#this guy has a lot of potential to be really complex and well-written and I see it

[yuseirra]

I feel like you get them when you combine aqua-akane and aqua-kana's relationship.

What Akane's told Aqua in ch 71-72 was pretty powerful, wasn't it? But that's EXACTLY what Ai would have felt towards Hikaru. That's what she actually went through.

It's pretty painful when you sit down and think what things could have been going on his head. He isn't fooling around when he says Ai's accepted him and loved him. She's the only one who cared enough and did that for him. There is no way he could give up on her with that having taken place, I see it really well. That's why he's so attached and desperate when it comes to Ai...

[kentumi]

city of angels

kagami taiga x reader

*+:.. b4 u read ... fluffy (?), gn friendly, college au (?), implied height difference between kagami n reader, barely proofread = a lil messy (；ω；)

a/n: waow i've never written something so happy this long before >< sorry if it's a little everywhere.. i'm not the best at writing fluff hu (◞‸◟) i feel like this had the potential to be wayy way way way way better ,, also.. i debated on making this a multi-chapter series? but i'm not sure if it's worth expanding on it so let me know wat u guys think in my inbox (づ_ど)

los angeles.

new home, new beginnings. getting an apartment here definitely wasn't easy and barely made it within your list of "apartment requirements."

a wave of stress comes upon you as you arrive at the tenant's office. here to pick up your keys, you would officially start a new chapter. as you stand in front of the building, you second guess your decision on moving to the big city. in comparison to your previous place, the two heavily contrasted. since the beginning, you always held a fear that you wouldn't become accustomed to your new style of living here. within those fears, one of them stood out the most to you: making new connections.

"alright, just sign here.. and the keys are all yours," the tenant smiles. her smile is warm and welcoming. just what you needed.

"i'm assuming you've been to los angeles before, right?" she asks in attempt to ease your mood. the stress that resided in you could probably be seen from a mile away. however, you were too caught up in making sure that no mistakes were on the final paperwork.

"oh! uh- no, not really.. i decided to move here on a whim to start new and," your voice trails off. then it really sinks in; what kind of decision was it to move to a city that you've never been to before? that you knew barely anything about? you can feel the look she gives you without even turning your attention to her.

"well, i wish you luck on your journey. welcome to the city of angels," she smiles again. this time, her words catch you off guard. your eyes dart straight to her and she has the same warm smile on her face. in that moment, you realize that maybe, just maybe, things will be alright.

"yeah.. yeah! thank you!" you stutter. she drops the keys into your hands, and you're on your way.

"city of angels," you whisper to yourself. "i wonder if it lives up to its name." sure, the tenant herself was already an angel and already served the name right, but what's a city of them if there's only one?

making your way to your flat, you take notice to the athletic center of your complex. basketball, tennis, swim. there's a spot for almost everything. however, that grows out of your concern. the red-headed figure on the basketball court wounds up taking your full attention. several attempts were made to get a glimpse of his face, but the world only worked against you. back turned to you, you were only able to admire the passion in his movements across the court.

swinging the door open, you get a whiff of the freshly painted walls of your flat. your tenant had just been here assuring the final touches, which you had assumed since the kitchen lights had already been on. the empty space fully submerges you into your new reality, and you decide, it's time to get to work.

stumbling down the stairs and back into the parking lot, you make way to the moving truck. struggling to set up the ramp, you became convinced that dealing with the truck's contraptions was harder than trudging your boxes up the stairs.

a half hour passes, and you're whooped already. you've moved about four out of the fifteen boxes and you're also definitely at your limit. the workload had you debating on calling it a day and just sleeping on the floor with a sheet for the night.

"hey, you need some help?" an unfamiliar voice shakes you out of your thoughts.

whipping your head around, you're met with the chest of a stranger. and when you look up, your eyes meet with the eyes of the redhead from the basketball court. for some reason, a shiver makes its way down your spine. what was this feeling? you can tell he's shaken up too, eyes wide and jaw clenched.

he looks a little mean, but you can tell he's soft. his gorgeous face and impressive height held your focus for a little too long. you also take notice to the muscle he packs on his arms. the mystery man you were just admiring was now standing right in front of you offering.. help?

you stumble on your words, "oh! i mean, if you don't mind.." and before you knew it, the box in your hands disappeared.

"i can handle it. carry whatever's easiest," his voice was charming. fierce, yet kind. he was confident in his abilities, but not too arrogant. following that, you let him take over.

"you from around here?" he asks, breaking the silence. the two of you had been focused on not tripping up the stairs with your hands full.

"no, actually. it's my first time in los angeles," you smile to yourself. suddenly, living here didn't sound too bad. not if he was around.

your redheaded assistant exclaims out of shock, exhibiting the same reaction as your tenant but with his own twist, "well, i hope you come to like it here. it's a beautiful city, really."

you nod, and it goes silent again.

"what was your name? i didn't quite catch it before," you needed to know who he was. after all, he was your athletic center crush turned moving assistant.

" 'names taiga. taiga kagami," you can tell he's proud of himself. not in the sense that he was an arrogant loser, but that the journey connected to his name was all worth.

"well, it’s nice to meet you taiga. i'm y/n, and i am very grateful to be having you help me," you smile. it's obvious that your comment flusters him.

"mm," his shoulders are tense and his voice grows quieter than it was before. with that tough look on his face, you'd never think he'd become easily flustered like this.

a few hours pass, and taiga places the rest of your stuff next to the front door, "you need help with anything else?"

"i think i'll be fine," you smile, "thank you again for helping me. i think i would've just given up on moving had you not showed up."

you find it cute the way he scratches the back of his head. a gentle giant, he was. and for a moment, you both steal a glance from one another. he plays it off, acting as if he was observing the room. the room grows silent once more, and you decide it's your turn to break it.

"oh yeah, i've been meaning to ask.. where's your place at? unless you're just here to use the courts," you joke, but he pouts.

"actually, i'm right across from you," it sounds like he takes pride in where he resides. right across from you. what a steal.

the way everything fell into place so perfectly had you starstruck. you couldn't believe that the man, who simply started out as a mystery crush, turned assistant, had now turned into the boy next door. or rather, across the hall.

shock made itself at home on your face. you were speechless, unsure on how to recover from this right in front of him.

"what a coincidence this must be then," you smile, trying to sound like what he just said didn't just send you through the roof. he smiles back, but this time, it feels more welcoming. the former desolation of your empty apartment becomes warm and you feel an invisible pressure lifted off of your shoulders. however, the feeling is all too familiar.

"well, i'll be across the hall if you ever need anything. just ring the doorbell and i'll get to ya," he shoots you another smile, and up and out the door he goes. at first, you debate on stopping him and offering to take him to eat out, but you decide you're not bold enough for that yet.

the evening replays in your mind as you hover over your kitchen counter. his kind nature paired with his athletic abilities topped with his physique had you absolutely whipped. you'd align him with your definition of angelic.

maybe los angeles truly was the city of angels, and taiga just so happened to find his way to you.

[bibibbon]

Characters with wasted potential: takami kegio

Oh hawks and the debates I have seen circulating around his character. He could of been a well written and thoroughly interesting and complex character but we know where that went.

I have got my own problems with hawks in canon. This is gonna be more of a ramble than anything else so enjoy.

His interactions with characters. A lot of the interactions that hawks has with different characters could of been so complex and intriguing if done right sadly MHA fails at that. Hawks views Enji todoroki the number two hero as his saviour from his abusive father so obviously hawks is a huge Endeavour fan who puts him on a pedestal. So we expect him to face an internal conflict when he finds out that his own saviour is an abuser to his own family but NOPE WE GET NOTHING. Hawks is physically not allowed to change or think about this and stays as a static character. Hawks and lady nagant have a lot of parallels and I found it Hella confusing when I learnt that lady nagant WASN'T hawk's former mentor and if she was that would of added a lot more depth to them in the vigilante arc. Hawks and tokoyami, look I love their mentor and mentoee relationship and how hawks actively encourages tokoyami to do things also it's Hella implied that the two are close and end up doing silly things on internships which I think is really fun. However I think the bit in the vigilante arc when hawks isn't answering tokoyamis calls and tokoyami is worried about him was handled poorly. I also think tokoyamis reaction to hawks being a killer is handled poorly. Hawk's actions during the first war arc and him killing twice could of been complex to him if handled well but we are led to believe that he was in the right in killing twice when hawks had the power to easily knock out twice, transport him to a jail cell and destroy all the clones before anything bad happens considering that hawks is known for his fastness, strength and agility .

Wasted potential in introduced plot aspects about him. Hawks is introduced as the 3rd top hero and compared to those before him he is young. He has a very charismatic and two faced nature that he has sharpened and learnt to use with the training the HPSC gave him. Hawks is a spy assassin that is supposed to act as a charismatic hero celebrity. In a way after all mights retirement hawks and enji became the most popular faces in Japan. Hawks was bred for this position yet that isn't expanded on neither is it developed well on. Hawk's actions during MVA and the first war arc are complex as they're coming from both genuine truth and lie. Hawks feels trapped literally and metaphorically having to live a life that isn't his and entertain people, always being watched from a cage. That's the story he tells the league and some of it to tokoyami and this is the truth to him. Hawks also killed twice BECAUSE HE BELIEVED it was the only option he had when in fact IT WASNT THE ONLY OPTION and by hawks trying to escape the cage and differentiate himself from the HPSC he ends up following and obeying them all along.

Lack of agency. As a character hawks lacks agency to do things or act. There are things that hawks isn't allowed to do even though it fits his narrative clearly. Hawks isnt allowed to have any negative feelings towards enji todoroki and what he did, heck he isn't even allowed to INTROPSECT on such a thing. Hawks isn't allowed to fully be developed or have any source of introspection, it would of been great if we saw more of what hawks thought about what he did to twice and what toga is trying to do. Hawks also doesn't say much when it comes to the HPSC and how they treated him the closest thing we get to intropsection in that case is him telling lady nagant that he is an extremely optimistic guy.

