#which is a MASSIVE shame because there’s virtually no fandom for it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

vannahfanfics · 3 years ago

Text

Electric Love

Category: Romantic Fluff

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Izuku Midoriya, Ochako Uraraka

Hey, all! Here’s my story for the Izuku Big Bang! I had the pleasure again of working with my good friend @danyartime, so do be sure to check out her adorable art too!

Izuku bobbed his head to the upbeat poppy tune bumping from the small speakers of his desk radio. Though the volume was low to keep from disturbing his dorm mates, the thumping bass in the background of the happy lyrics vibrated the pencils and pens in the ceramic cup beside it. The little tink-tink-tinks of the writing utensils hitting the side of the cup added pleasant harmony to the song. Izuku hummed along as he scrawled notes into his hero notebook, recalling everything he could from the joint training they’d conducted with Class 1-B that day. Just as he was musing that it may be time for yet another volume of his detailed notes, the song ended abruptly to be replaced by a particularly loud yell from the radio host. Izuku jumped and looked at the radio, turning it up in curiosity.

“Thank you for tuning in this evening, folks! Today we have a very special offer for a lucky listener! Prepare to dial your phones, ‘cuz the tenth caller will win tickets to AKB48’s upcoming concert in Akihabara!” the host announced excitedly. Izuku wasn’t big into girl groups, but he’d often heard his female classmates discussing the idols. They must be really famous! He thought, pulling up his phone and typing up the radio station’s number as the host provided it. “All right, folks! Get ready to hit ‘dial,’ because time… starts… now!”

Izuku waited just a brief second before hitting the dial button and holding the phone up to his ear. He honestly didn’t expect much— there were probably hundreds of people calling in with the hopes of securing the tickets— but he did get a little excited when he wasn’t immediately greeted with a busy signal or a “sorry” message. The phone rang for a second, and then, much to Izuku’s surprise, someone picked up.

“Congratulations, Lucky Number 10! You’ve won yourself two tickets to AKB48’s concert next weekend!”

“R-really?” Izuku stammered in shock, completely floored that a whim of a call had actually won him something. “Oh, wow! Thank you!”

“Thank you for calling in today! What’s your name, Lucky Number 10?”

“I-Izuku!”

“Well, Izuku, we hope you enjoy seeing the dolls of Akihabara in action! Stay on the line so we can provide you with information on how to claim your tickets.” Izuku did as bid while the radio host switched to a private line, playing a song for those who had been unsuccessful in their efforts in claiming the tickets. They gathered his basic information and provided him with the address to the local radio station, stressing that he needed to bring a valid photo identification to verify that it was indeed him and not someone trying to make off with his winnings. They made an appointment to pick up the tickets the following afternoon, since it was too late in the evening for a student to be out and about. After hanging up the phone, Izuku found himself excited to attend the concert despite not really being passionate about the band— new experiences were always thrilling, after all!

Now… The real question is, who should I take with me?

By the time he had retrieved his tickets and returned to the dorm the next day, Izuku didn’t have the answer to that question. He perched on the couch eyeing the two cardstock tickets with a frown, debating who to invite. He didn’t imagine that any of the boys were that into girl groups, so he couldn’t take any of them. On the other hand, all the girls probably liked them in some capacity or another. I want to take the person who would enjoy it the most!, he thought with a sigh, flopping back against the couch as the riddle poisoned him from the inside out.

Just then, he heard Ochako and Kyoka’s voice drifting out of the kitchen. The two girls came shuffling out in their pajamas and fuzzy socks, probably getting ready for their weekly girls’ night as evidenced by the massive bowl of popcorn tucked in Kyoka’s arms. Ochako stared wistfully at her phone, petulant about something.

“Man… I really wish I could go to the performance next weekend, but the tickets are so expensive!” she moped. Izuku perked up, peering over the edge of the couch.

“Ochako, I told you that I would take you if you really want to go,” Kyoka smiled wanly.

“No way!” Ochako refused, shaking her head vigorously. “I could never ask you to spend money like that on me!” She stopped walking to look at Kyoka, then deflated like a balloon and looked back to her phone once more. “All I can do is hope that they’re still performing by the time I’m making money as a professional hero…”

“Hey, Ochako!” Izuku hurriedly piped up as the two girls turned to head upstairs. She whirled around to look at him, eyebrows raised in confusion. Izuku flushed as he sat up on his knees to look over the back of the couch, suddenly aware that it would sound like he was eavesdropping. “I-I couldn’t help but overhear… I, um, I won two tickets to the AKB48 concert next weekend in a radio contest. You’re more than welcome to use the extra ticket and come with me.”

“Oh my gosh, Deku, are you serious?” Ochako screamed and zoomed over to him faster than he’d ever seen anyone move, even Tenya. She grabbed his hands, clasping hers around his with the tickets still clutched in his fist. Her nut-brown eyes sparkled with delight as they bored into his emerald ones, which only made him flush darker. “You really mean it? Oh, thank you, thank you! I’m so excited; they’re my absolute favorite girl group! Oh, I’m so excited!”

Her animated reaction made a smile stretch across his lips and a warm, bubbly feeling rise up in his chest. When she let his hands go to take the ticket, she gazed down at it like it was the most special gift in the world; tears of joy even bloomed in the corners of her eyes. “Thank you so much, Deku,” she repeated again, softly and choked with emotion.

“Of course, Ochako! We’re gonna have a lot of fun!” He grinned widely. Ochako looked up at him shyly, batting her eyelashes to blink the tears away, before whirling on her heel to scurry back to Kyoka. Izuku leaned his cheek in his hand, smiling dreamily, as the girl jumped up and down giddily while showing Kyoka the ticket like it was nothing short of pure treasure. Cute, he thought, his smile growing more enchanted as Ochako’s own illuminated the room with the brilliance of a star. Seeing her so happy sent a light, fluttering feeling through his chest, and he couldn’t wait until next weekend so he could see that bright smile again.

The next week passed like a blur, chock-full of hero training interspaced with general lessons and heaps of homework. Izuku busted his behind to finish the week’s assignments by the eve of the concert, determined to have no obligations so he could enjoy the outing as much as possible. After penning his last page of a small history report, Izuku slunk downstairs to indulge in some much-needed human interaction. He sank down on the common room couch with a heavy sigh, right beside Denki and Hanta, who were spending the evening playing videogames.

“Well, well, well, look who decided to crawl out of their hole and join the world of the living!” Denki joked, nudging him with an elbow before returning his attention to the racing game he was playing. He cursed under his breath as Hanta’s car slammed into his side and sent him crashing through benches and trees on the sidewalk. “Hey, man! Not cool!”

“Ya snooze, ya lose, Denki!” Hanta cackled, leaning back on the couch and clapping the soles of his feet together excitedly. “Anyway, Izuku, you and Ochako are goin’ to that concert tomorrow, yeah?” he asked, sticking out his tongue and leaning his body as if it would make the virtual car turn harder.

“That’s right! She seems really excited!” Izuku nodded eagerly. He thought of that illuminating smile, of the joy simply radiating off her being, and couldn’t help but grin giddily. Denki caught his dreamy expression out of his peripheral vision and raised an eyebrow, then teasingly stuck out the tip of his tongue between his teeth.

“So, does she know that it’s a date?”

“What?” Izuku sputtered, throwing up his arms and curling his legs up on the couch in shock. His face had turned a bright shade of crimson in a mere instant, his freckles buried beneath the fiery warmth of his blush. “I-it’s not a date! I just had an extra ticket, that’s all, and it would have been such a shame for it to go to waste, so I was looking for someone to give it to, and I overheard Ochako talking about how much she liked the band, so n-n-naturally I would ask her if she wanted to go, because after all, I had the ticket and that’s the nice thing to do—” he babbled, his face reddening with each breathless phrase. Denki and Hanta just stared at him with matching expressions of pure skepticism, which only made his face more reminiscent of a tomato. Steam was practically buffeting out of his ears by the time he lost all semblance of words and just started gasping like a fish out of water.

