#mel: fine. it is but i don't care lol

[blujayonthewing]

I'm really glad elyss came several years before melliwyk, because mel's alignment shift from chaotic neutral to chaotic good sometimes feels a little embarrassing in an 'I can't keep my own feelings to myself for the sake of committing to the bit' sort of way, but the counterpoint to that is that elyss, steadfastly true neutral, just simply Does Not Care about anyone other than her own loved ones or anything outside her own immediate interest no matter how much I sometimes wish she would

[alpaca-clouds]

Arcane Season 2 - How Bad Pacing Can Ruin Everything

So, Arcane season 2 ended. And I am sorry, I need to vent.

I am honestly not sure whether the rumors are true and this were originally meant to be more seasons. The Riot CEO apparently denies it, but then again, I have seen CEOs confidently go out on stages to talk about a project which they knew was cancelled at that point in time. So, sorry, but I will never ever trust a CEO. Lying is like 50% of their jobs. Being greedy is the other half. Sorry, not sorry.

I am gonna write something about disability in Arcane (overall) during the next few days, but let me just talk a bit about the pacing issues of season 2.

Spoilers for season 2 - all of it - obviously.

Believe me or not, but I know the exact issue of Arcane season 2. It is called: Too many characters. Too many plotlines. It is something that easily happens when writing an ensemble story (no matter what the format is you publish the story in - it happens in books, movies, shows, games). At times it works fine if you manage to weave the entire ensemble into the same main plot. But as soon as you wanna give everyone their own little storyarc with a bit of their own themes, it often goes haywire. Either you will end up dropping some characters to the side and not properly finish up their story, or you will end up rushing everything. Neither is gonna be good.

Here I am mainly thinking... Was the entire Black Rose/LaBlanc stuff planned to be there from the beginning? Was it put in later? I mean, given that the entire story felt like it might set up Mel as a Champion for LoL... How do I put it? Mel was too overdesigned in the show, to not be a future Champion. That was my feeling from the beginning. I don't know if they gonna make her a Champion, but man, it feels like it.

But no, the main issue really is the pacing. There is just too much stuff happening.

I will remain, that the thing that shows this better than anything was the second "arc" of season 2. Episode 4-6. And the general way the entire Caitlyn, Vi, Jinx thing plays out. We have the following things happen in the first six episodes of season 2:

Cait's mother dies

Cait swears revenge and asks Vi to assist her as an enforcer

Vi does not want to. Ends up getting drunk.

Vi decides to do it anyway.

They do a bit of chemical warfare for good measures.

They go down there. Fight Jinx. Vi cannot do it - partly because Isha.

Cait breaks up with Vi and becomes the evil fascist dictator

Vi becomes an alcohol addict.

Except, never mind, Caitlin is already feeling shitty about it next episode.

Jinx gets Vi and Magic Pixie Dreamgirls her out of her new-found addiction.

Jinx and Vi are good again. They go help Vander.

Cait meets Vi for the first time since the break up. They instantly are back on the same page.

Like, there is so many plothooks in this storyline alone that do go completely unexplored.

There are two characters here, that do play a role in the last three episodes too and that felt like they were some proper characters at some point. Those two are Maddie - the Scottish-dialect enforcer girl - and... Frankly, I do not feel like looking up the name. The big burly one, who after the break-up takes care of Vi.

Those two feel like they were at some point meant to be more real characters. But because of the pacing, they are barely ideas. Maddie starts making out with Caitlyn because...? I don't know. Because I literally do not know anything about this character but "she is an enforcer", "she is queer", "she is attracted to power(?)", and thats it.

And the other guy goes with Vi because... Uhm... I don't know. I know literally nothing about this chaaracter other than that he is big and an enforcer. *shrugs*

It most certainly feels like there was some planned version of this show, in which Cait and Vi both had a proper corruption arc. In which we really saw the two of them struggle. In which we actually saw Piltover and Zaun under the control of Commander Caitlyn and Noxus, and saw the horrible things they were doing and what it was doing with Caitlyn. In which we also saw Vi struggling with addiction and stuff.

But that was not the version we got in the end. Instead in this version... things go magically well.

Hooray?

Same with Jinx. Her mental health issues just magically get better when Isha is there, because that is what the story needs to happen now.

Here, too, it also feels like huge chunks of the story are missing. It feels like there was a story going more into the relationship of Sevika and Jinx for a bit. But if that story had been there once, it was most certainly no longer there. It was hinted at, yeah, but that's it.

And then there is the entire magic plot.

Look, I think among the fans of the LoL Lore I am not the first one to say: "Yeah, trying to marry the worldbuilding of Arcane to the established Runeterra worldbuilding does not work, because of the magic." Runeterra so far was always a fairly high magic world - at least that was implied by comics and short stories. Magic was a common thing in this world. Otherwise we could not have that many magic champions and a whole place whose entire thing it had been: "We are anti-magic Nazis building mage concentration camps!"

When Riot said, that Arcane was now the main canon, A LOT of fans of the lore were like: "You get that it is not gonna work." And yeah, Arcane Season 2 clearly shows how it doesn't work.

Because the way they put in the entire "Mel is magic, also the Black Rose is a thing" stuff just... It did not fit in the entire plot around it. Because Arcane had been designed as a world where magic was very rare and strange. But now Mel had to be magic and somehow had to be connected to the Black Rose.

Also... What the fuck even happened there in the end? Why put that in? Why make Mel go against LaBlanc? I am sorry, but that was simply too much for this plot. The entire Black Rose stuff stuck out of this plot like - pardon the pun - a thorn.

Generally there are several relationships that feel, like they had at one point been a whole more explored, but then got dropped to the wayside.

As I said, Sevika and Jinx are definitely an example. Ekko and Heimerdinger as well. I also feel like what was episode 7 of the show was probably originally more than one episodes and slower paced - though it still to me was the one episode in this, that kinda worked in of itself. And that the Ekko and Jinx relationship was better established.

I also feel that Viktor and that echo of Skye was probably at some point supposed to actually have talks. Like: "I will miss talking to you." - "No, you won't." Okay? THEN SHOW ME THEM TALKING PLEASE?!

Which kinda brings me down to the main thing that happened because of the pacing issue. Season 2 of Arcane knew only two extremes in terms of "Show, don't tell". Either it goes full "music video" in whcih indeed it just shows us shit without context or dialogue - or we get the information just via dialogue, in a complete tell.

This also shows in the last episode, with the entire thing of Piltover asking the Zaunites for help, after brutally surpressing them forever. Yeah, I see where they were going with this. About being the bigger people and planting seeds and what not. But frankly, there might have been a time and space for a story like that, if properly told (you know, with giving more of the Zaunites a voice in this story, showing more of the conflict and spacing this plot out over several episodes). But a) it was not properly told, and b) a world in which several genocides happen while Trump somehow won a second term is not that world. Yes, b) is not the fault of anyone working on Arcane. That was simply bad luck on their part. But a) is very much their fault - and even if we did not have a Palestinian Genocide and no second Trump term: Without a) being done properly, it would not have worked. It would have just not felt quite as miserable.

You know, the most frustrating thing about this was, that... While I think that one way or another I would still have hated how the show handles the topic of disability (again, I will write about this during the next few days), I generally might have liked the same plot, if it had been given the needed space to breathe.

Like... Sure, I would have never really been on board with "fascist Caitlyn", or rather with "fascist Caitlyn, who gets then forgiven by everyone". But I could have somewhat swallowed it, if that forgiveness had to be earned. But because of the breakneck speed of this show, it never got earned. I am not even talking about redemption arcs here - those are always a headache - but specifically about the fact that Caitlyn gets instantly forgiven by everyone.

Also, lol. The entire thing with Ekko convincing Jinx to come along off-screen. That was unelegant.

Heck, it feels in the first four episodes, as if there was an arc being set up for Sevika in general. And it feels like that arc needed to happen, given that Sevika ends up on the COUNCIL OF PILTOVER in the epilogue. However, that Arc just does not happen. Then, like... why set it up?

That is general the issue. There is a lot of set-up and very, very little payoff to any of it.

And here is the thing. I have heard people argue about whether or not this was meant to have more seasons. But frankly: I do not think that the writers who wrote season 1 would have written this story this way had they known it would be two seasons.

Mind you, compared to some people I would not rate the writing in season 1 higher than maybe 6 or 7 of 10. It was solid, but not overwhelmingly great. But season 2 in comparison is a 2 of 10, maybe a 3 of 10, if I am being gracious.

