#most of the characters were actually good in 2 which was a shocker

[agentperezbian]

Watched Terrifier 1 + 2 the last couple days and I have to say personally, I'm not really impressed by killer clowns as a concept and I think the first film was terrible. That being said, Lauren Lavera as Sienna made Terrifier 2 for me. She made the sequel not only watchable, but enjoyable. I was really put off by how the women were treated in the first movie, and just how flat the characters were in general, but Sienna is a really great final girl. She's badass and likable at the same time and adds an emotional and human aspect that was desperately needed in the first movie.

[book-of-baba-fett]

New tag game. Pick 5 songs you think would be used for fancam videos if your OC was canon and tag 5 people

@purgetrooperfox tagged me in this like months ago but I kept remembering it and thinking “oh I want to do that��� but I didn’t realize it was months ago until I just looked for it 😂

1. Boss Bitch - Doja Cat

* This one is the ideal action fan cam. it’s one of my favorite songs to hype myself up on my gym playlist, and I feel like this would be used for action scenes with Talia, especially the bounty hunter chase scene from chapter 5 where she’s fighting in her going out dress.

2. I am not a woman, I’m a God - Halsey

* I could go on for hours about how criminally underrated If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is as an album, tbh so many of these songs were background writing/brainstorming music because they’re so well written and the sound is so good, if you haven’t listened I totally recommend. This song in particular is amazing, and I feel like it would be great for those kinda female rage edits, or angsty ones showing off Talia’s power in juxtaposition with how she’s feeling left out of the Order.

3. Unknown Soldier - Breaking Benjamin

* Taking a break from Talia to show Storm a little love, and this is a bit of a cop out because i’ve talked about this song in general for the clones before but I think it works very well for Storm’s character because what was all his fighting for? He was originally in the wolf pack, and only missed abregado because he was promoted to a captain and just moved to the 412th to miss the event that killed most of the men he had just served with, and he has some guilt over that. Then with the 412th, he wasn’t on the ground when Maul attacked and massacred the men, leaving Talia injured, so that’s another realm of guilt he has.

He’s the soldier that always pushes on, even when the galaxy moves on around him. I don’t know if i’ll ever get to write much of his and Rhys’s story, but he has a chance for life outside the army but it’s complicated and he’s the type of noble man that couldn’t leave his brothers behind even if his own happiness is lost. and he does make it to the end of the war, but for those that read IA you know that his ending is not happy, no matter that outcome of the unknown.

4. illicit affairs - taylor swift

* I know, a shocker. BUT I actually was debating for awhile if I would include a taylor song here and which one, and this did really feel like the right one because I could include why i titled the fic this, because rex and talia’s relationship doesn’t totally mirror the relationship in the song, because that definitely seems like a more unhealthy and unhappy affair. but the passion of the bridge is what spoke to me (which is why I linked a video of taylor singing the bridge on tour), and I think there is an argument to I healthy aspects of Rex and Talia’s relationship on both sides, but I think that’s due to their environment and also they’re both young people who’ve never loved before. but the bridge really speaks to the passion they feel, and would be used so much for edits particularly around the breakup chapters and flashing back to happier times.

5. Good Luck, Babe!- chappell roan

* ok I had the throw this in here because @queen--kenobi and I have tossed this around as being used as an edit for Talia and her OC Kau’ra. i have to preface this as saying both Talia and Kau’ra do love their hetero partners, BUT if they were canon you KNOW how fandom would treat them and their creators even talk about it lmaoo so you KNOW good luck babe edits of them would be all over the feed.

no pressure tags; @enigmaticexplorer @rexxdjarin @ulchabhangorm @galacticgraffiti @certified-anakinfucker @eternal-transcience @queen--kenobi

[riordanness]

omg hi congrats on 800 again!!!! for ur event i have to go w i can fix him no really i can 😫 ok so the basics r i’m a cabin 4 ravenclaw infj taurus (i always start w these soz LOL) and also the ambivert final boss like genuinely i don’t lean towards introversion or extroversion and if the mbti had an a for ambivert i’d def be an anfj 🙏🏼 im a HUGE perfectionist it’s so bad actually i cannot function if something is imperfect i’ll lose my mind 😭 (i also have ocd so 🙁) when i asked one of my friends what the pros and cons of dating me are she said my perfectionism may cause problems LMAO😣😣😣 i get told im kind a lot so i like to believe thats true 🙏🏼 im super soft spoken which is a struggle cz im always having to repeat myself 🙁 (did a french speaking exam this year where i was recorded n when i say i was YELLING the entire time so that the recording device thing could pick up my voice….) im super super stubborn and persist in things until they go the way i want them to LMAO (this might be my fatal flaw) i refuse to settle for less in all aspects of life it’s either up to my standards or i’m not claiming it 😬 i LOVE LOVE LOVE reading and music those 2 r the most consistent things in my life !!!! for my type in men this may be a shocker but jason grace is an anomaly because irl + in other forms of media i tend to go for the dark haired sassy sarcastic funny guys (idk if you’ve read better than the movies but if you have wes bennett is a very good example of my type) some characters i’ve been compared to (because for some reason i get compared to a LOTTT of characters) are hermione granger, annabeth chase, rory gilmore (pre uni DUH), amy santiago, caroline?? from tvd? (idk her but my friend said i’m very similar to her so!) ummmm idk what else to include… i’m a HUGE germaphobe and get grossed out super easily LOL would rather die than go hiking or camping or anything like that soz demeter kid but not one w nature i just like flowers and gardens 🫣 i’m also super sensitive and have been told i’m emotionally intuitive!!!! i cry often about everything LOL soz if this is too long love u SOOO much 😚 also would like a pjo guy pls !!!

CYNTHIA HII (also idk why i always tag your other acc and not this one i legit always forget this url idk why 😭) anyways tyy soso much you’re actually the best fr

so. i put like way too much thought into this cause i didn’t want to just, like, stick you w jason bc that’s the easy answer yk?? BUT on that note, based on what you’ve said, i actually pair you with him?? like… if y’all were my friends irl i would ship you so bad fr.

you’re both perfectionists, tho probably in different ways yk, you bc of mental stuff and him bc he was raised by camp jupiter and literal wolves. so that would make it good for you both bc there’s nothing worse than being a perfectionist and living with someone who makes chronic messes (i can attest)

you’d both have really intuitive kindness and understanding of each other and others and that would bond you together soso well. also jason wouldn’t be a loud talker. like at all, so he’d be totally fine hearing you perfectly bc he’s used to quiet talking

neutral and very faded colour palettes for you both, light light blues and pinks and white and cream and gold everywhere (if you moved in together🤭)

jason would love to listen to you speak french btw

he does NOT strike me as a very outdoors person (in the hiking and camping and dirt way) he’d much rather sit on a porch with you and read than do any of that stuff (also he’s roman. they’re famous for their baths he would love being clean no germs here)

would totally understand your ocd and be soso nice about it like. this man would be so careful not aggravate you with unnecessarily untidy or uneven things like that.

music and book dates >>>

anyways y’all are cute i ship it so bad

[riggerbison]

Gif sets of 2023/Roundup

so i'm combining the tag game that @naomismcpherson and that @nick-nellson, @alexshenry, @pranink, @khaotunq, @smileytharn, & @i-got-the-feels tagged me in...thanks for the tags loves! 💛

Rules (adapted for fic, gifs, art, etc.): Share what you made this year! It can be works you posted to Ao3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere else! You can share everything you made or just the projects you're most excited about.

fun statistics

in total i made 296 gifsets in 2023

march was my busiest month with 49 sets (21 were for liz's 21st)

90 are only friends

53 are home school

13 include angsty song lyrics

2 are just to see firstkhao crying

10 are a show + txt posts

42 are elaborate sets

1 is based of liz's breakdown over first in mlc

JANUARY popular: watched MOD @morkofday's suggestion and needed to make this set favorite: neo being the most hilarious human being in midnight motel

FEBRUARY popular: tk staking his claim on carlos favorite: liz inspired alan gifset

MARCH popular & favorite: mama reyes admitting her biggest regret, i literally sobbed ugly over this scene and what it meant to me

APRIL popular: gun, win, & aye being kicked off the bed parallel favorite: khathadome & khathachan + ao3 tags, sometimes i make myself giggle

MAY popular: gwen being missed at the rehearsal dinner favorite: aye + love languages in our skyy 2 (had to help him beat the allegations of being a bad boyfriend)

JUNE popular: tian getting the 1000th star favorite: unhinged game of musical chairs

JULY popular: it's a tie folks... yeol being moved by ye chan's request & tien calling his future boyfriend an asshole for kissing his brother (which is fair) favorite: mok & mek absolutely devstating us all in ep 9 & 10 (let aj & jj be leads)

