#such a cool ship name i wish lesbians were real

[collectingavenuesmwue]

What did you remember from arcane season 2?

jayvik canon.. yes…

[exocynraku]

spoilers for a starless clan: wind here are my thoughts!

okay, PACING! it was GOOD! originally i thought it was a little slow up until the end, but now that i've thought about it some more i think its fine NEW KITS! YIPPEE! and THREE new prefixes! pretty awesome. i'm happy about that. though, i ABsoLUTELY hate that theres TWO greypaws. but, greypaw riverclan i assume will probably get his warrior names sooner rather than later so meh story wise, i liked it! especially frostpaws povs. sunbeams and nighthearts were both good, but frostpaws was best. i like everything that happened, and especially the tenser moments like during the storm & when frostpaw rescued leafkit. when was the last time we had a storm LOL?

okay, now onto the bulk of the story. splashtail! is. SO COOL! not in like a he's a good person was, but in a he's really interesting way. i loved all his scenes, and he really feels like a real villain. i also think podlight's dynamic with him is INCREDIBLY interesting, since he's curlfeathers brother. i wonder what'll come of that when splashtail is defeated (?) !!! excited!!! i also though the end of the book was IN.SANE!!!!!!!! berryheart found riverclan, JOINED, and then became deputy after harelight was killed! that's honestly crazy, and not what i was expecting AT ALL! also i love mothwing, duskfur and icewing. i'm really really excited to see what goes down with them. ALSO FROSTPAW AND WHISTLEPAW NUMBER ONE LESBIANS FOREVER!!! i was sort of on the fence on that ship only because my memory is too balls to properly remember the exact bits of their interactions together, but after some of the things frostpaw said to whistlepaw while whistlepaw was in the med den OOOHUUUHUHUHU i love them... overall, good book! not like, the most incredible thing i've ever read, i DO sort of wish MORE things happened, but it was still good !

[frozenfirecats]

Pirate101 ask Meme!!!

Questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6,7, 9, 10, 12, 18,27, 28, 34, 38, and 41!!!

oh man that's a lot of questions, ok lets go

1 - Favorite crew member/companion?

bonnie anne my beloved. she’s so cool I wish foxes were real.

2 - Favorite world?

marleybone. the aesthetics and music go hard and the story peaks here

4 - What is your favorite class to play as and why?

musketeer for soloing cause it's the easiest imo and also the most fun, privateer for group play cause I like playing support

5 - What are the backstories for your Pirate? (Parents' death, where were they trained, Etc.)

Esmee: armada/skull island. Grew up among the rats in the sewers, having to steal what she could to get by, leading to her being quite adept at sneaking and using daggers. Strongly despises the Armada since she lost her parents to them, so she tends to be a lot more reckless whenever in a battle against clockworks.

Remmy: storm/marleybone. Was aboard a ship with his parents and sister, Maeve, when a storm struck. His parents died in the storm while he and Maeve where separated. After which, he was found by a Marleybonian ship and the dogs took him in. He grew up in Marleybone training to be a privateer but eventually found ranged weapons to be more to his liking. Was aboard a cargo ship tranporting weapons to Port Regal when he got captured in ambush by the Armada, and met Esmee that way.

Brynn: lost/marleybone. AU character of my ice wiz Brynn, just thought it would be fun to have her as a pirate so yeah no backstory.

Flint: mutiny/mooshu. haven't really worked out a backstory for him, this is just what it says in game. Will likely be change once I develope him more.

Maeve: squid/krokotopia. As mentioned earlier, she is Remmy's sister who was seperated in a storm (that a squid may or may have not been present in idk yet). Ended up in Krok where she learned magic.

6 - Who is your LEAST favorite crew member/companion and why?

wing chun, his voice and personality is a bit grating. idk I don’t really hate any of the mainline companions, and most of the non-story ones aren’t memorable and are lackluster combat-wise so they all meld together, so again I don’t have strong negative feelings towards any one in particular.

7 - How many Pirates do you have?

six, have five maxed out, the sixth was actually my first pirate I made, a musketeer named Ingrid, but I didn't make it that far into the tutorial before stopping. Later I made Esmee and it was then I got super into the game. I don't plan on questing with Ingrid anytime but I don't really feel like deleting her so she's just kinda there

9 - Any headcanons for your crew?

uuuuhhhheeeeuguh i got nothing sorry

10 - What does your flag look like? What are your crew colors?

Esmee

Remmy

Brynn

Flint

Maeve (hopefully I stay settled on this one instead of changing it a fifty more times)

12 - Do you headcanon anyone as LGBTQIA+? If so, who?

yeah I got a few. Bonnie: Lesbian, Ratbeard: gay, Toro: bi, Gracie: aro/ace, Sarah: lesbian. I would include Catbeard but that's canon now so.

as for my pirates, Esmee: ace, Remmy: bi, Brynn: pan, Maeve: trans mtf.

Flint is the token straight who's on thin ice

18 - Opinions on Cool Ranch?

love Cool Ranch. Visually it's gorgeous and the music absolutely slaps, however some parts of it drag and I don't like having to choose between wearing something culturally offensive or having shitty stats for my witchdoctor.

27 - Is there anything you wish was in the game? (Crafting? Fishing?)

tbh I find crafting really annoying in wiz so I hope it never comes to pirate. But I would love to see events akin to wiz's lost pages/five boxes. Especially five boxes I would love to see pirate get its own version of that.

28 - How long have you been playing Pirate101?

at least 3 years, can't remember exactly when I started

34 - What are the hardest and easiest parts of the game to play for you?

easiest is pretty much everything up until Cool Ranch, which is where the difficulty starts to ramp up. hardest is definitely the new updates, Tartarus and Wheeler especially.

38 - Is there anything you hope for in a future update(s)? What would you like to see?

would really love to go to Albion sometime. as for features, pretty much stuff we already have in wiz like character name/appearance changing, option to hide quests, and setting a minimum player requirement for team up, and please for the love of all that is holy give us the option to trash doubloons

41 - How did you first discover Pirate101? (Commercial, a friend, fanart, etc.) What inspired you to play?

kind of always knew about it through wiz, wasn't until around 2020/2021ish that I got interested in playing

[dream-bandit]

ZOEY AND ASTRID FOR ASK GAME-?

HELP I KEEP POSTING THINGS THEN COMPLETLEY FORGETTING I DID OKAY. Grins

Astrid first so my brain warms upp

I FEEL SO. !! About her sometimes. I think shes really awesome and cool and I really love how shes disability rep too like IDK idk how to word it but i love how it isnt like A central point of her character seemingly but it does affect her and its touched on in episode 15. I love how they let her clap back logan for basically asking her "why are you disabled" SHES GOATED WITH THE SAUCE I also like how shes into fairytales yipeeee

Romantic ships

Beastlyperfect (Logan X Astrid)- ITS SOOOO PEAK They work so well i think and. theyre so cool i really love them Their dynamic is awesome to me. um idkwhat to say hold onnnnn.

I think how theyre like beauty and the beast kinda... Like astrid follows the rules but logan is wild and does her own thing and then they both fall for each otherrr. Their first friendly intereaction makes my brain go insane AND also how Logan actually reads books to get better to be able to defeat her THEY MAKE EACH OTHER WANT TO BECOME STRONGER ITS SO PEAK

Perfectpitch (Astrid x Zoey) I never even thought about them until i heard the ship name existed then one day they plopped into my head and now i love them I LOVE THEM A LOT. I dont think ive shared this sketch here so take this little food

IDK I really just. like them. IF you think about how they mightve encountered each other before the whole brooklyn bureau gets remade Like... Vigilante that doesnt like the system and then perfect girl who follows all the rules and keeps up with all the regulations and is kinda trapped.in it all. And then they meet again during the rem trails for real this time and IDK ITS PEAK TO ME. They are so yuriful

Non romatnic OTP

GOLDENDUST DUOO Astrid and Cooper i think they would be awesome friends because they both have a lot of pressure on them IDK. Gay man and lesbian friendship. Cooper is expected to be perfect and astrid also kinda is and she also pushes herself to be perfect And she probably has a lot of academic rewards too because in her room in the midnight ravens instructions She has trophies and #1 ribbons

HER AND IZZIE WOULD BE GOATED TOOO. um i cant thinkl of any other duo rip

WISH

IDK I really wish she aws a bittt more invloved with the plot than she was idk i feel like she kinda got back burnered a bit compared to some of the others. like wasnt she the first to wake up during the final battle </3

ZOEY

Okay if youve seen my .posts you mightt be aware that I. really like zoey!

I feel a lot about them. I dont like relate to them in a deep way but something about her makes me so drawn to her character i think about her constantly. I think about zoey when i wake up when im at school and when i go to sleep. I have like 10 pages in my sketch book dedicated to litrearlly just doodles of her and no one else. I think about her a lott. I think shes a realllyyy interesting character

Shes heavily tied to the dream world in a way she didnt even know and its. like.

Every other of the main kids just happened their way into the situation but zoey and the rest of her family were doomed from near the start like the MOMENT beau weilded that sword it was all over for them all. Shes connected to THE fundemental character of the plot (other than Lunia because she haunts the narrative like crazy) and the way shes the opposite of the Night hunter but also very similar is so crazy. I think a screw got loose in my brain when i first saw the headcanon that she looks exactly like Beau except for her eyes Like that drove me crazy and it spawned so many ideas.

Shes very much beaus daughter while also striving to be everything hes not. If that makes sense

I also think her not liking the Night Bureau at first is really interesting and should be talked about more tbhhh ! She doesnt like to conform to strict rules and believes in a TRULY free dream world where everyone has their own space and whatnot.

Shes self sacrifical too. I dont doubt she would throw herself away if she had to to save the dream world from the nightmares. No one mentions this but its so obvious in Songs of the Mist. The memory of her mother, the knowledge of playing instruments and her mothers song all meant SO MUCH to her that she crys while in the space bus with everyone else because she thinks shes lost it forever. It means a lot to her and is very important to her in a way that i dont think i can properly describe.

YET. YET WHEN THEY ALL THINK THEY NEED TO GIVE UP A MEMORY TO FIX THE HOURGLASS. SHE DOESNT HESITATE TO GIVE IT UP

SHE DOESNT HESITATE TO GIVE UP WHAT CLEARLY MEANS SO MUCH TO HER, TO BE ABLE TO BE A STEP CLOSER TO FREEING THE DREAM WORLD.

SHE LITERALLY SAYS. "This isnt about me"

I think theres something really tragic and sad about that about how she is willing to give up a part of what makes her HER to be able to fix the hourglass. That is genuienly one of the strongest character moments in Season 1 and i dont think anyone talks about it enough.

She has a background tainted by her father yet she will do anything she can to make the world a better place.

Shes the best dreamzzz character hands down to me. Theres so much to go into with her. Its tragedy and perserverance and her way of getting through it and how shes managed to find a group she fits in with IDK. Shes just a really good character with a lot to think about. And how a lot of her is about family and how she really is a combination of beau and hannah but shes also her own unique person. Theres a lot to go into with her. I love zoey

ROMANTIC SHISP

OKAYYY UMM Number one is Perfect Pitch (Astrid X Zoey) I went over this in the previus half. Theyre so silly together theyre so yuri

Guitarpaint Zoey X Mateo I LIKE IT ITS FUN I really like how they can kinda get their own passion for forms of art in a way no one else really does idk Theyre neat but i dont LOVE the ship i realy like it thoughh

NON ROMANTIC PAIRS

Zoey and beau oh my godddddd I could talk about them for a good while i have. so many thoughts and scenarios and what ifs and ideas for them. I really ahte them I really do. Maybe its cause of my own rocky relationship with my father but theres something about Zoeys forgiveness and Beaus willingness to never hurt her again that drives me crazy because of all of their history together already it. Its truly something I dont know why they allowed this to be in the show theyre so complex It makes me crazy

ZOEY AND IZZIE Theyre literally older sibling younger sister to me I think izzie is a good influence on zoey like how she is on mateo helping with anxiety and stuborness and stuff And zoey trusts her a lot but also looks out for her because to her izzie is still "a little kid who hasnt seen the Horrors" and she hopes izzie can maintain that childhood innocence and wonder for as long as she can. Being with izzie helps zoey stop stressing about everything and focus on the things in the present moment bc of how izzie doesnt think much about bigger pictures and focuses on the moment and having fun. I think theyre really awesome

Unpopular opinion UHHH. Im not too sure really because i dont know what the popular opinions are

FIRST OF ALL. I think weshould focus a little bit more on how zoey is as much as a cringefail loser as the next guy PLEASE If youve seen the Diary of a Dream Bandit shorts that one of her starting out and completely fumbling to save the dreamer plays constantly in my head.. I feel like she was still in a bit of childhood mindset where everything works out During that time. With the way she makes it known shes the Dream Bandit like shes trying to become a cool vigilante hero SHES SOOO CRINGE I LOVE HER.

