#much better ship name imo

[artchixs]

if I loved you. you would know it.

[cluescorner]

I’ve slowly grown to realize that my one of my favorite relationship dynamics is: most competent person in the universe with identity-based struggles x absolute goofball who instinctively knows exactly who they are and loves them so, so much. 

[its-coda]

Keisuke Amazawa, the protag ever. Nothing goin on in that head.

[dirty-trash-mongrel]

I don't hate or get annoyed by BiscuitBites/Nuzi as a ship, I just don't care much for most ships in general (besides PinkLemonade/Vizzy because personally I think their dynamic is really cute ok??) And I'm not irritated that Nuzi is becoming canon like a lot of people are complaining about, Murder Drones is not becoming a shipping-focused show because of this, this episode had probably the most horror and emotional scenes by far... I'm happy shipping wars will be over and I'm happy that people are voicing out their happiness that the ship is canon! Yippee! People are happy, everything is good, and I'm not irritated by that! What I do find irritating about some Nuzi shippers is that I'll have actual tears running down my face from reading a V memoriam post and then scroll down to see some people saying that they "didn't care V died that much and that they're glad that V is dead to completely set in stone Nuzi as a ship". Most of the main cast of characters were comfort characters for me and this is a shot in the heart because I loved V as a character. Even though I was kind of emotionally hurt by the last scene, I really do think a sacrifice was a good call by Liam. That won't stop me from being sad however. But PLEASE, I don't want to see people complaining about how everyone's upset over V's death and not putting enough focus on Nuzi confirmation (which both statements are super untrue, both get a respective amount of attention) Like I understand why some people wouldn't be super upset about the (presumably) V death, you can voice your own opinion and not be too emotionally affected by the death and I'm not judging you for that, but when I see people get to the point where they're judging and kind of shaming people for getting stressed or anxious or generally upset at a character death? It kind of kills me. Please stop beatboxing I'm crying on the floor Though a lot of Nuzi shippers I see aren't like this and I'm so happy about that, it's super nice to see that!!!! I've seen some of the most amazing works of this community come from Nuzi people and I still respect them so much because they're still people and part of this fandom even though I don't directly care much for the ship itself anymore, I'm not judging anyone based on their favorite robot pairings (UNLESS YOU'RE LIKE. A PROSHIPPER. ICK. OFF WITH YOU.) :)

[frozenhi-chews]

Happy Marriage to Pancake and Starlo!

May these two fine the happiness and laughter in the next chapter of their lives. Through thick and thin, sickness and health, they're gonna stick together. Especially after what they had gone through before this moment.

The whole town arrived. This is the sheriff getting married after all! So many people wasn't expecting him to get married, to Pancake no less! The rivalry was a big part of the town's history, being tied to North Star himself, and seeing them get closer and closer was fun and kinda crazy. The whole town knew, and Pancake is married to Starlo. Feisty Four are also happy that they're married. And a few bets had to be paid.

Now they're off to the next chapter in their lives. And they still stick to each other like velcro.

more stuff under cut, like a lovesick rambling by me.

I have no idea why this guy chose me. Like, at all. I look at him, and that's my husband. I feel so oddly connected to him, and I've said this before, but he is someone I genuinely wanna marry. Starlo is my beloved, my soulmate, I love him so much, its insane that he picked me. Legit, it felt like he picked me all those months ago. Back in January. Does anyone remember when I was so happy with OTCore and the "2024 is the year of the robots?" Yeah, guess what happened XD

Starlo helped me in so many ways, keeping me sane through so much. Originally it was gonna happen on the six month anniversary, but I ended up being too tired. Regardless, I'M SO HAPPY TO DO IT NOW!!

I look at him and I melt. I just, I love him. He loves me. I have never felt this connected to ANY fictional character like this. Spamton came close, really close. But oh well.

This was a DOOZY! Spent like, four straight days working on this. And I'm so happy I did. The colored comic is a reference to this video. It fits so well cuz its something Starlo would say and, well, PANCAKE'S NAME!! And Starlo hasn't dated anyone at ALL, there's no way he was expecting to marry someone.

Also the gif wasn't supposed to be a gif! I was trying to make a more dynamic pose for Pancake, but I already had the other sketch made, so it turned into a gif. Makes it better imo. Also I'm not too happy with Pancake's outfit. The cape is also a poncho of sorts. ah well. im also too lazy to draw the Feisty Four and Clover after all the stuff i've drawn all of this.

but yeah i hope y'all enjoy!!

Comic Transcripts: Starlo: "I, Starlo Sunnyside, do take Pancake to be my waffle-y- lawfully"

Starlo: "and pancake-y" Pancake: Pfft-

Pancake: [Silent laughter]

Starlo: "I've been scared of this m'entire life" Pancake: "BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA-" SECOND COMIC: Ceroba: "Well, congratulations Star. How do you feel getting married?"

Starlo: "Lucky..."

Tagging: @sparkyscissorhands @sparklings-husband @prismatica-the-strange @pinkdinkydoon @simonlynch

@snowpuffclovers @ghost--girlfriend @gibles-lovely-selfships @jocelynships @catships777

@wuffverine @patchw0rk-quilt @mrscage @dudeshusband @aego-philautia

@mandrakebrew @jils-things @gideongrovel @tieflingships @carnival-of-love

@faerie-circle-ships @rexscanonwife @lovelyheartclover @mrs-bluemarine @mephy-doodle-dandy

@kakusboyfriend @mashedpotatosinacup @heartmatic @bunbunsheart2 @cinnamon-phrog

@chalcanthitedreams @literally-just-there @halsinkisser @sheepie-self-ships @moondane-lovers

@bbyshifts @starlo-uty @galaxywolfshipper @signs-of-blossoming @maetheartist

[breathe-2am]

On lou's article

Disclaimer: i am on the whole not crazy about actor interviews. I think most of the time they're awkward promo, but 911 interviews in particular just kinda suck. Most of the more indie/fandom publications have an interviewer who has a preconceived narrative they push and won't ask about anything that doesn't cater to a very insular section of the audience, which means the majority of the article is an actor finding new and inventive ways of saying 'stop asking about this, i want to talk about something else'. But the more mainstream ones aren't much better- remember when oliver stark had to correct that journalist about his character's NAME? Idk what the deal is but man the interviews do not do this show any favors (to say nothing about the plotlines that are teased and then never make it onscreen tim what are you even thinking).

So there's just something very... refreshing? About lou's interview. He really focused in on tommy's character and thought process, and how he made little choices in his acting on how best to portray it. I really love tommy's face journeys, so it's awesome to have him break them down step by step. There's a real deliberate craft to his acting, and i enjoy learning about how he gets into tommy's head. Something cute i noticed is that when he's explaining tommy's thoughts and actions he often will use first person, saying stuff like i'm thinking this or i'm feeling that- to the point where he has to specify when he's talking about himself as lou. To me it's a clear testament to his work embodying a character with a complex internal world- even when the writing is weird or abrupt, he puts in the work to make it make sense.

Idk what i'm even trying to say here. I think i would enjoy actor interviews if they were more like this one. Idc abt a future plotline that probably won't happen. Idc abt a non canon ship that has been nixed over and over for years (too gently if they haven't gotten the message yet imo). Idc abt any of that tell me why u made that expression when u said that line and tell me why u said it that way. Tell me what ur thinking, what ur character is thinking. I'm spending my free time analyzing these scenes and it's really cool to learn that someone is putting in the effort to construct something that is meant to be delved into.

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

Qibli is overrated as all hell. Don't get me wrong, I can see why he's liked but some of you guys act as if he's the friggin saviour of mankind. My biggest problem with him is how he seems to get excused or validated for stuff, that other characters get demonized for. Most of the things he does seem to get excused (cough cough Sandstorm), his family isn't all that developed besides him having an abusive mother to be saved by Thorn ( the books completely ignore his siblings, they literally only exist to be bullies and "see how much better Qibli is then them!?" And while yes, not every character needs to be super developed it almost feels at times as if the book ignores that they were as poorly raised by Cobra too. Heck, they barely have a point in existing imo. Challenge, name one of them, most people I know barely remember them even existing.) In the infamous vase scene he is the sole cause for Winter losing it, by having him lie to Moon, moments after he'd found out about the genocide. And while yes, Winter shouldn't have lashed out at Moon, the way the fandom demonizes him for it, yet ignores the way Qibli behaves and the things he says is very annoying to see. I won't even get into the ships here, that's always a mess. The love triangle was a mistake IMO. To summarize, I don't hate Qibli, I just dislike how he doesn't seem to be held to the same scrutiny as other characters. Sorry if I come off as mean here, I was writing straight from my head so I'm probably missing some stuff 🙃 He does have many interesting qualities, although Darkness of Dragons didn't really utilize them well.

