#i mean she's not Really a villain but you get what i mean

[fluff-n-cookies]

Endeavor is not a "good man"

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Dabi is Reader’s father, Reader has blue eyes like his. No use of Y/N

For those who don’t know, this post is related to these

TW: mentions of financial difficulty, POC friendly, reader is a toddler around the age of 5, references to Dabi's relationship with endeavor, FEM READER, SPOILERS!!! scroll down for authors note :p

Pt 1, Pt 2

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At 1 pm sharp, every weekday, school lets out in the neighborhood, children run to their parents cars, walk home, or make their way to the train to go home.

what's unfortunate however, Is that there have been certain individuals spotted around the area.

Villains, I mean.

robbers that natch mothers purses away while they aren't looking, creep old men who watch from a distance, and with the rise of the League of Villains and their speculated hideout being close by, Yokohama's public council has urged for some heroes to take up the extra patrols available in such a... crime infested area. yes.

Endeavor's PR team eventually got wind of this and...

The bell rang, children burst through the doors eager to go home for the weekend, so joyous. only to find something even better, a hero, the new number 1 hero, Endeavor.

Swarmed, that what he was, swarmed and annoyed. but this is what's good for his reputation, good for the community, good for him to stay cool and chill as the youngsters say.

unbeknownst to him however, a harmless little thing lurks around the school building, hidden in shadows like her dad does whenever they go out into town together. She stares like a hawk. at least that's what she tries to look like anyway.

she ends up looking like a tiny wee kitten about to pounce on its mother's tail. how darling.

Dad doesn't like heroes.

she thinks to herself, clutching her new bag tightly, she got it just last week since school just started. It's pretty worn down, they had gotten it from the thrift, but it's also all they could afford at the moment.

especially that one...

she stood there for a moment. hidden in the shade of the ginkgo trees, she shook her head, and made it past the crowd of rowdy classmates, with flame hero endeavor at its center.

she was five now, that meant she would be just fine on the streets of Yokohama. Dad didn't need to take her on the bus and walk her to school and go back on the bus all over again. she could walk on her own to the bus stop, get on the bus, and then dad would walk her back to their apartment. easy. really easy.

at least it may have been if a hero wasn't following her. this one could burn her to a crisp, she'd be all crunchy like the toast and strawberry jam she'd had this morning.

Well, to be fair, from endeavor's perspective, all she saw was a little girl walking down the same route that he was meant to take for his patrol. simple. May as well make sure that she's okay and gets home safely, especially since she doesn't have her mom with her or anything.

she is a small little thing really. Shoto used to be like that, cute and stubby. Rei would dress him up in cute clothes whenever they would go out.

the girl keeps walking, walk, walk, walk, well, more of a slight toddle. occasionally saying "hi" to class mates as they go to their respective apartments and houses and to the strays that wander the alley ways.

where is this girl's house?

more importantly perhaps, where is her guardian?

he should probably introduce himself to her.

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Tags ; @red4-0 @likethegardenyk @suktoru @blurryperrtymoonlight @harkenizalone @lostiolite @rllytriedrn @mellyxqz @cupkiki @xxnessinessiellexx @dehlieee @mossysoup @ijwsbdinp @byul9158 @suksatoru @ssetsuka @savatar-de-mordor @justanotherweeb666 @frog-fans-unite

Ermmmm,I meant to write more, but like, I'm kinda tired, lil' something for you guys to munch on. and likeeee uhhh ssnsadns sand. yes sand. I'llfinsih this part laterrrr

[sylvan-librarian]

RE: Nissa’s Retcon

* * *

About once a month, I get a comment on one of my posts saying something along these lines

“Uhhh, you left out the part where Nissa was a fascist!”

“Nissa was more interesting as an elf-supremacist, imo.”

