#male characters in animation who actually likes his love interest and doesn't see her as a prop

[theprinceandthewitch]

Resisting and failing to not give into the urge to talk about a show with a dead fandom but... people did not understand Raimundo Pedrosa's arc and I still have no idea why they thought Raimundo was misogynistic to Kimiko when he's literally her personal cheerleader LMAO.

Most of these people were Jack/Kimiko shippers, but Raimundo was the only person on the team who wasn't misogynistic to Kimiko - not once throughout this entire show does he think she's less capable than him just because she's a girl. These people really looked me in the eye and said "not only is Raimundo underserving of Kimiko he is also undeserving of his leadership role"

ong... we did not watch the same show...

I still don't understand how they could have come to the conclusion Raimundo wasn't deserving of Kimiko or leadership when Raimundos whole story is about how you can achieve greatness despite fucking up in the worst way possible. They rlly said the character who's main theme is kindness was the worst one to be a leader... even though this show makes a point about how being the best fighter doesn't make you the best leader through Omi's and Raimundos relationship.

These fellas really watched Raimundo's arc culminate when he took Kimiko's spot in an unfair AND LETHAL fight even though he wasn't the best fighter on the team and said "wow what an asshole he thinks Kimiko can't fight as well as him - he rlly is undeserving of her love and leadership LOL"

LIKE??? How... How is he an asshole... This kid was actually prepared to die when he took Kimiko's spot in the Final Showdown... AND he would rather risk his own life than Omi's - even though he knows Omi is the best fighter they have... because you know... he loves his teammates and doesn't want to see them get murked by literal villains...

[demigodpolls]

Why do you think Frank gets so little attention from the fandom at large?

although I don't fault anyone individually for not having interest in a given character, I do think it's pretty sad that not much mind is paid to frank. it's not the best metric to measure things by, but on AO3, frank has the fewest fanfics of the prophecy 7 by a pretty wide margin.

there's no point in comparing him to the likes of percy, annabeth, and nico, who have existed for way longer, but the lost hero trio have well over 10k works for all three individually, while hazel has 8.7k (her popularity is surely bolstered by her relation to nico, the second most popular pjo character on ao3) and frank has about 7k. interestingly, will solace has over 15k fics--and that of course has to do with the popularity of solangelo (the second most popular pjo ship on ao3, as you see above), but considering how recently tsats came out (and how little material/information about him existed before that), I still think that number is pretty remarkable.

with all of this in mind, here are some of the reasons why I think frank doesn't get a ton of attention from the fandom below the cut.

- part of it probably has to do with shipping. while frazel is a well-accepted canon ship, I don't think it actually garners a ton of real interest. when a pairing is very popular, its individual parties will inevitably share that popularity; i.e., will solace, as observed previously. furthermore, frank doesn't really have any popular non-canon ships. online fandoms heavily favor mlm pairings over any other kind of pairing (this is just a very neutral, well-observed fact, so I hope no one is bothered by this acknowledgement), but if a male character is not popularly shipped with other men, they tend to fall to the wayside. to be honest, I think it's a little surprising that frank/leo doesn't get more favor; maybe it's because people just don't like to acknowledge the love triangle they were in, but the enemies-to-lovers material that people usually enjoy is right there, you know? jason/leo is fairly popular on tumblr at least, but no one really ships its SoN counterpart percy/frank either, which is interesting.

- part of it probably has to do with the fact that, compared to others, frank does not appear to be a very angsty character. fandoms tend to prefer characters who have tragic backstories and/or highly-animated personalities, and while frank undeniably has his individual struggles, they probably seem quite small compared to the bulk of the principal cast. for reasons like this, a lot of people will likely tell you that they don't find frank (or his powers) very interesting, and prefer to devote their attention to other characters.

- part of it probably has to do with frank (in my opinion) being neglected by HoO books. I wish he had gotten to do so much more! but of the things that he did do, I don't think many people consider them to be very memorable.

- I think there's also no point in ignoring the fact that frank is a chubby POC, and well, these types just aren't often so beloved by fandoms. that his only popular ship is with another POC probably doesn't help matters, to be honest...! it's just a well-documented phenomenon that, unless they're anime characters, POC characters and POC x POC ships tend to be much less popular in online fandoms than their white counterparts (i.e., 2010s star wars comes to mind). of all 10 percy jackson POV characters on ao3 (I'm including will in this figure and excluding apollo, who I consider an outlier), piper, leo, hazel, frank, and reyna make up the bottom 5 in that order in terms of popularity. this page is a great resource for more data on race, queerness, gender, etc on ao3. (unrelated - fascinatingly, percabeth is the 8th most popular m/f ship on ao3 of all time, and jiper is 96th!)

that's just my two cents as to why I think frank doesn't get a ton of attention. I hope no one is upset by my observations, I mean all of them in a pretty neutral, analytical way. to anyone else reading this, here is a reminder that character hate and ship hate is not tolerated on this blog. if you post unkind things, your comments will be deleted and your account will be blocked. we don't need to bash other characters or ships in order to uplift others. save it for your own blogs, please!

thank you for asking and engaging with this blog!

-demigodpolls

[kurogane2512]

Hi, I wanted to ask, how headcannons about Navia and Clorinde with an M!Reader who is an oceanid? And he hates hot days, so there are times when there is a glass on the table and he has ice cubes in it, and the water is actually his body in a liquid state. And he can do everything an oceanid does, turn into liquid, create clones and change shape at will, sometimes trying on their clothes and giving his opinion

Nsfw and Sfw pretty please

A very interesting concept and fun to write, thank you for requesting! I do apologize if Clorinde is ooc, a bit difficult to write her currently but I did my best :)

18+ CONTENT

Game: Genshin Impact

Characters: Navia, Clorinde x Oceanid!Male!reader (separate)

Type: Fluff + Smut (sfw and nsfw hcs, depictions of different sex scenarios, threesome, penetrative sex, creampies etc)

NAVIA

SFW

She finds you very interesting and fun to be with. The ability to take any shape must be useful, she thinks. Honestly very curious about what all you can do, and how you can use this power in different scenarios. She adores your true Oceanid form and loves it when you transform into cute little creatures.

She wonders if you secretly follow her or are just near her by transforming into some inconspicuous form that blends into the environment. Playing hide and seek with you must be so fun and challenging, you keep her on her toes and given how much she loves exploring around, both of you get along very well.

Of course, she also cares for you and is extra attentive to your special state. How do you sweat? Do you actually even sweat? Do your clothes not get wet? Can you melt into a puddle whenever flustered? Oh, she wants to find out so many things. At the same time, your ability is very useful for Spina di Rosula and helps them do their assignments more efficiently.

NSFW

Navia's curiosity knows no limits, of course it's extended to how you do sexual activities. At your first time, she wanted to give you a handjob and blowjob to see how your dick reacts and how your cum is, if anything about your behavior is different than humans. She finds it very intriguing and downright hot how you can control the length and girth of your dick, she just knows she's in for a time of her life.

She surprisingly loves messy sex. Don't be surprised when she wants you to make clones of yourself and fuck her with each of them. 1 or even 2, she'd take them all. She wants to be filled up and feel you in every corner of her body. Both of her holes and mouth, plug them with your cocks and cum inside her. She wants to feel your cum reaching her womb, she loves that feeling.

"Hey, Y/n.... Make clones of yourself!" she says while being pinned on the bed as you pound into her. Surprised at the requet, you try to deny saying it could be overwhelming but she wants it- no, she needs it. So you comply and do what she wants~

Navia wants a family so she will be very much into breeding. And she's especially interested to see how a baby between a human and oceanid would be. But it's not only that, the main reason is she simply loves you so much. Pound into her sopping cunt with your girthy cock and fill her up to the brim. She's a teaser at first, but she loves it when you take control.

CLORINDE

SFW

She also finds your ability pretty convenient. You are a huge help in hunting and while she doesn't express it much, she also finds your animal forms cute. She actually has good understanding of your form and may sometimes mentally compare you to Furina, finding the contrast adorable.