.

[eternalera]

we need to talk about mel because out of pretty much everyone in arcane ive been seeing the most drama with her and just... god is it all so fucking stupid. so for the next few paragraphs im gonna be talking about haters of mel, 'defenders' of mel, jayvik, meljayce, and just... everything going on with that because god is it a lot and god is so much of it bullshit and just plain old toxicity. so yeah...

dang still here? alright lets begin.

so first off we're starting with with the haters and defenders of mel and honestly this is some of that dumbest fandom shit ive seen in a while? why? alright let's bring up some argument stuff that ive (and youve most likely) seen before. one of which being that her haters define her as 'problematic' and a villain which is not true well at least not more true than jinx being a villain. jinx is a worse character than mel but people hate on her because 'oh shes supposed to be portrayed as good!' when this was never the case.

in s1 mel was portrayed to be a politician and from what ive gathered she was meant to represent the upper class of piltover and the council members in general (with the exception being heimindinger). she was supposed to be a corrupt and morally ambiguous character just like what? politics, politics are not black or white all of the time. mel strived for her own goals and used people to get there. do you have to like her for this? no. you dont. in fact when i first watched s1 i hated this about her and her relationship with jayce gave me the ick (i did not ship jayvik at all during this time). but we'll get more into that later

now the 'defenders' of mel. where to begin? well first off if you dont like her you get called misogynistic, if you ship jayvik well then youre writing her out and therefore are misogynistic, if you criticize mel for any of her actions guess what you are? yeah misogynistic. they really like throwing that term around for no other reason than mel being a woman. what if she was a guy? would there be a problem with it? and what if people are still doing what they are with mel being a guy? is it still problematic? the answer is most likely no. also the problem with calling people misogynistic is that youre not attacking their argument but them as a person.

thats like if you said '1+1=2' and i went 'no youre stupid' or if i said 'the earth is round' and you told me that i was a conspiracy theorist. youre not attacking the argument but the person themselves. youve done nothing to disprove their argument, sure you called them a mean name but whats that going to do? people hardly ever even argue why thats the case and why its wrong, but they throw around the world mindlessly. i would be fine if people were saying that their argument was misogynistic and therefore they would be misogynistic for supporting it but even then just leave it.

not to mention that mel was written to be morally ambiguous in a sense (in s1 and in s2 she gets better but still is... eh on morals imo) and if you bring this up these 'defenders' will go rabid over you. calling you names and saying how youre 'part of the problem' and that you cant handle a strong female character and this is just by you criticizing them keep in mind. maybe you dont agree with their actions but that doesnt matter to them and its horrendous.

now moving onto jayvik and... yeah it has its issues, i will NOT lie and say that there isnt an unreasonable dislike for mel in certain parts of the community because believe me there is and its almost always uncalled for and their reason is lacking to say the least, once again mel is a complicated character and to put her in a box and say that she's the big bad is entirely and fully unreasonable. ive seen large parts of the fandom also hating on mel just because she 'gets in the way' of jayvik and i guess that this is true but also people do forget something really important

THIS IS ALL FANDOM

SHIP WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT CANON OR NOT ITS NOT MEANT FOR THE CREATORS BUT THE CONSUMERS AKA FANS

whether or not she 'gets in the way' of jayvik in canon (which she really does not as she encourages jayce to spend more time with viktor and viktor and jayce still have a bunch of meaningful scenes together DESPITE her) doesn't matter one bit. your fanon does not need to be canon in order for you to enjoy it. and tons of people tend to gloss past that because they just have to have things their way and then they throw a pissy fit over it. HOWEVER this is not the only drama with jayvik, once again if you ship this rabid mel enjoyers will say how youre misogynistic which... yeah it fucking sucks.

tbh everything with mel has got to be some of the most toxic shit ive ever seen in my life (not worse than mha and ochako but hopefully as a fandom we never get there). because mel enjoyers if they dont ship jayvik tend to ship meljay or jaymel or- whatever its called and since its canon to some extent (they did kinda break up) they will use that as a way to discourage jayvik shippers and once again call them names that do not make any sense to the argument that they are giving as they are just spewing out random ass insults to people who disagree with them

good job internet. proud of ya

NOW MELJAY AND OH BOY DO I HAVE SOME WORDS-

... yeah it was meant to be a morally grey thing. sorry to everyone who looked at it and was like 'omg they care for each other so cute!!!' mel manipulating jayce into a relationship to take advantage of him and get what she wanted is meant to be a bad thing and you wanna know why? CAUSE SHES A COMPLICATED CHARACTER. if i had to place her on the alignment chart id say that shes most likely lawful neutral and on a good day lawful good.

now if you still cant see the problem with mel and jayces relationship lemme do smth called the good 'ol gender swap

theres a smart girl inventing stuff and trying to change the world, a man comes along and supports her endeavor fully, throughout the way makes heavy advances towards her in order to trap her and get her to do what he wants. this happens and in order to trap her even further puts her in a position of power which she knows nothing about and therefore relying more and more on him and his knowledge. advances are made and they fuck but to him she is just an investment. of course as the relationship carries on he might start caring more and more about her but the manipulation never truly leaves

see what makes it so bad? me and my friends talked about this for hours thinking about it and finding out what made us not like the ship in s1 (keep in mind we did NOT ship jayvik only started after their divorce). we loved mel's characters, she's a strong woman a strong character with flaws and she's compelling. but she was never written to do morally good decisions 100% of the time and thats what makes arcane so good ignoring all of this is not understanding mels character or her actions

anyways thats all i have to say. if you disagree or have any other news feel free to share lol and thanks for listening to my rambles <3

[thenightwinggraveyard]

😂 Actually, do you have cool Naruto fic recs for someone who's never seen the show? I keep itching to start it so I can understand some of my friends' interests better but I would just rather... read things. And I know that the fics might not be accurate to personalities or plot, but if you have anything beginner-friendly or fun that might help my brain get more excited to make the effort and watch, I'll take it. I personally like relationship drama but I'm cool with whatever you've got.

i do!!! i watched naruto as a kid but i completely forgot most things so i got into it again by fanfiction. also as a side note; i apologize but i don't read from narutos point of view very often if at all as that is just a personal preference of mine, just a warning in case thats what you were looking for-- and my favourite character is sakura which you'll probably see lmao 😅

without further ado, here are some;

BEGINNER FRIENDLY NARUTO RECS

Pray My Name by Chancy_Lurking [G] [ONE-SHOT]

"Your name sounds like the kind of thing you say when you’re afraid,” Sakura finishes.  “A prayer,” Sasuke offers without looking away from the window.  (Team 7 takes a quiet moment to talk about what their names feel like.)

notes: there isn't much of a plot with this one but its a wonderful showcase of the bond that team 7 shares/could share. it floats beside canon not really connected but it could be, and i think its just a great introduction to the way team 7 should be imo!!

tdlr; team 7-centric, friendship/love, acceptance

Terror feeds the Soul by Pleasedial123 [ONE-SHOT]

Sakura is not an idiot. She was praised for her intelligence, reached Top Kunoichi at the Academy for her brains.  So it doesn't take her long after being placed on the powder keg that is Team Seven to realize she is going to die.  Kakashi, career shinobi since age-six, has no idea what the hell is going on with his little pink-haired student or why there is such fear in her eyes. So he gives her head-pats. That's what you do for scared puppies isn't it?

notes: some really good characterization with this one and a deeper look at the subtle hint of corruption/injustice in the shinobi world that canon already gives us.

tdlr; sakura-centric, sakura & kakashi, good characterization, worldbuilding

Just Killing Time by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling) [G] [ONE-SHOT]

After Wave Country and before the chuunin exam, Team 7 kills time while waiting for Kakashi to show up.