To be perfectly frank, I think both of these points are stupid and not worth my time, but just to give these posters the benefit of the doubt, I’ll assume they mean well and respond to them, once and for all, this way:

To address the first point, you��re right: in my posts celebrating Nissa and the journeys she has taken, I do tend to leave out material that was retconned. This isn’t entirely true, however, as I wrote an entire essay about this on my Tumblr page, which I doubt people slipping into my comments to post “gotcha!” have bothered to read. But anyway, to assume the best of these posters, let’s take a brief look at this retcon. Outside of a few brief blurbs in the “Duels of the Planeswalkers” video game and her 2009-era character description on Magic’s website, the “racist Nissa” characterization comes entirely from the In the Teeth of Akoum novel from 2010. And yes! In this book, Nissa is a hilariously stupid racist (frighteningly like real racists, imo). However, many aspects of this book were retconned in Nissa’s Magic Origins reboot. To note, in the 2010 novel, Nissa has no idea what the fuck Akoum even is and lets herself get led there by Sorin and Anowon. In the reboot, we learn that, among many other changes, she went to Akoum previously in her life, as that journey is what led to her sparking. Either way, post-Origins, many aspects of Teeth are questionably accurate at best. It’s quite safe to assume that with how horrified Nissa is when she sees Lorwyn elves hunting goblin children for sport that that particular aspect of Nissa’s personality (white supremacy) is no longer a part of her characterization.

For the second point, this one is just crazy, man. I don’t know y’all come up with this stuff. I don’t even know how to address this politely. Keep in mind that I am not by any stretch saying that Nissa is now a perfect cinnamon roll that never did anything wrong ever. Nissa is at fault for not trusting Sorin and setting the Eldrazi free. This is a decision that forever will, and should, haunt her. In the newer lore, she still distrusts vampires and outsiders in her youth because of how she was raised, and this is wrong of her. But Nissa does not distrust them because she thinks she is somehow morally superior to them by nature of birth. Nissa was raised as a member of the Joraga nation. The Joraga, as even the most basic of searches into the Magic wiki tells us, “eschewed outsiders and held even the other elves of Zendikar in disdain.” Nissa carries this distrust of outsiders with her into her adult life and doesn’t really learn to let go of this until she meets the Gatewatch and learns to expand her horizons. And again, Nissa was wrong for this xenophobia. But don’t get it twisted: there is still a big difference between fear and distrust of outsiders and fascist, ‘hierarchy of races’ bullshit. Both are rooted in fear, but for all her many shortcomings, the retconned Nissa of the new lore would never advocate for elves ruling the multiverse at the top of a racial hierarchy like the older Nissa would (and did). This is hammered home in her Origin story where she is horrified by watching Dwynen lead other Lorwyn elves as they slaughter entire tribes because they think it's funny. Furthermore, on the subject of Lorwyn elves, I would argue that old Nissa is fairly boring as a villain, as “racist elves” as a concept was already explored in depth in the Lorwyn stories. An entire planeswalker with that as her bit would get boring very quickly.

Lastly, and I suppose this is subjective, but isn’t a nuanced character, deeply flawed but trying her best to shed the xenophobia ingrained in her more interesting that an unrepentant, racist dumbass learning that “goblins are people actually!” only after she condemned an entire world to death? The latter might be (darkly) funnier, I’ll give you that, but the former makes for a much more interesting and emotionally satisfying narrative arc.

[sailor-hufflepuff]

I’m going to answer in good faith that you are actually curious as to our rationale, and not trolling us.

I never said he saved the world. His priority was, and always has been, to turn Ravka into a refuge for Grisha, so that they had somewhere safe to come.

Two, “expanding the Fold” didn’t mean “plunge the whole world into shadow”. It meant “expanding it into enemy territories as a threat, to get them to stop invading Ravka constantly so the country can get a freaking break.” If he had the power to move it where he wanted to, that gave him leverage to bring other governments to the negotiation table.

Next, in the show we are blatantly shown that Novakribirsk is a military town, at that time mostly filled with a rebel faction that were ready to declare war on Ravka (and also were working with the druskelle to sell Grisha to Fjerda). Were there civilian casualties? Yes. But if that attack prevented a full on Ravkan civil war, then the body count would arguably be worth it.

Stealing Alina’s power was where he really messed up. In him mind, he was basically putting her in time out - he made it obvious that he planned on them eventually being equals, but at that point she was too young and impetuous to be trusted with her powers (especially since she had complained CONSTANTLY about wanting them to be gone). Was it wrong? Yes. Can I see his logic? Also yes. In his mind, the two of them had eternity to figure things out between them, he was just making sure she didn’t screw up his plans in the meantime.