These are my main problems with hawks, Iam aware that there may be more.

I actually enjoyed hawk's introduction in the manga which was chapter 185 during the changing of the hero popularity polls. Hawks was presented as this complex character who isn't what he seems from the beginning. The first few panels we see him and he is comedically exaggerating his actions aka zipping his mouth and not talking or being overall very expressive however, when he does start to talk he is shown to cleary express his views and has stated that he hates the general bs thay heroes sprout about them wanting to uphold the law more than enjoying the luxuries that hero work gives them. He then takes the mic and proceeds to 'spice things up' by calling out enji on how disliked he is by the civilians. He claims this is something he did to help enji when in fact it didn't help him at all. To me this first interaction already establishes him as a walking contradiction.

His relationship with tokoyami. Their relationship first started in a way for hawks to gain information about 1A and he definitely wasn't being sneaky about it considering that tokoyami could see right through him. Tokoyami at the time only wanted to learn from hawks and was heavily upset and confused as to why hawks taught him nothing and was only using him. However, as time passed by they actually started to form a proper mentor and student relationship which I really enjoyed. When hawks was asked why he chose tokoyami he said that they are from the same feather, basically insinuating that he felt like it was somewhat his duty since he and tokoyami are both bird mutants to a certain extent. As a mentor hawks taught his student to have fun and chill out as tokoyami is a very grounded person (literally and metaphorically). Hawks inspired tokoyami to fly and majority of tokoyamis moves are some stuff that he either learnt or was inspired from with hawks. There's also the fact that it's heavily implied that a lot of the time hawks and tokoyami did goof out a bit considering that tokoyami has 'scandalous pictures' of hawks. However, I wish we actually got more of this relationship especially after tokoyami finds out that hawks killed twice. In the manga when tokoyami finds out of such a thing he automatically protects hawks and thinks he is in the right. I disagree with that and I think it would of been better to have it so that tokoyami protects hawks from Dabi not because he is a hero who done no wrong but because he is his mentor who he deeply cares for. I would also have it so that tokoyami starts to question who hawks really is?, is he a good person?, did tokoyami do the right thing helping hawks? Etc etc. in the vigilante arc, it's stated that tokoyami tried to contact hawks multiple times to no avail however this isn't expanded on. I would have it so that hawks is avoiding tokoyami on purpose because he is ashamed and scared of what his student will think of him. At the end they have a conversation and talk it out with tokoyami understanding that what hawks did was wrong but he deeply cares for him whereas hawks understands just how valuable his relationship with tokoyami really is. In the end, I ended up liking what happend with hawks and tokoyami both protecting eachother in the final arc and growing stronger as a mentor and student. Hawks learns to protect the youth and break the cycle that he was trapped in while learning what a hero means to others from tokoyamis perspective.

Hawks and twice . Hawks managed to build a good relationship with twice as the dumb and overly optimistic MVA member. Twice had potential to be saved but hawks ended up killing him. I have reread this part of the manga and I have my mixed opinions on this however, there are two ways I would change this 1) have hawks kill toga instead and have twice and toga switch places as it makes way more sense or 2) have hawks try to quickly take down twice by knocking him out and trying to transport him somewhere get before he can achieve that Dabi comes in and intervenes finally making hawks too slow to do anything and having him end up killing twice. Option 2 is what happend in the manga with hawks being too slow (ironic considering that hawks is praised on speed) to truly save twice and ends up taking his life so twice doesn't escape and doom them all. The problem is that hawks starts on the offensive (something I like), hawks thinks that killing twice is the only way to avoid everything or at least massively injuring him would stop it. Sadly, hawks could of easily convinced twice to back down considering how easily swayed twice is and that he only did the things he did because he thought there was no way out or wanted to help his friends. Before their fight begins however, hawks talks about not being swayed by nice words and connections he built with twice which makes me think that he didn't want to kill him but due to his mindset and pov he ended up killing him because HE THOUGHT IT WAS THE ONLY OPTION HE HAD (It wasn't)

His involvement in the MVA. Hawks first starts as a double spy for the HPSC. Through the MVA arc we see him do questionable things in the name of other people safety however, we see his actions backfire badly. Hawks tries to quickly and swiftly gain the leagues trust yet he isn't fast enough, he tries to quickly inform the heroes and the HPSC of how dangerous and out of hand this situation yet he fails and many things are caused by him (the fastest hero alive) not being quick enough to do anything. He 'kills' beat jeanist in the name of gaining the trust of the MVA yet that does nothing to get him up the system and just makes it that best jeanists help is out of the table for the majority of the arc. Hawks joining the MVA was useful for the league as they were going to parade him around so people can join him yet I still wonder how the mainstream media didnt catch a whiff of what hawks was up to or how he simply abandoned hero society (even though he was a double spy). Hawks also talks to the league why he joined the MVA and uses his own story (somewhat of the truth of his life) how he feels like a bird trapped in a cage one that can't fly freely this can be interpreted in many ways. 1) he doesn't have the right to freely use his quirk to any extent he wants which is something that MVA stands for or 2) he feels trapped by his own life choices, him becoming a hero especially the number 2 and has a lot of eyes on him watching him like a circus animal with every move he makes so he puts on an act and never drops the mask.

Hawks and toga himiko . Toga himiko should of either been killed by hawks in place of twice which would of made him get more backlash by the public and make tokoyami question him even more considering that hawks somewhat mercilessly killed a 16 year old (the same age as tokoyami) in cold blood for justice so he could also do it to him. Or we should of gotten a hawks Vs toga battle in the final arc instead of a afo Vs hawks one. It would of made way more sense. Considering that hawks killed twice who is very dear to toga she should of had her eyes set on hawks death the minute she chose to join the lov and the final war. We should of gotten an intense and emotional battle between them were hawks has to come to terms that he didn't need to kill twice but he thought that it was the only option he had and he watches as toga uses twices quirk knowing that twices death was meaningless as toga is using his quirk in the way he feared it would be used. Hawks would be almost killed until ochako intervenes and has her battle with toga while hawks goes and fights alongside tokoyami.

Hawk's views on lady nagant. Lady nagant should of been hawk's mentor and he should of been her replacement. In canon hawks is only her replacement and I think it would of added more nuance and overall better writing if she was his mentor. I absolutely loved the parallels that those two shared and how they came out on different side of things however, I do think that we should of seen more of hawks getting the backhand treatment from the public considering that him killing twice was on live television. Honestly it surprised me that hawks killing twice isn't what the public was most upset with him about but they were upset with him having an abusive and villain father which honestly says a lot. I also think that they should of had more screentime to talk, hawks helped save lady nagant and she ended up asking him how he still has hope while he says that he is "optimistic". Iam not a huge fan of this moment and I think it could of been written better. Hawks and lady nagant are two sides of the same coin but dam did I hate hawks holding her burnt body and telling her that he was her replacement, it could of been handled better with hawks and her actually having somewhat of a fight and then some of the conversation happening after the explosion.

Hawks and the todoroki family . Oh boy I can feel that this is gonna be a long one. I found it interesting that hawks actually looked up and admired endeavour and I loved the parallels it gave both hawks and Dabi. However, I hated that hawks wasn't allowed to think or have any intropsection after hearing about what enji did or that he didn't go through a bit of a crisis over it. The fact that hawk's character has simply been reduced to enji Todorokis biggest supporter is my biggest problem with hawks. Dabi and hawks were very interesting to me (no I don't ship them) they're simply two sides of the same coin especially in the ways they act. Dabi is consistent on revenge whereas hawks is the opposite, Dabi hates enji whereas hawks admires enji and so on and so on. I do think that it would of been way more interesting if touya and kegio had actual history behind everything going on so I have always liked the HC that they met in the HPSC training scheme and became friends. It's plausible and makes Dabi saying hawk's real name way more meaningful than Dabi finding it out by threatening hawk's mother. I also think that both of them sharing a form of history yet not trusting eachother is hella interesting. Dabi was probably one of the only characters (aside from Izuku and tokoyami) that could see through some of hawks actions. Dabi knew what hawks will do yet never tried to intervene until it benefited him of course in true icon fashion that is. I also find hawk's relationship with the youngest todoroki interesting but I think it was done horribly. I would of liked to see more scenes with hawks and shoto talking about enji and touya or just scene of them that draw the similarities they have.

I would also have hawks be semi involved in the whole mutant racism plot because we need that to be fleshed out. Does hawks help donate to charities that help mutants? Is he against such people? Or doe hawks himself face such discrimination? To be honest I doubt it considering that his mutation is on the "prettier side" of the mutations and wouldn't face discrimination like shoji did

Hawks also had potential to interact with other characters like todoroki which would of highlighted his thoughts and development on the families matter. There is also Izuku midoriya who in a way is in somewhat of a similar circumstance to hawks and they could of had that whole is there another way to save villains like twice and shigaraki without killing them or is death the only way or just general conversation between the two considering that tokoyami was stated to praise izuku so much that hawks considered taking him as an intern. In one of the side comics you also had Izuku be somewhat suspicious of hawks and his abilities and it's also somewhat hinted in the main manga so it's interesting to have them have a conversation about that.

I personally think that hawks should of received concequences for his actions and one of them being hindered quirk use aka his wings don't grow back properly or everytime he uses them he can't use them to their fullest potential due to how injured he was by Dabis fire. Also, I hate how hawks being used by the commission is almost brought as a second thought, like when the HPSC fell we really didn't get much of hawk's personal reaction or thoughts or anything on the matter it seems like a quite empty point even though it had its potential to Futher develop hawks

In conclusion, hawks character introduction was pretty solid and I really liked some of the aspects that the series gave him like making him a walking contradiction to a certain extent but I do think that horikoshi development of hawks character was horrible and the fact that hawks lacks agency to do many things or reflect on things irritates me very much.