And frankly, I do not think any writer, who is in any way worth their salt, would write a story where a main character goes evil, and then do exactly nothing with it. I mean, sorry, us writers, we are a dramatic bunch. And we will not resist the drama being served on a silver platter unless we are forced too. I cannot imagine a single writer, who will go with the end of episode 3 and then not write a bunch of angst with Caitlyn and Vi - unless they were forbidden.

And mind you, CaitVi is by far the ship I am least invested in. But it is simply such a glaring example of where the plot is rushed in a way that it hinders the character arcs.

Oh, and also... Lest. Lest in the first six episodes clearly felt like a character, who was going to play a role. Only to then disappear to not be seen again during the finale. What happened to Lest? Is she dead? Is she alive? I guess we'll never know.

*sighs* I am sorry. I really am. I am just... very disappointed. This has been a mess. And I think it would not have needed to be.

Like, the animation is still the most pretty thing ever made in the world. But man... The plot? The plot sucks balls. And not in the sexy way.

[yanderu-deredere]

taste. (extras)

★ the aftermath of the both literal and metaphorical fuck-fest you had with your newfound werewolf pack

a/n: idk just wanted to put the points of view of the yanderes as their own thing so here's that on here LOL

also i just wanted to write a thing to remind yall that im SOFT and SWEET and its all about CUDDLING here on this WHOLESOME MINECRAFT SERVER

part one (bite.) ★ part two ★ (chew.) ★ extras (bite and chew.) ★ part three ★ (swallow) ★ part four (digest.)

pairing: poly werewolves x male reader word count: 1302

warning: bottom reader with male parts and pronouns, stereotypical werewolf scent stuff, mentions of marking (both scent wise and with bruises/bites)

Mel sighed, wiping himself of with a wet tissue.

If he thought that Isamu and Leonard were a handful, he was really signing himself up for something with the three of you. But, he supposed, Mother Moon knew he'd be able to handle it.

After all, the pull to you was even stronger than his pull towards his other two mates so he knew your rightful place was beside them.

He just needed to get used to cleaning up all three of his mates' messes now.

First, of course, was Isamu because he was for sure the least grumpy out of all three of them. And, also, the one with the most stamina so he'd for sure help out.

"C'mon, pup." Mel cupped the back of the back of Isamu's neck, pressing a soft kiss to Isamu's temple as he whispered in his ear, careful not to jostle the other two. "Careful now."

Isamu woke slowly but, like always, his moves were careful and calculated despite the sleepy look in his eyes.

"I?" Isamu leaned back, resting his bare ass against his ankles as he tried to remember what the hell happened during his momentary rut.

Mel saw when the recognision hit him because Isamu scrambled back, his now deflated knot pulling out easily.

"I-I-I--" Isamu stuttered out, his eyes flickering all over their new mate, assessing exactly what damage he'd made.

Mel knew the feeling. He'd spent a good long while staring too. You were a beauty before, when he first saw you in the forest.

You were even more beautiful now, with Isamu and Mel's bitemarks and bruises all over you and Leonard's scratches littered along your thighs.

"Calm down, Sam. It's fine." Mel cupped the back of Isamu's neck again, pressing another kiss to his temple. "Are you okay? You tired?"

Isamu looked up at Mel, those lost hazel eyes looking so nervous that it made Mel chuckle. But he gave Isamu time to think, to assess how he truly felt.

Mel would stand tall and firm, would be the hard rock that his mates needed to rest against.

"I-I'm fine." Isamu finally muttered after a few minutes.

Mel grinned, happy to hear that his mate was okay. His palm moved from Isamu's neck to his cheek where he drew him close to press a soft kiss against his lips

"Why don't you go clean yourself up, I'll wake up Sleeping Beauty and the three of us can take care of our new mate, hmmm?" Mel offered, knowing it was the only way he could talk Isamu into leaving your side.

Even then, Isamu looked hesitant, his eyes darting from you to Mel and back. Finally, he seemed to realise that he didn't have much of a choice because he slowly nodded and left the couch.

Mel almost laughed at how he hobbled a little.

That, of course, left him with the arduous task of separating you from Leonard without waking you up.

He had thought it would be hard but, actually, when he shifted you, you stayed asleep. He worried you were dead for a second but he checked on you and it really was that they took a lot out of you.

Made sense. Isamu and Leonard pretty much overstimulated you to hell and back just in between the two of them.

Mel wanted to be free of blame but he could admit he was part of the problem seeing as he basically just kicked back and watched.

He carefully laid you back and lifted Leonard into his arms. Like always, Leonard just laid there, giving little to no resistance. HIs head even lolled over, resting against Mel's chest.

Mel pressed a kiss to his forehead and brought him to the bathroom where Isamu was already filling the sink with warm water and readying the towels.

The two worked together, soaking the towels with warm water and wiping Leonard down till he was coherent enough to wonder what the fuck was going on.

"Where is he?"

"Calm down." Mel immediately clutched Leonard to his chest to prevent him from going feral and guarding over your body like an overprotective wolf over its own pups.

"He's in the living room. He's fine. We were just going to clean you up and then we're going to go with some warm towels and clean him up." Mel explained, his broad hand running through Leonard's soft blonde locks "You need to calm down or you'll trigger another rut and he won't be able to handle that."

Leonard panted, his nails digging into Mel's biceps, but he nodded frantically. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt you. He knew you weren't like them, that you were softer, more easily breakable.

He didn't want to break you.

When Mel felt like Leonard wouldn't run to you the first chance he'd get, he let go of him and Leonard sagged a little, feeling like his skin was too tight over his body, like he itched.

He wanted to see you but he didn't want to panic and make himself feel worse so he just itched his arms and focused on Mel.

Isamu felt the same. He had better control because Mel had been training him longer but you took that control and crushed it in your hand like paper.

You made him feel so weak and he loved it.

The last thing he wanted was to lose that control and hurt you though so he wrapped his arm around Leonard's shoulders and kissed his forehead before handing him some sweatpants and a crop top.

When the two of them dressed (as slowly as possible, Mel insisted) and washed their faces with cold water, they were finally allowed to take some damp warm towels over to you.

You were still where Mel left you, all splayed and vulnerable, open and trusting.

The inside of your wrist was raw and bitten from Isamu. Leonard could see where he reached back and clawed at the tops of your thighs, near your pelvis. They were already puffing up. There were even various bites along your shoulder and neck from Mel.

They really did a number on you.

Leonard sat down on the couch first, moving you so your cheek rested on his leg.

With the warm towels he had, he gently dabbed at the hickeys and bites along your shoulders, making sure not to scrub or rub and irritate it.

Mel sat down too, gently wiping along the grain of the scratches on your thighs,m making sure to be gentle with them so he wouldn't irritate them either.

Then, Isamu sat on the floor and took your wrist, tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he took your wrist and pressed several apology kisses on it before he dabbed at it with a warm cloth.

They wiped you down till all the stickiness and lube was completely gone, till you were clean and comfortable. Then, they dressed you in their clothes.

You wore Isamu's sweatpants, one of Leonard's shirts and Mel's cleanest pair of used boxers. If you asked, it was because your clothes were covered in cum (Mel had a bout of insanity and came all over them) but, in reality, they liked you being covered in their scent.

Lastly, they positioned themselves around you, cuddling all around you.

Leonard plastered himself against your front immediately, his face already nosing against your jugular like he couldn't get enough of your scent. Isamu was against your back, his arms sneaking around your sides.

Mel had the unfortunate position of being under all of you, your head resting against his collar, Isamu's head against his bicep and Leonard's head on his chest.

He'd been in this position enough times to know that he'd wake up not feeling anything in the morning. Not that he'd complain seeing as he loved having all his mates in his arms like this.

Plus, Mel knew that Isamu and Leonard wouldn't be able to handle being away from you for a while, especially when they hadn't officially marked you.

To Isamu and Leonard, you could easily be stolen away and they wouldn't be able to stand it.

So the three of you would sleep on the amply sized couch, comfortable and safe. Mel would make sure of it. He'd keep all of you safe, forever.

