#in many ways s1 remains my favorite

[daydreamer-in-reverie]

I think one of my biggest gripes about S3 of Bridgerton is that I am utterly unconvinced that Colin and Penelope started as friends.

Now hear me out. I believe that Eloise and Penelope are friends. I believe that they grew up together, having lived across each other. I believe that Eloise loved Pen so much, Penelope was always welcomed to the Bridgerton home. I believe that by virtue of Eloise loving Pen and having her as a best friend, the Bridgerton family loved Pen as an extension.

But I’m unconvinced that Colin ever saw Pen or loved her as more than his sister’s best friend.

They tried so hard to convince us that it was Colin and Penelope who met first and that theirs is a stronger bond than what Eloise and Pen have by virtue of this but I just remain skeptical. In S1 and S2, we never really see them interact without the intervention of a ball or a social gathering. Eloise and Penelope actively seek the other person out while it was only Pen who looked for Colin and never the other way around. Colin only ever stumbled upon Penelope. He never scanned the room the find her, never tried to pull her away from Eloise so they could have their own conversation. I always felt like Penelope was such an afterthought to Colin while Penelope always made space for Colin in his life. Even while Colin was writing letters to Pen, and it was only Pen who consistently read and replied to his missives, it felt so one-sided. Penelope was eager to know of Colin’s adventures but Colin never asks Penelope about her own life and hobbies.

In all honesty, I think this could have easily been remedied by a good flashback. In Bridgerton S1, S2 and even in Queen Charlotte, flashbacks were the mediums used to fill in the gaps of the story. To inform the readers of a character’s history, and why the choose to do the things they do.

In a single episode, we saw how horribly Simon was mistreated by his father. In a single episode, we saw how deeply Edmund’s death wrecked Anthony’s boyhood and broke his mother’s heart. These flashbacks told us why Simon refused to procreate or why Anthony didn’t want to marry for love. We saw how deeply these core memories hooked themselves into these characters psyches, forcing them to become the people we know today. Without these integral flashbacks, we’re left with words said in passing to convince us of the story they’re trying to sell.

And don’t tell me flashbacks in the Bridgerton-verse are unimportant. Flashbacks have always been Julia Quinn’s method of choice when trying to inform readers of a character’s decisions. In Book 1 and 2, we got the same flashbacks as S1 and S2. In Benedict’s book, we got Sophie’s flashbacks. How her father treated her and how much her life changed after he died. In Book 4, which is Polin’s book, we still got flashbacks on Pen and Colin’s relationship and how much their friendship actually meant to the other. Book 5 showed us Philip’s backstory while 6 showed Michael’s and Francesca’s and John’s friendship, and 7 showed Garett’s and 8 showed Lucy.. While these flashbacks maybe used to showcase the love-interest’s past, they were still utilized by Julia Quinn to give us insights on the characterizations that make up their respective relationships.

I feel like this season, while having its moments, wasn’t what I was hoping it would be. There were so many changes that I feel the original plot of the story got lost. Polin didn’t feel like the main couple, just a couple with a story to be told. There were so many plots told in such extended ways that the main event was sidelined. The Mondriches, Benedict (who by the way is my favorite character), Francesca were all put on spotlight more than Polin was. In the books Francesca barely gets a passing mention of her marriage until her actual book (an act I believe to be intentional on Quinn’s part. It fits that the black sheep of the family who prefers the quiet didn’t have all of the fanfare that came with marrying an earl) yet her time at the marriage mart was put as a spotlight. In fact, when Francesca and John marry, it doesn’t happen with the series and happens much in the same way as Prudence’s marriage is (by this I mean it happens off screen). Don’t even get me started on her character assassination and deviation from the books (I can write a whole essay on this without even mentioning Michael/Michaela). All of these plot points, were put as main focuses when they shouldn’t have been. A waste of Polin’s amazing love story, if you ask me.

[comradekarin]

living for your hotd hot takes!!! what do you wish would have happened in S1 & S2 in your ideal world?

thank you anon. i know some people are sick of me bitching….but blame ryan and sara!!! i love when i get asks anyway, it’s fun :)

now, i won’t go into specifics mainly because i don’t know what plot points i would change exactly (while still keeping it faithful to the show/books). but as for season one, in an ideal world, there aren’t so many time skips. i do understand that time skips and short seasons are because of budgeting, but the frequent time skips didn’t help with establishing the dynamics between the characters, namely alicent and rhaenyra. i believe there’s an entirety of twenty plus years shown in season one, yet a lot of groundwork isn’t really laid down. i personally wish we got more harwin/house strong. it’s easy to forget larys is harwin’s brother, and larys is such a major player with teamg that it really makes you wonder his relationship with his brother and father. more of harwin and rhaenyra! i would even go as far as to wish for more interactions between nyra and alicent’s kids outside of the pivotal scenes we got. in an ideal world, season one would truly show the build of resentment, of bitterness, of suspicion and distrust amongst not just the kids but the adults as well. the events leading up to the estrangement of rhaenyra and alicent in their adulthood (though, this is implied more than explicitly stated).

this last wish is more personal, but i wish the writers hadn’t cut out jacaerys and rhaenyra’s conversation before he left for the north in s1. jacaerys wishing to fight, like daemon, and urging his mother to act for every second she stalled him and his siblings remained in danger. granted, rhaenyra appeared very naive and childish in the script, so it’s probably for the better it never made the final cut.

i’m only halfway through season two, but my main issue with the season so far is the lack of consistency when it comes to characterization. there’s a lot of back tracking and contradictions that make the characters we loved in season one unrecognizable in two. in an ideal world, season two would focus more on team black/green kids. developing the relationship between aemond and aegon (and their dynamic with alicent). letting the audience see jacaerys being political savvy and his budding friendship with cregan while he was up north. the writers acknowledging the bond that rhaena should have had with jacaerys and lucerys; she was ward of dragonstone for six years yet the writers seem to forget this fact. seeing baela murder cole via burning in 4k would also be pretty cool. giving baela way more screen time and actually allowing her to have a voice about the war, the dragonseeds, rhaena and so forth. daemon interacting with the dragon twins more. showing visenya during daemon’s many episodes at harrenhal! the fact that childbirth is such an important component in his relationship with his mother, laena and rhaenyra yet it’s not emphasized is also criminal. but just cutting the harrenhal episodes will do, too. and more jacaela! i’m crazy so i catch all of their crumbs, but i do wish their scenes were less jace centric and more mutual. like, sure, we get the eye, dinner and council scene, but those are short lines rather than dedicated screentime. and even in baela’s moments of comforting jace, her opinions on things are never really mentioned. everything she says go back to what rhaenyra will think, how rhaenyra will react, what rhaenyra will do, etc. i also wish we could see more of aemond and alicent? i think i get her and aegon’s dynamic, but i’m not entirely sure where her and aemond stand. aegon and sunfyre! jace and vermax! addam and jace’s friendship! more of corlys and rhaenys’ reaction to lucerys’ death (lucerys never truly beat the favorite grandson allegations). or, lucerys and visenya being mentioned at all. and i can’t believe i’m saying this, but more otto!! and less criston cole (it’s insane cole has more screentime than all of tb!kids).

season two honestly feels like filler and stalling, yet the writers aren’t using this time to build up tension or meaningful dynamics so that they can really sell season three. it doesn’t showcase grief all that well, either, so i wish that would be improved, too.

so, there’s probably a bunch of other things i want to see but i won’t bore you too much, anon!! outside of baela burning cole, i feel like my wishes wouldn’t stray too far from the narrative? if anything, it would only enrich show canon.

[a-girl-in-neverland]

Once again, im here to complain about the bridgerton subplots and changes

So spoiler for Season 3 ahead

I hated that they just cast Anthony and Kate aside. Do they really had to go RUNNING to India and couldnt wait for FRANCESCA'S WEDDING???? Hello??? Werent they the head of the family??

The intention with that is great and loving but is the showrunner allergic to having Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley in our screens for more than 3 minutes????

Like at that scene of the night before Polins wedding. Colin mentions that Kanthony has "come back"??? From where??? Did they run off again??

