#idk i just love this little example of both of their growths!!

[suckishima]

Geez, who would’ve thought this day would ever come? When did you get this cool? I mean it. That was cool.

[statementlou]

alright so instagram followers do not equal to fans. gotcha. but then what about spotify listeners. I think that would directly correspond to his music fanbase unlike Instagram which is, well, social media. (and I'm not trying to hate here unlike some but genuinely trying to understand. maybe the noise has gotten to me idk) on one hand, yeah, I do see his growth in the live spaces but then on the other hand, his monthly listeners on Spotify are going down. i remember it being over 4M at a point but now it is down to 2.5M.

and then the other thing, yeah his album did hit the charts but it did not sustain. it hit no. 5 one week and then it was straight out of the charts the next, not even in the bottom end of it but just straight out of it. and same in the uk, no. 1 one week then out of the charts the next. tho it did return twice again to some position but again did not sustain. I think the charting was down to the dedicated part of the fanbase who bought multiple copies to put him there but I think you need the casual part too in order to sustain.

idk, the live thing is still a paradox to all of this. can it be down to just the dedicated portion of the fanbase filling up his special venues like the O2 arena or the big mexico show? i don't think so but i don't know. can it be that dedicated or are there casual fans mixed in there too?

thanks for the thoughtful ask! Spotify listener numbers show the number of individual people who listened to more than 30 seconds of one song by an artist in that month, NOT a follower count. So being on playlists drives those numbers up when you get a lot of people who let a song play through without skipping, whether or not they care enough to click through and check out the artist more, and collabs with bigger artists boost this because when someone just plays that artist's main feed and the song plays through a number gets added to the collab person's total even though, again, the listener probably never went to their page or followed them (this is why Liam's spotify numbers are consistently higher than Louis' for example even though Louis has a bigger fanbase). New music pushes those numbers up; between release times they will go down. Festival appearances may see them go back up as the summer goes on! But probably not significantly is my guess. I suspect individuals looking into an artist and even following them honestly has very little impact on this compared to playlist placement, which is something management/ label pay for and do around release times- and yes, LTHQ do this at those times- which is why his numbers were up, which is why there's a drop off to be seen. But lots of those listeners that have dropped off the monthly counts may still be followers of his account! So they will get notifs for his new music (and his shows) and push those numbers back up when the time comes. As for the charting thing, I... don't find that odd or problematic? That seems consistent to me with his model and not really an issue? When Louis said "I'm not here to compete with the likes of Drake and Ariana Grande. I'm here to make music I love and make my fans proud to say they're a fan," he was saying that he was not going to worry about chasing casual fans. I get that you and a big part of the fanbase disagrees with that decision on his part, that's the whole discourse, but IDK what to tell you: Louis disagrees with you and has literally said so! Louis has been clear in both words and actions that his priority is the dedicated fanbase that makes it possible for him to tour, and that while he is also doing things to see if they work to pull in casual fans and enjoys when he gets the benefits of both, it's not his priority or focus and isn't going to be. The live thing isn't a paradox- it's the point! It's what he has TOLD US REPEATEDLY that he most wants to sustain and he is not only doing that but also growing those audiences- and yes, getting casual fans mixed in as well. Like you point out, in LATAM in particular he gets a lot and he clearly loves that, and we saw him feeding it with the press junket he did in advance of the tour there; when it doesn't require him to change his core project he's clearly happy to see how far he can take it and ride the wave. And he's playing these fests as part of that- so be happy, he's doing what people want! But I think waiting for him to make that the primary priority when he has explicitly said he isn't going to do that is setting yourself up for disappointment. I don't think we will at any point see a shift from his number one priority being the dedicated fans, and I think it would be a HUGE mistake if they did shift that focus to prioritize chasing less sustaining fans.

[10hourshift]

Ok so I just remembered I wanted to make this (and also don't want it to be too long) but bear with me

Something something, I think that for a story that sure loves using eyes and the face as narrative devices it's kinda weird that meg ALWAYS keeps her bang covering her eye.

What I mean is that for a big number of characters these things (the eyes and the face) are used as a way to show different faces of the same character. Some examples from the top of my head are loon and his growth shown as him uncovering his eyes (and even if it's not becoming a new person or whatever, it's like him finally gaining courage to face the world or smth) and Cami, who always has her eyes covered, and added to that she gives a mysterious vibe to both the other characters and the audience. Who later, when we get to know her in her song, we can finally see her "true" self, and with that, her eyes. And when her "shadow eyes" appear, we can figure out that she has some struggles too (idk it's been a while since my last rewatch). (There are other minor examples, like the introduction of Fred and owynn, or when Bonnie decides to take his glasses off, but I don't want to drag this too long :p)

Because of this I wonder why it is that the series is too strict about meg's eye. The one time her eye shows up (not counting that one image of her as a kid and the bleeding eye) is in a music video (important bc only the audience sees this). This was kinda funny to me (I think ever since I saw it from the first time but ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯) bc in "no más" the song that is really about her overcoming her inner conflicts and whatnot her eye is never visible, (only at the start her bang is lifted but her eyes are closed so it doesn't count). And even after that, she doesn't have any changes in her looks. She keeps the same old hairstyle and keeps covering her eye. Even in zer0, she still has her bang, though the hairdo change is pretty cute imo, but I keep my point, WHY IS THE EYE ALWAYS COVERED???

The reason is never explicitly said, though, it's safe to assume that it has to do with her Big Past Trauma, either in a literal way (eye damaged or draws too much attention, so it's better to keep covered) or a narrative way (something related to shadows??, maybe???). So, this and the already mentioned obsession of the series to keep her eye hidden* is kinda strange to me bc it makes me wonder why it is so damn important to keep her face hidden? And also, what would need to happen for her to show her face??

*the reason I'm so persistent that is "the series" who keeps her eye hidden is bc meg is not often seen actively trying to hide her eye. But her default characteristic is her bang over like half of her face.

Tbh I don't have anything convincing enough to conclude this. As is mostly a ramble about some silly detail that bothers me a little too much. So feel free to add your thoughts if you want to, I just wanted to ramble a bit about this xd

Have an image of genderbent meg I found on the wiki for the trouble

[ritsukaaoyagi]

*heart palpitations* like to soubi, ritsuka is his sacrifice first and a person second for a while. i know soubi acknowledges him as a child in volume three which for sure kick starts a kind of growth in their relationship (vol 3 in general... sighs wistfully) but still obviously struggles with how to treat and view ritsuka... mostly because he is projecting onto ritsuka and using him to fulfill his own "needs"... or whatever... like he kind of uses ritsuka to unravel. but soubi really emphasizing ritsuka's status as his Sacrifice is still kind of shaky because he obviously does not obey him in the same way he would with like seimei or ritsu. and obviously this has to do with not necessarily ritsuka being a child but ritsuka just obviously treating soubi decently and clearly not taking the fighter/sacrifice dynamic as seriously as soubi does and having no interest in that... so ritsuka is safe to disobey.......... some of it also has to do with ritsuka being a kid but i dont feel like getting into that rn it's clear... AURRMMM LIKE IDK BASICALLY i just think soubi treats ritsuka Like That mostly because he doesn't know how else to treat him obviously like Where would someone like soubi even start with being ordered to love someone.