[oodlyenough]

alright first impressions of the giggle

i'll start off with the big one which is that despite my best efforts to avoid spoilers, people always think they're cleverer than they are when communicating "in code" about leaks, and misc. pieces of info had led me to a general impression that somehow, some way, there would still be a david tennant doctor left at the end of this. so i went in half-expecting it (and half trying to manage those expectations)

it's totally bonkers and i know it must be enraging at least half of the fandom but i am in the privileged position of ... not caring. lol. it's probably a combination of factors -- he's my fave anyway + i haven't been deeply invested for the past decade + there's been numerous big lore changes i haven't liked by this point so whatever! everything's made up and the points don't matter. this show would've ended already if it wasn't constantly doing some weird thing to upset the status quo. the main criticism i can agree with is that maybe this takes away from ncuti gatwa ... but honestly i do see the appeal of "multi-doctor ep except one of them is the new guy". like that was fun actually, even if it had never occurred to me

settling down with the nobles felt like journey's end 2.0 (now with bonus TARDIS), and raises a lot of questions that i can imagine showrunners down the line and/or Big Finish are dying to answer. there is probably a time that would've bugged me but it doesn't bug me now.

anyway with that out of the way, other stuff!

i was worried this might be too big and chaotic in the way RTD finales can get -- think end of time, specifically. so i was actually pretty impressed that it felt fairly coherent to me lol, while feeling very RTD

"screens are making humans the worst versions of themselves" is also very RTD. hard to argue w that in 2023 to be honest with you

i don't know the toymaker from classic who but i enjoyed him a lot here as a villain. felt a bit like the master, except unlike the master there's no affinity between him and the doctor, y'know. it felt sinister, the misc accents, everything.

last week i watched Last of the Time Lords again and said "i can't wait to see what RTD does with licensed music again" and lo! lmaoooo. loved it

i think a consequence of the ep having to do so much was that the companions' roles were fairly limited. when donna said "maybe i'll save your life" i assumed she uh ... would. and then i assumed something metacrisis-y. but I suppose Donna's save the world moment was Star Beast.

likewise, it was nice to have Mel there, but she didn't do a ton. however i know we get to see more of her next season so I'm kinda fine with it. and looking forward to it!

anyway the other big important thing this episode -- NCUTI GATWA omg. he's gonna be so good. was so good in these scenes. magnetic. sexy. fun. can't wait. loved that we got to see him interact with donna a bit too!! i wasn't really expecting that.

[librathefangirl]

Got any rambles for any of these?

Thanks for sharing your wip list!

OH DO I!

Demon Bros Comfort Nuzzles

This is a fic solely dedicated to the headcanon that demons nuzzle to show affection. It all started with me seeing a post about affectionate nuzzles from caretaker and I then promptly had two thoughts: 1. What if demons nuzzle to show affection? And 2. I wanna write about Mel and Zel giving each other comfort nuzzles. So basically, it's gonna be a fic about times throughout the years when the brothers have done just that. It might be organized as a 6+1 fic, but it might also be more times than that, or just an "x times..." styled fic. I haven't decided yet. I guess it depends on how the inspiration goes. (That said, if anyone has any cute or angsty scenarios they wanna see, I'm all ears!)

Also, this hc has taken up permanent residence in my brain (along with the "Mel used to call Merlin 'kiddo'" and the demon thermoregulation hcs, and possibly also the demon heartbeat hc (see below)). So don't be surprised if affectionate demon nuzzled start showing up in my other fics too - especially from Mel, but also from Zel, and maybe even Ellie (having picked up the behavior from Mel).

Whumptober - Meliodas & The Boar Hat Regulars

This one is all your fault thanks to you actually, for getting me attached to the idea of the Boar Hat Regulars and their weird but caring relationship with Meliodas, and also for inspiring the plot of this fic. I was originally aiming to write it for Whumptober, but never got around to it (because of life and mental health and October doesn't like me and whatnot). The prompts for Day 15 were "Makeshift Bandages", "Suppressed Suffering", and "I'm fine" - which I decided went together perfectly for poor Mel, in a fic taking place during the 10 years of the Sins being split-up and framed.

Basically, Meliodas gets into some trouble (of yet-to-be-determined origin) and then decides to go on with his day as if nothing happened. He learns the hard way why running a tavern while actively bleeding is a bad idea. Our heroes of the story are going to be two regulars and one very confused/freaked out first-timer (possibly with some other patrons around too - I haven't decided on how big of a character group I wanna work with yet - oh and Hawk I guess).

Zel gets distracted by Mel's heartbeat and everything changes

I actually shared a bit about this one back in July. Unfortunately, I haven't made much progress since then - mostly because I'm not exactly sure how the plot is gonna progress from here. I had an idea, then changed my mind about part of it, then had a better idea, but forgot about it, and now I'm just trying to figure out where I want to take the fic.

Sometimes a story starts with a demon bros thought and some demon lore. - a note from the actual document lol. But yeah, this is a demon bros angst fic taking place, or at least starting off, during the fight between Mel and the 10C in Vaizel; then it goes canon-divergent (when and how is the thing I haven't decided on yet). The lore part comes in with the fact that demons can tell each others' heartbeat apart, and the heartbeat also changes subtly (but noticeably to a demon) depending on number of hearts and stuff.

Somewhere, somewhen, somehow since his last death, Meliodas lost a heart (not like ripped from his chest, but broken/damaged/not beating). So Zeldris ends up having an internal crisis during the Meliodas murder, over the fact that Meliodas' heartbeat (which he still knows by... well, heart(s)) has changed and the wrongness of it all and being faced with the reality that the big brother who had always felt invincible was in fact not that. This is what leads to the canon-divergence, because Zel can't just forget about it (which means "everything changes" either during the fight or sometime after it - again, to be determined).

A little sneak peek (even though I've shared it before because this post doesn't have any sneak peeks yet!):

It shouldn’t have been such a staggering thought. A demon only needed one heart to survive. Zeldris had grown up in war. He knew plenty of demons who had lost hearts. But at the same time, to him, his brother had always felt invincible. He’d led armies way older than himself. He’d turned every demon against him without fear. He still stood here after 3,000 years, opposing their father once again. Even like this, surrounded in a nine-to-one fight, the idea that Meliodas was just as vincible as the rest of them felt almost foreign to Zeldris.

(Full sneak peek can be found in this post)

Wrath of Light (You'll have to go through me)

This is one of my remaining Febuwhump stories (hoping to get them all done this year at least lol). It's for Day 23, and the prompt "You'll have to go though me" (so the actual title of the fic is just "Wrath of Light").

I've shared a little sneak peek about it before (here - I think you saw that one back when I posted it?), but here's some proper info: it's taking place in some undefined-timeline (Elizabeth has her full powers and memories, but there's still a war against the demons?), there's a big fight happening, and tbh our heroes are getting their butts kicked for the moment, Meliodas gets badly injured, and Elizabeth snaps. Or, in other words, she reminds everyone that while she mostly uses her goddess powers to heal, she is no less dangerous than the demons they fight. It's also from Hendrickson's perspective, which I thought was an interesting pov for this fic, given his history with the druids and their view on the goddesses and demons.

You could also summarize this fic in three words: Protective Badass Elizabeth.

Here's another sneak peek:

Never before had Hendrickson truly considered the destructiveness of her power. He’d always seen it like the princess herself; bright and gentle. Before now, it had been healing. Offering miracles at death’s door. Saving soldiers in battle. Even after her true self had shown, even as the light proved lethal to demons, it had always felt safe. There was nothing gentle about the light surging from Elizabeth now. Hendrickson had only ever seen Meliodas' wrath when Elizabeth’s life was threatened. Never the reverse; not until now. Perhaps in the end, the two weren’t that different at all.

As you've seen by now, I talked about the other wips you asked about (and more) in another ask.

WIP Tag/Ask Game!

[cringecompanionapologist]

Doctor Who Shipping Statistics: Because I'm Bored and I Like This Sort of Thing

So, I decided to see which Doctor Who ships were the most popular in the fandom, not because it matters, but because shipping is fun.

This probably isn't an accurate ranking of which ships are the most popular though, because it's just the amount of fics on Ao3. I'm only going off Ao3 because it's the only fic site where statistics are easy to find, because pairings are tagged and the number of fics with a tag can be counted.

If there's a really popular ship that people don't write fic for, for some reason, it won't show up on my radar, which is fine because this isn't exactly Science. It's fucking around with lists out of curiosity.

So, let's get started!

I started off with just finding the top 10 ships for Doctor Who in general. To no one's surprise, it was completely dominated by New Series pairings. The New Series tends to encourage more shipping and is ongoing, so more people are paying attention to it. Therefore, more fic.

