#take all the rep one can get! it IS shown as a very deep relationship between the two of them

[variousqueerthings]

(a league of their own, alas i couldn't find a gif of bert giving transmasc realness)

(strange empire, cara gee (yeeee the expanse's cara gee)

(gentleman jack, about real-life lesbian anne lister)

(fancy dance, lily gladstone)

(bound, yeahyeah i knowwww it may be obvious but covering my bases here, notice the tattoo on the right arm ����👀)

(stud life - i confess i still haven't seen this one 😭 but i have met the director, which was like meeting uk trans royalty, so recommend simply based on him + t'nia miller!!!!)

Can I ask for a single actual butch wlw lead please I'm withering away on the floor please God please

[youarealwaysontime]

Let’s talk about asexuality in media.

It’s a fact well-known to all queer people, no matter their identity, that we are all underrepresented and when we are it is often more harmful than helpful. This all boils down to homophobia, of course, but each identity has a specific homophobic-based “reason” as to why.

For asexuality, it’s because sex and romance are easy to write. They’re classic plot tools that ensures drama and clamor from fans. Don’t have a side plot for these two characters? Make ‘em have sex. You’ve got two best friends nearing the end of an arc? Make ‘em fall in love. It’s prominent in literally every type of media you will ever consume. And going hand-in-hand with that, allo people tend to think that because aspec folks don’t feel romantic and/or sexual attraction, that they don’t feel at all. This is why when we see “canon” aspec characters (or even headcanoned ones) they’re often aliens, robots, or even animals. Asexual people are not seen as human, and allo people don’t know how to write humans that don’t want to have sex.

So now let’s talk about Esperanza “Spooner” Cruz. And how especially in a show like Legends of Tomorrow that’s very fun and silly and everyone sleeps with a bunch of people, I never expected an ace character in a million years.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried when the scene played. My identity is so important to me and usually I try so hard to be like “ah it’s no big deal that no one knows what it means” to try and protect myself before other people can hurt me, but to see this character as so whole and so human broke me. And there was no blurry definition or sly hinting, a crumb of representation for us to wrap our hands around. Spooner is asexual, and she says as such.

The interaction went as follows:

Z: “so: smash marry kill… [names three male characters]”

S: “uh… no, not—not really into any of them”

Z: “copy, okay, how about [names three female characters]”

S: “not—not—not really into any of them either.”

Z: “also copy, okay. So what is your type?”

S: “you know, I don’t really get those types of feelings for anyone. [joking] Maybe it’s one of those things those mushrooms aliens messed up about me, huh?”

Z: “hey, no, no, no. What you’re describing is totally normal. It just means maybe you’re ace. Asexual, people who identify as ace have little to no interest in sex but many of them still want to be in relationships.”

S: [tearing up] “wow… uh… [chuckles] I guess that makes me ace.”

So not only did they explain the sexuality, they used the actual terminology for it and didn’t shy away from “tackling” the topic. This character is not a robot or an alien. She is not unshakable or emotionless. She has been shown many times to feel, and to feel deeply. She’s cried, she’s raged, she’s been anxious and happy and determined. She is well-rounded with a good sense of humor and a deep love for her friends.

I myself identify as arospec asexual, and just because I don’t feel sexual or romantic feelings for people, doesn’t mean I don’t love. In fact, I love more than I think people would ever know. I love my friends more than the world, I’d do anything for them. I love my best friend so much it feels like my heart will explode when I think about her. I make her playlists with songs that remind me of her, I surprise her with gifts sometimes. But I don’t want to be in a romantic relationship with her, or any of my friends. Platonic love is so very important and I cannot wait to see more of this character and her journey with her newfound identity. An identity which, upon finding out there was a word for it, she cried. She was so relieved to know she was “normal.” That she wasn’t “messed up” or “broken” as many asexual people do. So thank you, Legends of Tomorrow. Thank you, Lisseth Chavez and Tala Ashe, thank you. Thank you for helping the next generation of asexual people find themselves and take this step towards mainstream rep.

There is nothing wrong with you if you don’t feel things the same way other people do. You are still deserving of love. And if no one else will give you that love, I will.

[austajunk]

Please PLEASE go into detail about how protective he is over Chiaki!! I literally am begging to finally hear someone else actually acknowledge their friendship/relationship especially after having to deal with a pretty toxic anti-bi/pan Nagito rper I was on a server with for a good part of a year! (Sorry went kinda ranty but hopefully my anguish is understandable!)

Oh my lord, you’re giving me a chance to shine with my fixations?! I can’t thank you enough! Now, please understand that this is based on my perception of the series as I’ve played through the second game twice. I’m pretty good when it comes to being the person who has unpopular opinions and ships and I know claiming that Nagito is bi/pan/Demi is probably one of them. But honestly, it comes from the desire to see this boy get as much love as possible. Because he sure needs it.

Ultimately, Nagito’s sexuality is never canonly specified, so I think whether gay, bisexual, Pansexual, or what have you, we’re all well within our rights to just have fun and see what we want to in a really flawed and relatable character. And that’s what makes it interesting.

That being said, let’s talk about Nagito and Chiaki. Friendship or romantic, I don’t think you can deny that Chiaki is at least special to Nagito in some way.

Upon replaying the second game, I’ve realized how protective Nagito actually is towards Chiaki interestingly enough.

In chapter 2, she leaves to go question Fuyuhiko but Nagito stops her and tells her not to let Fuyuhiko get rough with her. Every time Chiaki’s skills help them advance, he deeply praises her. Even after he’s stopped praising all the others (which he does mostly after Chapter one, hinting he does not like some of them as actual people). But for some reason, especially during the trials, Nagito is quick to jump in and mention how wonderful Chiaki is and compliment her (only to be usually cut off by someone when he starts to ramble).

It should also be noted that Chiaki and Nagito both share an appreciation for games. Nagito seems to like more luck-based games for obvious reasons, but he also mentions that like Chiaki, he likes the Twilight Syndrome series. Both of them similarly state that they felt Monokuma was butchering a favorite game of theirs.

They also both have an odd way of trying to cheer Hajime up and joke with him, the examples shown coincidentally beside one another. Chiaki says she’s gonna look for a dirty book, throwing Hajime off and Nagito “jokingly” tells Hajime to lick his boots and now to him, but Hajime is extremely put off when he claims it was a joke. These oddballs get each other in the weirdest of ways is what I’m saying. They’re both incredibly antisocial, but their hearts are reaching the same place too when they try to make an effort.

In chapter 4, when Chiaki teams up with Nagito and Kazuichi, then leaves because they’re both being clingy, Nagito quickly follows and chases after her to make sure she’s okay. Then he chastised her for running off, looking deeply concerned. Even after his attitude change, he will answer her more directly and not ignore her. When she tells him to be quiet, he politely obeys... or maybe it’s because he’s deep in thought about her motives as he mentions he was watching the trial carefully to decide on who the traitor is.

I may just be mentioning this because they’re my OTP, but if you know about their school time together and pay attention to Nagito’s Hope versus Chiaki’s Hope, I think it’s fascinating.

Okay, now let’s head into Danganronpa 3 territory. Now this is the part where I am the most shaky as I’m still trying to determine what I take canon from this series. The thing is, a friend who got me into the series informed me that the production was way rushed and that Kodaka never wanted to do the anime in the first place. But! That being said, Chiaki and Nagito have some great moments in this and the anthology comics along with it, so let’s get into some stuff.

First of all, Nagito warmly mentions that Chiaki being their class rep makes her the true Hope of their class. And you can tell he’s serious because as he’s saying it, he’s doing that thing where he’s staring at his hand desperately like he wants eat it. You know the look.

Moving on, it’s clear that aside from Chisa, Chiaki is the only one to value and treasure Nagito. And this makes sense. In her own dying words, she loves her classmates. They are the world to her. All of them. And of course, she loves Nagito too with all her heart. As evidenced as she cradled him protectively in her arms while he’s injured. At first when Chiaki and the others are determined to stand up to Junko and get their teacher back, Nagito pleads with Chiaki not to. That his luck could not overcome them. He knows they can’t win in this situation and I do think he was actually trying to talk Chiaki out of it. But of course, when Chiaki pushes back and says she wants to go anyways, he literally can’t help himself when it comes to wanting to see Hope shine. So he agrees and praises her again because of course he does.

Until it all leads to the Pain Train with Despair coming out on top. Chiaki is brutally slaughtered and we see something new from Nagito. He breaks down crying. Tears are streaming madly down his face as a forced and twisted smile appears on his lips. He even beseeches Chiaki’s name. “You understand right? You know you’re a stepping stone for Hope!” “What has been done to Nanami is unforgivable...” Nagito’s already trying to cope. To rationalize something horrible that he just witnessed in his mind. He’s trying to protect himself as he’s utterly being destroyed and breaking down like all of his classmates. Chiaki’s death literally shatters his mind. It’s a pretty well done scene even if I’m not a big fan of the brainwashing stuff. Not to mention, the way he says “You understand right, Nanami?” As if he’s begging for her forgiveness as he falls apart. It’s so very very tragic. And of course, when being made apart of the Neo World Program, his desire to see Chiaki once more, just one more time like his classmates, brings her back to him(and the other classmates) in AI form.

Honestly... it’s pretty beautiful. Chiaki is apart of Nagito in some way and is imprinted into his mind and heart. He longed to see her as much as everyone else. This person, who doesn’t seek out relationships because his luck either gets them killed or he finds their Hope to be too weak, has a connection with Chiaki like that. This is literally a person who believes his life is just a stepping stone for better and more worthy people, someone who knows their existence is a formality at this point. And still, he does have connections. There are people capable of caring about him and loving him and Chiaki was one of those people. And he wanted to see her again in the Neo World Program. Like Chiaki said, it’s no less than miracle.

But alas, this is getting rather long, isn’t it? Well in the D3 anthology, Nagito also is concerned when Chiaki avoids eating because of her hyperfixation on gaming. Chiaki skipping out on self care?! Not cool, Chiaki. And so he challenges her to a game to make sure she’ll eat lunch. Fucking protective as hell. And yes yes, the anthology isn’t canon... but that’s the thing about Danganronpa. The series is over. Any additional info and stuff added to it is meant to enrich the experience for the fandom, so it’s canon to me. What’s the fandom gonna do? Whine at me and tell me it isn’t? That Nagito wouldn’t do these things when official anthologies and content that’s sold for Danganronpa tells me he would? So... yeah.

Ultimately, whether you ship them or not, I think this fandom is missing out on the Komanami side of things and how good their relationship is when you really observe it. :3

[turtlegirlave]

So this has a ton of opinions which I usually stray away from but i really let all my opinions out here. Also there is definitely fact mistakes, probably name mistakes and some incorrect singing terms in here, I wrote this at 2 A.M. with a limited knowledge of theater I’m just trying to get a point across.

Why s2 of hsm the series should have been newsies instead of beauty and the beast:

They say straight up in the show “we need a real Alan Menkhen musical” and they pick beauty and the beast instead of newsies, a literal Broadway stage production???

At first I assumed it was because the cast was primarily male, but that isn’t even a reasonable argument. 1)as shown by s1 when a boy played sharpay, gender doesn’t matter when being considered for a role. 2), a cast with multiple male leads would give the gay men in the show a chance to shine, instead of shoving them to background roles like Chip. Not to mention Carlos is a dancer, and newsies is a musical driven by choreography. 3), since nini moved there are only like 2 lead females anyway, which works for the 2 female roles in newsies.

Casting Wise, the play works SO MUCH better!

Ricky: jack kelley is a much better role for him than the beast for many reasons. First, their personalities are very similar with the mischievous main teen vibe, so the role would be like Troy where Ricky can slip into it easier. Second, it fits him better vocally. It is very clear from listening to Joshua basset sing that he has a relatively high vocal range, and singing low notes or in a deep voice doesn’t come as naturally to him. Jeremy Jordan has a similar vocal range, where he stays in higher octaves and more rarely uses a deep, monotone voice (at least never to the beast’s extent). Ricky would sound perfect singing in Jack’s vocal range. The beast, however, sings almost exclusively in an extremely deep, monotone voice that Joshua cannot easily perform.

Ashlyn: not only does she look quite similar to Katherine, but they have similar personalities as well. Also, katherine’s high and bubbly singing voice would sound lovely with Ash’s, which is also high and bubbly but often softer. This would allow her to push herself to sing louder and more confidently. And she still gets to play a smart bookworm lead female role.

Kourtney: she was born to play miss medda larken. Mrs. Potts’ debut song “beauty and the beast” is a soft romance ballad, which does not match kourt’s stadium reach, strong, powerful voice. “That’s rich” not only shows off her vocals better, but matches her personality and voice much better with the grit and power behind it. Also, Mrs Potts as a character is the soft, motherly type. Miss medda is a rambunctious, empowered, “I got men if I want em but I don’t need em” kinda woman. Which role better fits the girl power, loud, activist, personal cheer squad type person that Kourtney is?

Carlos and Sebastian: not only would this stop shoving the gays and only interesting men other than Ricky to background roles (sorry big red), but it would show off their talents. Seb would make a wonderful crutchy, with his innocent nature and likeness to the character. It would also give him a chance to flex his vocals and sing a duet with Ricky in Santa Fe, further developing the friendships in the show. Carlos could play really any of the main boys, I mostly think he would kill in this due to his dance and choreography skills, which newsies really emphasizes.

Big red: PLEASE this boy would be perfect as Ben Cook’s role (can’t remember the newsie’s name). They’re both the kinda dumb but endearing friend type, and he leads “king of New York”, a song with a killer tap dancing break, which is the whole reason big red wanted to try out! His chemistry with Ricky as crutchy would make that a fine role for him too, but since Sebastian has stronger vocals I think it’s better for him to take a more prominent role while big red relies on his dancing skills over singing.

Gina: though there’s no more lead girl roles, I think she would kill it as mr. Pulitzer. They could add some spice to the character through her insane dance skills, and she would play a great “cunning yet intelligent buisinesswoman” type. This dude also gets 2 or 3 songs, and honestly I don’t remember who she plays in Beauty and the beast so idk.

EJ: I admit Gaston is a perfect role for him and I can’t fit him into newsies well. He would play a good spot conlin, though it is a significantly smaller role. No one really cares about ej though so small loss.

Plot valuability:

doing newsies makes literally way more sense. Firstly, they are kinda planning entering this show last-minute compared to the competition, so to pick a show already written and choreographed for stage production would really save time. (Even though it would still need work to be condensed for a high school production). Second, miss Jen is so determined to stand out from the crowd and win the contest so she picks... beauty and the beast? One of the most popular Disney movies (and honestly with one of Alan’s weaker soundtracks compared to tangled, Aladdin, and the little mermaid imo). Having them do newsies, especially when switching up gender roles like casting Gina as Pulitzer, would actually make them stand apart from the dozens of schools performing Disney movies. It would also give a significantly more impressive vocal and dance performance, since the songs were written for Broadway singers rather than actors. The set is also more cheap and condensed, while still looking professional, which would help with their “we’re too poor and late to afford a straight-up aquarium so let’s do the most with what we’ve got.” Putting the characters in these roles would also not alter their development or main story plots much, besides strengthening certain friendships and pushing aside less popular characters (ej). It would also give more rep for the gays as well as switching up gender roles. Imagine, the gay guys get actual things to do in the show and aren’t defined by the sole plot of “my boyfriend rich” relationship drama! (I love these two but I am a tired ace). Also jerjor performs in both this and tangled the series, so it’s a double whammy for Alan menkhen representation.

Marketability: I know the musical has to be widely known and appealing to viewers. People watched s1 because they love hsm. People also love beauty and the beast, so viewership may raise with fans of the movie. Newsies doesn’t die here, though. It is a very widely popular play among theatre people, and existed first as a movie musical so it isn’t exclusive to theater kids. Also, fans of Newsies are generally between their tweens and early twenties, the exact age demographic for the show. Beauty and the beast is a classic and more widely known, but also doesn’t draw in large numbers of the exact age group you want. Also, the fact that newsies is a little less mainstream only helps the plot point of them choosing it to still have something well known while also standing out from the competition. Doing beauty and the beast is not only an awful choice for casting that limits the actors vocals or is completely out of their range, but it also makes them blend in with the crowd.

Final notes: beauty and the beast was IMO the worst choice for the play this season. Movies like Aladdin and tangled both have very energetic and loud soundtracks that allow these characters to belt their hearts out. Beauty and the beast has a very folksy, quiet, ballad type of track that limits the actors. The only actor that I think sings ballads better than big booming tracks is Nini, who isn’t even in the play this year. Ricky also sings great ballads, which is why ballads that are still slow but also emotional and powerful like “Santa fe” or “something to believe in” (which would sound AMAZING in his and Ashlyn’s voices) fit much better than the deep voice of the beast that he can not comfortably sing in. Also, the beast has very few songs whereas newsies would allow him to belt his heart out in nearly every song with that lovely voice he has. The age range of the newsies cast (that characters are supposed to be 17) fits better with these very teen actors than a movie about old fashioned French young adults. Really newsies was the best musical choice for this season, but I also believe beauty and the beast was the last one they should have chosen.

(After reading comments I rescind my statement that beauty and the beast was the worst choice, but it’s still second to newsies imo)

Feel free to debate me in the comments or point out my mistakes, I’m very open to other points of view

[dragynkeep]

I started watching RWBY a few months ago (even though through Tumblr I basically know the whole storyline via gifsets lol) I've literally just finished Volume 3, which so far is my favorite season. There's one thing though, it's not even a RWBY thing, it's a fandom thing, maybe it's brought up in later seasons idk.

Why is fanon Yang a butch lesbian?

Like I said maybe I'm not there yet, but so far she isn't butch at all? I mean she fights using martial arts and rides a motorbike, but I wouldn't consider her at all 'butch', y'know? Also she's expressed interest in men?

Going from RWBY then into the fandom it's like two very different Yangs. It feels like when people ask who is the man and woman in a same sex relationship, and the fandom has picked Yang for the former. It's so off putting. Also why erase Yang's interest in men? It happens a lot I've noticed in fandoms, it's like only 1 character is allowed to be bi in a same sex relationship. Since the fandom can't ignore Blake's interest in men (because of Adam) they've decided to ignore Yang's instead.

