1998 is that they’re less than lovers, but definitely more than friends, if you could even call them that. I imagine they have that kind of relationship that sometimes, Ada shows up at Leon’s doorsteps at night after a long time of not hearing from each other and they both missed each other a lot and are also undeniably attracted to each other, so maybe they do sleep together and might even share a very romantic, vulnerable moment (that they never really speak of later) and when Leon wakes up in the morning, her side of the bed is already empty. I think they have the physical, but not emotional intimacy, and if they both know how they feel about that deep down, it doesn't matter -- neither of them have the luxury of doing feelings. They don’t belong to each other and are free to do as they please, but none of them plan on moving on from each other. It’s just two screwed up humans afraid of commitment loving each other messily. Poetically tragic.

Now here comes my favorite part to talk about and the main point: Leon's insecurity regarding of being unworthy of love and peace, originates from his survivor's guilt issues -- his trauma. I always talk about how cruel and visceral Leon’s case of survivor's guilt is, because it's part the character's essence, you can't have Leon without it. That thing is tied to him. It's a stain on his soul. It will always be with him, even if he manages to heal himself one day. Since that night in Raccoon City happened, he lives with an immeasurable amount of guilt regarding every single person that he "failed" to save and protect, knowing they're gone while he’s still alive and breathing is too much for him and that results in a worrisome self-destructive behaviour where he thinks he doesn’t deserve to be happy or a normal life, a break from the horrors. No, he needs to live the rest of his life miserably, fighting incessantly against bioweapons until his last breath, because this is the very least he can do to ‘make amends’ to everyone he ‘failed’ to save. He holds into his failure like it's a hand. A workaholic fueled by guilt and grief.

(EDIT: Leon's voice actor, Matthew Mercer, pretty much confirmed this by saying that Leon holds himself accountable for every death that happens on his watch even if it's out of his control in a interview for the Death Island movie. I'm aware he's the voice actor and not the writer, but he understands his character perfectly, so I find that worthy of mentioning).

Then we have Resident Evil: Damnation only further proving his crystal clear guilt issues. When Leon stops Alexander from shooting himself, these are his words to the man:

“The option of taking our own lives no longer belongs to us. Once we start using these, we owe it to the people who died alongside us, we have to continue living.”

This whole interaction, Leon stopping a man from killing himself and his words hits different when you remember that in the original RE2 Leon actually considered doing the same, and the only reason he didn’t was because to protect Sherry and make sure she was safe (this part doesn’t make too much sense in the remake since Leon doesn’t meet her until the last minutes of the game, but we’re referring to the original events here). The reason why Leon accepted to work for the government was also to ensure they would keep Sherry safe, allow her to live a normal life and not experiment on her (a promise they clearly did not keep but anyway...), even if we all know he didn't have a choice. He still did it all of that for a girl he barely knew. Self sacrifice is a vice of his just as much as alcohol.

He feels obligated to continue this loop of constantly sacrificing his own mental health and safety in this miserable and dangerous life of fighting against bioweapons for that is what he owes to his fallen comrades and innocent victims of bioterrorism. Consequently, he also gives away his chances of having a normal relationship, living like a normal person and also the possibility of having a family in the future. He’s seen drinking a lot in Damnation, including during the day, alone in his room. I think that’s pretty self explanatory.

"To tell you the truth, I even thought about ending it — several times, actually — with just a quick bullet to the head. But I didn't give up. Sherry needed me. She was a 10-year-old girl thrown into a hellish environment with monsters after her, so I had to pull myself together for her sake. She was our reason for not giving up — especially for Claire.”

[Leon and the Raccoon City Incident]

Then we have Vendetta — the peak of Leon's depression — where he's seen drowing in alcohol even more during a mental breakdown after losing his whole team being the only survivor again. More people dead at his commands, following his words, more people dead because he can't be the super-hero he wishes he was, all that while he still breathes and gets to see another day. Leon doesn't have a lot of stability in his life, he's loses people important to him all the time, yet he does not get any used to it.

