#was a guy. but you know what. maybe it's positive character growth

[meezer]

discussion of transgenderism with mother 50 people injured 29 in critical condition

[genericpuff]

wait wait wait, regarding that Minthe post, you're telling me that Rachel literally wrote the character as having BPD.....and portrayed her as an abusive mean piece of shit??? WOW. fucking WOW. sorry for being so angry, but even if she "retconned" that - it's still so god damn disrespective. as someone who has BPD it hurts so much to see my mental illness villanised :(

ugh I'm so sorry pal. and I don't blame you for being angry about it, like I don't even have BPD and I'M fucking pissed LOL like I can understand why Rachel might have wanted to backtrack from that knowing fully well that Minthe's story wasn't gonna have a happy ending, but writing her with BPD in the first place and then BACKTRACKING from it as soon as she likely got heat for it (or just realized it wasn't a good look) isn't much better because it means now all she's done is written the stigmatized negative effects of BPD into her character without showing the more positive outlooks of healing and managing. Maybe that was doomed to happen considering Minthe is someone who doesn't get a happy ending in the myths, but it begs the question of why she'd write her with BPD to begin with because in hindsight it really does seem like she just wanted to use it as a way to make her "evil".

But like, when you read the actual episode, you can SEE the potential there for character growth, you can SEE that she's aware of her actions - but doesn't understand why she's "like that" which is a VERY common feeling among people with undiagnosed mental illnesses - but it was never meant to be.

Like jfc not only is it HEAVILY IMPLIED, but again, the episode is literally called "Splitting". And we see exactly that with Minthe, who can't seem to rationalize with herself that she messed up.

But... that leads me to another point that I failed to mention in that first ask response: she DIDN'T mess up. Like, yes, she messed up by escalating it to the point of slapping Hades, but it wasn't her fault that she didn't make it to her date with Hades. Whose fault was it?

Continuously throughout the first season we see Thetis being an awful influence who manipulates and gaslights Minthe. They're "friends", but it's clear Thetis does not have Minthe's best interests in mind. In this very scene we see Thetis manipulate Minthe and even attempt to get her so drunk that she won't be able to show up to her date. And then of course when that plan works and Minthe freaks out, Thetis spins it around on Minthe in a very passive-aggressive way.

But of course, the narrative has to find a way to turn this whole thing on Minthe being the bad guy. Hence we get the slap which shifts the focus entirely away from what led up to it back onto Hades who has, in a lot of ways, put her in a situation that she can't control. And of course, being in those kinds of situations does not help with mental health.

Like, sorry, I'm really going off here now, but... the slap happens in Episode 76.

When is it finally addressed again? Episode 103.

It took Rachel nearly THIRTY EPISODES to finally bring it back to Minthe, and in that time the reader has spent SEVERAL EPISODES reading about how sad and lonely Hades is, and about how cute and lovey he is with Persephone. The reader has not had ANY time to reflect on Minthe's circumstances, because it completely pivots away from her to focus on H x P as a sort of distraction from the fact that Minthe is a victim in her own right.

And when it DOES return to Minthe in 103, we get this harrowing reminder that her entire life is dependent on Hades-

And once again, here comes Thetis to the "rescue", reinforcing the negative feedback loop that Minthe is trapped in where she's put in unhealthy situations. She drags her to a bar and the whole time Minthe is not having fun because she's understandably still reeling from what happened.

Now we DO get some character development here, where Minthe realizes exactly what I've just finished explaining, that Thetis isn't her friend, that she'd rather not have Thetis as a friend than continue being talked down to and manipulated.

But then, as we know, because Rachel still needs Minthe to be the "bad guy", the breakup between Hades and Minthe winds up being all about Persephone from a POV that attempts to villainize Minthe for being "jealous" (rather than focusing on how shitty Hades actually is for having an emotional affair with Persephone to begin with) and then Minthe goes right back to hanging out with Thetis anyways for the sake of having the "evil other girl" who wants to "ruin" H x P's relationship.

It's not until Season 3 that we finally see Minthe tell Thetis to fuck off for good, but by then it's too little too late, and Minthe has lost an entire character arc. Rachel tries to go "see! Minthe's life is so much better now that she's taking care of children!" but that's an entirely different solution to a problem Minthe never had. She never got treatment for her BPD. She just got away from H x P which, while is a good thing, isn't actually analyzed as such. It's treated more as a "good thing" for H x P and the readers, because now they don't have to be subjected to Minthe's evil scheming anymore, something something "the evil is defeated". And don't even get me started on this comic's problem with constantly resolving female characters' story arcs through motherhood.

It bums me out so fucking much. Minthe deserved so much better. She's one of the many characters in LO who make it so painfully ironic when they're done dirty, because despite Rachel's attempts to write a "feminist retelling" that focuses on "moving on from trauma", she's inadvertently done more damage to feminism and the stigmas around mental health and trauma through her assassination of grounded and realistic and relatable characters like Minthe and Demeter who are shown ZERO empathy or understanding for their actions (unless it can be done so by making Persephone and Hades into the heroes). It happens so often throughout the comic it almost feels like how the comic markets itself as a "progressive feminist retelling" is some sick joke that I'm just not getting.

[persephonesdreams21]

NSFW Alphabet with Kyle

A/N: So like, I’ve had this in my drafts forever and I finally got around to tidying it up(sort of) and finishing it. In a perfect world where I had free time, I’d love to do headcannons for all of Timmy’s characters. In reality I’ll probably only get a few more in,

Warnings: NSFW. Smut- def talks of dom/sub undertones and just generally horny themes. I mean, the title is very self explanatory. Kyle x AFAB! Reader

After Care(what they're like after sex):

The first time you have sex with Kyle, aftercare isn’t a practice he’s ever partook in. He comes and makes you come and then is ready to pop a cigarette in his mouth and call it a night.

This rubs you all the way wrong.

Has you wobbling out of bed and pulling on your clothes in a furious, flustered silence.

“What are you doing- hey. Y/N. What the hell?” He watches you, big green eyes accusatory as you prepare to leave. Your steps shaky and uncoordinated. He hadn’t exactly gone easy on you. “Sit down, you can barely walk”

“Like you care” you scoff. “it’s fine, I’m just gonna go”

He sighs, not one for dramatics that aren’t his own. “You’re gonna hurt yourself”

“I’m not some random piece of ass that you can screw and discard, Kyle. Fuck you very much for thinking so” your words are venomous and sharp, but your bottom lip is wobbling. Your eyes are stormy and still slightly unfocused and woah.

Holy shit. He’s a douchebag but he’s not an idiot. He spends way too much time online and he’s able to put together what’s going on pretty damn quick.

You’re dropping.

He can’t let you leave like this. Hell, you shouldn’t be up from bed much less driving in this state..

Kyle doesn’t do aftercare, we’ll at least he hadn’t before.

It’s all kind of clunky, him bullying your purse from your weak hands and batting away any resistance. Him sitting you on the edge of his bed and leaving, just long enough, to return with a glass of water and a stray granola bar. He sits close by, hovering. His hand a solid, but silent comfort on your thigh.

You don’t cry, won’t in front of him, but god do you want to.

You end up stripped back down to your panties and under his plaid comforter once he deems you hydrated enough.

He still smokes his after-sex cig, but this time he has you tucked into his side. Your cheek smushed to his chest as he puffs on nicotine. The fingers of his free hand dancing along the skin of your back.

He’d deny it, but he’s a sucker for aftercare now.

Body Part)their fave body part of theirs, and of their partners

Kyle likes his height. He enjoys towering over crowds, being the tallest person in the room. It makes him feel strong(and like when he was little he was a shrimp- he had a late growth spurt in 9th grade)

Kyle likes your hands. They’re all teeny and delicate and he tends to play with your fingers absentmindedly. He also likes the pudge on your sides. They’re called love handles for a reason. Any time he reaches for them you screech and shy away but like. That doesn’t stop him ever.

Cum(anything to do with it)

He’s the first man to ever make you squirt and yeah, that goes to his head a little bit. He’ll finger fuck you until youre sobbing and clawing at his arms, whimpering at the mess that he seems to love.