and with the projection thing it's like. actually no regardless of that they're pretty similar either way like this is literally also soubi's deal too

they are both soooo crazy. crazy dedication to people who are actively hurting them because they feel they need them in their lives and just that alone gives their own existence a sense of purpose or whatever (however "purpose" can be interpreted... IDGAF) and Obviously how this works for both of them is different and clearly soubi is in the process of growing out of this but IMO RITSUKA IS NOTTT!!! Well he's 12. and the denial of it all... for both of them... idk... i don't have much to say besides stuff i've already said i just feel things... hmm and by soubi projecting onto ritsuka it's like clearly they can relate on same things and seimei and yada yada but he also uses this to hurt ritsuka. Not on purpose obviously but you know what i mean......like just read loveless. waaait when he started "training" him My god... dont even get me started on the ear piercing scene and then the scene that's like not directly after but soon after where soubi is talking about how he hates butterflies...... It's okay it's okay omg calm down. that's another example of soubi talking about both himself and ritsuka respectively and together IMO!!!!!!

as for ritsuka's side of things i'll start getting mildly freudian so that's it rn. ritsuka does process soubi as a human pretty quickly though NOT at first but ritsuka person-ing soubi happens much more quickly than vice versa. I mean that's the whole conflict of their shit for a good chunk or even just in general like soubi having given up his personhood and ritsuka kind of wrestling with his own but standing by it while also going a little crazy And also trying to affirm soubi's personhood at the same time. And going a little crazy (looks away)

[roseworth]

forgot to actually say this in the ask but the idea of jason being his favorite for a time but specifically when he's dead... yeah. spending time away from fanon jason stans really does make you love him more because that would not have made me feel anything a while ago but that's so good. and makes so much sense but is very sad.

of course bruce was unable to stop thinking about jason when he was gone! and of course that love would be entirely unrecognizable to jason when he comes back! jason was isolated even alive! and besides their differing--viewpoints, jason has changed from the child that spent so much time mourning, and is doing things that bruce would find hard to see from anyone, and they're always standing opposite each other anyway so how could bruce, never very gifted in the emotions department in the first place, ever communicate how much jason means to him with all of that? and also there's the part where jason IS going around and murdering people, it would probably be a little hard for anyone to forgive of their kid, let alone bruce.

i'm probably getting mind of incoherent but i just. it is so very clear that bruce and jason care about each other, and it doesn't help their relationship at all because they're stuck like this forever. i LOVE when relationships are like this, ships for example where they never get together but they're in love forever are the best kind, and i always wish more people were just obsessed with that kind of. - emotional stranding? - in other kinds of relationships. maybe i'm looking in the wrong places and that's why i'm not finding other people who like this idk

but that's what makes me so obsessed with bruce, he's not even my favorite character but basically every single one of his important relationships is stuck like this. his kids his wife (talia❤️) his dad. he has an entirely different type of crazy with every single one of those people but the main thing those relationships have in common is that they encourage a lot of growth in each other at the beginning, and then life gets in the way or they grow past each other or miscommunicate themselves out of their former closeness. sorry to ramble at you for so long but what you said about jason and bruce turned me into an animal. i've been a sleeper agent this whole time apparently. stuck trying to think about his individual relationships with his other children now, all at the same time. you did this to me

(original post) hi im so sorry i know i said i would answer this like a week ago but i Forgot. but im here now <3

first of all HARD agree with what you said about loving relationships where both of them care about each other but cant make anything work despite it. its all about the love being there but it doesnt change anything and the way two people care about each other deeply and it changes everything about the dynamic but nothing about the circumstances. its so so good. youre so right that bruce is such a good character for this dynamic because his core beliefs and motivations are so important to him as a character that if he eases up on them even a little he becomes a completely different person, and it means that every relationship he has is strained because he cant waver on the beliefs that make him who he is

anyways. i want to talk about why i believe jason was the favorite child after he died but first i want to talk about dick. to me dick is and always will be bruce's favorite son. but not in a good way

ive heard some people say that jason was the favorite son while he was robin and thats a fine headcanon but i simply do not agree! i understand where people are coming from since bruce & dick had a very strained relationship at that time, meanwhile jason was just a happy and polite kid who liked being robin and didnt have many issues until starlin. but bruce & dick have such a specific relationship that even when they werent talking, dick was still bruce's favorite. bruce held dick in such high regard in his head that jason could never meet the standard, even though bruce rarely (outwardly) compared the two of them. bruce was projecting so much onto dick (in a way that he did to cass later on, which ill get back to in a sec) that jason could never meet the version of dick that existed in bruce's head. even the real dick instead of the idealized dick that bruce had made was better than jason to bruce because bruce had completely adopted the "my son's success is my success" mindset (which isnt necessarily a bad thing! in this case i would say that this is one of bruce's parenting wins) so he was proud of dick and watched him grow into what bruce was hoping he would (a successful, independent hero) even though they werent talking

not to mention! bruce explicitly tells dick that he brought in jason to fill the hole in his life left by dick (the dick hole. hehe) i dont like the idea that jason was constantly being compared to dick because thats not entirely true because bruce rarely openly brought up dick around jason, but he definitely was doing it in his head. he wanted jason to be dick, but he wasnt the Evil Father that some people try to make him out to be. he just adopted jason to have someone in his life like dick was, and he wanted jason to be what dick was to him even though he couldnt replicate the relationship he had with dick because it was so dependent on where each of them were in their lives when they met and became Batman and Robin. and bruce confirms that in batman #416 that he adopted jason because he missed dick and needed someone else in his life

anyways back to jason. i do believe that jason was briefly the favorite while he was dead. i love this post saying that one of bruce's favorite children is jason's corpse because its so fucking real

im gonna get off topic for a second but i swear i have a point. in the play buried child by sam shepard, the mom (halie) constantly talks about her dead son ansel and talks about how he was an american hero, an athlete, and many other amazing things. hes the representation of the american dream in the play, but hes dead, showing the disillusionment of the family. but halie is constantly bringing him up and shes convinced that he was the perfect son and he would've made her proud, unlike her other sons who disappointed her. and her sons keep trying to correct her about who ansel was because she would get things wrong, like how shes convinced ansel played basketball even though he never did, but she refused to listen because he was the Golden Child in her mind and she had a perfect image of him when she looked back on his life, because he was dead and now had never disappointed her

now. you can probably see where im going with this. bruce wasnt as bad as halie but i do think that the idea is the same. since jason was dead, it was a lot easier to think about all the good things and imagine how good it could've been if jason was there. even the "he wouldnt listen" line in that screenshot ^ is the same idea! if the dead son had only listened to his parent's warning, he would still be alive and it would be fine! its a lot easier for bruce to think about jason when he's dead because jason cant disappoint him when hes dead. and he doesnt have to worry about the things that bruce doesnt like to do, such as deal with emotions, and can just create this perfect version of robin jason where he was happy and a great hero and there were never and never could be any issues! if only he had listened!

