#like the characters arcs are *mwah* perfect

[spaceacekid]

Galavant season 2 is an actual miracle, not just the fact that it got renewed but how it managed to top the first season which was already incredible

[mayzi33]

*clears throat.*

(apologize in advance for any mistakes english isn't my first language)

Alright. Here we go.

Look, I haven't watched MLP in a LONGGGG time. But recently with all the stuff I missed our and since the fandom is still pretty much alive and well I decided to take peek by peek in the seasons I haven't watched.

Until I came across, these guys

And I have so much to say.

I didn't write a script for this or anything so I don't know where this rambling is going so I just ask you to bear with me for as much as you can, okay?

Look, watching the Young Six episodes I've experienced one of the things that angers me the most. SUCH. WASTED. POTENTIAL.

You're telling me we got whatever the hell is G5 when instead we could have gotten THESE GUYS???? THESE COOL, UNIQUE CHARACTERS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE AN INTERESTING STORY THAT MAKES SENSE AND HAVE SI MUCH POTENTIAL TO BE ONE OF THE SICKEST LORE ARCS IN MLP???

I homestly don't know what Hasbro WAS THINKING in giving them so little screentime. There's so much I have to say but I'll try my best to keep my thoughts organized.

First things first, we'll need to talk a little about G5 or "Make Your Mark" series or whatever. I personally enjoyed the movie, though the story didn't make much sense (we'll get to that later) the characters were pretty nice, the songs were catchy and the animation was mwah. I didn't bother to watch all of the G5 series, because- (pardon to all who enjoy it) it's so. Freaking. Boring. Like I know there's a pony girl that's supposed to be a traitor among them but then grows onto being their actual friend and there's a villainess and that whole conflict and yada yada yada. But honestly there just isn't anything I found enganging in the entire thing. I can't explain it, it just feels- off. I know I probably don't have much right to talk, cause again, only now I'm diving into the mlp again after missing out A LOT, but I just can't bring myself to like that series.

Now, the whole School Of Friendship saga in the G4 series with our beloved Young Six, I know some people had some issues with it and it didn't please everyone, and while it does have some flaws and is certainly not perfect, you can't deny there was lots of potential. (I'll try to not overuse that word I'm sorry)

I personally, really liked the concept of different creatures from different cultures coming together and forming the perfectly diverse friend group. Episodes like The Hearth's Warming Club and What Lies Beneath were particuarly really fun, it was nice to dive into their cultures and backstories while also watching the six of them be vulnerable in front of one another and grow closer. If only they had more screentime and more deep episodes like that, they could have been in the top 10 found families in cartoons.

Now, just some other reasons as to why I think they're interesting characters and should've gotten more than what was given to them.

Because

1- Their whole deal is that they're not all ponies, that they're all different species. We get to learn lots about their different cultures and customs. It would've been such a good way to teach children about acceptance and respecting differences while also being entertaining. Especially in a school enviroment.

2- We got not one, but TWO male characters in the group. It would make little boys that are interested in mlp feel more comfortable and valid for it. AND those two males also have distinct personalities and their own active roles. Gallus being sort of the leader of the group, and Sandbar being the only pony therefore the one to stand up for his friends.

3- While they're supposed to be the new represantives of the elements of harmonies, their personalities are still interesting and different from the Mane 6.

Onto that, I really like how it's implied they could be the next helders (or whatever its called) of the elements of harmony. Given their special connection to the tree, how similiar they are to the previous groups (Mane 6 and The Pillars) and how Twilight LITERALLY LIFTED THEM UP AS WELL WHILE SHE SPOKE ABOUT HOW THE ELEMENTS WILL LIVE ON, it would've been such a cool concept.

Onto that, I wanna talk a bit about each of their characters too and how I think they could've been dealt with.

Gallus is the element of magic, but unlike Twilight who's all open and confident-spoken about friendship and all, Gallus is probably the one in the group that's the most closed-off and dislikes getting all cheesy. It would've been interesting seeing his development as the helder ot the element of magic. AND ESPECIALLY since he doesn't have magic in the first place, since Twilight and Starwirl were unicorns. So maybe he could make posions? Get powers someway else? Many posibilities

Sandbar is the element of kindness, but unlike Fluttershy he's extrovert and down to making friends. His overrall personality is that he's constantly very chill-going and nothing seems to ever upset or annoy him. So it also would've been interesting to see how that pattern would break, especially because of his element.

Yona is the element of honesty. She's probably the one that has the hardest time adapting to the Equestrians among the group, and even tried to act like a pony instead of herself one episode. It would've been interesting to see how her element of honesty reflects on how she should be true to herself, especially since her Yak culture comes a lot with honor.

Ocellus is the element of genority, yet, unlike Rarity, she's a lot more like Fluttershy, being timid and insecure, while also being smart and well-read like Twilight. It would've been nice if her development with her element would be gaining confidence in herself and being generous to others that way. Especially since she has a fear of being like the old changling queen (forgot her name) so imagine if she just turned out to be the opposite of her. Instead of selfish and cruel, being generous and kind.

Smolder is the element of loyality, but also like Gallus, she's also not into getting cheesy. But what I find imteresting about her is how she tries to keep her tough, agressive persona (since thats how dragons are) yet it is revealed she's actually interested in cute, fluffy stuff like tea parties and dresses. So it would've been cool to see her growing confident in admiting her interests, therefore being more like Rainbow Dash, who's always confident on herself

And last but not least, Silverstream is the element of laughter. But what's hooking about it is the fact that Silverstream herself probably hasn't KNOWN what laughter is for a long time, having to hide under The Storm King's rule. She's very talkctive, creative and extrovert, like Pinkie Pie, but she also has her trauma that haunts and intimidates her, unlike Pinkie who usually faces her fears headfront. Another great development story.

So just hear me out, okay. I don't care if MLP is over. I don't care if there's G5.

We. Need. A. Young. Six. Spin-off. Series.

I know it sounds crazy, but I genuely think this idea could work out if it was handled well enough, and Hasbro could make some good money out of this.

Just bear with me. A spin-off series set on the timeline between season 8-9 aka, still on the School Of Friendship, focused entirely on the Young Six. We could still get the Mane 6, of course, but mostly as support characters. It doesn't have to be a particularly long series, (though maybe that could work as well IF handled with enough care) maybe just 2 seasons or so. And I'm not thinking like a slice-of-life or fun little extra kind of thing, I'm thinking of ACTUAL lore. Just more about how the tree and the elements work, and how these six students could grow into being their new helders. In each episode it becomes more and more evident to them and the Mane 6 themselves that they're going to be the next generation of the elements. So imagine once they all fully it figure out and talk about it, the Y6 suddenly feel this pressure about how they're supposed to live up to their teachers and fear that they have to be EXACTLY like them. So we see Sandbar taking extra kindness classes with Fluttershy, Yona taking extra honesty classes with Applejack and heck even Gallus is taking studies more seriously (especially since he's supposed to be the element of magic which again I find imteresting since he doesn't really have magic at least not the way Twilight and Starwirl do. ) So we could have an entire episode about the M6 getting through to them and showing they don't have to be JUST LIKE THEM nor The Pillars. They can be their own people.