I'm bi myself and the fandom's attitude towards Yang honestly makes me super uncomfortable. I'm aware of future volumes getting slated for their lack of quality in storytelling, which I'm fine with for the moment. But in the case of Yang (who is my favorite character) does she later get written as 'butch' and identify as a lesbian? Or is it just the fandom being gross? Because that's the deciding factor on whether I continue.

Biphobia and heteromorative expectations on wlw relationships. It's not just the FNDM's fault, the show itself has really gone deep into masculinising Yang for no reason, and every way of looking at it is a whole bunch of YikesTM.

She's being heavily pushed into a relationship with Blake, so one needs to be the man and the other needs to be the woman. Blake has been shoved into a more submissive role and personality to match, she can't stand up for herself anymore especially with racists, and needs Yang to come save her.

Meanwhile Yang has been shoved into the role of the man. The FNDM and the show has taken away her feminine likes and aspects of her character to focus purely on the masculine ones, especially how she's a party girl who does enjoy dressing femininely while also liking traditionally masculine things. You can't have a WLW relationship with two butch or two femme, and it very clearly shows in how the FNDM and the show treats BB.

Nora also likes masculine things while dressing femininely, but she still gets to keep her feminine aspects while in a relationship with Ren. I wonder why.

Add onto how many who have Yang as a lesbian straight up ignores her attraction to men. Prefaced with this: there is nothing wrong with headcanoning Yang as a lesbian, headcanons are meant to be fun, but people take it way to far as to say it's canon and compltely brush off the fact that Yang has canonically shown an interest in men.

It's not comphet because comphet does not exist in remnant.

Homophobia, transphobia, basically any bigotry outside of Faunus racism and kingdom xenophobia exists in Remnant. You cannot have comphet in a world where these things do not exist because you need homophobia and the assumption that the default is being straight and cis to be a thing for comphet to be a thing.

It's not there? Neither is comphet.

And again, because people cry lesbophobia when this gets pointed out, you can headcanon about comphet in remnant, you can put it in there for your writing or AUs, and even use it for certain characters like Yang, but stop saying it's canon and stop treating people like they're wrong for saying it's not.

When BB finally gets its confirmation in the way that Arkos and Renora have been allowed, Yang will either be bisexual or pansexual, or even asexual, and that will be fine. She's still wlw, but people need to realise that their headcanons on Yang are not the same as canon, and they don't need to jump headfirst into biphobia when there are already numerous lesbians in RWBY's small rep pool.

Let other people have their turn.

[life-rewritten]

Gifts of BL! Aka Christmas Goodies For BL Fans Who Want Important Discussions About   Representation.

Oh wow, we're closer to Christmas. Where has the time gone?. So here's a gift for you all—another list of great BLS that will make you have a great time. If you find it fun rewatching and feeling all the emotions from these love stories, then I hope you enjoy these. Today I bring you guys a list of recommendations for our sometimes serious, sometimes heartfelt, sometimes innovative educators in BL that are very much needed.

Ah, The educators, the teachers, the serious topics, the displays, the emotional moments. Some of these shows decided to surprise me when I came in expecting something odd and not realistic; only for them to break my heart but also humble me and teach me and others some of the crucial conversations we need to have about LGBTQ+ representation in BL. We have couples discussing about their sexuality accepting they are gay or bi(Yes not just in love with only one person but they actually embrace their sexuality), we have essential coming out scenes and looks into the mindsets of people who struggle with coming out and being in the closet, we have supportive families that have to learn and show our characters warmth because of their own experiences, and we have metaphorical outlooks of what it feels to have to please society with the result of losing ourselves. These are the great BLs, they break our hearts, but they make it hopeful to see people who go through their issues and come out in love, strong and protected and supported. Their journey is worth it, so if you want to find some shows that give you these feelings, then join me and let's look at these great representations in the BL genre. 

BL has a bad rep. How could it not when the reason BLs were created was for straight girls who fangirled about two boys kissing. Not that I even hate fujoshi's, you're allowed to be whatever you want, like whatever you want as long as you don't cross the line and make people uncomfortable with outrageous demands or actions (like the fujoshi's in some BL shows). But BLS has become something more, though some people refuse to take them still seriously and doubt their authenticity, some people refuse to accept some shows as BL, they instead just call it a queer film or tv. But why? BL has become a place for people to run away into a fantasy of stories where there's drama, romance, comedy, mystery, passion and more. BL can be anything, and in 2020 BL showed it could be anything, it could be serious and well produced and not filled with its past problematic enquiries, it could be funny and still tug at the heartstrings, it could be deep and painful and full of lessons but still have a happy, hopeful ending, it could be any genre it wanted, from supernatural, action, thriller and more. BLs improved and also became a source for the representation of LGBTQ+. And I think that's beautiful. It might have a taken a while for people to learn, for own voices to find a way to write new shows, for risks to be made. But 2020 saw the influx of BLS that weren't just fan service but actually art or just good stories with a great message. Here are some of them. 

Thai 

Dark Blue Kiss

It's weird to say that Dark Blue Kiss is an excellent representation for the qualities needed in this list. But what can I say apart from the overbearing, jealous plotline and some irrational over reactiveness with some of our characters. Dark Blue Kiss and Kiss me again has always been a show that has been worth it. Dark Blue Kiss is one of the first Thai BLs, where we saw a supportive parent, and that's Pete's father. He's incredible; he's everything that's healthy, understanding and helpful. He makes jokes with Pete about his relationship but also supports and gives him advice. He's protective and sweet when it comes to Kao and Pete, and they are themselves when they're with him even daring to speak about things like intercourse etc. It's incredible; he was a breath of fresh air for parents we usually encountered in this genre. He had discussions with his son, and in doing so, we saw his son also have more conversations and discussions with his partner about what their sexuality was, why they should come out as a couple, why they were scared to do so, what was holding them back etc. Pete's dad isn't the only supportive parent with advice and warmth, we later also add Kao's mum to the list, she's always known about Pete and Kao and was waiting patiently for Kao to come on his own and tell her. It's incredible. Dark Blue Kiss brought out conversations that didn't seem meaningless, there was an actual exploration of the fears some people have with coming out, and it was brilliant and wonderful to see on screen. Honestly are we shocked? It's Backaof as the director; all his shows should be on this list, every single show of his explores these topics with care and heart. And it's incredible.

Why it's a gift

Deep conversations and moments where you see two people learn and wonder about their sexuality and how the world may react to it. Supportive parents that are understanding, helpful and sweet. A relationship that's incredible despite its flaw, shown wonderfully and thoughtfully. Even the hurtful moments like when Kao gets outed and also has to struggle with claims of being a predator is done well and leads to Kao finally accepting his fears and coming out to the people he loves. By the end of it, all Pete and Kao are back together, happy, finally healthy and mature. Dark blue kiss also explores these two ambitions, their dreams, their ideas for the future and more. And it also has a great friendship group worth stanning. Pete and Kao aren't the only couple in this show worth praising and noticing you also have Mork who goes through his own acceptance of his sexuality once he falls for Sun, they're also great and also have their own plot revolving around dreams, jobs and character and angst. A great side couple in BL.  It's amazing. 

Special mention:

My Dear loser: Another Backoaf directing, no words this is incredible, I think everyone knows how great this is despite the BL coupe being a side couple, that may have an ending that feels unfinished. You can watch both this and My sky for a full experience. This deals with everything so well and also has a great support system from friends. Chimon is such an amazing actor in this.

As always I leave a gift: 

LINK HERE FOR MY DEAR LOSER IN/SUN CUT

DARK BLUE KISS EDIT FOR PETE KAO THEIR STORY

I told Sunset about You

I mention this show on every list; it's like not even a surprise anymore to see it. There's a reason why this show is incredible why people prefer to see it as a queer film instead of BL. Why people think calling it a BL is an insult (which I think why? A BL should be allowed to be seen as a good form of representation). This show has it all. Honestly, a great production company behind it, acting that's phenomenal, and a story that will blow your minds each time you watch it and try to piece it together. What's even more respectful about ITSAY is that it's a coming of age done well, it showcases feelings of the youth and how feelings are seen as a storm that can't be stopped. 

Especially when you are struggling to understand your sexuality, we have two characters, Teh who learns as he grows that he has uncontrollable, addictive and crazy feelings for his best friend, they're drawn to each other, but Teh can't understand what he feels, he doesn't know what this means. He struggles to comprehend it as well with his struggles with ego, pride and selfishness because of his young age. Then we have his best friend Oh Aew he knows what he is, he also is torn apart by feelings when Teh reenters into his life, he also struggles through losing his self, individuality and his confidence because of his feelings for Teh. It's brutal, but one thing stands for sure, these two are meant to be together, these two love each other. Why is this so great? Because the directing and production of this show is serious, every single scene counts, every single action has a meaning, but also this show has incredible moments that show you the struggles of internalized homophobia. 

It's something that's always mentioned in BLS as a struggle. Still, this show used scenes to show it, like for example, OH wearing his mother bra because he wished he was born a girl to be with Teh. Still, then he breaks down in self-loathing only to later stand up and embrace who he is, and Teh who finally comes out to his brother in a heart-wrenching scene; another supportive and healthy relationship who understands him and tells him it's okay to be who he is, to be with Oh, to be brave and take a leap to what he wants. His brother's conversation is everything someone who struggles with the same issues wants to hear; it's a healing effect, a hopeful and painful realization that some people don't have someone like Oh and Teh's family who help them and let them accept who they are. 

It's a journey of discovering the truth about how so many people have to go through this fear because of what society put in our heads, it's a wake-up call, but the fact that ITSAY has a happy ending despite all the realistic representation and angst is a hopeful meaning for everyone who saw themselves in Oh and Teh. It's incredible. 

Why it's a gift:

It's unbelievable; it's not told to you but shown to you the amount of struggle some people can have when they're coming of age and realizing their sexuality. It's a beautiful representation of what it's like to fall in love: the angst, pain, healing but also sabotage, and the growth. It's produced with so much effort and hard-work and research on what would be an excellent story for LGTBQ to see. One of the best made BLs; this is not us being dramatic. 

.A Gift for You

GREAT OST PLAYLIST OF ITSAY

An Edit For Teh/OH 

He's coming to me

Another Backoaf, directing masterpiece. This show is incredible. Like words can't explain how good this show is. Words can't describe what a gift this show still is. How much a BL like this was needed. First, this show is already unique; it deals with supernatural world-building, with ghosts and mysteries of death/murder, it deals with also coming of age, and falling in love and accepting your sexuality. It has two confirmed gay characters who we see explore and finally reveal who they are, they've both known and as they fall in love, they have to go through the angst of what it means that they love each other. 

It's incredible, not just because of the fact that Thun's ability to see ghosts and his need to hide that also mirrors his need to hide his sexuality, the way he breaks down later after realizing that people won't let him just be him or the way people made him feel bad for being who he is. The way that Mes also went through the same thing before he died, and the person who connected them was Thun's mom. She's incredible, and I still believe the coming-out scene of Thun to his mum is one of the best as incredible as his confession on the rooftop to Mes as he breaks down in the rain because he's afraid he's been left. 

The amount of repressed feelings these two hides is insane, and when they later confront it,  it's like OMG really they knew about their feelings all along? It's incredible, with a show that already has an incredibly well thought out plot about ghosts and supernatural, but it also has two characters that are fleshed out, who both have discussions with everyone around them about what they are and the way they have a happy ending after all the angst and tears. It's worth it thousand times over and over again. This show is just great. And no one else can do it like Backaof he just has the most excellent formulas: supportive family members, supportive friend unit, serious conversations about sexuality and feelings, important relationships and no censorship, unique plotlines and risks. He's incredible. No words.

Why this is a gift?

The actors are also one of Thailand BLs veterans. Both of them are incredible and nuanced in their scenes; they make you cry, scream, sigh, and swoon. They make you learn, and it's fantastic, they're amazing people. They're worth it both Ohm Pawat and Singto, their performances are incredible. Every character in this show is fleshed out and necessary, the plot makes sense and isn't written haphazardly, and the directing is phenomenal. Watch it. 

A gift for You

He’s coming to me the whole show

PINOY

Gaya Sa Pelikula 

This time we have the Philippines if Thai isn't your cup of tea I guess. This show is just, so great? It was made with the intention for representation, a love story to the LGBTQ community, actors devoted to researching and learning about the topics presented in the show. This show is outstanding, no words, it's not preachy, but it's still educative. Not one episode goes back when you don't see the effort and brilliance of this show; each message of each episode is so important and needed. The story isn't afraid to explore topics which haven't been shown correctly in this genre, and it's so good they did. 

We have two characters, one a gay out guy (Vlad) who is very bitter about everyone and how they treated him, he's dying to be loved for who he is, and he's desperate to find a safe space where he can be himself loud and proud, he falls in love with another (Karl) who is more in the closet, with secrets that you discover later about his circumstance he's not sure of who he is and as the show progresses he and us get educated about everything. He learns to accept that he is gay. 

This show is about self-acceptance, love and healing. By falling in love; our characters are forced to question everything about who they are, what they've gone through and how that shaped them, and we realize that both perspectives is right in their own way. The show is for people who feel like the guy who's out, who wants to be proud and tell the world he's in love but also it's for people like his partner who feel guilty for struggling and having anxiety about accepting who they are, but this show doesn't force him out, it doesn't force them to be together, it just becomes a realistic story full of hope about the future of these two. It's a healing show; it makes you question your self, it makes you go through your own journey of how you feel you're perceived in the world, it takes you on a trip of your own self-learning, exploration and discovery. And it ends making you feel grateful for the experience of it all.

Why it's a gift:

 I think the best thing about this show is the other extra gifts it brings. It's music playlist, it's like your own gift bundle of new artists to explore and listen to every song is beautiful and needed, with different messages and feelings, you will find one music you love in this playlist, and you'll end up spending hours weeping about them. But it's beautiful, it's euphoric, and the show is worth it. The show has amazing actors and a great team of people behind the scenes. The writer is brilliant, poetic and serious; he knows how to make a plot. He knows how to teach you without you feeling patronized, he knows how to humble you if you didn't know anything before. He's just great. 

A gift for You

GSP OST PLAYLIST- THE BEST

Gameboys 

I haven't mentioned this show on here before, which is sad because it really should be praised. It's an outstanding show that showed up during a time where the world was on pause. Gameboys provided a gift for everyone who looked for something during the lockdown in the pandemic. The fact it revolves around events in the pandemic, it uses it as a great plot device and has important moments that touch your heart and make you reflect on the situation without being too heavy. 

Gameboys is incredible; it also has a unique storyline, a Gameboy and his fanboy who falls in love with him and is confident he can win over his heart. Except, our Gameboy Cairo has to go through some self-exploration first, some self-healing and acceptance, some coming to terms with guilt and self-hatred he feels for things that happened to his past. This show makes you cry, so bring the tissues, I mean every show on this list probably does, but this show has so many moments, we have supportive parents, but even in a more heartbreaking way, we have warnings of what happens when people selfishly out people, the consequences of that, how much anxiety and fear you can have as you deal with internalized homophobia and being in the closet, how it affects family members, and what it means to finally accept who you are and stand up for who you are. It's brilliant, painful, but it also makes you grin from so many heartfelt moments we needed during a dark time. The actors are also amazing, and they make you feel everything they feel so naturally, they're also three dimensional and have exciting character arcs. There's a great support system as well in this show, with the best friend, who makes you smile whenever you see her. This show is worth it. 

Why is it a gift? 

I feel like without knowing it Gameboys was an actual gift for everyone who was struggling during the pandemic, it showed the reality of what was going on, but it also showed healing and hope and happiness derived from being in quarantine and lockdown. It showed that even in lockdown nothing had to stop, we could still fall in love, grow and learn about our selves if we wanted to. It also had a great love story to follow that was both funny, romantic and heartfelt. The directing was genius also, and it touched many people. It was outstanding. 

A gift for You

ALT GAMEBOYS: A SIDE STORY FOR ONE OF THE CHARACTERS

JAPANESE

Cherry Magic 

Finally, we come to this gem of a show. What else can we say about Cherry Magic? Oh I know, no one expected this Japanese BL to be so full of heart, joy, magic but also depth. This show is just ridiculously good, it's not as painful as the other shows, it's slower and more softer than the other angst in the other shows, but this show still tugs at your heartstrings and makes you laugh and cry. It deals with everything that has already been mentioned: self-acceptance, questioning of sexuality, trying to please society that you lose your self, being brave and finding your self, loving your self, etc. 

It's just so great, it's also unique a story about magic and reading minds that our main character has. As he realizes his person (Kurosawa) loves him, we watch Adachi struggle through self-hate, self-deprecation and anxiety to finally come out of his shell and become who he wants to be. This show has an incredible love interest who's just wonderful, he's the ideal man, but that doesn't mean he's one dimensional or stale. 

He's also deep, and has his own flaws and hurts, and the way he loves Adachi is just breathtaking and frankly makes you so jealous. Why is this show for representation? Because it's a slice of life of an office romance, it deals with what people go through in life, the gruels and requirements from work whilst also watching both our characters choose to be brave and come out to each other and pick each other despite their fears about what their environment thinks. 

These two are each other's healing, comfort, support system and they both have incredible personalities. This show is also quite deep, you wouldn't think so, but when you listen to the dialogues and watch some of the scenes, you'll see how deep this show can be for its characters whilst still being fluffy. It perfectly represents the fear of coming out and coming to terms of having feelings for someone you weren't expecting. Its message is more hidden, but it's still great for conversations about representation, in my opinion. 

Why it's a gift?

It was made as one; the last episode is coming on Christmas haha. This show takes some tropes of BL and chooses a healthier option, it also just fleshes out its characters incredibly, you watch how Adachi and Kurosawa changed each other's life without knowing and how their love keeps being needed by each other in many ways. It also is called Cherry Magic, because this show is magical, it makes you grin, be happy and excited from seeing one episode, it tugs at your heartstrings whilst making you blush and squeal from happiness. Its softness is something to look forward to after a hard day of whatever real life looks like to you, it has a healing effect, a warm effect and it makes you smile and forget your troubles in those few minutes. It's wonderful. 

