#no hate to either i just think the contrast is hilarious

[hurtcomforted]

tony fans years after endgame: pls bring him back :( we miss him

steve fans years after endgame: what the fuck! that fucking sucked! fix this!

[decepti-thots]

It's really funny to me when people get so mad on Drift's behalf in MTMTE series one because they ignore Ratchet's actual motivation for needling him as hard as he does early on (that is, not the actual religion bit like people claim, the part where he thinks Drift is basically faking it to absolve his own guilt for his part in the war; see the Annual scene), but then hold up Rodimus as by contrast being kind to him and more worthy of his good graces as a result. Like... Rodimus. The guy who at the same time Ratchet was being a dick to Drift, was... responding to Drift not kissing his ass on demand 24/7 with apparently constant threats to throw him to the wolves as an ex-con everyone on the ship hated, but had to tolerate because of Rodimus' support, a fact which Rodimus apparently repeatedly held over Drift.

Like. Of the two, Ratchet being like 'I think your convenient religious epiphany is faked so you feel less guilty and face fewer consequences for your terrible behaviour' vs Rodimus going 'I can have you thrown in jail any time I like, you know' seems... uhhh. Well! It's a good thing both of these things are in fact not permanent features of Drift's relationship with either character and is in fact a setup for later character development, lmao. But personally, I think what Rodimus does is pretty clearly worse, season one wise. Ratchet's insulting about his thought-to-be-insincere esoteric spiritual beliefs; Rodimus makes him complicit in a crime via Overlord and insults him every time he doesn't answer a text in five seconds via implied threat, apparently!

To be clear. I love every permutation of these dynamics. I like Drift-Ratchet, Drift-Rodimus, and indeed Rodimus-Ratchet in basically all configurations; I find those relationships very compelling and interesting throughout the comic. I just find the insistence that 'Rodimus is better for Drift because Ratchet in s1 is sooo mean to him' sort of... hilarious, because if you've recently read s1 of MTMTE, uhhhh. WELL. If you want someone who's actually nice to Drift, the guy you're looking for is like... idk, Pipes seemed chill? Any way you slice it, though, it's. Not Roddy. Sorry.

[lacrimosathedark]

For funsies, some of my fav Radioapple tropes

Both of them are kicking and screaming through feelings realization. They would prefer to remain in denial, thank you very much. Even funnier if they do this through ALL stages. Like enemies to friends, they have such a hard time admitting they want to be friends. The tension is unbearable.

Lucifer falls first, Alastor falls harder. Or rather, Lucifer has the feelings realization first so it's more of a gradual awareness for him, but Alastor's emotions grow without his notice until it hits him all at once out of nowhere like a freight train.

Lucifer easily recognizing he finds Alastor attractive, but totally blindsided when he starts to genuinely enjoy his presence. Like, yeah, he's tall, dark, and threatening, Lucifer liked that in Lilith. But Alastor's also a BITCH and Lucifer is NOT HAPPY that he finds this fucker funny. And that his stupid ears are adorable.

Lucifer is still hung up on Lilith, very apparently so, and Alastor's totally not jealous, no, he just wants everything Lilith's ever had, no big deal.

Alastor has Feelings about Lucifer still wearing his ring, and it makes him insecure or otherwise upset but he will not bring it up himself.

Alastor, at first, is entirely unaware of the fact that he finds Lucifer attractive (if not sexually then aesthetically). Like, he's Lucifer, known for being the most beautiful angel, AND the devil, the first temptation. Obviously he's pretty, that's not an opinion, it's a fact. What do you mean not everyone thinks that??? He likes Lucifer's stupid face and he'll double-die mad about it.

Alastor has never experienced sexual attraction in his life or death. And then he sees Lucifer in full demon mode and he's like "what the fuck am I feeling I'm feeling feelings I don't like this". Lucifer is the reason why Hell's so hot lmao

On the subject of finding Lucifer attractive, Lucifer with deer traits. Especially if he does it to mock/tease Alastor but instead of reacting as expected, Alastor basically blue screens.

Alastor insists on introducing Rosie and Lucifer, and instantly regrets it lmao. Rosie is utterly charmed by Lucifer and they (completely platonically) flirt constantly. Alastor hates it. Even before he starts to feel jealous about it, he sees it and is like "...Ew." Kinda like how kids are when their parents flirt. Rosie thinks it's hilarious because it is.

Vox being both a jealous dumbass and a genuine threat. At the same time, Alastor is adamant that Lucifer stay out of it, much to his annoyance. Vox can be underhanded and sneaky, capable of causing genuine problems, maybe even hurting one of them. But equally likely to blurt out something horrendously embarrassing and stupid.

In that vein, a direct contrast between Alastor's relationship with Lucifer and with Vox. Vox being the abusive ex can be interesting, but even just his usual invasive obsession compared to Lucifer generally respecting Alastor's boundaries for example. Lucifer not trying to push for anything at all (getting him to say what he wants is like pulling teeth) compared to Vox's desperation and retaliation. Hell, even just that Vox is Friends to Enemies and Lucifer is Enemies to Friends (to Lovers mayhaps?). It's really fun to play with.

DANCING!!! I love Alastor dancing with anyone and everyone, but him dancing with Lucifer and almost forcing Lucifer to have fun? UGH yes. They start off with challenging toothy grins, but eventually Lucifer is genuinely laughing and Alastor's smile is relaxed and easy. SO. CUTE.

Similarly, playing music together! I do enjoy the dancing more, but just, Alastor on piano and Lucifer accompanying him with his violin? Adorable.

Charlie is either ENTIRELY oblivious, or she knows EVERYTHING but everyone thinks she's oblivious. When whichever it is is revealed, there's a huge, "Wait, WHAT?!" moment.

The rest of the cast have bets going and when whatever their relationship is is revealed, someone grumbles and hands over cash to someone else.

Will I think of more?

[helpmeimblorboing]

I really like imagining Nie Huaisang’s response to Jiang Cheng’s whole shtick post-WWX-death, because, you CANNOT tell me that he wouldn’t immediately draw parallels, true or not, to his own shit with Nie Mingjue.

Like I can just imagine him thinking while talking to Jiang Cheng like “You were so unwilling to accept the notion of a world where your brother was dead that you were willing to spend your entire life chasing a ghost. That’s admirable. I admire that. Maybe if I had done that, Da-ge wouldn’t have…”

And meanwhile Jiang Cheng is just seething, fully convinced that he was chasing after Wei Wuxian’s ghost because he just hated him so gosh-darn much. Like, not to stir up any debate or piss off any of the more opinionated people on this site, but I genuinely don’t think JC hated WWX as much as he, or the jianghu, thought he did.

Hate can drive a person to do many things, but I genuinely don’t think it’s possible for hate to drive a person to chase a dead man for thirteen years. Five ? Maybe. Seven is pushing it. But thirteen ? The only kind of hate powerful enough to do that is hate adulterated with at least a sprinkling of love

And I think that creates a really interesting contrast, one Nie Huaisang, who disguises his hate and grief behind walls of obliviousness, all the while drowning in regret and despair, and one Jiang Cheng, who disguises his grief and regret behind walls of hate so solid that he’s managed to fool even himself

Both of them wearing masks. Both of them pretending to be whole after the death of their sibling(s). Neither of them actually okay

On the other hand, maybe Jiang Cheng does just fully despise Wei Wuxian, which just makes the whole thing hilarious instead of melancholic. Like here Huaisang is, drawing up elaborate manuscripts of the tragic story of the Yunmeng Shuangjie, and meanwhile Jiang Cheng is just the living representation of that one neighbour who’s been pissed off at you for a full decade because you accidentally insulted her apple cobbler at a meet one time

And once again, that’s a really interesting contrast, because, Huaisang holds grudges too, but unlike Jiang Cheng, who goes around announcing his hate, Huaisang hides it behind faked incompetence and obliviousness

Either way, it’s an enjoyable experience

[spockandawe]

You know what I can't get enough of? Speculation about what the fictional novel Proud Immortal Demon Way says about its fictional author. Because it would be completely possible to make a story like this without that connection. I'm not sure I've read any other transmigration story where the author was a character, so just that addition adds a lot of interesting texture to the situation even without getting deep in the author's head, but it's so interesting how deep I can speculate in so many directions if I think about getting in his head.

