#maybe i just like the idea of these two badass women being in love and having a relationship that is soft and fun

[reflectingiridescent]

The Girls' Night Out Job: a story about being known and loved

The Girls' Night Out Job is about badass ladies teaming up to save the day, but it's also about wanting to be known - and how opposites attract. Let's talk about it.

One of my favorite quotes about love is actually by Timothy J Keller, a minister, which I would apologize for, but it's on theme for Leverage so anyway:

To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is...what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.

We see different stages and perspectives on this idea throughout the episode, from Sophie, Parker, Tara - and yeah, even Mattingly and Peggy.

The whole episode, Parker's trying to deal with a little conflict in her relationship with Hardison. They share values, so does it matter that they don't like to do the same stuff in their spare time? Parker's worried enough about it to seek out Sophie.

Meanwhile, Sophie and Tara are working together (whatever their definition of "working together" is, because they've absolutely collaborated before tonight) for the first time and realizing that they do the same job in completely different ways.

Sophie and Tara are two women who are smart and capable, and both love to be in charge. They butt heads because they're both individually so good. Throughout their bickering, we see that they actually work pretty well together.

After spending the whole night working with someone who does exactly what she does (just worse, because Parker's the best in the world), Parker realizes that she likes Hardison because he doesn't like to do the same kind of stuff she does. He accepts her as she is.

She also sees how clearly she and Hardison complement each other. She asks Sophie for help all night, but she's also asking Hardison for help all night.

Meanwhile, we're revisiting the theme of identity. This makes sense because Sophie's conflict around her identity is the reason Tara came to know the team at all.

Parker is friends with Peggy but is struggling with how much she tells Peggy because Peggy doesn't know that Parker is a thief.

Meanwhile, Peggy is living an honest life with wholesome interests, but her date is only pretending to have those interests. Peggy is struggling to find love too!

Likewise, Tara is struggling with exactly what Sophie was struggling with in s2 - Tara is dating multiple people but as aliases of herself. It's played for laughs here because Tara doesn't introspect to the degree that Sophie does, but it matters to Tara.

Tara's really been looking forward to her night with Sophie because that's the time when she gets to be herself with someone who knows her.

Sophie's really been looking forward to her night with Tara because she just needs a little space from her crew. She's just a little lacking in the usual patience she has when she talks to Parker before leaving Nate's apartment. And who can blame her? Nate's been nearing a line this season, not to mention she and Nate had to tell the crew that they're hooking up now. As colleagues. As friends. Obviously. 👀

(As a side note, Nate looks confused when Sophie says she's hanging out with someone tonight. She definitely did not tell Nate who it was, and he doesn't stick around to listen to Hardison talk about Parker maybe having second thoughts. He's totally satisfied being friends with benefits with Sophie. TOTALLY. 🙄)

At the end of the night, Tara hooks up with Mattingly, who does know what she does for a living...and likes a lot of the stuff that she does. Read alongside the conclusion that Parker reaches about Hardison, this is maybe a step in the right direction for Tara.

And Mattingly is very similar to Tara - the DVD commentary points out that he and Tara are supposed to show what Sophie and Parker were like before they met the crew. Mattingly even gets the same "This is my job" line that Tara did in s2. He wants to be paid. And like Tara in s2, he looks a little conflicted when he realizes that Parker is using her theft for good - and the effect that has on people.

And despite talking a big game, Tara has evolved a little since s2. She's happy to use her night with Sophie to help Parker by doing fun spy things. She's also happy to help Parker keep Peggy, a civilian, from being blamed for Mattingly's crimes. Tara pre-crew would not have given a shit unless Sophie called in a favor.

So where does this leave us? This episode suggests that a good relationship is one where people know and love each other, where complementary partners are preferrable to people who are too much alike. After this episode, we see that Parker and Hardison have that down. Tara and Mattingly are maybe looking for that themselves. Peggy's still looking, mostly because she has a penchant for finding thieves as friends and dates (though there's Hurley at the end...👀 who has a similar accidental ability to end up around people committing crimes).

And Sophie...well, Sophie's got all her stuff going on with Nate this season, which is fine, but this episode isn't really about them (no, that's a story for The Lonely Hearts Job). The relationship of hers being explored here? The one with Tara, who knows Sophie, accepts Sophie, and is very, very different from Sophie.

Tara's ideal relationship? Honestly probably someone a lot like Sophie.

"The things we do for friends," muses Sophie at the end of the episode. Sophie, who doesn't know anyone not in the game except for Maggie. Sophie, who therefore must use the word "friend" very preciously. Friendship involves trust, and she voluntarily walks in a world where that does not comes easily. At this point in the show, the crew are her friends. Hell, Nate is her friend.

Sophie needed time to figure herself out, and I think when Tara figures herself out, Sophie will be there for her, like she has for a long time.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hello! What do you think about Natalie, her writing and fandom treatment? I find it fascinating that despite all the evil, she has so many fans, and even those who salt on ML and the Agrestes heavily often portray her as cool and/or sympathetic.

Prior to season five, I had mixed feelings about Nathalie. I like badass female villains, but I don't like women being idiots over men. Those were her two defining traits in season three and four, so my attitude was mostly, "can we please switch her motivation so that I can love her? I really want to love her because, if we remove the romance crap, then she reminds me of Shego and the world needs more Shegos!"

Then season five hit....

I utterly despise Nathalie's season five writing and think it makes her look weak, cruel, and ineffectual. I have no idea why so many people adore her and are excited that she's Adrien's new mom. She is not meaningfully better than Gabriel. In fact, season five Nathalie bothers me more than Gabriel. Why? Because Gabriel is the villain. He's allowed to be villainous. When Nathalie was a villain, the same rules applied. But the show claims that she's good now and yet she does nothing meaningful to stop Gabriel even though she could have.

Nathalie lives in the Agreste mansion, knows all of Gabriel's secrets, and has access to his secret lair. We also see her pin Gabriel to a table, undo his senti commands, and boss him around without any retaliation. He just rolls over and takes it. This is not the setup for a weak willed woman who sits idly by crying woe is me because she has no true power, yet that's basically what Nathalie is in season five. The first part of the final even outright confirms that Nathalie knows Gabriel's ultimate plan:

(A Tsurugi Industries pop-up appears on the screen.) Ad voice: After months of research, Tsurugi Labs have found the antidote– Nathalie: (Swipes the pop-up away.) He's going to finally do it...

So why didn't she find a way to contact the heroes and tell them what was going on? Why did she wait until she was dying to do something? Right after the above line, she grabs her crossbow and goes off to find Gabriel in a moment that made me roll my eyes. It's such blatant pathetic fan service. Only now when Nathalie is too weak to make a difference is she finally allowed to make a token effort to stop the man that she's been babying all season.

If Nathalie was allowed to be the kind of character they wrote her to be, then she would have acted much sooner and to greater effect. For example, imagine if her akumatization was just a ruse to get to the heroes. Once she loses and Gabriel can no longer see what's going on, she calls on the heroes to wait and then tells them everything, offering to help stop Gabriel. That's the kind of shit I'd expect from Nathalie's character.

Instead she just lays around in bed and occasionally pleads with Gabriel to change his mind like in this scene from Intuition:

Nathalie: Gabriel, you may only have a few weeks left like this... and I don't have much more than that. Maybe it's time to stop chasing after the Miraculous and start looking for a solution for Adrien. Make sure he's not alone once we're gone. (Hearing these words, Gabriel's eyes start to fill with sadness. Nathalie places her hands over Gabriel's.) Nathalie: Do it. For Emilie.

Nathalie, you have known this man for literal decades. Why do you expect this to work? Wake up and take charge, woman! Tell Adrien yourself! Help the heroes! Right your wrongs! You are literally dying! What do you have to lose? She honestly comes across pretty hypocritically here because, as she pointed out, they are both actively dying, which will leave Adrien alone, and yet Nathalie also does nothing to prepare Adrien for that. She just wrings her hands and hopes that Gabriel will do the right thing for both of them and I just... GAHHHHH!!!

The only semi-meaningful thing that Nathalie does in season five is undo Gabriel's commands, but that's literally just her maintaining the status quo. It's only there so that the writers don't have to deal with the senti stuff having any real consequences beyond delaying the Adrienette kiss a few episodes. Nathalie isn't trying to free Adrien or get his rings into safe hands before her death. She's just withering away and listening to Adrien talk about Marinette while knowing that he will soon lose everything. It's legitimately upsetting to me.

The anger some people feel about Marinette's actions at the end of the final is how I felt about Nathalie for all of season five and Nathalie is a freaking adult who has known everything for years. Matinette only knows the truth in a context where she can tell Adrien for about two on-screen minutes and that's assuming that Marinette figured out that Adrien is a sentimonster from context clues which she may not have! No one ever explicitly told her the truth and she had a lot of things thrown at her in rapid succession. I would not be stunned if season six reveals that she's still in the dark.