if im being honest theres a lot of canon evidence against this theory. but canon evidence is stupid and im better than that! kidding but the thing is that there was so much difference in how bruce talked about jason every time he was brought up that its hard to exactly pinpoint how anyone felt, so i am simply cherrypicking canon to create my favorite narrative <3

bruce thinks of jason as what he could've been because he only exists in good memories and a glass case when hes dead, and bruce genuinely does not want jason to come back to life. every time jason "came back" before under the red hood, bruce was upset about it. he wanted jason to stay dead because he wanted jason to be able to rest. but also? bruce would rather jason be dead than come back as a villain. he would rather jason live in his memories as the perfect son than be alive and fighting against him. in batman #618, clayface pretends to be jason and bruce is (somewhat) thankful that its not actually jason, because he would rather jason stay dead than be hush

so its safe to say jason very quickly stops being the favorite when he actually comes back to life. i could still believe that jason's corpse is one of bruce's favorites even after jason is alive because bruce still brings up jason's death and how it affected him, and he mourns what he used to have with jason before jason had his own morals and motivations

anyways. cass time <3

like you said in your original ask, a lot of people say that cass is bruce's favorite but its a lot more complicated than that because especially at first, bruce sees her as less of a daughter than an extension of himself but in a different way than dick. when bruce looks at dick, hes kind of like a batman appendage. they are different people and bruce understands that and usually nurtures that to help dick. with cass on the other hand, he sees cass almost as a carbon copy of him so he gives her what he would've wanted at her age and treats her the way that he wanted to be treated. technically hes right that she also wants to be treated like that, but as we see over and over again in batgirl 2000, just because she wants it doesnt mean its good for her. hes not nurturing her as a daughter, hes nurturing her as a smaller version of himself. and again like you said in your ask, cass is too similar to him. they dont really get into fights because of it, but i think he hates himself too much to love cass that much

and the thing is. bruce has an idea of cass in his head that isnt real. he sees her as himself and whenever he hears something that could change that image, he pretends its not real. he refuses to believe that cass killed someone because HE wouldnt kill someone, so obviously cass didnt either. she cant possibly like being outside or talking to people because HE doesnt like that, and theyre the same person so babs must be forcing her to (which.. im not talking about babs and cass right now so i wont go into it but like. yeah she is). he created what he thinks cass is and what he thinks she should be, so anything that threatens that isnt real to him. if (*IF*) cass is the favorite child, its not actually cass. its the version of cass that he wishes was real (a lot like the version of jason's corpse that he wishes was real)

i love this panel from detective comics #790 because first of all its funny to me that bruce immediately tells cass to go to babs with any emotion or problem. but also it says so much about their relationship. bruce isnt there to be cass's father, he's there to be batman to her. hes not exactly neglecting her, but he definitely is not emotionally there for her (not that hes emotionally there for anyone else. but he certainly has no interest in listening to cass's feelings)

as time goes on he starts seeing her as a daughter and she sees him as a father, but even after he starts seeing her as a child she's still not his favorite. like i talked about before, bruce & dick just have such an intricate and specific relationship that no one can ever meet the same standard. even when bruce loves cass as a daughter, he's always going to care more about dick because seeing dick go through the same trauma as him then raising him to be different than him (but the same in the ways that matter to him) means so much more to him than anything he has with his other kids

so yeah. in conclusion dick is the favorite child but sometimes the ghost of jason or the projected version of cass can beat dick depending on his mood

[meowjaa]

cute little thing I wrote <333

a/n: idk what this is I thought it was cute and a perfect example of y/n and levi's "friendship" as he would most definietly say they arent friends but this is their way of communicating with each other by just insults <33

Y/N: Hey, Levi. Still as short as ever, huh?

Levi: And you're still as dense as a rock, I see.

Hange: (chuckles) Oh boy, here we go again.

Erwin: Let them have their unique way of communication, Hange.

Y/N: Levi, ever considered a growth spurt or are you content with being a human grasshopper?

Levi: Funny, coming from the giant who can't even reach the top shelf without a ladder.

Hange: (grinning) This is always entertaining. Keep it up, guys!

Y/N: Levi, you should sign up for a modeling agency because you've certainly mastered the Grumpy Dwarf look.

Levi: At least I'm not a walking fashion disaster like you. Who wears socks with sandals? Seriously?

Erwin: (suppressing a chuckle) I swear, their insults get more creative each time.

Hange: It's an art form, Erwin! Now, let's appreciate it.

Y/N: Levi, are you always this cranky, or do you save your smiles for cats?

Levi: I reserve my smiles for things actually worth smiling about, something you clearly wouldn't understand.

Hange: Oh, come on, Levi. You know deep down you love these sparring sessions with Y/N.

Erwin: They've become a staple of our daily routine, that's for sure.

Y/N: Levi, if brains were money, you'd be bankrupt.

Levi: And if stupidity were a sport, you'd be an Olympic gold medalist.

Hange: (clapping) Yes! That one deserves a standing ovation!

Erwin: Alright, everyone, let's not encourage them too much.

Y/N: Levi, I honestly can't decide what's colder: your heart or your sense of humor.

Levi: I guess you'll never know since you lack both.

Hange: (laughing) Shots fired!

Erwin: You two stop before someone gets injured, and I'm not talking about someone physically.

Y/N: Fine, Erwin. Let's call a truce. Just know that you'll always be Captain Shortstack in my heart, Levi.

Levi: And you'll always be Captain Airhead to me, Y/N. Just remember that.

Hange: Well, that's a wrap, folks. We'll see them again tomorrow for another round, I'm sure!

[runin-reads]

Trans James Potter headcanons

This is just me brain dumping for my current prongsfoot WIP where James is a stealth trans guy and how this would affect the way he navigates relationships and his place in society. I try to base my writing on canon text so let me know if anything is inconsistent with the books

Not much would change. I see Sirius as someone who genuinely doesn’t care for a guys physical traits when it comes to falling in love. He’s perceptive and can see past a persons facade in seconds. He sees James as just another guy and falls for him because of his character— anatomy be damned. So wrt to their relationship they’d still be obsessed with each other and fit into that ‘two bodies one soul’ narrative

Nothing is off limits between them so I imagine Sirius would be very involved in James’ transition. He helps him do his T shots and he’s always the first person to notice and be told when James goes through a certain change

James would be the type to identify as a guy his entire life. It’s established in the books that his parents were very doting and wealthy, so even though they’re elderly I think they would accept James as their son and he’d have the support available to transition early on. James would be such a different person if his parents didn’t spoil him as a child, so I want to keep that aspect of his upbringing no matter what.

the way he would view his trans-ness would differ greatly from the current generation. I imagine there would be a huge dissonance between him and the label “trans” because he’s seen himself as a guy for as long as he can remember.

His idea of masculinity would be very hetero-normative given the time period he was raised in. His parents were happily married his entire life and I think their relationship would influence how he imagines his own future to be like. He wants to be a father to a child and a husband to a wife, and he subconsciously decides that that is the way a man should be.