“Anyway, does she know it’s a date?” Denki repeated, deadpan. Izuku slapped his hands to his face, utterly mortified. He hadn’t intended to ask Ochako on a date; he was just trying to be nice! What if she did think it was a date? He had less than twenty-four hours until they were set to go to the concert, but if she thought it was a date, then he had to make sure it was the best date ever! After all, it would be her first date, wouldn’t it? Oh, he would hate for her to have a terrible experience— and with him, no less! What should he do? What should he do?

“Now, Izuku,” Denki sighed magnanimously, chucking his controller onto the coffee table since his friend was clearly distressed. Hanta pouted, disappointed he could no longer clown Denki with the racing game, but paused the game so he could walk around the couch to plop down on Izuku’s other side and sling his lanky arm around his shoulders. Izuku’s emerald eyes, shining against his crimson skin, nervously peered through the gaps in his fingers. “Don’t worry! There’s still plenty of time to fix this sad, sad, sad situation you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“There is?”

“Indeed there is!” Hanta chimed in agreement, nodding his head and holding up his index finger confidently. “Rest assured, Izuku, the two of us are gonna transform you into the studliest of studs so that tomorrow you’ll sweep Ochako off her feet, guaranteed!” Izuku tentatively lowered his hands from his face, blinking uncertainly. Despite his misforgivings, Denki and Hanta were popular with the girls of the Hero Course; surely they at least knew something about taking a girl out on a date, right? Whether or not that was true, the two boys hoisted Izuku up to cart him upstairs, ready to give him a crash-course on wooing their adorable, bubbly classmate and taking her on the best first date ever…

The following afternoon, after a night of feverish courting lessons and last-minute reservations, Izuku was standing in Denki’s bedroom, nervously regarding himself in the mirror hanging on the back of the blond’s closet door. He was dressed in a pair of tight-fitting, slightly torn jeans and a graphic tee— a much different look than his usual cargo shoots and simple tees. Denki fluttered around him, biting down on his lip as he suppressed excited squeals of delight.

“Uh, Denki, are you sure about this?” Izuku asked, plucking at the white fibers of the shredded denim over his knees. “Shouldn’t I, like, dress for comfort?”

“No!” Denki scolded and flicked him in the forehead, making Izuku whimper and press his hand over the pink mark on his forehead. “You dress to impress on a date, dude. Rule #1! Ochako’s probably gonna be dressed to the nines for this concert; you don’t wanna embarrass her! Sheesh.”

Before Izuku could respond, Hanta descended upon him, spritzing him with cologne. Izuku hacked and coughed as the clouds of strong-smelling aroma wafted up into his face, stinging his eyes and throat. Hanta patted his shoulders and gave them an encouraging squeeze, grinning at him through his reflection.

“You’re gonna do great, Izuku! Remember your training,” he encouraged with another squeeze. Izuku momentarily panicked, his mind flushing the last eighteen hours of grilling the two boys had subjected him to in the art of wooing women. Denki rolled his eyes and thwapped him upside the head with an encouraging smirk.

“Relax, dude. You’re gonna do fine! Just remember to show Ochako a good time. That’s Rule #1!”

“I thought ‘dress to impress’ was Rule #1?” Izuku blinked in confusion.

“Every rule is Rule #1,” Denki tutted, but before Izuku could ask what good that did, Hanta steered him out of the room telling him that it was time for the show to start. They propelled him all the way to Ochako’s room, abandoning him there with no more than excited thumbs-ups and matching grins. Izuku watched them scurry back to the stairs, gulped loudly, and then nervously smoothed down his messy pine-green hair. He was already beginning to sweat; it beaded on the pads of his fingers as he smoothed them through his hair.

Okay, Izuku! You can do this!, he encouraged himself with a roll of his shoulders and a determined sigh. He’d already informed Ochako that he intended to take her out for lunch today, and she should be ready for their outing by now. He took one more moment to steel his nerves before knocking on her bedroom door before he could change his mind.

“Comi— oh dear!”

Izuku winced as the cheerful call was interrupted by a loud thump and a startled squeal. He could hear shuffling and muffled whimpers and stomping around the room; just as he was about to inquire if Ochako was all right, the door swung open to reveal a breathless and red-faced Ochako.

“Hey, Deku!” she grinned brightly as she swept a stray strand of her chestnut hair from her face, covering her anxiety with a nervous laugh. He could see her leaning awkwardly on one leg and the beginnings of a bruise forming on her other knee. “I’m ready to go!” she trilled, leaning in the doorframe and using her smile to try and hide the pained wobbling of her lips. He began to ask if she was really okay, but the words died in his throat when he finally took a moment to really look at her.

She was wearing a pink sundress with a white ribbon around the waist, tied in a big bow in the back with lace accents. Shiny white sandals framed her feet, her pink painted toenails shining in the fluorescent lights of the hallway. A big pink-and-white bow was tucked into her hair, which framed her round face. A blush rose to Izuku’s cheeks as he stared at her, mouth opening and closing repeatedly. Ochako blinked perplexedly, eyes growing owlish. “Deku? What is it?”

“Y-y-you look really cute today,” he finally managed. Ochako blinked again, and then her face flooded the color of her dress. She fisted the skirt shyly, swaying back and forth and trying not to let her happiness show on her face.

“Thanks, Deku… You look nice, too…” She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger as Izuku continued to admire her beauty, her bashful little smile. After a minute of him just dreamily gawking, Ochako fluttered her eyes and politely pushed, “Um… Deku, shouldn’t we get going? We have a reservation at that sandwich place, don’t we?”

“O-oh gosh! Sorry, sorry! Yes, let’s go!” In his flurry, he instinctively grabbed Ochako’s hand to begin pulling her down the hall. He heard her squeak in surprise and could feel the nervous sweat flood her palm, but for some reason, he didn’t feel the urge to let go. Her hand felt so soft and nice against his, which was scarred and calloused from the harsh use of his Quirk. She was careful not to touch his skin with her padded fingertips; they wouldn’t get very far with him floating off into space, after all! He did look at her briefly, however, silently inquiring if she was okay. She only grinned bashfully and gave his hand a little approvatory squeeze— and his heart rate shot into the atmosphere as that warm joy bubbled up inside of him.

It was about a three-hour bullet train ride to Tokyo, where they would catch lunch before heading to Akihabara to attend the early evening concert before catching the train back. It certainly was a full day, but Izuku found himself excited as he joined the train with Ochako. Their curriculum was so demanding that it was rare they had a chance for an outing like this, and Izuku was happy it was with one of his best friends. Except… Best friends don’t go out on dates, he thought with a blush, looking down at where Ochako’s hand rested on the arm of the train seat. He’d let her hand go when they left the dorm, but his fingers had insistently itched to claim her soft hand once again. It felt like it had fit so perfectly in his own, like two puzzle pieces clicking into place.

He looked away from her hand before she noticed, busying himself with the scenic landscape of Japan idling by through the window. He wasn’t sure how long he spent watching the buildings and roads and trees and hills roll by, but eventually he heard a soft thunk that pulled his attention away from the glass pane. He turned to see that Ochako had slumped over the edge of the seat to loll into the aisle, her mouth parted as she gently snored. The thunk had been her bracelet striking the plastic edge of the seat as her arm slipped off. She was bent awkwardly with the other arm of the seat digging into her side. It certainly didn’t look comfortable, evidenced by the way her face twitched in discomfort and she mumbled something unintelligible but laced with pain.

