#just ftr for the unpopular opinion

[ambrosiagourmet]

I notice no one has asked yet so for the character thing: laios! Or if you want to go for a less common one: the winged lion

Laios!!!!!!

First impression

Honestly its hard to even limit this within the confines of starting the actual manga. I genuinely think I'd have to say my real first impression of Laios was the "autism be damned, my boy can work a grill" joke that gets passed around a lot 😭

Impression now

Older brother.

Loves his friends and family so much. Let him infodump!!!!! A guy that can character arc so hard he becomes a king because its the only way to deal with the things he can no longer let himself look away from. A guy who wants to eat a good meal. A guy who wants everyone to eat a good meal.

A guy who can be all that and still kind of pettily complain that he doesn't get to hang out with monsters anymore & can mope about it soooo annoyingly. A guy who decided to eat the concept of all-consuming hunger because it was the only way to deal with the problem so he might as well try. A guy who can completely change his life by deciding to share his special interest. A guy who can imitate a dog really well.

Favorite moment

Don't make me choooose... okay I'm gonna do three:

1. Assembling Falin's bones with Marcille

The humor. The patience. The slow realization that, despite how absurd of a task it is, it is actually all possible. The moments of admiration for the way skeletons work, the love of the details, the care of assembling all three skeletons just to make sure they get Falin right. Iconic scene.

2. Killing Falin

"Unable to make myself accept. Unable to make myself resist" lives in my soul now idk what else to say. Life is so vibrant and horrifying and raw and beautiful and to let yourself fully be a part of it you must take up space. You must consume. You must fight. You must take and be taken from. Ourgh

3. Talking Marcille down

I love that he looks so goofy on his way up to her. I love the context of how much he refuses to give up on her leading up to this, and how he refuses to give up on her now. I love how everyone is part of this scene, but he's the first one to cross the threshold. I love how she almost blows him up but can't do it (fun fact: this exact situation/post was how she killed Mithrun a couple of chapters ago. It was close).

I love the way he appeals to her mostly just with messy honesty, and I love the silly three rules callback. It's such a sweet chapter.

Also honorary mention for the final page of the story, which gets me every time.

Idea for a story

I'm actually currently fiddling with a longer story concept dealing with the question of Laios needing an heir. Dungeon Meshi is grounded enough in politics that it genuinely feels like a question that the characters will have to grapple with at some point. At the same time, there's no way that like arranged marriage and even having kids in general are not messy topics for Laios and I don't think anyone involved would want to force him to be miserable.

(I also don't personally like the idea of Falin as his heir ftr, bc I think forcing Falin into that role sucks and I don't think anyone would go for it)

So how DO they deal with the issue? Idk! I might write a long meandering story about it! Maybe! I want to, at least.

Unpopular opinion

Ughhhh I don't realllly want to poke this with a stick but yeah I definitely think my most generic (apparently????) Unpopular Opinion with Laios is just that his relationship with Marcille is meaningful and loving. I personally don't view it as romantic and they mean a lot to me as a platonic-life-partners kind of thing, but I also think that dividing relationships in general into Ships TM and Definitely Not Ships isn't really appealing to me personally. I just care them.

(at the same time I really do worry about trying to write about them and it being taken as romantic despite me very intentionally not framing it as such. idk, navigating this stuff is complicated.)

Favorite relationship

UGHHHH LIKE. It is probably him and Marcille. But it's so hard to rank that against him and Falin. Both relationships mean a lot to me and I love them and I love to think about them.

Because him and Marcille have more on the page interactions to dig into and because I don't see them discussed as much, I do tend to gravitate to Marcille & Laios stuff above all else. But like.... don't make me actually commit to picking.

Favorite headcanon

I can't think of a strong answer for this so I'm going to make one up on the spot: I think he giggled to himself soooo much when he included the winged lion in his king outfit but made it so that it looks like the wolf head is eating it. I think he continues to giggle about it years later. I think he gets dressed in the morning and puts on his cloak and goes "get ate, idiot" as he fastens it around his shoulders.

Oh actually for a more genuine headcanon related to the story thing I mentioned above: I think Laios is really good with kids but would be scared of having any of his own. I think he'd have trouble with the classic "I don't want to mess them up the way my dad messed me up" abused kid struggle.

[edennill-archived]

🔥 Tar-Palantir and/or Tar-Miriel

First of all, my deepest apologies for taking so long to reply — life stuff happened, but also I'm just simply awful at being punctual. In any case. Míriel (with a side dose of Palantir):

My key unpopular opinion about her is that I actually vaguely subscribe to the draft where she married Pharazon of her own will, mostly because it feels like the easiest way to make sense of the developments for me (I'm absolutely not saying there aren't any others, ftr, it's just a personal preference on my part).

And so, it follows that I think she was not entirely attached to her faithful heritage at the time she ascended to the throne. She saw her father's efforts achieve nothing except to bring him extreme unpopularity... she feels betrayed by the ones her father trusted¹ and yearns not to be reviled for once... The general idea behind the marriage is to unite the country.

That's how Pharazon presents it to her at least, and I'm not sure to what extent it is his true aim — he is certainly seeking power, but perhaps not yet aiming to outright usurp it. And he is passionate about her, while she isn't in love with him, but likes him more than other candidates for her husband. And of course, she's seen him be cruel before — but not to her.

By the time Pharazon's war with Sauron begins, however, it is long since she held any power, and as Númenor grows more and more corrupt, she slowly begins to return to her roots, because there is no comfort for her elsewhere. In the long run, I don't think it actually changes her fate much from the proper Silm version, save by giving her even more to regret.

¹My vaguely unpopular opinion on Palantir, otoh, could be that I don't actually think the Valar, or anyone, did him wrong. The Silm has some slightly awkward phrasing, but ultimately —a nation doesn't change in one day, and both Eru and the Valar respect free will. If the people of Númenor have spent a millennium festering in a state of decadent, grasping discontent... I don't think it's unlikely that it really was too late for one king's reign to change the course they were going.

Send me 🔥 + a character/place/theme/subject and I'll reply with a hot take about them

[isadora-greenhall]

For the ask game: Glenn?

