#i wish they got more screentime to be dumb together

[fordprefectyaoi]

love these guys. the shit twins

[susagnon]

To have: Jammingwhey’s social intelligence

"...whaddaya doin', dunce-face?"

Horikoshi referred to Kirishima and Kaminari as class 1-A’s emotional cores. Out of the two of them, Kaminari flies more under the radar, due to lesser screentime.

How does Kaminari function as one of 1-A’s emotional cores?

Let’s start with a perhaps more unconventional example:

“Flaming crap mixed with garbage” is still one of the more creative insults that appeared in MHA. Alongside Asui, Kaminari took over the quite important job of making the shifting power dynamics between Deku and Bakugou visible:

Bakugou's unrestrained violence against Deku during 1-A's first team assignment, was enough to make the class lose respect for him.

While Bakugou is undoubtedly talented and powerful, he was also blind to the fact, that he was only a big fish in a small pond.

At UA, everyone used to be in the top of their middle schools. Some, e.g., Iida, came from much better schools than Bakugou himself.

Meaning, Bakugou had no reason to prance around the way he did - and it was at UA, where he got served his first humble pie ever: Firstly, Deku fighting back. Secondly, a show of Todoroki's power. Lastly, a very sober but cutting assessment of himself by Yaoyorozu.

In contrast to the kids at his old school - and aside from a traumatized Deku - neither Kaminari nor the rest of 1-A are afraid of Bakugou. Kaminari snarking at Bakugou is him letting Bakugou know that.

To repeat: At UA, everyone used to be in the top of their former schools.

I just feel taken back a bit, whenever fanon depicts Kaminari and Ashido as being dumber than bricks. The two of them are the academically lowest ranking students in class 1-A, of UA. Characterizing them as being overall stupid, is like saying the academically lowest ranking freshman at Harvard University is generally stupid.

Don’t get me wrong: At elite schools, there are many intelligent people - and plenty more dumb people, just like anywhere else.

But everyone who gets into the school, must've been smart and talented enough, in order to beat out the dozens of other applicants for one of the coveted spots.

Considering how real-life schools in Japan work, Kaminari too, was most likely in the top of his middle school: He casually references Hemingway, like he reads his stuff for fun... Which actually might be the case, because I don’t think that American author is commonly part of the curriculum in Japanese highschools.

Furthermore, Bakugou (ranked 3rd in the midterms) and Monoma (rated with a 5/5 in intelligence in the official data book) have canonically failed exams before.

In short: Just by themselves, academic scores don't mean jack shit, if you want to have an accurate picture of someone's intelligence and capabilities - not to mention, potential.

Whiny wannabe edge-lord Shinsou should be grateful that there are generously kind people like Kaminari. I wouldn't have the ducking patience.

Aside from letting a peer know that their crappy behaviour is unwelcomed, and next to the example above, Kaminari’s social intelligence also shines in other moments.

The light novels lampshade that trait at least twice:

When he makes sure to include Kouda, making room for the latter to voice his thoughts if he wishes too.  

Another of the stories, narrates something along the lines of, ~he [Bakugou] had the feeling, that as long as Kaminari existed, Bakugou would never be alone.~

Kouda is one of the minor 1-A students. As such, he's often forgotten by the audience. But in-universe? They may not be close, but Kaminari Denki will never let anyone feel left out.

Even 1-A's snappy Pomeranian ends up appreciating him.

I mean, it starts with Kaminari running after Kirishima, who was following Bakugou. After a while, Kirishima and Kaminari trailed after Bakugou together. Since then, Bakugou has dragged Kaminari with him, and told the latter to "leave the rescue to the extras!" Thus, explicitly excluding Kaminari from 'those extras.'

And why wouldn’t you keep a good grip on such an awesome friend?

[littlemeltymarshmallow]

My jumbled up thoughts on season 2 part 2 of dragons rising...

AAAAAAHHH!!!

First off, Source Dragon Of Motion, super cool. Cool design, cool voice.

Aw, Wyldfyre trying to step up and take Kai's place as the red ninja... I can really tell she's grieving and that she wants to make him proud.

Did Shade die??? Since the new master of shadow looks like shade, I'd assume that's his daughter or something. Dragons rising really killing off all the old elemental masters. I really wish other elemental masters made cameos in this season.

Hey um ninjago writers if you're reading this can you please let Cole and Geo kiss. Thank you.

JORDANA'S POSSESSED I FRICKING CALLED IT!

I don't know if I like the Zeatrix reveal or not. Feels kinda lazy I guess. And her motivation for disliking the ninja just doesn't sit right with me.

God, Roby's annoying.

I ACTUALLY CRIED Why can't Jaya EVER just be safe and happy?! Damn you, ninjago writers!! Damn you!!! "And I will always hate you", Somebody smack some sense into this twink!

Seriously, what does Cinder get out of taunting Wyldfyre. Like, I know why he does it, but sometimes it's just like... This grown man, thinks he cool for picking on a teenager. Pfft.

Take a tablespoon of feelings of inadequacy, two cups of loneliness from missing two of the people you love the most, milk, and an ounce of frustration from lack of progress. Blend it all together and what do you get? An Arin suffering smoothie!

I see Ras continues to spend his time manipulating and abusing teenagers.

Omg Arin found out Sora lied and- and it's just like that one fic I wrote- it became canon- and- *faints dramatically*

I honestly expected the confrontation to be more sorrowful, like Arin would be feeling so broken down, on the verge of tears from feeling like he can't do anything, rather than angry. I also thought the scene would be a little longer, but this works too.

Omg Neuro and Camille cameos!

Poor Lloyd and his panic attacks... That episode was actually stressing me out >_<! C'mon, Lloyd!! You can do it!!

Wyldfyre being right about Bleckt being the bad guy is so funny to me for no reason.

Ras getting betrayed by Nokt and Rox was DESERVED. Bro acting shocked he's getting enslaved by the same person he enslaved, who is a much more powerful being than him. Smh.

I changed my mind, Roby's cool.

Roby and Wyldfyre's relationship is cute, weird, cringe and wholesome all at the same time. I went from hating it at the start, to loving it in the end. These dumb little kids share a single braincell and are perfect for each other.

KAI'S BACK KAI'S BACK KAI'S BACK!!!

Really wish we got some more Kai and Bonzle screentime at the end. I was ROBBED of an overprotective Kai seeing Wyldfyre get a boyfriend.

The fact that I KNEW Arin was gonna become evil or leave the ninja at some point but I didn't WANT it to happen. Please. Please bring the baby back home.

Omg Nokt and Rox hate furries.

Every time I see them making shrines for those they've lost I get sad WHY DO THE NINJAGO WRITERS DO THIS TO MY HEART?!

Ooooh, cool sword.

Also, what happened to Fritz and Spitz?? It looks like Geo went back to the land of lost things, so... did he just leave the kids home alone???

Good season all around, cliffhanger endings stress me out but I know they have a reason for it. 9.5/10 season. I'll definitely watch it again in October!

[melancholysway]

TMNT Bop or Flop

Feel free to join me in this bc I'm bored af and im trying to start all the requests i have :")

this is also a slight smash or pass bc I'm bored also- however I'm not doing it with TMNT 2012- that's just wrong LMAO or rise TMNT- self-explanatory. 2003/Bayverse/2007 is fair game though yall!

TMNT 2003

Leonardo

Ngl... a bit of a flop but a bop lowkey .

I liked him when he was starting to be more carefree and not so into the whole being perfect and leader thing ...

if this was smash or pass... SMASH IDC

Idk yall something about this Leo makes me happy in a weird way, so maybe half bop half flop? a blop?

Raphael

MAJOR BOP ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ah yes a man who loves animals I'm here for it

I also really love his accent in this wtf .

He's a bop b/c he fought blind once, GTFOHHHHH!! and he ain't afraid of SHIT!

pass btw if this was smash or pass, he seems like a cool friend to have tho!

Donatello

BOP! His sassiness hasn't peaked in this version but it's very much there . 2003 Donnie is actually so sweet yall. Plus, his voice is very nice to listen to! I would love for him to read me a long book aloud as a bedtime story <3

smashbtw

Michelangelo

the man makes a mean scrambled egg according to Raph, but I make it better. FLOP.

I can't put my finger on it, but I just didn't enjoy this Mikey as much as I did in other versions. He made me wanna punch him sometimes . Also would notttt shutup about being the battle nexus champion like boy if you don't shut yo ass up-

pass pass pass pass btw

TMNT 2007

Leonardo

MAJOR. FUCKING. FLOP.