I can’t let her stay like that, Izuku thought. Gently so as not to wake her, he leaned in to loop his arms around her and pull her back into the seat. She immediately began to slip to the side again, head bobbing, and he reflexively caught the side of her head with his hand. He flushed at the realization of just how big his hand was in comparison to hers, so easily cradling her skull. Tenderly, he guided her head to rest on his shoulder. Ochako’s face slowly became peaceful as she sought out his warmth, smacking her lips as she nuzzled into his neck. Heat flooded his body when the tip of her nose brushed his neck, but he fought the urge to spaz out because Ochako just looked downright adorable snoozing against him.

Smiling sweetly, Izuku swept away a chunk of hair that had fallen into her face and tucked it behind her ear. Ochako hummed contentedly, her plump lips curling into a tiny smile.

“Deku,” she mumbled sleepily. He tensed, afraid he’d actually woken her up; however, Ochako didn’t move, just continued to doze peacefully. He relaxed and then immediately tensed again when the realization struck him— Ochako had just said his name in her sleep. What does that mean? Does that mean something? Oh my gosh! Surely that means something, right? He used his free hand to nervously fidget, twiddling his fingers and jumping his leg up and down. His mind whirled for the remainder of the train ride, struggling to comprehend the implications of such a simple utterance. He was in such a whirlwind of confusion that he almost missed their stop as it chimed over the intercom.

Izuku started with a gasp, then looked down at Ochako, who was still dozing peacefully. He gently shook her shoulder, looking up nervously as people began filing off the train.

“Ochako… It’s our stop!” he whispered loudly. Ochako stirred, her eyelashes fluttering to reveal hazy, sleep-addled eyes. She looked up at him drowsily with a sleepy smile on her lips. Izuku couldn’t help but return it with a sweet one of his own, charmed by how cute she looked as she rose into consciousness. “Good morning, sleepyhead!” he joked. “Sorry to wake you, but we’re in Tokyo.”

“Really?” she asked, looking around with her eyes still lidded with sleep. It took her a second to realize her head was propped on his shoulder, her short brown hair spilling over it like a curtain. When she did, however, she stiffened, and then bolted up with a squeak. Izuku only just managed to pull back in time before her head collided with his chin. Ochako covered her hands with her face, peering at him with appalled brown eyes. “I-I-I’m so sorry! How long have I been sleeping on you? That must have been so uncomfortable!”

“N-n-no, not at all!” Izuku stammered back, waving his hands in denial. “It felt kinda nice, actually.” A split second of silence passed between them as they processed what he’d just uttered. Both of them then gasped and looked away from each other, both covering their bright red faces. The announcer pleasantly initiated the last call, making Izuku stand up stiffly. “W-w-w-we need to go! We don’t wanna miss our reservation!”

“You’re right! Let’s go!” Ochako agreed, standing up and scurrying down the aisle while still covering her face. Izuku hurried after her, and they managed to hop off the bullet train just as the doors were closing. They stood awkwardly on the platform, heat radiating off them like a couple of steamed pork buns. They took a moment to recover from the embarrassing situation, with Izuku pulling up a map on his phone to navigate their way to the sandwich shop. He looked at Ochako, still slightly pink-faced, and coughed politely because she was still staring stressfully off into space.

“Sh-shall we head off? I don’t think that the train station specializes in sandwiches,” he joked lightly and rubbed the back of his neck. Ochako smiled at his wisecrack, her opal-pink cheeks turning a pleasant shade of carnation as her discomfort was replaced with happiness. She nodded in agreement so Izuku turned around, standing on his tip-toes to hunt for the stairs over the sea of heads. The subway was bustling as those departing the train and those preparing for the next arrival blended together in a writhing, cacophonic mess. He and Ochako stared dauntedly at the tightly-crammed mass and the stairs hugging the wall beyond the great sea of people.

“Um… Ochako… Would you like to hold hands?” Izuku offered shyly, looking at her with a sheepish smile. When her eyes blew wide like twin moons, his face blazed red and he hurriedly threw up his hands defensively. “I-I-I just don’t want us to get separated, that’s all! Th-there’s so many people, a-a-after all, and it would waste more time if one of us got lost!”

“Oh!” Ochako blinked, the blush in her face fading with a sheepish smile. “Sure, Deku.” She offered him her hand and Izuku took it, careful not to touch all five of the cute little pink pads adorning her fingertips. As easy as floating over the crowd would be, it would probably present more problems than it would solve in the end.

Clutching her hand tight and mildly self-conscious about the sweat that blossomed on his palm, he turned slightly to the side so he could shoulder his way through the crowd. He toted Ochako along, shouting “Excuse me!” and “Coming through!” over the chatter and mechanical din of the train station. Somehow, they wormed their way through the crowd and arrived at the base of the stairs, albeit a little breathless. He smiled at Ochako and moved to retract his hand, but surprisingly, she clenched down on his fingers. When he stared confusedly at her, she looked bashfully down at her feet.

“It might be crowded on the street, so… maybe we should play it safe?” She peered out of her lashes at him, pink tinging her cheeks. Izuku’s eyebrows crept up his forehead, too stunned to even have the sense to blush, but the hopefulness in Ochako’s timid gaze chased away any inclinations of refusing. He just smiled sweetly and squeezed her hand, prompting her to look up at him.

“Of course, Ochako. The last thing I’d want to do today is lose you.”

She gasped lightly, then used her free hand to hide her face as it flushed bright red. Izuku, realizing how flirtatious the simple declaration could sound, did the same and looked over his shoulder. I didn’t mean for it to sound so lovey-dovey, but Ochako thinks this is a date, so I guess I should be a little flirty, right?, he thought, peering out of the gaps in his fingers at her. Though her hand covered most of her face, he could see the edges of her blissful smile poking out from underneath her fingers. The fact she was so happy at just a small comment made his heart flutter and a bubbly feeling rise up in his body. I want to make her as happy as I can today… he realized, a soft smile spreading over his lips.

I’ll do my best to make this the best date ever for you, Ochako!

Finally, the two awkward teenagers gathered their wits enough to ascend the stairs to the street above. Like Ochako predicted, Akihabara was rather hectic; people streamed along the sidewalks, huddling close together as cars trundled by on the cobblestone roads. Flickering, bright neon signs towered over them advertising shops, deals, news, and— most importantly— the upcoming concert. Using his trusty map as a guide, Izuku weaved through the foot traffic toward the sandwich shop crammed in the small square space.

“Wow! Look at all the cosplays, Deku,” Ochako piped up suddenly. He looked up with a confused blink, having been absorbed in following the map, before glancing around. Sure enough, a lot of the patrons moseying around were decked out in cosplay of their favorite anime characters. They flocked to the electronics and manga stores, coming out laden with goods. Others stood outside of maid cafés, chatting amicably with the girls in black-and-white dresses, thigh-high stockings, and cute bonnets trying to entice them in for an afternoon snack. Electronic music and chimes bled out of the door of a pachinko parlor as it opened and closed continuously with gamblers walking in and out, most of them defeatedly.

“Wow! Akihabara really is as electric as they say,” Izuku praised. The air thrummed with energy; he could feel it vibrating under his skin, humming in his bones and sending a pleasant adrenaline pulsing through his body. He found himself with a prance in his step as he led Ochako on, both of them stopping occasionally to marvel at the eclectic displays that made Akihabara the haven for otakus and electronics enthusiasts. They paused so many times that they almost did miss their reservation, bundling into the shop with only a minute to spare and startling the hostess.

Like the rest of Akihabara, the sandwich shop possessed an anime theme, specifically a popular magical girl anime that he knew Ochako liked to watch with Tooru. The waitresses strutted around in colorful, lace-laden dresses, playfully waving their ornate wands and punctuating their conversations with cute poses and sayings. Ochako’s eyes brightened immediately when they walked inside, and she looked at Izuku surprisedly as they were escorted to a table.