A gift for You

Adachi and Kurosawa EDIT

I hope you enjoy these shows they’re all incredible, they’ll surely make you smile and be happy. They’re all important in their own way, if you haven’t seen any have a go and see which you love. Let me know if I’ve missed some, to be honest I chose the ones that had scenes with important discussions that make you think or scenes that bring out emotions and feelings but also make you learn and realise something. Hope you enjoy the recommendations or if you’ve watched them before hope you enjoy the reviews and commentary. Merry Christmas guys :)

Other recommendations

GIFTS OF BL FOR FANS WHO LOVE ANGST, DRAMA AND PASSION

[kdramafeminist]

Performative Badassery & Women in Kdramas

When I said I wrote an essay, I meant essay. This is a long one! Grab a snack and venture below the read more. I’ll see you at the end!

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You know the feeling. The drama begins. Our female main lead walks onto screen. She’s a successful businesswoman, a hotshot detective, clever lawyer, smartass retail worker, etc, etc. She stares down a random man to prove she’s the powerful one here. Or kicks some ass. Or rattles off a bunch of demands to her workers. Or talks fast to show off her intelligence.

Then she meets the male lead. There’re fireworks. Slowly we find our female lead has a softer side. Good to know. 3-dimensional and complex characters are important. It’s nice to see women on-screen who are both capable and emotional. Kick ass and feminine. 

But slowly... something starts to go wrong. She seems to be crying more than showing literally any other kind of emotion. And is it just me or is she getting saved and manhandled and flustered quite a lot for a woman who we were told was so well put together? Sure, the circumstances are extreme. But they’re extreme for the male lead too and he seems to be managing just fine for some reason. Also, if both of them are ordinary people with no on-screen fighting experience, how come he’s so great at throwing fists out of nowhere and she’s busy keeping hidden or needing rescuing? Exactly how many times can one person just faint like that without anyone checking to see if she has a medical condition?

By the drama’s end our lead has gone through trials and tribulations. She’s fallen in love too, I’m happy for her. But... now that the story’s ending and she’s getting in one last chance to show us she’s a “badass”, why am I left feeling hollow? She’s showing us how tough she is but... we ALL spent this whole drama watching her have absolutely no agency or such a little amount that she might as well have been trying to put out a fire with a water-pistol. It’s almost like her previous badassery (in whatever form it may have been - I don’t mean badass only in terms of being able to throw a good punch) was just a façade. A way to hook in female viewers like me who want to see something more than a wilting wallflower or one-trick Cinderella. But the tiniest knock and the cardboard house collapses.

And no matter how many times we get throwaway lines about her being “the smartest/toughest/scariest/most capable one here” it doesn’t ring true compared to the actual character we’re watching.

Rom-coms, melos and sagueks especially (but many more genres besides), have a real problem when it comes to performative badassery in their female characters. The writers give us a female lead they claim is hyper competent, but the reality is totally different. Any plot that features romance, almost always features this. Honestly the way the start of the relationship in dramas actively MURDERS the female character’s agency could be its own essay so I won’t go deep, just know the two are 100% linked.

The “Faux Action Girl” Problem 

A Faux Action Girl happens when a writer wants the popularity that comes with having a cool action girl character, or they want the praise that comes with writing a lead that breaks gender norms, or they want to be lauded for writing a FL whose more capable & progressive than the female kdrama lead we’d imagine, but they don’t end up actually giving us her. Instead we get the fake or faux version. The reasons are usually a combination of:

Relying on outdated tropes. Wrist grabs, damsels in distress, a girl fainting so she misses some vital plot related moment to increase runtime etc...

Sexist worldviews. As a by-product of being Korean which is still a heavily sexist country because of the holdover of Confucianism mixed in with the Christianity westerners brought over that leads many writers to (often without even realising) inserting moments that inadvertently reduce their female leads because they think that’s what correct or natural for the female character based on their opinion of women in general. Even if it doesn’t actually fit the type of character they’ve set out to create.

Executive meddling. Producers who think their demographic wouldn’t be able to handle a real badass but also know their female viewers want more complexity and agency in their FLs these days and so give us the paper-version instead of the 3D model.

This character’s more “badass” traits are nearly always just an Informed Ability (the writers tell us via other characters what she can do but never actually show us on-screen these same things) or we only ever see her utilise them once/twice at the beginning and maybe if we’re lucky once at the end, but never again. 

It really hurts.

The “Badass Decay/Chickification” Problem

Sometimes she really is a legitimate action girl though. She’ll be a cop whose good at her job or an ordinary citizen whose well-versed in taekwondo. She has actual moments on-screen to prove herself. 

Well. She has moments in episodes 1 and 2. Then she almost always goes through Badass Decay/Chickification. Which means that writers (& producers) believe that if we don’t see her having a softer side, she’ll become unrealistic or unlikeable. 

They fix her. So she becomes more vulnerable. As the only girl on the team (usually), she becomes the one who ends up injured more often or needs rescuing most. Her life begins to revolve entirely around her romance and nothing else. (Meanwhile the male leads gets to have the romance and keep his side-quest - have you noticed that? If the FL is really lucky she gets to keep one side-quest too, maybe a dream job or solving some family mystery. Never more though.. only men get to be complicated here). Once she was competent... now it feels like she legitimately had a personality transplant. 

Is this even the same person we began with?

The “Worf Effect” Problem 

Worf Effect is when the danger/power level of a villain is shown to the audience by making him successfully attack/hurt/ruin the plans of someone that the audience knows is skilled. This isn’t a bad thing alone and writers use it all the time. We need to acknowledge the villain as a proper threat and this is a useful way to do it!

But in kdramas it’s something used almost always against the lead female character. The one we’ve seen is intelligent, or strong-willed or quick-witted. 

And because it’s always her, this character begins to look weak. If this writing trope is abused, her reputation as the "biggest, toughest" etc. begins to look like it never existed and we’re back to her having an informed ability. 

That this is something that happens to the female characters not only more often but almost exclusively is a sign of sexism. Plain and simple.

Competent, Real Badass Female Characters Aren’t Scary

 If you’re going to sell me a capable woman, give me her. 

Not someone who has one very unique, specialised skill but otherwise can do nothing else except for that one time when her one skill is useful. 

Or has built up her own empire, implying a certain level of smarts, business ability or networking skills, but then once she’s removed from it she becomes so utterly useless it begs the question how she built that empire in the first place. 

Or has a rep as the detective whose taken down the toughest guys off-screen, but whatever skills she used to do that seem to disappear the moment anything really challenging happens on-screen. 

I’m not saying she needs to win all the time. Of course she doesn’t, how boring is that? All I’m asking is that when she loses, it’s in keeping with the character I’m supposedly watching. A woman that can kick ass can still be outwitted. A clever woman can be physically beaten. A street-smart girl can be foiled by rules and regulations. A leader-type can be beat by someone whose more unconventional.

It’s not difficult to write someone like this. I know the writers can do it because every male lead is written this way. I’ve never once, whilst watching a badass male lead lose, get beaten and cry, thought “oh no, his badassery was fake all along!”

Because when he loses it makes sense. It’s in character. There’s a solid plot reason behind why it happens.

Meanwhile my ladies who are meant to be able to kick ass and take names somehow just got kidnapped out of nowhere?

Make it make sense!

Consistent Characterisation is Good Writing

I get wanting moments where one is injured and the other fusses over them. I love those moments! All I ask is more imagination taken to get us to that point. Make it in-character. If my taekwondo black belt is kidnapped, I want to see her really fight. I want the kidnapping to be shown as genuinely tough on the people trying to nab her. Imagine how much more satisfying it would be to see her fight off all these bad guys, yet still end up losing? How much more heart-breaking?

We’d be so much more invested in the mind games or politics the villain is playing if the female lead we’ve been told is good at that stuff is playing the game just as hard. When she loses it’ll hurt more.

Writers need to stop being afraid that her remaining capable in some way diminishes the masculinity, attractiveness, prowess or “hero” status of the male lead. Trust me. It doesn’t. Ever. 

It’s not a case of either/or. We don’t think less of the male lead because his partner is as capable as him in whatever way that may be. Instead, we think more of them both. Once a romance begins, the heightened worry both characters have for each other should only make both of them stronger in whatever area they’re skill lies in. Not just make the man a sudden defence wall and the woman a worrying mess. 

I’m sure everyone who reads this can immediately think of at least one drama with a FL who is a Performative Badass. I know I had about ten in mind as I wrote this. 

There are exceptions. Cases where the badass gets to stay a badass. Usually these cases happen in genres without romance because like I said above, those problems are linked. But I can think of a few romcoms/sageuks/melos where it happens too. 

But those are the minority.

Women in kdramas. Give them agency. Make their characterisation genuine, not just a bit-part for the sake of a cool trailer. Not just one moment someone can edit into a “badass multifemale” video edit - only for us to watch the drama from the clip and discover we’ve been sold a lie. 

How satisfied would we be?

Writers! Give us a story we enjoyed because of the excellent characterisation. A new female character we can add to our lists of faves. Women who proved themselves as consistently badass as their first scenes claimed. Women in kdramas who, no matter what problem they faced, don’t become echoes or paper-thin versions of who we were promised.

Actual, complex, layered, enjoyable, KICK-ASS AND BADASS female leads.

Wouldn’t that be a miracle.

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PS. This is an open notice that it’s OKAY to reblog with added commentary/thoughts/rambles of your own. I would *love* to see it if you have anything to add.

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(Disclaimer: This essay was written with a specific female character type in mind. I am not saying every FL needs to be a badass or hyper competent. Soft, shy, physically weak female characters exist and can be just as realistic and complex. There’s a few I can think of who I adore. Instead my essay is very specifically about characters who are *meant* to be badass from the start but then... don’t end up being. So, yeah, before anyone claims I’m some angry feminist who needs every FL to be some tough martial artist or something. Absolutely not! Diversity is amazing and interesting. All I ask is that when I am told I’ll be getting a badass in a drama I get her. Not have my heart broken by the fake wilting flower I find in her place. Ok. End disclaimer. ^^)

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Also I’m tagging a bunch of you because you reblogged my post saying you wanted this so here! TY for making it to the end ^^

@kdramaxoxo​ @islandsofchaos @storytellergirl @vernalagnia-blog @lostindramas @salaamdreamer​ @planb-is-in-effect​ 

[imonthinice]

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 14/?

Word Count: 2.2k

Author’s Note: Y/N - Your Name

Somehow! I decided that Y/N became more of an OC, I don't know how this happened, but I might release an AU just because I clearly can’t fanfiction Y/N lmao.

Warnings: Discussion of arrests, Mentions of alcoholism, Mentions of drug use, Mentions of Jason’s trauma, Mentions of relationships ending bad, Mentions of abuse (domestic), No beta bitch we die like Jason Todd

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20)

“Your friends... all got arrested?” he paused, “Do you remember this? At all?” he questioned.

“Do you expect me to remember any of this? I was black-out drunk, Jason,” she said, “There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered now, I know that.”

“You going to worry about this now and fix it?”

“I really don’t want to deal with it. My memory of the night is non-existent anyway.”

“Getting drunk does that to you.”

“You’d think I would know that by now,” she muttered under her breath.

He chose to ignore that statement because clearly, she wasn’t prepared for everyone to know of that part of her past yet. But that was neither here nor there.

“Do you have any notes that you need to write?” he asked, trying to ease the tension. Hoping it would clearly make her feel better if he changed the subject.

“No, I can read my own notes. I only printed them out for you, Jay.”

“Well that’s very sweet of you to do, baby.”

“Got to make up for my recklessness somehow, I guess,” she laughed, “It is what it is, I guess.”

“You should be more confident in the fact that you don’t need to make up for recklessness,” he paused, “Did I ever tell you about that time I dared Dick to tuck and roll out of the car?”

“Dick mentioned it.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you that he made me do the same first, actually,” he laughed, “We were with dad, he was teaching me how to drive as one does, and when we stopped so dad could answer a phone call, Dick leant over to me and said, ‘During my demo, twenty bucks if you tuck and roll out of the car.’ and me, being a stupid teenager took the deal,” he laughed, “Dad was pissed at us two and refused to take Dick on my driving lessons after that.”

“Well that doesn’t explain why you made Dick tuck and roll out of the car,” she laughed.

“I’m getting to it! So the next time Dick was going to go for a drive with Dad, probably because he wanted to tell Dad about Barbara or something, I don’t know, I said, ‘To get your twenty bucks back, you tuck and roll out of the car this time.’ Dick, also being a stupid teenager, did it,” he laughed, “And that’s why dad never takes us on car rides now.”

“Have any of your other siblings tucked and rolled out of cars?”

“You say that like it’s a daily activity people just do.”

“Well, who’s to say your family is not one of those types of people?” she joked.

“Logic?”

“Logic? In the Wayne Manor? That’s rich.” she joked.

“Like you would know!” he retorted to her before grabbing her and yanking her onto his chest as he laid down on his bed.

“You’re dating a girl who flipped off the press twice, you cannot look at me and say your family possesses logical thinking.”

“That’s valid, I won’t dismiss that,” he laughed.

They let the news play in the background as they cuddled. Jason still had his stitches in and he said it was because Dick said, “You’ve been moving too much’ and the two of them laughed, knowing that that was likely going to be the outcome. They knew what they did, they knew it was worth it. Dick probably didn’t think it was worth it, if he even caught on,

Bruce had reamed Jason out for that, because Bruce did catch on. Bruce had to play the parenting role in this all, and he knew what Jason was like. He knew Jason likely wasn’t prepared for the escapade and journey they had took. 

He was right. Jason wasn’t prepared for that, he didn’t have the necessary items for it. Y/N and Jason didn’t care about that at the time, so they didn’t even bother to realize. Kids will be kids, Bruce supposed, and he hoped for the best possible outcome out of this. He knew Jason wasn’t ready, he didn’t know if Y/N was ready, but he knew if what he was scared would happen actually happened, he’d support the two of them unconditionally.

But they would continue to do their own thing as time went on, and even at 3 in the morning, no one could stop them from doing what they wanted, what they needed.

That was the beauty of the chase they had done to get to this point, the drama, the love, the pain, it all got them to the point where they were side-by-side in his bed, naked. Obviously they were going to have sex eventually, they just didn’t expect it this early on, but they also seemed to be speed running the entire relationship to the good parts, where they knew each other like the back of their hands, just enjoying the quality time they got with each other.

Yes, it was soon. But it worked for them, and that’s what mattered to all of them. Not just Jason and Y/N, it mattered to his family that even if they were quickening their pace, they were happy and understanding of sometimes it just goes a little faster than one would expect. It doesn’t mean it’s bad or doomed to fail, it just means it’s clicking in a lot of ways others didn’t.

Jason had a dating rep he didn’t like to admit. He was known for being a womanizer, a playboy, someone that dads everywhere didn’t want their daughters to be with. He was given this through the fact that he did have women come in and out of his life. He didn’t want it to be this way, but that’s how it ended up being when some women, most women, would crack under the pressure of his life. He moved fast because he thought it made up for the craziness that was his life. 

So, when he found out that Y/N didn’t like the press very much, he was ecstatic. He knew she didn’t know about what was being said about him everywhere, he knew she didn’t feel scared either, when she proved time and time again that she had a backbone to stand up against the press. Was she one-of-a-kind for this trait? No. Barbara also exhibited this with Dick and their relationship. But Jason had been so shit on by women he tried to date that Y/N was a nice change.

He didn’t want the press to be her new norm, that running from them would become her life, but he also didn’t know if that bothered her for a while, until he saw the articles. The ones calling her names and insulting her every feature, physical and character traits she had shown them. He knew that of course, with the games she had been playing, that they would insult her, and with the court case going on with her attacker, they were just more vicious.

That’s why he demanded she get into Dick’s car the morning after he found out about her drinking, not because he didn’t trust her or anything, but he knew with the ongoing case that she’d be bombarded worse than before. She realized this was his reasoning eventually, probably when she was in his arms.

Her dating streak had been better, but it still wasn't the best. She had a lot of secrets she felt like she needed to hide because of how they made her feel, but eventually she would come out with her stories, the assaults, the bad men, the way they used and used her and how she let it slide.

Being assaulted was something a lot of the population had to deal with and cope with, most likely never actually telling people of their assaults and just letting it simmer, deep, deep down in their brains. Wishing it would have just not happened. 

She wanted to talk about it, but she had also healed so much from it with the help of Jason. Sure, he didn’t fix all the issues she had with exes, but the fact that he didn’t treat her the way the others did, sure as hell helped. 

Writing and dance also helped her cope with a lot of the bad things that had happened to her. She figured if Jason went through bad things, he had an outlet too, because he did seem torn up, but not massively affected. Maybe he was good at hiding how he felt about it all, but maybe he had a way to deal with the trauma.

She knew his parents’ stories and how he was so young during so much of it, and he hoped, prayed even, that he had coped well with those events. But she had no control over most if not all of the events that transpired and how he handled dealing with them.

Both of their minds had a thing for wandering away from them at the worst yet best moments. When she got a call.

“Hello?” she questioned into the phone, when an automated voice returned.

“This is a prepaid call from Gotham County Jail. From inmate ‘Justine Wong’, to accept this call, please dial 1.”

She did.

“Thank you for your cooperation. All inmate calls are recorded. Your account balance is $40.50.”

“Y/N?” Justine asked.

“Hey, I’m here.”

“So, we have an issue,” she joked, “How much do you remember?”

“Nothing. I don’t remember anything.”

“I figured, fuck.”

“It seems issues follow me wherever I go, huh.”

“No, no. It’s our fault, myself, Kaitlin, Thomas, Christopher, we all dragged you out of the house and got you drinking. I barely even remember how it got to where it ended.”

“Well that... that isn’t ideal, Justine. Do you know when your court date is?” Y/N asked.

“I don’t even know if the guy is pressing charges, I hope he doesn’t.”

“You can say that again,” she joked.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess, I took you to the bar that night.”

“You did, yeah.”

“I should have known better.”

“It’s... it’s not that you should have known better, man. It’s... it’s that a bunch of unfortunate circumstances lead us to this point,” she tried to say to comfort her friend. She did feel like it was Justine’s fault in a way, but she didn’t know if fighting with her over the phone while she was held in jail for bodily harm charges was the best idea.