I don't care what yall mfs say, he was way too mf serious, and even said he was better than Raph??? I don't know exactly what he dealt with during that training in South America, but it changed him man.

He tried too fucking quick to bring the team back together, and that's why him and Raph had a falling out and a big fight. Raph knew it was wrong of Leo to try and waltz in again in their lives and be Fix-It-Felix bro.

sidenote: Mega SMASH. That "come to daddy" quote????? He knew wtf he was doin with that. He's too mf fine to be actin the way he was actin in this movie LMAO- I still really enjoy this Leo though, if they made a sequel like it was intended, I would probably change it to a bop, but I need more scenes of 2007 Leo/ this design of Leo to do this !

Raphael

Do I even have to say it????

BOP. BOP BOP BOP! BOP BOP BOP TO THE MF TOP YALL!

By far my FAVORITE Raph in the entire franchise! I love it, he's at his peak rebellion, and even made a name for himself fighting crime, I love it.

I also LIVE for his Brooklyn accent. I also hc if we got more screentime of him in the sequel, he'd be the most chill turtle. I believe there's a deleted scene of him talking to Leo at the end of the movie, and his tone/mannerisms were very mellow. 2007!Raph is mad chill

Also gave 2007 Leo a run for his money bro-

SIDENOTE: SMASHHHHHH! HULK SMASH IDC CALL ME WILD BUT IDC . Whoever designed him needs a raise. His eyes??? gtofh.

Donatello

Ngl...a slight flop?

he's not as sassy in this version, and I love me some sassy Donnie.

Like Leo, I really wish he got more screentime, I do love him challenging Raph in the beginning of the movie though :) Go Donnie go!

There's a deleted scene of Donnie and Splinter, it's called "let him eat cake" on youtube I believe- he would've been a bop if they kept that scene in! I feel like there was a lack of Donnie scenes in this- but I like that this movie was focused on Raph so I can't complain.

In a deleted scene it reveals Donatello loves money, he's also a flop bc he takes Mikey's money away so he can't buy dumb shit for the lair, at least let the man keep more than a $5 ya know?

ahem...smash.

Michelangelo

BOP! surprised? don't be.

he's a single mom that works one job who loves his brothers and never stops

with gentle hands and a heart of a fighter

he's a survivor <3

i also feel bad that he gets beat up by kids :( he really be providing for his family fr fr. He really out and about making his coin as a turtle in a turtle suit. he also started his own business??? got his own slogan, and is a kids party host??? like okay support small business xoxo

erm...pass btw, I just cannot see Mikey that way yall.

TMNT 2012

Leonardo

BIGGEST BOP OF THE CENTURY! This version of Leonardo is my all time favorite. He even beats Rise Leo by a few! I can't explain it, but this Leonardo- the first one we see that's more upbeat and not so serious, I loved it! They gave him interests other than training or being a leader- they gave him a love for a show he devotes his time to! be fuckin fr.

Also played tea time with some random ass lil girl, it was so cute. I loved to see Leo be put in situations where he's just being him.

So yes this is very biased but idc, he's my fave. One thing about 2012 Leo he gon get to the bag no matter what.

He also literally SLAYED Shredder and brought his head! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!

Raphael

Do I need to say anything?

Bop, wanna know why?

HIS ONE-LINERS. He's so in tune with his sarcasm and wits that it's so satisfying to hear some sarcastic shit come out his mouth.

May even be a bit sassy, he has no time for bullshit. will beat some ass- and is the best pet dad.

no bc when he was being a foster dad to Chompy??? my heart. my fucking heart yall.

Also the fact that he named him Chompy Picasso? PLS.

Donatello

Bop guys!

Lowkey gets bullied by Raph but makes up for it by making him look dumb at times.

SASSIER. VERY SASSY. WIll point out his brothers (Raph/Mikey's) stupidity.

Plus his gap is so cute

Also, he's a bop because he made fucking RETRO MUTAGEN. If I'm not mistaken, 2012 Donnie is the first one of his installments to make a retro mutagen.

Okay maybe Mikey mixed a chemical or two and was the original creator of the retro mutagen, but Donnie was able to make copies of it after finding out how Mikey made it.

Michelangelo

BOP BOP BOP

He might be my favorite Mikey! I really like 2007 Mikey bc his comedic timing was on point, but this Mikey! Oh my god his timing is fucking terrible and I love it.

he's also the reason why his brothers aren't in the stomachs of those big-ass wasps, he's underrated! When he applies himself, he's unstoppable fr.

Also, he's an animal lover like Raph! He also really cares for Ice Cream Kitty (IC Kitty is also one of my fave characters for some reason they're sooo cute!)

BAYVERSE TMNT

Leonardo

Hear me out.

Blop.

I know, why isn't he just a bop or why isn't he just a flop? I honestly couldn't decide. I found that he wasn't the most memorable in this version, but he did certain things that I remembered. He also has cute blue eyes so that's why he's a blop.

I didn't like the way he talked to Raph in the second movie bro, he was such a bitch, then acted mad shocked that Raph went out and tried to get the ooze himself. he also benched tf out of Raph and Mikey just because Raph called him out on his shit.

Okay I'm changing it- he's a blop but VERY close to being a flop because of that.

all this being said...pass.

Raphael

He's mad chill. A fuckin Bop. Honestly, all Raph's are bops, but this one especially. He knits yall. KNITS. Raph KNITS. I never thought I'd see the day.

Also a Vin Diesel stan, I love that for him.

They also gave him a fear of heights...or erm...skydiving, which I thought was kinda cute! Big bad Raph is scared of a plane dive!

P.S- smashy smash. he's truly a sweetheart yall.

Donatello

I actually really like his design! Love the glasses on him fr fr!

This Donnie is a blop though...sorry guys.

He was very nerdy in this one, but I'm so used to Donnie being a sass king that it didn't feel normal.

I wish they gave him more substance than just the genius of the team, if this makes any sense. Same with 2007!Donnie.

Blop positive: he's the only turtle to curse in the movie! he also snorts. it's cute.

Sadly...pass.

but, if they made him sassy as FUCK- ALL MIGHT DEKU SMASH.

Michelangelo

BOPPITY BOP

he's mad cool i dont see anything wrong with him. He's just a bro.

i dont have much to say about bayverse Mikey for some reason, so I'll leave it at this.

He also calls April "Angelcakes" which I think is cute yall-

Pass btw

RISE!TMNT

Leonardo

Final boss level BOP BRO. I love love love this Leo! He's amazing. I have no complaints fr.

Total asshole in the lair olympics but I loved every second of it LMFAO

also his granny disguise to spy on April??? 10/10 great style. It's nice to see Leo not be the leader for once, I truly see what he could be when he doesn't carry the burden of the leader.

Raphael

Okay, I'm used to hothead/soft Raph, but this Raph?! MF BOP! HE'S FINALLY GETTING THE UNOFFICIAL LEADERSHIP ROLE HE DESERVES.

He's a big mf softie, and I love it! I love his design, everything! No complaints about this Raph, he finally is able to show his leadership skills!

spoiler all rise! turtles are bops bc its so nice to see them written differently than their usual stereotypes.

Donatello

I absolutely adore this version of Donnie! His lines are absolutely top tier bro.

HIS RAP IN MYSTIC LIBRARY??? GTFOH. I also really loved his rivalry with Leo in the olympics btw .

He has so many golden moments that this is exactly why hes a BOP! BOP OF THE MF UNIVERSE.

He's also unintentionally funny, his computer password??? yeah bro he's funny.

Michelangelo

BOP. I finally feel like Mikey isn't the butt of the joke anymore. All boys are funny in this series in their own way, and they're all shown being a little dumb so I love that LMAO

I love that Mikey is still childish, but it seems to do toned down as his brothers are equally childish in some way

We don't rely on Mikey for comedic relief, we can rely on him to be sporadic and chaotic though! i love this version of Mikey, this one is my favorite. Point blank my fave!