And oh man, I could talk for AGES about how Shang Qinghua and his iconic protagonist reflect each other, but a lot of people have written about that already! Including in the medium of fic, which is my favorite way to consume that kind of crunch. So let's talk about familial neglect and mistreatment and the author's favorite character.

Honestly, when I look at how iconic this ship is, I'm astonished there aren't more hit novels where the author gets yeeted into their own book and has to navigate platonic or romantic relationships with their own characters. A lot of the parallels between Shang Qinghua and Luo Binghe are about them being alike in ugly and vulnerable ways, ways I don't think either of them likes about themselves, and regarding aspects of their personalities that I don't think they'd be happy discussing period. Like, Binghe very much hates himself, that's right there on the page. And Shang Qinghua is a ridiculous character, he's very funny, but he's also not stupid. He's very aware of who he is and what he is, and makes a decision to behave the ways he does. I'm typing this up because I was scrolling through an old chat looking for something and tripped across a conversation about shang qinghua and fawn trauma response.

He knows he does this thing! He has an easy opening to turbokill Mobei-jun while he's unconscious and decides to go the route of begging for his life and trying to ingratiate himself after Mobei-jun wakes up instead, which is a much trickier process. He says it himself, that Mobei-jun is his ideal, that he embodies everything Shang Qinghua wants to be, that etc. And that's hilarious and all, especially in light of the eventual romance and the clownery it takes to get there, but in classic svsss fashion, it also becomes a lot sadder when you add up all the pieces and see everything Shang Qinghua hates about himself.

In some ways he's an even more avoidant narrator than Shen Qingqiu, he deflects and jokes like a motherfucker, so it really is a matter of assembling all the pieces and seeing where there are gaps. But what really underscored the connection for me was Mobei-jun's reaction to parental neglect. Because that's what pushed Shang Qinghua into being an author in the first place, his parents divorced and remarried and kinda just.... forgot about him.

Mobei-jun's dad doesn't exactly do that, but he is operating without a mom in the picture, and rather than remarrying, he just chooses to ignore the thing where his shitty brother is persistently trying to kill his son. That really sucks! But Mobei-jun never shows the smallest hint of weakness or vulnerability over this, even when it would have really helped to use his words, like 'hi my uncle is coming to kill me and i trust you to protect me.' He's everything cool, aloof, arrogant, proud, all a bunch of adjectives that really do not apply to Shang Qinghua. Mobei-jun honestly looks like a boring character if you just stick to the main story, because he's so self-contained and controlled. Compare and contrast to Shang Qinghua, who accidentally outs himself as a transmigrator like two minutes after showing up and proceeds to be hilarious for the rest of the book.

(Brief aside to say that I don't think Mobei-jun is necessarily a happier or healthier person for all of this, lmao. The conversation that fawn reaction thing came from was talking about freeze (tee hee) versus fawn in response to threats or stressful situations. But that goes along with the svsss theme of people used to engaging with this universe as a fictional property coming to terms with the depth and complexity of other people's emotions and not just seeing them as simplistic not-real characters in a book)

(Additionally, this makes the ship hilarious as a take on 'opposites attract,' but also it gives me actual Emotions that Shang Qinghua's ideal who he wishes he could be, purely incidentally, he is able to value and love Shang Qinghua in a way that Shang Qinghua can't and doesn't seem to totally understand)

And what's very interesting here. Is that Shang Qinghua made these two characters, Luo Binghe and Mobei-jun. His protagonist ultimately reflects a lot of his own vulnerabilities and insecurities (secretly and quietly in pidw, much more.... overtly in svsss), and Mobei-jun corrects for his vulnerabilities and insecurities. He's the person Shang Qinghua wishes he could be, which is basically... the opposite of Shang Qinghua, to an almost comical degree. And he then gives Mobei-jun the VERY BEST plot armor he can devise. It's hard for a male character to exist near a stallion protagonist without getting swept up in rivalries/suspicions/etc and getting killed by the protagonist, but he makes sure that his favorite character is safe from these things. He's protecting the character he wishes he could be from the character whose faults most reflect his own. That is very sweet and weird and sad, and that's very reflective of the svsss experience, I think.

[kumezyzo]

enemies to lovers with bf!sapnap !

this turned out to be way longer than i had anticipated. and it didn't even really get to the lover part. but i can make a part 2 if people are really interested. streamer reader, btw. this is also incredibly long.

anyway, enjoy or dont :) m.list

you and sapnap met each other in a valorant lobby. you chose to play the sage, and sapnap just happened to be having a bad day. And it just so happened you were both streaming.

"sage, do your fucking job!" his voice sounded through your headset. his tone made you do a double take, snapping you out of your concentrated trance. you looked at your chat and then your camera in disbelief before you made your way over to his downed character.

"ask nicely, asshole," you mutter under your breath, not realizing you were unmuted.

"id ask nicely if you knew how to play the fucking game," he said, causing you to freeze for a moment. then you rolled youre eyes and healed him, praying for the round to be over soon.

when the round was over and you started talking about how rude that one guy was, your chat made it aware to you that he was also a streamer.

"sapnap?" you ask, looking at your chat with a bit of disgust. "he's a big streamer? that doesn't give him the right to be an ass."

you sigh as you open up a different tab and look him up. the first thing that shows up is a picture of his face, and you couldn't help but think he was a little cute. then you remembered his condescending voice and the attraction left.

"he plays minecraft, too?" you ask out loud to no one in particular. you clicked on the first minecraft video that came up and shared your screen with your stream.

you watched a few minutes of the video, skipping through it and making your own judgments on his content.

"notice how he only plays with men...."

that judgment being that he's a misogynist.

he looked you up as well, and he couldn't help but think you were attractive as well. but he couldn't find a flaw in you as quickly as you could in him.

"she sounds.... annoying..." he said as he watched you into your youtube video. half his chat agreed while the other noticed the glint in his eye as he watched you speak.

and as fate would have it, the first time you're in an mcc, you're also put on a team with sapnap. when you see the roster, you think the name sounds familiar. that is before you realize who he was and how much you were going to hate your first mcc.

when your team started training, you tried to avoid talking to him. but it was hard when the game was built on communication.

he would be nice to everyone else, encouraging them and giving them advice, but then a complete ass to you. he refused to call you anything but "sage" and only criticized you.

and as much as you wanted to be civil with him, you simply couldn't. so you started taking small little jabs at him. and from then on, it was constant bickering that your two other teammates didn't bother to keep up with. and some days, you couldn't either.

"sapnap, get your shit together," you say tiredly.