SECOND. GUYS. PLEASE. PLAESE. I cant keep seeing her and beau being okay and normal GUYS PLEASE ZOEY IS PROBABLY VERY CONFLICTED ABOUT BEAU. LITERALLY. LITERALLY THE WAY SHE TRIES TO START THEIR RELATIONSHOP AGAIN IS BY LITERALLY TRYING TO IGNORE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED LIKE I FEEL LIKE SHES TRYING TO AVOID THAT CONFLICT BECAUSE SHE KNOWS ITLL BRING UP HARSH FEELINGS FOR HER AND SHE JUST REALY DOES WANT TO MAKE UP WITH HER FATHER AND HAVE HIM IN HER LIFE BUT. BUT HES DONE SO MUCH. "I think we need a hard reset" NO GIRL I THINK YOU SHOULD TALK THINGS OUT THOROUGHLY THIS ISNT THE WAY

Third IDK IDKNO ONE TALKS ABOUT THEM ENOIGH THEYRE SOOOOOO. INTERESTING PLEASE GUYS I CANT BE THE ONLY ONE FIXATING ON HER. I genuinely think I'm her biggest fan and it hink this long ass post is only proving my point GUYS PLEASEe no one gets my insanity other than like a single oomf YOU GUYS DINT UNDERDTAND WHAT SHE MSKES ME FEEL. last week I was in the school cafeteria for an event and when I saw fan art of zoey I literslly dropped from my seat to the floor and started shaking excitedly while shrieking. I LOVE ZOEY SO MUCH

WISH!!! I really wish we got to see more conflict between her and Beau likee i feel she forgave him way too quickly like girl that musty guy kinda ruined your life 😭 Shes literally NEAR HYPERFIXATED on taking him down she literally says in the dream bandit shorts that people say she's OBSESSED with defeating him. guys we don't talk about this enough please I can't be the only one thinking about this

[seasaltmemories]

17, 24, and 25 for the choose violence ask game!!!

there should be more of this type of fic/art

I am usually not the type to tell ppl what they should create so take this as my personal taste but genuinely I would love more divorce/break-up fic that doesn't demonize any particular person

Like yeah these are harrowing events that often leave ppl hurt and betrayed, but looking into why a relationship fails can be just as interesting as why it works

A big problem I know is the idea that these would be inherently anti-whatever ship but really when I found a divorce fic for my otp I was excited. Honestly my big let down was the scathing critique was "they were too young to get married" rather than digging into their actual relationship

topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

Comphet fictional discourse. Genuinely a real thing, but ppl give way too much credit to cishet creators who have never heard of Adrienne Rich. Like I don't trust anything that doesn't already have five separate queer characters already to actually get into such a complex topic. If they can't write a normal straightforward gay relationship, then they ain't even thinking of comphet.

And headcanons are headcanons, go wild, but the justifications some people will use for them often act like you can't be truly attracted to anyone unless they are you're one true love. It turns the vast complexity of queer experience into a little white picket fence nuclear family ideal. At worst you get annoying shipping wars where "oh this long term relationship with their love interest doesn't actually mean anything bc they aren't married with 2.5 kids to" to genuine vile abuse rhetoric like, "sexual and domestic violence doesn't happen if you are capable of being attracted to someone"

TLDR: HC Utena as a comphet lesbian all you want, but if you argue that if she was bisexual she wouldn't be actually harmed by Akio grooming and assaulting her, you are evil.

common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Ppl acting like the only media options are big name corporate franchises or fanfic. Fanfic can be fun and meaningful without it being the only bastion of marginalized experiences. That's so much pressure to put on ppl's silly little stories and it ignores the wealth of small time creators who are putting their heart and soul into original stories across every medium

Please just don't rely on what trends on twitter or shows up on your dash. Some of my most transformative media experiences have been bc I took a chance on a book/show with a cool cover. I've found out stories of intense familial abuse and recovery using the Arthurian mythos, horror stories about a young girl and her gay brother-in-law both being haunted by the death of her older brother in different harrowing ways, surrealistic art-pieces about family and what makes it worth returning to, and quiet meloncholy domestic stories that use magic to show both the pain of being othered, but the join in finding community that does support you.

And I am not even intentionally seeking out indies particularly often! So many people are creating the art you wish to see already, you just got to go out searching for them

[caniscanemnoest]

Waddup fam 🦇 It's Dollyyyy, this is my dead account that I keep to avoid posting off topic stuff on my art account (Don't worry I do not use this blog to """spy""", it's connected to my art account with the same email so no, I can't use it for that :))

Look I know y'all think I'm Satan and you won't even bother to read but here goes:

1. You can trust me when I tell you that we were ALL absolutely shocked and disgusted by how brutal the anonymous message about random was when Jay received it, I was literally horrified myself. We have no fucking idea who wrote it since it was anonymous and we're still trying to figure it out. However it doesn't take a genius to tell that the message was written by a child (and as far as we know this person is still among you inside your server so I'd be careful). Jay only posted it because they literally ASKED everyone in stm to give an opinion, none of us agree with it's brutality (and terrible grammar too lol) nonetheless I agree, nobody should EVER receive this sort of insult.

2. It's cool that Random is bi....and? Does it automatically excuse the fact that she silences our lesbian voices and our freedom of expression and projection by saying we're...."fetishizing lesbians"???? How can lesbians fetishize lesbians??? How are we fetishizing our OWN identity??? We're not cishet men????? Then the moment we try to say we like to make headcanons for our representation y'all claim that Kaetty is NOT a lesbian ship anymore since it's not two girls (spoiler alert, nonbinaries like me can be lesbos too)????? Make up your mind then??? Also I'm sorry, I really am, but what kind of fucking feminist is against abortion rights and thinks silencing lesbians on their own voices and opinions is fair? Bisexuals and lesbians have two very DIFFERENT types of struggles, and having one speaking over the other is not "feminism" or "opinion"....it's just bigoted.

3. I have no idea of what any of this segment about clout for mental illness is so I don't think it would be fair for me to give an opinion about it (altho i'll be real here, romanticizing and wishing to be an hikikomori is not cool, it's a SERIOUS issue and a HUGE problem. Glad they're getting help tho :)

4. Nah Random knew I changed my pronouns over the years, I made an announcement about it later on (I think in the intro channel or something?). I came out as full nonbinary and everyone has always been using "they/them" ever since, including Random. She never once called me "her". I literally told her personally so she could change my roles to "They/them" lol. Strangely the only moment she misgenders me is once i leave the server, wonder why she never did it while i was still there 🤔 (and let's not even get into me being called a "bitch" and "the goth one" even tho i got a name and y'all know it very well. She just loves to dehumanize you when she's mad at you ig 🩷)

5. This one's cool, thank you so much for clarifying. Wish we could've talked about the girl/boy meme topic like civil humans SOONER. I appreciate the explanation tho, since from a different point of view it just sounded like y'all were gendering Kae. I like this one :)

Ok that's it from me, hope to hear again from you bestie byeeeeeeeee 🦇🦇🦇

@buttercupdemon

A Cautionary Tale of Small Fandoms

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒻𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓇𝒾𝒻𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝓉𝓌𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎

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[carmensbroom]

I've once again had 6 hours to process everything I saw in season 4 so I'm just gonna say my thoughts on it (hold onto your fedoras again folks)

first off, WE FOUND OUT GRAY'S LAST NAME?? I was so shocked and happy at the same time I love how everyone asked for player's real name and we ended up with gray's surname for some reason shsjsj. NOBODY ASKED FOR THAT BUT THEY DELIVERED ANYWAY

ALSO GRAHAM IS AN ORPHAN?? my precious boy *throws mommy's boy headcanon out the window*

the second episode really had me shipping carmivy they're so cute we got a girl's trip and I'm all for it

I think I may now be a dash haber stan but let's not make a big thing of it

also ivy eating the chocolate in the middle of a mission deserves an honorable mention because of her cute little tongue (I'm weird okay djsjsjs)

zack trying to bond with shadowsan and him having none of it was delightful

that fucking robot god damn bellum really thought of everything didn't she every time I thought it was gone it made a come back I literally said out loud "carmen is so fucked"

I SWEAR TO GOD EVERY TIME GRAY TALKED ABOUT CARMEN I KEPT THINKING HE WAS GONNA SAY "BECAUSE I LOVE HER" IN WHICH CASE I WOULD HAVE DIED AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY

yall have no idea how relieved I was when I found out that photo of julia was her and her (presumably) mother and NOT a boyfriend sjsjsjs

catch me making a headcanon that julia has a single mom because her father disowned her for coming out as gay based on that picture alone 😭

I'M SORRY BUT THE AMOUNT OF FLIRTING BETWEEN CARMEN AND JULES?? PLEASE THEY'RE SECRET GIRLFRIENDS JUST ADMIT YOU CENSORED THEM AND GO

OKAY BUT WHEN THEY WERE IN JULIA'S OFFICE AND CARMEN SAID "WAY TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART JULES" AND SHE WAS LIKE "YOU REMEMBERED" I LOST IT WHAT DID CARMEN REMEMBER JULES?? DID THEY HAVE A CONVERSATION OFF SCREEN? MAYBE I'M JUST A BIG HUGE LESBIAN BUT THAT'S A BIT GAY LADIES

carmen getting all worried when julia wasn't answering her phone was the blessed gay content I signed up for PLEASE THEY CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER SO MUCH

never thought I'd say this but I loved devineaux this season he was funny, he improved his treatment towards julia (I don't recall him officially apologising I must have missed something djsjsjs)

the only thing I didn't like was it kinda seemed like they were trying to hint that chase and jules were into each other and I didn't really vibe with that

all that shit with dr bellum and the crown for cleo really had me thinking cleobellum was gonna be canon what a clown I am (seriously tho the way she lost it when the crown got stolen GIVE IT BACK IT BELONGS TO HER WIFE)

look all I'm saying is: tigress new outfit in the egypt episode was hot

HER FACE AT THE END AFTER SHE GOT TRAPPED WITH ALL THOSE BUGS

I wish julia and gray could have met there's so much friendship potential there 😭

is player... is he a bit 💅 I SEE THAT PRIDE STICKER ON YOUR LAPTOP YOUNG MAN YOU'RE NOT SUBTLE

ngl I nearly teared up when player finally met carmen in person

I'M SORRY BUT JULIA'S BLUSH IN EPISODE 7 PLEASE SHE'S SO SMITTEN WITH CARMEN IT'S BRILLIANT

EVIL CARMEN WAS REALLY SOMETHING ELSE I WAS SO SCARED SHE'D BE STUCK LIKE THAT FOREVER

I mentioned this in another post but when julia was like "don't you remember me? I'm your girlfriend friend, jules" I NEARLY FUCKING CRIED THEY WERE GETTING KINDA CLOSE AND THEN CARMEN GOT MIND WIPED

JULIA TOPS JULIA TOPS I SAID IT ALL ALONG AND IT'S TRUE SHE REALLY PINNED VILE CARMEN THAT'S TOP BEHAVIOR (also this now makes carmen a bottom I don't make the rules)

kinda shocked that paper star was hardly here I don't stan her so it didn't bother me much but still it was just strange they didn't use her this season

when shadowsan whipped out the last doll and carmen had all those flashbacks to when she was at vile I nearly started crying AGAIN