Masterlist

[msfbgraves]

Sam and Miguel as a couple are so uninteresting and bland. Sam and Tory have far more chemistry, but the writers are cowards so that’s never happening, even though it would be fascinating to watch. Robby and Tory have more chemistry than the first couple, but don’t hold my interest, and I don’t feel like they would last (same with Sam and Miguel). Yasmine and Demitri are Wish Fulfillment and silly, and feel incredibly forced and stupid. Weirdly enough, the couple that I actually like are Moon and Eli. They’re a good girl/bad boy couple actually done well for their limited screen time. Moon is super sweet and affectionate if dumb, and brainy Hawk is at his best when he finds balance between quiet, nerdy Eli and Alpha Hawk. They compliment each other well.

I know tv writing is very technical and they had to put in teen couples for the target audience. The problem is that they're writing fanfic with no interest in character and that's like being a vet who dislikes being around animals. However technically skilled you are, the animals are not going to do well under your care. They needed conflict in their couples and the foundations were solid if they had actually cared about these characters as people. What does it mean for Sam to fall for an immigrant boy from Reseda who is trained by her Dad's former bully? Does he make her ask questions about what privilege means, how brittle hers is? Does she learn something about her parents? Does Miguel feel dwarfed? Torn between his sensei and his girl? Or is this about Johnny being drawn back to Daniel's world? That's okay, this is a karate kid spinoff! But they only skim the surface of that. And so it is with all the couples. The building blocks are there, if you wanted to write interesting conflicts but you'd have to want to look beyond the tropes, the archetypes. Robby and Tory bonding over living hard knock lives could be interesting too! Except what the writers are interested in is LawRusso 2.0, which is SamTory which is why that sizzles with life.

Yasmine and Demetri would NEVER happen. Maybe when Yasmine saw Demetri do well at the tournament but never before. Hot and rich Yasmine falling for a nerd without money. The only reason that would be a possibility is if Yasmine is actually studious but doesn't dare admit it and she and Demetri geek out together. But that's not the point! They need the hot girl to fall for the average guy, just as women need to see the hot guy fall for a plain girl. Because it doesn't really happen at that age, or only with enormous conflict. Yasmine would be ostracised when publicly dating Demetri. But she must because she's hot and he's a nerd. And male nerds want to fantasise about having the hot girl.

Moon/Eli could be interesting too but the writers don't care. Moon is hot and then she dates another hot girl (Cue wet dream). But it doesn't go any further and the actors don't get enough room to breathe. Maybe it's enough for regular viewers, and you don't have to show everything. But in the first film Susan barely got any screentime and you still knew she was smart and she'd cut a bitch for Ali. She was a person and the CK kids - other than SamTory - often feel like ideas.

[paperandhis-paper]

Arc-V Month Day 11: Legacy for the Future

(Is that a motherfucking Jojo reference?)

Ok, so, I've spent most days of @arcvmonth so far gushing about the show, so warning: negativity ahead.

I'm overall mixed on the Legacy characters. I don't think they ruin the show as some people claim, but I happen to have problems with... all of them? There are also positives, ofc, so ANALYSIS TIME!

Crow: he's... fine. His screentime is fine. His role in the plot is fine. Everything about him is just fine. My only real complaint is that I wished Shun had won and gotten another duel with Yuya, but it's whatever. He's really only part of the Lancers because he's a legacy character, as I don't think he's the most interesting Synchro character.

Jack: by far the best Legacy character, Jack somewhat takes the role of rival from Reiji, down to having 3 duels with the protagonist and a 3000 ATK ace. Giving him the role of a mentor is an interesting take on the character, although it was weird going back to 5D's I don't know how people feel about him beating Sergey (I know some people hated that when the episode was first announced), but somehow it works fine? It's an interesting subversion, because you'd think Yuya would be the one to do so, but instead Yuya's role is to be the one to unite the people together. My only problem is that it's... kinda weird that Jack just lets the City remain a shithole. Like, do something my man! I also wonder if Yusei wouldn't have been more fitting for his role, but I understand they didn't want to have the protagonists so Yuya wouldn't be overshadowed.

Kaito: I never cared for Kaito in Zexal (granted, it's been a long while since I've seen it), and Arc-V Kaito has similar issues. Namely, being a bit too powerful. He never has a solo loss, and here's where being a legacy character begins to hurt. He had a reputation for being unbeatable (Tron cheating aside), so the writers know they can't have him lose easily. He even almost beats Yuya! The best thing about him is that he provides a mirror for Shun; he's basically edgy-bird Shun from the beginning, but in some ways worse. He steals spotlight a fair bit, but his most egregious case of this is to another Legacy Character, so whatever.

Speaking of...

Asuka: done dirty, and so unnecessarily. Seriously, let her duel Dennis! Him vs Kaito isn't a TERRIBLE set-up, but she needed a big win so her presence doesn't just feel like fanservice. Her getting carded also sucks, but I get the writers kinda had to (can't have a Ritual duelist face Zarc, after all), plus it gave Yuri some much-needed depth.

But at least she got a win, even if it was against mooks. Unlike...

Edo: oh boy. See, I don't actually have much issues with his arc. It works, so long as you ignore that it has basically nothing to do with Edo's character in GX. No, what I wanna talk about this is his duel with Yuya.

I'm gonna be blunt: he should've won that duel. For one, he didn't get a single win in the series (tbf, his opponents were strong, but still), but most importantly, earlier on we saw with Kaito vs Shun that even if you lose you can still reach your opponent. And Edo got development himself by accepting Entertainment Dueling and grabbing an Action Card. The fact that Yuya wins by grabbing an Action Card of his own just rubs salt on the wound. Plus, I just like the idea of Yuya never beating an arc villain (other than Zarc, sorta), his role instead being another (then again, I guess then people would use that to claim Yuya is a weak protagonist and whatnot, so maybe it was for the best).

Also, both him and Kaito interrupting Yugo and Yuri's duel is dumb. Saving that rant for later.

So yeah. Legacy Characters were a mixed bag. I think the writers struggled with giving them the prominence they deserved without outshining Arc-V's massive cast. That's a very fine line. But hey— we got Legacy Support! That's always a good thing, right?

[strangefellows]

Yknow what. Gil, Cu, Roman, and Komadori

favorite thing about them

Gil: How absolutely human he is, despite how inhuman he is at the same time. He's an egotistical arrogant childish petty loudmouth obnoxious bastard, but he's noble and brave and loves kids and was a legitimately good king, and despite every single reason you could name it should be otherwise he's Chaotic Good. Not even neutral, straight up GOOD. He's terrible, he's amazing, he's a hero and a tyrant and he's so, so very human, good and bad.

Cu: He just...there's this vibe about him that's so warm and gentle despite his fighty battle-loving attitude. He can be quiet and soft and warm and introspective, and there's hints around him that he's sadder than he lets on -- and god, looking at his myth, of course he is. That quiet depth beyond stabby fighty Lancer is so much worth exploring.

Roman: HE'S SO SWEET. HE'S SO GOOD AND SWEET. He tried so hard and desperately wanted to save the world, and even if he got his wish he willingly gave it up to save people, because no matter how he'd changed or what he became as a human his soul, his core, never stopped being someone who wanted to help. He gave everything he'd wanted up because he just...couldn't let go of his selflessness and he's so human, I just aaah.

Komadori: YOU MEAN MY OC OH MY GOD UH. I love how much she loves people, stories, everyone she meets she just loves them so so much and she's so loud and insistent and unapologetic in how much she adores everyone around her, how much she loves being around them. Every Servant, even the scary ones even the monsters even the Evil ones she loves them all so aggressively and stubbornly and LOUDLY that they can't help but love her back.

least favorite thing about them

Gil: Looks at UBW. Looks at Fate Route. Looks at Villain Gilgamesh. MMMMPH. Honey let's not.

Cu: Less about him and more god I'm so tired of how he's treated in some fan circles. But also I hate how little good screentime he gets in everything. My poor guy dies so fast.

Roman: I HATE THAT HE'S GONE SO MUCH. Also the 'he's really obtuse and kind of dumb and tone deaf and says stupid shit just to be bullied about it' running joke in the dialogue got old.

Komadori: Honey baby can we maybe perhaps NOT be so tied up in issues the thought of leaving Chaldea is the most terrifying thing on Earth, scarier even than ORT?

favorite line

Gil: It's really hard to pick just one because Tomokazu Seki goes the FUCK OFF in every appearance, but I think either his chant for Enuma Elish, or the way he fucking purrs his 4th Ascension and Bond 5 lines.

Cu: I can't remember the exact dialogue, but there's something he says to Emiya in UBW that slapped extremely hard. That and his dying fuck you to Kirei.