Nathalie is not sympathetic. She has had full agency and knowledge throughout the entire show. She has never been forced to do anything. She is the only peacock wielder to wield it knowing that she would die. She willingly supported Gabriel even when it put Adrien at risk. She outed Adrien's identity in Chat Blanc. She snapped away sentiBug! She's a great villain! She is a piss poor maternal figure.

The final annoying thing about her season five writing is that her "changing sides" makes no sense! She has no idea why the time travel plan failed and her own FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE is that Gabriel will put those he loves before defeating Ladybug (see: Ladybug where Gabriel chose Nathalie over winning). It is such a glaring example of bad writing that it infuriates me! This is the exchange I'm talking about:

Nathalie: (on-call) Gabriel, did it work? Gabriel: No, Ladybug tricked me! She stole the Time Miraculous from me! (Nathalie coughs from her sickness.) You have to help me! Come up with a new plan! Ladybug can’t get away with this! Nathalie: (on-call) You had the Time Miraculous. You could’ve chosen to save Emilie! You could’ve chosen to save me! (coughs) But instead, you chose your obsession with Ladybug and Cat Noir. You're insane, Gabriel!

Please remember that Nathalie has been helping him behind the scenes since the start and is fully aware that every plan he's ever made has failed even though she considered many of those dozens-if-not hundreds-of-plans brilliant.

Gabriel: If it were to fail Nathalie, I could never forgive myself. Nathalie: You made a promise to your wife. You've risked so much for the chance to bring her back. (Hands Gabriel her tablet) Lila has been harboring her rage against Ladybug for months, and today wherever she looks, she'll see the object of her hatred, and as predicted, her anger will reach devastating heights. Your plan is perfect, sir. Gabriel: And you're sure you want to do this? Nathalie: I will always be here for you. We will succeed.

Why is she suddenly so sure that this plan was different? What made her go from encouraging Gabriel to take risks to calling him insane? Why is she suddenly convinced that Gabriel can't possibly win and needs to focus on Adrien when she never said a word during the multiple akumas that directly threatened Adrien's life?

The meta reason is that the writers needed her to act as if she'd been watching the episode so that she wouldn't blindly support Gabriel anymore, allowing them to do the senti BS without it being meaningful to the story. The in show reason? I've got nothing. It is jarring to watch this while remembering that season four ended with Nathalie being given ownership of Adrien and willingly accepting that task, even going so far as to issue senti commands to "Adrien" to make him obey, which does not instill confidence in her parenting skills.

It's just so freaking infuriating. It would have been so much better if Nathalie was allowed to die and we got Emilie back. Nathalie did absolutely nothing to deserve a magical healing and I've been curious about Emilie since day one.

[enchantedbat]

I love love the idea of the Winx (and Trix) having proper armour. Mainly because I love women in armour. But I would also like for them to stay in a transformation, say Enchantix, and just get an upgrade that is like special for their mission. Enchantix is the highest transformation, so... Give them weapons!

Layla should have a weapon. TECNA SHOULD HAVE ONE! Should Stella have one? No but instead of getting a whole transformation, somebody just tells them: “Have these!” - and it’s mace, sword or axe. Because the Trix usually get a similar power-up, they definitely get weapons too. I think Stormy would enjoy one. She deserves one as a treat.

List of weapons: Layla(Aisha): Trident. It immediately makes me think of water deities, gods or royals. It fits the whole princess of Andros theme while being quite versatile in fighting. She can throw it and use it for melee attacks. Musa: Glaive. Specifically a Guan Dao. It has a pretty red tassel attached to it which gives me a bit of Enchantix Musa vibes but I chose it because the movements when used look a lot like dancing to me. Even though Layla mainly is the dancer of the group, Musa should have something connected to music. Tecna: My first thought was stun batons. Obviously, electricity. Furthermore Tecna shows off martial art skills and when I think batons, I think of Nightwing. She could definitely handle these. Stella: Mace. They can have such pretty designs and we could have sun/star/moon-themed one. I am also an addictive player of BG3 and thought of the Blood of Lathander which would fit Stella so well. In my mind, maces need no specific technique. It’s just banging it on enemies’ heads. They are also quite heavy and I think Stella can handle that just fine. Flora: I know Flora is capable of attacking and hurting but I think she would like a more defense weapon. I thought about a whip at first or ribbons which is similar to what Helia wields but maybe it’s more gymnastics-like ribbon (Barbie and the Muskeets kind of stuff). Bow and arrow? Perhaps? That’s the first true long-ranged weapon which could benefit the team. Bloom: I wanted to give her a sword. It’s classic but a strong weapon. A flaming sword is so badass too! Maybe the blade is a flame and it can bend to her will! It reminds me of the 1000 degree knife trend/meme. Worried about Bloom’s healing powers? Don’t be. Because:

Stormy: I found something that is called Wind and fire wheels. They are similar to chakrams which were my initial thought. Just twirling and slashing. Chakrams could fit better because they are throwing weapons and they could have a magical effect of coming back. Darcy: A gun. I could see Darcy with fans due to the hiding/disguising factor. It should have blades. Better yet: folded it is a dagger and then she can unfold it to have multiple daggers. Optional: She could have a kusarigama which is like a chain sickle. Just the thought of something coming towards you out of the shadows is scary. Icy: An axe or multiple axes. Depends on size really. A gigantic battle axe that’s almost the size of Icy herself or hatchets. Good for throwing and it’s really terrifying to see someone with two axes in their hands coming towards you.

What about the specialists? They could have a teaching moment as in, they help the Winx master these weapons. OR: they get a magical transformation. Let these boys enjoy their crop tops and be incredibly powerful.

[yellowocaballero]

Continuing the JJK posting: Gojo is such a mystifying character.

Action show where swinging out the gate you introduce a character who is so incredibly powerful you then have to, before every fight, establish why Gojo can't just show up and fix the problem in seconds. His existence weakens the stakes of everything. The rest of the show you are backflipping ridding yourself of him. He jobs two major bad guys off the gate and every subsequent extensive fight with them feels like cleaning up his leftovers. Put him in a box, he's ruining the game balance. So absolutely broken. As a writer it makes your job so difficult, but it's also the entire point of him. "Hey I want to write the single most badass character of all time who can do the most insane shit but I will also engage with that", rock on king.

I think he's most interesting when understood as somebody who is fundamentally alien and removed from ordinary human thought processes. In his world there is absolutely nothing he cannot do, and the thought 'maybe I can't do something' just doesn't occur to him. He is capable of doing whatever he wants and of killing anybody who tries to stop him from doing what he wants. If he is not doing something, it is because he does not want to do it. If he wants to do something (kill all of his superiors) and he's not doing it, it's because he doesn't think it's the most effective route towards what he has decided to do. I think this informs the majority of his actions (and, importantly, what he doesn't do)(murder). I think he's reasoned out that you should have a general reason to do things, and it feels like sheer luck that he places value and meaning in human life, and as such you shouldn't kill them without a strong reason. Watching the flashback arc, if I hadn't seen a) JJK and b) Naruto and you asked me which shitty teen became a law abiding school teacher and which became a mass murderer I would have guessed the wrong ones.

Anyway, the way I like to think of him, he's a raging narcissist with a god complex to match. Horrifically, he's actually a good teacher, but he is also a teacher as an ego/'raising my child army' thing. He would be the kind of mother who is a good mother but lowkey had kids also as an ego/unconditional love/lots of attention/'surely my child will worship me' thing. Gets randomly into new hobbies, obsesses over them, gorges himself on the novelty factor, before dropping them in a week once he gets too good at them. Rinse and repeat. The only hobby that does not eventually grow boring is annoying people, so it's his only hobby. Geto told him age 15 that he'll never have any friends if he keeps on casually reminding people that they live on his sufferance, so he developed another back-up hobby more conducive for friendship of helping people forget that they live on his sufferance. This has convinced him that he's a god of subterfuge, intrigue, and trickery. Does eat women out, but is convinced that this makes him God's gift to women, and is actually pretty terrible in bed because his partner's desires never even occur to him. Is convinced he's as good at sex as he is everything else. Sex is actually the one thing he's bad at, but he's not ready to hear that.