10/Rose

13/Yaz

11/River

Metacrisis 10/Rose (That's the human clone of 10 btw)

9/Rose

12/Clara

Amy/Rory

Doctor (in general)/Rose

Doctor (in general)/River

Doctor (in general)/Master

Only Doctor/Master could be a pairing without any New Series characters, because that would include Classic!Doctor/Classic!Master.

Also, you might notice a lot of Rose. Get used to that. She's inescapable.

Anyway, I decided to filter the search to only E-Rated fics to see if there was a major difference when smut was involved. This didn't actually change very much:

10/Rose

13/Yaz

Doctor/Master (the Master comes up a lot more on the smut list lol)

12/Clara

Metacrisis 10/Rose

9/Rose

13/Dhawan!Master

10/Simm!Master

10/Jack (of course he'd show up more on the smut list)

11/River

What this reveals is that people are more interested in Doctor/Master smut than Doctor/Master romance, which honestly makes a lot of sense. The smut list is also slightly less het than the overall list. Slash fans appear to be the horniest of shippers. As a slash smut writer/enthusiast, I can't really protest.

But, what about Classic Who? I was more interested in Classic than New, so I looked at fics tagged Doctor Who (1963) specifically, instead of Doctor Who in general. Most Classic Who fics are tagged this way, so you'll find more Classic Who there. Here's the results:

Doctor/Master

2/Jamie

10/Rose (Yes, there's still new stuff in hear and of course it's Rose)

3/Delgado!Master

Tegan/Nyssa

4/Sarah Jane

7 and Ace (Notice the and. Platonic relationships get tagged too)

Ian/Barbara

6/Peri

5/Ainley!Master

And I did an E-Rated Only list for Doctor Who (1963) as well:

Doctor/Master

6/Peri (They seem to be more popular as smut than anything else)

3/Delgado!Master

5/Ainley!Master

2/Jamie

Tegan/Nyssa

5/Tegan (I see a lot of fics for this ship and feel strangely jealous...)

10/Simm!Master (A new series ship that isn't 10/Rose?!)

Mel/Ace

7/Ace (No and this time. They get shipped sometimes.)

Once again, Doctor/Master gets a lot of smut. Also, I think this is the first list to not include 10/Rose :)

Look, I don't hate 10/Rose. I'm pretty indifferent towards 10/Rose. Rose is nowhere near my favorite companion, but nowhere near my least favorite either. I just get a bit tired of seeing her absolutely everywhere.

I think decided to check for fics tagged with each Classic Doctor to see who they get paired with the most. I'll list every character who they're shipped with in the top 10.

First Doctor: Rose

There are at least 3 separate fics about Rose fucking every incarnation of the Doctor. If it was River or Jack, I probably wouldn't care, but Rose is not the Doctor's One True Love. And least River can claim dibs on having married an incarnation and Jack is Jack. This is what I mean about seeing her everywhere. Rose is often treated like the most important companion in the history of the show when she's just as important as any other companion. There's probably reason for this mindset that I could go into, but I'd like to finish my list first.

I did the E-Rated Only thing for each Doctor as well. Yes, for all of them. I'm curious and I fear no smut.

First Doctor (E): Rose, Barbara (there are at least 2 1/Barbara fics)

Second Doctor: Jamie

E-Rated Only doesn't change that. Fics tagged with the Second Doctor still contain a lot of Rose Ships, but 2 isn't emphasized quite as much. 2/Jamie is basically THE Second Doctor ship.

Third Doctor: Delgado!Master, Brigadier, Jo, Sarah Jane

E-Rated Only is the same characters in a different order

Third Doctor (E): Delgado!Master, Jo, Brigadier, Sarah Jane

Jo gets more smut than the Brig.

Fourth Doctor: Sarah Jane, Romana II, Sarah Jane/Harry, Rose, Ainley!Master

The Rose Fucks Everyone fics strike again! Also, we get our first OT3 with 4/Sarah Jane/Harry.

Fourth Doctor (E): Sarah Jane, Leela, Rose

Of course Leela would get more smut. I'm surprised with the lack of Romana though. Both Romanas are gorgeous and 4/Romana is the closest to a canon Doctor/Companion ship we get in Classic Who. Maybe it's a Time Lord Thing.

Okay, on to the Fifth.

Fifth Doctor: Ainley!Master, Tegan, Turlough, Nyssa, Rose

Yes, 5/Tegan is more popular than 5/Turlough right now. I'm fine really. 5/Master being at the top of the list is kind of what I'd expected though.

Fifth Doctor (E): Ainley!Master, Tegan, Turlough, Nyssa, Simm!Master, 6

Unlike most Classic Doctors, 5 is Young and Pretty, so he reminds people of 10 and gets porn with 10's Master. Also, Tegan is still ahead of Turlough.

Shipping wars are mostly bad, especially when people try to claim a moral high ground for their ship. I don't want to get involved in any hostilities just because my ship isn't as popular as another ship.

However, maybe encouraging some friendly competition by saying "more 5/Turlough fic should be written" wouldn't be going too far. If you ship 5/Turlough and write fanfiction, write a 5/Turlough fic because winning is fun.

Anyway, how about the Sixth Doctor?

Sixth Doctor: Peri, Ainley!Master, Rose

Sixth Doctor (E): Peri, Ainley!Master, Mel, 5, Charley, Rose

Our first Big Finish companion! Also, I was so distracted by shipping jealousy with 5 that I forgot to mention the selfcest. I think one person wrote a bunch of 5/6 smut fics.

Seventh Doctor: Ace, Ainley!Master

Ace was 7's definitive companion, so if people want to ship him with someone, I'm guessing she's the obvious choice. I personally see 7 as the one incarnation I just can't pair with anyone, but People Can Do Whatever They Want Forever.

That includes writing smut! The E-Rated Only round is the same two pairings in the same order.

Lastly, we get the Eighth Doctor. He's always interesting in terms of fandom because his televised run was one movie. Anyone who's familiar with him has had to see out audios and novels. The audios and the novels each of their own Definitive Eighth Doctor Companion.

But they somehow all lose to fucking Rose again!

Eighth Doctor: Rose, Charley, Fitz, Grace

The three Not Roses can all be explained. Charley is the Definitive BF Eighth Doctor Companion and the Big Finish audios are the most popular Eighth Doctor stories, especially since they're still ongoing in some form. The EDA novels ended around the time the new series began, so Fitz isn't as well-known as Charley. But, in the book version of the Eighth Doctor's adventures, Fitz is basically 8's Jamie. He's a guy who stays with him forever and is more prominent than the female companions of the era.

As for Grace, she's the only onscreen Eighth Doctor companion and they kiss.

The Eighth Doctor was the first Doctor to really be portrayed romantically. 1 got a one-shot love interest and the first four classic Doctors were allowed to flirt with someone from time to time. The Doctor wasn't a traditional male lead and he didn't have long-term love interests because no one writing him was really into that. It wasn't until the 1980s that Doctor romances were flat out banned. They made JNT nervous.

This led to a period of time where not only did the Doctor not get love interests, but it had to be emphasized that Doctor Who Has Never Fucked Ever. Not even for reproduction. The 20th anniversary came with a Radio Times short story establishing that Susan was adopted. Along with that, when filming The Five Doctors, Carol Ann Ford was told not to call the Doctor "grandfather", because that might make people think the Doctor had sex at some point. Ford laughed at the whole thing and was allowed, for continuity's sake, to call the Doctor "grandfather" anyway.

There's nothing inherently wrong with interpreting the Doctor as aroace, or Not Having Fucked Ever and Susan being adopted. It just shouldn't be something treated as Sacred Lore That the Americans Ruined With Their Stupid Movie. The rule against the Doctor having love interests was made by a producer that the same fans who claim that this rule is sacred usually fucking hate.

Doctor Who fucks however much you want him to.

But, because 8 was allowed to have love interests, 8/Charley, 8/Fitz, and 8/Grace are all varying levels of canon. I haven't listened to much of 8's BF stuff yet, but from what I can tell, 8/Charley was mostly one-sided, but might've not been. 8/Fitz wasn't as directly discussed in-universe and came across as Canon in All But Name.

We got sidetracked. Here's the E-Rated Only thing:

Eighth Doctor (E): Rose, Charley, Fitz, Roberts!Master, Jacobi!Master

Of course there's Master smut. This is an established pattern.