Romani: You're asking what you should be aiming for then? Haha, sounds like you alright, Komadori. That's a good question. That's an easy one. You don't want to stop the game, but finish the game instead. The end comes for both you and me. Accomplish lots by then. Whether it's joy or sadness, success or setbacks, as long as it's something new. You still have plenty of those, don't you? Live life with no regrets. I believe, above all else, that this is what it means to be moral for an individual-- and if you can do that, that would make me very proud.

Komadori: Sadly she's my OC who's a VN protagonist so she doesn't get much actual dialogue, but her speech in LB6 when she DOES extremely fucks hard.

brOTP

Gil: Cu and Emiya, absolutely. Three idiots having chaos disaster fun times together because they're all varying levels of stupid and overly competitive and secretly lonely.

Cu: See above, Emiya and Gil! Though I also love writing his best friends relationship with my Master OC Komadori. They're such good friends it makes me happy.

Romani: Da Vinci for absolute sure. They're adorable as friends, it's incredible, I love it.

Komadori: I have a list. Cu, Robin, Emiya, Merlin, Ushiwaka, Mordred, Mandri, Kintoki, Saito, Osakabe and Jinako, Sanson, Jalter, Drake, Enkidu, Grandpa Moriarty...

OTP

Gil: Gil and Enkidu, Gil and Hakuno (F) somewhat, Gil and Cu, Gil and my Master OC...

Cu: Either Cu and Gil or Cu and Robin Hood :)

Romani: Either him and my Master OC or him and Merlin. Or both! He has two hands.

Komadori: Gil, Roman, Dantes, Musashi, Oberon.

nOTP

Gil: Frankly, Koto*Gil, no thanks, I just don't like it at all.

Cu: While I don't HATE it, I just don't ship him with Emiya, but a REAL NOTP is Cu and Medb oh god no.

Roman: Man IDK what other ships does he even have? EDIT I HAVE BEEN TOLD SOME PEOPLE SHIP HIM WITH DAVID NO WHY

Komadori: I don't like shipping my Master OC with Mash @_@ that's her baby sister!

random headcanon

Gil: He's an absolute lightweight when it comes to hard liquor, as he's used to mainly drinking beer and wine.

Cu: His Riastrad/warp spasm turns him into a wolfman. He's just a werewolf. Fight me.

Roman: He is a frecklebeast, he burns like a shellfish in the sun, don't do that to him, he almost misses being unaffected :(

Komadori: She had a stuffed wolf before Chaldea that she probably brought with her, she loves it, its name is Little Cu.

unpopular opinion

Gil: I think this man should be allowed to be vulnerable and insecure sometimes as a treat.

Cu: I HATE the "lol Cu died so funny" running joke Fate does with him so much.

Roman: Uhhhhhh. Not sure lmao, everyone loves him?

Komadori: RIYO AND LEARNING WITH MANGA IS TERRIBLE AND I HATE IT

song i associate with them

Gil: Quite frankly, this is a good one; it reminds me of Uruk.

Cu: I gotta admit, this one is a good one to blast during him fighting.

Roman: It's not his POV, necessarily, but this song always makes me think of him

Komadori: This one is a fucking fantastic Lostbelt Arc song for her.

favorite picture of them

Gil: Not gonna paste the pics into the post because length, but this CE is one of my favorite things in the entire game.

Cu: Not gonna lie, everything Wada Arco has drawn of him fucks.

Romani: This one absolutely, it makes me cry.

Komadori: This image is one of my favorites I ascended the first time I saw it, but also this one too.

[fauxkaren]

Welcome to Samdal-ri - 7/10

This drama was good, don't get me wrong, but it could have been even better with some changes. The start of the show was great. The ending was great. But oh man... the middle was a LOT of plots going nowhere and a love triangle that added absolutely nothing to the show at the detriment of spending screentime on more interesting characters. And by 'more interesting characters', I mean the sisters. More on them later.

Ok so. Sam-dal is a very successful fashion photographer whose life implodes when one of her assistant directors accuses her of abuse of power and bullying. To escape the media circus, she returns to her hometown on Jeju Island for the first time since breaking up with Yong-pil, who was her childhood friend and who is currently living and working on Jeju Island as a meteorologist. So from there, the show really becomes about Sam-dal rediscovering who she is, separate from her career, reconnecting with her hometown and finally dealing with the cause of her breakup with Yong-pil.

Ok so now I'm gonna bitch about the ways the show let itself down. Firstly, the love triangle. LIKE WHY? It added absolutely nothing to the show. And having Sang-do secretly in love with Sam-dal who clearly has never viewed him romantically was just pointless and it did a major disservice to his character. Instead of exploring his feelings as the one member of his friend group who never even got to try to find success in Seoul because his family was too poor, the show decided to just have him pine after Sam-dal and like why????

Additionally, I was IN LOVE with both of Sam-dal's sisters and while they did get some storylines, I just always found myself wishing we had more time with them. Sam-dal is the middle child and prior to the scandal, all 3 sisters were living together in Seoul. Jin-dal is the oldest and lmfao I adore her. She is terrifying. She will absolutely FUCK you up. Jin-dal was once married to a chaebol but got divorced after she exposed her husband's family for abusing their staff. I LOVE HER. Hae-dal is the younger sister who really gets the short end of the stick in terms of screen time. I wanted to get to know her better but even the little time we get with her, I loved her. She became widowed while still pregnant at the age of 21 so she's been raising her daughter alone for the past 6 years. There is a little exploration of Hae-dal having to figure out what she wants and what her dreams are outside of being a mother which I REALLY wish we'd spent more time on.

So yeah it was just like so frustrating that instead of spending more time with the sisters, the show insisted on doing the dumb ass love triangle. And then like even outside of the love triangle, the show spends way too much time on obstacle to Yong-pil and Sam-dal getting together (Yong-pil's father blames Sam-dal's mother for Yong-pil's mother's death which is why the two broke up 8 years ago). We all know it'll get resolved eventually! We don't need to spend like 6 episodes retreading the same stuff over and over again. We should be spending time with Jin-dal and Hae-dal instead.

But in spite of all that criticism I just lobbed at the show, it's a cute show. Not perfect. But enjoyable to watch in spite of its missteps.

[downbadmostofthetime]

with the release of 2.0 and with the comments & reblogs this has received, i wanted to add a bit more to my point.

firstly though, i do want to clear up the fact that ruan mei apparently DOES have a place for you to talk to her whenever, it’s just that it’s through a phone. though my point still stands for dr ratio and now especially more considering that he got screentime in the penacony quest (not that much but it was still notable)

it was also brought to my attention (i knew about this but i just forgot at the time of making the post) that argenti’s voicelines are incredibly one sided. he has voicelines for the astral expression crew and even ones for joining into battles, but nobody on that fucking train has a voice line about him. NOBODY. like what?? not even a joining battle voiceline from the trailblazer?? what the hell is this????

the knights of beauty were also mentioned briefly in the penacony quest about how (if my memory is correct” they were invited to come, but they didn’t respond and thus didn’t come. honestly, this feels like (to me) a messy way to try and include them. the knights of beauty all work alone, so when it’s said that they were invited, so they mean every knight or just one or a few?? AND i think it’s pretty obvious that they wouldn’t even go in the first place. like i said, they work alone for idrila, so idk why whoever was sending these invites out even thought that a single one of them was gonna show up from their invite.

that could just be me overreacting in some way or being dumb but idk that’s what it sounds like to me.

i also previously mentioned how argenti doesn’t get a lot of attention compared to a character like dr ratio, and sure, maybe dr ratio is an unfair comparison because he’s someone who got a lot of attention because we got him for free ( and his bathtub lightcone…)

but i also wanted to shed light on another male character who is in the same place as argenti: luka.

of course, luka is a four star character so idk if it’s really fair to compare him to five stars. but luka is in the same boat with argenti & his appearances (except he actually appeared in an event once, unlike argenti). and i mentioned how dr ratio’s lightcone had people going crazy, while luka’s is pretty similar (and arguably, in my opinion, hotter) and yet nobody cares??

now. what’s something that luka and argenti both have in common that i think drags down their popularity (in the fandom) a lot??

they have no good yaoi ships.

there’s nothing wrong with yaoi ships. but it’s really annoying how nobody will give your favourite character time a day because they just happened to have no other proper connections with another male character.