This is where it starts to get complicated. Honestly, nearly ALL of the Darkling’s actions from S&S on are nonsensical, and a total contradiction to everything we know about him before that. The Watsonian explanation is usually that the merzhost he used to survive the Fold after Alina abandoned him there drove him insane.

The Doylist explanation is that the Darkling got popular, and LB got too much push back from the puritanical side of the fandom, so she started making him do All The Evil so they readers would understand He’s The Bad Guy (Really, Don’t Look at the Monarchy).

That being said.

If by “hurt Genya” you mean the scarring in S&S, she was a soldier under his command who actively worked against him in a combat scenario. If you’re referring to her serving in the Grand Palace… that is 100% on the King and Queen, not him.

Attacking Alina’s home and killing her mother-figure (honestly a laughable concept, nothing about Ana Kuya before that implied any such relationship): he was trying to stop Alina. She was fighting a WAR against him, and was the only person with a chance of stopping him.

What should he have done? She’s the one who brought Keramzin into it by sending Grisha there. He didn’t harm the children, whatever he claimed, but he executed her allies.

He is a General. Fighting a War.

Those people he was taking from her? Abusers. Monarchy supporters. Turncoats. In his mind, he was freeing her from their influence. They were the ones holding her back.

Again, I don’t agree with these actions, I think they were not the correct way to handle things - mostly because he SERIOUSLY underestimated Alina’s selfishness and desire to fade into obscurity with Mal regardless of what that meant for the world - but if you remember that these are two military leaders in a war where thousands are dying, and not a YA couple going through a bad breakup…

The logic isn’t hard to understand.

“Heroes” and “Villains” exist in context. If there were someone who was better for Ravka, who helped people and made the world a better place, then yes, he would be an example of an anti-hero becoming a villain in his extremis.

But there isn’t. Literally every other character on the “Hero” side does things just as bad - and usually worse - for the country.

Meaning when you tally the actual outcomes of characters actions, for good or evil… he comes out as the greatest force for good in the entire narrative.

How can you call that person a villain?

Apparently I need to say it again:

While other people may ship darklina because they enjoy seeing the heroine with the villain, I ship them because I DON’T think he’s a villain.

In fact, all things being equal, he did more good for Ravka and the Grisha than all the “heroes” combined.

[arceespinkgun]

Elita-1 and Megatron

So in the past few years, Elita-1 has finally been a prominent character in a lot of TF media, which I'm really happy about. She's also been a prominent character in media in which Megatron is also featured as a prominent character. But something I've been wondering about for a while is... what's the dynamic between Elita-1 and Megatron? Even when they have had interactions in things like Earthspark or TF One, I don't feel as if I could really analyze anything that's there. And that's really odd to me. In the G1 cartoon in which Elita debuted, her backstory actually involved Megatron killing her former self, Ariel! And you would think given that Elita and Optimus Prime had a really similar backstory, that we'd see some intense dynamic between her and Megatron throughout the franchise now that she's appearing a lot... but we really don't. There's so much focus on the battle between Megatron and Optimus, but we don't see that with Megatron and Elita.

So since canon isn't showing much, I wanted to post some speculation/headcanons I have about this. In the G1 cartoon, Ariel is the only one shown to be aware of the Decepticons being dangerous, and as Elita-1, she had to survive in secret with her for millions of years under Deception rule on Cybertron.

Elita-1 pack-in comic from a model kit

In more recent media, Elita-1 sometimes comes across as more ruthless than Optimus does. In the IDW comics, she's almost a completely new character who is morally grey—and in my opinion one of the most interesting and cool characters from that continuity. If you stand against her, she'll just obliterate you. In the Skybound comics that are currently running, she's actually mourning a more violent side of Optimus that he's tried to move away from, and has been so beaten down by the war and resents so deeply how long she and everyone on Cybertron had been suffering for that she wanted to use the Energon Shockwave had harvested from Earth's biomass because she wanted all the pain to mean something.