Another main-plot idea would be having more villains, probably trying to test them or tear them apart (cough cough like Swift Foot from the idw comics cough cough) or maybe you could even fit someone as intense as King Sombra, or maybe even even the return of Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis in there. (I remembered her name yay)

And, of course, more onto their characters, flaws, backstories and cultures! I would love to see more about their people and customs, just as much as I would love to explore their traumas, fears, ugly sides and how they overcome it together (cough cough found family COUGH COUGH GAGS)

And another thing, I especially would've liked to explore Yona's and Sandbar's relantioship.

I MEAN LOOK AT THEM-

Don't they give massive beauty-and-the-beast vibes? I love how their colors and body types contrast with one and another, and their personalities aswell. Yona being loud, cheerful and clumsy while Sandbar is calm, thoughtful and carefree. I just love the big girl x soooorta small guy vibes and I especially loved how gentle and reassuring Sandbar was towards her in that episode. I mean, "I don't care if you're not a pony, you're the best Yona I know." SERIOUSLY? WHO WROTE THAT LINE? I'D LIKE TO GIVE THEM A HUG. And also, onto the spin-off series matter, it would also be a cool topic to explore. Imagine if some ponies/yaks are judging them for having a relantioship while being different species and they learn to ignore them and live past that??? I usually don't care much for romance, (always prefered friendship and found families) but this would've been a nice little arc and episode theme to see.

Lastly, (I'm almost done I promise) to the more technical/economical part.

Like I said in the beggining, I genuely think Hasbro could make some good money out of this. Firstly because it will be using the G4 characters and lore and not...whatever mess of a plot G5 is.

And secondly because, if they took the time to give them some cool power-up designs like they did with the Mane 6, I'M SURE the toys would sell.

I mean- JUST LOOK AT THESE COOL DESIGNS I FOUND ON THE INTERNET?? (not mine, credits to whoever made it, you ate that)

DON'T THEY LOOK LIKE A TOY SET THAT WOULD CATCH THE CHILDREN'S EYES ON THE TOY AISLE? OH YES I THINK THEY WOULD.

And if anything, they could be as bold as to make an extra Equestria Girls (well, girls and boys) series with them. I know it sounds kinda dumb, especially given the fact that I'm not sure about how that would work given that when Spike went to the "human dimension" or whatever he turned to a dog... So Smolder would also be a dog? Sandbar would be the only actual human in the group?... BUT I'm sure they could come up with some excuse to make it work. Give them some cool, colorful outfits for different events and I'm sure it would sell. And ESPECIALLY since with Gallus and Sandbar in the group, it could get the attetion of young boys aswell.

Anyways. That was it.

Uhm. Conclusion: Hasbro should hire me. I know what I'm talking about. I think. At least a bit.

And I genuely think this could work if only SOMEONE gave it the time and care.

I don't know how to end ramblings so uhmmmm thank you all for coming to my pep talk.

They deserved better.

[mapled-penitentiary]

thinking about them again (icemav 86)

hey babe wake up. top gun. watched a video about queer villany and oohuhhhhhhhhgllglggggg.ggg.

ice is, in the very since of the word, the perfect antagonist- hes rude, stuck up but in an obvious way, hes directly against everything maverick does while maverick is the hero (he has the same problems as ice though.) ice fits into the norm but at the same time we are only shown mavs perspective which is inherently different than almost all the aviators

you could argue "wow ice is evil" and like sure but its refreshing to see someone whos not entirely bad but rather misguided- we know icemans character is like this because of his father (ty val kilmer for this btw) , and hes trying hard to fit into a world that will never accept him. and that. honestly doesn't make him awful. even in arguably his worst times he still comes back, hes not an irredeemable character, nor is maverick.

they are such opposites that we never know whats the real "true" standard - mavericks not standard on being an outsider but iceman isnt either on being a hater with maverick

also funnily enough, iceman is one of the only charachters to actually have a big problem with maverick! slider, wolf, wood, sunny, etc etc dont shit talk him. but ice is constantly pushing back against those standards because maverick represents the wrongdoing to him.

DEAR G-D ICEMAN PLEASE STOP WITH YOUR INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA AND KISS HIM ALREADY!!!!!

however as he grows up he recognises those actions- at the end of the movie he doesnt see maverick as bad. he sees him as good, and promises that hell be there. MWAH eating this redemption arc UP.

and while maybe ice still has skills that have to be worked on its not entirely evil- and connecting back to the queer thing, to show a charachter who looks evil but also is capable of growing and changing and not being evil just for being gay

maverick is more accepting of his identity but yet they still falter but they can still pick each other back up

i hate these gay bitches so much its actually sickening someone please sedate me .

[adainesfroggieboggy]

siobhan thompson appreciation post because her characters just make me so happy and they're so. good. she's so good at characters! spoilers for every intrepid heroes season of d20. i could do a whole other post about her sidequest characters bc they're so good.

Adaine Abernant. The Elven Oracle. She's always been one of my absolute favorite characters ever. Her anxiety representation in the first season makes me feel more seen, understood, and represented than any other character ever. She's literally so cool! She starts freshman year as an awkward nerd and becomes a cool nerd! Her anxiety never goes away, but the medication makes it manageable. She hates her parents because they're awful! Just the rep of having awful parents and hating them and that's okay because they suck! You should hate your parents if they suck as bad as the Abernants! Not everyone gets a redemption arc. If they suck, they suck.

Misty/Rowan. Misty is the perfect representation of an old lady who gives no fucks. She flirts so hard with that guy at the pixie wedding. She openly admits to having been friends with John Wilkes Booth. But at the same time? Will not give her age. A lady never tells. She's absolutely ancient and doesn't fucking care, but she also has this undertone of absolute existential panic because she needs adoration to survive! She stays relevant because she has to! Don't get me started on Rowan. I have a crush on Rowan Berry. She's reborn and immediately starts flirting with Pete, which is iconic in its own right. She's a bard who gives bardic inspiration by either flirting or complimenting, and sometimes the lines blur just a little bit. Absolute queen shit. She defeats the queen of Faerie and has no desire to go back until the Fae court tells her hey. You left us with no leader. And then brings democracy to Faerie! President Rowan!

Ruby Rocks! She starts the season as a kid who loves her sister just so much. That's the most integral part of her character. She's a princess and a rogue, and she loves her sister. She has a lot of development over the season! She ends as a woman who fights for her family and her country. She hates Saccharina when they first meet, a new sister on the tails of the loss of the most important person she's ever had. After Jet's death, she's overcome with grief and takes a level of shadow sorcerer because of it! Her development is amazing, a truly wonderful arc.

Iga Lizowski! Oh. My. God. She's the first pc that is a mom in d20, or at least in the Intrepid Heroes. Her relationship with her kids is so fun to watch, from urging Jessica to engage with the chest to bringing her into another part of the Unsleeping City. Then Nick, who she hadn't pressed at all to take responsibility for the chest, decides to become another defender of his family's magic! Not only is she an amazing mother, she's a fortune teller by trade! She knows full well that everything she does has merit, and that magic is real, but makes it all seem like a lie to cater to her clientele. It's not her intention to become a part of the Dream Team, but when her family is threatened, she fights like hell. Also she has a pseudodragon that's just a magical chihuahua and that's so old ladycore it's such a perfect choice.