at least for argenti, there’s velite. but literally (UNFORTUNATELY) nobody gives a shit about an npc x playable character ship (i wish people did though because i am a huge fucking argelite shipper holy shit) but for luka he has absolutely none because he like rarely even ever mentions a guy & his companion mission had seele play a big part in it, who is a woman and a lesbian and in love with bronya.

you may think this point is absurd but it’s really not. let’s take gepard and sampo as examples. by themselves, I wouldn’t say they’re the most popular characters, they’re definitely overshadowed by other characters a ton. but because if you ship them together, you’ve got that enemies to lovers, criminal x guard dynamic, and that increases their popularity.

blade and dan heng are both popular because of their ship, jing yuan is too considering he can be shipped with both. aventurine and dr ratio are newer characters that literally exploded in popularity because 1 they’re hot and 2 toxic yaoi lightcone

yeah my point(s) being that argenti still doesn’t get in game love by hoyoverse (he’s not even confirmed to be the world 9 boss in the simulated universe it’s that fucking boss in penacony that one hits you) and he also doesn’t get love by hsr fans because his main ship is with an npc we’ll most likely never see again

(edit a few hours later): oh yeah I forgot to mention that on twitter there was a 5 star character holding rate with a sample size of over 32k people and argenti was literally LAST WITH JUST OVER 20% SEE WHAT I MEAN HES LITERALLY SO UNPOPULAR DESPITE HIM BEING OP

can I be honest for a second

I actually kind of hate the treatment argenti got when he came out

sure. he’s a playable 5 star, got his own companion mission, and as well as a boss fight.

but comparing that to other characters, he literally got almost the bare minimum.

sure not every character has a companion mission, but those characters will usually be apart of other character’s companion missions or even in events centred around them (take sushang and guinaifen for example).

and while argenti is one of the few playable characters to have a boss fight, the others still have more than him

gepard may not have his own companion mission, but he was a main character in serval’s and even received visitor verification after you complete it, as well as the fact that he actually stands somewhere in belobog so you can talk to him whenever you please. plus he was also in the main story quest, just not as a prominent character. and as well that he’s a boss and is fightable in world 3

yanqing on the other hand does have his own companion mission, has visitor verification, is a fightable boss in world 8, had a very brief appearance in the main story quest (if I remember correctly) but was also complacent in two other companion missions (kafka and jingliu’s), and is available to talk to whenever you please.

kafka has her own companion mission, while she doesn’t have visitors verification. she’s one of the main antagonists in the game and is quite important to the lore (it’s unfair to compare her to argenti but you get the idea, so I won’t elaborate on the other things she has)

while argenti has:

-no visitor verification

-no appearance in any main story quest

-isn’t available to talk to whenever you please

-isn’t in any events so far

you can argue that “dr ratio and ruan mei are new characters and they aren’t bosses, available to talk to whenever, etc” but they do have main story quests (one for each actually), ruan mei has technically her own event (it’s based off of her own creations but they’re HERS and plus she has her own cat design so) and they both also have visitor verification.

maybe im just overreacting or just too impatient considering that argenti only came out in the second half of 1.5!!! and plus he’s gotten loads of attention outside of the game with hoyoverse buying the naming rights to a specific kind of rose species and naming it after him and holding a whole exhibition!!!! you know!!!!

but it kind of does suck with how his companion mission was so good, but the ending just felt very incomplete for me? like it feels like they didn’t know how to just properly end it so we got that (not that I’m complaining though I loved his quest). and as well as how he didn’t even receive visitor verification??? despite expressing his wishes to return???? they could just pull a seele, bronya and jing yuan with him but at least with those three they didn’t really have like an opportunity in the story for that to come around (if that makes sense) and thus them being added months later. but it’s different for argenti, considering how all three of them don’t even have a companion quest while argenti’s only main appearance is him having one.

argenti in my opinion is definitely one of the more underrated male characters and idk it just really sucks because I love him a lot and it kind of hurts to see how he isn’t getting as much attention as newer male characters like dr ratio for example.

yeah idk where I was going with this if anyone read this whole thing then hello I guess I hope you enjoyed that

[haruhey]

chronological thoughts of twd 11x17

- saw sebastian and threw up a lil in my mouth

- saw negan and threw up a lil more in my mouth

- omg rick

- did judith start having an accent omg

- SEASON 5 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

- where r they

- omg lance hornsby girlboss

- daryl’s stupid scar pls

- DONT TALK TO MAGGIE SHUT UP NEGAN

- carol being the first line of defense iktr iktr ❤️

- omg daryl with the slay plan

- i hate negan i hate him i hate his screentime i hate him not a redemption arc let him die please i so viscerally need him to die

- this WILL NOT be the season i like negan shut up stop trying to make me

- oh a whisperers comeback

- omg that walker MACKIN

- i love my flustered angry boy lance 🫶

- its giving my math prof when his mic wasn’t working and he almost cried

- AHAHAHA lance got shot

- OMG DARYL

- lance is in his thanos i’ll do it myself era

- oh that scene of him glaring in the car was kinda sexy ngl hi sir

- i wish i could drive this good

- OH MY GOD THEY GOT SIDEFUCKED BY DARYL

- oh slay kill sebastian

- omg yumiko i haven’t seen her in a hot minute

- WE WANT JUSTICE DELIVER SEBASTIAN NOW WE WANT JUSTICE DELIVER SEBASTIAN NOW WE WANT JUSTICE DELIVER SEBASTIAN NOW

- overthrow the government OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT

- let rosita take her personal day mercer get ur stick out of ur butt 💔

- ew i hate negan’s stupid dumb face

- oh who is april what is the tea

- negan killed her didnt he

- they should kiss maybe i think

- wait what is this plan are they sending negan in to keep the people in there safe?? how is this accomplishing that?? is he tattling on hornsby???

- oo “if no one else is playing by the rules why are you?”

- CAROLLLLLL

- OMG CAROL IN HER NANCY DREW ERA 🫶🫶

- her shirt looks so comfortable

- omg gracie called daryl a dumb loser idiot who sucks

- omg omg omg what is going on they look like they suck so bad

- do u think if u pressed the ice machine ice would come out

- OMG THE PHOTO

- no daryl why are you so sentimental with ur stupid picture of u and the kids u love so much

- wait no i think carol just has a picture of them omg 🫶🫶🫶

- OMG CAROL IN HER MICHAEL MYERS ERA W THAT KNIFE PLSS

- THE SHOT OF JUDITH IN THE CUPBOARD PLS ITS NOT FUNNY BUT IT IS

- JERRY IS JUST SO ?? HIMBO??? I LOVE HIM???

- yo what are you doin’ here man?

- “where is carol?” me throughout 11B man

- OMG A GIRLBOSS COLLAB

- they should team up and kill negan together and then make out

- how long do u think negan practiced that line in his head so he would look cool in front of carol be honest

- OMG NEGAN SPILLING THE TEA

- carol girlboss 🫶🫶🫶

- SHUT UP PAMELA WE LITERALLY KNOW WHO DID THIS

- omg the dad slayed

- yumiko should have just let them kill pamela

- HELL YEAHHH DOWN WITH THE MILTONS THE MILTONS ARE MURDERERS HELL YEAHHHHHH

- omg yumiko and magna back on their girlboss wlw relationship love them together

- OH NO JERRY GOT SEEN

- omg the commonwealth people got their backs

- UNION STATION????

- oh my god negan shut up carol does not care

- OMG IS HE SCARED CAROL IS GONNA KILL HER

- carol is like ??? u??? when my boytoy is out there fighting for his life???

- omg maggie and daryl both look so haggard pls someone just give them a hug 😭

- ewww theyre talking about leah

- GLENN NAME DROP

- ok daryl and maggie kiss now

- gracie’s cardigan looks so comfortable

- omg they’re so super stealth rn

- that man is such an idiot fr

- god rosita is so slay i love her so much its insane

- the sewer is so disgusting i would never go down there rip to them but i’m different

- annie leave negan for maggie challenge

- carol and negan r so bold

- carol is my girlboss fr fr 🫶

- IS THAT

- oh my god hes disgusting

- yeah that’s correct u suck so bad sebastian

- NEGAN SAYING “i have seen her pull bunnies right out of her ass with my very own two eyes” CAROL GOES 😐😑

- carol continuing to be described as the epitomy of girlboss in the show iktr iktr

- ARE THEY GONNA SHOOT THEM

- omg thats what negan deserved i have no pity for him

- pamela lies! sebastian kills! period!