In Snape's Worst Memory it’s implied that James cared a lot about what others think. While he and Sirius are antagonising Snape James kept looking back to see if the girls (namely Lily) were watching. I think being trans would only heighten this urge to be cool and popular. He’d love the attention he got from girls because it affirms his masculinity and he’d put a lot of effort into maintaining his image

I’ve already written about how prongsfoot (james/sirius) is queer coded. To add to that, there are two possible ways by which James deals with his not-so-platonic feelings for Sirius. One, he accepts these feelings much more easily than he would have in canon because he’s already trans so what’s a little more queerness. Two, he denies these feelings, preferring to stick to the hetero-normative standards set by his parents and society. (Both possibilities are based on my own experiences as a trans guy so trust me, trans people can still experience internalised homophobia)

On a more lighthearted note he’s the type of guy to try to put a permanent sticking charm on his packer/STP device lol. Key word: try. Sirius would talk him out of it but he would at some point find a way to use magic to keep his packer from falling out in the changing rooms etc.

His confidence would only grow once T starts taking effect on his body. He'd probably brag about his bottom growth to Sirius which, unbeknownst to James, ends up flustering Sirius a LOT

He doesn't bind because even though puberty blockers weren't used back in the 60s/70s, let's just say Monty and Effie found a magical alternative like a potion for example

idk if the wizarding world has its own equivalent of gender affirming care and I highly doubt JKR ever wrote about it, so I'll go off on a limb and say James uses both muggle and wizarding methods to transition depending on what's more convenient for the plot of my fic

NSFW

If j/s did fool around I think James would be pretty bossy in bed lmao and he'd be very adamant that Sirius should avoid 'female' terms for his body and stick to words like 'cock' or 'front hole'

It would take a long time for James to be open to intercourse so uh they'd get very creative in the meantime

not an expert on magic but James would definitely find a way to like charm his packer so that it gets erect and he can continue living in stealth.

[yumedoca]

Heres a ransdom thought experiment

Yoy are now rumiko takashi writing UY , what is a story beat youd chamge or just a story youd like to read as you have control of the characters

Hai there, hope you're doing great!!

Yay, I love questions like these!! Thank you for the ask anon and here we go ;)

Ryunosuke. Just mostly Ryunosuke, haha. I've never actually found her dad's joke of preventing Ryu from getting what she wants funny and it was more irksome than anything, and it sucked cuz Ryunosuke's great! But what's worse is that she never gets a proper resolution about her feminine wants (even though that was the main point of her character in the first place) and it was just dropped and ignored in the end, so it never felt like her character got a true resolution. I feel like a good way to write Ryu would be to keep the relationship with her dad the same for the most of her story. And then in her last few chapters have them talk out and be in proper understanding for once. Shigeru Chiba, Mr. Fujinami's remake voice actor (and Megane in the old anime), states his view on his character in his character comments:

(Also Shout-out to Shigeru Chiba, he's awesome. He's just so great lol, literally the guy ever.)

And the idea of Ryu's dad raising Ryunosuke to be male because he doesn't want her to leave him is a great idea!! I'd make it like that's the true reason why he does it and somehow they're pushed into a corner where he's forced to admit it to Ryu. He has shown to genuinely care at least a little about her (I'm pretty sure he protected her from the boys of class 2-4 that time she lost her chest wrap) despite how he usually acts. So have them reconcile, have Ryunosuke say she'll stay with her dad if he accepts her for who she is and have him accept her feminity as a result and allow her to act and dress the way she wants. Boom! Problem solved, both sides win and Ryu's dad is made more likeable while Ryunosuke's story has a proper conclusion.

RyuNagi. It's still about Ryunosuke, I know lmao. Anyway, I've discussed how I feel about the ship and other stuff about it here (read it if you haven't so what I say about them would make more sense). It's a bit all over the place discussing various stuff about them but I'll just copy-paste the bit where I talk about how it could be done better..

It had so much potential. Nagisa had to be introduced much earlier and they should've had more chapters together. Maybe, they could've made Nagisa and Ryunosuke discuss and bond over their stupid upbringing, maybe Nagisa could feel bad for Ryu, after hearing how much she wants to be a proper woman and how much her dad stopped her from enjoying herself and maybe help her enjoy things that her dad didn't allow her to (Christmas, Chocolates, etc.) and Ryunosuke fully falls for him because of his kindness... Then their romance would've felt even more natural.

I think the RyuNagi growth would take place before Ryunosuke's reconciling with her dad in case you want a timeline and by that time Ryu would properly be into Nagisa so the romance between them still stays, even after her being effeminate.

Introduce Inaba a bit earlier and give him another storyline with Shinobu. I feel like we still don't know much about Inaba and his dynamic with Shinobu entirely and that's like my only issue about Inaba and InaShino really, so have a storyline after they started dating where we can see how they bounce off each other and truly show that they're perfect couple, idk I just want more cute stuff for them, maybe Shinobu stands up for Inaba when the other bunnies bully him, maybe we get to know more about Inaba's interests and hobbies and maybe we can have the gag stuff be silly interactions between them and maybe Ataru (and Lum) spying on them or something idk.

Give great characters who don't have much spotlight what they need. Oyuki is a good example of this since she appears the least among Lum's alien friends. I saw someone online state that Kurama should've been brought back later on, instead of just disappearing, and could've attempted to mate with Tobimaro or Shingo; and I totally agree with it.. For the former, it could worked as an Asuka plotline and could've been a great arc and for the latter, it could be chaotic since Shingo doesn't know how to respect women. These two are the main examples but there may be others..

And that's all that comes to mind now. These are like the major, main ones and there might be others but they're probably incredibly minor or I just forgor about them..

[i-am-the-hero-alfred-jones]

OFMD Season 2 Finale Spoilers

That was THE MOST DISSATISFYING ENDING

Now granted, I'm usually dissatisfied with endings that wrap everything up in a neat little bow, because some stories just work better with an open-ended ending.

For example, one of my favorites will always be Labyrinth. Sarah goes back home, but the goblin king keeps his kingdom and power.

Let's talk about WHY I'm so disatisfied (and honestly, maybe that's the point, it sort of seems like they want the fandom to be like that in order to fix it later one, but idk) 1. Stede Fucking Bonnet STEDE DID NOT BECOME A PIRATE FOR ED

This ending is unsatisfying because why would Stede give this up?! Stede LOVES being a pirate, it's Ed who's disatisfied with that life. Stede CHOSE this life, Stede loves this life, for him to leave it for Ed is fucking ridiculous.

STEDE BONNET IS MORE THAN EDWARD'S BOYFRIEND HE'S HIS OWN GODDAMN CHARACTER AND HE'S THE MAIN CHARACTER FOR FUCK'S SAKE

His pirating is what attracted Edward to him in the first place! You can't take that away from him! It makes him a shell of what he is! Stede never wanted the good peaceful life- he had that. He hated it. Now he just has it with Edward. And sure, he loves Ed, but that's not gonna fix his disatisfaction.

-Now granted, this does seem intentional. It could very well be that this inn ending is intentionally there to show both Ed and Stede, that a part of them really does love the seafaring life, and that they want to return to it.

-You know, like a callback to when Stede returned to Mary and realized what he really wanted was Ed. Instead Stede and Ed are going to try the quiet life and realize what they always wanted was the sea. It was just that they wanted the sea with each other.