Riva. They're just on their gallivant, honestly. They decorate their psychodrone with magnets. They're trying to sell pleasure putty. They make their own hours, but they don't know how. Riva is sweet and fun and naive. They love their friends and they love the outside world and they're having a great ass time on their gallivant.

Rosamund. Du. Prix. Quick little shoutout to Siobhan's princess voice because no joke she did my favorite accent. It borders on transatlantic (my favorite accent) but is very Disney princess. She starts as a Disney princess, too! To have a character looking for her true love wake up, search for him, and ultimately sacrifice her chance at having him is *mwah* beautiful. True love isn't real! She directly confronts this, and a member of her party is living proof of it. She has to see the prince who came to save her, and upon meeting him, she realizes how fucked the idea is. He kisses her once and that's all? She doesn't know him, she doesn't love him. How can she live happily ever after with him? Her story is about having things happen to her, but she wrenches the pen from the authors' hands and writes her fucking own! Once upon a time, there was a princess who tried speed dating!

[swifty-fox]

I just wanted to second the love song from a dog anon, I’ve been enjoying it sososososo much (along with absolutely everything you write!!) and the newest chapter was so lovely! Very excited to read the James arc coming up mwah!

auighh you all rock. It's just such a stickier au than my other fics. So much time and thought and probably the most analyzing their characters out of anything so I want people to approve!

have some John psychosexualing himself into not being Gay (and failing)

Eunice is a good girl and even better wasn’t a silly girl. She knew the exact shape of what was on the table and didn’t ask for an inch more. She’s filled out more, wide at the hips and at the shoulders in a way that would be perfect to grip. She’s sitting with her legs crossed and he can make out the wide curve of one thigh sat atop the other. Her hair, dark red, curled over one shoulder in a half-up half-down do that was popular lately. She was entirely different from the tall, slim, blue-eyed Paulina.

John throws her a wink. 

Gale comes up beside him and John throws an arm around his shoulder like nothing’s ever changed. Holds out a ginger beer like Curt used to and introduces Gale to his friends. 

“Buck here’s landed a B-17 with no engines,” John brags, because how many times has he introduced Gale in such a format before? “Boy’s over there called him No-Engine Cleven.” 

He watches Eunices eyes tear from him over to Gale, intent parking anew and he squashes the sudden flare of jealousy. No way was he about to lose the final step in his three part plan to be his old self to a guy who didn’t even like snatch. 

“Engaged to be married though, Sorry Eunice,” John tugs Gale that much closer, “You’ll have to find another Soldierboy to sink your claws into.”

She shakes Gale’s hand instead, who was gentlemanly as ever, and flips her hair at John in a silent tease and he bares his teeth at her in a smile.

“Don’t be sore just ‘cause you never managed to slip those creeping fingers up my skirt in high school.”

There’s the thrum of excitement he’s looking for. Licks at the back of his ear and creeps sickly nails down his spine. John sets his hands to his hips, flexing his shoulders just to feel the broad stretch of them and shows his teeth right back.

“What makes you think I was trying, sweetheart?”

He’s got her back now, eyes off of Gale and back onto more suitable quarry, she leans forward on her perch, plump lips twisting with amusement. They’re painted red. Turned wine-dark by the night and the bottom curve of them is almost as wide and pillowy as Gale’s. 

[normal-thoughts-official]

god but the way i'm loving nia's arc. she was always kinda whatever to me but they put pure pussy into her book 2 arc. the shadow as a physical manifestation of everything she has ever repressed. shadow as the parts of herself that are considered ugly but that are part of what makes her human - are part of a whole that is supposed to be together and that you can't cut off without causing great suffering (for her and the world at large). and this repressed part also being, at the same time, self love. being putting herself first instead of constantly sacrificing her own life for everything (even to tell stories, for fuck's sake). being allowing herself her feelings, being mad and not trying to please everyone else. feeling good. and the confirmation that shadow nia was nia, it was impulses and urges that nia's always had, but she repressed for so long they just had to come bursting out. all that in a character who's a (arguably?) brown woman. like... nia is the perfect fucking archetype of femininity, from her appearance to her behavior. and no woman, particularly not a brown woman, can ever put herself first. if they ever defend themselves, they're irrational and angry. if they ever put themselves first, they're selfish. they're supposed to live for others, in service of others, and nia has been told that in no uncertain terms by the temple. she was, quite literally, raised to sacrifice herself. to ignore her own needs. to not be human. and so the shadow represents everything that people demonize in her - that people demonize in women of color. and her arc is about accepting those parts. not trying to be palatable for the sake of some idealized version of femininity that only exists to oppress her. not giving a fuck if she's considered mean or angry or out of line. taking and not just giving. she kept referring to her shadow self as stronger, and i don't think it's because she meant that she was physically capable of defending herself better. it's because, with the parts nia has repressed, she is able to defend herself, because she allows herself to. that's why this is the version where no one needs to look out for her, the version that's stronger, in her head. it's not about physical strength, it's about being able to say enough

and knowing that the proposed solution is for her to accept these parts - to allow herself her humanity, to only be made whole when she is able to be a little mean, a little selfish every once in a while - that the entire point of this book is that there's no good and evil and black and white, that shadow and light are supposed to go together, just makes it so much more satisfying. it's such a good arc and visual metaphor and i'm not sure if they meant for it to be a metaphor for how WoC are always painted as aggressive if they step one toe out of line or not, but it certainly works as one, and works also as a depiction of her abuse. if her abuser was the temple of light, then of course shadow is self love. it's learning to defend herself. to trust her own instincts. to not hide who she is anymore. fucking mwah

[dualityvn]

hello! i have a lot if anxiety around sending messages/asks, but i really just wanted to say that i really love your game!! duality has been my main hyperfixation for the past couple months and i really love both of the boys (keith especially ❤️❤️❤️)! from all the yandere vns i’ve played, i think they’re one of the more unique takes on yanderes that i’ve seen. they’re obsessive and have unhealthy behaviors (to put murdering and stalking lightly lmao) but they’re also respectful toward mc’s boundaries and they’re actually willing to let them have friends (and they’re willing to make friends themselves?!?! almost unheard of). and i like that they can undergo character development and get better (“i can fix him”) or worse (“i can make him worse”)

i love the backstories you gave them and how their personal hurts turned them into the characters they are today. i can’t get over the tragedy and loneliness of tenebris’ backstory — a fae forced to leave his home and family in an attempt to survive only to end up trapped in the world of the people he’s meant to hate, raised by people who hate him, and surrounded by people who treated him poorly for his looks, spending most of his time out in the body being alone at night, and his only ally being the very person he was supposed to kill. and keith’s backstory of never being able to truly just be himself, being forced to be perfect to hide tenebris’ tracks and make up wrongs to his parents things that were never even his fault, being bullied, constantly being abandoned by friends and lovers, being told he wasn’t good enough, with his only constant companion being the very person who usually made them leave him to begin with (sometimes for the better—screw you, thomas) is equally just so tragic and lonely. they’re just so well written and well-grounded and loveable and everything about them is just mwah *chef’s kiss*

anyway, i’m just really grateful that you made this game, this blog, these characters, and i hope everything is going well for you!! here’s some flowers for keith, tenebris, and you, nightmare! 🌹💐🌺🌷🌻

- 💜🖤🤍 shy anon

Waaaa, you're too kind!! Thank youuu. I did my best to make them their own characters with their own arcs rather than the classic yandere stereotype.