Since we've already gotten sidetracked, I'd also like to say a bit more about Rose.

I think that for fans that got into the show at any time other than right as the new series began, it's hard to see why Rose is not only super popular, but still dominant in fandom, appearing in more Ao3 fics than any incarnation of the Doctor. The thing is, Rose was the first companion for a lot of people and her introduction worked differently than similar first companions.

If you started watching the classic or new series at any point but the very beginning, someone had probably already told you that companions come and go. No individual companion is a vital component of the show. You might get really attached to Sarah Jane, but she leaves and the show continues without her. This will happen to every companion.

The only exceptions to this were people starting at the beginning of a series, before any companions had left yet. This makes Susan/Ian/Barbara as a team similar to Rose as existing before the show could exist without them. But, there's three of them and only one Rose.

There's also the way their introductions are set up. Both An Unearthly Child and Rose (the episode) start with the companions and introduce the Doctor through their eyes. They're normal people in present day London who walk into something strange. But, there's a certain even distribution between characters in An Unearthly Child. The entire show is named for the Doctor, the first episode is named for Susan, but Ian and Barbara are the real main characters.

But, though Doctor Who is still named after the Doctor, the first story is called Rose and is about Rose. To someone unfamiliar with the classic series, the show has established Rose as the main character of Doctor Who, the center of the show's universe. The idea that there could be Doctor Who without Rose doesn't seem to add up.

In Series 2, School Reunion is the point where Rose (and the new audience along with her) learns that the Doctor traveled with humans before her. She's traveled with Jack, so she knows that other companions can happen, but she thought she was the first, the special human the Doctor bonded with. She's special, but only because all of the Doctor's companions are special. She's part of a group of special people.

While the classic series audience would've recognized Sarah Jane and enjoyed seeing her again, the new audience would've learned that the Doctor had companions before Rose at all. You could swap Sarah Jane with a completely original character that the Doctor recognizes as a former companion, and the same point would be made.

So, School Reunion attempted to do some damage control. Rose was leaving at the end of the season and establishing that she wasn't the first companion would make it clear that this would be a normal part of the show. Doctor Who would go on without Rose.

But, the show was incapable of leaving it there. After a Big Dramatic Exit, Rose haunted the show longer than any companion had before, new series companions included. Until Jack returns in Utopia, the Doctor doesn't seem that upset over losing him. The show moved on. But, Series 3 has the Doctor still not over Rose, causing him to be a dick to Martha. Audience members that warmed up to Martha will be mad at the Doctor now and audience members still upset over Rose will turn on Martha because the Doctor does.

Series 4 brings Rose back and gives her a second send-off, once again establishing that the show can't let Rose go. It wasn't until the change of showrunner that Rose was allowed to be just another companion.

This was sort of the same thing that happened when 10 regenerated. The show wouldn't let the characters go, so audiences that'd grown attached refused to let go either, screwing over the next in line. Rose is treated as the Most Important Companion because the show wouldn't let her go, when the show normally lets companions go.

So, that's why Rose is shipped with every Doctor and is inescapable. Once again, I don't dislike Rose. I just find it annoying when she's given special treatment, though from everything I've just said, I know why. I started watching Doctor Who right before the 50th anniversary, almost exactly a decade ago, so when I starting watching the show on Netflix, I saw how many seasons there were and knew that things changed a lot. When my friends talked about the show, it was all 11th Doctor stuff, but I already knew that he was on his way out. I consider 12 to be My Doctor because he was the first Doctor I experienced live, basically. He showed up around the same time I did.

Watching the 1st Doctor's episodes for the first time while overhearing multiple hissy fits over the new Doctor being "too old" was an experience.

Okay, I've rambled this thing to death. Hope we all learned something.

[sentofight]

ooc. me replying? nah. i will make a ship thingie post for my muses wahahaha.

bold (prefers it) italics (can happen) cross (needs building but could happen)

This list will not be naming the ships i have but the name of characters in the muse's franchise (if i have interactions in other verses might add characters i see my muse clicking with in that verse.) Though i will add if the character named is taken or not.

Eight

cater

jack

kurasame

king

machina

ace

Machina

rem

deuce (taken by @/oursongofhealing)

ace

kurasame

qator

King

seven

nine

eight

Zack

aerith

cissnei

kunsel

tsung

tifa

Edea

Ringabell

Alternis

Tiz

Agnes

Einheria

Tiz

Agnes

Edea

Rokurou

Velvet

Eleanor

Eizen

Magilou

Senel

Chloe

Shirley

Jay

Norma

Balan

honestly he is probably one of the few muses i can't put a name just some ideas of who can be compatible with him.

intelligent

decisive

strong willed

willing to accept that he is not a romantic person and will see his job as important as you? and maybe more because he is pragmatic person

can compromise to some extent, but never that be conflicting with the person or their interest

Victor

Lara Mel Marta

Fractured Milla

Jude Mathis

L.indow

Sakuya

Tressa

Leon

Cyrus

Therion

Ali

Lucina

Laurent

Gerome

Owain

Severa

Inigo

Kjelle

Brady

Gaius

Cordelia

Maribelle

Sully

Chrom

Olivia

Tharja

Lissa

Avatar/ Robin m/f

Panne

Lon'qu

Sully

Lissa

Cordelia

Avatar f/m

Panne

Olivia

Say'ri

Lissa

Lon'qu

Gaius

Vaike

Stahl

Maribelle

Avatar f/m

ricken

Lyndis

Mark ( taken by @/rcdhotnight)

Hector

Kent

Rath

Matthew

Shutaro

someone kind and understanding of his 'vampire dilemma'

idk what else to write he is not that demanding he is a sweet child sobs

A.kihiko

Mitsuru

MC f/m

Fuuka

ryoji

shinji (im putting him despite not being one of my favs for personal reasons but i cant ignore that he is part of aki's life and ngl i like the trio mitsu x aki x shinji but haha we dont talk about that cuz some d.umblr ding dong people are fossils with ideas)

Kaname

Hitomi

Boss

Raquel

Arnaud

Forte

MC

Margaret

Aldo

Amy

Guildna

probably more but thinking

Kula

K'

Edward

Winry

Xiaoshi

Lu Guang

====

OCs

Einar

Can't think of someone compatible with his in the TYPE0 world, but Emina can and might ruffle his feathers a little bit. idk.

ngl Aki Minahara could have a chance if she is a little bit older dlfkjsdkfs

anyway he looks for someone serious about the relationship.

he wants a family not just one night stand but he is afraid of making said family because of the crystal and dying and getting people's memories wiped clean.

basically, he does not want to be forgotten ...

uuh he can cook so he is not expecting the whole 'gender role thing'. as long as you are good in the things you like to do, then sure fine. tbh he prefers to cook. he is not big on eating other people's food. though he wont stop you from cooking. surprise him.

cats. tbh it is not something he can give up on for a partner???? because for him feeding and looking after the stray cats is an important part of his life. silly as it sounds but he takes it seriously.

he can compromise a little bit with the cat thing but don't expect him to stop going out to feed them.

Roland

laugh tracks but sure. I feel like Severa would be fun to see her bicker with him. they can judge their parents together lol

Thomas

Kjelle

Severa

Maria

Brady

Inigo

Gerome

Chloe

---she's younger than the 2nd generation.

Amina

---she's old than most of the cast.

someone who can understand her past is not something she is proud of and wants to change

Feiruz

HAPPINESS.

SELF ESTEEME

SELF CARE

LOVING SELF

DETERMINATION

ACCEPTING

Ren

Licca (big crush she's older than him but he does not understand)

Sohrab

in lore

---TBA

in awakening verse

Lissa

Cordelia

Stahl

Gaius

Frederick

Avatar f/m

Jokull

in lore

--tba

[expectiations]

Dear Tia,

I am scared of pressuring you, but it is rather difficult to keep track of whether anonymous asks have been answered already. And I saw you answering asks and just wanted to check in whether you have gotten around to my ao3 asks yet. So that if you have, I can go scavenge for them :)

I hope you are having a good day <3

(And don't listen to the River haters; I pity them, it is so much better to love her)

ao3-anon

OH SHIT I AM SO SORRY. I genuinely thought you're the same participant. Or maybe it's two? Idrk 🥹 but anyways here are my answers. And I'm assuming (🥹) that these previous asks came from the same person? So I'm grouping them into this ask too.