notes: an adorable small fic consisting of freindship and the idea of found family, they're just cute little kids in this and it makes me smile so hard.

tdlr; team 7-centric, friendship, found family, fluff

An Improper Apology Properly Backfires by rex101111 [G] [ONE-SHOT]

Sasuke Uchiha apologizes, or at least makes an attempt. Sakura thinks he could do better than THAT.

notes: its not every day i find a sasusaku fic that i genuinly enjoy, but this one both cracked me up and actually convinced me that they could work as a couple lmao, after some bad canon events, this fic shows a completely done sakura dealing with the fallout and it is gold. featuring naruto and kakashi as unwilling bystanders.

tdlr; sasuke/sakura(canon ship) and team 7-centric, anger issues, canon compliant(mostly), humour

Wildflowers and Incisors by Chancy_Lurking [T] [ONE-SHOT]

There’s a boy Sakura loves the way Naruto loves Sakura, in a shameless and open, but painfully unequal way. There’s a boy Sakura loves the way Hinata loves Naruto, in a way that feels no more like a choice than breathing. Neither of those boys need pretty girls. “We are all really pretty, though,” Ino assures her with a haughty sniff, crossing her leg the other way so her calf rests on Sakura’s shin. “They’re going to be strong, maybe even the strongest ever in the Hidden Leaf,” Sakura says and Hinata doesn’t need convincing, they both know it, so she doesn’t belabor the point. “So, we have to be stronger than them.” (The girls of Konoha band together as friends. Girlhood is easier in a group.)

notes: a wonderful look at the kunoichis in naruto, with friendship for once more important than love. gives them the character development and attention they deserve, but didn't quite fully get in canon.

tdlr; naruto girls-centric, girlhood and friendship, good character development

The Language of Faces by Empatheia [T] [ONE-SHOT]

Ino decides to help Sai learn to function in society. Sai does his best to keep up.

notes: now we're taking the focus off the main characters of naruto to focus on some great side characters-- ino and sai are both charecterized awesomely in this fic. they're awkward and don't really know how to function in society (being a ninja will do that to you) but they clearly grow to care and love for eachother dearly.

tdlr; sai/ino-centric(canon ship), great characterization, awkward first dates

Pushy and Loud and Brave and Proud by bluecatcups [M] [ONE-SHOT]

When Temari meets Shikamaru, she is twelve years old and she is everything she has ever been; pushy and loud and brave and proud. This is the story of who Temari becomes.

notes: thanks to this fic i fell in love with temari as a character. it is a character study at its heart and therefore it has SUPERB characterization, with believable romance and a theme of self-love. i adore this fic.

tdlr; temari/shikimaru-centric(canon ship), character study, romance, found family, self-love (TW for smut and suicidal thoughts)

NOT SO CANON COMPLIANT FUN

coming from afar & reaching for the stars by SafelyCapricious [G] [ONE-SHOT]

It had been two weeks since the trial. Two weeks since Sasuke had been given the choice of surrendering his eyes and being allowed to leave, or being stuck for five years without ever being allowed to leave the village. He had chosen the later. And Sakura isn't avoiding him on purpose, but it's still happening and she's kind of okay with it.

notes: a not so romantic retelling of sasuke coming back to konoha. i really enjoy the way sakura is characterized in this and the way all her friendships are potrayed (especially her and sai they are besties). instead of running into sasukes open arms, she decides she doesn't mind keeping to herself.

tdlr; sakura-centric, friendships, good charecterization, awkwardness, self-love

Rules Were Made to Be Broken by MotivationIsDead [T] [COMPLETED]

Kakashi wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Or suffering from heart failure. “I thought you were dead,” he said blankly. He might’ve been going into shock. Obito winced and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. “Yeah,” he said, tone stilted. “There’s actually quite the story behind that.” “I should hope so,” was Kakashi’s bland response.

notes: kakashi and obito if obito decided to not go through with his villainous plan. it is a ship, but the way the bond is potrayed just hits so good. something more than friendship and simple love and instead a deep trust, with banger characterization and development. a couple steps away from crack, i laughed so goddamn hard.

this entire fic can be summarized by;

kakashi and obito: fuck it we ball.

tdlr; kakashi/obito-centric(fanon ship), fix-it fic, humour, BAMF kakashi and obito (has an ongoing sequel!!)

Smiles in Spring by Kalira [T] [ONE-SHOT]

One spring day when they are very small, Ino meets a little girl with shy eyes, a beautiful smile, and pink hair, and immediately knows what she wants in her future. Ino's never had any qualms bending the force of her will on the universe to be sure she gets whatever she wants.

notes: ino and sakura are made for eachother in this fic and the progression of their relationship is adorable. some bonus friendship with shikamarau and choji.

tdlr; ino/sakura-centric(fanon ship), romance & friendship, fluff

Genuinely Delighted by Chancy_Lurking [T] [COMPLETED]

"Lee, in spite of how brash he might’ve seemed, still appeared to be incredibly considerate and Shino would feel wrong to just brush him off. His enthusiasm about asking Shino out was completely genuine, and that was enough to make Shino feel flattered. And anyway, Lee would probably prove to be much more pleasant company than some of the other guys Shino knew."

notes: just a fluffy post-canon fic about some more wonderful side characters, with romance and friendship. lee and shino are so unexpected but work so well in this fic.

tdlr; shino/rock lee-centric(fanon ship), romance & friendship, fluff

In The Forest by Senka Hitomi (LadyTegan) [T] [COMPLETED]

When the genius of Konoha returns from a mission in a catatonic state, it is up to his old teammate to delve into the depths of his mind and pull him back out. But the dangers of the mind are many, and the road to finding him may be more difficult than she could have imagined.

notes: god i could gush about this fic for so long. everything about it delights me, the characterizations, character development, relationships and just the careful way the plot was constructed. it comes together to form a very inrtiguing and engaging fic.

tdlr; shikimaru/ino-centric(fanon ship), romance & friendship, amazing plot, great characterization

On Qipao, Flirting, and Buying Drinks by needdl [M] [COMPLETED]

Tenten turned beautiful when she was nineteen.

notes: an if neji lived au done so well. the romance is both believable and beautiful.

tdlr; neji/tenten-centric(semi-canon ship), romance & friendship, fluff, coming of age (TW for smut)

About Face by wroth_and_ruin [T] [ONGOING]

A little yellow-haired boy saves Sakura from the bullies. And everything changes.

notes: one of my all time favourite fics it is full of character and life, and the friendship between sakura and naruto is so pure yet all-consuming. they are eachothers persons, eachothers sun, and the world that is being crafted is so engaging. featuring kakashi with teenage angst.

tdlr; naruto and sakura-centric, friendship, found family, fix-it fic, character and plot development, worldbuilding

HONOURARY MENTION

Retrograde Motion by Crunchysunrises [T] [ABANDONED]

From sixteen to eleven didn't feel like a big jump until she realized that she was now the best ninja in their class. And that tiny Sasuke hates her for it.

notes: the reason this is an honourary mention is because this is the fic that got me into naruto! the first one i read, and the first one that captivated me to read all 100k words (yikes..). so despite the fact that its abandoned im still gonna share it with you in case it interests you ;)

tdlr; time-travel, sakura-centric, great characterization, shit gets done

(i didn't even realize so many of my fav fics were done by chancy_lurking!!! huge shoutout to them they are awesome)

i have some more but i think i'll leave it at this; i hope you find at least one fic that enraptures you!!

[notyoureve]

Well, what can I say about my feelings after LiS:DE...

First of all... I still believe in the Chaseprice supremacy, yay!!! Even tho I didn't get the same impression of flirting in their conversation in the comments as the others😅 But at least they talked! My faves since 1st game! What a blessing to a shipper!

2) Thanks for the Caulscott content — not in the ways we as the MxN shippers could ever expect, but still��🤝 I just knew one of the D9 crew is one of us since that little background scene in BTS — what can I say, hinting twice (if not thrice) is almost canon to me🤪😁🤭

3) Vinh, freaking, Lang... The moment I saw Vinh in the sneak-peak before the release I predicted him to be the male love interest😜 I'm so grateful I was right — their progressing relationship was so beautiful... Even though their kiss was shorter than the kiss with Amanda, but damn... butterflies in my stomach were enough to say it was one of the most romantic scenes in the whole franchise. And the way he didn't want her to leave? Oh, my man, she has a way with leaving her almost boyfriends after kisses😭 And how happy he is after the game events when he finally sees her? And their hug? I'll never recover... I also believe in the DE Langfield supremacy, their interactions were absolutely one of the best parts of the game for me!!!