“I feel like you’re mad at me,” Justine admitted.

“It’s not important, really. We can talk about it in anywhere from a couple months to a year, hoping you get lucky.”

“I think we all want to get lucky, Y/N.”

“I know.”

“I think we’re running out of time here, with the call.”

“We are.”

“Well, I love you, man. I’m sorry about all of this.”

“I love you too.”

Click. She paused for a second, with Jason sleeping next to her, she questioned a lot. Whether these friends were even worth it at the end of the day. She had changed so much since she last saw them, trying to cut clean of alcohol, drugs, partying. And trying to better herself,

But she knew all 3 of them were trying to do so too. They really had just ended up in a bad situation. It was 4:34am, and she was just lost in thought when Jason turned into her in his sleep. She smiled.

She played with his hair a bit while he slept, trying to just calm herself. He seemed sweaty, and clutched his bed sheets with one of his hands, She thought maybe he needed comfort right now, not her. She didn’t ever notice this behavior before these moments, and it concerned her. 

He was a grown man having nightmares, she assumed, but she didn’t like it. He deserved to sleep peacefully throughout the night when he woke up in a cold sweat, clutching his sheets and having his hair stroked.

He didn’t question it and just laid on top of Y/N, and let her stroke his hair as he tried to go back to sleep. They didn’t say anything, either of them. It was just really early on a Thursday morning, and they were making the best of the situations they had been thrown in.

There wasn’t any tension between the two of them, but they knew they were a ticking time bomb, that eventually they would fight and the supposed  ‘Honeymoon Phase’ would be over. They didn’t like that thought, that one day they might be at each other’s throats, forgetting that a problem in the relationship is them two versus the issue and not them vs. each other. Fighting with their s.o scared them. 

Jason would fall asleep in her arms, slowly drifting away into unconsciousness. But he would exhibit the same behaviors as before. The fear in his face was palpable.

But Y/N was asleep this time, so when Jason woke, trying to scream, he slapped his hand over his mouth and cried, he didn’t want to wake her, but he also craved just telling her what had happened and how sleeping was so, so much harder for him than she thought. 

People thought the nightmares had slowed, but he just got good at hiding them.

[astrolovecosmos]

Ascendant + Midheaven

Ascendant: Impressions 

Midheaven (MC): Reputation 

Impression is what we see, feel, read, what is expressed to us. 

Reputation is built and destroyed based off deeds, actions, success, but also sometimes rumors/gossip. 

(If you have an intercepted house/double sign and your chart is offset, please send an ask for other Ascendant and MC combinations) 

Aries Ascendant: Known for bluntness, giving off a forward impression. The self is very important - coming off as selfish to some but possibly empowered to others. Focus on the self can also mean a struggle to balance self wants vs. other’s wants, especially with a Libra DC. This person faces many challenges that require them to reanalyze the self, relate to others, and think about others. Capricorn MC: While the Aries Ascendant gives off a self-centered or maybe self-conflicted vibe, this person’s reputation is heavily based on their career success. This isn’t so much in a “predictive” manner but that they may put a lot of weight into what their career is. Aries and Capricorn are both ambitious signs. This makes for a go-getter person who is focused on what they want to achieve. There is a push and pull between expression of individuality through the Ascendant and wanting to stand out in a positive way, that aligns with their society. They want to contribute to society. The points, sharing the same mode walk through lessons of Cardinal, mutable, fixed. With Aries vs Capricorn in these placements there is a lesson to help others, do favors for others to build up integrity. This isn’t just for reputations sake but to better connect the self with others.

Taurus Ascendant: A calm expression that desires harmony, contentment. Down to earth individual who connects easily with others. Sensuality and comfort are so very important to them. Aquarius MC:  Who finds fulfillment in the unusual. There is a desire to stand out. Ambition can be intellectual or it can be in connecting with people. While the Ascendant is welcoming their reputation can surprise. Many may have heard of them, talk about them, the collective can manifest in abundance of people knowing them and/or in their own goals of helping society or a community. Themes of attachment and detachment exist. Taurus highly attached to expression, especially if we get into things like artistic expression. Possessiveness of Taurus can also exist, likely not in surface level relationships but in how they approach others perception and their perception of others. Ex: they may have a hard time letting go of the fact that someone’s impression/idea of them has soured.They admire or hold onto those who like them/admire them. To say they cling to what others think is entirely too simple. It is more about a fixed nature in self expression and view of self. Whereas the Aquarius MC wants to be free of all this. There is a goal to rise above reputation, gossip, status. Traditional vs. non traditional is a struggle in how they approach the world, others, success.

Gemini Ascendant: Talkative, energetic, observant, maybe even intimidating. What a range of impressions and a self that is varied, changing. Pisces MC: We see a very fluid person in terms of the public sphere. Emphasis on healing, service, spirituality, and creativity but defining this person is hard. A vague standing when it comes to reputation or status. Maybe frequently unknown or forgotten about (which before you get offended could certainly be used as a strength). All mutable signs are flexible but with these two you get a person hard to figure out. Despite first impressions or gossip, it is the self that causes and has the most confusion. This is an individual who has a level of uncertainty or instability within. A desire to learn about and connect with others exist from the ascendant. A desire to help others from the MC. Whereas the ascendant may be all talk the MC is built upon caring and healing others OR connecting on an emotional or deep level. A focus on people and the contrast of relating others to the self vs. feeling or even becoming like another is important to an individual with this dynamic.

Cancer Ascendant: Protective shell of toughness or possibly shyness. Approaching the world emotionally. There is a sense of vulnerability about the self that is not shown but at times makes them a slave to their moods. Expression is cautious. They reflect family or community values and traditions.  Aries MC: A very ambitious placement. Their influence on others and actions surely build up their reputation. Here the Cancer Ascendant shell must be broken at times to leave a mark. Maybe it is because of the hesitance or shyness of the ascendant that when this person makes a move or succeeds it stands out so much. I would be careful of thinking this person’s “rep” or how they are perceived is in the hot-blooded stereotype of Aries. It is more how they take the lead in public situations, through decisiveness, seizing opportunities, and sharing their passion. There is a lesson between wanting to preserve and protect the self vs. the need to be open and to put themselves out there. With the strong emotions of Aries and Cancer, this person is sure to leave a mark that is felt wherever they go.

Leo Ascendant: Loud, outgoing, warm, even if a little shyer they still shine with individuality and creativity. The self should be celebrated, self expression is part of being, and they approach others with friendliness and generosity. The world is a stage and sometimes they fall into thinking they are the center of the universe or at least have enough self-respect to make themselves a priority. Taurus MC: Solid determination and thought out goals, with the Leo ascendant this packs a punch when dealing with others and in the public sphere. There is a level-headed approach to the outside world and despite their flashy ascendant might not call a lot of attention to themselves in the workplace or in their personal community. Having a status that is steady may be one of the most common highlights of this dynamic. They can be patient when it comes to their career and dealing with outsiders but the strong desires of their ascendant can cause not so much an impatience but self-doubt towards their dreams or recognition. There is a struggle between wanting influence and wanting material success. There is a desire for security from the MC but the bravery and even risk taking side of the Leo ascendant can threaten this sometimes. Change can be a fear when it comes to their career or the outside world but their Leo ascendant which is confident in the self can help them conquer this.

Virgo Ascendant: Practical approach to life, see’s the world as a place to analyze and sort, and can be humble towards the self and/or is constantly looking for ways to improve the self. They can have a subtle and/or earthy appeal, they sometimes give off a worried or uptight vibe but their flexibility, patience, and calmness can still make them approachable. Gemini MC: The Virgo ascendant is all about fine tuning the self and is focused in this regard, but the Gemini MC is scattered in their career and ambitions. They are likely known as talkative or just as someone easy to talk to. This person may struggle to find what they are good at or what they want to do in life. They can get frustrated with the changeability of their public standing. Taking their focus in self and applying it to their ambitions is a lesson. The flexibility of mutable placements overall can be a strength when times are tough, making it easy to move on and leave behind a bad job or the ability to take on multiple jobs. But save the day job for the 6th house, with the MC they find fulfillment through learning, mental stimulation, and basing their goals around new information and curiosity. Their ascendant may always feel dissatisfied with the lack of depth and expertise. Embracing adaptability, communication, organization, observation, and cleverness as their core strengths is important. As for the opinions of others, there is a lot to say about the whimsical and fast moving Gemini MC, good thing, only the feedback of the Virgo ascendant matters.

Libra Ascendant: Charming, social, likable, promising for making a positive impression. Here the ascendant is always trying to relate to others. While the Aries descendant has a desire for independence and separation, the ascendant still wants to make others happy. Cancer MC: Here ambitions are turned more inward and have a focus on the domestic sphere. The MC stands for what others see most clearly. It stands for the public. With this in mind, their reputation is still very important to them in their immediate community and/or neighborhood, especially their family’s reputation. They may prefer to take the safe route when it comes to the public. Despite their control and charm in social situations they hide their private lives. Libra’s evasiveness can help out with this goal. With the Libra ascendant wanting to find their partner, soulmate, teammate as well as to influence socially - the IC with a cooler domestic life and great need for stability from those closest, the DC wanting to stand on their own, form bonds with those who accept individuality, give them independence and decision power - to the Cancer MC who focuses on family/loved ones as well as emotional control in the outer world; we see the circle of cardinal energy deeply caring about others but also wanting to take action for the self. With the Libra ascendant and Cancer MC this action is most seen being spent on others.

Scorpio Ascendant: Let’s skip over the intense gaze, mystery, magnetism and get to the point of living privately. This person is aware of the depth of self but this is not shared openly. There is a great desire to master the world and themselves. Power plays a role in their approach to life but so does a great want to get to the depth of people, beliefs, the physical, the intangible. Leo MC: The Leo MC wants to run things or even be in the spotlight. They don’t just want a good reputation, they want to be well known. This is a clash with the secretive, behind-the-scenes Scorpio ascendant. The Leo MC excels in many industries but has a special creative knack, self expression being key to building up their reputation and network. Maybe they are known for their fashion, a dark humor, or art. Creativity is a great way to channel the passionate and intense energies of the ascendant. Through the leadership and generosity of this MC combined with the perception and compassion of Scorpio they can make powerful, positive impacts in others’ lives. Scorpio’s fear of vulnerability, inadequacy, betrayal, and abandonment makes it hard for them to extend themselves, to come out onto the stage. With an Aquarius IC who may have unconventional family bonds or possible detachment in their closest bonds + care of self combined with the needed security the Taurus DS craves - a really good support system helps them reach their full potential. But they may not always have this support. So with the Leo and Scorpio dynamic, this is really about empowerment. Fuel the courage to go after their ambitions.

Sagittarius Ascendant: Open, carefree, and friendly persona. With an exploratory approach to the world, a willingness to learn, there is a philosophical view on life and even more so introspection. To find meaning in who they are and/or in life is important. Virgo MC: Practice makes perfect is their approach towards career, success, drive, the public. Mastering their craft is important to them however with the ascendant’s big picture approach and impulsiveness this can be a challenge. Taking the self and reputation seriously is a lesson, the ascendant tends to be more relaxed in how others interpret or receive them. They may not take life too seriously, at least not when younger. Figuring out what is worth devoting to, what is worth focusing on will be a journey in life. While the MC is precision and practicality and the ascendant big dreams and instinct, there is a combined drive to leave a enlightened or life-changing mark, something that makes things “better”, to heal or to serve or to shed light.

Capricorn Ascendant: Steady and highly practical approach to the world. There is a private feel about them and sometimes a rigid feel. Confidence and action in their decisions can show. Libra MC: The overly pragmatic self can conflict with the want to connect and possibly the artistic love the MC may have. Their reputation may be built upon looks, talent, or their relationships. But the ascendant has a desire to be known off personal success, integrity, maybe even hardship. The ambition from Libra exist on a much lighter plane of tact, beauty, pleasantry. It may be more that the ascendant recognizes all their own hard work and gets frustrated when others do not. A mind for justice can form, but the ascendant is prone to trusting only their own judgment and the MC to finding it hard to make a decision or come to a verdict. The MC indecision in career can frustrate the ascendant who solidly wants to forge a path with meaning and tangible success. This person may feel like they have something to prove due to the dynamic. With this combo they are on a mission to ultimately prove things like self worth, inner authority, decision making, and self love to themselves.

Aquarius Ascendant: Known to stand out in their individuality, independence, and visionary approach to the world. Can be social and charismatic but still has a “cool as a cucumber” vibe. Scorpio MC: With possible dispassion from the ascendant, the MC still wants to dive in deep to what they do in life. Career must be connected to their passion and bring real emotional fulfillment. Reputation may be built upon how they make others feel. Scorpio known for rawness and intimacy finds a hard lesson through the self/expression that wants to separate. But the ascendant is all about humanity and humanitarianism, MC about impacting people on an individual level. Here we see the possibility to become a guide, healer, innovator.

Pisces Ascendant: A receptive self, a vague expression, changeable. The self here is very "bendable". Before we label them as "soft" their flexibility allows them to adjust to many different vibes and situations - even taking on a hostile persona. Sagittarius MC: Wants direction and thinks about the future, something their ascendant might want to avoid. Adaptable and quick like the ascendant but there is a strong desire to make sense of the world, especially in a moral or philosophical way whereas the ascendant exist in a unclear space. May build their reputation off of knowledge, risks taking, and entertainment. Their reputation at times can see or feel like a facade because of the highly fluid expression and self. There may be a desire to be known for their beliefs and righteousness, their healing and enlightenment. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" is a hurdle for this combo. Displaying their kindness, open mind, and generosity is a lesson, along with evidence (really more so to themselves) that they help others or love others. The ascendant can easily give affection and compassion but their lack of boundaries can be interpreted in many, many different ways. The MC who takes a more fiery approach to the outside world can display a scattered, insensitive, and self-focused reputation. A lack of boundaries or unwillingness to assert the self combined with an impulsive or even reckless ambition makes it hard to take in and reflect on their personal bonds or how they want to make a difference. This ascendant and midheaven is a powerful duo in making a spiritual impact or in bringing a deeper knowledge to the world. The self finding direction in their ambition and interactions with the outer world.

[rwbyconversations]

RWBY Volume 7 Review

Two weeks out from Volume 8 and I finally cared enough to write this. Go team I guess. 

Part of it came down to my feelings on Volume 7. It’s a complicated season that’s made me realize a lot of my overall feelings on RWBY as a series, particularly a lot of the less flattering feelings. Volume 7 is just... frustrating in general, as for all the good that it does have, and it does have a lot of great elements to it, it’s let down by a frustrating script and writing choices that feel distinctly amateurish, especially as the series moves on and gets better and better looking each year. There’s elements and kernals here of great character writing, season-wide arcs that land in a really good way and get me emotionally invested in the characters. But on the other... Ren only has two hundred words the entire season and you can tell! 

Volume 7 is a season of dizzying highs, some of the best moments of the entire franchise... and some of the series lows. It’s a season where there’s no production reason for its shortcomings... it just comes down to an awkward script that focuses on the wrong elements far too often. Let’s talk about that. In a very long and drawn out manner.

Thanks to @jamesbranwen​, @h-e-m-o-goblin​ and @retro-riffraff​ for help with GIFs and consultation on this review.

1) The Good Stuff!

A) Atlas is very pretty!

I cannot stress enough how on a set level, Volume 7 is leaps and bounds above the other seasons in sheer environmental detail and setting dressing. Mantle has a great atmosphere with its New York influences, the smog covered backgrounds and oppressive streets and alleys. Ironwood’s office which is deliberately designed to evoke astronomy themes to represent James’ love for the stars. The cold oppressive atmosphere of the Schnee Manor and how Jacques has begun warping it to glorify him with only lip service paid to Nicholas in public. Penguins! 

There’s a lot of great set design work that went into this season and the crew deserve props for it. Genuinely. 

B) Ironwood’s arc is the best character arc in the entire franchise

Yeah just wearing my heart on my sleeve there, I fucking love Ironwood and his character arc here in Volume 7 is the best written arc of the show. I simp for the tin man who just wants to do the right thing. This one season of content is better than a lot of the series-wide material being honest. I went back to James’s big volumes in the last month to rewatch the show and it’s interesting to see the early seeds in retrospect for where his arc goes. His need to protect everyone he can and the brutish measures he considers necessary for such an act, his conflicting loyalties towards Ozpin that manifest in both frustration at Oz’s seeming apathy to the growing conflict, but also desperate desire for validation from Ozpin that what’s he doing is the right call. After the Mistral seasons set up James as going off the deep end following Volume 3, having him open the season with an earnest smile, an immediate apology for the team’s arrest and trusting them with his plans for Amity and Salem is a jarring but pleasant surprise. He’s not been slacking off, he’s been trying to keep the world together in the way he thinks is best. He lets his guard down around the heroes and we see the good man underneath, which makes the moments where he raises his walls hurt all the more. While Em and Merc are still probably my favorite characters period, James is absolutely my favorite character in Volume 7 and Top 5 favorite characters series-wide. I’m very eager to see where he goes from here. He also rocks the beard and fixed his T-Rex arms so James came out of the washing machine that is Volume 7′s costume design. He truly is the Best Boi, and I cannot give Jason Rose enough credit for his performance this year. He hit every note of Ironwood’s character perfectly and I wish the fandom would give him more credit for giving James as much life as he does.

Oh, and as the obligatory comment on mlm rep that I am known for getting obsessively weird anon hate over: IronQrow hug nearly had me crying on a convention floor from how goddamn soft it was. Remember conventions? Ah good times.

This just... hits me... ya know? Seeing him lower his guard so much to come in for a hug just shows how isolated he’s let himself become to let himself have this moment of contact... Godamnit James. Also this is the second time after Martial Arcs that two guys hug and I really liked their ship for the following hiatus. 

