#not to say i hated the story line. but it could've been so much better

[katetcake]

I don't really like that Tulin turns out to be a descendant of a Sage and that's why he's able to control wind.

Like in BotW (and AoC), Revali was special because he developed his ability through hard work. He was the strongest/most skilled warrior the Rito had. That was the emphasis of his character. There was no talk of his history (like Zelda), his lineage (like Zelda/Sidon/Riju), or any devine rites (like Link/Zelda) or devine powers (like Urbosa/Daruk/Riju/Yunobo/Mipha).

Revali was just a guy. A guy who was good/strong enough to stand amongst essentially demi-gods in spite of his totally ordinary background.

Same with Teba. He was just a guy who heard the story of Revali and wanted to be strong like him. He looked up to Revali and his achievements so much, he became the hero his people needed.

We could've had that w/ Tulin. Make him have natural skill which he hones into the mastery he shows in the game. Someone who grew up w/ stories of the Great Master Revali. Someone who saw his own father, just a normal guy, rise up to help the chosen of the Goddess defeat the darkness around Vah Medoh. Tulin could have been someone so inspired by his community and family he became great. Someone the Sage could acknowledge and pass on his gift and title to despite not being related.

This also allows for the impulsive/prideful loner to humble teammate storyline to work too.

Idk, it just bothered me a little too much. The Rito of BotW (and AoC) never had any mention of lineage or devine intervention. It made them feel like they could achieve greatness instead of them being destined for it, regardless of who they are.

[alittlebitofloveliness]

In defence of Steve Randle

Listen guys, Steve Randle gets a lot of hate in this fandom and as much as it pains me, it's valid. Everyone has their own interpretation of the source material, and fandom is supposed to be fun, so it is absolutely valid and ok to hate or love any character you want. You can hate Steve for many reasons or for no reason at all! This is fandom! That's ok! The story is for you interpret and love and play with and hate on to your hearts content. HOWEVER, to say that Steve Randle isn't an important character to the novel is simply not true, and to say that he hates Ponyboy requires ignoring or downplaying some pretty key moments of the book. This is especially true for those of you who love Dally but hate Steve, because Steve gets a lot of hate for being kind of a dickhead (which lbr, a lot of seventeen years old are, especially to their friend's little siblings) while Dally gets less for doing a lot worse (harassing Cherry, jumping kids, etc). This isn't to say that either character is better- they're both great, nuanced characters who have done bad things, but the fandoms attitudes towards them when they share a lot of characteristics is really telling. Even Ponyboy's narration about them is pretty similar- Pony doesn't particularly like Steve, and he was canonically scared of Dally, but they're both members of his gang and he doesn't hate either of them. You don't have to like Steve as a character, just like you don't have to like Dally or Darry or Tim Shepard or even Ponyboy, but he is important- and he doesn't hate Ponyboy, nor does Ponyboy hate him.

A really important moment in the book is when Ponyboy and Johnny defend Dally after he harasses Cherry and Marcia.

"Dally's okay," Johnny said defensively, and I nodded. You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you're a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don't stickup for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang any more. It's a pack. A snarling, distrustful, bickering pack like the Socs in their social clubs or the street gangs in New York or the wolves in the timber."

This line here is super important. Pony and Johnny were willing to defend Dally after he sexually harrassed Cherry and Marcia- soc girls who they clearly liked and were intimidated by- in the name of being a good friend, because that is what's important to them and their gang. If they're willing to do it in this context for Dally, you'd best believe they'd do the same for Steve, and him for them. Steve can and will rag on Ponyboy within the gang, but he'd never dream of bad mouthing him to anyone else. Dependability is important to the gang, and Steve would never publicly shit talk Pony, and vice verca. Regardless of their squabbles within the gang, at the end of the day they've got each others backs. They're buddies. We see evidence of this at the end of the book, when Pony grabs the bottle and threatens the socs with it.

"You really would have used that bottle, wouldn't you?" Two-Bit had been watching from the storedoorway. "Steve and me were backing you, but I guess we didn't need to. You'd have really cut them up, huh?"

The important thing here is that along with Two-bit, Steve was backing Ponyboy, no questions asked. Sure most of it boils down to Pony being a member of the gang and that deep rooted loyalty to one another, but the context for this scene is that Ponyboy was sitting on Steve's car waiting for Steve and Two to stop flirting with some girls. The three of them were hanging out- without Darry, without Sodapop. It's their school lunch break. We know Ponyboy has middle class friend's at school, or that he could've spent time in the school library. It was a deliberate choice to hang out with Two and Steve. He wasn't forced into it. Canonically, Steve and Ponyboy hang out. Never alone, but they're decent enough friends to hang out together in a group. Doesn't everyone have friends like that? I do. This isn't the only textual instance either where they hang out without the entire gang being present. Early on, Pony offhandedly mentions that sometimes Steve and Soda will buy him pop and teach him about cars if he hangs around the DX.

"I had walked down to the DX station to get a bottle of pop and to see Steve and Soda, because they'll always buy me a couple of bottles and let me help work on the cars."

He could've just said Soda's name here but he didn't. Steve buys Pony pepsi and teaches him about cars, even though he gets annoyed with him when Soda invites him to hang around with them too often. And honestly, who wouldn't? I'd be annoyed if my best friend always invited her little brother along with us, even if I liked the kid. Wouldn't you?

Now, we do need to address the elephant in the room. I'm talking of course, about this quote;

"I'd never tell Soda, because he really likes Steve a lot, but sometimes I can't stand Steve Randle. I mean it. Sometimes I hate him."

I feel like very often people forget the context this quote comes from, and so it's magnitude is blown way out of proportion. Ponyboy has just been jumped and then immediately scolded by his brother who constantly makes him feel foolish and unwanted. He's already scared, embarassed, and defensive and then Steve goes and makes him feel even more unwanted. Of course he wants to lash out. Of COURSE he feels like he hates Steve in that moment. I did even reading it. But Ponyboy doesn't truly hate Steve. This moment is PEAK fourteen year old having a rough night energy, it's not truly representative of Steve as a character or of Ponyboy's feelings towards him. In truth, Steve actually kind of likes Ponyboy and is at very least protective over him. This is evidence by the previous quotes, but also when Ponyboy comes back from Windrixville, and is worried about the state placing him in foster care;

"'No, [Ponyboy said] 'they ain't goin' to put us in a boys' home.' 'Don't worry about it,' Steve said, cocksure that he and Sodapop could handle anything that came up. 'They don't do things like that to heroes.'"

It's subtle, and not immediately obvious to the traumatized fourteen year old who is used to Steve's cocky nature, but this is both a reassurance and a very bold claim. Not only is Steve trying to look out for Ponyboy the way the rest of the gang models- by treating him like a kid, letting the 'adults' worry about grown up issues in a misguided attempt to protect Pony- he is also throwing in his lot to make sure nothing does happen. Based on this quote and the rest of Steve's characterization throughout the book its not hard to infer that Steve would fight tooth and nail to make sure Ponyboy stays safe with his family. Sure, part of it is gang loyalty, part of it is his devotion to soda, but part of it is because he and Ponyboy are buddies in their own right, no matter how much they fight. They are friends- and Steve is an incredibly important character for many reasons, but particularly to add depth to Pony's character, to the bond between the Curtis gang, and to highlight how the Curtis gang differs from the other gangs in Tulsa. Steve is just as much an outsider as the rest of the gang, and it's disingenuous to say otherwise no matter how much you may hate him as a character.

[azucarmorena97]

Money Ties (Jungkook Love Story || Pt.1)

Pt.2 ||

Your parents have worked hard to get to the top and have made sure to teach you everything you need to know to be successful in this business: from tough but lucrative financial decisions, down to the right ball gown for any given banquet. A promising and extravagant future awaits you- that is, if you agree to one teensy detail...

Son of Mr.Jeon Sr. and heir to June Company, Jeon Jungkook is an immature playboy with nothing to offer a woman but good looks and a crap ton of money, and he stands to inherit much MUCH more, so long as you both enter into the arranged marriage contract that was drawn up before the pair of you were even born.