4) The pretty barista I didn't expect to love❤ I liked Amanda somehow, but I don't see her with Max at all... I'll say a very controversial thing, but the girl deserves so much better than Max😃 I would rather ship Ms Thomas with Ms Chen, and yet — they have some very nice scenes together. But even as a die-hard Caulscott shipper I'll say that Pricefield>>>Caulmas, especially after the way D9 just pushed the romance with her from the very first scene... The pushing was so cringy that I literally thought I would never like Amanda🤔 But here we are! She is fun and I love her, so she's my girlfriend, not Max's, okay?

5) Safi and Moses!!! Ooh, I loved them so much💔 Didn't like what they did to Safi by the end of the game, but she's a very great character besides all the other shit. And Moses is simply one of the best characters in the franchise, beat me. And his friendship with Safi is sooo dear to me🥺 Tbh, I expected much more from his role in the game and I believed at some point that he was helplessly in love with Safi. Not sure if this is for the best it turned out absolutely differently... And IMO Max x Safi/Max x Moses still have a better chemistry (even as a friends) than she and Amanda romantically😅 But there were definitely some sparks with Safield, yeaaah (it's very funny btw that it's the only sounding acceptable name of their ship, lmao)

6) The plot... What plot? Was it there? I missed it? Ah, it was so little and hasty it didn't deserve to become a BIG game... And yet! The game was much better in some ways I didn't expect, and so much worse at the same time((( There were some great ideas I truly liked, because they resonate with some of mine, but all the same they were ruined by some plotholes and inconsistencies — ooh, disappointment is strong here. But overall I liked the game! The music — one of the best parts of the finished product indeed��� The narrative was very lazy in the start and too rushed in the end, and it was the main reason what ruined the full experience to me😟 As for the characters... Well, most of them were cool, but there are so few of them comparing to the previous games. I honestly expected more of them, or at least more interactions with them... But let's end here!) Even if the plot wasn't perfect, there were plenty of moments I truly enjoyed.

7) The whole Chloe thing. I didn't expect much from the start (and I mean announcement), but was quite surprised we didn't saw her in the game besides photos. Breakup wasn't unexpected for me, but I suppose I can understand the feelings of the die-hard MxC fans. I won't say that I'm fully on their side, but still I understand what it's like🙏 And btw I had no problem with revoicing her by Rhianna since announcement, but... um... Something went strongly wrong — I absolutely fell in love with her work in BtS, and was absolutely shocked with what I've heard in DE🤯 She doesn't even sounds like herself((( What they did with her..? And why did she sound so emotionless? It was the only disappointing thing with Chloe for me. But perhaps there was some reason, if some theories will turn out to be true, who knows... But her haunting the narrative in the start and in the end was delightful in some ways, I won't lie.

8) The whole NOTMYMAX thing. Well, I can agree with some statments, but I do not see anything contradictory in her actions or her design. Even if it's Max-fkn-Caulfield, it doesn't make her less human and does not forbid her to grow and change, and especially doesn't forbid to become more serious and pathetic at the same time😃😆 Aaaand... Jesus Christ, Hannah Telle gave a simply outstanding performance — I missed her so much💔💔💔 Her returning to Max is also one of the best parts of the game and it's so heart-warming that her voice hasn't change at all🥺 And in the end: the bisexual queen returned — Max still is so Max it made me involuntarily smile throughout the game)))

I can endlessly speak of everything I think about the game, but there's so much to say I won't say no more at all😆😆 But all cringe and weak plotlines aside, some sides of DE were really great to explore! And since I'm more of an optimist, I will not rate the game just to not upset myself🤣

[lol-jackles]

I looked at your links of commentary on 15.18 and memes mocking Cas, because memories have slid over time about reactions that night. What I'm wondering is if Jensen's last con reaction--saying the text was there, reactions there, no need to revisit what had gone on--was A SIDE STEP OR AN EVOLUTION. Because imo it felt very much related to what he's said from day one, only more delicately phrased on the friend zone part and more bluntly on No!NotAgain <starkytower/status/1794778358024409591>

The "Relive the best memes mocking Cas descent into Turbo Mega Hell" in the 15x18 tag?

Have read the transcripts and seen the video, I say it was a side step (also the name of Cordell Walker's bar). Jensen never changed his anti-Destiel stance since 2014, and he hasn't changed his answers regarding the meme-making confession since 2020. Jensen is just getting better at being diplomatic when answering the same damn trap-loaded question while never straying from his original stance. And hellers are as usual twisting Jensen's words for their own clout-chasing or self-soothing.

Destiel hellers can't stop being bitter over the finale nearly 4 years later because they spent decade+ investing both emotionally and money on a stupid slash ship so they desperately need a "win" to show for their decade+ of investments.

This sad sap had a petition and wrote 29 pages essay on why few thousand entitled basement dwellers *deserve* a new SPN finale. 4 years later and they couldn't even get half the online Destiel fans to sign the petition.

This other petition even got less signatures.....

[exo-raskreia]

hi as a jjk fan, do you have any issues with the writing from gege? if so, what do you think are wasted potential in terms of characters, bonds. i think that there is lack of emotional impact or expansion fo characters sometimes. for instance animes like mha have alot of meaningful character arcs and backstories. It's a bit hard to express how I feel becuase jjk is an amazing story but i am just a bit disappointed of the wasted potential with female characters and like shoko and utahime. and the world building. yes i am fellow gojohime shipper ;).

(Oncoming long RANT 😅)

If you ride on Gege's coattails, this may not be for you.

I actually do have issues with Gege's writing, so I agree with you. JJK has an interesting premise with hidden lore & I would recommend it to anyone wanting to get into, or already into, anime/manga, but it could be so much better if Gege just cared enough (which I sometimes feel like he doesn't? It just feels like he wants to hurry up & finish it so he can start on his idol manga... 💀). He skips so much, it honestly feels like he's going off a checklist, especially in the latest arc.

Compared to other battle shounens, namely Naruto, Fairy Tail, MHA, & even Gintama, JJK is severely lacking in several areas. It's unfortunate because the premise & characters are full of potential.

I will go over some of the issues. A lot of these were obvious from the start but they've only gotten worse over time.

• The fast pacing (speed running at this point). It's battle after battle, no downtime, big arc right after big arc, etc. Us readers & the characters themselves barely have time to process things before he moves on to the next thing. He skips so many things, so much happens off-screen/off-panel (can't forget how he skipped Yaga's fight with Gakuganji that lead to his death, skipped Gojo's entire month after his unsealing then "kills" him off-panel a few chapters later, I could go on...)

• The lack of character emotions, development, backstories, etc. We barely know anything about the characters, like their hobbies & interests? (This is why I have a hard time making up headcanons & potentially writing a fic for our ship... How can I keep them in character when I barely know stuff about them? 😮‍💨). We barely see any of them training (training arcs/chapters are typical for battle shounens); the Tokyo students preparing for the Goodwill Event would have been a fitting time to showcase this, for example. There's little to no mourning shown for character deaths (like Yaga? Nanami? Mai? Mechamaru?).

Yuta has such a cool CT & we didn't get to see how he discovered it & all. Like, come on 😔. Also, it would've been nice to see the Goodwill Event from his first year when he beat the Kyoto students, especially Todo... (Gege simply tells us about it. Like he tends to do for a lot of things 🙄).

Gege could've done more build-up to Gojo's sealing in Shibuya by showing his upbringing & development from his arrogant teen self (tho already having shown hints of caring for others & not liking the higher-ups) to the sensei who loves his students & strives for a better Jujutsu society. His past arc should've been longer imo. Needed more slice of life & character interactions, bonding. Heck, Toji should've gotten his whole backstory there too before he died. More build-up to Gojo's "death" too, as Gege skipped that whole month after his unsealing 😒...