C) Soft Qrow hours are nice

Qrow’s a good guy, he went through a lot of bad stuff in Volume 6 but now he’s on the other side and purged his voice of the demon within. I think Volume 7 was a very good year for Qrow overall. It was great to see him interacting with more characters his age and lowering his own guard. His moments of letting the facade drop around James and Clover especially are great expansion for his character. Jason Liebritch hit the ground running as Qrow and gave him a far more dynamic range than I think Vic could. While I wish Qrow going off alcohol had been given more of a focus as it’s kind of done off-handedly that he’s gone cold turkey and otherwise doesn’t get brought up barring his revulsion at the wine in the Schnee Manor, he overall had a great year. And trust me I’ll get to the fights later, I have a lot more I can say about the bird boi there. 

D) I liked the Ace Ops! 

I was ambivilent towards the Ace Ops on first watching. They’re kinda underdeveloped in the context of the season at large and most people immediately pegged them as a miniboss squad/fodder for Salem to kill. But in rewatch they do still get to shine, if not as brightly. They’re very enjoyable. Clover especially is just really fun in retrospect, I love cocky fighters in general, and he was infectiously enjoyable (I’ve already covered the FG stuff in the past, not doing it again). Marrow came a close second because... well it’s Marrow, he is The Best Boi. Harriet got points for being a punchgirl which is always cool, I liked how her Semblance was shown and being cocky while being able to back it up is always a win. Elm and Vine are tied for dead last, I like the body diversity Elm introduces with her muscles and Vine... existed... but overall I think with the time they had, they did get to establish themselves well. I wish I could say that about their relationship with Team RWBYORNJ but this is the Nice Section so we’ll leave it there for now.

This is one of the best shots of the entire season. I adore it. God I like the Teryx design.

E) God the villains rocked this year! 

I am a villain whore. I own that. I will embrace that monkier. But when they’re as cool as this, I feel validated in this Chilli’s tonight. Watts and Tyrian really make the season shine and don’t have a dud scene all season. They have great chemistry together, shining bright in even the weakest or most mediocre episodes. Watts went from “Oh yeah you exist” tier to “Oh yeah you rule” tier. His vendetta against Ironwood feels so real and pre-established, even though this season is the first time it’s ever come up. Watts just ozzes style in everything he does. The animators bring him to life and make every step, every flick of his twist and even just how he moves his eyes all bleed contempt. He’s such a rat and I love him! Chris Sabat finally gets to stretch his wings after a few years playing Watts as just Evil Scientist Guy, and he makes the most of it. 

And Tyrian remains an absolute treat. He didn’t get much in V6 but here he takes center stage with Watts and also gets so much impact because of it. All the little twitches, and tilting of his heads, and dramatic gestures, he’s still just so goddamn cool to watch and we even get a little backstory of him. I know he’s irredeemable. But I just want to watch Tyrian kill people and scream. Like hot damn his line “THE GRIMM SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED OUR ENEMIES, NOT MADE THEM FRIENDS!” is so fucking raw. He’s having fun destablizing a nation with his boyfriend! 

“You want more chaos than a Grimm invasion?” “If anyone on Remannt can do it, wouldn’t it be you?” There is no heterosexual explanation for how these two look at each other and yes this is me outing myself as a Nuts and Volts fan.

Watts and Tyrian really do become the absolute highlights of the season alongside James. They have a great dynamic and even during their more slower moments there’s so much care and thought put into their every mannerism. Animators, seriously, great job, I love what you did. And their fights... we’ll get there. But they’re so goddamn good. 

Look they even run the same! They’re soulmates! 

Honorary mention to Salem by the way. She’s only in two scenes but her presence is felt throughout Ironwood’s arc and his growing fear of her and she damn well delivers when she shows up. That shot of her arriving in person is a killer shot to end on as well.

Oh and I guess Cinder and Neo exist don’t they? Eh, we’ll come back to them. 

F) Oscar got a character arc!

Finally! He did it! He got an arc that began, continued and ended all onscreen! It only took four tries! 

But yeah Oscar had a really good set of scenes in Volume 7. I like him being the first to confront Ruby on the Ironwood lie, bringing up the hypocrisy after their condemning of Ozpin just last season. I like him having a more forward role (outside of not getting to be part of the celebration in episode 4 what the hell guys), and that he’s the big link between RWBY and Ironwood was a great call. Having Ozpin shelved for one more season so Oscar can take center-stage was an inspired choice. I love his dynamic with Ironwood, and how James closing himself off emotionally gets reflected in how he begins slipping in how he refers to Oscar, starting off as treating him and Oz as separate, ending with him gunning Oscar down as he doesn’t care anymore to differentiate the two.

My big issues with Oscar’s arc are that I’m first of all annoyed at the lack of followup on the Oscar stuff from V6, I’m still waiting for Qrow to apologize for punching Oscar guys! I also really wish Neo’s first attack wasn’t offscreen. CRWBY’s cliffhanger fetish meant I got to break out the Offscreen Pine jokes again. And of course, the Neo hallway punch was a bit bullshit.

G) (Most of) The fights are amazing

There’s no punchline. These fights are great, two of them are in my Top 10 Series Wide fights list and at least the duds aren’t Volume 5 bad.

If you’d told me before Volume 7 that Watts would get an extended firefight with James, I’d have felt that a bit cheap as Watts to me doesn’t feel like a fighter, more a planner who hides behind armies of mechanical soldiers. But damn if they didn’t sell me on Watts “You’ve yeed your last haw” Watts whipping out a Glock just to spite James. 

This is another one of my favorite shots in the entire series.

Ironwood vs Watts is potentially my favorite fight in the entire series, and if it’s not, it’s easy Top 3 alongside Yang vs Mercury and Pyrrha vs CRDL/Mercury. It makes great use of Amity in the abandoned gravity biome meant for SSSN vs JNPR, with Ironwood and Watts deftly moving around in a manner that very easily could have been difficult to track with the constantly shifting gravity, but the crew do their best to keep it coherent as to who’s where. The credits showed their dedication also stretched into visual continuity, as James and Arthur’s route throughout the Arena was carefully considered so they’d loop around organically. 

This is what I mean when I say the crew went above and beyond to keep things clean.

Ironwood vs Watts could have easily failed to impress, given its lack of choreography on the level the series usually does, but the team’s efforts went instead into showing a situation that lets Watts get a dragged out battle: James wins whenever he closes the distance here, so Arthur’s constantly on the run and being forced to tamper with the arena. Great camerawork, a GOD TIER song from Caleb Hyles that I’m still listening to today, and two characters with a fantastic history coming to blows makes for easily the best fight of the season and a series-wide highlight. Watching it develop from storyboards, to mocap, to animations and the full version is a delight to see. This is what CRWBY can do when everything comes togehter. The orchestra’s all tuned. It’s a goddamn symphony.

THIS is my favorite shot of the season.

Tyrian also gets to shine with his two battles this year. His alley fight with Qrow, Robyn and Clover is short but sweet, the corvid and the scorpion especially trading brutal blows in the cramped space. Qrow goes full Devil May Cry with his style-switching here, Harbinger being swapped between sword, tonfa and gun forms freely alongside Qrow applying The Power of Punching. His 1v1v1 with Clover and Qrow though is the true highlight of the season in terms of choreography. It’s lighting-fast, and has some impeccable shot work. Qrow gets to use his scythe with deliberate nods to the Red Trailer, Clover gets to shut up everyone who doubted his weapon, and Tyrian is just along for the ride and he makes the most of it. It’s frentic, it’s heart-pounding, it’s everything a fight should be. 

Honorary mentions as well go to Ace Ops vs the Geist, which is just really fun and has a great backing music choice, the opening battle with Sabre having Ruby’s obligatory ten seconds of fighting that come at the start of every new era of the series, and the Ace Ops vs RWBY fight which has some good choreo in places.

H) Winter and Penny have good chemistry

I don’t have a ton to add here, I just like their dynamic and how they advance each other’s arcs. It’s nice writing. I also like Winter apologizing to Penny when she’s angry at Jacques and takes it out on Penny by accident with the “You wouldn’t understand” line.

Penny as a Maiden is a nice idea, I think her new design is cute. Penny says trans rights.

Those are a lot of my favorite things about Volume 7. It’s a killer season when it’s firing on all cylinders but unfortunately... it often misfires in frustrating ways, many of which are unfortunately due to core emblematic problems with the series that won’t go away.

2) The Bad Stuff

A) The costumes

It’s been a over year. It’s low hanging fruit. I don’t care. Most of them are still not good and they’re ludicrously over-designed.

Blake’s in a fetish suit and I wonder how she even goes to the bathroom. Weiss just looks like an abino Sabre alt, Yang is what a Halloween costume site would describe as “Sexy UPS Driver,” (why does she have a thigh window) Ruby... looks fine, it’s one of her better costumes. Jaune’s hair is silly, Ren’s model has lost some muscle definition and he looks like an e-boy, Nora’s costume really doesn’t fit the Atlas visual design and looks like a rejected Kingdom Hearts costume. Cinder’s is too black and I actually can’t track her in darker scenes because of it (which is kinda bad during... a fight scene... where I need to know where she is...), Neo looks like a Ren Fair cosplayer doing a bit for her OnlyFans, Winter’s is anatomically weird with super skinny arms and legs, and Blake’s hair is a fucking hate crime. 

Qrow’s is one I liked at first but in retrospect it does feel like a downgrade. To quote @h-e-m-o-goblin​ from a Discord chat:

in a show like rwby, where color is such a vital defining aspect of every character, a cohesive colorscheme goes a long way. qrow's original outfit works great in this regard. neutral tones. greys, whites, and blacks, with red accents that pop against the otherwise sparse color. it's good! it's distinctive! it doesn't feel cluttered and it doesn't look like a clown vomited on him! the subdued colors really lend themselves to the grey, cynical energy qrow seems to carry with him. a literal lack of color in his life. the outfit itself feels like something he would wear; a combination of "clearly trying to look cool" and "a little disheveled and laid back." the design breathes, it isn't cluttered. let's contrast this with his vol 7 outfit. a lot of outfits in vol 7 suffer from this problem, but first and foremost it doesn't look like something he would wear. where his old outfit had a casual feel to it, his new look feels like someone dressed him up for a family christmas dinner. it's too... tidy. now of course you could argue this is him "cleaning up his life," but i dont feel like you have to sacrifice his own personal style in order to convey that. if that's really what they were going for, they easily could have just, oh i dont know, given him a cape that isn't tattered???

remember how i said qrow's original outfit really made his colors pop? how less is more when it comes to having a character with a specific color theme? vol 7 butchered that. we suddenly have articles of clothes that are tinted with greenish blue tones, browns, and with gold trim? on TOP of the old colors he already had in his design. it's muddy. it's ugly. the burgundy vest is fine, if they wanted to work more color into his outfit they should have done it that way throughout, shades of grey and different tones of RED. his COLOR. it just feels like they tacked so much on there without a second thought and i really think he deserves better. its just. such a mess.

The ones I did like were Watts’ new coat (I like the puffy hood), Penny’s is fine, the Ace Ops look great, Ironwood’s new outfit is stellar (those last six are great examples of how to do a lot with just primary colors of white and red), Neon’s Jolyne cosplay is cute and Flynt is slick. Otherwise, Volume 7 feels like it’s taken a lot of the wrong lessons from the costume design of the earlier seasons. Less is often more but now it feels like they have a pathological aversion to empty space on the costumes, leading them to feel like... costume vomit for lack of a better word. I didn’t love the Mistral outfits, but their modifications at least were carried by how many of them called back to the Fall of Beacon and emphasized the themes of loss in Volume 4. The new Atlas outfits... don’t have that shared theme. It feels like a hodgepodge of different design influences without trying to find a way to unify them. It’s like putting Baki the Grappler beside My Little Pony, they just fail to mesh.

Also for fuck’s sake already CRWBY just give the girls muscles already.

2) JNR suck and Ren’s arc is glorified character assassination

I don’t love JNR. They’re fine, but the show has arguably not needed them for a while and while I’ve liked them all at different points, it’s never been adoration outside of Ren in Volume 4. I was cool with the idea of them staying in Argus to help cover Mistral after its Huntsmen were wiped out, and Volume 7 has... made me wish they did that.

Jaune is just comic relief, and it kinda blows for later reasons but the big one is that he’s just not very funny. His big role in Volume 7 is basically to crosswalk some kids so we can have a joke scene during the Mantle Battle where Jaune uses his tactical genius to teach people to walk in single file. I feel like at this point Miles is just actively trying to kill Jaune’s fandom out of spite for how badly Jaundice was received. He’s never allowed to be cool or try and redeem himself. His hatedom aren’t going to stop hating Jaune because he gets more comedy guys. They’re going to stop when you write Jaune well. It’s a bummer he got some genuinely great upgrades for his sword and shield and never gets to use them outside of the opening. 

Nora exists. She got a surprising amount of focus this season in that she got focus of any kind. I liked her confronting Ironwood over his choking of Mantle because we know she was once the kind of person Ironwood would have been stifling. I like her being the one to realize the loophole in Jinn’s “You can’t” line. I don’t like much else about Nora this year, or at least the Nora the writing team are pushing. She’s not funny like Jaune but Nora just absorbs so much screentime in the first half with her constant shrieking. Sam Ireland has good range but making Nora into Discount Harley Quinn is pushing her out of it. She sounds shrill, making Nora sound like she has no heart outside of the election rally. A shrill voice is one thing. A shrill voice that never lands a single joke? Yeah that character is tainted by association. 

And Ren... oh God Ren what happened to you.

The Volume 7 commentary confirmed a suspicion of mine that Ren’s arc was heavily cut down from what was planned. Even watching V7 I could tell his arc was bare-bones at best, and it’s downright character assassination in places. Why is he suddenly so cold to Nora? Why is he now so obsessed with training? Why does he side with Ironwood for all of... one line which is this last between episodes 7 and 11. Ren only has two hundred words of dialoge in Volume 7 and they feel so weird in places. Ren goes from seemingly disliking Nora, to kissing her, to never referencing the kiss, to partaking in the Worst Scene Of The Season, all with no consistency. It’s not even threadbare. Ren’s arc just has no connecting tissue for so much of it! It’s insane how badly Ren was hurt by this, and I shudder to wonder how bad his Volume 8 arc will be because you know that was one of the first plotlines they cut down on when they inevitably overreached again. 

I don’t know how they made Renora kissing feel unearned? But by God they found a way with how much of a trainwreck Ren’s writing is in regards to tainting this. 

If Ironwood is an example of RWBY doing character writing well, Ren is the mirror image of how badly they can do. JNR really suffered from Volume 7 (also fun fact, Ren has about 200 words of dialogue? Ironwood has 4400). Maybe not to the level of irredeemable dislike? But very close to being on the same tier as Cinder of “Just go away already.”  I’m not looking forward to their content in Volume 8. 

3) RWBY themselves are poorly handled in Volume 7

It’s unfortunate that the actual title characters of the series are also some of this season’s weaker links. RWBY feel... superfluous to this season in a way they’ve never felt before. It’s baffling how much of the season doesn’t change if you just don’t include them, and apparently Volume 7′s first draft? Was even worse.

The commentary says that many of the RWBY moments were added later in production. Stuff like Ruby and Renora at the rally, Blake and Yang’s talk with Robyn and Ruby and Qrow’s chat were all either added in near the end of the writing or were “low priority” enough that they could have been cut which is... veyr alarming that’s stuff even the main protags have to worry about! 

Ruby feels half-baked. I was looking forward to her in V7 after how V6 gave her a more dynamic personality and the focus she got in Brunswick, and having Penny’s return had me interested in seeing Ruby grapple with her emotions about it. She watched Penny die, how would it influence her to see Penny back and OK? Good question, we never get to see it. Ruby’s just OK with Penny’s return, the one time they touch on it Penny immediately glosses over it. Ruby just goes back to her old happy go lucky persona where any and all negative emotions are immediately forced down instead of confronting them and growing from them. I’m getting a little tired of Ruby bottling her grief and being teased about finally getting her snapping like a Twix Bar. We finally got her crying and it lasted all of ten seconds. And it doesn’t help that Ruby’s still getting shafted for fights. Her scythe choreography has no excuse being as flacid as it is now after Qrow vs Clover showed they can do scythe fighting! Why is Ruby being upstaged by (let’s be real) a supporting character! Why is she being limited to ten seconds of good combat then nothing for the rest of the season outside of flimsily swinging it or shooting. It’s disappointing, especially after how good V6 Ruby was.

I swear, Gravity’s not just my favorite episode of the season just because Ruby finally cries in it.

Weiss was kinda just done dirty though. At least Ruby has a good outfit. Weiss confronting her father has been a long standing plot thread for the series, it’s been Weiss’s Big Thing since the White Trailer. And when Jacques finally appears, he’s very... bland. He’s just evil corporate dude who exists less as an obstacle for Weiss and more just a roadblock for the plot through the election. Weiss finally gets a chance to take her father down and work to redeem her family name... but instead of earning said victory and it being treated with the same gravitas and emotional weight as Blake defeating Adam... Weiss has her victory handed to her. And it’s played for comedy by her abusrdly attractive mother. 

Listen, I like I Willow Schnee. I think she’s a fascinating character and I like the idea of a person who is aware of the harm they’ve done by accident but is too broken to fix the issues she accidentally left. I love her calling Weiss out on her treatment of Whitley. But she is absolutely a Deus Ex Machina that exists to get Jacques out of the plot as fast as possible. You mean to tell me Hackerman Watts never once made sure Jacques had hidden cameras? Or that none of the staff found Willow’s cameras and reported them under the assumption they were White Fang spies? It’s so... convenient. It’s handing Weiss her victory on an unearned platter. Which sucks. I was really looking forward to Weiss beating Jacques. Instead she just gets given the plot device while JNR engage in the Worst Scene of The Season in that Whitley food stunt.

Me whenever I’m asked to rewatch Cordially Invited

Blake and Yang have much the same problems, in they never separate. I know they’re going to be together. I know CRWBY are making it canon (get it over with already). I still would like Yang and Blake to have individual character scenes. I’d like Blake and Marrow to talk about being a Faunus Huntsman in Atlas (another thing that got cut thanks to Robyn Hill). I want Yang and Ironwood to discuss their PTSD and have Yang thank Ironwood for his trust in her that he commissioned the arm despite Yang attacking Mercury. I want Blake to be well animated in fight scenes so she’s doing more than just jobbing so Yang looks better. I want Yang to stop hogging all the good Team RWBY choeography. I want them to interact with other characters and continue to grow instead of feeling like two halves of one character. And no, making a meta joke of how Blake and Yang don’t talk to other people doesn’t make it OK. It just means you’re self aware about your own faults. 

