#i'm most likely not making any sense

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

Me when I really want to draw fanart for a fandom because it looks so cool, but I haven't the slightest idea about any deeper lore than surface level plot and symbolism

[iizuumi]

Enough general kn8 art, time to make everyone look at my weird little ship hello

[lucysablefan]

alright it's time,,, sweet home 2 review

so,, i don't fully rmbr s1 maybe i'll rewatch it for yoon jisoo bc i love her but,, i did like s2 better

first of all i like that the exposition isn't in your face, i saw some ppl saying there was too much going on bc too many subplots and all and i unkindly disagree i liked the new characters and i like how everything doesn't have to make sense from the beginning you can just figure it out as you watch and i'm a big fan of that

also maybe i'm being silly but i don't see how there were too many plots bc?? it's just ppl facing the end of the world as they knew it and adapting to a new lifestyle, trying to survive and all there's new characters which makes sense bc it's happening in a whole new place and ngl i did think it was a little weird to go from "we're stuck in this building" to we're not really stucjrbut we live in this new place with new ppl and there's outside stuff happening at the same time but when i got used to it it was fine tbh

now when they do the time skip (cw nancy drew war flashbacks) i was a bit confused i had to make sure it wasn't the wrong ep but still not necessarily a bad thing

now before i start and also bc idk where to start i Will say it's a bit weird how they keep killing their disabled characters, yoon jisu also went through it i think it's really interesting to see how she deals with her loss of hearing and it speaks to how exhausted she must have been after everything she went through to survive s1 she goes deaf a'd simply doesn't tell anyone she's like,, ooh a problem for another day getting to a safe place comes first especially with her past and all it becomes all the more heartbreaking now i didn't look into it but park gyuyoung was Booked that year so that might be why they killed off her character still i enjoyed her performance for the few eps where she was still alive

now onto the star of the show lee eunyoo slaying once more but this time in a way that feels more respectable/admirable,, again i don't rmbr much of s1 but in my memory she was mostly just bark not much bite and i'm happy that she started to get more active altho i'm sad that it comes from all the loss she's suffered, her brother who she desperately hopes is alive, her crush (i'm still so confused abt that like i don't understand straight ppl so maybe that's why but their whole thing should have been explored a little more if they wanted me to think of it as romantic) disappeared he could be dead for all she knows, that one sister kid (i'm sorry but i'm too lazy to look up any names rn) and then yoon jisu and that all builds up to her whole murderer misunderstanding + knowing that her reputation also has consequences on ppl she might as well consider family so even tho there's no use trying to convince ppl she's not a murderer there's still smth she thinks she can do which is : isolate herself and try her hardest to bear the blame all on her own. she probably sees a bit of herself in that kid who lost his sister and she tries to make sure he doesn't stray off the right path but really who is she to tell him what to do? and just now i realized this could very well mirror her relationship to her brother, they're not related but they Are family and so she tries to keep him safe doesn't want him to end up like her but she can't replace his sister and he can't replace her brother

now that little guy,, i'm so happy with how he's written. this guy loses his dad and then his sister and he rmbrs being told that if he's bad, bad things will happen but what exactly did he do wrong to suffer so much loss? nothing, and that explains his anger and his rebellion everything that's happened has made him harden now he knows what it is to survive, and he knows abt loss and he knows abt being orphaned and in a way he knows abt loneliness even though he's just a kid so ofc he's mad ofc he's rebelling sure you could think of him as annoying if you want but even then you should still be able to understand why he's become like this and me personally i could never be mad at him

now another kid that i like,, new girl played by kim sia (don't quote me on that tho) i love that she truly is Just a kid, she's a monster from birth which ultimately makes her unique but she was also born from a human mother who then abandons her (tbt to me comparing this to frankenstein) then she's raised by this amazing monster brother and she easily makes friends with other monsters probably also bc of her powers so in her head : monsters = good. she doesn't know much abt humans besides from the fact that she was abandoned by one but then her mother comes back and she's willing to try and understand them, surely if her mother's human then they can't be that bad right? wrong! get abused bc of smth you can't change and aren't responsible for lol l + ratio. after that she gets abused by more humans and her brother goes more or less missing he himself is struggling with his own monster vs. human thing. she ends up regretting giving humans a chance and decides black and white thinking Is the answer for sure : monsters are good and humans are bad. however this isn't enough and she wants revenge, she turns her monster repulsed mother into half (?) a monster. and i can't commend her enough bc yes, if you hate monsters so much, why don't you try being one, and then maybe they can be a real family, her, her mother and her brother.

now the question remains : are humans the real monster?