You tease her a lot, all to see her break her composed demeanour and become flustered for once. Considering your special nature, she also makes you become her sparring partner a lot. She says it's because you are stronger and have unique abilities that give her a good match, but she secretly just likes being with you.

NSFW

What kind of teasing? Well, you love getting her wet. I mean, who can blame you? Just look at her damn shirt! She could be walking down the street when you decide to downpour on her and she's soaked in a second. Then you come rushing to help her change her clothes, giving you the excuse to see her breasts through her soaked clothes and also pick her up bridal style- which she usually doesn't let you but this is an exception.

When it comes to sex, she was particularly cautious at first. Not curious but more so vary of your form, just what kind of things can you do to her? She doesn't want to think about it but she's also looking forward to it all so much. She won't be the one to suggest new things to try, but she will do whatever you suggest as she trusts you.

Sex with your clones? No, she didn't even think about it. She's already overwhelmed enough with how deep your cock reaches and how girthy it becomes on command. You would be the one to bring it up- actually you'd already make clones and stand around her while she's seated on the bed.

"You- what?! The audacity to even-!" she protests but she's soon moaning out so loud as your clones take her from all holes. She forgets why she was against it at first, the pleasure is just too good.

She also likes bath/shower sex, especially since you take her by surprise during them a lot. Imaging she's taking her regular morning shower and all of a sudden the droplets on her body start vibrating, she becomes defensive at first but soon realizes it's you. And then you are standing in front of her under the shower, wasting no time to pick her up and thrust your dick inside her.

[zootopiathingz]

If you really think about it, the ship where Alastor would be involved in that would most likely be canon so far would be Charlastor.

I mean, he despises Lucifer and sees Vox as not worth his time, so he's not gonna be throwing himself all over them anytime soon. Nearly everyone he interacts with besides the three women he's friends with, he's either indifferent, respectable or hostile to, but towards Charlie? This man has allowed her to touch him without permission, stated multiple times that he has faith in her beliefs and even handed her his source of power. Twice.

I'm aware he's doing all this with some underlying motive, but you can't deny he won't do all this for just anyone. I really can't imagine him all comfortably curled up in Angel's bed or getting handsy with Lucifer (He wipes his hands after touching him, man really doesn't like him at all). I support all ships with Alastor but if we're looking at this at a canon perspective, Alastor interacts with Charlie the most and will continue to interact with her as the show goes on, it's more possible to happen in a sense with Alastor.

Plus with all the romantic cues the show has (Unintentionally?) given so far, with the part where both Charlie and Alastor are laying on the heart shaped pillow but Charlie falls off the bed while Alastor remains on top off it, it seems that there could be a very small possibility that there might be an unrequited crush on Alastor's part.

Yeah, it's a stretch, but hey, he didn't have to lay in that bed. He could have stayed standing, looming over Charlie to show that he might be helping her but he still sees himself as above her and in control of the situation. But! Someone still animated him on that bed! They still animated him on that heart shaped pillow right beside Charlie! They didn't have to, but they still did and my minds still reeling after that fact.

No because you’re absolutely correct here.

Out of any of the characters in the series for Alastor to end up with, if he were to have a romantic subplot of any kind, it would be Charlie. They have the most potential together as a pairing and there have been so many little hints and visual cues that I’m honestly shocked that a romance plot isn’t where their relationship is going.

I genuinely cannot see Alastor ever engaging in anything romantic or physical with Vox or Lucifer in any way. And whenever I say that people like to excuse me of hating gay ships (which I clearly don’t. I am queer, and I love seeing queer ships that actually make sense and have good chemistry, and not just because they’re gay). It’s because he canonly hates men and is much kinder towards women—except for Vaggie lol. Yes, ship Alastor with whoever you want. It’s not my place to tell you if your ship is bad or not. I honestly don’t care because it’s your opinion and as long as you’re having fun with it, that’s all that matters!

But like anon is saying here, if we’re looking at it from a canon viewpoint, let’s think about it. Again, Alastor clearly doesn’t like men and can’t even be bothered to shake Lucifer’s hand without being disgusted. There have been three women who could be potential love interests. First is Mimzy, which I can see there may have been some flirtation here and there in the past, or even an unrequited crush on her part. But with her basically using him to get her out of trouble all the time, I can’t see them going beyond their on-and-off friendship. Then there’s Rosie, who he’s obviously very comfortable around and lets her touch and grab him as she pleases—which he wouldn’t let slide with any male characters in the show. And the Radiorose ship is cute I admit, but to me they’re a pair of gossip buddies who would maybe pretend to be in a relationship if needed, but otherwise their feelings don’t go any further than platonic.

And so that leaves us with Charlie. When I first watched the pilot I absolutely assumed they were going to have some kind of slow burn, not only because the idea of the princess of Hell and this feared Radio Demon falling for each other is so intriguing, but generally just the way they acted with each other. In like a span of eight minutes they were happily dancing together, with Alastor calling her one of a kind, tossing her around and making improvements to her dream hotel.

You can imagine how surprised I was when I found out they weren’t canon and weren’t going to be in the actual show. Like, I was legit going “🤨🤨🤨” and this was before I was even in the fandom lmao

And thank you so much for mentioning that scene in her bedroom because…

What is this. What do you mean the mfs making this show drew out this scene, carefully looked at every detail for the final product, and went “yup👍” if there wasn’t supposed to be something more going on here???

Like seriously if you’ve never watched this episode and you saw these two frames, what exactly would you assume is going on here? Be honest with me

But ya know, charlastor “isn’t canon” (so they say🙄) so the animators here were def trolling us lol

[dropintomanga]

Pure Kindness Changes Everything - Skip and Loafer

"You know, Shima-kun. I'm the kind of person who trips up a lot. But that makes me a pro at brushing myself off and jumping back up!"

"Yeah. That's just who you are."

After hearing so much about the anime and the fact that it won the 2023 Magademy Award for Best Picture, I had to finally get in on Misaki Takamatsu's Skip and Loafer. I will say that this is such a psychologically compelling series that reflects the actual mental health of teenagers who are trying to navigate life through adolescence. And more importantly, it's about how life can change for the better when certain people come into your life when you let them.

The story is about a young girl named Mitsumi Iwakura, who has aspirations of being a politician as an adult to help Japan. She's a country girl who moves to Tokyo to attend a well-known high school there. Mitsumi's first day of school starts off in bad fashion as she arrives late due to a lack of exposure to city life, but meets a fellow male classmate named Sousuke Shima along the way. Mitsumi is noted to be a clumsy girl and it immediately shows throughout the first chapter. But underneath her clumsiness lies a heart that doesn't waver and believes in the best of people. The story focuses on Mitsumi's high school tenure and how she begins to leave her mark on her classmates, especially Shima, who becomes her main romantic interest.

The power of Skip and Loafer lies in Mitsumi making her presence for the following people.

Yuzuru Murashige - A very popular and pretty girl who, despite her looks, does not like being around the popular kids. Murashige meets Mitsumi at a karaoke outing. When Mitsumi feels a little overwhelmed from her first actual outing with friends in a city environment, Murashige was there to help her out. Mitsumi's pureheartedness gets to Murashige and she becomes the first real friend of Mitsumi's.

Mika Egashira - The opposite of Murashige in that she tries to be popular in any way possible. She has a lot of insecurities about how she wants to be perceived by people. Egashira starts off as a love rival to Mitsumi for Shima's attention. But over time, Egashira starts to understand why Shima and Mitsumi are perfect for each other. She then becomes a person willing to fight off her fears and support Mitsumi as best she can.

Makoto Kurume - A complete introvert who loves books. She tries to join a extracurricular club to make friends, only to run into Mitsumi and Shima. While afraid of the two at first, Kurume becomes fascinated over how the two can get along despite having very different personalities/interests. She happily becomes Mitsumi's friend after and would later form a close friendship with Murashige despite the latter's extroverted nature.

Tokiko Takamine - A student council member who dreams of being the student council president. She comes off as someone who tries to organize everything to a meticulous degree. However, one situation with Mitsumi causes her to change perspective and realize that it's okay if everything doesn't go according to her plans.