[mad-serotonin]

Who's your favourite black clover character and why?

My favorite Black Clover character

💚 Is absolutely Finral 💚

More than that he is actually my favorite anime character in general.

He’s been close to my heart ever since starting the series in 2019 and he’s not once been dethroned from his spot as my favorite. There’s a lot about him that makes him so special for me.

This is going to be a bit of an essay but I got a lot to say about him HAHA

First off he is my fav archetype done right, and done the best:

I have a personal preference for the characters that are hopelessly flirty guys with confidence issues and emotional baggage. it’s just a trend for me. Most of my favs are this character archetype but done in different ways. I absolutely love Tabata’s approach to how he wrote Finral. He has such a wonderful way of bringing him in as a very simplistic character and building upon his personality and how he became who he was at the start, and continuously finding ways to beautifully motivate his development in such a very real way. The arcs where you see him slowly build himself up while fighting alongside Asta and Vanessa specifically are SO good for creating a new depth and feeling behind his tropes that make him so fresh and unique.

Simping AND Kinning:

Straight up required to say I’m just simply in love with him?????? He’s literally perfection for me. I think he has the most genuine kindness and pure personality I’ve seen written. I love how his fear and weakness transform through the series into a strength and determination to prove himself and protect the people around him.

And he’s so relatable for me. I genuinely sympathize with a lot of his story. His issues with feeling like he belongs and becoming someone he himself can be proud of hits home. Watching him grow throughout the series was a experience that I hold very close to my heart and it makes me SO HAPPY to see how far he’s come and knowing there’s more to come just keeps me going.

Sweetest Angel ever (Angel symbolism AWOOGA):

He’s just so nice, literally cares so much about his team and his friends. And don’t get me STARTED on his unending love and support for Langris despite all that’s happened. He just sees the best in his brother and doesn’t despise him for things out of their control and truly puts in the time and effort to build a healthier relationship with him. He is a simple man who wants to love and be loved. And this applies to his squad, his family, and his pursuits for love and I think he deserves to find that love and be happy in all areas.

Designs and magic wise the angelic symbolism alone and in contrast to Langris was such a beautiful and amazing choice. Tabata was COOKING with that. He truly does see himself as a “fallen angel” his story literally having him fall from “grace” if you look at it as grace being nobility. I just think there is so much symbolism and potential in expanding his magic using this connection and I personally love thinking about it myself.

He Pretty:

Overall I think he just has a pleasing design. I adore his hair over everything else. I love how it changes through the series both in style and color. As someone who changes their hair a lot I completely vibe with his reasonings for changing it too. Like yeah please add that color to give yourself a reinvigorated spirit and confidence for success. His hair looks so fluffy and I wanna feel it. (Personally love myself most when I dye my hair with green tips I love matching him it’s so nice hehe)

Outfit design wise I LOVEEEEEE IT the full color scheming is nice but the overall very Elven vibe with leaf motifs and the pointed boots is just MWAH ��👌🏻. He just has a solid iconic look and it suits his vibes perfectly.

As an artist I love the experience of drawing him too. He’s so fun to draw and he’s got so much potential for expanding on his design outside of canon. (Drawing scars from the Langris fight is my fav thing to do) and at this point I’m so sure I’ve drawn him more than any other character EVER and I will not be stopping any time soon.

All in all I LOVE HIM. and he means the world to me. That’s my man and I will always be in his corner as the series progresses. I hope he continues to get moments to shine and I hope others will continue to enjoy him like I do.

Thank you for sending in this ask! I’m happy to have gotten to rant about him a lil bit. : D

Bonus hehe:

[dantevhell]

Ask you about Amphibia season 3? Okay.

What did you think of the decision to have Marcy in a coma and then possessed for 90% of season 3?

Oooh. Now that. Now that is what I call a sore spot, buddy. Warning: this is gonna be a long post

Simple answer? It was okay-ish

More real answer: it was a disappointment

I genuinely was very excited to see possessed marcy, I was excited for it since the little s3 opening preview after true colors official airing and well... it felt like for me things peaked at olivia and yunnan... and then went absolute downhill from there on.

I love the possession trope, I love possession arcs, I think marcy being possessed would be a very good writing idea bc it represented SO WELL how abuse worked. Like tell me what screams "marcy was groomed by an adult and is being abused" than her after being almost killed, having her bodily autonomy being ripped away from her! It was a good metaphor! It was perfect!

Like LOOK AT THIS. LOOK AT THIS AND TRY TO TELL ME THIS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE AN ADULT GROOMING AND ABUSING A CHILD! YA CAN'T!!

Olivia and yunnan brought a lot of interesting stuff to the table: how olivia and yunnan felt about marcy (and this is another can of worms to me to rant so let's not even begin), how ANDRIAS felt about marcy, how marcy was healing from her almost death experience and how her body was dealing with it, how she was dealing subconsciously with her guilt, what made andrias and the core think about making marcy the host etc etc! Like so many good stuff! And i felt like after this ep. All these things there were little snowballs that could become an avalanche of events... instead turns into dust.

I HATE how darcy was a character that instead of being used to showcase how marcy feels about all those events and instead of showing MARCY'S emotions about being betrayed ... it was used to showcase andrias emotions and to make him look sympathetic and allow him to have an atonement arc... I hate it so much.

Like don't get me wrong I loved the complexity of him being part of cycle of abuse so intense that it affected all his other relationships, I loved that he cared about marcy! I love that he cared about her because it showcased how abuse is complex! How an abuser can care about his victim but still feel such pleasure in hurting them!

I love these scenes because it shows exactly that:

Care

And sadistic pleasure:

Like these scenes were great! The complexity of him loving her but also still torturing her and having a mixed reaction of loving/hating seeing her suffer. Mwah chef kiss! But every scene where he was around darcy was made to showcase how he was regretting his choices and making him look like an poor man who had no other choices then kill and torture this child like...that's obviously not true...

These scenes? Oh I hate these scenes:

I wished marcy's possession was used to show how MARCY felt about herself and her guilt, about how she felt about her relationship with andrias and his pain towards him, about how she losing her autonomy felt, i wished they showed her escapist fantasy created by the core waaaay before the finale!!!

If yall wanted to show a scene that focused on marcy while still showing andrias complexity why not create a scene of how their flipwart match went? Or any bonding scene from >> HER << point of view? From a scene that focused on >> HER <<

Now at fear of repeating myself too much a resume of everything i said: marcy s3 arc was not truly about her but only a device for us to create sympathy towards andrias, her abuser, and all the scenes of him reminiscing about her and their relationship (like this one)

Should have been scenes focused on her point of view instead.

