#in honesty these are just my fave parts of the series and you could really get started anywhere

[curioushabitforarivergod]

💛💚💖 I'm curious 🤭

Ask game: unpopular opinion edition <3

hii tysm for the ask! another chance to spread my hateful words and thoughts! (also a senpai notice me moment ngl 😳🤭)

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

in all honesty, i will back most ships but the one i cannot is drarry. like i get it, theres all this fun evidence but who tf cares. its kind of bland, especially after falling down into the depths tomarrymort and i actually despise 8th year fics which seem to make up a huge portion of it. drarry fans can be very very insufferable (speaking as a former drarry shipper) and i could not stand to be in the same room as more than a few at any one time

also wolfstar. i cant believe i nearly forgot how much i despise it. remus and sirius are not good for each other, and everyone seems so obsessed over it. plus anytime i try to read a marauders fic its just there which puts me off a lot of that part of the fandom in general. i cant stand it even if its a side pairing — the mischaracterisation, the blatant suppression of sirius' personality, changing him into the uwu boy and remus into the badass one (atyd, my op). they definitely were not together before harry's 3rd year and even then i dont think they were actually together. i lowkey hate remus too. hes kind of mid

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

my fave character is harry and the movies did a world of damage to him. they made him boring and flat and so now everyone thinks hes like that. hes not — hes so clever and hes vicious and hes such a complicated person dealing with so much shit. and often ppl make his abuse worse, but thats not the point. neglect and starvation are also abuse, it doesn't have to be overtly physical. it downplays over forms of abuse (i myself have an emotionally abusive relationship w my mother). i hate when people make harry weak in the face of all this — he is so strong and amazing

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

that wolfstar didnt love each other lmao. i honestly dont know what counts as an unpopular opinion. mainly, i think at kings cross when harry dies, it should have been lily to greet him — dumbledore is obviously death and he was the wrong choice to represent the narrative closure. or if not lily, at least someone like sirius. also the characterisation of death in fics; death should be a woman! or at least not portrayed as a man all the time. im just obsessed with that idea. you get it in art/writing sometimes (e.g. Death by Janis Rozentāls (1897) / "There is something female about being dead," Joyce Carol Oates) and it makes me feral.

more unpopular opinons: i dont think regulus was a good guy, i think peter deserved better from everyone around him and the fandom, voldemort was never exorcised as a child and hes far more interesting than parts of the fandom think, the marauders were really bad bullies and SA'd snape but theyre also allowed to grow up — the two arent mutually exclusive, none of the characters are particularly good and none of them fully evil either (nuance ffs), remus is a coward and i hate him a lot

[objectshowopinions]

ii s3e14 came out so here’s my opinion . heavy spoilers btw

it was actually pretty fucking good. a new favorite episode, in all honesty. I might be a bit biased though because my two faves had decent screen time.

it had its problems, sure! I think the tonal switch of SS was kinda disappointing, and just didn’t feel right? then again he could just be in denial. And the Nickloon dynamic felt confusing and weird and off.

for the whole ‘springy’ thing, it felt out of place. at first. But I had to look past it because it was actually really fun? It was a nice metaphor for so much in the show, and I’m a sucker for that shit. gimme metaphors baby I’ll eat em up

the whole past coming to haunt the characters was disturbing in such a wonderful way. the robot fakes were scary - it was delightful. Watching characters confront their past? Ow.

Now, here’s the main thing I enjoyed - Cabby and Bot. I think they were written fairly well, both in themselves and how they interacted.

Now, I’m a shameless Cabby enjoyer, I admit. I like her a lot for the memory issues, as established in e12. I have them too, and how it was handled in that scene was gorgeous. I had hoped (but didn’t expect) the issues to be elaborated on. But they were!! It was so exciting.

And Bot? They didn’t know. Bot was self conscious, and tried to trick Cabby into writing down false information. They didn’t want to be labeled! They didn’t want to be written down! And that’s totally valid.

So the whole “I’ll only tell you if you don’t write it down” thing. That was gorgeous. Cabby respected Bot in that way. Which was wonderful! and then “what if I forget?” / “I’ll tell you again.” Do you understand what that means? Do you understand the emotion behind that? Do you get it do you hear me?? THATS THE MOST IMPACTFUL THING EVER. AUUH

And then. And then. Bot asked Cabby about her parents. It’s weird cause I don’t think anyone is confirmed to have parents, but that simple question almost does? And then Cabby’s response. “I don’t know if it’s a memory thing, but -“ It shows how you never quite know if you can trust yourself with memory issues. Augh do you HEAR ME!!! GUYS MAKE FAMILY OCS FOR THEM NOW PLS!!!

other than that, though? Kinda mid. Glad that nickloon talked but they didn’t do well and that was kinda,,, ew,,, ss and yinyang also ew,,, but it wasn’t like, awful. Mid but not horrible.

BUT BUT BUT. MePhone. We didn’t see him much but like, he was there. I think it was a great missed opportunity that they didn’t mention C/bs, (the corn guy sorry I can’t say his names it’s a. thing) it felt very deliberately mentioning it. How ‘you enjoy your past’! Like WHAT ARE YOU SAYING YOU JEEBWEZER. did he make himself forget again?? hello?? But the ceo was also mentioned recently in like e10 I think like WHATS THE SITCH THERE…

but. But. Springy very clearly was referencing them being robots. Even if it was mostly about Bot, it was also definitely a jab at MePhone. And we can see how MePhone is effected. When Bot was eliminated, he was genuinely sad, and even asked for them to be his cohost. He cares for them. (He might even think of them as something similar to MePad?) He was very clearly impacted too, because he said something like “our best contestant was eliminated” LIKE. LIKE. THE ROBOTS IN THIS SERIES ARE INSANE!!!

and floory straight up eating springy was hilarious. N/A appearing was also a delight.

all in all: my faves got screen time and were written well so I liked the ep, but the sad part is everything else was kinda bad

thanks for coming to my Ted talk 👍

[e8luhs]

hey cyan! where would you recommend starting to someone who wants to get into sonic?

if you have the money to get games and also the pc specs/etc: buy sonic adventure 2 on steam (its 10 dollars) its good (and keyboard compatible, and can run on my shitty laptop so im sure it could run on just about anything). if you have a REALLY GOOD computer get sonic generations also (this ones 20 dollars)! its a nice callback to older sonic games + brings back old characters and apparently, can be configured to use keyboard controls but im unsure on how good of a computer youll need to run it (saying this bc i had to refund sonic forces since it barely ran on my laptop). also, sonic mania (also 20 dollars) is super great and is sonic generations-esque but for the classic games, with a couple original stages in there, keyboard compatible, that shazam

if you dont: read the idw comics here theyre super good, the characterization is great so far, and the plot is fucking intense + super enjoyable. plus they introduce some cute new characters like tangle and whisper! you will need to understand some of the sonic mania + sonic forces lore to understand some concepts that are thrown out there but its nothing that a good wiki page read-through wouldnt explain for you. the classic sonic games are also out on mobile for free if youd like (but there are ads sometimes. kind of expected)! im also sure youd be able to find some good no-commentary lets plays of some of the games too if you arent able to afford but would like to see them anyways. ALSO watch the fun lil sonic mania + team sonic racing animations just for fun.

umm i also know some people would rec playing games like colors+unleashed, theyre propped up as being highlights of the sonic series because of the gameplay being good in 3d sonic game terms but thats kind of up to you and imo gameplay just couldnt make up for lack of substantial plot for me + i only rly liked the gameplay in unleashed moreso. they also just arent as accessible either since neither have steam ports youd probably have to either emulate or just have the systems they are available on. thats just my take though!

hope that helps you out! ^__^ glad i can be of service getting more people into the seriez

[wild-aloof-rebel]

Some Favorite Fics from 2020

Like last year, I want to end 2020 by highlighting some fics that have become favorites over the last twelve months. Before I dive into it though, I just want to take a minute to send some love to all of the authors writing in this fandom.

As of the end of 2019, there were about 8.8 million words of fic on AO3 for this fandom. This year, more than 450 authors have added another 15 million more. That’s so incredibly impressive, especially in a year this difficult. Thank you, thank you, thank you to every single person who contributed to that, whether you wrote one fic or a hundred, a drabble or a novel. Thank you for giving this fandom the gift of your creativity and voice. Your work is so, so appreciated, and you’ve helped to create joy in a year where it was often in short supply. 💗💗💗

*

Okay, on to the fics. I’ve limited myself to no more than one work for any individual author to spread the love around as much as possible, and I’ve bumped up the number to 25 this time around because there was just too much fic this year for me to cut it down any further. 

So here we go. These are 25 fics I loved this year, and what I love about them...

Your heart is keeping time with me by yourbuttervoicedbeau • rated E • 33k+ confession before i start: i’ve never actually seen 50 first dates. but i thought this AU based on it was delightful. patrick’s love for david is so big, right from the start, and i love seeing david lean into trusting himself (and patrick) over and over again

will this ever get old? by startswithhope • rated T • <1k i just like seeing them domestic and soft and happy, okay? and while most of dee’s fics are like that, this particular one is a fave because of them thinking about their future and how they’ll change over the years but love each other right on through

Just to Hold the Hands I Love by DesignatedGrape • rated T • 20k+ it’s like a warm christmas hug, full of musical trolling, gentle pining, domestic nights in, and careful attention to fashion details, which are all absolutely the kinds of things i appreciate

A Case of You by DoubleL27 • rated T • 6k+ patrick is an absolute menace in exactly the way you would expect every valentine’s day. it’s funny and sweet and ends with them in exactly the kind of future we all want for them

Dulce by another_Hero • rated T • 1k+ original characters can be hard to do right. they have to be compelling enough to fit in with these characters we already know so well, and dulce is the kind of character who grabs you from the start. the whole series is lovely, but this first interaction with ronnie is my favorite of them

Tea-Kettle Love by ArabellaStrange • rated G • 5k+ even though this coda to “the pitch” isn’t technically canon compliant now, it still feels a lot like it is. it’s about the sacrifices we are and aren’t willing to make for the people we love, taking the new york discussion into more depth than we get in the show and still arriving in largely the same place

Vanquished by Codswallop • rated G • 3k+ if you’re looking for soft, fluffy sickfic, this is not it, lol. patrick is sick here but won’t let anyone take care of him. he’s stubborn and basically minor chaos ensues. it’s funny and sweet but not schmaltzy. the characterization is 👌, and it feels like the kind of thing that fits perfectly into the world of the show

To Come Out the Other Side by unfolded73 • rated T • 4k+ • warning for major character death i don’t want to read sad things about david and patrick very often, but sometimes the mood strikes. this one is definitely sad right from the start, but there’s hope and resilience through grief, and i think this year especially, there’s something to be said for stories that can make you feel like there is still good to be found after the bad

Hold Me Like You’ll Never Let Me Go by moodlighting • rated T • 21k+ i never would have thought that a fic would make me WANT to be trapped in an airport, but it’s 2020 and anything is possible, lol. this is what meet cute dreams are made of

Your mother keeps a spreadsheet by upbeat • rated G • 3k+ obviously i love a good spreadsheet, so this one was up my alley from the start, lol. but really it’s moira and patrick bonding through the cataloguing of her wigs (and all the stories that go with them) that makes this one an easy favorite

keep me in the pulses, keep me in the sound by dinnfameron • rated G • 2k+ this sweet little slice of a summer vacation made me ache to be with friends. plus, sometimes you just need some overwhelmingly happy david rose. he deserves it, and so do we

eggs and the flour, no higher power by withkissesfour • rated T • 1k+ i’m pretty sure this fic is the definition of sweet, in more ways than one. it’s a short piece, but the writing is lush and indulgent in all the right places, just like the cakes being described

sustineo by rockinhamburger • rated E • 10k+ before i was even done reading this fic, i wanted another 50k words set in this universe. the conversation between david and patrick is sharp in all the right ways, and because this david has such a hard shell to crack after being hurt in such a horrible and heartbreaking way, it’s that much more satisfying watching patrick break through it

All-Natural Care, Locally Sourced by Siria • rated T • 2k+ siria’s fics are always funny, with banter that’s so perfectly on point, and that’s certainly true here. but there are also care packages and photos and just so much love. it’s a perfect balance, just like the show

hold on to me as you go by helvetica_upstart • rated T • 3k+ i love a good look at just how long patrick has been head over heels in love with david and how much he was in this for life all along. this fic does just that through the framework of times that they saw their new house before they bought it, and it’s everything that you would want that concept to be and more