You're more than willing to try, but you're not sure you'll be able to stand each other long enough to inherit a single penny...

Series Warnings: There will be smut in the near future and I will label those chapters as such. As I say before most of my pieces- I do not endorse any themes, ideas, or behaviors in this series. This is all purely fiction/fantasy! Feel free to inbox me suggestions/ideas/what you'd like to see in this series and I'll see what I can do! Enjoy <3

"How are you feeling? Have you got everything? Check your seat, make sure you didn't leave anything behind-" Your mom rambles, not letting you get a word in. Meanwhile, you're sandwiching your phone between your ear and shoulder as you struggle to get your bag down from the overhead compartment. "Yeah, mom- you know the way questions work is, you ask one and then let the other person answer." "Ugh, Sorry- I'm just so worried...and excited! I mean, we've only been dreaming about this day since-" "Before I was born. Yeah, I know," You sigh, finally letting your suitcase drop gently onto the floor of the plain and grabbing ahold of the handle to drag it out behind you. "Hey mom, I hate to interrupt you but is dad there? I wanna go over my itinerary while I'm here, I have like no time to myself on this schedule. I kinda wanted to do some sightseeing, being as how I'm almost never in Seoul-" "Oh, no I'm sorry honey. He had to rush off to the office but he told me to tell you that he's very proud of you and that he'll be there to get you when you come back." Your face falls flat and, since no one important is there to reprimand you for it, you roll your eyes and shake your head, "Alright." "Baby, you know he really is doing his best. He's been working nonstop to make sure this agreement comes to fruition and-" "Yeah, listen mom, I gotta go okay? I love you. I'll call you tonight to let you know how the meeting went, alright?" "Oh- okay. I love you!" "Love you too, mom." Without another word, you hang up the phone. You hate to be short with her, but today's supposed to be an important day leading up to...THE important day, and you really could've used more guidance on the matter. You could've...really used your dad today.

Oh well. No use in crying over spilled milk, right? You continue walking down the long terminal, a long line of people behind you in their own little worlds, having their own conversations, going on about their own lives; how interesting it would be to switch places with someone else...anyone else. Just for one day. You wonder if maybe your day would be a lot better then. You rifle through your bag with one hand while the other pulls your luggage along. "Aha," You say, pulling out your air pod case. You need to drown out any and all thoughts and distractions from the task at hand. Right now, it's just you, your anxiety about the meeting later, and "Rhiannon" by Fleetwod Mac.

When you finally get out of the terminal and into the waiting area, you give a sigh of relief; the plane ride had been long and suffocating, and now you're just glad to be breathing non-recycled air. It had been a long time since you'd flown into the Seoul airport, and it's much more extravagant than you remember; more ornate and, in the best way possible, hospitalesque. In the middle of your appreciation, you're shoved forward by someone behind you, causing your ear phones to fall out and everything. "What the fuck," You hiss, having been caught by complete surprise. You turn around and see a small crowd of people, all huddled in tight around someone, though you can't quite make the person's features out from behind the people. "Excuse you," You say loudly, hoping to get someone's attention, though you're not even sure who pushed you. "I said, excuse you!" You yell. Suddenly, everyone turns to look at you, and slowly, like parting the Red Sea down the middle, they divide to reveal the person in the midst of them.

"I'm sorry, I know my friends can get a little...rowdy," The person apologizes, though he has an annoyingly smug look on his face. He's tall, maybe 5'11" or so, with broad shoulders and a slim build (yet muscular, as you can see through his very tight turtle neck and slim fitting pants). His face is quite handsome, dark hair accentuating his features nicely. But you're still pissed off. "Well tell your 'friends' to please watch where the hell they're going. I almost fell over." "Hey I mean, no one told you to stand in the middle of one of the busiest airports in the world, staring at the ceiling like some catatonic zombie," He says, shrugging his shoulders. A few people from his group laugh in response, and he absolutely eats it up. "Excuse me?" You furrow your brows, incredulous to the arrogance in his tone. Are you missing something? You are the one who should be offended right now, right? "Alrighty, you're excused," He says before turning around. Again, the group adds in their little two cents in the form of 'oh's and laughter. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" You say, letting go of your suitcase and crossing you arms across your chest. The crowd goes dead silent, everyone darting their eyes at him. He turns around though this time, his expression is that of complete annoyance, "You're still here? Here, here's two hundred. Get yourself some new air pods or go kick rocks or whatever," He takes his wallet out of his pocket and reaches out to grab your hand. He turns it face up and slaps two bills into your palm, shooing you away immediately after. You can feel your blood practically boiling within you, and before you can really think about it, you're covering the five foot distance between you and slapping him cold on the left cheek, bills still in hand. "Don't spend it all in one place," You smirk before promptly picking up your suitcase and walking away in the direction of the front entrance. You feel sorry for any girl that might end up with that total loser.

You stare at yourself in the mirror of the hotel bathroom in the lobby. You'd spent hours getting ready; a fresh wax (leg and mustache... you've never been able to say no whenever the lady suggests it), new press-ons, fresh blowout, and a killer (yet modest) outfit. However, even with all that work, you still can't help but feel...completely ill-prepared. You bite you bottom lip, "I can do this. I can do this. I..." You quickly go to your purse on the sink counter in front of you and take out your phone, punching in your dad's number into the keypad. "Come on, come on. Pick up." It rings once, twice, three times, and then goes to voicemail. You try again, and then once more before tossing the phone aggressively back into your purse. "Dammit..." You lean forward onto the counter and let your face fall into your hands. Fuck the makeup. Fuck the blowout. You might just pass out right here and now. You notice your phone light up from inside your purse and scramble to get it; it's a text, though not from your dad. You open it and realize it's from Mr.Jeon Sr. 𝙼𝚛.𝙹𝚎𝚘𝚗: 𝚈/𝚗, 𝚠𝚎'𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢; 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐! 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝙹𝚎𝚘𝚗.

"Shit," You hiss, looking back up at the mirror to make sure you didn't mess anything up. Luckily, you're just as put together as you were when you stepped out of your room. You check your messages once more, just to make sure your dad hasn't tried reaching you. Radio silence. "Fuck it," You sigh, grabbing your purse and typing out your response.

𝚈/���: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎, 𝚂𝚒𝚛. 𝙸 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎.

You shove your phone into your purse and then walk out of the lobby, through the front entrance, and out to the sidewalk to wait for the car. Get your game face on, Y/n. It'll be over before you know it.

Your family has money; they've spent decades building together, both metaphorically and literally. They began working odd jobs before you were even born, scraping by with whatever money they could get, and slowly, began investing in different companies and start-ups that became very successful in a rather short amount of time. Then they began doing land development, which was how they came to know the Jeon's. They developed and prepared properties for the Jeon's to build their hotels and restaurants, which only worked to stabilize your family's economical status.

The Jeon's, however, have had money for upwards of three generations. While you're not sure how exactly their empire began, what you do know is that hotel and restaurant management has greatly increased the wealth they already had, and now all they need is to secure an heir; well, more like prepare the heir they already have, as their son, Jungkook, is the sole inheritor to the entire Jeon fortune. As they say, 'No pressure'.

You're meeting the Jeon family at one of their more successful restaurants, one that received three Michelin stars within the first three years of opening. You brought some gifts with you, which your mom so thoughtfully wrapped up for you and put in a pretty gift bag; she refused to let you embarrass her by bringing such expensive gifts in whatever random plastic Target bag. You take a moment to breathe deeply, shoving your dad, mom, the plane ride, and the asshole at the airport out of your mind. This is about your future. You're gonna do great.