Hiiiiii Icy!!! Thank you for the great ask 😘

Ask game

How I feel about this character:

He is everything to meeee. I love him. My husband.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

I really don’t think I can say anything other than Morgan. They’re soulmates 🫶🏼 (jk I also ship him with me 😎)

My non-romantic otp for this character:

Polydads 🥰 with all of them ftr!!!

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Oof okay. Not sure if unpopular cause I haven’t seen other people say it to know either way, but here goes: I think Glenn has become very Flanderised within the post-s1 stuff the cast have done. S2, the live shows…Glenn’s absolute worst traits seem to be all he has. He’s become kinda one dimensional, and I think it’s an absolute shame because I love the quiet depth and emotional intelligence he does express in s1. ALSO! I do NOT think he was a bad dad I just think he was a dad doing his best. S2 and beyond portrays him as such a sleazy selfish scumbag and I really can’t get behind it. That’s not the Glenn I interpreted through s1

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon:

Kinda wish Jodieverse Morgan and Glenn hadn’t got together. And I do wish there’d been an opportunity for Glenn and Nick to bond and speak more because it’s heart breaking that the deepest glimpse we got into their relationship was the trial only moments before his Nick was lost for good

[xihaveaplanxx]

40 Question Wrestling Survery 2024 Edition

FAVOURITE..:

1: Current male wrestler

We know this answer but since I was asked

2: Current female wrestler

My sunshine princess, Willow Nightingale ^_^

3: All time male wrestler

Bryan Danielson 100 percent

but I would be remiss to take Edge out when he also means a great deal to me

4: All time female wrestler

Victoria always and forever she was just that cool

5: Tag team

Nick and Matt of course

6: Match(es)

Honestly Swerve vs Adam the final match in their series was so brutal but so good. I also REALLY loved Bryan Danielson vs Swerve so much and Swerve vs Will Ospreay also one that I put up there is Adam vs Kenny when he won the title off him that was a good match with good story telling

7: Ring gear

no but when i tell you all three of these looks are some of their best looks like no notes these are perfect like im a simple person like this is perfect

8: Pay per view

Honestly most AEW ppvs except that last one because Tony was no longer on my side XD

9: Entrance theme

Swerve's Theme: Big Pressure (x)

10: Stable

The Elite in any version of it just the bad outfits just pretend you dont see them XD

11: Champion

Jack Perry to be honest he was interesting as champion despite what people were saying about it

12: Match type TLC or unsactioned matches where people are just otu there brawling. Anything that has little rules is fine with me.

THE BEST..: 13: Looking diva

Honestly, Willow is cutest thing in the world

But I'd be remiss to not include Mariah May, Rhea, Naomi, Bianca and Jade

14: Looking superstar

Do we really wanna go here???

But fine let me include the others too since we know who is number one XD

15: Technical wrestler

Bryan Danielson 100 percent

16: Gimmick

I really fucking loved Stardust and I don't care if it's just me

17: Championship design

The TNT Title but how it looked after Jack worked on it it was so fucking cool

18: Feud

19: Mic worker

Honestly Drew did so good this year and I'd be remiss to not put him here.

20: Slogan/tag line

21: Wrestling video game you have played

2k23 is alot of fun honestly even if i just play GM MODE

OTHER: 22: Worst entrance theme

i wont comment because thats being petty and its not even cuz the song is bad its just the person attached to it is trash

23: Worst gimmick

i kinda dont care for whatever FTR is doing yes i know they are good wrestlers but so are alot of people??

24: Which wrestler would you like to see make a return?

Honestly ive seen everyone i wanted to see live so im fine. AJ seems to have gone MIA though id like him to show up again one day???

25: Do you follow any independent promotions?

not really

26: One unpopular opinion of yours

This is unpopular even to me but Jericho's current gimmick where he shows up and waves to the crowd amuses me because i wave back xD

27: Who do you consider underrated?

I feel the young bucks do not get the credit they deserve. Like they are actually talented and it seems people shit on them all over online and i just dont get that shit

28: What about an over-rated wrestler?

its best we dont let me comment here

29: Someone who you think would be great with some ring improvement?

honestly i think everyone is doing their best there are no notes

30: You get to make your own stable. Who would it consist of? What is their name?

i dont even have to do that cuz aew took care of those dreams for me however if i could have a stable and its just like edge and bryan and adam id be happy just all three of my top guys and bring willow too because i love her. im not even sure what id name it. im like maybe perfection cuz its what it would be

but if i made a serious stable

it would probably be Jack Perry and Mox and Darby and Sting and it would be some kind of murder crow thing

i cant be trusted XD

31: Who would you like to be in a tag team with?

Willow ^_^

32: Who would you like to be in a mixed tag team with?

Kenny Omega and i dont wanna explain xD

33: Why do you love wrestling?

its dramatic like i am and was a great escape from shitty things going on

34: What/who first got you into wrestling?

one of my old friends did after i was bummed after a really intense break up from an even more intense relationship and it stuck ever since

35: Raw, Smackdown or NXT?

None, AEW Dynamite tbh

36: Were you devastated when Alberto Del Rio hit Santa with his car in 2012?

im pretty sure i laughed

37: If you were on the original NXT who would you choose as your pro? ive given this thought and i feel id personally pick jericho because he talks as much as i do

38: Have you ever considered becoming a professional wrestler?

no im clumsy af

39: What is your best wrestling related memory?

somewhere between meeting adam cole and meeting jack perry and hugging him and contemplating taking him home and seeing adam win a title but also seeing jack get his title but also seeing bryan retain his like these are all things that matter to me

40: Do you watch wrestling by yourself or with others?

on my own though on ppvs i text vinny during shows so its like we are watching together xD

[invisiblegarters]

Only Friends Character & Relationship Ramblings - Ep 11

Last week on Everyone (put a pin in that everyone, because I think we're having trouble with it) Here is Messy, Boeing was doing his best to mess with the reconciliation of Top and Mew. Top shut him down pretty fast because my man is smart and he doesn't want anything getting in the way of Mew forgiving him, but Mew entertained the idea a little too much for most of fandom to handle. I, however, thought it was very understandable if not entirely the best choice. Atom accused Boston of raping him and no one stopped to think that maybe that was a tiny exaggeration on the little weasel's part because apparently being a slut means one is capable of anything (okay yes also because of what he did with Top, but let's not pretend that's the only reason here) and I nearly blew a fuse. And Ray found out that his dad had hired Sand to get him off the sauce and in predictable Ray fashion flew off the handle about it, leaving Sand devastated. He later learned what we all should have guessed (although lbr some people really want to think that Sand is awful in any way they can, lol): Sand had the money practically forced on him and still returned it, because he cares more about Ray than he does about his bank account (this is wild to me as I care way more about my bag, but I repeat, that is not Sand at all. I repeat this because people seem to be having a problem getting that). Ray then actually decided to give his rehab thing a real chance and had a breakdown in front of an imaginary Sand that actually made me cry a little. I'm not made entirely of stone, people. Just mostly.