What does any of this have to do with Megatron? Well, my headcanon is that Megatron is aware that Elita-1 is a powerful warrior, but that she wouldn't be baited by any of his posturing or speeches. And the fact that her values aren't necessarily exactly like Optimus Prime's mean that if she ever had the chance and felt he deserved it, she would just kill him. Megatron gets inappropriately intimate with and fascinated by lots and lots of Autobots throughout the franchise. But I think he's able to sense when this kind of obsession would ultimately empower him and make him mightier, and when it would end up putting him in danger. I think Elita-1 has suffered too much and understands what Megatron is like too well for Megatron to want to engage directly with her, and that he'd instead focus on just using her to hurt someone like Optimus Prime if need be. And in a circumstance in which Megatron isn't quite so villainous and he and Elita-1 work together, I imagine this situation oddly would make her more able to get along with him than Optimus is able to—but that whatever interactions they have are likely to be simply professional as well.

[thisistoomuchworkforausername]

Gushing about Tetro Pink for However Many Words

Spoilers below cut

In the lead up to chapter 4 I started re-watching Tetro from the beginning, to refresh myself on the sheer amount of content after the Great Okazaki Crashout of 25 and look for hints of her inevitable descent sprinkled along the way; and let me just say, Von Babbit's ability to foreshadow is impeccable and hits harder for me than that truck hit Celeste.

Spoilers. I'm not going to be able to do Von's writing justice, if you haven't watched Tetro Pink PLEASE do.

When I say I blood ran cold when KITCHEN TALK popped up, with Sasaki and Isono casually hanging out while Sasaki cooked, I mean it. I'd completely forgotten that this happened, even during the chapter 1 trial on my original watch through. I thought the twist that Sasaki was the killer was good and all, but I didn't really see why Isono would've been in the kitchen to begin with other that than the plot demanded it. This episode is easily forgettable in hindsight, overshadowed by the insanity of the larger uploads like CONFESSION GAME and the investigation itself, and to be clear, that's not a bad thing, because it makes rewatches even richer when you see hints that weren't seen as hints at the time woven into the story so seamlessly. And it's that attention to detail that only grows over the following chapters.

Before this, during Harada's interview, a moment that I found odd originally took on a whole new meaning after Chiba's death. When asked what he'd change about himself if he could, Harada only says that he makes bad choices, and somberly remarks that he wishes he didn't. Up to this point Harada has been one of the kindest, gentlest students, and so this perceived flaw is a little out of character seeming, but intriguing none the less. Still a miss-able moment that only rears its ugly head when TRIAL of the HANGED comes around and we see his poor decision making on full display.

Don't even get me started on Okazaki's interview, when she goes on the rant about one's sense of morality being different than another's. Once again, felt out of place at the time, but it was the first thing I remembered after the curtain closed on Chapter 3 as I tried to wrap my mind around Okazaki's villain complex.

And then there's RESTURANT. The fact that this wholesome, friendship building episode was one giant red flag about Kamimura's leftovers is incredible and hurts terribly.

This is why I caution people against voicing such dramatic hate when the chapter is still ongoing. Constructive critique is natural and vital to the creative process, but remember that each chapter does not begin with a body and end with an execution. We have six in universe days of build up between each murder, give or take, and Von and Co. use each day to build up story beats that WE can only recognize and appreciate in hindsight. This goes for other Fanganronpa's too. Be kind to one another. I don't want to see what happened to Von during chapter 3 happen again.

Okay that got heavy really quick. But back on topic, there's plenty of moments I left out in this rambling or haven't noticed, so please, if ya'll catch anything during rewatches let me know! The smallest details in the early chapters could be the key to solving later chapters, after all : )

[sirius-crowley-immortaltwinks]

IDEK what to say about this

After a few shots of vodka, my roommates and I came up with a chaotic fancast for the marauders. I have notes but there's literally no context besides random shit written down and I figure it would be criminal to not share this absolute trainwreck with everyone so here it is... Chaotic Marauder Fancast brought to you by drunken thoughts.

Marauders

Tom Hiddleston as Sirius Black

Tom Hiddleston would be a good option to play Sirius Black. He has the capability of having a boyish attitude and sass that Sirius has become known for. Also, Adam. Nuff said.

Rami Malek as James Potter

Look at him. He also has the capability of coming up with that sass and attitude. Imagine him riding a broomstick in a quidditch uniform and that is all.

Robert Sheehan as Remus Lupin

This man could play all of the characters, but he is best suited for Remus Lupin. Unkempt look but in an attractive way. Looks like he could be a werewolf. A lot of the same Remus Lupin mannerisms.