-If that's the route they take in Season 3 (or a similar one), I can totally get behind it, and I think it'll fix the Stede Bonnet Problem. [For the record, I think they handed Edward's arc CRAZY well]

2. Izzy Fucking Hands

-. . . Guys. . . One the one hand, the monologue he gave when he died NEEDED to be given.

-Izzy does things more with actions than words, and Ed needed to say how much Izzy meant to him, along with Izzy needing to say how much he loves this crew.

On the other hand- way to kill your guys. Way to immediately fall into old tropes and make us hate ya, Dave. Granted, in the past he has played with tropes intentionally, so this COULD be that (in which case he's sitting back and laughing maniacally like the BASTARD that he is-) Where he's making us believe Izzy is gone for good only to bring him back. [I HAVE HOPE DAMN IT]

-There seems to be this idea that Izzy was the last remaining bit of Blackbeard, but Izzy is his own person and he got to grow into his own person during this season.

Of course, now that he has no thematic relevance, to kill him off is fucking pathetic. NOW we kill him, he's of no use to us. Why keep the disabeled gay? We don't need him anymore. THAT is the vibe that we've been given. Now that he's grown, we're done with him. (as if anyone truly stops growing at any point-)

-Buuut, on the one leg that Izzy has remaining,

-This could be a really good way to tie into Edward's story that he is and always has been Blackbeard. That Blackbeard was never Izzy's creation, but rather a part of himself. And he gets to choose what to do with it.

BUT EVEN IF THAT HAPPENS IZZY JUST DIED FOR EDWARD (Sure, what the character always wanted- but not what he deserved)

-If Izzy comes back from the gravy basket (Maybe with Buttons? lmfao-) with a newfound sense of independence and growth (maybe he learns to love again, idk.), this could be beautiful. A beautiful way to fuck with tropes and to show other shows how people SHOULD be handled. Bury your gays, then bring them back fuckers.

If he doesn't, this fandom will never be the same. Nor will it ever forgive it's writers. We deserve better, man.

[yellowhollyhock]

March for Raph day 5, Video Games (late akskdjdja 🐇)

A very brief thought:

Raph isn’t usually the brother to get obsessed with video games (never that I remember but you never know with tmnt). Like he usually will be seen playing and talks about enjoying them but he’s never the turtle who loses touch because he’s engrossed.

In 1987 Leonardo had an episode, which was really cool because his obsessive personality is what makes him a good ninja! I love that hey explored other possible ways that affects him, and also as someone who doesn’t get into some things because I *know* that when I’m hooked, I’m Hooked and I like to have some control over what sorts of things I’m hooked to—I really loved how the brothers were portrayed in this ep.

2003 you got Mikey. It’s generally more of an implied thing, and it is Raph and Don who stay up till morning playing, but even then the conversation is about how it’s usually Mikey playing. And in Fast Forward he gets his Losing Himself to Video Games arc. That one I didn’t like as much. Felt like it took away growth we’d already seen from Mikey, and was a little preachy with like. Hyperfixation Bad. It helped a ton that later in Back to the Sewers Mikey’s knowledge of video games was useful to them, but for me it doesn’t fully make up for it.

And then Rise Donnie with his Purple Game. I thought that one was sweet, still maybe a little preachy but overall much more like the 1987 version where it’s not condemning obsessive personalities, it’s acknowledging how hyperfocus can affect people and make some things hard. Or maybe I just vibe more with Rise than Fast Forward, idk

Anyway what this post is actually about: in some ways Raph’s personality is the most varied across iterations. So it’s fun to me that there is so often some brother or other whose inability to Put Down the Game causes plot, and it’s never him. He’s got this balance. He gets passionate about things, that’s a huge part of why we love him, yet he also doesn’t seem to get Consumed. Video games is one example, but what about fighting? On the surface Raph might seem more obsessive because when he’s fighting, he’s all in, but it’s usually Leo who has a hard time figuratively putting the mask away and putting his brother hat on when it’s not time to fight, and it’s usually Raph who helps him. We also see a lot of Donnie becoming so engrossed in things, whether it’s the piece of tech he’s working on in the moment, some problem or other he’s decided it’s his responsibility to solve (03 Underground City, Bishop’s Outbreak, 12 saving Karai, more mutants), or his first crush (do I even need to clarify? (2012)), it’s again often Raph who keeps him grounded. The Rise video game episode is a good example.

Mikey always has his interests, too, and this one’s interesting because. He is usually deliberately giving himself an escape and can pull back when it’s time. But Raph tries to keep him on planet earth because that’s what he does for Donnie and Leo. But Mikey, especially being the youngest, could just feel judged by that and not really supported. So there’s two turtles trying their best and having friction.

This got longer than I thought

Anyway basically one role Raph plays is the one noticing what’s going on around them. His focus style is different from theirs and often saves them. And I think it’s super neat how that carries across (at least a lot of) iterations.

(One last addition: that episode of 1987 where Leo leaves and Donnie and Raph both try being the leader really highlights this strength of his. Mostly because Donnie does not have it at all XD)

[into-the-fraymotif]

just so you know, i have an ever-growing list of fraymotifs that i plan to ask you about you will not be running out of requests anytime soon lol

And This is not really a request, but i was wondering whether or not your opinion on any specific aspect or class has changed or grown in the process of writing/thinking up fraymotifs

Not to one up you or anything, but I have a finite list of 9504 Fraymotifs, get on my level scrub (/j). But fr the only thing I’m running out of is time to complete them to keep the queue up and running lmao

And I really haven’t been doing this for very long, so I will likely develop a more nuanced opinion later down the line, but that’s a tough question! My first instinct was the Maid, but then I got to thinking about it and the Bard has kind of grown on me? That’s not even mentioning how much I love Breath and Blood as aspects.

Idk I’m gonna draft this and let it stew for a bit

Back now, and this is no gap for you guys but I'm leaving this in for like, Fraymotif blog lore or w/e

So I think the Maid is probably my most redeemed Class. For a number of reasons. In cannon the Maid's exact abilities or Class symmetries are left unstated, only giving us examples through Aradia (Time), Jane (Life), and Porrim (Space). And for a while I thought the Class was just kind of... boring? if that makes sense? Like, yeah, okay, you can fix a broken thing, thats kind of what the Sylph does. And I see a lot of people analyze it as the active counterpart to the Sylph, under the verbiage [one who creates and creates through their Aspect], but I feel like that is still too similar to the Sylph, as one who heals their Aspect. It positions the Sylph as basically a downgrade of the Maid.

I interpret the Maid as being the passive (not an active Class) counterpart to the Knight. That's where I get the [one who serves and serves through their Aspect] verbiage, as a parallel to the Knight's protection. And I think that makes more sense and adds more nuance to what we see in the comic. Aradia serves Time, both in ensuring that Time can go one, but also in the sense of like, an actual maid, cleaning up Time and straightening out the clutter. She has the most clear example of Maid business in the comic, but we also see that in Jane. Jane serves Life, in the sense of she is devoted to growth and progress and evolution, so much so that she properly flies off the handle in the epilogues because she is so dedicated to preserving and maintaining and in many ways protecting her species (albeit in a completely crock-pot delusional way) that she tries to "straighten out" the other species she would describe as "clutter". Porrim tho, we don't really know much about how she established herself in her role.