In S1 he overall left me with the general impression that his entire idea of how high school worked was sourced from anime, and as such decided that being a teacher involved nothing but field trips, sports games, beach episodes, sports festivals, etc. Did not know how the classroom component worked so he skips it. Jossed, but also left me convinced that it would be very funny if he was an immortal 150-whatever years old and had founded the high school himself out of, you guessed it, an ego thing, and never once properly learned how high schools worked and just arbitrarily made his own aging students the new principals so he could continue engaging in training the kids who are too Misfit (TM) to get apprenticeships and living his fun slice of life anime life and raising a child army of kids who will worship him any day now. Annnyyyy day now. Any day now.

[doubleddenden]

We're still technically in gen 3, but Orre is more like a Johto that actually got its chance to shine... In the Arizona desert, for some reason. It holds a special place in my heart for making me realize I *DO* still like Pokemon after SwSh really let me down. The vibes are also just super unique with its own art style and design philosophy. If we ever return there, I will be a happy little duck

but for now, let's start with Colosseum.

Wes, your only choice for an MC and quite possibly the edgiest option you'll ever get. There's not much you can do about a blank slate- there's *some* wiggle room, but Wes is unique in that he has a decently established backstory as a former member of Team Snagem- an OUTLAW- and the game opens up with him blowing up a building to steal a device that lets you steal Pokemon from trainers, then he rides off into the sunset with his weird cats and his over the top motorcycle- You can't help but love him, especially from in game dialog that sort of implies he's a terrible liar and or may not be exaggerating his appearance and aura to seem more badass.

However, don't be fooled by this Yugioh looking ass, he's a softie. He begins with TWO starters, Espeon and Umbreon, both Pokemon you can only get by friendship, and both are described as old and trusted partners of his. He has a car seat where- before Rui shows up- they both rode in it. Also he's only one of TWO MCs that actually massage their Pokemon to help increase friendship. Bro is a big ol sweetheart- evident by how he just immediately went along with Rui's idea to snag and purify Shadow Pokemon without an argument. I can't believe the devs thought he could potentially become a villain lol

Anyways, design wise, he's pretty cool. He's also implied to be older, probably of legal age given how women will flirt with him and how he's just kinda allowed to be around alcohol. Maybe a bit too noodly, which was a problem with the Orre games (it was either that or gorilla arms), but this definitely reads as a rough customer- but his outfit sort of implies that he's a self-made try hard with the added height from his boots, and his motorcycle seems to imply a custom welding job to make it louder and more badass looking- bro WANTS to be intimidating so bad. The jacket is a cool touch, and the bandage across the face, the spiked hair, and the mirrored shades definitely make him look badass. The Snag Machine, too, is just cool as hell in a Square Enix asymmetrical fashion kinda way- and in this render it almost looks semi transparent, which unfortunately doesn't translate to the game.

9/10 design imo. I wouldn't be caught DEAD wearing this, but that's why he's a main character and my 5 lookin' ass is not.

Okay, it is absolutely pathetic that I cannot find an actual render of her online beyond (really nice) fan art. You may ask why I include her at all because technically she isn't a playable character or a rival- but she is basically with us for the entire game and is the only way we see Shadow Pokemon to begin with. Wes and Rui are like peanut butter and jelly, man, they're perfect together and shouldn't be separated. She's also a character you can NAME, so I feel like that should count.

Rui is such a neat concept that I wish would kind of come back eventually- a companion character we travel with at all times, although maybe not getting in our way as much. She can SEE things- er, that being Shadow Pokemon auras, which I don't think is ever truly explained. Bummer. Regardless, Rui serves as our voice and also our concious- and is a little bossy in a girlfriend sort of way. She doesn't battle, and in fact we rescued her from getting kidnapped at the very beginning, but she's still right in the thick of everything and tells us exactly what Pokemon to snag, and yells at us if we try to snag non Shadow pokemon. BUT MIROR B. HAS THREE LUDICOLOS, HE WON'T MISS ONE... Man. I also love that she just kinda worms her way into Wes's company and maybe heart- I like an assertive girl.

Design wise, this model is the Western censored version. There's actually a version of her where she has a midriff and a slightly shorter skirt. I'm against censorship in general because I don't like the idea that we get a diet version of anything the original author intended us to get, but in this case, it's not that big of a deal and the changes are pretty minor (not 4kids level basically). Although, I would argue the original wasn't really risque enough to warrant censorship anyway- like why was that skirt not okay on a girl that's most likely legal, but Dawn got a skirt that'd show the world what colors she was rocking if she so much as sneezed?

Anyways, this isn't meant to be a rant on censorship, the outfit is kind of atrocious in a charming y2k fashion that kinda circles back to being cute, and kind of gives me Spice Girls vibes. I... have a weakness for redheads, and Rui activated some neurons when I was a kid (I named her after my crush at the time lol). The colors sort of mirror Wes's in a way, with pink and purple to contrast his orange and white to contrast his black. She's just a super cute character that just got completely erased by the sands of time (and the broom of TPC). I'm hoping for her to somehow return someday, because man, I miss her so much. 9/10, the best travel companion ever imo.

and now we move to XD Gale of Darkness

First of all, XD would have a major art style overhaul to make better use of the GameCube's graphics, which was sort of hit or miss in some places.

Michael is our only playable character, and unfortunately he IS the cute redhead you bring with you everywhere. I wouldn't say he's a COMPLETE downgrade from Wes, at least by appearance. Merit wise, he's actually stronger and has had to fight way tougher battles imo. Conceptually, he is a slight downgrade for lining up more with regular Pokemon MC sensibilities of being a teenage something that works for a professor and fights a silly evil team. Also we lose the badass franken-bike Wes had... for a scooter. Bleh.

But design wise, I think he's pretty cool. I really dig the outfit, it looks cool and comfortable, and the colors go together pretty damn well, especially with that orange accent lining throughout his entire look. The Snag Machine by itself isn't quite as cool looking as Wes's, and also ONLY works on Shadow Pokemon on a lore level- the metal on his headband actually becoming a scouter to reveal said Shadow Pokemon. That being said, it does look cool on its own, and weirdly enough it goes super well as a complete opposite to his attire. His hair is also super unique among MCs for actually being red and a non natural color for males in the franchise. The green eyes are also a nice touch. I think the pants are very comfortable looking as well, and that hip belt- while not practical- also looks pretty neat.

I do think they could have done a better job of aligning him more with either the previous game aesthetic or more with the core game proportions- at least for the face, nose, chin, neck, and eyes. But overall, I do really dig the design, as it follows the trend of Orre MCs just being absolutely their own species. Eevee his starter is also just a nice touch.

9/10 on design, 8/10 on lore.

gen 4 will be next

[tora-the-cat]

That's some real shit you just said about Hinata in Boruto!! It'd make so much more sense for her to be very indulgent with her children, and it'd better explain why Boruto acts the way that he does.

Instead of being afraid OF her, the more in-character reason should've been because he hates the idea of DISAPPOINTING her. Like god damn, Hinata and Temari are two entirely different characters with veeeeeeeeeery different temperaments; Shikadai fearing Temari MAKES SENSE. She can be scary as hell and she's got no qualms with using corporal punishment!! WHY WOULD HINATA DO THE SAME AWFUL SHIT SHE GOT PUT THROUGH to her own kids?????? It doesn't make sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah yeah, I get that narratively, it ties back into Naruto thinking "Moms are scary" and continues the idea that the more things change, the more they stay the same. BUT. Boruto and Himawari should've thought that AFTER Hinata popped a can of whoop ass on someone who threatened her family; NOT by unleashing her wrath on her fucking kids!!!!!!!!!!

And I'm not too sure if you're reading the Boruto manga too or if it's just the anime, but there's a scene in the manga that's HIGHLY out of character as well. When I saw it I was just like, "Wtf????" So unfortunately it's not just an anime specific problem... :(

Right??? Hinata and Naruto are both the kinds of parents that would spoil their kids fucking rotten, cause they just don't know any better. poor auntie Sakura had to teach Boruto table manners because Hinata is scared of being too assertive and Naruto never learned them. Hinata and Naruto would NOT be perfect parents, but they'd be bad parents in a very specific way. They'd be overindulgent. Naruto would treat them like adults WAY too young without realizing it's bad. Hinata would never believe a bad thing a teacher said about her kid if the teacher was not LITERALLY Shino Aburame (this is, in fact, why Shino is Boruto's teacher. I will be taking no further questions). And we almost see this in the show!! Boruto IS arrogant! He IS selfish! He has never been denied a thing in his life! His mommy says he's a miracle!!!

But then. Boruto talks about Hinata. and it's just like....'haha, moms, am I right? moms? all moms are exactly the same? annoying and scary but only COMEDICALLY scary. because they're women' and like. sigh. so close Ikemoto now try again without the sexism. And maybe. Read Naruto?