(Also i would really like to know who Edwina married and a bit of her love story)

The way in which the writers simply forgot about benedict's art/painting plot is atonishing. The build up of S1 to S2 was great, with the art school, but then in S3 is like that never happened?? Why didnt they explore more Benedict's lack of purpose or even his disappoinment with Anthony's actions?? Noooo, they just rather have him have sex with people all season long

(Before you come after me, im not critizing Benedicts sexuality, im just pissed that his character had barely nothing to do this season other than have sex, but i did enjoy a lot his scenes with eloise)

The Mondrichs plot was sooooo inconsequential and had nothing to do with any other one in the entire season. What was the point of keeping them?????

Somehow the writers in this show can make up irrelevant plots for lukewarm characters but cant come up with anything for the most beloved ones

And lastly about Michaela Stirling. So many people on twitter are fighting over this that is sickening. But lemme tell you this, all my life i had the pleasure (or better, the experience) to see many books i adore turn into movies/tv shows. Sometimes in adapting change is good, sometimes is necessary. But this change alters the whole story.

To be clear, i am NOT trying to be disrespectul, or homophobic or even mean about it. I dont mind the representation. In fact i think stories centered around LGBTQ+ leads, in this period of time, is a niche that could be much explored. Bridgerton could inspire people who belong in this community to write these stories, which is great.

However, the change of introducing Michaela completely transforms Francescas story. The second-love with the exploration of sexuality trope has great potential. But changing so greatly a story thats well known between the fans is risky to say at least.

Francescas book is not my favorite (by far actually) but it is for a lot of people, and a lot of readers have been enamoured with michael for the last 20 years, at least. So i understand if people get upset, because i would too if my favorite couple/story changed so much out of the blue

And honestly, i think this is one of the ways the show is trying to remain relevant. I AM NOT trying to say that TV should use LGBTQ+ love stories as clickbait. But be serious, the books were written as 8 straight love stories, in todays society people would be complaining if they followed if by the rule.

Anyway, Polin were wonderful. Nicola and Luke you are so so so loved, we couldnt have actors that loved their characters more

(And at this point i might be a Portia Featherington stan, she grew a lot on me)

If you read this far, i hope you have a great week and please dont come for my critics, they are not hate opinions, i just needed to rant <3

[tommygrace]

I'll never stop thinking about how Grace deserves better and should have been kept alive. She could have been so interesting but the writers failed her.

Grace is honestly an example of a woman getting fridged.

I noticed that in general, most of the women that are not Tommy's family (Grace, Lizzie, May, etc), their characters mostly revolve around him. There isn't much about their side of the story and their character development.

I get that Tommy is the protagonist and the show takes place in the 1920s, but still.

(Am quite tired right now so this may not make a lot of sense)

Completely agree with you. Grace had a lot of potential, and her story was very interesting. And yes, all the women are only there to show a part of Tommy. When he is in love and happy, when he is toxic and miserable. Even Ada, in the last seasons, didn't even have her own story, a shame, she was another of my favorites.

But also think that, apart from Polly and Ada, Grace is the one who had the most character development, and the only one with her own story. She started out as a traumatized woman, full of hate who wants revenge for her father's death, which is why she is an undercover spy. But upon meeting Tommy, she begins to fall in love with him, and that is when her internal struggle begins, and she begins to open her eyes, realizing that nothing is black or white, the police are not as good and the gangs are not as bad.

She falls in love with the vulnerable part of Tommy, she is not attracted to the bad boy like May, or the powerful and rich one like Lizzie. What attracts her is his soft side, and they have a connection through their traumas. When she decides which side she is going to choose, is when she saves Tommy, and then makes a deal with her boss, to save Tommy and his family, but is betrayed by her own boss. She says that her hatred and desire for revenge is no longer there. She tells Tommy to start a life together somewhere else.

S2 is a woman, who has already overcome her trauma, but her life is still tragic, being married to a man she does not love, and wants to be with another man but in the end, making mistakes yes, like every human being, she decides to fight for what she wants, a life with the love of her life and her baby.

Already in S3, we see a happy and in love woman, living the life she always wanted, with the love of her life and her son. We see her more relaxed, happy, joking more often until her life ends in a tragic way. But she had much more development than all the other women combined.

Because Grace grew, evolved, made mistakes but she tried to correct them and do the right thing. And she never blames others for her mistakes.

May can't be said much, because she wasn't even a character, but rather was created to add more drama to Tommy and Grace's story.

But I think that the writer failed Lizzie a lot, since she did not evolve or grow, she did not have much character development. She only evolved economically, in status, prostitute-secretary-wife of a politician but she remained the same since S1, she made many mistakes and always blamed others. She never took responsibility for her own decisions. And in the end, she was able to get out of that toxic relationship, but always blaming Tommy, when she is also equally guilty that the marriage didn't work out.

[serial-serializednovelreader]

For the ask game: 10 and 17, Jonathan Harker!

Yay! Always happy to get an ask about one of my favorite characters in fiction :))))))))))

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book):

This is super hard, since he has SO many good moments!! I am going to keep this spoiler-free, since I'm not sure if you've read Dracula all the way through or not and I don't want to spoil anything (if you have read the book, I do talk about a few of my favorite moments with Jonathan that take place later in the book in this ask!).

I would have to say him attempting to save the child he hears the three sisters feeding on in Dracula’s room. I think it's truly a defining moment for him. We've just seen Jonathan (understandably) scream in fear for his life after seeing the three women again and only feeling safe in his room. He knows as long as he stays in there, he will remain safe. But as soon as he hears a child in danger, he's willing to risk facing those women again *and* Dracula to save a child he doesn't know and doesn't even know if he can save. I don't think he even considers any of that in the moment — he's just ready to do it. That's what makes him a hero in my eyes. Being willing to do what's right, no matter the cost. Of course, Dracula prevents him to do so by locking the door and...he cries. It's such a human moment from him and I appreciate that we get this moment of raw honesty. It's the first time we see him do so in his time at castle Dracula.

I think Shovel Day is very important too, don’t get me wrong. I just think that this moment is what truly defines him — in my eyes — as a hero and is his best moment on screen followed by him hitting Dracula with a shovel!

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them:

Going off of this moment, I have two quotes that I think go great with it:

"There are stories about every hero. How they became great. Most have one thing in common. Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think. Almost on their own." -- All Might, My Hero Academia (dubbed version of S1 Ep.2)

"Crying does not indicate that you are weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you are alive." -- Charlotte Brontë

Now for my favorite quotes from Jonathan Harker (again, spoiler-free!):

“(Mem., get recipe for Mina.)”

“‘Do you know what day it is?’ I answered that it was the fourth of May.”

“Solicitor's clerk! Mina would not like that. Solicitor—for just before leaving London I got word that my examination was successful; and I am now a full-blown solicitor!”

“If there were any one to talk to I could bear it, but there is no one. I have only the Count to speak with, and he!—I fear I am myself the only living soul within the place.”

(about Dracula yeeting his mirror) “It is very annoying, for I do not see how I am to shave”

“(Mem., this diary seems horribly like the beginning of the "Arabian Nights," for everything has to break off at cockcrow—or like the ghost of Hamlet's father.)”

“Once more have I seen the Count go out in his lizard fashion.”

“I am surely in the toils.”

“Despair has its own calms.”

“This morning, as I was sitting on the edge of my bed cudgelling my brains…”

“It makes me rage to think that this can go on, and whilst I am shut up here, a veritable prisoner, but without that protection of the law which is even a criminal's right and consolation.”

“Let me not think of it. Action!”

“Yes, there is a way, if one dares to take it. Where his body has gone why may not another body go? I have seen him myself crawl from his window. Why should not I imitate him, and go in by his window?”

“As he went down the wall, lizard fashion, I wished I had a gun or some lethal weapon, that I might destroy him; but I fear that no weapon wrought alone by man's hand would have any effect on him.”

“Good-bye, all! Mina!”

As for songs, I made two playlists about Jonathan Harker, one about his time trapped in the castle and one about his relationship with Mina (here's the post with the playlists included, for your reference!). I'll highlight one song from each that are my personal favorites.

Striking and ominous with an epic feel, Run Boy Run by Woodkid definitely embodies what we're all shouting to Jonathan while he's going to the castle. However, I can definitely picture this song taking place as he's climbing down the castle walls (lizard fashion, of course) and attempting to escape. I imagine the musical interludes are flashbacks during his time at the castle and the various horrors he experiences. What happens at the end with the hopeful swell of the song is up to you...