So full disclosure, the real reason this is coming so late is that I've been hoping that the longer I wait the less irritated I'll be, but unfortunately the reverse seems to be happening. So I guess we're doing this full steam ahead (ftr, the steam is coming out of my ears).

Also once again I'm not ranking because only two characters really pissed me off this week, so we'll just ramble and then I'll put the Sand part behind a cut because he's the one I have the most feelings about this ep (and also that is where you should stop reading to avoid my apparently unpopular opinions).

Character Rambles

Atom & Cheum. I'm just gonna get these two out of the way because they are the ones that irritated me and since I've been banging this fucking drum for so many weeks that we're probably all very tired of it now. I do not know what the hell is up with this show when it comes to this stupid "Boston SAd me" plot, but I don't think I like it. Actually, I know I don't like it. I did say that I understood where Cheum was coming from in part last week and I stand by that, but the least Boston deserves from her is an apology for the way she came at him now that she knows it isn't true. But I doubt he'll get it. Or if he does it'll be the same bullshit he got from Nick - well what can you expect when you're like you are? The poor lad was just dickmatized, give him a break. NO. The idea that Boston needs to give someone e break for accusing him of rape boggles my mind, as does the constant implication that he's somehow earned all of this because he sleeps around. And no, I will never shut up about this.

I suppose at least Atom seems to realize that what he did was supremely fucked up, but I'm not sure it really matters when everyone is rushing to act like it's just one of those things that happens, and at least he learned something new about himself (looking at you, Cheum, because don't think I've forgotten you literally accused Boston of turning him gay last episode)!

I have said it before and I'm sure there will be a whole rant about it next ep, but the entire attitude towards Boston's promiscuity really puts me off. It's not the characters, either - a lot of people have some really fucked up ideas about sex and purity and morality - it's the show itself. There are ways to have the characters doing or believing things that the narrative explicitly disagrees with - hell, Jojo has done it before - so the fact that they really don't seem to be doing that here makes me feel like whoever wrote this agrees that Boston kind of deserves what he gets. And I am not a fan of that line of thinking. Even if Boston were truly as reprehensible as everyone thinks he is, it still doesn't make it right to do the things people keep doing to him. That line of thinking is insane to me. And honestly a lot of the problem I have here is that the show keeps explicitly conflating his promiscuity with being a bad person. Over and over again. It's never about the other shitty things he's done, it's always about him sleeping around. I hate it.

Boston. Since we're here, lol. I still love him. His journey has been the most fascinating one for me as we've gone on, mostly because it's been in increments. I said this last week, but Boston has been taking slow, steady steps to growth this entire time - and IMO it has very little to do with sex (but more on that later). This entire show has been a journey of Boston coming to terms with some of his less savory habits - breaking things because he can, not respecting or maybe not understanding that his way of doing things is not the only or best way, etc - and deciding how he wants to handle them.

This isn't me saying Boston is utterly wrong or whatever - you'll never hear that from me. He's an asshole in many ways though, and there is a part of him that has come to question why, and to maybe think that there is a better way of handling himself than he has been. He's also slowly gone from being very "I'm going to care about me and get mine" to thinking more about others - not saying he'll ever be the type of person that cares overmuch beyond a few set people and I don't think he'll ever stop putting himself first, nor do I necessarily think that's a bad thing, but he's definitely started to factor other people's feelings into his actions more. Maybe understanding more now that even if he's not necessarily wrong, he doesn't need to be quite so blunt force about everything. I think it's gone mostly unnoticed because there are others who are making changes with big displays, while Boston's have been almost entirely internal and only reflected on occasion through is discussions with Nick. It really struck me last episode and it continues to strike me as we go on, and I'm into it. Also Neo has just been killing this role. I can't get over how good he is.

Nick. Speaking of growing, this is the first ep where I really realized just how much Nick has done. I really hope that growth includes never bugging his fuck buddy's anything again, but I'm not entirely hopeful about that since his go to to catch Atom out in his lie was to entrap him via video recording. Sigh.

He was enjoyable for the most part this ep. I don't like him telling Boston not to be mad at Atom but I do completely understand Nick feeling some sort of kinship with him. Both of them fell for Boston after just one time, lol. That said, there was this look on his face when it was mentioned that Atom only fell for Boston because he was his first, and it makes me wonder if he was coming to a few realizations himself.

Top. TOP! I just loved him this episode. I have said before that he would be perfectly within his rights to tell Mew that enough was enough, and I was happy he did this episode. I thought he was very mature about it, actually - he knows he fucked up, he's known it pretty much since it happened and he owns that, but he's not wrong in saying that if Mew can't stop punishing him they will never work. It's very clear to me that he desperately wants it to - he is all in on Mew - but I liked that he said he'd walk away if Mew couldn't find it in him to forgive him.

Mew. I said that I understood his pettiness and I meant it, but I'm also glad it ended this episode. Look, I get the need to hurt someone who hurt you, and I very much get the petty urge to keep doing it until you're satisfied. The problem is that sometimes you just keep doing it, you push and hurt and hurt and push even past the point where it even feels good anymore because ultimately, you can't get over it, and it just breaks everything. Love and hurt and maybe a little bit of hate are warring inside Mew, and yeah, it feels good at first to hurt back.

But I think he came to the realization in this episode that his need to strike back at Top really wasn't worth losing him, because for better or for worse Mew loves him. He had to make a conscious choice this ep to actually forgive Top for what he did, and I think he rose well to the occasion. I really liked that he made sure to warn Top that he might bring it up again when they fight to hurt him - it's not pretty, but it's very self-aware, which I have come to expect from Mew. He might get hot headed sometimes but when he decides to reflect he doesn't fuck around. See too his acknowledgment that he probably won't be Top's last boyfriend, but that he wants to try with him anyway.