Nao - Mitsumi's aunt and caretaker in Tokyo. She's a transgender woman who has a complicated relationship with Mitsumi's family members. Once in despair when she was growing up as a young man, Nao found herself through Mitsumi's love before moving to the big city to chase her dreams.

Sousuke Shima - The big one. He's a typical handsome boy type who appears calm and confident, but keeps his distance when people get too close to him. However, seeing Mitsumi do her thing makes him realize that she has something that he himself lacks - an ability to move forward from whatever pain comes their way. Hence the attraction begins. Shima also has a complicated past where he feels that he always does what people asked him to do.

What I love and appreciate about Skip and Loafer is how every character's flaws are in full display and how they try to make relationships work despite them. What's even better is Mitsumi's comedic and/or kind timing in ensuring those flaws aren't the end of the world for them. One of my favorite moments in the story is when Shima looks at Mitsumi being excited about school festivals. Mitsumi said she needs to be more collected like Shima, but Shima thinks to his head that Mitsumi is the more collected one and laments his inability to move forward compared to her. Mitsumi then notices that Shima is down and gives him a bunch of senbei crackers to cheer him up.

Teen mental health is considered to be in a bad state. There's so many interventions out there and most have been failures. A big problem is that the therapeutic solutions are all handled by adults who think they know best. They want to help, but don't know how. What's worse is that adults often let teens have much say in how they want to be better when depression and anxiety rear their ugly head.

In Skip and Loafer, while the teens do struggle with whatever is bothering them at times, they are more resilient than adults think. They're smart enough to ask for help. It also helps that the help focuses on their strengths and Mitsumi is a big part of that. Sure, weaknesses are addressed for some characters, but there's a sense of empowerment that's unlocked after beneficial encounters. All the characters rely on one another to better understand themselves and others.

Teens want agency, to face their fears, and help those around them. Skip and Loafer is a journey that highlights this. But the grand message of this manga is that if you're a teenager who's trying to find their place amidst societal standards and are failing at it, change is possible. Maybe you are going through something, but damn it, you deserve more than just coping skills. You deserve to find your strengths and be more than just a victim. Another message the manga provides is the importance of taking things slow to really get the best out of your life at the present moment. Every character in this manga grows in their own way at a slow yet reasonable pace.

I have considered Mitsumi to be someone who's out of the norm due to being born outside of what's in the box. Because of this, she was much-needed change that actually helps. And in mental health care, I think we need non-fictional folks like her to show what great mental health in teenagers should look like.

I absolutely recommend Skip and Loafer for anyone who wants a fun and insightful read on teenage life.

[piracytheorist]

Episode 36 reactions!

I don't think one single minute passed this episode without me bursting out in laughter XD

I will get what interesting details I can, though! And here we have soap opera male character who has a Betrothed in the West. Interesting! Why did they separate, and how did she end up in Westalis, or he in Ostania? Did she defect and is waiting for him to join her? I need the full context, Berlint in Love!

Looks like one of the things that make Becky rush to be a grown-up is how she can't wait to have romantic feelings and relationships. Gurl, you're six. Pick up a doll or a ball.

The way the next scene was shown (hilarious) it looks like it was Anya who first picked up the phone, and didn't even make a sound before Becky started off her rant. Picking up the phone as a kid is quite a responsibility!

The music suddenly went full humor shoujo there XD

I love how Martha is already onto Becky.

She's like "Yo maybe reel it in a little"

The way all three of them are in completely different wavelengths is hilarious. I guess Twilight, the honey-trap master, sees Becky as the girl she is and cannot imagine she'd ever have such passionate imaginings with him.

The hell, though. I've met my favourite actor from up close in a convention and that was pretty much my reaction while being close to him. I feel Becky but someone needs to tell her of this thing called parasocial relationship--

WHAAAAAT

I had my eyes glued to the screen for this. It's definitely not surprising that the Blackbells would hire such an experienced bodyguard for Becky, but it's very interesting how it was pointed out to us! I wonder what we'll get to see next with her! (reminder: anime only!)

Becky really thinks she lives in a shoujo story doesn't she XD

I mean, Anya thinks she lives in a Spy Wars story so it's not that surprising XD

I love how in the "new" family photo Wiesel is added in front of Bond!

This episode is full chaos and I love it.

Seriously, the way Anya's powers work for her character is amazing. Usually, we'd get to see those imaginings even if she didn't have telepathy. But since she can see them with us, she gets a fair place as - almost - an audience proxy. And I mean, yeah, why wouldn't Anya be excited at the idea of super tasty food all of the time (even when papa is super busy), not having to do chores, and having fun family outings all of the time?

Completely different wavelengths, I tell you. How does this show make me love misunderstandings XD

And then a fourth wavelength is added and it's just! You don't know where to begin!

Poor Bond was heartbroken that Becky didn't notice him! Poor boy!

I find it really funny that this episode happened now, just a little after we got heavy hints that Loid is falling hard for Yor, and Becky is still like "I will win his heart with my six-year-old charm!"

If you count Bond dealing with getting rejected, that's five different wavelengths in one single screencap. No-one knows what's going on, not even Anya the telepath or Twilight the master spy.

Those are not the family teacups! Interesting choice. Also Becky's face, yeah that's exactly how I was when approaching my favourite actor for my photo shoot with him. I was smiling from one ear to the other, though XD

Also, I remember getting sent manga screencaps with Loid in such a cardigan! And I guessed right that it would be a beige one! I mean, it's a pretty common colour for a grandpapa cardigan, but has he maybe worn this before?

I wonder how he'd react and adapt if he knew Becky is having a crush on him. Like, what would he do? He'd definitely avoid anything inappropriate for all the obvious reasons, but here he's trying to pull back because he thinks Becky is getting suspicious of him XD

Send this to a friend without context and ask them to guess what the actual fuck is going on here. This is Misunderstandings: the Right-Before-Holidays Special.

Pure Chaos and it just

keeps

going.

This is exactly what I signed up for when I watched the very first episodes and was like "please tell me the entire show is like this"

Poor Yor, though. Her very first instinct was to blame herself and think of herself as incompetent. I guess old habits die hard.

Simp alert.

YEAH DEFINITELY NOT SCREAMING AT THIS

Seriously, though! She remembers what he told her there (though, weren't they supposed to repeat the conversation the next day?) and I hope she remembers how vulnerable he made himself with her.

OH BOI I DON'T SHIP OFTEN BUT WHEN I SHIP. I SHIP.

LOID BROUGHT YOR'S COAT WITH! MY GOD!

I mean! This isn't supposed to be a twiyor-centric episode and yet!

BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T RICH AS A KID AND THEN YOUR CHILDHOOD WAS VIOLENTLY RIPPED AWAY FROM YOU 😭😭

If you thought I wouldn't grab even this opportunity to make this angsty, well, you were wrong

The highest prize in the hammer competition thingy is... a q-tip?

We stan. Everything for the ultimate q-tip.

Becky sees Loid's ._. face and she's like

The way he said that "Yoru-san" there, though! This was the cherry on top of this entire hilarious part!

It was weird to see there was an entire small part on Nightfall, considering we haven't seen her in the entire season. However.

WHO THE FUCK IS THIS. WHY IS HE WATCHING THEM LIKE THAT.

(again, anime only here)

And I'm like, whoa. That's a very suspicious guy thrown in the middle of a filler part (I was told this is anime original) and not shown again. Since the next episode is the last of the season, I assume we'll see him again in that one?

I remember that in episode 20, when Loid is in the hospital, we see a moment from afar with a moving shadow, like someone was watching them. I noticed it on a rewatch and up until now I thought that was Nightfall. But now?

Seriously, though, are they not noticing him??

What he doin

I love how Handler said she doesn't want to overwork her agents... I wonder if she says anything relevant in the manga but I dare not look into the chapter after the one with Becky XD I'm guessing she actually took to heart the reprimand from HQ to be more lax with her agents.

Nightfall shows an almost audacious level of self-confidence in front of her boss... and Handler doesn't deny it. She trusts her and actually thinks the same - that Nightfall is probably the only one capable of handling Twilight's missions.