Dirty Secret(self explanatory)

He’s a panty thief. Will literally steal your panties and keep them(and sniff them, often). You complain about it, because he’s such a weirdo and because cute underwear can get expensive! He doesn’t care.

Experience(how experienced are they? Do they know what they're doing?)

For how much sex he’s had he lowkey wasn’t great at it when you guys started fooling around. Or maybe it’s that he never cared- to get good at getting his partner off. Kyle is a selfish lover. You def teach him all the tricks in your book on how to make you feel good. And once that boy knows? He KNOWS. He’s able to flip you over and make you come in two minutes flat.

Favorite Position(this goes without saying)

Kyle loves doggy. He wants you bent over, unable to do anything but take him. Also partial to reverse cowgirl.

Goofy(are they more serious in the moment? Are they goofy?)

He is soooo serious it’s almost laughable. He gets offended when you laugh at the smoldering look on his face while he fucks you. It makes you nervous- you can’t help but giggle.

Hair(how well groomed they are)

Very well groomed. Neatly trimmed. He can’t pretend he doesn’t care about societal norms all he wants, Kyle is a total preener and loves taking care of his appearance. I mean, look at his hair. You just know it takes him a ridiculous amount of time to do in the morning.

Intimacy(how they are during the moment? The romantic aspect)

At first- intimacy isnt even in Kyles vocabulary. He doesnt know how, he doesnt understand it. It makes him feel awkward as hell. Slowly but surely as your relationship developes he starts to crave it. He wants you to stare into his eyes while you ride him, your fingers interlocked. Its tantric. Addicting.

Jack Off(masturbation headcanon)

Porn addict. All conspiracy obsessed, internet surfing boys are. He loves reading Manga and watching anime porn. You’ll indulge him and watch it with him sometimes.

“Hey, I have a toy that looks just like that!” You make the offhanded comment as the two of you watch an animated girl with big tits in a school uniform getting railed by a tentacle monster.

You’re immersed in the video. The raunchy sounds of high pitched squealing and skin slapping fill the quiet room. The blinds are drawn and the two of you lie cuddled together in his bed.

Kyle stares at you. His brain short circuiting.

You’d said it so casually. You have a toy- that looks just like the giant tentacle on his computer screen.

“You’re lying” he deadpans and it makes you giggle.

“Maybe one day I’ll show you” you shrug and like. What the fuck. Where did you even come from?

When you send him a short video of a pink glass tentacle dildo sliding in and stretching your wet hole…well let’s say that he doesn’t have to turn to his anime porn for spank bank material anymore.

Kink(one or more of their kinks)

Kyle loves overstimulation and edging. Both him doing it to you and you doing it to him. Like full on tears, shaking, emotional breakdowns, orgasms that are so good they hurt. Ugh. It’s his favorite.

Location(favorite places to do the do?)

Anywhere. Although, he def has a thing for sliding inside of you after a show. The adrenaline of playing live still coursing through his veins as he crowds you into the handicapped stall of some grimy venue bathroom and fucks you raw, his jeans around his ankles.

Motivation(what turns them on? Get’s them going?)

He loves it when you’re jealous. He's not ignorant to the way that women(and men tbh) look at him. React to him. It's always been this way, really it doesn't phase him anymore.

But you? You hate that shit.

You hate the way you can be holding his hand, and still girls will come up to him. Wink at him from across the room, waitresses leaving their phone numbers on napkins. Its maddening,

Kyle reassures you with words, with kisses and promises. He’s yours. He isn't interested in wasting energy on any of them. You're his only girl.

Still, the way you stake your claim makes him feral. When you suck bruises into his throat or wrap your arms around his waist. Don't even get him started on the time that you threw a drink in that girls face at that one party(she’d told Kyle he had like, the best hair, and reached for his dark curls. Her hand never even made it close) its just so hot. Knowing that you want him that much,

No(something they wouldn't do? Turns off’s)

So he likes it when you’re jealous, right? But you making him jealous? Is completely off the table. He will, and has, freaked out about it. He could never do threesomes or any kind of group play, he’d lose his shit.

Oral(preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc?

Kyle loves getting head. “Selfish lover alert”. It’s a chore you’re happy to perform, you love suckling at his big cock. Playing with his pink tip-

But like. He also enjoys going down on you. When the two of you first started sleeping together, you were really self conscious about it. Something about your shitty ex not liking the mess. Which like, he’ll never understand.

Your pussy is so gorgeous. All puffy and pretty for him, swollen and sopping wet. Hes such a tease with his quick tongue and little kisses. It’s not until you’re writhing and begging and forcing his dark haired head deeper that he really goes to town.

Pace(are they fast and rough, slow and sensual?)

The mans good with his hips, it's the musician in him. He has rhythm. But he is still just a young man, and he does end up getting sloppy and messy towards the end. Chasing his high like a mad man

Quickie(their opinions on quickies, how often?)

Loves a good quickie- but you’re not a huge fan. He’s very good at convincing you though, at dragging you into dark corners and palming at your body through your clothes.

Risk(are they game to experiment? Do they take risks?)

Yup, he loves that shit. He's such an exhibitionist You warn him that it is in fact, illegal. That public indecency can end in heavy fines, “The sex offenders list, Ky! I’m serious!”

But like, you always end up caving. Letting him fuck your brains out in his car. Spreading your legs when he reaches under the restaurant table, his fingers grazing your soft inner thigh, playing with your clit through your panties. If you wore a skirt for easy access…well thats your own business.

Stamina(how many rounds can they go? How long can they last?)

He’s a lazy little thing, I just know it. You get a couple rounds out of him and then he’s laying back and demanding you ride him, your turn to do the work.

“You’re my pillow princess, huh, baby?” you purr as you climb ontop of him, rubbing your wet slit along his flagging erection. You know he’ll get back to full hardness soon enough.

For now, he lies back, hands behind his head. Lounging, barley awake, his long eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. You give his plump lips a wet smack and they twitch up in amusement.

“Princess? Whatever” He sasses, feigning offense. Even as he lets you do all the work, reaching between your own legs to fist at his cock, leading the head to your waiting hole.

“Prince then” you smile as you sink down and he groans, the veins in his neck straining as he throws his head back into the soft down pillows. He’s more than happy to let you do all the work.

Toys(do they own toys? Will they use them?)

He’s bleh about them. I think he’s inquisitive by nature, and likes to think of himself as explorative but like- he doesn't want anything but his cock filling you and making you feel good. He does enjoy watching you use them on yourself,

Unfair(how much they like to tease)

He is the absolute WORST tease. He loves riling you up. It makes him so hot, the way he can get you so desperate for him.

Volume(how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc)

Kyle’s a quiet lover, he grits his teeth and lets out long sighs You love getting him to crack, making him moan and writhe and gasp.

X-Ray(let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

I’d hate to say this because he already has a massive ego, but he has a pretty big dick too. Maybe right above garage. 7 inches. Long, but heavy.

Yearning(how high is their sex drive?)

When he wants it- he NEEDS it. Like. He’s very dramatic and takes high offense to you withholding yourself from him. Its as annoying as it is flattering.

Zzz(how quickly they fall asleep after)

He’s knocked the FUCK out. Quickly. This man has fallen asleep with his softening cock still inside of you. He’s your big baby and once he’s drunk on your kisses hes a goner.

“Your pussy’s better than indica, baby” he tells you once, only half joking and you snort and hit him square in the face with the nearest pillow.

[kismetconstellations]

Because I'm still bitter... The first time I consciously verbalized that "I hate this show", came when, as I predicted, there was absolutely no acknowledgement of Shiro having no living family on Earth, come the Atlas's "launch date" at the start of Season Eight.

We get shots of each of the Paladins interacting with their families, including Allura as a part of Lance's family, which is a sweet touch.

Then, there's a passing shot of Shiro standing alone and isolated on the Atlas's bridge that he isn't even the focus of.

I had a feeling this would be the case when, ahead of the finale of the second season, the Paladins are cheerfully reflecting on their growth and the challenges that they've overcome preceding what they believe will be their final fight with Zarkon.