I also enjoyed how easily he dismissed Boeing and how little he let him get in his head, but to be fair Mew had Boeing sussed very quickly and was only ever going to entertain him right up until the point when he was no longer useful. Mew had less than zero emotional investment in that dude or his opinions once he stopped trying to flirt with Top, lol.

Boeing. Here is my conundrum with Boeing: I both love and loathe him. Honestly, he amuses the hell out of me. It should be impossible for one person to be so slimy and yet here he is doing the most constantly and it is very, very funny. The way he is merrily bouncing from couple to couple like some kind of video game boss (or the final endurance test in a stress challenge) amuses me so much and I desperately need someone more talented than I am to find a way to make it a meme. But I'm conflicted, because right now he's messing with Sand (yes SAND, that's his primary target and frankly I don't really care about Ray being collateral damage because one, he's actively making it worse and two, it feels like the rest of this fandom is doing that for me) and I have feelings about the way my favorite dude looks so miserable every time Boeing shows his smirky face (even if it is a pretty one).

Also he's basically got Ray doing the job of driving Sand away from him and he really didn't have to do much to get there. All the man had to do is make a few pointed comments and smirk and now he's got Ray doing the dirty work for him. It's amazing. I genuinely can't wait to see what he has in store for Boston and Nick (and I have my suspicions. More on that later).

Ray. He was absolutely adorable for like 95% of this episode. I really like him in boyfriend mode, lol. I also feel like he was mostly sober through the ep, too. I think that's great, and while I wish there were a little more about what he's doing to wean himself off of the alcohol, I have also come to the understanding that the show is not choosing to focus on it too much. I will just be glad they focused on it at all and move along. Honestly I should have expected it - if they were planning on dealing with Ray's alcohol problems in depth they would have started it earlier, lol.

The one quibble I have with him is at the end of the ep. While I can understand him being upset, it's pretty clear to me that so is Sand, and Ray is too focused on his own pissiness about Boeing to either see that or care if he does see it. Sorry guys I know everyone is saying it's insecurity and worry that he'll lose Sand but that just isn't what I'm getting from him at all. I don't think he thinks that Boeing is anywhere near his level or a real threat to him for Sand's affection, I think he's just pissed because Sand's not handling it the way he wants him to - which is by shutting Boeing down hard. And while I can understand and appreciate his ire, the way he's going about trying to force it is completely disrespectful to Sand. If Sand misstepped by sending Ray away to deal with Boeing on his own (which I don't really think was the horrible misstep people are making it out to be, but more on that later), then Ray is misstepping by ignoring Sand's clear wish for him not to insert himself by deliberately inserting himself and trying to provoke Sand into action.

If he's lucky it won't backfire right in his face (Ray has no fucking clue who he's playing with here, Boeing flat out does not respect Sand or his relationship and all Ray's doing here is showing his own damn belly and exposing the both of them to more mind games), but I don't think he will be.

Which brings me to the thing that has had my blood boiling since Saturday.

This is a good point to stop if you're not in the mood for half-essay, very probably half-rant.

Sand. Before I start, let me disclaim a little: I freely admit my biases here - for a ton of other people in this fandom Only Friends is The Ray Show, but for me it is and has always been All About Sand - and my own hypocrisies. I will defend Sand for things that I will not defend other characters for (although I do try hard to be as objective as possible with varied success, lol), and Ray has gotten it in the teeth from me more than once simply because he's often the character hurting my baby, possibly (probably) unfairly at times. Ray's done a lot of shit, but I admit that I see that heartbroken look on Sand's face and my objectivity tends to go out the window. It's why I understand all the posts about how much Sand sucks for the supreme crime of making Ray unhappy, but it's also why they make me furious.

I am going to pose a question here, for people that have been brave enough to read this far and who are genuinely worried that Sand and Boeing are gonna fuck: what in all the world has made you think that Sand would cheat on Ray? Is it just general fear combined with blorbo love?

Because okay I can get behind that, if so - I was utterly convinced last week that Ray and Boeing were gonna sleep together myself, and if I'm entirely honest I still expect some supreme stupidity of the Ray/Boeing kind simply because Boeing's MO seems to be going after the new boyfriend (estranged or not) after rejection - and I do NOT want to hear it about Sand not rejecting him, almost every scene that man was rolling his eyes so hard at Boeing it's a surprise that he didn't give himself a headache. He might not have been forceful enough for Ray or the fandom, but he is definitely not giving me the impression he's interested (to be fair I don't think Ray is interested either - I do, however, think he's infinitely more reactive than Sand in a lot of ways and far more likely to do some dumb, impulsive shit).

But if not that, what is it? Because there has been nothing in canon to suggest that Sand would ever, so apparently I do need it explained to me like I am five.

Maybe I'm just a little too much like Sand myself, because what I mostly saw was a guy who still has a lot of issues stemming from his previous relationship being confronted with the source of most of those emotions and doing his best to eject himself from the situation with as little conflict as possible.

And I've seen a lot of posts really taking after him for it. For being so passive, for not telling Boeing Ray's his boyfriend, for telling Ray to leave him and Boeing to talk. Hell, I've even seen people blaming him for the bullshit that is the last part of the episode, and I'm sure if Ray and Boeing do make out or (heaven forbid but I honestly won't rule it out yet) fuck, they'll find a way to make it Sand's fault, too.

And the more I read, the more annoyed I get. Not surprised, mind - I've seen too much of fandom blaming everyone else for every shitty thing Ray does (again, not saying he has no right to be upset here. I am saying, however, his way of dealing with it is likely to cause more problems) for this to be a surprise - but definitely annoyed. Because this isn't OOC for Sand, this isn't incomprehensible. This isn't some foreign, new thing that he's doing that we simply can't understand because we don't have context. This is all stuff that Sand has been doing since as early as episode two. The only difference is that this time, he's doing it for and with someone Not Ray.

Facts about Sand.