and from episode 1 sweet home seems to be telling you that, yes, they are. but most especially humans in positions of power. those ppl. dying in that tunnel? killed by military, scared military sure but just a little pause would have made them realize the monster they were facing was in no way harmless, just a parent trying to play hide and seek going so far as to protect someone's child just bc they can relate to that kind of fear. the threat in that moment comes from the humans in charge of ppl's safety, and the ppl who want to be seen as trustworthy protectors end up renouncing the military and the ppl in power who seem to think so little of ppl's lives, we do seem to have a clear villain and that line of thinking starts off strong from episode 1 in a way that almost seems Too brutal but does feel right.

now unto,, yang hyeji,,, my gf,,, and jung yeseul my poor little meow meow,,,, this goes back to the beginning of this rant,, i don't need obvious exposition and i don't need all the information from the get go. jung yeseul gets privilege from her mother being an important person in this new small society and uses it to her advantage why bother with working when she can take it easy? she takes full advantage and i can't blame her, what would i do in her position? idk i'm not in her position. but as time passes you start to see that there's one person she doesn't want to disappoint and it's her mother, why? bc she's not her biological mother, just like she took her in she could easily cast her out, there's nothing she wants more than to be her mother's daughter. now this might alr be theory but i think the person in that one family picture? not jung yeseul but the biological kid instead now that kid is sick so who is the mother protecting? not jung yeseul, she threw her to the wolves easily bc she simply doesn't care, so that leave us with two options : her husband or her kid who could have survived by turning into a monster now jung yeseul who so desperately wanted a mother is faced with this betrayal, she was lied to, she has no one to rely on. does she pull a lee eunyoo or do her friends step up to help? that's smth we'll hopefully find out in s3 and i can't wait for that i am so curious abt her i sant her to betray her mother to prove that she can learn from her and i want more girls supporting girls. i need to see what becomes of jung yeseul in s3.

now lee eunhyuk,, he is there,, good for him don't be too bitchy and just go back to your sister pwease

and those two military guys? yeah they're gay. you can't make me think otherwoser, the evidence is right in front of my eyes. so hopefully they decide that ableism is bad enough and they don't need to add homophobia on top of that and they let them be happy!

that science,, go oh jungse keep being a little freak with your ideas on human evolutions hopefully you have fun and then you die

priest guy? i need to know what his and that other girl's deal is, i love a messy illegal past i hope he dies and she lives but it seems unlikely.

lucysablefan 2023 review

also i didn't get to talk abt my top however many things that i've watched in 2023 and i'm probably going to have to make this into a thread but firdt of all revenant and celebrity are definitely Up There for me from the cast to the story and everything else i was completely into those shows and that's a lot for me bc getting bored halfway into a show is my number one (reluctant) hobby.

i definitely think revenant escaped that partly bc there was no obvious romance plot for me to get bored after they get tgt but even without it being obvious kim taeri and hong kyung tgt in that show was one of the best decision ever made in cinema. kim taeri stuns us once again with her amazing acting + shim dalgi moment s, that was great i'm still not done watching more of her stuff but i really do love seeing her in stuff i'm watching it's always a delightful surprise and she slayed that role like it was written for her so that was great. oh jungse was there too (ig 🙄) and it was nice he did his job and i was sold + yang hyeji moment ! always a blast seeing her in anything (will make another appearance when i talk abt sweet home 2 in this post eventually)

now celebrity,,, amazing drama, i'll be honest at first i wasn't too sold on the influencer plotline but it's a park gyuyoung drama and as a humble lesbian i just had to tune in + lee chungha slay once again, i've loved her ever since vampire detective and this character was amazing for her

anyways i loved the plot, loved the execution, one grievance i have is definitely the fact that seo ari ends up with that loser classist guy intead of yoon sihyeon which was??? like if not for homophobia ik they would have ended up tgt bc seo ari has too much respect to stay with hjk for sure

also one thing i absolutely Have to comment on is that one scene where seo ari ruins her dress and then she goes "i can just pay for it" or smth along those lines and when she realizes what she said she gets a little taken aback? ye that scene birthed me actually bc??? what amazing writing truly just art

also literally the whole cast in that show was just like oh ye i'm an amazing performer and here's proof so that was definitely a treat for the audience (me)