The restaurant is full, but you somehow easily spot the Jeons at a table at the far end of the restaurant. "Do you have a reservation?" Asks the host at the podium. "Yes, I'm with the Jeons. Ms.L/n." "Ah yes, please follow me to your party." You follow him to the far end where you'd initially seen them, "Mr. and Mrs.Jeon, your guest has arrived." "Oh, Y/n!" Mrs.Jeon says cheerfully. You bow to them, "Mr. and Mrs.Jeon, it is truly a pleasure to see the both of you again after all this time." "Please, please- take a seat," Mr.Jeon says. The host pulls out your chair for you and waits for you to sit to be able to push it in for you. "Thank you," You say, giving him a small bow as well, to which he returns the gesture. "I've taken the liberty of ordering all of our best dishes for you to try. I hope you're hungry," Mrs.Jeon says, "Please, have some tea." "Oh thank you," You say, grabbing the teapot and carefully pouring some into their cups before pouring your own. "Should I pour into this one?" You ask, motioning to the empty place next to you. Mr.Jeon sighs, "No, that's okay. You'll have to excuse my son's tardiness. He should be here shortly." "Don't worry; I'm sure he has a good reason," You reassure. They exchange a peculiar glance at each other, though you don't think much of it.

"You know, we were worried that our agreement would fall through before this day would come." "Oh?" "Yes, we thought maybe there was a chance you'd refuse and we'd end up having to put up with someone we knew nothing about. With you, we know your family, we know you come from a good home with strong morals and family values similar to ours. It's not every day that parents find in-laws they get along with so well," Mr.Jeon says, sipping on his tea. "Well, you don't have to worry about that. I'm all in. This could be something that helps all of us and I'd do anything for my parents." You feel a tinge of sadness as you think of your dad. You haven't really seen him in the last three months, what with all his meetings and clients- you're hoping this will relieve some of the stress off his shoulders.

"That's what we love to hear," Mrs.Jeon chimes in, "We did bring the contract here with us for you to sign- whenever you have the time to read over it, of course." "That sounds great," You say cheerfully. This is going surprisingly well. You're not even sure what you were so nervous about initially. "There he is," Mr.Jeon calls out, looking past you at the door way, "There's Jungkook." You turn to look behind you, squinting your eyes to try to block out some of the glare so you can get a good look at your soon-to-be-fiancé. His silhouette is oddly familiar. Of course, you've met before but it's been at least fifteen or twenty years; he couldn't possibly look the same from then 'til now. No, you recognize him from something more recent...Where is he from? It isn't until he's a good seven feet away that you realize... SHIT.

"Sorry, I'm late everyone," He says, his familiar voice ringing in your ears like a pesky mosquito- that is, if a mosquito could singlehandedly make or break your entire future. "What took you so long, son?" Mrs.Jeon asked, her eyes darting at you momentarily. "Well, I'd just flown in from Paris when some crazy bitch attacked me at the airport. Broad daylight, completely unprovoked. Can you believe it? And then I had to go to Jimin's house for- for some thing and then we all got caught up at...a different place where some...other shit went down-" "Son, please mind your language. As you can see, Ms.L/n has been waiting to meet you." You slowly look over to face Jungkook, wishing you could morph into someone else- anyone else, for only a moment so as to not have to explain to this boys parents that you slapped their son in the face with two hundred dollars.

It's as though everything is happening in slow motion; torturously absorbing every ounce of energy in your body for such a simple action as turning your head. When you finally look up at him, you see his expression turn from slight irritation, to full blown anger. "YOU." The venom in his tone is palpable. You smile sheepishly, looking from his parents, to him, to his parents, and then back to him, "H-hey, you." This is gonna be the longest dinner of your life.

[20001541]

so about chapter 423 and how it stands as a conclusion to the ofa and afo plotline....

overall I think it's a fitting end for afo. I know what I've said before with not wanting a repeat of 410, and while this is similar in some ways it's still different enough to not bother me as we see the true afo instead of the afo clouded by hate.

while we got the "yoichi without you it's all for naught" in 410, afo at that time had his mind clouded by hatred and is mainly concerned with getting to tomura and izuku. there's no true confession of the extent of his feelings nor is there any conclusion with yoichi, besides he didn't even speak out loud then. he couldn't he was a baby, what we saw were only his thoughts. what bakugo really heard was just wah and you can see that if you go back to the chapter. that's why I wasn't satisfied with 410 as a conclusion to his character. I think 423 does a good job of this instead.

now getting into the details of 423, I'm glad we finally got to see him and yoichi have one final conversation with each other. it's what I've been wanting for the past hundred chapters and man did it hurt to read. he spent the whole story acting composed and as if everything will always go his way, but here we see him for who he truly is: just a man who is desperate to be with his brother again.

when he thought yoichi fully shattered immediately all his arrogant boasting and smiles were gone. he could no longer hide behind the persona of the demon king, yoichi's supposed shattering was too much for him. he didn't care about looking tough in front of his enemies, he made it clear that without yoichi there's no point to anything he does. this last conversation they have together really highlights just how much he is emotionally dependent on his brother.

and while the only reaction we saw from afo witnessing yoichi die in front of him was a blank stare, I feel like this chapter shows just how devastated he was to lose him. he's screaming at him to show him his face and he's trying to hold onto him as long as possible because he's scared of him disappearing again. without yoichi his life is completely meaningless and he doesn't care what happens as long as yoichi stays by his side. I think it's fitting that his last moments are spent with him begging for yoichi to show him his face and not being allowed to see it in return. yoichi didn't owe him anything after the hell he put him and many others through. all yoichi wanted was to put the fighting to an end after a whole century so he allowed the others to kill afo that way he wont ever hurt anyone again. kind of poetic to see all of the people afo victimized come together to end him as afo holds what's left of yoichi.

I still wish this confrontation was longer, the brothers should've been allowed to have their own chapter. I know some argue that yoichi wouldn't have had much to say to afo anyways as he's made his peace of what was about to happen, but maybe we could've gotten some flashbacks to their past where we see yoichi keeps trying to put afo on the right path and afo just doesn't care to hear it. I know there's two instances where we see yoichi trying to tell afo to stop what he's doing, but I would've liked to see some more of that. that's one gripe I have is that we didn't get to see enough of yoichi's perspective concerning their past. we saw some in 193, but I feel like it would've been a lot better if more was shown from his viewpoint as it would've fleshed him and their relationship out more. for now all we can hope is that we get some extra content about them in the future.

as it stands this was a good way to end their plot line. I've been worried that their conclusion wouldn't be that great, but I'm happy with what we got. I'll miss both of them dearly.

[twirlingsmilingwriting]

Hunger Games Men as Taylor Swift Songs

Idk if this is kinda odd to post but I'm a person who loves music and every song I listen to paints a scene in my head and I've been getting super into hunger games lately so a lot of the songs I've been listening to have reminded me of the characters. Specifically, my delulu self can imagine being in certain romantic situations with them based on the situations happening in these songs. For the sake of continuity, we will use songs from Ms. Taylor. I wanna write little one shots inspired by these situations. I already wrote the Snow one today so maybe I'll continue.

tldr- these are Taylor swift songs that reminded me of what it might be like to be in a relationship with these characters.

Peeta Mellark

Jump Then Fall- Taylor Swift, Fearless

"The bottom's gonna drop out from under our feet, I'll catch you"

Honestly I was thinking 'Mine' at first but I felt like Peeta HAD to have a song off of Fearless. He is the human embodiment of sunshine to me and Fearless as an album is gold, bright, and holds a theme of puppy love throughout it. All of those things just SCREAM Peeta Mellark to me. 'Jump Then Fall' is a song that is relatively vague in terms of story telling lyrics but it is about loving someone and being happy just to see them happy and wanting to be there for your partner no matter what. I feel like Peeta is that kind of ride or die lover. Even after the capital had brainwashed him into hating Katniss he still found his way back into loving her again anyways. He is a lover you can trust. He truly would stick through it all so it's okay to 'Jump Then Fall'.

(Story Idea: Kinda toying with a cute little fluff where the reader and Peeta are going swimming at a lake or something. I have another idea for him too but it's apart of the Finnick X Reader X Peeta story I'm theorizing)

Gale Hawthorn

Better man- Taylor Swift, Red

"But your jealousy, I can hear it now talking down to me like I'd always be around you push my love away like it was some kind of loaded gun, you never thought I'd run."

Firstly, Red is my favorite album. Sorry had to get that out of the way. Gale honestly, ugh there was so much potential here. I think as the movies progressed he started to lose his empathy and grew a more selfish shell. Better Man really reminds me of what Katniss might have been thinking with him. He would've been the one if he was a better man.