Andrew Scott as Peter Pettigrew

A short little Irish man with a very good skill for acting a villain that's cunning and sneaky and that's why he would be a good option. He would be a very good actor to portray the change from friend to enemy.

Slytherin Skittles

Aidan Gallagher as Regulus Black

Aidan Gallagher has the capability to play an angsty character who's a little bit evil and a little bit good all rolled into one. He's also just got the look and the vibe that Regulus is kind of become known for.

David Tennant as Barty Crouch Jr.

This is partially because when he played Barty in the 4th movie, he didn't get nearly enough screen time in my opinion but the other part of it is because, after watching lots of his filmography, I seriously can't think of anyone better to play it. Unfortunately we would need to make him like 30 years younger and we don't have a time machine.

Michael Sheen as Evan Rosier

I told you it would be chaotic. Maybe it's because I can't see David Tennant without Michael Sheen anymore after GO and Staged but he's also quite similar to Evan in my mind and I think he would play the character very well. Unfortunately... still no time machine tho.

Lisa Kudrow as Pandora Rosier

I mean I was watching Friends and she kinda just stuck out to me and that is why she is now Pandora. I think Lisa has the capability to play someone as wonderful, beautiful and quirky as Pandora. Also I think it would be so sweet and interesting to watch Michael and Lisa play siblings.

Valkyries

(I will admit and say that I don't know nearly enough about the Valkyries so my roommates were the ones that came up these)

Florence Pugh as Marlene McKinnon

I don't really think this one needs explaining but I do think she would be best to play Marlene McKinnon. She's got a fabulous look that would suit Marlene well especially with the fanart seen of her. I mean just look at her.

Nina Sosanya as Dorcas Meadowes

Nina's got the spunk and the attitude that Dorcas has. Mainly pulling from her performance in both GO1 and GO2, I think she is just the most fitting to play Dorcas and would act very well alongside David and Michael (as we've seen) but I think would act very well alongside Florence and Robert.

Emmy Raver-Lampman as Mary MacDonald

Has the capability to play a sweet character but could turn deadly and horrible in 0.5 seconds and that's stunning for her and would work very well for Mary. Also the depths from her pain and everything of her friends dying and then eventually obliviating her memory.

Scarlett Johansson as Lily Evans

Scarlett has the attitude of Lily Evans in real life and honestly she would be stunning. I could totally see James falling in love with Lily if she looked like Scarlett which is one of the main reasons we've cast her as Lily.

Now, we all think that the original fancast that is the most popular is perfect and stunning. This is just some brainrot. Anyway, that is all.

[aprillikesthings]

*sobs*

....don't judge me

I really, really love the random scenes where they let Aimee (Adora's voice actor) go off the rails a little

(one of my other faves being the bit in Promise where she's like "clearly nothing in this place is listening to me!!")

speaking of comic relief in this episode lolol

the way Catra's eyes go back and forth really quick right here as she's forced to remember what's happening--it's just so well done

hah, you'll carry her like that again in uhhhhhhhh a season and a half

I've said it before and I'll say it again: how much do they think about all of this, during the year or so they barely speak after this? Like. Catra. Girlie. The universe was shattering into pieces--because of something you did--and she still attempts to rescue you.

I say this knowing damn well why Catra rejects it--even if she was ready to give up on being The Villain, the lack of autonomy here, being "rescued" by Adora, would sting too much. Adora still zapped her into unconsciousness (which is a little too close to the way SW tortured her--not only as a child but recently, like an episode ago!) and carried her onto the skiff even knowing Catra didn't want that.

From Adora's POV she's trying to save Catra

From Catra's POV Adora is rejecting Catra

UGGGH I'M NOT OVER IT I'm not not over this. Catra's furious at Adora refusing to play along in the fake portal reality just a tiny bit longer, she's so angry about it, and then Adora decides to just take Catra out of the Fright Zone. This was always going to fail. This was always going to end up going this badly--Adora thinking she knows what's right for Catra without asking her, and Catra being angry at Adora for rejecting the portal reality (and from her POV, herself)

Like, don't get me wrong, the shit Catra does leading up to the portal is so awful, I know, I've talked about it before

But this episode is nearly Greek tragedy levels of them misunderstanding each other, with disastrous results. They're both trying so hard to love each other in their own way, but their circumstances and previous history mean they're just making each other even more convinced the other doesn't give a single flying fuck about them. Aaaaaaaugh. Jfc no wonder they both get worse after this.

look at her!! she's so conflicted!!!!!! augh it fucking kills me aughghghghdka;hgkd;ajkl she wants to listen to Adora and she just can't let herself do it. she can't. it's going to take her getting everything she thought she wanted only for it to be nothing but ashes, until she thinks she has nothing left but deciding how she'll die, before she can bring herself to stop pushing Adora away.