now smth that Didn't come out during that year but i finally watched bc of park sewan (i still haven't finished doona but when i found out she played in it i was like!!!! school 2017 actress moment, idk why i have this weird cast of school 2017 thing but i do and it simply can't be helped) anwz it's!!!! ultimate weapon alice or wth title that you know it by. now i'll be honest the ending? i wasn't thrilled but i also didn't care much for it bc this drama just felt like one where the ending really isn't that important like ye i used to study lit so having an "oh this is a tragedy (shakespeare war flashbacks)" moment is always nice but that's not what this is abt, the sound design (? eng isn't my first language so don't be mean to me) alone makes this show better than average, the writing? impeccable, those imaginary somewhat comedic scenes? right up my alley, every episode was just a treat after another i had a Great time watching it, the characters and their dynamics were truly amazing and the acting was just constantly delivering once again i just love park sewan and i will finish watching doona for her (mostly, i love suzy too ofc <3)

now smty else i watched that i lived this year : enigma. what a show, short but a masterpiece nonetheless and i can't wait for s2 although obv as i was forced to learn through being a cw nancy drew fan, i should always keep my expectations low when the first season is a little too good. also prim won't be there which booooo,, but i'll get over it and i can't wait to see the new charas.

one thing to know abt me : i love visually pleasing stuff and if you play around with format a little bit and add some great mixed media to your show not only am i sold but i'm also telling whoever is willing to listen to go and watch your show i'm easy and i'm not ashamed.

anwz brain no worky anymore so i'll add onto this eventually but don't hold me to that (just rmbrd i have to talk abt sweet home 2 so i Will be back for that hehe)

[vaguely-concerned]

having seen at least the rough outlines of all the romances now I have to say that I think emmrich's is probably objectively the best in terms of coherence and completeness of story arc (with the understanding that ultimately the 'best' romance is whichever one makes YOUR heart sing anyway so objectivity is a silly thing to claim that way, it just felt like it's the arc with the most well-paced focused content and the least dangling threads)... but lucanis' is my favourite haha. just. the whole kneeling before your beloved full of reverence but without any of the distance that usually implies??? his complete undramatic certainty and calm in every scene with rook after this, having spent the whole game caught between fear and longing???? mr. lives in a pantry but it says nothing about my psyche don't worry about it it's purely for tactical reasons that I keep myself contained in a small dark room not entirely unlike a cell, love among the parsnips -- finally coming to rook in their room and it's so comfortable and comforting???? after all the times rook supports and comforts him through the game he's finally able to return the same to them when they need it while being so calm and steady and it's so fucking sweet and feels so effortless and with no price attached?????? he basically assigns himself the role of your bodyguard and he WILL stab a god over it??????????????? the turn to protector (which was in his heart all along longing to get out and find a place) of it all????? he sounds like he's found himself unexpectedly stumbling into such a soul-lightening state of revelatory existential relief, full on 'you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves' mary oliver style, and he goes and he shares that with rook and protectively envelops them in it when they're hurting??????????????????????????? hello for the maker's sake hello can anyone hear me?????

[canonkiller]

do you consider your self made?

[project-sekai-facts]

How are we feeling about ensekai’s emu3 translation!!! (I’m mad)

(if you remember the 3 whole posts i made when asahi got de-gayed on EN you'll know i am mad too and that this is probably going to get long)

i don't like to be too cynical but it was so obvious that they were going to change that line, i had a feeling since the event first released on JP and after the incident with Asahi where I went through and tracked down multiple other examples of EN removing queer subtext it became clear to me that in no way shape or form was "emu-chan really loves nene-chan" making it to EN without getting changed. what i didn't expect was them changing Nene's line after Luka's comment, which actually makes this whole situation far worse than many of their other instances of toning down queer subtext.

for anyone who isn't aware of what happened, in chapter 5 of the current Emu event, there's a scene where Nene, Rui and the Virtual Singers are talking about what would cheer Emu up. The vsingers all talk about how much Emu loves spending time with Nene, leading to the following exchange

If you look for them, any fan TL of this scene will be something similar to this:

Luka: ...Fufu. Emu-chan really loves Nene-chan, doesn't she? Nene: Th-that's nothing special...

EN's official translation is this:

So what's the issue? I'll start with Luka's part. In the original text, she uses the word daisuki, which can mean to "like a lot" or "love". It's a word you will see frequently in the idol/idol-adjacent genre of games, due to its ambiguity in that it can be read as either platonic or romantic when used towards a person, and often will be used in ambiguous situations so that it's harder to confirm the writers' intentions either way. so here, fans of the emu/nene ship could view the fact that emu loves spending her time with nene as more on the romantic side, but people who don't like the ship could view it as platonic and move on.

while they didn't translate daisuki directly, Luka's line still works, and still contains the ambiguity that works as ship tease in the original text. it's a perfectly fine localisation that still conveys the original intent. despite that, there is something to be said about EN's consistent refusal to translate daisuki as love in most instances when it's not used on An/Kohane (but then again, EN has literally teased An/Kohane on their twitter account so is it all that surprising?).