I LEGIT THOUGHT CARMEN HAD KILLED GRAY DJSJSJS AN ELECTRICIAN GETTING ELECTROCUTED THAT'S SOME IRONY RIGHT THERE

gray really confused me towards the end he kept switching sides every five minutes for the whole season I wasn't sure whether to trust him half the time dhshsjs

THE LOOK ON CARMEN'S FACE WHEN SHE THOUGHT SHE'D KILLED GRAY WAS SO HEARTBREAKING AND THEN SHE STARTED CRYING OH MY GOD I'M SORRY BABY

the way she's always been against hurting people/taking lives and then she ended up hurting all the people she loves (she nearly killed zack for god sake) really hit me hard

gray's ending was... kinda weird I understood the parallel of him not wanting to complicate carmen's life like she said about him in season 2 but it was still kinda strange that they didn't have one more conversation or get any closure

I'm obviously kinda upset that carulia wasn't canon they had so much potential imo and the show isn't about romance anyway BUT I'm happy with the content we got and THEY FLIRTED SO MUCH THEY'RE CANON IN MY HEART

THE TEAM RED GROUP HUG KILLED ME IT WAS SO CUTE

kinda annoyed that carmen just straight up left zack and ivy she really just left a note and said YEET

ivy's voice crack when she read the note got me all choked up

ngl I'm still not entirely sure how it ended I had to rewatch it a few times to understand what they were trying to imply sjsjsj

would have loved to know carmen's given name but at the same time she's literally THE carmen sandiego that's who she is, it would be silly to go by a name that she doesn't connect with just because her parents gave her it

her mom being a regular citizen was kinda bittersweet I mean a plot twist would have been good but at the same time it would make the story even more complicated

*dreams of a spinoff movie where we get better closure on everything*

ACME IVY ACME IVY I'M NOT AN IVY STAN BUT DAMN IF I AIN'T SIMPING FOR ACME IVY

I know carmen didn't want revenge but I feel like chief got let off with killing her father way too quickly if I'm honest sjsjsj

JULIA BEING IN CHARGE OF FINDING CARMEN'S MOM OH MY GOSH

I feel so bad for laughing when julia got knocked out the way the cloth fell on her head sent me but when the pole hit her head I was like "OKAY I TAKE IT BACK THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE"

was not expecting julia to physically fight anyone I mean she's always been so calm and collected and then this season she was like fuck it might as well hit a few people before we finish forever

wishing carmen and jules could have hugged or had a scene together where they talked about stockholm but I won't complain it wouldn't have really made sense anyway considering they were cool with each other at the university

so glad the trailer was misleading about the coach brunt situation I really didn't want her to get a last minute redemption

another honorable mention: cleo snapping at julia "DON'T YOU DARE IMPLY THAT I AM COMMON" sent me djdjs she was just stood there like "I am but a humble history lesbian leave me be"

I think that's everything I'll probably add to it later if I think of anything or I might make a part 2 djsjsjs (I've been writing this for almost an hour now 😭)

overall I enjoyed it from start to finish. I haven't really cried about it ending yet I'm still processing everything but I'll probably have a little sob when it finally hits me djsjsjs

CARULIA NATION WE BASICALLY WON NOW EXCUSE ME WHILE I REWATCH ALL THEIR SCENES TOGETHER AND MAKE IT MY ENTIRE PERSONALITY

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

all my tubes and wires and careful notes

Fandom: Kamen Rider Ghost

Characters: Tsukimura Akari, Alia

Song: "She Blinded Me With Science," Thomas Dolby (playlist here)

Note: Thank you to @si-siw for letting me borrow your headcanon and infecting me with this ship! I hope you enjoy the story!

The skies of the Ganma World may be clear, but the ground remains in a state, and so Akari and Igor have been working non-stop for nearly five hours when they hear a quiet, polite cough and look up to see Alia standing in the laboratory doorway. When she has their attention, she says, softly, “Are you on the verge of any particular scientific breakthroughs?”

Igor seems poised to launch into an extended explanation of what they’ve been working on, but Akari cuts him off with, “Not really. Decent progress, but nothing big yet.”

“I see. Thank you.” Then, directly to Igor, “In that case, I will need to borrow Miss Akari for a short period. You should use this time to have a meal, you’ve been working for some time.”

Blinking, Akari makes sure all of her notes are in order and then follows Alia out of the room and down the hall. “What did you need me for?”

She can see the curl of Alia’s tiny smile just from the way it changes her profile, before her mouth has even really moved. “I wanted company for lunch. And,” slightly more quietly, “I thought you might like some time out of Igor’s company.”

“I—yeah, I really do, thank you. He’s not a bad research partner, he’s just…” Akari gestures vaguely as she hunts for the right words and then settles on the diplomatic, “high energy. Plus at some point I’m going to have to explain the whole ‘I’m a lesbian’ thing and I’m not looking forward to it.”

“Is he very persistent?”

“No, you know, he really isn’t, but it’s still a conversation that we’ll need to have.” They turn a corner, go through a doorway, and are unexpectedly in a small sitting room, mostly plainly decorated, although one wall holds a painting that Akari blinks at. “Wait, did Cubi paint that?”

The tiny curl of a smile comes back. “He did. It makes the room brighter. Please, sit.”

Lunch is already served, the small table set with tea and sandwiches, and when Akari sees them her stomach growls, and she blushes. “Excuse me, I guess I am hungry.”

“Then sit down, please, and eat.”

Something seems odd as they sit down to eat, but Akari’s so hungry that she doesn’t bother working out what it is at first, in favor of wolfing down sandwiches as she gives Alia a progress report on the soil research. It’s nothing to do with the food, at least. Not the tea either, although the blend is unfamiliar. Certainly it isn’t Alia’s manner, she’s listening and asking thoughtful questions as always.

It’s—

“I love your manicure,” she’s saying, “sometimes I wish I could do fun stuff with my nails, but I do so much with my—I’m sorry.” She lowers her cup, blinking. “I just realized I don’t think I’ve ever seen your hands before.”

Alia looks down at her own hands, wrapped primly around her teacup. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t have.”

“I, if this is rude to ask then stop me, but do you hide them on ohh.” Akari trails off mid-sentence as a pattern of vividly pink circuitry pulses from Alia’s wrists to her manicured fingertips. “Oh, that’s beautiful.”

There’s a moment of silence as Alia stares at her in faint but obvious surprise. “Do you think so?” She lifts one hand from her cup and turns it in the air, as if she’s seeing it for the first time herself. “They’re prosthetic. My real hands were badly injured in one of the early trials of Eyecon technology. These are lifelike, but as you can see, they aren’t a perfect counterfeit.” The circuit pattern pulses down them again as she holds her hand out to Akari, a stylized eye appearing for a moment in the center of her palm. “My father preferred to address the issue as he addressed many others in his later life, by ignoring it, and so I became accustomed to keeping my hands concealed. In my Eyecon form they were whole, of course, but old habits are hard to break.”

Akari stares at Alia’s extended hand in shock and fascination. “I…wow, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a painful subject.”

“It’s all right. It was more than a hundred years ago at this point.”

“Oh, yeah, I suppose it…wait, if your hands are prosthetic then how did you manage the manicure? Are they acrylic?”

“They’re magnetic.” Suddenly smiling, Alia sets down her teacup and removes one of her pointed, painted thumbnails, revealing dull metal beneath, and then puts it back on. “Alain had several sets made for me as a gift shortly after we all returned to inhabiting our original flesh.”

“That was thoughtful of him.”

“He’s always been a thoughtful boy.”

Akari takes a sip of tea, amused by the reminder that of course Alain’s sister still thinks of him as a boy, and the meal continues in companionable silence for a few minutes until she realizes something else. “You were involved in the original Eyecon trials?”

Another one of those tiny curls of smile. “Of course. I was Edith’s research assistant for many years.”

“You were? Why didn’t he ever—of course he never mentioned, why would he give someone else credit. What parts of the project did you work on?”

“Oh, most of them, I’m primarily an engineer but I’ve dabbled in a number of scientific disciplines. And I do some design as well. Would you like to see my workshop?”

“I would love to.”

---

The first thing Akari sees are the notebooks. The heavy bookcase in Alia’s lab does hold some academic texts, but more than half of it is packed with enormous ledgers bound in dark leather, so many that she’s shocked the shelves don’t groan under their weight. Two more lie open on an enormous rolltop desk, their unlined pages filled with with notes and sketches in a tiny, precise hand. On the walls hang several large, heavy parchment sheets, on which are hand-drawn diagrams of machinery, hibernation capsules, an exploded Eyecon, and—

“Is that…Alain’s suit?”

“Yes.” Alia reaches up and trails a fond hand down the edge of the diagram, which is labeled Necrom—for Adel? Alain. “I designed it.”

“Oh.”

“And here is Makoto’s.” The next diagram, Makoto’s name written at the top in ink much less faded than the rest. “And the next one is an early draft of what eventually became Takeru’s, although Edith did some further work with it that he didn’t inform me about. He designed and built the transformation devices, but the suits are my work.”

“Oh, I…” Akari stares up at the diagrammed suits, the close-up sketches of tiny components, more of Alia’s perfect handwriting in notes that she can only partially read. Some are in Japanese, but others are in Latin, and more are in a language that she doesn’t recognize. There are more diagrams, too, rolled up in a wooden bin, each one neatly labeled. Specter 1.0, Necrom (Alternates), Wraith, Manes and Lemures, Eyecon (Prototype), Hands. And the tables—once she can tear her eyes away from the wall she sees that there’s a blank Eyecon disassembled on one table, and on another is an Ulorder with a panel open lying on top of yet another diagram, this one in different handwriting and weighed down at the corners with books. “This is the most beautiful room I’ve ever been in.”

“I am very glad that you think so.”

“I, I just.” A bit of futile gesturing as Akari struggles for words, and then, “Look, can I. Can I buy you dinner?”

Alia…blinks. “Pardon me?”

“I would, um, love to take you to dinner sometime, so we can. Talk. More. Because I really like talking to you. And, and maybe a concert or a movie or something, or there’s a History of Engineering exhibit at a museum near the temple, I know you haven’t gotten to visit the human world much and I could…show you around.”

There’s a long moment where Alia’s just staring at her and Akari considers the very serious possibility that she just messed up big time.

“I,” she starts again, “that is, if you want—”

“I would enjoy that.” Alia takes one of Akari’s hands in both of hers. Akari can feel how cool they are, the odd smoothness of the skin as pink circuits pulse down them, and normally she’d want to know more about that but right now there’s so much other stuff happening even if really it’s only one other thing. “A concert, if you know of one coming up, I think I get enough of engineering in the normal course of my day that maybe the museum might be better saved for a second visit.”

Akari’s ears are ringing. “There’s, um, a performance from a popular violinist coming up next Thursday night? Takeru gave me two tickets, he knows the performer…somehow…”

The curl of smile, small and warm and directly entirely at her. “I enjoy violin music. And we can discuss our work over dinner.”

If she nods any harder she’s going to get dizzy. “That. That sounds wonderful. I’ll, uh, I’ll pick you up at five!”

[ffamranxii]

Sailor Moon is the only series where I have different ships depending on the adaption. For the most part, manga and anime have the same ships, but the absolute curveball that was PGSM (my favorite adaption, hands down) gave me a TON of new ships I’d have never considered otherwise, who I DON’T ship in the manga/anime.

1. Usagi/Mamoru. Across all adaptions, I ship these two, and the reason is actually funny. I never used to like either of them, so I just shoved them together. It wasn’t until PGSM that I ever liked Usagi at all. I found her to be whiney and annoying in the anime, and once I got my hands on the manga, my dislike of anime Usagi had permeated too deep for me to like manga Usagi. PGSM Usagi is a much more expanded concept of Usagi as a whole, and Mamoru (while still embodying Sailor Moon’s very own Princess Peach) has a whole arc of development and backstory himself. PGSM is the only adaption in which I like Mamoru, even now.