Shiro, however, is dead silent, back turned to the others, and, when we do see his expression, he's stone-faced and seemingly deep in contemplation. Something that no one acknowledges, or seems to be in any way concerned about, even with Shiro's history of thoughts that he loses himself in being distinctly unpleasant ones.

When he does speak, it's to somberly offer the definitive statement, "You realize, once we defeat Zarkon, the universe won't need Voltron, anymore." The kids naturally express wanting to see their families, again, once the burden of defending the universe has been lifted from their shoulders, even if it means, for Pidge and Keith, going out and finding them.

Shiro, though, voices no such desires. He dons the Fearless Leader/Black Paladin mask and encourages his underlings that they can't fail, and that's that. Cue them looking dramatically out over the horizon before the credits roll.

One could hem and haw and offer any number of supposed explanations for the unsettling absence of any lifegoals for Shiro outside of "defeat the bad guy and defend the universe", especially viewing this scene in hindsight.

"Shiro and his long-term partner split up before the Kerberos mission. Maybe it would be awkward for Shiro to see him, again, and Shiro doesn't want to discuss that with a group of teenagers, especially as their commanding officer."

"Maybe they intended for Shiro's family to show up later and simply didn't have the time to include them, or he has a strained and/or estranged relationship with his family and wasn't too concerned with going back to them."

"He's been declared legally dead, and the cartoon made to sell toys to kids didn't want to bog their child audience's brains down with the confangled nuisances of bureaucracy."

"Maybe Shiro had no personal desire to return to Earth, and would have assisted Pidge in looking for Matt and Sam had he lived."

And, any of these would be more interesting than what we were actually given, which is nothing, because the showrunners didn't know how to and weren't equipped to handle the sheer level of complex and compounded trauma they had afflicted Shiro with. It was easier to brush it all aside, as that shot of an out of focus Shiro so deftly displays. Especially once Shiro had been killed and effectively permanently replaced as the Black Paladin, then brought back to life and retired to "boring adult" status. They killed his partner off-screen, following the dissolution of the relationship, and briefly showed Shiro mourning the loss,

and I guess that was their "emotional pathos for Shiro" quota met for the rest of the show.

After that, he was gifted his own ship and the position of Captain/Admiral aboard it to sequester him off with Sam, Iverson, Veronica, Slav, a similarly unceremoniously demoted Coran, and the rest of the side characters, under the guise of him being promoted to a position of actual significance. And, as much as I love Shiro having his own ship, and the figure he cuts in that stylish and immensely flattering Admiral coat, it shouldn't have to be said that this is both a massive insult to his character after he had the most narrative significance and pathos of anyone during the first two seasons, and a cheap, cowardly tactic employed to avoid the reality that the writers have alluded to Shiro seeing himself as having no purpose if he isn't performing a heroic duty to others, and being passively suicidal when no such duty exists.

"Don't look too closely, everyone! Let's not linger too long on this!" Otherwise, you'll realize that Shiro, in fact, has no one to support him outside of people who already have families of their own. And, "The universe won't need Voltron, anymore", was really Shiro saying, "The universe won't need me, anymore."

And, damned if the brain trusts behind this show didn't try to prove how little they needed Shiro, only for their story to fall apart at the seams after killing him, and the quality to, fittingly, take a nosedive straight into the abyss once they committed to nerfing and sidelining him while having other characters pitifully attempt to retrace steps that he had already taken, stumbling over his distinct and unforgettable bootprints.

[homestuckreplay]

Jack Noir, Star Of Hit Movie École De Rock

(page 949-973)

The slow zoom out of Homestuck is very fun. It’s hard to believe that a few hundred pages ago we were confined to a single room, and now this story switches back and forth between planets. In these pages, we cut from John exploring Dad’s room over to what Dad’s actually doing and back, meet some loser monarchist, and poke further at the meta layers.

So all those years, while you believed he was out busking up the corners with hilarious antics, he was working as an ordinary business man all along. He was just a man trying to make a good honest living for his son. Maybe he was too embarrassed to tell you the truth? Or maybe it was just that you'd never bothered to ask? You guess you always just assumed... (p.949)

This really reads like it’s setting up a growth moment for John, when he realizes the truth about his dad and the different ways he should have acted towards him, and I am NOT buying it. This sketch of Dad in a jester’s hat and tie juggling on the street is masterful, and John has lived with Dad and spent time with him for 13 years, and John’s image of Dad based on that time spent together is real and meaningful, and I don’t like that the narrative is suggesting that it isn’t?

Son. If you are reading this, it means you are now strong enough to lift the safe. You are now a man. As such, you are entitled to what is inside. I know you will take this responsibility seriously. I am so proud of you. (p.546)

For some reason, Dad is associated with lifting safes. He can not only lift them, but launch them through walls, and take down guys who can lift even bigger safes. Being strong generally, and safes specifically, are not culturally associated with either dads or businessmen, both of which are more often seen as sedentary. Bakers, harlequins, even street performers are not especially physical. If Dad was just a businessman his special skill would be typing really good or memorizing schedules or processing spreadsheets super fast. And yet.

From there we meet Archagent Jack Noir, overseer of a ‘dark kingdom’ also known as an ‘ominous planet’, who has a spade on their clothes. They are not named Spades Slick, but the similarity is explicitly acknowledged. A few panels later we see one of Jack’s ‘burliest agents’ (p.957) who has a heart on their outfit and looks exactly like Hearts Boxcars, also from the Midnight Crew (p.833). Possibly the Midnight Crew are the ominous agents’ LARP characters.

The Midnight Crew is a comic within the Homestuck universe, and it’s bleeding outwards, its characters entering the main story. At the same time, a set of yellow fingers types commands from the position I’ve been calling the ‘player’ – this player is bleeding inwards to the main story. And both things happen right as Jack Noir’s fourth wall has been stolen. (Jack looks directly out of where this wall would be, at the reader, when he rejects the name Spades Slick, and the yellow hands appear as though in a POV shot).

Jack Noir is the opposite to the Wayward Vagabond; he has a blind devotion to the monarch (who we also get a glimpse of!) and considers them a ‘wise and just leader’ even while disagreeing with them. But they both have a lot of interiority, compared to the imps which don’t appear to have much thought or personality beyond the prototyped clownish spirit. The imps also had their harlequin garb appear automatically (p.424) while Jack was ‘ordered’ to wear the clothes (p.956) and could decide whether to obey. He also doesn’t appear to have adopted a jester’s personality. So I think we have two types of Sburb NPCs, the minions and those with wills of their own.

I was thinking about the names ‘Jack Noir’ and ‘Spades Slick’ and the idea of being an archagent for an ominous planet or plotting a heist in an underground hideout and how this is a very different genre to the rest of Homestuck. So I looked up the Wikipedia page for ‘noir fiction’ and found this interesting quote, which, if this genre is played straight, could be the type of story that unfolds with Jack Noir. It tracks so far with his position between the monarch and the minions, but it’s very early days.

A typical protagonist of noir fiction is forced to deal with a corrupt legal, political or other system, through which the protagonist is either victimized and/or has to victimize others, leading to a lose-lose situation.

John gets more birthday gifts!! I love this. In real time John has been waiting months to open these. And he loves all three of them, just like he loved the Little Monsters poster, showing that for the most part Dad knows what John likes, and the harlequin doll is the one exception. The photoshop job on the fetch modus control deck is so good, this absolutely looks like a real product (possibly an edit of a Star Trek toy?) and the idea of combining the properties of different fetch modi is so chaotic. Do NOT give this to Jade. If she combines memory + operation + ouija it’s all over for us. It is also funny that there is a modus (array) that just works and is easy to use, and everyone willingly opts for worse options (‘array of distinct queuestacks’ is ridiculous).

I think fetch modus technology is the backbone of Homestuck worldbuilding. Right now it’s not super plot relevant, but it establishes rules that other aspects of the world follow too – and this idea of combining properties is something we’ve seen with alchemy too. In the same way that the pogo ride and hammer could be combined in two different ways (adding or subtracting) to give different outcomes, these fetch modi could be moved around in the deck and reconfigured into a queuestack of distinct arrays.