Exposed Brick by swat117 • rated M • 9k+ this is such a lovely look at david and patrick a few years into their marriage, steady in all the right ways, even when old fears try to rise up between them. it gives david a chance to be the solid and supportive one in the relationship, something i never get tired of reading

We Could Turn the World to Gold by middyblue • rated T • 27k+ as someone who also did c25k at one point, i def empathize with david’s plight in this fic, lol. as much fun as that part of the story is, it’s really the house and everything related to that part of the story that makes this a favorite in my book. this was posted very early in s6, so it’s not the house from canon, but it’s beautiful either way to see them so excited about building their future together there

Waiting on the Day by High-Seas-Swan • rated E • 22k+ this is another fic that makes me absolutely ache for things i couldn’t have this year, namely my favorite local brewery and all the nights spent there with friends. beyond that, it’s just a very sweet AU, and the scene with their first kiss and the rest of that night live in my head rent free

Pot o’ Gold by ahurston • rated E • 22k+ where is the leprechaun/love of my life who’s gonna take me out to eat all of the best foods that my city has to offer? this one is a slow burn but their relationship is so much fun to read right from the start that you definitely don’t mind taking your time getting there. also, the palm reading scene. good grief.

there is no design by the_hodag • rated T • 12k+ this fic gives us a look at some of david’s art, and all the loneliness and love that inspires it. it’s poignant and painful and hopeful and sweet in turn, and i think it does a marvelous job of capturing so many of the facets of david’s past that have made him who he is

A Little Broken, A Little New by nameless_bliss • rated G • 3k+ i’ve read this fic several times now, and david and johnny having a conversation about their own relationship through the guise of talking about patrick and his parents never fails to make me cry

Une très bonne table dans sa catégorie by cromarty • rated T • 23k+ just the concept of this one alone would have sold me on it—like, hello? michelin reviewer and chef? sign me the fuck up—but it’s written with the kind of attention to detail i always expect from claire’s writing, and the fact that it practically starts with a first kiss but then pulls back makes for a delicious dynamic as they build a friendship over that foundational attraction, both tempering and intensifying the wait for them to find their way back into each others’ arms

happy golden days of yore by blueink3 • rated E • 17k+ i literally stopped in the middle of this fic, sat down on my kitchen floor, and had a good cry. i hate thinking about them ending up divorced in the first place, but even as exes, they’re so careful and gentle with one another and so, so clearly still in a forever kind of love. that makes it bearable to see them apart because even if it weren’t tagged for a happy ending, there’s such a feeling of inevitability to it, you know exactly how it’s going to end and just get to enjoy the devastating ride it takes to get there

Fifteen Hundred Miles by MoreHuman • rated M • 30k+ this is one of those fics where everything comes together just right and achieves a perfect balance of introspection and action, courage and fear, despair and hope, forthright honesty and cautious reservation... MoreHuman makes it all look easy, which says so much about all the care that had to have gone into the planning and writing. this fic does everything well, and it’s an absolute pleasure to read from start to end

840 Havenwood Road E by Distractivate • rated E • 10k+ we barely see david and patrick’s new house in the show, so it shouldn’t be possible for me to be as emotional about it as this fic makes me, every single time i read it. but it’s the home they chose, the place they decided to build a life together, and getting to see flashes of that life through the years and how much love they clearly had for each other within those four walls just makes me cry again and again

[sofreddie]

Friday Feature: June 11, 2021

Welcome to the Friday Feature, where every Friday I feature a different Fanfic Writer’s blog. This week’s Feature Blog is:

Link to Masterlist

About the Author:

My name is Lou! I’m 30-year-old queer teacher/writer/bookworm/geek living in Virginia. I’m a dog mom and a Gemini and an INFP and a Hufflepuff. I started writing fic when I was thirteen and continued all through high school, mostly in the Panic! At The Disco fandom. I got my BA in writing and took a break from writing fiction recreationally for a while, but picked it up again when I started watching Supernatural in 2017. I haven’t really stopped writing since. These days I’m working on an original YA novel and some original erotica for Kindle, as well as fic; I write Supernatural, Criminal Minds, Marvel, and more.

Other info: I turned one of my most popular fics, Everything, into an Amazon ebook, which is available over here. I also dabble in making graphics and edits and memes, which can all be found here!

Blog Recommendation by @thoughtslikeaminefield:

Lou is a gift to fanfiction. She’s well-read, prolific in her own right, generous with her thoughts, and willing to take chances.

She’s also a really fucking impressive human and an even better friend.

Her words are intriguing, delightful, and, thought provoking. She does the good work of a community member and encourages more!

I’m so honored to have nominated her to be part of this awesome project.

Author’s Fave Personal Fics:

All That I Ask

Summary: This story is about intimacy and agency and trust. I think almost every woman knows what it’s like to feel powerless or unsafe during sex, and this fic explores how sexy it can be when a partner does prioritize comfort, consent, and communication.

Why the author likes this fic:

This fic was my way of writing out some of the things I could’ve really benefited from hearing during my own recovery from sexual trauma, but I loved being able to turn that “therapy writing” into something hot. It meant a lot to hear from people who needed to read this sort of thing, just as much as I needed to write it, and I’m really proud that I could write smut that also struck an emotional chord.

Coffee & Psychopaths Series

Summary: Sam Winchester and Spencer Reid cross paths at an N.A. meeting and become friends. They drink too much coffee and talk about human nature.

Why the author likes this fic:

These two characters are my favorite, and their stories have so many fascinating parallels and contrasts to explore. I’m so proud of the imagery and themes woven through this series; it’s basically a meditation on a lot of topics that I love writing about, like addiction and psychology, through the lens of Spencer and Sam and their stories. It was a challenge to weave the canon and timelines of both shows together, and I think I managed it in a really fun way.

Marked

Summary: This is a story about trust and control. It’s about the Mark of Cain, trauma and recovery, BDSM, vulnerability, honesty, and the marks we leave on people we love.

Why the author likes this fic:

This was one of the first stories I started when I took up writing again, and over the course of eighty thousand words and two-ish years, I poured a whole lot of my heart and soul into it. It’s hot as hell but it’s also a very real, emotional, honest fic; it’s not a simple fairy tale love story.

Author’s Fic Recommendations:

The Spins by @sp-oops

Summary: “It’s Dean’s birthday. After dinner and a hell of a lot of celebratory beer, the lot of you decide it would be a fucking fantastic idea to play spin the bottle.”

Why the author likes this fic:

I love writing (and reading) anticipation and tension just as much as, if not more than, the sex itself. This is a freakin’ master class in slow build and epic payoff.

SOFreddie Note: I cannot tag this individual. Someone please let them know they are loved!

Crash by @littlegreenplasticsoldier

Summary: “A witch throws a Lust curse at you and you convince Sam to help you out.”

Why the author likes this fic:

This was one of the first SPN fics I read and it still stands as one of my all-time favorites! Ali has the most amazing and distinctive narrative voice; she has a phenomenally snarky sense of humor and an eye for unique quirky descriptive details. This fic is hot, but it’s also hilarious.

Dear Mr. Fantasy by @itmighthavebeenintentional

Summary: “Sometimes when he sleeps, Dean sees flashes of other Dean Winchesters, in other universes. His dreams lately have been filled with himself in a thousand forms, a thousand different versions of what could have been.”

Why the author likes this fic:

I have no idea how Val managed to weave this much life and emotion and beautiful details into two thousand words. She let me see the first draft of this, and even in its roughest form, it was immediately something special; it just grabbed me by the heart and never let go. I’ve never read anything like it and it touches me in a way that very few fics have.

Thank you for checking out this week’s Friday Feature. Be sure to check out Lou’s blog, follow, send asks, go crazy! Check out all the fics linked and be sure to REBLOG and COMMENT!

Authors love to know what you think about their work - not just praise, but constructive criticism as well.

Constructive criticism is a helpful way of giving feedback that provides specific, actionable suggestions. Rather than providing general advice, constructive criticism gives specific recommendations on how to make positive improvements. Constructive criticism is clear, to the point and easy to put into action.

Shout out to @talesmaniac89 for the beautiful dividers she created and offered up for us for free! Check out her other resources here.

Would you like your blog to be showcased in a Feature Friday?

Maybe you have a fic you’ve written that you’d like to be included in the weekly Fic Recommendations?

Something you’ve read and loved?

Tag me! Send an ask! Drop a DM!

And as always, Happy Fanfic-ing!

Want even MORE? Check out the Friday Feature Masterlist!

Forevers:

@sis-tafics

@lyarr24

@calaofnoldor

@hobby27

@spnbaby-67

@fangirlxwritesx67

@jarpad24

@flamencodiva

@flashxspn

FRIDAY FEATURE:

@deanwanddamons

@itmighthavebeenintentional

[lucifers-horror-harem]

Kind of in a weird headspace today regarding my writing. Nothing bad or anything involving my writing on this blog, don't worry about that. In all honesty to anyone who is reading this and who reads my fics and sends me asks you're a blessing. You helped me feel better about my writing again. Read more cause it gets long and rambling and I just need to get this off my chest.

I wrote a long fic on my main blog that people who have followed me from that blog will remember. I feel massive guilt over this long fic because it probably will never be finished because of a combination of not being as interested in the fandom/series anymore as well as the comments I got that were always kind of for lack of a better term, "backhanded." Like, telling me how much they loved this fic but also either telling me they didn't like something I was doing with it and how THEY would do it, or telling me they hoped the character and the oc would live happily ever after even though not only was the character a villain, but I made it pretty clear in my fic that the relationship was pretty toxic considering the oc was kidnapped against her will and there was some Stockholm syndrome going on. To this day I get incredibly anxious every time I get an email from AO3 telling me someone commented on the fic because I don't know of it will be a genuine nice comment or a negging one or even a combo of the both. For a long time and even currently it still makes me upset and anxious that I wrote a fic that I worked so damn hard to make sure couldn't be misinterpreted as being anything but a darker fic but it still gets to me sometimes. As someone who has a shit time speaking and socializing irl the thing I rely on the most is my writing. It's how I KNOW I can make my thoughts get across. So when people just wildly misinterpreted the theme of my fic it made me so upset and worried that I was the problem and that I wasn't being clear enough.

I dont talk about this fic simply because I don't want to seem ungrateful. The people I met through this fic that were genuinely supportive, even drawing FAN ART of my OCS (that might i include at least one person outright told me they hated those same OCs people loved because they got in the way of the main pairing even though I made it clear it was a harem/the ocs were never mean or rude to the main character or engaged in any catty behavior), i can never thank the people that loved my work enough. I always feel horrible that if I were to say the reasons why I wanted to step away from the fic it would feel like I was punishing the people that did enjoy it. I could cope with general hate as the character I wrote for got PLENTY of it from the main fandom and I couldn't care about that. But I had a worse time coping with people who told me they liked the fic but not certain aspects of it. I had way more comments of "when is the next chapter" as soon as I posted a fic than people telling me how much they enjoyed it, what their fave moments were, or even hopefully talking about scenes that I was happy and excited about and worked really fucking hard to craft the interpersonal relationships between characters.

Part of the reason I created this blog was to keep my slasher content focused on one place. Another reason was I wanted to escape some of the inevitable "so you dropped this fic huh" (which yes I've gotten a ton of those too). But I'm ultimately glad I created this blog, that I've been a part of the slasher/horror fandom, and that I've met so many good friends here. Genuinely and completely, I thank every one of you. I have had many ruts as a writer, and following that long fic was one of them. I never thought I would get out of that rut till I came to be a part of this fandom. I'm still genuinely shocked that people enjoy my work to the degree they do. That they're willing to scream with me about stinky slashers and thirst over them with me without judgment.

I really want to write another long fic someday. I have a ton of ideas that I'm afraid to commit to just because due to that last long fic I worry if I don't have everything outlined to the most extreme degree that I either a) won't finish or b) people won't like it. I know I will probably get over it but yeah, idk its a thing that makes me so anxious especially as someone who wants to publish original novels at some point when I can get my shit together.