– one

When I wrote that DNW, I was in a messy headspace (heh) so I just wanted lighthearted fluff stuff. However, it's also okay for me to have a few angsty moments while keeping the overall fic lighthearted in feels.

Playful DoctorRiver banter? Sure! They're fine for me.

I'm a bit partial to River but if the situation fits for Mels, go ahead! Same goes for using another regeneration of the Doctor.

– two

I am glad to say that I've been doing my best to sleep before 12 am 🫶🏻✨ (except last night. that was a fluke. and totally @croxxbunx's fault 🙄)

Aw thank you! I totally missed writing fanfics 🥹

I am proud to say I'm quite good at drumming up endless prompts. I'm just rubbish at moving it from prompt-level to fic-level lol

– three

I didn't include it since the questions have been answered but thank you for the hug!! 🫂

–

On another note, I just remembered how I came up with that prompt in the first place. I found it amusing to put the Paternoster Gang in a situation where they have to deal with DoctorRiver shenanigans but in a sort of loop. Cause I have this headcanon that the Gang are sort of like parental figures to River. And also provide marriage counseling on the side. And the fun Strax and young!River, who's still quite attached to her guns, would have together!

I mean we all know how the TARDIS totally adores her Water, right? So she makes River a room full of weapons and she and Strax have such a fun time there. Totally for the glory of the Sontaran Empire of course.

Like just imagine young!River, new to Luna U, struggling to be more 'human' than 'weapon'. Fighting the urge to punch/shoot first, ask second. Here comes along the Gang, who shows her how to find her balance, who comforts her and assures her it's okay to hold a weapon while also holding her back from going on a rampage at the slightest grievance.

Strax also had a nursing stint, yes? He nurses River's wounds (you really should be more careful, boy. you are not a strong and mighty Sontaran.) and teaches her how to take care of different kinds of wounds and how to fight for the glory of the Sontaran Empire. I can just hear baby River's giggle and see her bright eyes taking in everything Strax teaches her.

Jenny and Madame Vastra. Feminominons of the Victorian Era. Also River's badass mothers who try to teach her empathy and etiquette, how to give as good as she gets. I like to imagine them dropping in on River and making sure she's eating well, helping her study. (They also totally had nothing to do with the disappearance of the Professor who tried to claim her essay as their own. Absolutely not.)

[marley-manson]

VERY LATE BUT FOR THE FANDOM ASK THING: Xena and devilman

Thank you!

Xena:

The first character I first fell in love with: 

XENA!!! It actually took me a few seasons to really start to like Gabrielle lol, but Xena was obviously a fave.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

Look I def can't say I love him lol, but Joxer really did grow on me eventually and I really didn't expect that. I went from seriously considering dropping the show when I realized he was going to be in many, many episodes, to crying a little when he died. Honestly I think the tipping point was Deja Vu All Over Again. I enjoyed his performance there so it made the actor himself less annoying to watch subsequently.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

Ephiny? I have very little interest in any of the individual Amazons, but fandom is often into them. I don't dislike them, but I don't really care.

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

It's not that everyone hates him, he has his own fanbase, but Ares as a Xena/Gab shipper lol. I love him but it kinda sucks because it means I'm wary about reading X/G fic where he's the villain. I don't mind him being a villain ofc, but he gets written so badly so often. One dimensional evil abusive ex Ares is an instant back-button (though tbf that's also bc it fucks with Xena as a power fantasy lol)

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

I liked Livia just fine but hated Eve lol, does that count?

The character I would totally smooch: 

GABRIELLE <333

The character I’d want to be like: 

Xena lol, she's the ultimate power fantasy.

The character I’d slap: 

Joxer oh my god even if I did grow a little fond of him I still want to murder him a lot of the time.

A pairing that I love:

Xena/Gabrielle, and also Gabrielle/Aphrodite and Xena/Ares, usually as more emotionally one-sided where Gab and Xena are still more hung up on each other but Dite and Ares are strung along, or in Ares' case he plays second fiddle to a more important platonic relationship. Oh also Eve/Varia is good in theory but I've never seen any good fic for them. And Xena/Alti. And Callisto/Xena or Callisto/Gab. And Najara/Gab!! And Mel/Janice. Frankly there are so many good f/f ships that should have more fic.

A pairing that I despise: 

Joxer/Gabrielle I guess lol? I get some enjoyment out of Ares/Xena in the show, I get 0 from Joxer's crush on Gab.

Devilman:

The first character I first fell in love with: 

Ryo! Obviously he was fave material from the start, I knew what I was getting into.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

Miki! She's surprisingly awesome and fun both in the manga and the Crybaby adaption.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

Hm, the Crybaby version of Akira sucks imo, and I assume most people love him.

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

A lot of people hated Crybaby Ryo lol, but probably not the majority, just some loud weirdos. Idk, who's hated?

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

Saying Akira here bc I love him in the manga, do not like him in Crybaby, which is more recent.

The character I would totally smooch: 

Crybaby Miki is like exactly my irl type lol

The character I’d want to be like: 

I guess Crybaby Miki is like the only character who isn't a hot mess, and I would really admire her if I knew her irl. Totally get Miko lol.

The character I’d slap: 

Crybaby Akira, please chill tf out dude.

A pairing that I love:

Akira/Ryo ofc, they're the blueprint, but man I love Miki/Miki in Crybaby too, nothing like putting the original no homo love interest in lesbians.

A pairing that I despise: 

Akira/Miki

[jackoshadows]

Hi there! Do you have a theory about azor ahai? I've seen some people saying Jon is the one and he will kill Dany but that's from the j*nsa side of the fandom. I've also seen Dany fans complaining Jon fans are stealing from her but personaly I haven't seen any of them doing that (at least the blogs I follow don't do it)

Wait, Jon is Azor Ahai to kill Dany? lol. If this is about Nissa Nissa, then I think that's a metaphor for sacrificing something important - like the crown. And I think it will be Dany who will give up the crown of Westeros to Bran.

The only Nissa Nissa theory I have speculated where someone sacrifices a person they love is Arya sticking Jon with the pointy end 😔- that's a worst case scenario because there's just so much build up there and GRRM has drummed it into our heads how much they love each other and his favorite phrase is 'stick em' with the pointy end' and Needle is a representation of their bond and ....I will stop talking now of Jon and Arya 😂. Anyway, yeah, a sacrifice is not necessarily about killing a person.

Personally, as someone whose favorite character is Jon Snow I don't really care one way or another if he is AA or not. If he is fine, if he isn't also fine. It's not going to take away from his story so far in any way. He got where he is not because of prophecy but by being a fundamentally good person (His friendships with Sam for ex.) and growing as a character and leader. I hold the same true for Daenerys. She is the mother of dragons who saved thousands and will most probably unite Westeros into the 7K as is necessary before tackling the threat of the Others. If she is not AA, does it take away from her story? Does it in anyway take away from Arya or Tyrion's story that they are not prophesied leaders?

I think that both magical houses - Stark and Targaryen - are important to defeat/combat the threat of the Others. I think that AA/PTWP etc. is not one person but many. I think it could be Jon and Dany or Dany/Jon/Bran as leaders who will be important in the War for the Dawn.

Jon being the son of R+L is no doubt important for a reason. Robert's Rebellion fundamentally changed Westeros and Jon is the product of that. GRRM calls it 'the central mystery of the book' for a reason. Melisandre seeing 'Snow' when she asks ChatGPT or google searches for Azor Ahai is a clue pointing to it being Jon Snow instead of Stannis as the leader necessary for the fight against the Others (Which we already know, we don't need Mel's prophecies for that lol). Just as other prophecies point to it being Daenerys. And Bran representing the Old Gods and their connection to the Children of the forest, necessary for understanding the Icy existential threat.

So essentially I think AA/PTWP etc. are basically Dany (House Targ), Bran (House Stark) and Jon (House Targ+Stark).

[katatonicimpression]

Salty comics ask: 2,3,5,7, 11, 21, 38. If you feel like it. Character(s) of your choice.

2. What character death for the sake of drama was the worst?

Everett's is pretty bad. They announce that he's dead, then proceed to do an entire 4 issue arc that has nothing to do with him before even explaining what happened. Then, after the explainer, they barely mention him. And I think actually the fact that (similar to the Hellions), his resurrection on Krakoa hasn't featured any of that angst or drama because it's not the direction they want to go with Emma..