He is way way way too patient and has a tendency to bend far too often. We see this over and over and over again with Ray, well before Sand even really starts liking him much. I do think that he saw a bit of a wounded bird in Ray and wanted to help, because Sand at heart is a caretaker, a fixer, someone who needs to be needed. I'm not saying any of these are good traits - they can be, but as with anything they can be taken too far. And Sand unfortunately has a tendency to let himself be pushed well past his own limits so long as he feels like the other person needs him. I know. It sucks to realize that all that boundary pushing he let Ray do wasn't just because Ray's special. Not so cute when he's doing it with someone else, huh?

When Sand cares about someone, he does it wholly. I know a lot of people don't like to acknowledge this, but all signs point to him caring about Boeing at one point. Hell, in my opinion all signs point to him being deeply in love with him, and even though I don't believe that Sand still harbors those feelings for him, nostalgia is a hell of a drug and Boeing keeps doing his level best to bring that out in Sand. And just because he might not be in love with him anymore doesn't mean Sand can shut off his instinct to defer, to put himself aside, because that's what he does when he cares about someone. I hate to bring this up but look how much he's put up with from Ray. And while I can understand the temptation to think that Ray is the only person he'd be like that with, it was also spelled out to us in the very beginning of the episode that that's not how it is. I would wager that that's why they took the time to spell it out - so we'd understand when Boeing came along that Sand can't shut that off just because Boeing sucks.

Sand likes to operate alone, especially when it comes to his feelings. How many times has he said outright he'd handle how he feels himself? How many times have we seen him withdraw to deal with his own feelings and lick his wounds in private? Whether or not Ray wants to be there for him - and frankly I think that might be reaching, because that last scene didn't feel like it was about Sand at all to me, it was about Ray and Boeing's pissing contest - Sand has never learned to accept that kind of help. Of course he'd send Ray away to deal with Boeing's bullshit on his own. It's his mess. And to be honest, if I were Sand I'd do it too, because the last thing he needs is his sleazy ass ex on one side and Ray - who he knows can be volatile when riled up, mind, having been on the receiving end of it more than once - on the other.

And here's a fact about what went down with Boeing that everyone is choosing to ignore: he did lay down boundaries. He made zero effort to pretend to be into whatever Boeing was saying, he told him he didn't want to go to the Arctic Monkeys concert, he told him he couldn't come over and that all he could give him was friendship. He also tried to limit Boeing's access to him to YOLO only...and then Ray came in and trampled all over it. And Boeing watched him do it with a smirk, because now Ray is doing his work for him. And it looks like he'll continue doing it next episode.

I have to confess that the amount of vitriol I've seen directed at Sand for being a tiny bit messy flabbergasts me. Be honest, guys: is it because Sand is just the designated love interest to you? Because that's what it is starting to feel like. There's nothing wrong with that but knowing for sure would help my blood pressure.

Relationship Rambles

SandBoeing. I know we probably don't have time for this, but I would pay money to see a flashback of what they were like together. I already know that their relationship was very serious, at least on Sand's end and possibly on Boeing's (although I've seen enough of this man sliming around to not really buy it even if he says it, haha), but I am so so curious what their dynamic was like. Boeing's "you never yell at me" was telling, I think. But again, that's Sand all over, sigh. He'll just bottle it all up until he can't, then woe betide the person he sets his sights on.

Next ep may make me eat my words, but I say again that do not think that Sand has any lingering feelings for Boeing that would actually be a threat to his current relationship - but I do think that he has lingering feelings about what happened with Boeing that could very well threaten it. I think Boeing is mainly here to test the foundations of these couple's relationships and see how well they stand up to some huffing and puffing, but I also think (hope) that because he's so intimately tied to Sand due to their past that he will serve the same purpose as Ray and Mew's adventures in not really dating did for Ray: a way for him to get past the things keeping him from moving on with the person he wants to move on with.

I probably won't get much of this, haha. But it's a dream.

SandRay. I think I've gotten most of what I wanted to get out about these two out already. I can see this breaking really really badly. I will be disappointed if it does, but not surprised. I'm getting strong implosion vibes.

TopMew. Endgame vibes. And I am great with that because I adore them. Although them moving in together right after getting back together is a bit nuts. Slow your roll there, Topper.

BostonNIck. Saved for last because I have the most to say about them. I have to admit that they haven't been working for me as well in the past couple of episodes, and this one I was honestly really annoyed because - no points for guessing - of the monogamy stuff. One of my biggest worries as we've gone on is that the show will have Boston "redeem" himself by winding up in a monogamous relationship with Nick, and while I wasn't necessarily opposed to that if it could be done in a way that felt right for the character, I was super unsatisfied with the offer this episode.

But then I watched it again, and it hit me that Boston isn't saying forever, he's saying for now. And I can get behind that.

And then I watched it a third time because anything worth doing once is worth doing thrice. And now I've come to believe that he is mostly doing this for Nick. Because he does care for Nick a lot, but also because he's realized just how much Nick cares for him, and he's thinking to himself, "I can do this for him. I can give him this much, for now." It comes back to that whole wanting to put someone else first thing that I was talking about - it's not to pacify Nick or to make him stick around, it's genuinely (I think) because Boston cares about him and he wants to give him something he wants, something that - because it has a time limit - he thinks that he can give.

Enter Boeing.

I'm not saying that Boeing is gonna succeed in bedding Boston. I'm just saying that - fresh off of whatever happens with Sand and Ray (and regardless of what happens with the two of them as a pair, I have no doubt that it will end in Sand firmly rejecting Boeing once and for all. And unless I'm very mistaken the only interest Boeing has in Ray is to peck at Sand, so Ray will become useless to Boeing once that happens) - he's going to try it on with Boston next, and that it might make Boston and/or Nick realize a few things.

Why Nick? Because although Nick was flattered when Boston offered him the boyfriend title - flattered and pleased - he didn't accept it. I think he might, but I also can't help but wonder if they won't even get that far. Because as Nick says, he knows Boston, and maybe he knows that what Boston's offering isn't necessarily something he wants.

This is all spitballing, of course, and maybe a little bit of projection. I still think they deserve each other but I also still think Boston would do best in an open relationship and Nick...would not. One or the other of them might be able to do what the other one wants for a time, but eventually they will find themselves unable or unwilling to do it. And that would be the end.