Either way, I know I will probs be fine on this blog. Everyone has been so kind and supportive, and I really appreciate being in a fandom that FINALLY feels accepting and welcoming and doesn't have cliques or cattiness or anything of that sort. It makes me so fucking happy.

[hinasaki]

okay i finished arise so here are some thoughts:

(non-spoiler thoughts first, spoilers below the cut)

combat is very fun. everybody is fun to play as. i am bad at game but i still had a ton of fun trying everyone out in the arena

boost artes and strikes are good and useful. mystic artes are real easy to trigger, even advanced ones. i’ve triggered some of the advanced ones by accident, that’s how easy they are

i was dubious about the skit style change at first but i got used to it, and it’s fine.

camping is good and i loved the little scenes you could get between party members

the world is gorgeous. the painting style they went with really just looks amazing.

okay, spoiler time

some specific thoughts on characters first:

alphen: he’s fine. i’ve been spoiled by velvet in all honesty because i love a protag who isn’t all Good and alphen is definitely Good. they did a good job keeping the mystery of his past going and he has a lot of very nice interactions with other party members. he’s fine.

shionne: my wife is a bitch and i like her so much. shionne has a good arc and the way her relationships with each of the party members grows feels really natural. saw the reveal about her thorns coming a mile away but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. i care her and want her to be happy. I especially like her very cute friendship with rinwell

rinwell: baby. rinwell also has a really good arc! the way her opinion on renans changes over the course of the story feels very natural - she doesn’t immediately stop hating renans after meeting shionne and dohalim and even after she grows to love them she still occasionally slips up. she’s good. i like her

law: baby #2. most of law’s story is front-loaded which had him feeling a bit detached as far as the story went in the later chapters but i still very much enjoyed having him around. he’s a sweet idiot. he’s absolutely a teenager.

dohalim: i love him. consistently good interactions with other party members, he has very good scenes with alphen, shionne, and rinwell. i was VERY pleased that he got a lot of focus during the lenegis part of the game. i loved his arc of learning to cope with his guilt and growing from a Ruler into a Leader.

kisara: i wanted to like kisara. i really did. i tried. i kept hoping for a magilou moment (aka a single moment late in the game where everything crystallised and i fell in love with them) but it never came. and i’m sad about that because there are some genuinely cool things about her! there are good bones! she has some really nice interactions with alphen! unfortunately a lot of her scenes end up being either her talking about her brother or her trying to mother everyone and i am just.... not here for that

overall i liked the party. they’re not my fave but i did like almost everyone quite a bit. i felt like their evolution from working together out of necessity to found family way very well done. it was natural. i keep saying “natural” because the arcs really did feel that way. they flowed nicely and almost never felt forced or hurried. it was nice!

now, because this game has basically attempted to pair up all of the party members.... the ship opinions....

alphen/shionne: holy shit tales did a het ship that didn’t feel forced! their relationship flows very nicely and they grow closer slowly over the course of the game. i don’t feel like it’s a luke/tear tier canon ship but it’s good. Them getting married in the end credits was very cute

law/rinwell: very very cute. not entirely sold on rinwell’s feelings but that’s fine, it reads pretty much entirely like law has a crush and has decided that saving the world isn’t really the time to bring that up. it’s cute.

dohalim/kisara: bad. bad. bad. i’m glad it’s just tease because i can pretend it’s not happening. they have some really good platonic moments! they have a nice dynamic as people learning to be equals! it’s extremely uncomfortable to throw romance into that mix! and i feel like it was a *huge* disservice to kisara for the writing to push her into this ship. it just felt bad. not to mention this alongside the haha she’s like his mum jokes just ughghghhghghghghgghhg NO.

as far as the plot goes, it was pretty good. we had a clear goal from the beginning which is always appreciated, only to have the rug pulled out from under us at the end in usual tales fashion. i saw somewhere someone said it had a plot structure sort of like legendia and LMAO TRUE with the one month time skip. the game as a whole reminded me quite a bit of tales of rebirth funnily enough - similar plot structure, themes regarding race dynamics, some nebulous force being the cause of a lot of suffering... it’s a tales plot. it’s not particularly groundbreaking but the characters really carried it and made it compelling. also i just loved the design of the final dungeon. the thorns are Aesthetic.

The main problems I had with the game were the amount of spelling mistakes in the subtitles, or where the subtitles didn't match the dialogue. It's most noticeable with the battle lines but happened in other places too. I didn't have a problem with CP because I kept an eye on it and I was playing easy mode but i can see it being more than a little bit of a pain. Like. Why? And also, just as a side note, did they ever mention how shionne got to dahna? Because I might have just missed it but HOW DID SHE GET HERE? did she come down for the crown contest and just chill for seven years? Did she steal a starship and come down by herself - in which case what happened to her ship that we couldn't use it to get to lenegis? This feels like an important piece of information that we just.... never find out.

speaking of reminding me of other tales: oh boy! there were a lot of times i felt reminded of older titles, which made me real glad i’ve played almost all of them now. i talked about legendia and rebirth vibes above but also MASSIVE graces nostalgia what with going to space. i know twin worlds could be referencing a number of games too but the specific dahna/lenegis/rena structure reminded me a lot of eternia with inferia/orbus barrier/celestia and it was just nice. i can’t remember where? maybe pelegion? but the general aesthetic gave me big xillia vibes. i’m not sure how many of these were deliberately intended to invoke nostalgia but i’m glad for it - it really felt like a love letter to older titles (like zesty was supposed to be) while also clearly moving towards a new future for the series.

I'm not sure how I felt about there not being much of a primary antagonist. I guess it helped push the theme of forgiveness because really how can you blame a sentient planet for everything wrong with the world when it has no concept of human morality. I guess it's just my personal preference since I prefer the conflict to be a clash of ideals or wills (again, I'm spoiled by berseria). The sidequest where you get tiny little bits about the lords felt tacked on too. The lords largely felt cartoonishly evil but I guess that's probably so we don't feel bad killing them lmao. Vholran needed a whole lot more build-up IMO as a foil to alphen because he ended up feeling like he was just... there. There wasn't much to him. I wanted to know more about why he was the way he was but I guess we'll just never know.

overall i wouldn’t say arise is one of my favourite games but it was definitely an enjoyable experience! i’d absolutely recommend playing it yourself if you get the chance!

[husbandograveyard]

Hewwo Hazel uwu 🔫😀👾😭😜😳⏰😏🎆💓?

Hewwo Bas! The UwU is strong today  o(>ω<)o Thank you for your questions! 

🔫 - Fave canon arc? 

Thriller Bark. It made me laugh SO HARD. One piece is one of the few anime that genuinely makes me laugh out loud, usually im more of a “hmpft” blowing air out of my nose laught kinda gal, but one piece gave me a lot of joy and laughter, and mostly during thriller bark. Besides that, the fights and the general plot thickening and things coming together, and Zoro’s sacrifice all made this one of my top favorite archs! The pacing was very good as well, compared to, for example, Dressrosa. 

😀 - Most favorite Straw Hat?

aaaaaa don’t make me choose  This is very hard! The initial thought was Zoro because well it’s Zoro and most of his lines never fail to make me laugh. Robin is the one I admire most cause it’s the kind of lady idk if I wanna be her or be with her yknow? And Chopper also popped up because well.. he’s the absolute most adorable bean and I love him and his cuteness. 

I’m gonna conclude a tie between Zoro and Robin, and Chopper can be on their shoulders being adorable?   (´･ᴗ･ ` )

👾 - Fave villain?

Perona as far as she was an actual villain, her negative spooks are the best attack ever and no one can tell me otherwise. 

In terms of bigger antagonists, probably the Charlotte family? I’m counting them as one, just for now, since they are all super interesting and I like seeing them on screen more than ceasar or moria or doffy and 100000x more than friggin Blackbeard (Imagine me using the ‘dinkleberg voice’ whenever I say blackbeard).  Doffy is a good villain. But he makes me too mad so he only gets a flaminglemention and not the top spot ha. 

😭 - Saddest scene?

Just like one piece is the series that made me laugh he most, it’s also the one that made me cry the most. Almost embarrassingly much. I ugly sobbed for a few hours straight around Ace’s death. I was spoiled, I knew it was gonna happen, but I did not know how exactly, so ehm from impel down on, every scene they showed him I teared up at least. (oops).  BUT there was one other scene that made me cry a lot that I have to mention because I did not expect to cry for that moment. I knew about the time skip, I knew about the training, I knew they were gonna take some time off to get stronger. BUT I did not know how and when and the circumstances. The moment Kuma separated them, the agony and the helplessness. My heart. I could not take it. That was too sad. 

Honorable mentions for the Bellemere scene very early on and saying goodbye to merry. Just too many heartbreaking moments but I feel that’s what makes the series so nice, you need to get hurt sometimes in order to get more attached to characters. 

😜 - Funniest character?

Ehm. In terms of delivering hilarious one-liners and making me laugh while not actually being funny on purpose: Zoro. The dumb is too much and is hilarious. He says funny things while not being funny and there’s just too many peak comedy moments in him getting lost or ‘wanting to get made into a wax statue in this pose”. 

Luffy gets a mention in situational humor too because that dumbassery is hilarious as well. 

Other than that. Probably a tie between Usopp and Franky. It’s just so stupid, but the sheer simpleness of most of the humor makes it so easy to digest and look at! 

😳 - Any crushes?

Any? Many! ehm, to not make this answer a couple thousand words long, quickfire! Ace, he has the charisma, the feralness, the politeness and the freckles.  Shanks, he’s just the sweetest, sexiest mystery man who knows what his priorities are.  Sabo, all the feralness, less of the politeness, all of the cuteness. His smile can revive puppies.  Zoro: the Dumbassery, the muscles, the brutal honesty and that soff soff mossy hair.  Kid: again, the dumbassery, the rudeness while still caring for his bunch of misfits. I love me a good tulip.  Robin: The beauty, the grace, the humor, the fashion, the intellect. Again, dk if i want to be her or be with her.  Vivi: The courage, the love, the sweetness amongst the badassery, step on me princess.  Honorable mentions for Killer, A bunch of people showing up in Wano that I’ve only seen spoilers pop up for. And writing some character has had me reconsidering all the crushes all together. In conclusion: WHY IS EVERYONE IN ONE PIECE SO ATTRACTIVE??? safe for you Blackbeard honey, you could fall off a cliff and I’d applaud. 

⏰ - How long have you been into One Piece? 

Not that long at all. When I was 14? ish I started my anime journey. I watched 15-20? episodes of One Piece and hated it. Around that time one piece was somewhere in between 500-600 eps and I could not imagine ever catching up to that, especially since my strict parents limited my computer use to 3h a week. 

Then a friend really got into it I think about 5? years ago and kept talking about it and how it was actually good. I was starting to do an effort to watch all the ‘big’ and ‘must-see’ anime and promised myself I’d watch One Piece, eventually. 

Then this year at the end of October 2019 I actually started watching it. I had grown up a lot, and could now appreciate the anime way more for what it was? I fell in love and binged the entire thing in more or less six months with some small breaks in between for work, school, books, and other anime. Highly considering re-downloading so I can rewatch my favorite parts soon. My biggest problem is that once I love something, I go ALL IN and I will love everything about it and obsess. And thus this Tumblr was created as the hiatus started and I wanted something One Piece to keep me distracted. I eventually want to collect the manga but I now don’t have the space for it in my tiny room. 

😏 - Favorite scene? 

Sabo and Luffy reuniting! The reveal, the tears, the hug, and the ridiculousness of Luffy with the beard and all, just made it perfect. Absolutely loved it.

OH and Luffy punching the celestial dragon. The absolute energy in that scene made me grin like an idiot yet gave me goosebumps. Punch those slave-owning bitches luffy, thank you! 

🎆 - Something you can’t wait for??!! 

ALL of what is to come in Wano. I’ve been catching spoilers here and there and i just cannot wait! There’s gonna be so much reveals and new characters and comebacks and all the things I did not know I need in my life. 

And I would like some more reveals on Shanks and his crew since we literally know next to nothing about them, besides the fact that even the admirals seemed to be at least wary of their powers and I just really need to know. (or not, since mystery adds to the charm). 

I can’t wait for the abolishment of the government and the death/defeat of blackbeard (assuming that will happen at some point, a girl can dream). 