"shut the fuck up, sage," he shoots back quickly. you roll your eyes and sigh, debating whether or not to just leave the call, turn off your pc, and go to bed.

your chats thought it was hilarious. as hostile as it felt some times, you found yourself making jokes that even made him laugh. the clips of you two laughing with each other were few but cherished within both your fandoms.

then it so happened that you two saw each other at Twitch Con. people lost their minds seeing you two greet each other stiffly. and a clip started to circulate. an angle of you meeting the dream team, but saps face very clear in the video.

his eyes raked up and down your body when he stepped back to let you hug dream and george, the glint in his eye returning. then his face turned annoyed as you smiled at his best friends. it was a strong contrast to how you gave him a tight-lipped smile and waved at him awkwardly.

afterward, dream (being the hospitable human he is) invited you out to dinner with them. you couldn't refuse, although the idea of sapnap being there made your blood boil. but you sucked it up and went to have fun with your new friends.

when the pictures were posted, people couldn't help but notice how you and sap sat on either side of dream. it looked like two fighting toddlers being separated by their mother. and it didn't help that dream tweeted it with the caption 'making sure the kids aren't fighting 🥰" people make it a thing that dnf are the parent and you two are the children.

thankfully, you two got along that night, something shifted from completely unable to stand one another to less insulting banter.

"thank you," you said to the waiter as the set down your drink. you smiled at them right before they walked away.

"thank you," he mocked once the waiter walked away. you leaned forward and glared at him.

"im sorry, do my manners bother you?" you asked, trying to fight the disgust on your face.

"when you sound like a bitch, yea," he said, looking down at the menu again.

to

"so, sapnap," you emphasize his streamer name. "what is it with you only having male friends?"

"what is it with you not knowing how to heal people, sage?"

"you really dont have manners, huh?" you said, shaking your head at him. "usually, you say someones name when referring to them."

"not when they can't play valorant."

to

"dont post that," you said fearfully once you see the flash go off. sapnap looked at you with a mischievous glint. you were mid bite when he decided to take a picture.

"or what, sage?" he challenged, narrowing his eyes at you.

people then started noticing how you two were interacting more but also weren't as hostile as before. instead of rolling your eyes or grimacing when something is said about sapnap, you listen intently. you had become good friends with dream and george. you found that hearing stories of the three of them made you warm up to sapnap.

he didn't seem as rude as he was when you first met. and that original attraction was finding its way back to you. it was almost embarrassing to admit that his face wasn't too hard to look at anymore. you found yourself even admiring him at times. and it scared you.

he started seeing you in a similar way. he always thought you were pretty. he never denied that. but now it was easier to admit. he had warmed up to you. he wasn't sure you'd agree, but he might even go as far as to consider you a friend. a mutual one at the very least. and that could be seen in the ways he defended you.

"you know yn, right?" a man said to sapnap through his headset. he was invited to do a podcast. and now, the topic of conversation has switched to you.

"yea, what about her?" he asked, confused as to where the conversation may go.

"i mean, you've seen it first hand. shes kinda annoying," the host said. sap furrowed his eyebrows as he continued. "she acts like such a bitch. jesus christ, i saw a guy donate her like a hundred bucks and just shut him down."

"shes a bitch cause she didnt wanna date some guy in her chat?" he asked slowly.

"he wasnt just some guy, he dm'd her like six times and she just kept saying no. didnt even give him a chance, man," the host said, shaking his head in disappointment. "sucks man. she was kinda bad too."

even though that episode never aired, sapnap still told his best friends about it. and they obviously had something to say.

"nick, i thought you hated her," dream said, confused.

"im not gonna let someone say that shit about her," he said nonchalantly.

"why, cause only you can?" dream joked. sapnap rolled his eyes. "i also just dont get why you're such a dick around her. you obviously like her, so why-"

"i dont like her," sapnap cut him off. he shook his head as dream deadpanned.

"okay, well, like her or not," dream sighed. "shes cool. hang out with her. then maybe you'd actually make some progress with her."

and then you did hang out. in minecraft obviously. but you made a series out of it. you two named it "minecraft for dummies". it was just a series where you two tried to work together in a minecraft world.

it was built on you challanges your viewers would request every week. the clips that came out of it ranged from you two being wholesome to your mics crackling rom yelling at eachother.

"can you make my bed orange?" he asked you as he got more wood to finish the third level of your shared house.

"yea, i got'chu," you said with a giggle as you crafted the bed.

to

"DID YOU JUST KILL MY WOLF???"

"IT WAS GOING TO KILL ME!"

"SAGE, I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU-"

"WAIT!!! IM ON FOUR HEARTS-"

and as a result of this series, sapnap started calling you by your name on occasion. it was rare and the first time it happened, it through you through a loop. then it kept happening. and it shocked everyone else as much as it did you.

"yn, stop putting this-"

"what did you just call me?"

him calling you by your name, even if its every once in a while, and found yourself smiling at the way it rolls off his tongue. it was just comfortable. both of you denying there were any feelings between you two was alright. it just was.

i gave up towards the end if you couldnt tell. but i really hope you enjoyed. -nony

[signanothername]

Hi! I love your rescue bots art and I was wondering who your favorite bot was?

Hello!! Thank you sm! <333

Ngl the show’s characters are so amazing that it genuinely is hard to say for sure, but I’d say Heatwave!!

Prepare for a ramble >:)

I already have a soft spot for grumpy characters and he falls into that category, but i genuinely love how the writers balanced his character so well that you don’t hate him for his gruffness, he’s that trope of “asshole with a heart of gold™”

The thing is, Heatwave isn’t fully a jerk either, he respects authoritarian figures, gives people credit where it’s due and has a sporting spirit and you can tell he cares deeply about the people he loves, but loves to put on a front (especially when it comes to kids)

He does have a bit of an ego but he knows when to keep it in check (basically doesn’t let his ego get in the way of his rescue work or uses it as an excuse to hurt people’s feelings)

In fact i’d say outta the rescue bots he’s the one who has faith in his family the most when it comes to knowing they can handle themselves, he’s the only one who doesn’t think Dani’s test pilot work is a big deal and explicitly states she knows her job and can handle herself, not that the others’ worries are out of place, it’s just that, for someone like him who’s overprotective, it’s nice to see him have so much faith

We can also see how much of a worrier he is in the “changes” episode, he doesn’t wanna leave the team cause he’s worried about them (and to me, it seems as tho he really doesn’t wanna seperate from them) but i believe that worry is less about him believing they can’t take care of themselves and more tied to his overprotective nature, he was worried they’d get hurt and he wouldn’t be there to protect them

He takes his job seriously both as a rescue bot and as a leader and takes responsibility for any shortcomings or reckless behavior that could’ve endangered people and i actually respect that a lot, cause most hotheaded characters are written in a way that they always think they’re in the right, which Heatwave doesn’t, his character breaks away from that usual writing and you’re presented with a hothead who actually takes responsibility for his actions which is really refreshing to see

The only times we see Heatwave acting recklessly is when he’s sure no one would get hurt, so it’s really funny to see for a hothead like him, cause he actually stops and thinks twice most of the time

All that aside, I do love when he acts like a jerk at times, they’re usually comedy gold moments, that one scene of him making fun of Blades cause of the scoop claw and when Cody gets upset with him, Heatwave literally tells Boulder and Chase “you guys never know when to stop do you?” Like MY MAN THAT WAS MOSTLY ALL YOU DHHDGDGDHHD (we here at signanothername do not condone bullying, we do however find it hilarious /j)

His character contrasts so well with Kade’s too and the two’s relationship is honestly so amazing aaaahxhdhdh