2. Ami/Nephrite, PGSM only. PGSM has a whole side story for many of its minor characters and expands on the girls outside of the concept of senshi. Tbh PGSM is a slice of life show disguised as a tokusatsu, and it’s super apparent in how they treat the characters. Ami has an entire arc of her own where she ends up brainwashed and has several scenes with Nephrite, who is sort of the black sheep of the Shitennou for reasons that are never explained. This fledging relationship continues after Nephrite is reincarnated as human and it’s really cute to see Ami develop outside of her relationship with Usagi (her strongest relationship in this series) and the girls. Nephrite is hotheaded and angry at the world and Ami makes him just so soft.

3. Ami/Zoisite, manga and Crystal. While I very much detest the first two seasons of Crystal for their abominable animation (through no fault of the animators, I blame Toei and their complete disregard of their fans and employees), I DO like that they tried to work in the senshi/Shitennou romance that Naoko hinted at in the art books. It was stupid rushed but it’s the only incarnation that really attempts it. I wish it had had time to develop.

4. Rei/Minako, PGSM only. PGSM only deals with the Dark Kingdom (sadly) and Rei/Minako are its Haruka/Michiru. I actually ship them harder than I ship PGSM Usagi/Mamoru. Several episodes are given over to the development of their relationship, which is not easy to do given the way they took Minako in this series, and Rei is the only one of the girls to even have a real relationship with Minako, even over Usagi. They trust each other on a deep level, and fight with each others’ weapons at two critical points in the series.

5. Minako/Zoisite, PGSM only. Zoisite in this series, like most of the Shitennou, differs drastically from his manga and anime component, and I actually really like this one more than I like him in the anime and manga. Beryl’s hold on Zoisite is the weakest of all the Shitennou, and he spends his time doing exactly three things: playing piano, pining over Mamoru Endymion, and stalking Minako. (Truth be told, I enjoy his relationship with Endymion more, but the one with Minako leads into my next point.)

6. Minako/Kunzite, anime and manga. Minako managed to bag not one but two Shitennou with her love powers and that is a FEAT. You get it, girl. I really like the dynamic of two leaders together, and really enjoy Silver Millennium Minako/Kunzite fics.

7. Makoto/Motoki, PGSM only. This was another fun little thing PGSM did, and Makoto is the only other senshi to have a confirmed relationship in the series. Motoki himself is pretty fleshed out for a minor character, with his own little quirks (turtles!), and he is over the moon for Makoto. By the end of the series they’re engaged.

8. Haruka/Michiru, anime and manga. Who DOESN’T ship HaruMichi? I actually shipped HaruMichi way before I ever shipped anyone else on this list. Along with Touya/Yukito from Cardcaptor Sakura, they were THE definition of LGBTQ+ relationships (for me) for much of my childhood. They have an extremely adult relationship, possibly even an open relationship (or at least Michiru seems to have no problem with Haruka’s flirting hobby), which isn’t really something you see often in anime. I love them, they are goals.

9. Haruka/Michiru/Setsuna, anime and manga. Very specifically during the time they are raising Hotaru. Sometimes a family can be three moms and their child the incarnation of death and destruction and that’s beautiful. They’re just such a cohesive unit that I have a hard time believing that they live together and HaruMichi HAVEN’T invited Setsuna to join them from time to time. They’re also the first OT3 I ever shipped.

10. Helios/Chibiusa, anime and manga. I think the Helios/Chibiusa shippers are as numerous as the Usagi/Mamoru shippers tbh. Like Mamoru, Helios also is a damsel in distress for much of his arc (I guess the Tsukinos have a type, which raises some interesting questions about Ikuko and Kenji), and what I really liked was that, despite the single kiss they shared, it was never really pushed on us? I think Chibiusa/Helios is the first thing I ever shipped without the source material directly telling me to do so, because I wanted them together SO BAD and was SO PISSED they weren’t. 

11. Chibiusa/Hotaru, anime and manga. Another ship I put together on my own with no direction from the source material, and the first lesbian ship I ever did that with. They are just too close and love each other too much, and Chibiusa shares more pictures with Hotaru in official media (art books, stills, promo art) than her supposed future love interest Helios! They’re just a very sweet ship, two girls trying to figure out love and stuff. 

12. Setsuna/Endymion, anime and manga. Setsuna has a thing for Endymion, but never really seems to transfer that to Mamoru. I do like unrequited ships, and this one is my favorite.

HONORABLE MENTION

1. Ami/Usagi, PGSM. Ami has a huge lesbian crush on Usagi in this version. I’m not even making this up. She ends up brainwashed due to her insecurity and depression that Usagi is replacing her by making more friends and getting a boyfriend. Usagi, of course, is oblivious.

2. Kunzite/Zoisite, classic anime. Classic anime gave us (female) Zoisite and Kunzite (named Malachite in the dub I watched) as a couple, which I actually really enjoyed. I remember being disappointed when I read the manga and Zoisite was not only not female but also not banging Malachite. They were another adult relationship, way before HaruMichi existed, that I looked forward to seeing onscreen. I’m cool now with Zoisite not being female, and Malachite’s real name being Kunzite, but I still really like their relationship in classic. Plus, they’re the only ship that can crossover the adaptions in my brain to form the ultimate ot3 Minako/Zoisite/Kunzite. You get it, Minako.

[lgbtqiacab]

Thoughts of an angry feminist lesbian — Pride & Prejudice edition

Disclaimers: I know it's not all that pertinent to judge a 208 year old book with today's values but I never come to tumblr.com in order to be a productive member of society. I just like to rant in the void, like everyone else. I'm a simple woman, after all. Also I'm reading the gay version (Gay Pride and Prejudice by Kate Christie because I have no time for the straights anymore). Will update in time.

- Elizabeth Bennet is such an NLOG it hurts my soul. She is annoying as hell. She reeks of internalised misogyny. I'm very ambivalent with her character. I ship her really hard with Caroline Bingley though. Enemies to lovers is the way.

- Lydia should have been the heroine. Get it, girl. Premarital sex is the best sex, so I'm told. She absolutely does not deserve to be cut off from her family. Blame George Wickham. It's literally in his name that he's the culprit. No victim/slut shaming in this house. Ew.

- Kitty/Catherine "becoming good again and marrying some rando after not being around Lydia's bad influence" is slander. Stop.

- Mary does not deserve to be trashed on the tl 24/7. She also should have been the heroine. A woman with ambition? Who wants knowledge? That's my shit. Yeah she's struggling but who isn't??? She trying her best and (hopefully) enjoying herself and that's the most important thing. Also the real treasure was the friends we made along the way.

- About Mary again, she is always portrayed by perfectly conventionally attractive women in the latest adaptations and it makes my blood BOIL.

- Fitzwilliam Darcy, Caroline Bingley and Charles Bingley are all raging homosexuals.

- Darcy and Bingley are hiding a passionate relationship. They are so in love wow. You know I'm right.

- Darcy is that depressed homo™️ (the emo bf) and Bingley is the ray of sunshine who gets him out of his shell. I have so many headcanons about them. OTP. *cheff kiss*

- Give Mrs. Bennet a rest, she's the only one trying to help her daughters having a future. She is not "hysterical" or a comic relief to despise. She is making sure she and her children have a roof over their head after Mr. Bennet dies. That's called parenting. It is expected from a parent. Get ✨ it ✨ together ✨ y'all.

- Mr. Bennet is a horrendous father. I want to slap him. That mf does nothing else but despise the wide majority of his own children and makes fun at their expense. He's like respecting women (my own children too) who do not meet my conversational standards? Heck no. He doesn't give a flying fuck about what happens to his family after he dies. Sure man, read your books and be pedantic/detached from these "crazy women" all you want, so edgy of you. Also cutting his own daughter off?? What's up??? He'd probably be posting "I hate my wife jokes" and "edgy" sexist/transphobic/homophobic/anti-masks memes on facebook nowadays. He would say stuff like "wake up sheeple." Ew again.

- The Bennet family is sO dysfunctional jESUS-

- Catherine de Bourgh is a domineering woman (why is that a such bad thing, Austen???? I think it's very hot of her) and is basically a boomer BUT- in her defence, she is merely wishing for her daughter to be safe. Just like Mrs. Bennet. The times were harsh on unmarried women.

- William Collins is so bland, we get it, Austen. Don't get me wrong, he's a dumbass for sure but we get it, Austen.

- Btw my favourite thing about Austen is that she gives her name (Jane) to all the best/morally-upstanding/prettiest/most candid/kindest/angel-like characters and honestly whaT A MOVE. Our girl be manifesting before it was cool.

- "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you" is such a powerful phrasing. What an drama queen, love it. Ily < ymamttyhaiaaly

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Trails of Cold Steel IV:

WHY ARE THEY CALLED CLASS VII?

WHO ARE CLASS VI?

Anyway - I started playing Trails in August, and I’ve finally, finally caught up (yes I know Hajimari I can’t read Japanese) and like... what do I do now?

It’s a fantastic series and I’m so, so glad I picked up Trails in the Sky on a whim last summer

This game was long. Is it longer than the other ones? It felt that way

The best part was the first chapter because Rean wasn’t in it and yeah I still don’t like him!!! But seriously, it was astonishing how much more I was enjoying things without him

I audibly groaned when goddamn bonding points returned in the second chapter

Actually that was a lie, the best part was Any Time My Angel Estelle Was On Screen

I missed her so much

I let her get the final hit of the game against the boss because she’s the best

Speaking of angels I caught three Wazy cameos!!!

Also Gilbert came back and if there had been a camera on me... I quite literally teared up a little I was so thrilled

I hate the curse it is dumb and rips all the nuance out of the characters. People do not need a goddamn evil curse to be swayed to extremes by overzealous nationalism. Trails I know you are better than this, I played Sky and Crossbell

Fav new location was Milsante (liked Alster too, though). I really like going to tiny little outposts and villages in JRPGs, they make the world feel more real

What the hell was up with the Osgiliath Basin? As in, Giliath Osborne??? Is this going to be a Hajimari thing?

Oh yeah, HOT TAKE, Alan Richard >>> Giliath Osborne. I was reading an LP of Sky FC while playing the game, and Richard’s motivation is clearer and less over-complex, more sympathetic, and he’s just generally a far more human character

Alan Richard best political antagonist in the series fight me (Rufus Albarea distant second)

For best supernatural/cult-y antagonist I’m stuck between Weissmann and Joachim. Or maybe Campanella lol

Oh uh speaking of characters named Georg I will never not hate everything about the George and Angie subplot. Angie should have died and George should have stayed evil, or it shouldn’t have happened at all. As it is, it was a complete waste of time - you could take it all out and NOTHING would change

Angie would have been the perfect character to sacrifice as well, she’s just important enough that it would feel like ‘oh shit’s getting real’ but not so important that it’s unbelievable

(like Olivier. I could not fully believe they’d actually kill him, and the moment Laura told me ‘they never found the bodies’ I was like, oh, so they’re definitely all still alive, cool)

I mean, it would be a Bury Your Gays, but honestly... there are things I like about Angie, but is anyone really looking to her as a lesbian role model? I hope not. Yikes

So yeah I guess I hate George now for getting my hopes up and then being boring. Shame

I did the Towa romantic ending, of course. I genuinely think she’s the best match for Rean, of all his love interests

Chaaaracters

Rean: Still the least interesting person. Not a good sign when I’m sadder about the robot dying than the main protagonist yeeting himself into the sun (side note, the two endings thing? Unnecessary and dumb). There is no reason girls would like him this much, blah blah I’ve said it all before. Liked his new hair. Honestly would have respected it if they’d had the balls to kill him off. I basically never even used him in battle lol, Juna became my new team leader

Juna: Honourary protagonist imo. I’ve changed my mind since CS3, she’s my fav new Class VII without a doubt. She’s just really good and full of personality and depth and OH GOD WHY IS SHE CRUSHING ON REAN WHY FALCOM WHY

Kurt: pls falcom don’t try to force this aroace king into a nonsense ship with Sully I liked her but what are you doing, anyway Kurt is great and he got cool new swords and he got to hang out with Mueller, who I adore, I love Kurt

Altina: I also love this little bunny. Her relationship with Millium is so lovely and seeing her grow and become her own person made me so happy and OH GOD WHY IS SHE CRUSHING ON REAN WHY FALCOM I LITERALLY SAID SHE HAS THE BEST RELATIONSHIP WITH REAN OF ALL THE GIRLS BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T DO THAT IN THE LAST GAME WHY DO YOU HATE ME????