(Also give Yang better merch or quit the favoritism. If you’re gonna milk her, put effort into it beyond crapply overpriced flannel. RT’s merch store is actively making me hate Yang.)

Team RWBY’s biggest contribution to the season is the Ironwood Lie which is... a can of worms. They certainly had a point in withholding some of the bigger truths from James but I feel by Pomp and Cirumstance he’d proven himself truthwrothy enough to warrant being told the truth about Salem. But then when he’s finally told the truth, it’s offscreen’d and the consequence isn’t “Why didn’t you tell me earlier” but “Fucking Ozpin man.” Gravity has it bite them in the ass, but it’s more an accessory to Yang and Blake telling Robyn about the Amity tower. I wish more had been done with the team disagreeing on whether the lie was a good choice or not, maybe have Yang be hardline against it due to her own “No more lies and half truths” policy instead of... having Yang tell more lies and half truths (Commentary confirms she never told Ruby and Weiss about the Robyn stuff BTW). But that’s a wider problem where RWBY aren’t allowed to disagree beyond surface level “I don’t know if this is the right call” dialogue. There’s never a threat of one of them cracking and just spilling the beans to James, everyone just blindly trusts Ruby and Qrow tells the audience “No this is different from when Ozpin lied. Trust us.” 

This is the most RWBY get for content in the season finale: Ruby just nuking Cinder with no difficulty after having trouble with the eyes three episodes ago. Kinda lame tbh.

Team RWBY are just disappointing in Volume 7. They’re not given good animation, their story roles are largely insignificant, the impact of their roles on the story is threadbare and... well most of their costumes suck don’t @ me even CRWBY have admitted Blake and Weiss’s haircuts looked bad. It’s a whole barrage of a letdown for the main girls. And it’s really sad that the best scenes of the season... are usually the ones where RWBY are nowhere in sight.

Why the hell didn’t Yang get to keep the sunglasses come on guys. One job.

4) Robyn, the election plot, and the Happy Huntresses

Oh God, Robyn Hill is... not great. I could and likely will write a full meta on her character and how they bungled it but I’ll just be blunt here: I don’t like her design, the colors don’t mesh well, he head’s too small, Christina Vee is sleeping through the role and her weapon’s lame. Introducing her in a scene where she threatens to attack our heroes, and her agents are actively sneaking up on them to do it, is not a great first impression for a hometown hero. And that the commentary thinks she’s meant to be the hero in that scene is... staggering. 

RWBY’s greatest threat yet is a wine mom Karen and her Home Owners Association army. 

The election plot is less a misfire and more the engine just exploding. There’s so little good content between when it’s introduced and concluded, with it usually being individual scenes that are more good in spite of their connection to the plot (such as Tyrian’s massacre). It drags in pacing, going on for nearly half the season between episodes 5 and 10, and it purely exists as a roadblock to keep RWBY spinning their wheels while Watts and Tyrian keep going with the main plot. I don’t know why CRWBY went for this plot. They could have easily had something else fill the gap that also allowed for a lot of the character beats (such as Marrow and Blake’s talk and Ren’s entire arc) to shine, or at least condensed it to the important elements instead of letting it become bloated. It ends in such an unsatisfying way where Willow just shows up and goes “We have four episode left, here’s the plot device to beat Jacques, get back ot the main plot.” If they wanted to do the election plot, the best route would have been to give Volume 7 more episodes or stretch out its events to two seasons, but neither is realistically possible while RWBY lives off the teat of AT&T. 

Jacques and Robyn are just boring. Evil corporate man and a lame adaptation of Robyn Hood who only has fans because of thirst who also like downplaying Robyn making a racist remark at Marrow (to say nothing of that weird subsection of Robyn fans who make her a Fox Faunus who cut her tail off to join Atlas Academy which is... certainly a creative choice especially when Marrow and Neon are punching holes in that angsty BS backstory). They can’t carry this plot and the artifical attempts to make it seem more exciting with the two cliffhaners ending on Mantle under riot or Grimm attack are laughably cut short by the next episode in each case opening the morning after. On binge watch it becomes weirdly funny more than anything and that’s not a good reaction. The dual cliffhangers being cheaply resolved is a short but succint example of V7′s pacing issues, and they almost always loop around to the election plot being too bloated, slow and just boring.

Also the Happy Huntresses are just... lame. I like their Semblances but that’s it. Fiona’s OK because she gets some screentime but May’s just “the surly one” and Joanna doesn’t even get her Semblance or much dialogue (oh wow she really is just a female Sage Ayana isn’t she). Robyn should not have been leading the HH and running for Council. That’s really stupid. And kind of wrong. Having May or Fiona be running instead while Robyn leads the team in relief efforts would have been better and could have split the focus more effeciently instead of leaving May and especially Joanna feelng like roster padding. There’s also some delicious irony in the show trying to frame the HH as the resistance fighting for the people and representing individuality, only for them all to have the same boring outfit and weapons (I think even the exact same model just with different sizes) while the Ace Ops are meant to be the military drones who are “Just following orders,” only for them to be more racially diverse, more diverse body-type-wise, and have more unique weapons. It’s another one of those odd creative dissconnects between what the writers wanted and what the artists/animation teams chose to do. 

The election plot is overall toxin for Volume 7, and Robyn in my opinion, has one of the worst introductory scenes of any character in the franchise (and CRWBY have tacitly admitted that V7 had a character they were surprised at how controversial they were, which has to be Robyn). In a year where they were already juggling so much content and characters, adding in this bloated subplot was something I don’t think anyone wanted, especially now that we know we lost so much content on the sacrificial altar for this. It’s a black mark on the season and I don’t really care for the return of the Happy Huntresses or Robyn in Volume 8. None of them are interesting enough to care for outside of meta reasons like “cute.” 

Also fuck you Fiona, can’t believe you got a shirt before Ironwood. 

5) Cinder and Neo sure exist

To be fair, this is one of Cinder’s best years, easily her best since Volume 3 but that’s more because Cinder in the Mistral era was crap. (And if I wanna be cruel, because Cinder wasn’t in two thirds of the season)Her fans were finally vindicated after years of telling anyone who dunked on Cinder that “nooooo she has a super covert backstory that’s gonna be amazing when it’s revealed! You’ll see!” And well they finally got it. All of one line during a fight about how Cinder “refuses to starve.” 

It’s still something so I guess we have to take it. Seriously... how do we still not have Cinder’s backstory. 

There’s just not a ton to say about Cinder and Neo in V7 barring I that don’t think they needed to be here. They feel very superfluous and just here to have a big boss fight in Cinder’s case alongside continuing her streak of ending the odd numbered seasons fighting a female side character... which for me became an exercise in tyring to find during Cinder during the damn fight.

And this is why when most people saw Cinder’s V6 outfit they went “It’s gonna be hard to see her in darker environments,” then were vindicated when it became legit difficult to see Cinder in this scene. God if they at least just made the inside of the cape red it’d be easier.

Neo is Neo, which means she makes funny faces and mocks Cinder (I like that), but she doesn’t get a super good fight which uh... we’ll get to. I’m interested to see her finally exploding at Cinder and going for a backstab, but really Neo in V7 was kinda hit hard by the double whammy of the Oscar Hallway Punch and how humiliating ORNJ vs Neo was for ORNJ. Cinder’s definitely had far worse years and after how aimless she was in Mistral this feels like a sep in the right direction, but at this point CRWBY just need to shut up and tell us her deal. It’s been seven years guys. Come on. At least make her interesting if she’s gonna say around. They’ve had worse years, but unfortunately Cinder and Neo’s role in the finale leads into...

6) Some of the fights weren’t good

I wanna be clear, I like most of Volume 7′s fights. It’s just a bummer the worst ones are back and back and make up a chunk of the finale. ORNJ vs Neo is just crap. It’s the worst fight since the Battle of Haven. There’s nothing else I can say, it’s poorly animated, paced, choreographed and written. JNR especially are made to look like complete jokes after they spent all season training, to the point where it looks like V2 Yang could solo V7 JNR after this. Oscar I expect this from because he’s not allowed to have fun stuff onscreen after accidentally stealing the Haven budget for his fight with Hazel, but JNR were just done dirty. There were ways to make the fight work in a way where Neo still won but JNR looked good. They went for the worst possible outcome that just leaves Neo looking like she got fan-wanked and JNR looking like they’re just not allowed to be cool due to Miles’ spite at the Jaune-Self Insert stuff (and that’s not even getting into JNR being forced to run from lame rent a cops who can’t even handle a single Grimm). Cinder vs Winter and Penny isn’t much better, with her dark outfit making it very hard to track the fight because she blends into the background too well. It’s not a great showing for Winter or Penny given their earlier feats but, hey, some random female character had to fight Cinder in this odd numbered volume, carrying on Glynda, Pyrrha and Raven’s tradition. It’s at least better than ORNJ vs Neo, but that’s really not saying anything. At least Cinder’s VA work isn’t too bad this time but this fight commits the cardinal sin of a finale fight: It’s just not super interesting because we know Cinder can’t kill both Winter and Penny and she’s not becoming a Maiden, while Winter’s been too blatantly set up so it has to be Penny.

RWBY vs the Ace Ops also gets a dishonorable mention due to the choreography on display here... and the lack of it for Weiss, Blake and Ruby. Ruby never once swings Crescent Rose the entire fight and is just reduced to getting the tar kicked out of her by Harriet. Weiss barely gets to use her sword and largely just sticks to her summoning and glyphs which makes for a very visually uninteresting fighting style at the best of times. Blake just swings around and gets caught by the bad guys so Yang is motivated to fight stronger. She never dual wields (again) and her best moves are just setting up Yang to do all the hard work while Yang gets to personally KO two of the Ace Ops. There’s a lot that can be said about whether or nor RWBY earn the win, but while the animation team try to sell the Ace Ops landing heavy hits, having only Blake’s Aura even flicker really undercuts the idea from the commentary that this wasn’t meant to be a stomp for RWBY and they had to work together and be in synch to win.

Which is why Yang solos two of the Ace Ops whle Blake plays support, Weiss beats Marrow alone and then kill steals Harriet from Ruby, all while the song playing is an extended diss track from RWBY to the Ace Ops about how badass they are now, and the commentary itself says the Ace Ops are hard carried by Clover’s Semblance (because you gotta love basically saying four POC were only competent because a white guy led them, and then have them lose because said white guy wasn’t around to carry them!). Great job guys, you really sold it.

And talking of Clover, I feel it worth mentioning Qrow vs Clover vs Tyrian. It’s animation wise near perfect, but unfortunately I do feel it would be remiss to not mention that I feel the writing really has to bend over backwards to justify this fight. A lot of it is stuff I would say in that hypothetical Robyn essay, but I feel Robyn, Qrow and Clover all have to become massive idiots for this specific sequence of events to occur, and for Clover especially every retroactive attempt to explain why he prioritized Qrow over Tyrian just sounds more and more desperate. Between the references to MCU Captain America (a person whose entire arc is about learning when it’s OK to defy bad orders) or the attempt in the commentary to say “Oh Clover thought it would be easier to take out Tyrian alone instead of Qrow,” none of them land and just further drive home how much the plot had to stretch and reach to get that moment of Tyrian killing Clover. I like the fight. But I hate the road the show took to get there.

Some of the misc fights are also weak like ORNJ vs FNKI and elements of the Mantle Grimm battle, but those are the big offenders. Otherwise, again, the fights are largely good. 

7) The soundtrack wasn’t... great

I mean the vocal songs only, don’t crucify me. Trust Love is just lamer Let’s Just Live/Triumph, Celebrate and Let’s Get Real are so boring I thought they were the same song until the OST dropped, Brand New Day is boringly peppy and Jeff’s vocals are dreadful. I completely forgot Touch the Sky until I was checking the tracklist to make sure I didn’t forget any songs. War has good singers but tries to sell the RWBY-Ace Ops bond as way deeper than it was. The lack of a villain song did really sting though, those are always the highlights.

There are good songs. I really like Fear, I feel it encapsulates the themes of the volume well and serves as a good condemnation of Ironwod’s mentality. Until The End is finally the Ruby song I’ve waited for since Red Like Roses 2 and I enjoy that she got a melancholic song, and Hero is easily, hands down, best track of the record and probably best RWBY track, full stop. Caleb killed it, I loved the second verse, opening opera was strong, guitar riffs were a plenty. Stellar work all around for that one.

The OST has great work from Jeff and Alex as usual, but the Jeff and Casey songs are really starting to lose their appeal. Going for a peppy feel this year didn’t help cover the cracks that are beginning to show with RWBY’s vocal songs (especially Jeff’s vocal range), and while a few standouts remain such as Fear and Hero, they are the slim minority in an otherwise very boring vocal tracklist that barely scrapes above Volume 5 for weakest set yet.

8) It wasn’t as funny as it thought it was

Comedy is subjective but man a lot of these jokes didn’t land. RWBY really needs to realize that does work in traditional 2D does not translate into 3D and just comes off as making official reaction GIFs for your Twitter account. Making characters SUDDENY SCREAM LOUDLY is not good banter. Please stop making Nora into Harley Quinn. Marrow was probably the most consistently funny character but that was it. Also I dunno why CRWBY thought Forrest was funny or what the deal was with that FRWBY crap. 

“Honorary” mention to the JNR food scene in Cordially Invited which is genuinely one of the worst scenes in the entire show and I hope whoever animated it has their save files deleted for a game where they were about to beat the final boss. Nothing sums up JNR’s pointlessness in the series more perfectly than this.

C) Conclusion

See what I mean about Volume 7 being frustrating? 

It’s weird that I overal think of Volume 7 as a mid-tier volume. There’s so much here I genuinely adore, with some of the best stuff to do with the show coming out of this season (barring lame, overpriced merch that feels like clothing gacha), but simultaneously the whole thing is let down by outside circumstances that unfortunately are ones the show can’t ever really recover from. Put bluntly, Volume 7 is the most technically proficient season of the show with the best lighting, backdrops, (some of the) character models, etc. CRWBY definitely didn’t slack off this year, but the problem isn't with them. It’s with the writing. A wider reaching problem is just that Miles and Kerry can’t really improve to the level that the series now requires. Eddy and Kiersei’s first season could have gone far worse, but it definitely was notable whenever they took over. Volume 7’s core problems are fourfold: The comedy is terrible and none of the jokes really land, the season focuses on the wrong plots and gives them too much effort, too many episodes are spent building up to new plots only for them to be weakly resolved (especially the Mantle Riot/Grimm attacks that are shoved off-screen), and the character bloat strikes hard here and leaves a lot of the cast feeling like dead weight. CRWBY don’t need more writers. They need more editors willing to tell the team what has to go instead of them hemming and hawing themselves on if they if they can include a plotline. The election never should have gotten past its first draft, there was too much already in this season before adding that.

When this is an unironic shot in your series... you’ve got character bloat issues.

At this point, I think JNR need to go. The show had no idea what to do with them throughout the season, leading to Jaune just being comic relief while Ren and Nora became characters I actively dislike. Renora was the easiest ship in the show to land, and they still managed to blow the engines and ram at least three icebergs just to prove that RWBY can’t romance to save its life. Team RWBY themselves are little better, with Ruby’s feelings about Penny’s return being shelved, Weiss’s victory against Jacques feeling un-earned and undercut by comedy, while Yang and Blake are benched for the volume and become a singular entity with how tied at the hip they are. Maria basically yeeted herself out of the show and I didn’t notice, Pietro is just a death flag, and while the Ace Ops had a good intro, it was undercooked by how they had to play the villain role to give RWBY something to do in the final hours. Cinder and Neo didn’t need to be here. Robyn had one of the worst introductions for a character I’ve ever seen, I never enjoyed her moments and it genuinely feels like she only has a fandom because RWBY’s community are in fact that desperate. 

On the brighter side, Ironwood’s arc is fucking perfect and Jason Rose deserves all the love. Great fight, great song, great design, love the beard, it was a perfect downfall for Volume 7’s true protagonist. Qrow had a fun volume and I loved his dynamic with Clover (I don’t see the ship stuff but that’s more because I’m an IronQrow main so my blinders were on). Clover was also way cooler than I remembered. His fights stood out but the guy’s just really cool at the end of the day, with Chris doing great work as a VA. Oscar even managed to do stuff this year which was a shock and a half, but a welcome shock and a half. I didn’t mention it, but the Ozpin fear monologue is one of my favorite scenes in the entire show and it and the Ironwood/Oscar confrontation in the vault save the finale. And of course, Watts and Tyrian were the MVPs. I don’t have a bad word about either of them, they fucking nailed their roles and I can’t wait to see them again. 

And that’s kind of what I mean when I say Volume 7 flummoxes me. It’s frustrating at times with how it handles seemingly easy tasks and drops the ball. Renora went from “everyone liked that” to wondering how badly Ren’s stuff got butchered for him to be the way he is. RWBY themselves could be almost entirely cut and so little would change, and the fact that the finale basically hinges its entire emotional stakes on Winter, Penny and Oscar is a staggering call. And it really feels like the season was compressed beyond necessity because they decided going in that Volume 7 had to end on Salem’s arrival. There’s two volumes worth of material here, and maybe it would have been best to have broken up these events. Volume 7 does too much in too little time, and RWBY especially suffered from it. But when it works… it’s good. Never close to the highs of Volumes 6 or 3, but there’s genuinely good material here. The fights are mostly getting better with far less missteps than previously, the acting (mostly) continues to improve and it’s obvious that RWBY is a very good looking show at this point. Ironwood’s arc is franchise-wide highs, I loved Clover, and Marrow remains the best boi. But it’s frustrating that despite all the tech advances Volume 7 has made, it still makes such threadbare, rookie writing mistakes in cast management, comedy and character arcs. I’m glad Miles and Kerry finally realized that they needed more writers, but it won’t mean anything if the show just continues to circle the drain on the core mistakes it’s been making since 2013. Volume 7 has good in it. But I can see where it could have been great.