He questions if living is really worth it in the movie:

“I keep fighting... and fighting and fighting, and instead of seeing an end to this shit, it just keep getting worse. Is this what my life is supposed to be? Fighting the living dead and bastards that make them? What's the point of it all?”

He’s clearly reached his limit and is beyond exhausted, he knows it’s not fair to him and he shouldn’t have to live like this, he’s desperate for a little bit of normalcy, yet he still goes back to fight. He can't run away from duty, and he sure as hell can’t turn a blind eye to bioterrorism, no matter how tired he is. Vendetta is set after RE6, so it’s clear that his relationship hasn’t evolved since then, and it seems that it's been a while since they last saw each other, maybe even years, and maybe that also adds on the reasons why Leon snapped, since Ada is the closest to a constant he's had in his life, the only thing he can always count to come back to him, even if he doesn't knows when.

It’s not hard to believe a man like that would avoid a serious relationship at any costs. But doing that is not easy for him, after all, Leon is very emotional and so fucking lonely and touch-starved, he wants the love, even if he doesn’t think he deserves it. While I have no canon evidence about this, I can see him being the type who gets one-night stands once in a while when he’s feeling too alone and in need for a distraction and relief, I imagine that he feels a little needed and loved when he’s touching and being touched by another person, even if it’s only for the night. But he refuses to emotionally connect with the person, because his heart belongs to another and because he doesn't want to risk anyone falling for him; because something else we know about him is that he has emotional responsability and maturity, he thinks of people's feelings, considers them, and takes it very seriously.

I see Leon’s womanizer behaviour as a coping mechanism for his loneliness and his own way to lighten the mood and make those women not panic during the situation of absolute chaos and danger they're usually in with him. It's also simply because he likes women, of course, I'm not denying that, but his flirting never bothered me because of how respectful he is -- he never takes it too far or make them uncomfortable by being innapropriate (I mean, there's a reason why all the women he flirts with like Helena and Hunnigan adore him, even if not in that way, they all like him a lot as a friend). And we can tell he's not planning on making them fall in love with him by the way he only flirts hardcore with the strong-type of women whom he knows won't fall for him easily like that, and with the softer-type who might actually have a crush on him (like Ashley or Manuela) he's much more careful, mostly friendly -- ocasionally teasing and a little light flirting too, of course, but that's just his way of being playful and nice. Leon is a very charismatic and charmful man by nature, what can he do about it?

So, considering all of this, we can see why having a relationship is not on Leon's to-do-list. No person in their right mind would subject themselves to be in a relationship in which your partner is completely secretive about their work life and having to live with the anxiety of going to sleep at night not knowing if he’s still alive when he leaves for his missions; people want a relationship for security, stability, reassurance, comfort and peace, not to be tormented. And with Ada, he doesn’t need to worry about any of that. She isn’t going to ask him questions about his work nor is she going to stay up at night worrying if he’s going to come back home, because they don’t have that kind of relationship. And it's not that Leon would hate having that kind of relationship -- especially with her -- it's the opposite. He secretly craves it. I think there's nothing he'd love more than laying with the person he loves on his arms at the end of a long day, and seeing their face lit by the sunlight in the morning, or simply doing the typical clingy couple things, the casual affection; but he has a job to do and he knows he can't have both.

I don’t agree with the usage of the word ‘toxic’ to define his relationship with Ada, because that makes her seem like a horrible person when it’s not the case; none of them is forcing the other into this relationship, they both just fall in with it because they know that this is the closest to a romantic relationship that people like them can afford to have. And because this relationship isn't entirely bad for them, we don't know much about Ada, unfortunately, but we know enough about Leon to have a guess that what he has with her is enough to provide him at least a little bit of comfort, and God knows he needs it.