The only moments where the core/darcy was used to truly further marcy development/emotions were:

- during the beggining of the end where darcy told Sasha and Anne about how they rejected marcy's interests

- during her escaping her fantasy land

- and in the ending where she told everyone what was the cores intention with becoming the moon

But aside from that? It was wasted potential in my opinion

Ps: (Andrias should've died and marcy deserved to show even the slightly amount of anger towards him as well. As a little treat)

[jadetheblueartist]

If you’re up to it, I’d like to request and infodump about a subject of your choosing :)

/nf ‼️

I love reading infodumps, no matter the subj !! /gen

I CHOOSE THE 2AL AU (by @/intotheelliwoods) SO SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT IG

So I’m not sure what silly things I did before the past 2-3 hourse but I was under the impression that I head read the au. After all I had completely binged something involving those boys for a few hourse at one point. But something made me think that was not the case. So for just making sure I headed over to the Masterpost and started clicking.

NO I HAD NOT READ THE MAIN COMIC?? IDK WHAT EXACTLY STUFF I WAS DOING BUT IT WASNT THE MAIN. JUST SPENT A FEW HOURSE BINGING ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING SO ILL PROBABLY JUST WORD VOMIT AT YOU.

First the concept is so cutie I love it so much. A good ole peepaw hanging out and having hugs with a little guy? Perfect so lovely. Add in limb loss stuff? Even perfecter. Plus it’s just so fluffy and silly and mwah

Then comes the angst and oh boy that hit hard and it was so scrumptious. Such a great time with angst, even tho an ouchie. I love their characters arcs and how they grew.

Then future leo and casey leave?? Ah that hurt my heart. Especially just thinking about how they were gone for so many years and how baby leo just didn’t have them there anymore :((((((( sad times but hey, mind space is always nice ^^

And then the TRAGEDY of the future not really being changed bc he lost everyone regardless and then got portaled and now there is a loop?!?!?! That was crazy, man, I went crazy. Again, much ouchies.

And then the new two just helping each other out and be cute and fluffy and huggy is so nice I love it.

Before this I had always thought it was just the two Leo’s but finding out that actually in total there are THREE? Again, that was crazy, man. I went crazy.

So yeah I really love that and now know I have actually read it hahaha I feel like before I was just reading the bonus comics or something? Idk but it was so great.

Oh and just in general I love Donnie in that he is just so feral and the expressions are so silly and I love him so much.

Now, if you would like to, I will request an infodump of your choosing :) /nf

[loader-bot]

4, 7, 13, 14, 34, 38, 40, 43, 44, 45 and 55 for the blands ask game 👁️👁️.

4 If you could meet your favorite character, what would you tell them?

aside from thanking him for being the biggest and best badass in the entire universe and being the greatest inspiration to all loader-kind? give him one of these bad boys.

this got long so the rest is under a cut vvv

7 Least favorite character?

well. nekrotefayo is a cool planet except for all the parts we have to put up with typhon. but he's dead already so uhhh. no need to beat a dead horse.

13 Weapon of choice?

CONFERENCE CALL!!!!!!!!!!!! MWAH MWAH MWAH!!!! 🥰🥰🥰 for when you want to turn a whole bandit camp into a fine red mist with just a few shells. very efficient murder. even if he got pretty nerfed in bl3... still love him.

honorable mention to cryo/rad redistributor for being incredibly fun with the right zane build. nuclear winter in a single gun.

14 A gun or skill you can never seem to get along with?

just. all of krieg. sorry big guy just don't like ANY of his skill trees or his action skill. which is ironic considering my love of bloody violent rip-and-tearing.

34 Favorite location?

whether running around elpis looking up at it, or around on it, helios is the best place in the universe. 🌌

[ this message brought to you by hyperion board of tourism ]

38 A character you wish you could play as?

WELL since fl4k got a loader pet that's probably the closest we'll ever get to playable loaders so... hm. hoping ava is the player siren in bl4. both to piss off the haters and because she deserves to be a main character 👍

40 Favorite wild animal species?

ava's little buddy hermes is very cute, whatever he is. also those split-in-half lizard-horsey things on gehenna. wanna pet em.

43 Something you wish you could change in the franchise?

if it was good. 😔

UHH real answer is bring back hyperion pistols. and add hyperion assault rifle offering. something like the DMR from halo or soma prime from warframe would be awesome and suit hyp's elegance + precision aesthetic.

44 A character you wish had died but didn’t?

well those nasty bandits roland and lilith are already dead so that's mission accomplished already baby 💪

45 A character you wish had lived but died?

this probably doesn't even need to be said but ANGEL MY PERFECT ACUTE ANGLE!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 😭😭😭

or kat so he could get a redemption arc where he gets bullied by rhys and everyone at atlas until he learns to be slightly normal.

55 Favorite song in the OST?

ough. can't choose. blands has such incredible soundtracks.

bl1 - fyrestone. the og. thank u for giving blands its leitmotif that will be stuck in this units cpu forever 🙏 also overall love bl1's ost for being so much more... atmospheric and moody than later games. very cool.

bl:tps - claptrap's defragmentation immediately comes to mind (also where it plays is such a cool place) but jack's office is also a very nice ambient track.

bl2 - exploitation preserve ambience. ice is a classic. + the bunker is not what it seems!!! very good. oh also hyperion, obviously.

bl3 - main menu day makes the 'tism brainwurms very happy. also neon arterial upper. also atlas hq. and all of jackpot's soundtrack tbh. bl3 has the best overall ost.

tftb - the galatarium. just. incredible. the tension building in the music as rhys becomes more stressed about making a super hard decision while in great danger is just peak cinnamon topography 👌

[shitpostingkats]

Yu-Gi-Oh Review Roundup: Zexal!

Favorite main character: Astral

Yeah, I like the funny little autism alien. Everyone contain your shock.

But aside from the fact that there is a main character who is a glowing floating non-human, Astral is such a well written character. He starts with some of the barest foundations of a personality, being literally an amnesiac with no idea what is going on. Over the course of the show, you watch him slowly learn about the world around him and his place in it. Same with his relationship with his co-protagonist, Yuma! They start off very combative, but then learn to rely on each other, then a blossoming friendship, until they grow into fully loving and protective best friends. And we get to see that! All the little moments of their friendship is onscreen from day one. 

And aside from Yuma, Astral is just???? Hilarious??? He has this very dry sense of humor that is so anachronistic to the rest of his general naivety and it makes me smile EVERY TIME. He’s FUNNY. 

A personal pet peeve of mine is the assumption that autistic coded characters don’t understand jokes, and the only way to make them work in a comedy setting is to have the audience laugh at them. No!!! Astral’s just got his own wacky sense of personal humor! Even as he grows closer to Yuma, he still has his witty jabs, but this time they’re affectionate. This really is the way he talks, not just some consequence of amnesia and social bluntness. I love him. He’s clever and funny and caring and learning to love and awkward and awesome.

Also, he glows and floats. 

Favorite antagonist: Vector

Vector may not be the most consistently written character, but GOD IS HE FUN.