John getting excited about a Gushers birthday gift is perfect, no notes, fits perfectly with how I see him. But I was surprised at first by his excitement about the suit. John does have ‘a lot of clothes’ (p.115) but never struck me as a fashion guy, until I remembered his movies. I think John is excited about owning a suit because a lot of movies feature Cool Characters In Suits, and now he can pretend to be a Nic Cage in Face/Off or a Matthew McConaughey in A Time To Kill.

Dad beating up the ominous planet’s agents, lifting safes and breaking out of jail is also a cool action movie thing, and a lot of John’s movies do feature fathers who go to extreme and heroic lengths for their kids – notably, Con Air’s whole plot is a father trying to get home in time to give his daughter a birthday gift, while imprisoned on a plane with guards and maximum security criminals. So I don’t know what’s going on with Dad specifically, but I do think John’s action movie dreams will come true.

> John: Take important phone call from the President.

[fandombymanynames]

some season 7 thoughts mostly focusing around the disaster that was Runaan's second trip to Katolis...

buckle up lads, it's gonna be a long one

First of all, do i think Ezran was wrong for locking up Runaan?

absolutely not

This kid just had his entire kingdom burn down and is now staring at the man who killed his dad seemingly but that's another matter. He's allowed to be pissed, and he's well within his rights to arrest Runaan. I was honestly shocked he was the ONLY one acting upset. I thought for sure the second Soren saw Runaan that he'd be drawing steel, since if I remember correctly (and i could totally be wrong, it's been a while since i watched it thru from the beginning, so have mercy), Soren actually fought Runaan while trying to defend Harrow??

So Ezran's actions are not what bother me about the whole plot point. What bothers me is that this is only happening now??? Like, I'm not even convinced Ezran fully knew who Runaan was other than the assassin that killed his dad. Did Rayla ever tell him that's her dad and I just forgot? Did Callum ever tell him 'hey we're trying to free Rayla's dad (the man that killed our dad) from his coin prison that Viren put him in, just a heads up so you can digest that'? That seems like a massive thing to just spring on a person when you've been planning it for several seasons at this point. Couldn't have written him a letter even... smh

And then on top of that...they bring Runaan to Katolis like absolute dumbasses. Like if you're not going to have the decency to warn your brother that you're planning to break Rayla's dad out of coin jail, the least you could do is just let Ezran keep his blissful ignorance and peace on the matter. It was just an objectively stupid move from all three of them (Callum, Rayla, and yes Runaan himself like wait outside my dude). As the saying goes, play stupid games win stupid prizes. Naturally you bring the guy who killed the king to the kingdom...he's gonna get thrown in jail, and it was all perfectly avoidable if they rubbed even two brain cells together.

okay maybe that was a little mean, but it was a stupid thing to do and i hope we can all agree on that.

but it's what happened so we move on to the next domino in this disaster: rayla breaking runaan out.

Was I all for it?

Yes. Let me be very clear, Runaan is my favorite and he and Ethari's reunion was literally the only thing i cared about this season

Was it ALSO a stupid as hell thing to do?

YES

Like you didn't even wait for night?! You're MOONSHADOW ELVES! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT????

I wanted to strangle someone.

The only good thing, imo, is that she did tell Callum ahead of time. That's growth! She knew what she felt she needed to do and let him know. And very critically, she did not want him involved because she knew this was going to hurt Ezran and didn't want to put Callum in a position to directly pick her over his brother. It is so clear that Ezran is in turmoil and he deserves to have his brother there with him. Callum SHOULD have stayed with his brother, but they had to be stupid and stage a prison break in broad daylight like absolute bafoons. I just...it's so dumb.

I get that the idea is to not keep Ethari waiting 'one minute longer' than needed, but come on guys. You can still race back to the Silvergrove while taking reasonable precautions to ensure you actually make it back to Ethari alive. I think he'd prefer that actually.

It just all felt contrived for drama, at the cost of characters acting reasonably intelligent especially my man Runaan who's a fully grown adult and should have known better than just walk into Katolis, ffs man critical thinking skills

What's my take away from this long mess? That this should have been a building conflict within our original trio starting from the moment Rayla got the coins and understood what they were. Ezran should have been involved in the discussions on freeing Rayla's parents, especially Runaan. If that's too much to ask for, we should have atleast seen some conflict out of Callum on the matter (Harrow was his dad too). It's a fumbled arc in my opinion, thru and thru

but hey that's just me, just needed to put some thoughts to paper as it were. hopefully this mess makes sense

[mmso-notlikethat]

Im so confused ??? Now seeing people say buck is being ooc??? He is GROWING IN character people

Lol, this became a rant, but whatever ..

If you really love/like him, you will know that he is the same big hearted, passionate guy. He is just growing and healing into loving himself and prioritizing himself. Which is literally what he was NOT doing. He always waited for someone to love him, and sometimes he put himself last or in danger to gain that love. buck always put everyone else before himself, his happiness, his needs. And yes, maybe at a point that WAS what brings him happiness, and what he felt he needed, so at the time that what he did. But if you do that, you reach a point of breaking because it never was what you needed. You were just covering it with something else. Even when he did something prioritizing what he wanted (the lawsuit), part of why he did it was to be around the safe and comfort zone he knew. And when he did it, everyone hated him for it. After that, i don't think he was in a position requiring him to choose drastically between his happiness and someone else's needs (tbh i don't remember, but maybe i need a rewatch lol), until s7 happened and we saw him being more grown, breaking up with Natalia, every thing that happened with tommy, dealing with bobby being in the hospital (yes we didnt see a lot but we can assume ig). He choose himself and his happiness, he chose to be with tommy when he needed it, he knew how much he have to "help" eddie, pointing out things and guiding your friend is actually enough! If i am doing something wrong, i don't need my friend to force me in the path they see right, i need them to point it out and let me think and decide by myself.. anyway, Buck is growing in his character. i dont care if you love or hate him, just dont ignore the growth and work he is done and doing on himself 🤨

I just think people who say that want him to be the same play boy from S1...

[babyboywinchester]

Nvm I didn't know you were gonna refer me to one of the most vile bullies in fandom. I also can't believe what terminally online speak I'm hearing. Queerbaiting, really? He does something fans enjoy and continues doing it, I don't see the harm. As for his personal sexuality, that is private and clearly isn't so black and white when you look at what he's said. I don't understand the nitpicking. I agree re the Js though. I'm just genuinely bummed by how antagonistic fandom gets

@nancylou444 has never been vile or a bully to me and anything I’ve seen of hers has been defending other wincest shippers or going toe to toe with terminally brain dead destihellers. Lmao… terminally online? I’m a working and married mother of two. I can assure you I’m not “terminally online”. That’s the EXACT phrase he and the hellers have used when referring to how Destiel has got such a shit go of things so why are you attacking me over a phrase such as that when I am just using literally the same term these blowhards use?

Listen, dude, if you don’t like what I post or who I associate with or the opinions I have then go somewhere else… I don’t know what else to tell you.

He made his sexuality a topic of public discussion when he PUBLICLY insinuated he was bi, had to PUBLICLY retract said statement, and then had to PUBLICLY come out as straight. So, do not get onto me about it being a “private” matter… he did it in the public sphere and therefore it is open to ridicule. If you don’t want those things talked about then you… don’t talk about them. Funny how that works…

Everyone is capable of making mistakes, doing bad things, and growing. Misha has shown, to me, no growth and continually doubles down on his questionable and creepy behavior. He does charity? Cool good for him. Neat. He campaigns for Ukraine? Also a great cause. He still makes overtly sexual comments about his costars about a fetishized gay ship that Jensen himself has repeatedly said he finds no basis for and then gets attacked when he points out that it’s not canon, not how he played the character, and it’s not how the character was written. I do not like Misha. I find his pandering, entitlement, “look at me I do good things I’m a good guy” attitude to be abhorrent and distasteful.