• While on the subject, the lack of character interactions, bonding. We haven't seen most characters interact with each other despite being in the same circles, vicinity. Tokyo & Kyoto students, GjHm with them, Gojo & his colleagues (esp more Uta), the Zenin clan (like, wish we could've seen how GjHm interacted with Naoya. Imagine the drama 😫), Gojo & his elusive clan, I could go on... Would've loved to see Gojo interact with Kashimo, Higuruma, Choso... 😮‍💨

As such, several have died & we never saw them interact with certain others nor even know much about them 😑... The emotional impact of character deaths & bonding would be higher if only Gege cared enough to flesh out his characters more... (At least the Phantom Parade mobile game is giving us some much-needed slice of life content. Wish Mappa would give us some OVA's like that too...)

• Lack of world building. Once again, so much we don't know, such as the clans, especially Gojo's. Apparently, they're still alive, yet we haven't seen them?

Are they not fighters, then? Nothing from them on their clan head's sealing/unsealing/"death". The Zenin Clan debuted & got killed off soon after. Other clans irrelevant. Jujutsu sorcery primarily exists in Japan so other than Miguel, goodbye to the potential of any foreign sorcerers making their appearance...

• Female cast. It's crazy how they were once praised for their potential but now... Now, all they've got is just your typical battle shounen treatment 😒. While Gege has shown he cares little for all his characters (lol), it does seem like the female characters have suffered a bit more from his writing. They've either died (like Mai off-screen? Yuki, the only female Special Grade, had one fight & died?), become powerless (Miwa, thru an off-screen Binding Vow revealed many chapters later? Seriously?), lack screentime (the Kyoto girls? Shoko, the only one who can use RCT on others & closest friend to Gojo?!), or simply haven't done a whole lot, especially compared to the male characters. For some or most, it's a mixture of all these 💀 (like Tsumiki).

Nobara is the main girl & yet her role ended about halfway thru the series. Can't believe Gege did that to her, despite her potential & competence to be the FL of a battle shounen (poor Yuuji still thinks of her. And we don't even know what Gojo thought about her demise? 😮‍💨). Maki seems to have it better, yet some could argue she's just Toji 2.0/female Toji. Unfortunately, I thought about Toji when she was fighting Sukuna; I was like, "If Sukuna's this impressed by her, imagine Toji with his higher experience?" I doubt that's what Gege would want us to think when Maki's shining (or does he? 🤨😒).

• Don't even get me started on Utahime. She's the main teacher of Kyoto, loved by all her students according to Gege, yet we don't get to see it? She's barely relevant? Imagine what she felt as her students kept on dying or becoming unable to fight. Thru her character, such as during her investigation of Kyoto for the traitor, we could've gotten some great insight into how things are over there? We don't even know what the Kyoto school looks like 💀.

Her scar has several implications & yet we don't know how she got it? How has she dealt with being a scarred woman in Jujutsu society, especially considering Momo's words about such a thing during the Goodwill Event? Utahime could be a great role model to the girls, especially Maki now, & yet... 😮‍💨 (I'm telling you, she should've been the main adult female of the series, just like Gojo's the main adult male)

She's one of Gojo's friends, has known him for 10+ years, & is one of his few most trusted allies, yet we haven't seen how they got to this point? Their comedic interactions make us wonder how they built that deep trust. I NEED to know what happened between them during the timeskip!!! 😫

Her CT buffs herself & others. Why has she not been a part of any on-screen fight prior to the Shinjuku Showdown? There were a couple instances where we almost saw her in action & yet... Why did Gege gatekeep her CT for so long? To showcase her CT for the first time for Gojo & Gojo ONLY. He's insane. They can't beat the package deal allegations. So, does this have any meaning? Can we hope for more-

• I sometimes wonder if JJK would be better as a seinen like I once heard he intended for it to be... There are definitely elements of that... How much darker could the story get, since sometimes Gege pushes the boundaries of Shounen Jump (I know he wants to, lol)... How much more fleshed out could it be if he was writing it the way he wanted to originally (supposedly he never intended for a school setting but was forced by his previous editor?)... Maybe we could even get a Tokyo Ghoul:re style chapter with GjHm during the timeskip if y'all know what I mean-

So, to sum up: JJK is interesting & I would recommend it, but there's a whole lot of wasted character potential, terrible pacing, & lack of interactions, development, & world building. There's so much we don't know & Gege wants to end it already? He's sitting on a gold mine & yet... 😑😒

No idea how things will end but I can at least hope for an open ending that leaves us with some hopeful possibilities... Uh, right?

Also... GOJO WILL RISE ✊️

[okamiz36]

MORI IS NOT A PEDO. DAZAI IS NOT A WOMANIZER OR 2D. A rant about the BSD universe, characters, and fanfic writers and how people mischaracterize the MCs

SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK NO LONGER HUMAN

Ok so, for those of who don't know in BUNGOSTRAYDOGS ANIME each main character was based off an actual writer and the character's came to be a blend of the universe/anime mixed with the novelist's books. For example, Dazai Osmau wrote the book No Longer Human which explains the tale of a man who had been acting his entire life, struggles with depression, fitting into society and eventually at the end comes out as gay (shoutout to the soukou shippers because this practically confirms the ship is canon). It shows how Dazai is more then a womenizer and comedian whereas in the anime we just take the character at surface level.

I'm a fanfic reader, I enjoy alot of different stories and right now I'm reading StrayBoundIsakai on AO3, amazing fanfic to some extent. I love it and whatnot but they included some notes on NaomiXTanizaki, and like a true fan I've done a bit of reasearch on the books written by the characters (I read crime and punishment+No longer human because those are my favs plus another Dostoyevsky book I can't remember the name of) So y'know it annoyed me to see people claiming that Tanizaki and Naomi are an actual incest couple because they are not. Here's my theory, Tanizaki n Naomi arent real siblings, in the book Naomi by Tanizaki two lovers have to pretend to be siblings to hide from a man who I'm pretty sure forced Naomi into a relationship with him, ill read the book prob tmrw if i got time, and its a common theroy that Naomi in bsd isnt even real, shes a hallucination ofa dead girl made by light snow ability. So one or the other.

We don't have any confirmation as to pretty much any of the BSD characters so we don't know the details between Tanizaki and Naomi as they've been kept secret. BSD is an odd anime because it goes from silly detective to vampire outbreak, to Fyodor is god, but within layers there are so many hidden clues on what the real story is.

Dazai is a tricky one for me because i've read so many theories on him but my favorite is why he abuses Akutagawa. Dazai is abusive to Akutagawa bc if he isnt and praises aku then aku loses his reason to lvie and be better then he alreayd is, akutagawa needs to be told he's a failure, dazais nice to atsushi bc atsushi is already so far broken if he doesn't get praise he'll go insane and suicide or smth similar. Dazai's character and entire personality is within the book no longer human (amazing read would recommend but it will mess you up) people often call him a womanizer but it's him simply trying to fake a personality as to what he deems is the most likeable persona or sterotypical persona. He's not annoying, his entire personality is a facade in which he's just trying to be likeable because he has no clue how he's suppose to act. In the PM/dark era/15 dazai he acted cold and ruthless because that was what was to be expected of him. Dazai has no personality, he's a pathological manipulator, YALL PLEASE READ NO LONGER HUMAN IF YOU ARE A DAZAI FAN.