AAAAUGH FUCK

the nuances of "Come with me" vs "Stay with me" is so much of their problem, fuck

y'know, you just SAID you'd rather let the world end then let her win, and then you grab her collar and yank in an attempt to keep her from falling into the abyss

not screenshotting the look of "eh, fuck it" Catra does before letting go and falling herself

anyway

eheheh

okay. look. i'mma just. watch the kinky bit okay.

i don't need to screenshot that distorted "hey adora" i've done it so many times but lemme just tell you, the physical reaction i have every time is just ridiculous

don't mind me

Can’t wait to engage in one of my fave midnight hobbies: get high as balls and rewatch bits of She-Ra and sometimes post screenshots with overemotional/horny captions

[ilikekidsshows]

I've recently come across a post or two about Chloé damnation again and it included the points "Chloé dismisses and disrespects Chat Noir because he's subserviant to Ladybug and therefore she treats him as weak and as badly as Sabrina"

Which got me thinking about how BADLY this looks when you don't just ignore Marinettes shit treatment of Chat Noir, degrading him as her punching bag pet and eternal scapegoat unworthy of effort and anything else so she mustn't make the tiniest compromise.

Like, if you actually wanna go that route that Chloe looked up to Ladybug and treats Chat Noir like Sabrina, then you can't just skip the step where Marinette's treatment of Chat Noir would obviously validate Chloe in her treatment of Sabrina since Marinette has herself be 24/7 and openly be celebrated and rewarded for treating Chat like a pet to take her moods out on.

Between Queen Banana and Penalteam, there is no way Chloé HASN'T picked up on that from Ladybug. Queen Banana makes a joke out of Ladybug taking her sweet time after Chloé threatened to have Chat Noir beaten into a pile of meat, and in Penalteam Marinette uncaringly leaves Chat Noir behind to be publicly tormented and humiliated by Chloe, just so Marinette can get an unnecessary whole team and play soccer instead of defeating the akuma because her EGO was on the line

In Penalteam, Chat is the one person Marinette never once helps despite knowing he's the one who NEEDS her because he TOLD her he doesn't know how to play soccer. Chloé was on screen fully aware that she can continue bullying Chat Noir however she pleases, Ladybug won't intervene.

These two episodes made that CANON. Chloe learned from Ladybug that Chat Noir is a pet who can be tormented and humiliated however chloe pleases, Ladybug won't do anything because that's how a great leader and hero behaves.

Of course that doesn't give Chloe a free pass from doing so or treating Sabrina like that, but people sure are cherry picking how Chloe having looked up to Ladybug affected her when it comes to Marinette's morally bankrupt scapegoating of Chat Noir.

There is an obvious connection here that people don't wanna acknowledge, but sure wanna play that card anyway.

---

And that's just one example of how the people listing Chloé’s sins should really be more careful, because Marinette has done at least half the same stuff as Chloé, and some of it worse. I know part of the time Marinette has good intentions, but one, that's only part of the time, and two, I’ve said repeatedly that Marinette’s good intentions should not take precedence over the harm she causes.

You can take this approach with a lot of villains, actually, where, if you start listing things that make them a bad person, you’ll end up with a list that’s at least 50% stuff Marinette has also done. It’s not that uncommon for the villains to reflect aspects of the hero, for there to be purposeful parallels between them that show how the villains aren’t pure evil or the hero purely good. But, like, Miraculous seems to do this accidentally, because these similarities don’t get acknowledged by anyone in universe, and the only times they do get pointed out, it’s to show Marinette as being equally good or better based on the arbitrary value of her being Marinette while the other character isn’t.