“Izuku, did you pick this place because of me?” she asked as she eased into the booth seat, which was white and patterned with little pastel-colored hearts and stars. Izuku tried not to seem too proud of himself as he sat across from her, failing a little as the cheeky grin of satisfaction worked its way onto his face.

“Yeah! They were really nice about working us in for the concert today,” he explained as he picked up the salt and pepper shakers, which were styled like fluffy alien mascots, to examine them with amusement. He set them down before smiling at Ochako, who looked like she was about to cry with gratitude. “I wanted you to have a good time, so I thought picking a restaurant themed after your favorite anime would make you happy!”

She shrunk down a little in the booth. Her lips twitched as she tried not to smile too hard, but it broke free, stretching across her face until her eyes crinkled up into little half-moons. She played with the bow around her middle and shifted, her eyes trained shyly on the table. Finally, she murmured a soft, “Thank you, Deku. I really am happy.”

“I’m glad,” Izuku replied, just as softly. She shifted again, her smile growing wider, though her face strained to fit the absolutely overjoyed beam. It made that fuzzy, bubbly feeling rise up within him again. He picked up the menu to hide his pleased smile.

Everything’s going so well!

They spent an hour or so in the shop, chowing down on scrumptious sandwiches and fraternizing with the costumed waitresses. Ochako snagged a photograph with every single one of them, and she broke down crying when the manager gifted her a free cosplay wand of her favorite magical girl because he was so charmed by her enthusiasm. She clutched it to her chest as they walked out of the shop, her eyes glittering like diamonds and her skin practically glowed with happiness. As Izuku pulled up his map again to find the concert venue, Ochako dramatically flourished the wand and bopped him on the head.

“Am I a magical girl now?” He laughed while putting a hand on his head where she had tapped him with it.

“Yep!” She giggled, tapping him again on his hand. “You’d make a beautiful magical girl.”

“Thanks.” He laughed. “I’ll take that into consideration. Maybe I’ll make it my brand in a few years!”

“Oh my gosh!” Ochako laughed, covering her mouth with an obscene snort. “I can just imagine you prancing around in thigh-high boots and a skirt with little plastic wings…”

“I thought you said I would be a beautiful magical girl!” He whined. “What, is the image too beautiful for you to handle?”

“Yes!”

They both began laughing hysterically at the image of Izuku waltzing around in a girly costume with his magic wand touting about the power of friendship and love. It certainly was amusing. They continued to joke about it while they strolled to the concert venue, a building tucked into the towering mish-mash of specialty shops. It proudly displayed “AKB48” in bright letters of purple, red, and blue on the scrolling neon sign, followed by a “SOLD OUT” in white.

“It’s a good thing you won those tickets, Deku!” Ochako said when they filed into line. Izuku clutched the tickets in his hands; it would be a shame for them to come all this way only to have lost them at the finish line. They inched forward as the concertgoers were filed inside.

“Yeah! I’m happy you agreed to come with me, Ochako. Truthfully, I don’t know anything about these idols,” he admitted while bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. “I just called in for the heck of it. I was so shocked when I found out I actually won!”

“Really? This is gonna be so much fun, then! I can’t wait to see what you think of them!”

“Yeah?” he said, finding himself growing excited from her infectious enthusiasm. She began to ramble about the origin of idol groups in Akihabara and the rise of the latest, AKB48. Though Izuku really didn’t understand much of what she was talking about, the way her eyes lit up and a smile painted her round face made him listen along anyway. He watched her dreamily, more watching her mouth move than paying attention to the words coming out of it. She really is pretty, he thought absently, marveling at the sheen of her glossed lips. He wondered what flavor it could be. She seemed like a strawberry or cherry type of person, but maybe she opted for something unique.

“Tickets, please.”

Izuku was startled out of his daydreaming by the attendant, who had apparently been asking him for the tickets for several seconds, based on his annoyed expression and demandingly outstretched hand. Izuku hurriedly handed over the tickets while sputtering apologies, but the greeter only dismissively waved them through. Ochako encouragingly patted Izuku’s back as he shuffled on, sulking with embarrassment.

I just couldn’t help but get so engrossed in her talking, he thought with a light blush dusting his cheeks. His eyes were still engrossed with her, trailing slowly to watch as she scampered up to the merchandise table to ogle the band tee shirts. A dreamy smile automatically appeared on Izuku’s lips; she just looked too cute, her index finger pressed against her pursed lips as she carefully surveyed the selection. He moseyed up behind her, hands clasped behind his back and his eyebrows raised meaningfully.

“There’s a little time before the concert starts… Would you like a shirt, Ochako?”

“What?” she cried, jumping at his sudden appearance. “O-o-oh, no, I was just looking! You already paid for lunch, Deku. I couldn’t possibly ask for more!” she refused, waving her hands. She was still holding the wand from the sandwich shop, so she accidentally bopped herself in the head with it during her nervous flailing. Her face turned bright red, but she continued to insistently refuse his offer. “Seriously, Deku, don’t worry about it. I don’t want one that bad.” Yet, her eyes slid longingly back to the table.

“Yeah, you do.” He laughed and pulled out his wallet. He danced away when Ochako tried to swipe at him, dodging her grabs while pulling out a few bills. It took a few seconds for him to get back to the merchandise seller, who was watching them amusedly, but once Izuku dropped the bills into his hand, it was over. Ochako slumped defeatedly and sheepishly slid the shirt she wanted off the table, while Izuku grabbed another that had caught his eye. Izuku slipped his own over the tee-shirt that Denki had loaned him, and Ochako followed suit by sliding hers over her dress. The fronds of her bow stuck out awkwardly underneath, making Izuku chuckle and bat at them.

“What? Do I look funny?” she pouted, grabbing the hem of the shirt subconsciously.

“No,” he chuckled while rubbing the soft, wilky fabric of the bow’s tail between his thumbs. “I think it’s cute how big of a fan you are that you’ll wear it over your dress.” Ochako flushed and ducked her head, the edges of her smile peeking out of her swathes of brown hair. He reached out to tuck it behind her ear, and as his fingertips brushed ever-so-softly against her cheek, she froze. Normally he would grow flustered and flail about, but… there was something about the electric energy of this place that made him bold, that made him act on the warm, fluttery feeling that had been filling him up all afternoon.

Slowly, that bubbly warmth had become sharper, stronger, turning into volts of electricity that shot through his bones every time Ochako gifted him that beautiful smile and cute pink face. He wasn’t even sure that he wanted to make her happy simply for her sake anymore, but rather a selfish desire to fuel the electricity pulsing within him, those sparks of affection slowly coalescing into an electric storm.

“W-we should go find our seats,” Ochako gulped after a few seconds of staring at him in stunned silence, as his hands were still resting in her hair. He hummed in agreement and pulled back, sliding his hands in his pockets as he led the way. They walked into the concert hall proper to find rows upon rows of seats surrounding a spacious stage. Large black speakers lined its circumference and purple-blue lights basked the area in a dusky glow. Thanks to winning the special promotion, Izuku and Ochako’s seats were near the front— not too far up to be deafening, but close enough to still provide a great view and ambience. They pushed past the other concertgoers to take their place among the throng. They were just in time, as the lights soon dimmed and a hush descended upon the crowd.

The silence was instantly replaced by deafening cheers as a group of young women in school uniforms skipped out on stage, smiling and waving enthusiastically. Izuku and Ochako barely had time to jam in the soft foam earplugs provided to them before the crowd erupted into their roars; even still, Izuku’s eardrums rang with the cacophony. After greeting the crowd, the girls set up in formation, prompting Ochako to touch Izuku’s arm excitedly.