[mahoutoons]

the women of death note deserve better

so i just finished death note. i have Thoughts about the show. some good, some bad. its not the type of show i'd usually watch but there was something in it that kept me watching. but there was one aspect of the show that bothered me to no end, one that made me consider dropping the show more than once. and that's its treatment of its female characters.

now i know shonen isn't exactly known for writing women well. this isn't to say ALL shonen is like that, but the more popular ones definitely have this problem. the women are either sidelined, reduced to love interests, or aren't allowed to reach their full potential, and this can really be seen in the women of death note. for a show that prides itself on having complex, layered characters with depths that keep people talking two decades later, it sure does drop the ball when it comes to writing women. so here i'm gonna go through all the women of death note and how they were done dirty. keep in mind this is all referring to the anime, i haven't read the manga.

naomi misora

starting off with the one that pissed me off the most. naomi had me intrigued from the moment she first appeared on screen. she was a former fbi agent who left her job because her asshole fiance convinced her it was too dangerous, and then blew off her suggestions (which ultimately lead to his death which. el oh fucking el). she was able to piece together that kira could control how his victims die. she could add a lot to the story given that she previously worked with L. she could've been a part of the task force and would help them piece together clues that would pin down kira. does she do all that? LOL NOPE. the writers decided she was too powerful and killed her off within two episodes of her introduction. now i know this is death note and a lot of characters die. but naomi's death pissed me off the most. here was a woman who had so much potential and could solve the case within two episodes and she's killed off. oh but at least she stars in a spinoff novel half the fandom won't read! isn't that just GREAT? look how much we love women guys!

yeah all this time later and i'm still pissed off about how they did her. naomi bby you deserve so much better.

misa amane

OH BOY GET READY FOR A BIG ONE. so misa was actually the reason i wanted to watch death note because she's fucking gorgeous. i didn't have many expectations about how she'd be written considering this is a popular shonen, but even then i was disappointed. misa is the main female character of death note. she's presented as the second kira who has shinigami eyes, which gives her the power to see a person's name and lifespan by looking at their face. she was saved by a shinigami who was in love with her and got his notebook, and her current shinigami rem (more on her next) also has feelings for her. she worships kira because he killed her parents' murderer. she finds out light is kira because her shinigami eyes don't allow her to see the lifespan of a death note owner and as such asks him to make her his girlfriend.

misa misa misa. my gorgeous goth girl. you deserved to be written so much better. a second kira who has shinigami eyes? she could've been so cool. but the writers made 90% of her personality revolve around light and treated her as this dumb, impulsive girl who worships the ground light walks on. and light doesn't even treat her that well. he just uses her and takes his frustrations out on her. oh, and don't get me started on this bullshit

look, i get that misa is a killer and had to be restrained. but WAS THIS FETISHY CRAP NECESSARY?? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE FUCKING CROTCH STRAP?? when light was imprisoned he wasn't tied up like THIS. this is just another case of shonen authors being fucking weirdos with their female characters.

and in the end she kills herself because light dies. instead of letting her heal and live her life the author decides "welp, the man we based 90% of misa's character on is dead, time to kill her off too". just absolute bullshit. she deserved so SO much better.

rem

rem, my gorgeous butch shinigami. she became my favourite character when she was introduced. i was actually surprised by how direct they were about her feelings for misa. i'd seen bits and pieces of remisa before and i thought it'd be one of those ships the writers dance around but they explicitly had her say she has feelings for misa. i was so surprised and happy at that. but of course, this is a popular shonen so i shouldn't have had high expectations. my problem with how they treated rem comes in her death. she dies after killing watari and L to extend misa's lifespan. if a shinigami extends a human's lifespan they die. now, i'm not gonna say her death is an example of bury your gays because gelus, the male shinigami who saved misa before, met the same fate. however, i will say its very Interesting that the only canonically lesbian character who explicitly declares her feelings for another woman dies BECAUSE of those feelings. and then she isn't even acknowledged by misa which is so weird considering how much rem helped her. there's no scene of misa even mentioning rem or mourning her death. she dies without anyone knowing. i do enjoy the doomed yuri aspect of remisa but i really do wish they'd have misa at least acknowledge rem's death.

wedy

wedy, aka merrie kenwood, is a spy who joins the task force in the yotsuba arc. she's an expert at getting through security and is crucial in helping pin down higuchi as kira as she's the one who installs the bugs in yotsuba's meeting room and higuchi's cars. another cool female character with a lot of potential. you know what that means. TIME TO KILL HER OFF! wedy doesn't get much screentime and then dies within eight episodes of her introduction. which is slightly better than naomi. but still. i won't say this is also a case of misogynistic writing as aiber also dies. however, there is a pattern of having a female character with potential, not giving her enough spotlight, and killing her off shortly after her debut.

sayu yagami

sayu, my poor bbygirl sayu. she's introduced as light's bubbly little sister. in the timeskip she goes to college. her most significant role is getting kidnapped so her father could give up the death note to mello's men, making her the classic damsel in distress. and the poor girl is so traumatized that she's in a catatonic state and has to be wheelchair bound and taken care of by her mother. oh, and there's also that weird comment matsuda makes about her which... really dude? sayu isn't AS badly done as she doesn't play much of a role beyond her kidnapping. but still, she also deserves so much better.

kiyomi takada

i didn't think i'd be as pissed off about how they did a female character as i did about naomi and misa but BOY they proved me wrong. takada was light's girlfriend in college but she doesn't play a major role until the timeskip where she becomes kira's spokesperson. like misa, she worships kira. she's happy when she finds out light is kira and would do anything for him. so another woman who worships the ground light walks on. how original. she's supposed to be smart but they never demonstrate it. and need i mention that rivalry between her and misa? making two women catty to each other over a man who isn't even all that, how very typical. but what pissed me off the most was her kidnapping. that scene where mello asks her to take off all her clothes, and then she's left with nothing but a blanket? so fucking weird, i don't care if she's kira's spokesperson. this show has a history of treating its women weirdly and i'm not gonna believe this was anything but the author being weird once again. because what even was the point of that? and then she's killed by light to destroy all evidence. i'm saying this a lot at this point but takada also deserves better. she deserved to live up to her potential.

halle linder

out of everyone, halle is treated the best and that's not saying much. she's a double agent serving as takada's bodyguard and a spy for the spk. she's also the only woman besides sayu and sachiko who survived till the end and wasn't killed off. which i just realised. out of all the women in this show, only THREE survive till the end. isn't that something? i think my only issue with halle is the lack of spotlight. which is a theme with these women.

i thought of adding sachiko but she isn't much of a character. but there you have it. i'm not sure how bad it is in other popular shonen. but death note is full of women who had potential but the author squandered it for the sole reason that they're women. and its so jarring because people can write essays on light, L, near, mello, etc. even MATSUDA had more care put into him than any of these women. which is a damn shame. these women deserve to be in a show that actually cared about them, where they can actually live up to their potential.

i don't dislike death note. it definitely has its strong points. but the treatment of its women is something i take issue with, very strongly. if the author wasn't a weirdo and a nasty misogynist i feel like these women would've been the complex characters they deserved to be.

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 2 MATCH 31

Van propaganda:

"He's a great artist, he's charming and caring... At first it seems like a standard meet-cute with this guy but he turns out being connected to the player character through destiny, in several of their past (and future) lives... Not in all of them you meet, not in all of them you like each other immediately, but in many of them you end up finding one another by chance (or is it fate?), and staying together as a choice."

"He loves you, he hates you, he's one snide comment away from getting an HR complaint, he's been painting the same question over and over again and you're the answer, he uses Pochacco as his profile picture, whats not to love??"

Derek propaganda:

“Extreme hot take but Derek is the best OL1 love interest. He has the best and sweetest confession in the game. You play video games together. He seems reserved until you actually start dating and find out that he's actually just a gentleman who didn't want to be overly forward with someone he's not in a relationship with. He's a family man. You get to blatantly abuse your 'dating' privileges in front of his brothers. He's just so insanely sweet and caring and makes me wanna cry whenever I play his DLC.”

“- Impossible to dislike

- No, like, literally impossible. OL1 will allow you to be indifferent to it's two other LIs, Cove and Baxter but you actually can't pick that option for Derek. Game decided that You Will Be (at least) Friends With Derek

- This boy is so good!!!! He's a sweetheart and has your back in the best way and he's constantly doing his best to make sure the people around him (especially you) are happy

- This is also a complex flaw of his because he feels like he needs to be the best that he can be and to be worth something

- This both manifests in how he treats others (he's exceedingly well-mannered and does everything for others because he secretly hopes that someday someone will do the same for him) and his career prospects (he takes on excessive practice to get good at football/soccer so that he can potentially get a scholarship and become famous all so he can potenially feel like he's worth something. This is actually a major conflict in his Step 4)

- His DLC also has some of the best moments in the game

- He also has a family and they're also really good and you get to see a lot of them

- His dad is hilarious, his mom is gorgeous and their relationship is very cute

- Meanwhile, Derek's brothers are great. I wanna gush about them because I love them but also play Derek's DLC yourself!!! See how good they are for yourself!!!!

- I will say that these three have a really good relationship dynamic and the development it takes in the 10 years between when you first meet Jorge and Nico as little kids to Step 4 where they're adults (and a teenager, Nico is 16 in Step 4) is genuinely very well written

- If you're into the steamy stuff, Derek also has the best make-out session out of all of the boys

- He's also just. Very funny. This boy will invite you to a waterpark and then ask you if its a date so he knows whether or not it's ok to check you out in your swimsuit

- Or, if you aren't dating by that point (but you do want to to date him), the narration will note how he's trying so so hard not to check you out, he's just trying so so so hard

- Puppy dog face. Look at it. Tell me you can look at that face and not want to smooch him

- His confession is also the best, did I mention it's the best? Because it's absolutely the best one in the entire game

- He has a whole thing about having to confess to you on a ferris wheel and he's so committed to it that he actually avoided ferris wheels for a long time before this confession because he promised himself he'd do it the next time he went on one

- And then he went on one...and he literally doesn't confess when he does it because he lost track of time and he had to get off

- so he asks you to go on the ferris wheel with him again so he can actually confess this time

Just. Just vote for him!!!!”