Here's some examples:

Aibou no koto ga daisuki de / he loves his partner -> he cares about his partner very much (The Power of Unity chapter 7 when Kaito is comparing Arata to Akito and Toya)

HARUKA-CHAN, DAISUKI DAYOOOO!!! / HARUKA-CHAN, I LOOOOOVEEE YOU!!! -> You're the best!!! (Dear Me, As I Was Back Then chapter 4 when minori is at an ASRUN concert. this one isn't actually that great of a localisation)

Honachan no koto daisuki dakara. Kore de iinda yo. / I love Honachan, so this is fine. -> I want what's best for her. And this is it. (Leo/need main story chapter 14 after Saki tells Honami she won't bother her anymore)

Minna daisuki de - taisetsuna tomodachi na no / I love them all - they're my dearest friends -> They're all amazing, and very dear to me. (Leo/need main story chapter 17. this isn't good either)

What's particularly amusing about that last one is that there's a second official translation for it that I assume was done by JP staff (since EN never promoted doing the Journey to Bloom subs like they did back when they provided subs for Petit SEKAI) that actually keeps the word daisuki as love.

Yeah. I love all my friends - and they mean the world to me.

It's a better localisation than the official EN team one.

Questionable localisation choices aside, Luka's line is fine and is actually in line with the original. The issue with this localisation very much lies with Nene's part, because that is an entirely new line.

In the original text, Nene's "that's just normal" or "that's nothing special" or however you choose to TL it, is meant to be her questioning Luka's statement, since all the things that the other vsingers said that Emu liked were pretty normal things like going shopping and playing video games with nene. To Nene, these things are normal activities for them to do together, so she gets embarrassed by the fact that Luka concludes from that information that Emu loves Nene. When I dissect it like that I think you can really tell what the writers were going for here lol.

"That's just us being friends" does still convey the idea that Nene thinks these activities aren't anything out of the ordinary and she isn't sure why the vsingers are picking these out as some of Emu's favorite things to do, but it's very different from the original line. "But those are just normal things we do together" is something I just came up with on the spot, but it's a lot closer to the original text and still conveys the same meaning. The fact they changed the line to "that's just us being friends" is, honestly, not even subtle that they're covering up queer subtext. The original scene was very clearly written in as ship tease, and EN mentioning "friends" for no reason, especially since the word nor anything close to it was not used in the original, is instantly a red flag because it's like the go-to for queerbaiting and censorship. This was intentional. There was no need for them to specify that the relationship is platonic, Luka's part is ambiguous for a reason so that fans can view it how they like.

Just to top all this off, here's Rin's original line just before that Luka+Nene interaction:

Oh, and! And! She said that playing games with Nene-chan is also super fun!

And here's Rin's line from the official EN translation:

That's not the same thing, but even more weirdly, the incorrect part (super fun->really loves) is a correct translation for the part changed in Luka's line. So, they can do it, they are willing to say "really loves", just not in the right places. Maybe because Rin's part is less personal than Luka's part? It's strange actually, this isn't the first time they've done this either. Off the top of my head I can think of an example from Shiho's Varied Kindness 2* story where they translated the word "suki" as really loves, despite that being much stronger than the original word used (and the fact that daisuki is used a lot in the Leo/need stories and it's incredibly rare if not entirely unknown for them to translate it correctly).

It's not subtle that they're trying to remove implications of the characters possibly being queer, they did it in curtain call and they did it in walk on and on, and multiple times before then too. And considering some of the content in this year's events and the amount of times they say daisuki alone, it's gonna keep happening. honestly i hate the fact that i keep trying to justify the translations in these posts. these translations are intentional. what happened in the curtain call translation back in october says enough. when a character who uses explicitly romantic language towards another guy passes as a straight character in the translation you know they're doing it on purpose.

oh and once again, it's only the EN server that has this issue. The scene in question was translated almost word-for-word on the TW and KR servers.

read fan translations. they're better than what EN gives us and people put a lot of effort into them.

[caeslxys]

Something I think is extremely interesting thematically when it comes to connecting what Downfall and the ideas it tackled to the overarching narrative of campaign three is that the things Downfall made a point to showcase of Aeor—Cassida, Hallis, the visual of an aeormaton proposing to her partner, the specific and intentional decision to shed light on a far from insignificant amount of the population being civilians or refugees—is that it plays in perfect parallel across from what is happening (and, really, has been happening) to the ruidusborn on Exandria in present.