I wouldn't mind being wrong here; this is mostly my gut speaking based on my interpretations of the characters. But if the show can convince me otherwise I'd be happy for it.

In Conclusion

My goodness, next week is the last episode. I have a nasty feeling that there will be a second season and I do not want it, nor will I be watching if it is so, so whatever happens Saturday will be how Only Friends ends for me. I'm excited and a little anxious, which is about how I've spent the majority of this show, so it's very fitting.

It feels like there's absolutely no way they have the runtime to make this work if there's no second season.

I hate it here.

[maxwelljacobfriedman]

And if you like - Heat >:)

Heat ~ The worst fan reaction(s) you’ve seen? -OR- Share your unpopular/controversial opinion(s)?

Idk if this means like, fans behaving badly, but at one of the NXT shows I went to the most obnoxious group of guys were booing Bianca Belair and chanting overrated at her, and it just made me so mad and felt so rooted in misogynoir. I still get mad about it years later. I feel like I have so many unpopular opinions lol. My hatred for Jon Moxley's booking is well-established. I think FTR are boring 99% of the time. I think Ricky Starks is incredibly charismatic, but he gives me bad vibes and also isn't particularly special in the ring. Although that's working for him as a heel, so maybe I'm coming around. Tony Schiavone is terrible on commentary (is that still unpopular?), and Jericho isn't bad at commentary as long as he manages to modulate his volume. Probably my most controversial opinion that I feel like could actually get me cancelled is I don't understand Renee's likeability factor, and I think the slavering praise she gets is super weird, and that she doesn't do much besides be a straight man to much funnier people. Which is a necessary role! I'm not taking that away! She's perfectly fine at what she does, and I wouldn't even think about it except weird redditors constantly say stuff like she's the best hire Tony has ever made and she's as good as Mean Gene etc etc. Oh and related to that, Alex Marvez is the best backstage interviewer.

[drainbangle]

ochette!

send me a character

first impression: honestly didn't think much of her, i'm not really... endeared by character designs with animal ears if that makes sense...? also the way the islanders were written in ch. 1 left a bad taste in my mouth for most of her story :(

impression now: ochette is my bestest friend ever i like her so much. straight up my favorite of the girl travelers

spoilers under the cut!

favorite moment: the darkling befriend... even drew art of it. unashamed to admit that this was one of the multiple moments the game made me cry and i say that as someone who rarely ever does playing video games. it shows off ochette's kindness and duty as a protector so well, along with how much it pains her to carry it out sometimes. ftr the other times i've done so in recent years are pmd2 and vlr's tenmyouji ending.

idea for a story: 🤐... i got plans... schemes and designs... don't you worry

unpopular opinion: we'd also be here all day if i got into that. i have issue with how ochette is characterized in fanon to be really... childlike, canon is guilty of this too at some points while dipping into racist writing, but it feels exacerbated in some fanworks. however i'd... hope this opinion isn't too unpopular

favorite relationship: with the rest of the east continent gang, but especially temenos. i love her banters with them a ton

favorite headcanon: getting into fic verse territory here, but duo protags ochette and temenos the world. two people whose lives have irreparably changed the other's before meeting. temenos' brother was used as a first draft for ochette's final boss. ochette killed his brother*. temenos starts off unhappy with the role he's been stuck with. ochette unconfident in the role she'll fulfill.

their journeys take place concurrently. temenos discovers sites of great loss and disaster as ochette gains allies and resolve. dena is implied to have caused the night of the scarlet moon through the botched rite. the darkling is the culmination of the MO turning both of their lives upside down.

their traumas are tied so closely with one another and they still love each other so much. i call temenos ochette's weird uncle thing as a joke but to me they're just family in my eyes, with no need of specific labels.

temenos —in my eyes— ending the story finally resolved enough to leave his obligation and start anew. ochette resolved to bear the weight of being a protector. their journeys are inseparably interconnected and despite it all they still love each other. and end the story prepared to depart on new journeys.

*i know that the journal states that roi fled but... honestly i might roll with the idea that she straight up killed him. considering i write crick as being alive in any fic, it's just more practical to leave roi dead for the sake of a smooth-moving story. ntm i like it when the travelers' connections are both positive and negative in a permanent way.

[ijustthinkevilunoisneat]

It's such an unpopular opinion that I may need to go into hiding after saying it but I just don't care about FTR and I only care about Young Bucks when they are up against Uno and Stu. They are both often held up as the best tag teams of this generation but I can't get into either team.

[the-kipsabian]

unpopular opinion hours. but i really dislike aews ranking system actually

cause in the name of the fairness of the game, its only meant to boost up those who are already getting the wins and the bookings. the one good thing that comes out of this, is that it actually helps solidify matchups that make sense and potentially build stories on that (as we saw with hangman and swerve and i guess with rodney and oc), but apart from that, its fully designed around the fact that its only going to be benefitting people that are already being heavily featured in the programming. yes them losing to another talent will push them down in the rankings, sure, but when does that happen? when does anything unpredictable happen in wrestling these days? yeah exactly

its also. inconsistent. i dont find this past weeks rankings on their site so maybe im completely off when the roster page is updated but this isnt, but the one from end of january is like. okay hangman and swerve are on the top. 4-0 each. meanwhile they list copeland on the third spot, with 5-0 stats. so like?? i get it that swerve/hangman makes a more compelling story and they are going for different titles, but at the same time isnt copeland supposed to be in any case number one since they lumped all same gender singles titles together now. which he is not. now again idk how much of this changed between january 31st and like today, but still. even if they'd all had a singles match which they won, the stats would still be the same, just minus one point each

..also the trios rankings make no sense (why are ftr/garcia below dark order who have a single win as opposed to 2-1 on ftrs ranks? again idk what happened after this list but yeah its. yeah) i think the womens divisions ranks are the only ones actually in right order, but then again they listed skye above mariah but i havent watched the programming since rampage two weeks ago idk if they have had matches since then to change it (since now its 2-1 to skye and 2-0 for mariah which i think should push mariah above skye but what do i know i guess)

anyways i just think this is a jumbled mess and i understand why this system is put into place. and why it technically works. but i just think it really doesnt. also half the time people just challenge oc anyways so the rankings dont apply to him when he wants to fight i guess. and if the rankings were only meant to serve the world champion and/or heel champs that dont wanna defend whenever against whoever, they should just make that clear. i dont fucking know. i just got annoyed lmao

yeah thats all sorry i just wanted to yell

[thekisforkeats]

For character: Jon Sims!