Thanks for reading, stan IronQrow and please get Whitley a therapist.

And for the love of God already make an Ironwood vs Watts shirt! 

[anti-catradora-receipts]

I get so mad whenever some shipper says anti-catradora people cannot sympathize with abuse victims. NEWSFLASH ASSHOLES WE ARE ABUSE VICTIMS AND WE'RE MAD AT THE SHOW FOR A REASON. "your abusers secretly love you its okay uwu" "abusers were just hurt as kids dont get mad :(" this show is filled with abuse apologism! its awful that this show is credited with "WLW rep" because its garbage! its sad that an abusive couple is among the only rep in childrens tv! fuck this show

Dear anon,

I can feel your anger, frustration, and pain with this show and I am so very sorry for what you’ve been through. This show triggered me as well and it was unbelievably painful.

At the end of the day, I feel that the show truly failed to demonstrate the effects of Catra’s abuse.  

Throughout the show, Adora only displayed subtle effects of Catra’s abuse rather than more apparent and serious effects. Adora presents guilt and shame about how she is unable to save everyone, which is an effect of Catra’s abuse, since Catra is consistently blaming Adora for failing at being a good hero. But these feelings of guilt and shame are not directly stated as linked to Catra’s abuse. It’s hinted at, so it’s not apparent to all viewers.

One way the show could have better showed Adora suffering directly from the effects of Catra’s abuse would be to present a scenario where one of Adora’s friends tries to give Adora a high five, but Adora flinches. The scene correlates directly with Catra raising her hand to scratch Adora on multiple occasions. Adora could have had other triggers related to Catra’s abuse as well as flashbacks of Catra’s abuse. I also think that keeping all of the scars left by Catra’s scratches would have been monumental and very symbolic of how Catra’s abuse towards Adora continued to pile on throughout the seasons.

In addition, Catra had a lot of scenes by herself where you could witness her pain. But I feel like Adora didn’t have these moments by herself where she reflected on the trauma she had experienced throughout the show.

I think that’s why people tend to sympathize with Catra because Catra’s journey with abuse and trauma is more apparent on this show, while Adora’s journey of overcoming the effects of abuse is not presented well or mostly forgotten.

In reference to the statement “abusers were just as hurt as kids don’t get mad”. I sympathize with how Catra was abused growing up. I am still livid on how Shadow Weaver was portrayed in season 4. But it has to be acknowledged that Catra also continued the cycle of abuse. And that can happen in real life. People who have been abused can also continue the cycle of abuse. So it’s also important to acknowledge and sympathize with the victims of Catra’s abuse, which were: Adora, Scorpia, and briefly Lonnie.

I have to acknowledge this statement: “Adora and Catra secretly loved each other.” I actually saw someone state that their little sibling said something along the lines of “I knew that Catra loved Adora all along.” And that just upsets me so much. I don’t want children to see the relationship between Catra and Adora as healthy. The build up of their relationship is not demonstrated to be built on trust, support, respect and love. Even before the portal scene, Adora demonstrated that she had lost almost all her trust in Catra. This is shown when Adora states that Catra and Adora used to be friends but Catra makes bad choices.

At the end of the day, I just don’t want anyone thinking: “I need to stay in an abusive relationship because my partner deep down loves me, even though their actions are harmful to my physical and mental well being.”

And I agree, this show does not demonstrate healthy w|w representation and in media, we need more healthy w|w representation. Overall, how we represent relationships in shows, especially shows suited for children, is so important and should not be taken lightly.

But most importantly anon, I hope you’re taking care of your well being and I support you in your healing process.

Thank you very much for sharing.

[katsukis-sad-angel]

Tenya Iida as a Boyfriend

Pairing: Tenya Iida x Reader

Summary: The TitLe

Warnings: mega fluff, voice actor stuff

you can see his fat pecs through his blazer AH

--

Tenya has big arms → warm hugs and cuddling against his broad chest

Piggyback rides on his morning run zoom so his legs are extra agile and strong

A relationship with Tenya Iida will not only be luxurious, but also a strong, comfortable one

At first, it will be really awkward for Tenya. He’s never dated anyone before and he doesn’t know what to do with himself when such a beautiful girl is sitting in the opposite booth

His family likes to invite you over for dinner once they find out you exist

They found out after he accidentally started talking about you at family dinner one night

His mom tells you how often he talks about you

Tensei tells you that Tenya asks him for relationship all the time

Tenya denies it every time 

Tensei seemed like the best older brother in the entire world when you first met the guy (probably after he got paralyzed)

Wheelchair fun in the long, ominous hallways of the Iida residence with Tenya running after you spazzing robotting and yelling for you to “stop being so reckless!!”

At first he is very awkward with physical contact but you find out that he is a very cuddly person and he gives really good hugs

Shopping isn’t his thing, he sticks to a basic yet sexy polo with khakis

Iida and his cargo pants

BUT, he has good taste and helps you decide what to buy

If someone dared to insult or harass you → scary, protective boyfriend mode ACTIVATE → the glasses are off and he holds you to close while he gives the opposing male a beat down, a lecture on respecting women, and a recipro burst to the face

He is overprotective, so be safe, follow the rules, and he’s going to check in with you even if you were together a few minutes ago

Tenya doesn’t mean to be overbearing when he asks if you can sync your calendars, he just wants to be prepared and on the same page

He is normally a very docile boy and prefers to keep fighting out of the relationship. He isn’t a big tease and he doesn’t like making you angry so your household is rather peaceful

You challenge him to races, but you always lose

You like to hide his glasses

He’ll scold you if you get bad grades

Tenya won’t hesitate to spoil you, even before he asks you out

He does his best to impress you, but he always feels like he’s being shown up by Midoriya

Study dates at coffee shops and fast-food restaurants where you eat and he studies

Some nights, you’ll get him drunk on orange juice and kisses and Tenya will confess his love to you all over again in various languages and levels of intellectualness

Intellectualness is a word. Grammarly said so

Tenya prefers to be the big spoon, but if he’s upset about something or he’s had a tiring day, he’ll collapse into bed in nothing but his boxers and rest his face in/on your warm breasts

Handle with care

He works so hard to please you, live up to his own expectations (and the Iida family name), plus the added strain of staying a top-ranking hero

With all the stress he puts on himself, Tenya will eventually collapse from exhaustion and guiltily take a day off from work

It’s your turn to scold sonic the hedgehog for overworking himself

When this finally happens, do everything for him

I mean EVERYTHING

Make him breakfast, cut it up, and feed him while he lays propped up against a pillow

Take a hot bath together to ease his muscles

Massage him until your arms seize up

Remind him that you’re so proud of him, you love him, how handsome he is, and what a great hero he is/he will be 50 times each

Tenya is a good boy

He is very caring and kind and would go any length to please you

His haircut is really cute

I want to kiss his sideburns

One day, a few weeks after moving into the dorms, the final bell rung and signaled the end of the school day. Tenya Iida is walking with his friends, Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uaraka. All of a sudden, he feels a tug on his sleeve.

Stopping to see who it was that needed assistance, he was pleasantly surprised to see you standing slightly behind him, finger and thumb still attached to the grey material of his blazer. Your lovely features were dusted with pink and your (e/c) irises were lit up by the orangey light of early sunset.

The brunette looked at her friend and winked. “Iida, we’ll meet you at the dorms, okay? See ya!” She grinned, grabbing Midoriya by his wrist and pulling him along toward the UA student housing. The navy-haired boy nodded, biting back a goofy smile that rose to his pale lips at the thought of you. 

He stopped walking altogether and turned to look you in the eye. You looked especially cute today, your (h/c) hair drawn back in a messy bun, a little bit of makeup accentuating your pretty features, and your grey blazer tied loosely around your waist.

“Is there something wrong Y/N?” He asks gently, tilting his head.

Your face flushed a darker crimson at his innocently sweet concern for your wellbeing. “N-No, there’s nothing wrong, I just-”

“You’re all flushed! Have you had anything to drink today? You’re shivering as well… are you cold? As class rep, I must take care of my classmate!” Tenya announced, robotic arms that had been swatting at the air, swinging to a stop before scooping you up like a small child.

You squeaked and looked around, hoping no one was watching your little scene. Tenya gently placed you on a wooden bench and offered you a water bottle. Hoping to calm his worry, you took it with a soft “thank you, Iida” and sipped delicately at the cool beverage. When you tried to hand it back to him, you noticed something was wrong.

“Y/N, I apologize for picking you up like that. It was very rude and impulsive of me.” He stated calmly, looking deep into your eyes.

“No, Iida, it’s ok.” You reply, looking down at his huge hands, “If you don’t mind, can I ask you something?”

“Not… not at all.”

You exhaled deeply and prepared to tell him what you had been feeling for several months now. “Iida-” You say, laying your hand on top of his, “Iida, I… I’ve liked you, f-for a while now. Like more than a friend and like um… a potential boyfriend. I-It’s totally fine if you don’t feel the same way, I just really needed to tell you.”

It was his turn to blush. Here you were, saying what he had been too chicken to say since the minute he lay eyes on you. 

When he didn’t answer, you started getting worried. Was he going to start laughing? Was he going to just ignore you? Why was his face all red, was he ok?

“I-” He began, but you cut him off as you stood, the warmth of your hand leaving the flustered boy.

“Iida, don’t force yourself for me. If you don’t feel the same that’s f-fine. I’m s-sorry for bothering you… I’m sure you have better-”

“No, no, wait Y/N-” He cut in, “I’ve… I’ve been meaning to say the same, unfortunately I was too slow. I like you as well, like you said like for a potential relationship. Really, you are one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen and I hope you accept my feelings and my invitation to take you out… on a date.”

You stared at him in disbelief, then that disbelief turned to contained joy. A huge smile caressed your face and you ran forward and crashed into his chest for a hug.

Surprised though he was, he happily wrapped his arms around you.

When you pulled away, you looked up at him and said, “Iida, I’d love that. I’m so happy you feel the same way.”

“Call me Tenya,” He responded, “Let’s go to the dorms. No one knows where we are. Plus, on the way, you can tell me where you’d like to eat.” Tenya offered you his hand.

You nod and take his hand, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

“That sounds nice. Let’s go, Tenya.”

--

A/N: Holy crap cassieisalonelysap.html

The whole time I was writing this, I kept thinking about Sebastian Michaelis because… you know… J. Michael Tatum? He’s a really good voice actor. 

Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist, Erwin Smith from Attack on Titan, Kiji Mitsuba from NANBAKA, Fuegoleon Vermillion from Black Clover, Shiro from Assassination Classroom, and so many more!!

Also, @thedreadthreadanomaly​, you said you enjoyed so I thought I’d tag you in this one!

[raviposting]

I want to say this with care, and in a nonaccusatory manner, but I’ve seen a lot of discourse on my dash and I think we as a fandom need to remember to look at posts about Vanya (and Sissy)’s sexuality and take a deep breath and a step back before accusing the poster of lesbophobia or biphobia. 

Full disclosure, I am a bi woman, and since the start of the show, I’ve seen Vanya as a lesbian, though if I had to describe her canon-wise right now I’d just say “wlw” due to lack of confirmation. If she’s bisexual, or pansexual (or another label that I cannot think of at the moment)? That’s fantastic, any LGBT+ rep is important to have and should be celebrated. 

What I’ve seen a lot in fandom, however, are people seeing someone getting that Vanya is a lesbian, or that Vanya is bi, and assuming ill-intent or erasure on their parts, because Vanya is clearly the other identity. And there’s good, clear, readings for both (even if you don’t think/don’t want to admit there is, there absolutely is, it is why this discourse exists in the first place and it’s disingenous to say that every argument in the other group is based off of delusion and/or erasure). 

I know we both rarely get representation, and having that confirmation is precious and amazing and so, so important. And to see something that is so significant to you, so important to see, makes us hold fast and true to it and that interpretation and something that doesn’t coexist with that interpretation leads to knee-jerk reactions because how, how can this person not clearly see what you see? And I do, want to, briefly look at those interpretations: 

Vanya as a lesbian: Vanya is shown to be heavily repressed when she appears in season 1. Her emotions, her powers, her memories (to an extent) have all been repressed and the “true” Vanya doesn’t come out. Sure, she dates Leonard, but he’s also the first person to show her “positive” attention in a very long time. She doesn’t get that support from anyone else, she moves so quickly with Leonard, she hasn’t had someone “love” her like this that we know of. It reminds me starkly of real-life lesbian friends and their journeys, of a woman struggling with compulsary heterosexuality, and when she’s in Dallas, memory wiped, those same holds don’t affect her the way they do in season 2. Vanya is more confident to be with who she wants. 

Vanya as bisexual: Vanya seemed to like Leonard, there didn’t seem to be anything suggesting that she didn’t feel romantic and/or sexual attraction for him. Yes, there was manipulation on Leonard’s part, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that Vanya has been in a relationship with men and women. While I haven’t had any personal connection with her story as a bi woman, my experience is not universal, and other bi fans have and can clearly see themselves in her story. 

The same applies to Sissy - she states that she got married for the wrong reasons, that Carl is a “good man”, but never says she loves him. However, we’re years into their marriage falling apart, and there’s nothing to indicate that she never loved him to begin with. 

I don’t think one is more likely to be canon than the other, and I can see why fans cling to one more than the other. Maybe she and Sissy are both lesbians, maybe they’re both bi, maybe one of them is bi and one is lesbian. However, something to note is that her sexuality has not been confirmed, and to say that calling her a lesbian is bisexual erasure or that calling her a bisexual is lesbian erasure can be harmful. Heck, I saw the biphobic argument against a poster who herself was bisexual, and while I’m not saying you can never say anything bad about the group you’re in, I think we also need to remember the people posting and the intent behind their posts, as well as the canon of the show. They should have confirmed what her sexuality is, while personally, I don’t think it was any ill-intent on the show’s part, it’s another common thing to just unlabel a character because it should be “obvious”, when there are many completely valid and fitting interpretations of her character. 

I feel like I’ve seen a lot of disregard on the thought that yes, this can be a lesbian story or that yes, this can be a bisexual story with the thought of, “Well that’s simply not true”, and in this quest to try and call out bi or lesbian erasure the responses end up doing exactly that, and it causes more hurt and harm all around. I’m not saying you can’t headcanon her as one or the other, or have your own thoughts on what the story clearly seems like to you, but I do want to say that I wish folks would remember that we’re all real people reading these defenses and arguments and that it’s hard reading a post about Vanya that believes she’s clearly one sexuality while completely invalidating the experiences of people who are the other. 

[alottamoney]

Hi! It's the friendly not-Lisa-anon again. Sorry to see so many toxic ARMY visiting you lately. I have just come across a comment on VLive lately from a fan who complained that the members don't appreciate their money earned via ARMY enough and must do more than one-hour vlives. These people literally think the members are their slaves. Just give them a break for god's sake... Back on our main topic: what do you think about the famous 1:23 theory? By Taekook leaving signs I was thinking that for instance.

Also, why do some of the fans think V is not favoured by the company? I have even seen complaints below The Truth Untold performance that he barely got some lines in it which is true but 1. he gets extremely emotional during that song (as if it was about him precisely), maybe he wouldn't be able to sing a larger part 2. he begins almost all the songs on that album (again, I believe there is a reason, at least that the darker vibe of this album is supported more by his cloudy baritone). I am close to be entirely sure that album has to do with their relationship with JK.

Hello not-Lisa-anon,

Yes, the fans are entitled. It is a monster they created tho.

I saw the 1:23 theory when I began looking up Taekook and have honestly not thought about it much since. I think it only makes sense for a few songs. I feel like Tae and Jungkook have better ways to communicate with each other than send coded messages that other people can also see unless of course they like the drama of it all (we never rule that out). I don't think leaving signs was Taekook's intention, I think we notice patterns because they weren't careful back then. But I would like to hear your thoughts on it because I haven't gone too deep into that theory and maybe there's something I'm missing.

About fans feeling that Tae is not favored; I think if you ask any solo stan they can come up with a long list of the many injustices that happened to their bias at the hands of the evil company. In my experience with Kpop I've always seen one or two members of a group getting more opportunities in terms of lines/screentime/solo projects and some members just not having the same exposure. I don't know why that is but that seems to be the rule and fair distributions are exceptions. Having said that Tae's representation in content did dwindle for sometime and he is always shown to be "distant" one; the one that stayed behind because of his loyalty and not because he wants to be part of BTS; the only one who is not afraid to "rebel" against Bang etc. All of that combined gives fans, especially Tae biased fans the idea that he's mistreated and he can't wait to get out of there. This could be true but we just don't know enough about what actually goes on behind the scenes. I've said this before but if someone from management hated him there's a lot more they could've done if they wanted to sabotage him but so far it seems to be the company "favorite" who has the most bad rep among them as far as the general public is concerned.

The fans also have a "poor Tae" attitude. I've noticed this in a lot of Taekookers too now, where they will make Jungkook out to be the bad, inconsiderate guy if they think he ignores Tae or pays more attention to other members. It's just weird because Tae biased fans go on about Tae being a fierce, independent, mature man but in the same breath coddle him like they know him better than the people he spent a decade working with. I don't have an explanation for this. Maybe it all goes back to fan entitlement but it is what it is.