But what i love the most is the fact you can clearly see he grows as the show goes on, most his moments of him being a jerk are at the beginning of the series, later down the line he’s a lot more considerate and gentle, still acts like a jerk sometimes (cause he’s HW come on) but it’s a lot less than when in the beginning of the series

Not only that but how homesick he is and how Earth and Griffin Rock grow on him overtime, he starts very (and I mean VERY) angry, very not on board with staying, hell, he wants to leave in the first episode, but it’s so nice to see his struggle with accepting earth as his new home, and while I wholeheartedly believe everyone struggled through the same thing, they were prepared to look for their peace in their new home, Heatwave wasn’t at peace and he was very vocal about it

That’s why, the episode “Space Bots” is one of my favorites in the entirety of the series, aside the fact it’s a fun and unique episode, it’s the episode Heatwave finally calls Earth “home” and ngl it actually made me tear up a bit

Just THIS SCENE MAN (I love Blades’ big smile at Heatwave at the end, Blades is so proud of HW chhcc)

Obviously to someone who never watched the show the scene seems mundane at best, but to someone very invested in the story and characters? (Cough me cough) it was such a heartwarming scene, Heatwave finally finding some internal peace and calling it home??? 10/10 crying and screaming

Of course, he still struggles, as we clearly see with the Allspark day episode in S3, he refuses to celebrate it cause he doesn’t see himself as part of the community yet, yes he accepted Earth as his new home but there’s still that dissonance between him and the people in Griffin Rock

So it’s genuinely interesting to see his journey towards finally feeling at peace and finding himself among the community he lives with

I love when the bots finally revealed themselves as aliens rather than robots in S4, Heatwave was very apprehensive about it, really scared to do so even when he’s grown fond of the community, so you can imagine my absolute joy at the absolute shock Heatwave displayed when the people of Griffin rock immediately accepted them and were very excited about it

LIKE LOOK AT HIM HE CANT BELIEVE HIS OPTICS

And much, much more I can talk about but we’d be here for days hdhxhdhhd

Anyway I’m done rambling have this Heatwave sketch <3

[whichuniverseisthis]

I finally had the time to watch the whole reboot (not true, I've just been avoiding studying) so here's my final overall opinion for both seasons.

I think I like season one more, mostly because of the less romance drama and the bigger focus on friendships and rivalries and because Bowie was there the whole time. So here my opinion on each character, in alphabetical order. This shit got way too long for no reason.

Axel: she was cool. Overall fine, it was fun watching her, especially in the second season. I like that she has an artistic side to her that isn't needed for survival, with poetry and painting. I think my favorite episode for her was the third of season two, when she gets stuck to and has to deal with Ripper, and they actually start to get along.

Bowie: I don't think there's any way for me to not have him as my overall favorite. He's too much fun, he's smart, strong, confident, friendly, but he isn't perfect at all, and he showed it especially in season two. The relationship with Raj was adorable, the rivalry with Julia amazing, the friendship with Emma great and I'd say perfectly handled in the first season. He got involved in all of the main plots of the first season, and had a huge role in all of them. I just love him. I can't decide a single favorite episode for him, it would be between episodes 1, 9, 11 and 12 from the first season and episode 5 from the second.

Caleb: I've seen so much hate for him after the second season. But I'll tell you what: I actually enjoyed him, especially in the last couple of episodes. He's not a favorite, not even close, but they gave me the time to learn more about him (maybe even way too much). I liked him especially in episode 12 of season two, where he couldn't decide how to handle Priya and Julia and keep a balance between his alliances that he worked so hard to get, the greatest bit being when Priya made him promise to not tell Julia about the betrayal, and he said his word didn't matter anymore. And in the end he just didn't listen to neither of them.

Chase: well, what to say. He was fine. He was good for what he represented, and he actually had some fun moments. The fake death bit with the bears was hilarious, one of my favorite comedy moments overall. Though I'd say my favorite episode for him was the fourth of the first season, because of some great interactions with Priya and Millie, as well as him being the voice of reason of the team for the elimination.

Damien: I love him. He's overall funny, and his sarcastic comments especially in season two were great. Did he deserve more? Yes. But I'd say sixth place is plenty respectable. I'd say my favorite episode for him is the sixth from the second season. Him winning the tourney, especially defeating Julia and Bowie out of sheer luck, was way too funny and great to see.

Emma: I can't bring myself to not like her. She's fun, there's actually people like her and Chase out there - hell, TV is full of those couples. She deserved way more, and if there will ever be a third seasons, I honest to god hope she wins. I think my favorite episode for her was episode 11 of the first season. Even if she was out of her mind for Chase and she got eliminated, she actually did amazing in the challenge, and the confrontation with Bowie is probably one of my favorite scenes overall.

Julia: there she is. She and Priya are probably the two with the most stuff to talk about, they made it obvious that they are the protagonists of this reboot. Let's say her relationships were all great in general. The rivalry with Bowie, the weird friendship with MK, the twisted alliance with Caleb. I think I did prefer her more in the first season, though. She was more of a "less talking, more acting" kind of villain, which was a nice change of pace from the ones we had in previous seasons, and a great contrast to Bowie's playing style. I'd say my favorite episodes for her were either 9 (my favorite overall) or 12 from the first season.

Millie: I'm saying it: Millie is an amazing character. There. Her arc in the first season is great. You can see her evolving throughout thanks to her friendship with Priya. You see her realize she did some wrong stuff and feeling guilty about it. You see her trying to get better as a person, surpassing the obstacle that is Bowie and finally having the face-to-face that she owed to Priya. She was never meant to become a great player, which is why she did a lot of mistakes in the second season. She's not a powerhouse like Bowie, Priya or Julia, and she paid for what she did wrong. I think my favorite episodes for her were 10 and 11 of the first season, when she realized she was acting badly and decided to change it.

MK: just like Damien, I love her. I always love a snarky character, and she's a great follow up to Noah. She's probably what he could have been if they had given him more space, actually. Anyway, I already said that her friendship with Julia is great, I don't think I have much else to add. I'd say my favorite episodes for her were either episode 4 from season one, or episodes 3 or 7 from the second.

Nichelle: yeah, here's where I get jumped. Because I think it's fair to say she's my least favorite of the cast. It's not even like I don't like her, as I am neutral at most. But she did have some unbearable moments. And I think the fact my favorite episode for her was the second of the first season, where she didn't even get that much screen time but had some actual interactions with other characters, shows a lot how much of a presence she had in the second season for me.

Priya: there she is, too. What to say? She's great in the first season. For me, she and Bowie are the most deserving finalists since Heather and Alejandro in World Tour. But man, it was heavy to watch her in the second season. When it still wasn't out, I thought she took a lot of screen time with Millie in the first, but watching both seasons back-to-back made me realize how much more sparse their scenes were compared to those with Caleb. And as I prefer friendship over romance in general, it was really hard to keep seeing them going. So yeah, that's pretty much it. It's hard to pick a favorite episode for her, though I think I could go for the two final episodes of the first season. The notebook reveal scene is amazing.

Raj: the baby ever. Not a baby actually, but he is adorable with Bowie, though I already said it before. I love the hockey bros. Do I think Raj should have got Wayne's place in the second season? Yeah, but as I've said for Damien, I think fifth is a respectable placement. Favorite episodes, I'd say either 6 of the first season, the best kiss episode of the reboot, or 5 of the second, where he finally confronts Bowie once and for all about the cheating, and they make up for good as most good couples do. You know, like normal people.