- wtf are those walkers how did they get so close is nobody doing their jobs

- TEAR GASSING THE CROWDS??? R U KIDDING ME??? THATS SO FUCKED??/!-???

- omg am i mercer

- be the change you want to see in the world mercer kill pamela

- rosita pubging irl rn

- OMG TORN IN HALF REST IN PIECES FR

- people in power stop drinking when there’s trouble challenge

- no fucking way pamela is ‘boys will be boys’ing this shit no fucking way pamela istg

- OH MY FOS SHE HIT GIM

- omg carol is playing along with pamela to get what she wants thats so slay of her

- where did they get all of that rope to tie that walker up omg

- AHAHAHAHA GET HIM DARYL GET HIM

- nooo the smirk lance is insane he needs to go to therapy or smth fr fr

- omg angsty caryl moment my heart literally dropped

- boo negan should just leave boo negan redemption arc booooo

- omg negan slept with mercer to get into the commonwealth

- um he also tortured the love of her life for like a week ofc shes wary of him???

- ok but yeah he does owe it to maggie idc idc idc

- AHAHAHA LANCE LOOKS LIKE SUCH AN IDIOT WHEN DARYL KNIFE TO THE THROATS HIM

- if daryl yelled at me i think i would cry i hate it i hate it i hate it

[reggiepeters-love-bot]

apparently all i do now is tell yall my thoughts on whatever i recently watched instead of trying to come up with good content. anyway, i finished nhie s3 today, so:

- ive never been team benvi, but i dont feel super mad abt it as much as i wouldve a few years ago

- paxton my boy ily, amazing character development 

- i wish daxton dated for longer. i feel like there was too much buildup to them being an official couple for them to break up so soon

- i didnt like the timeskip. ik in some way it was necessary but also ive just always hated random time skips

- i love aneesa, just like everyone else on here i wish she got more screentime. glad she dumped ben and didnt take any of his disrespect

- fabneesa,,,, why did that happen if they were gonna throw it away so quickly. it had potential and coulda been a good storyline for both fab and aneesas characters but it literally did nothing

- also w fab,, even though she had a good amount of screentime i feel like there wasnt enough storyline from her. like when she was dating eve we had her whole thing about struggling with still not fitting in even in a queer group and feeling like she had to not be herself. this season, all of her plot points were so rushed. between eve being written out in the first five minutes to literally n o n e of her relationship with addison being shown, fab as her own individual character felt kinda forgotten about. and then her just randomly telling devi and el about losing her virginity when a) el got her own lil storyline for that and then b) as dumb as it may sound, losing their virginities was kinda a big deal for those three and to have it brushed off for one of them feels weird

- trent and eleanor r everything to me. i love them dearly

- character growth from all the vishwakumars>>  wont waste time on devi bc whatever everyone else has said i agree. but nalini not being so strict with devi and their relationship being stronger and healthier is so nice to see. proud of kamala for moving out and for also not just doing whatever her family wanted her to do. and then nirmala coming around and being understanding of kamala after hearing her out. all of it is so good

- i honestly liked des and devi together. they had good chemistry and devi was also in a place where she could be more confident in herself. obv he sucked for not defending devi to his mom but im not too torn up over them breaking up, especially since it furthered devis development

- the way that rhyahs behavior started out as small things to kind of hint at the kind of person she was before the final straw of what she said about devi was rly interesting and i appreciated it from a storytelling standpoint, esp bc nalini was wary of it every time

- glad ben is a better person now. still not my fav

- someone pointed out that the ben and margot thing was put aside in order for there to be drama next season, but i didn’t like that it was just completely forgotten about. like, they agreed to a date and then it was never mentioned again,, like, not even in passing

- eleanor and paxton besties, love to see it

- also trent being sad about paxton leaving was so cute i love him. and him giving paxton his hat,,, monumental

- trents love language in general i love. when el was at dinner with him and he said “not even weed makes me this happy” was freaking everything and i love that eleanor understood how much that meant

- while the show had a lot of strong moments and the best character development of all the seasons, i feel there were also plenty of things that moved too quickly and didnt get enough time and werent explored enough

thats all. take a shot for every use of “character development”

[emily-the-fae]

Ok so I have been in the interest area for some time

And I may have gotten interested in several Draculas

Here is a list of who I have on team:

5. Bram Stoker's Dracula

I mean come on, Gary Oldman in late Victorian era suits is just extremely handsome. The warrior that became a vampire: seductive, cruel, very nice when in love.

They were quite very bold when they named the movie "Bram Stoker's Dracula" to be honest - like, yes, it is very evident that they followed the author, but decided to add a more romantic plot with some Victorian sensuality. My personal opinion - they tried too hard: they wanted to fit their own storyline of Mina x Dracula love to the original Stoker story, while keeping up at least in the beginning to the author's stile of reading diaries and switching POVs in 2 hours of screentime - it did not go as smoothly as one might have wished, the time is obviously not enough, the story and character relationships are a bit rushed. Besides some characters were well... Lucy's lovers are a bit dumb - far worse than they were in the book and Lucy - ok I get it, you wanted to add eroticism, but not like that!!

In general not so bad. I like it, feels like a nice interpretation.

4. Netflix Dracula

Well, the storyline began as if it could have been Bram Stoker's, but proved to be very different from the original quite quickly. Another nice interpretation. Van Helsing is a female and a nun - that's quite an interesting change. (Seriously, I love the character, she's a big mood.)The modern versions of characters in 3rd episode seemed kinda cool too

Absolutely loved the idea of Dracula absorbing the memories and knowledge with blood, it's really cool. ( Can I please be a vampire too? I really need that for my studies!)

Claes Bang portrayal of the vampire seemed very impressive. Loved it - didn't expect to but loved it - it was the first Dracula movie I watched and it left me under a spell.

Plus the human-eating irony - Hannibal Lecter would have shook Dracula's hand for that, those two have a common sense of humour and aesthetic.

As with the previous one, I enjoyed the interpretation quite a lot.

3. Van Helsing

Well, in that one.

The story has almost nothing to do with the book, doesn't even try to, but the plot they made is exciting - the ancients old enemies concept and all that stuff. The gothic Transylvania/Budapest/Paris/wherever else they were depiction is lovely - it gives the viewer this sense of darkly beautiful atmosphere of vampire stories; soundtrack adds to the picture nicely.

Characters, well... Anna is cool if you look at her in terms of personal - keep up the family values and stuff. BUT a young lady wearing tight trousers in 19th century, are you kidding me??? I'm sorry, but that weirded me out a bit. Same with that moment when "oh I fell five meters and before that soaked under rain, look at my perfectly soft curls" - the female characters in that movie are a bit overly fancy for the time and the action genre - same with Dracula's brides, they're kind of cute, love their babies and Dracula, but why on Earth are they always half-naked?

Van Helsing has a bit of a younger and sadder Mad-Eye Moody vibe. "I kill monsters, although I do pity the humans that sit inside of them. These things need to die" - that kind of person. Hugh Jackman plays him nicely, I felt him very fit for the role - he and Dracula are basically what really saves the film and makes it interesting.

Dracula here is just.. I mean aw. He's hot. He's got a nice accent, he turns into some flying half bat thing that looks hella cool, and he removes his cape in such an extremely graceful gesture that it makes one faint. Love that guy.

(+ the ballroom dance scene was very sensual and gothic, it was one of the reasons I started watching the movie)

2. Dracula Untold

The story of medieval Dracula and how he came to be a vampire - to protect his people and his family. Politics, love, monsters and broken dates. That movie has a great plot and some points which make you stop and wonder (oh do I love the quotes of those "sometimes the world doesn't need another hero, sometimes what it needs is a monster" and of that sort, just beautiful)

It is kind of tragic, but it has a bright side to it, I am extremely grateful to the authors for what they did to the ending.

And Dracula himself well... Luke Evans is just gorgeous in the role. The ultimate strong warrior vampire - a monster to his enemies and a loving husband and father to his family. Dracula redeemed. This one is sweet.

1. Castlevania

Aaaand here we go on my favourite one. If you don't mind watching anime and you love vampires/gothic stuff - you're probably gonna enjoy this. I did. I loved it: the plot, the characters, their relationship, the whole concept of the vampire community and Dracula the vampire King, their motivations. It's catching, it's mesmerizing, it charmed and drew me in (read: I cried and wailed together with my friend, this left me a trauma, I had to write a big fanfic to make up for the pain).