For example, the only time the show really draws attention to the similarities between Marinette and Gabriel, it’s to prop up her fashion designing skills, how much she reminds people of a younger Gabriel. Yet, when she’s doing the exact same things, devaluing Adrien’s emotions, shutting down his concerns and attempts to reach out and, as of season 6, actively making him miserable through her neglect, no one bats an eye and we’re just supposed to overlook it because she’s stressed and “has good intentions” and didn't mean to do it. Like, what do her good intentions matter when she’s doing the same things to her hero partner and boyfriend as his abusive dad?

I could make a whole list of how Marinette has done a lot of the same stuff as all the most reviled, "evil" characters in the series, but that would take a while, and I have other things going on than writing a dossier of all the things people insisting Marinette is morally superior to Chloé, Lila and Gabriel should keep out of the discussion.

[recurring-polynya]

It's been forever since I recapped a thing, so, hey, who wants to watch 2005 Bleach OAV The Sealed Sword Frenzy with me?

[00:12] Cold open to a temple in the woods that's got roughly 300 shinigami hanging around, chillin'.

[0:23] Who the hell are these guys? Are they Kidou Corps? They don't look like Kidou Corps, but they are chanting a lot and (failing to) maintain some sort of seal.

lol, it doesn't matter, this ain't about them.

[0:43] RIP

We are not even one entire minute into this OAV and already, at least 100 shinigami randos have bit it. Superb.

After this, it zooms out to reveal that all of this is taking place in the World of the Living, aka Soul Society's remote toxic spiritual waste repository.

[1:27] Cut to the Kurosaki clinic, where, as per usual, Ichigo is just trying to have a normal one.

Banter with Rukia ensues, where she accuses him of getting fat (???) and "dressing like a pervert", and also announces that she has been studying the fashion of the Living World (this will be semi-relevant later). By the way, Ichigo's underwear peaks out of the waistband of his low-slung cargo pants repeatedly during this scene (for 2005 ambiance) so maybe Rukia has a point here.

[2:30] Obsessed with this little maneuver Rukia does, diving into Ichigo's closet. Ichigo...pretends to be practicing his interpretive dance. You can tell who grew up an Inuzuri street rat and who didn't.

[2:50] Renji shows up, pretends to be a cop, and shoots Ichigo's dad. We've all seen it.

(don't worry about Isshin, it just hit his hair)

[4:28] Scene change, wardrobe change. We are now at the American Burger, and Renji is wearing his Chappy shirt and dick necklace. Once again, we've all seen it.

I told you the thing about Rukia studying Living World fashion would be important later.

Ichigo tries to get Renji to explain what's going on, but Renji is cagey about--OH MY GOD!! HANATAROU IS HERE! HANATAROUUUUUUU! He's wearing the most amazing shorts I have ever seen. Why is he here? Even he's not sure!!

Renji follows up with:

In my on-going obsession with the way Bleach characters address each other, I love the way Renji calls him "Fourth Division." He's not mean about it, it's almost like he's reminding him he's on duty. Did Renji and Hanatarou get deployed on this mission together? What is even going on? Unfortunately, these are not details that concern Sealed Sword Frenzy, instead we get interrupted with an explosion.

SHORTS!!

[6:28] They run outside to fight the villain, who is a shinigami who is really into knives. Renji attempts to shoot him with his shotgun, which doesn't seem to be very effective. I can only imagine that this is some attempt of the Gotei's to "blend in" or some nonsense?? I guess Renji must be in a gigai if they were eating and Yuzu could see him. Anyway, a thing I want to mention is that SSF has a lot of really good rolling on the ground sequences and I am going to gif them all for you:

How am I only seven minutes into this thing? I have to go eat lunch. I will be back with more in a bit.

Update: Here is Part 2 and Part 3

[hassianlovebot]

i wanted to say thank you for your nice comment on my tamala gifset.. i was legit scared i'd get nothing but negative comments since the majority of fans seem to hate her

oh no problem! your set was beautiful!!

and yeah i get what you mean. i mean,, i guess i kind of understand the hate but some of it seems so,, weird too? like hassian is my favorite character my special little blorbo even, and tamala leading him on and breaking his heart like that sucks no doubt!! but also like,,, i support women's rights and women's wrongs!!! she's hot!!!!!

ajkdhg but seriously even beyond her being really attractive, i think she's also really interesting and i'm hoping that the devs have more planned for her! her using magic is SO interesting and i can't believe some people are ignoring that just because of what happened between her and hassian! i mean don't get me wrong, people are allowed to dislike characters, it's all fiction it's whatever yknow? but i also kind of thought people got past that whole "if a character is evil or morally not the best, that means you can't like them or you're fucked up" like,,, what happened to liking hot lady villains 🤨

[lotus-pear]

i love you royal trio (minus akechi)

[messangerforthestars]

“We need more morally gray characters” you guys can barely handle topaz and jade.