I also do not like how vile fandom can get, but luckily I’m a wincestie and a lover of both brothers with a Sam leaning attitude… so, I’m surrounded by great mutuals and like minded people who I’ve went out of my way to cultivate an online experience with and so generally my online experience has been very positive.

I suggest you do the same and maybe not come to my blog, especially not on anon if you’re not going to have the courage to face me, if I am not your cup of tea. No one is forcing you to view my opinions and content. You alone have the power to curate your own online experience. If you want to come off anon and talk so be it, but the next ask sent on anon will just be deleted because I’m not going to continue you this conversation especially if you’re accusing me of being “terminally online” for using a well-used phrase outside of online life… like seriously grow up.

Have a wonderful day. Godspeed.

[sincerelyyadere]

Jinx review [no spoilers] 1/10

Sportsman x physicical therapist, no fluff, angst no comfort, hurt no comfort, mma, dom is a dick, enemies to lovers(?), enemies to lovenemies, sport, nsfw, smut

Tw: rape on rape on rape, plot is rape, people fighting and raping basically, nsfw

PLOT ☆☆☆☆☆ STORYTELLING ☆☆☆☆☆ CHARACTERS ★☆☆☆☆

Wow. Just… wow. For something sold so high, all over the pinterest, tiktok and tumblr i didnt expect this manhwa to be so… shitty. I dont even know if it deserves a review, really. I expected another Painter of the Night, and i got something worse than BJ alex. And you know what? THIS SHIT IS WRITTEN BY THE SAME AUTHOR AS BJ ALEX AHAHHAHAHA WHAT THE FUCK.

Lets maybe list the few things in this manhwa that were not fucked up by the author:

- MC is good at his job, and is a pretty likable character that makes sense

- everyone beside ML are likable.

Thats it. Now lets get to the point.

When i was reading the manhwa i almost felt as if i was reading psychological thriller, with the amount of romanicized rape that was happening. And not the cnc shit, i mean full on rape. At some point of the manhwa the author even has the audacity to make the readers get the impression, we should divide the ML from the “bad rapists”, as if he’s any better. I rarely get disgusted reading yaoi or mlm, cause i'm used to authors justifying rape or sexual harassment, but that was just too much. Like, what the fuck, seriously.

The only reason people keep reading enemies to lovers is cause they crave the point when the ML and MC start to understand each other, and they both realised what caused each others' actions.

None of this here. No character growth, no explanation, just the ML being a dick that should be in jail. I dont think theres one positive trait he has, besides being a good mma player. At some point i had to give up reading to the mindless scrolling in hope that at SOME point, the comic will get better.

It didn’t. In every chapter was happening the same thing over and over again, no change, the sex scenes were disgusting, the ml sucked, everything sucked.

And you know what i hate the most? That ML was SUPPOSED to be likable. We were SUPPOSED to feel satisfiad with the bare minimum he was doing like letting a GUY HE WAS RAPING VISIT HIS DYING GRANDMA. Wow, how virtuous. Fuck that guy, lock him in jail.

Dont read this shit. Lenzin, you should be embarrassed.

It's funny how MC is therapist, when, really, ML is the-rapist

[drinkyourvillainjuice]

NSFW Alphabet - Teddie

Well, y'all really wanted one of these for Teddie. Seriously like four of you and counting. So, Teddie time.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Quiet, contemplative. A little apprehensive.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His own - throat. Bone rarely grows there. Partner - probably hands, cause he's a filthy hand holder.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

This guy goes off like a fucking cannon.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Aroused by fossils. /jk

I'm not sure. He's not a very sexual person.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Minimal. Maybe hooked up once or twice but I'm not even sure he's gone all the way with anyone.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Uhhh.

Whichever works with the current configuration of bones.

Yeah. Guy gets a raw deal.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Very serious. Might get an unexpected smile or two out of him though.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Groomed? Not.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Oscillates between passionate and intimate. Very intense about it.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Finds it completely embarrassing. Like he does it, but he finds it embarrassing.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Having to look, but not touch. Esp. if his partner is stripping off.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Just wherever's relatively comfortable and isn't gonna get fucking destroyed by spines.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Passion. Vulnerability. Trust.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Pain. Has too much of that already to be kinky about it.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Would rather receive than give because he'd be worried he was getting sharp pieces of face right up in his partner's sensitive areas.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Rough, but not fast. He doesn't want to fucking pulverise anyone with ill-placed growths.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

No to quickies: things are too much of an effort for him to want to get it over with fast. In terms of how often: if his partner's game to go, he probably is too. Depends on if his body is cooperating.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Hesitant on both. Sex is a bit of a fragile topic for him.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Doesn't have a whole lot of stamina for going multiple rounds. He can hold himself back for a bit though.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Nnnope.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He's not really a teaser.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Quiet. He growls, mutters, whispers into your ear.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

*first bars of megalovania*

Uhh pass. Like I mentioned, he's not v. experienced, hard to have detailed thoughts.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Even more bones.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Low. He's often in too much pain/discomfort to be horny.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Tries to stay awake, but fades relatively fast.

[heroictoonz]

king I've been putting off a rewatch of s15-17 for ages do u think its worth it

My instinct is so say no save yourself but like jokes aside I think that’s up to you like, I always said that they gave the RvBs a “bad ending” and that they ruined Tucker’s character post Chorus however, that was back when season 16 was literally first coming out

Flash back here but so when s16 was coming out I was just getting more and more upset with the writing of the show especially and honestly almost specifically Tucker. Somewhere near the end of s16 I stopped watching (didn’t even finish the season) and then after a bit I heard that the next season was gonna revolve around whole new characters

Now this, I only recently learned was weird miscommunication. See I’m trash ass shit at keeping up with news of shit even shit that I like so for the longest time I thought the story of this group I’ve been following since I was a teenager ended at s16 which KILLED me inside so I swore off the rest of the show and vowed to never watch it. Instead I mostly just rewatched Chorus or s1-s13 if I wanted to rewatch the “whole” show. Basically just watching till the end of Chorus and stopping. Every time I tried to go rewatch s15 to mmmaybe finish the show I kept remember how bad things got and kept running away

I’m gonna give some vague spoilers from here on out but it’s cause I do genuinely wanna talk about how I feel having literally only a few minutes ago finished s16 and s17 for the first time

I decided to finish RvB LITERALLY last night like no joke and it’s cause I saw spoilers out of context for s19 and I was like fuck it I need to see what the hell that is show is over anyways might as well finish it. So I am doing that now

I rewatched/finished s16 and fucking hated it. The good parts were Wash being cute and silly and my favorite guy ever of all time and forever. There’s also Grif and this character named Huggins they’re like on god one of my new brotps of all time damn RvB writes some good ass season specific supporting cast cause holy shit man. Also! I liked that Kai was in it! I enjoy Kai so so so so so much! I’ve always wanted more of her in the show! UNFORTUNATELY!

Tucker is so hard to watch. It’s so honest to god painful to watch. Maybe that’s what they were going for I don’t know. But, having now seen season 17 I get what they were TRYING to do I just don’t fully like how they did it.

In s17 Tucker admits to himself that the reason why in s16 he was acting so weird and gross and toxic masculinity “I have to have the biggest and most talented dong in the room at all times or I’ll kms” character ever is cause he was trying to be a leader

It’s sounds stupid and personally I think it IS stupid but now that I know what they were TRYING to write it makes these post Chorus seasons more bearable.