Musse: Yeah I’m still not sold on Musse but I liked her better this time! I like a smart, confident girl! Just stop being weird about your teacher and we’d be golden!

Ash: Good boy. Sweet boy. Ash and Joshua game now Falcom

Alisa: Still cannot believe she’s presented as the deuteragonist by the marketing - but you know what? Solid arc, she got some closure with her parents, maybe she and Jusis can get together for tea and complain about their messed up families. She’s never going to be a character I like all that much, but I don’t dislike her. I just wish she hadn’t clearly been written as ‘Rean’s love interest’ before anything else

Elliot: I love Elliot, I really do. I mean, I wish he hadn’t been flanderised to the point of speaking in music puns half the time, but he’s a solid, consistently pleasant character

Laura: Goddamnit Falcom please give Laura anything resembling an emotion regarding her dad dying. Also you tell me she’s kind of oblivious and stuff but we never see it. I like Laura but she really could have been more

Machias: I love Machias, fight me fan base. He’s so funny to me. It feels like, at this point, all he really wants is a nice office job, near a nice coffee shop, where he files papers and sometimes gets to yell at corrupt rich people, but NO, he has to run about in dungeons and fight monsters, and are you FUCKING kidding me, ANOTHER crazy snake cultist!?!? It’s great, he’s the only one who’s just done with it all and love it

I low key headcanon that he and Jusis are kinda dating at this point, but we don’t see anything because the games are from Rean’s POV and they don’t want to tell him because they know he’d be weird about it

Jusis: I still really like Jusis! He’s interesting, and his surrogate brother-sister relationship with Millium is so sweet (yes, I saw that bouquet catch, Falcom, and I hate it, stop it, gross). Awesome to see him confront his brother, obviously I let him have the final blow. Rufus was a great antagonist. Jusis has some of the best development over the games, and is also really fun to use in battle (apparently I am the only one who feels this way though :/ ah well)

Fie: I was surprised by how much I liked Fie’s confession scene, seeing as I don’t like Rean/Fie at ALL. Fie finally gets to have feelings about her dad, and we see her working with Zin at the end! Very happy for Fie, best girl

Emma: Ahhh I still find Emma kinda dull and exposition heavy, but she also had a nice arc, I liked her relationship with Rose, all good

Rose beat me at Vantage Masters for 40 minutes lol

Gaius: It’s still extremely funny to me that Gaius became one of the most important people on the continent *off screen*. And he still doesn’t really do anything. He has his own airship now, I guess. Justice for Gaius

Sara: Kind of faded from relevance after CS1, but I do really like her all the same. And I loved her speech at the end

Crow: At the end his hair got darker and everyone was like ‘you’re back to normal!’ and I literally did not realise he was meant to have been looking different

But anyway Crow is a really good character and I literally never didn’t enjoy him. I love the bit where Jusis and Machias team up to call him a cringy edgelord, because they are right. Crow is fantastic

Towa: Towa has never done anything wrong in her life and all of Erebonia should pay for her therapy

Patrick: I cannot believe how much I love Patrick now, compared to CS1. He’s just such a sweetie. Good boy

Elise: Take her to the sun with you, Rean. Pointless character

Alfin: Is she the heir now? I hope so. She’s such a funny character, not my fav, but I enjoyed her

Angie and George: Should have died, moving on

Celine: I love her, but did she really need a human form? No, no she did not. Great character though

Tita: Special mention, because you know what? I do not like this version of Tita! Like I said, I was reading FC recently and she was so much better there! Now a third of her lines are just her saying ‘Agate’ in various different tones. And it feels like she’s lost a lot of her confidence, where’s the little girl who followed us up Carnelia Tower? I would have preferred them to just not bring her back at all

Duvalie: Haha I love Duvalie she’s great. Stop implying that she’s crushing on Rean. Literally WHY would she. Ugh

Rose: Everything about Rose is great, I would play a full game about her backstory. More Rose

Ships!

Obviously I like Machias/Jusis because I am BASIC

I didn’t like Olivier/Schera back in Sky, but you know what? They sold me. It’s cute (even if I feel Schera’s character was neglected in favour of Being A Love Interest, sigh). Though I’m not sure when Olivier made the switch from ‘Schera is one of many people I flirt with’ to ‘Schera is my one and only’?

But am I the only person who’s kinda on the Oliver/Schera/Mueller train? I’m not normally into OT3s, but Olivier and Mueller have one of the best dynamics in the series, and Schera and Mueller would probably get along great if they were ever allowed to properly interact. And you know Olivier would be down

Like I say, I do not like Jusis/Millium at all, it’s not a ‘I like another ship better’ thing, it just massively skeeves me out because of the maturity difference 

Ash/Tatiana was unexpected but adorable

Patrick/Elise, because I want Patrick to be happy and Rean to be mad

Also Elise/Alfin, sorry Patrick

I hope Anton and Sharon really do get together. Sharon deserves unconditional love and Anton deserves a happy ending

Sharon also deserves to hook up with Sara like once

I also sort of feel like Sara/Claire would be fun

I’ve actually like Gaius/Linde from CS1, I’m happy it’s kind of a thing now!

If Lila/Maybelle is the LET’S GO LESBIANS Trails ship, then Emily/Theresia is LET’S GO BABY LESBIANS

Vincent/Margarita. They’re both horrible people. At least this way no one else has to deal with them

Joining my Kloe/Josette in the ‘crack ships I love that have very, very little canon basis’ is Fritz/Kairi, based on their interactions in that one mission and then that they’re eating together at Mishelam. It’s pretty much just a height differences thing, lol

Miles/Elnan. I have literally no justification for this

Other stuff There was this one scene where Gaius says how nice it is that Mueller cares about Olivier and Mueller just snaps his head round and the scene ends, and I don’t think it was meant to be funny but I laughed for like a full minute

The intro to the music at Mishelam is extremely creepy to me

I love the Pom Party mini game a whole lot

There were... a lot of typos in the second half of the script. It’s massive, so I’m not mad, but I hope there’s a patch at some point

BERYL BERYL BERYL BERYL BERYL I love her

Uh if we’re still doing romance next arc please give us a gay option, no Crow did not count

I hate divine knight battles! I really do! That last one against Ishmelga was really hard and not in a fun way! In a ‘this is bullshit fake difficulty’ way. Please don’t bring them back!

The true final battle, though? FANTASTIC, now THAT is a final boss! One of the best in the series, like that’s such a fun gimmick!

I got it trapped in break state and spammed Heaven’s Kiss/Quick Star, because I’m a strategic gamer 

I am embarrassed by how long it took me to recognise Lucy

KLOE CAMEO!!!

Oh and I assume Kaela is going to be important next arc, since it’s in Calvard?

I love Thomas??? And Rosine???

Why was the grandmaster reveal hidden behind watching the ending twice, why do that? Great scene, though

My theory is that she is Aidios, I will cling to this for as long as possible

I probably have like a million other things to say that I’m just not remembering right now. Look forward to random shouts into the void about it in upcoming weeks, followers

I really enjoyed this overall, despite the problems I mentioned above. It was just fun, I like the cast, the gameplay is great... just a solid game

Trails is a really fantastic franchise - not perfect, but what is? I’ve had such a fun time with it over the past half-year, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Thank you, Falcom, the localisation team, the VAs - stellar job all around

This is normally where I’d end on a joke but like. Nah, I’m just happy. Cue ‘The Whereabouts of Light’

[facepalming-since-chernobyl]

I agree with you. I wish we could have stopped them but the things have escalated and we can't do anything about it. Even Scs fans are afraid to call them out and you are right, they do come in numbers and attack whoever says anything against them. They refuse to see how problematic their tweets are!! And even if someone point it out to them all they do is bully those people..

I joined this Fandom 2 yrs back and that time I have never seen anything related to Meltie. Sure Fandom talks about their on screen chemistry but that's it. But lately I was really shocked to see so many people shipping them together ignoring the fact that Melissa is married. And they constantly post out of context SDCC 2019 videos and I don't know about others it makes me really so uncomfortable. I was so shocked when I came across a tweet about Hux*** and I think you shared that in your Tumblr. I asked one of my mutual who is actually friends with those ppl who ships meltie, told them its creepy and they just asked me to ignore it 🤐

I don't know how someone can ignore those kind of tweets. I don't have many followers, just a small account so I know my efforts are futile and few others Scs ignored me when I sent them messages. So I gave up. I just muted all those accounts. Trust me it's not one or two accounts, it's 200 accounts. When I saw your Tumblr post I hoped that now they will stop shipping Me**** but nope, the amount of tweets only Increaaed so I just keep on muting those accounts. I really don't want to be bullied. It's really painful to be called weirdo, homophobe (when I am a lesbian) and other names.

I agree they are hypocrites. I have seen so many Scs often call out your fandoms behavior towards Melissa & Chris marriage, their child. But that's what Me**** is doing right now. They are being invasive and are disrespecting Melissa's private life, using her child.

Only SC fans with big followers can stop their weird behavior but they are keeping their mouth shut. Frankly I understood recently that they really don't care about Melissa and refuse to accept her as the person she is, and are converting her into a person to fit their narrative. And what scares me is that they are dragging other teenagers into their mess who think its cool to ship them for real.

I am glad Supergirl is ending soon. And no way I encourage any sort of bullying against the actor/actress. I do agree that Chris receives a lot of unnecessary hate. It's fine if they don't like him but there is no need to mock, bodyshame him repeatedly!! If you don't like him. Fine, forget about him. Stop talking about him. Stop protecting your hate on him because Melissa isn't with Katie.

I think they know how problematic they are and they are proud of it. They use it as a sword, because who is going to call them out, when everybody knows it’s an invitation to being called the worst names you can imagine?

I don’t remember when melties started to rise, I think quite early, for sure I have seen shit around SDC17, but for some time they kept they shit under the radar.

The problem is that a lot of the bullies are big accounts OR their side accounts are big (for example, making gifs, posting pics etc.) and even when people scream they don’t follow RedKrypto and she is bad blah blah, they follow redgifs and they don’t see a problem. Also… sometimes I have an impression that a lot of people don’t call out the bullies because well, they silently approve what they have doing aka scaring other shippers out of social media and making them silent – it’s not an observation about only SC fandom but many more. It’s the “let’s keep silent and see how the nasty guys take care of the other fandoms ;3”.

Nah, they are not going to stop and my posts are not going to make them (I post this shit in one place only to have an easy and quick access to receipts when I need evidences while arguing with them).

Sorry to hear you were called like that, I can tell you I feel you. My asexual ass is constantly called straight by them, along with the normal homophobe, women hater, racist etc. Just think about it like that – the way they call you like that, while they don’t know a shit about you, says a lot about them, not about you. Also, remember your mental health is more important than the idiots, so if it helps, block them and sail away.

The fact is there are weird people in our fandom too and some folks should take a literal CHILL pill. It’s ok to root for a couple, even real life couple, but the moment you start demanding things and be creepy is the time to take a step back.

I mean, big sc accounts would help for sure. At least maybe some of their followers would at least think about the issue. Also, the fact is the only person who could make things much better, not only in this case but also about the cast hate and some actors receiving death threats, stays silent too.

Yeah, we talked about it a lot here and the conclusion is the idiots treat Melissa like a Barbie doll and projects their fantasies on her. Basically, she is not a real person for them, but objectified piece of meat.

I mean, if they call themselves Mel’s fan then at least they should simply ignore him. They don’t need to like him, they don’t need to respect him, but he is Melissa’s choice. She chose this man to spent her life with and have a baby. What they do with their hate is basically saying she is incapable of making healthy decisions and creating healthy relationship. What is absolutely disgusting.

Anyway, it’s an neverending topic to talk about.

[doerot]

This is going to be a mess, and long, and I'm on mobile, so please bare with me. Also this is a season 5, anti-cat/ra/dora and entapdak centric post because that's kinda what is swirling around in my head at the moment.