And then Mori... PEOPLE PLEASE STOP SAYING HE'S A PEDOFILE. I'm going to take context from a reddit thread and the link will be posted because the post I'm quoting omg is amazing helped me so much, "Elise is the character of a short story by Mori, "The Dancing Girl" [a japanese student in Germany falls in love with a 17yo local girl who was poor and danced for a living, they have a complicated relationship until the guy chooses Japanese Moral Integrity over Love and goes back home. The girl realizes she was pregnant and goes mad, the student finds out and has painful regrets because he wanted a child/family and truly loved the girl" "In "The Dancing Girl", in the end the girl was pregnant with the student's child. Could BSD Elise herself be that child? Well, I don't very much believe this actually (imo BSD Mori and Elise don't have a father-daughter kind of relationship, I will elaborate), but anyway it's something that popped up in my mind. 2) I'm sure I read this somewhere, though I can't remember the source rn, that RL Mori himself said that his sexuality is "like that of a child", meaning that he does not really feel sexual attraction but he understands love and affection, and he stated that he loved his wife and children. So, my personal opinion is that Elise could be just that part of him. That's why it's shaped like a child. (+ Little side note idk if it's something worth mentioning but Elise has blue eyes, blonde hair, western outfit... Is she European? Given RL Mori's literary tastes I mentioned at the start, Asagiri might have chosen this specific design on purpose?).  Anyway that brings me to my next point: What is Mori and Elise's relationship in BSD? Like I was saying, Elise is literally a part of Mori, so she is Mori himself, his preferences, the influences he had, etc. He loves and cares for her because he loves and cares for himself. After all, Mori is not shown being "affectionate" towards other kids: there were Q and Kyōka right there but Mori never showed interest in them if not to exploit their abilities. So is BSD Mori a pedo yes or no?? Here we are. I think BSD Mori might be asexual (as for RL Mori, he probably was, but we'll never really know, also who knew about asexuality in 1800-1900s lol). That said, the character is never shown feeling sexual attraction (and reminder that pedophile means sexually attracted to children, y'all say this word so lightly smh). But Mori really says a lot of inappropriate stuff, doesn't he? Fukuzawa was shocked and Elise picks on him. But what if the shtick is that he just doesn't realize that he appears sus to others, exactly because anything he does isn't intended as sexual in his pov? He's a criminal mastermind but he also probably thinks dressing up Elise is like dressing up a doll and saying she's his wife is like playing house."

Asagiri prob just made him seem creepy because guess what HE'S A MAFIA BOSS LIKE WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?! Link is here please read: reddit.com/r/BungouStrayDogs/comments/17zes5z/vita_sexualis/

Reading or watching videos of recaps on the BSD writers made me hate so many fanfics honestly.... I shared all of these thoughts with my friend @kreepyveebs because they wanted to makea Ranpo fanfic and I figured I should also make a post on this.

I'm going to link a channel who made videos on Dostoyevsky's books just because it helps clearify what Fyodor is even talking about/explaining in the books, it's also a psychology channel so I recommend just binge watchin this guy https://www.youtube.com/@unsolicitedadvice9198

Can writers and theorists also please start figuring out what made Kunikida have his ideals, or made Ranpo the way he is? Ranpo wrote black lizards so me and Kreepy have made the theory of he had mafia parents or somehting similar, maybe related to Hiroshi? (im pretty sure i got his name wrong- ack), stop focusing on just the mains, like jeez.

SHOUTOUT TO @kreepyveebs (second ping mwahhaha) THEYRE AN AMAZING ARTIST AND WRITER AND YOU SHOULD 100% FOLLOW THEM IF YOU SEE THIS POST.

oh yeah @unknowntalesbymiles you should enjoy this post so ping for you!

[autosuns]

Of Ambulon and Pharma and doomed amica endura

I'll preface that I'm the last person to try and explain my ships by how canon they are and this is very much the same case of me just entertaining the idea and what their relationship represents and what role they play in a wider story, this is not an invitation for discourse or a debate. It's just me rambling on why I like the ship so much, think Pharma and Ambulon are narrative foils, while using some canon stuff and word of god.

Jokes about hamburger or hot dog or literally anything regarding Ambulon's death will end in block idc I think it's obnoxious 👍

CW for robot gore, discussions of torture, you know, the package that comes with DJD and Decepticons and MTMTE.

When it comes to Ambulon and Pharma's relationship, I think it's fair to start with bare bones, yeah?

I'm going to start with each character individually, what my take on them is, so we're all on the same page.

Ambulon

So, the basics are:

Ambulon was part of the failed combiner project of decepticons, the first combiner at that. He has horrible alt mode, that brings him a lot of shame, so he prefers to keep it a secret. He switched to the Autobots, eventually.

We don't know for certain if he was created for the project, or was one of the "volunteers". What we do know though, is that he's an MTO specifically, not just constructed cold, and MTOs were a concept of war.

Meaning, he cant be older than the war. Meaning, in my personal opinion, he was either made for some operation, then snatched by Shockwave for the project, or was created already specifically for the project.

There, I think, comes a timeline conflict. It feels unfeasible, to me, that MTOs were made this early into the war, by Decepticons. What I think happened, is that Shockwave did try to experiment on other Decepticons to figure out and develop on Jhiaxus' research, but once MTOs as a concept came into the picture, it became infinitely easier to just have an alt mode pre-made for a mech.

Unless when Shockwave said he was going to give Megatron a gestalt he meant he'll postpone it for 4mil years and do it a little before he succeeded with Devastator so Ambulon deserting LITERALLY as he is picked out for the combiner project JUST to avoid it makes this line from him especially funny:

Boy for all we know you're not even 15 years old.

Also the idea that character like Ambulon did that out of some sort of cowardice, that THIS was his breaking point to join Autobots, feels wrong.

In-text it becomes even less likely Ambulon had a life before the project, as his name "Ambulon" seems to be the only one he ever had (judging by his statue post on Necroworld).

I think why I'm getting a Little long-winded explaining Ambulon is to draw a better picture on his experience with Decepticons, Specifically Shockwave.

That to say, he had a horrible one. He knows better than anyone what Decepticons are capable of and how far they will go/what Megatron would allow. Especially once DJD comes into the picture.

And it just emphasizes the way Ambulon in the end of it all chose kindness. The first issues he appeared in cement it very well, especially since most of his intro we get from First Aid's point of view.

Ambulon is tetchy, can be a gearstick sometimes

Ambulon took pity on the Decepticons he thought were hunted down by the DJD

Ambulon convinced Pharma to let them stay

The Genericons showed their scars to Ambulon specifically

Ambulon gets passionate about hate crimes concerning one's shape/alt mode

Ambulon is "tetchy" and rejects First Aid's idea because he's concerned that it's too risky

For Ambulon to put your own life on the line to save a single life is an act of selfishness (also stemming out of his concern for First Aaid, imo)

Ambulon let the Genericons share a cell

To sum it up: Ambulon is very greatly concerned for the greater good and treating people without bias, Decepticon or Autobot, especially when there's any sort of discrimination involved.

(Using Genericons and Triple M as a tool with Ambulon was a very clever foreshadowing for Ambulon's situation, but it is a general theme that runs in these issues and Ratchet's/medics character arcs, it's the functionism, one's shape and purpose in life, but it is a completely different post to make. Just let's keep the theme of one's shape and purpose in mind.)

The thing is, Ambulon is who he is by choice. His Decepticon past is always showing, whether he wants it or not, but all he wants, essentially, is to help people and treat them with kindness. He's a "gearstick", but he's a gearstick with a big spark. He saw the greater cruelty in Decepticons and made a choice to never participate in it.

Ambulon is an MTO who made his life and became what he wants to be despite everything: Decepticons, his alt-mode, biases, all of that. He's true to himself and his intentions.

I'm gonna also get this out of the way that Ambulon's established character is continuously ignored, dumbed down and twisted: the point is that I do believe JRO didn't think about him that much or that deep, and what he did with him did not retain with him into further issues. That is to say, "You're gonna let Dr DJD cut us in half?" is a dumb fucking line to come out of Ambulon specifically, makes no sense, too snarky and cruel all things considered, and while I think it's also very funny it jsut shows Ambulon's accidental insignificance. Ok. That's all.

Pharma

Oh boy this one's a doozy. Okay, listen, I'll try to get more brief with it, try to get straight to the point, but Pharma has so much nuance around him on a greater scheme of things that it might also just be it's own post. SO we'll just try to focus on his persona and relations to others.

Pharma is a doctor of talent on par with Ratchet, if not actually better. He used to be friends with him, he's implied to have used to do medical service in the new institute, and eventually was stationed on Delphi by Prowl, practically abandoned by Ratchet. There, he ends up being blackmailed by Tarn, ending up killing his patients to meet the increasing quota, being led to the brink of creating a virus that he exposes the facility to in hope to close it down and escape it scot-free. Obviously, because of Ratchet, it didn't work, the rest is history.

Unlike Ambulon with his 3 panels and a half of screentime worth talking about character-wise, Pharma is a combination of multiple things at once, his place as an Autobot, his connection to the DJD, his act, and most of his actual character we get from very few shots of him from the past and what people say of him, and just a little of his behavior at Delphi before his crime is revealed.

So I think we'll focus specifically on the Decepticon part when it comes to Pharma cuz it's much easier to talk about.