But yeah. Transparently done for the drama, to raise the stakes. And, much like with Thunderbird or Darwin in the First Class film, it's a tired racist trope.

3. Who is your most hated comics writer?

Gezza D.

Although, there's definitely overall worse writers out there. There are some attrocious comics that I've struggled through. But in general, I'm not one for going out of my way to look up who the writers and artists are for everything I look at. If I remember their name, I remember their name.

And I genuinely think it's not good to get too fixated on these figures, especially when you don't like their work. I've been hyper aware of how fucked up even the valid criticism can get, when it's relentless, large scale and directed at a single person.

So, I guess I'm saying that I hope Gerry doesn't have tumblr.

5. Who mischaracterized [x] the worst?

Monet? Cullen Bunn wrote Uncanny X-Men (2016) so fuck that guy I guess.

Bobby? Whoever had the idea to pair him up with Mystique.

7. What “throwaway” character could they have done more with?

Ooh, there's a lot of good answers to this.

I'll put forward Mel from that first Cap storyline with Nightshade. No reason why they couldn't bring that back and make more out of it, even if he's dead.

Mindmeld. Interestingly, the new character of Escapade is also a trans woman with similar conciousness transfering powers. But they're hardly similar outside of that; there's plenty of room. Bring back Mindmeld.

11. What’s the worst art you’ve seen?

I saw your post with the Greg Land examples. Seconded.

A lot of Liefeld options, obviously.

Sometimes it feels pretty mean to harp on art for not being so good. I get the "they're professionals, they got paid for this" argument, but whatever. Hell, sometimes I like it when the art looks kind of shitty because it gives me hope for my own lol.

But I will say that, for me, when it's that more realistic and hyper-smooth style that was big in the 2005-2015 era, that's when I have the least sympathy. There's so much technical competence on display and yet so often, really poor compositions of the panels and just a sub zero taste level. So yeah, Greg Land.

21. Who’s the most overhyped villain excluding the Joker?

Thanos was more entertaining in his early days when he was goofier.

I think it makes sense that the MCU used him as their first Big Bad, but I personally do not care about him or take him seriously as an existential threat in the slightest lol.

And specifically, I think the effort to rebrand him as a serious, universe destroying, massive big serious scary, manly man scary villain, makes him less fun. And because of the movies, they're going to keep him as the biggest of big bads forever now. Boo.

38. What character that was reduced to a love interest deserves so much better?

Honestly the phrase "reduced to a love interest" is not one I associate with good faith arguments (see: MCU Sharon hate), but there's something to it sometimes.

Most of the examples I can think of are temporary (e.g. Monet is a love interest in Weapon X-Force, Rachel is basically just a love interest in Captain Britain - The former was awful and the latter is... fine). It's not always an issue when it's temporary and done well, but is a problem if it's a rut the character gets stuck in when they're only "so-and-so's partner", or if they're really ooc or the writing is insulting etc... It also doesn't count if they were only ever conceived of as a love interest.

Weirdly, the only character I can think of that this has definitely happened to is Layla Miller, who hasn't been a character outside of Jamie's wife and a mother to their kid for like a decade.

I'm sure there are better examples, I'm just drawing a blank.

[rainyydxyz]

I don't know, an oc skit.

[ Some Witch, let's call her Reagan ] You can't even do magic to the point where you're not half-a-witch, you're not even a witch at all!

[ Rae ] That's fine. I'm okay with my bile sac not working ^-^ After all, I can still do that paper magic Luz and Eda taught me.

[ Not the reaction she wanted ]

[ Reagan ] Points at Mel LOSER !!

[ Mel ] ... Sobs RAE SHE CALLED ME A LOSER!