(Story idea: reader contemplating their relationship with Gale a month or two after the break up and reliving the memories of the past that are gloomy and haunted over by the fact that, Gale really wasn't ready for a relationship. They ponder over things until coming to the disheartening conclusion that brought them to breaking it off in the first place, it really could've worked out if he was a better man.

Also possibly a part two of that with a tooth rotting fluff about Gale going through some character development and becoming a better man and then they get back together)

Finnick Odair

Starlight- Taylor swift, Red

"He said "Look at you, worrying too much about things you can't change, You'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way"

Ahehehe Finnicks my favorite. It was hard to pick just one for him but I went with Starlight because he is just such a charmer. Starlight is a song about a whirlwind sort of romance where you are at a party and doing some silly things and you're falling in love. I can totally imagine this happening with Finnick. You meet at a capital party, run off together and start creating some chaos and fall in love. There's specific lines that remind me of him like the "he was trying to skip rocks on the ocean saying to me, "don't you see the starlight"". I could totally see Finnick doing that and just truly being a charming man and finding those little bits of joy in the messed up life given to him. I could see this also being a sort of sheltered reader and it being their first party and he helps them loosen up and have fun.

Honestly, its hard for me to pinpoint just one song for him because so many remind me of him so here are some honorable mentions.

Holy Ground- Same kinda vibe as Starlight

Forever Winter- he has trauma and I can help him. Ours- Finnicks Reputation makes your family question if you should be with him but you know him truly and they can't take whats ours

Mine- A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THIS ONE BECAUSE OF THE "I remember we were sitting there by the water" line but the rest of the song doesn't fit him

Paper Rings- They wanna get married but Finnick can't because of the capitals uh plan with him so they have a little ceremony with just themselves and some friends and paper rings before the events of Catching Fire and then they decide to run off to district 13 to be together for real

Coriolanus Snow

Tolerate It- Taylor Swift, Evermore

"I know my love should be celebrated, but you Tolerate it"

honestly this was the one that inspired me to do this post. I already wrote this story because I CANT HELP MYSELF! This song was playing in my car after I watched tbosas and it was just painting this whole picture of how the person Snow ended up marrying after Lucy Gray must have felt. I'm pretty sure there was that line in the book too that was talking about how Snow never wanted to fall in love again because he felt so out of control and how he would marry someone he didn't love so that he never had to feel that way again. it was something like that. So Tolerate It sounds like the total POV of his next partner. The song itself is about a relationship with a power imbalance where the person singing the song is giving their absolute all for the love, affection, and praise of their partner and their partner gives them nothing in return. The term "Tolerate It" also is insinuating that the person the narrator is in love with is mildly annoyed with the things the singer is doing for them. They simply deal with it but are never impressed and that just gave me snow vibes.

LET ME KNOW IF I SHOULD SO A PART TWO WITH OTHER CHARACTERS (recommendations open :') ) OR OTHER ARTISTS. I listen to all genres fr.

Thank you for readings and let me know if you liked any of the ideas I suggested and if I should write them!

<3

[lover-of-mine]

can i be petty for a moment and say that it's wild how eddie/kim not only had more chemistry, but also had more moments where kim understood eddie perfectly and so much emotional intimacy between them in two episodes than buck and tommy in the entire season 💀 like we don't even know kim's last name and yet she had more of an impact on the narrative...HELL shannon diaz is DEAD and she's still affecting the story more than tommy is 💀 i hate the outcome of the kim storyline with chris leaving but one has to admit...it's not that the writers don't know how to write buck and tommy in a meaningful way, they just don't want to

HONESTLY. People like to deny it but Ryan's chemistry with Devin is incredible. And Kim was ridiculously insightful about Eddie, kinda impressive that she only knew him for a few weeks and was delivering analysis worthy of eddieblr. "I think you're cautious because you have more to give than you think anyone can take" is the type of shit you would read in a post waxing poetics about the way Eddie hides because he's scared of his own intensity and it's a literal line on the show said by a character who had been there for 5 minutes, didn't have a last name, might be kinda insane, and totally blew up Eddie's life. And it's not like the show doesn't know how to develop relationships with a time crunch. Taylor had 4 episodes in s4. They did make it seem like she cared and she did read Buck in the way Buck was presenting himself, did she called Buck out for acting like he's invincible? Yes, but so does everyone else but Eddie, so like, it is a common interpretation of the way Buck acts, and it makes it feel like she thought about it. Miss girl tried. They had 6 episodes with Tommy. And they went nowhere with it. They were somehow better at writing a reporter into the story than another firefighter. Kim was in 2 episodes and was reading Eddie like he was her favorite book. Fuck, dude, Ana was in 5 episodes of s4 and we saw her have a bigger impact and Ana was firmly in the background. The show made such an intentional choice of not giving bt a fighting chance, it's kinda impressive. It's kinda like getting a 0 on a test because you know all the right answers and are choosing the wrong ones on purpose. Every single one of their scenes could've been written slightly different and have a completely different effect. It's crazy, yk? They really just... didn't want to.

[thenameisgul]

The thing with Castiel is that he had a lot of storylines that had potential to develop, but were cut short for whatever reason I don't understand: like Godtiel, humancas. For example, with humancas, an entire season could be devoted to exploiting that, it could be a separate storyline unrelated to Sam or Dean, he could meet other angels and have to solve problems himself. etc. But no, they abandoned it after a few episodes, for what? to make Dean not look like an asshole for abandoning Cas when he was most vulnerable, so as not to divert the audience's attention away from two brothers? I have a feeling the writers kept Cas/Misha around because of his popularity with fans, but never gave him the status he deserved for a character with so much potential and importance to the story line. I'm only in ss10 and heard that Cas is treated even worse in the later seasons, I don't know if I should continue watching or not.

if there's one thing I realized pretty early on when I was finally watching season 7 after a decade long break, was that in the Supernatural universe, there was no other character that was as interesting and multifaceted as Castiel.

The second thing I realized was that it was not a very good thing for the showrunners to have a supporting character be like that when your entire show revolves around two brothers.

The reason they killed off Castiel in early season 7 was because they wanted the show to go back to being about Sam and Dean and with Apocalypse over, they didn't know what to do with Castiel. But clearly, he was too popular and they brought him back because the network itself told them to bring him back.

Now, a good writer would've been able to find a balance to keep Cas' story relevant and entangled with the Winchesters, as they did in season 6 but with Kripke leaving the show and new management in the writer's room, that didn't happen.

I almost, almost get it? Like, you have your story, you have your lead characters and people love them but suddenly you bring a supporting character who becomes an instant fan favorite, who's, debatably, a lot more interesting because of the history you gave him but never intended to explore and now he's sticking around so you just don't know what to do to make him not take over the narrative? You make him weak.

Cas couldn't have stayed the badass, powerful angel who's lived for a millennia because then that'll require the show to have villians even more powerful than that to be any competition and that leaves the Winchesters irrelevant.

So they tamed him down alot, which in itself wouldn't have been such a bad thing, especially if they went with the human!cas arc for longer like you said but to do that would've meant they couldn't use Cas as an easy way out of all winchester's problems and they needed that too so 🤷‍♀️

My main problem with all of that, mostly comes from the fact that, and I may be wrong here, but it seemed like the writers actively resented misha/castiel for being popular. Like he was, in misha's words "a foil to the boys" and while the writers couldn't let him go because the show would lose ratings, they actively diminished him. The random demeaning comments about Castiel from other characters, especially, from dean seemed a little too pointed. Not to mention how the producers actually publicly said 'misha wasnt a good actor' when he's literally one of the best actors on the show!

So yeah, if supernatural had better writers, or atleast if they kept hold of the good ones (because there were some good ones) they could've given Cas and the show a better story.

I hate to say it but they did it to Sam too. Sam was such an complex character but they just stopped trying after a while with his character. So I guess it was a theme with these writers.

And as a Castiel fan, its frustrating, I gotta say that. But you know what the best part is? that no matter what they did, how dumb the storyline they gave him he still came out as the most interesting character every time. So there you go.