About 80% of my love of Vector is just in the visual appeal of his design and animation. The black and grey, almost like a gargoyle, with pink accents, plus his chrysalis/butterfly/alien duel disk? Mwah. Because barians don’t have mouths or eyebrows, their facial animation has to be really exaggerated to convey expressions. Vector’s face is made entirely of squash and stretch.

Add on top of that the dub’s pitch perfect and very fun vocal performance, and I just grin every time he comes onscreen. The actor manages to sell how this guy is a wildcard and just evil for the FUN of it. The giddiness in his voice whenever tormenting someone with evil cardgames. Every one of the barian emperors is like “And then there’s this guy. What a weirdo. We’re not 100% sure why we keep him around, but he is OUR little office chaos gremlin and he is a VALUED MEMBER OF THIS TEAM.” 

 When Shark is introducing all the emperors after reclaiming his title, his literal words when he gets to Vector are just: 

“Vector! Need I say more?” 

And even after trying to kill Nash like three times, he’s still in the final Friendship Lineup for the duel of three worlds, his monster used with complete honor and seriousness, complete with a special summoning chant and battle cry. 

THEY GIVE HIM A SPACE IN THE FRIENDGROUP AFTER HE TRIES TO DESTROY THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Favorite side character: Nistro

Check it off the Spk Himbo Bingo, everyone. 

Dextra and Nistro are honestly some of the highlights of the show for me. I love it when yugioh side characters are allowed to recur and get minor character arcs that don’t subtract from the plot but still have an overarching development. The two of them show up in the duel carnival, first working security, then resigning and entering the carnival as competitors. While Dextra, professional, focused, does not make any major changes to her appearance, Nistro seems to revel in the chance to finally wear his full length flame/fur coat. It’s a subtle characterization, but it makes his ultimate turn to WWE wrestler completely believable. 

He’s excitable, hot-headed, and values his relationship with Dextra; the two play off each other very well, somewhat paralleling the dynamic between Yuma and Astral. And, I cannot stress enough how much I loved having a male and female relationship that was just. Good. Dextra is an equal and he cares for her completely, and they work well together, both in chemistry and in their literal jobs. It’s just. Nice. To have this background duo with no drama or yugioh-female-character weirdness.

Nistro just happens to be my personal favorite because he decided the best way to confront an alien hostile was to hit a baseball at them, then casually lean on the bat and smirk. 

Favorite duel: Yuma vs. Eliphas

Basically the entire show, Astral World is this big question mark in the lore. So when we finally got to see and go there, I was excited. Like, kicking my feet and flapping my hands excited. (This is yugioh, after all. It wouldn’t be completely out of the question to just never explore this cool alien world that holds a ton of answers to questions in the plot.) Also, because at this point we had been missing Astral for several episodes, and I was ready for Yuma to have his funny alien bestfriend back. 

But first he’s got to duel for it.

And boy is it a good duel.

Eliphas is a great antagonist, his archetype being based around not only being powerful, but on being levels of power far above his opponent. In one duel, we get the whole deal of Astral world: toxic superiority. His monsters are all wonderfully creatchury, tapping back into some DM era egyptian aesthetics, and just delightfully weird. Etheric Amon is also a highlight. I especially love how it calls to mind the silhouette of Monster Reborn, and the pillar fading near the base gives it a trippy optical illusion effect. 

Being the first person besides Yuma and Astral we see use Shining Draw, it’s an excellent and immediate threat that instantly ratchets up the tension. Same with the New Order numbers using exactly the same summonings and sound cues as regular numbers. The magical powers our protagonists have been slowly mastering through the entire course of the series? Child’s play. Not even anything special.

Yuma v. Eliphas also kicks off the longest chain of duels that I unilaterally love that I have so far seen in yugioh. From this to the duel on the moon, it’s just all bangers.

Favorite arc: Mythyrian Numbers War

Zexal is the first show I’ve really agreed with the general consensus on the quality curve: It gets better as it goes on. Part 2 is just exponentially stronger, and with every episode grows more into its potential. That said, I kinda like the funky monster of the week format the pre-duel carnival had.

So the search for the mythyrian numbers feels like the best blend of those two flavors. It’s basically an arc of cleverly delivered build-up for the main villains, introducing each barian emperor’s backstory one at a time. Plus, some broader worldbuilding about Astral and Barian, which after over a hundred episodes of no answers, was sorely needed. 

It gives the villainous coterie some personality. Dumon’s quiet honor and chivalry, Alito’s brash competitive streak, Girag’s raccoon-based military career. The emperors are a highlight of Zexal, and it’s in large part to this time spent fleshing out each one’s personality and past. And we still get to bounce around to wacky locations and weekly boss monsters. Then, with the mini arcs of Astral World and the three barian mercs, it just encapsulates all of my favorite parts of this series. 

Greatest strength of the series:

*points at Yuma and Astral on the cover art*

It’s them.

My controversial yugioh opinion is I didn’t really love DM. I found the pacing boring, the duels awkward, and that it never delivered on some of its strongest ideas. The basic premise, two souls in one body, one foreign and confused, contrasted by the plucky average joe? Awesome idea. How do they interact? How does that partnership develop, literally sharing a headspace? What sort of adventures do the two of them get up to, racing around the world to uncover the secrets to the amnesiac’s past?

What does this have to do with Zexal?

Yuma and Astral is everything I wanted from Yami and Yugi, and more.

While I found the number of Yami & Yugi interactions in DM frustratingly few, I liked the idea of dual protagonists, and was curious what a well written version of that dynamic would look like. Zexal makes having two protagonist really work. They’re just a delight. From the stumbled irritation of first meetings, then the unsteady alliance of companionship, to straight up would-die-for-each-other partners. They both share the spotlight, learning from each other as the show goes on, and compliment in all the right ways. Their banter feels organic and refreshing, you truly believe these two are the best of friends. When they lose each other it’s painful, when they reunite, it’s cathartic. Their bond is literally the foundation of the show, in a way that I didn’t really see in Yami and Yugi, or the criminally little time we got with Jaden and Yubel. The first time we see Astral smile is when Yuma calls him a friend. There’s a billion little moments like that. The two of them speaking in tandem the first time they work in sync. Astral’s pure delight at getting to experience food for the first time as Zexal. Yuma’s desperation when he thinks he’s misplaced the emperor's key. A massive chunk of the show goes to building up these two, and, by the end, it’s far and away the biggest success of Zexal.

Weakest Points:

A good chunk of the writing effort apparently went into perfecting Yuma and Astral’s dynamic, because other characters suffer from a distinct lack of consistency. 

Shark, love him though I might, spends 2/3rds of the plot having no real reason to be there, then hard pivots into a heelturn that’s really cool, but breaks down the more you think about it. His entire motivation for the duel carnival arc was getting back at the person who hospitalized his sister, then he helps out with the fight against the barians for supposedly the same reason? Despite them having kind of next to nothing with Rio’s injuries. You could make the argument that his hatred of the barians is motivated by suppressed memories of Vector being responsible for his sister’s death when they were humans, except the second he recovers those memories, he turns around and goes back to leading them without so much as an unkind word to Vector. 