So for a bit of backstory, I got into She-ra in 2017 when the name got announced and cute cat and warrior woman lesbians screen shots got leaked. I can safely say I got into spop shipping cat/ra/dora without knowing anything about the characters other than their designs and when season 1 dropped and their dynamic seemed to be having that friends to enemies to lovers thing going on I was all for seeing how it would go.

But then season 2 happens, then 3, then 4, and their relationship keeps getting worse, cat/ra keeps getting worse. At this point I really don't care about their relationship anymore and frankly find it plain unhealthy.

Plus, I'm sitting in my corner in entrapdak heaven, very comfortable (I'll get back to that in a minute). And there are just other aspects of the show that I care about more than shipping because the end all be all of the show isn't whether or not two characters get together even if it is nice.

(TW:Depression just for this small section but better safe than sorry)

So the world is crashing down around me and I have been dissociating for the past month and you know what spop is a light hearted show that makes me happy. So I binged season 5 in a day and it brought a smile to my face for 3 weeks. It wasn't a perfect ending but it was satisfying. Even if it didn't really ship it I got my main character lesbian happily ever after.

Then I rewatched it.

I'm going to start of by saying, and I got to be honest (and I'm not speaking for everyone obviously) but if cat/ra/dora was het it would not get nearly as much love as it does. It was ground breaking as a mc lesbian relationship, but it was really toxic. Like rey/lo levels of toxic.

I personally was rooting for it until about season 3 when everything went into no return territory and in season 4 she. Just. Kept. Making. It. Worse. I feel that there just wasn't enough time in season 5 to come back from that. Both hordak and catra did terrible things but the difference is that hordak never hurt entrapta and his ending over all was left way more open ended, where as cat/ra actively harmed ad/ora multiple times throughout the show and she received a happy ending.

I really wish cat/ra's catalist for changing was just losing scorpia and not almost genocide and killing angella so more time (as in all of season 4 and 5) could have been put into her working towards forgiveness for her smaller actions (also scorpia got totally blown off and that is a real shame). Season five barely touched on cat/ra's larger war crimes and all of that could have been solved if she just didn't commit them. The portal could still have been activated in some way. I truly feel that mara, razz and light hope's whole subplot was really underdeveloped and if they were expanded upon that could have been a way for the portal to be activated. I don't have the systematics planned out but something else, anything, could have worked better.

Also I know this isn't the point of the show (as in: it's more about interpersonal relationships than overarching worlds but I do wish they went a bit more in depth with it because in the end everything felt just a bit too much like set dressing and less like a cohesive story) and hordak isn't a main character, but I just felt like he was really robbed this last season. What could have been a really cool horde history and cult plot line for hordak kinda went to cat/ra, and while that mind control scene was really well done and heart wrenching idk if it really would have been necessary if cat/ra wasn't the absolute worst. Idk it just felt like the cult plot line was like 80% cat/ra's and 20% hordak's when it should have been entirely his. Idk it could have been so good and than it just wasn't quite it.

Now it's coming out that noelle just didn't care for hordak all that much, which is fine! He was originally set up to be the main villain and she wasn't the lead writer for him. It's fine. But because she favors cat/ra so much you can really tell that some decisions were a little rash.

Ok final thoughts, and this is going to get gushy, but just in general the way hordak and entrapta are handled (on screen) are so good, like they are so in love and you can tell it's so beautiful. It's not perfect just like how nothing in this show is perfect (I wish we got that missing scene but don't we all) but I think it is a step in the right direction and it's just so good. I'm at the end of this and I don't have the words anymore for how soft those two make me.

This rant doesn't really have like a solid ending I just want people to talk to me.

Tldr: I'm satisfied and disappointed at the same time. Cat/ra/dora kinda sucks. Entrapdak is beautiful. Hordak deserved better. But also the future is looking really bright for queer and neurodivergent narratives in animation so you know what I think it's ok.

[jonathanrook]

legally i have to give you intern 2

em you have awoken an ungodly beast inside me so i need to warn everyone that this post is. incomprehensible. but so is mymusic so i guess we're all used to it.

How I feel about this character:

i watched mymusic as it was airing/running/coming out specifically bc i'm a jack stannie, and as a kid melvin was my second favorite character (w scene being in first, obvs) for mostly that reason. he basically hovered around this ranking until my most recent rewatch in the summer of 2020, which was actually spurred by some events in my personal life that vaguely reminded me of scene's season two arc w jeff, and i thought it'd been a funny/nostalgic way to get my mind off things.

(i want to side note here that -- i know you didn't ask, but -- i love jeff. i have since i was a kid. like, obviously not as a person but i think he's honestly the best written character in the series, w indie close in second. idk what it says about the f*nes that their most interesting and well rounded characters are the villains, but i digress. to this day i'm salty that jeff never got added to the theme song and wasn't really included in promotional merch.)

however, in said rewatch, certain things about how he was written started to really get under my skin, and certain moments in particular have really stuck out to me in a negative way. like, for the entirety of season one and a good chunk of season two he's one person, and then he leaves mymusic and we have an entirely different person, but not in a nuanced character building sort of way.

i've said a few of these points before but i'll repeat them here regardless. at the risk of sounding like i've put on a tin-foil hat, it's my sneaking suspicion that scindie was supposed to be endgame, but since fan reception to it was pretty neutral, and scenechart stans were, at the very least, more vocal, changes were made to the intended finale, which is why in the last scene he's basically just. indie. like, if everything about the show was exactly the same but indie was the one who had ended up w scene in the end that would have made so much more sense since a) scene had a crush on indie that he/everyone knew about and b) indie was kind of a dick despite the half-assed attempts at redemption, so both combined make it slightly less weird/out-of-nowhere that he kisses her w/o her consent (since, even though like. implied consent is not real at worst and a fuzzy subject at best but you could argue that scene would want indie to kiss her); and this isn't even taking into consideration that c) melvin is heavily queer-coded in both seasons, with his friendship with nerdcore being, dare i say, homoerotic at times, and his arc about leaving the company and changing his name mirroring nerdcore's almost perfectly (with nerdcore being a character who b*nny [at least] has all but confirmed is actually gay).

i've also been on the fence about melvin's behavior in that final scene making more sense for indie's character being an intentional decision as a way of shoe-horning in a theme about the lasting effects of abuse/cycles of abuse/the corruption of power but i also don't think the f*nes are smart enough for that. however, for the sake of defending my straw theory, i also point to the scene where indie comes to visit the acid factory after melvin told him to shut up, and we see melvin use reggie as a foot-stool, going as far as to say that it feels good to do so (which, in all honesty, i think is a bit that was entirely improvised, since the f*nes were "notorious for never saying cut" [paraphrased from a bts video], but work w me here). he's also given a seltzer mug that perfectly resembles indie's kombucha mug. in these moment melvin is directly emulating the behavior of his previous abuser, purposefully or not, literal moments after being promoted to an equal position of authority, which was totally just included as a joke, but could also be argued is meant to show that he's becoming indie; or, if we acknowledge that the f*nes have no fucking clue what they're doing and were just directing like chickens with their heads cut off, it at least shows that melvin's new position of power is leading him to understand where indie was coming from, which is supported by their conversation in the finale.

the following contains a couple brief mentions of irl sexual assault so if that's something you'd like to avoid skip to the next section!

HOWEVER, that alone isn't what i have a problem with, since i think melvin is completely justified in being a dick to indie (and also reggie enthusiastically consents to being used as an ottoman so good for him i guess). the issue comes completely in how he treats scene in the scenes where the f*nes clearly thought what they were writing was super romantic. like, the fact that the only thing he's got hung on his cubicle wall is a single picture of scene taken from the fucking opening credits (like. how hard would it have been to have. literally any other photo[s] esp since there's an abundance of cute bts pics of the cast in costume that could have been put there) and him scrolling through her twitter at work really creep me out (and at the risk of oversharing the weird, like, social media stalking angle really fucks w me bc that may or may not have been the exact fucking thing i was trying to escape in rewatching mymusic in the first place). also, having him sexually assault scene as a means of comforting her after she had just been sexually assaulted in the same way by someone else was... a choice (which is also, uh, personally familiar).

again, i recognize that demonizing melvin wasn't what the f*nes were trying to do here, and i perhaps seem hypocritical for opening liking jeff, but what makes jeff work is he's intentionally "the bad guy." having melvin do the same things as indie and jeff uncritically only proves further that the f*nes can't write for shit, and ruins his character which had, up until he quit mymusic, been unironically good. like, it's obviously not beneficial that the exact asshole things he does are personally triggering, but the character would still be a mess and i would still dislike him regardless.

i want to say though that jack delivers a surprisingly great performance despite how shoddily his character is constructed and how little experience he has as an actor. like, it's clear he was having a lot of fun on set and i would love to see him in something, like, good; i think he could pull off even like, guest television roles, which is a lot more than can be said for other youtubers.

-----

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

nerdchart should have been canon i'm sorry. i know that close, nonromantic male friendships are valuable, esp between queer men, but also gd wouldn't it have been baller to have a canon interracial mlm ship. like. c'mon. and they could have been such a good friends to lovers story! we already got to see how melvin was the only person nerdcore could really be himself around so it would have been so cool if melvin's self-advocacy arc/flowchart arc had revolved more around nerdcore with a little role-reversal! and then they kiss! like god intended!

also i ship him and indie bc i'm a grubby little gremlin man ohoho. enemies w weird sexual tension? sign me up. not even enemies to lovers i'm not saying this one should have been canon i just love the vibes. do you think melvin and indie ever explored each other's bod-- *gunshot*

-----

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

i wish him and scene had just been bros. god remember in season one when they were just bros that was the life.

alternatively, i wish we'd seen more bonding w him and metal, as a means of reconciling that. uh. moment from season one. along similar lines i would have loved to see him get closer w rayna in a similar way to how she bonded w nerdcore in season two. i think that could have also worked to show how she'd grown between the two seasons.

-----

My unpopular opinion about this character:

HIM. AND. SCENE. SHOULD. HAVE. JUST. BEEN. BROS. (though i think my general dislike of him is pretty unpopular, lmao).

when the show was coming out i don't think it's unfair to say that scenechart/scenetern 2 was the most popular ship (aside from potentially techstep whatever) but luckily we're all gay and have better taste now. unfortunately i totally fell into this camp and scenechart was even my otp for years (until it was arguably more unfortunately usurped by reddie in 2019) and i didn't even realise that it's a hot mess until, again, the summer of 2020.

when actually watching the show the choices the f*nes made in regards to how the ship actually became canon are so odd and out of place, too? okay, so, on one hand everyone just shipped scenechart bc it was the whitest hettiest ship in the show (esp in season two when idol left) aside from scindie (and we already discussed what's wrong w that). but, on the other hand, lainey and jack clearly also just got along? and i suspect that lainey probably also admired jack's work and was happy to be working with him bc we have so many shots throughout even the first season when the ship wasn't the intended endgame of lainey scene looking really fondly at jack melvin at times when it doesn't make much sense at all, esp since she's smitten w indie? this trend continues into the second season which arguably works but it still seems really out of place for him to be the one to ultimately make the first move on her since it's clear she was the one crushing this whole time and also he's gay! this bitch is gay what the fuck!!

-----

One thing I wish had happened with this character in canon:

at this point i'm struggling to think of anything i haven't covered yet. oops.

i've talked at length before about how he should have been a woman/lesbian, but the tl;dr is that it would have solved a lot of the queer-coding "problems" that just didn't get resolved in the show. if he'd been a lesbian then not only would the friendship w nerdcore still made sense, but scenechart would have as well (not even mentioning that both of scene's other relationships w men make a lot of sense as comphet anyway).

[tea-at-221]

The TJLC Debacle: 3 years out from S4 and counting; the copyright mini-theory; so much salt I’m bloated; but in the end, there is peace (I love you Johnlockers)

Ugh, don't even talk to me about Mary.

Don't even talk to me about the way Mofftiss have said they're sick of responding to fans on the subject of Johnlock. Of how they've said they're "not telling anyone else what to think or write about them" (as if they could stop us; as if they even own Sherlock themselves. Do keep reading, because this point becomes much more relevant and in-jokey later on). Don't even mention how they've bitched and whined incessantly because--god forbid--fans got *really really* into their show and emotionally invested.