💓 - Which character do you relate to the most?

SO HARD. Hardest question. Ehm... Ace and Usopp I think? I struggle with family a lot, but I have a chosen family that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I am hella insecure, but I try my best most of the time and I am extremely loyal, even though I have no particular talents, I try and help here and there and hopefully can make some people happy that way! 

If you read all the way through here, thank you for coming to my Ted talk! It was so long  („• ֊ •„) but it was also so much fun  (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

[mamahanu]

fanfic tag game

I was tagged by @dragonnan. Thanks, friend! I love these!

Questions:

Ao3 Name: HanukoYoukai

Fandoms: ~long inhale~ Well... I’ve been writing for a while. A long while. So... I’m just gonna follow dragonnan’s example. Bear with me. 

Currently writing fic for (that are posted/going to be posted):

Final Fantasy

MCU

Captain America

Spider-Man

Deadpool

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Currently finished and recently posted (yes... there are WIPs for these fandoms, and yes, I’m still working on them):

Dragon Prince

Merlin

Wrote fics years ago (and I may still revisit the fandom):

Glee (on FFN)

Harry Potter

Wrote 1 or 2 fics but won’t write more:

Diabolo

Weiss Kreuz

Fruits Basket (deleted... it was bad. I’m not sorry it’s gone)

Wolf’s Rain (see above)

Haven’t published any fics yet but have (or had) ideas ~cracks knuckles~:

Doctor Who 

The Legend of Zelda

How to Train Your Dragon

FireFly

Split/Glass (crossover idea... it’s outlined...)

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

The Flash

DC

All up and coming plans are subject to change depending on my whims as a creator. ;-)

Number of fics: I’m only going to count the fics that are currently posted between Ao3 and FFN. 

Spider-Man/MCU/Captain America/Deadpool: 16 (this includes the crossover with Final Fantasy)

Dragon Prince: 1

Merlin: 4

Harry Potter: 1

Glee: 2

Diabolo: 2

Weiss Kreuz: 1

Total: 27

1. Fic you spent the most time on: Omertà hands down. Wow that fic... I mean, just posting it took 10 months. And I started writing it way before I posted the first chapter so, I think I spent about a year and some change on it. 

2. Fic you spent the least time on: So This is Christmas. I was a pinch hitter for an Irondad Secret Santa. I got this one written in a few hours due to the deadline. 

3. Longest Fic: Again, Omertà. The final word count on this bad boy is 154,668. 30 chapters. It was supposed to be 10 chapters and about 50,000 words. That did NOT happen. 

4. Shortest Fic:  I Like Oatmeal. The word count is 652 and it is easily the shortest thing I’ve ever written so far. This was just a fun little crack fic that broke me into the Merlin fandom. 

5. Most hits: In all honesty, this is a very difficult one to answer because as far as I can tell, FFN does not record hits very well. My two highest fics for Ao3 are  Omertà with 8008 to date, and You are in Control, I Disappear with 5450 to date (but it’s porn, so surprise, surprise.) On FFN, the fic with the highest hits (if I did my month-by-month math right) is The Trouble with Gossip (using the Ao3 link) with 6102 hits to date .

6. Most kudos:  Omertà again. Really, y’all should read it. It’s pretty good. ;-)

7. Most comment threads/ reviews: Want to guess? You got it! It’s Omertà! You all are so smart. :-)

8. Fave Fic you wrote: What? These are my babies. These are my blood, sweat, and tears. You want me to pick a favorite? You’re crazy. 

...

No, seriously, that’s a really hard question. I love them all and for very different reasons. So I’ll pick one that I haven’t mentioned yet. I’ll say Bear the Burden of Responsibility, which was the fic that broke me into the MCU/Spider-Man fandom (I’d been reading for forever, but this was the first one I wrote). It also was my intro to Irondad and Spiderson, which has been SO fun to write, and the community has been fantastic to be part of, in my opinion. 

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: Hmm. Well, I’m already expanding on it, just slowly. I have a series called Take My Heart With You which is kind of an alternate reality/alternate universe series for Merlin. It mainly focuses on the gap between seasons 3 and 4, and events in season 4, but there is a relationship between Merlin and Percival that I’m playing around with. I also am touching on the friendship Merlin has with Gwen, so there may be elements from previous seasons added soon. I actually really enjoy that one, but I’ve lacked inspiration for it, so I haven’t been writing much in this universe lately. 

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: How about both?

Love Runs Deeper than Blood

***SPOILERS! FOR MY READERS WHO WANT TO WAIT UNTIL I POST, SCROLL UNTIL YOU SEE THE NEXT BOLD TEXT!***

“Tarkik.”

“No.”

“Koko.”

“Hmm, maybe.”

“Nanouk?”

Kyra laughed, bouncing the baby boy on her knee. “You have great love for that name,” she said, grinning. Bato shrugged, wiggling his fingers at the boy and making him giggle.

When he brought the child to Kyra, she broke down in tears before immediately thanking the Great Spirits. She fell in love with his soft hair and golden eyes, and she held him like she could never let him go. Bato understood. He was like that with the boy the whole journey back.

“It’s a good, strong, water tribe name,” Bato defended, grinning. “What about Toklo? For your father?”

“My brother was named for my father already,” Kyra replied. “Maybe Tonraq?”

Bato made a face. “No,” he replied, shaking his head.

“Why not?”

“When I went Ice Dodging, the boy manning the main sail was named Tonraq. He’s the reason I have a scar on my boat,” Bato said, darkly. Kyra laughed.

“Well, there’s always Soomool,” she offered. Bato shrugged. They had been going over names for two days now. Even Kya and Hakoda offered input, with baby Sokka in tow. The new boy was fascinated with the chief’s son. Bato hoped they would become good friends. Kyra handed the boy to him and he lifted him up so their noses could touch. The boy went a little cross-eyed, making Bato laugh.

“You know what his eyes remind me of?” he asked Kyra.

“The sun?” she asked, grinning.

Bato shook his head. “No. Well, yes, I suppose. But they look like the sky during a storm, when lightning strikes.”

“You mean when the sky turns to gold for a moment?” Kyra asked, thoughtfully. Bato nodded. Kyra hummed in thought.

“What about Kallik?”

*** OKAY ALL CLEAR***

Story Idea - Spider-Man Villain/Anti-Hero AU:

Plot: What if Peter stopped the convenience store thief instead of letting him run away? Uncle Ben is still alive, and that major guilt he felt that acted as a catalyst for him to become Spider-Man and look out for the little guy isn’t there anymore. Instead Spidey is a wrestler, then a “hero” who asks for donations to his paypal, and then a mercenary. All his bad guys are now neutral contacts, and he frequently teams up with DP, Moon Knight, and Black Cat (among others), working for cold, hard cash. He drives Iron Man crazy, he baffles Captain America, and Black Widow has a soft spot for him (because she gets that double life). 

It’ll be fun when I get to writing it. I’ve got some semblance of an outline. ;-)

Tagged: I’ll tag @silentsaebyeok, @reachingforaspark, @blondsak, @jro616 and @kitcat992, as well as anyone else who wants to play. And if I tagged you and you don’t, no pressure! <3

[xsecretblastsx]

i1x16 - All about my brother

Last week was so busy for me and my brain was so fried I didn’t think I could do this until today. I’m excited to though to reach this episode, only two more two go and S1 will be done. So here we go.

As usual recap under the cut.

Thoughts I had while watching the episode:

This one of my fave uniform looks of Blair. I don’t even know why, but it is.

I so love the Jenny vs Blair dynamic. Because even if I’m rooting for Blair I can’t help but admire Jenny here.

Chuck and Bart are at the Bachelor party in Montecarlo, and he still calls Serena to see how she is. Brother and sis in the making.

Hello Georgina, oh sorry Sarah. Having watched the series already this is a plot I can’t help but roll my eyes at

Jenny telling Eric that he has a crush on her, actually that whole since she reminded me a lot of Regina George when she was fake nice.

Asher was really bad a hiding his relationship, like the dude is kissing his boyfriend right next to the school where anyone could see them.

I wonder who was Mr Spitzer and why he couldn’t be seated near Serena at the wedding, I want to believe there’s a funny story behind it, and not because he’s a perv.

Sure, Jenny’s being a bitch to Dan, and for once he’s in the right, and yet I can’t feel bad for him. 

“Don’t go to France, I’ll be there for you” a throwaway line from Blair, and yet bits like this are what fueled the fandom scale towards Blair for so long, Blair’s drama is petty compared to Serena’s and yet... still to this day people still argue about this mostly against Serena. 

“You look stressed even for you” an acurate description of Dan Humphrey at any given time. And Serena’s so eager to have that in her life, poor girl.

Serena’s turning around while Blair’s describing Jenny as self obssesed, self serving, self centered is hilarious, but hey she knows what she’s talking about

The four G: guys, girlfriends and Gossip Girl.

“Now you know how Vanessa Hudgen feels”, that is so 2008. Worse thing is I remember it.

“Wasn’t me, wish it was”, so Blair.

“Is your brotherly duty to save her from becoming the next Katie Holmes” Seriously this episode is getting quite savage with the not so nice pop culture references, also I dind’t want to remember this.

Dan being like “I don’t want Jenny to get hurt” and Blair pointing out that he should have thought of that before telling all of Manhattann that she’s a  glorified hag is why Dan sucks so bad.

Rufu’s seeing Lily on that wedding dress 

Jenny having a rude awakening, and even though she hates it she still goes along with it. 

Again, he may be right, but thanks Jenny for telling Dan to stop judging everyone all the time.

Serena blowing up Blair, and for once this actually was important. Too bad she couldn’t know that.

I so wish Georgina had refered to Blair as Snow White more in the show. And I guess people loved it because I’ve seen it more than once on fanfic. Also Eric being like “Oh, snow not so white, did you hear that...” but in Eric’s favor that was juicy gossip. 

Now I feel bad for pointing it out earlie the same thing Georgina says here, that was so in plain sight, this was really mean though.

Eric calling Chuck after the fall out, and he sums it up pretty well, the guy may have flaws, but being a judgmental ass  is not one of them. 

One of my fave bits of S1 was all the heartfelt moments between Serena and Eric. 

Blair’s arrival at Jenny’s party: EPIC. “The most importants parties to attend are the onew you’re not invited to” girl is serving. Also one of her most underrated looks in Season one

Georgina, Vanessa, Serena and Dan sitting at a table, talk about akward, also  I don’t know how to interpret this because either: half of the table are sociopaths, or just roll my eyes becaue the writers totatlly forgot about this plot when writing the final season of this show. 

Penelope and Hazel bitching about how their first time’s were awful. Not cool.

I wish we had got a nice moment between Blair and Eric, because they did care about each other, and we got so little between them. Because these kids were family, dysfunctional one for sure, but family nonetheless.

I know Asher was a jerk, and this was a moment of empowerment for Eric, but outing people is never good. Like I get why Eric did it, and he’s also really young, but still. 

Seriously Blair look’s gorgeous this episode.

That scene with Lily and Eric brief as it was really made me emotional, it’s one Lily’s most honest  and realest moment as a mom.

 Jenny raising the white flag, this scene is my second fave scene between them,their power struggle may be over for now, but it was a ride. And I love how honest they get with each other.

So Dan can tell Serena what to do, what not do, talk about her friends, but the moment she tells him she has misgivings about someone, he’s like how dare you! why don’t you trust my judgment... and then list all the bad things she did, and just leaves. He’s the biggest hypocrite ever.

Seriously angry Scrabble? And the words are like... ugh. I just can’t with him.

This is one of my favorite moments of Blair and Serena because Blair’s words are such a perfect description of the bond between them.

That’s such an ending for an episode “I kill someone”

No Chuck or Nate this episode. 