AUGUST popular: sand x ray dynamics favorite: actually popular is probably my favorite too but honorable mention would be the set i made before only friends aired because i was so hyped and i have actually started the video for the song and i plan to finish it

SEPTEMBER popular: only friends ep 6 +txt posts (felt like the funniest person because of the tags on this so thank you) favorite: ray + my final symphony (put my whole ussy into it)

OCTOBER popular: only friends ep 9 + txt posts favorite: it's a tie for me and both are khao/ray related...shocker... ray + five4three2one & fuck it, we bawl ft khao crying

NOVEMBER popular: khem, the comedian (this actually broke containment which good, it was funny) favorite: mork x day dino fight (i wanted to gif the entire scene)

DECEMBER popular: dani x jamie + make it a rom-com favorite: it's my blog url namesake...don't judge me...ray pakorn + character profile & ray pakorn + character study

tagging: anyone who wants to because i didn't actually look to see who's been tagged or who has done this 💛

[aroaessidhe]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

The Art of Prophecy - this was so fun and made just for me I enjoyed it a lot The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist - really good and also quite unique for the space it’s sitting in I think! The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - this is very good and fun I loved it

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

The World We Make - love this duology!! NK Jemisin does it again etc etc A Day of Fallen Night - prequel technically, but I enjoyed it a lot and more than priory I think! Sailing By Carina’s Star - i am enjoying this trilogy a lot we love queer pirates The Shadow Cabinet - somehow even more wild than the first book

3. New release you haven’t read yet

I don’t keep lists of books I need to read, so of course when I try to think of something my mind goes blank, here’s a couple from my library holds/kindle To Shape A Dragon’s Breath Wander The Night also does Flight & Anchor count if I’ve read the original patreon version but not the published version yet

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

(same situation lmao) I’m looking forward to He Who Drowned The World! that’s the first thing that comes to mind

5. Biggest disappointment

tbqh I’ve read a lot of disappointments but they’re mostly self published ones that I read soley because of aspec characters that didn’t hold up in the writing department and are not very well known anyway. (I’ve read tons of selfpubs that are amazing too of course!!) so I’ll just mention some traditionally published ones: Rosewater - I did go into this with the wrong expectations for one, but also the MC was so (intentionally) misogynistic it was hard to enjoy :/ The Wicked Remain - there were a few iffy things in the first book but also things I liked and the second book just...didn’t really add to the things I liked. idk Song of Silver, Flame Like Night - I knew this wasn’t gonna be entirely for me in the first place but man what was up with the only other female character (that’s not dead) having an absolute caricature of a mean girl rivalry with the MC in like. a calling each other slurs kind of way not a fun way

6. Biggest surprise

Beating Heart Baby - I enjoy reading YA contemporary but there’s usually a limit to how much I enjoy it compared to sff, but this went beyond what I expected and I really loved it The Meister of Decimen City - I didn’t have any expectations for this, someone just mentioned it on a discord and I got it from the library, but I loved it a lot!

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

See generally I only call people favourite authors if I’ve read and loved like, at least 3 separate books from them, and I don’t really have any of those for this year.....you need to work to get my loyalty Here’s a few authors that I’ve read a second book/series from them this year and am like, ah yes, I will read the next one: Ceinwen Langley Rebecca Schaeffer Liselle Sambury

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

tbh I’m not one to separate an individual character from their book or like, the other characters surrounding them very often, so I just can’t think of anything specific... all the women in The Art of Prophecy are great

9. Book that made you cry

I’ve actually started recording this in my stats this year HAHA, with “fully crying” “teared up” and “cried from cute/happiness” and,, I did not expect that there are only 3 books that have made me fully cry????? Which are: In Other Lands and Lirael (nostalgia def has a part to play in both of those) and Beating Heart Baby. I can’t remember why I cried for that one but clearly it was a lot lmao

10. Book that made you happy

I mean it’s a reread but In Other Lands of course

World Running Down - only just read this and I really enjoyed it! a good mix of an interesting sci-fi future that isn’t super dark but also doesn’t shy away from various issues, and an interesting romance! (me enjoying a romance, shocker)

witch hat atelier! - how could it Not make you happy tbh

thanks @violaeade for tagging me!

I will tag @thereadingchallengechallenge @nycorix @speculatives @dkafterdark and anyone else who wants I guess

[ilikereadingactually]

Masquerade

Masquerade by O. O. Sangoyomi

this book was not what i expected, in a number of ways! i found it compellingly and skillfully written, but also perplexing and surprising from start to finish. i actually went and read some other reviews of it just to get my head around my reactions, and was a little baffled to see it called a fantasy, and intrigued by the marketing saying it's loosely based on the myth of Persephone. i can see that part a bit, in retrospect, but it wouldn't have occurred to me if i hadn't been told. what it felt like to me was historical fiction, in a time and place (pre-colonial Yorubaland) that is very unfamiliar to me, which was really fascinating to read!

it's also so unusual, at least within my reading wheelhouses, to encounter such a detached and morally gray first-person protagonist. Òdòdó felt like a mystery to me, even though the reader is theoretically inside her head; it seemed like some of her most impulsive actions and reactions were not only a surprise to me, but also a surprise to her. the masquerade is at every level, somehow! i didn't really find myself rooting for her, but it was intriguing to watch her lean into the brutality of the system she was kidnapped into, and gradually turn it for her own gain. like, badass, but also it's unusual to watch a character have so many chances to take a moral stand and always choose the most self-serving one, without ever being really sure about why or how she feels about these choices. maybe this is just my taste, but i guess i wanted a little more of Òdòdó's interiority!

but overall, as a look into a history i know nothing about, it was compelling. and had really interesting structural things going on—a brief dip into second person, some mirroring plot points between Òdòdó and the king she's engaged to marry, some twists the reader is meant to see coming and some that are shockers! a page-turning read.

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley from NetGalley, which i am yet again very behind on and playing catch-up.

try this if you: are interested in West African history and mythology, dig a woman growing into her power and ruthlessness, or love a good cameo by an elephant with attitude.

some lines i really liked:

Light the world through the night Keep this glow inside your heart Flowers wilt, lands dwindle But survival is the art

___

As I walked away, I heard Okóbí mutter behind me, "She makes that silly flower again and again, yet she still does not understand that it would not have died had it not been beautiful enough to be picked in the first place."

pub date: July 2, 2024! Go find it at your indie or library!!

[viciouslyfilthy]

Character Info Sheet

Name: Rotgut

Name meaning: literally just means putrified intestines. Shocker I know /j

Alias(es)/nicknames: La Tripa Podrida (basically his name's meaning but in spanish), Gut, Lust, the roach, little old man, The Thing below Barcelona (by spanish news articles), the cockroach man 'el hombre cucaracha' (by spanish news articles again).

Etchnicity: arab, european hispanic (Iberian Peninsula).

One picture you like best of your character:

Sorry y'all I'm gonna have to break the rules here because I can't just choose ONE picture I like best😔 here we go:

[First (1) image of Rotgut smiling mischievously is not the mun's art; it is a part of an art trade with the artist @crazy-eyed-doggo on Instagram ; second (2) image of Rotgut has been drawn in an exaggerated cartoonish style to re-imagine what the character would look like if he were a villain in shows like Powerpuff Girls/Billy&Mandy ; third (3) image of Rotgut is directly referencing this meme video. Translation: "and in return, you sign your ass, over to me." ; fourth (4) is a video of Rotgut introducing himself, with two drawings put together featuring his voiceclaim.]

Three h/cs you've never told anyone:

Rotgut enjoys crossdressing! He's curious to experiment with his own gender sometimes, either that or he just wants to feel pretty in a different look. (It's one of those rare cases where he will shower and clean himself up NOT because he's expecting to get laid lol)

Rotgut has collected a good amount of objects and trinkets during his 800 years of life. From old coins that you'd find displayed in a museum today; to ancient books (diaries or bibles), jewelry and clothes.

Sometimes he will go on for so long being unclean (we're talking decades) that actual fungi will start to grow on his body/clothes, specifically stinkhorn mushrooms.

Three things your character likes doing in their free time:

Sex and reading porn aside (to the surprise of absolutely nobody) Gut enjoys watching soap operas and reading classic tragic romance books. (William Shakespeare would be his favourite author in this case)

Playing with marbles. Always brings a bag with him if he's going on a trip!!

Try new recipes while cooking. He likes to expand/improve his cuisine. Sometimes asks Cornelius for guidance or tips.

Eight people your character likes/loves:

His kids, all 30 of them but for the sake of this dash game we will assume that counts as one <3

Himself ofc.

August. (his plague bestie!!)

Edgar the Bug (Men in Black)

Jeremiah.

Taryn.

Cornelius/Versy.

Captain Josep Frascona.