Lyrics to highlight:

Run boy run!/ This world is not made for you Run boy run!/ They're trying to catch you Run boy run!/ Running is a victory

Tomorrow is another day/ And when the night fades away/ You'll be a man,/ boy! But for now it's time to run,/ it's time to run!

An 80s rock ballad, You're the Inspiration by Chicago is swoony and romantic with an electric edge. This is one of my favorite love songs and it definitely embodies how Jonathan feels for Mina! If Dracula was set in a modern time period, I could definitely see Jonathan serenading Mina with this song during karaoke night (bonus points if he can’t sing, but it’s the sweetest music to her, lol).

Lyrics to highlight:

You should know,/ everywhere I go/

Always on my mind,/ in my heart

In my soul,/ baby

You're the meaning in my life/

You're the inspiration/

You bring feeling to my life/

You're the inspiration

And I know,/ yes I know that it's plain to see/

So in love when we're together/

Now I know that I need you here with me/

From tonight until the end of time

Ask game here

[variousqueerthings]

the ask meme for due south cause yeah! and cobra kai

thaaanks -- will do cobra kai separately!

DUE SOUTH! I'VE ONLY HAD YOU FOR (checks) TWO MONTHS? NOW? AND I HAVENT EVEN WATCHED PASSED SEASON TWO BECAUSE I AM TAKING MY SWEET TIME!!!!! BUT OHHHHHH OKOKOKOK

my favorite female character Meg!!! doubly so because I feel she's probably not popular because she's designated The Love Interest. but she's sooo "puts her under a microscope." - she's so very autism flat voice/resting bitch face coded - add to this she canonically has had issues with male superiors in the past and so her trust in men is Lowww means people around her read her as a bitch (and she is, bless her) - her interactions with fraser, especially once they begin to acknowledge there's mutual smthin going on there, are so fucking funny, because neither of them can just have conversations, it's gotta be a mix of powerplay/who-knows-what-this-is/wants to step on/wants to be stepped on nonsense and so often it's in public!!!! - she was introduced as an authority figure and pretty much has remained so all season, so a lot of her scenes aren't only about love-interest stuff, which is often where female characters fail to get fleshed out -- she's doing her own thing, and if anything, liking fraser is very very annoying to her because she's got shit to do dammit!

my favorite male character fraser and rayv come as such a set pair, argh. the things i like about fraser are the things that rayv corresponds to, the whole martyr-and-guy-who-refuses-to-let-him-be-martyr, the need to give everything and the guy who takes some of the strain, but... i do think fraser edges him out Just (not that kind of edging, stop), because in my heart of hearts, i am always drawn the most to characters who want to be used, characters who want to give every piece of themselves, and within that, characters who are very capable -- AND he fulfills the criteria for another one of my favourite character archetypes, the not-so-talked about butterfly-under-the-wheel (as i first heard @gjdraws call it) he's an atypical version of it, because usually the butterfly-under-the-wheel is partially defined by their inability, that is, they exist to create wonderment/beauty/hope in the world around them, but they don't actually have very many skills and would probably die without the far more pragmatic other characters around them. they do sometimes have a skill (see, lito in sense8) and where fraser fits is that while he has many skills, they're often impractical for survival in the specific world he's in (chicago, capitalism, Society) and his alienation with the world, his unique way of looking at it, constantly makes said world dangerous for him in ways ray has to help him with. he also sucks with money (very common in this type), is considered almost unreal in terms of attractiveness, and ofc... suffers a lot. my sweet sweet butterfly-on-the-wheel

my favorite book/season/etc feels unfair between two seasons -- i will say, i called s2 a denouement the first time i watched it and i think now im watching it slower i am far more able to see it on its own merits, without s1 hanging over it if i do a favourite amount of episodes divided by the amount of episodes in the season however and don't count the Pilot [i leave to calculate] think s2 has more of my very favourite episodes, but i think s1 is more evenly placed in quality overall. what does that tell you? idk, the Pilot's the favourite, shall we say?

my favorite episode (if its a tv show) lol um. toss up. (not counting Pilot) in no particular order: some like it red, mask, vault, north, letting go, the deal, a hawk and a handsaw

my favorite cast member going by amount of other things ive watched, it must be PG, but i have tried to mostly stay away from the cast in interviews and the like

my favorite ship relationship generally (romantic, platonic, third thing, you know the deal) is fraser and ray. like i said, they're thematically a pair, that's just what they are. but i have a reaaal need to explore meg and fraser and ray, considering the shenanigans of two people who feel various kinds of unhinged things about one emotionally somewhat oblivious (but very caring) man

a character I’d die defending gosh, this'd probably go to meg too. specifically her relevance! i think her addition in s2 is incredibly welcome and changes up the dynamics in interesting ways and if you take in her actual personality -- that is, look beyond her "just" as a love interest, she's got a whole lot of interesting foundation, fascinating speech patterns and behaviours, and chemistry with fraser (whether one wants that chemistry to be romantic/sexual is obvs subjective, but their scenes together are Good and tell us a whole lot about both of them in my opinion) i'd also defend victoria As A Scheming No-Good Villainous Person, because I think there's no need to soften her in order to make her cool, idk if that is being done, but i would die on the "her being absolutely terrible" hill is great actually (maybe i'm defending her from some of the writing not wanting to commit, despite... literally all the atrocities... she shot dief!!!??? she burnt down his dad's cabin????? she framed him and tried to send his most important person to jail??????? murder????? and you're telling me that despite all of that she wasn't manipulating him by batting her big beautiful eyes and pretending to be the victim! i desire cruel women in my life dammit!)

a character I just can’t sympathize with i mean... looks above. victoria? but i think she shouldn't be sympathetic anyway. she needs to be a bit vile, a bit fucked up, a bit possessive and destructive for my taste oh and fuck frank zuko of course

a character I grew to love 1. irene! i struggled with her on my first watch and now she's in so many of the private discussions i have about this show -- she does sadly fall right into "fridged woman for man angst" but there are more than enough bits in there + carrie anne moss' performance is absolutely stellar, that you can really feel her as a character as well -- someone trapped, searching for freedom, and nostalgic for something that was probably never going to work out even if they had been able to try it and bitter and stronger than people in the story give her credit for (and ohhhh where's that fic you wrote about her and fraser talking!) 2. frannie. i needed until s2, because s1 just... kept making her weird and stalkery and shallow in ways that i had to just, at times, mentally rewrite (her total lack of situational awareness whilst her brother is drowning in front of her only to be put upon when he's been saved and needs "her good blanket" to keep him warm is like. i simply do not see that scene). but after heaven and earth, beginning with that scene between her and ray, she changes! and you can buy someone building a fantasy and refusing to step out of it because of pain until jolted back into reality and it being a very subtly tragic thing, only to bounce back and take it on the chin. that's frannie!

my anti otp um. i guess fraser and allosexuality/alloromance. that man's relationship to these things is not normative -- he may be analysed to enjoy sex or to want romance, but textually he is so fucking leftfield with these things that if those underpinnings don't exist i can't understand him. my man was canonically asking people to describe what love is supposed to feel like as a 30+ year old man, and had had sex like... possibly once in his 20s (and the consensual aspects to it are vague) and then that same woman at one point in his 30s, who first severely emotionally blackmailed/coerced him and later threatened his life and the lives of his friends that and like. whatever happens to him whenever someone (meg, usually) pushes him around/grabs him/orders him about

hon. mention to elaine, who i feel has been slowly given less to do in s2 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[nelmyriel]

[ Castlevania: Nocturne ]

Briefly (haha, nope) about my attitude to Netflixvania: I’m neither a fan of the original animated series, nor its hater (I like S1 and S2, but S3 and S4 are absolutely not for me. Apart from the franchise, it remains one of the strongest animated works). I'm always open to new things as long as the creators try to keep at least some connection between characters and their prototypes (and I have some concerns about it).

As a fan of Maria Renard (especially the grown-up version), I'm glad she's not forgotten. The gaming community is largely divided between those who see Maria as a funny child added into the universe as a joke, and those who hate the adult version for being implied to be Alucard's love interest (I don’t agree with some fans' interpretation of their relationship, but more on that another time. glorfys_glorioushair's vision is the closest to me).