Main characters - Adrian, Sypha and Tevor are a bit Ron, Harry and Hermione but they are a lovely trio, I love the tension between Trevor and Adrian. Very loveable characters, and I dare say quite well written.

And, well, Dracula. Excuse me, this one is my personal favourite. I mean - a beautiful castle, that is moved by some cool mechanisms to wherever Dracula pleases, an enormous library with all the forgotten knowledge of the world. Dracula himself is extremely well-educated, well-mannered, THE gentleman (and yeah well 8ft tall but let's skip that bit). I love that character he is in so much pain I want to hug him and cuddle him into warm blankets. He is a sweetheart.

So that was a short attempt of a person who is terrible at criticizing stuff to write some film reviews. In case anyone is interested. And for me to reassemble my journey into the vampire world.

[mrslackles]

what do you think are gg's biggest flaws?

Ooh, Anon! It’s like you’re in my head. 

I’m busy making a video (that will probably never see the light of day) about this --  my distance from the show has really helped with some super objective clarity -- so I’ll use my notes from that to help me answer. 

I’ll preface this by saying what I was most shocked by after putting down all the points was that Rio isn’t even mentioned until really far down??

Anyway, let's get into it.

These are Good Girls' greatest flaws in my opinion (and relative to season 1 -- while I think it had its flaws too, the list is far smaller and I think that's a separate post)

1. It didn't stick to its guns

What set this show apart from others in the 'Everyday person does crime (poorly)' genre was its comedic lightness, strong friendship element, relatability and emphasis on girl power.

a) By season 2, the lightness was already slowly disappearing to make way for season 3's darkness. (Quite literally; this show said sunlight scenes for WHO.) It also stopped being as fun. Remember how it genuinely used to be fun? I mean let's not forget The Best Scene Ever where Ruby shoots Big Mike by accident and we all laughed our asses off. (Compare and contrast to a similar-in-tone-and-context scene -- or even the whole episode -- like Boomer popping up behind them as Rio's package in season 3.) I think season 3 had some great lines and laughs, but in general, the fun element was completely missing for me.

b) As was the friendship. We already know Annie and Ruby basically became Beth's backup dancers in season 2, but at least then they still seemed to have some type of agency. In season 3, they rarely question Beth's (truly questionable) decisions, don't talk to her about shit like why she's still with her horrible husband and have very few true friendship moments as they did in season 1.

c) Which made it less relatable, but what also contributed was the major plot holes (it's less easy to relate when you're constantly having to remind yourself to suspend your disbelief). And, to be honest, their stupid actions. Just the most common-sense things weren't followed, like not taking your children to a crack den or not putting a hit out on a gang leader. It's frustrating watching a TV show -- where characters are supposed to learn things, have arcs and improve over time -- and feeling like you have more logical sense than all the main characters in every scene. (WHO would think a hitman was going to use a sniper rifle on people in broad daylight on the side of the road???)

d) You don't have to look any further than the title or the stans who shout "THE SHOW IS ABOUT THE GIRLS" -- or, hell, the first 10 seconds of the show where Sara is literally talking about the glass ceiling -- to know that the main characters being women is very important to the show. If not formally feminist, it was at least supposed to be empowering or feel like "girl power" (a term I hate, but we won't get into that now).

And I think it did it pretty well in season 1 -- it actually played on my favourite theme of the show, which is the world's perception of these women being what ultimately allows them to get away with so much. (Rife with opportunities for commentary about white privilege, but also a genius way to upend patriarchal beliefs.) But more and more it seemed like the show was asking you to accept empowerment as simply "these things are being done by women, yay".

And, well.

2. Its marketing

I'll keep this one short because I think we all know how messed up this situation is. Basically they're selling a show (every week!) that they're not making while ignoring all feedback on every social media platform. Which brings us to...

3. The marriage of Death

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times -- Beth's character development starts with getting rid of Dean. Her growth is stunted by him on multiple fronts and it's frustrating to viewers since she's constantly put forth as the main character. Not to mention how the audience, separately from Beth, was originally conditioned to see Dean as the scum of the earth (think of scenes like him crashing his car because he was perving on a woman jogging) so keeping them together is really... a choice. To actively root for this marriage (which seems like what the show wants, at least for the protracted moment) means either thinking Dean is a great person (which, as I said, we've only seen the opposite of) or believing he's all Beth deserves. Which leads me to...

4. Beth's (socio)path(y)

Is sociopath a 'good' word? Probably not. Have I seen dozens upon dozens of posts talking about whether Beth is one? Yes. And I see it from a huge variety of people -- from viewers who just binged the show last weekend to those who've been watching for years, the question keeps coming up. And I entirely blame the writing of the show that, by the way, I don't believe is deliberately creating Beth to get this reaction. I think she's written (and, to an extent, acted) in a way that is much too aloof and I'm not convinced it's meant to come off as cold and unfeeling as it does. Everything else leads me to believe that the audience is supposed to root for Beth, but it's just so difficult.

Beth does a lot of messed up shit that requires dialogue to sympathise with her and the inner workings of her mind, but in the later seasons Beth rarely gets to express herself verbally. And every time she does get to speak about her emotions, the dialogue is a pick-your-own-adventure between "She's in so much denial", "This person feels no emotions" and "I'll go find an analysis/fic later to explain this" (scenes like "Nothing" or "I was just bored"). Compare and contrast with some of the great scenes in season 1 where she emotes, like her paralysing shock after they first rob the store or admitting she enjoys crime, or (one of my favourites!) the one in the park where she's mimicking the other mothers beside her.

5. Brio

I said in the beginning that I was shocked Rio doesn't get mentioned until this point and that's because I've always felt like he was an integral part of the show. When people say the show is about the girls, they're truncating -- the show is about the girls getting into crime. That crime is represented by Rio over and over again -- they never bring in another criminal at his level (which is another one of its flaws, but that's also a different post); Rio is it.

And though I stand by Rio's importance, the truth is that Brio isn't as essential to the show, by which I mean that if all of the above were done well, it wouldn't be as sorely missed. In lieu of riveting plot, a fun friendship, character development and empowerment, most viewers have glommed onto Brio like a lifeboat (or ship, heh).

Unfortunately it's also what the show has most stubbornly refused to develop significantly.

It's honestly a toss-up for why I feel Brio is a flaw: is the flaw that they got together? That they never got together well enough? That the writing keeps bringing in these 'chemistry-filled' scenes that are ultimately filled with air?

I don't know. Maybe all of them; maybe just one, depending on the day.

6. Its criticism falls flat without intersectionality

This is a big one because Good Girls is *trying* to do something very clever. As mentioned previously, my favourite theme of the show is how the women's apparent innocence/vulnerability in the eyes of society is their biggest strength. The show plays with this and other interesting themes with varying levels of success, but ultimately they all fall a little flat when they don't feel intersectional.

When Ruby gets sidelined. When Turner, who sees and all but calls out by name Beth's privilege, is portrayed as the villain. When Rio is told he's gonna "pop a cap" in his young child's "ass". When the racist grandma becomes a sympathetic character whom we must later grieve. (And she really didn't have to be racist, now that I think about it? It was just that one line for laughs and that was it.) When, despite the real-world implications, Dean can loudly announce in a store that he's buying a gun to kill someone with and the show just glides past it. When Ruby has to grovel for forgiveness from Beth for trying to protect her husband and family from the system, with no acknowledgement from Beth about how their realities are different. When Rhea gets booted off the show as soon as she's done serving Beth's plot. When Rio gets treated like a prostitute for absolutely no reason. (Oh, and is accused of raping Beth and is literally spoken of as an animal and starts only existing in zero dim lighting as a one-dimensional stereotype... the list goes on.)

7. PR/The actors

I'll risk my life here to sprinkle this in because I do think it's a massive problem. The Manny/Christina of it all is just the tip of the iceberg (although wtf Good Girls? There's nothing you could do to get these two into an interview together??). The main actors do the bare minimum to promote the show and it's weird. I also think it's the height of unprofessionalism to keep characters on the show against the wishes of the majority of the audience just because you enjoy their actors (Boomer confirmed; Dean highly suspected). While, on the flip side of the coin, limiting a character's screentime because you aren't best buddies with them. Having less and less Rio when he's such a fan favourite is dumb; as is not including him in any series marketing material. It feels personal and that isn't how a TV show should be run.