Two things your character regrets:

(During moments of self-awareness) he regrets the person he's become now. He knows his behaviour is unlikeable and indecent, because of this ofc most everyone around him hates him or is scared of him- which leads him to not being able to bring his kids out in public (or alternatively, he gives them a bad reputation when they become adults because of who they're related to) because he's scared they might get hurt as a result of people who hate him; he knows it's his fault for this outcome, but he hates everyone around him (that aren't his children) and just refuses to let go. He resents humanity for how much he has been pushed around, mocked and hurt physically in the past for just existing. He doesn't think anyone is worthy of recieving genuine kindness because deep down they're all just as disgusting as he is. This leads to ego and self-importance that makes him feel superior to others because he's not scared of showing just how revolting one can be + he's not human anymore + he's immortal + he can control/speak to hoards of cockroaches.

He also regrets having placed his distaste for humanity so high he's passed it down on his first generation of children. For the most part, this has caused a few of his children to distance themselves from him, like for example Judith and Kolvenik, which hurt him deeply. Kolvenik flat out blames his father and his hatred for humanity as to why he's developed his genetic disorder that has caused him to permanently shed off his human disguise as he got older (which is completely incorrect just to clarify; how Rotgut feels towards mankind has nothing to do with Kolvenik's genetic issue, he just hates and resents his father mostly as a form of projecting his own self-hatred living as a humanoid bug monster that can't have a human form).

Rotgut tries to better himself non-stop when it comes to raising his newest kids, because he wants to see them be happy and make friends and connections, be likeable and be liked by others regardless of what species they are, unlike him. This makes him a bit hypocritical since when he's on his own, he openly goes back to his old ways & antics- with his kids however he just kind of puts on a mask.

Two phobias your character has:

Philophobia -> fear of genuinely falling in love.

Athazagoraphobia -> fear of being forgotten by loved ones/forgetting someone important to him.

Tagged by: @frostcorpsclub

Tagging: ALLLLLL of you👈🤨

[rebelcharmings]

💖🤮❤️💜🃏?

💖 favourite character?

huge shocker - it’s lizzie🥰🥰🥰. i said this in my previous ask on which character i’m most like, and again it’s bc i find her relatable in a way. but other than that i just . idk love her character sm. i love how she tries to act all tough and like her mother but she’s actually just a sweetheart that wants friends and she just misses her mother and her homeland :(. that being said i love her character in the book just a little bit more than the show bc she feels more unhinged and i love it. and u can also properly see her development from wanting to be this isolated powerful queen to finally opening up to others. in the show i feel like it’s such a jump from her screaming Off With Your Head to everything and then spring unsprung she’s suddenly a sweetie that wants to design clothes for her friends. which isn’t necessarily a criticism bc i get that briar helped her realise she doesn’t have to follow her mother exactly, i just prefer how it’s portrayed in the book more. also am obsessed with her character design it’s just . so good.

🤮 least favourite character?

i’m sorry but.. crystal. just the way she acted was sooo ughhh i’m sorry ik that was the point the fact she’s a spoiled princess but it still annoyed me. like wdym “my pixies always help me when i’m in trouble” GIRL WHO CARES YOURE TWO SECONDS AWAY FROM FALLING TO YOUR DEATH JUST JUMP!!!! and i’ll admit i don’t know much of her original fairytale so i also thought the whole spoiled princess storyline w would’ve felt more satisfying with a character we’ve known for longer.. unless like i said it ties into her story somehow. but yea sorry crystal enjoyers she just ain’t for me

❤️ top 3 royals?

1. lizzie again obviously

2. dexter even tho it doesn’t make sense for him to be a royal but apparently he’s still technically one so . yes him. he’s just a silly guy who wants to prove himself and is also massively down bad for raven. when i read the books, anytime he spoke or was described i was just thinking “Aww i want to squish him”. i especially love his short story of before his legacy year i thought that was cool. wish we could’ve seen more of him being brave or proving himself somehow in the show. also fellow swiftie🤝

3. daring or apple… bc i love analysing both and defending them with my heart bc the show does them soo dirty. daring more so bc apple being a main character means she gets more focus on her motivations and development etc but daring doesn’t . the most ppl see of him in depth is��.. epic winters…… if they don’t read the books they don’t get he’s actually a Good Man a bit self obsessed and a himbo but a Good Man who LIKES helping people and does it without hesitation. ppl just Don’t understand daring like i do……. i also love his and apple’s friendship dynamic . peak mlm and wlw solidarity.

💜 top 3 rebels?

1. raven!!! my other fellow swiftie🤝she’s just a cool girl idk what else to say, just love how she’s so unrelenting in her beliefs. even when she wants to sign the book her beliefs don’t change she just doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her friends. and same again when she Does sign the real book. but she’s still just a inherently sweet and nice girl despite it all i love her

2. darling. the charming twins both being my second favs is funny but yea she’s also cool and she is so badass in her book. but also a very considerate person especially when it comes to her brother . love her

3. maddie!! the silliest of girls. the show doesn’t expand on her more than the comic relief best friend but she is soo cool in the book especially when she has to take over for the narrator. that was a fun time. she’s just so cutesy and i love her

🃏 top 3 wonderlandians?

i’m being redundant now but. lizzie, maddie, kitty. there’s not much i haven’t already said for lizzie and maddie, but kitty has always been in my top list of fav eah characters bc i liked her mischievousness and as a kid i thought her powers were so cool too?? i also just like the mischievous cat characters i remember thinking torelai from mh was so cool too

[doubleddenden]

Honestly I really hate when people say there's something reasonably wrong with a Pokémon game and then bring up sales numbers, and then specifically bashes gen 5 for not selling "well"

An essay I guess

First off the gen 5 games sold pretty well for games in general, just not that well for a Pokémon game and certainly not by today's standards with a wider and accessible audience.

Second, there's a multitude of reasons gen 5 didn't sell as well but still are praised by millions. One of which is why we now have near simultaneous world launches.

ROMs.

It's actually pretty easy to run ROMs, so easy in fact that western side fans were playing new Pokémon games the week of release in Japan. This goes back as far as Platinum, but was getting better as of HGSS. People were (and still are) happy just spamming A, so the language difference didn't matter- even so, fans were translating the games faster than TPC was localizing them. Popular mods was something like a basic battle translation- just translating the names, types, and descriptions of moves and abilities. Given time, and especially by the time BW would release, fans also made translation mods for the games' plots, usually a couple of months before it hit stores.

So with all of this in mind, do you think it's just a coincidence that sales shot up when XY released world wide at the same time?

Of course I realize that's not the only issue. Nah, see BW released at a pretty low point for fans.

I don't think it's unreasonable to say most people who play the games have been fans since they were kids- at the time for gen 5, this was definitely still the case, as most fans of the franchise were in high school at the time, assuming they got into the games when they were 5 or so around gen 1 or 2. There was definitely a handful of fans picking up the games for the first time with gen 3 and 4, usually around the ages of 5 to 7 as well, but the main audience at the time was a little older- hence why the games started getting more complex plots and themes, and the characters for BW reflecting that by being older than usual as well.

Maybe it was just me, but by middle school everyone was beating me up and making fun of me for the SLIGHTEST thing, let alone high school. It wasn't cool to like pokemon at the time- shocker when you compare it to 2016 when people were breaking into yards and government properties and shit for a Cubone in PoGo. High school was the era everyone was trying so hard to fit in and seem more grown up than they actually were, still is from what I'm hearing.

Not to mention, pokemon fans at the time did not defend every little thing Game Freak did like they do today. These days they could sell a Switch game that's just a JPEG image of Pikachu, charge it for $70, and a good chunk of fans will defend it and call it art, and it would sell for millions. Not everyone, obviously, but people who speak out against it would get screamed at by defenders. Hell you still can't point out the very obvious, GLARING issues with the Switch games from a technical and consumer standpoint, let alone point out the bad corporate politics, without some twitter user screaming at you until they're red in the face.

That's actually a pretty common fandom thing these days- even Sonic the Hedgehog has people defending it now, and that fandom was putrid toxic before the movie. You gotta understand, people would get doxxed on forums for saying they liked SA2 and not Sonic 3 & Knuckles. It was bad. Really bad. Compare this to your average pokemon fan, and pokemon is actually pretty lovely.

Back in 2010, this defensive fandom behavior was not the case at all. Teens and early 20 somethings were much more cynical and edgy- this includes pokemon fans. 1 garbage and ice cream pokemon was all it took to make it a laughing stock- completely ignoring worse pokemon like Mr Mime and Jinx from when they were kids. Adults too hopped in on this, and genwunners ESPECIALLY hounded it to hell and back. Not to mention normal people thinking you're weird or outright being hostile and antagonistic towards you if you hinted at liking it.