Even if we don't have enough content of her, her feelings, traumas and motivations to write a fully detailed essay, we know that even if she doesn't show it like he does, she loves Leon too. The difference is that she doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve like he does. And yes -- she uses him to reach her own goals during her missions, always plays little games with him, but I believe the latter is part of a façade (I'll get into this later), and she never did anything to hurt him or put him in danger. She’s a focused, calculative woman who will play dirty to get what she wants, yet she often goes out of her way to help Leon every time he’s in trouble instead of considering it a nuisance. Coming from someone like her, that means a lot. She’s the one who throws him the rocket launcher in RE2 during the fight against Nemesis, she’s the one who stops Krauser from killing him in RE4 (original, in the remake it is Luis' doing), she also goes against Wesker’s orders to keep him safe, and helps him many times in RE6 and Damnation too. Ada is always watching him from the shadows and would never let anyone harm him, no matter what. Not to mention, the way she trusts Leon becomes evident with how she always lowers her guard around him in a way you never see her doing with anyone else -- like in that choking scene from the original RE4, no other person would be able to catch her off guard like that. She's completely at ease around him.

Something else I noticed is how Ada only acts cool when in front of him. In the original RE4 you can see how she puts that unbothered, cool and mysterious woman show on when face-to-face with him, but as soon as he isn't watching her, the façade drops and she looks at him as if he's the most amazing person in the world, she has the biggest heart eyes for him, even if she doesn't let him see it. I believe the only scene she showed it to him is when he saves her from Saddler and asks her if she's okay, to which she replies with a weak "I've been better", and gives him the softest smile ever. There is so much tenderness in that look she gave him. Also, the way she talks about him: in the original Separate Ways she compliments his skills and intelligence and refers to him as "practically a genius"; she admires and respects him immensely, even if she'd never say that to his face.

My point with this is that the reason why she does that, the reason why Ada doesn’t give too much for Leon, is because she knows it’s just going to make things more difficult for both of them. After all, leaving would be much harder after hearing a “I love you”, after making promises. They both know how they feel, too, so there is no need for words. As I said before, their love isn’t exactly the healthiest and probably is something that hurts them both, but as long as they can see each other again, they can endure the pain that comes with the separation -- because like Leon said himself in RE4, “she’s like a part of me that I can’t let go”

But no matter how much they love each other, in the end, Leon and Ada are always meant to go to their separate ways.

[maddymoreau]

Dead Space 2 Live-Blog: COMPLETE

Chapter: Seven to Fifteen

Dead Space Complete Live-Blog: Click Here

Part 1: Click Here Part 2+3: Click Here Part 4-6: Click Here

Instead of summarizing the plot I'm going to break down my thoughts into different sections.

Horror to Action:

One big change from the original Dead Space to Dead Space 2 is that it's more of an action game than horror.

I saw someone online perfectly described it like this: Dead Space is like the movie Alien while Dead Space 2 is like Aliens.

I think the transition from horror to action was handled very well. All additions to the gameplay were EXTREMELY fun!! I especially like the hacking mini game, crawling through the vents and the multiple interactive cutscenes.

The original Dead Space is still my favorite, but Dead Space 2 is an AWESOME game!!! If you're interested in the Dead Space franchise I'd 100% recommend playing it!!!

LOOK HOW COOL THESE SCENES ARE!!!

Warning: Jumpscare

Characters:

Ellie Langford:

I think she's a great parallel to Isaac. Both being CEC workers who lost the people they cared about thanks to Necromorphs. I enjoyed her character, I felt bad when Nolan stabbed her eye out and I liked that she didn't let Isaac sacrifice himself.

I thought the callback to the original ending was great!

Dead Space Ending:

Dead Space 2 Ending:

Dead Space 3 Spoiler: I heard there’s a romance between Isaac and Ellie which is fineee. Don’t love the ship, but it's whatever.

Nolan Stross:

Nolan was my favorite new character and the one I have the most thoughts on. He is also a great parallel to Isaac. Both are victims of the Marker and EarthGov.

The entire game I was wondering why they experimented on Nolan, but it turns out you have to watch the animated movie Dead Space: Aftermath for that answer!

The reason EarthGov experimented on Nolan was because he had come in contact with a shard of the Red Marker. It's frustrating that information wasn't clearly explained in the game.