Yes!! You see, Boruto being afraid of disappointing Hinata makes a lot of sense!!! Honestly, another point on Hinata and Naruto being flawed parents is that Boruto....probably has to do a fair amount of emotional labor at home. Not gonna get into it cause that would be its own post, but Boruto is probably VERY aware of his mom's emotional state and REALLY hesitant to upset her, just cause it sucks when his mom is upset and it always feels at least a little like his fault. #eldestkidproblems or whatever ykyk. Being afraid of disappointing her would just make so much sense given the characters and their dynamics, while still filling the purpose of showing how light Boruto gets off for domestic terrorism lmao

As far as the 'moms are scary' throughline....We've got plenty of scary moms. Naruto thought moms were scary because he grew up a pariah that was probably threatened by MANY moms to not talk to their kids, he's not familiar with 'protective anger' because no one has ever gotten angry on his behalf, and Kishimoto thinks its funny to pretend women pose any threat to his cool male characters #feminism. It just so HAPPENS that if he DID have a living mom she would've been scary as shit, but. in canon it's just not a perspective it really makes sense for Boruto to have picked up because it was cultivated by very specific rearing factors.

Much as I would LOVE for Hinata to have a badass protective moment, I sadly doubt it's gonna happen, given that post shippuden Hinata seems to just....not be a shinobi anymore. which, and I say this with full scincerity, good for her! But like. the fact that she can't even stick to a wall to LITERALLY save her life in The Last is. blood boiling lmao. And! even if she did get a little protective moment, it'd be cool for her kids to realize how cool she is, but even then they wouldn't really be scared of her, you know? Like event trying to give Boruto the benefit of the doubt, there's no angle I can come at this where it makes sense for Boruto to be SCARED of Hinata Uzumaki.

I have watched an entire six episodes of the Boruto anime, and all due respect I have less then zero intention of reading the manga. As you can see, I'm clearly having a great time. SO I have NOT read that scene, but I'm more then happy to take your word for it lmao. thanks for the ask <3

[spreta-invidia]

It’s been a week and I haven’t stopped being disappointed about House Darry.

But that detail is just the thing my brain picked out to focus on as a fulcrum around which I could think out my big issues with HotD S2 (or rather post S1.08).

Why is the plot so different? Literally diametrically opposed from the book? I know adaptations have to make changes. And I actually LOVE the idea of Daemon being haunted at Harrenhal, even though it is, again, exactly the opposite. That phrasing in FAB (no weird things are reported as happening to Daemon while he was in the haunted castle) is mouthwatering for a writer, right? It doesn’t say it didn’t happen. So okay, work with that. What does a haunting look like, in the context of the Daemyra conflicts of the show and the stated events in the book? Daemon rallying lords, looting this castle for its wealth, haunted at night with dreams and visions of Rhaenyra, Laena, and maybe Viserys, while the Riverlords bicker amongst themselves. Maybe Lord Vance (of Wayfarer’s Rest, obvs) is unsure of a woman’s leadership while Lord Piper gets his badass line about still having his sword. Maybe Lord Darry gets in a fight with Lady Mallister because she objects to Jaehaerys’ death and he’s in camp “a son for a son”. And Daemon is trying to piece them into an army while he’s falling apart. Maybe the culmination of this is him telling Elmo Tully to kill his father and take his place, and then realizing he’s thinking about Viserys and damn does he hate and love his brother all at once (thus making the juxtaposition of Daemon’s lines in S2.03 and S2.04 mean something for his character.) This all accomplishes the same things (Daemon haunted and forced to learn lessons, Riverlords chaotic, creepy Alys, etc) with similar scenes as in the show and similar numbers of actors, without making huge changes from the source material.

So why all these changes? I mean, I don’t know the end of the season (though I’ve read some speculation and possible leaks ofc), but at some point, don’t we have to start wondering, to quote David Benioff of all people, “What the hell is this plot?” What does it show that they’ve twisted the book story to accommodate their narrative of Daemon’s complete failure at the expense of his wife and queen and their kids? (Personally I think it shows their bias and judgements.)

Or, being generous, what does it show that they’ve twisted Daemon’s book storyline to accommodate him learning about his flaws at the expense of his wife and kids? I actually think it’s hugely important to show the results of the toxicity of the patriarchy on men, but I’m not sure it’s helpful if that’s at the expense of the storylines of the women around them.

Maybe Rhaenyra is going to ride into Harrenhal in episode 8 with Syrax and the Riverlords will fall to their knees when she gives them an epic speech. I don’t know. Her arc this season seems to be learning about not being passive and indecisive (traits she had either grown past or did not have until S1.08 and her reconciliation with Alicent), so I do think it’s likely her arc will culminate in taking control of her Riverlands or northern army. But I think it’s important to note that in FAB, the Riverlords didn’t rise for Rhaenyra’s husband. Daemon was like, “hey, wanna go to war for our queen?” and they overwhelmingly said YES, not because of a male figurehead but because of oaths and memories of a princess. (Though I’m sure the presence of a dragon-riding prince helped.) You can still have conflict within that “yes”, but it’s important that the support was THERE. That’s important to Rhaenyra’s arc. I would argue it’s key to it, but they’ve largely voided it in the show.

At a certain point, having Daemon constantly screw up and having everyone HATE him does two things: makes Daemon look incompetent and frankly idiotic and makes him a wholly unsuitable consort, and it makes the story of the Blacks hugely about him. Rhaenyra’s on thin ice with her council in large part because of Daemon. The Riverlands are chaotic and not rallying largely because of Daemon. Rhaena’s feelings of inferiority over not being able to claim a dragon are largely because of Daemon. Etc.

I get the idea that Daemon has to work out all his feelings about Rhaenyra being more powerful than him out in order to rise to the occasion. I don’t think that’s a terrible character idea. Some of the stuff the show did with him was very interesting early on, but I’m also expected to believe that his character is the exact same person he was in episode one, and that all Rhaenyra has learned is how to be a carbon copy of her father, vis a vis her dealings with Daemon, when fifteen year old Rhaenyra knew better? (I know the stress of Viserys’ death was an earth shattering moment for them, and they came apart then while book!Daemyra didn’t, but I can’t believe neither of these characters changed or grew at ALL, especially after their unity in S1.08.)

I also think this largely spoils the end of their arc. Daemon is going to die in maybe ten episodes? They’ve spent five episodes having him work through this phase of going against his queen, and I’m sure it’s going to continue til S2.07. Only his ultimate act, his climactic moment, is… going against his queen. I get the right reason vs wrong reason thing (also I truly believe Daemon never turned against Rhaenyra even as he disobeyed her, but that’s beside the point). If Daemon weren’t dying in maybe ten episodes, I might think this was compelling. I love that thing Emma said about them being too proud to be vulnerable to one another and I think it would have been very powerful in season three after the war had cracked their foundations.

Ultimately who knows what the show is going to do? They’ve literally reversed so much of the stuff from the book, maybe Daemon will survive Gods Eye and become the Three-Eyed Raven and also the Shrouded Lord. Maybe the battle will have nothing to do with Rhaenyra’s letter or Daemon’s choices. But if they follow the book storyline…?

Their conflict is too late to be formative and too early to be climactic. It’s just there. It’s just Daemon being a chaotic liability and Rhaenyra being Viserys 2.0. And the biggest issue: if they solve these problems, it will be just in time for the same thing to happen again. (Again, unless Daemon is the Shrouded Lord or something.)

And really, couldn’t they have just let House Darry love the Targaryens? Asking for a friend. (That friend is Lord Darry.)

[andreal831]

What are your opinions on Elena/Mikaelson ships (if you have any loll they could totally just not be your cup of tea)?

Personally, I think Elena and Elijah had an insane amount of chemistry on screen (DG even said that Elijah had feelings for Elena and wanted them to end up tgt). American Gothic and the letter he wrote her lives in my head rent-free.

I randomly stumbled upon a elena/klaus fic where Elena said something like "I gave you those golden eyes and I gave you those double fangs so don't think that they will scare me away" and that somehow just hit me so hard that I fell down the rabbit hole loll.

I also often daydream about the relationship Elena would have with Rebekah and Hayley if she ended up in TO and NOLA. No humanity elena could fit in with them as a badass trio.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

I personally don't prefer any of the TVD/TO cross over ships. Like I always say, this doesn't mean you can't ship them, they just aren't my preference.

I won't deny there was a lot of tension between Elijah and Elena. I have also seen the interview of DG talking about it and they honestly made me dislike him a little bit. I was not shocked when he announced his divorce given how he often spoke about the much younger women he worked with in interviews. He often projected his own thoughts on Elijah, even if it didn't fit the character.

EDIT: Clarifying what I mean about DG here. Not that he was disrespectful to his costars, rather I felt him speaking about being attracted to them as disrespectful to his wife.