Bear with me for a moment. Aeor is ultimately a city that was collectively punished for the decisions of its leadership. We could (and, judging by the amount of discourse around this particular topic already, probably will) argue about what the Gods’ motivation for all of this was—whether it be that they could not, in the end, bear to kill their siblings or that they were terrified at the prospect of mortality—for me it is a very healthy dose of both—but for this I am much more interested in the latter. They were scared. That, really, is the driving force behind both this arc and their role in c3 as a whole.

Why I point this out is: It is far more interesting to me, especially as we go back to Bells Hells this week, to dissect the Gods and their decisions not purely on sympathetic motivation alone but as beings in the highest seat of power in the highest social class in Exandria.

So, having established that the Gods (in relation to mortals) are more a higher social class than anything we could compare to our real life understanding of divinity and that Aeor was eviscerated largely because of their fear—what is the difference between those innocents in Aeor caught in the trappings of their autocratic government leadership and a divine war on the ground, and those of the ruidusborn being manipulated both by Ludinus and by the very thing that inspired such visceral fear in the Gods to start with. I would argue very little.

I think of Cassida, doing what she genuinely thought was right and good and would save people, her son, and the object of her worship—and how that did not matter enough to any of them to spare her because of the fear they held at the very concept of mortality. I think of Liliana and Imogen, one of which we know begged for the gods to help her or send her a sign for years on years, and how every single one of their largest struggles could have been avoided had the gods loved them, their supposed children, as much as they feared what they could be. I think of how the thing that did save Imogen, in the end, was a woman who herself existed in direct defiance of the gods will. I think of that young boy, sixteen years old, that Laudna exalted on Ruidus.

I think it’s completely fair to judge Aeor’s overall society as deeply corrupt—it was!—but its leadership and police force are not a reflection of every one of its citizens. Similarly, it is fair to judge the Ruby Vanguard as corrupt—it is!—but its multiple heads of leadership and even the god-eater further are not a reflection of every one of its members.

Notably, and what I think the Hells will latch onto, this did not matter to the Gods. It did not matter that Cassida was trying to help. She was still too much of a risk. Will it matter, what Imogen does? Will it matter, if that young boy is in the blast radius when they decide to take no further chances?

I’ve seen a lot of people say that the Hells will side with the gods and I don’t think I agree. Especially as Imogen has been scolded and villainized over and over for daring to try and save her mother—who herself has been seen by some as an irredeemable evil in spite of her drive being the exact same—her family—but when it’s the Gods it’s justified? When it’s the Gods, it’s sympathetic? Too sympathetic to criticize further than “they’re family”?

I obviously do not think the Gods should die or be eaten or what have you, and I certainly don’t agree with Ludinus (though I find him much more compelling than just a variation of hubris wizard), but when talking about the Gods in Aeor and in present it isn’t really at all about their motivation or their family. It can’t be. Too many people, including our active protagonists, lives have been effected for it to be as cut and dry as “they’re family”. These are your children. They are your family, too.

[rainofthetwilight]

just saw someone call arin selfish gn everyone

[teddybeartoji]

me and suguru me and suguru me and suguru... mm maybe it's a few days after our first kiss (which isn't even a proper kiss btw i'll talk abt that soon too dw) and the air between us is just a little weird bc neither of us has yet to bring it up....

and now we haven't seen each other for the whole day too bc we both had stuff to do but. we have this Event in the evening and we're both supposed to attend alongside with satoru and shoko...

suguru's the last to arrive and by that time all three of us are a little tipsy already, laughing loudly at one of the tables together. he sees me throwing my head back, cackling at one of satoru's stupid jokes and suguru pokes the side of his cheek with his tongue. he hasn't seen me in a dress. ever. and now he's forced to take all of that in with the side of me boosting satoru's ego by going along with everything he says.

when he finally joins the table, his hand rests on the backrest of mine, his body towering over me as he teases satoru over smth aaand when i tilt my head back to look at him he glances at me and i die. thank you for listening to my tedtalk. no but yeah i blush and just try to keep my composure bc that shit is embarrassing as fuck he should not be having such an effect on me jfc.

he sits way too close to me too. mind you, we haven't talked properly in like two days. his hand stays behind my back for the rest of the night, his thigh bumping against mine as he manspreads on his seat (😒😒) but the second he sees me roll my shoulders and squeeze my eyes shut, the first signs of me getting tired, he leans closer to, his lips brushing against my ear. "want to go outside, hm?"

shoko gives me an awfully Knowing smirk but i go with him anyway (obviously).