Ripper: the man, the mith, the legend. He is fun. No matter how much people hates him, and how much the reboot itself wants you to hate him, he has some great moments that I can't ignore. And I like how in the first season he was actually almost smart for most of the challenges, especially in the cassowary one. Though I'd say my favorite for him is episode 4 of the second season, where he shows to know the others quite a bit. And I loved his poem for Axel, it was actually adorable how he put together both of their hobbies in it.

Scary Girl: well. She's fun. She's there. She's there to be fun. Overrated (I still can't get over people saying she should have won, because no she doesn't), but still enjoyable for what she has to do. Favorite episodes for her either 2 or 3 of the first season.

Wayne: as I said, I love the hockey bros. And rewatching the whole reboot, I came to the decision that while yes, Raj would have probably been a better finalist than him, between the three we actually got he was the best option for the victory. Julia would have been unfair to all the others. Caleb was basically just trying and failing to seek revenge for Priya, and he was barely liked by his own team. While Wayne is a good representation of a finalist who's had fun throughout the season, rather than being overly competitive. You can see it when he has the wackiest adventures during each challenge. He actually has fun, and you have fun with him. We already got a competitive winner in the first season, so why not have one who actually enjoys being there for a change? Plus, I think the authors made it plenty clear that the bros are their favorite too. Favorite episode I'd say the second of the first season, where he gets to show off his leadership skills.

Zee: just like Scary Girl, he is there, and he is fun. I love that he has the dumbest eliminations, but they feel completely in-character for him. And I love how they treated his disability in a fun way rather than it being some angsty shit that I honestly think would have just taken away from the character. Favorite episode either 2, 6 or 9 from the first season.

Overall, this cast is great. I don't think it would be a reach to say I prefer them over the original cast, though I would need to rewatch the rest of td to confirm it.

If you've read all the way down here... Well, congrats. You get to take a cookie.

[all-pacas]

Don't leave us in suspense! Drop the baldirs gate takes!

the one literally on my mind right now:

there is not a single good astarion/halsin story out there. like prove me wrong i guess, i haven't looked at all of them, but every single one i dip my toes into goes:

uwu poor baby astarion so sad

uwu halsin takes care of him and teaches him consent

uwu halsin is very paternalistic and teaches astarion how to sex

uwu he Big

and it drives me bonkers. like fandom has the habit of infantilizing astarion anyway, making him out to be a poor sad victim. like other people have pointed out the hilarious "man whose personal journey is gaining agency -> let's take away his agency" fanfic pipeline already, but for real!

rambling about how emotionally stunted astarion is under the cut:

he doesn't like to talk about his trauma, but he's also clear that it is trauma. he isn't in denial. he knows he's fucked up. and yes, when it comes to sex it's a bit more of a gray area, but he's a willing participant. he has a bunch of horny comments. he very much wants to hook up with someone at the goblin party, and WILL fuck lae'zel if tav doesn't romance either first. he tends to not enjoy sex as much as he THINKS he will and disassociates and knows his feelings are all fucked up around it, but he is NOT naive or in denial. he actually seems pretty self aware about it! he knows he forces himself through seductions, he knows he uses sex as a tool, he doesn't like either thing but he's been doing it for a long time. he's not naive.

he's also just. not. vulnerable? in general? like the man whines and complains, but he's one of the least emotional people in camp, in that he HATES expressing his real feelings. he doesn't talk about feelings. shadowheart, by way of contrast, is standoffish and doesn't open up easily, but IS able to pretty plainly state when she likes and trusts you. astarion? he has no idea. he will say this. he doesn't admit to liking anyone or anything, and yes, trauma, etc., etc., but he's also just kind of emotionally closed off. in general. anything that isn't superficial is shut down.

astarion actually goes pretty far out of his way to NOT be uwu vulnerable. he HATES being pitied and looked down on, or being perceived as such. CONSISTENTLY. he hates it when you tell him you'll protect him. he doesn't like being seen as weak. my favorite example: he doesn't actually approve of you offering to be his personal juice box after the first bite: he does approve of you agreeing with HIS plan to eat bandits. he doesn't like charity; he likes agency. he'll still take advantage, because he'll take what he can get, but it's REALLY telling he consistently prefers the answer that gives him agency (eating bandits) over the easier solution that doesn't (being fed at tav's discretion). with durge it's even more obvious. he says repeatedly: he wants to be in this TOGETHER. he wants them to rely on HIM. he very, very, very much does not want to be a kept toy.

i think there's also some ambiguity about him calling off sex in his romance. he's VERY clear that he enjoyed sex with tav and sees them as very attractive; it's just that (as he also says) he doesn't know how to have a relationship that isn't framed around sex as a tool and payment. that's re-enforced by his stated vulnerabilities once tav stops sleeping with him: he sees sex as his primary purpose/his looks as his only selling point, and he worries about tav hooking up with the drow twins (slightly) or halsin (more so) as a result. and yes, he has lots of other trauma and issues to unpack on top of it: but from the outset, he's pretty clear that he wants to figure out how to have feelings and a relationship in a non-sexual context. the other stuff exists TOO. many things can be true. it's just that he states, his stated reason for withdrawing, is wanting to sort out his feelings for TAV, not sort out his sexual trauma. again, both are true. but also: BOTH are true. he's not just a sad traumatized boy, he's also and equally trying to learn how to Relationship in a different way than he's used to.

so going back to halsin, who i'm not trying to demonize. all these FANFICS, man. halsin teaching astarion about uwu consent and taking care of him in a strong and paternal way. that's like. the last thing in the universe astarion would want. he'd go full cat exposed to water. and i'm not saying the ship can't happen or whatever, but it's such a common thread in the fanfics it drives me bonkers.

[monstersinthecosmos]

i feel like slightly younger than marius mael is the best just for flavor reasons lol. reeaally curious to know what you think

I think I usually land on slightly younger but not like a baby. Like early 30s maybe. BUT I'LL TELL YOU SOME THOUGHTS OF WHY I LIKE EACH OR WHY EACH COULD WORK:

Under 30: First of all because of Jesse's chapter in QOTD--Maharet was turned around age 20 I think? And for Jesse, I'm sure there's that sort of uncanny thing where your mind fills in blanks and makes excuses, like, her "aunt" has been around her whole life so like gee golly I guess she just looks young for her age! Except that there's like the vampire uncanniness too, so whatever you judge as an age doesn't super matter. So like, Mael blending in as one of her guy friends in his early 20s would make sense. Jesse DOES also clock him as not being human, so again I think the uncanniness might not make her peg either of them as a certain age.

I do worry if this clashes with the idea that he could properly be a priest? Caesar said that it takes 20 years to train a priest, but A) A lot of what Caesar said is like anti-Keltoi propaganda and might not be accurate since the Druids famously never left anything in writing, so there's very little first hand information about them. B) MAYBE IT'S OKAY BECUASE IN VC-VERSE TESKHAMEN IS REAL AND MAEL WAS REALLY COMMUNING WITH HIM SO IF THERE WAS LIKE MAGIC AFOOT IN THE COMMUNITY MAYBE HE GOT FAST TRACKED OR RESPECTED AS BEING SPECIAL IDK. I can work with it and make excuses lol.

I LOVE the idea of him being like a young man because of how much madder that would make Marius, plus the way he likes to mentor young blonde men lol. But it might like hurt him even worse if the author of all his misfortunate is like SOME KID.