I personally don't think Elijah was into Elena romantically, rather saw her as a doppelganger he could finally save. I don't particularly like the idea of a character being romantically invovled with ancestors. Elijah would have been around Tatia's child, and then romantically invovled with those children's descendants. It's just weird to me. At least with Elena, Stefan and Damon didn't even know Nadia existed until later. I know it's petty, but it's just weird to me. Maybe it's just because I've been writing about Elijah's involvement with Tatia's kid, but I can't shake it. Katherine was enough, Elijah being invovled with three doppelgangers is far too much for me.

I digress. I like to think Elijah isn't into "younger women." I know it's a joke, but Elena was an actual child when he met her, only 17 years old. Only a year or two older than Davina, who Elijah called a child. To me, Elijah saw her as a helpless teenager who's life was in jeopardy by his family. He had a third chance to save a doppelganger and he didn't want to let her down. But because of family, he did. Hence the letter. I won't deny the episode, American Gothic, and the letter could suggest more. But, on it's own, it also doesn't need to. I talk about Elena/Elijah more here.

I also just can't see Elena invovled with any of the Mikaelsons. Her Aunt died because of them. It may not have been Elijah, but any relationship with Elijah brings you into a relationship with Klaus. I get some people are into it, but it's just not my preference. Klaus tortured Elena. He killed her. He killed Jenna. He killed Bonnie. He nearly killed Caroline twice. He killed Tyler. He killed Carol. Etc. I don't see anyone moving on from that.

And then you have the whole, Elena helped kill Kol and Finn. That should have been a bigger deal. Elijah and Klaus wouldn't forgive that. But especially Rebekah. And lord only knows what Freya would do to Elena if she found out.

I also can't see Rebekah and Hayley in TO being friends with Elena. Humanity or not. With her humanity, Rebekah and Hayley would either be calling Elena out for judging them for their actions and call her a hypocrite. Or just be generally annoyed by her "good girl" act. Elena was not so different than Hayley or even Rebekah, willing to kill thousands of vampires through Kol, just to become human again. But she held herself out as if she was better than them. She could justify killing when it suited her just as the Mikaelsons did. No, they aren't exactly the same, but Rebekah and Hayley would call her out on that. Also, Rebekah killed her. Elena never really moved on from it.

Without her humanity, she may fit in. But the Mikaelsons would grow annoyed with her. Especially around Hope. Hayley would not let her anywhere near Hope without her humanity. The Mikaelsons were pretending to become better people, having a no humanity Elena around would almost be laughable because even actively trying to become a better person, they were still infinitely worse than Elena without her humanity.

The only person I would like to see Elena interact with would be Cami. Elena needs an incredible amount of therapy. Cami would have judged any of the Mikaelsons for what they did to the teenagers and would have encouraged Elena to run away from all of the vampires in her life.

This is why I just don't like TVD/TO ships. It requries the TVD character to become a much worse person. Like I said, I'll never tell people they can't ship it, but I just prefer my ships to bring out good aspects in each other.

Thanks for the ask!

[radashes]

Book Review: God of War by Rina Kent

Guys, if you know, I always tell you how irritating childish, spoiled female leads are to me. And I've got a perfect example to show. Ava Van Doren.

Setup:

Ava wakes up from an accident and has amnesia. Eli — the man she supposedly hated — is now her husband. She has no memory of falling in love or marrying him. Naturally, she wants answers.

Vibe:

Marriage of convenience

Broody hero x sunshine heroine (Spoiled)

Force proximity

Amnesia

Praise kink

Ava Van Doren: This girl gave me a migraine. Like, genuinely. I thought she was going to be this badass, messy, chaotic heroine with an attitude to match — especially after she smashed Eli’s Bugatti and said she hated him. That gave me hope. But no. She turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the book.

Spoiled? Absolutely.

Childish? Yes.

Petty? Constantly.

A doormat? Unfortunately, also yes.

She mixes with bad friends, knows they’re trash, and then acts shocked when people call her a brat. Jeremy and Eli called her out, and she cried victim every time. It’s not that she’s a sunshine girl — she’s a delusional girl.

She made threats like “I’ll destroy Eli,” “He’ll suffer,” “I’ll get my revenge,” and then spent the whole book eating candy, reading romance novels, playing dress-up, and begging for his attention. Where was the revenge? No, really — WHERE?

And the way she folded every time Eli gave her crumbs? Spineless. He could say the nastiest, most degrading things (I don't hate degradation kink, but his words were insulting), and she’d melt because he touched her thigh and said, “Mrs. King.” Girl, what happened to your dignity?

Every time someone tries to help her, she turns it into a power struggle. Even therapy couldn’t fix her at this point.

Also —I’m sorry, but the baby fever was suffocating. Every chapter she was crying about wanting a child. Yes, motherhood is a valid desire — but her entire character was reduced to it. It replaced growth. Replaced healing. Replaced everything.

Eli King: I thought he was going to be this dark, layered, dangerous guy. What we got was a flatline of a character with a God complex and a superiority issue, but no real charisma to back it up.

He was VILE. He said genuinely horrible things. He called women “holes,” treated Ava like trash, and the few “sacrifices” he made for her? We never saw them. Cecy told us about them in passing. No emotional impact. No POV. Just... here, feel sad because we said so.

He doesn’t grovel. He doesn’t redeem. He just takes up space, sulks, and growls “You’re my wife.” That’s it. His idea of love is controlling her outfits and telling her she’s being attention-seeking.

What Didn’t Land:

Ava’s entire character arc. She goes from brat to… slightly less brat. That’s it. And somehow we’re supposed to believe she’s matured.

The amnesia trope — wasted.

Dialogue was cringey at times. “Mrs. King” this, “stripper” that—no thanks.

Emotional healing = sex + vague apologies.

They’re supposed to be “forbidden soulmates” or whatever—but I felt nothing. More tension between me and my Wi-Fi router than between these two.

💬 Final Thoughts:

Rating:⭐ 2/5 stars

The book had the bones of something great, but the execution was straight-up awful. Even while I accepted Eli, I couldn't bring myself to connect with Ava at all. She would act irrationally on each page.

It would have been fantastic if the main characters had been a little more likable.

Would I recommend it?

👉 Only if you’re committed to finishing the series.

Will you yell “GIRL WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” 47 times while reading?

👉 Without question.

Will it entertain you?

👉 Maybe. If you're into really spoiled female leads.

Now excuse me while I reread 'God of Wrath' to heal.

[kimberlyannharts]

actually I would love a rant about how JJ sucks as a character

Merry early Christmas to you then, Anon!

Like I think what makes everyone clutching their pearls over the sanctity of JJ’s character and place in the canon so ridiculous is he is barely a character in the first place.  He is a plot device in SotD, a narrative goal for Tommy, as the story wasn’t about JJ developing into someone worthy of the Dragon Shield or even an SPD cadet - he's already done all of that. The story was about Tommy realizing he should retire and hand over his stuff already.  And you have a son who’s pretty good at being a ranger, so……….he should take it!  Great!  That’s it. I genuinely don't know why they didn't do some kind of Goofy Movie-esque father/son journey together, especially if you really wanted to discuss this idea of him feeling like he's in his dad's shadow. His existence in the show amounts to namedrops and one voiceover line in the Ninja Steel special, and the only bits of characterization these amount to are he’s a kid who goes to karate camp.  To me it comes off like people are attached more to JJ’s POTENTIAL as a character rather than HIMSELF as a character, in like a “well, maybe one day they’ll give him his own book/show/whatever” sort of way, which….it’s been five years since SotD.  Hasbro is gearing up to do a reboot and even then, as we’ve talked about many times, they don’t want to put focus on cop characters.  Unless some stuff is getting retconned, I am not holding my breath.      

The reason I call Minh the superior legacy character by comparison is because there actually was time and space dedicated to showing how she stands out as a person and a character beyond her being Trini’s daughter; in fact, her being Trini’s daughter is the least interesting part about her (in no small part because Trini herself was handled very badly by that special.)  What makes her interesting is her personality, her relationship with Zack, how she’s suddenly thrown into the deep end of the PR world by way of great tragedy, and her arc from a vengeful kid to a true hero (the special’s shaky writing of this arc notwithstanding.  But at least I get what they were TRYING to do here.)  JJ did not have anything CLOSE to that.  