Basically, Tucker spent all that time in Chorus forced to be a leader. Once he finally got comfortable in the position of one Chorus no longer needed them. He wanted to keep being a leader keep feeling like a leader and it went to his head. He tried acting cool and tough and macho cause that’s what he thought a leader was and he says this! Out loud he admits all this to himself in s17! And honestly? That’s SUCH a good fucking concept it’s super fucking interesting and I really dig it plus with Tucker FAILING at being the leader it gave Donut well deserved character growth. I’ve always hated how sidelined Donut got compared to the others cause I’ve always liked him but s17 is definitely Donut’s season and to see him finally get screen time and respect and also have genuine moments of connection with the others was honestly really fucking awesome

So, do I like s16? God no. Do I recommend it watching it? Hard to say. You have to watch it if you wanna finish the show. Is finishing the show worth it? Honestly I dunno yet I haven’t seen 18 or 19 so it’s to be seen rn. But s17 where not perfect was definitely better than 16 and gave better insight on what they were trying to do. I don’t like the execution I don’t think it was as done very well but I like the ideas I like what they were attempting

S15 I admittedly do not fucking remember at all cause again it’s not a season I’ve rewatched more than maybe twice cause I kept stopping cause I just did not wanna deal with what I knew was coming. And I know me I know myself I know if I tried rewatching the show from the start or even s15 in an attempt to finish it I’d ever fucking do it so instead I just started from s16 and went forward

I don’t remember out right hating s15 but similar to the above I think there were good ideas and not all of them were perfectly done in writing. Also there’s this like really cool interesting thing that is about Tucker that then ends up being a stupid child support payment joke and that sucks so much it makes me so burningly livid I don’t even have a joke here it just makes me mad

But! It brings in the concept of other reds and blues other soldiers that were left in the rubbles of project freelancer which is super interesting again I think they coulda done more with specific parts of it and the “Tucker doesn’t pay child support for the buncha kids he fucked into existence” joke sucks especially when they CONSTANTLY SHOW HIM AS A VERY DOTING AND LOVING FATHER it’s fine I’m not mad I’m not bitter I promise

But uh yeah honestly if you like the show a lot I say watch it even if it sucks. Some of my biggest special interests are GARBAGE shows with writing so bad it makes me wanna commit actual arson. But, I love the characters I love the settings and I love what could have been maybe that’s why I always keep sticking around in stuff like this lol even if it sucks I like to imagine what could make it better cause I love it! And if I didn’t love it I wouldn’t care to put as much energy into wanting it to be better as I do! That’s the same with RvB! I wish it was better I wish SSOOOO BADLY that it was better but it’s cause I love it so fucking much not out of any sort of hate if that makes sense?

Idk tldr it’s up to you and you might suffer a bit but if you love the show I say go for it

Aaaand it’s 2am and I read ur ask wrong I thought that said “watch” not “rewatch” but? Points still stand I’m the kinda person that will rewatch even the seasons I hate to remember why I like the ones I love (I’m looking at you Ninjago season 3 you hot fucking garbage that I’ve sadly seen more times than I would like)

[micahs-chin-scar]

i want a full essay on haruta, you seem like a knowing person

*cracks knuckles* My time has come.

So, Haruta. Whether you love 'im, hate 'im, love to hate 'im, he's a character that few people in the fandom feel indifferent about. But I believe that he's also slightly deeper than the giggling sword-wielding maniac he seems to be at first glance.

Also there will be MANGA SPOILERS so don't click if you're anime-only

First, let's take a look at his name.

Shigemo is written with 重 (“shige” = heavy, important) and 面 (“mo” = mask), and together those two characters can literally be read as "multi-faced". This is already a hint to his personality: Haruta is someone who acts childish and humorous, but is actually cruel and cold-hearted.

Haruta is written with 春 (“haru” = spring) and 太 (“ta” = thick/big, a common male suffix). Spring is the symbol of new life, of a fresh start. It could be a possible hint to him recently becoming a curse user, or maybe a reference to his power.

Next, his perceptive and cunning nature.

Because yes, Haruta is actually pretty damn smart and tactical despite acting like a goofball most of the time. People are way too quick to write him off as a weakling and make fun of both him and Nobara for her defeat at his hands. Here are a few examples:

^Recognizing Nobara and accurately gauging her growth despite not fighting her during their previous (and only) encounter

^Understanding what the injured Megumi was doing and not letting his own guard down

^Realizing what Megumi was about to do (unfortunately too late)

He's also surprisingly self-aware about his own limitations despite his arrogance regarding his own abilities. When Gojo broke the barrier around the school, what did Haruta do? Immediately dip. When Nanami backhanded him across the whole store, what did Haruta do? Realize he was way outmatched and try to run. He's different from the likes of Juzo (hang rack guy) or Jougo, who overestimate what they can do and underestimate their opponents. Haruta knows he's not hot stuff, and as he says it himself, he's best at picking on the weak.

And let's not forget what a tactical fighter he is.

^Sending his sword after Nitta, fooling Nobara and allowing him to both keep track of her position and take her down

^Targets his opponent's weak spots to take them down

That was actually one of my few pet peeves with the anime: it felt like they made him less tactical. They removed Nobara's line about him aiming for specific points, as well as him injuring her leg, and it made his question about the sword hitting her head seem genuine rather than sarcastic.

His potential past.

This is where I'll be entering headcanon territory, but canon backs me up quite a bit on certain elements of it.

Haruta mentions that he doesn’t even know what exactly his own cursed technique does or how it works. Therefore, the likelihood of him coming from a family of sorcerers or having received a formal jujutsu education are more or less void. Had he inherited a technique like Nobara or Megumi, or gotten schooling, he would probably know more about it.

There is a running theme among curse users (whose past we know) of being rejected, sometimes even persecuted by society for their ability to see the supernatural:

Therefore, it’s not too far-fetched to assume that Haruta likely went through something similar himself. It would explain a few things about him.

Haruta's psychological issues.

I'm going to say it straight off the bat: I won't diagnose him with anything. I'm not a psychologist, though I did study psych in college. All I'm going to do is list a few of the obvious issues he has and their potential causes. JJK is a series of grey and gray, not black and white. No one is pure good and pure evil in it (except arguably some of the Curses because, well... they're Curses), and everyone has their own unique circumstances that led to them being the way they are.

That being said, one thing that immediately jumped out to me about Haruta is his barely hidden low self-esteem and insecurities. He's actually quite self-deprecating. If he just did it around other people I'd be inclined to believe that it's part of his "uwu i'm baby" front, but he also does it when he's alone.

It's worth noting that he also seems to specialize in sneak attacks from behind - fitting for a self-admitted bully who prefers to prey on the weak.

Yet at the same time, he's pretty full of himself and seems to have a certain paradoxical sense of superiority.

That's why I half-jokingly said in the tags of a previous posts that he has an inferiority-superiority complex. I think Haruta knows that he's not strong, but that his technique is absolutely broken even if he himself isn't particularly skilled (though he seems to have gained some confidence between the school invasion and the Shibuya incident - that's part of why I think he's a fairly recent curse user).

It's worth noting that the jujutsu world is much more dangerous than the regular one and death roams around every corner, doubly so for curse users who have a Kill On Sight order on their heads, and triply so when one’s cursed technique isn’t suited for fighting. It must be easy to feel weak and helpless under those circumstances.

Now let's get to the obvious, which are also Haruta's biggest flaws: his sadism and impulsivity.

Haruta obviously takes a lot of pleasure in hurting others, but what's especially concerning is he seems unable to hold himself back when he sees an opportunity for it, or think of long-term consequences. He tried to kill an injured Hanami just because he could, without realizing that doing so would anger the other Curses, and he went after Megumi despite barely escaping his encounter with Nanami an hour or so prior, which led to his death. He actually reminds me a bit of Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia, in that both of them just want to have fun in this world. What Toga really wants deep down is love and acceptance though - unfortunately Haruta never got the character development that she did.

He also clearly lacks empathy, which in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but combined with a personality that enjoys tormenting other people and has poor planning skills, it makes for a devastating combo.

^A perfectly healthy reaction to seeing an injured ally

It's worth noting that sadism and aggressive behaviors are believed to stem from both genetic and environmental (e.g., childhood trauma) factors. It can for example be a way for the person to turn the tables on the world and vent out their past hurts and anger, by making other people suffer like they suffered. Or a way to feel powerful - again, Haruta is someone with low self-esteem who preys exclusively on the weak.

TL;DR

Haruta Shigemo is actually pretty damn cool and smart and not just some one-dimensional grunt and he deserved better.

^Me @ Gege

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE - Episode 10: Best Shot Update

Taichi: Hmmm… Not again…

Taichi: (I figured it’d be, but… It sure is hard to get accepted….)