So this episode... it was quite packed. It’s basically the set up for the finale of Season One, putting and end to the Blair vs Jenny storyline and leaving us with Georgina breaking havoc front and center, only to drop the bomb that Serena killed someone. On first watching I remember I was like what? and hitting next episode really fast. Now not so much because this episode was one of those were rewatching reallly felt diferent from the first time. It’s also the one so far were knowing how the show ends was really distracting

I remembered this episode mostly for being the final round of Blair vs Jenny and it being quite a thing to watch, feeling bad for Eric,loving his scenes with Lily and Serena, and that last scene between Serena and Blair. And unlike the episode of Jenny’s birthday, I didn’t enjoyed their struggle for power as much this second time around. Not because I hated or anything, in fact Blair arriving to that party was still epic, I guess it had a lot to do with the fact that this was my favorite Jenny storyline, back then I didn’t knew what to expect, and I was excited about seeing where her character goes next, and now I know, and I didn’t like it how it went in the end, and it was sad to see her so defeated here,because she is never happy, whenever she gets something she wants it turns out it doesn’t make her happy at all, and even knowing that, the way things go, the way she acts, make it hard to root for her.  

I still loved her last scene with Blair though, because it didn’t matter how much antagonism there was between them, they also still saw a bit of themselves in each other, they hate it but they admire each other, and it’s was make their relationship so interesting and why they have these moments of such honesty between them, and sure, here Blair was condecending and Jenny basically tells her that she destroyed her life just to be like Blair, as if being like her was not something good, so each of them believe she’s better than the other, and yet it ends on a really sad not because Jenny’s words “I don’t expect anything anymore” are actually really depressing for a 15 year old girl, and as soon as she turns back towards the elevator, Blair drops the smile, because she gets it. So like I said, a really good scene, and even though I may not be excited about Jenny’s storylines anymore, I’m excited about a certaing scene betweem them in S2. That’s my fave. You can probably guess which one it is.

The other main plot this episode was Georgina still breaking havoc on Serena’s life, this time by blackmailing her, and becoming friends with Dan and Vanessa. Now, I normally don’t like to think that much about future events, particularly how it all ends, because I like enjoying the episodes trying to yes get more insight on why things happened the way it did, and it’s easier to analyse the characters actions and motivations in the moment, rather than focusing in their whole character arc, but this episode I found it pretty impossible to do because, knowing Dan is Gossip Girl means he’s pretending the whole time in a more obvious way, playing it up next to Georgina who’s presented as manipulative, a tad crazy and evil, is hard not to notice how he’s basically the same, and at least Georgina was honest about her nature, Dan on the other hand is not, Penn and the whole internet has being pointing out since  “You” came out about how Penn’s character Joe, is Dan upgrading to murder, and this is where the comparison really cames to life.  It kind of creeps me out. 

Dan aslo makes me really angry, becausse to top it all he gets mad at Serena, for basically not trusting her judgement because he is the trustworthy one in this relationship and she is not, and he drives the point home by listing all the times she has lied to him, never mind that part of the reason she lies is beacause he’s a judgmental ass who has lowkey constantly drilled her with how he loves the good Serena, and this episode he’s even critical of her haning out with Chuck who is a) her soon to be step brother b) someone she’s been reluctant friends with since she was a kid, and he also is critical of her partying, so basically the things she did before she met him, and that’s wrong on itself, but having Dan Humphrey acting all high and mighty because he doesn’t lie to Serena, makes me angry because he being a hypocrite not capable of seeing his own mistakes, never asking for forgiveness is what I dislike the most about his character.

I’ll leave it here for today, because this carries on to the next episode, and because Dan’s gets even worse on the next ones, so I’ll know I’ll be ranting about him even more so, and I don’t want to repeat myself, at least not that much. I’ll end this by remembering that last scene between Blair and Serena, because it’s such a precious moments and the reason why no matter what happened between and how bad it got, they are sisters and love each other to pieces “We're sisters. You're my family. What is you is me. There's nothing that you could ever say to make me let go. I love you”

Random bit’s I’ve noticed:

Lily’s schedule was so full, between disscusing her prenup, a final fitting at Mark Ingram’s Atelier, a mani/pedi, a conference call about an article, an appoitment at Barney’s... oh the good life.

So this episode is where the “whoever said money can’t buy happiness didn’t know where to shop” quote cames from. I’ve seen that one on a ton of edits, no one of my fave though.

Funny but if there was one character that really put into practice Blai’rs words about crashing parties it was Vanessa now that I think of it.

Shut up and let me go! I was so obssesed with that song back in 2008. Though when I think of the Ting Tings and Gossip Girl, I have a different song in mind. 

[ultravioletsoul]

Maybe an unpopular opinion regarding Makarov/Character Analysis (part 1)

Sometimes I read comments of CoD fans saying that Vladimir always was an asshole for apparently no reason, that he was the typical Russian cliché villain doing cliché bad things (such an original concept, I know). And while I do agree that for the most part the games didn’t do a very good job at giving him any significant depth (and he acts like a jerk, it’s true), I also have to say that he’s probably one of the most misunderstood characters in the series. Not because I think he was some poor innocent man who did nothing wrong, but because his villainous portrayal tends to take the spotlight every time he’s onscreen and we literally cannot see anything else beyond that. Which, of course, makes him look very one-dimensional since the game always has to remind you in oh-not-so-subtle ways how evil he is.

The story of MW never goes into full detail as to what drove him to do the horrible things he did. And it’s not clear unless one bothers to analyze some obscure information hidden in the loading cutscene of No Russian and does a little research on the side. In all honesty, I wish his story would have been better explained and developed by other means than just a slideshow of newspaper articles and an overview of his dossier. I would have been content with a special trailer that actually explained his background, rather than have him say some pseudo Sun Tzu lines in a few teasers and let that be the entirety of his character development but okay… I guess this was as far as Infinity Ward’s story-telling capabilities went back then.

Sure, you may think: who the hell cares about his motivations? He was an evil mofo and needed to be put down. Well, unfortunately for these people, I exist and I do care because Vladimir is one of my faves— perhaps my most favorite character in the entire MW universe. And though I like him because he’s an unapologetic baddie, that’s not the only reason.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Vladimir is this super complex character that nobody else gets, but there are definitely some elements that give him a few extra layers and they’re worthy of being analyzed.

Beware, this is going to be a long post and will contain a few historical references. This isn’t a comprehensive breakdown, and I’ll probably make a lot mistakes along the way because I’m not a history buff by any means (please, don’t yell at me ;A;), but it should be a rough explanation of what I think led Vladimir to such extremist views and why I think he’s a good antagonist in Call of Duty. Also it could be a helpful reference for anyone who wishes to write a story about him.

I’m not claiming this is the most accurate interpretation of Vladimir, or that it’s the only valid one, but if any of this information comes in handy or offers a different insight into his character then I’ll consider my mission accomplished.

Without further ado, here we go!

Tagging @sunset-and-periwinkle​​​ and @renegad3spectre​ because they may be interested in this post :v

1. No Russian

So one of the first recollections that come to mind when thinking about MW2 is the infamous mission of No Russian. This kind of content was so violent and crude for its time that it caused quite the controversy and it still divides the opinion between people who think videogames should push boundaries and people who believe there are things that shouldn’t be portrayed in such an offhanded way. Whether including that level in MW2 was a good or terrible choice is not the point of this post. However, I’ll share my personal experience.

Me, back when I played this mission I didn’t give it much thought. I mean… it didn’t have this serious impact on me as I’m guessing the developers intended, from what I’ve read, but that’s mainly because I wasn’t mature enough to make a proper assessment of the story-line and to me CoD games weren’t about deep narratives either. Keep in mind that I was an immature kid and I just wanted to play a game that my brother enjoyed. So yes, without much thought I breezed through No Russian, accomplished the objectives and it wasn’t until the end of the mission that I realized I’d been played like a damn fiddle.

And my first reaction to seeing Makarov killing me was “bro, I thought we were allies”. Never mind the carnage that had ensued moments ago, never mind that I had participated in it. I was more offended by this unexpected 'betrayal' and well... imagine how stupid I was for thinking Vladimir could be my friend. The fact that Allen was a CIA agent completely eluded me and I didn’t understand a freaking thing of what was going on but that was on me. I shouldn’t have been playing those games at my young age because evidently I wasn't ready to handle adult themes like that.

Replaying this mission now that I’m older made me realize how messed up it was, and maybe not for the most obvious reasons. Yeah, innocent people die all around us and that's something we cannot stop from happening, no matter what we do. However, it’s not really necessary for us to hurt civilians to complete the level (we’re not punished for not doing it) so we can be simple witnesses to the brutality ensuing in front of us, which is as equally messed up perhaps. You can even skip the whole mission altogether if you want to, so no biggie: you’re spared the nightmare fuel and you can happily head to Brazil to capture Alejandro Rojas. Heck, you’re even rewarded a glimpse of Ghost ready to torture Alejandro’s assistant and all is back to normal, yay!

However, when you think about it, from the perspective of the story, Allen wasn’t given the option to skip anything. He was pushed to commit a vile deed and ordered to follow Makarov’s lead no matter how morally questionable those actions turned out to be in the end. Shepherd told him that this mission would cost him a piece of himself and he was right about it. Had Allen survived, I’m pretty sure he would have been scarred for life after what he did. I don’t know how he could have lived with himself knowing that he slaughtered all those innocent people. Vladimir killing him off was kind of… an act of mercy in a way, though of course we know he had completely different intentions for doing so.

So people may wonder, why the heck Vladimir carried out that massacre? Some common opinions I read is because he’s an asshole, because he’s crazy, because he wants to make a statement, because he enjoys being a psychopath and hurting others. All these may be true to some extent, we’ll never know for sure, but it’d be very simplistic to just leave it at that without taking into consideration other elements of the story that were left implicit.

I’m going to say that, from my perspective, I didn’t get the impression Makarov enjoyed killing those civilians (but hear me out, neither did he regret it!). It would have been pretty easy to make him this psycho that slaughters people with a smile on his face, but that’s not what we see in No Russian… and perhaps it’s even more terrifying when you realize how casual he is about the whole affair. You really get the impression that he’s a man on a mission and he carries it out in a very no-nonsense manner, does it all with a straight face, without batting an eyelash, without any trace of doubt about what he’s doing, not even a hitch in his voice, absolutely no emotion whatsoever. His actions, his words, his whole demeanor, all scream about being a professional at what he does for better or for worse.

He didn’t know these people, he had no quarrel with them, and yet he killed them all in cold blood. Why? Because they were stepping stones to his goals and there was a very established purpose for that op. To the rest of the world, yea, it  may seem like there’s no logical reason for what he did other than he’s nuts but, honestly, Vladimir could care less about that. The only thing that matters to him are the results.

Even if the whole world thinks that he’s insane, in his mind this was the most reasonable course of action. To him it had to be done, there was no other way, and he didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger when the time came because he was truly convinced it was the right thing to do. The fact that he (a criminal who’s wanted by the entire world and probably cannot afford to leave himself out in the open) participated in that brutal event shows the utmost importance it had to his plans. Vladimir personally oversaw and carried out the operation, he didn’t leave anyone else in charge because of the very special meaning it had for him. He says “for Zakhaev” before engaging FSB units because this incident would mark the beginning of a new chapter in Russian history, a chapter Vladimir would write in honor of the man who was his friend and mentor— the man who started it all, who gave him a cause to believe in and fight for.

He definitely had his reasons for what he did. They were the wrong reasons of course, but Vladimir didn’t act on a whim nor did he waste his time on matters that didn’t advance his agenda. He didn’t start a war nor massacred hundreds of people at that airport for simple fun and without a solid motive (though this isn’t by any means a justification, it still was a pretty shitty thing to do). We all know that it was a false flag operation, as he wanted to put the blame on the US for the attack. His intention was sparking a war between Russia and America and he was willing to achieve that by any means necessary, even if thousands of his countrymen had to die, even if he had to make common cause with Shepherd (we don’t know under which circumstances and terms), a man who by all accounts should have been his worst enemy— a man who had set up an entire task force for the sole purpose of hunting Vladimir down. And don’t get me wrong, they weren’t buddies, they still hated each other’s guts and would kill the other in a heartbeat, but they were willing to work together towards the same goal because none of them would succeed on their own.

So, ultimately, Vladimir’s objective was riling up the public opinion to push for an invasion of America and provide the Russian government a ‘legitimate’ reason to do it. Does this have 9/11 commentary undertones? Well, I’m not gonna be the judge of that but it could be a possibility.

However, to understand this moment, we’ll have to go much further back in time.

2. His Childhood

This is going to be a huge oversimplification of Soviet history, I’m afraid, so my apologies in advance. Don’t take my word as the absolute truth, this is barely scratching the surface.