Something else about him that’s funny but also frustrating because it’s obviously not intended by the writers, but still happens WAY too often for my liking, is how his existence is honestly a detriment to a lot of women in this franchise kjkfdj he was the catalyst for the old SPD ranking drama, as him being green meant Syd and Z had to stay as pink and yellow (and no, them throwing in some random female OC no one remembers as blue does not make up for it.)  And then….Kat……well…..I think this belongs in a discussion that covers more than just JJ, as in a way how they handled Trini in OaA is a very similar situation, but the fact of the matter is that since JJ’s inclusion in the canon Kat’s existence has boiled down to being his mother rather than a veteran ranger with her own life and work, no matter how many times the show and books TRY to be like “No look!  See!  She’s a super cool badass wife who keeps everyone in line!  She’s off doing her own things, too, we swear!”  my brother in Christ the same 30th anniversary story that tries to show off how cool and independent she is ALSO has a scene where she’s like “it’s okay honey, you take care of the Ranger missions while I stay home with JJ, it’s fine :)”  They’ve made it very clear that JJ is Tommy’s son, Tommy’s legacy, while Kat is his stay-at-home caretaker, WHICH IS FINE FOR A WOMAN TO BE, but not in this narrative, where Kat’s time as a ranger is treated as irrelevant compared to Tommy’s. (A good example is how, in SotD, only Tommy was listed as JJ's emergency contact, with no mention of Kat. I'm almost certain there was an early draft of this book where Tommy did not have a wife.)  How do we have two (2) comic stories where we have married TomKat but Kat doesn’t morph.  And not as a plot point or character bit or something (I think it actually would be very interesting if Kat not having much attachment to her time as a Ranger was actually intentional) but just in a “we don’t feel like involving Kat in her husband’s adventures” situation.  Hello????????  I know that kind of feels off-topic to why JJ sucks but trust me, it’s partly his fault.  And it’s why I’m making such a big deal over the potential mother/daughter Ranger teamup for Kim and Olivia, because the alternate mother of Tommy's alternate kid has gotten such a raw deal.     

And the SPD/Dragon Shield combo is ugly.

[whitelotusherald]

I said I may or may not write my opinion about Blue Eye Samurai and guess who finished the first season and felt like sharing some stupid thoughts! (Gonna use they/them pronouns for Mizu - I think the creators' been using she/her but they just have that vibe, sorry.)

First of all, I'm NOT gonna praise it and say this is the best animated series I've ever seen in the samurai genre - this show is at most an okay copy/retelling of the classic Japanese revenge stories, however, it is still captivating.

For me, it felt like a mixture of two of my fav stories, namely Kaze Hikaru and Bakumatsu Kikansetsu. Mizu is pretty much like Kaze Hikaru's Sei (though a hundred times stronger and a million times more bloodthirsty with just an ounce of mercy) with a though start in life thanks to links to the Western world, losing family and wanting revenge so much that both of them end up leading the life of a man, often encountering how much better they are off in this role. On the other hand the whole show's vibe and Mizu's design remind me of Bakumatsu Kikansetsu's more serious tones and its hero, Akizuki - mysterious dude with unconventional clothing, blue eyes, a badass special sword, with the occasional rampage. Maybe my nostalgia towards both stories made me watch this one within a day.

The mix of Japanese and American storytelling was fun, although I must say that the baddies lacking complexity whatsoever made me itch sometimes. (Except for one dude, who really managed to fool me for so long.) Fowler is plain and boring, the most typical big brute Western guy they could depict, though it's fun to think this was an intentional copying of similar anime archetypes of Western characters. Taigen felt like a cheap imitation of Zuko being honor-bound but getting his ass constantly kicked, but who, by the end of the day, seemed to learn nothing. Ringo was fun and proved to be a million times useful indeed, though he just went and followed his heart in the twenty-fourth hour instead of his common sense, not helping those who would've needed it after all (though in the end it seemed like his help was not even needed lol).

Ah yes, this was my big problem with the show. Sometimes people just went to do stuff that... resulted in nothing. Like. Okay, go, warn people of imminent danger but what is the use when they can just...spot the danger like five minutes later without the warning and those minutes make zero difference? Ringo almost abandoned Mizu several times just to go after them eventually, for what?

But the series also offered some very clever ideas. For example, I truly thought that "oh my god are we going to get a two floors/episode fight or what? getting to Fowler will be like a stupid video game" just to have some pleasant surprise instead. Mizu's weapon... I'm not gonna go into that because I'm so in love with it! The red-light district and Madame Kaji and her girls were also A+ content.

This is again, something the show handled tastefully. Since anime can't show nudity without censorship (I think that law still exists?), I don't think there's any show, hentai or not where they could've got away with these sex scenes, but in an American animation on Netflix? No problem. I'm really not a fan of hentai or this type of mature content (I'd choose the most disgusting gore over it any time) but didn't bother me that we had a sex scene in every episode. (Maybe except in the last one.)

As for Mizu. Their whole aesthetics is so badass. You cannot not fall in love with them, ruthlessness or not. I know their whole character is built upon the fact that women couldn't get their revenge in the shogunate's era thanks to the strict patriarchy, and really, the most a women could achieve was rather Akemi's path. However, there are a few instances where it's not that easy to decide whether they are just pissed to be looked down upon as a woman, want to keep their secret, or there's more than that. They might be considered an unconventional woman who could never be satisfied with the traditional roles of women. One, who is forced to take on the role of a boy and does not know how to forget that when they can return to their womanhood. But that womanhood also feels forced. As if they're just simply outside of this whole shit that dudes are honorable samurai (or artisans / farmers / merchants), women are cooking and raising kids. That's part of the reason why I loved the idea that their sword is actually multifunctional and can be used as a naginata. Naginata became the weapon of women in the Edo era, so even though we're not there yet, it seems to have more feminine connotations than a katana. This double-shape of their weapon seems to reflect their soul. This is further emphasized by their outcast half-breed status, which, again, means they're not entirely one, not entirely the other.

Anyway.

Go watch the show.

It's worth it. Mizu is like some cockroach that refuses to die and kills at least a hundred people and just wants to be left alone to kill their enemies.

Please, watch it, otherwise we may never get to know how the fuck will white dudes die by the hands of a lowly half-breed who has the most crazy and determined eyes you've ever seen.

[asongoficeandthrones]

A Clash of Kings First Read - Chapter 43

(POV: Jon V.)

Setting: The Fist of the First Men.

Favorite character: Honestly, Qhorin Halfhand. He might be bleak and all, but he also cares a lot for the Night's Watch and its purpose (maybe too much...), and I feel like he would take the vows to a whole other level.

MVP: Either Qhorin Halfhand and his men, because they rid the Watch of Alfyn Crowkiller (what a name, honestly) and his buddies, or Mance Rayder (offpage), because once again, he has the numbers and he's apparently looking for some magic which would make him real troubling (more troubling) for the Night's Watch.

Things I loved/liked:

Sam's first assumption being that Benjen Stark had returned when he heard the horn. How he obviously cares for Jon... But it's also sad because it's probably twisting the knife in Jon's back, because Jon's apparently lost hope of ever seeing his uncle again.

Jon giving gifts to his friends: He had made a dagger for Grenn as well, and another for the Lord Commander. The warhorn he had given to Sam. [...] Sam liked old things, even worthless old things. "Make a drinking horn out of it," Jon told him, "and every time you take a drink you'll remember how you ranged beyond the Wall, all the way to the Fist of the First Men." He gave Sam a spearhead and a dozen arrowheads as well, and passed the rest out among his other friends for luck. (Also, he gave more gifts to Sam than to anyone else, which is kinda cute.)

Mormont's reaction when Jon said he wanted to go with Qhorin Halfhand. It looks like he really cares for Jon in his own way. The old man smiled sadly. "I thought it might be."

The anxiety of the black brothers when they heard the horn blowing. Very well-depicted: As the sound of the horn faded, even the wind ceased to blow. Men rolled from their blankets and reached for spears and swordbelts, moving quietly, listening. A horse wickered and was hushed. For a heartbeat it seemed as if the whole forest were holding its breath. The brothers of the Night's Watch waited for a second blast, praying they should not hear it, fearing that they would.

Well. Qhorin Halfhand is certainly badass, if the tales about how he lost part of his hand are true.

Dolorous Edd complaining about how difficult it was for him to sleep when people insisted on blowing horns in the woods. Just... Never stop being yourself, Edd. And his other tale:

"I knew a brother drowned himself in wine once. It was a poor vintage, though, and his corpse did not improve it." "You drank the wine?" "It's an awful thing to find a brother dead. You'd have need of a drink as well, Lord Snow."

Things I disliked/hated:

How on earth could someone even hope to defeat many thousands of wildlings with just two hundred men??! Thoren Smallwood's idea was bound to backfire terribly, in my opinion. So I'm glad it didn't come to fruition. Also, pretty sure he's underestimating the wildlings and the women wildlings, if Osha, for example, is the norm for them. She did fight relatively well in AGoT.