And as I said in another post, their duty of service is not unlike a Knight's duty of protection. Whereas the Knight protects their Aspect from things that would interfere with it, the Maid tidies it up when it gets a little messy and acts on behalf of the Aspect's inherent motives.

To put this into an analogy that I think best describes the relationship between the Knight, the Maid, and the Sylph: The Knight stands guard outside of the castle, sometimes being sent out on crusades and being trained for intense war-torn battlefields, but they keep stuff from getting in to wreck the place. The Maid tends to the gardens and relics and halls of the castle, maintaining proper upkeep of the castle grounds after natural wear and tear, and acting as a second line of defense should anything get past the Knights. The Sylph is a mystic healer from the forest that comes in on commission to fix the castle after several explosions and or plagues besiege the place, often after the fact.

So yeah, the Maid went from boring to oh wow that really fits those characters over the span of a few weeks. More to come, though, this is a nuanced system.

As for Aspects? I really like how all 4 polar Aspects interact with each other within Fraymotifs. That being: Breath/Blood and Time/Space. Time and Space are noted to function on a sort of passivity scale, with Time being more active and Space being more passive, with both Breath and Blood equally in the middle. Breath and Blood though, which are my favorite pair, operate on a more vague abstractness scale. Breath is more ideal and abstract, while Blood is more concrete and material, with Time and Space equally in the middle.

I mentioned in another another post that some Blood Classpects can make their allies' abilities manifest in a way that benefits the team in a more passive way, but I didn't go into much detail. You see, Space is the passive Aspect, not blood. Passivity and activity are things I don't really focus on, but the general conception of them in Classpecting is that passive Classes use their powers for others, while active Classes use their abilities for themselves. This isn't entirely untrue, I suppose, but another equally applicable understanding of it is passive Classes go with the flow, while active Classes move against it. Now, Blood would aim to use their abilities for their allies--those who share bonds--but it absolutely would rather fight against the flow. Breath, in the same vein, would be more inclined to use their abilities for themselves--detached from anyone else--but would be far more in their element by going with the flow. That is why they are equally passive and active. So yes, a Seer of Blood would aim their allies to benefit all those they are connected to (passive quality), but a Knight of Blood is a stubborn knucklehead who absolutely will not budge on an idea (active quality). An Heir of Breath would love to just let go and let the breeze carry them away (passive quality), but a Page of Breath constantly fights for autonomy and individual accomplishment (active quality).

Which is a really long-winded and self-indulgent way of saying its actually the passive-active component that is hard-baked into the Aspects that have grown on me.

[rejectedfables]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Character: Draco Malfoy (HP) Why I love them: I don't. I love the version of him I frankensteined together from fics I read/wrote as an undiagnosed autistic preteen who wished I knew how to be meaner, and was hopelessly demisexually gay for a brunette with glasses.

Character: Uzumaki Naruto (Naruto) Why I love them: Emotionally neglected ADHD powerhouse who thinks "what do 600 hot girls look like? Me with titties and pigtails 600 times obviously" followed by "what do 600 hot boys look like? All my male friends with bedroom eyes OBVIOUSLY" and somehow hasn't figured out he's into dudes and is probably genderfluid. The Haku and Zabuza arc came SO close to "child soldier figures out that making children into soldiers is bad, actually, and resolves to create a better society where fewer people needlessly suffer" but then I think the author got old and forgot his own trajectory in favor of endless spectacle creep and, idk, something about the moon crushing Konoha or whatever. I lost interest in the story, but not the BOY. Also his relentless fixation with that dark haired cool guy he kissed one time makes every other character feel awkward, and I relate to that.

Character: Urameshi Yusuke (Yu Yu Hakusho) Why I love them: LOVE me a guy who even HEAVEN writes off as an irredeemable asshole surprising everyone with an act of selflessness. Love me an asshole who dedicates his life to love and friendship. Yusuke's narrative is basically "Obviously all yokai are evil. Wait, some aren't (some of my best friends are yokai)? Wait, most aren't (I actually really enjoy the yokai world/community)? Wait, I'M a yokai? (THAT'S why I am the way I am, and actually that's not evil it's just different)??? So there's evil humans AND evil yokai but neither are inherently bad, MOST are just regular people on both sides, and both are worth protecting" and anyway this is a neurodivergent and queer allegory to me, which slaps severely.

Character: Shi Qingxuan (Heaven Official's Blessing) Why I love them: Gender

Character: Luke Fon Fabre (Tales of the Abyss) Why I love them: Nobody's doing character growth like this little shit. An icon. It takes like 30 hours of gameplay for him to become likable and when he does it's somehow genuinely worth it.

Character: Changheng (Love Between Fairy and Devil) Why I love them: (I'm picking only one character per story, which is the only reason Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang aren't also on this list.) You're telling me the God of War's narrative is a "tragic princess, betrothed since childhood, can't escape her family's expectations, constantly has to put everyone else above herself, until finally she snaps" story blended with "man who has been forced to live in war, falls for the first person who acknowledges that he, too, needs protection, ultimately rejects the violence he's been forced to endure and enact in favor of pursuing peace" and I'm what? NOT supposed to go insane? Also his nose freckle gives me heart palpitations.

Character: Logan Echolls (Veronica Mars, specifically season 1) Why I love them: What an excellent example of a badly coping shithead jerk fuckup boy who would be SO soft in any context where he's not under constant threat. Something about his mouth-breathing under duress compels me.

Character: Kyo (Fruits Basket) Why I love them: Badly coping under duress, the entire system is stacked against him, anger management issues and the snatched waist of a 90's manga twink. What can I say, a feral cat finding stability and love gets me every time.

Character: Xue Yang (MDZS) Why I love them: Irredeemable asshole feral cat ass man, coping badly at all times with all things but holding it together with a winning personality (gratuitous violence and bad jokes). Falls SO hard for the first person to show him love and kindness, becomes SO soft when not under threat for the first time ever, and then fucks up SO badly he ruins his whole fucking life. Spends more time trying to get back what he lost than he actually HAD what he lost. He's irredeemable. He's irredeemable. He makes apple rabbits for A Qing because she's sad. He's irredeemable. He doesn't pull a weapon on Xingchen even when Xingchen has already stabbed him and he's renowned for violence and revenge. He's irredeemable. I starting writing a post in his defense and hit the character limit halfway through my 'notes to flesh out later' bullet pointed list. He's irredeemable?? Xiao Xingchen could, though, is all I'm saying. The deeper you look into his actions the more humanity there is to find. I'm rotating every single thing about him in my mind like a rotisserie chicken.