According to the information seen in No Russian, and Return to Sender, little Volodya was born on April 10th (not sure how reliable is the wiki since I was convinced he was born on October 4th *shrugs*) of 1970 in Ivanovo, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Or for those who, like me, don’t like those long names, better known as Soviet Russia.

As a curious fact, Ivanovo is known as the City of Brides because it was a very important center of textile industries in the Soviet Union that attracted many young women seeking work. It also has an important historical significance as hotbed for revolutionary activity in czarist Russia and was the city where supposedly the first Bolshevik assembly took place (earning the nickname of City of the First Soviet). During the Second War it proved invaluable as a front city, located close to enemy lines, receiving refuges and injured soldiers of the Red Army that treated their wounds in the many hospitals that were set up for that purpose. Also, in addition to producing armament and fighting in the war, the citizens made good use of their industries and donated huge quantities of fabric to make millions of uniforms.

Back to the topic, next thing we have to wonder is what Vladimir’s life was like as a child born in the 70s. We don’t know much about it and it’s never even mentioned anywhere in the game but, if we had to hazard a guess, he most likely had a relatively happy childhood— raised like any average Soviet kid at the time. His parents were maybe workers, maybe doctors, maybe engineers, maybe teachers, maybe in the military, but they surely weren’t bad people and they wanted their son to be a decent member of society. They didn’t raise him to be a criminal, they didn’t shape him into a monster. If Vladimir had at least one grandfather alive, then he would have served during the Great Patriotic War (a term used in Russia and other former Soviet republics to refer to the conflict in the Eastern Front during WWII). And as a kid, Volodya probably grew up in a typical khrushchyovka apartment with his family. It wasn’t very luxurious but, you know, it wasn’t so bad either and it was home sweet home for them.

Now you gotta imagine what growing up in the Soviet Union was like. Education was heavily influenced by the Communist party and children swam in a sea of propaganda. No, no matter what western propaganda says, they didn’t teach him to hate the west as a kid. Vladimir didn’t want to wipe out Americans from the face of the Earth or skin them alive as you probably imagined at some point, but from a young age he was taught to be proud of being born in the greatest country in the whole world and he pitied the ‘oppressed’ American workers for their lack of Soviet blessings, for being unable to stand up to their imperialist overlords. Heck, this was a popular song in the 80s, when he was about ten years old and probably every Soviet kid sang it at school, including him.

Speaking about that, at school he must have been in contact with several ethnic groups— remember that the industries attracted a lot of people to Ivanovo, particularly women, from many places all over the Soviet Union and, even to this day, Ivanovo is a multi-cultural city with over a hundred nationalities. It’s safe to say that Vladimir would have never given it much thought if someone wasn’t an ethnic Russian nor would he have cared. There weren’t nationalities or differences back then. Everyone was a Soviet citizen and everyone was equal or so it would seem at least, if you ignore the multiple genocides, mass killings, deportations and other horrors of the Stalin era before the Soviet Union adopted a more moderate domestic policy and started a process of de-stalinization after his death— eliminating his cult of personality and other institutions that allowed him to hold autocratic power.

This was also known as the Khrushchev Thaw period, and it was during this time that repression and censorship began to become more lax thanks to Nikita Khrushchev’s policies, and millions of prisoners were released from the gulags. It also opened up the Soviet Union to some economic reforms, trade with other countries, as well as educational and cultural exchanges in the form of foreign uncensored books and movies, music, dances, fashion, and new forms of entertainment in national television. So all this would seem a shift towards a more positive outlook for the Soviet citizens.

Our little Volodya shared and played with other kids in his neighborhood in the playgrounds of the apartment buildings, maybe fell off those Soviet swings and whacked his head a few times but that was okay, he still had fun and laughed and cried like any other child. He grew up listening to old pop music, synth (because people just didn’t listen to patriotic music all the time) and watching Bollywood movies which were all the rage at the time in the USSR as an alternative to western cinema. He had friends, a family that loved him. He spent weekends at the dacha (cottages outside the city) working the land with his family, growing fresh produce. He probably had an affectionate babushka that looked after him, told him many stories, and cooked hearty meals for him because she was a genius at handling finances and feeding the family. She surely was a god-believing woman despite the widespread atheism in a society where the word of Marx and Lenin had an almost religious significance, who took no shit from anyone, and who would  chew Vladimir’s head off if he so much went out under-dressed in a breezy day. Even as a grown ass man, she would still intimidate him because you don’t mess with babushkas!

Like a good Soviet kid he was taught to never lie, to help his parents and respect the work of others, to have good manners and not be a spoiled brat, to be considerate and kind to his elders, encouraged to be resourceful, to do things by himself and not expect others to come to his aid, to improve his culture and intellect, to study hard and become someone who would help build the future of socialist paradise. He probably collected silly trinkets like many kids do, he spent his time learning to carve wood and other crafts, reading about the great war heroes and the communist leaders. Year after year he played zarnitsa, a war game for kids and a very popular activity in the Young Pioneers (the Soviet ‘Boy Scouts’, so to speak) that trained young generations for military life, compulsory for every man, cultivating their love for the USSR and preparing them to defend the homeland from the enemy.

Life back then could be tough at times, true, but he must have been quite happy and there was joy to be had. He was raised to be patriotic, a good communist, living in what he believed was a place of peace where all were equals and all were comrades. Having little contact with western influences, he grew up listening to a carefully woven narrative and was told of the decadence of warmonger capitalists that feared the spread of communism so much that they would wage countless wars to stop it and destroy other peace-loving nations. So much could be argued regarding this statement, sure, but this is what he was told and it was during a time when Operation Condor (the US-backed campaign of state terrorism and wave of right-wing dictatorships in Latin America during the 70s-80s) was in full swing to eradicate communism and any Soviet influence from South America. Not to mention the many proxy wars waged throughout these decades, as well.

“For years the western hypocrisy has made the world a battlefield.”

Little Octobrists and Young Pioneers were a thing and the Communist ideology was still going strong even if some started to quietly question it. Not that many did, at any rate, since the dreaded KGB kept a close eye on everyone so dissidents wouldn’t spread the wrong ideas in the Soviet society. Well, at that time maybe you wouldn’t be sent to a gulag just for saying bad things but someone would ‘talk’ some reason into you and there would be subtle threats to tone your attitude down or else your life and that of your relatives could be screwed. Don’t say this, don’t do that, the walls have ears and you’re being watched.

You have to keep in mind that he also grew up under the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. And much like American kids, Vladimir would have been greatly concerned about nuclear armageddon and be familiarized with procedures to follow in case such a terrible event came to pass.

The US and Russia pointed nukes at each other for many years and the NATO military exercises of Able Archer— at the peak of Cold War hysteria— didn’t help matters. These were annual exercises but that year of 1983, new elements never seen before had been introduced, and then there was the menace of the new Pershing II nuclear missiles that had been recently deployed in Western Europe. If launched, these would be able to reach their target in less than ten minutes (faster than any other missile known until then), landing with high accuracy and virtually no warning.

Until then the only thing stopping a nuclear war was the threat of mutually assured destruction, but these missiles tipped off the scales in favor of the west, since the Soviets would have no way to retaliate if their command centers or even their own missile launch facilities were targeted. So the Soviet Politburo was very concerned about this situation, in a time when president Reagan poured great efforts to fight the Brezhnev Doctrine (which established the legitimization of military interventions in Eastern bloc states, or any country that became a threat to international socialism) and show the world that the USSR wasn’t indestructible.

The increase in realism of these exercises, the strained relationship with the US under the Reagan administration, previous psychological operations, participation of heads of government in the exercise, and recent deployment of these new ballistic missiles, made the Soviet military believe that the US and NATO were preparing for a preemptive strike and that the exercise was nothing but a ruse. In response, the Soviets readied their nukes, air forces in East Germany and Poland were put on high alert to any funny business, and Soviet intelligence monitored the situation closely for signs of an impeding attack.

After nine days, the exercises came to an end and that was probably the time both countries were the closest to nuclear annihilation since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.

So in those years, Vladimir was living under the administration of Leonid Brezhnev famously known for his era of stagnation and also for his passionate kisses (the famous socialist fraternal kiss, you guys :v). Though it’s worthy of being mentioned that in the early 70s the Soviet Union had reached the peak of international power and prestige.

Nikita Khrushchev, Brezhnev’s predecessor, had promised that by the 80s communism would be a reality and maybe that wasn’t so hard to believe at the time. The economy was growing at a rate of about 3% annually and things had started off relatively well in the mid 60s when Brezhnev assumed office. There was full employment, even minimal wage was sufficient to afford basic necessities, healthcare was a given, education in all levels was free and once you finished university or a vocational course, there was a job waiting for you. Things were pretty much settled for everyone. There wasn’t a lot to worry about, not many uncertainties. It was a pleasant predictive life for the most part. Not perfect, by any means, and it had its difficulties but Vladimir’s family felt protected and safe and they had great hopes for the future.

What went wrong then?

To be continued in part 2

[dreaming-of-haikyuu]

ooooh! i just saw your mbti post and i love mbti a lot and just the concept of it! so so so! could you tell me how you analyzed it all and why you think the characters would date the mbti type you chose for em?? like! i love hearing about it and just the explanation!

omg thanks for asking this!! if anyone hasn’t seen the post, click here!

Personally, I’m super intrigued by the concept of MBTI too. Even though I know a lot of factors of the test could be misconceived or put in a perspective of your “ideal” sense of self, I still like how it can be somewhat accurate if one answers categories honestly!

Rambling aside, I already knew a lot about the MBTI types and looked to some of the more popular HQ characters as reference. I analyzed each of the characters’ personality from the anime and parts of the manga to decide which of the 16 types fit them. Then, it was a long process to write them all down and assign a few characters I see fit to match. I even had to get second opinions from my friend who also watches the series. It seems fairly simple, but it’s not really ;w;

— (Just a small disclaimer: I couldn’t analyze all the characters. I know there could be better matches, but I gave up after two hours and used the more relevant characters in the series)

INTJ - Hinata brings out the qualities and emotions INTJs have but don’t usually express. His nature allows the other to develop even just by being around them. They make a good pair because of INTJ’s trust and Hinata’s loyalty. Though his energy may seem draining, I think this pair will work well together in the long run.

ISTJ - Tanaka’s goals align with the ISTJ mindset with romantic relationships. I think ISTJ’s have a fairly traditional mindset. They’re super devoted lovers and that’s exactly what Tanaka needs. I think he can be just a little bit insecure sometimes and that all works out with a reliable ISTJ partner.

INTP - Actually meeting an INTP is difficult, but Oikawa’s interesting personality makes it easy to bring them out of their shell. Because INTP needs aren’t that complex, they don’t mind Oikawa’s busy schedule. One thing that may make this relationship difficult is that they need to recognize Oikawa’s need for intimacy.

ENFJ - ENFJs are always so eager to please their partners, but they tend to skip out on their own needs. The trustworthy and loyal Sugawara would make sure that his partner also gets their fair share in affection. I just think Suga would be super cute in a relationship with an ENFJ hehe

INFJ - Kuroo is the type of person who loves to analyze people, and unfortunately for him INFJs tend to be closed off. He’s attracted to how committed INFJs are to achieve goals. Together, they’d have a good support system.

ESTJ - Communication is key in every relationship and to ESTJs, it’s the most important part of how they choose their partners. Yamaguchi is observant, so along with the ESTJ direct personality, it just goes fluidly together.

ESTP - ESTPs are the type of people who can get easily bored and aren’t afraid to drop a potential lost lasting relationship. Yaku’s temper honestly can clash with an ESTP ideal at first but his integrity attracts them.

INFP - Terushima is the type of person who needs someone to help him settle down. INFP are indifferent toward him at first, but will still find ways to understand him. This pair definitely is that basic shoujo manga pair: popular guy x shy protagonist

ENFP - I kind of debate on this myself because Akaashi himself is either INTJ or ISTJ which makes a big difference on whether or not he is compatible with ENFP. I just think they have a good balance, but I could be wrong. I’m very 50/50 now I think more about it. Maybe Tsukishima would be a better fit? He was a close second when I was writing the original post.

ESFJ - ESFJs are very needy people and constantly want attention from their s/o. Asahi is also quite the traditional thinker, and would give his everything to developing a relationship with an ESFJ. It’ll be an adorable and affectionate pair.