“He's sweet, polite, and out-going and is always willing to put you first (sometimes too willing).”

“polite responsible jock u r NOT immune to this”

[lavandaea]

*inhales deeply*

There's spoilers ahead so, yeah, be careful.

This weekend episodes have actually broken my soul.

He didn't even need his feelings to be reciprocate, HE JUST WANTED TO BE WITH HER.

Dear writers, some things to ask, why so much screen time to second male lead? Why create such chemistry? Such backstory? (Spoiler alert: that will make us sympathize with the supposed villain) To just fuck*ing rip his heart out and pulverize it like Grandma with the cow bones, yes, just like that.

Let me get this straight, after having been raised in an environment of violence, pain and God knows what else for God knows how long, he falls in love. He experiences ✨feelings✨ ,he puts all his trust in her like never before, he shares his past and then he gets betrayed.

I swear I never seen someone cry so with so much meaning, feeling, with so much back there.

We made progress for the last (at least) five episodes TO JUST END IT IN A SINGLE ONE.

This could have been handled a lot better in a lot of ways and about a lot of topics that I could actually write an essay.

Let's begin the the main leads.

So, in order to have some sort of feeling about ML and FL loving eachother you need to put screen time ON them. Yeah, they support eachother, they have known far before Si Oh, they are funny and a lot of things more. They even kissed and very passionately, wow.

Just one thing, Why didn't I even blink during that scene but found myself hitting the pillow and blushing when Si Oh did such mundane things as taking her home, opening doors for her, fixing her purse, hair, looking at her with those "I love you" eyes,👏feeling👏guilty👏about👏making👏her👏uncomfortable👏 with👏his👏feelings👏for👏her HELLO??, WAVING HER BACK WHILE HE WATCHED HER GO, SMILE EVERY DAMN TIME HE SAW HER?

I´ll tell you why. Because I know, thanks to you, that Si Oh was experiencing for the very first time what it's like to have human interaction that doesn't involve violence or having to be wary of everything and everyone all the time.

Even after having lived a life of shit, even after still living a life of absolute shit he still wanted to be connect, to be happy, to make her happy, to love and be loved. Moreover, I couldn't help just to feel happy for him, sad, angry, fucking rageous (not more than him, obviously).

Meanwhile, I barely know Hee Sik aka the male lead.

I remember seeing his mother once and I think that's what I understood about his private life. Sorry, I forgot about his deceased brother, that could have been a good topic to develop if it wasn't just mentioned once somewhere in the sixth chapter and left there to rot. Other than that, I know he is a cop, loves his cops friends and loves Nam Soon, also he is really loyal and good person.

Nice👍, very nice. But that's not personality or backstory, that's a job and some general traits everyone should have to live in a society and have a job where you usually do the teamwork thingy.

So, what else??

Or does the man just exist for his job and girlfriend?

It is just I simply don't understand it, you create a seriously complex character that has all kinds of potential and you want us to root for...Yeah, no. He literally could be an extra with how little and simple information we receive about him.

Even Shi Oh had some time to box being a drug dealer and full time whipped for her.

I'm just saying that you want me to suddenly dislike someone you took a considerable amount of time explaining but I have to like this good guy because you just pointed at him 👉🧍, and said, "here's the good guy, please love him"

Sorry, I cant do that.

If you haven't noticed, you just made a character I fell obliged to sympathize.

If you wanted to make him evil and hot you should have just made him evil and hot.

It worked just as well with Jang Han Seok from Vincenzo.

Not have him have "REDEMPTION" written all over him just to go with "Actually, no. He has no chance. 😃". It is for lack of a better term, frustrating. (Pointless)

Instead, maybe you should have dedicated that screen time for the construction of the main leads relationship.

Oh, yes. Another thing since we are talking about the matter.

ML and FL relationship progress got weaker and weaker since she had started to spy on Si Oh. And then one episode it was like "Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you, they are actually dating by now" Bom, a kiss. If I need a kiss to know they are in love, there's something going on back there. If a great amount of people are rooting for a couple that is not the main one, something is going on there.

Something lacking.

Scenes of them in love: well acted, nice, cute, cool, okay. But it is like picking a random romance book and start reading it ten chapters ahead, they are in love, but how did this happen??? Last time I check, they were in a friends-catching-fealings-zone.

Where's their development?

I know where is it. In the fake relationship, that it was being used just to turn Si Oh into a complete monster with probably not chance of going back.

"You have suffered a lot, yeah, I see. Anyway here's more pain. Suffer more and go cause some trouble because if not, there's, apparently, no plot"

Nice job.

I have been saying this and I will say it again, kdrama writers/directors are not ready for traumatized villains. They are afraid of them.

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

Prodigy s2 thoughts/review (spoilers under cut)

my spoilerfree tdlr: this was almost certainly the best season of Star Trek and i love it so dearly. while i have a couple of nitpicks, there really was not a single bad episode in the whole season and i think this is the only bit of new Trek that's managed to be serialized while still pacing the series well, keeping up with pretty much all the character arcs (and there are a lot), and including lighthearted and heartwarming moments without sacrificing plot. it's a solid 9/10 for me.

i'll start with nitpicks/critique first since it's a much shorter list:

i think Solum was still a bit underdeveloped as a setting and it might have done better to explore a bit more of Ascensia's motivations for going to war but this could also be the result of me having not seen s1 of Prodigy in a few months and forgetting some things.

i'm someone who really really likes time travel stories and has written complex time travel stories before and even i thought some of the time travel logic was a bit convoluted and confusing. they brush it off in the beginning but i still don't really get how preventing the Solum Civil War (and thus preventing the Diviner from being at Tars Lamora and creating Gwyn) wouldn't make Gwyn and all of the Protostar kids paradoxes? if anyone has an answer here, i'd genuinely love an explanation because i want to like it but i can't work it out.

related a bit to this point ^ i really like including Ilthuran/the Diviner as a sympathetic character this season but i feel like we needed to see a bit more of him to really understand him and why he was so corrupted in s2 and see the Protostar kids (not just Gwyn) deal with how a guy who formerly enslaved them is now a good guy.

i think the set up to a potential season 3 hit the emotions perfectly with the Protostar kids serving as a bright beacon of hope and outreach in a time when the Federation is becoming withdrawn and insular (and that Janeway would facilitate that dream of exploration) but on a plot level.... i just don't buy that Starfleet would let seven kids and a single hologram have one of the fastest & most powerful ships in Starfleet just to train on when Starfleet had just lost so much of their Fleet in the Mars attack.

i think most of the characters had really good clear arcs this season except for Jankom Pog who was just kind of... there. this is a pretty minor critique because i'm probably attached to Pog the least out of all the Protostar kids and again it could also be because i wasn't paying attention to him that much but i wish we could have a bit of a more serious storyline with his character.

but all in all – those are pretty minor critiques because i don't mind if the plot gets a bit wishy washy as long as the emotional and character beats hit.

now things i really liked:

Dal's arc this season was so so good. i heard others talking about how he's great ADHD representation (especially for BIPOC kids) as someone who's intelligent and extremely skilled but really struggles in traditional education and despite seeming cocky/confident is often acting out of insecurity that he isn't really good enough or that the adults around him don't really care about him.

and i love how both Janeway and Chakotay serve as such great mentors!! Janeway for actually looking for ways to support him and show that she trusts Dal (and the rest of the Protostar kids) instead of punishing them for misbehaving. and Chakotay for that wonderful scene where he explains how there can feel like a push to always be at the top and be the best but the best thing in life is to find a place where you belong and can grow in healthy ways even if it means waiting to fulfill your ambitions (and what a good representation of healthy masculinity that is!)

and on that front. pretty much all of the scenes with Janeway and Chakotay were so lovingly crafted with how they both existed as mentors for the main characters but also had their own arcs and their mentorship reflected back on their own characters. i'm also not a huge j/c shipper (i like it theoretically, i'm just not that committed) but the loving glances they shared were Noticed.

i also like to think that the reason Janeway and Chakotay were so could at dealing with the Protostar kids was their command of Voyager's mixed Starfleet-Maquis crew and how they both know that despite Starfleet's ideals they often let down people who aren't Perfect enough (whether because of mental health, species, neurodiversity, etc). i'm specifically thinking about Tom and B'Elanna but i'm sure it also goes for Voyager's other crew that we don't see onscreen.

i love Gwyn. so much. i love how this season turned around expectations a little with Gwyn getting to have her Captain-y moments more so than Dal (through the series too, not just at the end) and her confronting her fear over her responsibility for an entire planet of her people who she's never even met before and insecurity that she's not really One Of Them.

i was also a little wary of Zero's arc this season at first because of how Star Trek tends to have "this autistic coded character is missing a fundamental part of existence and that's sad" narratives but i honestly think it was a pretty fresh portrayal of disability in that Zero in their normal metal body is missing senses that other people have and they enjoyed experiencing them in an organic body but going back to their metal containment suit wasn't sad, it was just a part of their life. and they even added a disability aid to their suit so they can still experience touch without all the "they're getting closer to being human" ableist shit that scifi tends to do. also their organic body using a mobility aid for a few episodes was Very Important to me. i might make a bigger analysis post of this portrayal later but i have to think on it.

i don't have much to say about her right now but i love Rok-Tahk so dearly and was overjoyed that she just got to be happy this season. every scene of her getting excited over science or another character commenting on how she's a genius was just so good.

Ma'Jel was also a fun addition and much needed to add a bit of common sense to the extremely chaotic dynamics going on. her and Zero Vulcan kissing at the end was extremely cute.

also every time either the Voyager-A crew would start saying "it's okay. we'll mutiny with you." to Janeway or Janeway got an order from Jellico (hey nice to see him btw! he's played by the same actor too!) that she immediately ignored, i was so happy. now that's my Captain!

i also have mixed opinions on the EMH in Voyager (mostly due to the last two seasons) but i thought he was great in here with a good balance of comedic scenes and some more serious moments. i did chuckle every time he started talking about his awful holonovels.