I'M TIRED, I just want to meet new people, even if we have different canon sources. I will take care of them, warm them up, presenting the games xD

In more detail (not criticism, just verbiage): Let's start from the obvious part — this is a product of inspiration, not an adaptation in the literal sense. To get some pleasure watching the animated series, you need to distance yourself from games. This is a quite standard method nowadays, I think.

I'm still forming an opinion about Nocturne, because the story is not finished yet. But I'm also slowly plunging into melancholy, because Alumaria ship and Maria are the cornerstones of my love to Castlevania per se.

How changed is the huntress' image? Well, I feel like Netflix missed some potential that games contained (or will implement it later?) and done a hideous damage with Maria's swearing, but there's still a chance to patch up such flaws with her growing up.

I always imagined her as a battle Lady. Dangerous and daring, but elegant and well-mannered (if I correctly understood Renard family's position). If I were the adaptation's author, I would tend to the archetype of a young noble lady breaking stereotypes. (Without extremes, of course — she is engaged in a tough business). This would have provided interesting dynamics with other characters (and an interesting detail for Richette), since the nobility side would be represented not only by vampires, but also the dissident protagonists.

This doesn’t mean I think Netflix’s biography of Maria is bad — it’s just different and takes us away from Konami again. Whether this is good or bad — we still have to find out. Perhaps it's just a matter of habit?

However, I'm hopeful about the family arc. Such plot has controversial nuances, but it's much better than the off-screen death of nameless parents. I want to witness the girl's experiences and life lessons! I'm also absolutely thrilled with how Tera's character was reworked!

I thank and at the same time judge the creators for the way they managed characters' age. Now the gifted summoner better fits the gloomy setting, but, unfortunately, she meets Alucard too early — this fact obviously sets the audience against the romance. Because of S4*, I already had to bury my dream about "one true love" story (its symbolism is expressed in the wolf form), and then they added fuel to the fire**.

(*A dude can't experience "first and/or only love" more than once (not being reincarnated, of course), so my favorite trope just won't be adapted. It's not about Greta, she's a good (one of the best in S4, actually) character. You can substitute Sonia in her place or swap Maria and Greta, and my message will not change. It’s just that Konami — many years ago — hooked me with a story about naive and inexperienced lovers. Given Alucard's nature, this made an interesting topic to explore. But, since I am still here, it means I accept new rules.) (**In my culture, only the moment (age) when a romance begins is important. Not the moment of first meeting. But it's hard to miss the public outcry — people haven't seen the characters' relations yet, but already hate their dynamics).

I'm also upset that in battle scenes Maria is a pale shadow of herself. In the opening fight, she couldn't handle just one vampire, but I hope that the writers intentionally left room for her skills development. Drawing a little minus for this. But a plus for the sword and the underrated DXC design!

Well, if the plot disappoints me, at least a lot of visual content will remain, which is a real treasure for a fan of unpopular Maria. I'll always admire the work of all involved artists.

P.S. Yes, I deliberately omit the analysis of general history, setting, etc. (After all, this is not a review of the entire Nocturne, just a character's superficial analysis). There is a huge room for discussion, but I will leave it to more historically savvy people. One thing I understand for sure: this is one of the most visually and historically rich basis, which wasn't used properly. On the other hand, it's mainly a matter of budget. Corporations are unfair to creative studios. In my perfect world, Powerhouse and Konami join their forces.

Hey Konami, don't you have an animation studio? Your followers are dreaming about a canonical adaptation or a remake of an iconic game with significantly deeper plot.

I never seriously criticize and certainly never post angry manifests, especially dedicated to someone’s creative expression. I'm always looking for the positive aspects, but if my patience runs out, I usually just retire.

Anyway, since the release of S1 I've been immersed in the Nocturne fandom and even prepared something unique for you!

P.P.S. Sorry for the confusion and my poor English!

[muttsona]

top 5 B99 episodes?

OFFICIALLY MY FAVORITE ASK EVER. okay so spoilers for most of the show up ahead, BE WARNED! 

s1 e6, halloween – the original halloween heist episode is really important to me for a couple reasons actually. i think this is the episode where a certain bond between holt & jake is established. holt is willing to indulge jake in his crazy ideas, it just has me thinking: maybe holt really does care :) my favorite episodes are always the ones where jake gets the whole cast involved in his shenanigans, it really brings home the found family dynamic of the show. 

s4 e18, cop-con – this episode is also important to me for Holt Reasons. he wasn't mad that his team had disobeyed his orders to stay in line at the convention, he was mad that they hadn't thought to invite him. i think this is where we see the team involving their captain in their adventures more often. 

s5 e22, jake and amy – i think this episode was great for a lot of reasons, not just because of the Jake And Amy Finally Get Married bit. like, we watch literally everything go wrong on what was supposed to be their special day, but they still pull through. and i don't say this as a case of: wow they're so strong. no, they used their coworkers and boss to get there. im hearing you say: "wow zane why is this important??" im so glad you ask... jake has a known thing for hating to work on teams unless he can take charge, and amy has a similar deal where she always needs to be in charge as a way to make sure everything gets done correctly. but at this point in the show they had gained enough trust within the team to be like: yes, i trust you not to mess things up, even on our big day. it was something special to watch amy not crumble under the pressure of something she had planned so perfectly just go So Badly. it's something about the way she knew as long as she ended the day with jake, things would be fine. 

s3 e23, greg and larry – i always love the episodes with tons of plot twists, which is probably part of the reason i've always enjoyed this episode so much.  i love the idea of the team coming together to help out holt, who for the longest time had no one on the police force backing him up because of his identity as a black gay officer. this episode was also the start of the mess that was season 4, where jake & holt had to run off to florida to go undercover. i think the fact that holt and jake did the undercover mission together was really important to the story as a whole. by this point it's clear that holt sees jake as a son, and jake sees holt as a father figure; the anger that holt shows jake on this mission was really just thinly veiled care, and fear of seeing his son get hurt. 

s6 e18, the suicide squad – how do i even put into words how much i adore this episode. wow. members of the 99 are teaming up with their old allies to stop the corruption being caused by commissioner kelly. i think this entire episode just goes to show that they all care more about the good of the nypd rather than whatever beef they may have with whoever. decades of bitter rivalry is set aside so that they can stop the corruption from inside the police department. i think my favorite part of this episode was holt having to deal with the fact that if he messed this up it would be throwing away everything he had worked so hard as a police officer to achieve. he had fixed so many issues within the nypd at this point, and he had to decide between continuing a bitter rivalry versus saving everything he had worked to change. idk, one of my favorite parts of the show was always the way that holt very seriously cared about the core of the nypd remaining being about helping the citizens of new york, rather than turning into a game of politics. 

OKAY IM DONE BLABBING. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASK HEHE

[homuraakemis]

My favorite Dark fanvids - Part 1

JONAS/MARTHA

Jonas & Martha | Bound for eternity. by HelenMand

Jonas & Martha - A Perfect Match by Irina Rusinova

(Dark) Martha & Jonas | silhouettes by Julies

Jonas & Martha | The Night We Met by GlamourStar0x

Dark | Netflix | Goodbye | Jonas and Martha by Forget It

Jonas and Martha // Dynasty (Dark S1,2,3) by Dacg

Losing game||Jonas🤍martha-arcade|DARK by JOYBOY

Flickers (Jonas/Martha - Dark) [Season 3] by briony

sweater weather - jonas & martha by micaela

martha & jonas - everything i wanted [dark] [s3] by Archiekins

Jonas & Martha • One way or another by sigyn27

jonas and martha | but we are the mistake by teamezria53098

Born To Die: Martha and Jonas || DARK [season 3] by Meha Stillmeya

Jonas & Martha - Familiar | Dark by CHET惡

Jonas & Martha | All the things she said by perspƎctive

Jonas and Martha| Six Feet Under by KBPRODUCTIONS

I'm only a fool for you || Jonas & Martha by Ceiwyn

Lovely || Martha and Jonas [S1-S2-S3-SPOILERS] by pau vala

Jonas e Martha - Nós ficamos perfeitos junto. Nunca duvide disso. by AA EDIT

(Dark) Jonas Kahnwald & Martha Nielsen || Remains by 𝐁.𝐊.𝐃 𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐒

Wicked Games - Jonas & Martha - Dark - Ursine Vulpine ft. Annaca by whiterose87

The Labyrinth Song [Dark, Jonas/Martha] by falafelfilms1

Jonas & Martha - Adam & Eve | Tribute video | Dark | Tv Show | Channel K Square Tribute by Night King

Jonas and Martha by Arafat Malitha

Jonas x Martha | Dark | Daylight by StrangeOrange

jonas and martha edit - fine line by ancie

Dark - Me and the Devil | Martha and Jonas by Mani Rathnam

Jonas & Martha - Hold On | Dark by nupur

Jonas & Martha - Dark edit by valeoftear

jonas and martha edit // bloodstream by voidemons

Jonas X Martha - Without Me [Dark Netflix] by Metefizique

Jonas & Martha [ Dark ] || Surrender [ + S3 ] ( sub eng + sub ita) by DreamSara1

Jonas and martha/ Another love/ Moonlight by Moonlight

ADAM & EVA || time to say goodbye || DARK S3 SPOILERS by Zuxinha

Jonas & Martha | Surrender | Dark | S3 by sararufus

Jonas & Martha - Get You The Moon by Evan Haze

Jonas & Martha | Let me down slowly by movsrimus

Martha & Jonas 8 by Projeto NEXUS

Jonas ❤ Martha - Back To You [AMV] || Dark || @v3gen3666 by V3 GEN

A Thousand Years | Dark | Jonas & Martha | Twilight | Christina Perri by Cupful

Dark: Jonas & Martha - Lovely by D P A

Jonas and Martha (Dark) - My Immortal by Cerine Sp

Jonas + Martha | Dynasty by Martina Benedetti

Jonas and Martha- Take me to church by mikasa_braun edits

Jonas & Martha / Where's My Love by alexbarrioz

martha & jonas | we're not a good match. by ultraangst

Make you mine | Jonas and Martha #dark #jonas #martha#preset by Perman

Jonas & Martha [ Dark ] - Let Me Down Slowly - Alec Benjamin by R U B A I T H

#DARK⚫#Jonas⚪#Marta⚫#Adam⚪#Eva📀Final series, the Dark Eva and Adam best moments/🎶Take Me to Church by GOLDEN MUSIC TV ოქროსფერი TV

Jonas and Martha Dark | Rewrite the stars ✨ by Notion Spell

DARK -Jonas and Martha | Into your Arms | Ava Max by Grinchy Guy

Dark | into your arms | Jonas & Martha #dark #intoyourarms by Mohamed Fayaz

Ed Sheeran - Perfect, Martha & Jonas (Sub. Español) Dark. by minasooul

Martha & Jonas || Falling by elei

Jonas x Martha || We Could Leave by elei

Jonas + Martha (but it's a rom-com) || Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round by Stranger

Jonas And Martha - Perfect Match by Magic Official Channel

Jonas and Martha || Playing love by Tatiana Marano Edits

Martha X Jonas♥️| dark love story | HEART CANDY by Thangavel K

Martha and Jonas - Can You Feel My Heart by Well Edits

Jonas & Martha | You are a memory by Hanxa

jonas&martha / a glitch in the matrix (their story) by PerfectLife

jonas & martha | a glitch in the matrix [s3] by Delena Fan Girl

My Love Will Never Die | Claire Wyndham | Jonas & Martha | DARK NETFLIX | Lucifer | by SRK TUBE

jonas&martha - i found love where it wasn't supposed to be - dark by Anna Clara Aquino

Jonas & Martha︱Lovestory︱Dark Netflix by TrailerGen

Ghost in the Machine - Jonas&Martha by lilitifrock

Dark | Jonas & Martha | Perfect Match by Farid Pasha

Dark | Jonas & Martha | We're a Perfect Match (Music Video) by M.G.

NF - If you want love // JONAS & MARTHA (Dark) by Sarthac

Martha&Jonas | Remember To Remember Me by LibertyInfinity

Martha & Jonas - The Birds by shoxbroken

Together we'll be running somewhere new... ? by Lou Nyx

I Don't Deserve You (Jonas & Martha) by Chloi Manon

jonas & martha | lost on you (Türkçe Çeviri) by liv

DARK: Jonas & Martha || A Glitch in The Matrix by Malati Di The Walking Dead

Jonas & Martha | A glitch in a matrix (DARK) by Earwen

Jonas & Martha X Yellow. whatsapp status by Editplus15

D A R K ||Jonas & Martha|| Love💕|Webseries| by Baby bear💞🐻

Jonas & Martha: Die With You by FairyCutie86

DARK || Martha + Jonas || So Fern, So Nah by Cryss

𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖆𝖕𝖕 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖙𝖚𝖘 ∣ 𝖏𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖍𝖆 ∣ 𝖓𝖊𝖙𝖋𝖑𝖎𝖝 by Alan

DARK | A Glitch in the Matrix by inferno92000

Martha and Jonas/ Dark/ Angel Koda Lyrics Sub Español by Random ML&CV

Jonas and Martha || Dark Netflix by Galaxy Edits

Jonas and Martha || Dark Netflix || #shorts #new #news #newstatus #whatsappstatus #whatsapp by Galaxy Edits

Night We Met || DARK by Skaotic Edits

Jonas and Martha || Always Remember Us This Way || by Wantit T.V

DARK You and I are perfect for each other. Never believe anything else by UCHIHA ITACHI

Jonas and Martha/Secrets by Isombard

Jonas and Martha • Nobody Like You • Dark by EditionMix

'∞' Dark Series Netflix - In the end by BlendSk Mix

Jonas & Martha - Wir Sind Falsch (Dark Netflix Series) by DAN

Ready to Start (Jonas/Martha - Dark) by briony

Adam and Eva : Jonas and Martha Dark season 3 ft Electric love by detheditz

Jonas and Martha | Adam and Eve by Keshav Kashyap

DARK OPENING THEME SONG | good bye whatsapp status | true love whatsapp status | Netflix series by vlovely_ videos

DARK , Season - 3 (Jonas and Martha❤️) by Nikhil S

❤Jonas and Martha❤~|●Dark●|Best WhatsApp Status by Mojo Hub

//whatever happened to the young, young lovers.

[fereldanwench]

i finished my rewatch (well, rewatch of s1-s5 + first watch of s6 bc i hadn't seen it before) of lucifer last night so some thoughts

spoilers under the cut

the relationships--platonic, romantic, sexual, parent-to-child, all of them--is the absolute best thing about this show and what keeps me here even when shit gets dumb. the friendship between all the ladies is my fave, but i was extra fond of dan this run and his friendships with amenadiel and chloe were just 10/10. i always liked that he and chloe didn't fall into the hostile ex tropes and were good friends who could co-parent

s3 remains my least favorite and the biggest slog to get through imo, but i still get a kick out of the episode with the undercover sting that has lucifer and pierce pretending to be a couple

s4 also remains my favorite--i feel like it just best encapsulates everything that drew me into the show in the first place

perhaps an unpopular opinion, but i was never a big fan of deckerstar being a fully realized thing. it's obvious that was always gonna be the endgame, but i just like the dynamic between chloe and lucifer a lot more as platonic partners with a little sexual tension and a lot of good-natured ribbing

s6 has some individually good moments, like eve and maze getting hitched--although i saw some people say that came out of nowhere and i respectfully disagree. they're both incredibly impulsive, i think it was very fitting and adorable, and I'm getting teary-eyed again thinking about maze realizing she is capable of loving and deserving of being loved

but anyway the A plot is built off a premise i hate so much: time travel. i loathe time-traveling shit in stories like this, where could it be explained as plausible (and they try, with chloe, i think, pointing out like 'well your brother can freeze time, is this really that much different?' yes, writers-via-chloe, it is, because you used the time-freezing in interesting moments and time travel is all around stupid) but it otherwise comes out of nowhere. and with a fuckin' future kid driving that plot? gross, no thanks

i mean, rory was mostly inoffensive, minus her telling lucifer she wasn't going to the suit fitting and then getting mad when he wasn't there, like girl, you did that one yourself. but if you're gonna introduce a main character in the last season of a show, that character had better be fuckin amazing, and she was not

i suspected i was probably never gonna be wild about how deckerstar wrapped up just because that was like the only relationship i was never super into, but again, the time travel shit is just dumb. I'm just really annoyed at the time travel loop thing being essential to lucifer finding his true calling or whatever and it was nice to see that chloe was always surrounded by friends even after he was gone, but omg what a fucking sacrifice on her part for real. i think it was meant to be a mostly happy ending with their reunion and it just did not hit that way for me. chloe deserved better

but ranting aside, i do still think it's a really fun show and there are so many prime comfort-food-watching moments that were perfect for a little casual holiday viewing <33

[dangermousie]

Farscape Rewatch - 2x07 and 2x08

Not my fave eps (in fact, 2x08 Dream a Little Dream is my least fave ep in the season and in my bottom three eps of the show) so not too much to say.