Well. Qhorin Halfhand might be badass, but he's also... bleak. To say the least. "We can only die. Why else do we don these black cloaks, but to die in the defense of the realm?" and "Belike we shall all die, then. Our dying will buy time for our brothers on the Wall. Time to garrison the empty castles and freeze shut the gates, time to summon lords and kings to their aid, time to hone their axes and repair their catapults. Our lives will be coin well spent." (He's also right, and that makes it even worse.)

Following the previous point, but also, he's perceptive, which is definitely not a good thing here, in their precise position: "These kings will do what they will," he said, peeling away the shell. "Likely it will be little enough." Because those kings are so busy fighting and killing each other that he's right, they'll have no time for the Wall and the enemy still behind it.

Jon, let me tell you something: when you hear of a possible mutiny, you talk about it to the person concerned. You're being far too honorable for my liking right now. *sigh* So yeah, I'm pretty sure a mutiny is coming. Against the Old Bear. Whom I like. I'm definitely worried.

God, if the wildlings add magic to their numbers, then the Night's Watch and the Seven Kingdoms are screwed.

Quotes: Those above by Qhorin Halfhand, especially his "We can only die. Why else do we don these black cloaks, but to die in defense of the realm?" For the same reason why he was my fave character in this chapter: it's bleak and all, but he also takes the Watch and its oath very seriously, apparently.

Thoughts overall: Bleak. And kinda boring too.

[xnotyourdarlingx]

╭──────────.★..─╮

about me :

hello there ! it's aries again. here's a little information about me before proceeding to the rest of the advertisement. i'm currently twenty-one and use she / her pronouns. super into gaming, too, and my current favourites include baldur's gate three. overwatch + the last of us series. i can be really talkative with a roleplay partner once i've become less shy so hopefully that's okay. searching for another job + no school = a lot of free time. :')

what i'm searching for :

i'm currently searching for somebody who's twenty and older ( or at least nineteen ) to write for the last of us with ! what i'm hoping for is to pair my original character against ellie williams ! more than happy to double up, too. if you want to write joel for me, that's okay, too. especially since i've got a character i pair him with, but i really just want ellie content. she is badass in the second game and like.. scary asf. i'll write joel miller, abby anderson, dina, etc,. as long as they're an adult! i refuse to write as / against a minor.

full disclaimer: all characters must be nineteen and older!

writing + expectations :

listen, i'm not searching for somebody who's never made a writing mistake before. i spell words wrong and all that..but i'm a semi-literate to literate writer who's willing to go over four paragraphs of writing and don't do well with one liners. i love to do side roleplays that are shorter for when we're busy / low muse but i'd prefer the main roleplay is at least three to four paragraphs long. i do also mirror! please write in third person, too. very much down for angst / fluff ! < 3 please know i'll only write over discord.

rules :

one. do not be homophobic, sexist and generally just a disrespectful person. i'm a member of the lgbtq+ community and really don't want to hear them getting hated on.

two. please communicate with me if you've lost interest. i can be ghost friendly but i'm also willing to discuss what we can do to make it more fun.

three. do not control my character, please. if you ever feel like i am, please tell me, and i'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

four. respect my triggers. of course i'll respect yours because comfort will always be priority over writing. they will be discussed beforehand so we know what to avoid / keep light.

au's i would love to try :

band au!

ellie williams is a famous guitarist who's currently touring with her band! she's known for getting around and flirting with women, but because of the reputation she's earned, it's starting to damage their name so their manager decides that having ellie fake date somebody might remedy that. she's forced to act like my character's girlfriend to the public. could it end in them developing feelings for each other or despising each other?

university au!

this one is simpler since it's just two people trying to navigate being adults together. maybe it can be like, rivals to lovers, or something. because imagine ellie williams who's the academic rival of my character and like... they banter all the time because they're too stubborn to admit liking each other... oh my god.

extra :

if you're interested in this, please hit me up! make sure to tell me how you wish to be addressed, your age, if you want to double up ( and if so, who you want me to write for you! ) + any ideas you may have! your side can be canon divergent or modern, either way is fine! i just would love a modern version of ellie... but i'll gladly do a side roleplay set in the canon verse, too.

╰─..★.──────────╯

[co-mixed]

Fantastic Origin (Reed Sucks)

Let’s do it, let’s kick off the Fantastic Four review journey. 

The first ever run of Marvel’s first family aka the team I had been actively avoiding until recently. 

Most of Lee/Kirby books are extremely different from what we see in the comics today. You could easily attribute that to the days of yore or just the fact that these books have served as stepping stones towards bigger and more complex stories. Or you could take them for what they are.

Right away I will have to get misogyny out of the way. It’s there and it’s ugly. These books are filled with ridiculous stereotypes and absolutely unacceptable degrading behavior towards women. It’s all the more upsetting when you get to read fan letters from women, they hint at that constantly. 

I gotta say, it worked too because when Crystal became a part of the team, she was relatively badass and was treated with more respect than Sue. But dammit, poor Sue. You can try and convince me that Reed is a good husband but that won’t help a bit. In a world where literal supervillains exist, he is definitely not the worst human being but since he’s being portrayed as a hero, I’m gonna accept the fact that he’s trash. 

Of course, I see what the creators were going for: Reed was supposed to be a hyper-focused, single-minded, science-obsessed team leader with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was supposed to be flawed but sympathetic. 

Especially compared to his beloved Sue who was supposed to be a loving and caring homemaker with her invisibility power being a reflection of her relationship with Reed. As in he only sees her when she’s in danger. 

The way it looks now, 60 years after the cosmic rays incident, is very different.

Sue is a young woman, seemingly younger than Reed, who somehow stumbled into a relationship with a man who treats her as a status symbol. She’s a tag-along, something pretty to walk with, have at home, and look at when it pleases him. Because she’s younger (bear with me, I’m only assuming this based on the Lee/Kirby age), she is very susceptible to his influence and opinions, there’s a power misbalance and she doesn’t really know that things could or should be better. Which is kind of easy to assume, considering her mother was dead and her father was in jail. She also had a brother in high school to take care of and Reed was successful and rich. 

Then after she got powers, she kind of got permanently stuck with him, and that trauma bond became even more dysfunctional. She did assume the role she probably saw in the media at the time, overly caring about everyone but herself, and she accepts material substitutes for actual comfort, such as shopping, because that’s what’s been said and taught to her. 

Her relationship with Reed is passionless too, hence when Namor shows up, she entertains the idea of him. Although, let’s not forget that he keeps kidnapping her and trying to convince her to become his queen of the seas or whatever. Maybe if he was less straightforward and didn’t try to kill her brother in the process… who knows?

But he does, meanwhile, Reed is putting that good-for-nothing brother of hers through school, so she chooses Reed. She even marries him, entrapping herself in a loveless marriage. And after two years of horrible home life with barely any time to get to know whatever she’s been wed to, she gets pregnant. All in all, at this point, at that time, it’s over for her. And as a reader you know she doesn’t escape that. It’s pretty tragic. 

Reed is a scumbag. Yelling at Susan is just part of it, he also acts like he’s the boss of everyone (which I do get when it comes to Johnny and Ben, who are let’s just say irresponsible.) 

He constantly sticks his nose into things like the negative zone, causing meanies like Annihilus to show up. He keeps using Ben or The Thing when he needs and then swears he’ll turn him back. It gets repetitive and no one can really trust him. He pretends to act like a hero after causing a problem and keeps trying to sacrifice himself forgetting his wife and eventually son. Bro, you got responsibilities over there!

I believe that’s the intention but Reed is not that different from Doom, except Doom actually has a sob story to explain his obsession with science and the occult. Reed… at this point in the run we don’t know if he does or where his assholery comes from. All we do know is he’s an equally terrible leader, husband, and friend. Bet he’s not much of a father either. 

But hey, at least he’s putting that good-for-nothing Johnny through school. 

Ben is irritating. We’ve discussed it at length with several people, how so many people can relate to him and consider him their favorite character. But Ben Grimm is awful. You know what? I think the unstable version of him that was around for a brief moment when he could switch into The Thing and back, that version is the real Ben Grimm. If anything, his insecurity is holding him back in that anger. When he gets both strength and his human appearance, that’s when you gotta run for the hills and summon the Hulk to put him down. 

Ben went from petty, insecure, and angry to overcompensating and calling himself pretty and lovable. All the while his paranoia regarding Alicia and her love for him is growing more and more bizarre. He really doesn’t trust her when she says that she likes him as The Thing, he claims he wants to be Ben for her but hey, she’s pretty uncomfortable with Ben so there’s that. 

He did act better than Reed would’ve when he thought Alicia had chosen Silver Surfer but then he ghosted her and threw a tantrum every time Surfer popped up. Have some self-respect, Ben. 