“Ah, they’re starting!” she squealed over the cheers. “I’m so excited!” She jumped up and down, standing on her tip-toes to watch the idols with sparkling eyes, and that’s when Izuku stopped paying attention to anything but her.

Really, if he’d paid for the tickets, they’d have been a waste. Izuku spent the entire concert gazing at the girl beside him. The strobe lights played over her form in hues of pink and purple and blue, the light playing over her round cheeks pink with exhilaration and glinting off her bright smile and shining eyes. Sweat sheened on her skin as she danced excitedly in place and belted out the lyrics to the songs as loud as she could. Every time she looked at Izuku with an expression of sheer elation, he felt his breath leave his lungs. How a girl could be so utterly breathtaking doing something so simple as having fun, he wasn’t sure, but Ochako was.

The electricity coursed through him, simmering under his skin and filling him to the brim with his own sense of joy. I think I love her, he realized with an adoring smile, just watching her sway her hips and toss her arms as she danced to the beat. No, I know I love her. Maybe he always had. How could he not? She had been there for him from the beginning of his journey, supporting him and encouraging him. She was the perfect balance of soft and strong, a kind heart ready to harden like steel whenever she needed to. And, God, she was beautiful, so beautiful his heart ached looking at her. She was a masterpiece underneath these flashing lights, the shining sun, the glowing moon— a soft and natural beauty that was as pure as the rest of her.

Izuku found himself reaching out to her without realizing it. He gently touched her cheek, a feather-light trace of her skin. She dropped her arms slightly to look at him in confusion, and that’s when he closed the distance to press a kiss to her mouth. He felt her tense and then melt into him with a soft hum. Her body molded against his like it belonged there, her arms winding around his neck like they’d found their way home. The poppy tunes of the idol band faded into the background as they kissed slowly, sweetly, passionately, in the thralls of a love so electric it could power cities for all time.

Eventually, they pulled apart, a little breathless and pink-faced. Strawberry, he thought absently when he licked his lips. Ochako stared coyly up at him and batted her eyelashes.

“I didn’t know this was supposed to be a date,” she admitted quietly, so much so that Izuku almost didn’t hear her over the blasting music of the ending set. He did, though, and his eyes went wide in shock.

“You… you didn’t? But Denki and Hanta said…” He trailed off with a groan, realizing just how big a mistake it was to listen to those two clowns. Ochako laughed when he face-palmed. She reached up to pull his hand away, still chuckling. The show had just ended with the crowd erupting in applause around them, but the two of them made no move to leave.

“It’s okay,” she smiled sweetly. “I had an amazing time, Deku, really. This is more than I ever could have asked for.”

“I’m glad, but…” He chewed nervously on the inside of his check. “Are you okay with it being a date? I mean, I thought… Which is why I kissed you, but if you didn’t want it, that was totally not okay of me—!” Before he could descend into sputtering rambles, Ochako silenced him by putting a finger over his lips. He crossed his eyes to blink at the digit, while she chuckled warmly.

“Izuku, do you think I would have kissed you back if I wasn’t okay with it?” she teased. He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously.

“Yeah, I suppose that’s true… So… does this mean we’re dating now?”

“I suppose it does,” Ochako nodded bashfully, turning from side-to-side. Something about that made Izuku exceptionally giddy, so much so that he swooped in to press a kiss to the tip of her nose. She squealed in surprise and delight, returning his affections with a nose nuzzle. Filled to the brim with more happiness than he thought humanly possibly, Izuku just took a moment to admire his pretty new girlfriend, and her deep brown eyes that were staring at him, so in love.

They were practically glued to one another’s side as they exited the concert hall. Dusk had descended, with the last rays of the sunlight spearing into the lavender-blue sky. Though Akihabara probably had much more fun to be had, they unfortunately had to return to the dorm before curfew. They headed straight for the station and boarded the bullet train. This time, Ochako nestled purposefully into his shoulder, watching with lidded eyes as he scrolled through his news feed on his phone. Izuku looped his arm around her waist to hold her close to him, enjoying her warmth blooming against his side with the nighttime cityscape basking them in streetlight.

It wasn’t long until she dozed off. Her shoulders rose and fell with gentle breaths. Izuku petted her soft hair with a smile, still on his phone as he idly wove the silky strands around his fingers. His phone chimed suddenly with a text message from Denki, asking how the date went. Smirking, Izuku raised his phone to snap a picture of them— Ochako dozing against him, held securely in Izuku’s grip.

If Izuku had to say, it went very well indeed.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

#izuocha #izuku x ochako #ochako x izuku #izuku midoriya #midoriya izuku #ochako uraraka #uraraka ochako #my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha

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lucidpantone · 4 years ago

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Hey, lucid! Regarding your commentary on the kynicole’s YouTube video comments.

I have to say that after the massive car crush season 4 was (I am literally getting angry at Wtfock as I am typing this) there is at least one thing that i am glad for and it is the conversations that have happened and still happening regarding representation in the media, accountability of creators to the audience and also accountability of the audience to the pieces of media they choose to consume.

There was a lot of animosity in the way the fandom treated each other during that time and that was painful to see but saying that I am glad that finally voices that were shut down before, were heard. People came forward and spoke about the pain that comes with creation of such insulting content. And those voices reached the ears of white male board members who are used to make decisions behind closed doors with money as their only motivator. And they didn’t achieve their goal. And I glad for that. Because they didn’t get the level of financial gain they were expecting and they were forced to listen.

I only wish that the fandom didn’t start expressing that aggression towards each other but rather gather that energy and target the advertisers which are the soft spot of Wtfock. I wondered why no one ever reached out to them. Why no one just said hey what you are endorsing is creating a massive uproar and it hurts people. If there is a lesson for us as a fandom to learn is next time just reach the sponsors. I have been in a fandom before where that really worked. If you wanna make a production company pay for their insulting content hit them where it hurts and stop making the fandom a lions’ den where people are afraid to express opinions.

The fandom has to be a safe space where even wrong opinions are met with educational response and not a stone attack. Because no nothing changes with shooting. It is not about people who already know the truth to just discuss between each other, it is about those people educating, opening the eyes to the ones that choose or are too previleged to see.

Take the movie Fight Club for example. The solution to fighting an oppressive situations is not coming by becoming a rebellious aggressor who fights just for the sake of fighting.