(his hand stays glued to my lower back for the entire time he guides me through the crowd.)

i rest against the wall of the building and he stands in front of me, a few strands of his hair falling from their slicked back place as he places a cig between his lips. he lights it while keeping eye-contact. he's got that grin on his face. i hate it (he looks so fucking good).

he takes a step, now standing tall and proud right there in my own personal space. he's way too close. but it's not like i'd ever push him away. so he stays; inhales the smoke and then exhales it to the side. and then he's raising his hand to me and places the stick between my lips without a word. he watches how i breathe it in in slow motion. he can smell my perfume. i blow the smoke in his face and all he does is stare at me with that look on his face.

"you gonna kiss me again?"

"you want me to?"

i want to punch him.

"oh, fuck off."

he hums, his eyes flicking to my lips when he sees the corners twitching, an annoyed smile threatening to break out.

"you look really pretty... " his words trail off, his eyes heavy as they meet mine.

"yeah?"

"yeah... " his fingertips dance on my waist, treading on thin ice, on the thin fabric of my dress and i just wish i could crack open his head and see what he's thinking about. i swear he's even closer now; i can hear him taking in another puff of the cigarette and i can feel the warmth of his body against mine. i can feel his thigh pressing against mine. "i missed you, you know?"

okay, so i really want to punch him.

"and who's fault is that, hm?"

his grin stretches wider. he likes it when i push back, talk back. fight back. it makes this little game of his even more fun.

but before he can trap me with his sweet, honeyed words, the door slams open and out stumble shoko and satoru, their arms locked as they talk way too loudly. i turn to look at them, suguru doesn't. inhale.

he hums to himself again as he holds back on the urge to push my hair behind my shoulder to expose even more of my skin, his teeth itching at the mere thought.

exhale.

[youchangedmedestiel]

I know it's fun and all that everybody is talking about Destiel.

And I'm like the first one reblogging many of those here. Balls deep Destiel and everything. Because like I said it's fun, and it's acknowledged while it wasn't the case AT ALL before.

But I have this feeling that they don't really talk about the love between Dean and Cas. The thing is I'm not shipping them because they are just two hot guys that I want to see make out on my screen.

I ship them because of the way they love each other. And I don't want them to believe that we just think of them as being two hot guys that needs to make out, because through the jokes it's what I'm getting. Really hope I'm wrong.

[nachosncheezies]

In defense of late-canon x files (including the revivals)

I was thinking about this poll after I commented on it, and I kinda want to be brave and say more.

Short answer to the poll's question before I go any further: If you're a new fan and a sensitive sort who thinks you'll struggle with your blorbos Really Going Through It and you really need a happy ending, I suggest you stop at the end of season 8. Do not pass go, do not look at spoilers. Disregard this post entirely, close the internet, and go look at something that makes you happy. (Also fuck every part of society that characterizes sensitivity as inherently weak and bad and some kind of personal failing, you are valid.)

That said, "quality" as a concept is entirely subjective, and the question of whether or not there's a decline in quality for any story is wholly subjective, too. In the case of x files? I'm not convinced there is a decline. I am going to be upfront that I haven't yet watched past season 8, though I am almost completely spoiled on events after that - and the reason I haven't watched yet is not because of how I know events are going to unfold, but simply because I don't want it to end!!! Ohh, the tension between "I CAN'T WAIT!!!" and "Nooo don't be over D:"

When I first came to txf fandom on tumblr and gradually became spoiled about what happens in late canon though, I was often left uncomfortable and tbh kinda queasy about it. As I said in my comment on the poll, the hate for especially the revival and IWTB, or to a lesser extent even seasons 8 & 9, is very well documented. But! There are other takes to be found here on tumblr if you figure out where to look, and my feelings have changed!

The thing is, I have yet to find myself in any fandom where there isn't a vocal subset of fans who dislike the story after a certain point. I am not joking when I say that no one hates the things they love as passionately as sci-fi and fantasy fans. In my experience, it often hinges on the extent to which a viewer has strong notions on where they would like the characters to end up. In particular with series where shipping is a dominant component for the bulk of a fandom, I have almost universally found that there comes some turning point in the story where "let them be happy you cowards" is the dominant view, and things that compromise the attainment of a degree of romantic stability and/or domesticity are, to many fans, annoying at best and despicable at worst. But! As one tagset on the linked poll said:

and I think for any fandom, that last tag especially is so so so important. (I think that's harder for people watching a weekly series live, bc you have so much time to analyze and speculate and dream before the next breadcrumb drops, but I digress.)

So why am I saying this and how do I apply it to x files? Well, I eventually found that there are also a subset of fans who find redeeming things right up to the very end and actually quite like the whole thing! The things that I had seen people rage and ventpost so much about honestly never quite sounded to me as "out of character" or "untrue to the story" etc as those same ventposts made them sound. And I've discovered I'm not the only one who felt that way. Do I love that the spooky squad had to go through all of those things? No, those poor guys D: Life is hard and they have been through so much trauma. But do those events and their choices make sense to me in light of everything that came before? Yes! And I honestly can't wait to see them fight to overcome those things, breaking, healing, always learning, always growing, always getting better.