What pissed me off the most is the way he treated Franklin seconds before he found out his middle name was Benjamin. Like, seriously? You’re taking it out on a baby? Besides, neither Sue nor Reed owes you anything. Well, maybe Reed does. But it doesn’t help that Ben keeps getting into fights with that good-for-nothing Johnny.

Johnny is good for nothing. He’s an ok kid I suppose but he doesn’t attend school and somehow ends up in a university (which even managed to piss off one fan! Seriously, don’t ignore the fan mail if it’s there!) Then he spends exactly one semester, meets a friend who participates in his whacky adventures for like a week, and forgets this friend exists. He also forgets the school exists. 

Johnny is either acting out at home, fixing his car, or chasing after girls. Until he meets Crystal and immediately becomes obsessed with her, which no one really cares about. Then Crystal gets stuck under a dome with her merry Inhuman family, and he broods and throws tantrums. They are torn apart and brought back together, and then are torn apart and then brought together, it’s a whole X-men level soap. I actually liked that.

And out of all the villains I’m only gonna focus on Doom. Don’t get me wrong, Galactus is forever the star, but let’s talk Doom. 

He’s an interesting fellow but I don’t get the massive fan base. Dude’s a literal dictator of the worst kind. He experienced dictatorship on his own skin since childhood and he grew up and enslaved his whole country. I would understand if he brought prosperity and happiness to them but that? I was actually pretty impressed by the Latverian arc, in which the FF went to Latveria and were depowered and treated like Doom’s dear guests. It was a creative way to draw a little image of what this kinda system is and how it functions from within. Doom rules by fear and they experienced that fear, they even almost lost hope. I would’ve done this arc a little differently but hey, I’m here 60 years later. 

But at least Doom hadn’t killed that good-for-nothing Johnny.

The Stories

That’s what we’re really here for –  the silly early villains and the bizarre tactics that save the day. We obviously have some baddies that stood the test of time and a few that didn’t. But Reed’s approach throughout everything is pretty much “let’s throw them into space and hope they don’t come back.” They do, Doom’s been to space twice and even made a trip to the microverse. He’s well-traveled now.

In the beginning, it’s a very repetitive scheme: one issue = one arc, Ben argues with that good-for-nothing Johnny, Sue is there, Reed saves the day. But the arcs stretch to two and more issues and the stories become more and more entertaining. At some point, even Sue gets to save a few hours. Not the day though. 

Crystal gets her shining moments, and like I said before, she does very well and almost without Reed’s misogynistic crap. 

There are a few stories I liked, Galactus, of course (behold!), the would-be gamer The Thinker, Latveria visit, and the arc in which whatshisface scientist turned himself into The Thing. That’s pretty much the first time in this run when a one-issue baddie realized the error of his ways and made the ultimate sacrifice. Before that, the antihero role was pretty much Namor’s. Speaking of Namor, how’s his “movie” career? That arc was truly wild and smelled a lot like Golden Age comics.

Now if you’re thinking you’d like to read this run, do. But if you just want to know the origins and main encounters, just watch the 90’s show. Not only it covers most of the pivotal stories, but season one has a fantastic! intro song. You’re gonna love it and if you don’t, it’s gonna haunt you till you do.

I’m positive the stories are gonna get better. I was promised they’re gonna get better but I have a hell of a road ahead of me, 300 issues before I get to more modern days, and even more after that. I’m all in.

[antiyourwokehomophobia2]

Hope it's okay to get this off my chest here but I hate DainLumi so much omfg, I physically cannot look at this ship without the urge to absolutely collapse to the most gut-wrenching, disgusting, repulsion act of vomiting imaginable. Every time it crosses my mind, I'm overcome with a visceral revulsion. I swear if I see people call this ship canon one more time (it is implied to be and will most likely be canon FML) I will throw myself into fire... I don't want Lumine to get reduced to Dainsleif's object of affection 💔 Hoyoverse cannot ruin her character like that by making her fall for some mysterious, tall baddie, just let her find her brother goddamn and let her be the badass female lead she is without a man in her view. Even if people would still acknowledge her as the badass female mc there is always this part that will echo "Oh she's also Dainsleif girlfriend!" and God please not :( Female characters getting a love interest is the most horrible thing you could do to a character imo and so unnecessary. Hoyoverse try not to ruin a female character by limiting her or over sexualizing her: Challenge IMPOSSIBLE. 🗣️🙏

I have no idea if you even know what I'm yapping' about but I just felt the need to say this because wtf, this might be nerdy or hysterical but I'm fucking pissed off and don't know how to blow this steam off other than complaining. No idea if it's because I just can't stand Dainsleif in a way or if it's because (it's probably both tbh) the trope of a character that represents (aesthetically wise and also lore like wise tbh) light and hope (Lumine) falling for someone who represents darkness and mystery (Dainsleif) and is like some sort of healing source. I hate it omg, it's not even about Dainsleif being a villain (he isn't really) but that these two kind of play into that trope in which one heals the other one or when the dude is so protective over his crush that he doesn't even let her brother try and save her and tells her brother to fight him to prove that he is worthy of saving her like WTFFF WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???? and omg this is long as fuck I'm sorry

Idk maybe you have ships too that you totally despise (even worse if the entire fandom eats it up and supports it) or ship tropes that make you gag in disgust, so maybe you understand where I'm coming from lmao

No, I have no clue what you're talking about. I have never heard about these characters but I love hating on straight ships. I do understand where you're coming from. It genuinely hurts to see women I love getting into heterosexual relationships for a number of reasons. I hope that Jakey (Dainsleif) dies.

[liptonoos]

murphtavia x attention by doja cat (july '23) + my relationship with them

sooo it had been a while since i last edited murphy and octavia, as the 100 has been over for like almost three years (WTF), there aren't a lot of new scenes etc. so i've lost my inspo gradually (rip) but i still like to edit the show once in a while, and when i do it just feels like HOME.

i LOOOOVEEE editing the 100 so much. well, it makes sense as it is my favorite show and i was OBSESSED with it for a few years (i knew every single line said by every single character omfg mood)

i think my fav things to edit from the 100 are polis (MY HOMEEEE), murphtavia (yes it IS a crackship, i love crackships so much, in fact, i love AU edits in general: the idea of recreating a whole new plot / reality with a story that already exists, with limited scenes, etc. it amazes me!!!!), octavia, diyoza, season 6, locations in general & underrated characters

anyways, i wanted to edit murphy and octavia again, but as i used to do it ALL THE TIME, i've already done quite a lot of concepts (example: modern murphtavia, murphtavia on bardo, murphtavia on sanctum, murphtavia & bellamy, murphtavia in 705, etc.) and i didn't want to just edit random scenes from random seasons so i decided that i should edit them in season 7 only, because s7 looked SO GOOOODDD on them let's be honest!!! then, right after having the idea, i downloaded their soft & badass scenes and i searched for an audio.

i wanted to make a soft / badass ship edit, because i don't really know how to do simple ship edits (don't ask me why), i always find it more interesting to add a little bit of spiceeeee... actually i think i just don't like to stick to one 'editing pattern'.

so once i found the audio i started the edit, it took me almost 11 hours to make it, and i used exclusively videostar (bc sometimes i like to use procreate, imovie or else).

during the editing process, i had been kind of stuck multiple times, especially with the parts concerning murphy, idk why, when this happens, i just keep going to create further transitions in order to keep my inspo, bc if i don't touch for a few days, it's quite impossible for me to be in the exact same mood i was before and to continue the edit (in fact i usually rush the end of all my edits -> tips: i now try to do the last two transitions when i start my edit so the more meh transitions won't be at the very end and it won't be as visible)

anyways, murphtavia has been one of my greatest inspiration since 2019, every time i edit them my mind just enters into an altered state of consciousness (i'm not being dramatic at all) and finds a way to make them REAL. i also love to know that people might be shocked or uncomfortable or surprised while watching my murphtavia edits as it is really just me and my mind recreating the story (dramatic)

i won't say that it is my fav muphtavia edit that i've made, bc there is the one from april '22 (https://www.instagram.com/p/CcVp8JTID8w/), and y'all let me tell you. let me. explain. how proud i am of myself for creating this one. i think everything fits very well, and i remember i even CREATED an leaf overlay IRL from scratch, with REAL LEAVES from my GARDEN. lmaooo i was like 'ok i don't know how to use cinema 3d let's find another way to create exactly what i have in mind' and i did. slay. however, i think in this edit from july '23, there are some crusty stuff, especially, once again, in the parts concentrated on murphy, maybe it's bc i usually have more inspo to edit women (oops)

well, i think that's it. for now. i hope it wasn't too messy, it was my first attempt to write about my editing experience ✦Lip