In short, being a pokemon fan just wasn't IN at the time. This, despite there being a ton of effort to write a more complex plot and include an entire region of some pretty amazing new designs like Samurott, Haxorus, Gigalith, Krookodile, Whimsicott, Braviary, Carracosta, etc.

So of course when X and Y dropped, they began what is now a DECADE of nostalgic Kanto pandering to bring back old fans. Charizard got TWO new megas, and one was black and cool and had blue flames, and Mewtwo got 2 new Megas and one looked like goddamn Frieza. You got Kalos starters, sure, but you'd get Kanto starters after your first badge. Your first encounter was a Pidgey, Santalune Forest was just a shorter 3d Viridian forest- it was very clear who they were pandering to. Whether it was vindication for the petty genwunner that refused to play a game without Pikachu, or it was that jock that saw Blastoise getting a Mega and remembered loving his pokemon cards as a kid, the strategy worked and the momentum would carry further with GO in 2016. Not to mention the games were extremely easy, even without EXP share, so the person that couldn't understand why fire isn't killing this water type could just win via bigger numbers.

The prime chunk of audience at the time would be in college or older at the time, too. Unlike high school and middle school, suddenly it was cool to have interests outside of your stereotypical high school party movie. I mean, it was still prime time for alcohol and trying/failing to get laid, but now your friends had 3ds's and a shiny Machamp they want to show you. Yeah you could go to parties, but you could also freely participate in dorm wide pokemon tournaments and people would excitedly gather to watch, fan or not. Hell, they'd combine the two sometimes by having pokemon battles and beer related stakes. Hell, your college professor might even have a Pokémon day for fun.

Plus, there was the whole novelty that Pokémon on a handheld was ***THREE DEE OOOOOOO~~~~***

College in general was just a time for people to realize that life is way too shitty to try to constantly keep up a fake adult aura. Shit, it was not out of the ordinary to have dorm watch parties from anything including Naruto, The Walking Dead, and Pokémon movies. It was cool to actually like things again!

Now. All of this in mind- plus keeping in mind that they would have a SIMULTANEOUS world wide release on the exact same day- keeping further in mind that it's harder to emulate a 3ds or Switch game that it is a DS game.

THAT'S why gen 5 sold "poorly" in comparison to other gens. Tldr: roms and the target audience thinking pokemon wasn't cool at the time.

In comparison today, it's way more popular due to the novelty of the Switch anyway which not only has the casual Smash Bros, but a god damn dragon's hoard of amazing originals like BoTW or Mario Odyssey, and amazing ports like The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption- basically people would usually buy a ds or 3ds for Pokemon- MAYBE Kingdom Hearts or Mario, but now people are buying it for Donkey Kong, CoD, FIFA, etc, so you have a wider audience that might consider buying it as well.

This, and the outright milking of nostalgia. The average fan is a working adult now, not having to beg their parents to buy a system or game for them- not to mention we're now in an era where pokemon fans RAISE pokemon fans. Whether it's the guy that had cards as a kid thinking it's a good idea to have his 5 year old play Blue for their first game (in this day and age? Not really, but go off), or a mega fan getting the current game for their kid, that's the fandom right now, which guarantees more sales. Add in more influencers from Twitch and YouTube and throw in sponsorships to Vtubers or a standard streamer or animator- it is everywhere right now. Hell, I'd argue it's even more popular with adults than kids these days. It really isn't unreasonable to invite friends over for a movie night in your apartment and whip out pokemon to 1v1 one of them.

The games practically sell themselves now. You never really see a TV ad for pokemon, the majority of marketing is now by fans for fans online or in person.

Compare this to 2010, social media is still pretty young, smart phones are barely a thing, looking things up online wasn't as easy as reaching in your pocket, and again, cynical teens and adults think pokemon is uncool, and being seen with a DS could ruin your reputation.

And I'm already prepared for the eventual Unova revisits not selling as well as whatever new gen came out at the time- enhanced versions and remakes hardly ever sell as well as new gen pokemon games. But I think people will be very surprised by how well it actually does in this day and age sales wise.

Unova as a whole was just a wrong place and wrong time scenario. If it released today instead, it would have been praised for it's storyntelling, characters, pokedex, locations, hell even the mc designs.

Sales numbers do not denote whether something is good or not. Most Marvel fans agree Endgame sucked ass, but it sold pretty well. Most people will agree the Gamecube was cool, but it sold poorly. Boycotting doesn't work for Pokemon either because it's too big to fail, and people will literally buy multiples of each game for some reason or another. SwSh sold the best out of the franchise, but that doesn't excuse its piss poor story, empty wild area, annoying characters, and poor route design. Scarlet and Violet have a great story and are pretty fun, and are selling very, VERY well, but that doesn't mean it's not the poorest performing pokemon game on any system when there's hundreds of glitches and poor visuals that hamper enjoyment for a lot of people.

Anyway that's my piece

[thesinisterseventh]

My Top First-Time Watch Movies of 2022

Warning: this post is super fucking long and contains brief reviews for several movies, so I put it under a read more for you. Also, the opinions reflected in here are purely my own—and I added little content warnings for films that I personally believe needed them, if you haven’t seen them yet.

1. Scrooge (2022)

I feel bad for putting THIS at the top of my list, but my autistic brain latched onto this one like a hungry leech. I am a sucker for animated musicals.

Every song in this movie is a banger. The movie is a very fresh take on A Christmas Carol, with some of the best expressive character animation I’ve seen this year! Probably my favorite take on Jacob Marley’s ghost, as well. This movie actually didn’t forget that it’s the charity and company that Scrooge can’t stand about the season, not Christmas itself, which is a trap a lot of modern adaptations fall into.

I ended up rewatching this one several times instead of going through my holiday movie list. Highly recommended if you enjoyed movies like The Greatest Showman!

2. The Haunting (1963)

Now, my favorite novel of all time is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, so the fact that this skyrocketed to the near top of the list was a shocker. But it really isn’t a shocker!

This film is an absolute gem! It has a mastery of foreboding atmosphere and “show, don’t tell.” Oftentimes you’ll come away from a supernatural experience with more questions than answers—but that’s what I love about it (and the book it was based on) so much! The cinematography feels so cold and isolating, a perfect choice. The cast is absolutely phenomenal and I adored that the film incorporated my favorite passage from the book in the script.

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against the hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”

- first paragraph of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House

3. Knives Out (2019)

Now, before I watched this, I’ll admit I love a good mystery, but I wasn’t a “whodunnit” kind of person. This film utterly changed my mind on the genre, and I hope they release like 50 more of these before me or Daniel Craig kicks the bucket.

I think it’s actually his work that makes this film such a standout for me; he’s a lovely revival of the detective character, as competent as he is “out there.” As someone native to the Southern USA, I actually find his accent rather charming and comforting—but maybe that’s part of his shtick, playing it up to make others feel comfortable. It’s a great character choice.

The mystery in the film is fantastic and, just when you think you have it figured out, the film—and Blanc—are one step ahead of you.

To the emetophobic: BEWARE. There’s no amount of looking away that will save you. I promise.

4. Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

First of all, damn, this movie. This was one of my most anticipated films of the year, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. Hell, the only reason this isn’t number one is that the previous three played to my personal tastes more.

As someone who grew up adoring Disney’s Pinocchio, I was apprehensive about this one, given that Disney’s, while endearing, has its own issues (Stromboli, the unresolved Pleasure Island donkey subplot, and I learned recently that sweet Gepetto was apparently voiced by a motherfucking Nazi sympathizer. Actually, come to think of that last point, it makes this film a LOVELY middle finger to that guy.)

This is a film that speaks to the sweetness of innocence but also its dangers. Whereas the original Pinocchio championed obedience to one’s elders, this film asks, “Why? But what if our elders are wrong?” I think this film will actually be such a great way to explain the concept of fascism to children and why it’s so prevalent and dangerous today. Also, this has one of my favorite interpretations of the fairy, but I won’t spoil her!

Also, let Ewan McGregor sing.

5. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

I have admittedly not watched all of the Ghibli movies, and I did not have the privilege to see them in my childhood. I actually like that I get to watch these with an expanded palette, so to speak.

We watched the English dub of this movie, and it was extremely well done. I also adored the post-apocalyptic fantasy aesthetic of this movie—Miyazaki went nuts with the alien flora. As someone who started out with Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo, I was surprised at the more mature turn the film took, but I think that’s why it’s become one of my favorites.

6. Nope (2022)

Holy shit. Holy FUCK.

This is actually the one film on this list that falls squarely into the category of “that was the best movie I’ve ever seen! Please never let me watch it again!”

This is pants-shitting.