So if you're wondering "where does it go wrong"... well, I'm a completionist, as many people who've answered that post are, but also my personal opinion is that I don't think it does go wrong. If you're new and interested in exploring why I've gone from "vaguely queasy" to "excited" about the whole thing, or want to maybe balance out the impressions you're getting about the later seasons before deciding whether or not you want to see the whole thing, I'll put a few blog names in the comments.

Final admission: even once I started feeling a little more confident in the possibility that "actually ok maybe I'm not crazy, maybe this all kind of is in character and does make sense", there was one big plot point that I was NOT looking forward to and I thought I would never be comfortable about. In hindsight, I think my discomfort came from the negative responses being SO seemingly universal that I hadn't stopped to let myself truly consider other possible interpretations on that point. (I mean my initial instinct when I first read about it was, why are we mad about this?? CSM is literally the most unreliable narrator in history???? it's obviously fake news?????? this must be either a fever dream someone's having or it's a misdirection ploy against whatever shadowy forces might still be lurking?????????????? but for whatever reason I guess I had halfway written that off.) Happily, just last month there's a new post-s11 novel out, and although reviews for the book as a whole are mixed, it seems to have laid the groundwork for resolving that plot issue in a way I think most fans would be broadly happy with. If you're interested in being spoiled about that and seeing how, I recommend searching #perihelion on @agent-troi who liveblogged reading it with receipts, scroll back chronological-style to the first post on the subject and see how it unfolded. (And never forget that Dana Katherine Scully is the queen of denial as a coping mechanism lol)

Everyone's mileage will vary. Each person can feel however they want! But for anyone new, I wanted you to know that the very many ventposts you might be seeing are not all there is to this show or its fandom. Some of us love it despite - or even because of - all the things that went "wrong". I think we just don't talk about it as much.

[hopeswriting]

was thinking about takeshi and how he's my favorite brand of unconditional devotion btw. the utter and absolute and all-consuming kind that runs so deep to the very core and is so intrinsic and fundamental to it, it can only express itself in the most casual and natural and certain way. without second thoughts, without any room for doubts or for any moral dilemma to be had over it, because of course he ought to always be breathing and living for his chosen person first and foremost. of course he ought to hang on their every word and make them true no matter what, no matter what he has to do to make it happen, no matter what he has to do to other people to make it happen, and no matter what it might turn him into in the process. because it's obviously the way the world should be for his chosen person. at their feet, ready to bend over backwards and break and build itself again to better answer to all their needs even if they don't ask it for it. it's the only right way it should be for them, and of course takeshi's going to do his utmost at all times to make it a reality as much as possible.

and his devotion comes out as naturally as breathing, comes out lighthearted and nonchalant like he might as well be talking about the weather, but it's not unaware of itself. it's not that takeshi doesn't know it's unhealthy and wrong and that he's willing to go entirely too far in its name for anyone's good. it's not that he wouldn't hear you out if you were to sit him down and explain to him just why he needs to tone it down a little (a lot). logically, he'd agree with you and know you're right. and then he'd tell you he's still not going to do anything whatsoever about it. that he's not bothered by it and doesn't feel the need to change anything to his attitude. makes it a point to never let anyone or anything sway him even an inch in the stand he took when it comes to that, no matter how many thousand of times you might go over the subject with him.

because the morality of his devotion isn't the point at all. is entirely irrelevant to it and doesn't affect the way he expresses it all. it's not the metric with which he draws a line in the sand to hold it accountable to. because the thing is, takeshi's entire world revolves around tsuna--tsuna is his entire world altogether, and it's just a matter of fact, that simple. to him it's a truth as unchanging as the sky being blue, and so being the way he is according to that truth is the only way he can imagine being that'd feel right to him. and so the actual and only metric that matters here is "would tsuna be happier if i were to do this?" and/or "is this something tsuna needs me to do?"

and like. i don't think takeshi ever stops being a kind person capable of compassion and understanding and mercy and forgiveness even ten years later once they became mafia through and through. and i don't think either he grows up to be feared and called a monster per se despite the things they inevitably had to do during those ten years (and the things they'll inevitably keep having to do as long as they keep being mafia), at least not in the way, for example, they'll never stop fearing and calling mukuro one. but i do think that among the tenth gen, he ends up being the one with the most ruthless, merciless and horrific blood on his hands of that particular and distinct loving kind. you know the one i mean, right? he comes to be the one most expected and the one first expected to be willing and to take it upon himself to go through with it when the need arises. and to think little of it after, if anything at all. all in the name of making tsuna's reign as easy on him as possible.

