#like the plot lines the characters the character arcs

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

Everyone you gotta check out this amazing Chinese xianxia fantasy donghua Xian Ni仙逆 /Renegade Immortal 

The pacing is so good. I skipped the first few minutes (some big battle scene, but turns out it’s just backstory for the MC’s future master). Instead, I started when the protagonist, Wang Lin, is just a kid getting bullied in his village. His parents are forced to pay ‘protection money’ to local thugs, and if they can’t, their house gets trashed. Wang Lin's uncle secured him a chance to take the cultivation sect's trial—because if he succeeds, his family will finally be safe.

And then I was hooked. Binged it all weekend. It’s got 80+ episodes out now (rumored to end at 120+), and the writing is tight. The anime cut all the weird/illogical stuff from the original novel and fixed the OOC moments. Now the plot flows smoothly, the characters actually make sense, and the romance is pure (no harem thank you rare for a male-led xianxia adaptation).

That’s why it’s blowing up, everyone’s watching it, not just novel fans, all ages. If you like underdog stories with heart, give it a shot.

Another captivating aspect of this anime is Wang Lin’s strong personal integrity. In the ruthless world of cultivation, where stealing treasures and killing for profit are commonplace, Wang Lin refuses to follow the crowd. He has his own principles: To those who show him kindness, he remains deeply loyal—repaying even the smallest favor tenfold. To those who harm him, he doesn’t cower but retaliates decisively (no frustrating ‘doormat’ MC here).

He’s intelligent, level-headed, and humble—never abusing his power. His calm, unwavering demeanor makes it easy for viewers to empathize with and respect him.

One of his most iconic lines when he was young before he met Li Muwan perfectly sums up his philosophy: "In this life, I, Wang Lin, bow to neither heaven nor earth. I revere no gods or ghosts. The only ones I honor are my parents… and Situ (his master)."

Oh and the story’s really gripping, full of tight spots where the hero seems doomed, but he always finds a clever way out. He’s the quiet, ruthless type who follows his own rule: "I shall not offend unless offended; if provoked, I'll yield some ground. But cross me twice, and roots and all shall be undone." His bond with the love of his life (who’s sharp as a tack) is just so solid—they protect each other no matter what. Everyone watching ends up rooting for them. Wang Lin's love for his wife Li Muwan is really moving. Everything he does later is basically for her. (But I won't spoil too much).

The previous plot was already very exciting, and the "Mortal Enlightenment化凡" arc took it to another level, with even more gripping storytelling and nuanced emotions. The protagonist, in order to break through his mental barriers, lived an entire lifetime as an ordinary person, and the bond he formed with his neighbor, the blacksmith's family, was truly moving. However, the original novel's later stages suffered from character and plot breakdowns, which angered a large number of readers and led to a mass exodus. The main issue was the mishandling of the protagonist's romantic relationships, which deviated from the pure love tone established earlier (Chinese readers are particular about this—if you're writing pure love, stick to pure love; if you're writing a harem, make it clear from the start. Don’t market it as pure love only to later introduce ambiguous, harem-like elements, or even break up beloved couples. For example, Detective Conan faced backlash when the production team seemingly pushed a female side character in a movie, creating the impression of breaking up the iconic couple Shinichi and Ran. This sparked outrage among Chinese netizens, trending atop multiple platforms. The side character, Ai Haibara, was labeled a "homewrecker""green tea bitch" "and the producers are all "老登creepy old fart", and her reputation was ruined. The incident even drew responses from Shogakukan, the original author, and the movie producers. The author clarified it was the producers' idea, but by then, Haibara’s portrayal had completely fallen from grace in China, and the movie flopped there, anyway cnetizens are brutal when you get on their nerves like how they react to the whole kimsoohyun lol).

Now, the Renegade Immortal has reached over 80 episodes and seems to be following a pure love route, outright removing the harem elements that discomforted readers. However, there’s an upcoming plot point tied to a controversial storyline from the original novel that angered pure love fans. It’s tricky to cut entirely, so the scriptwriters will likely revise it. Many fans are demanding the director completely alter or remove this plotline. If the July-August episodes don’t address these changes, they’ve vowed to drop the show entirely. Cnetizens say "Just sticking around to watch the War of Heaven arc and the movie for WangLin×LiMuwan's sake, then I'm out. I'll check back when the Vermilion Bird Tomb arc drops, but if they follow the novel's icky vibes or keep toeing that line in the adaptation, I'm done for good. Ain't gonna force myself to watch something that pisses me off." Right now, the vast majority of fans are fiercely protective of Wang Lin and Li Muwan's love story (affectionately called 'Lin Wan' by shippers). They're cautiously optimistic, though honestly, many are already frustrated that Li Muwan hasn't gotten any updated character models or new outfits in over 70 episodes. If the Vermilion Bird Tomb arc follows the original novel’s mess? The backlash will be nuclear. #RenegadeImmortalDirector would trend within minutes.