WESLEY CRUSHER!!!!! i'll be honest, i had a few ideas of characters that might make cameo appearances (i was banking on Harry Kim tbh) but for some reason Wesley never crossed my mind even though it makes SO MUCH SENSE given how his story in tng paralleled/was an inverse of the Protostar kids. instead of being a kid far away from the Federation who dreamt of of belonging somewhere safe, he was a genius kid on track to be a great captain and fulfill the Starfleet Dream TM but became lost and burnt out when he started to question if that was ever what he really wanted. both Wes and the Protostar kids dealt with self doubt and were dismissed at various points as Just Kids but they went in opposite directions.

i also just really love chaotic Time Lord Wes who's kind of forgotten how to be a person but is just doing this emoji 🤠 in every scene. the vibes were so impeccable.

also BEVERLY!!!!! as soon as Wes showed up i immediately made a post about how funny Janeway explaining All Of This to Beverly would be and then i was SHOCKED when it actually happened??? this show quite literally predicts my every want.

just everything about The Devourer of All Things was written specifically for me. the Loom were such good monsters (it's been forever since Star Trek did a straight up Scary Monster story). the explanation of all the different universes and timelines set my nerd brain on fire. the return of Janeway in a tank top. the snappy writing that also had some great character moments. the Doctor Who-ness of it all. i need to rewatch it asap.

the other episode highlight for me was Cracked Mirror for fun parallel universe exploits and getting to see Mirrorverse versions of Janeway and Chakotay. (there was even a Disco reference with the Agonizer!) it was predictable but the throwaway line to "Captain Tuvix" in whatever reality Rok and Zero ended up in almost made me do a spit take.

as someone who does genuinely love Picard (the show) despite its flaws, i am really happy how much was integrated into this season of Prodigy both with showing Beverly with a young Jack Crusher and with the attack on Mars being shown at the very end.

all in all – VERY GOOD SEASON. it gave me everything i wanted and more with only some minor nitpicks. and most importantly, i had fun in pretty much every single episode. i cleared my schedule on Monday because i thought i would be able to binge it all in one day but i simply had too much fun and only got through half of it. if season 1 of Prodigy was the best ever first season of a Star Trek show then this is maybe the best ever season of any Star Trek show.

[robotlesbianjavert]

what would you say are horikoshi's biggest strengths as a writer and what are his greatest weaknesses?

ooh that's a really good question that i've had to think a lot about. it's difficult cuz while i've read his tenko oneshot and the original my hero oneshot, i haven't read his other two multi-chapter works (oumagadoki zoo and barrage) (though i have seen the raw scans of his other oneshot shinka rhapsody thanks to @codenamesazanka). boku no hero academia is obviously his work i'm most familiar with, and it's difficult to use mostly that as a metric for his skills overall.

on the other hand, bnha lasts for so much longer than his other works and is also so much more recent, so it's the main work that has to show off how growth or lack thereof as a writer, as well as his biggest challenges due to how punishing the manga industry can be and how it would have forced him into situations he may not have experienced with his past works. so in a way, bnha kind of has to be judged a biiit separately from the rest?

anyways with those caveats aside. his greatest strength is always and forever his art, which in manga is at least half of the writing. he has this special little touch with physicality and emotion that like. it's hard to describe how exactly it's different from other artists, who are also often great with physicality and emotion! but horikoshi's art often has that extra bit of weight to it that really sells it to me.

like i've said previously, i also think that he does have a knack for character writing that shines best when he's working with complicated, rough around the edges characters who aren't straightforward goody-two-shoes. shigaraki and bakugou i've already said are great examples of this. endeavour can get more difficult to talk about in this context due to the baggage around him, but i'd maintain that a lot of the series best writing does go to him, shouto, and the rest of the todoroki plotline (although it struggled a bit at the end there). twice, while ultimately a really nice guy, is still a very complicated criminal who gets theeeeee best development in the series. obviously there's toga, normal cute girl of all time.

a lot of that extends to horikoshi's affection for his minor/side characters as well. while i don't think he always nails it with integrating them into the story (fucking shouji. also vigilantes honestly did parts of this better), he does obviously put a lot of thought into them even when he doesn't get to use it. this is part of why i adore spinner so much, because he's that very typical minor side character who could easily be written out but instead gets a fleshed out and evocative role of his own.

i also think that horikoshi has a really strong instinct and potential for great horror/horrific material. again, this is where shigaraki proves himself horikoshi's best character - everything from his initial character design with the hands, the hints and insinuations about his backstory dropped over the first and second acts, all culminating in the beautifully gruesome shimura family massacre that just hits every single fuckin time. i honestly think it's one of the greatest payoffs in the series, basically bar none. (i know people try to give that title to the dabi reveal, but i keep getting taken out by how abrupt that particular instance is) it's the horror moments that make his art especially shine, he comes up with great scenarios, and honestly when he mentioned wanting to try his hand at a horror work after bnha i'm like, all in.

but that kind of segues into my biggest criticism of his writing - he holds back. he gets meek, he doesn't go all in. he had some interview where he admitted that the yakuza arc took a lot out of him because of how dark it got,

this extends to the entire series, especially in how the third arc has shaken out. deku and all might are really big victims of this, where there is absolutely a lot of complex development and criticism you can do with the way their characters are set up, but the story backs down from that to go "well maybe they're just. too heroic sometimes. self-sacrificing. that's an issue right." the 'dark deku' arc is a joke because while deku does extend himself beyond his limits, he never gets to the point of causing real harm to himself and those around him before class 1a swoops in.

i also have my conspiracy theories about hawks and how the fallout of his murdering twice was soooooo weak, where i think the popularity of hawks and his status as a hero scared horikoshi off of doing anything more critical with him, instead feeding that overwrought backstory as a distraction and giving the whole "government sponsored murderer who is wracked with guilt and bitter about the hypocrisy" to nagant. who again he didn't go hard enough with because then deku would have like, something outside of shigaraki to actually deal with. and would have to question the society that he's protecting. whatever.

he's also been so half-assed with the critique and deconstruction of hero society that he's set up, only to hastily and clumsily reconstruct it because superheroes are too cool to reeeaaaaaally say anything about, and also hero society has too many parallels with real life modern society, which might be awkward to critique in a youth magazine meant to satisfy as broad an audience as possible.

and then there's the heteromorph arc. goddamn the heteromorph arc. if you follow me you've probably read this but @stillness-in-green's conclusive write up of heteromorph discrimination as it's been laid out throughout the story and how that arc failed, which i think really signifies either the ways that horikoshi doesn't dig as deep into the concepts he brings up as he should, or doesn't realize how deep he needs to go with them.

i don't know if part of the way that horikoshi holds back or lands on the most boring resolutions for some of the ideas the story brings up is in part due to not wanting to rock the boat culturally, if he doesn't want to accidentally turn readers away after he's worked so hard to get to where he is now as a mangaka, or if it's the workload wearing him down, but it leaves the story half-formed.

i also think his other greatest weakness, which is a brutal one for shonen, is that he kind of fucking sucks at interesting fight scenes. like how much stuff ends with deku giving a big punch. it is my honest and greatest opinion that it should have been iida fighting muscular and uraraka fighting stain either alongside or in place of deku - their characters just had so much more to gain there. but i can also imagine all the fanboys who only care about power stats sneering and asking what iida and uraraka could have possibly done, which i think really speaks to a lack of creative thought not just in the fanbase, but in the writer. horikoshi can spin up all these cool and unique powers, but struggles to do anything really engaging with them. given that shonen fight scenes double as big character moments, it leaves a lot to be desired. big punches can only be inspiring so many times.

anyways. there's probably a lot more i can say. but that involves retreating more of the story than i am willing to do so right now. so alas.

[argoxnautilus]

FANCOMIC REVIEW: Fire in the Sky by akapen011

So @akapen011 recently released his Transformers fancomic Fire in the Sky, which is, in his words, a "gayer, angstier" of the G1 episode of the same name. I've been excitedly following the development of this fancomic for a few months, and it was finally released as a physical copy last week during the 2023 TFcon, and digitally this Sunday!

I have been asked to review the comic, so I'll do my best. Please keep in mind that I'm not a professional and that this is a casual review :)

With all that over with, let's get started!

Plot

The fancomic loosely follows the plot of the original G1 cartoon episode, which goes as follows:

Earth is rapidly cooling down

This kinda freaks out the Autobots, bc there is fucking snow in the American Southwest... that's not very poggers!

They head over to the Arctic, and guess what? The Decepticons are syphoning Earth's energy from a green crystal in the ground! Somehow!

Meanwhile, the Decepticons found a Really Big Guy in the ice, and Starscream recognizes him as his old colleague Skyfire

Starscream explains that he and Skyfire used to be scientists/explorers before the war, Skyfire got lost in a storm and Starscream couldn't find him

Skyfire wakes up, joins the Decepticons out of loyalty to Starscream

Skyfire attacks the Autobots, then rescues the human characters who tagged along for some reason (Spike and Sparkplug)

He takes them to the Decepticons to prove that they're not the bad guys

They're the bad guys

The humans are imprisoned, which troubles Skyfire

When some of the Autobots are captured, Megatron orders Skyfire to kill them. He refuses, and is shot by Starscream in a fit of rage. Starscream then shoots the Autobots...

But it's okay! They were just pretending to be dead :) they repair Skyfire and head on their merry way...

But the Decepticons attack! Prime and Megs fight. When Megs orders Skyfire to attack the Autobots, he refuses and attacks the Decepticons instead!