In his 30s: Personally I usually land here because I DO wonder how long it takes him to gain status in his community and become a priest (in his 30s is still fast tracking it but maybe feels more plausible LOL) and I enjoy the idea of he and Marius being sort of similar to each other. Like, Marius often gets used as the example of Turning an Older Guy and what it means for his temperament and the way it translates to his immortality. I like imagining Mael as around Marius's age for that reason, like I want to remove all his excuses why Mael is a young stupid kid or even an old salty jerk--it forces Marius to confront that Mael is ALSO someone who is chill and smart and has had enough life experience. BUT WHILE THERE'S A WINDOW WHERE THEY COULD BE SIMILAR IN AGE, OR MAEL COULD BE A TAD OLDER, I ALSO STILL ENJOY MARIUS BEING LIKE "HE'S YOUNGER THAN ME I HATE THIS!" BECAUSE HIS AGE AND SELF-PERCEIVED WISDOM & EXPERIENCE ARE IMPORTANT TO HIS IDENTITY AND HE FEELS BELITTED LOL.

In his 40s: Makes sense for the above reason! But I like to skew younger personally just for the Marius ageism dynamic lol. Also there's something about him being a foil to Marius where like, if they're very similar in other ways it can kind of emphasize how their atheism/religion contrasts each other and affects them as people.

Over 50: ALSO POSSIBLE and it's hilarious bc in the audiobook the narrator reads him like such a grouchy old man lmao. I could see this causing a lot of resentment because Marius likes to be the oldest and wisest in the room. I could see him also being younger because Marius insults him every chance he gets and I just think he would've told us that Mael is like an old hag if it were true lol. Anyway wondering how this effects Marius's barbarian kink and how he submits to men.

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

oh my goodness :D hi hi hi!!!! i lit just found your blog and saw you do ships which is like soooo cute omgggg!!! soooo… i was wondering if i could get a match up too? 🤭

anywayyyysss, my name is Lalia! i’m 15 and turning 16 in september. I go by she/her and i’m pansexual. I am of south east asian and white descent (happy aapi month wooo!!!) here are some other physical attributes: 5’3ft tall and slim; i have short black hair (but i’m gonna dye it red over the summer); i have big eyes that are dark brown; and i never go outside so im pretty pale😭

my personality on the other hand is not as easy to describe as my appearance… ive taken a lot of personality tests that often describe me as: introverted, listening, creative, logical, thoughtful, determined, daydreaming, and melancholic. i don’t think that my personality is good or bad; in fact, i think that i am a true neutral. I also feel things very deeply, which has led me to be in situations where my feelings get out of control causing something bad to happen (like me ending up in the hospital and psych ward💀). BUT IM OKAY!!! i have anxiety medication and go to therapy lollll. But even though i keep to myself, i still like to talk to people and do things like acting, singing, dancing, and just performing in general!!! i actually love love LOVE to sing and play my guitars sm<33 but some of my other hobbies include writing books or poetry by myself or reading and drawing :3 i do believe that i am confident/ bold but i also tend to be pretty shy around people i don’t know. maybe cuz in middle school i was bullied a lot??? 😭 but i feel like that experience helped me to gain a lot of empathy for people who don’t fit in either,, so i always try my best to always be kind and stick up for people!! But yeah, im really excited for summer cuz i hate school and i never try but i still get all A’s :D

ERM ANYWAYS… idk why im yapping sm SORRYYYYY and TYSM FOR DOING THIS i hope you have a good day/night!! <3

Happy aapi month! Also about being in the psych ward or the hospital, I just wanna let you know that it has a lot of really nasty stereotypes and people who go to psych wards are honestly just cool because they care about their mental health and the fact that you found help and made yourself go or you know, even just didn’t refuse to go I’m really proud of you because it means that you’re taking care of the beautiful person that you are so Never be ashamed or let anyone call you crazy for any up in a psych ward or hospital because it just means that you were prioritizing you and for that it just means that you are very self-aware and I love you Pookie. I love you for prioritizing your mental health. 

Your Outsiders Ship: Ponyboy Curtis!

Explanation: I think he loves your short black hair and your eyes and think that it’s adorable that you’re so pale from never going outside. I personally think that he’s more on the tan side because I think he spends a lot of time outside but I think the contrast between you guys would be pretty hilarious. you seem like the type of girl that he would be very interested in in the fact that you are very thoughtful. Kind of more quiet. I think that you remind him of kind of a more academically based or you know deep thinking Johnny like that’s kind of the vibes I’m getting from you and I think that he would absolutely be in love with that. He usually take things from a logical standpoint and less emotionally so he would absolutely get that and I feel like you guys would have really deep meaningful productive conversations with each other that are interesting. Like I feel like you guys could be putting in room and you would never get bored of talking to each other because you would just be so invested in your conversation and you guys would have pretty good banter too. He also feels things incredibly deeply so I feel like you know he’s the most “” sensitive greaser so I think he would really get that and kind of you guys would get each other away that really no one else in the time period Can understand. He loves it when you sing and dance and thinks it’s pretty amusing he would definitely go to all of your shows and you really loudly or at least really loudly and I feel like he would be so proud afterwards and walk you home with the biggest grin on his face and he would also help you with acting. I don’t know why but I think he’s a surprisingly good actor. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s pretty good at character and analysis but I think that he’s a great actor and could help you out with your performances. He’s also into reading drawing and writing so I feel like that’s something that you guys could do together something kind of cute like you guys can make a little comic together or something like that and reading and music dates. You would absolutely have a lot of. he’s kind of similar in the fact where he doesn’t really love school, but he does get all A’s because he doesn’t want to disappoint his brother anyway you guys are cute and honestly, I didn’t have to think very hard about this because you guys are so similar, and I think you guys would be great for each other, you guys also have a habit of both always always standing up for the underdog and things like that so I think you guys could relate in that aspect of having similar kind of morals and values. 💚💚

[crestfallercanyon]

Okay, I am having so many thoughts.

One — it’s so sad what happened to Jet, but even more so to Ruby, because she’s the one who has to live on carrying all this guilt and resentment and confusion and desperation. I feel like Ruby’s warpath is so much more… sinister? That’s not the right word but if this had been Jet alive and Ruby dead that would have been a loud rage and Ruby instead is this quiet fury.

One point five — I particularly find this sad in contrast to her meeting Saccharina because I think Jet and Ruby might have loved her or, Ruby would have loved her and Jet had been suspicious (but upon seeing what Saccharina could do to boost Ruby would have accepted her? I don’t know but this dynamic could have been healthy and kind and now it is just filled with this — understandable — bitterness)

Two — what in the fuck is going on with cumulus? I understand that Joren Jawbreaker is meant to be the weird estranged uncle kind of but honestly, Cumulus is that uncle. Cumulus is fucking wild. He has bloodlust and kills animals constantly with little to no remorse and yet cries CONSTANTLY and seems to he deeply effected by anything magic in an emotional way. Also, his relationship with Theobald is hilarious.

Three — The sugar plum fairy. What a fascinating twist but (and fuck yeah we’re making this about my boy Lapin again) I think Lapin knew he was working with a lesser evil. I have to believe that he revered her but he had no love for her. And I think it tells SO MUCH about Lapin that he was able to swallow his pride/fear/trepidation in order to utilize her magic in order to stand among the Bulbian church without being devoted to the Bulb. I would LOVE to see a young Lapin who makes that choice, because I am so curious as to what got him there.