Some viewers who've experienced both the novel and anime have pointed out that the original novel isn't actually among the best xianxia works - many plot points could even be considered poorly written. However, the anime adaptation has made remarkable improvements. While the novel's protagonist is essentially more of a villain - behaving like a demonic cultivator with outrageous actions - the anime's version has a much more appealing personality and moral compass. Fans hope the anime will maintain this improved characterization consistently. As for romance, it actually occupies very little of the overall story. But the Lin Wan-related arcs that have been adapted so far are genuinely moving and well-executed.

Anyway, so far, the Renegade Immortal 3D donghua(chinese 3D anime) has been absolutely fantastic, with plenty of episodes to binge. Highly recommend giving it a watch.

(video cr by 满世界种香菜)

[protectionelainsquad]

Every single theory leads back to Elain and Azriel. every. damn. one.

First off—let’s get the obvious outta the way. Elain is 1000% the next main female character.

SJM literally said she did research and studied for this book. and she’s an Archeron. it’s her turn. period.

And there’s SO MUCH pointing to it:

• in the feysand bonus chapter from ACOSF, Rhys straight up says: “first one sister (Nesta), then the other.”

• Elain is heavily implied to be ready—or soon-to-be—to train and tap into her powers.

• and now with HOFAS? her powers line up perfectly. especially when you look at her next to Azriel.

Let’s talk about the Dusk Court.

Elain’s into gardening, right? and people LOVE to clown her for it, like it’s some silly little thing. But HELLO, every SJM heroine has a “thing.” and this? This will matter.

when we talk about Elain, it’s not just “seer.” it’s powers—plural.

The Cauldron literally loved her enough to give her life, just like it gave Nesta death.

Nesta = death.

Elain = life.

Now imagine Elain, full of this life-giving power, awakening the Eighth Court—the Dusk Court.

And Azriel? the shadowy, mysterious male who’s never fully fit anywhere? what if he’s the heir to that court?

plot twist: the two of them aren’t just compatible—they’re meant to restore a piece of Prythian’s forgotten history.

And the Cauldron?

in that bonus chapter (you know the one—Azriel, Elain, Gwyn), Az drops a bomb:

“The Cauldron chose three sisters. Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another.”

like??? what if the Cauldron got it wrong??

"What if the Cauldron was wrong?"

And now HOFAS is like: “yeah btw the Cauldron is controlled by the Daglan and was trying to breed stronger offspring so...”

We're talking about this since ACOWAR.

Az feels the bond between Elain and Lucien. and not in a “cute jealousy” way. Like he literally feels sick.

and Amren was the only other one who could feel mating bonds in ACOMAF.

but Az doesn’t feel all bonds—he didn’t feel Feysand’s. just Elucien’s.

What if that’s because… there are two mating bonds?

• The Cauldron’s: Elain + Lucien.

• The Mother’s: the real deal. soul-deep. chosen. Elriel.

But what about Lucien???

yeah let’s go there.

this bond with Elain? it’s been hanging around since ACOWAR.

but like… nothing’s happening. no romantic scenes. no tension. no anything.

Elain actively avoids him. She loses her voice around him. She wants nothing to do with him.

And Lucien? He’s literally living with another woman. Also he’s linked to Vassa. And Vassa’s under a spell. and Lucien’s the son of the guy who breaks spells.

Yeah. that’s a plot. That’s its own arc. Not Elain’s.

And no. Elain can’t “just say no” and move on.

If she rejects Lucien, the political fallout would be HUGE.

Beron’s ready to go full villain. he’ll use this to start a war. Blood Duel. Chaos. Alliances crumbling. It’s not that simple.

Now let’s zoom out.

Sarah J. Maas basically invented the mating bond trend in romantasy.

Everyone’s copying it.

Feysand walked so a million other romantasy couples could run.

But what if Elain’s book breaks the trope?

What if she is the one who says:

“I don’t want this bond.”

“I don’t want the male that the Cauldron, fate picked for me.”

“I want to choose for myself.”

Imagine a story where a girl rejects the magical destined bond.

And not because it’s broken or abusive—but just because she doesn’t want it.

Iconic.

SJM’s stories are all about choice.