Anyway, Nightfall is going all "Senpai will notice me" and I'm like

ADDITIONAL CRUISE FOOTAGE???? 👀👀👀👌👌

Another hopeless suitor, Nightfall goes like "Did you spot any flaws in that Briar woman yet or" having no idea he was looking at Yor like the yearning simp he is <3

Nightfall being all "Pick me. Choose me. Love me." and then Twilight is like "Wow she did all of that hard job while I was gone. Guess she deserves the leftover souvenirs."

Like. I'm crying laughing over this. He didn't even think about getting a souvenir for her, not even as a cover. Nightfall couldn't be more hopeless.

And then she gives him that look

And the little hope she didn't even have is thrown out the window.

I love how Twilight turns around in shock and goes like "Why is glaring at me like that?!" because you idiot you gave her "leftovers"

Like I know he thinks they're not supposed to actually connect as friends but still. For a master spy he's so dense XD

They do kinda make you feel bad for her, though. She is trying really hard, and it would be hypocritical to blame her social awkwardness when we're here shipping Mr. Emotional Constipation and Ms. Naivete Personified. She would have actually been sympathetic if she wasn't so aggressive towards Yor (and in her mind, Anya too).

Anyway. Very funny and unhinged episode but there's only ONE EPISODE LEFT. I'M NOT READY FOR THE HIATUS 😭😭

[bestanimatedmovie]

Revenge of the Underrated

15. Help! I'm a Fish vs Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs

Vote in the other polls!

Propaganda:

Help! I'm a Fish

"It's a Danish movie from the early 2000s, so it already has that uncanny valley feel of being unfamiliar to the average American viewer, and is almost entirely 2D animated with 3D only used to help instead of being the main medium. It's about 3 kids that stumble upon this scientist's lair and the youngest of them, Stella, accidentally drinks a potion that turns her into an aquatic animal (a starfish for her) thinking it was Kool-Aid (or lemonade, depending on the dub). Her brother, Fly, throws her into the ocean not realizing that the starfish was his transformed sister and he and his cousin, Chuck, drink the potion (a flyfish and a jellyfish respectively) so they can search for her in the ocean. Along the way, they accidentally drop the potion into the sea which gives sentience to a pilot fish and shark, the main villains. They then start to administer the potion to any fish they find.

I heard about the movie from a Youtube review and then watched it for myself that night. It was super fun and I could totally see this being a fever dream movie from some unsuspecting 8 yo. Part of the reason I say that is because the movie isn't afraid to have its dark moments. Fly gets slashed by a crab and almost DIES. Chuck has to do a risky mission in order to get Fly and Stella back to the scientist's lair so he can turn them back. Stella admittedly didn't do much, but she's 4, she gets a pass. She makes a seahorse friend, so that's good. The parents of the kids track down the scientist in his lair and confront and are ready to beat him up before he manages to show them the video of Stella turning into a starfish (the scientist planned to drink the potion on camera to prove it works, but forgot he had to get the antidote, leaving the potion alone and getting Stella's transformation on camera). There's even a moment where you think Chuck's mom straight up (accidentally) stomped on Fly's fish body before you find out it was just a stuffed fish and Fly is a human again.

As for the villain, he was a fun little sleezy villain, immediately creating a dictatorship with his newfound intelligence (he had a whole song about it). And Fly uses that against him by tricking him into drinking more of the potion to become smarter. Unfortunately, the potion doesn't just give fish human intelligence, it MAKES them human, and the last you see of the villain is him drowning and floating away as a half-fish, half-man igor. Horrifying but so, so awesome.

The animation is spectacular, the voice acting is great in both English and Danish (plus Chuck is voiced by one of the dudes from Breaking Bad), and with actual peril for the main characters (I forgot to mention that they would be stuck fish if they didn't take the antidote in the next 24 hours). I'm definitely going to find a CD of this movie to show/traumatize my future kids + niblings. "

Really cool animation, really interesting storyline and fun songs that stick to your brain like a fever dream

Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs

Red Shoes is a Snow White retelling that features a plus size princess and teaches that it's who a person is on the inside that matters. It contrasts Merlin, the male lead, who is normally conventionally handsome but cursed to be a "hideous" (actually quite cute) dwarf, a form he's desperate to escape, with Snow White/Red Shoes who is normally an adorable plus sized princess (ie not the traditional beauty) who is trapped by necessity in the form of a thin traditional princess, a form that she's incredibly uncomfortable with. It's ultimately about being your true self, loving who you are, and looking past appearances to find the beauty that lies within. Also, Patrick Warburton is the magic mirror.

It's an adorable, sweet movie that deserves more people to know about it! It was so fun and funny that after I watched it the first time, I turned around and immediately rewatched it with my husband (like he came in during the last 5 minutes, and we immediately started it over).

[aurorawest]

I finished The Mars House last night and have been trying to gather my thoughts beyond ADJFAWEHDHA; and AHHHHHHHH. Let's see how this works out.

In a lot of ways this is a pretty typical Natasha Pulley book, which makes you love complicated people who have done bad things, possibly for good reasons and possibly not. The love interest is to all appearances a xenophobic nationalist, but you better believe I loved Gale pretty much immediately.

In other ways this book is different from her past work—obviously there's the far future setting, but it's pretty clear that Pulley wanted to Say Something about gender with The Mars House. This book is a response to and shots fired at the terf ideology and it is not at all subtle about it. And of course, it's a Natasha Pulley book, so there's still empathy for the far-future Martian terfs.

So I would definitely call it the most...political? of her books, which for me was not at all a bad thing. It has everything that I love about Pulley novels—her gorgeous use of language, her ability to wring beauty and pathos out of the small and ordinary, the gay pining, the morally dubious main characters. I've seen reviews say both that the science is ridiculous and that the book is hard science fiction, and I would come down on the side of the science probably being a bit ridiculous, since it's definitely not hard science fiction (lol at the reviewers who are throwing that term around and not knowing what it means). I actually have no idea if the science is plausible or not and I honestly don't care, because that's really not the point of the book.

Anyway, now I'm just going to list things. Doing a read more for spoilers! And I'm not joking, I'm going to spoil the whole book under here so really, if you haven't read it and you care about that, don't keep reading.

The worldbuilding was so good. I mean, this is one of Pulley's strengths, but I had wondered how it would stack up in a sci fi novel versus her historical fiction. As usual, everything was so visceral and textured. Tharsis and Songshu feel like real places I could visit.

THE MAMMOTHS OMG OMG. When they decided to ask the mammoths for help pulling up the gravity train, I almost jumped up from the couch yelling (I would have, but I couldn't disturb my cat who was on my legs). The entire idea of communicating with mammoths and studying mammoth society almost made me cry. Having spent even a tiny amount of time around elephants in the wild, all of that rang 100% plausible. And true in my heart.

I need a sequel where River and January go to Alpha Centauri to talk to the aliens that the Penglai mission is going to find there.

I'M ABOUT TO SPOIL THE ENTIRE BOOK SO DON'T READ ANYMORE IF YOU DON'T WANT THAT.

Speaking of River, yeah I guessed that "Aubrey" was actually River. The clues were well done and I felt smug when I was right.

But!! I actually thought River knew more than they did! A literal chill went up my back when River revealed they had NO IDEA AUBREY WAS LITERALLY IN THEIR ROOM WITH THEM.

The scene in River's bathtub had me screaming crying throwing up.

Is Natasha Pulley working through something re: waifish orphans? I knew Yuan was going to end up being adopted into House Song within pages of their (his?) introduction.

I love that we never find out if River is biologically male or female. I love that January says it doesn't matter and he means that and never tells us.

Speaking of gender abolition, can I have that please for myself.

All of the animals were, as always, a delight. Shoutout to the puffin at the beginning who we never see again, as well as Shuppiluliuma in her basket.

The ancient Mediterranean references littered through this book (see above) were also a delight.

When you think about it, both of Aubrey's consorts fell for River, and that's funny.

The flashes of love between River and Aubrey were devastating.

The haptic implants are a dystopian nightmare and absolutely a realistic prediction of where we're going to end up.