Thoughts after the cut

Thanks for this anon it really hit home because it took me back to the beginning of s4. I think its been a long enough time where I feel I can talk about this and be frank. I think s4 really exposed some of the ugly truths that were happening in the wtFOCK fandom. I think before s4 they were definitely cliques. I remember a period of time where those quizzes would go around and it was the same top group of blogs that were in on the joke. That never really happens now and a lot of those people left the fandom. Those cliques felt very evident going into filming s4 and I blame wtfock for this. Because most people that extra-d weren't going into filming thinking they would have to harbor this secret for wtfock that Moyo had been passed up for Kato. It also created this extremely weird vibe where all these extras that were mostly young white women stepped in to defend wtfock and their decision to cast Romi without actually knowing what the season would be about.I kinda of get it to ya know? Imagine you have a good friend and they make a questionable decision you tell your friend what you think but you also wish them well and hope for the best. So I get why so many mostly young white women felt the need to defend wtFOCK but there is defending a casting decision and asking your mutuals to give it a shot and then there is silencing the effected class of people that were offended. I also saw a lot of condescending attitudes concerning people that brought up why utilizing Kato as a vehicle to tell a story about racism was deeply tone deaf and in the current climate and that it felt like a slap in the face. Instead of listening people fought back saying “you can be white and still experience aspects of racism”. Yea we get that but that's not what people were saying. Perfect example Ava/Mailin storyline happening in Druck now.People were saying using whiteness as a vehicle to explore a topic that is deeply penetrating society and a campaign for change did not need “whiteness” to validate it. It was a story that should have been told via the eyes of a party member of the effected class. PERIOD. I just think people, particularly those who extra-d and hard core stans couldn't imagine that their fav remake would create something like this..... I really do believe they believe they thought that wtfock had a better moral compass then they actually did and so they followed them blindly down the path of self destruction and in turn paid a price. It was sad to see how prominent the divide between the defenders and the critics became and it got really ugly but I think it got really ugly because the defenders wouldn't listen they kept hope going for too long they got sucked into this vicious cycle. In the end a lot of people left the fandom, a lot of people took a hiatus off tumblr and honestly I dont blame them. I am not here to defend people that literally belittled the voices of poc who had valid critiques of the season but I saw some stuff that made me really sad. Like I was on twitter and one of the big players on there shamed someone via their government name and I was like really? and it got so bad I just felt like people wanted blood at no cost and I just thought like guys stop already. Stop kicking this person while they are down. Like their fucking name was everywhere on twitter, insta and here and its like I think they got the point. You wanted to bury them and you did. So just stop now. Like you said anon I dont want to be part of a space (virtual or not) that makes others feel unsafe and s4 made the fandom very unstable because of the divide it caused. I like you am also happy that wtFOCK paid the price mainly because if this season would have even been slightly good those white dudes would have never got the wake up call they deserved but it makes me sad for the cast (which were obviously upset) and certain crew members (that I heard spoke up and were ignored). I hate that those people had to be collateral damage so a bunch of white dudes could realized that maybe they do indeed still harbor racist tendencies and suffer from inflated egos and am sad that s4 basically tore the fandom apart but I will say this. I really like the vibe of the tag now. I think its funny other skam remake stans come into the tag talking trash about wtFOCK s4 and am like people we talk more shit about s4 then other remakes do like aint no one defending s4 in the tag. Most people get triggered even seeing Kato’s face in the tag and I also think everyone took their rose colored glasses off and sees wtfock for who they are versus who they hoped they would be.

#lucidpantone anons #its long

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a-rat-and-a-blob · 5 years ago

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//Someone replied a lot to that article link so... here’s my response I guess

TL;DR : All artists should have the right to explore different genres and interpretations (to an extent) and people should stop using their own interpretation of a piece of work as justification to shame others.

@prodigal-ezreal

//Ok so I think you’re missing the point of the article because it’s not primarily focused on “child porn” as you say?

It’s more focused on how popular culture has created a puritanical environment where these nitpicks or, worse, critical interpretations are used a weapon to discredit and harass the creator, evidence to prove that they’re utterly morally reprehensible, demanding impossibly high expectation that no one can possibly reach

And some of these have virtually nothing to do with child pornography

BringBackNationalDex: They gave a bad texture to a tree and didn’t give me my completionist quest / allowed my shiny in the game, the people of gamefreak are lazy and corrupt

The Nessa Controversy: They made Nessa a slightly lighter shade, this automatically means that the artist is racist

The Rose Quartz Fanart Controversy: They made Rose Quartz slightly thinner, this means they’re fat-shaming and should be ashamed (and harassed off the face of the earth)

Steven Universe Case 1: They forgive a dictator in a show about love and empathy, Rebecca Sugar is a fascist sympathizer

Steven Universe Case 2: They showed a gay relationship (Ruby / Sapphire) actually fighting, this shows that the creator thinks gay relationships are inherently problematic (Despite the gay relationship being super healthy in the majority of the show)

But since child pornography and pedephilia shows up a lot as these criticisms turned into attacks.. let’s talk about it.

Because the internet is the internet, we can’t really stop child pornography being a thing and I definitely agree that artists should have any explicit NSFW stuff separated from their normal fares. Whether it is through a separate blog, a different tag with a “Read More” or any way to make sure people know that this is an NSFW thing. That being said, Artists should also have the right to like and give feedback on whatever stuff they wish, which include any NSFW stuff. They are people after all, and this includes any veteran artists and lead writers.

To be a good artist and a good writer is to be versatile in many kinds of art and stories: horror and comedy, dark and light, comedic and gritty, adult and childish. To have these artist not go into other genres is very limiting, if it has nothing to do with the show.

If it has something to do with the show, then yes that’s really bad because the tone of the art has to be consistent with the show. If it’s consistent, then I believe it’s fine. That being said, I have noticed that people have a tendency to interpret “relationship nuance” with “sexually suggestive” and supporting a ship. Take this art from one of the creators of Amphibia for instance.

People automatically assumed that this indicated a romantic relationship between Grime and Sasha because they were blushing which, of course automatically mean romance, and in that interpretation.. sure it encourages pedophilia since one of them is a teenager and the other an adult.

However, that is only an interpretation and it could mean another thing to someone else. For me, them blushing isn’t out of romance, but out of embarrassment. Both characters throughout the show have shown to have many character flaws that outright reject vulnerability. Sasha is a machiavellian who manipulates people to do her work while Grime is essentially a manifestation of toxic masculinity who refuses to complement the soldiers of his army initially. Both, in this picture show vulnerability in both characters, Sasha not having any control of the situation while Grime actually caring someone.

And this is MY interpretation and everyone can have their own interpretation, but to say that your interpretation is the right one and is evidence the creators are morally reprehensible is utterly gross.

And it’s virtually impossible to get rid of all problematic interpretations unless you want your story to be devoid of any story, character, relationship, and societal nuance and subtlety because these interpretations come from complex nuance and subtlety.

Unless the art is VERY explicit in its problematic content, it shouldn’t be automatically bad. Especially if it’s just from blushing or symbolism (SU Fusion).

I don’t want to go into the massive ship war of Voltron where supporters of one ship (Is it Shieth?) were labeled as pedophiles because if you look it up on the internet, their official ages make the ship considered “pedophilia” by strict definition and that fact was mostly brought up by supporters of a another ship that conflicts with that ship. I don’t know full details about it at all (I kinda ditched Voltron after season 2) and.. there’s a lot in that ship war that’s... yikes? That and I wrote a lot already and the ship war requires its own post that I’m not gonna make

If you’re curious on the ship war and you’ve read through all of this, I highly recommend RPGMonger’s video on the Voltron fandom that focuses on this ship war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeMW_DRgN0s

#ooc #response

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norman-reedus-coven2 · 3 years ago

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Well damn now I’m sad. Such a shame Melissa can’t be in the new show 😞

Who’s up for a massive virtual TWD fan group hug? This fandom needs some serious love right now

I think this fandom needs a big hug anon and a giant dose of reality. The tantrum I saw grown ass women throw yesterday was ridiculous. Just because she is no longer in this spinoff doesn't mean she isn't on something else. For all we know there could be a spinoff for her in the works or perhaps a Carol and Daryl spinoff will still happen but later? What we can clearly see is AMC keeps pumping out these silly spinoffs most of which sucked. So them continuing with the original cast on various little shows seems totally plausible to me. Again only time will tell.

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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Arsenal’s reaction to Mesut Ozil and China is why we need distance from the things we like

Like so many before them, Arsenal capitulated to a greater power when morality would have threatened the money.

Mesut Ozil recently condemned the silence of his fellow Muslims regarding China’s persecution of Uighurs, an ethnic Muslim minority group located primarily in the Xinjiang region of the country. Reports by the United Nations and leaked documents describing internment camp conditions suggest China’s actions amount to a full-on ethnic cleansing.

(Ozil’s stance has been called hypocritical because of his friendship Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan, who has launched attacks on Turkey’s Kurdish minority.)