Feyre and Rhys? They chose each other before the bond.

Nesta and Cassian? Same.

Bryce and Hunt? Same.

Aelin and Rowan? Same.

Feyre didn't even knew about the mating bond, and Rhysand didn't want to tell her, leaving her the possibility to choose.

CHOICE. Not fate. Not obligation. Not “you’re mine because magic said so.”

Love that’s freely chosen.

So why should Elain be forced to accept a bond she doesn’t want?

Lucien doesn’t even seem to want it either. like… he’s vibing with someone else entirely.

And in today’s world?

this story would hit hard.

A female lead saying:

“I don’t owe him anything.”

“I don’t have to give him a chance.”

“I get to choose who I love.”

YES.

We Elriel fans don’t want another ACOSF.

We want something like ACOMAF. Like TOG.

Not just smut and vibes—but a story with depth. A slow-burn, emotional, soul-healing, plot-driving masterpiece.

With a heroine who grows, heals, and shines.

Elain has so much potential.

She’s not a warrior like Nesta or Aelin or Manon. But she’s powerful in her softness. Gentle.

She deserves a book that shows the strength in that.

And we’re ready for it.

[johanna-swann]

For real though, is anyone else getting the feeling that the powers that be of 911 got a reality check over winter break and now they're using 8b as a testing ground to see which new directions they could take the show without making too many permanent decisions yet?

They brought Tommy back and established that there are complicated feelings between Buck and Tommy, but haven't got them back together either. -> Depending on the audience's reaction they can give that relationship a proper ending with closure (instead of whatever 8x06 was) or get them back together.

They moved Eddie to Texas and gave him some plot & screen time, but in an extremely self-contained way where what happened in LA and what happened in El Paso wasn't connected in the slightest. -> Depending on the audience's reaction they can bring him back by the end of the season or leave him in Texas (they have lined up more than enough arguments to justify it).

They put Ravi in every episode they filmed this year (serial killer arc was mostly filmed in autumn) and wrote a lot of scenes that put him either into focus or established him as a fully-fledged member of the 118. -> Depending on the audience's reaction they can up him to main for season 9 or keep him on the payroll as a recurring character.

They killed off Bobby which is a more drastic and permanent decision, but it also saves them a lot of money. -> Depending on the audience's reaction they might decide to reduce Athena's screen time and importance in the future or keep her as a main. (If the show survives the firefam's patriarch's death and Peter Krause's exit, viewers might be open to accept Athena being downgraded to a side character.)

They already tried to fix some of the things all of us criticised during 8a: They brought a lot of side characters back even when they really didn't need to be there (like Hen's mom in 8x13 or Sue in 8x12), they gave some of the plots an aftermath instead of going the zero consequences route (Maddie struggling to go back to work, the next 3 episodes allegedly showing the fallout of of Bobby's death in detail, the ongoing Bucktommy situationship), they made room to shake up the established (predictable) relationships and dynamics and really changed the status quo by killing off Bobby, ...

So yeah. I don't think it's too far out to think that 8b is an experiment to see where they can take the show in season 9 (while also saving money).

[partiallithopseffect]

The Angel of Scutari. We're really getting into the meat of the arc now!

First off: love a pure historical.

I also love the internationality of this one. We’re in so many places across Europe – Turkey, Russia, the Crimea – it feels like it has a truly large scope.

Unfortunately that also means the logistics of the plot and where each character is at whichever time is rather random and convenient. But that's a minor issue (and often par for the course with a pure historical).

I also love the bootstrap paradox in this one – the Doctor being caught up in his own future actions he made in the past. It makes for a rather wonderfully neat ending.

Hex’s wish to take some time for himself and do some good in a hospital somewhere is a lovely aspect to his character. Unfortunately he’s flung headlong into another war (really, Doctor? The Crimean War was the best place you could take him?)

At least he gets to flirt with Florence Nightingale, so, silver linings

And Ace gets to flirt with Leo Tolstoy! His inclusion also felt a bit random, but it also makes Ace's story more impactful than if it had been some random soldier.

the Brigadier General's story is a bit predictable but it's cool that the script gives some humanity rather than having him be an out-and-out villain.

The white TARDIS... How weird that must have seemed at the time. I like how odd and off-beat it is.

That cliffhanger! Saint Gart’s! How exciting is that? Poor Hex. He really cannot catch a break.

I like this story a lot. It jumps around in time which gives it a lot of pace and suspense; but for four parts, not an awful lot really happens? But what there is is very enjoyable and builds tension nicely until the end. 8/10 from me!