Character: Chu Wanning (ERHA) Why I love them: He's hopelessly demisexually gay for literally just one guy. His story is gratuitously tragic but with a happy ending. Autistic Yearning incarnate. He's a burnt out husk of a blushing virgin, and the horniest person alive. Would readily die for his convictions, but won't ask for help. Prettiest wife anyone could ever wish for, with a strong masculine jaw. Total knockout gorgeous with body dysmorphia. Hyper competent with zero emotional intelligence. Widely respected and beloved with intense self loathing. He's never not masking. He's an atticked wife, he's a bossy husband, he's a piece of wood. He's 45. He's 6. He's 20. He's 32. He is catnip for me.

[t4llhum4n]

Wakey, wakey, eggs and Blake-y (I type at 6pm).

Seriously though, this guy is simultaneously the smartest and stupidest man to ever speak on Redacted's channel. And I want to talk about that.

Well, kind of.

Before I get into character motivations and all that, I wanted to point something out. This? This is how you write a static character and have them still be compelling. Dynamicism is appreciated in characters, sure, but to write a static character who isn't boring? So so cool.

When I go about theorizing for a specific character's future actions, I typically take into account what stage they're at in their development. For example, my thoughts on Hush and how I believe his future actions will play out are based on what stage of development I see Hush being at in that moment. With Blake? It's a whole different ballpark.

Blake's behavior is the constant in my theories about him. His nature hasn't changed at all throughout the course of his story, save for maybe becoming a little more desperate. Even then, that desperation is fueled by feelings that he's had since childhood. Normally, that would become stale in a character (at least in my opinion). Here, though? It's anything but.

Looking into why that is, I can only think that it's because of how his character is revealed to us. We get to see both sides of him, one from "Sunshine" and one from "Bestie." And because of this, we're waiting with bated breath for both worlds to collide. His duality isn't dynamic, but it's still so intriguing. From "Sunshine's" point of view, we're left wondering just how far he's willing to go and how violent he'll allow himself to get. Then, from "Bestie's" point of view, we see a softness that he holds (seemingly) solely for them, and we're waiting for "Bestie" to see his other, darker side.

It's not necessarily Blake as a person that's interesting to me. It's how he acts around others that really gets my character analysis-prone brain whirring. I'm not interested in seeing his growth, because from where I'm standing, it doesn't look like he's going to grow. He's rooted in his obsession with "Bestie," and that, in his own words, is the reason why he's doing all of this. And nothing, not even threats from a being far stronger than him, seems to be able to change that. When his first reaction to a line like, "Watching your lover's death will feel like a mercy in comparison," was a snide, "Charming friend you've got there," I knew any hope for change in this man was lost.

So, with that said, let's talk about the brains on this man. Does he have any? I mean, he must. He got an entire major branch of a multi-establishment political hate group under his thumb, and that doesn't happen on accident. Blake is an intelligent person, no doubt, but he's also (ironically) a very blind person. He doesn't see anything beyond his lover, and he's confident that he will change their fate.

I honestly can not fathom how deep his feelings for "Bestie" are. Call it selfish, but if I were in Blake's place, I would've given up trying to change my lover's fate a long time ago. Instead, I would've cherished and made the most of the time I had with them, until ultimately I had to let them go. Blake, though, is not having that.

This brings up a point of discussion that I really love looking into when it comes to Blake. "Does he want to save 'Bestie' for their sake, or his?" I'm not going to share my stance on that just yet (mostly because both sides make a very compelling argument idk where I stand), but the fact that there's so much to talk about with a character this unchanging is astounding. It's not every day you see a static character who has so much compelling mystery surrounding them. He doesn't grow or evolve, nor does he show signs of ever wanting to, and yet we're still enthralled by his journey.

And the way his obsession is written? It's so good. I don't believe that he was always obsessed with "Bestie." Did he always have a thing for them? Sure. But I really don't think it grew into an obsession until he saw their death, and then he saw that nothing he tried could save them. See, Blake isn't just obsessed with "Bestie." He's also obsessed with changing their fate. Which leaves even more potential for character analysis.

We know that he wants "Bestie" to live. That's the main motivator behind his desire to change a seemingly unchangeable fate. But.. what if there's something else there, too? Can you imagine besting death? Overcoming something that haunted you as a fixed point in a world with no such thing as "fixed points?" The power you would feel getting the better of something like that would be nigh unmatched, and we know that this motherfucker has a god complex.

Blake wants to save "Bestie" so that they can live longer. At the same time, I think part of it turned into a challenge for himself. He's testing himself because if he can pull this off, then he's unstoppable, at least in his eyes. And what he sees in his eyes is the only thing that matters to him.

Could I say more? Yes. Will I? In a future theory, yes. But for now, I'm leaving it here. I really love diving into Blake. Characters with insane amounts of hubris and a god complex to match are some of the most fun to dive into. I hope you enjoyed my little analysis-turned-rant! Writing these is always super fun :D

[south-park-meta]

I think I agree with it as a character regression actually.

It feels like ever since the Post Covid there’s been this like… Undoing of a lot of the character development the kids have had. And I kind of get why they’ve done it- characters like Stan and Kyle for example felt like they’d been written into a miserable wall where it was hard to approach them in new ways. And like, this was because they had built on and on with this rising action of character development for them and then just… Sort of gave up on it? And we got Post Covid to “resolve it”, and dgmw I love Post Covid but it hardly was enough to meaningfully fix the damage between Stan and Kyle’s relationship the last ten seasons or so, or their own issues that have just built on to be worse and worse and weigh on them more and more heavily.

And so like. Idk where I’m going with this. I get why they reversed it to bring the show back to feeling fresher and more like a bunch of kids going through crazy little adventures rather than the depressing reality they’d written them into. Like, I don’t hate seeing them act more naive and innocent and happy as opposed to the broken messes they’d both became (and other characters as well, though I do feel like it’s just so especially prominent with Stan and Kyle specifically) but it’s kind of frustrating at times? To see them relearn things or to have never gotten any real conclusion or closure on where their characters had been going for a long time? I’d loved to have gotten a real resolution to any of that but. Idk.

Idk if this exactly matches your perspective on this, but idk, I’ve definitely felt similar to your thoughts here! Sorry to ramble about it in ur ask box lmao

Yeah I think it comes down to Post Covid, too. They've hand waved a lot of Stan and Kyle's issues which is like fine, I guess. Like, whatever, they've never been great at discussing their problems so there's arguably been improvement by Stan admitting jealousy outright recently... though Stan's also been VERY consistent in having emotions build, dumping them out when they're too much to handle, and then not really doing anything more with them lol which...is the same thing that happened with regards to being jealous over Kyle and Tolkien.

Whatever though, I guess.

Stan in particular I feel is The Problem with the show growing. He actually HAS to be regressed quite a bit to reset the show the way they want to. This isn't something that's really true for the other boys because the catalyst to their friendship breaking apart...was Stan. Of course there were fissures, there were REASONS, but those things are irrelevant. The other kids, on a whole, were fine with the status quo. If their friendship ultimately completely broke apart into smithereens based on the Pre-Post Covid episodes, it is CLEAR that Stan is the one who's going to end it. No matter how the other kids feel or don't feel, it's Stan who's pulling the plug.