He’s not the only villain of the series to suffer from some questionable motives. Vetrix is also a mess, wanting to avenge Kazuma and himself by *checks notes* Opposing Kazuma’s son and abusing his children. Dr. Faker is equally comically antithetical, committing warcrimes for the sake of his sons yet treating both horribly.

Yes, there’s explanations given, but nothing that feels real to the character, just last minute plot twists. Vector’s appealing because he’s a loose cannon, yes, but he has the strength of performance and writing where that’s a believable aspect. His consistency is he’s inconsistent, and takes great delight in being so. Every other main villain feels like they’re just being jerked around into the shape the plot requires of them.

Also, for how exciting it feels to get answers in the latter half of Zexal II, it’s a bit much, even for yugioh, to hold the basic worldbuilding in such a stranglehold until then. Heck, no one even asks why the barians and astrals are fighting until like, episode one hundred. Even characters where it feels in-character to ask, to investigate, they simply. Don’t. For a series this long, I’d love to see that aspect worked into a more reasonable drip-feed of information.

Most yugioh moment: 

“Pack your bags, galaxy-eyes. We’re headed to the moon.”

He says this so seriously. Does he really mean for galaxy-eyes to get its little dragon suitcase and get ready for their trip? Is this a little joke, between an eighteen year old and his emotional support piece of cardboard? HE’S SO CASUAL ABOUT JUST. HEADING TO THE MOON. They need to have a card game on the moon for the sake of the world that is the single most yugioh plot beat of all time.

[entropiceye1342]

Spoiler free review for Netflix's live action One Piece!

WOW.

A lot of stuff to love! I absolutely ADORE this take on the adventure of the Straw Hat Pirates!

The Straw Hats are all cast perfectly, the supporting cast is spot on. Everyone NAILS their characters!

Give the man a crown!

Iñaki Godoy as Luffy is goofy and oblivious in all the right ways. He sticks the perfect landing of the emotional intelligence that was crucial to bring the deeper side of Luffy to life, and doesn't neglect the hyperactive child side either! Seeing him gleefully bounce around - both in and out of fights- was special. The CGI was pretty good! Better than I expected, really. I appreciate making Luffy a little more level-headed, it's a good choice to tone down the chaos goblin for live action 🤣

It was magnificent to see Luffy grow into a "real" pirate in this arc, and he will be the KING!

Mackenyu as Zoro is a bit "too cool" but honestly I expected it to happen, people tend to overlook the fact that 90% of the time he's just as dumb as Luffy 🤷 but MAN is he cool. He really surpassed my expectations for the fight scenes, and did not skip on the brutality! 3 Sword Style was stunningly realized and incredible fun to watch- even without drawing a single blade!

His one liners and sarcasm are on point, ESPECIALLY regarding Sanji 🤣

Emily Rudd as Nami is INCREDIBLE. Smart as a whip and wily as ever, this cat burglar lands on her feet! In and out of combat, Nami is quick on her feet and with her wit. One Piece passes the Bechdel test once again, and her story is every bit the emotional powerhouse as its manga and anime counterparts- better in some moments! 'Nuff said.

Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp is delightful, though unfortunately he doesn't get as much time to shine as the others. When he does though, it's fantastic!

He really got the little things down about the character without needing to be as over the top as his counterparts- a bullseye from the sniper!

Sanji is perfect as well, you can SEE the training Taz Skylar went through for the part, from the mouth watering food to the killer martial arts. Every bit as fun to watch as the rest of the Monster Trio! My expectations for him were already high, and he kicked them into the stratosphere.

I'm glad they toned down the flirting, they found the right balance and played it well. Sanji matches Zoro in the bickering spectacularly, an absolute must that exceeded my hopes in both of their performances.

I'm not gonna list everyone but because I love this stupid fucking clown:

Jeff Ward as Buggy is an absolute TREAT, I am a huge fan of this take on the character. The perfect storm of bumbling dipshit who wants to be taken seriously, but still pretty intimidating at times. LOVE it. His jokes are GOLD.

Speaking of! Gold Roger, the man who started it all! *mwah!* Dazzling performances from him AND the Marines.

The few nitpicks I have are minor, the childhood acting ranges from ok to abysmal, Lily Fisher as young Nami is a notable standout. Some of the "minor" characters suffer from wooden acting, but honestly that's about the worst of it.

The Fishmen look a little low budget in their early appearances, but are absolutely PERFECT when they are the ones in the spotlight. Absolutely phenomenal work from McKinley Belcher III, my biggest fear from this was Arlong being done wrong and he CRUSHED IT!

The soundtrack was rousing, it truly felt like a call to adventure! And above all the SET DESIGN 😭

They TRULY brought the world that Oda Senseii has been drawing for us all these years, to life.

And now, anime One Piece is trending on Netflix.

THE GREAT PIRATE ERA IS HERE!

Here's to hoping Netflix doesn't Netflix it 🍻

What did you think?

Especially if this is your introduction to One Piece, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!

[thealogie]

I've been watching MASH my entire life (30). I dont think there has ever been a character arc quite like Hot Lips Houlihan to Margaret. Watching Loretta Swit's monologues and dramatic storm offs when I was a kid made me want to be an actress. Now after all these years of hard work, I can proudly say I'm still unemployed.

It's really nice to see someone so passionate about MASH making me want to revisit the show again.

Thank you!

Margaret really and truly had the character arc of all time. Not perfect but to take her from a sexist caricature who exists to embody all the “wrong ideas” the show is fighting against to such a nuanced three dimensional character who learned and evolved while still maintaining some delicious and realistic flaws? Mwah. Thanks for the sweet message and I hope you become very employed

[crehador]

Can I ask, if you have top favorite romantic couples (can be canon or non canon) of all time from any media? Why love them? Thx :D

ANON SORRY THIS ASK HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY INBOX FOR FIVE BILLION YEARS

this is such a fun thing to think about but my brain of course is just going "ichisama ichisama ichisama" nonstop, but now i will sit down and properly try to think of a top five (like the top 10 characters ask, i'll limit this to animanga and possibly group some together; i'm also limiting myself to ONLY icsm from hpmi, or this whole list would be hpmi lmao)

1. in first place of course it is ICHISAMA FOR LIFE

using this image yet again because well it's right there in my pinned and very convenient

i am a sucker for the dumb of ass kind of heart one falling for the bad boy with a heart of gold one, ESPECIALLY when they have the friends to enemies to lovers arc that ichisama does (ok the to lovers part is obviously hc only but hoo boy it is a strong hc)

what can i say about them really besides that i am writing a fic a day for them every day this year. i think that. says it all lol

2. gotta be koyanagi/kabakura wotakoi AND kashima/hori gsnk

while i'm not saying they are identical ships they definitely fall into the same bucket for me, and boy oh boy do i love that bucket

kashima and hori make me belligerently delighted, and koyanagi and kabakura make me a special sort of feral that i don't even know how to start in on

i really like narumi and hirotaka from wotakoi too, but there's something about koyanagi and kabakura that gets to me way more. the geek4geek dynamic is just impeccable with all four of them but the