Him and Starscream have an aerial fight which ends in the crystal destroyed and Skyfire buried in the Arctic ice again, presumed dead. The Decepticons flee, and the Autobots mourn Skyfire's sacrifice at least until they resurrect him 2 episodes later lmao

Now, as with many things in the G1 cartoon, there's a lot of issues. The episode, though it has a lot of potential, is written haphazardly, and a lot of potential outlets for emotional exploration are left untapped. Not to mention that some characterizations make no sense; why would Starscream, who is shown to care deeply about Skyfire when he is first found, shoot him when he disobeys the orders of Megatron, who he despises? Why didn't the Autobots just dig Skyfire out? Etc., etc.

However, in his rewrite of Fire in the Sky, Akapen makes some minor tweaks to the plot that, in my humble opinion, make the narrative far stronger. I won't spoil too much of the story, but suffice it to say that the characters and their motivations--especially Starscream's--are a lot more well-rounded and complex. Plus, I can promise that the comic certainly delivers on its promise of angst--the ending had me turning off my monitor and pacing around the house with a blank expression muttering nonsense under my breath for a good five minutes, and I guarantee that is the greatest honor I can bestow.

Writing

I've put this in a separate category from plot, because while plot and premise are the meat and potatoes of a good story, the way it is written--the dialogue, the ways characters interact with each other, the subtle intricacies of symbolism--are the spices that can make or break the meal. The original 1980s Transformers cartoon is notorious for having an interesting premise (what could be cooler than an eons-long civil war that's ripped a planet apart?) and incredibly bland spices (shoddy animation, poor writing, and staunch refusal to actually explore any of the implications of the aforementioned eons-long civil war), which overall leaves its value as a story based mostly on fan interpretations and nostalgia.

Akapen's Fire in the Sky, however, is abundantly seasoned with vibrant and intriguing spice. In sixty-eight pages, it manages to fit in superb character interactions; actually engage with the implications of the war; and portray the characters as three-dimensional, interesting, and overall enjoyable people to study.

Visuals

For most of this review, I have kept up a veneer of professionalism. This is the part where that shoddy disguise falls away. Akapen is one of my favorite artists, and it's obvious why--his art style is absolutely delicious eye candy! His line art is soft without being washed out, and I feel like I don't see enough traditional TF art....It's so Fucking Good...

Anyway, the comic is black & white with grayscale shading, and it looks amazing! The panel layouts are amazing too--there are so many pages with incredibly dynamic layouts, and I love them so much! Examples below:

These are the three best examples of dynamic page layouts in the comic, at least in my opinion. Akapen does an amazing job of using shape and design to highlight the emotion of the current scene, and boy does it show!

Also the way he draws faces is just....ough...OUGH..OUGH..!! *takes 15 screenshots and runs away*

I AM GOING FERAL.! THE EXPRESSIONS ARE SO FUCKING GOOD I AM GOING TO PUNCH A WALL

This is a really long post so I'm gonna wrap this up here. Please check out Akapen's work, and of course his comic!

[shaanks]

2-24 even for Shanks 💕

Oh my goodness, thank you bby!! Y'all are gonna hear about Shanks today lmfao. Most of this is gonna be under a readmore bc I've never been able to be succinct but here we goooooo!

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

I love how careful he is about when and how he flexes all that power he has. It was meant to be very on the nose when we were introduced to him via Luffy in the very beginning of the series, but like. His little episode on Whitebeard's ship seemed like he had conqueror's haki out of control, but it was a very purposeful flex, if for nothing else than to show that he took approaching another Yonko seriously. Or the way he chose to handle Greenbull at the end of Wano. Sure it was hard to the new folks on his crew to handle exposure so suddenly, but he sent that like 50 miles out from the ship and hit that jerk in the heart with it. And never even raised his voice about it. Idk I think his restraint and how it manifests is a really interesting part of his characterization.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

it's probably on my mind bc of Bernard Hill's recent passing, but I think Shanks would do so well and have a grand old time being elusive and mysterious in Lord of the Rings lmfao. He's got that Aragorn quality of could be in his 20s could be in his 40s who knows, he and Gandalf would probably get a kick out of each other, he'd fucking love the hobbits I am telling you this. (he also, I am very afraid, has that Aragorn quality of 'doomed by the narrative just not quite yet,' but we'll see.)

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

this is hard, I think he's a much more complex and interesting person than I am for the most part, but like. I think it's safe to say he'd mostly rather diffuse a situation than have it become serious when the latter is avoidable, and I am that way too. If the situation is already serious and requires a throw down response that's a different matter, but if we can avoid a serious fight in favor of a little tussle and some drinks, that'd be the way he'd go, and I agree.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

take this one with a grain of salt bc I mostly try not to yuck anyone's yum or argue about differing headcanons, but I really do not fucking like the like. scumbag/villain!Shanks thing that seems to have a semi-popular following. some of that is personal bias, as I think he is a warm, good person who is doing his best, but it also kind of feels like a betrayal of the narrative for him. which I realize is funny coming from the "everything is made up including the source material" guy but here we are. there was a period a few months ago where people were basically just writing him as OP Toji and it made me want to pull all my hair out.

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

absolutely, I adore him, I think he's right about a lot of things, our ethics tend to line up where it matters, I think he's funny and would be fun to be around, he listens well and is a warm and compassionate person. I really like him and we'd get along really well I think. (mostly probably through the lens of my OC bc I'm not like. terribly convinced of my actual in person IRL likeability but in theory, absolutely yes.)

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I've written about it a little before, but I think the reason he let Buggy go without telling him what Roger talked to him about after the execution wasn't because he didn't want Buggy with him anymore or didn't believe he had what it took to complete that mission, but so that Buggy would have a chance to forge his own way and have his own life. Doing what Roger asked necessitated Shanks--who was widely regarded as having the potential to be the next big legend--to drop out of the running almost entirely. He picked up his crew, he made a name for himself, he became the youngest person (at the time) to gain the title of Yonko, but he also spent a decent amount of time having to like. Lay low on beaches and dick around in the East Blue and play balance keeper and chess master until the man Roger was waiting for appeared. There are more spoilery additions to this that I'll leave out for now but yeah. I think he knew Buggy had all that same potential, and wanted to give him an opportunity to strike out on his own adventure without living in that shadow or carrying their mentor's ghost around.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

oh take this one with a grain of salt too idk that I know any of the terms correctly lmfao but he's very like. when I picture boho in my mind that seems very him. a lot of linens a lot of light flowy breathable clothes. It's pirate!Boho obviously but like. The man is out there wearing birkenstocks as we speak js.

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

same standard issue disclaimer as the fandom stuff I don't like, this isn't to yuck anyone's yum, follow your bliss what people ship isn't my business, these are just the ones I personally do not like. shankslu is at the forefront, but I don't really do shanksbenn either?? a LOT of captains and first mates in this series read that way to me but those two don't for me.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

I actually really enjoy his dynamic with Marco. There are some interesting pieces of shared history there but overall the like. Friendly ribbing, amiable hanging out and willingness to cooperate between two of my faves is always very nice to see. c:

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

oh please I think he'd think Sabo was a ton of fun. I know there's an age difference there that makes peership a little different than between the other mid-40s dudes he usually hangs out with, but think about it. Two very powerful people who are carrying the weight of part of this new era on their shoulders, who have a habit of just sort of fucking off out of the narrative and doing things as they please within their own personal parameters, who will just get up and obliterate a guy when that's what the situation calls for? Funny, weird, intelligent guys that love Luffy, believe in him, and want whats best for him? Even if they weren't besties, I think there's a lot of fun overlap for general friendship there.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

something I like: when people recognize that all that soft puppy silly goofy guy exterior, while sincerely part of him, is something that he makes the decision to externalize every day, and is sat atop a deep well of like. sadness and responsibility. there are a lot of people doing a very good job making him a romantic dopey nightmare man without sacrificing that silliness or his intelligence and sense of personal responsibility.

something I don't like: when people start a fic with the disclaimer "Shanks is in here but I hate him lol so he's a lil ooc 🤭🤪" and then he's like. not only ooc but just someone's ex boyfriend or doflamingo or just off-screen doing heinous shit for no reason. Writing a character you hate: can be fun and compelling! I fucking hate Doflamingo, for example, but as a narrative device, as a villain? bar none one of the best and most interesting. Writing a character you hate with the intention of doing a shit job because you hate them? dumb, annoying, and a waste of everyone's time. why include someone you don't want to write about lmfao just pick a different character and be done.

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

i'm drawing a blank, I'm going to be real with you. Like, I can think of a ton of mentor characters, but they don't really remind me of him. I can think of a bunch of like. guardian of the new era characters, that still don't super remind me of him. I think again i've got LOTR on the brain rn but the like. Fellowship of the Ring Aragorn is the closest I'm coming up with and even that's mostly in terms of like. the gentle mentorship of the hobbits, the offbeat sense of humor, and that dedication to a responsibility that he might have been scared to face. IDK. Shanks is a pretty unique guy to me. I'm sure I'm gonna sit bolt upright at 3 AM with a list of 20 people that fit the bill but rn it simply isn't clicking lmfao.

And there we have it!!! My (mostly) comprehensive analysis of Shanks, for you my dear friend. Thank you so much for asking!!!

[mormonbooks]

Stripling Warrior

4/5 STARS

Summary: This collection of comics (3 issues and an Annual) has the worlds first ever Gay Mormon Superhero! In fact, it has a lot of different Queer and Mormon (or Mormon-adjacent) characters, all fighting against injustice.

The main character, Sam Shepherd, gets visited by an Angel soon after marrying his husband Jase. The Angel (Abish from the Book of Mormon) calls him to be The Hand of God and punish sinners. He fights homophobes, misguided missionaries, and Cain himself, alongside his companion, Fe, who also received powers from Abish.

Read at your own risk: This book is has a complex approach to mormonism, as well as deceptions of queer sex (Not explicit but pretty nsfw). I think it's a lot of fun, and is an honest portrayal of queer mormon experiences, with fun fantastical versions of Mormon beliefs (Like a Holy Ghost Force Field).