Four — the sugar plum fairy and what she discloses to Ruby is horrifying. “I sent my little bunny. I knew he’d die for you, and protect you but you would still lose everything” like this is a monster. (Also, side note, I hate that she calls him my little bunny because I imagine she had to know he did not love her, that he was only hers in as far as they both got what they wanted, which is likely why she says it). She sent Lapin to die, essentially knowing this was just a step in a descent to manipulate Ruby. Lapin would make no other choice, even if he knew her plan, it’s either die and save her or let her die and he wasn’t going to let her die. But he had to have faith she could overcome whatever trick of the sugar plum fairy (or he didn’t know, which I can believe that he wouldn’t have known — that he knew the fairy to be a trickster but not to have sent him for that purpose — which makes his death even more tragic). And then knowing that that road was the one that led the sugar plum fairy to the path of the death of her beloved sister? For Ruby to find out that her magic that she used to be so excited about and that her sister so supported her in made a target not out of her but out of her sister so she could be lured to this cavern of the sugar plum fairy? Like jeez man. This is brutal.

A crown of candy. Phenomenal watch. Will rip your heart out though!

[stillness138]

for the character ask game: Vernon Roche

i gotta think about this! thank you

first impression: i actually remember this pretty well because witcher 2 was my first exposure to the franchise. i think i felt pretty much what i was supposed to feel though; "this guy imprisoned me but seems more sensible than the goons he employs". i liked his matter-of-fact but clearly proud and protective attitude towards Ves and his putting the key on the table and walking away like 'surely Geralt will manage'.

impression now: i still like him! surprisingly, cdpr writes original characters with really commendable nuance. of course, if Iorveth is to be believed word for word, Roche is responsible for carrying out hate crimes (he doesn't deny the accusations Iorveth makes, so i think that's just fact), and yet he shows time and time again that he really is more sensible than most. compare him to Rayla - also a special forces leader - and see the difference. Roche lacks the outright bloodthirst or really even the prejudice; it seems to me that he does his job and obeys Foltest without objection because he sees it as doing something worthwhile with his life, considering how he grew up. he and Iorveth contrast and parallel each other in fascinating ways.

favorite thing about him: his relationship towards Ves, because he clearly values her as an employee and as a person. his relative level-headedness. and the unpacked daddy issues that are most definitely there even if he won't talk about it. that part of him is sadly the most relatable to me. i also enjoy his humor, whether intentional or not. "emhyr var emreis, spice merchant" bursting into the elven baths while Triss is trying her hardest to seduce Geralt, fucking comedy gold.

least favorite thing about him: apart from the hate crimes? i think most of my issues that relate to him are metatextual - because the entire political landscape and plotline of witcher 3 sucks ass. maybe he could've held back the cops that beat Geralt though ngl.

favorite line/scene: "And we did. For three days. Then they smashed us into splinters." again, as much as i dislike the politics in witcher 3, this bit stands out to me. maybe also because it's punctuated by a reprise of the second game's main theme, in 3's instrumentation and a much more somber mood. good scene. that and the funny bits. "Some professional you are..."

favorite interaction he has with another character: it should be mainly credited to Letho's absolutely hilarious one-liner, but their little reunion at Kaer Morhen always gets a chuckle out of me. the entire interrogation at the beginning of witcher 2 is up there too.

a character that i wish he would interact with more: in the second game, elves in general. he mostly proves he's not completely shit-headed in context, but it would've been interesting to see him have a conversation with someone like Cedric. third game should've had Iorveth, we all know that.

another character from another fandom that reminds me of him: i know 5 things, but if i had to make a comparison... general Tullius from Skyrim? both are very capable and dedicated servants of a government despite its obvious failures and both show a noticeable sensibility or even calm you perhaps wouldn't expect. both have a badass lady as their right-hand person, too.

a headcanon about him: he hates the smell of cheap alcohol. childhood reminder. i also think he has a notable appreciation for architecture. can't remember if he actually comments on Loc Muinne in any way but somehow it feels like a thing he'd do. and i think it's pretty much canon that his hair color is towards light brown? or have i been living with fanon for far too long. either way, yeah, dirty blonde or warm light brown, super short on the sides.

a song that reminds of him: Shadowplay by Joy Division, in a way. first verse about beginning to serve Foltest, second verse about Foltest's and Temeria's fall. "but i could only stare in disbelief as the crowds all left" versus "and we did, for three days, then they smashed us into splinters".

an unpopular opinion about him: i famously dislike shipping him with Iorveth and i'm actually yet to see a good Roche ship. but the real hot take is that he doesn't need one. did i just say aroace Vernon Roche? maybe.

favorite picture: i'm sorry, but it's gotta be this one. on a more serious note, i always liked this piece of fanart a lot too. he gets to be cool.

[rmwb-fanfics]

Why do you not like Hermione? Ron and Hermione are each other’s soulmates

I don't love Hermione. Her superfans along with the movies radicalize me into saying that I hate her. Sometimes I really don't know.

I find her irritating. I don't like the way she treats Ron or Harry. I don't care for her interests. I don't find her funny or interesting.

I generally would say that the IDEA of her and Harry's friendship is fantastic because I am a guy who has a lot of friends that are girls and I know dozens of men who just don't get it and either assume I'm gay or am just waiting for their boyfriends to break up with them so I can swoop in.

Boys can be friends with girls. I like that about Hermione.

Except I don't like her and Harry's dynamic. Their friendship doesn't feel like it gains any emotional complexity until the sixth book, and by then I'm more invested in Ron and Harry's friendship, and Harry and Ginny's romance to give a damn.

Deathly Hallows rolls around and everyone is sort of at their worst. I honestly prefer her while Ron is gone because she isn't fucking talking. She's a fine secondary character but in contrast to Ron and Tonks and Sirius and Neville and Ginny and Snape and Dumbledore, I find her to just be... lacking. She doesn't go through much growth which, considering the fact that she's a JKR insert is mildly hilarious. I just wish we got more of Hermione... struggling. I know that sounds bad but we get quite a bit of it in the books and it just doesn't seem to affect her.

Summed up, I think she's boring.

Now, on to the whole Ron and Hermione being soulmates thing. I really don't mind Romione. Like, at all. I like them in canon, specifically their little moments and implied off-page interactions, but they aren't soulmates.

Which is what makes them interesting.

They aren't perfect. Their relationship has rough edges. Hermione's a very difficult person to deal with and throughout their relationship, through marriage, kids, and whatever else, they would always have different troubles to navigate. BIG ONES. They're the type of family where their kids would be like "My parents should've gotten divorced" but like, they're 12 and don't actually understand why their parents love each other, and then by 19-20 they'd be like nah I have good parents and they didn't just "Stay together for the kids" yk?

On the scale of traumatic and fucked up, Romione falls between the idealistic-low-drama-just-fun of Hinny and the real-life-shit-happens-what-the-fuck-she's-pregnant of Remadora. I wouldn't say they're soul mates but they make it work and they're happy to keep trying and keep working on it to improve themselves and their relationship yadda yadda yadda.

That being said: FUCK I feel bad for Ron because if I had to deal with Hermione every day I'd actually blow my fucking brains out oh my god.

[tutuandscoot]

Ice Dance Falls, Fails and Flubs

Part 1

1. “Stationary Lift BASE?! “😱🫠

Classic HD fuck up 1.0

By now y’all know my distain for HD, not that I have any love lost for Bock either.. or WeaPo.. or gilorier.. so basically this is me missing VM at 4CC and HOLLERING at the cocky ness HD display for a rushed, messy, careless program with a travelling stationary lift guys come on what are you doing sitting there pep-rallying for +5’s.. you look like idiots. Btw. who tf is this lady on the right ↗️??