I feel like I went off topic there. I don't have stats on Tae's line distribution and screen time over the years. So, this is just my very subjective take on it lol That's an interesting point about Tae being emotional during Truth Untold. I would like to know more on why you think that is. Hope you share more of your observations. (●'◡'●)

[sotorubio]

i’m genuinely curious now though. i agree people are flimsy in judging good or bad rep but. considering the meaning for lgbt rep to exist is for people to see themselves and feel comforted that it’s okay to love who they love. what’s a show or film looks like to you devoid of a romantic storyline. i get a story about friends that are all lgbt interacting and living life and that’d be pretty interesting, but outside of this one option. do we get the token gay character that exists to fill up a quota in show full of straight people or what. how does that work

edit: i definitely answered this more passive aggressively than i intended msjfkdks apologies for that but the implication that fatou could be a token gay shocked me to my core ❤️ putting this edit as a heads up before the actual answer so y'all r prepared rip

i'm not sure if u r seriously calling fatou the token gay or? the token x character refers to usually side characters who r put in the show just to make the illusion of diversity while the show actually doesn't do anything abt their story. in fact many token gay characters r only represented when they r in a relationship bc the writers don't care abt writing lgbt individuals. so writing an entire season abt a lesbian who's plot consist of her living as an individual, as more than one half of a relationship, is the exact opposite of tokenism

if i'm understanding this correctly u seem to think lgbt rep boils down to romantic relationships n anything besides that is secondary? here's a post where i talked abt why this kind of perspective regarding lgbt ppl is flawed or u can read this post talking abt the topic as well. the feeling of comfort abt loving who u love is only one small facet of representation n as u said urself the meaning of rep is ppl seeing themselves in the characters. surprisingly lgbt ppl can see themselves in.. lgbt ppl. even if those ppl r single

if being lgbt is only meaningful & relatable to u when it's abt romantic love & relationships then that's okay but that's just how u personally see it. for example i myself am a student trying to graduate in the middle of a pandemic. i would rather die than make time for a girlfriend rn will u be taking my lgbt card away tomorrow?? do u believe single lgbt ppl don't exist or that they don't experience life through the perspective of being lgbt, just bc they don't have a partner?

the lgbt labels r identities. they exist independently whether ur in a relationship or not. fatou didn't become a lesbian when she kissed kieu my, she's a lesbian when she struggles at school, she's a lesbian when she fights w her friends, she's a lesbian when she takes a test to learn if she has a learning disability, she's a lesbian every single second she is shown on screen. what's so bad abt seeing snippets of a lesbian's regular life? u seem to think that the only difference between cishets & lgbt individuals is our relationships but that's not true in the slightest. i don't experience school or work or just life in general in any way similar to that of straight person just bc i want to be single?

fatou represents black lesbians, fatou represents lesbians w learning disabilities, she represents lesbians struggling w school, she represents insecure ppl, and yes she even represents lesbians in relationships w other women bc that's still been a huge part of the season. her identity just doesn't depend on whether she's kissing a girl 24/7

think mia's season. she was a bisexual character so her season was an lgbt season but it's not good rep bc her lable was clearly an after-thought. they didn't write bisexuality as her identity they just treated it as a lable they can slap on a character they originally wrote as straight n pretend u only identify w the lable when u enter a relationship. fatou however was very much written identity first - relationship second. when she's down she watches wlw proposals. who can relate? when she's on a dating app she gets unsolicited three some requests. who can relate?

how many of u were thrilled to see a lesbian showing physical affection toward her female friends & make smth romantic for them when a prevalent stereotype abt lgbt ppl is that they r predatory or gross for approaching straight ppl? who was happy to see that fatou has a bond & a deep friendship w the other black girl in her friend group "even tho" she's straight bc funny enough being gay isn't the only axis of oppression? who has been enjoying seeing fatou, a canon black lesbian, living her very multifaceted life w/o ever being reduced down to her romantic relationship?

[thestarwrites]

All Right, All Might: Ch. 9

Word Count: 3,030

Rating: PG-13 (Mentions of a sexual nature)

Painting: Toshinori Yagi X FemOC

The UA Guidance Counselor, a quirk user with Pathokenesis, is shocked to find out her personal hero All Might is coming to be a teacher. The road they walk as a parallel starts to merge and there’s no telling what could happen. The attack on the USJ has sparked a lot of things from happening – including a new level of relationship for Toshinori and Keri. And now with the sports festival in two weeks, she starts counseling the 1-A students, and she gets to know class 1-A better than before.

---

CHAPTER NINE: TRYING OUR BEST

“Miss Chairo- you wanted to see me?” The calm and clear voice of Tenya Ida came though the doorway with a soft hesitation.

“Yes- come in Tenya, make yourself at home,” the guidance counselor smiled and took a deep breath, “I’m sure you of all people understand why you’re here today.”

He gave a nod, sitting on the sofa, “Yes miss. About yesterday.”

Keri smiled, “I just want to check in on you... see how you’re doing after everything, you were a real hero yesterday and I know that kind of fear that comes with not knowing what to do but having to act anyway.” She set a cup of tea in front of the boy on the coffee table, “You have that ability to act with purpose, I saw it also the other morning when you stopped everyone from stampeding out of the cafeteria.”

Ida blushed and he smiled shyly, “Thank you miss Chairo...”

“I just tell it like it is, Tenya,” she smiled, “Let’s talk about it, let’s try to unpack it from yesterday- you were a mess when I saw you. How did you feel?”

Taking a deep breath he looked down at his fists on his knees, “I... all I could think in my head was that I was abandoning them. That I was leaving them one man down while I ran. I thought, what if I’m not fast enough, what if there are villains waiting to ambush someone running for help?”

She nodded and listened to him, her forehead began to glow as she wordlessly reassured the boy, “Those are all very valid concerns, I haven’t been doing support hero work long, but I have known a lot of heroes - do you know the BMI Hero Fatgum?”

“Yeah! I’ve heard of him…”

“He always was afraid of hurting people or not being fast enough to save people - heroes are always afraid. But its the ability to dig deep and push forward that really makes a good hero. And you really do deserve your place here at UA. All of the members of your class do, you all have proved how tenacious you all are.”

Tenya took a deep breath and nodded, “I guess all heroes are afraid - do you get afraid Miss Chairo?”

“Of course I do. I was afraid yesterday when I found you running up to the school. But we had to act, hm?” He nodded and took a deep breath, “But it is completely necessary to decompress and talk about incidents after they happen. It’s important to talk about how we feel. Because if you bottle things up, or try to take things into your own hands… well, things don’t turn out well most of the time.”

He nodded and took a deep breath, “Talk about how I feel.” He nodded again, “Maybe as class rep I can help the other students keep being reminded of this valuable lesson!”

She chuckled and sighed, “Tenya I think that’s a wonderful sentiment, that’s why I wanted to become a hero therapist. Because I think it’s very important. So if you ever feel anything start to pile up on you, or you feel out of control, or afraid - you come and talk to me. And if not me, any of your classmates. Don’t forget now, okay?”

“I wont! I promise!” He grinned, “It does make me feel better knowing you were scared yesterday too…”

Keri smiled, “I’m glad, I always want you to remember, heroes are just people. You and your classmates got a very real taste of something very scary. You’re all handling it very well. I’m so proud.”

Tenya grinned wider, “Well I will do my best to never let you down, Miss Chairo!”

She chuckled, “Okay Tenya, just try your best… go on back to class now, hm?”

He nodded and bowed, always so formal, “Have a good rest of your day Miss Chairo!” He waved as he left, taking his backpack with him.

After Ida, she had some shorter visits with children who were more or less fine; Mineta, Sato, Shouji, Kaminari, Tokoyami, Hagakure, and Sero. They were very brief, mostly just a yes miss I’m fine, and back to class. She didn’t sense any trauma there.

The only one who came in who needed a little more counseling was the boy Aoyama - he was hiding the entire battle. He felt regret and fear about it. She thought back to what she said to Eijiro - some heroes don’t know how they fit. She’d have to think on how to help this blonde boy.

——

The final face before her lunchtime meeting with Izuku and Toshinori that she saw was the sweet round face of Ochako Uraraka. Keri smiled and took a deep breath, “Good morning Ochako, please come on in!”

The girl grinned, “How are you this morning miss Keri?”

“I’m doing just fine, especially since all of you kids are alright now,” She smiled, “And that Aizawa is even his normal miserable self.”

Ochaco giggled as she sat down on the couch, “I’m glad everyone is okay too… I was really worried about the teachers, but Aizawa, Thirteen and All Might all seem to be okay.”

“Yeah, you all are so resilient, how are you doing?”

“I mean, I’m a little scared but… you know, the teachers and the police are gonna protect us! That’s what they do.” She said hopefully.

Keri smiled, “Yes, they certainly will do their best - but don’t forget Ochaco, you also have to continue to work on getting stronger and having a strategy for when things don’t pan out as you hope.”

She nodded, “Of course Miss Keri,” she hummed, “Uhm - can I ask you a personal question?”

Blinking the woman smiled, “Sure, why not?”

“Mina said she saw you running through the hall and crying yesterday… are, are you okay?”

Keri blushed a little and smiled bashfully, “I was just worried is all, it was a long day, and I had to maintain normalcy for everyone, it just gets to you sometimes.”

“Is it…. Cause of All Might? Cause he was hurt?” Ochaco blushed.

She smiled a little, “Yeah… I was really worried about him. He pushes himself really hard you know? And so does Midoriya.” Her cheeks lit red at the mention of the boy, and Keri smiled, “I’m sure you were worried about Izuku as well?”

“W-well yeah… I mean… he’s my… friend, right? Of course I was…”

“Girl to girl - I think we both had the same worry.” Keri smiled warmly.

Ochaco bit her lip, “I- I mean— I just wanted him to be okay! I mean — you and All Might - well that’s different! I saw you guys in the hall this morning holding hands— Not like, not like I want to hold hands with Deku!”

“Breathe, Ochaco,” Keri smiled, sending soothing energy over her, “You are in a safe place and I do not discuss sessions. Izuku is a handsome young man, and he’s strong and courageous. A lot of the boys in your class are pretty remarkable. There’s nothing to be ashamed of thinking good things about someone you admire… and you’re right, All Might and I were holding hands, we’re just… trying it out, you know?”

“I thought you guys were already dating when I met you.” She blinked.

Keri laughed, “No… no I only met him some months before you all did, I was working here my first year last year, and at the end of the semester, All Might came into my office thinking it was where Principal Nezu was located, and he scared the hell out of me, I’ll tell you.”

Ochaco laughed a bit at that, the heat being taken off of her developing feelings, “How did you get so close?”

She smiled fondly, “Well, he is the Symbol of Peace, right? He’s supposed to be unbreakable, infallible, strong and sturdy and happy — All Might is still a man, like anyone else. He gets scared, and hurt, and upset too. I just offered him someone to talk to.”

“So you’re like, his therapist?”

“More like a friend, he listens to me too,” She smiled, “We just kind of… hit it off I guess. We became really close friends - then we got into a fight before school started. And since we made up, we’ve decided to see if we could be more than friends I guess.” She blushed.

The teen smiled, “Well I hope you guys stay more than friends.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well,” she started, “All Might deserves to have someone he can share his time with - the tabloids have never shown him with anyone. It’s kind of sad if he has to save the world, and he has no one to hold him when he’s sad. Everyone needs someone to hold them up.” Keri smiled fondly at the girl, she was certainly as sweet as Izuku was, “And you’re so nice, Miss Keri - and you always check on us - I mean, you checked on me the day of the entrance exam… you made sure I wasn’t in shock and helped me get to the bathroom when I was queasy. You’re both just… cute together I think.”

Keri smiled, “Well, thank you Ochaco… that’s very nice of you to say. And you’re right, everyone needs someone to hold them up. So don’t be afraid of holding others up if you feel you want to, okay? Let your gut tell you what to do.”

She nodded and smiled, the bell for lunch rang, “Oh! I’m so hungry - I’m going to go meet up with my friends, but thank you for taking care of us, miss Keri.”

Smiling she nodded, “Don’t stop believing in the good things in the world, Ochaco.” Waving as the girl left she sighed and pulled the privacy curtain down, sitting on the sofa with a tired sigh. This was more than she was used to, she was a little tapped out from using her quirk for so long but she could bear up alright with some tea and food.

--

She jumped when the door suddenly flung open, “Hey!” The tall muscular blonde who opened the door cheered, “I am here! With young Midoriya!”

Keri just sighed and nodded, “Hello boys, come on in,” it was unintentionally punctuated with a yawn.

Deki frowned, “Are you alright Miss Chairo?”

Smiling at the green haired boy she nodded, quickly also seeing concern on her boyfriend’s face as he deflated, locking the office door, “Yes yes, just tired. I’ve been using my quirk for hours.”

Toshinori came over to her on the sofa, and he patted his lap, “You’re not overdoing it right? Do you feel nauseous at all? Here - why don’t you lie down here while I speak with young Midoriya? I’m sure a small nap would do you good.”

She blushed, “N- no I’m fine, promise.” If Izuku wasn’t here, she would curl into Toshinori like a tired kitten, but, this was school. No matter how close Toshinori and Izuku were, they are his teachers, “You don’t have to worry so much, I’m fine, honestly. You and Izuku just, talk okay?”

He nodded, “Well- I have a free period after lunch so… offer stands, okay?”

She nodded and went about making tea for her hero and her student, “Let me get some tea going…”

Toshinori looked to Midoriya and he gave a small sigh, “Fifty minutes.”

Keri winced gently at the frankness of her boyfriend’s voice, seemingly unbothered. The two of them had already had this talk, but he had some things to bring to the attention of his protégée.

“H-huh?” Izuku looked shocked, “fifty minutes?!”

Toshinori nodded, “That’s about how long I can use my power now… I overdid it too many times.”

“I’ll say,” Patho chimed in causing a look from both men.

“That Nomu was a real tough customer…” the blonde continued, “it took a lot out of me. At this point I can barely even look like All Might for an hour and a half.”

Izuku looked down at his knees and he grunted softly, “I’m so sorry, I should have just —!”

Toshinori burst into laughter, blood erupting from his mouth as he did so, “You don’t need to apologize for anything!”

“Toshi! Cover your mouth you’re getting blood all over my office!” Keri scolded.

He cleared his throat, using the old stained ladies handkerchief Keri had lended him to hold against his lips, “MAN, we are alike, you and me, kid.”

Keri sighed and came over, setting the tea tray on the little coffee table, “Have some tea, Izuku.”

“Thanks…” he said with a little shock in his voice.

After a pause in the room, she sighed, “I will take a walk, I’ve been cooped up in this room all day, I’d like some air.” She leaned in and kissed Toshinori’s head.

He reached for her hand and kissed it, “Knock the way we talked about when you get back.”

“Yes, Mister number one,” she smirked and waved, “Don’t be too hard on young Izuku now, you already are scaring him spewing blood like a sprinkler.”

“B-bye Miss Chairo.” He stuttered and looked back to All Might.

All Might watched her fondly before turning back to Izuku, “I brought you here to talk about the sports festival…”

--

Keri stepped out of her office and stretched, heading down the hall to the balcony near her and Recovery Girl’s office. She was worried about Toshinori - though when wasn’t she?

“Hello my dear…” the smoky and familiar voice of Midnight cooed from behind her as a hand dragged onto her back, “Going for a walk?”

She jumped slightly, “Ah- Nemuri- Yes… I needed some fresh air, Ive been using my quirk all morning - how did the meeting go?”

“Oh you haven’t been filled in by your man?” She smirked.

Patho blushed, “He is busy speaking with a student right now, I haven’t gotten the chance to ask him yet.”

“Well, All Might went on a big monologue about how this Shigaraki fellow is a spoiled brat - honestly that man is smart. But we don’t know much. Honestly we’re all just worried this is turning the small-time thugs and villains into a team to try and overthrow society.”

Nodding the younger woman took a deep breath, “That’s what I was afraid of too.”

“How are the children, though?”

Looking up she nodded, “They’re doing okay. Some of them are a little shaken up, especially Tenya Ida, but most of them just kind of put their trust in us and the school to continue to protect them, bu they know they have to work hard to be stronger. Best case scenario, really.”

Nemuri took a deep breath, “And how is All Might?”

“Well… you know him, he blames himself for not being there from the start. We were talking last night I had to kind of make him snap out of it, that self-deprecating hole he gets himself into.” She sighed.

“Last night?” She smirked.

“Oh- uh,” Keri blushed, “Toshinori stayed at my place last night, to get some actual rest.”

A grin spread over Midnight’s face, “So, there’s something I’ve been DYING to know…” Looking at her with skeptical eyes, Keri waited for her two continue, “Is All Might’s manhood bigger when he’s All Might?”

Keri sputtered, inhaling a breath and coughing wildly as she held to her chest, “NEMURI!”

“What! Inquiring minds want to know, Patho.” She purred.

Wiping her lips she shook her head, face furiously red, forehead glowing, “W-we haven’t— we’ve only kind of made out! We’re taking things slow! Oh my god why are you even thinking about his — his —“

“His cock?”

Keri started glowing, visibly shaken by this line of questioning, “MIDNIGHT PLEASE.” She groaned, “Why do you do this to me!”

“Because honey, you’re just so innocent about it all,” She gasped, “WAIT - are you a a virgin….”

Patho was still glowing as waves of embarrassment flooded the hallways, “What! N- no! No I’m not okay! I’ve been with someone!”

Putting her hands on her hips, midnight huffed, “I don’t believe you. I want a name.”

“Oh my god you don’t have to believe me!” She sighed and ran a hand over her face, trying to calm down, “Taishiro Toyomitsu.”

Midnight blinked for a few moments and then she held up her arms, “Am I supposed to know who that is?”

She groaned, “The hero Fatgum?? His name is Taishiro.”

“FATGUM? Are you serious? When? How long?”

“We met when I was in college okay! We dated for three years. It just didn’t work out, we were too different and he was just really committed to being a hero, and I was too committed to being a therapist.” She sighed, “Happy now?”

“Does All Might know?”

Blushing Patho shook her head, “No, and I don’t want to talk about past stuff with him yet. He’s really self conscious and he’s too sweet to admit it but he gets jealous I think. I don’t know, I just want him to be assured in how I feel before we go into our pasts.”

The older woman’s face softened, “You really do love him, don’t you.”

“I… I mean,” She took a deep breath, “Yes, I love him - I’m crazy about him. He’s the most wonderful man in the world and I just want to take care of him.”

She smiled, “I’m glad. I used to see girls he’d have flings with… most of them were fame whores or gold diggers, you know. And Toshinori is just too nice to understand sometimes.”

“I know he is. He thinks the world is a great place full of good people. He gets taken advantage of, but he never complains.”

Midnight hugged the girls shoulders, “He deserves someone like you, Keri, truly, someone who really does care.”

“Thanks Nemuri, you’re a great friend when you’re not being a pervert.” She laughed.

Midnight smirked, “Well listen honey, when you find out the answer to my question, I want to know,” She smirked, “Gotta run! Time to teach, kisses!”

Keri slapped her forehead and groaned, “I need to go lay down.”