They're so eager to discount all the beautiful little moments they wrote as accidents. And Arwel, who planted all those props, continually demonstrates that he's on their side (a not-very in-depth-analysis of his Instagram account and the way he interacted with fans towards the beginning of the pandemic showed as much, but I think maybe he’s grown a bit wiser and quieter since at least in terms of Johnlock and all things elephant-related. I don’t know for sure because I stopped looking.)

Anyway--they'd actually prefer for us to celebrate our own intelligence, is I suppose a charitable way of looking at it: our ability to make connections between things in the show; our metas on symbolism; our insightful fanfic; etc., and denounce them as the bad writers that they ultimately are.

More under the cut.

(This post may be of interest to you especially if you came to the fandom a bit later: multiple links to things of relevance/quotes/explanations appear both within and at the end of this entry.)

Because what makes a writer good?

Well, an ability to make people feel an emotional connection to their work, for one. I know this is just my own perspective, but if not for Johnlock, all my emotion about the show would evaporate. There wouldn't be much else there. Other people might get something, but I wouldn’t. Is some of the writing witty and entertaining regardless of any inferred/implied Johnlock? Yeah but, eh, a lot of shows have some good writing and I just don’t give a damn about them.

What makes a writer good?

Not making promises to the reader/viewer that they'll never keep. Plot holes, leading dialogue ("There’s stuff you wanted to say...but didn’t say it.” “Yeah”) never followed through on, puns that are apparently, I suppose, unintentional (e.g. "'Previous' commander?" "I meant 'ex'").

Uh, not writing continual gay jokes that aren't actually pointing toward the inference that people are making them because there's actually something going on there under the surface. (How about just don't make those jokes ever.)

Not being, apparently, oblivious (? questionable) to the queerbaiting they're engaging in *as they’re writing it.*

Acting like their LGBT audience is in the wrong/the bad guy, instead of choosing to remain respectful in the face of dissent. Instead it's just, "we never wrote it that way" / "We never played it that way."

A lot of those other mildly witty shows don’t actually blatantly drag their most passionate fans face-down through the mud the writers themselves created. Imagine that.

I'm not even a fan of Martin Freeman anymore, for the way he handled the whole thing (getting angry, the comments he made about how the fans made Sherlock “not fun anymore”...apparently Martin’s packing up his crayons and going home?)...no offense to anyone who is still a fan of his. I don’t make it a habit to drag him. I do to some degree understand his frustration with having the whole situation taken out on him--he’s just an actor in the show--but I simply wish he’d remained as cool and professional about it as Benedict Cumberbatch instead of pointing at the fans. You’re pointing in the wrong direction, mate.

What also irks me at the end of the day is this: the subsection of people who legitimately responded badly to the TJLC/S4 debacle and went above and beyond to harass the writers and actors/actresses on social media are *few and far between*, but we've been lumped in with them by what feels like...everyone, Martin included. TJLCers/Johnlockers (not the same group, but often treated as such) have been made to look like a bunch of rambunctious, immature, demanding children time and time and again in the wake of S4.

They'd rather, what, suggest John was so in love with Mary? THAT was the relationship they wanted to uphold in that show as so significant and...what, a demonstration of how honorable it is to respect your heterosexual relationship despite, you know...ANYTHING?

Yeah sorry, I don’t believe in that. John’s text-based affair, whether a disappointment for some as to his supposed character, was a very human reaction and I kinda sorta feel like I would have reacted MUCH more strongly than that had I been John. But nope. He stayed with Mary and was *ashamed* of his wandering eye. Ashamed that maybe he wanted to be admired by someone. I can’t think of a scene, off the top of my head, where Mary ever interacted with John without belittling him in some way--if not with words, then with consistently patronizing glances.

The message here is that heterosexuality is not just acceptable, but VALUABLE, however it manifests--but god forbid anyone see a queer subtext. (Why are lgbt+ writers some of the very WORST offenders where this is concerned? And they defend it! Is this childhood nostalgia/Stockholm Syndrome of the very fondest variety or what? Gay angst is all they got if they got anything at all, so it’s still good enough as far as “representation” goes?)

They really want to tell the story of John as so emotionally/mentally fucked up that he surrounds himself with unstable people time and again. They never give any reason *why* he might do that (which they could have done even soooo subtly), or delve into his past--just, apparently it's okay to assume that Sherlock's comment about "she's like that because you chose her" is exactly that.

No. Sherlock and Mary are NOT the same. Not...*remotely*!

Mary is underhanded and evil. She lies. She manipulates. She schemes. Her “love” is based on selfishness, and her assumption that John is a simpleton and hers to mold. She's in it for herself.

Sherlock hides. He prevaricates. He feels. He loves John. He does fucked up things in the name of love, but always for the benefit of those he loves. When he screws up, which he obviously does, it’s painful to us as the audience because we see that it is painful for him when he recognizes and regrets it.

I have never seen Mary regret anything. Those crocodile tears at Christmas? More manipulation. Inconsistent with anything else we were shown about her as a character.

To even think for a SECOND that people could ship Mary and John and mentally condemn John for cheating on Mary AFTER SHE SHOT HIS BEST FRIEND...as if marriage is the be-all-end-all free pass in which every sin must be forgiven until the end of time...as if John broke any covenant with his wife beyond those she broke from the very moment she walked into his life *with an entire fake past.* Is just. Well. It's asking us to accept gaslighting as healthy, loving, normal, *preferable* behavior, so...given the source that message is coming from, it's all a bit meta.

THAT. Is insanity. Maybe Mofftiss are the sociopaths.

How these men could write characters they themselves understand so little (or tell us they understand so little because their emotional maturity has yet to surpass that of the average three-year-old’s), I will never know. I can only imagine that they have absorbed, by osmosis over their lives, real and nuanced human behavior...then churned it back out again in their writing unaware, a bit like psychopaths who teach themselves what "normal" people do so that they can pass as psychologically sound in regular society.

Remember, we *are* talking about men who do these sorts of things:

Moffat says that Sherlock is celibate and that people who claim he's misogynistic when he does things like make Irene Adler imply she's attracted to the detective (even though she's a lesbian) are, ironically, "deeply offensive" (despite lines like "look at us both" in Battersea. We aren't your therapists, Moffat--we don't care what you meant, we care what you said, and what you *said* was clear. *Implying* it does not let you off the hook).

Gatiss has proclaimed that "I find flirting with the homoeroticism in Sherlock much more interesting" than the idea of ever making a show addressing LGBT issues. (That link is to a reddit forum, and I can't find the original interview anymore, but I assure you I had seen the actual article myself ages back and can't find it online again now along with some of the Martin quotes I wanted to link to. And nevermind what Gatiss has done with LGBT shows/issues since--my focus here is on what he has said, versus what he and Moffat have since claimed regarding their queerbaiting.)

Here’s a transcript of this screenshot:

"...many people come up and say they didn't realise." Despite this lack of public awareness, being part of the gay community is clearly important to Gatiss: "The older I get the more I want to give something back. I mean, I keep meaning to do something." When asked if he'd be interested in making a series about gay issues his response was enlightening:

"No, I don't think I'd make a kind of gay programme. It's much more interesting when it's not about a single issue. And equally, I find flirting with the homoeroticism in Sherlock much more interesting. Of course this reflects the grand picture of everyone's strange make-up; there are good gay people and bad gay people. I wouldn't like to make an issue film around the culture of being gay."

Instead Gatiss' interest seems to lie in making a drama where sexuality is, if not mundane, part of the wider framework: "I'd quite like to do something about a quite happy, ordinary gay person who's just incidentally gay. For example, a three-part thriller for ITV where the lead character just happens to be gay; when they finally go home, say 45 minutes in, and they had a same sex partner. That to me would be genuinely progressive. It wouldn't be a three-part gay thriller for ITV. It would be that this character just happened to be gay."

--End article quote.

And instead, who is canonically gay in the series? Well, Irene Adler. The innkeepers at the Cross Keys. And perhaps most notably, the *villains*, because that's a helpful trope: Moriarty and Eurus are, in S4, both implied to be at least bisexual.

Any character should be able to be any sexuality, this is true. But can we have some main characters, the good guys, give some good representation? Can't we start making that the standard, rather than the villains and the background characters? Because so far, that is the exception and not the rule.

Writers need to be aware of the damage they are perpetuating. We are not quite in a world yet where any character should be able to be any sexuality but isn't, yet we have no problem with saying the villain is LGBT+ or looks different/functions differently than much of the viewing audience.

"Male friendship is important and valid, not everything has to be gay"--this is a popular point with casual heterosexual viewers (and, to my chagrin, some of my LGBT+ friends) who don't fully grasp what "queerbaiting" is, often even when it's pointed out to them.

The lens of heterosexuality is real. My first time through watching BBC Sherlock, I didn't see the Johnlock at all. I had to look for it and read about it. When I saw it, the lens was lifted for me, and it changed my life and the way I view things forever (and for the best).

But back to my point about how little Mofftiss seem to understand their own story/most ardent fans, and then on to my other theory: in S4 it must be that they dropped their “psychopaths emulating empathy” act and indulged in their own "insane wish fulfillment" by doing away with all of the meaning, continuity, and sense. Right?

So, here’s the alternate theory. One which is not, please remember, in their defense.

Remember that S4 is what Mofftiss are *happy* to have us believe is what they'd do with these characters, given the chance to do whatever they wanted. I repeat, in Moffat’s own words: “Insane wish fulfillment.”

Okay I get it, this pasta has been over-salted.

Without further delay: MY COPYRIGHT RESEARCH THEORY THAT EVEN I DON'T PUT MUCH STOCK IN AND WHICH DOESN’T MAKE UP FOR THEIR CRUELTY EVEN IF TRUE

Part of me also raises an eyebrow at S4 as perhaps an example of the effect of the Conan Doyle estate on any modern production in the US. While it’s true that all of Sherlock is part of public domain in the UK and has been for quite a long time, Gatiss and Moffat still talk about it being partially under copyright. Specifically, the last 10 stories. I’m supposing that this means that because Sherlock airs internationally, or due to whatever contract the BBC has with the Doyle estate, they are still limited by the copyright as to what they can “publish”.

The Doyle estate is known for being a pain in the ass when it comes to abiding by copyright law as everyone else knows and practices it. They’ve tried to argue, for example (in 2013 and, much more recently, with the advent of Enola Holmes), that because Holmes and Watson were not fully developed as their final selves until the conclusion of all 10 stories still under copyright, then perhaps the characters themselves should still be protected, basically, in full.

It’s true that certain elements of the remaining stories are still under copyright here in the US (Watson had more than one wife--uh huh, we have that to look forward to, Johnlockers; the Garridebs moment is still under copyright--yeah, I’m getting to that too; and Sherlock didn’t care much for dogs til later so that’s not allowed either, fuck off Redbeard), but the estate’s problem in 2013 seemed to be based around a fear that *gasp* some day--if not right now!--anyone could write a Sherlock Holmes story in any way they pleased, changing the characters however they wished to and giving those characters “multiple personalities.”

See the following excerpt from the Estate’s case:

“...at any given point in their fictional lives, the two men's characters depend on the Ten Stories. It is impossible to split the characters into public domain versions and complete versions.”

(Click for full transcript.)

Obviously, by this point, that’s been done in multiple iterations. So I dunno. Their argument was *more* than muddy to begin with--they just grasp at straws to stay in control, it seems.

But okay. Backing up: wasn’t there sort-of a Garridebs moment in S4?!?? you cry. Yep. But imagine this: the Conan Doyle estate taking Mofftiss to court to argue that they depicted the Garridebs moment--a moment still under copyright--in The Final Problem.

Did they, though? Did they really?

The fandom cried out about the ridiculousness--the utter disappointment--of that moment when it was shown. It was not what we would have expected/wanted. We didn’t see John injured, Sherlock reacting with tender outrage to the good doctor’s attacker.

Instead we saw some ludicrous BS that was as bad as the clown with the sword-gun-umbrella. More of that.

I think Martin probably found that it was easy to produce real tears when he thought about how fucking terrible the S4 scripts were.

Ahem. Yet, this all seems very Mofftiss-flavored in terms of humor.