So I'd say watch the show, its really good when it gets good or maybe just open Misha's page on Supernatural wiki and only watch his episodes if that's your thing because tbh, you wouldn't miss much if you left the rest. lol

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

A general problem the MCU has is that while they may be good at bringing up potentially interesting and complex takes on real-world issues or things that could shake up the status quo, they're not good at commitment, and usually have the issues get solved in anticlimactic fashion, whether that be by the end of the same project they were introduced in, or have them get solved offscreen.

Like, with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, they raise a legitimate issue through bringing up the topic of how immigrants and refugees are treated. Setting aside Karli falling into the same trap as Killmonger of "villains who suddenly kill a bunch of innocent people at random because they were raising too many legitimate points, and we need the audience to not root for the", the issue is resolved through Sam effectively giving a "Do better" speech to the politicians while the deportation issue is solved offscreen.

Setting aside that they come off more like a HYDRA manifesto, the Sokovia Accords could've been the foundation for a discussion about acceptable forms of oversight for superheroes. But it really just amounted to a plot device to allow the airport battle to happen, they're pretty much forgotten once Zemo enters the picture, they're mentioned a few times in Ant-Man and the Wasp and WandaVision, and then Matt Murdock's scenes in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law reveal that the Accords were repealed offscreen.

Secret Invasion seemed to be on track to deconstruct Fury's habit of using superpowered people to help him, by having it reveal that he basically exploited alien refugees. But he doesn't actually solve that issue by the end (in fact, when it comes to defeating Gravik, he exploits G'iah having superpowers and wanting to avenge her parents to utilize her as an assassin).

I very much agree with you.

The MCU likes to bring up certain points of discussion but they seem to believe that either the audience is too stupid to understand complex storylines or they just want something easy to digest that won't upset anybody (mostly the execs).

It comes to show that while in the past the superhero movies were all about celebrating the heroes and their "otherness", nowadays we get organizations like the TVA justified by the narrative, the governments are protected and the blame is deflected towards the heroes like Bucky, or a series that could have made a fantastic story regarding Fury, Shield and their shady missions turns out to say... absolutely nothing at all.

What they did to the Flagsmashers and Karli was so utterly disgusting that I can't even begin to say how mad it made me. Hell, Secret Invasion was dealing with refugees as well (the alien-kind but, still). So why not try to connect the two somehow? We had Nick speak to Talos about racism, much in the way Sam gets to mention some of it especially when he's with Isaiah, but nothing ever comes out of it. They're short lines that can be quoted in tweets and memes but they're pointless when it comes to the story being told in the series.

And maybe that's the problem, it would seem that's all Marvel wants. It's like their "queer rep". They want something quick, short, and ambiguous that won't bother anyone too much. Probably because they're one of those who think "both sides" are equally right and wrong and so they don't want to alienate anybody.

And one of the reasons I hate this is that when it really comes to it... does the existence of heroes really change anything in the MCU universe? When it comes to external threats they're essential, but with internal affairs? They always stop the immediate threat but everything else that made it happen is left as it is (the worst offender is CW, the Accords and that damn Raft. "Oh let me break my teammates out of here but watch as I do nothing to help the other inmates or anybody else that will be sent here in the future". WTF is that?!!).

[voxofthevoid]

Some people seem to forget that Yuji isn't the classic golden-hearted talk-no-jutsu forgive-and-forget-everyone MC like Naruto or the likes

Yes, he's incredibly kind and if given the possibility he can be open to giving a second chance (like we see with Sukuna at the end) but he also won't hesitate to punch the shit out of those who end up on his (s)hit-list

Yuji meeting Geto "Cult Leader Genocidal Racist (towards non-sorcerers) Delusional Queen" Suguru would absolutely hate him, and yes, maybe it could change over time if Geto showed signs of genuinely changing his views and methods for the better... But otherwise he would be kinda like Yuta was in the movie, who listened to him talk at first because he was hella confused when Geto first arrived but as soon as Geto started insulting Maki he switched immediately and basically told him to fuck off

I also don't think he would take it upon himself to make Geto a better person, either Geto gets his shit together on his own (or maybe with Gojo's help since, when it comes to Geto, Gojo is much more likely to actually care if he changes for the better) or Yuji isn't gonna do shit I fear

And now I'm imagining Yuji and Geto fighting/sparring (Gojo probably convinced Geto into partecipating) and since Geto hates non-sorcerers so much I could see Yuji punching the shit out of him with his raw strength, no divergent fist or curse energy-enhanced hits, just the pure strength he had when he was a "monkey" like everyone else

Negative talk of "sunshine Yuuji" characterization and Getou Suguru to follow. I'd recommend stopping here if you're a fan of either.

And previous anon, my rant below isn't directed at you but at certain JJK fandom trends I hate. I know you were just trying to help.

Some people seem to forget that Yuji isn't the classic golden-hearted talk-no-jutsu forgive-and-forget-everyone MC like Naruto or the likes

Would you care to guess why I say I don't read much fic in JJK? Because this is why. Sunshine Angel Yuuji, who shits out rainbows and cries if he hurts a fly, is going to be my villain origin story.

(Yes, there are plenty of stories that do characterize him right differently, but they're in the minority. I ran out of patience very quickly in the tags and no longer bother.)

He's a very compassionate, very forgiving kid who's boyishly charming and easy to love—the sunshine elements are certainly there, and I enjoy them. But reducing him to those does him a gross disservice. Yuuji's also extremely comfortable with violence, whether that's lethal violence toward curses or training/sparring with peers and mentors. The little we know of his pre-canon backstory features him beating up bullies, and he may not have been as dramatic about it as Megumi was, but the look on his face was sure something else. This is also the same kid who declared his intent to kill Mahito and said that it felt so true that it made everything else he'd ever said feel like a lie. And toward the end of the manga, we have him straight-up admitting that he could've been like Sukuna if not for luck and the man who raised him.

I find Yuuji to be such a fascinating character because his capacity for compassion is matched by his capacity for violence. He actively chooses the former over and over, but dear lord, he's not shy about using the latter. Even outside of physical violence, his personality isn't what I'd call soft. He's friendly and good with people, but he's also snarky, blunt, and at times rude. Also pretty damn insane. I could also go into how a lot (but not nearly all) of Yuuji's cheery demeanor seems like a mask; that kid is repressed as hell, it's just not obvious the way it is with other characters.

Anyway, the people Yuuji wants/resolves to kill are few and far in between, and he's fairly quick to forgive slights against himself, but he's got his lines in the same when it comes to other people's lives and he's willing to enforce them violently.

Personally, I think how he treats Sukuna at the end shows a degree of leniency he wouldn't extend to most people who'd kill indiscriminately. That was influenced significantly by his and Sukuna's respective situations in life and also possibly the intermingling of their souls. Like, nothing Mahito could've done would've spared him from Yuuji.

Getou would likely fall in between the two. His ideology is destructive and cruel (and fucking stupid, how the hell has no one poked holes the size of Texas in it), but it arises from a place of pain and compassion, which opens up certain avenues for discussion that would be lacking with, say, Mahito. Plus, in that fic scenario, Getou's essentially neutralized, and Yuuji's not confronting the direct effects of his actions the way he did with Mahito or Sukuna. In sum, he's not the kind of person Yuuji would write off, but he's also someone who thinks people like Yuuji's grandpa are "monkeys" who should die. I have zero intentions of wrangling their relationship into something good, functional, or mutually beneficial.

Re sparring, Getou's CE is blocked in that fic. Yuuji would devastate him. That's not even in question seeing that, without CE, no one except Tōji and post-awakening Maki would be able to handle Yuuji. This is also likely to make the situation worse, given Getou's experiences with Tōji. That whole angle will depend a lot on how Gojou handles/arranges the situation, which is something I'll likely only find out when I outline or write this properly.