First impression: Very good voice but why is he blaming everything on intoxication or head trauma?! (Literally I had to sit my spouse down after MAG 3 and be like "okay but is he going to dismiss every statement" and they were like "just listen to the next one.") Also "damn he's grumpy he needs to chill."

Impression now: A flawed but essentially good person who should never have had to carry the weight of the world on his back. Would fight for him die for him go through fire for him. I love him, Your Honor.

Favorite moment: Torn between two:

MAG 101: The very clear "Fuck. You." he manages through his gag (in the transcript this is "Muffled Feelings")

MAG 102: ARCHIVIST: … Fine. At least we now know you’re of zero practical use here. So aside from sending me other people’s statements, what can you actually do to help? ELIAS: I have been trying to give you the information you need. ARCHIVIST: Sure, when you’re not bashing its head in with a pipe.

Basically, mid-S3 when Jon just stops giving any fucks about being proper and starts telling people how he actually feels.

Idea for a story: I have so many! Right now I'm rolling around an idea in my head about playing with a No Fears AU and specifically a story in which Jon agrees to Fake Date Martin in order to try out presenting as female. "Jon exploring gender" is just a thing I want to do.

Unpopular opinion: As much as I am on Martin's side in, like, "Jon treated him badly from the outset," Jon actually had reason to dislike Martin? A lot? Like, I know people go "oh haha letting a dog into the Archives how cute!!" but no, actually, that Archive was a mess, what if the dog shredded documents? Slobbered on something? Left a mess which it evidently did? And then evidently Jon and Tim had to go deal with the issue.

Like, Martin's behavior that first day was actually pretty unprofessional, just "letting a dog in" accidentally instead of putting down whatever he was carrying and shooing the dog off, etc.

Jon's problem was in how he handled the matter going forward, but I can see why he saw Martin the way he did, it's not like his viewpoint was entirely unfounded. He's in a new, difficult job where he's feeling overwhelmed and the guy who's been assigned to his department without any notification winds up causing issues from the first minute he shows up.

He takes it too far going forward, I think, but it's more complicated than "Martin is so sweet and cute how could Jon ever be mad at him" is what I mean.

Favorite relationship: JonMartin feels too obvious; I am deeply, deeply invested in the relationship between them but it also feels so foundational that it is, like I said, a little obvious.

Generally I love anything exploring Jon's friendships. Jon/Melanie, Jon/Daisy, Jon/Sasha... heck, Jon/Basira, just, I really love anything where Jon gets to be friends with the ladies of the cast. (And Jon/Tim as friends, too, but I tend to ship them as lovers, like, Jon/Martin/Tim. So.)

Favorite headcanon: I really strongly HC Jon as amab non-binary and ADD. Just generally trans and ND Jon is very important to me whatever the specifics.

[strawberryseeded]

dude. i feel it coming. the seeds r being planted(?). when valentines day arrives............ stuffs gonna... happen(??)

[jockpoetry]

😔 it’s high key missing kenneth hours rn

[kamuikissed]

🔥 gimme those unpopular kks and obt character opinions

HMMMMMMMMMM.....

kks onion: I love how he used to be just the littlest shit with the darkest sense of humour and I feel like that was lost along the manga, and I feel like a lot of fans don't exploit that part of him... Also I have observed that 45% of fans woobify him to hell and back, that the other 45% see him as this maximum bamf dominant seme sama, and that only a handful seem to know how to balance his vulnerable + dangerous sides, so I wish there was more of that balance (and I hope I get that balance right as I draw him more.... LOL)

ALSO! unsure on whether this is unpopular or not but I am incapable of picturing him attracted to women 😭😭😭😭 all the love to my mutuals and followers who hc him as bi but to me he is 100% gay man...... 🏳️‍🌈🤍✨

obt: OK I gotta side with the obt haters here: there's never an explanation given for his tobi persona, for his reign over kiri, or as to why he aided itachi in the massacre... The list goes on. and these are VERY important parts of him that are just never explored or explained, leaving Us with the work of hcing why he did these things and that's not greatttt.... Love him dearly and he lives in my brain rent free but I do wish kishi had developed him more

Ftr I think he was 10000% justified in going batshit insane after witnessing kks killing rin like tf I'd go insane too..... Also I think fans should appreciate his tobi persona more and explore obt's little shit side

[spacedadpicard]

Breaking Bad and/or BCS for the fandom ask :)

ooh ty, laura!! <3

Favorite character: BrBa: jesse / BCS: jimmy

Least Favorite character: BrBa: WALTER >:( / BCS: CHUCK >:( ftr i think they're both amazing characters but hoo boy. i want to stab them both)

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): i will die on the jimmy/kim hill, and i've been known to dabble in lalo/nacho from time to time. otherwise, i don't really have any romantic relationships i'm invested in..? friendship-wise i guess mike & jesse, gus & mike, and mike & nacho. i just. really like mike.

Character I find most attractive: BrBa: jesse / BCS: lalo

Character I would marry: BrBa: jesse my love / BCS: you know, i feel like howard is a safe bet. he'd make me coffee in the mornings.

Character I would be best friends with: BrBa: jesse is my best friend. that's all / BCS: god. she's way too cool for me, but i'd want kim to be my best friend. she is everything to me.

a random thought: i genuinely think the BCS finale might be one of the most... fulfilling finales i've ever seen?

An unpopular opinion: 'fly' is one of my fav eps of BrBa and i'd die for skyler. don't think i have any unpopular BCS opinions, really.

My Canon OTP: BrBa: none, honestly. every single romantic relationship in the show makes me uncomfortable to some degree / BCS: jimmy/kim

My Non-canon OTP: BrBa: jesse and some rest / BCS: jimmy and making good decisions

Most Badass Character: BrBa: mike. look at him. he's such a cool old man / BCS: either mike or kim. i just love that woman sm.