Ozil’s tweet wasn’t aimed at China, but it angered numerous Chinese fans — not to mention the Chinese state — nonetheless. The response was immediate. The Chinese broadcast of Arsenal’s recent match against Manchester City was cancelled, and Ozil was denounced as “misguided,” “full of nonsense,” “as insignificant as dirty ants,” and accused of encouraging global jihad.

This rapid backlash reveals, as if it needed further revelation, the sway China has over significant chunks of the Western world. Entering the Chinese market means playing by China’s rules. When activism conflicts with those rules, people and corporations will eject any pretense towards morality so as not to risk the money.

Arsenal immediately distanced themselves from Ozil and his statement, saying, “The content published is Özil’s personal opinion. As a football club, Arsenal has always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics.” Electronic Arts and Konami, responsible for FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer respectively, also capitulated, deleting Ozil from the Chinese versions of their games.

This fallout mirrored the situation faced by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey earlier this year. Morey posted a tweet in support of the Hong Kong protests, China reacted with predictable belligerence, and the NBA and several of its stars quickly distanced themselves from Morey in order to protect their place in the Chinese market.

This fear of irritating China has become virtually universal. Similar situations have occurred with companies like Activision Blizzard, American Airlines, Apple, Audi, Disney/ESPN, Delta Airlines, Nike, Zara, Viacom/Paramount Pictures, and more. Brands and people everywhere are self-censoring and being censored so they don’t jeopardize their interests in a massive, growing market.

That money rules everything isn’t surprising, but the Ozil situation is still significant because it shows the extent to which entities like Arsenal are compromised. All it takes is a simple tweet from one employee to jeopardize a long-standing agreement. The tweet itself was not radical; it didn’t call for anything but awareness, and for others to speak up. But China has the reach and power to enforce its worldview, and so the tweet became a battlefield.

In a world dominated by money, social justice is just another commodity, to be weighed in dollars. Companies are happy to lean into progressive ideas so long as they can make money off them. The problem is that social justice and profit are often in conflict, and sometimes all it takes is one tweet to expose their divide.

Arsenal and the rest should always be kept at an arm’s length when it comes to their progressive ideals. No matter how good their messaging, these businesses can only go so far. Sports teams face a particular paradox in which they are businesses that act as an extension of fans. A positive emotional connection and identification is the root of fandom. And teams' survival and success is usually determined by how well they can keep business and fandom in harmony.

Regardless, many businesses will happily profit from the problems of the world when they can. FIFA for instance, makes high-flying declarations about the power of sports to help people, while at the same time sponsoring a World Cup in Qatar being built off the abuse of migrant workers.

Many of us, as fans, want the things and people we like to be good. And we tend to elevate them at the first sign of their supposed goodness. Football clubs are often tied to our identities — to our family and regional associations — which only deepens the sorrow when their visage of goodness is shattered. It’s a huge letdown as an Arsenal fan to see Arsenal show their cowardice. But this knowledge can lead us to a fortifying and necessary disenchantment.

We should be able to support companies when their causes are good, and nudge them towards using their power to make the world better. We should never abdicate our responsibility to hold the likes of Arsenal accountable, because they do have an obligation to live up to the ideas they promote — the ideas they are more than a business, they are stewards of a game that champions the power to positively affect the world. They should be shamed when they pretend to be apolitical in order to maintain a revenue stream. And holding organizations accountable can have a real effect. For example, because of the Ozil situation, the German club Cologne has cancelled their plans to build an academy in China.

But ultimately, no matter how much we may love Arsenal, or any team or brand, their primary mission is to enrich the people in control. Yes, seeing the stark truth of these companies is much bleaker than buying into the romance we give them as entities that are also reflections of ourselves. But doing so gives us a more honest position from which to engage them. A place where we can enjoy and cheer them when they do good things, without ever forgetting they will do anything to protect their bottom line.

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dapperfvck-arc · 7 years ago

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🔥 The TV show... (Because I really want to know exactly why you don't like it [or hate it?] because i'm so freaking curious. Also I think in general a Constantine TV show would do best on AMC rather than NBC... FEEL FREE TO COMPLETELY RANT. I WANT TO KNOW. Please.)

Unpopular Opinion Time!

Oh boy. Hooooo boy. I’m still going to be relatively gentle, because honestly, I’m saving my true vitriol for the times that I must defend my choice not to RP it or for the hysterical consensus opinion from the fandom that TV show was an improvement over the film (lol nope, aside from Matt Ryan “looking the part” but that’s a whole other can of worms).

Note: Cut for length and maybe a bit of brutality in my honesty.

*sighs* Ok, I’ll first preface this with that I still have like four episodes to go. Obviously, I have massive issues in the needless changes made to the adaption of comic canon. It was unnecessary to make Chas American while retaining the fact that he’s John’s oldest and best of friends. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but who knows. Maybe it’s explained a little better in one of the last few episodes, but you know. My hopes aren’t high. I don’t like Chas’s virtual invulnerability, not just because it takes away the stakes of the danger he’s putting himself in, but also? It’s a plot device scarcely used? So why make that choice if it’s not going to be capitalized on with meaningful frequency? I hated that Zed was portrayed as a novice, and that the teeth were taken out from the Newcastle Incident. Now obviously, I understand why they’d have to alter a bit of it due to Network censorship, but at the same??? I mean child abuse and sexual violence are nothing new on shows like Law and Order: SVU and Criminal minds so…Idek, it kind of comes off as an excuse. It’s not a child’s show. Maybe it could be argued that it was marketed toward teenagers, but it’s not like they’re ignorant to those horrors in the world. I’m not asking them to show Astra’s rape, just to acknowledge the true horror of the situation instead of making it all about John’s failure. So yeah, I was annoyed by the occasional attempt to adapt source material and completely mucking it all up.

Now to begin with, I completely get the SP/N’s fandom bitterness more than ever. Before watching it I thought they were just trying to be like “whaaaat, another show about magic and exorcism? Of course it’s a ripoff because don’t you know our fandom invented those things?” I honestly believe the crux of the issue is that NBC clearly wanted their own SP/N as well as to cash in the popularity of comic book based media, so there’s that. To me, it comes off as a shameless cash grab. I honestly believe if I felt like there was some kind of passion from its creators, I could have dealt with some of those changes, but I don’t get that. It’s been a soulless experience overall. Like it’s not been a matter of me nitpicking like “oh this is wrong, this has been changed, boo hoo, it’s not all existential horror and fucking and drugs.”

Because frankly...I just think it’s a bad show. It’s poorly written, poorly made, poorly researched, poorly acted, it’s just bad. The main issue I have with it is that it’s a lot of telling and not showing. There’s not a lot of tension or foreshadowing, just “boom this is how it is” and so much exposition. John, for example, about half of his dialogue in any given show is verbal exposition. It’s frustrating, tbh. Like, it doesn’t make sense for me in this day and age for a TV show, even on a network channel, to be this bad. Over the past several years, television series have improved exponentially in content and writing. It’s not shameful anymore to start off on TV anymore. We’re in a very exciting time that television and cinema are almost completely on equal par of perceived quality. So yeah, it’s been an even greater disappointment for me because it’s not just that they fuck with the source material but because on top of that it’s literally a bad show. I’m not one bit surprised that it wasn’t renewed because there just...Isn’t enough to like about it. It’s not faithful enough to the comic to secure that base of fans and it’s not good enough to be taken for face value.