I can all-too-easily imagine them saying, “HA. We’re going to show some of these supposedly copyrighted things--and if they take us to court, they’ll be laughed out of the room.” Could that explain some of the overall S4 fuckery?

Sherlock wasn’t supposed to like dogs til later stories, as previously mentioned-- is that why Redbeard pulled a “Cinderella’s carriage” and transformed into a pumpkin (Victor Trevor)? Hmm. Sigh.

It...doesn’t actually appear that the estate has any qualms about taking laughable stuff to court, I mean...*shrug.* They have the money to do it, and money is the name of the game, because you’ve got to pay for rights (cha-ching sounds).

Yep, it does seem that the estate is open to the copyrighted materials being made reality, but who knows for what price or with what caveats. The BBC isn’t, so far as I’ve ever heard, known for throwing money around. Early Doctor Who would be so much less entertaining if they’d had any sort of budget. (And in fact, more of the older episodes would exist, but apparently the BBC--in part to cut costs--reused some of their tapes.)

My bottom-line bitter is this: Mofftiss do like to amuse themselves. To please themselves and no one else, as they’ve shown time and again. Sure, they could do whatever they wanted with S4...and they did...but they were also cruel about it, and that’s what I’ll never forgive them--OR the BBC--for.

A lot of fans gave up after series 4. I was very nearly one of them. I was angry, like just about every other Johnlocker and/or TJLCer, but I was really truly heartbroken. I couldn’t look at fanfiction. My days were full of bitterness and I keenly felt the lack of the fandom outlet that had become so essential to my mental well-being. I didn't know how to overcome the disparity between TJLC and what the show actually was. I didn't know how to separate the things I loved so much from the shitty writers and the way the BBC handled things with their whole response letter (that atrocious, childish blanket response they sent to everyone who complained about S4, not just the Johnlockers/TJLCers. Related to your complaint or not, if you filed one post-S4, this was the response you got). I still boycott BBC shows/merchandise, just by the way.

I tried to link to the blanket response letter but the link didn’t want to work (it’s an old reddit post; I had difficulty finding a copy of the letter elsewhere though at one point it wasn’t so hard...Google is weird these days y’all...tell me it’s not just me) so here’s a screenshot:

Transcript:

“Thank you for contacting us about “Sherlock”.

The BBC and Hartswood Films have received feedback from some viewers who were disappointed there was not a romantic resolution to the relationship between Sherlcok and John in the finale of the latest season of “Sherlock”.

We are aware that the majority of this feedback uses the same text posted on websites and circulated on social media.

Through four series and thirteen episodes, Sherlock and John have never shown any romantic or sexual interest in each other. Furthermore, whenever the creators of “Sherlock” have been asked by fans if the relationship might develop in that direction, they have always made it clear that it would not.

Sherlock’s writers, cast and producers have long been firm and vocal supporters of LGBT rights.

The BBC does not accept the allegations leveled at “Sherlock” or its writers, and we wholeheartedly support the creative freedom of the writers to develop the story as they see fit.

We will of course register your disappointment.

Thank you for contacting us.

Kind Regards,

BBC Complaints Team

So how about that? *Did* they “register our disappointment”? We can actually check that. The BBC’s website has a monthly summary of complaints received. So what did they receive in January 2017, the month S4 aired?

Huh, what do you know. Sounds like that blanket response was exactly the “fuck you” it came across as.

But the show--the FANDOM--had filled a need in my life, and so I had to own that and make it mine, or just...let something in me die: something that felt like an actual vital organ. I had to decide that these characters mean something to me beyond what anyone else tells me they should. I had to accept my own perceptions as truth, as I do with everything else in my life. I had to overcome the idea of canon as law (BBC Sherlock isn't canon anyway; ACD is canon. BBC Sherlock is, in the end, badly written fanfiction--or--worse?--decent pre-slash fanfiction distorted by consistent lies and the hazing of the LGBT audience, topped with the dumpster fire of S4′s incoherent nonsense).

I had to take the good and throw away the bad, just like anyone else who chose to stay. The good bits of the show...dialogue, yes. Plot points, yes. These awful writers did write some good stuff sometimes.

They just broke all the unspoken rules of what not to do to your audience. And then did and said everything they could not to apologize, and to justify their own failings. Which, in the years since I began shipping queer ships beyond any others, I have unfortunately experienced more than once.

So, my vulnerability has been yeeted into the vacuum of broke-my-trustdom: no one can tell me what things should mean to me. I will decide.

I decide that all of the FUCKING AMAZING writing in the Sherlock fandom is a staple in my life that makes it worth living. And that that's okay. And takes precedence over anything the writers or anyone else associated with the show could ever say or do.

Johnlock can not be taken away. It doesn't belong to them. It never did, even if they brought us to it. It belongs to us. To the group of amazingly creative, brainy, empathetic, resourceful, vibrant, resilient people who make up this fandom.

So thank YOU, all of YOU, for giving me Sherlock, Johnlock, and TJLC.

I am SO SAD for those who never found a way to make peace with this fandom again. Let me just say that I understand that inability entirely.

I am fortunate that I found the ability in myself to cling to the joy (something it has taken my whole life to be able to do). I hope others will who haven’t yet but wish they could.

Let Mofftiss and whoever sides with them stay angry and bitter and vicious, always looking over their shoulders for anyone who dares to whisper about subtext.

I’m proud to be part of what they’re whispering so angrily about.

Thanks for sticking it out if you made it this far. I know this was very self-indulgent and rambly.

Articles of interest:

A Study in Queerbaiting (Or How Sherlock Got it All Wrong) by Marty Greyson

“We never played it like that.” - Martin on Johnlock

Henry Cavill on the Enola Holmes lawsuit

More on that--and by the way Sherlock isn’t allowed to like dogs

The way Sherlock creators told fans Sherlock & John aren’t gay is so rude

Especially for those new to the fandom who may not know the distinction between TJLC and Johnlockers and want to know more about TJLC's evolution/what it is/meta through the years

Moffat's view on asexuality, offensive to me in particular *as* an asexual person (same article where he claims he isn't misogynistic): "If he was asexual, there would be no tension in that, no fun in that – it's someone who abstains who's interesting."

Yet he says Sherlock isn't gay or straight and that he's trying to keep his brain pure which is a "very Victorian attitude"

(Nice historical research there, Moff--actually the Victorians were sex-positive).

Sherlock fans were robbed of the gay ending they deserved

Benedict Cumberbatch has lashed out at his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman over his negative attitude towards fans

BBC complaints January 2017

Martin Freeman: 'Sherlock is gayest story ever'

From 2016: UNPOPULAR OPINION: "Sherlock" Isn't Sexist or Queerbaiting; It's Actually Trying to Stage a Revolution

Queer-baiting on the BBC's Sherlock: Addressing the Invalidation of Queer Identities through Online Fan Fiction Communities by Cassidy Sheehan

[avenger-hawk]

Hey hawk, did you observe a pattern among people who participate in Woke-ism culture, they seem to have similar "traits" and "personality"? Dislike the "straight" orientation (usually identify themselves as gay/lesbian/bi and brags they are LGBT every second), they seem to think gender identity is a personality trait etc therefore "I'm holier than thou because I list myself as she/he/they/it". I bet they are gonna scream at me for being whatever "phobic" just because of this post lol

*clears throat* yeah they gonna scream at you but they can’t scream at me because it’s been a year that I am in an lgbt relationship soooo xD

Ofc I noticed this kind of behavior, these woke ppl really like be ‘different’ and tbh the thing I find more irritating is when they define themselves ‘autistic’ or ‘asperger’ or ‘adhd’ whathever other mental illness/condition, because these are serious things that should be diagnosed by a specialist and not an online tests, and usually ppl who have a real problem are not so incredibly vocal about it. Sure they don’t brag with it....”but I don’t have money to take a test and my parents don’t let me!” they say? yeah. could be. but it also could be that you just wanna look special and since you’re socially anxious or shy or just a b*tch, you like to play rude and then justify yourself with those labels, and if someone dares tell you you’re a piece of shit you can call them ableist lol

Same for race or country. Not taking anything away from populations/countries/cultures/religions that have been oppressed, but sometimes I cringe cause some ppl try so hard to fit in this. Like, at some point 99% of populations were invaded by others and oppressed, and I’m sorry for welsh ppl, to just name one (no offense it’s the first that came to my mind cause I read a post recently lol) but if this continues we’re gonna have to seek justice for the victims of the vikings’ raids lolol

Anyway, back to what you were saying. I partly get that lgbt ppl are vocal about what they are bc maybe they can’t tell their families or friends, and they use social media as outlets. but like you said, your personality is not defined by who you f*ck and/or love (It’s not even defined by the fiction you like, actually, but they think so). So while I understand ppl describe themselves in their profile and specify their gender identity and sexuality, for me it’s cringey when they take it too far. Like when they start with all the labels ever, or they make combinations...demisexual panromantic/asexual demiromantic/trans nonbinary aroace spectrum...sounds like a competition of who’s less ordinary. Bonus points if they also add race and illness. Bonus points if they pretend they’re experts and activist and they shit on ppl who ship something or speak of top/bottom bc they’re fetishizing gay mlm/wlw and how dare they, dirty cishets (cause Anon, straight is a too banal word lol).

(also...not to offend ‘aroace’ ppl out there but...when someone is like 12...couldn’t it be that they’re just...too young for caring about sex/love? asking for a friend lolol)

I mean, tumblr has a lot of lgbt ppl and it’s cool, and I know it’s hard to live as an lgbt person cause you can’t do what het ppl do normally, like kissing in public or holding hands or writing cute posts on fb bc someone might bitch or be even worse, so this creates a bitterness and aggressiveness on social media I guess, especially here where minorities are the majority lol. And I too, on my personal blog, occasionally ranted about things like internalized homophobia and queerbaiting, but only very rarely lol and no one paid attention to me, guess I am not lgbt enough hahahah

But, it’s stupid to use sexuality labels as a shield to shit on ppl and then call them --phobic when they react. It actually happened to me a couple of years ago, I wrote something about bottom Sasuke and this self defined aromantic+asexual+autistic+gay american dude attacked me for fetishizing gays. Back then I was in a relationship with a guy so for him I was only a boring straight person I guess, a gross fujoshi who dared like mlm haha. fuck him. If I were the same type of person as him I would have pulled the oppressed card, I could have attacked him reminding him that his country treated italian immigrants like animals, and that they had this veeeery big problem of being unsure about our ‘race’ so in their papers they often wrote ? cause they couldn’t understand if we were poc or not...but it would have been kinda off topic and I cartainly don’t waste time talking about me to ppl I don’t even trust to be what they say.

Also because I was raised by parents who were very politically involved, so I remember them doing activism, like, getting out of the house, going to protests, doing volunteering, even taking me along when I was little. So even tho now everything happens online first, and even tho posts can spread awareness and change ppl’s minds, I still don’t trust when I see those blogs full of angry woke activism, because they seem fake and even those ppl seem fake. It’s easy to scream for justice from a keyboard, in a comfortable house. It’s less easy to protest in the cold, risking to have problems with the police, the government, the pandemic, whatever else.

It’s irritating that wokies want to take the right to like smth in the right way or whatever, telling everyone else who don’t fit in the minority group that they can’t like the thing. Idk, I just wish ppl were like in Eastern Asian fandoms, not making everything about themselves, being open minded enough for whatever ‘different’ thing whether they are into it or not, and if they’re not ignoring it only.

And I do get wanting to fit the minority, as a teenager I was veery punk/gothic, depending on the moment, and I never fit in the majority opinions or habits anyway. And I was kind of fluid with my identity and sexuality, but silly me, I kept it for myself, even tho I discussed with those who insulted lgbt ppl and I wrote stuff where everyone is bisexual by default, thinking that it was how people were born before society conditioned them...I could have bragged but I had no idea about ‘fluid’ or ‘pan’, silly me.

I am so irritated at everything, like the words they use, even the english language that is not mine, is getting on my nerves because it’s the vehicle for their crap, but these periodically trending words are disgusting like these ppl to me.

I migth have gone out of topic again lol.