Mori and Daughter!!

[airasora]

I just realized something about King Triton versus Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid.

Obviously Triton and Eric are two completely different people, but the movie actually very cleverly shows this early on in the movie when we first meet Triton and when we first meet Eric.

The very first scene with Triton is basically a concert in his honor; a performance with a song basically singing his glory and while you could argue it's Sebastian being a fin-licker, you can't argue that Triton looks very happy about being praised like this.

Look at this shit-eating grin. This is the face of a man who believes he deserves every inch of respect and adoration shown to him in this concert dedicated to him. Put simply: he's a bit full of himself and, taking into account what happens throughout the movie, he believes he's always right and doesn't make much room for anyone else to argue with him. He has reasons for this, as we find out in the later movies as well, but that's essentially what we already find out in his first scene.

Now, while this technically isn't the first time we see Eric, the scene where Ariel first sees him is when we get to know him better and we see one of the key differences between Triton and Eric.

Eric receives a birthday present in his honor, a statue that looks like him. His reaction to this, let's be honest, really arrogant present is one of, well, confusion or even disgust. He's a bit overwhelmed, says it's too much, but still being polite about it. Clearly, unlike Triton, Eric is NOT full of himself and this gift honoring him in this way makes him uncomfortable.

This is a very basic, clear contrast between the two most important male characters in this movie and the two most important men in Ariel's life. Ariel grew up with a father who had concerts dedicated to him probably all her life, and now she sees another a man, who is also royalty, but behaves like a "normal" man. With the exception of him living in a castle, nothing about Eric is stereotypical royalty.

Ariel doesn't just fall in love with Eric's looks, she falls in love with everything she sees; a man who cares and loves his dog (Ariel is obviously also an animal lover, though a different kind of animals hah), he's playful, doesn't take himself too seriously, and doesn't care for mindless adoration - practically a complete opposite of Triton.

I'm not trying to hate too much on Triton here, but it's interesting how many contrasts is between him and Eric and most of them are fairly subtle, like this one.

[beastabyss666]

The new Mammon and Fizz episode has been released and I wanna put my two cents in.

The palette is oooof........ One of the most "hard to watch" HB episodes. Seriously, hasn't anyone told Vivzie that her colour choices are just utterly failed?

Mammon was simply annoying and cringe, especially considering he's one of the highest "demons". He curses every few seconds, has an Australian accent and is some kind of a rock star(because......because). Oh yeah, he's also a very bad guy, cuz he disrespects women! Also I find it funny that Vivzie said in one of her tweets that she apologizes the fans wouldn't like him, as he's "fat and ugly". In reality, he's just a typical Vivziepop-ish male character, having sharp teeth and eyes without pupils. And his "fatness" is just looking like a Christmas tree with a round body.

Overdetailed backgrounds and sloppy animation, as always. Some moments look reeeeeally stiff. Maybe Vivzie starts drawing easier backgrounds and make characters with less details so the animation was better and faster to produce? Just dreaming.......

The songs are just generic tasteless pop-stuff. Gosh, I just wish they have a better composer cuz it's tiring to hear these cheap pop tunes every time. Maybe get some real rock or something with synthesizer........ I don't know.....

The background characters in this episode look much less like some early Deviantart furry OCs or cosplay freaks, which is a real plus. Take some cuties:

Hee hee goat boy

Hee hee goat girl(kinda accurate to the demonology, love it).

I really like the left amphibia girl, she's so pretty. Also yeah, bg characters really look better than in previous episodes. Almost like they were drawn by someone who actually knows their job well and doesn't make every person look like different art style or different teenager's OC.

Fizz being tired to be a clown for entertainment, having panic attacks, dealing with crazy fans and a shitty boss was honestly a good idea but the final song was just too weak to handle it. If it was done better, it would be really good.

The sigh language kid is cute and it was interesting to see a disabled person being cheered and supported by another disabled person.

Oh wow Viv made another female characters whose entire personality is being bitchy and arrogant(even to each other, though they're sisters they're calling each other whore, bitch etc.). Can't wait for the fanbase to hate these two or lust for them in the worst way possible.

Though there were actually some beautiful and......esthetic frames.

Am I the only one who never understood why Fizzarolli is considered a sex icon in this show? Like, yeah, Mammon said that he'll exploit his "clown employee" in every way possible and it's all for money, but I still don't get the whole "having tons of sex dolls based on him" thing. Who in sanity would buy a sex doll of Fizz? He looks like a stick with limbs and painted face, which is somehow considered sexy by Vivzie or her fans? Wouldn't it be more logical for a woman to be a sex icon? Lots of real women, including teen idols, were sexualized and fetishized for media by their producers and shown as beauty icons. But I just couldn't imagine the same with males. Like, I'm sorry, but to me Fizz who's a circus performer, celebrity and a sex icon is in the same category as Angel Dust who's a porn star, stripper and prostitute at the same time.

I'm very glad there wasn't much Blitzo.

It's funny that this girl looks like a better design for Loona than Loona herself, lmao.

It's actually a progress to see that Vivzie didn't fetishize a romantic relationship between two men and actually showed them as a loving couple which doesn't talk about sex and cocks every five seconds. She actually has put some unexpected effort in it.

Oh wait she didn't—

[lolotheparagon]

Helluva Boss is Hella Sexist to Both Men and Women - Part 1

Just saw a video about Helluva Boss and whether its sexist or not with portraying its female characters and that got me thinking:

Are Helluva Boss' writers misogynists?

No. No one INTENTIONALLY writes misogynistic material unless you're Bruce Timm or Blizzard but what they're writing DEFINITELY COMES ACROSS AS SEXIST because the writers are so busy juggling every plot thread and character arc at once, they forget to write the main fucking characters apart from Blitzo. ESPECIALLY its female characters like Millie, Loona, Stella and Octavia.

You can use good faith arguments until you're blue in the face, but the truth of the matter is treating ALL of their main female characters as vehicles for the male characters' development with little characterisation beyond that IS misogynistic.

Lets start with Millie.

Millie is the most egregious case since she's one of the main employees at IMP yet we barely see Millie do anything other than be Moxxie's wife or a killing machine. And the fact her only s1 episode "where we see her family " plot getting sidelined for a Moxxie plot is unbelievable. Millie is by far the show's most promising character you can write mountains of stories about. But instead the show makes her a crazy lovable girlboss TM without any goals or aspirations and only exists as Moxxie's support system. Shes fine if shes meant to be a side character but shes in a main ensemble cast and you CANT have one of your main 4 characters be just the cool badass wife who can benchpress a tractor. That's fine for a tumblr art post, not for a character in a professional episodic animated tv show

Loona is supposed to be 21 or something yet she acts like every surly teenager who abuses her adoptive father Blitz, who's done nothing but love and cherish her. Yet she always beats him up whenever Blitz is merely in her vicinity. And so far we havent got an episode or even A SCENE where Loona and Blitz just sit down and unpack everything. That one flashback of Loona being from a hellhound orphanage/pound wouldve been so interesting to explore as a full episode, but it was only set up so Blitz can have a panic attack. So, much like Millie, Loona's character arcs and plotlines get shifted aside for more dumb scenes and Brandon Rogers references. Loona doesn't even change her attitude towards others throughout the series so far and remains as sardonic and bitchy as ever, cos heaven forbid we have our characters develop. Fans wont buy our overpriced merch of our furry waifu otherwise.