Taichi: (From Japanese mini theater movies, to local station mini dramas and graduate students’ films…)

Taichi: (I applied for the roles introduced to me by Sumeragi Agency and the ones I found by researching myself, but I failed all of them.)

Taichi: (... I knew I wouldn’t pass in one shot, obviously, and I haven’t lost heart just yet.)

Taichi: (My audition pilgrimage’s only just begun, I’ve gotta keep my spirits up.)

Taichi: When Mucchan failed his audition, he got even more motivated and improved his skills at the workshop…

Taichi: Instead of moping around, I should use these failures as motivation to keep goin’!

Taichi: Let’s go!

Taichi: (Maybe I should start by looking through my failed applications… Updating my profile pic might help…)

[Door opening]

Omi: …

Taichi: Hm? Welcome back, Omi-kun!

Omi: Y-Yeah, I’m back.

Taichi: (I wonder if he’s tired? He’s kinda spacing out...)

Taichi: Oh yeah! Omi-kun, you’re free tomorrow, right?

Omi: Yeah.

Taichi: I’ve got a favor to ask of you for my challenge…

Omi: Got it. You want me to take you somewhere? Around what time–

Taichi: At night, obviously!

-

[Motorcycle speeding]

Taichi: The wind feels so good! GO! GO! Yeah!

Omi: This reminds me of back when we did “Stranger”.

Taichi: The two of us toured like this back then too!

-

Taichi: So! We’ll be taking the ultimate updated profile pic with the ocean and sunrise as the background!

Omi: The seaside would be best, then. Try moving around over there a little.

Taichi: Ok! I wanna look like I’m the main character in a movie!

Omi: The splashing of the water adds some nice movement.

[Splash, splash]

Taichi: Like this!?

[Snap]

Omi: Yup. Looking good.

-

[Taichi steps out of the water]

Taichi: So? Did they turn out good?

Omi: This one’s the best shot.

Taichi: It’s so good! The sunrise’s light is also perfect! Only the best from you, Omi-kun!

Taichi: Oh, this one looks like the pic we took that day.

Omi: You’re right. Since the composition is similar, we can clearly see your growth by comparing them.

Taichi: If we take a pic like this every year, it’ll look like a record of my growth!

Omi: Haha, you’re right.

Taichi: I was able to get the perfect updated profile pic thanks to you, Omi-kun.

Taichi: Ah, I know that the world isn’t so kind that I’ll be accepted just ‘cause I’ve got such a good pic, of course~

Omi: Auditions, huh…

Taichi: Everything I’ve applied for has been a bust. I knew it’d be tough, but it still makes me kinda sad.

Taichi: So, thanks for coming with me today, even if it was just under the excuse of having my picture taken!

Omi: I’ll do this much for you any time. It helped cheer me up, too.

Taichi: But, y’know, after failing so much, it got me thinking…

Taichi: MANKAI Company’s the best, for letting all of us be lead actors as if it’s a given.

Taichi: It’s an important place I’ve got to cherish no matter what.

Taichi: That’s why, I’ve got to give back to the company and the Autumn Troupe twice as much as I’ve been given.

Taichi: If it’s to improve his popularity outside the troupe, attract more audience, and improve our ranking, Taichi Nanao will get up no matter how many times he falls!

Taichi: I’ll keep doing my best on my audition pilgrimage~!

Omi: … You’re amazing. Even after failing, you keep moving forward.

Taichi: … You still haven’t found a challenge for yourself, Omi-kun?

Omi: … Yeah. It’s not something I can talk to everyone about yet, but there’s something that’s been eating at me and I can’t focus on myself.

Omi: But don’t worry, we will be holding the workshop. The administrative position’s a nice change of pace that I’m grateful for.

Omi: Once things have settled a little, I’ll definitely find something to use as an opportunity to grow.

Omi: I can’t have you guys leaving me behind, after all.

Taichi: … You can take it slow. You won’t be late even if you end up behind us.

Omi: … Yeah, thanks.

Omi: For now, I’ll be praying all of you succeed from the bottom of my heart. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.

Taichi: I’ll do my best and lead the Autumn Troupe’s charge!

previous episode | masterpost | next episode

[ominousvibez]

following up on this post i made the other day

Ninjago Dragons Rising Season 2a spoilers below

Arin is going through the ringer in season two. Which, I’m not complaining about—I love angst and seeing characters go through pain, because that’s how they grow to become stronger. You can’t make an omlette without breaking a few eggs, and whatnot.

But Arin is a passenger on the struggle bus and it gets a bit painful to watch, at some points.

It’s clear that, by the end of season one, he feels like he’s fallen behind Sora and Wyldfyre’s training; after all, he’s still the only one without an elemental power, and he’s only been able to successfully do his object Spinjitzu a few times, and all of those times were when someone he cared about was in danger. So when Season 2A starts up, and Arin struggles multiple times with just defeating the Bad Guys by himself, it’s obvious that the writers of Ninjago Dragons Rising are setting up something for him.

I’d talked about it in my previous analysis, but I do enjoy how Arin and Sora are pretty interesting as character foils. People have talked about how the dragon imagery with Sora conflicts with the growing Oni imagery given to Arin and how dragons and oni don’t mix; to be honest, I’ve never seen the last seasons of Ninjago, so I’m only picking up that lore from other posts, but I think that it’s interesting how Arin and Sora are developing together in opposite directions.

Sora is, obviously; getting stronger. She’s reached her True Potential, after all. While she doesn’t learn Spinjitzu in Season 2A, it’s obvious that she’s going to have it down by the second half of the season, maybe whipping it out in the finale just like her TP in the S1 finale. She’s also become a bit stronger, and a bit more optimistic. She’s developed Elemental Mech for the other Ninja, and her control over her tech powers have only grown since we’ve last seen these characters.

Arin, on the other hand, is almost getting weaker? Or, perhaps, he’s stagnating in his growth. He hasn’t been able to perform object Spinjitzu since the S1 finale, and is constantly getting beat up by the other bad guys. He gets beat by Cinder. He gets beat by Lord Ras. He’s only able to somewhat defeat what’s-her-name because Riyu is on his side and she’s kinda weaksauce anyway. (I know her name is Jordana; this is meant to be a joke.) He can’t protect Bonzole from being taken by Lord Ras and used.

He is going through the gutter this season, my poor blorbo.

I think Sora “helping” Arin in the final fight by using her elemental power to mimic his object Spinjitzu was nice of her; but it’s going to lead to a fight, I’m sure. The writers seem to be setting Arin up for what looks like some sort of corruption arc.

You know the story. A character is left behind by their “friends”, and is adopted into the bad guy troupe. They commit a few crimes, maybe go a bit too deep into the rabbit hole, but they come to their senses and defect back to the good side, now a bit spicier with a bit more trauma. It’s a fine and fun story to write. It puts characters into uncomfortable positions. The good guys have to reckon with the fact they left one of their own behind, and their own defected to the bad side. The bad guys have to deal with turning this goody-two-shoes into an Actual Villain, which has varying levels of success.

But I don’t think they should do this with Arin.

Would Arin make a terrifying bad guy? He’s a ninja super-fan; he knows all of their weaknesses. He would be absolutely terrifying as a bad guy.

But, I’ll be honest: I don’t think he has it in him.

Now, the writers could do something big to him, and he could defect and join the bad guys, but I don’t think that could be as fun as the other possible arc Arin could go through, that I think would be ten times more interesting;

I think Arin should quit being a ninja.

Not forever. But temporarily.

One of the biggest things in the show is the phrase “ninja never quit”—the ninja are trained to be determined to see things through to the end. To keep fighting for the good of Ninjago, and the newly merged realms. They have hundreds of thousands of people relying on them, they can’t quit in the face of evil.

They say it multiple times. It’s their motto, their theme; they don’t quit, no matter how hard it gets. When Kai gets locked in the cursed hell in-between space (forgot the name of it), he’s not going to quit until he gets back home. When the ninja train to learn the Rising Dragon technique, they don’t quit training, trying to figure it out, even as they run out of time.