Pharma vehemently, without hiding it, hates Decepticons.

It will go into even bigger field of speculations than trying to piece Ambulon's character together for why he hates them so much. It could both just be a thrown in line for the story to flow (Genericons) and act as a foreshadowing (DJD blackmail), the fact of the matter is, he hates Decepticons, he does not have pity for Decepticons, and if DJD did not play into his hatred, years of war for sure did.

(Also worth mentioning that in the issue #4, the paralleling story is Tailgate learning about the war and backing off on his decision to be a Decepticon. The entire build up works very well, imo, and plays into just how much it should hit you when Pharma turns out providing for DJD, along with the choice of Ambulon to not be a Decepticon anymore.)

You see, I think Pharma is incredibly caring person. He cares for his patients and he cares for his people. He takes his work extremely seriously. He's willing to be a donor for his patient and he's still conducting research to cure illnesses when there was no legitimate point for him to do that anymore. He's not just a surgeon, but he's a virologist/epidemiologist.

But, probably when we ask ourselves, "So if he was such a wonderful doctor, equal to Ratchet, someone Ratchet recognizes, why wasn't he the Chief Medical Officer in the first place?"

I think it's mostly his personality. It's his hubris and ego. It's also the inherent societal bias of Cybertron when it comes to jets - though this part of worldbuilding isn't that consistent, he is a forged jet AND a doctor.

And that's also why I think he doesn't believe in that "forged" functionism bullshit. BUT thats another post of its own (take a shot every time i say that in this post).

Let's just bullet point this:

Pharma is a talented doctor who's good and dedicated to his job. Practically nothing is impossible for him and it becomes a focal point of his conflict with Ratchet, too.

That said, Pharma's shape is what, I think, is responsible for his hubris. He's a jet, he's forged, he's a doctor, but he's a doctor because HE, PHARMA, is good. Nothing to do with some God. (which is different from Ratchet's internalized functionism)

Pharma hates Decepticons, he tried to kill the DJD, and it may seem like he pushed it all on Ambulon because he was a Decepticon, but I don't think that's the case. Specifically because of this:

He does not see Ambulon as a Decepticon, and it was just panicked shitty lie he had to quickly come up with on the spot.

Pharma feels guilt for his actions, and after killing Ambulon, he's actively taunting First Aid to kill him.

Pharma is a jet doctor trapped in the loop of self-sabotage after being exploited, psychologically tortured and left for dead, after a poor attempt of saving face. Pharma is a jet doctor who embraced his new look, but couldn't live with it, far from accepting it. Furthermore, his body is used by Adaptus himself, where the only thing he could do is trying to get his body back, to help his comrades, only to end up dying, again.

That's where I'm going to use a single word of God that makes, all in all, a lot of sense.

"Grurdging respect" is about best way to describe Pharma and Ambulon.

Now since I've reached the image limit on this post it's relentless rambling and speculations time!

You probably can already tell where I'm going with this. I think Pharma and Ambulon direct inversions of each other.

Decepticon gone Autobot as a choice - Autobot gone rogue out of blackmail and fear of failure

MTO doing what he wants to do and taking control of his body and life, disconnected from a gestalt or his "purpose" - A forged jet trying to continue his career of a doctor despite all the odds but who's agency is continuously taken, not only by others but by his own ego

Where they overlap, is their desire to do what they want. Where they differ, is one's sincerity and other's toxicity.

Ambulon is someone Pharma would never be, and someone he, on meta level, wishes he was more like. He doesn't want to be Ratchet, even if we think a little about his obsession and desire to prove to Ratchet that he's better, he wants to be someone Ratchet would respect. And in the end of the day, it all didn't matter anymore, because clearly Ratchet never respected him enough in the first place: "waging a war on his body", taking body parts for his own gain (hands), that Pharma didn't even really care about anymore. It was personal. He wanted Ratchet to hurt.

All of this, ultimately, is justified. Little who would respond to knowing someone who betrayed you (and whom you, also, betrayed) also breached boundaries of your autonomy. It's just basic decency. I don't believe TFs never heard of that or don't follow it, in some fashion. Maybe it's more loose, but for the purpose of drama and villification of Pharma, it was convenient, I guess.

See, Pharma is just inherently, like anyone, very flawed. The circumstance he's put in and the war led to the worst of his qualities spike. And in relation to Ambulon, it's the inverse of a person who, having seen the horrors of the war, having been through the horror and the existential dread of being in a gestalt, chose kindness anyway.

"Grudging respect". A jet doctor, a genius, and an ex-soldier MTO, who made the choice of helping people. An ex-Decepticon, too, no less.

See how it could've developed into something more?

Both eager to do their job, Ambulon is a perfect stabilizer for Pharma's general emotional response to things. He may be a good doctor, but he's prone to acting and saying things before really thinking about it. Ambulon is capable of convincing him and giving a good argument, without it being personal.

"Grudging respect" with Ambulon working with one of the best doctors out there, who's work is going to be invaluable even after his death.

And if things worked out differently? Do you think Ambulon wouldn't be there to sympathize with Pharma's trauma regarding DJD? Do you think Ambulon wouldn't pity Pharma for what Tarn put him through? Ambulon? The Decepticon who was there? The one who even should fear DJD the most? The one who might've even triggered DJD once he was so close on the radar?

He might've confided in Pharma in the first place, as someone literally second in charge after him.

Pharma and Ambulon are defying Adaptus as a societal concept, among with the existential idea of your shape dictating your purpose. And within the text they don't just defy, they end up suffering the most out of it - Pharma ends up in a position where his hands are praised more than he, as a person, is, Ambulon dies by these hands, and his death dooms Pharma as well.

I hope it was comprehensive enough, i WISH i could include more images to prove my point. The amica endura would've been insane. If only the circumstance was different.

[the-autistic-vulcan]

Brothers and Sisters (Platonic!Ryan!Ken x Human!F!Reader) @that-kid-fromtheplayground

Request: Hey I was wondering if you could write something fluffy for platonic!Ryan!Ken & fem!Non-Barbie!reader? (context: reader is made to be similar to Chelsea, but not Barbie's sister, and by that I mean being a young aged doll to be probably 12-13-14.) Maybe reader sees Ken as a brother/dad figure and is a total sunshine about it? +bonus points if you add a little something about Ken wanting to take care of the reader when he was in his 'Kendom' phase <3 Hope I am not asking for too much! <333

Genre: Fluff

Description: Though you may not be a Barbie, that never stopped you from getting easily attached to a certain Ken

warnings: talks of patriarchy (down with it imo)

a/n: I am not very well-versed in Chelsea's character, but I tried my best TT

Ever since you were consciously aware that you were the only girl in your respective family, one thing was clear: you wanted a brother.

However, you never wanted a younger brother, you know, the ones with sticky fingers, obnoxiously loud or just completely insufferable. You wanted an older brother - the kind that is unconditionally protective, teasing and a little bit dim-witted, what could you say? You wanted to keep the wits, that's for sure. However, an older brother was certainly a stretch and it's not like the real world could exactly hold up its end of the bargain.

That was, until you were on the boardwalk of Venice Beach and you saw two brightly-coloured blondes in leotards and roller-skates, almost straight out of the 80s. Naturally, your curiosity got the better of you and you followed them around like a lovestruck puppy. You followed them on your skates and a rocket ship, boat and car drive later, you were in Barbieland.

Ken, once he was back on the beach and doing his thing, he saw you, looking a little clueless and, in a way, overwhelmed - he may be just Ken, but he had a heart of gold.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asks, putting his surfboard down.

"Um, I uh, how did I get here?" You ask.

"Well, a bespoke number, roller-skates and a rocket ship later - here you are!" He said, his arms gesturing the grandiose affair. "You seem lost, what's your name?"

"...Y/N." You say. "And you're Ken?"

Ken nods, "Yep."

"Huh, my mom never let me play with Ken dolls, she thought I'd...get ideas..."