Octavia only exists in the story to make Stolas look like the most wholesome dada so the fans will completely forget hes in an unhealthy power-imbalanced relationship with Blitz, a lower class imp, purely for sex but then grows romantically attached to which Blitz adamantly refuses to see it that way. (Stolas also has imps as servants which he treats with apathy or contempt so already sets a bad precedent) but circling back to Octavia, Stolas claims to love his daughter very much but we've never shown that often BUT STOLAS DOESNT EVEN CARE ABOUT OCTAVIA UNLESS SHES IN ACTUAL DANGER COS HE GETS DISTRACTED BY HORNY BLITZY OR IS TOO IMCOMPETENT TO DO ANYTHING PROACTIVE

In Loo Loo Land, he learns to be more considerate of her feelings and comforts her after ignoring her throughout the whole episode. What happens in the next Stolas and Octavia episode? Octavia gets dismissed by Stolas AGAIN, this time by his ex-wife, when she asks about a star event THEY PLANNED TO GO TO, so she runs away to the human world to see it for herself. And yet who consoles her at the observatory scene? FUCKING LOONA OF ALL PEOPLE! WHY CANT STOLAS GO UP THERE, FINALLY FINDING HER AT LAST AND TALK TO HER? YKNOW THE WHOLE FUCKING POINT WHY STOLAS IS IN THE HUMAN REALM TO BEGIN WITH??! HE'S WAITING AROUND IN A SITCOM AUDIENCE WHILE BLITZO DOES HIS FAILING ATTEMPTS AT COMEDY

Octavia's own feelings about her relationship with her dad, how her parents divorce has affected her, her relationship with her mother Stella, ITS ALL SIDELINED for more self-indulgent Stolitz shipping. I feel so sorry for Octavia, she deserves better. She should be adopted by Blitz, he's more an actual father figure than Stolas.

And finally, Stella. Stella is an interesting case cos I have no qualms with having a bitchy abusive wife villain for Stolas to fight back against. Im totally fine with Stolas standing up to Stella and finally divorcing that bitch. But I really wish Stella had more presence throughout the first season, constantly bringing up tension and stress to piss off Stolas, since she likes tormenting him so much. Cos piling all of her insults and cartoonishly over the top bitchiness in one episode (The Circus) was too much and with how that episode woobified Stolas already, it only added to the problem. Nothing inherently wrong character-wise with Stella, shes established as a unrepentant bitch and stays that way. She is ultimately a vehicle for Stolas' character development but shes not a main character so its fine. The story is not about her.

But I find it pretty rich that the show treats being Loona being abusive to her father figure for no good reason like a joke, whereas Stella's abuse of Stolas about to slap him is portrayed as a serious, shocking moment.

So in conclusion, Helluva Boss DOES push several negative stereotypes of women. The one-note girlboss wife who's plotlines always get shafted in support of the male characters (Millie), the teenager who's desperate for paternal love from her father, leaving her bored and neglectful but the father in question does some bare minimum effort and that's suddenly okay in her eyes (Octavia) and the double standard that abuse is funny when a woman is hitting a man (Loona and Blitzo). Except when it isnt (Stella and Stolas)

This show is a fucking mess: part 1

(I will elaborate on the male characters treatment in another post. If I forgot anything or made a mistake, let me know, im always open for feedback!

And yes, I'm aware I omitted Verosika Mayday from this list because she's ultimately harmless as a character and only exists as a rival to Blitz. Also she only appeared in two episodes so I dont have much to say about her.)

[bluegekk0]

Who else is part of the Alphabet Mafia in Dirtmouth?

Ooooh I like this one, I'll take this as an opportunity to talk about all the characters in Dirtmouth since it's pride month.

I'll ofc start with the Vyrm family before I get to other characters.

(under a read more cause it's looong)

Vyrm - as I mentioned before, I see him as demi-gay. He wasn't even aware that he was gay until he formed a close bond with Grimm, so I think it makes sense. Plus all those experiences of demi people that who describe their attraction as "suddenly clicking" that I read, match how I see Vyrm realizing he has feelings for Grimm. He definitely one day suddenly thought to himself that Grimm is really really hot and he started noticing things about Grimm's body that made him feel things, blushing whenever Grimm made eye contact with him, and in general just finding his mind wander in quite inappropriate directions. That was what put him on the (slow) journey of self-discovery, since he hasn't actually felt that way about anyone else before, even WL, because as it turns out, he just didn't feel that way towards female beings. And as for gender identity, he's cis and uses he/him pronouns. Born male and has never seen himself as anything else, though he's not that rigid in regards to how he presents.

Grimm - bisexual with a male preference, 100%. He had years to experience casual relationships of all kinds, and he definitely found himself attracted more to male partners. He did have a more serious female love interest years back, though it didn't work out. As for gender identity, he does present as male, use male pronouns and so on, though he has no issue acting in a more feminine way and does so quite often. So it's safe to say that he's not as strict with his identity, he's just Grimm. There's also the fact that biologically he's both male and female, as that's how he created his body. I hesitate to use the term intersex for him, as I know it doesn't fit him and I wouldn't want to potentially add to negative stereotypes. The closest thing would be hermaphrodite as it's used in biology (particularly in regard to animals), but I also don't want to use that term because of its negative connotations when used to describe a person, even if it matches what he has going on better. So, in short. He's both, and he chooses to present as male. His pronouns are he/him but he'd have no issue being referred to as she or they, he just doesn't use them himself.

Lewk, the twins - they're too young to even begin comprehending identity and attraction, and consequently I haven't thought about it either. What I can say is that being raised in a household where gender norms practically don't exist would help them be more comfortable with whatever identity they eventually feel fits them best. And as a little side note, I think it would be really cute if Lewk, who was raised very sheltered, didn't realize for the longest time that having two dads wasn't a universal experience. Not that he'd react negatively to opposite-sex relationships, I think he'd just be a bit confused. As for pronouns, they use those associated with their birth sex, so he/him for Lewk and Milo, and she/her for Asta.

Hornet - I definitely see her as a lesbian. A lesbian with no game, so no one even knows since she's not very open about it either (though Grimm can definitely tell hahaha). I definitely think she notices female bugs far more often, but she has no idea how to approach them and maybe even rejects the feeling. Not because she's against having a girlfriend, she just struggles with accepting close relationships in the first place out of fear that she'll lose them. And for gender identity, she is female, though very gender non conforming. She dresses and behaves in a way that makes it ambiguous, but she feels comfortable referring to herself as female. The only term she's uncomfortable with is "princess", but that has more to do with what such title entails rather than it being feminine. She uses she/her pronouns.

Holly - they're aroace to me, they show no interest in relationships despite becoming more open about their emotions. If someone flirted with them, they wouldn't know how to respond, and I think they find the idea of intimacy as something nice, but not for them. They're much more interested in their hobbies and the familiar bond with the rest of the household. As for gender identity, they use they/them pronouns, non-binary or agender would probably be the closest matches. Biologically they're neither, their body is made of void, and void has no distinction between male or female. In regards to how they present, they tend to copy the looks and mannerisms of those around them, so it varies significantly.

Zote - in regards to attraction it's a bit complicated. I feel like he'd talk about female bugs that way because of that whole "a knight and a maiden" idea, so you'd assume he's straight, but I could totally see him slipping up and calling a male bug handsome and showering them with compliments about their appearance. In reality I think he might be a very confused asexual, though a closeted bisexual could also be a possibility. For now I keep him as unlabeled. As for his pronouns, he uses he/him only, and gets quite upset at being called anything else.

---

Ok, now for the side/minor characters.

Brumm - he's gay, he had a male partner and adopted children in the past, and since then he hasn't shown interest in females. He also presents as masculine, and uses he/him pronouns.

Divine - lesbian (which means that the whole Leg Eater scenario didn't happen in the AU, lucky for him), she has a very strong lesbian wine aunt vibe to me. I can see her using she/they pronouns, even if they present as very feminine.

Ogrim - he's straight, he had a brief relationship with Isma back in the day, and hasn't shown interest in any male bugs since then. He presents as masculine and uses he/him pronouns.

Elderbug - straight. I will say, I don't think the dead friend he mentions was a potential love interest, but I do think he's straight. He uses he/him pronouns.

Cornifer and Iselda - they're partners which suggest that they're straight, but I could see one of them (or maybe both?) being bisexual. She/her pronouns for Iselda and he/him fir Cornifer.

Bretta - bisexual, leaning towards women. She was enamored with Zote for a bit before seeing through his lies, and now has a crush on Hornet. As for pronouns, I quite like the idea of her writing under a fictional, male pseudonym, and if that's the case then she would be fine being referred to as either she, he or they.