Also feat. Evan ‘employee of the month at Taco Bell’ Bates

2. Belbin/Agosto blow it in the Compulsory Dance

They came to these world champs in 2008 expected to win, with the Russians D/S out with injury. But down Tanith goes on a twizzle in the CD.. the point of CD’s is that you are in hold basically the whole time therefore it’s extremely unlikely to fall bc your partner holds you. This put them 6th after the CD, 5th in the OD, rising to 4th after the FD.. they would never win a worlds or Olympics despite being an incredible team* (for the time.. )

3. FP/M- Torino addition

Maybe the funniest thing ever in Ice dance. This happened after at least 3 teams had already had serious falls (including Marie and Patch which I won’t be talking about bc of the seriousness of it- that was not funny) this on the other hand is HILARIOUS. Firstly: the costumes. WHAT? WHY? Maritzio looking like a pimp. Even before the fall this performance reminds me of your cringe aunt and uncle getting up to dance at a wedding. They had not competed since SLC 2002.. we won’t discuss that bc How and WHY- what sport was ID in 2002 where this team wins a medal over Bourne & Kraatz?????

Then.. the fall.. yes BESP uncles.. it was the too much outside edge that did it, that’s where the problems started, never mind mags’ shithouse skating skills.

My favourite part is when she just *reverse Homer Simpson’s out of a hedge* towards him and he does that *nod* as if to say “hey that was pretty damn good” seriously, what a flop, even in the K&c it continues to be hilarious him just man spreading looking at the scores while she looks like she’s gonna kill herself (and him), he’s looking as if ‘yeah that’s not bad’ well you wouldn’t know bro there’s been a new system introduced since you seemingly last stepped on an ice rink.

Just omg.. iconic. all I can think about is god forbid this ever happened to vm and the polar opposite their reaction would be (except S never dropped T and S actually had skating skills)

4. The piece of shit that is Didier Gailhauget

(Thankyou to @iluvausten for finding this for me)

I don’t need to translate this right y’all get it..

This tweet and subsequent result is the reason the acronym LMFAO was invented. Guess the Russian mob didn’t feel like helping out on this one sorry boo 🥲

(And/Or the bby angels were just too damn good)

5. Bourne/Kraatz 2002

This is kinda a sad one..

But what I love is the contrast between B/K reaction and FP/M..

No blame, no hate, no making a scene.

They were in 4th place going into the FD with a good chance of capturing bronze, but fell in the last 5 seconds.

It was so unfortunate but you know what: you skate to MJ you should expect karma..

They finished 4th- same as they had in 1998- a fixed event

6. Classic HD fuck up 2.0, Worlds 2017

I don’t want to talk about this to point where I’m gonna get hate for it and I also don’t want to be that person who says ‘I don’t talk bout what I don’t know’ and then talk about what I don’t know but since this post has a bit of a ‘blunt and direct humour about it’, why do I get the feeling that the whole ‘we don’t have faith in ourselves’ thing was a bit of an act with these two and training with the goats gave them this false sense that they were better than they were and took that cocky confidence too far to the point where (he especially) couldn’t stay on his damn feet?? The whole ‘Gabrois podium sweep’ thing they were going for at these worlds and olys gives me side eye..

Ok. That’s part 1, part 2 coming soon

Reminder this is all in good humour, every team that competes at this level is highly skilled in some respect and then others are just a$$holes🥰

[gillianthecat]

Thoughts on A Boss and A Babe episode 1:

(I wish that whole scene had been like this.)

Are we about to find out if the Boss is also a Babe, or if it's the intern that's the Babe. Perhaps it's clearer in the Thai title? Anyway, until I learn their names I will be calling the intern the Babe.

These contrasting parallel morning montages are fairly common way of introducing characters, but for some reason I'm finding this one hilarious. I think it was the boss's robe drop that got me.

I was not excepting to enjoy this show because the trailer made it seem very much Not My Thing. And it's not. Yet somehow I am enjoying it anyways (at least so far, 7 minutes in. At first I was like, oh vey, the Babe (Cher? I think?) is overacting all over the place, doing that all that stuff with his mouth to try and make him seem young and dumb (like Rain did, sorry LITA fans but it annoyed me there don't be mad) but, like, it's so over the top and ridiculous that it might work? And honestly I think I love every permutation of enemies-to-lover at least a little bit, so it's got that going for it.

Ah, Laem, the babe-intern's name is Laem. I guess Cher was how they translated an endearment?

Or maybe his name is Cher too? I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

Boss is surprisingly plausible as a boss, given that he looks 24 at the absolute oldest. But honestly more like 20. I would not be surprised if the intern actor is older than the boss actor.

Characters bullshitting nonsense about video games is marginally less irritating than them bullshitting nonsense about advertising campaigns, I guess.

Lol, I was not expecting my confusion over Intern-Babe-Sarun-Cher-Laem's name to be cleared up so soon. And so thoroughly!

This gets my "the sexual harassment is weird and mysterious enough not to bother me" pass. At least so far. I was not expecting to see echos of The Director Buys Me Dinner (which I still haven't finished) here, but here they are.

Oh yes, I did know about this ASMR thing from the trailer, but I had completely blanked on it.

I think I might end up actually liking this show?! Laem has already endeared himself to me. And his complete disregard for authority or social rules has rid me of my worry of the boss-intern relationship feeling icky. And I do like Mike as Jack—the only thing I recall seeing him in was Theory of Love, but I thought he was quite good in it (and v. pretty).

Oy vey. GMMTV seems to like to pretend the characters are in bed together when they're miles apart talking on the phone. It confused me in My School President (which I also still haven't finished) and I don't like it here either. I guess I really like the intimacy of a phone call. (Kabe Koji used it so effectively!) Especially since it's all about Laem's voice! It's not so much that I hate the idea of showing things that aren't actually happening, I just like phone call scenes so much. I love seeing them hearing but not seeing each other and watching the vulnerability of their actions and reactions as they're alone in a room. In pretending they're in the same room all that magic gets lost and becomes ordinary. Alas.

I love how Laem is such a known storyteller and exaggerator that no one believes what he's saying about his interactions with the Boss, even they're completely true. It's a nice way to keep their relationship feeling intimate and private, without making it a secret.

And yay for ADHD rep! I mean, I don't know if it's intentional, but those are certainly the vibes I'm getting from Laem.

I've figured out what his names are, but what are we as a fandom calling him? He seems to want to be called Laem, so that's what I've been using, although I personally prefer Cher.

I laughed out loud at the Jack pinching Aoi by mistake. Sad to see the employees all terrified of their boss, but also hilarious. (Also a part of me is tempted to do a deep dive into depictions of The Office and Work Life in QL. But I will not do that. Partly because it's a major project, partly because I haven't actually seen that many (GAP is yet another show I haven't finished) and partly I feel like I would need to watch more non-QL Thai, Korean and Japanese shows to have context. So that's a lot of things I shouldn't be doing because I need to focus on schoolwork instead.)

I do like the use of sound effects! GMMTV seems to have figured it out. Like in MSP, they fit the slapstick comedy feel of the show, and they're well chosen and timed.

Ok, I had already seen a post about Yacht showing up, but a still gave a little startled yet excited jump when he did. Yacht!!! ily :-* (And yes, Between Us is another show that I haven't finished yet.)

omg I think I may love them? I was not expecting this at all. This little standoff over the coffee with whipped cream feels surprisingly nuanced somehow? I was not expecting nuance. Hmm, why do you always give into Cher, Gun?

And we end with a crash-into-you, and soulful staring into each other's eyes. *heart eyes* *big smile*

Well. I'm not sure I will manage to keep watching this, just because I'm not sure that I will manage to keep watching anything. But I am hooked. And delighted.