Overall, I enjoyed it! I've been dying for a Mormon Superhero, and queer mormon superheroes are even better. I would love to see more stories with Sam, Fe, Jase, Shonda, and Riley in the future.

Spoilers and Review Breakdown Under the Cut

1. Well written - 3.5 Stars.

Overall, I think the writing is done well. Some of it is cheesy, and there are a couple of deus ex machina's but it feels like it fits in the genre and with what the comic is trying to do.

2. Fun level - 4.5 Stars

I really enjoyed it! I read the whole thing in one sitting and it was engaging and exciting and it made me laugh.

3. Complex faith - 3.5 Stars

This one is complicated to answer. This definitely feels like media aimed at ex-mormons. Most of the characters are Ex (or "Jack") Mormons, and don't have high regard for the church as an organization. They do believe in Angels and Heavenly Mother (cause that's where their power comes from) but the church officials (like mission presidents) are shown as villains. It's a very irreverent story. And there's a part in the last issue where Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father are pitted against each other that I didn't really like.

The only exception is Riley, an asexual missionary who states his firm testimony a couple of times. He is one of the heroes, but still firmly believes in the gospel.

I like it because it has characters from all over the spectrum of mormonism (from actively serving a mission to "my parents were mormon but we don't really talk about it" and everything in between), which I think is cool, but it's also definitely got an exmo bias.

4. Homophobia scale - 5 stars

it's so gay!!!!! They have a character for each letter of LGBTA, it's delightful.

It is also NSFW. Nothing explicit (?) but characters are often naked, and the two married couples are shown being intimate quite a few times. I don't normally love stories like that, but for a comic that is about the sacredness of queer intimacy, I understand why it's included.

5. Mormon weird - 5 stars

SOOO much mormon weird. Abish is an angel. The heroes have Liahona Guides. The big villains are Cain and Ammon. It's so much fun.

6. Diversity of characters - 4 stars!

The main character and his husband are both white guys, but Fe is latina, her wife is black (and trans!), and Riley is a POC.

7. Other problematic stuff - 3 stars

I love this comic but I don't think it's for everyone. On top of being irreverent and nsfw, it also incorporates some indigenous american culture into the mythos in ways I'm not sure about. This is going to happen with anything that talks about Nephites and Lamanites, but mostly I don't know why Ammon has a pet Quetzalcoatl. 🤷

But, like I said, I did enjoy it. I think there's a lot of potential in these characters and I would love to see more stories with them

[ladyluscinia]

Tell me if you've seen this one.

You're watching a romcom. A beautiful woman with a wealthy, city-boy fiancé goes to visit family in a small town. (Let's be honest... It's Christmas. It's basically always Christmas.) While there, she has an instant connection with the film's hot small-town love interest and starts reevaluating her city life. Does the fiancé work too much, or not like dogs? (Does he not understand the joy of Santa Claus?) At the movie's end, she makes a dramatic choice to break off her engagement, quit her job, and move back home to date the guy who was obviously the only love interest in play all movie long.

It's a very standard romcom love triangle.

It's also the kind of love triangle that OFMD is setting up, with Izzy and Stede antagonizing each other and representing two possibilities for Edward to choose... all the way down to how the final choice has been pretty obvious from the start. He's going to end up with Stede. (And hopefully have an overall better written arc than the one described above. That's a standard romcom, but not often a good one!)

Now, this works because love triangles are a narrative tool. They can be purely a source of shipping drama (especially in a drama genre) like tumblr fandoms seem to define them as, but that's only one variation, and far from the most interesting. Or even, I would argue, the most common.

So let's get into what love triangles actually are, and how this applies.

---

I would say most stories - especially character focused ones - use a love triangle as a way to take an abstract choice the protagonist needs to make, and give it some grounded symbolism in the love interests.

Hell, even in its most basic forms, there is a reason the most classic love triangles are a man choosing between Good Girl "Betty" vs Bad Girl "Veronica" or a woman choosing either the Respectable Gentleman or the Sexy Scoundrel. Which love interest the author makes endgame will correlate pretty strongly with whether the story ends on social conformity or encouraging passion, and social conformity always has the edge. This comes through even when the character differences are mostly personality, but it will get a lot more blatant if something like "finding a spouse" is a major plot point and we start getting material concerns like finances involved.

OFMD, though, is not really being basic about this - the ship for a "social conformity" option has long sailed, for one - so what are some more complex choices?

First, we can loop back to the small town Christmas romcom from the start. The men are potential lifestyles. The protagonist starts in very career / finance focused place with a partner from the same. They won't have children or be planning for them. The new guy is small town living - community, family, holidays, etc. He's got a respectable working class job. Maybe a kid. He'd be traumatized by an urban public transport map but he can probably ride a horse. These movies are targeted at small town housewives, so the "better" lifestyle is that one.

Or, another great example, the options can symbolize political or moral values. This also gives you a nice out from the love triangle when one love interest proves their unworthiness by finally crossing a line the protagonist won't. The Hunger Games had shades of this and fans definitely picked up on it (though I definitely remember being a "ditch them both" truther myself, lol).

And what about character growth? This can come into play when a story is about a protagonist fixing their life or self-improving. It's why - seemingly paradoxically - the established relationship is almost always expected to lose out to the new person in their life, despite being, well, established. They end up paired with the one who knows them as who they are becoming, not who they used to be.

...I think I've made my point about symbolism.

So. Back to OFMD! You'll probably notice all of the above could apply to BlackBonnet - Stede being the better lifestyle and values is kind of his whole thing, what with the acceptance boat culture and all (even if Stede himself needs to work on practicing as he preaches). Plus Edward is on an arc of self-improvement to fit into that culture. This is why absolutely nobody is going to be shocked that he doesn't end up with Izzy. But I do think (or at least hope 🫠) that the writing is good, and that's probably going to entail a bit of complexity in the choice.

The choice being "Stede, Stede, 100% definitely Stede, why would I even hesitate?" is rather boring. Especially since they have to make Edward hesitate so the show has a plot and stakes, and that's how you get plot contrivances and drawn out drama between two people (despite framing them as perfect for each other).

Conversely, if choosing Izzy aka his current life (the competing love interest angle is barely subtextual with the wife comparisons) actually has some appeal for Edward, then even though the endgame is obvious, it still makes sense why he's hanging back. It gives him a conflict with Stede / Stede's life that can take time to resolve, and one that will slot really nicely into the main story beats of a romcom. Edward is struggling a lot with identity, so tying the two men to different aspects he needs to choose between for himself is very compelling. (I'm just gonna drop my main Edward meta here.)

And, finally, how they handle the choice part is going to inform what they do with Izzy once Edward picks Stede. Yeah, there are the love triangles that make the bad option a horrible person, destroy their life, and skip away to the happy ending, but those can be kind of fucked up? And I think an unsympathetic ending for Izzy is unlikely for a few reasons... But that's a different meta.

(Maybe they should just OT3 for us??? 😆)

Anyway... This is why anyone starting from the stance that OFMD is not doing a love triangle because there's not actually a chance of BlackHands endgame has fundamentally misunderstood the argument being made, which unfortunately has been a common point of dispute. And with Season 2 coming I imagine it will come back with a vengeance, so I'm getting this out of my drafts now. 😘

Here's to love triangle shenanigans!!!

[misc-obeyme]

The anon's point about the Mc's presence and how it could be more representative of a wider range of players if the character had an independent goal or mission is definitely a valid one.

But just like you said, a lot of otome games often focus on romance and relationships, with the Mc' s main motivation being to connect with and date the "main" love interests. But there is potential to introduce more complexity and appeal to players if the Mc has their own goals, motivations or missions that are separate from the romance aspect of the game.

Personally, I do think the idea of exploring the more "plot-based" angles and incorporating more elements of action-adventure into the story is a great suggestion and one that could make the narrative more engaging and relatable for us/players.

While the focus of the game may still be on romance aspects and character relationships, adding more depth and complexity through plot-driven angles can definitely add an extra layer of interest and appeal.

And I would love a buff mommy Mc or love interest by the way

I absolutely agree with everything you're saying.

The thing is, that is what you would get from something that is well written.

You are not going to get that level of consideration or good writing from a mobile otome game. Especially one that regularly rotates writers and also has a whole translation team that also mangles the story when they put it into other languages.

I love Obey Me, I really do. But the writing leaves a lot to be desired. I think it's inevitable. And honestly I think that right there is the only reason I decided to write fanfiction for it.

Because the characters have so much potential that's wasted. So why wouldn't I feel the urge to elaborate on them myself? I haven't written fic for a fandom in ages because I never felt compelled to until Obey Me came into my life. I couldn't possibly fuck it up, right?? LOL okay I'm exaggerating, it's not that bad. But they definitely have more characters than they can actually develop effectively.

So I would argue that the main story is more focused on MC's goals independent of their relationships with the characters. In the first season of OG, MC's whole goal is to get pacts, eventually the reason for this is to free Belphie from the attic. But none of that really has anything to do with MC's love story with any of the characters. You can go through that whole season and give them only platonic responses. Season two is similar in that MC's whole thing is figuring out how to deal with their "ring."

In fact, I would say that after season one, the events of each season don't even have an impact on MC's relationship with the seven brothers. The main thing that connects them and deepens their relationships in season one are the pacts. But in subsequent seasons, it doesn't seem to matter what happens, the brothers always see MC as family.

So I actually feel like the romance of the game is a side plot and even then, you can still choose to go through all of it without choosing lovey options for any of the characters.

However, they are expecting you to want to romance the characters. So they have to make MC someone that all the characters can fall in love with, whether their romance is front and center of the story or not.

Would it be more compelling for all of us if MC had a more interesting personality? Yeah, probably! But do I think these guys could pull off something like that? No, not really.

I'm not trying to bash the game or anything, obviously I totally love it. Look at my blog lol. I'm obsessed with it. But I've never found the writing to be especially good.

I've seen complaints that it's not romantic enough. I've seen complaints that it forces romance on the players. I've seen complaints that MC is too generic. I've seen complaints that MC is not generic enough. I'm sure they're doing the best they can, but I highly doubt writing quality is high on their list of concerns.