Jiji - unlabeled, they might be ace or just not interested in having a relationship right now, and that layer of uncertainty matches her. overall mysterious vibe. Uses she/they pronouns.

Jinn - similarly to Jinn, its preferences are unknown. She uses she/her, they/them and it/its pronouns interchangeably.

Mato - he doesn't live in Dirtmouth but I'll mention him here anyway. I think he's bisexual, though he tends to be a bit secretive so it's not very obvious. He/him pronouns, presents as very masculine.

Quirrel - similarly to Mato, he doesn't live here, but he frequently visits the town to give lessons to the children. He's possibly straight or bi, I haven't decided. And he uses he/him pronouns.

---

And while I'm at it, I'll mention other more important characters here, who don't live in Dirtmouth.

The White Lady - bisexual, I feel like she's the type to not really notice gender in regards to attraction. Perhaps pansexual would be more fitting, but I think the two terms can be used interchangeably and I don't want to get into semantics, so I'll stick to bisexual as the umbrella term. In regards to presentation, the Lady part of the title definitely didn't come from nowhere, so they present as overall feminine, though I do quite like the idea of her using both she/her and they/them pronouns. I could see them referring to themselves as "we" whenever she speaks, and I do want to start using they/them pronouns more often when talking about WL, since I think it matches the character.

Lurien - unlabeled, very likely gay, but he chose to not have a partner so it's a very private matter for him. He wears robes and a mask that completely cover his entire body so his identity is quite ambiguous on the surface, and I like the idea of his voice being just as difficult to describe. That said, he does use he/him pronouns, so that's one of the only clues.

Lemm - possibly an old bitter gay man, or perhaps he's straight. I don't think he ever had a partner so it's difficult to say, and he definitely doesn't talk about it. He/him pronouns.

Tiso - he's straight, I thought it would be pretty funny if he had a bit of a crush on Hornet (completely unaware she wouldn't return the feelings even if she didn't hate him), but because he's awful at expressing it, he just ends up acting like a jerk to get her attention. He/him pronouns, nothing to mention here.

---

There are many more characters in the AU that I haven't mentioned, but they're so minor I haven't even thought about them that much. So these are the ones that I treat as more prominent. As you can see, most of them are queer in one way or another. Seems like the infection turned the bugs gay. Many such cases.

[danaty-consolation]

Okay I am going to respond to this just once, so all the asks and comments about this topic will be ignored from now on.

Everyone is free to think, like and ship whatever they want, canon or fanon is there to make people happy, and everyone should respect each other opinions.

Now, I am going to be brutally honest here.

If we follow what you two say, that means Ryu is coded as bisexual, since she is attracted to women and men.

Ryu never had a positive male view in her life, Ataru, Mendou and her classmates? All perverts towards her. Her father? Had I even had to say how horrible he was in forcing his daughter to act and dress as a male just because his sick dream was having one?

Women are the only gender that see Ryu by who she is, a woman, not because of her body but also because of her as a person. They never tried to abuse her, they mostly showed her only kindness without any ulterior motives contrary to the men in her life.

So guess what? It makes sense for her to have her guard up with Nagisa after what he tried to do with her, even if he was pressured bc of a non-existent time limit it doesn't excuse his actions.

However later on, when they live together he is only respectful to her. No touching or hugging, the only time that that happens is because he is asleep, and he only has seen her changing or almost naked by accident.

But the thing here is that Nagisa is the one that tries to talk to her, and is only because Ryu is scared of him thanks to all the males in her life trying to use her in some way and Nagisa's past actions that make her wary of him. She thinks he is like other men and he deserves it because he acted like one of the men she knows.

Nevertheless, we see him actually being honest with her and respecting her wishes and feelings in the last scenes, ready to leave because he thought she hated him. Something that no men had done to her before.

The bar is in hell but at least Nagisa is trying and Ryu see's this.

He is already a better love interest that Konatsu and Tsubasa of Ukyo in Ranma 1/2.

Yes his introduction was late, but he at least received development with Ryu.

Canon or Fanon don't change a thing in fandoms, people love and support what they like.

And we should all respect each other opinions when they have valid arguments, being facts or preferences.

However, I did need to share my analysis because some people in the Urusei Yatsura fandom only saw the old anime and ova's without reading the manga so they may not know a lot of the context later on with Nagisa and Ryu. Heck, I didn't even expected for David pro to animate the one-night's battle chapters next week!

And if they still don't like it after reading my analysis, well good for them! It's totally understandable and I won't judge them or anything because we have different opinions!

The perfect character with flaws that follow the narrative most perfectly can have people who hate them! Some without reasons and some with valid reasons.

Maybe is because of the design? The personality? Something doesn't make people like them and that is okay!

People are free to block the users or tags, so they can still be happy and not ruin the fun of others.

I will keep loving Nagisa and shipping him with Ryu, because of the last analysis I made, some points I covered in this post, and because my opinion of them is really positive.

We are all grown-ups and if some are not, at least act as one for the fandom and to have a more healthy interaction and feed with everyone.

[seraphjewel]

Star Trek Prodigy Season 2 thoughts

This show is everything I love about Star Trek. It may be produced by Nickelodeon, but it doesn't dumb anything down just because it's "for kids." I love how none of the main characters are humans, which not only takes advantage of being animated to give us cool alien designs, but also acts as a great visual for Starfleet's ideals. It's visually stunning and the writing is superb. It gives a season-spanning story while also making time for those wacky space shenanigans we expect from the franchise. It's funny, it's creative, it's heartfelt, it's emotionally powerful. The season finales for both the first and second season had me in tears.

Aside from adding to the chorus begging people to watch season 2, I'm just going to share some thoughts on this season. I tried so hard to watch it slowly but it's easy to binge. I'm now watching through it a second time. Cut for spoilers.

As a fan of the older Trek shows, I love how much the show clearly loves older Trek. We saw it a lot in season one, but since season 2 has the legacy characters in more prominent focus, it's more obvious. They are written with such loving care, every part of who they are is nailed down perfectly. There are so many callbacks and references and small touches that are scattered in the dialogue and visuals. Amazing Easter Eggs for Trek enthusiasts-- and another reason to go back and watch, to find ones you didn't notice!

This season made me much more interested in Chakotay and Wesley as characters. I was pretty ambivalent toward them both when watching their respective shows. I didn't find Wesley annoying, I just didn't care for him one way or the other. So having him return as this slightly unhinged Time Lord made him so much more appealing to me as a character. The fact that he was willing to go to some extreme lengths in order to get the timeline just right was some fun gray morality. I also liked that he seemed like he wasn't always sure when he was in the timeline. It reminded me of Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy game. And that made perfect sense coming from someone who could jump through multiple timelines just through thought. Wesley was complex, intriguing, and I'm so glad for him and his actor. He deserved it.

In a similar vein, Chakotay was one of the least interesting Voyager crew members to me. This isn't necessarily his fault. He was going up against some pretty big personalities, like the Doctor, Tom, B'Elanna, Seven, and Janeway. I also don't think the writers really knew what to do with his character. But again Prodigy wrote in some depth and complexity. They actually identified what tribe he was from. Watching the episode where the Protostar crew finds him made me want to write fanfic about Chakotay. That's how good they were at making this guy interesting for me! I loved seeing his slow descent into isolation and bitterness; I loved how almost insecure he was at times; I loved how he took command and led the crew. I'm a fan now and I want to go back to watch Voyager for him.

The season also made me a Janeway/Chakotay shipper. I saw the episodes in Voyager where they were feeling things, but personally I'm glad that they never crossed that line. There are way too many stories with female leads that act like they have an obligation to give her a romance, when the same would not be true if the lead was a male. In my opinion, it was better there was no definite love story for Janeway on Voyager since that was going against expectations. As Prodigy season two told its story, I was definitely picking up on strong love vibes between Chakotay and Janeway. I was convinced they were separated lovers, and when they were together they couldn't keep their eyes or hands off each other. It was excellent visual storytelling. I wanted them to be together at the end. For someone who didn't ship them before (I was more into Tom/B'Elanna), I'd say that's a big achievement for the show.