I normally do decent with horror flicks, but this one had me squeezing my fiancée’s hand in abject terror in the theater. I won’t spoil the twist, but the marriage of the Old West and the alien gave this movie such a unique atmosphere. You’ve never seen anything like it, and probably never will again.

Keke Palmer’s performance is the greatest, without a doubt.

To the severely claustrophobic, heed my warning: this film WILL trigger you. Just take my word for it as someone who isn’t. Also, very much implied child death hell. One of the several reasons this was a fabulous one-and-done.

7. Glass Onion (2022)

It’s very difficult for a film written about recent events DURING those recent events to feel timely, but somehow, this film pulled it off.

Daniel Craig doubles down on Blanc’s character for this film, and he’s as hysterical as ever. Janelle Monae’s performance, though, blows his miles out of the water. If she doesn’t get some kind of award for this film, we riot. 

Also, if you hate the Elongated Muskrat, you will have a very good cackle at several parts of this movie.

The central mystery isn’t quite as good as Knives Out, but after watching it, that may sort of be the point. Make that judgment for yourself.

8. Psycho (1960)

I was hesitant about this one. However, this film is such a historic landmark that I couldn’t just leave it alone. This film is sort of a proto-slasher, the beginning of your Friday the 13th series, your Nightmare on Elm Street, and so on.

Also, at the time, the Hays Code was still in effect, which did not allow certain things to be depicted. This film stirred up a bit of controversy by showing a flushing toilet onscreen, unavoidable since the flushed material contains some important clues. (This actually isn’t the first American film to depict a flushing toilet, though—there’s a movie called Going Wild from 1930 that has a flushing toilet scene, but the Hays Code didn’t really hammer down on Hollywood until a few years later, so Psycho’s toilet scene is remembered for the taboo of showing it, not for being the first. ✨Trivia!✨)

The film itself is incredibly solid. Anthony Perkins is the standout by far as Norman Bates, though, upon looking into the actor’s biography… without spoiling anything, it makes this film extremely depressing, in hindsight. He does such a fantastic job at portraying a friendliness that is perfectly empty. Still very well done.

As a not-cis person, I feel the need to warn that if you don’t know about the ending, some language and ideas about gender really didn’t age well. It doesn’t end up being the explanation, but be aware of that. It can be pretty awkward, but it wasn’t personally as bad as I was expecting it to be. People with personality disorders may actually have a harder time watching this movie because of archaic stereotypes about them. (I mean, the title isn’t exactly promising about avoiding significant ableism.) Your mileage may vary, but be aware of this if you haven’t seen it and want to watch.

A piece of history!

9. Princess Mononoke (1997)

The animation and the character design for this one is solid, and the dub’s work was pretty good. Admittedly, I do not get the hype behind this one. It is very gorgeous art—but, to me, it didn’t feel like a film. The pacing in a lot of Miyazaki’s work is a slow burn, but this one left me to simmer just a little too long. I felt like I was watching a painting meander for a couple of hours. It was harder to grow attached to characters, and it was just a little too “out there” for me. I acknowledge its beauty and significance, though!

And The Mummy (1932), which was absolute balls and will receive no number. You deserve nothing. The makeup was pretty baller, though.

[the-golden-ghost]

ooh what do you know about uhh goosebumps!

Okay this one's funny cause I was a huge Goosebumps Kid so I'll try to just summarize every one I can remember from childhood LET'S GO:

Welcome to Dead House: Girl moves to town. Town's haunted. Havoc ensues. I think this was the first one ever published.

Phantom of the Auditorium: R. L. Stine deciding "what do kids love? Phantom of the Opera references?" and making a whole book dedicated to the concept. +1 for really good twist at the end

Ghost Beach: Beach with ghosts on it. I remember this one had a reaper thing on the cover but the actual ghosts were just kids who died of plague in like, 1800. I think it was also in New England! :)

Ghost Camp: Camp's haunted

Shocker on Shock Street: Kids go on a theme park tour but the theme park monsters are REAL and the kids are ROBOTS and idk man this one was wild. I liked it though

The Girl Who Cried Monster: Librarian's a monster and he eats bugs or something? Or turtles? I dunno man

Night of the Living Dummy 2: Okay this one's funny cause there was an earlier book called Night of the Living Dummy. And it's almost completely forgotten. Slappy, the evil dummy who became the FACE of the series and the most notable standout character in the entire run? He only appears in the sequel. I don't even know what the original dummy was called. They also filmed this one for the TV series but ONLY this one, not the original. So the TV episode is called Night of the Living Dummy 2 and there is no Night of the Living Dummy 1 in the TV series at all. Anyway it's about a ventriloquist dummy who tries to enslave his owner

Go Eat Worms!: I don't really remember what this is about at all I just found the title really funny. I think it's about a kid who's cursed and worms show up everywhere.

Lawn Gnomes Attack Manhattan: No but I don't remember the actual title of this one. I just remember it was about evil lawn gnomes and even as a kid I thought it was stupid but they can't all be bangers

Night in Tower Terror? Terror Tower?: I think I only saw the TV episode of this and it freaked me out. However it's also based on the Actual Real Life Murder of two children (the nephews of Richard III, Edward V and Richard of York) which makes it possibly the bleakest inspiration for a Goosebumps book albeit Stine really fictionalized it and also it happened in the 1400s

Calling All Creeps: Some kid puts a prank ad for creeps in his local newspaper and gets creeps to show up. I think they were like lizard aliens idk

The Beast From the East: What if the jungle was real and tried to KILL YOU

Chicken Chicken: Girl gets cursed to turn into a chicken. Slightly scarier than it sounds

How to Kill a Monster: Terrible grandparents summon a Swamp Thing and try to feed their grandkids to it

That Weird Vampire Time-Travel One: Kid finds his grandpa's vampire corpse in the basement and Vampire Grandpa wakes up and tries to eat him. And then time travels back to the 1800s for some reason cause I guess vampires are only scary in the 1800s?

Ghost School: A lot of these are just called "Ghost *regular place*" but this one was particularly fucked up cause the ghosts were actually kids who got trapped in a living photograph by an evil photographer. Which sounds dumb but they were permanently ensnared in this black and white void where time never passed for like... decades and decades as the outside world slowly moved on and forgot about them. And they never got rescued or anything. They were literally just left to their fate. One of the more messed up endings in the series

The Haunted Mask: OH MAN how did I miss this one. This was probably the Gold Standard for the TV show episodes. Freaked me out SO bad as a kid. It's about a girl who wears a mask that permanently affixes to her face and it's WILD

The Cuckoo Clock of Doom: Kid gets trapped in a Time Vortex and ends up erasing his bratty sister from the face of history etc.

The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight: Evil scarecrows. That's pretty much it but this one and Harold from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark are probably the reason for my lifelong Scarecrow Phobia so

The One Where The Kids Turn Into Dogs And Never Get Changed Back: !!! honestly the ending made me so mad. I forget the name of it though

One Day At Horrorland: A classic! It's about an evil theme park :) Don't go down the Doom Slide!

Stay Out of The Basement: Kids' dad turns into an evil mad scientist but it turns out he's actually an evil plant clone of their dad who's just posing as their dad. Wild

That One Where The Camera Kills You: I don't remember the title but the camera predicts the future. However it causes whatever Future Event it depicts to also be like. You Will Be Maimed And Slaughtered Horribly

Jack O Lanterns... Attack... Manhattan?: I don't remember the title of this one either. It was basically What If You Got Kidnapped By Pumpkin Monsters and they Made You Celebrate Halloween For All Eternity. Would that be fucked up or what

Uhhh Bnuy: Evil Stage Magician Turns A Kid Into A Rabbit or something I forgor. I think there was a sorcerer named Greg in there somewhere? Like I remember that being a joke

Piano Lessons Can Be Murder: Kid goes to piano lessons and gets murdered. I mean not really but almost lmao. Also the freaky handless ghost woman who scared the SHIT out of me when I was 12

Help My Neighbor's A Ghost: I don't remember the name of this one either but the main character thinks the new kid who just moved in is a ghost. Turns out she (the main character) died in a fire 20 years ago and she's the actual ghost and her best friend never writes to her because she died ages ago and stuff. It's actually kind of sad; I don't recall the title but it stuck with me

How I Learned to Fly: About a kid who learns to fly which ISN'T SCARY OR A HORROR CONCEPT

The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena: Bigfoot but he lives in California now. Yeah a scientist found him and brought him back. Yeah he's got Scary Bigfoot Ice Powers too and keeps freezing people solid

Beware the Snowman: I think this was actually the first one I ever read? This one's about a cursed town under the domain of an evil snowman (not like Bigfoot I mean like an actual irl snowman. Like Frosty) but the snowman's actually an evil magician who was turned into a snowman by his rival or something. This one's also kind of wild but it's decently good!