ISFJ - Bokuto is sociable and likes to take risks, whereas the ISFJ type is the total opposite. However, they do share the S (sensing) & F (seeling) qualities that bring them together. ISFJs are caring and protective partners, always observing situations. They can act as a guide to help settle Bokuto’s recklessness.

ISFP - Ushijima can be blunt, but he surely does everything with good intentions. An ISFP may often find themselves lost in the moment, but Ushijima is the perfect rock to latch themselves on to. Their expressive tendency is pleasantly well-received.

ENTP - ENTPs just really loves to speak their mind. They question everything because they’re constantly just analyzing. Tsukishima may find this aspect annoying at first, but he’d understand that everything ENTP says is for self-development. Tsukishima values honesty and enjoys how direct they are.

ENTJ - We’ve seen how Ennoshita “ran away” when things got complicated, but we’ve also seem how he’s grown as an individual. ENTJs are confident and goal-driven, which Ennoshita admires. Above all, his patience with them will prevail in the relationship, and ENTJ will appreciate it a lot.

ESFP - At first, I don’t think an ESFP would even look twice at Kageyama as a potential lover. They’d keep him close as a friend and them come to realize how compatible they are. ESFPs care a lot about their partner- Kageyama may be a total blockhead, but he’d do anything to please his lover.

ISTP - ISTPs can be emotionally unavailable at times which can be a problem to most of their relationships. Though he may be confused, talking it out really helps. Sawamura grants the space they need and don’t tend to dwell on the reason why. That’s because he probably already knows why with his observant disposition.

If you read the whole post, give yourself a pat on the back! If you guys want, reply/reblog with your MBTI/result so I can see which character you got. My MBTI doesn’t even match with my fave character, so you know this isn’t biased hehe :)

also this took more than 2 days to finish i’m ded

[heisalonetonight]

hi!! I just wanted to ask how are you so in touch with Adrien's character?? I've been scrolling your blog for a hot minute so i was just curious, I really love how you play adrien OwO

Oh thank you! In that case you might enjoy some of the fics I am writing with Adrien at the moment (link!). Tbh I guess my ‘being in touch’ with Adrien’s character is a mix of things - first up I’m an author with almost a decade of experience in being one (I started publishing when I was 14, I am now 22!) so that definitely helps with part of it, as well as having a disposition to character archetypes - Adrien is very much an archetype, just one that I adore (and have had almost as many years’ experience writing, they’re my fave archetypes!). But in terms of similarities between us - I was homeschooled when I was 12/13 and very very lonely as a result of it, and I turned a lot more sour than Adrien did. My mum was a lot of fun. When I was in public school, I lost friends bc they thought I was part of a cult! I made plans to leave home very early on. I think most of what we have in common is actually communication skills; Adrien is highly communicative and unusually so, for a 14-year-old boy, he’s very happy and willing to lay himself bare and vulnerable for people in the hopes of working whatever-is-bothering-him out. He actively chooses not to be miserable and not to be angry, and to talk to people about problems before they become problems, and that is a choice I started making when I was fighting my way out of nine years of depression/anxiety (which I now speak about in the past tense), so I guess there’s a lot I can identify with in that. Choosing to feel one way, rather than another; I think Adrien must have been taught from a very young age, by somebody very close to him, that he could control his own reactions better than he could control other people, and that has served him well, even if it is not the lesson they were probably intending to teach him at the time. Adrien could so easily choose to be angry about so much, but he does not, and that he holds onto the fact he has a choice - that it is at the front and centre of his mind almost always - is such a refreshing thing from a kids’ TV series! So what you’re seeing in my portrayal is probably that he does make those choices, again & again & again, and he says what he means. It’s a really noticeable thing when a person irl or a character in a story just say what they mean, and I try really hard to stay true to that with how I write Adrien! Even at the expense of sometimes making him blind to the fact that other people don’t just say what they mean, Adrien really tries very hard to communicate openly and clearly. The honesty and the vulnerability of him is what made Marinette crush on him in the first place! It is such a shame Chat didn’t quite beat Adrien to it, man. But they - each of them - really do mean it when they say they’re partners, through and through. 

[sparkadreama]

**GET  TO  KNOW  THE  BLOGGER  !**

Tagged by: @snxckersnxckisms Tagging: I’m...not sure who has and hasn’t done this already so let’s just say if you haven’t been tagged to do this yet then I tag you!

first  name  ,

Savonnah, but everyone just calls me Savvy/Savi

strange  fact  about  yourself  ,

I can be super easily entertained, like you know how people say you can just shake your keys in a baby’s face to keep them amused? Yeah same....

top  three  physical  things  you  find  attractive  on  a  person  ,

N/A

a  food  you  could  eat  forever  &  never  get  bored  of  ,

Chicken Alfredo Pasta, Dino Nuggies, aaannndd pizza

a  food  you  hate  ,

There’s nothing I absolutely hate really? Or at least nothing I can think of just stuff I dislike/rather not eat.

guilty  pleasure  ,

I don’t really have guilt in anything I like, hell I openly admit to watching things like Blue’s Clues still soooo.....

what  do  you  sleep  in  ,

Pj pants and a comfy shirt

serious  relationships  or  flings  ,

Neither, I have 0 interest in both

if  you  could  go  back  in  the  past  &  change  one  thing  about  your  life ,  would  you  &  what  would  it  be  ?

I’ve thought about things like this a lot and really the only thing I can think of that I would like change would technically be two things but in a round about way it’s really just one. Which would be getting rid of a certain someone I should’ve been rid of sooner and hanging out with my besite aka ( @irnmaidn ) much much instead.

are  you  an  affectionate  person  ,

Yush! I’m a big hugger! Like Olaf, I love warm hugs! X3

a  movie  you  could  watch  over  &  over  again  ,

There are probably a lot that I could come up with but top three would have to be Beauty & the Beast (Disney), Megamind (my sibs and I wore out our Blu-ray copy with how often we watch it so that should say a lot), aaaannndd maybe Klaus.

favourite  book  ,

The Looking Glass Wars trilogy & The Bartimaeus trilogy. Two series that are severely underrated and need more attention in all honesty

you  have  the  opportunity  to  keep  any  animal  as  a  pet :   what  do  you  choose  ,

A wolf. Big pupper!

top  five  fictional  ships   (  if  you  are  an  rp  blog ,  you  can  use  your  own  ships  as  well  )  ,

I’m just gonna go with my blog-related ships cause I can and I wanna. Also, these aren’t in any particular order other then ‘as I think of them’ plus only one per person I RP with too. X3

Adam & Zack

Malleus & Chrysalis

Veillios & Mal (Familial ships count too!)

Death & Hector

Damon & Leo

pie  or  cake  ,

Pie so long as it be of the pumpkin sort.

favourite  scent  ,

Anything soft, light, and sweet as I can’t stand the stronger smells since they hurt my head. The only exception is pumpkin spice.

celebrity  crush  ,

None!

if  you  could  travel  anywhere  where  would  you  go  ,

Top three places I’d go:

Disney World

Tokyo

The UK (specifically to meet with @snxckersnxckisms​ & @dreamxalittlexharder​)

introvert  or  extrovert  ,

I be an ambivert.

do  you  scare  easily  ,

Nope, it’s actually pretty hard to legitimately scare me.

iphone  or  android  ,

Long as it’s a phone it works for me.

do  you  play  any  video  games  ,

Yush I play a lot of video games...so many that Icould list them all but I’d rather just list some of my top faves:

Okami

Alice Madness Returns

Project Diva Series

Red Dead Redemption 2

dream  job  ,

I don’t...really have one....or at least not one that I can think of that I’d want anyway.

what  would  you  do  with  a  million  dollars  ,

Give a good chunk of it to my mom first then spend the rest on whatever the heck I feel like at the time which the majority of would likely be stuff for my friends.

fictional  character  you  hate  ,

There are probably a few I could list here but I don’t feel like doing so.

fandom  that  you  were  once  a  part  of  but  aren’t  any  longer  ,

I can’t...really think of anything I still like pretty much everything I’ve ‘been in’ far as I know anyway. Though then again I don’t really partake in actual ‘fandoms’ as it were anyway.

[ohjaimelannister]

What are your predictions for 8x04 and the rest of the season? Plus all the major characters, like who do you think will live?

Oh god anon, Im sorry I didnt see this until now! 8x04 is kinda redundant now, and no one could have really predicted that storm of shite.

Okay so this is gonna be long I guess but here we go.

To be honest with you I only have a few prediction as to where the story’s gonna end up, I’m more concerned with the characters but :Kings Landing and the Iron Throne are destroyed by Cersei and/or Daenerys and Drogon. There is no more ‘King or Queen’ of the Seven Kingdoms, they have a council of a few (possibly elected? but probably not because this is Westeros) lords in a democracy or each kingdom goes back to being completely independent (which in the Norths case I wouldn’t actually mind) .

I’m not sure whether the White Walkers are truly gone or not? I’m not sure whether there’s gonna be something to do with them, but probably not. But basically there’s gonna be a lot of destruction and dismantling of the normal before this is all over.

I think this isn’t going to be type of “The End” situation, life will continue and maybe we’ll get some sort of epilogue about how one of the characters we’ve come to know is murdered under /mysterious/ circumstance (just like how the series began with Jon Arryns murder) or there’s another rebellion and the cycle begins all over again. There will be the inlaying message about how the wheel is never ‘broken’ because power will always be coveted and power will always be taken from those that have it. Basically they’re doomed to live this cycle over and over again. Hence the ‘bittersweet’ ending. All those that died along the way, died for nothing because the politics, backstabbing and wars will never be over.

Characters :

Lets start with The Starks, Sansa- I have nothing much for you except I just hope she lives at this point? Honestly, Id like her to rule and be Sansa of House Stark, First of her Name Wardeness of the North. She cares about her people and loves them endlessly so she’s perfect for ruling and protecting the North because of all she’s learned from figures like Tyrion, Cersei, Littlefinger etc.   I don’t really mind if she marries or not but I’d like her to at least experience a loving relationship at some point in her life after all the shit she’s suffered through, and she just deserves to be happy basically. Though saying all of this considering how they’re writing it at the moment I honestly and truly expect her to end up ruling the north completely alone without any of her family with her because that ‘subverts expectations’ and D&D are shits.

Jon - well I hope for the best again but let’s be honest we’re not going to get it. Therrs two ways this could go : 1.) He doesn’t want to rule and I honestly don’t think he will. I would like him too, he’s good in leadership positions and he’s got the ‘saving the masses’ temperament (re: Wildings and getting himself killed for it) but I’m getting real big “gonna kill my auntiegirlfriend” from him at the moment, and I think we all know by know its been implied that Dany is going to go ‘mad’ and hell do it it to stop her from continuing to destroy an already burning city and more people from dying later on when shes finished with Kings Landing. Itll sort of parallel with Jaimes story in the end, though instead of being protected by the new ruler and his family, Jon will confess to his ‘crime’ and be sent to the North to exile, and go off with Tormund via Castle Black. I don’t want to say he establishes a new Nights Watch because there’s really no need for them now? Unless the WW aren’t really gone, then hell feel like he has too and the cycle will start all over again. Either way, he’s going to end up alone pretty much. As Beric and Ser Alistair said his life will never be easy and hell end up fighting others wars forever.

2.) Basically the same thing as before ^ but instead of being exiled, Drogon will just burn him to death in the Throne Room for killing Dany.

Either way Jons not going to get a happy ending I don’t think.

Arya - Her whole arc on the show has been badly written, and in the end I just want her to be happy with her family and Gendry. BookArya just wants a ‘pack’, basically a family. She fought so long and hard to get back to where she was, and even announced it to one of the most dangerous men in the world that she was “Arya Stark of Winterfell” and that she was going home. Where has that been this season? I want her not to kill Cersei, I want her to see what impact Cersei and Dany tearing each other apart has on KL and decide that vengeance isnt the best route and go to Gendry, who she clearly loves and he clearly loves  her. The Hound might even try and convince her to seek out Gendry because there’s someone in the world that obviously loves her for who she is.  But in all honesty? I think theyll have her just leave without saying goodbye to any of her family and just disappear again to find out what’s “west of Westeros”.