Home on the Remains 2x07

The start of D’Argo x Chiana, a glorious secondary ship.

I love the visuals of the pollen floating through the ship. I love that you can never feel entirely comfortable with Zhaan because underneath her calm, even good demeanor, there is madness waiting to peep out and the show never lets you forget it. Here it really manifests when she is in starvation mode and it’s scary and surreal and oddly beautiful. For Zhaan, like for many other of the characters, being good, doing good is not the default - it’s a conscious, hard-won choice and I love that.  Second comment is that we get some glimpse into what Chiana’s life was before Moya, and why she was all spikes when she came on board. Her loyalty is manifest here as is her lack of self-worth: she is OK with whoring herself to get Zhaan a meal(!!!!!) (and I love how both John and D’Argo would much rather kill the guy). And so is her darkness: she kills the guy in a pretty gruesome way and doesn’t dwell on it for a second. I really do think she is the one who killed the Nebari keeper in the ep she first appeared. And also here is the start of Chi and D’Argo. I squealed at the kiss when I first saw it and get !!! on every rewatch. I loved how complicated this OTP was and how invested I was and how their flaws and strengths both intertwined into it.

And some of my fave quotes are here. I love Aeryn’s snide ‘I get to babysit the blooming blue bush and you get to play with your favorite little tralk’ and Crichton’s ‘you can eat anything if it’s fried’ is sort of a catchphrase in the Mousie household. I also love the scene with Rygel on the sled and Rygel biting John and John biting back. Yeah. This show was gloriously unhinged. 

Not a favorite ep but enjoyable enough, which is more than I can say, with few exceptions for the ep that follows.

Dream a Little Dream 2x08

This is my most fast-forwarded S2 ep ever. Honest. Blah. 

But even a truly bad ep has some glorious exchanges.

Anyway, this ep is largely a flashback by Zhaan about what happened to her, China and Rygel between end of s1 and start of s2. Zhaan goes crazy while being framed on planet of evil lawyers. Rygel and Chiana save her. Blah. End of flashback.

I’ve read someone say that the problem with this episode is that since it’s a flashback we have no tension. We know everyone will be OK. But I don’t think that is the case. After all, do we really expect Crichton et al to be bumped off at a random ep? No, but we still get excited about the eps (of course, DALD takes it further as we know everything will return to status quo we know now but still…) And we just a few eps ago had The Way We Weren’t which was largely set three years prior to the premiere episode and it’s one of the best eps of the season. For me, the flashback is not the problem. I think this is the ep that reiterated for me that while I find Zhaan and Rygel interesting in small dozes, an ep centered around them is not really my thing. And I love Chiana, but probably ditto unless she is interacting with someone other than them. Basically, my character order of preference goes: John, Aeryn, D’Argo, Chi etc etc. And an ep where my top 3 characters are absent (minus a very very cool hallucination) drags. The plot is also not scintillating. In fact, to call it simplistic with truly boring characters except for the regulars is to compliment it. Oh well, they can’t all be winners and Farscape had way less losers than most (after this ep, I adore every single ep until S4′s Coup by Clam - every single ep and that’s insane.) I do love Chiana and Rygel as trial lawyers, utterly hopped up and themselves in wiggle room exploitation. And the courtroom design is very neat. But that is about it.

Also, this is a small framing scene but I do love how, once again, John is the one who believes that talking it out helps. He gets more and more hardened but he still believes in talking it out, even if it’s now limited solely to those he loves (that is why in part the end of 2x22 DMD hits so hard - John lying there, agreeing to a procedure that will render him mute, because, as he says, there is nobody he want to talk to anyway and nothing to say. One of the worst times he’s been broken thoroughly; though he always manages to reassemble himself somehow.)

I do love Zhaan and John’s bond. I will always love Farscape for many reasons but one of them is creating all these powerful, complex women and not having them be love interests for the male lead. Crichton’s relationships with important female characters are varied - with Zhaan here she’s the older sister in so many ways - but except for Aeryn, they are never romantic, and very very rarely sexual (and if we remove Grayza where the sexual element is not by his choice, the rarity becomes even more pronounced) and I love that.

[snorlaxlovesme]

For the ask meme:

41) Who’s your favorite character you’ve written?

66) What’s a fun fact about let me do this for you?

68) Are there any fics that influenced you to write the way you do?

74) Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

(You don't have to answer them all if you don't have the wherewithal I just love asking questions to writers!!)

smooch smooch smoochsmoochsmooch LC you know I love you and you know I love talking about writing

41. Who's your favorite character you've written?

like, OBVIOUSLY Soul or Maka otherwise I wouldn't have dedicated the past like ten years of my life writing for Soul Eater. but a secret third option? Hagakure from My Hero Academia. probably because Horikoshi gave me absolutely NOTHING to work with besides "girl who is constantly invisible and wants to be hero" so I got to come up with everything else for her on my own. and since I can't think of a single 15 year old girl on the planet that would be comfortable with fighting naked while everyone else was clothed, invisible or not, I gave her a complex about it. and it's a pretty rad fic if I do say so myself. [x] i

66. What's a fun fact about let me do this for you? [x]

the long-lost soup recipe was inspired by a couple different things! there's an episode of Spy x Family where Yor is trying to learn to cook for her fake family and a co-worker tries to teach her how to make a stew, I think. at the end of the cooking process her co-worker asks Yor where she's from and deduces that the region where she lives probably adds sour cream into the stew, and when Yor and her brother taste it it brings back memories of their childhood. i had a similar experience 2 years ago when i went to Chicago. we went to a fancy restaurant and by total coincidence the mashed potatoes I got as a side dish tasted EXACTLY like how my grandmother used to make them. when i was a kid we'd always have Christmas and Easter at my grandma's house and her mashed potatoes were different from how my parents made them and they were SO yummy. she passed away in 2015 so being able to eat what felt exactly like her cooking in 2022 felt really special. those kind of things reminded me just how special home-cooking is, and how taste can trigger memories. i thought it would be comforting for Cheng Xiaoshi to have a memory food like that, that he really wished to taste again, and to have Qiao Ling love her brother enough to attempt to make it over and over again so he can experience that kind of warmth again. and honest to god, hand on the Bible, i had not watched s1 in a while and had COMPLETELY forgotten about the noodle lesbians and didn't know that i was subliminally channeling a plot Link Click had already used LMAO

68. Are there any fics that inspired you to write the way you do?

that's hard to pin down since I don't have even really have a definitive writing style, really. if you look at the work I used to put out in the 2010s, it's mostly snappy sitcom-style romantic comedy things (which I would say was largely influenced by the Soul Eater fandom as a whole and Bittersweet Romanticide's [x] many many excellent Pokemon one-shots and longfics. those were my core texts when I started writing fanfiction so my earlier style comes from them I'm sure. nowadays? i think maybe since being in the TRC fandom I've switched up my style to be a bit more prose-heavy. that's more Maggie Stiefvater's influence than anything, since I've taken like four of her writing courses. i've been able to flesh out ideas better and have been more intentional with my pacing since learning from Stief

74. Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

no matter how many times i reblogged it, you'd come over, right? [x] was chronically ignored and that remains one of life's greatest tragedies it's a TRC pynch one-shot that takes place in the middle of the end of the world. apocalypse NOW, RIGHT NOW, truly. but ironically despite the fire and brimstone raining down, it's more of a backdrop to the emotional turmoil Ronan is going through, as he experiences the end of days alone. (angst with a happy ending, though, soooooooo. it deserves to be read. it is very good. )