[PUTTING THE CUT HERE BECAUSE WOTAKOI SPOILERS BELOW, ALSO TOKYO GHOUL SPOILERS FARTHER DOWN]

koyanagi/kabakura wedding just gave me a special sort of glee. i just don't think there's a single thing i don't love to pieces about them, their backstory ova only makes them better

3. saaaaaaya and yuusuke from neon sign amber (aka aokise knb)

obligatory shoutout to the boys of my FAVORITE BL OF ALL TIME ok so like as far as bl goes neon sign amber is really not the most unique thing, i would say. but that's what makes it so perfect to me

i feel like a lot of outstanding bl are great in ways that are 'atypical' for bl, like how saezuru is bl, sure, but also comes with a genuinely gripping gritty yakuza plot. and many others that are highly praised tend to be praised by people going "oh this is good because it's not like TYPICAL bl" which i have feelings about but let's not get into that here

neon sign amber is my favorite because it is very much a typical bl, it has a lot of the typical tropes (guy who's been historically straight but is "gay for you" for example)

i don't necessarily love any of those tropes, but i adore what neon sign amber does with them. it is practically a cookie cutter bl, but its characters (despite existing for only one volume of a manga) live in my heart forever. it takes that "gay for you" trope and doesn't gloss over the problems that could arise in a relationship like that, instead actually addressing them in a way i found satisfying

saya especially is one of my guys of all time, and given that they're kind of obviously aokise i'm lumping them in here too. mwah

4. idolish7 YUKIMOMO MY BELOVEDS (e banri)

thought about this one a lot because i feel like i normally like them in a... normal way, so do they really make the top five? but honestly i think they do

i love their stage gay married act and i love to think that's very much rooted in a foundation of they are actually fucking in love with each other. but just that would've made them a cute but not too memorable ship to me

THEIR BACKSTORY THOUGH. MY GOD. first of all baby momo looks literally just like tdd ichiro which is a. a lot. for me. lmao but anyway setting that aside

momo discovering revale at such a pivotal time in his life, being saved by them, becoming their fans, and then being the one to replace banri after THAT happened??? and then five years later feeling like he's running out of time with yuki and ad;slkfja;lkdsfj

i'm becoming incoherent just thinking about it. anyway i guess this is kind of an ot3 for me though i like it in very much a "we are a couple and we are, as a couple, dating banri" sort of thing (not because they wouldn't ever see banri as an equal partner but because imo banri has better things to do than get too involved in that lol)

5. this last one... is so tough... i think i'm giving it to VARIOUS RELATIONSHIPS IN TOKYO GHOUL

ok this is absolutely cheating and ultimately i think what i would have to say is kaneki and hide because like. eat my face to survive is peak romance to me, sorry. as if it's my fault

HOWEVER there are just so many relationships in tokyo ghoul that i'm absolutely obsessed with. amon/akira and nishio/kimi especially!! amon and akira are so so so delightful to me, in a way similar to roy and riza fma, and nishio and kimi are just. i mean. again. eat me to survive. peak romance

(and i swear i'm not a nishio stan because of voice actor bias, i have not watched tokyo ghoul yet because i have been repeatedly and sternly warned away from it... nishio is one of my manga favorites even without the asnm factor, but good fucking lord does the asnm factor tempt me to watch)

the writing in tokyo ghoul is genuinely just so good to me. the main plot is fantastic but what really makes it is the relationships between characters, both romantic and not

(also a fan of the one-sided tsukiyama/kaneki thing going on but strictly as a one-sided thing lol, tsukiyama get wrecked (said with affection))

so i think that is. more or less where my top five would be. though it's like. it's hard. and probably always changing. those are the first beloved ones to come to my though so they will go in this post and i will smack myself in the forehead and be like "I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT ______" as soon as i go to sleep probably

thank you for the ask!

[amyyythestarry]

THOUGHTS ON THE NEW TBHK CHAPTER PT. 2!!

OK SO, READ MY OTHER CHAPTER ANALYSIS FIRST.

But, this one is just gonna be about the whole Hanako crying after Tsukasa took Nene.

So I’ve seen someone give their reviews on the new chapter and I totally admire their perspective. But also they open up a lot of new theories and thoughts about characters that I would have never thought of.

So I now think that Hanako wasn’t just crying because Tsukasa stole Nene ( That’s definitely one of the reasons ).

He’s probably also sad that he got left out!!

Ever since Tsukasa showed up in the broken clock tower, he was only focused on Nene. Appeared right in front of Nene, directly talked to her, was in her perfect line of view. Meanwhile, Hanako just couldn’t see him clearly more than one time.

Talking to Nene directly about the ‘old Amane’. Hanako is just there.

He finally got in front of them both. But he’s still only talking to Nene. Hanako is just there.

Partly in Hanako’s line of view for a mili-second.

Goes right over to Nene and stays there. Hanako is in the background again. Even while this happens.

He can’t clearly see what going on behind him, when the kiss happens he strains to move his pupil. He knows they’re kissing because of the ‘mwah’, but he can’t see it! Only in peripheral vision. Only from the corner of his eye can he see just a little bit of what’s going on. And it’s right beside him.

Tsukasa’s taking Nene away, and Hanako doesn’t have any other choice but to stand there, and reflect on what’s going on.

I feel like he was thinking “My brother came here, talked to Nene only ( Left me entirely out of the one-sided conversation ), kissed her and ditched me with just a single goodbye.”

Tsukasa only talked to him three times during the whole interaction!

But the whole time he was having that one-sides convo with Nene. Hanako was still just there. The background character while all of this was going on.

Hanako was left out!

He cries his eyes out by the fact that, not only his brother taking away Nene, but ALSO DITCHING HIM. NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO HIM. Totally ignoring him and only interacting with Nene!!

Tsukasa seems to always talk to Amane whenever he is around. He always greets him in a hug or whatever, talks to him, includes him in the conversation, most of the time. Right?

Especially in Hell Of Mirrors. He was paying attention to Amane.

And in the PP arc.

But that wasn’t the case this time! Tsukasa didn’t give his brother a hug, a greeting “Aaamane” was all he got out of this chapter, and it was barely a greeting. Just to see if Amane was also frozen.

Not only did his brother steal his assistant, but he also COMPLETELY IGNORED HIM!

‘TSUKASA WASN’T MAINLY FOCUSED ON ME?? WTF, THE BETRAYAL!!!????’

Betrayal indeed.

Amane probably isn’t used to that. Not used to Tsukasa brushing past him, more eager to talk to someone else more than he’s eager to talk to his big brother.

I’m not saying it hasn’t happened before. Tsukasa definitely has thought of other things besides Amane. Definitely. Amane isn’t the only thing that’s on his mind 24/7.

But Amane probably doesn’t want to hear that, that his brother doesn’t prioritize him over anything or anyone else. He wants to be comforted by the fact that his favorite person in the world is totally obsessed with him, he invades Tsukasa’s thoughts only, nothing else.

But, this obviously, probably showed Amane that’s not the case.

His brother left him out. He was left out. He doesn’t like being left out.

But he was, and at the end of Kamome too.

Most be a lot to take in.