and it's to the point where it's the kind of blood that makes even mukuro pause at times. or, when takeshi is the one coming up with solutions himself during meetings, makes even reborn blink. not because it's unjustified or wouldn't be safe or efficient or anything of the sort, but because it is unwarrantedly thorough in its retaliation. and sometimes, at times like this, he's the one tsuna needs to step in for the most, because he's the only one who can reason with him that "yes, this would work in getting rid of our problem" but "no, please, don't do that takeshi". because if tsuna is the only thing that infers on just how much and in what ways he'll let himself be devoted to him, then of course, he's also the only one takeshi's willing to reign himself in for without second thoughts. because he'd hate to ever do something tsuna would disapprove of or wouldn't want him to do. or do something that'd make tsuna see him differently or love him back less even in the slightest.

and it's also like. his devotion isn't an undisciplined one. it's not one he doesn't have control over, the very opposite. it's a very purposeful and conscious choice he chooses to keep making over and over again every step of the way, and he taught himself to have control over it, to know when it's needed and/or wanted, and how much and in which ways it is when it happens, and to keep it down otherwise. and, yes, to also reign it back in at tsuna's request at times when it still slips past his control. because it's all about making tsuna's happiness easier and secure and long-lasting, and never about burdening him with just how committed he is to do that.

so it comes down to this: takeshi willing to go above and beyond and more for tsuna unless tsuna explicitly asks him not to. and to tsuna needing to ask him not to every now and then. and to other people pointing out to him how too many times tsuna's already needed to stop him, and that maybe there's a hint for him to take there. and to takeshi seeing the hint, looking it straight in the eye and recognizing it for what it is and just. deciding it doesn't apply to him because it's all perfectly normal behavior to him. because it's the only kind of behavior that makes sense to him and feels right.

and so—to circle back to my first point—he can only express his devotion as naturally as breathing, so casually, almost like it's something inconsequential and not worth talking about despite how unmistakably it couldn't be further away from being the truth. it's the only way he could have always known how to express it, because, after all, who has ever taken time to ponder about the details and the hows of the way they breathe?

and i, for one, absolutely eat that shit up every time, thanks for coming to my ted talk <3

[elisedonut]

I think if I were to put Percy in an alternate house Id actually make him a puff

like i get where people are coming from with he's ambitious = he's Slytherin like yeah makes sense

but I think i could make the same argument with He's hardworking = he's Hufflepuff

though this is more for like outside reasons

If he (or any Weasley really) was put in Slytherin i think the rest of the family would really not take it well at all

I wont say to extent of outright disownment but the way that person would be treated would be way worse especially by their siblings

that disappointment would be there with any house tbh but with like Hufflepuff it gets turned into a small thing

light jabs and such vs outright hostility

little things that build up over time that fit's thematically with how Percy felt less and less like he belonged in his family but that said family didn't think anything of saying

vs a strong explosion that a Slytherin sorting would cause

[fanvoidkeith]

me when somebody brings up sexuality/romantic attraction in a conversation and i can't relate to their experiences because i'm ace and sex-repulsed (and possibly arospec):

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

i think something that frustrates me about ted and rebecca even beyond the whole no-romance thing (crying forever btw 😢) is that they never really got to have a coherent storyline together again after s1 and the christmas episode, and uh ..... i think it would have been cool to have more of those shared between the two leads of the show. like, in a way, i think i would have been more okay with it not being shippy if they'd had more storylines and more of a definitive overall series arc together, because presumably then at least we would have seen them interact regularly enough and in a variety of conditions enough that i would've gotten more of a feel for why it wasn't a romantic thing and what, in fact, it was? i don't know! i just really wish they'd given that dynamic wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more to do and way more interest after s1. it just felt like they were deliberately written to be ships in the night, all the time, no harbor ever, which feels crummy. like, s1 sets them up to be very close friends with these parallel struggles, but then they barely have even a shared b-plot together ever again after the christmas ep. the closest thing is one shared scene followed up by one phone call in 3.08, right? and then the series finale, where they do actually finally have three whole related scenes together, shock of all time.

anyway. so weird. SO WEIRD! such a funky writing choice that i am not a fan of.

[aroaceleovaldez]

i would like to say my ideal PJO adaptation (if i was being physically forced against my will to have to pick a live action adaptation over an animated one for some reason) would be a combo like writing of the musical + casting of the show + visuals of the movies

BUT the show actually does have the playwright for the musical as one of the major writers for like three episodes and that did nothing for it. so...