All that is to say that of course every anon that has come to my ask box about this particular topic has valid opinions on it! And you can certainly discuss what would improve the overall story. I just generally choose not to think about it too deeply because I'm not expecting anything of higher quality than what we've been getting all along. Which is just quality enough to keep me hooked lol.

Lastly, all I want in life is a buff mommy love interest asdlkfkjf not at all holding my breath, but SHEESH. Just gimme a stunning muscular demon lady, huh? I would die on the spot.

[woodswolf]

🌿🏜️🔪🪲?

writer's truth or dare ask game

🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

honestly? just don't be afraid to step away. sometimes you're not in the right headspace for a project and that's okay. work with your brain, not against it - whether that's on a different WIP or just taking a break for a while. sometimes this means the WIP sits for a little while. sometimes this means you abandon it. roll with the punches, don't dodge into them.

like for example, i've been having One Of The Weeks Of My Life at my job recently and just feeling really burned out and depressed on the Major Fucking Crunch Time this project is getting into. i didn't feel like working on chapter 5 when i was feeling that terrible, but i was able to channel some of that energy into a side story. i've barely started it as of yet, but it's got a lot of potential, has required a lot of research, and just. it's helped burn off a lot of the negative emotion (because it involves a very similar kind of negative emotion and focuses on a kind of burnout recovery. lol)

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

long analysis comments are like the #1 kind of comment to get in my good books. i get an excuse to talk about Fun Details whether intentional or not and just generally feed information to someone who isn't fully aware of all of the complexities of a project yet (usually my partner lol)

however.

i personally consider that the highest honor i could ever receive would be recursive fanfiction. fanart as well, yes, but fanfiction in particular. it's more or less a reflection of my own process in a way; i write a lot of recursive fanfiction relative to my output, but i only write recursive fanfiction about fanfiction that really, really resonated with me, or that often were incredibly formative to me in their own specific ways. it's not enough for it to be a good story - it has to change something about me, alter my perspective or open my eyes to an entirely new world. often these end up feeling like (or just being) treatises on a particular subject; there are fics on hope, on grief, on forgetting, on becoming monsters. and it's just.... it's powerful.

i could link all of these if anyone is curious.

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

honestly all of the research i've done for DLD and other fics in the DLDCM (Dogs Leading Dogs Cinematic Multiverse) qualifies as really weird. outside of the semi-standard fanfiction-writer fare (e.g. symptoms of various injuries, or how to identify certain types of injuries like with that shoulder test), there are two broad categories of "what the fuck" research that i've gone into very extensively.

the first category, which i keep coming back to over and over, is all of the speculative biology shit. basically NONE of it is going to come up until more than halfway through catch/cradle at minimum, but at this point ive probably put close to ten hours of research into figuring out what the fuck is wrong with these things. (and that's just the research, not the processing that shit afterward.) i know what this guy breathes. i don't know exactly how his metabolism works, but i do have a general outline that seems approximately sound, and have a general principle for how it interacts with other metabolisms. i don't just know HIS metabolism by the way, i know like three other components' metabolic interactions and life cycles and to some extent their histories. and then we get into all of the other lore shit that is Very Present and Very Real and Very Probably Isn't Going To Be Written Down In Any Fics and also isn't strictly research based as much as vibes based but it doesn't have to be research based because my source is i made it the fuck up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but tl;dr there's a CRAZY amount of various kinds of biology lore and 90% of it is never going to see the light of day most likely

the second category which has generally come about more recently is primitive / historical technology. generally just a lot of how you would do certain things - such as making paper, or refining clay, or working metal or glass - if you were starting from (almost) nothing.

additional shoutout to when i did some brief research on akkadian for one of my recurive fic projects, that was fun but really overwhelming and i ended up not finishing it myself lol

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

from chapter 5:

The ship doesn’t need any additional explanation. “I’ll set the course,” it says. Brief and to the point. He can’t help but appreciate that right now. The controls shift ever-so-slightly under his hands as they start following a slightly different autopilot route. It’ll set them up for the approach path they discovered on the second day — one that doesn’t cut through as many of the giant trees.

thanks for the ask!! :D

[butchhamlet]

Do you have any Othello thoughts? I liked it all but most especially when unprompted and for no particular reason Iago constructs a lie about making out with Cassio in his bed at night. Like. He very very easily could have just said a slightly different lie that didn't involve an unconscious Cassio pulling him in for a smooch and then he lets it happen for? Minuets? I guess? Never pulls away? Like I'm truly floored by the sheer level of how unnecessary it is for Iago to construct this particular story. Just fucking tell the guy you heard Cassio sleep talking. Huh. Also why were you sleeping in his bed already in the first place that is never brought up by anyone, ever. Truly an insane scene to me

LITERALLY WHY DID HE DO THAT. WHY DID HE DO THAT!!! in general i don't love the directions people take gay iago (often, like, "he's jealous of desdemona for getting to have othello and thus decides to ruin their relationship because he's gay and twisted" or whatever) because i think it kind of ignores the occam's razor fact that iago is racist. like. he is a complex character with a lot of motivations but the prime motivation for the specific shit he does to othello is racism. HOWEVER. the WAY he acts toward cassio. there is NO heterosexual explanation for that what the fuck is going ooooooooooooon. othello doesn't even call him on it he's just like yeah okay that sounds about right he threw his leg over you and you guys made out

anyway i don't have a ton of thoughts on othello but i do like it! it is the only shakespeare play that makes me actively tense even when i'm rereading it for the third or fourth time. i've seen it compared to merchant & taming of the shrew as the plays with the most potential to do harm and perpetuate/create stereotypes, and i think that's true, but i also think othello has over merchant and taming that it is actually well-constructed and interesting. and i do think it's fascinating that it does have real points to make about the psychological effects of being forced into a model minority role, but also, like, it's a white guy writing in the 1600s, so how good can it really be and is it still worth performing today? (recommended reading on this: this article, keith hamilton cobb's american moor. please read american moor it's so fucking good it's a stage play in monologue format about a modern black actor trying out for othello and musing on his complicated relationship with shakespeare and it's SO good)

scattered personal feelings: emilia is a lesbian. i know it's important that desdemona is not actually cheating on othello, but i feel like if she and emilia kissed it wouldn't count because they're girl best friends. iago has gotta be one of shakespeare's best roles, actingwise, but it always strikes me as somewhat discomfiting that he gets more lines than and as much exploration as othello, the titular hero, because imo it again emphasizes that this is a play written by a white man, however hard that white man is trying, from a white society and a white vantage point. desdemona and othello make me really fucking sad. and cassio's fun i like him that guy's bisexual as fuck

[freyachristeam]

Analysis of a Champion, Part 2

(Update written by Freya)

Hey guys, Chris is out at the moment but will be back to write the next entry about how we got past Jacqueline's 'reconnaissance' measures. But for the time being it's the moment you've all been waiting for, time to do the actual dedicated Giselle deep dive. :>

For context in case you haven't viewed other blogs, this is the second post analyzing the team and fighting style of Diantha Carnet, champion of Kalos. As she will be our next (and likely final) major World Coronation Series battle.

Giselle the Gardevoir is unmistakably the ace on Diantha's team and probably among the most dangerous members of my species in history. A lot of the staple moves commonly seen in the way we fight were either developed or popularized by her, but her method of fighting is also fundamentally distinct from the "species standard".

Allegedly, the idea to adapt concepts from flashy special effects into Diantha's signature 'dazzle spam' style originally came from an Observation by Giselle, and she runs with the concept to a degree unmatched even by the other members of the team.

For example, while I'll often use Psychic and Moonblast in tandem to direct a shot or two exactly where I want it, she'll employ that psuedomove combination to direct literal hundreds of blasts in complex patterns to overwhelm an opponent from every direction. There's a unique take on the 'economy of force' problem here, as even if each shot only has a small fraction of the total energy available, she can take advantage of its hit stun to direct all the other pieces onto you after the first one lands.

She also has an atypical move of choice in the form of Thunderbolt, which can serve as a further area denial option.

Another quirk of note is that she completely forgoes setup through passive moves like Calm Mind or Double Team in favor of an increased focus on telekinetic and teleportation fundamentals.

The idea is you don't need to pretend to be in two places at once if you can teleport rapidly enough to, for practical purposes, actually be in two places at once. ;>

This works ...sometimes. In practice its a very different use case than how I like to employ Double Team clones, but it serves the additional purpose of making her Very Difficult to hit.

This is augmented by her usage of telekinesis, which not only enables additional mobility through flight, but is strong enough that Giselle can use the infamous Black Hole maneuver, multiple times, without any ill effects. Whereas other strong Gardevoir are typically limited to one with a long recovery period and heavy recoil (and ofc its life threatening for someone untrained to perform).

The rationale is similar for both cases, when you rarely get hit and your baseline offensive output is so high, the extra aggression and mixup potential is more valuable. I wouldn't personally use this strategy, but It certainly works for her.

As for weaknesses? Well...

Ok, not really. :>

Most of Diantha's team has some pretty distinct counterplay options (even if its just outlasting their stamina). Giselle doesn't have that, but she does still have a few minor shortcomings that can be exploited.

First If you can actually track her with your attacks, they're likely to be felt, as her defensive options for blocking aren't as strong as her evasion. Her psychic shielding is relatively light, and she instead prefers to telekinetically levitate arena strata to weaken incoming attacks, and that obviously has a slower reaction time.

Second, because of how the Economy of Force problem is managed, her attacks are individually relatively easy to shoot down. Usually this doesn't matter due to the sheer number of shots in the air, but it means that using Area of Effect techniques can be used to create openings.

Ironically, it makes her theoretically vulnerable to a similar style of onslaught to her own offense, and considering our distinct styles, that means the pace of this fight will be fast.

Even with our communication disadvantage, it'll be down to the wire. I hope you'll all be able to watch the stream!