[leviticus101st]

Spider-Man 2 Thoughts

I've 100% the game, absolutely loved it, and thought I'd share some top of my head thoughts.

A lot of spoilers here, so I'll do a cut thing.

Pros: (Spoilers, I love this game.)

The writing is as superb as the previous games. Both Peter and Miles are given very good plotlines and there is some genuinely wonderful stuff.

The gadgets system is greatly simplified and less unwieldy than the previous games, making the action lose none of its momentum.

The bosses feel much more cinematic than the previous games, but in a way where it doesn’t intrude on the actual gameplay.

We get to play as Venom and the whole thing is glorious and scene where he kills Kraven is cold as fuck. (Yes, I fanboyed so hard at that part.)

The minigames and puzzles are much shorter and they can be skipped and are actually fun, so they are nowhere near as intrusive as the first game.

MOST of the costumes are super cool.

Mysterio’s plotline is genuinely amazing and makes me (A hard Mysterio stan) very happy.

Peter and Miles are given vastly different abilities that make them stand out from each other more.

The stuff with MJ is now tolerable and her gameplay sections are MUCH better than the first game. Thank the Spider-Totem.

The game play still feels as good as the previous ones.

Cons: (This one is admittedly this one is gonna be shorter.)

For some reason, we don’t get the full view of the map at the start. I don’t mean that we have to do the tower slide mission from the first game, but instead we have to swing all over the map…Why? There was no reason to do this. Just have the full map visible from the start like ya did in Miles’ game.

After Venom kills Kraven, neither he nor his hunters are mentioned again in the main story. It feels like they wanted to use the same plot layout from the first game, but here it just doesn’t feel as fitting.

You can’t replay the levels, even though you could in Miles’ game. Which is especially upsetting because-

You only play as Venom once. It is a glorious level, but the fact that it’s a one-scene wonder deal is a bit disappointing.

I feel that having Kraven kill off Electro, Scorpion, Vulture, and SHOCKER! Was a mistake. Like c’mon, they couldn’t have just had him kill off Screwball, who is thankfully not in this game. (I love the implication that Shocker put up the best fight though.)

The Spider-Bot collectables don’t show up on the map. I’m pretty sure this is just a glitch, because why would you do that deliberately?

I think having Harry live in the end was a mistake. I think it would have made the sequel tease of the Green Goblin in the next game much stronger, also this ending just makes Peter look like an idiot for not just telling Norman that they were able to revive Harry.

Tombstone becoming a good guy in this game is just……really weird. Given his portrayal in the first game this feels really out of character. C’mon, ya couldn’t give my boi Shocker a happy ending?

And I think that’s it. Overall, I really loved this game despite the hiccups.

Okay, one more thing, I want to know why for the 2nd post credit scene they went with Cindey-

[bawbio]

Ok so heads up i'm gonna be slightly changing up how i'm doing my media thread stuff, mainly i'm gonna be tagging stuff for the year i did it in for any games i did in 2023 or later with #beeb's 2023 media stuff and incrementing that up as the years go on. Then anything being ported over from my twitter thread from before 2023 will be ported with the #beeb's 2021 media stuff and #beeb's 2022 media stuff respectively.

Anyways so here's the first entirely new entry and not a port from my twitter media thead, master detective archives raincode. Kodaka the danganronpa guy's most recent game, raincode is another mystery series (big shocker) from the man himself and it follows the story of an amnesiac detective named yuma kokohead and his spectral companion shinigami solving mysteries together. So ultimately at its core raincode kinda gives off danganronpa like vibes considering the iconic danganronpa art style and the gameplay in the mystery labyrinths in some cases basically being reskinned danganronpa trilogy trial minigames like the final thing is literally just the closing argument stuff from danganronpa, and the reasoning deathmatches are very trial adjacent but regardless they're still pretty fun, even if they're honestly pretty easy imo considering yuma's titanic health pool and them giving not so subtle jabs towards the right answer if you try and slash through the wrong statement or use the wrong key so odds are you're probably not gonna have too much trouble with the mystery labyrinths unless you're like me and you're fucking terrible at hangman style things such as the shinigami puzzles, which were the only things i game overed to the entire time i was playing the game.

The characters in raincode can vary wildly in quality, from bangers in my humble opinion like yakou, halara, fubuki, and vivia to abominations against all that is good like desuhiko and especially shinigami, like i fucking HATE shinigami. Shinigami is extremely annoying, she never shuts up and isn't really funny at all like basically any time she's talking i'd rather she just shuts the fuck up, or at least that's how i was at the start of the game, over the course of the game i think i ended up getting stockholm syndromed intro tolerating both of them but like even if i've grown numb to their bullshit they're still annoying as fuck. Otherwise most of the other characters are mostly pretty ok. Although in another parallel to danganronpa fubuki feels very similar to sonia nevermind from danganronpa 2 except probably even dumber.

Raincode's mysteries are overally really really nice, certain annoying characters withstanding. Like even with all the weird shit that kodaka does i at least gotta hand it to him, he knows how to write a good mystery. Uh i suppose if i were to give raincode a chapter ranking i'd say they're in this order, top being best bottom being worst 4 5 (Honestly 4 and 5 are really close i could probably swap them around depending on my mood) 0 1 Gap 2 (Desuhiko and Shinigami are to blame for fucking over chapter 2, i actually really like the mystery this chapter if it weren't for them being fucking awful i'd rate this higher) 3 (3's probably the only one where the mystery kind of felt like it fell apart for me, the mystery labyrinth is also plagued by having fubuki and shinigami constantly fucking fighting) So my final thoughts on if you should play raincode or not are a resounding... Maybe - It's a kodaka game i've gotta give it that maybe just like all the danganronpa games. Honestly i don't think i regret playing raincode and i overall had a lot of fun with it, just like be mindful of all the kodaka classics and hopefully you'll have fun with the game

[burst-of-iridescent]

the official zutara dissertation (p.3)

Part 1 | Part 2

Now I’ve proven why Zutara is superior, I’ll address the most common anti Zutara arguments (aka, the most ridiculous shit I’ve ever heard in my life). 

BOOK 3: DEBUNKING ANTI ZUTARA ARGUMENTS

1. People only like Zutara because they’re dark and intriguing. In actuality, it’s a shallow relationship based purely on physical appearance. 

First of all, I find it hilarious that Zutara is the shallow ship when Mai.ko is canon, but we’ll get into Mai.ko later. Second, kindly read the 2k words I wrote here about how Zutara connect with and understand one another on a far deeper level than any romantic relationship in the show, and if it’s “dark and intriguing” for two characters to have parallel character foundations and journeys, to support and comfort each other, and forge a relationship based on mutual respect and trust… sign me up, y’all. 

(Also, yeah Zuko and Katara look good together. Sorry you can’t say the same about the mother and son, or the emo goth wannabes). 

2. Zutara would be toxic because all they’d do is fight. 

Zuko and Katara fought (physically) for much of the series because, shocker, they were on opposing sides of a war. They didn’t have petty fights for no reason (*ahem* Maiko), they were literally enemies, and it was that history that drove the two (2) big emotional fights they had in the whole series.

The first time they “fight”, Katara is yelling at Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny) about how evil he is for chasing the Avatar and makes a bunch of generalizations about him. Then Zuko gets pissed and yells back and they blow up into a giant argument – oh wait, what’s that? She opens up to him? He sympathizes with her? She immediately stops being hostile the minute he reaches out? 

The second Zuko and Katara see each other as people and not enemy combatants, they instantly connect. Katara apologizes for yelling at him and the interaction that follows is tender, open and vulnerable, with both Zuko and Katara genuinely listening to and bonding with one another. Toxicity? 404 Error: Page Not Found

The next and last time they “fight” is in the Southern Raiders, following Katara’s hostile treatment of Zuko from the moment he joined the Gaang. First of all, Katara’s anger here is entirely justified because Zuko betrayed her personally. The rest of the group hadn’t been vulnerable with Zuko or trusted that Zuko had changed, so none of them were hurt by Zuko’s decision to side with Azula. Katara, however, had genuinely believed in Zuko, offered to help him, and opened up about her deepest hurt to him – and he’d thrown it back in her face.

Zuko accepts Katara’s anger without complaint, knowing that he deserves it, and works to earn Katara’s forgiveness. He teaches Aang firebending, helps Sokka to rescue his father from prison, and fights Azula to let the rest escape. When he confronts Katara in the Southern Raiders, it’s because he genuinely wishes to understand why she still mistrusts him despite everything he’s done to prove his sincerity. He’s frustrated but genuinely trying to make amends and wants to know what Katara needs in order to accomplish that. 