How do you keep going forward with the main character who's willing to end ALL of his meaningful relationships when you don't want to do anything but band-aid fix the problems that he's had? South Park has a major story problem and it is, primarily, there is no REAL new reason for Stan to stay friends with people he thought 'didn't like each other'. The narrative problem is Stan. Fixing the narrative problem means dialing back Stan's relationship growth, it means tamping down the depression they've been building (even in terms of situational depression regarding Tegridy this has been dialed WAAAAY way back).

Stan IS the problem with fixing things.

Unfortunately putting him in a place where things can be magically fixed also means completely jacking up his growth pretty much from around season 15/YGO.

[10hourshift]

Stupid/silly rant abt something that probably only I care abt xd

(god i spent so much time on this)

So, for the last two days I've tried to make a redesign of the shadow-magical-girl chica outfit

This one ⬆️⬆️

And it literally sucks so much* that it leaves me with no idea to redesign it without changing everything from it

*in regards of design according Ann's Character, not if the outfit in itself, that is actually really cute*

So I'm just going to point out some things that bother me and mention what I think it would work instead

The outfit as it is

Look, i know this might be a personal bias, BUT magical transformations should be fun!!The excuse of "it's magic, it can do whatever it wants" gives us the opportunity to make cute outfits and stuff!!

Look, the dress is cute, alright, but adding a little bit more of details can really seal the deal here, maybe a bow in there, or some chains if we are going w a more "edgy" design, or adding a few markings on the boots to make them less flat. (Look i know that the design also can not be overly complicated bc the model would be hell to animate, but this girl needs accessories!)

Look, if you added a few random things over the original design it would make it a little bit more interesting, you could call it a day, right? Well yes, but that's what takes me to my second point...

This design is nonsense!!

Look, magical transformations are usually based in a certain theme or idea surrounding the character. Here are some examples

So, with that in mind, what can get get from chica transformation? (That story wise is supposed to show her growth as a person bc it shows that she accepted "her shadows"*)

*what are the shadows anyway, opposite personalities, their biggest fears or just ~bad vibes~?)*

Well, nothing, being the look so basic, and even with the long hair, something that is uncharacteristic of chica, she doesn't look like herself (you can edit the eyes and say it's joy, and it would look more credible) and it's only a problem for Ann, because both Freed and Bonnie have transformations that show their characters

This one is more of a fusion of Freddy and Fred, with the school uniform for Freddy (being his most recognizable look), and the vest for Fred (i want to remember the outfit that Fred uses in the wolf in sheep clothing has a black vest, this one could be representing that but idk)

This one does a Great job, because shows a lot of Bonnie personality (his love for the guitar w the pick, the characteristic hairdo that he does when playing, even the outfit is more "rock" idk how to explain)

So, how did this happen?

Well it's really simple, Chica doesn't have any personality of her own, or things she's recognizable for.

Both Freddy and Bonnie have things that they are known for (Fred and the Yaoi guitarist), that are used in the transformation, Chicago on the other hand isn't recognized for anything else beyond being The Girl™ of the band, in that sense, the transformation does a nice job representing that.

But Chica is more than that

In the series we see different aspects of her, she likes having and supporting her friends, she likes sewing and making clothes, she's the last one to give up on anything, she started a band with the trouble kid, an apathetic dude, a micro niche celebrity and the strange new kid, and somehow she made it work! So there's really no excuse to have her as basic as that.*

Oh hey btw i did make a design for her, but as I said before its really different from the original, and then I realized it kinda looks like @cinnabundolly12 Design--- this one that is waay cooler than mine, so I gave up and made this strange rant

*to be completely fair, Chica has a lack of troubles or conflicts of her own, most of them are related to the whole group, she has a little self doubt one chapter and then sings her song and that's it, she's also very bland as a character xd*

I just put the drawing here bc i liked how the body came out and I will probably delete the file from my phone later

I based the design from here

And it just follows a star theme, i used that bass I found on Pinterest lol. Also I did try to implement some elements from the original but lol ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[neowinestainedress]

First of, I'd like to commend you for making and finishing such a wonderful story!

Second, I'd like to commend YN for being so much more mature than me lol, I still think though that Zoya and Haechan should've never been endgame no matter how made for each other they are. I still think yn deserves better than that and that Haechan deserves a little bit more "worse" than that. While I HATE CHEATING with a passion and would rather not have to justify it if both yn and haechan emotionally cheated on each other i think yn emotionally cheating is literally a long time coming/expected AND deserved with how haechan treats her at that. And while i know real life is not all karmas and sorrows, i still think haechan should've had a bad consequence of his actions, i hope he lost yn and by extention jaemin cause i never saw a bad "karma" given to him all he got was him being paranoid of losing yn which again i think is deserved. and honestly it gave me a little ick with how zoya and haechan immediately fucked each other after yn and haechan called it quits literally a minute ago lmaooo. so all im hoping in my own extended version of the fic in my headis that they dont last forever no matter how "made for each other" they are :p REGARDLESS! i still enjoyed the fic!!! especially all the non haechan parts HAHAHA i love your work so much and i hope you keep on writing banger fics, im just sorry that in my mind i hope heachan in this fic never existed cause he makes my blood boil lmao

Thank you! Sorry if I reply only now but I wanted to avoid spoilers as much as possible so I waited for a while.

Idk I would agree if Haechan was a bad person (like if he purposefully hurt her) but in my mind it wasn't like this so I can't see your point of view. He didn't act well, and I will never justify him, but even if he was a better boyfriend they weren't meant to last and were forced by their friendship so I think Haechan's coldness was the last drop that they both needed to wake up. Same thing for Haechan and Zoya fucking. I get it, I really do, but Hyejin and Jaemin had sex before Haechan and Zoya did, and also two months had passed from their break-up so to me it was a pretty reasonable amount of time to don't count as 'as soon as we broke up you went to her'. I agree with the fact that Hyejin had more reasons to morally cheat.

Also can I ask what you mean by 'hyejin deserves better than that'? Because she's having the time of her life with Jaemin so I don't know if you are talking about her past with Haechan or something else

I agree that he probably should've 'lost her' a bit longer but personally, I don't think he deserves to lose her forever. In real life it probably would've ended like you said but I wanted to show that there's growth in pain and just because something is not meant to be it means it has to hurt, and that if you can is better to forgive rather than hold grudges, especially if there's nothing you can do and the person that caused you pain didn't mean it. Probably it would've been better if more time passed between 'the hurting' and 'the forgiving' to make it look more realistic? Idk. Honestly, I didn't want to drag it too long but I also wanted to show that their relationship had run its course even in Hyejin's mind. The moment she stopped holding to the old idea of Haechan her feelings vanished too and so did the pain, that's why they started to fear for their friendship and not their relationship.

This is not an attack, I'm just trying to show my point of view and explain why I wrote it like this but your point of view is valid! (if it happened to me i'm not sure i would be as wise as hyejin so trust me when i say i totally mean what you say)

i still enjoyed the fic!!! especially all the non haechan parts I SCREAMED PLEASE

Nah don't worry, I get it a lot on my Haechan's fic, I promise I will stop writing him like this (even though I think he was much worse in sour for example even if he got better by the end) If you want to have the perfect boyfriend experience after this, read hits different, you won't hate him there

Anyway, I'm glad you liked it!