Dany - Dead. I dont like saying it, because I think Emilia has done her very best with whats been given to her (and D&D have done her dirty) but Dany is going to end up being killed by Jon for going mad with power and bloodlust basically. All signs have been pointing to it for a while now and without her morale compass in Ser Jorah and experiencing the pain of the abduction and then murder of someone she loved as a sister is obviously going to send her over the edge. I dont think shes ‘evil’ as such but, shes always had a problem with her anger and temperament, which the others have been skillfully subduing for years, with them gone, watch out world. Of course I could be epically wrong and she could actually win, murder all the Lannisters and Jon in a shock twist and take the Throne for herself??

Cersei - Dead. I mean it would be the ultimate shock and plot twist if she somehow lived and killed all the others? And tbh with the writing at the moment I wouldn’t actually hate that. I think shell probably either get killed by Jaime or take the easy way out like she was going to try to do before Stannis got to her during the Battle of the Blackwater. Nothing too surprising on the horizon there I think (hope).

Jaime - I want him to live? I mean I’ve known for many years there’s a 99% chance the he will die but I still have the smallest hope.  If he has to die let it be heroic, let it be him killing Cersei to stop her from blowing up KL to get at Dany and co. Hed only die if he was wounded in the fight to get to Cersei (which is highly likely), or if he was caught by Dany and she has him executed because it looks like he betrayed them all, when in reality he was the only one who could get close to her. Im not gonna say anything about the leaks because I really hope that if he has to die its a GOOD death (and not falling from towers or jsut to be with cersei at the end or some shit) and that its his redemption arc completed and I really hope while hes killing Cersei he says “The things I do for love” and she KNOWS its not about her anymore. I will really be angry if this is a D&D screw up and they mess his entire character arc up because of this “addiction” nonsense. If he has to die let it be with Brienne by his side (because shes gone chasing after him) cradling him. “In the arms of the woman I love”

My dream for him would be that he lives, goes to Tarth, marries Brienne (after begging her forgiveness and shes punched him, ALOT) and they have warrior babies. The end.

Tyrion - I have two endings in mind for him, Dany finds out about someone is plotting behind her back and either Varys sells Tyrion out so he can keep playing his little games (or they both get found out) and he has a trial and is executed. Or if Dany dies he becomes part of this council thats going to lead Westeros.

Brienne - She lives? I cant see anything bad happening to her at this point unless she goes to KL to save Jaimes dumb ass. Either way I think shell live and end up bearing Jaimes child (whether he lives or not) because they were together for weeks and weeks, and it’ll be a plot device used to carry on the Lannister bloodline when the other three die, like Gendry was for the Baratheons. Which lets face it would cover the whole “bittersweet” ending really wouldnt it? She has to carry and bare the child of a man who loved and left her (with hopefully good reason) but shell never know that so she has to raise him/her alone on Tarth as a constant reminder.

Gendry - Well. Boys got two options (maybe three) But I dont think hell stay Lord of Storms End possibly? If its a choice between Storms End or Arya, I hope hell pick Arya. Shes never cared about him being a lord, she loved him for who he was way before he was made one. Or they just live in Storms End together and raise children. (They have to give us something right????) And the third option - Ive always had this really weird foreboding feeling he’d end up married to Sansa, Arya said no and made it clear she doesn’t want to marry, and if she leaves then…….the whole “i have a son, you have a daughter” thing still becomes a reality.

Pod - Well, I hope he lives, gets made a knight and helps Ser Brienne on Tarth basically. Hes too pure to be ruined (though D&D will probs give it a shot)

Davos - Might live? Im not so sure, if he does hell be helping out the new ruler/rulers in some way?? Or hell just be down in FleaBottom adopting random kids left and right.

The Hound - Will probably die in Cleganebowl and Arya will actually give the gift of Mercy this time, but not before he bestows his dad wisdom on her about Gendry/Life. And if he does by some miracle live hell probably go somewhere, build a house and live there in solitude for the rest of his days.

Bronn - Well I had a joke that this shit (i loved the character early on but this season has just been no) would avoid all the major battles somehow, live on over all our faves and get his damned castle……..Im probably not wrong about this one….

Sam and Gilly - Their goodbye already seemed pretty final? I hope we see more of them because just leaving them at Winterfell seems a bit open ended and weird considering Sam was like, part of the most MAJOR plot on the show? Maybe hell put on this council or be Lord of Horn Hill with Gilly as his wife, which would a great middle finger to his horrible father.

[philiie]

Interactive Introverts London highlights

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD PROCEED AT YOUR OWN PERIL

This is also the most extra shit like I spent hours writing everything up lol

Go check out @danfanciesphil post here of the Brighton show which inspired me to do this :))

- When they first came it was the coolest thing ever. They were standing on the podium thing and the screen at the back lifted to reveal them in a cloud of smoke and they were silhouettes until the spotlight shined on them. Holy shit it was the best thing ever it doesn't even seem real.

- They were quite close to their apartment as well so Phil said they were considering bringing their sofa and "sitting in our browsing position".

- Dan mentioned how Phil's old videos from 2008 were very different from now (lots of audience approval) and how they were kind of really creepy and weird and honesty it probably isn't a good thing (I disagree but sure whatever). Phil talked about 'snokoplasm' and how it was literally just him rubbing slime over himself shirtless pretending to be futuristic (lots of audience approval for that lol) but he doesn't make videos like that anymore because he wants to make things that are actually entertaining and things he WANTS to make.

- Montage of everything they aren't gonna do in the show just so our expectations are levelled.

- They went backstage to get a silver box (Dan literally Naruto ran for no apparent reason) from which they were acting out the things using props from it in the centre while a voice narrated. In between each one the lights went darker so you could only see their silhouettes as they grabbed props. It was all very pantomime like which was really cool and theatrical.

- The things included: 24 hour livestream of them doing domestic home things (recording of dan on the toilet and Phil munching on crunchy nut appeared on the screen lmao), Erotic roleplay (Phil was in a policeman hat and had a baton thing while dan was in handcuffs. The recording of dan saying please be gentle, I have sensitive skin played), Stripping on stage... they started acting like they were going to actually take their tops off and they actually ripped them off to reveal an exact copy of the top underneath except Phil was now in a half sleeved shirt instead of full sleeved (I now understand Louise's joke)

- Phil stumbled and almost tripped on the step when going into the centre and was like "I almost forgot there was a step there" and was walking really strangely into the middle like elongating his legs after every time he lifted them and Dan made fun of it being like who tf walks like that. "Does anyone ever feel like Phil is actually an alien learning how humans work?" Later on in the show Phil says something about removing his lizard face and Dan says THAT would explain the weird walking. He also imitates Phil going up into the centre and says "I'm doing a Phil walk" v v cute :))

- For the Dan vs Phil segment they talked about the electric shock machines and for each round the pointer moved up one level of electric shock. The first time it moved into the yellow area and Phil said "Finger in the yellow" which elicited a massive audience reaction and dan stopped and was like oh god and Phil was giggling in his 'oops shouldn't have said that' way, somehow he made that adorable.

- The first round was seeing how well they know each other and Dan made the comment saying "don't worry guys I'm Phil trash #1 and all"

- Phil's question was: What did Dan swap alcohol with in ISG10?

Phil answered green tea correctly but the electric shock sound effect came up anyways. Dan was like no you answered that correctly it should have been a ding but the ding didn't come up anyways (lol tech crew nice one)

- Dan expressed extreme discomfort with 'x rated lester' "in any interpretation"

- Dan's bad thing was 'spoilers' and he tried to say that it's better to not be surprised. (I'm pretty sure this is the bit where he said "otherwise I'd be like 'Phil... Phil I don't feel so good'" reaching his arm out to him (infinity war reference for those who don't know,,, I could have killed him in that moment can he not) "Too soon? Yeah probably too soon."

- Phil's good thing that he had to make bad "getting unlimited money" Dan found that hilarious. His way of making it bad was that it gives you too much power- he would strap two planes together and stand on top of and ride them which would probably make them explode.

- They used the Isle of Man pic of Dan for the Dan, Phil or a rat segment (you guys know the one where he's smiling super happy) that just made me feel very warm :)

- The picture for Dan was just a really pale cream colour and Dan made the joke that it might be translucent enough to be Phil's skin but he said no I bet it's a troll and guessed rat. Turns out Dan was right and it actually was Phil's skin lmao from the picture of Phil with the silver hair dye.

- When Dan got electrocuted he fully hit his shin on one of the benches and basically died on stage. He fully snorted and turned away in shame and pain and it was the most hilarious thing ever. "Who designed this stupid set" LMAO

- Phil asks us to clap on the count of 3 after which some people immediately clap and Dan's like omg no on the count of 3. But then people start clapping for the people that clapped "are you seriously clapping for the people that just clapped" and then basically everyone started clapping and oh my gosh it was the best moment ever I've never felt more collectively part of something in that moment it was so funny and Dan looked so done with us all. A great moment.

- Someone asked in the getting deep part that there's a guy she likes but all she does is makes vine references. Phil's response to that is if he doesn't appreciate your vine references he's not worth it. Dan: "there's your dating advice from Phil"

- Phil was cleaning in 'Dan's' room (dan says "like you've ever done a chore") Phil's indignantly says he vacuums doing the hand movement. Apparently he found 'something weird' under 'Dan's' bed so he brought out a silver box that was locked saying it was heavy and handed it to Dan. [yes I'm putting that all in quotation marks fight me]

- He wanted the audience to guess what they thought was inside the box and the things that people said were: A single piece of Phil's hair, A fursuit and a Dildo(ll) rip they kept emphasising DOLL it was too funny nice one whoever that was lmao

- Phil was asking the audience if anyone had a key to open the box and Nora (what a legend) threw some plastic keys onto the stage and Phil fully tried to unlock the box using them lmao what a cutie. When Dan came back with the actual key Phil was like someone had plastic keys and dan was like wtf it was too funny.

- Do you really know Dan and Phil? 1% of people said 'who are Dan and Phil?' Lol they wouldn't stop bringing that up. 47% (?) of people said they don't really know Dan and Phil and Dan was like wow Phil why are you so shady? (He said this twice in the show when addressing the idea that their personalities are different online)

- They did a pie chart to show fave video series which apparently they were really excited about seeing as they hyped that up for a solid 2 minutes,,, "90% of the budget of the show was for this pie chart"

- Dan got sacrificed attached to the wheel of death comes out yelling with no warning so everyone is just screaming because it was so unexpected so i couldn't actually hear anything he said but the basic gist of it was fuck you all lmao.

- When Phil tried hitting him with a slinky it was a couple inches away from "the danger zone" I.e. Dan's crotch. Phil repeats the phrase danger zone two more times after that lmao.

- Dan says "almost hit my balls" w o w.

- The last time is some massive intense bazooka that Phil started stroking and then dan was like "stop stroking it- especially with those gloves on".

- Phil hits him the last time with the bazooka literally almost at his crotch and Dan screams. They say how it's all our fault and that we should feel bad. Phil is like "I don't think they feel guilty" lol I mean he's not wrong

- At the end dan was like "Phil help unstrap me" clearly looking for Phil to unstrap him around the waist but Phil went for his feet instead lmao (Dan just wanted a reaction from us Phil lmao well done). Phil finally got the memo though and helped and then dan stumbled out being like okay get away from me don't touch me and Phil just giggled.

- The white protection suit lab coat thing got stuck on dans shoe so he was hopping around and Phil was like do you need a hand there and Dan said "no Phil I don't need your help to get me undressed" and everyone screamed and Dan was like okay okay shut up (idk if that was an intentional line or not I couldn't actually tell but... nice)

- Phil's diss track happened and if you're reading this you've probably seen a transcript of it already but damn hearing him say bitch live was the best thing ever lmao. Also when he said the line about not wanting to get demonetised he did the making it rain hand gesture (thanks anon) which was hilarious

- There was a point where Dan was like no Phil you can't swear on stage and Phil was like aw why not I wanted to say "what the (fuck)" mouthing it and that's more than I could have ever hoped for

- They did the song and it was v cute and got stuck in my head. When Phil got up and sat on the piano he was swaying one leg back and forth and it was adorable.

- They ended the show bowing and went back behind the black screen that they came out from and were waving the whole way through and Phil was bending down to wave as the screen was going down and it was v lovely :))

And then I died the end.