[crehador]

quickfire thoughts on fall 2023 now that everything i'm watching has had at least three eps out

EXCELLENT

sousou no frieren: still very easily anime of the season, beautiful in visuals and in story. a quiet, subtle look at loss and grief, and life continuing beyond that. the structure is working perfectly imo, it never feels like there are too many or not enough flashbacks, i feel connected at all times to both the present day party and the himmel-era party

migi to dali: still doing an exceptional job of balancing creepy and funny, i said before that the only thing i can think of with a remotely similar vibe is the movie hot fuzz and while i think there's a different flavor of comedy here, i still stand by that (and that's a compliment bc hot fuzz is an excellent movie)

kamonohashi ron no kindan suiri: although i wouldn't say this is mind-blowingly outstanding in any single way, it's very well-done in just about every conceivable way and comes together as an extremely solid series

BORDERLINE EXCELLENT

overtake: after four episodes i'm so tempted to put it with the 'excellent' shows but have to admit it's just not objectively on that level, it is subjectively one of my current favorites of the season though. silly at times, fairly simple story, but really effectively done so far

ADORABLE

s rank musume: feel like this one is largely going to slip through the cracks because it looks like your typical fantasy-action/adventure series, but doesn't stand out in that genre. the cute/soothing family moments are what stand out to me, but understandably that's not what most viewers of the genre are looking for. remains to be seen if a more action-y plot will build up, have doubts about how effective that will be

yuzuki-san chi no yon kyoudai: VERY CUTE with some very real moments and struggles, the cr subs debacle in the first ep however did it no favors

atarashii joushi wa dotennen: VERY CUTE i almost wish they'd cast literally anyone except umechan for shirosaki bc with him the similarities to cool doji danshi are just too much lmao however umechan is in fact perfect for this character so why not let him play it twice i guess

hoshikuzu telepath: moe yuri that isn't afraid to say rocket science is for autistic lesbians, what could be better?

wataoshi: YURI OF THE SEASON SORRY HOSHIKUZU TELEPATH HERE'S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE BETTER i actually would put these two on a similar tier but wataoshi gets the edge for me because rae is so unapologetically, exuberantly gay and that is just so nice to see

SEQUELS

houkago shounen hanako-kun: tragically only four half-length episodes but it's nice to see these kids again, ogata megumi's hanako voice just hits in a way the jjk yuuta voice doesn't, for me, so very glad to hear it again

arknights s2: i'm liking the art even more than i did in s1? not sure if it's actually changed/improved, and imo s1 was already good, but anyway just really enjoying seeing all the faves moving and speaking!

spy x family s2: still cute of course what more can i say

b-project s3: MAN I'M TORN i don't dislike this season (we are getting so many kitakore shots) but i am so stressed out for tsubasa and i just want to see her catch a break! i'm sure the season will end in an uplifting way, but all the stress she's under right now makes me want to punch things

dead mount death play s2: it was good and is somehow still getting better, s2e3 which just came out is one of the best yet imo

GOOD FOR THE ACTION BUT NOT TERRIBLY MUCH ELSE

undead unluck: i kind of... don't like anyone here lmao but the over-the-top, high-octane action is not badly animated, it's just not gripping me on any level beyond that. it does however have the op of the season

ragna crimson: again it's failing to get me really invested in the story/characters but the action is not bad i guess, cast for this one is absurdly stacked so i'm not going anywhere

shangri-la frontier: this one's doing a GREAT job with its pacing and action imo, it's introducing the game mechanics in a way that doesn't feel too fast or too slow. only issue is there really... doesn't seem to be any stakes? like at all? which is not a problem for me personally, it just feels a bit like we're waiting for another shoe to drop

WATCHABLE BUT...

bullbuster: i'm kind of vibing with this after three episodes but i really can't imagine it finding an audience, it's not mech enough to really appeal to mech fans and it's not... typical office drama enough to appeal to typical office fans. it's a strange little combo that just happens to work for me, personally

NOT GOOD BUT I LOVE IT

kawagoe boys sing: this is a ridiculous series, i would say not as wild as number24 but kind of getting there. like number24 but more vanilla, less homoerotic. i loved number24 and I'M LOVING THIS TOO there are some genuinely interesting characters already and though i still currently want to punt kick that teacher into the sun i remain cautiously optimistic that he'll see some character development. at some point. maybe

NOT GOOD. JUST NOT GOOD. SORRY.

bokura no ameiro protocol: really feels like some late-2000s/early-2010s male wish fulfillment dramedy. lots of weird and unnecessary het nonsense going on. honestly would consider dropping if it were 24 episodes but since it's only 12 i guess i'll stick it out. for kimuryo. who is unfortunately playing such a rancid character

[2singedthoughts]

the gods cry because they cannot strike me down / and the rain washes away / ashes of the ghost of me

Hello hello and Welcome to my page!

I've been lingering on tumblr for a while and just never got around to really posting or reblogging anything, as most of the time I'm alright to just lurk and enjoy things quietly.

That said, I've been getting more into posting fanart and whatnot recently, so I thought I'd make a blog! Not just to post art but to yap about my favorite fandoms and find people with similar interests, too. I'll hunt down that content - and if there is none, I'll make it myself!

Feel free to leave asks or anything, and enjoy your stay here. <3

Get To Know Me!

An individual of many nicknames! My name is Phoenix, aka SingedHazards. Phoenix, Singed, Hazard, or any variation of the sorts is fine by me!

I am 18! My birthday is May 4th. :<) (Despite the birthday, I am actually not a star wars fan.)

My favorite number is 2! hence the user. 2singedthoughts.

I don't care much about pronouns either way, but I prefer it/its or they/them.

I am LGBTQ+! Polyam and Ace <3

I like talking about my interests, and hearing about others'! My favorite color is brown. I'm an animal lover and an artist. You can probably tell from the whole aesthetic so far that I like fire. I like space, too, and storms, and flowers and birds and nature. I enjoy seeing the magic in things.

I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time! There's nothing I particularly dislike, other than math. I never have any idea what I'm doing when it comes to math.

Where to find me?

You can shoot me a message if you're interested in talking on discord! It's really the only social media I'm super active on.

Other than that I have a Twitter where sometimes, once in a blue moon, I post some art. https://x.com/2DesignHazards

Fandoms?

Yessir, I have my share of those! I'll try to keep the list small lmfao.

-Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss

-MCRP or other such Minecraft content. (FavreMySabre is my most notable fixation; TSSO, TSS, SL, RQ, TR and AR) (Calvin's From The Fog S1 and S2) (I do enjoy some good MC Horror. I've been into the ARGs lately.) (UHC Generations!) (HermitCraft! Grian and Mumbo on HC mostly, but I've been following Gem, Scar, Doc and Tango as well.) (I watch Hardcore YTers every now and again, whatever video happens to catch my attention on the recommended page)

-Dead By Daylight, Phasmo, Project Zomboid and Lethal Company are some of my more commonly played games. (I don't have specific content creators for these, if I watch anything I just click on whatever looks the most entertaining.)

-Roblox player! Flee The Facility, Abyss World and Spray Paint are my go-tos. (I don't watch Roblox content a lot, but when I do it's usually Flamingo or Remainings. Sometimes Rogurt and ratskewer)

-Some miscellaneous creators I enjoy as well; IGP, Insym, Matt Rose, AstralSpiff, LetsGameItOut, ManlyBadassHero and Fooster!

You may notice I'm a horror enjoyer lmaoo. Anything with some good chaos in it will immediately pique my interest. There's more than that too, so really just hit me up. If I don't know the creator or game, I love discovering new things anyway! :<)

Miscellaneous Information

I'm not like, a professional at making intro pages or anything so for now this is all I have to say. I'll probably come back and edit and add more or remove some stuff later as I see fit, but this is a good start!