[pinkomcranger]

I saw your post about Saga and I 100% agree. I love her character so much and was so happy they avoided stereotypes AND gave her agency. She wasn't there just to save Alan (the horrid magical black person troupe was avoided) she was there for people who meant something to her and they just so happen to work together by the end. Remedy truly wrote a fascinating character and got a great actress to portray her. I'm glad the hate died out from the reactionaries but the apathy from the fandom is just as bad sometimes. I love her personality and I honestly love AnderCase as a ship and incorporating Saga into ships (AndercasexWake is a thing for me lol). I also like them as friends, their dynamic is so damn good I want to see them in future games. However, I gave up writing Andercase because people just ignore it most of the time. The fandom in general kind of feels isolating if you don't like the standard ships/characters. It's discouraging and sad and makes it hard to want to post. I tried again and of course the fic did poorly so I don't bother, reminds me how little people want anything to do with Saga. Even general fics would be awesome if people are squicked by het or don't like Saga and Casey as a ship. The fan space for her and ships/dynamics with her is so small...Drawing her is scary too given someone was attacked over it, so that worries me too and I kind of backed away. There's barely anything of Saga in any fanworks and when women are involved they gravitate to Rose and in some cases Estevez (the Yakuza mod just broke my heart they did not think to add Saga before Rose who has less time and at a point people shipped Casey with Estevex BEFORE Saga like WHAT). I know that struggle you're feeling. Saga and anything with her is a footnote and I know it's not malicious but it sucks. Fandom favoritism does not help, even in the smallness of Saga fandom content only a handful are seen and the rest ignored. I've been there and seen it, it pushes newcomers away. I hope this gets better in the future but not holding my breath. Love Remedyverse/Remedy but the fandom space depresses me which sucks because everyone seems nice to me, just...sorry for the rambling. Just saw a post that resonated with my frustrations.

Do you know the thing that gets me the most about Saga? She was created by a white man. And he, along with the other writers, made SURE to avoid the stereotypes we usually get in black women protags, especially in video games. She has a power, yes, but she's not using it solely to save one person. She doesn't even know she HAS a power until halfway through the game!

She wants to save her daughter first and foremost and then Casey, she tells Alan this point-blank, save my daughter and Casey, non-negotiable, she's NOT helping him otherwise. And you can see that as selfish, but it's not, if it had JUST been herself thrown into the story? She would've been FINE with it, you see her getting more and more excited about the case. She's intrigued EVERY step of the way. It only becomes personal when Alan has the audacity to use Logan and Casey, that's her line in the sand.

Melanie puts so much into making Saga come alive, because as amazing as the writing is, she could've still fallen into the sassy black woman trope, and Melanie doesn't let that happen. I think the ONLY criticism you can give her is that her accent slips, but I really never noticed it. I agree that I'm glad the hate from the dumbass gamer bros, but like you said, the apathy can be just as bad, it's a choice to not say the quiet part outloud.

I genuinely wish they'd just say, she's a black woman, therefore, I'm not interested in her. I only care about the white men. At least be HONEST about it, instead of raving about how fun it was to play as Saga and she's so badass but not backing it up with actions.

I love Andercase with every fiber of my being. I loved them from their first scene, despite knowing she was married to somebody else. Casey is Saga's support, you see her loving to crack her puns to Casey, she even thinks of one and saves it to memory solely to tell it to Casey. Not Logan, not David, but Casey.

They mirror each other, again from their first scene, drinking coffee at the same time. A trait they keep, even as the horror story creeps closer. Casey wouldn't be even a little bit interesting to me if he wasn't paired with Saga. He's the moon and she's the sun.

I'm so sorry you were discouraged to write and post about Andercase, even just as besties. Because their dynamic IS gold, and it echoes even when they're separated. The second Kiran shows up and kicks Saga off the case, she gets over it, fine, she'll deal, but help her find her partner, damnit! I've enjoyed fics where they are just besties, the ones that ACTUALLY focus on them and, you know, doesn't make Saga the driving force for CaseyWake and nothing else.

I think that's one of the reasons it's hard for me to ship Saga and FBI Casey with anyone else, because they're each other's closest interactions for so much of the game. It's hard for me to ship Alan with them because I see him and Saga as the true platonic soulmates of the AW2 cast and Casey HATES Alan. All the way up the ending of the final draft. You can see it in his expression and body language, if he hadn't just been through the wringer and so happy to see Saga, he definitely would've punched Alan for all he shit he's put them through.

Writing a pairing you love, feeling so proud and happy about the work you've done, just to see it brushed aside is one of the most painful feelings as a creator. Fandom is supposed to be for EVERYONE, it's not supposed to be high school cliques that can't interact with each other. I don't ship Alan with Saga's Casey (it's just the only way I see him, heh), but I've seen some AMAZING fan art for them that's made me smile. But you rarely see Saga involved, which makes no sense in regards to her Casey. If it was fictional Casey, that would make sense, he doesn't exist outside of Alan's head, while Saga's Casey is a living, breathing person who spends most of his time with Saga or talking about her.

Yet she's relegated to the bro when her Casey and Alan only have her in common. I can't buy Casey being soft and domestic with Alan to save my life. I see it with Saga, I can see Saga being soft with Alan because she does show that side to him. That's who she is, if you've earned her trust and respect. You can tell Saga is always the "good cop" while Casey is the "bad cop." The only time you see him sympathetic towards Alan is when he first washes up to shore. He's mocking him but holding his tongue because Saga's not going to take that nonsense from him.

You only see Casey show the full force of his anger towards Alan when Saga isn't there to stop him. To say "Yes, THAT'S the actual love story here" is a...choice, one that actively ignores the on-screen narrative. Again, fictional Casey and Alan are a completely different topic and not something I care enough to write about.

NOBODY should be attacked for liking a pairing because what does that do? What does it accomplish except make yourself feel better and superior? Again, it's been a choice to ignore the two main women in the series, which are Alice and Saga. But I've seen quite a few fics where Alice gets to be paired with CaseyWake, while you'll be hard-pressed to find a fic where Saga gets to interact with them. That tells me something that makes me uncomfortable. And that's covert racism.

You can't even make the excuse that there's nothing left to learn about Saga, because that's simply untrue. We know the bare minimum about her family on the Anderson side, and absolutely nothing concerning her father (who is Warlin Door and I will die on that hill). We don't know much about her created family, certainly nothing about David, outside of the fact he likes Bright Springs, and boardgames and doesn't take his daughter to get checked out after she hits her head in the shower. The fact her entire identity ISN'T just Logan's mother and David's wife means so much to me.

You can't tell me it's because she's married either, because how can you say that in one breath and then ship Alan with anyone but Alice in the same breath? It genuinely leads me to think it's simply that she's a BLACK woman. And as you said, seeing people create ships for Rose and to pair Estevez with CASEY, when she's an out-and-out lesbian that Casey only meets near the end of the game speaks volumes.

I genuinely think if you swapped her race, she would be less ignored, and that's extremely fucked up. Saga was created with so much love, care, and respect. A black woman protag that we could get behind and feel represented by. A smart, strong, caring badass, who still retains her femininity, but who has an identity outside of "mother" even though saving her daughter is her driving force, it's not her only one. She cares about her newly found grandfather and great-uncle. She cares about Rose, despite the woman irritating her in the beginning. She worries for the residents of the nursing home. She has mixed feelings towards the CULT. And of course, her secondary concern is Casey. And once she sees how hard Alan is trying, she comes to care for him as well. Why else tell him he's a hero when she has every right to hate him more than anyone else in the game?

She cares about these people she's met, and she knows they deserve to be saved. And Alan is the first to admit he can't do ANY of it without Saga. If the main character of the series acknowledged Saga, why can't the fandom?

I truly hope that you can find the courage to try again with Andercase, or just Saga in general. Because I'm seeing that there are people that love her, and maybe they're not content creators but consumers, and that's now one of my motivations. To feed their hunger because they're part of the fandom too, and they shouldn't be ignored. I promise you, you'll have a fan in me. And sometimes, just one person knowing they love what you create and how they look forward to it is enough. I'm not interested in a popularity contest. You'll never see me in ship wars. I'm here for FBI Special Agent Saga Anderson. This is her story too, to make her the footnote in fanworks is terribly egregious and goes against the very thing Remedy wanted.