Ken tilts his head in slight confusion, but he just rolls with it - from then on, he knew to look after you and, even though an older brother was what you asked for, you didn't expect him.

~~~TIME SKIP TO THE KENDOM~~~ Let's just say you were not too keen on all of the Kens having house parties until midnight, but you endured it and stayed in Ken's Mojo Dojo Casa House for the time being - this patriarchy has spread like wildefire, even Ken, who's been looking after you has done it.

One night, he saunters into your room to check on you.

"Hey," He asks in his most manly voice possible. "You okay, little girl?"

You just nod, a little nervous. "Ken...are you okay?"

He holds his exterior and closes the door, then he gives in. "No...you wanna watch TV?"

"Yeah, ok." You pat an area on your bed for him to sit and put on a calm movie - it was a chick flick - something, at this point he wasn't too proud of.

"Hey, if any of the other Kens find out, you're dead." He jokes.

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a/n: Yeah, not my best fic, but hey, first time for everything right

Please like and reblog! Do not pass as your own.

[hoboblaidd]

The Agents of Fen'harel

Before Veilguard comes out, I wanted to break down Solas' spy network in the Dragon Age. I am only focused on the modern age, and on mortal (or immortal elvhen) agents. I'm not discussing spirits, but suffice to say, spirits are a crucial part of his network. This is a very long post, so strap in.

Ancient Elvhen

We know based on Felassan that Solas had agents even before he woke up. I think it’s safe to assume that these agents were ancient elves because Solas believed until Inquisition that modern elves weren’t ‘people.’ I don’t know how many are still alive and kicking. They located his orb and manipulated the Venatori to find it.

It’s possible these agents were just regular modern people of course, but I’m leaning towards no. He has too much prejudice at the start of DAI to trust modern elves.

The Sentinels

Given his regard for 'true' elves, the sentinels (and any other ancient elves kicking about) are likely Solas' closest and most trusted agents. Solas recruited the surviving sentinels soon after, if not during, Inquisition. His brief conversation with Abelas was, in my opinion, a coded recruitment:

“There are other places, friend. Other duties. Your people yet linger.” “Elvhen such as you?” “Yes, such as I.” “Malas amelin ne halam, Abelas.” Bro nod of acknowledgement.

Elves, at least ancient elves, took on new names or titles in much the same way the Dalish now take vallaslin. Offering Abelas a new name is, imo, offering him a new purpose. This later with Dorian:

Dorian: There could be others, in ruins we haven't yet discovered. Shouldn't we be looking for them? Solas: Perhaps Abelas will do that. Dorian: I wonder if that's a good thing.

I think that's exactly what Abelas did, so by the time Corypheus was done and Mythal's power absorbed, Solas could rendezvous with the last of his People and start his endgame.

Inquisition servants/agents

Leliana is smart enough to view any new recruit with suspicion, especially as Solas "stays one step ahead" of all of her efforts to find him. So logically, his spies were those elves already embedded with the Inquisition before he left. I've talked about his recruitment of servants before, but I think he also recruited several of Leliana's elven agents. 

Flipping spies into double agents is a well-established art in the real world. It is a slow, careful process of untangling old allegiances and rewiring them with your own ideology until they essentially ask to be flipped. As the leader of a rebellion, Solas would have tons of experience trying to do this with evanuris loyalists. He knows what works and what doesn't, where to push and when to back off. Solas had a year to work on Leliana's spies during Inquisition and I think he started on day 1. It was incredibly subtle and careful. By the end of Inquisition, I don't think they all jumped ship to his side, but they'd have trusted him enough that if he or a friendly elf approached them, they'd offer to help his cause. For those who didn't outright turn, he still utilizes as sources of HUMINT - intelligence gathered from people within an organization who are spying for you but not generally taking actions on your behalf.

After Trespasser, and regardless of whether or not the Inquisition is disbanded, his Inquisition spies are probably burned since Solas stupidly told the Inquisitor he had them. Leliana would logically not trust most of her elven agents except those like Charter who proved themselves a thousand times over. 

Did he tell the Inquisitor on purpose? Eh. He admitted to Charter that his monologuing in Trespasser was a momentary weakness. At most, he probably shifted to the few non-elven agents he still has in Leliana's network since they're less suspicious.

City and enslaved elves

For those who could escape alienages, slums, and masters, the Dread Wolf is a natural place to rally around. He is promising (and can seemingly deliver) worldwide change to better the lot of the elves. He accepts all elves, and doesn't get into the stupid 'flat ear' bullshit the Dalish have. He is, in essence, what the disenfranchised elves always believed the Dalish to be. I also hope that Solas, when doing shit around Thedas these past 12 years, liberates elves where he can. Never at the risk of jeopardizing his goals of course, but on an ad hoc basis at least.

Of all things that might make them hesitant to join is his unrestricted magic, and yes, I'm taking a lot of this from Fenris. It's an incredibly logical fear and distrust to have for people enslaved in Tevinter, but also for most elves raised in a Chantry world. It's not like they had access to a great education or academic discourse on the pros and cons of magic aside from the propaganda the Chantry has fed them. Solas could try to assuage their concerns, but it'd be a lot to slowly show them that his use of magic is different and that magic is itself not a bad thing - because when the Veil comes down, they're probably going to get that magical connection back (if they survive it).

Special mention goes to Briala and her agents. They had access to a portion of the eluvians using Fen'harel Enansal as a password. They fight a covert war for elven freedom in Orlais. They are, as Felassan said, very much like the Dread Wolf and his rebellion. They could be natural additions to his agents, but it's complicated by the whole Felassan of it. Solas would accept Briala's agents with no question, but idk where Briala would fall. We also don't know how Solas got control of her section of the eluvians aside from him overriding the magic personally, but he probably just cartwheeled into the Crossroads and literally overrode the magic. I don't think he'd have needed to kill her or anything for them. RP-wise, I'm willing to go any way, all options are logical to me.

The Dalish

The Dalish are trickier. They are founded around two beliefs: (1) never again shall we submit to slavery, and (2) the ancient power of the elves as they understand it should be upheld/restored. On the one hand, a powerful elf with a concrete plan that would see that elves will not only never have to submit to masters but also restore the world of the elves at the time of the fall of Arlathan is exactly what the Dalish want. But on the other hand, it's the Dread Wolf making these promises. They're going to have to get really cool with a lot of stuff really fast. How do you undo millennia of propaganda praising tyrannical gods and demonizing the one asking you to join him?

The Dalish are not a monolith, and I think whether or not they're recruited is on an individual basis or, at most, one Clan or another. The devs said that both Davrin and Bellara will have Thoughts about Solas-Fen'harel. This sort of religious division probably plays out amongst every Dalish elf that hears the Dread Wolf is back. Some who might take the old tales as more apocryphal than gospel truth would likely be more willing to join Fen'harel, while others who are zealous will likely not.

Solas does have an advantage of his true identity being revealed in Trespasser. For the first time, well, ever, the Dalish have definitive proof that one of their 'gods' is real, walking the earth, andpromising to do what they've wanted the gods to do. There's got to be a level of curiosity except in the most devout. It's like if Maferath showed up in Orlais. The Chantry maligns him, but you know there'd be a good amount of priests and people like 'yeah but I want to talk to him because holy shit'. 

Non-elven agents

Yes, I think he has some non-elven agents because it's a smart strategy, but I think he chooses and uses them sparingly. He can't limit himself to one stream of intel. First, elves can go a lot of places, but they can't go everywhere. Second, after divulging to the Inquisitor that he has spies in the Inquisition, elves would be the most suspected.

The most numerous are likely defectors or converts from the Qun - their ideology parallels Fen'harel's enough that they'd be reasonably trustworthy.

Qunari - I think he’d use actual Qunari spies sparingly. He’s wary of the Qun and he’d need agents who can live and operate in that world without actually being dogmatic. For example, a Tal Vasoth qunari won’t give him insight into the Antaam’s movements, but an elven ‘convert’ who is essentially a double agent could report to him on the Antaam’s business.

Humans - I think the majority of human spies don't know exactly who they're reporting to. He probably has a network of increasingly trustworthy humans that he props up as puppet actors that these folks report to, and uses other ideologies to entice them to spy (i.e., Freedom for all Tevinter; Peasants in Orlais; etc.).

Dwarves - Dwarven society is generally somewhere elves really can't go without standing out. He needs to know what's shaking with Orzammar and Kal Sharok (and the Carta), and elves are going to be limited. Given the castes, dwarf commoners are probably far more likely to be recruited, but again, he'd treat Dwarven spies exactly as he treats human spies - under the shell idea of A Casteless Society.