Most Epic Villain: BrBa/BCS: gustavo my beloved

Pairing I am not a fan of: BrBa: i've come across jesse/walt by accident before and i'd pay real money to make sure that never happened again / BCS: i'm not, like, AGAINST it, but i do not understand where lalo/howard came from.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): honestly, none come to mind?

Favourite Friendship: jesse & mike <3

Character I most identify with: BrBa: either jesse or skyler / BCS: kim

Character I wish I could be: BrBa: like. none of them / BCS: kim, honestly. wish i had even a pinch of her drive and self-determination.

[paradife-loft]

For the reverse unpopular opinions meme, Zixuan! (Or if you'd rather my maximum gremlin brain option—Jin Guangshan?)

nooooo not maximum gremlin brain! 🤣🤣🤣

but ok, Jin Zixuan -

I do at this point find his hopeless dumbass behaviour during early CQL pretty endearing, honestly. like, genuine snob moments aside (*sniffs* “this tea is stale”), it’s pretty easy for me to read a lot of what he does as - growing up in a pretty fucked environment interpersonally-speaking, and reacting to circumstances he doesn’t quite know how to deal with by... resorting to situationally-understandable maladaptive responses, just like everyone else in the story. and like for the majority of the cast, my emotional response to that is positive! kinda wanna wrap him in a blanket. and then cuff him over the head for being a dumbass.

one of my favourite things with him actually, is how we see some of the post-Sunshot miscommunications between him and JYL playing out? in part because it seems like a partial microcosm of the culture clash between Yunmeng Jiang and Lanling Jin. we get charming conversations like these:

JZX: “so would you like to come to the Phoenix Mountain hunt as my guest?”

JYL: *hopeful expression; maybe boy I like actually likes me back??*

JZX: “...my mother wanted me to extend you an invitation, ofc” [translation: giving both of us some face for falling back on Proper Established Social Relationships Between Our Parents if you don’t actually like me as a person]

JYL: *hears “this invitation actually has nothing to do with how I feel about you and is just for politeness bc my mom likes you* “oh :( yeah I guess”

 - and yeah just, the way he repeatedly shoots himself in the foot by reading everything through the five-layers-of-plausible-deniability method of communicating that they tend to have going on at Jinlintai. (has he picked up any other decent politically-useful skills from this environment? nope! but he sure has figured out how to tie himself in knots not saying what he means. good job sir XD)

oh, and also - the other big thing that I appreciate about him, on a more serious level than just being entertained by his particular flavor of dysfunction, is the implication via Soup Drama that he is aware of the problem of higher-ranked people stealing the work and achievements of lower-ranked people within the Jin army during Sunshot, and at least in theory cares enough about this being a bad thing to do that he’ll take action over it? like, I’ve gestured in this direction before, but. it’s certainly not some sort of proactive attempt to weed out corruption in the ranks or anything; he’s just not the sort of person (at this point?) to do that! but I think it does speak to... a capacity that’s there, at least, to recognise injustice and not stand for it in the right circumstances, which in a better world could perhaps have been nurtured and leveraged into a force for some amount of good by having the relevant people around him. (do I mean a nice fantasy universe where JGY has a stable and valued and trusted position as his brother’s right hand? I mean, yeah. would this particular version of changing things for the better in the manner of pulling teeth accomplish more or less than his canonical achievements? I don’t know, honestly. it’s just a lot of hypotheticals.) - the point being, positive character growth, particularly in the area of recognising a type of systemic injustice? it’s a small thing, but I do appreciate it, particularly when he is by and large so narrow in his focus on what he’s actively interested in doing.

(I have.... a lot of headcanon about what JZX’s subjective experiences and the circumstances of his life were like, ftr, that are all pretty much coming out of a general interest in reading characters fairly sympathetically wherever possible. and what can I say, in the context of this particular story, I don’t find his particular sins of continual inaction where he might have made a big difference if he were more active, to be worthy of emotionally tossing out the baby and bathwater both. other folks’ mileage is justified in varying.)

--

Jin Guangshan......

well, okay. it is true that his experienced manipulation of all the younger sect leaders after the Sunshot campaign is quite a skillful and delightful thing to see, in the part of my brain that likes to do nothing but amorally watch a bunch of political intrigue for its own sake and munch on popcorn.

and that is all I am going to say there 😂

[bisexualgaledekarios]

I know you'll get Bobby for the meme, so Kyle!

i did in fact get sent bobby as thee first ask sjfdskjs

am i a fan: yes!! he's one half of my favourite tag team and one of my favourite singles wrestlers ♥

favourite move: i rly like his rolling butterfly suplexes! also his axe and smash combo, especially when he goes for it at full speed (and not nxt speed lmao)

favourite match: not to kind of repeat my answers from the last ask, but vs katsuyori shibata for the never openweight title at njpw king of pro wrestling 2016! one of the best semi-recent technical matches i've seen. vs kushida at njpw bosj finals 2015 because its kyle and kushida and lbr any of their matches could be on this list. redragon vs the revival (aka ftr) on nxt tv in november 2019 because it's just incredible. i talked about this in my last ask so i won't repeat myself here lmao

favourite feud: idk if this really counts as a feud because it's more of a long-term friendly rivalry, but with kushida. all of their matches slap regardless of the timing, the setting, how long it's been since the worked together - they're incredible together. also i think vs davey richards because i don't think this one gets enough credit for shaping kyle's character in some key ways, especially with the formation of redragon (it's about the fact that kyle never had a partner who trusted him completely and without question until rdgn. not adam not davey not anyone.)

favourite promo: i'm re-using another answer but literally every fish tank segment because they are all comedy gold ♥ also when he turned on davey on roh tv in 2012 because he was right to snap like he did!! "how does it feel to choke?! how does it feel to suffocate?! that's how i felt every moment around your sorry ass!!"

dream match: bryan danielsonnnnn 100000% also rdgn vs tmdk and rdgn vs steenerico/zowens

seen live: yes! at a number of nxt house shows, tv taping, smackdown and survivor series!

unpopular opinion: i think a lot of people only see value in kyle when he's associated with adam cole - obviously they've been big parts of each others' careers but kyle has had a number of tremendous singles matches and feuds outside of that dynamic! also when he dressed like himself on nxt after the ue breakup and everyone called him a knockoff orange cassidy was bullshit <3

SEND ME A WRESTLER