I'm alternating 7 stories with Torchwood stories I picked up in a recent Big Finish sale, so should get through the next ones at quite a pace. Next up: Project: Destiny.

seven/ace/hex relisten <3

I’ve been really missing the seventh doctor recently so decided it was time to relisten to Hex’s storyline in the Big Finish main range! Its been ages since I first heard some of these (and i’ve never listened past Protect and Survive before) so I’m genuinely excited :) One of my favourite BF arcs so far I think!

I’m going to note down my thoughts as I go, starting with The Harvest:

I love how this story introduces us to Hex. He’s a sweet guy, it’s his birthday and he’s already having the worst time of his life. Sorry king it will NOT get better

I also enjoy the trend of Seven stories where he’s just skulking around for most of episode 1. Ace is like this is my dad he loves lurking

It’s such an optimistic vision of 2021? I love the reference to “Big Ben and the Museum of Parliament”. I wish. That and the all the tech the hospital use feels so far in the future even now

That being said there’s a weird Brexity vibe later on? The whole program being run by the Euro-Combine and all. Seven even blames the whole thing on “Eurocrats in Brussels” at one point. It just feels strange. I had enough of that in 2016 thanks

“Sus”

Seven is absolutely flirting with System in part two. Oh my. I bet she loves him rewiring her insides

I like this take on the Cybermen too. The fact that these specific Cybermen want to be converted back into humans is really interesting!

I like how it makes the Cybermen kind of messy? I tend to see Cyber-conversion as a one-way, homogenising process but this story says so—there are those Cybermen who want it reversed. And i love how grotesque and body-horrory that reverse process is

Even the obligatory twist about how the Cyberleader was in control the whole time! doesn’t detract from that core idea too much—he’s still clearly finding joy in becoming human, even if it’s only with the end goal of completely Cyber-converting the rest of the human race

As a final thought—the sound design on this story is so… dense? So much is happening all at once it’s kind of hard to keep track of voices, especially near the end

Overall though I enjoyed this one a lot! It’s got a great, cold atmosphere with lots of gnarly stuff behind the scenes. I haven’t talked much about Hex but his dynamic with 7 & Ace is already great and probably my favourite part of this story. 8/10 overall i think!

TARDIS wiki moment: remember the Euro-combine treaty? That links in to the UNIT story The Longest Night! I like all those tiny references in the early BF years tbh

[ashlynnshoecloset]

i recently rewatched descendants and you really don’t realize how much better ever after high is until you compare them side by side.

[keferon]

May I ask what were the best transformers media you ever saw/read?

Well Transformers Prime, Transformers 1986 and IDW comics are having the first place that’s for sure

And then the second place is kind of shared by Fall of Cybertron, Exodus, Prime wars trilogy, Robots in disguise(2001) and Transformers One.

The third place goes to G1, Animated, Earthspark, Armada, War for Cybertron Netflix series, Aligned Robots in disguise, Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts and Cyberverse because I only liked some little parts of them.

And then I also saw some of the Bay movies, Victory and Headmasters and didn’t like them at all.

Separate first place for J-Decker. It is not exactly Transformers but it is a show about giant robots and I loved it

[vitrall]

I don't think Jayce and Viktor literally died. They were kind of pulled into another dimension/astral plane/whatever you call it. We see older Viktor, and while it could be another Viktor, I think it would be more meaningful if it was our Viktor, finally free from the arcane, going through the universe with Jayce, fixing timelines together. Kind of like a cosmic mission.

[mollysunder]

The one thing I don't understand about the theory where Piltover and Zaun are teaming up to fight Noxus in the end, is why are Vi and Ekko flying towards Jinx's supposed airship if they're on the same team? Why does Vi NEED to confront Jinx in the middle of a warzone?

We see Ekko in garb that looks like he's on Jinx's side, but we mostly see him with the Firelights in those scenes, and they not decorated in Jinx's colors. Even minor background characters that are on Jinx/Sevika's side have a pink X on the right side of their chest. The Firelights are completely free of any graffiti or markers that would identify them with Jinx, and Vi is in an enforcer uniform. We don't see any other Zaunites in the crowd, but for some reason Vi and Ekko are centering their concentration on Jinx.

I think what's happening is that Ambessa's forces are fighting against Piltover's enforcers, but Jinx isn't helping, she's taking advantage of the chaos. Jinx is probably in Piltover to do something big that Piltover can't defend against since they're preoccupied with Noxus. Jinx will probably think the fight between Noxus and Piltover is the best opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Vi and Ekko will probably object, they'll say her plan goes too far, and it'll get people killed. The whole scenario will probably be a more extreme mirror to whatever the Silco flashback will reveal about what went down on the Day of Ash and why Vander tried to kill Silco, except this time with magic.