MORE IMPORTANTLY WHY DO I HAVE TO LEARN THROUGH A MOVIE THAT HE KILLED HIS WIFE AND CHILD BECAUSE THE MARKER MADE HIM HALLUCINATE THEY WERE NECROMORPHS!?!?!?

This line from a video log makes sense now:

Nolan: “ . . . it was just a shard -it was just a shard . . . but it put so much stuff in my head . . . so much . . . shit in my head . . . There's no more room . . . for anything. I can't remember what she looks like . . . Why can't I remember what she looks like?"

I feel like that's pretty relevant information to the story!!! Especially since it would've made the scene where Isaac kills Nolan in self defense hit WAYYY harder. Isaac understands how terrifying and realistic the hallucinations can be.

There's also the detail that the Marker amplifies violent thoughts. Explaining some of Nolan's behavior and why Isaac ended up killing Nolan when defending himself. I found it tragic that Nolan's death was how Isaac later figured out the final step.

One issue I have with Dead Space 2 is that the EarthGov experimented on them for over three years, but there's barely any data and text logs in the game about that.

I WANT MORE LOOK HOW SCARY THIS SHIT IS!!!

Shoutout to this reddit post for helping me understand: Click Here

I'm dying to know how Isaac reacted to his first session 👀 Look how terrified Nolan was just remembering them:

When I played the original Dead Space I took SO MANY notes after reading text and audio logs. However in Dead Space 2 they're severely underused.

The Marker:

Throughout Dead Space 2 the Marker is making Isaac experience horrific hallucinations. Constantly playing mind games with him in order to push Isaac into being able to finish the four steps.

Something we've seen Nolan discuss:

There's four steps:

Step One: Crawl inside the dark machine.

Step Two: The screws go tight all around.

Step Three: Cross my heart and hope to die . . . stick a needle in your eye.

Step Four: Acceptance

Nolan was unable to accept what he had done making reaching step four impossible. Also Nolan tried stabbing Isaac and Ellie in the eye so they could accomplish step three.

Isaac was able to reach step four by accepting Nicole's death and letting go of his guilt.

He laters stops the Convergence from happening. I'm still unsure what that exactly is . . . Dead Space 3 is suppose to explain that more. In the process Isaac destroys the Sprawl and new Marker.

Hans Tiedemann:

He's the main antagonist throughout Dead Space 2. Constantly trying to prevent Isaac from destroying the new Marker. I think he's a very weak villain. His goal is to preserve the Marker, because he believes humans are so close to figuring out how to control it. Tiedemann oversaw the experiments happening to Isaac.

Tiedmann: "I knew you were trouble from the start but they told me you were necessary. That your mind was the purest. I've spent years sifting through your demented brain this was not the way it was suppose to happen."

It's a huge shame though that there's no reports about this or flashbacks! Tiedemann feels like an obstacle not a threat.

I liked the detail that the Marker burned into his flesh the word PAIN:

Also Tiedemann reported to someone called the Overseer 👀

Daina:

She felt very pointless. I learned chapter five, which is the chapter she dies, is where the demo originally ended. It almost feels like they shoehorned her in for the demo. The first five chapter felt very separated from the rest of the story.

The Story:

I think Dead Space 2 is a wonderful game!!

The story is solid however I must admit I could care less about the EarthGov in Dead Space. It's a currupt government . . . nothing special. The most interesting aspect of the EarthGov is its conflict with the Church of Unitology. The Church sections were so beautiful and interesting. I want more of that and MORE LORE PLEASEEE I LOVE CORRUPT CHURCHES IN STORIES!!!!!

The Church of Unitology was so pretty look at these photos I got off the steam community page <3

Ranking: Gameplay 9/10, Horror 6/10, Story 7.5/10 and enjoyment 8.5/10.

I couldn't fit it into the review but it was super cool we got to go onto the Ishimaru again! Also that the EarthGov lied about what happened, claiming it was a terrorist attack.