[ Rae ] Because you are one, lol

~~~~~~~~~

I'M KIDDING. Rae cares about Mel more than the world and would murder anyone that messes with her younger sister.

...Despite the fact Rae constantly messes with Mel, but they're siblings, what do you expect ?

[lizbethborden]

Different anon, the Ava-Harvard bit going back to normal by the end of the first episode was disappointing because I think there’s a lot they can do with an Ava that cares that they probably don’t want to explore because her being bad at her job makes for easy laughs? Idk but I liked seeing her involved it was hot. The Gary thing also pissed me off because Mel told him not even an hour before that she wasn’t into it and he did it anyway? Stupidity in action and she should’ve laughed on his face. Also idk if it’s just me but the way the actor is playing Manny sets my teeth on edge. I’ve seen him in other things and he’s fine, funny even but idk if it’s direction or he’s trying something new because Manny is giving cult leader….

Agree with you so much on all levels!

I loved New Ava conceptually and I feel like they could have used it so much more. It could have extended the whole episode, even half the season, and been a real story arc about her trying to figure out the best way to care about Abbott while not losing herself one way or another. But I agree with you, I think "Ava is so bad at being a principal" is easy, so they'll revert to it even if there's better options story-wise.

Re: Gary: it was so dumb! And literally only something that would make sense in a fictional hetero universe... Lol. Like it was no longer a miscommunication or a joke or funny in any way at that point, and for the writers to try to spin it light-heartedly, or as if he wasn't doing something profoundly shitty but doing something misguided out of love, is so... Just... I am massively appropriating from a much more serious context here, but Monique Wittig has a phrase "the straight mind" that she uses to talk about myths generated by institutional heterosexuality, and this "Poor good guy makes a misguided move out of wuv" thing is one of them lol. The straight mind in action.

I agree with you soooooooo much about Manny! I don't trust him whatsoever and I can't tell if that's deliberate or not. He truly does give cult leader and Idg if we're supposed to trust the way Barbara and Janine trust him so readily. If they're playing it 100% sincerely, then the acting choices are bizarre. If they're playing it as a setup for him being an antagonist of some kind, I'd feel way more satisfied.

[benefits1986]

Protein Power x Pivot Prod

Too tempted to check my work phone and laptop, but I shall choose rest today. I'd be back to the super grind soon with more intention, I hope.

My brother was rushed to the ER last night and I'm still waiting what his diagnosis is. I guess its indeed flu on steroids season these days. Anyhow, I've been realizing that health is actually the most essential currency and while money can definitely buy convenience, a clean bill of health is a priceless luxury. Just got a message from his wife. URTI case. Sana hindi ko siya nahawaan. HUHUHUHUHU. So far, clear lungs, negative COVID, negative dengue and is already under meds. So, let's see. UGH. ER is full so they had to go back home which is also better. Fever is at bay but sleep is tough. Kaya niya 'yan. Kayanin niya. Oh, Q4! You're indeed a buzzer beater. What got me in this video is that: caregivers need to take care of themselves. GUILTY AS CHARGED.

Been stretching because I noticed that even when I'm getting massages, the pain is still there. I think that I'd have to go to the PT doctor soon and will bring dad with me. And then, I was hit by Mel Robbins and Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. Very curious, indeed. I've been losing the weight bit by bit, however, at 37, my body is not the same as before. LOL. For one, my arms and back usually don't flop around. Hahahaha. Kahit hindi ko sila i-exercise. I also noticed that my waist is getting slimmer but my paunch is just all over the place. Back then, if I cut back on carbs, it shrinks. LOL. I know that I need to exercise but this time around, while boxing and biking are really good options, I feel frailer. Boxing feeling ko ang lutong na ng mga buto at weak ng muscles ko. Hahahahaha. So, eto pala 'yun... protein and amino acids. Dammmnnnn.

This actually answers my long-standing question about why mom seems to have a really balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, however she fell to GBS. Mom does not like meat in general and eats tiny portions. Tubig lang madalas to be honest saka ma-gulay and prutas siya. Plus isda kaso hindi naman laging may isda sa bahay. Side note: I love sapsap talaga na pangat sa kamatis or kamias. Kahit every week or every other day ko siya kainin, I'm fine.

So, here I am looking at ways na strength training na hindi need ng lifting weights. Katamad e. Let's start small and let's go all out on slow growth. EMS. Sa 777 workout muna tayo. Also, will be walking around BGC on Mondays na talaga. Will bring aesthetic clothes ke umulan or umaraw. Let's do this! Magaya na rin ako ng chixx para mas ganado. LOL. CHZ. Sana rin makapag-spend time na ako sa Batulao super soon. Iyak sa akala mong patag pero uphill pala. Can't wait to get out of Manila on weekdays and weekends talaga. HIHIHIHIHIHI. As a hopeful donut na ang ultimate dream is peace of mind, andito na talaga ako. Andito na talaga tayo, ma. Watch me. Watch us. Slay, iyak-tawa version. Also, I'm so excited for a trip to Oz, thanks to my precious Miles. Hahahaha. Gonna visit my friends there and looking back, mother dragon also wants that spot. Eto na naman po tayo. Baka maiyak ako 'pag nakatapak ako sa Land from Down Under. Let's goooooowwwwowww. Excited to bike and see how vibrant love in full color there is. Kaartehan na naman po.

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

Sooo... So far, this is what it seems to be to me, and take this with a grain salt because I don't care about these people, so I may be missing something, or not be far enough along to see what others are seeing, but, to me...

I have seen a manipulative person in Mel Medarda. She's the richest bitch in town and a politician.

Do I think she qualifies as "mean girl with a big heart?" Absolutely! She's had to come up in some shit and survive the record of her lineage. She isn't blameless in the shit that goes down and we definitely did see her scheming.

I'm not sure why a fan wouldn't want to admit this. You can enjoy a character without revising what they've shown us and told us in the content. Do I think she's an ultimate villain? No. Not from what I've seen. But in this society and in her position, she is *a* villain. She seems to be trying to be a good person, and that definitely counts for an argument of whether or not she is redeemable or even likable. But, I wouldn't say that it accounts for severe antagonism. I would say that I think the writers gave her scraps, so most opinions formed about her would be mostly composed of headcanons and personal taste.

As a character, in those little glimpses of coverage her mother got, SHE was a more compelling character to me. I watched her and thought to myself, "Now this bitch... I wanna know wtf she got going on." I do not care about Mel. Perhaps season 2 will give me more than tragic pretty rich girl, and I get it: that can be quite empowering for a Black female viewer and I support y'all in your love for her and I cheer on your headcanons. I won't say at this time that any opinions of her are unfair so much as I think the writing was unfair. They gave us not much of nothing, Girlies. And I have loved characters with and for less, so I do salute the Mel fanclub. The writers have to give me more before I'm with her, with her.

Same for Sevika. Sevika is a fine muffugga though. Very much within my type, so I yearn to know more, but here we are, with a henchwoman whomst we don't really see beyond two personality things: fighting and smoking. Baby, show me more. I want more.

Sky Young... chile... what other info did y'all come across? She was in so little of the story, I don't know how there could even be much to break down. It was unfortunate that she died. But once again, the writers are at fault for what happened here. Why on Earth would it be this dying man's fault that lady decided to become the sacrificial negro of the year and try to pull him outta that shit? Listen. RIP to her, but I wouldn'tna done that shit and I don't think it's fair to blame him for her doing it. Blame the writers. The way that so much of the complaints I've heard about the fandom could have been curbed by good writing...

Do I think that the fandom probably has misogynoir galore? Absolutely. Every fandom does. But I don't think that it's solely on the viewers for not appreciating these Black femme characters and my reason is because it's the writers fault for writing them poorly.

If you took away the visuals of this show and just had it in book form or with less beautiful art, it would be absolute shit to me. I'm probably not even gon' watch season 2, tbh. This shit sucked. Lol.

Pretty AF though. I hope y'all find your people. Not me though. I'm just gon'be reblogging visuals. I've spent enough time down at the Arcane.

Update on the Arcane mission. I haven't had anybody really step up and say "I wanna habe Arcane friends," and so I decided to try to give this show another go, to figure out where I would personally land in fandom business.

I didn't fall asleep this time and have currently made it about half way through episode 5. So far, I don't give a shit about any of these people. It was sad when the lil' crew of bottom down people died, but I haven't had any attachments formed, though the wee baby Ekko is probably currently the only one in the running for my emotions.

Actually, I'm liking that skinny one-eyed fella. This is my kinda "villain." One with both rage and also some sense. Sevika is my close third.

I am definitely not a Jinx girlie. It makes no sense for smart people to keep bringing her bumbling ass to missions that need precision. She need to take a page outta that one dude on the statue book and just show folk how to do stuff.

And so far, Mel might be lovely, but nothing has happened that I care about her neither. At this current place in the journey, I could see why she hasn't gotten much fans. The creators gave us nothing but an impeccable design. I'm waiting to be gagged.

Vi is the most relatable person for me, but that's not to say that I like her or care about her necessarily. More like I think she's had the most opportunity for us to see different sides of herself and understand her more than a lot of these others who don't have as much story at this point.

Jayce is alright. Victor is mid. I have not yet seen whatever it is the girlies see in either or both of them.

RIP to ol'boy from the bar. Vance? Van? Chile, whatever they daddy name was. He was nice. You knew he'd die from the moment he showed up though. It was simply right there that this would happen.

Who else I done seen... Caitlin. Snoring boring. Actually around where I paused my watch mission to go to bed. Idk if I'm resuming when I get off work in the morning, but I'll resume at some point. This is the furthest I've ever gotten watching this, but now I think that I get why: because nobody grabbed my attention or appreciation and that's one of my things.

[simpfiles]

Any headcanons about Jinx in the SharkTank! Au? Maybe her relationship with silco and what she gets up to in this Au?

[shark tank au]      this au is meant to be a reader au and yet all of my replies are canon character centered lmao. if you want some jinx + reader for this au let me know. but here’s a ton of powder living her best life ✌

powder appears on shark tank to pitch the sharks an entertainment business. she has a ton of original recreational game ideas that would be played with inventions of own design. there was only one slightttt problem

none of them were patented bc her inventions didn’t worked. 

so silco ripped into her real hard.

“why would you come on to national tv and be so canned about your ideas that aren’t even patented because they don’t work? what’s stopping someone smarter than you from stealing them? that was a horrible decision on your part. incredibly stupid. i’m out.”

obviously, the powder is devastated and the other sharks mortify. mel calls him out, the two exchanging words that would have to be cut from the family friendly edition airing next season.

still, despite the rest of the sharks trying to soften and boost powder’s ego, all of them went out.

vi will never forgive silco for the heartbreak he put her sister through

powder channels that rage into ambition. she wanted to prove silco wrong. 

she had to.

her plan is simple: perfect her inventions, sneak into silco’s home, impress him with her ingenious mind, hook a shark.

idk what’s crazier. powder’s line of thinking or the fact that silco is unhinged enough to say “yeah, this so determination and she’s from zaun. a chip off the old block.”

with silco’s help, powder launches an entertainment brand by the name of JINX.

he never officially adopts her. she still remains under vi’s guardianship as a minor, but she does spend an awful lot amount of time with silco and developing a familial bond. 

he refers to her as his daughter in interviews, causing one of his most popular google questions being “who is silco’s daughter?” followed by “is silco married?” and ofc the top question “why is silco a massive dick?”

vi really fucking hates him. she’s happy for her sister and it’s not like they’re relationship is that fucked up compare to canon but the man is a creep and she doesn’t want his vibes influencing powder as much as it does. vander’s chill tho. she likes him.

vi and vander + silco and powder for team tennis on the weekends

silco would force powder to go to board meetings with him and other incredibly boring events for the experience and exposure of the business world.

powder would take notes using gel pens. there’s 100′s of them lying around in any given room of silco’s home and office. she’s never out grown them, even as a young adult. she keeps a dark royal blue with sparkles on her at all times for legal documents.

she’s kept busy inventing new games that push the boundaries of safety. she still makes time to be the unofficial manger of all of silco’s social media accounts bc heaven knows he’s not creating his own content.

she has her own apartment and access to some of the best hotels but she likes to crash at other people’s places. she doesn’t do well alone and will couch hop depending on her schedule. she stays over all silco’s place a lot since he’s home more than others. 

kind of a dick to her employees. she takes a very flippant approach to business, wanting to be an inventor more than an enrapture. so when deadlines start closing in, her poor assistances and staff have to make up the slack.

OH YOOo! let’s talk knock offs !! powder is silco’s number one go to girl when it comes to product knock offs. the famous hextetch that is revolutionizing the silicon valley of runeterra? jinx inc is producing a similar product for a fraction of the cost.

it’s all about accessibly to the masses.

powder and ekko are good friends but they have a fun little business rivalry, seeing how ekko has his own side business going. they like to compare numbers and spreadsheets. sometimes things will get heated but will always end with them laughing at how stuffy the other sounds. 

ekko, laughing “you sound like silco”

jinx, blowing a raspberry “shoot me before that happens!”