But Arin? Well, Arin’s been trying to follow the motto, but it looks like the world has decided to beat the crap out of him constantly no matter what. He keeps getting beat up. He keeps losing to the bad guys the other ninja could beat with little issue.

I think Lord Ras says it the best;

“I stopped you as easily now as the first time we met. I was weak like you, once...”

Arin’s not progressing as a ninja; in fact, he might be degressing, a bit. He gets knocked down a fang when training with the dragons because his Spinjitzu is too raw and uncontrolled. He can’t figure out his object Spinjitzu. He’s going through the motions of being a ninja, but getting beat up at every turn, and everyone has these great Elemental powers, and Arin’s just… Well, he’s just Arin.

Honestly, going through all of that, I’d be thinking about quitting, too. It would just be easier to hang up the towel and call it a day. It’d be a lot less painful. He wouldn’t have to worry about the fate of the world, he could just return to The Crossroads, or maybe he could quit and focus on trying to find his parents.

But I think he should quit. Full-stop. For a few episodes.

It’d be great to explore what would happen to Arin for a few episodes, maybe even though he quits, he can’t stop trying to help people and save them from danger. How even though he doesn’t have an elemental power, he can still do great things. Learn how to be great himself.

It’d also be great to see how the other characters react to Arin’s decision to quit. Stories are built upon the interaction and conflict between characters, which drive character growth and plot. Sora would try to drag him back, obviously; either Arin or one of the older ninja would make it clear that it would be wrong to drag him back to a world he doesn’t want a part in. They’d all be shocked, of course. Maybe hurt, betrayed—ninja never quit, right?

But what if a ninja did quit?

Arin is the most interesting character in the Dragons Rising series. He’s a relatable individual for many old Ninjago fans, and represents that audience, a bit. He’s living the dream of becoming a ninja that many of us could never be. But he also keeps getting beat up by the bad guys, he can’t control his Spinjitzu, or do his special thing, and he doesn’t have an elemental power (yet; I see what you’re doing with the Source Dragon of Motion, writers). He’s the odd one out, the black sheep of the ninja.

If the story keeps beating him down, well, maybe he just needs to quit, in order to find himself again, and build himself back up, either on his own, or with the help of his friends.  

Ninja never quit, of course. He’ll find his way back to Team Ninja eventually. But maybe… Maybe ninja need break?

(No, that doesn’t work as well.

Eh, whatever.)

Ninja never quit permanently.

He’s one of the main characters. He’ll get dragged back into the plot whether he likes it or not.

[talas-first-lady]

As requested, I started my list of fave female/female-presenting Legends. I made it halfway and then I got stuck because it’s literally impossible so maybe I’ll do the second half later.

1. Zari Tomaz

Pros: She is literally everything. EVERYTHING.

Cons: I hate that in the end they basically just made her an extension of Nate. As much as I loved having her come back in seasons 6 and 7, it would have been better to let her go out on her own terms in the season 5 finale after kissing Charlie.

2. Charlie

Pros: Hands down my favorite character to write. The complexity, the layers of trauma, the love she has for all of the other Legends... what a beautiful character.

Cons: Shapeshifted into John Constantine to have an orgy. It is literally criminal to hide Maisie's face like that.

3. Astra Logue

Pros: Also amazing to write. She's the embodiment of one of my favorite tropes, the "I don't know how to human" one, but she's so snarky about it. Unafraid to tell everyone else exactly how dumb they're being, which they need constantly. Incredible amount of character growth in 2.5 seasons.

Cons: Should never have gotten into a relationship with Behrad. They're not compatible. They're not going to make it long term. But Astra is never going to be able to dump Behrad because he is the whole team's little brother and everybody loves him, so she will automatically be the bad guy and lose everything (at least in her slightly skewed assessment of things). One of the very few positives about the show being canceled is that we didn't have to see her get smaller and smaller in service of a male character.

4. Zari Tarazi

Pros: The fact that they got rid of my favorite character and replaced her with someone I love almost as much is insane. Completely insane. I love how much hidden depth she has. She's also one of the funniest characters on the show and, empirically speaking, very hot.

Cons: The absolute worst taste in men of any person ever. I absolutely loathed having to watch her get lied to for an entire season and for what?

5. Gideon

Pros: She's always been a great part of the show, but season 7 was just magnificent. I love her so much. Where would the show be without her? Nowhere, that's where.

Cons: I'm never going to completely forgive her for time looping Zari 1.0. She's been through some shit and you want to just traumatize her more for fun? Nope. Not okay.

6. Amaya Jiwe

Pros: I started watching the show with season 2, so she had to be my original fave. She was also my first time experiencing Maisie Richardson-Sellers and one does not just recover from that. She had hands-down the best powers on the show and was just radiant. And a bitch. And a fucking pirate. And Princess Leia. I rest my case.

Cons: Basically the cons for everyone on this list are annoying heterosexual relationships. Her story was so much bigger than Nate and they should have let that happen.

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Arc 19, Reflections

Okay, so, Arc 19 > Arc 18, hands down. Not much better, in toto, since it still ran on idiot balls, contrivances and still centered on Echidna.

In terms of important stuff that happens, there's some reveals about Tattletale, good shit there. The portal, sure. And the reveal about Cauldron.

Couldn't we have had them without Echidna, the big stompy plot device with the cheat powers bag?

I'm not normally one to say 'quit talking, get to the action' about my fiction, and I get that the characters doing the talking were ones who couldn't necessarily do much about Echidna directly, but jesus christ the conversations that were being had while this giant monster is rampaging a block over got incredibly annoying, very quickly.

And fine, in 19.7 Tats explains it was her trying to find a new purpose, but I feel like 'survive the BIG STOMPY MONSTER THAT WANTS TO EAT YOU' is a good purpose for the short term, Tats. You don't need to focus on aggravating everyone about Cauldron and the Portal. I mean, hey, maybe if you hadn't kept talking about Cauldron, clone-Eidolon wouldn't have brought it up!

(Unlikely, granted, but still)

and then it brings us back to Echidna. Which again, was way too much focus on these guys. And she's just surviving everything that's throne at her, while also being huge and powerful on her own AND she makes evil clones!

And then, magically, somehow, the second Sundancer gets into the game, that's all it takes? The bitch survives EVERYTHING else everyone threw at her, but Sundancer kills her like that? *snap*?

Like, yes, Sundancer has an insanely powerful power. But still. Legends beams are supposed to be powerful. Eidolon is fucking Eidolon. Alexandria is Alexandria. And they were bringing out a whole bunch of other powerful capes and they couldn't even SCRATCH her?

Now, I'm not saying I don't get why Sundancer was less than willing to do it at first, why she needed time to get around to the idea, but also...

No? Bitch? You could have saved a lot of time and lives if you'd done it sooner.

Also, maybe I just missed it, but it feels like Trickster barely did anything to help Noelle in the fight, which didn't really line up with some of the stuff I'd read before now, but I'll admit I wasn't paying the closest of attention here, since my eyes were glazing over sometimes in the arc.

I'm glad we're finally gone with the Travelers, at least, thank fuck, but still.

I know we're gonna get to Wards!Taylor soon, though we have a few more arcs, and that's great, but what I really need to know, what I'm really desperate to know, is WHY. What did Taylor pick up as a Ward that actually helped the numbers?

Anyway, at least we DO know that the Bay itself is finally in a stable position... for two years. and that's great. But a blind reader... a blind reader is gonna be left waiting for the next shoe to drop on the Bay, right? Because that's all the story has done. Drop shoes on the bay like a centipede coming home from the gym.

And its really tiresome.

And it's only July.

It's

Only

July

All these shit has happened in three months. Way too fucking fast. Too much character growth in too little real time. Let these characters have a goddamn nap.

Maybe he will in the span of Arc 20 and the Arcadia thing, but I honestly doubt it.

I like Worm, I do. I'm bitching a lot, and I definitely didn't really enjoy the last three arcs much, but I hold out hope it will get better. Because there's a lot to like about Worm.

But also, fucking hell Emma is delulu and Sophia is psychotic beyond all belief.