Like I said in the beginning, feel free to send asks,

and I hope you've enjoyed the stay. :<)

[mischas]

i'm 35 and the oc has been my entire life as a teenager/young adult and i love this show so much. i was wondering when you became a fan and what does your life look like now? do you still rewatch it a lot? what are your least favorite plotlines in s1-s4? i love hearing your thoughts. take care :)

Hi! You're very sweet, thank you! So just as a heads up my answers here are going to veer into the negative because I'm in a super negative space with the show as of late and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I apologize in advance for the soapbox. (and I mean really really negative)

For starters, I never watch the final season. I barely even watch s3, and haven't seen a complete s3 episode in a while. Certain scenes, though, yes and on a loop. Though not lately. But the final season doesn't exist to me because I find it repulsive and a stain on the entire show before it, even the horrendous third season. I often wish I could be like Adam Brody and separate the show into 's1 vs the other bullshit'. Believe me, I'm trying. Though I'd say splitting the show in half is best since you get to end on the shooting. S1 is on another level entirely and it wasn't until CHD that I understood why (for the most part). And that's a really terrible realization the more I think about it.

I'm almost 30 and I started watching when I was about 16 in high school. My life now is... not very exciting, lol. I work too much. Sometimes I don't work enough. I struggle with mental health (as evidenced by how seriously I take this stuff). I got into this show maybe a year or two after it had been off the air and Tumblr (and FanForum) was a super fun place to be at that time (2009/2010ish). The remaining Marissa fandom in particular was just cozy and sweet. We saw ourselves in her, had head canons, made fan art, discussed what she'd be up to, etc. I obviously wasn't part of the OG Marissa/Mischa fandom so I was pretty unaware of the shit they dealt with. On Tumblr we just celebrated her and it meant a lot to me.

For years, I, like many, thought Mischa chose to leave on her own. I could semi-stomach 325 as an arc, while still refusing to watch the next season in rewatches. This is the 2010s when JS was yelling "Tragedy was in her DNA" etc. But ever since MB started talking more about her experiences in 2021, and the podcast talking around her and Marissa forever, not to mention their shitty responses to her claims of bullying by men in power, I have been on a downward trajectory with it. The book is giving us maybe 10% of what really happened on that set. Mischa has been carrying the secret of her first relationship on her shoulders for 20 years, one that went on for months when she was 17 years old, and they all well fucking know that. I am in genuine disbelief at how they treated her then and how they treat her now. This isn't a fictional character. This is a real fucking person they keep screwing over!

But that does bring me to my next point which is that this show was unbelievably influenced by irl dynamics and I think that is disgusting. It's not just stealing Death Cab away from Adam (though I have my own thoughts on all that). There's a reason Ryan never pines for Marissa in the same way she pines for him in s2. Why he pretends she doesn't exist when he isn't dating her (from s2 on). There's an extremely charged energy to the way he verbally abuses her in 209. Like... this happened to MB at just 18. And look at how they modeled Volchok after Cisco and how they made MB pretend to do coke on camera when they knew full well she had a sober coach on set. Like, I know enough to put me off the show forever, but I am unfortunately endlessly fascinated by it. I'm sorry that I can't take the show at face value anymore, because it did and does still mean a great deal to me. But they thought they were in the clear 20 years later to only partially air their dirty laundry without much pushback and MB had the guts to say "well hold on" and be a thousand times more graceful doing so than I ever would. And we still don't know even a fraction of everything else that went down to this very real teenage girl they used and abused. Not to mention how JS/SS abruptly fired her and didn't even have the balls to tell her to her face. Her father told Josh's ass to stay away from the 325 set and he DID. Christ alive, this man should never work again.

I don't feel great about going all guns blazing here but I'm very tired and I get very little joy from the show right now. And I'm sorry that this is definitely not the response you were probably hoping for. To be clear, I want to enjoy the show. It means more to me than any other, probably. It's why I've been on this website since I was a teenager. But many aspects of it have been ruined for me and idk if there's a way back. How they purport themselves to be a family show still to this day when they treated the girl that they pursued for the job (at 16!) like shit is egregious. I will never be over it.

Sigh

To answer your actual questions, my least favorite plotlines (from s1-s3) are:

Johnny

Jimmy leaving in 207

Dean Hess

DJ

Julie/Luke

Lindsay/Caleb/Ryan

Charlotte

Hospital/Newport Group

Seth/pot (on paper this sounds wonderful but in execution it is as lifeless as the second half of the entire show)

Oliver (for good measure, officially when they jump the shark; he drives me crazy but TH does such a good job playing him that I'm ok with it until all of its aftermath is unfairly put on Marissa)

[claire8216]

Fic Tag Game

Thanks @fandomscraziness22 for the tag!! 🩵

How many works do you have on AO3? 10! My page says 7 but I have some I've published anonymously.

What's your AO3 word count? 122,718

What fandoms do you write for? It's been a while since I've posted anything but when I do find the motivation to write it's usually Julie and the Phantoms, Outer Banks, or The Summer I Turned Pretty! I've written some for other fandoms too but that was a looong time ago haha.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? (Not including the ones I'd like to remain anonymous 😉) - Fire Red and Ocean Blue (TSITP) - I Hate the Way I Don't Hate You (JatP) - Been Counting My Blessings Thinking This Through (OBX) - Something Like That (JatP) - I'm Standing in Your Line (I Do Hope You Have the Time) (JatP)

Do you respond to comments? I really try to respond to every comment, even if it takes me a while to respond! I genuinely appreciate people who take the time to not only read my writing but also share with me their thoughts, so the least I can do is respond back 😊

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oof in general I usually stick to happy endings so there hasn't been a ton of angsty endings! But I once wrote a fic exploring a character navigating the aftermath of the sudden death of his wife. It ends with him bonding with a woman in a bar who had also lost her husband, and they dance together and while it's nice to have some sort of companionship again, there's an unspoken agreement that nothing and no one would ever compare to their late spouses. (Based off the song Ghost of You by 5SOS, specifically the last line!) I don't usually write major character deaths, and I actually ended up taking that one down because it was too sad for me haha.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? The rest of my fics pretty much all have HEAs because at my core that's what I enjoy most haha. But my favorite and probably fluffiest ending is Fire Red and Ocean Blue.

Do you get hate on fics? I don't remember ever getting any hate! *knock on wood*

Do you write smut? What kind? I do not, but I always enjoy reading a good smut fic!

Do you write crossovers? No, but I love AUs or fics based off of other books/shows/movies!

Have you ever had a fic translated? Also no haha.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? I've attempted to, a loooong time ago when I was first getting into fanfic. Nothing ever came of it though, we were both, like, 12 so it fizzled haha. I have no idea where that person is today but I hope they're doing well!!

What WIP would you like to finish, but doubt you ever will? Back when s1 of Outer Banks came out I started working on a Jiara one night stand fic and got about halfway done. I still think about it often, but too much has happened in s2 and 3 it just wouldn't make sense anymore and I'd basically have to start from scratch.

What's your all-time favorite ship? This is a tough one! My oldest and most beloved ships will always be Romione and Percabeth. But no ship has ever, and may never again, have me in a chokehold quite like Juke did during the height of my JatP hyperfixation. So one of those three! 😂

What are your writing strengths? Ooo I love a good theme or motif or analogy and bringing everything back around full circle. It makes my little perfectionist virgo brain very happy haha.

What are your writing weaknesses? Sometimes I'll rush through the little details just to get to the main plot points. I constantly have to remind myself to slow down, a sort of "stop and smell the roses" if you will, and set the scene or create unique little character details to make my fics more descriptive.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in a another language for a fic? If it's needed it's needed! I usually will copy/paste and look up the translation if I need to.

First fandom you wrote for? Glee haha. I used to be OBSESSED.

Favorite fic you've ever written? I feel like this answer changes depending on my mood haha. Right now I think it'd have to be Been Counting My Blessings Thinking This Through, but that could totally be recency bias haha. I am very proud of it though!

What fic would you want to rewrite someday? I wrote this PJO (Tratie) fic called Rivers about 10 years ago and to this day the idea behind it is probably one of my favorite ideas I've ever had for a fic. When I reread it now, I can't help but see the writing of a 15 year old girl who had no idea what she was talking about and was unable to execute it in the way I wanted to in my mind haha. I always tell myself I'm going to rewrite it, and maybe with the show coming out soon, it'll inspire me to!

This was so fun!! Tagging @story-courty @bex2313 and @writerownstory and anyone else who wants to participate!