To sum up, I love this show so much! My only request is they try to incorporate Deep Space Nine somehow. #SetCoordinatesforSeason3

[limeade-l3sbian]

That anon you got about straight women liking m/m content while ignoring m/f or f/f pairings... Where to even start...

First of all, I'm a straight woman who doesn't like yaoi/slash/bl/whatever it's called now and never have so I see where you're going. But I understand why so many women prefer m/m overall.

Many women say they enjoy m/m content because it's devoid of gender roles and misogyny. I understand this. I've consumed straight romance (sometimes against my will) and there's so much bullshit in it like I'm sorry. My sister asked me to watch this period drama with her and literally pretty much every pairing starts with the man being sexist or rude in some way to the woman. And they literally bicker most of the time but it's supposed to be "sexual tension" or whatever until at some point they kiss and I guess everything is forgiven. Yay? I don't know what's exciting or good about any of this. This drama somehow managed to make 1800s europe devoid of racism but not sexism, so pretty much every male love interest is sexist in some way. I don't get why women don't write more romance where the males are actually respectful of their gender as a whole. Or perhaps I do and here's comes my other point: many women cannot conceptualize a world where men are actually women-loving.

Seriously, have you ever seen the weird trend of refering to fictional male characters that are actually loving and respectful towards their gfs as male lesbians, or their het relationship "lesbian-coded"? When I was younger, it used to piss me off when women would say they didnt write or draw m/f pairings because they didnt want to deal with sexism and gender roles, I was like "then write a world where men and women are seen as equals!!" But then I started writing myself and it's incredible how fake it will appear to write a male character respectful and loving of his gf AND her gender as a whole. Now I write and draw for myself so I do whatever I want no matter how silly or fake it is, but I would never publish any of that because I don't wanna deal with people telling me "men really don't act this way, you dont know how to write male characters :/" or "Oh I love the male love interest, he's such a malewife!!".

And yes, many gay male romance has them dealing with homophobia, but that's basically them against society/the world. You can tell they are still in it together, and they will choose each other any time even if that means getting ostracized by everyone. With het pairing and sexism is more like man against woman. She has to deal and fight for this man to see her (and perhaps her gender) as capable and worthy of respect so they can have a better relationship. It doesn't seem like they're in it together and the woman has to put all the effort so her man can see the error of his ways.

Why do you think there are many people who joke about how a male character seems to have more chemistry and rapport with another male character (usually a friend or mentor) than his supposed female love interest? Because they're written as equals with interesting traits and a relationship that surpasses many trials, while the female love interest is written as "the woman" - writers will avoid giving female characters interesting traits because they dont think they look good on female characters or believe women dont or shoudnt act a certain way. And believe me, i'm saying this as a woman that's very attracted to female characters - the majority of shows and movies I consume have (a) female main protagonist(s) and I prefer shows that have a bigger female cast. I also get attached to female characters even if they're "badly written" or whatever the fandom says idgf. Ive even watched a lot of those animes and manga that only have female characters, because I have a preference for women in fiction (and real life I guess)

The f/f stuff is another whole issue that it's not very related to this. Most women producing m/m content are straight so they will want to see at least one male in their pairing. F/f can't provide that for obvious reasons. This is like asking straight guys why they don't consume gay male porn if they like lesbian porn so much. It literally makes no sense. These men give the answer of why they like lesbian porn usually as "one woman is hot, two women is DOUBLE the hotness". Think about it like that with women; now they have two men to ogle at.

I had much more to write, specifically about the sexual part (since fanfiction is usually very romance/sex centered) and m/m vs m/f and f/f, but this got too long. Perhaps i'll write a second part.

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[vanveronicango]

okay yall i'm def going to liveblog my soc/crooked kingdom read WEEEEEE (feel free to blacklist '#andie reads six of crows' and '#andie reads crooked kingdom' if you don't wanna be sick of me or see any spoilers)

let me just get some thoughts out from the almost-130 pages i've read so far because i got em!!:

the kaz/wylan parallels already!! like i've read some opinions that they're two sides of the same coin but the fact there was already something before wylan was even introduced... at the end of his meeting with jan, jan says "i do wonder what a boy of your intelligence might have amounted to under different circumstances." this is literally the exact opposite of how he feels about wylan. from what i've seen other readers say, at least, he sees wylan as inherently stupid in his illiteracy, and it doesn't matter that his circumstances were 'perfect', he absolutely doesn't belong to the van eck empire. it's almost like, in this line alone, jan - somewhere subconsciously, at least - wonders what it would have been like to have someone like kaz as a son instead. leigh the things you've already made me feel

kaz's personality. already i absolutely love his characterization: he's a dick, an asshole to those around him, but he also has this snarky, almost silly side where he doesn't feel above occasionally joining in on his dregs' banter, while simultaneously being secretive and completely rigid in his own arrogance. he's both unlikeable and charming, and already he's feeling so layered and developed and interesting. i'm going to be honest: usually i'm not a huge fan of fan-favorite male characters that are dicks with extensive skills and massive egos hiding insecurities underneath. i think it's overdone and i'm not interested in it. but there is something about kaz that just completely flips the trope on its head for me and i can't quite place my finger on why that is but i'll be sure to bring it up when i finally figure it out lmao

BOOK NINA BOOK NINA BOOK NINA. i already absolutely adored her in the show, but only from the bit i've read, book nina is on another level. her work at the white rose, the way she completely shifts in her personality for that work but is also so so confident in who she is. the FLIRTING. the HEARTBREAK when she finally meets matthias again. she is so wonderfully written and such a joy to read

matthias is absolutely breaking my heart fr like... when he was forced to kill the wolves... the way he went from feral animal in the ring to tears... damn. damn. the way he's written it's like he's literally at war with his own mind, just being ping-ponged between sheer, violent rage towards nina interspersed with flashes of... oh her skin is so soft... the dreams about loving her hurt more than the ones where i kill her... he must be so tired :(

the kaz & wylan relationship. i knowwww that he's fully using him and everything he does is a means to an end like I KNOW THAT but the way he defended wylan when the rest of the crows were calling him stupid and less talented :( "hidden depths" "marketable skills" OH MYYYYYYY gosh :(((((((((( their relationship is so special to me already.. like kaz is extremely upfront (well as much as kaz brekker can be lol) to wylan about why he's there ("why do you think i'm keeping you around" "i'm good at demo" "you're passable at demo. you're excellent at hostage") which i actually do appreciate, but right now he's also objectively the only one on wylan's side rn, even if it's all bc of ulterior motives

wesper. OH. OH BOOK WESPER. my absolute beloved already. the way jesper can't stand him. the way wylan doesn't back down when jesper comes at him. their bickering means literally everything to me. am i absolutely heartbroken that he literally called wylan useless? you're damn right i am :((( but man their growth is gonna HIT i can feel it now. i see how different book & show wesper are now (i've heard but actually reading it is a whole other thing) and both are so special to me... it's like alternate universes bless em. i'm so excited to read more of them (they are my favorite couple and i will be commenting on them a lot okay)

i really wonder how this book would be if i had literally zero spoilers BUT. reading wylan say "i'm not useless" when everyone is attacking him for just being there (jesper calling him useless and nina calling him stupid got me feeling a little feral)... he's so used to being belittled and treated like a fool by everyone around him but he still tries :( he still puts his all into helping. he tries to make everyone understand that he should be there and that he is talented at what he does and that he's not useless. i think he's trying to convince himself, too

i'm so excited for more jesper pov. i absolutely love this man and i wanna get into his head gdi that beautiful insane little sharpshooter brain

inej... so far she's giving the p much the same vibe as the show so i don't yet have much to comment here (i just love her. anyone who feels anything less than unwavering adoration for inej ghafa is not to be trusted) EXCEPT honorable mention for the absolute thirst that comes over her watching kaz get half naked and bathing himself. the way she just gazes at the water running down his body and his HANDDDSSSS miss ghafa has a hand fetish confirmed good for her good for her good for her

okay okay that's enough for now, i'll be more specific as i go further but i had to get my thoughts so far out somewhere lol anyways im about to continue reading so i'll see ya in the next post~