If you ever want to ramble, my inbox is always open. If you ever have ideas you want to see in regards to fanfic for Andercase or Saga, I'm right here. Thank you so much for giving me a chance to read about your feelings for Saga and her partner. It means the world to me.

[ac-liveblogs]

(1) Mualani drives me insane because she's a famed three-time-war-vet who can talk down armed robbers through sheer friendly intimidation, casually walks cross country to visit loner pals, and exudes so much confidence potential bullies wither away from her mere presence. She wears a swimsuit to the battlefield and throws bouncy balls as bullets. The game hypes her up, then ludonarratively follows through by giving you a trial version with 350k normals.

(2) In a better game, Mualani would be the kind of girl where half of Natlan adores her, but the other half of Natlan hates her and is too scared to say it to her face. She'd be wearing the swimsuits as an advertising ploy. She'd get into fights because she's a decorated-three-time-war-vet and you're literally nobody. But because this is genshin they somehow her boring. Whenever there's a fight, all she does is weakly bite back. (3) She can't even raise her voice at the Abyss order or the Archon she thinks might have killed her friend. Basically, every time her confidence could be abrasive, the game shoves her into a nice-girl-cookie-cutter-mold. By the end, she sounds like Erza Scarlet in a white wig. How did HYV fail that badly? It actually pisses me off to see a character who could so easily have some semblance of a personality be so painfully boring... sorry for my personal vent. Had to get that off my chest. lol.

No problem at all, I just finished the World Quest she's tied to myself and sat back like. Wow. You're right. Wow Genshin is screwing this girl so badly. Only HYV wouldn't commit to just… having her as the "protagonist" of the Natlan AQ, right? Or at least the focus point? After the "unity" thing... after showing her forsaking glory for her own personal definition of 'victory' that aligns with what her predecessors valued, tying into the themes of Natlan's people working together over time to protect what they consider important... after showing her as a protector time and time again...

Any other game would do it, especially if they didn't want to bother with Kachina's stuff post act 2 - it seemed like they were going to center Mualani instead. Unifying the 6 tribes on a larger scale like she did with Kinich and Kachina, per her Ancient Name.

But, uh oh sister, those line count leaks aren't looking good - we're seriously focusing on Mavuika? The least interesting link here? Miss "Yeah everyone's ancestors trusted the future generation to win this fight, except me apparently, I didn't trust the future Pyro Archon better be here myself?"

After they thoroughly shafted Kachina, who I'd stupidly thought would be becoming a hero/earning her name through the whole ~chosen one thing for her tribe, but apparently that's Xilonen!(??? why, if she does get acknowledged by her wayob it's not her as tribe's hero? it's just generic acknowledgment…?)

This all seemed pretty straightforward, right. Like, a pretty generically simple story that has existing templates that Genshin could easily pull off. Trust HYV to snatch defeat from the jaws of adequacy.

ghhh mualani could've been so cool why'd they do this to her (also why'd they cover her in fish i can't take her closeups seriously with those literal fish-eyes)

[petruchio]

guts ranking part 2 (bonus tracks)

me when i hit the character limit and tumblr says. SHUT UP! but here are my bonus track rankings:

13. obsessed - A GREAT SONG!! oh it's so clever and fun and haven't we all felt this way about our ex's ex?? i loooove the way she delivers "i can't help it i've got ISSUES" and i think the internal rhyme of obsessed and ex is a really catchy hook and i love the chorus. i think this was a great bonus track, i know people said it should've been on the standard edition but i actually think it works better as a bonus track. my one beef with this song actually is that i don't like the music video. i don't understand why it doesn't have more of a story, i feel like this song could've had such a great video with a great narrative (maybe olivia is, like, stalking the ex and trying to imitate everything she does but she plays both roles or something? i guess that might be too similar to deja vu but i feel like the obsessed mv just doesn't feel interesting enough because it's just random clips cut together with performance shots. i wanted more from this video. it was good but i wanted it to be great.)

14. girl i've always been - C i'm sorry i find this song extremely juvenile. it sounds like the kind of song you write when you're like 13 and you want to be the next taylor swift but you don't actually have anything to say. i don't like the vocals, i think the lyrics are all pretty cliche and boring, i really just don't think this needed to be released. if it was one of her instagram videos i think it would be super cute but i just don't think it is album worthy even as a bonus track. plus it's so short it just feels half baked anyway. i think it should've stayed in the drafts.

15. scared of my guitar - C+ i also don't like this song. i don't know it just doesn't do it for me at all. it's not catchy, the metaphor/concept doesn't interest me and similarly to giab it just doesn't feel like it's done. i'll say it, i think teardrops on my guitar does a much better job of integrating the concept of songwriting into the lyrics in a way that feels natural whereas this one just feels cheesy and underdone to me. (and even olivia herself has done better at fourth wall breaks, for example in "can't think of a third line" or "i hate every song i write" -- like those are so much better and well integrated than this song, so i just find this song to be... not that good.) i added a + to the grade for the line "stringing you along" though because i think it's clever.

16. stranger - A I LIKE THIS SONG!! i saw someone saying it felt musically similar to her stick season cover and that the sort of folk/rock influence works really well with her voice and i was like YES! i love her rock delivery but i think her vocal timbre really shines on the more stripped back folksy sounds (see also: my love for can't catch me now) and i think this is an example where the concept of the song is good and she does it really nicely. it's also catchy and can't overstate how much i love "you're just SOME. GUY." this is a really good song in my opinion.

17. so american - B+ this song feels almost exactly like all american bitch to me in that i'm like, it's GOOD! i don't buy it as authentic to her though. like it just sounds like "olivia rodrigo does 90s gwen stefani" which she does WELL but it just feels a little too self-conscious. and the studio chatter at the end actually really bothers me in this song, when i heard the ending i was like ok no dan nigro, STOP. it was cute a couple times but like cut it out. just play the song. but i do like the way that the album opens with all AMERICAN bitch and then the bonus edition closes with so AMERICAN like what can i say, i'm a sucker for a callback and an album that tells a complete story. i like that it's the first true love song we've gotten officially released from olivia and it feels like a bright light that illuminates the way forward after all the pain and insecurity on GUTS and so i APPRECIATE it, and i do think it's cute and catchy, it's just not a 100% slam dunk for me. but it's good.

[telltaleangelina]

TC tag game Thank you for the questions and for tagging me @renaultphile Rules: Answer the questions and tag other TC fans

"He would not fucking say that" only they did and it's canon. When/who?

I don’t think I’ve read it enough to have a sense of something like this. I really disliked Laurie’s scenes with Adrian though. So it’s not so much ‘he wouldn’t say that’ as ‘I would prefer to ignore the fact that he said/did that.'

2. Did they kiss in the study? Yes/no + why you are 100% correct about this.

I think they did. The first time I read it, I didn't really wonder if something had happened, only what had happened: I didn’t know if they’d only kissed or done anything more. Later, it seemed to be confirmed by Ralph’s letter that they’d not done ‘anything more,’ I just assumed it was a kiss, and I don’t really think the dialogue following the ellipses makes much sense without anything having happened. “Now you see what I mean, Spud. It would never have done, would it? Well, goodbye.” What could Laurie have seen if there was nothing besides a hug or handshake or something? What would never have done? Why ask him to ‘come here’ at all?

3. Mandatory question about Ralph's alleged tattoos.

I really don’t think he’d have any, but if he did I think it'd probably be something nautical.

4. 53 vs 59 edition: quote a line or paragraph that is better in the edition you like the least.

I don’t know which of them I read and I definitely haven’t read another addition, so I can’t answer this. Apparently, the earlier one had more detail and dialogue, so if I haven’t I’d love to read it

5. Which TC character would feel right at home here on tumblr dot com?

Sandy, I think he'd be great on here.

6. Tag yourself at Alec's birthday party.

Laurie reading a book or Laurie just at the beginning, sitting around awkwardly, listening to people’s conversations and wondering how on earth he ended up there.