8. The entire hair and wardrobe department needs a stern talking-to

[sab-carpenters]

It's very disappointing and frustrating that for the women to get any screentime of storylines on CF is if they're romance based! I say it time and time again - there is more to the women than the men in their lives! But the writers obviously don't care.

In season 10, the following has happened:

- Stella's storyline of her absence could have focused on HER insecurities and fear of becoming Lieutenant but instead it became a barrier plot for Stellaride.

- Violet, three season's in (one as a regular guest) and we still don't know who she is. First half of the season it was her being jealous of Gallo and the second half with Hawkins. Even the Emma storyline became the which man is going to stand up for her.

- Sylvie's exit at the last half of the season had so much potential to focus on the great work that Paramedicine is doing and she could have taken that program to Portland while visiting Matt. Yet, they choose to have her visit because she misses him.

As a female viewer it's very disheartening that the writers always choose the romance route for their female characters. My favorite seasons are 7 and 8 (Sylvie, Foster and Stella years) because they actually had fun storylines for the Ambo ladies and for Stella that focused just on them or the three of them together. I really miss that.

Sorry for the rant but season 10 was just a disappoint especially for the ladies of the show!

it is really annoying that in order for a character (in this case female) to have more screen time, they have to be in a relationship and we saw this firsthand with sylvie. look what happened to her. after matt left, they slowly started pushing her to the side (i get it, the actress was pregnant but as a show runner and writers, you should be more creative idk). i think the one thing that annoys me is violet’s ‘situation’. all of her storylines have been romance based…even the beer shit. i want to know more about her and her life before coming to 51 but honestly ik that’s not gonna happening knowing the writers and it’s…upsetting. sylvie’s exist was so dumb and i’ll stand by that fact. i get it, she misses matt but they could’ve incorporated paramedicine into the show and wrote her off saying that matt mentioned sylvie’s plans with paramedicine and how they wanted her to come down and start it up but ig the writers are not that creative and gave such a shitty write off 🤷🏽‍♀️ this season has been disappointing as a female viewer (especially a woc). i wish we got to see more of the female bonding. even with sylvie gone, they could’ve shown us more of stella and violet bonding?? idk i was incredibly disappointed by this season so much that i’m like 99.999% sure i’m not watching anymore.

[nautilusopus]

tbh the 2001 version of ocean's eleven is better than the rat pack version (and ocean's 8 too from what i've heard don't @ me) but the dumb subplot with tess is easily the weakest part of it

they could've cut the tess thing and lost absolutely nothing and the movie would've functioned the same, except for maybe the metaphor about the lose half the money or try to keep all of it and lose all of it thing. which wasn't really a terribly strong or compelling theme anyway so

but like julia roberts is acting so goddamn hard and there's just nothing for her to actually do. like never mind the fact that danny's plan to win her back is fucking stupid because that is just not how people act??? like no one in their right mind is gonna go "oh well my current husband is a piece of shit so i guess i'll go back to my ex, who went out of my way to show me what a piece of shit he was while robbing him (which is the reason i broke up with him to begin with because it kind of ruined my life) because our relationship was just that loving prior to the being arrested thing and the movie keeps vaguely alluding to that, even though we never actually see that at any point at all."

like, even in a wish-fulfillment movie, the idea that she'd take him back because of all this stuff is batshit moon logic at best. except then she does. the problem is, a movie like ocean's eleven is already purely style over substance in the biggest way possible, and i mean this as a positive. it is extremely stylish and it is there to BE stylish. it has nothing deep to say to you, but it wasn't trying to do that anyway. it's a popcorn movie, and it is here to show you some people stealing things in a really fucking cool way. the director even outright admits this in an interview, claiming he set out to make "just a pure piece of entertainment" and i think he fucking nailed it, and i especially love shit that knows what it wants to do at the outset and then does it without fucking around and with a high degree of competence. this movie knew what it wanted to do and then set out to be the best version of itself it could possibly be and absolutely knocked all the goals it set out of the park

this is especially important given that it's still not a brainless movie despite being a turn-your-brain-off movie; it's a heist movie. there are a lot of moving parts, and that shit is very hard to do well without it feeling dumb and contrived (just look at ocean's 12). knowing how much to show the audience so they can follow what's going on/the reveal is hard! knowing what to hide so there can still be an air of uncertainty around the plan is hard! maintaining suspension of disbelief for a movie that specifically is calling attention to logical inconsistencies, meaning it has to keep its narrative even more tightly wound than normal, is hard! all these things are difficult, and ocean's eleven does all these things really, really goddamn well. it is genuinely a brilliant piece of filmmaking. (maybe i will get into how at a later date but for now i want to encourage you to watch it yourself by bitching about it shhhh don't question me. all i'll say is that brad pitt was actually fucking spot-on casting.)

tess is a fucking lamp, though, and her existence only serves to detract from the experience. i am only this mad about her because the rest of the movie is so good otherwise (hell, even her individual one-on-one scenes with danny, all fucking two of them, are well-acted and well-written), so it REALLY sticks out how awkward it is as a whole package.

and i know why they put the damn thing in, they needed an emotional core of some sort to the movie s it wasn't completely fucking shallow, because even in a popcorn flick there has to be something for the audience to care about. but like..................................... the heist crew is right there

like a huge chunk of the dialogue in ocean's eleven (mostly the banter, which is again one of the strongest parts of the movie) is ad-libbed. the cast all have excellent chemistry with one another and play off each other extremely naturally, and all the time in behind the scenes footage all anyone talks about is how genuinely well everyone got along, to the point where they'd just hang out on set with each other instead of going back to their trailers between shoots. and you're obviously invested in the heist, which in turn helps you get invested in the crew, and the actors work well together. and the sharp banter is the other reason besides the heist that you're watching the movie anyway and just

why not make THAT the emotional core of the movie why not build on that? it's right fucking there

why does nobody see these things

did they really think they needed a romance to sell this thing THAT BAD when the core cast already had such great chemistry. not to mention like a solid third of the movie is just danny and rusty exchanging Knowing Looks between one another and i absolutely buy them as friends that go way back a lot more easily than i buy danny and tess as a couple that were truly happy with each other a long time ago, in part due to them actually fucking getting screentime together. c'mon man

that isn't to say I think a Danny/Rusty romance subplot would improve the movie or is anything i particularly want to see, but the point is that the main cast already has a lot of chemistry together that is in turn written INTO the script already and they could've just worked with that lkdflhsdkslhhgssg.

or like, if you must have tess, maybe you could actually incorporate her into the heist properly beyond Existing as a weird mafia cuck subplot? this is actually something i think ocean's twelve did do right (just a shame about the heist in question but whatever, credit where it's due). as mentioned, roberts's perfornance isn't bad either and she also plays off clooney well in the brief fucking moments they're onscreen together.

i dunno. i feel like there were better options than what we did get. the tess subplot is a black spot on an otherwise really fucking good experience.

......................................................and YES OKAY FINE obviously i'm fucking biased for wanting more found family crime squad nonsense but that doesn't meant i'm wrong either.

[majormeilani]

Bow kid and Stan Pines for bongo

for bongo......

bow kid:

i feel like bow kid is so awesome as a character and i do wish she was utilized better in the game. they could have implemented her better so outfits and hats and dyes work on her better bc it makes me sad that they don't since her head model is different than hattie's. and while in a technical sense, she and hat kid have the same amount of screentime being the protagonists, i wish they gave her her own splash screens and photos during picture perfect and the passport photo. (which does show up as her on the main menu but not when you're making the photo edits...)

since she's kinda customizable as a protag, i do like to kinda project onto her a bit and have so many hcs and stuff for her. especially to make her differ more from hattie bc while i do think they're very similar, they definitely do have differences that make them unique.

i am glad that she gets posters in the metro and she's such a little sweetie :] love her sm <3 just need MORE bow kid content tbh...

stanley:

i can't go into super details on stan rn but just know he's my fucking beloved and perfect and my favorite and anything bad he did was okay bc at the very least it was funny. (also deletes any instances of him being mean to dipper bc shut up he cares about him idc if it was for the sake of plot)

i'm jkjkjkkjk but i love stan.... :'(( i love kinda jerk characters who are good at heart but love so much and stan is definitely one of those characters for me. blorbo from my show u-u

and i also wish we got to see more stuff with him and ford together not fighting bc i would have loved that. unfortunately i get that disney is dumb as shit and didn't think that would be interesting but like they're stupid and wrong bc it is.