Both of these fights stem from legitimate grievances Katara has against Zuko, mistakes he’s made that he does need to atone for. However, what’s more interesting is the way Zuko reacts to Katara’s anger both times. He doesn’t mindlessly yell at her, get defensive, or escalate the situation. In the catacombs, he is sullen and moody until she reveals the true depths of her pain, at which point his own anger bleeds away and he reaches out to her with genuine compassion. In TSR, he is calm and contrite, willing to listen and making the effort to understand where she’s coming from so he can resolve the issue. (So toxic, amirite?)

Given that the majority of Katara’s anger at Zuko in the series stemmed from either his position as her enemy, or her hurt over his betrayal, I find it very hard to believe that they would ever “fight” on a similar scale in a future where they got together – a future where both of these conflicts no longer exist. Their canonical approach to disagreement sees them both willing to apologize, to work things out, and to try and understand each other, making it likely that any arguments they do have would be resolved in a healthy manner. Moreover, after Zuko and Katara have put their past behind them for good and established their friendship, they never fight again – and, in fact, grow closer.

Their intimacy and connection, the similarities in their personalities and motivations, and the evidence of their canonical response to disagreement, especially Zuko’s (a desire to understand and a clear evaluation of the situation to find a solution) is more than enough proof that this argument against Zutara is, frankly, bullshit.

(And if we want to talk about fighting, guess what Kat.aang and Mai.ko are doing in much of book 3? *looks pointedly at The Beach, The Southern Raiders, The Ember Island Players, Sozin’s Comet and the multiple unresolved arguments dropped in favour of a last-minute kiss, because that definitely solves everything.)

3. Zutara is a colonizer/colonized or oppressor/oppressed ship. 

I’ve disproved this (factually untrue) argument in this post but to add on: Zuko turned traitor against his country, at threat to his own safety, and risked his life multiple times to bring the regime to an end because he knew he was on the wrong side of the war. Zuko fought against his own family and nearly died to protect Katara. Zuko and Katara, together, helped to overthrow Fire Nation imperialism and bring about a new era of peace. No true colonizer has ever, or would ever, do that. 

Should Zuko and Katara get together, they would do so after the war. As the daughter of a national leader and a war hero, Katara would likely hold just as much power as Zuko, if not more, given that the Fire Nation is now in a position where it must offer reparations and concessions to the other nations. She would be entering the relationship as an equal and would, in fact, gain additional power by becoming Fire Lady, not subjugate herself under a tyrannical regime. 

4. Katara hates Zuko/Katara is hostile to Zuko/Katara doesn’t care about Zuko and so she would never fall in love with him. 

I see we’re just watching the show with our eyes closed now, lmao. 

Even when they were on opposing sides of a war, Katara offered to use her special spirit water to heal Zuko’s scar. Even when she still hadn’t forgiven him, Katara reached out and put herself in danger to save Zuko’s life by pulling him onto Appa’s saddle. (Book 3: The Southern Raiders). Katara and Zuko’s entire relationship arc in Book 3 is based on the fact that they formed a genuine connection in the catacombs. 

And once Zuko gains her forgiveness? Katara shows him nothing but unconditional love, trust and acceptance. She throws herself into his arms when she forgives him (Book 3: The Southern Raiders), banters with him, looks worried for him and tries to comfort him (Book 3: Ember Island Players). She fights by his side readily, invites him to join the group hug, and teases him about his baby pictures (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 1). She notices that he’s frightened about facing Iroh, and encourages and supports him with a loving, tender smile on her face (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 2). 

She agrees to go with him on what may well be the last day of their lives, reassures him, and trusts his judgement completely when he wishes to fight Azula himself (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 3). She looks absolutely horrorstruck when he sacrifices himself for her, screams his name, and immediately tries to run to him, completely forgetting about the powerful firebender in her path. She cries from pure joy when she’s able to heal him, and then stands by his side in support as they look upon a defeated Azula (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 4). 

Whether you see that as platonic or romantic, it is utterly undeniable that Katara loves Zuko very, very much. 

5. Katara would never want to be Fire Lady because she hates the Fire Nation. 

One of Katara’s major arcs is understanding that the Fire Nation is not all-consuming evil, that it is worth saving and worth helping, and it is solely those in power and their militaristic ideology that is to blame, not the people or the land. Katara never shows an ounce of discomfort in the FN, actually enjoys FN climate, risks her safety and the invasion itself to help its people, and appears excited to wear FN clothes, but I guess that was just a figment of my imagination.

6. Katara would have to give up her culture to become Fire Lady. 

Firstly, someone kindly explain to me what exactly it is that Katara would have to sacrifice about her culture. She can’t dress in blue anymore? She can’t eat Water Tribe food? She can’t wear her hair loops? What aspects of her culture, exactly, would Katara have to “give up” in the Fire Nation?

Secondly, since this argument is so concerned about Katara’s culture, let’s look at what happens to her in canon – oh wait, two out of three of Katara’s children show absolutely no connection to their SWT roots? Her oldest son spends his whole life wishing he were an airbender and giving no fucks at all about his waterbending heritage despite the fact that, as the child of a mixed family, he should have valued both cultures equally? Huh, ya don’t say. 

Before you say the same would have happened to Zutara, let me point out that Zuko’s arc is about unlearning this exact ideology (that one nation is more important than others) whereas Aang, at the end of the show, still prioritizes Air Nomad ideals over those of the other nations (refusing to kill Ozai because of Air Nomad pacifist values), despite being the Avatar. Yeah I see why Katara’s culture barely got a passing mention in that family.

7. Zutara had no canon romantic build-up, and Katara is just supposed to be Zuko’s surrogate little sister. 

Sure, Zuko and Katara expressed no explicit romantic interest in one another in canon, but it is entirely wrong to say there was no romantic build up. Many of Zuko and Katara’s scenes together are full of romantic subtext and framing, which the writers and animators left in for some reason (cough they were supposed to be canon):

Zuko draping a betrothal necklace around Katara’s neck (Book 1: The Waterbending Scroll). The exact same message would’ve been communicated if he’d just dangled it before her, but instead the animators went to the extra trouble of creating a scene where he holds it up to her throat despite knowing full well that it was a betrothal necklace, and the implications that came with that 

Katara touching Zuko’s scar (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny). Seriously, what the fuck is this romantic ass framing for a non-canon ship lmfao Zuko closing his eyes to lean into Katara’s touch? Katara’s thumb resting on his lips? The soft, swelling emotional music in the background? It was entirely unnecessary for them to even make contact when they could have just ended the scene with Katara saying “I can heal you” and Zuko nodding to give her permission before they get interrupted, but the writers chose to give them the most intimate scene in the whole show and then went ah yes! such platonic besties :)

Zuko covers Katara’s body with his own to protect her from rocks (Book 3: The Southern Raiders) in a perfect example of the Suggestive Collision trope, which is then followed by the Please Get Off Me trope, both of which are used specifically to create romantic tension. Really feeling the sibling vibes here guys 

Zuko and Katara exchange the classic “ew wtf there’s no way I would ever fall in love with you” awkward look (Book 3: The Ember Island Players), used in literally every romcom ever to communicate denial of actual romantic feelings

Zuko pushes Aang out of the way to sit next to Katara, and Katara gives him a side glance before tucking her hair behind her ear (Book 3: The Ember Island Players), in a perfect set up for a love triangle. This is then furthered when Aang becomes jealous at the idea of Zutara in the play, even though Zuko and Katara had expressed no explicit romantic interest in each other at this point 

Katara is conveniently “confused” right after watching the play (Book 3: The Ember Island Players) where she expressed romantic interest in Zuko and none at all in Aang. If she did love Aang shouldn’t this have been the point where she realized it? Also, this is the first time Aang and Katara talk about their kiss at the invasion despite it being six whole episodes ago? When they literally had a big chunk of time alone while Sokka and Zuko were at the Boiling Rock to have this discussion?

Zuko and Katara being framed almost identically to Sokka and Suki, the established canon couple, throughout the four-part finale 

Zuko and Katara blush and fervently deny being romantically involved (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 2) in a classic illustration of the She Is Not My Girlfriend trope (TV Tropes even points out that this is particularly common on shows where kids and preteens are the main target audience... interesting), which is usually meant to imply that there is, in fact, genuine romantic feelings present

THAT. FUCKING. LIGHTNING. SCENE. The sudden slow-motion, the dawning horror on Zuko’s face, the slow, sad violin music in the background, the desperate race to intercept the lightning before it got to Katara, the long, drawn-out, dramatic NOOOOOOO! as he literally jumps in front of her, the zoom in to Katara’s face of utter horror as she realizes what has happened to Zuko? All of it ties into the classic Taking the Bullet trope, making use of every visual storytelling trick to communicate romantic love. Zuko valiantly struggles to get to Katara, and Katara screams his name and runs to him with her hand outstretched like every cheesy romantic movie death you’ve ever seen. There is romantic coding plastered all over this damn scene, and if you don’t believe me, just substitute Sokka in Zuko’s place and tell me that doesn’t feel like we took a right turn into sweet home Alabama.  