[jewishcissiekj]

i get that sometimes that's not the case but I do think comic covers should be somewhat indicative of what happens in the issue and not just like. pin-ups.

[jon-sedai]

We as a fandom don’t talk enough about how Game of Thrones decided to combine Jon Snow and Young Griff into one character and how that was absolutely ridiculous on like 1000 different levels. Because how do you combine two characters who are FOILS to one another and then play it completely straight?! Then to make matters worse they gave Jon the boy’s stupid name?! Goddamnit I knew they didn’t get Jon as a character pretty early on, but why mesh his arc with the one guy you shouldn’t combine with? 😭

[devilsskettle]

people arguing about whether or not it’s problematic to ship ian and poppy, and whether or not it’s problematic for be vocally against shipping ian and poppy, in the main tag. meanwhile i am looking for crumbs of danarachel because the entire fanbase has decided they’re boring. but danarachel date night though. danarachel workplace conflict of interest. danarachel adopting a dog. so many beautiful things happening so far in season 4

[asexualsimonsnow]

A few people in the tags on my Agatha romance plot line poll are voicing the same sorts of thoughts I had. I did not like her romance plot line because she had all these lines in the two previous books that, to me and many others, were implying her aromanticism. To have a chapter from her POV where she expresses feeling broken due to a suspected inability to feel that type of attraction only to later have this “resolved” by her finding the right person was extremely frustrating and disappointing.

Even beyond an aro reading of the character, it’s disappointing to see her coupled up at the end of the third book. So much of the first book was about subverting the expectations that come from these types of stories. One of these expectations seemed to me to be not just that the chosen one gets the perfect girl, but that all the characters are neatly coupled up by the end and have romance as a part of their story. In the first book not only is Agatha not with Simon, the chosen one, her supposed destiny, she’s not interested in coupling up and fulfilling that expectation placed on her by the world in which she lives and by the type of story she inhabits, at all. It feels like backtracking on her character growth to watch a romance play out for her in the third book.

[unordinary-diary]

Prison Tattoos

“Rule number one for surviving prison: the tougher you look, the easier your ability to choose the person you want to be while you’re inside. Be labeled or perceived as a punk, a bitch, or a weakling, and you will have your public perception on the inside chosen for you. So you can lift weights, learn to fight, practice snarling in a mirror — you can do all these things, but none of them will accomplish as much for you as getting a [good] tattoo.” — Chris Dankovich in The Tales of a Former Prison Tattoo Artist

An alternative idea to my first, more pessimistic Season 3 Prediction, in which they find him looking a little more like this ^

For the tattoo designs I did a lot of research and I chose them carefully. The snake tattoo I chose because it is: A. Not affiliated with any particular real-world gang, B. Common among white prisoners (many prison tattoos are racially specific), and C. Notably, not a nazi thing (I did check). Snake tattoos can sometimes symbolize change or rebirth because of the way they shed their skin, but there doesn’t seem to be any one, universal meaning for them. For Blyke here, I thought it would serve as a message to other inmates: “Don’t touch me, I’m venomous.”

The rose with a dagger through it can mean many things in the free world, but in prison it means someone was locked up before they reached adulthood. I don’t know if people typically get this as kids or if they get them when they grow up (probably the latter), but I imagine that Blyke gets it because: “I was a kid when they locked me up. But now... I’m a man. Grr, hng, and other macho man noises.”

More versions of the drawing below the cut

Latest chapter as of Prediction: Side Story — Triple Threat (2)

[ashenberry]

yeah yknow while i dont think portable ops serves that well a bridge between even mgs3 & peacewalker much less mgs3 & mgs4 I do think giving players more time w/ zero, paramedic, sigint, and even campbell to an extent was a good call given their increased importance to the story in 4 yknow, kind of give more of the hints to the roles they would play it wouldve been a bit jarring if they just had the 1 game that doesnt really hint towards any of thi[looks at the execution of the mgs1/2 casts inclusion] ah shit

[johanna-swann]

Don't worry guys, I'm sure we'll see Tommy again eventually. Or at least hear him get mentioned. It might not be in the aviation emergency episode (even though he's a pilot). And it might not be in the episode where the 217 is on call with the 118 (even though that's his station). But I'm sure it'll happen at some point.

[litrallytyrus]

i’ve been rewatching the good place …….. idk maybe i’m easy to please but …… it’s literally Perfect TV