7. Post a TC meme

The first I ever saw (on the Mary Renault tag) and still the funniest to me, I think because I understand it perfectly

8. Easy to talk about who deserved better. Who deserved worse?

Straike, I hate him with a fiery passion. The man had a dog put down, not because he was sick or anything but simply because he couldn’t be bothered to care for him. Vicar? Ridiculous.

9. You can break the fourth wall (at any point in the novel) and say a single sentence to our protagonist, Laurie Odell. What do you say?

'This is not Ancient Greece, stop being weird,' at the exact moment Andrew is telling him his traumatic life-story and Laurie is preoccupied worrying about Dave. Also related to the question, but not really asked for: if I could I’d also tell Andrew he doesn’t have to feel ashamed of how he feels about Laurie. Well, more accurately, I’d give him a modern copy of ‘Quaker Faith & Practice’ and have the relevant passages highlighted, so I know he won’t miss them. It makes me very sad for both Andrew and Dave that their whole lives could've been very different (and much happier) if they were born four or five generations later.

9. What's a question you have about TC? One you haven't found an answer for yet.

I can't think of any, besides wondering how Mary Renault could've written it because it's so good. I love the use of subtext, the way she describes emotions you've felt before but never would've been able to put into words on your own. In terms of characters and story, I do have a random question about Bunny: was it supposed to be implied that he was a perpetrator of sexual assault? I got that idea when I was reading the car scene between him and Laurie but I was unsure.

I don't know who to tag! I think all of the Charioteer accounts I know have already been tagged, but if anyone hasn't and wants to, I'd love to read your response!

[synergysilhouette]

10 Disney hot takes/probably unpopular opinions

As a big Disney fan, I thought I'd make a post dedicated completely to things I hated/despised about Disney films I loved (or at least liked):

I wasn't a fan of "Dos Orguitas." I think it's because I just don't like slow songs. I also think it was the wrong song to send to the Oscars: "Surface Pressure," "What Else Can I Do," and "Waiting on a Miracle" were much better options.

2. I CANNOT STAND Flynn Rider. I made a post about the sympathetic thief/conman trope you see in films and how I'm tired of it, so I won't repeat myself. I'd have preferred Bastion (his original self) instead of the final product; Flynn comes off feeling like a father or big brother figure to Rapunzel rather than her love interest.

3. Anna and Kristoff were ruined as a couple by "Frozen 2." Kristoff is so obsessed with finding a way to propose to Anna while Anna ignores him and misunderstands him for much of the movie, that the proposal at the end of the film feels almost unearned.

4. "Mulan" needed more songs. I can't get more clear than that.

5. Gaston didn't need to die, and he kinda toed the line between evil and mean. He's a villain, but it's his arrogance that screws him over; if he was just vain, he'd be into Belle, but he probably wouldn't be as big of a threat. At worst, he'd be a recurring suitor for Belle that she kept having to turn away. He could've been a minor antagonist, but his determination to get what he believed belonged to him was what led to his downfall. Plus now that I think on it, couldn't he have just been imprisoned? I doubt he'd have too much sway after the events of the film.

6. The costumes for Big Hero 6 weren't as great as they could've been. While the colors and styles are different, the fabric/armor and headgear looks similar, bringing it to almost a uniform look with different colors rather than individual outfits. I discussed that in my rewrite.

7. "Raya and the Last Dragon" would've been my favorite Disney film it had been a musical, focused on one SEA country (or at least, several distinct ones rather than a mesh), and had a story that carried the morals/characters better. It has a great concept on paper, but my rewrite says it all.

8. Pocahontas had the best romantic life (and John Rolfe is better than John Smith).

9. Ariel's green dress is her best one.

10. Asha and (human) Star should've been a couple. One of my many frustrations with "Wish."

[midorikawawas]

So, About Spirit of Justice…

I've been loving that game since I first played it back in 2017-2018, and at times, I wish to do a review for Spirit of Justice, at least the story aspects, because I consider it to be a game that not only isn't as bad or as incoherent as many people try to argue, but that actually made something while carrying the burden of trying to do a lot in a little time, even when we consider that it has one of the longest (if it isn't THE longest) final cases/chapters and pushed a lot of the mechanics and effects for a visual novel.

If anything, the worst sin committed by AA6 is being its own thing (same as Dual Destinies, but that's a different conversation….)

But idk, lots of personal observations under this.

Of course there are things that make me raise my eyebrow and that could've been done better, but if anything, I applaud the fact that the game has that replayability factor to it which is such… an AA thing, to keep the player interested and entertained, even when considering its downfalls. Like, talk about the little details that aren't explicitly said, but that were put in the script and manage to convey so much of what the characters and story have to say. If anything, SoJ is GOOD at the storytelling factor, at switching the setting and making it compelling.

It's visually engaging and the script is just so good (I wish to play the Japanese version one of these days, because I enjoyed the translation and I bet the og is as enjoyable.)

Then there are the characters... Which I don't know how people can't get out of their usual comparisons with other installments and ignore that the characters, their motivations, and even their emotions and inner lives are not as half-assed in this game as some people would like to say. Again, most things get insinuated between the lines, which I don't think it's lazy, rather is interesting instead of seeing a character blurting out everything, but that's a personal choice. I could have a whole field day with the whole royal family and the many things they represent or couldn't say explicitly.

Even though I agree that Apollo's backstory doesn't click as well (we can see it was a last minute thing) I don't believe it takes away from what his past was. From his rather tragic origins, and the charm of the strong familial bond he has with Dhurke, neither the care and wish to reconnect with Nahyuta and protect him, who's either a dear childhood friend or a brother (depending on the version) but still, both are part of the childhood Apollo thought as lost, and who then forced himself to forget. If you ask me, it's of my favorite parts of the game, and I wish that if we get AA7, we get a passing comment about the family Apollo now has in Khura'in.

I simply like Spirit of Justice a lot. It's not the best AA installment objectively, but it is my personal favorite for the ambience, the build up, the characters and script (I feel only the amazing AA4 wins over AA6 in the script department but come on... It's AA4, ofc it wins.) and the over the top story that somehow makes sense within the universe. It is such a joy to play and get invested in everything that's going on, to laugh and to cry, and that makes to me a wonderful game.

It doesn't deserve much of the hate that it gets or to be the butt of the joke (neither does Dual Destinies, but AGAIN, a different conversation) however, every time I see complaints against the game I feel like most people just had a different experience than me.

At least I enjoyed it!

[popchoc]

Grey's 20x04

Or: The big return of Dr. Arizona Robbins!

Boy, was it good to see her again, shining bright as always and looking taller than ever (okay, she was standing next to Bailey for most of the time, but still - lol). I'm gonna be honest though: the writing this episode wasn't particularly good (imo), and many parts were rushed which didn't help either (I just hate it when someone says 'no' and then someone else comes with three semi-profound lines and the first one goes 'okay then' just like that. Even when it's one of our beloved super docs.) Also there were ZERO remarks about current life in NY, or about their shared past except for 'this room looks different' which felt like a waste. If it weren't for some very typical Arizona traits that made me go 'ah there she is!' this guest part could've really been anyone.

Sooo, let's try again in early season 21, shall we?!? *insert puppy eyes*

The rest of the episode didn't really stand out either. It was a bit like S19 last week: too much, and too messy. It felt like they kept cramming people in (yet where's Helm?!), just for the sake of it, at the expense of the stories that were actually worth telling. I'm sorry, but I'm just not feeling Teddy's story, and Richard please, retire already - you've been talking about it since season 2 fcol!!

In the meantime we could have had an actual investigation about those season finale shenanigans (yes, they finally addressed them choosing Teddy over their dying patient!!), including interviewing the attendings who were very MIA at that crucial moment, and work with the consequences of those conclusions (instead of Bailey's personal ones), besides - as said - a better written story around Arizona.

The mini arc that I did like was about Jules and her brother (and his patient), that made me see how she learned to scream so well (see: last week) and let to more bonding between her and Mika. Mika in general was a blast again, and I'm glad she got some rectification.

My personal highlight this week though, was Amelia taking the stairs. Cause in this universe, we all know what that foreshadows... hahaha.