If you are going to include this many hints at romance to fool your audience into thinking that a ship will become canon, you cannot then *surprised pikachu face* when people actually think the damn ship should’ve been canon, especially when backed up by emotional intimacy, beautiful symbolism, narrative parallels and character and thematic significance.

[zoe-oneesama]

what is your opinion about this episode?

What, Troublemaker? Hm, off the top of my head it's an episode of Missed Opportunity and Unfair Writer Intervention for the Sake of Humiliating the Main Character Unnecessarily.

Penny gets akumatized in "Troublemaker" because she's stretched too thin. She takes on too many responsibilities to the point that the people around her are completely dependent on her and she takes on more duties than she needs to and it overwhelms her.

Hm, sounds a lot like aNOTHER character we know quite well.

Marinette, it's Marinette.

This could've been a good episode to teach Marinette that she needs to find a work/life balance by showing her how it can be detrimental to your own mental health. By having Penny be akumatized over the same thing Marinette often puts herself through (double booking herself, offering up extras like race banners for events that don't need them, making the smoothness of events entirely her own responsibility when it's not) could've made Marinette look at how she handles these things and make changes so she won't be overwhelmed.

They could've changed the ending so that instead of Jagged declaring how much he needed Penny, which was part of the problem, he could've offered some way to HELP Penny - hiring an assistant for her to help her, giving her time off every once in a while, reflecting on his own "demands" (he wanted to eat breakfast off the back of Polar Bear at the start of this episode, maybe he should think about how unnecessary that is?!). It could've shown Marinette that it's okay to ask for help too, maybe reach out to her parents or Alya or Fu (at this point).

But no, we can't do that. If we taught Marinette to have an actual balance over her civilian life and superhero life, we can't have her stuck in awkward situations because she forgot something she promised to do or superheroing pushed all her responsibilities to be due on the same day! And where's the fun in giving Marinette an easier time?

SPEAKING of not giving Marinette an easier time, how about we talk about the fact that her Adrien photos duplicated themselves to cover 5x more of her bedroom just so it would be that much more embarrassing to be shown on live tv? Why was that necessary? She already has his photos up, has a homemade computer screen background of Adrien with hearts on it. Jagged only needed ONE of those things to be just as embarrassing, there is no reason to add photos like wallpaper all over her room or hide them under her...mattress?? And chaise lounge?

Like, is that funny? Did people think it was funny when it came out?

And it amounted to nothing. She was so embarrassed (seriously I would DIE if that were me) and no one teased her, she wasn't bullied by Chloe, and Adrien still thinks she doesn't have feelings for him because after being exposed all over Paris in the most shame inducing way he thought it was a good idea to corner her and try to "confirm" whether or not she had feelings for him and in her panic she lied.

Because what was the show going to do, have her confirm it with only 2 minutes of the episode left? Please.

So now we miss out on Adrien being on the same level as Ladybug, having just realized in Season 2 that Marinette/Chat Noir has feelings for them and navigating their friendships with that new knowledge. Balance? In this show? We don't know her!

It's just so frustrating from a writing perspective that this could've been such a good episode for Marinette to learn a lesson she actually NEEDED, that is applicable to MANY people irl who overwork themselves because they want to be helpful, but the writers made it about the Love Square (big shocker there) and then didn't even do anything interesting with that. They needlessly escalate Marinette's picture collection just to shame her for being in love with the person the writer's WANT her to end up with and then write it off as not a big deal.

The fact that Penny was akumatized instead of Marinette told me everything I needed about where Marinette places in the importance of things tbh.

[moodypetrichorlove]

The Dizi Tag Game

1. Your first dizi & how you discovered Turkish dramas 

The first dizi I ever watched (that was not dubbed and shortened) was Sen Çal Kapımı in 2020. I binged 7 episodes only to discover it was currently on-air, and by then I was hooked so while waiting for episode 8 to air, I started Her Yerde Sen, lol. So, to sum up, SÇK is how I started my dizi adventure, and HYS was the first show I ever watched in its entirety. Both were good decisions. 🤗

Ironically, 2 years later I still haven’t seen Bizim Hikaye which is what I was trying to watch when I came across SÇK’s significantly captivating poster. 

2. Show(s) you’re currently watching 

Ooof, I wasn’t sure I’d watch any new ones, but now I am and it’s too much, but it’s a hyperfixation, so, 🤷‍♀️. Anyway, I’m watching Afili Aşk, Seversin, and, Senden Daha Güzel currently. 🙈 Oh, and Inadına Aşk, which is basically my “I don’t really care about you, and can’t concentrate on shows I watch for fun rn but I’d like some background noise on so you’ll have to do” watch. 😂

3. Your favorite genre of dizi (romcom, mafia show, contemporary drama, historical/fantasy, etc.) 

Romcom (shocker, I know 😱).

4. The show you rewatch (parts of) the most 

Her Yerde Sen, Doğduğun Ev Kaderindir, & Seviyor Sevmiyor.

5. Favorite Turkish actor and actress (feel free to pick multiples) 

Kerem Bürsin, Çağlar Ertuğrul, Engin Öztürk, Burcu Özberk, Elçin Afacan, Demet Özdemir, Yusuf Çim, & Elçin Sangu. 

6. A show you quit before finishing 

Kiralık Aşk, Aşk Yeniden (idk, maybe I’ll watch it completely someday), Gülümse Yeter, and El Kızı.

7. Favorite song(s) you’ve discovered in dizis 

Güneş + Aşk Lazım – Aydilge

Sen Çal Kapımı – Başak Gümülcinelioğlu

Olamazsan Olmaz – Güliz Ayla

Aşk Mı Lazım – Buray

Beni Biraz + Bakma Bana Öyle – Nova Norda

Ne Olur Kal – Tuana

8. The show whose plot disappointed you the most 

Kiralık Aşk. El Kızı. To be fair, each dizi, at some point, disappoints.

9. A show that was cancelled too soon / ran too long - 

I think Iyi Günde Kötü Günde deserved a few more episodes; it had potential. And call me biased, but Ateşböceği was a fairly sweet series and should’ve run longer. 

Kusura bakma, but Kiralık Aşk ran way too long. 

10. Favorite Character(s) 

Serkan Bolat, Barış Tunahan, Kerem Yiğiter, Ayşe Yiğiter, Demir Erendil, İbrahim Tunç (Ibo in HYS), Melo (SÇK), Gölge/Adem (50m2).

11. Your favorite romantic pairing(s) 

Serkan Bolat & Eda Yıldız – Edser

Demir Erendil & Selin Sever – Seldem

Barış Tunahan & Zeynep Göksu – Zeybar

Ozan & Deniz – Bay Yanlış

Kerem & Ayşe Yiğiter – Afili Aşk

12. Favorite side character(s) 

Volkan (Afili Aşk) & Ozan (Bay Yanlış – honestly, liked him more than the male lead), Melo & Fifi (Sen Çal Kapımı), Emine (Doğduğun Ev Kaderindir), and Deniz (Bay Yanlış).

13. Best kiss  

As someone who looks away or skips these scenes 🤷🏻‍♀️🙈, I’ll do my most favourite love confessions from diziland (which, I know, no one asked for) instead. 

This entire scenario, from Serkan chasing after Eda to the actual confession will always be number 1 for me. Always! Serkan’s frustration, exasperated fondness translating into that “deli gibi aşık oldum”? Gold! 😍

Next up are my second most favourite confessions: Kerem’s sweet, wholesome confession with the swan origami and then Ayşe with the angsty reveal in response to Kerem’s confrontation. These two pulled it off so well! ❤️

14. An underrated show more people should watch 

Her Yerde Sen.

Seviyor Sevmiyor (it has moments where you’d be annoyed, but the two mains have really good chemistry and they’ve done angst well). 

Seversin, being a currently on-air show, deserves more attention because it’s a lighthearted watch, even if there’s not much new there – which I believe is the way of dizis lol. Ilayda and Burak are doing a good job, BTW. 

15. A show everyone loves that you aren’t interested in 

Erkenci Kuş.  

16. A show you want to recommend right now 

I’d say watch Seversin, and Senden Daha Güzel. Good shows, good acting, even greater potential. I’d like to see each reach at least 13 episodes before cancellations. 

17. The next show on your list 

I think I need to finish the off-air dizis, like Afili Aşk (and many more), before I watch anything else. 😂

@thescorpioracer tagged me in this ages ago (like last year, perhaps) and I'm embarrassingly late to doing this, but here I am. So, thanks for the tag!

Anyone following me who wants to join in, consider yourself tagged, please!