[pmpknsoup]

i actually am a defender of georgie and melanie and basira being mean or rude to jon bc that man really needed to be put in his place sometimes. like i understand that they were also wrong sometimes— basira is hypocritical and the other two could be nastier than necessary, but i literally cannot blame them at all. jon was so out of line sometimes

[lovesickeros]

lord its so dark in here the sahara desert of tsaritsa content you are like a shining oasis. your characterisation of her compels me & mihoyo would be hard pressed to top it imo.!! caaaaan i humbly request yr thoughts on her first meeting w a reader of any kind, or maybe even multiple kinds (sagau, sagau god au, isekai, etc) if you so desire...

it really is like a desert here. being the fan of a character we aren't getting until the last damn nation is driving me up a wall but i will persevere bc if nothing else i support morally bankrupt women in media. we r in a severe drought over here but i do my best. unfortunately nothing i say is ever coherent so pull out your translation notes its abt 2 be messy

also this got out of hand but thats bc first meetings w the tsaritsa are tricky to write + a LOT of her characterization lies in deeper exploration then just surface level yknow...NOT A DIG AT YOU this is just my excuse for rambling. gently pats the tsaritsa she can hold so much complexity i do not have the word count to delve into it completely :]

gonna talk cult au for a bit here though because that's 99% of my content. and honestly? she thrives in sub au's of the cult au like villain au + imposter au. it's basically made for her. i mean, early days, the imposter au had been going around for a little while but one of the first few ideas was the Fatui taking reader in so like. it kinda technically actually was. pretty sure cult au Tsaritsa popped up because of the imposter au. a lot of it's writers kinda left though which. man am i getting old or.

anyway.

there isn't much of a chance her first impression is all that positive. at best it's usually neutral, imo, but rarely if ever positive. specifically because i view the Tsaritsa as someone who isn't as fanatical as most of the acolytes typically are towards the creator. she's not exactly going to worship the ground you walk on unlike a certain geo lizard. which is partially why i think she thrives in the sub au's i mentioned.

imposter au, for example. she meets you at your lowest. there's no gaudy extravagance or pampering from the acolytes waiting for you because your own acolytes have turned on you. for all intents and purposes you aren't a "god" at all. which is why i don't think she meshes well with normal cult au reader. the Fatui are made up of outcasts, basically, and imposter au slots right in just perfectly. you're weak, at your lowest, when you meet the Fatui in the imposter au. and the Fatui can help you, too.

a mutual exchange, really. the Tsaritsa sees a tool she can use to one up the rest of the nations and especially Archons, and she has no qualms about you using her and the Fatui in turn. you both want something out of it, after all. whether you just want to be safe from the rest of the acolytes, or you want revenge, or whatever else..she'll give you the power to fulfill it, and she gains the strongest piece on the chessboard when all is said and done.

the best way i can describe the first meeting is "practical", i suppose. she sees an opportunity in you. the ultimate gamble. because if she "saves" you, and you dont trust anyone else because they tried to kill you, well..she holds all the cards, doesn't she?

but the Tsaritsa, imo, is just as capable of being just as fanatical towards you as anyone else. she just won't worship you as the creator. but as yourself? clawing your way back to your divine power and taking back what belongs to you? the Tsaritsa is, to me, a character who's character flourishes in long-term fics more because she changes a LOT between "just met reader" and after having been with reader for some time. she's practically apathetic at the beginning but a lot of her character, in my characterization, shines through LONG after the first meeting.

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Sasha is like Catra is she was well written

[possamble]

I'm not allowed to be on social media for more than two seconds today but I just wanted to say that Laios will absolutely have his own reaction to all this as someone who would die for Falin but has also imprinted on Marcille as his Emotional Support Comphet White Girl Not-Girlfriend along the way