The other massive issue I have is the portrayal of magic, which honestly extends to DC’s handling of Hellblazer and John as well. See, what you have to understand is that predominately, throughout the Vertigo series, it’s clear to me that most of its writers either have some awareness of how magic works or at least have done their research. I can follow the logic and ritual in what he’s doing. Let me tell you a little something about magic. It's all about focus and will. You can do and say whatever the hell you want as long as you're putting your intent behind it. The ritual of spell work, use of candles, crystals, incense, chanting, incantations, etc. are meant to be the focus of a magician's energy and will on a particular result, but it could be attempted without as well. To explain it in more fantastical terms, in Harry Potter casting without a wand is considered impressive. This implies that the wizard's focus and will is so strong that they no longer need a wand to draw out their intent. Now I get it. By this understanding magic doesn't make good TV viewing (I guess...), but my main concern with this series is there's no attempt to portray an iota of witchcraft's reality along with the fantastical. Now part of this problem is that they've removed a great deal of John's innate ability. He can no longer see spirits/ghosts and there is no mention to his connection to synchronicity (as far I’ve seen, mind). Instead of happening to end up where he needs to be or what have you, he's following a map, and he uses a lot of artifacts and other implementation to get the job done. Which bothers me on a few levels. For one, it imbues the focus, not the caster with the power, which is not how magic works (at least in the sense of portraying gritty urban fantasy), and for two, it's very much against character. Let me give you an example: In the two part story Newcastle Calling, at the end of it, John hands a dying man a twig, telling him it's the finger bone of St. Cavartigan and that it's known to bring relief to those in need. He tells him to squeeze it tightly and focus on the pain going away. Near the end of the scene, the young man tells John that it's working. A couple things can be taken away from this scene: John's will was that the dying man would believe as he was told and his instructions were rote ritual. By contrast, in the series, John would probably had actually given him a Saint's fingerbone. You see the comparison takes the power of the scene away, as well as the mystery. Is the power of John's suggestion so strong that he could make the guy believe by holding that twig his pain would do away? Or was he so desperate to believe in order to not die in pain? You can interpret it either way. Hell, I could invent other interpretations, but going by what I believe would happen in the show, it can only be interpreted in the most literal sense. Now, to be honest, most television shows portray magic poorly. Even movies do a better job while keeping fantastical elements. The Craft, for all it’s 90s cheese, is a great example of this. So I suppose I could be blamed for getting my hopes up to be dashed because it’s just following the formula of 95% of all TV shows that feature a magical element or theme, but I mean...it’s not like Buffy or Charmed that was working without a script, so to speak. The TV series had a ready made blueprint and still chose to take the mumbo-jumbo bullshit route. Now, I have a lot of theories on the why for this, but that’s another post altogether and this has already gone on for way too long and I still have more to say.

Now, I guess I should, at least briefly, touch on the elephant in the room: Matt Ryan as John. What did I think? Because a lot of people have told me that he’s the shining beacon of this show, even literally admitting that yeah, it’s a poor representation of Hellblazer but that Matt Ryan man, he’s great! The problem that I have is that it’s not a good a show, and so no, I don’t like him in the role. I’m not going to compare him to Keanu because that’s not fair for a number of reasons, and maybe I’m a little biased because I adore Keanu (there’s also that can of worms I mentioned earlier, which is honestly yet another separate post lol). The way John’s written for this show, he’s positively insufferable. He’s not charming at all, which is find the most offensive, because one thing that can be said across all series and iterations of the character is that John is magnetic even despite xyz (he’s dangerous, he can be an asshole, he’s unreliable, etc.). Here he’s just a know-it-all, condescending prick. Now I do think with better writing, in a better representation of John’s character and Hellblazer in general (and maybe with a voice coach or director to discourage that Welshy intonation because yeah, his accent does irritate the shit out of me, but I’ve been very vocal about that before and honestly, at this point, I’ve come to realize that Ryan’s vowels are the least of this show’s problem), I think he has potential to be a fine John. As it stands in the media he’s portrayed John in so far (idk, maybe he was good on Arrow, but I’m talking the TV Series here and the JLD animation, which I’ve admittedly not seen, but I hated the comic so I’m not real likely to give that a chance considering my disposition toward the source material), I’m not entirely sold on him. Like if they tried another TV series for Hellblazer and didn’t cast him in the role, I wouldn’t be upset over it.

I do agree that it probably could have been better on another channel, but here’s the rub, all the blood and gore and sex and loose censorship in the world could not save that show without better writing and direction. It could have been a fine show even on network if it had been crafted with some degree of caring. Let me give you an example off the top of head, namely the handling of the Newcastle incident. It was laid out pretty plainly within a few episodes. Alterations from canon aside, it doesn’t portray the horror of it at all and is one of the show’s many missed opportunities to really play up the scarier, more mysterious elements of John’s backstory. For example, instead of laying it out in a sloppy flashback with a laughable puppet, picture this scene instead: John is having a chat with someone, maybe Zed or Chas or some b-plot character. Something reminds him of the Newcastle incident and he gets a far off look in his eyes. The folly drops away to an eerie silence as the camera comes in tight on John's expression. Filling up the silence is a little girl's scream, then the voices of his friends, perhaps some sounds of violence, an inhuman sound or voice, it all blends together to become a hellish cacophony of sound as John's expression becomes more strained. Then suddenly the other person calling his name snaps him out of his reverie. The screams stop, the folly returns, and the scene appears jarringly normal. John shakes his head, makes a joke, and they move on. Yeah, that kind of scene has been done before, but the reason for that is it’s effective without giving away the whole story. It shows that this is a man haunted by something horrible. It’s also cheap and doesn’t necessitate straining the no doubt thin budget of a TV show that has yet to prove itself worthy of having more money thrown at it.

Honestly, the issues I have with this show are innumerable and I’m just scratching the surface here and laying out my biggest problems. I could nitpick for days, and that’s the reason I’ve stayed mum about my opinions. There are people that follow me and that I write with that really like and care about the show, and I don’t want to make them feel...you know, bad about it or that they can’t talk to me or whatever. You know, if they found it enjoyable more power to them. I just didn’t and that’s maybe on me. By no means am I trying to bash the show here (because lord if I wanted to, I could), but to offer up what was requested, and that’s my undiluted opinions and feelings about the series. Of course I’m sorry that I couldn’t share the joy and that I couldn’t even like it on a similar level that I do the film (as a very solid AU, which people have tried to sell the show as to me, knowing my previous understanding of some of the changes made that deviate strongly from canon. As I said, maybe if it had been better made and written, I could, but as it stands currently, I can’t and unless real changes are made in the future, I’m unlikely to alter my opinion of it).

So yeah that’s it. Apologies that this got so very long, but as you can tell, there’s been a lot that I’ve been holding back.

#idk some bloody punter ( anon )#do you need a light too? ( asks answered )#eyyyy so I got real honest here #probably a little more than I intended #I would not click the read more if you aren't prepared for me to be very frank on my opinions #by no means do I bash it #but I'm not kind to it either #so reader be warned and all that rot #unpopular opinion

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thank-your-lucky-stars · 7 years ago

Text

A few things....

I’d really appreciate it if my followers could take the time to read this post, as it explains a few things that I have been holding back for some time.

Some of you might’ve noticed my absence recently. I was really ill from the middle of June; I got a bad chest infection from nowhere, and I couldn’t work or leave the house in weeks, apart from a couple of trips to the doctors (who put me on antibiotics) all I did all day was try (and fail) to sleep. My queue happened to run out just as I got ill too, which meant my blog became abandoned for the first time in.....years.

But I’d reached a bad point just as I got ill anyway. I’ve mentioned briefly about having no confidence on tumblr anymore - something which is really upsetting for me, as this blog has been a huge part of my life for almost 7 years now. It’s a place where I can express myself like no other, and fandom has always played a big part in that, as I have quite a lot of free time and even when I’m working I often have free time too (I work in little shops in little towns, and sometimes there’s simply nothing to do but piss about online), so tumblr is a big occupier of that free time.

Anyway. The Robron fandom has been really important to me for quite some time now. As a long time viewer of Emmerdale, I was so happy when I realised a fandom had been born here on tumblr - especially as that sort of coincided with my previous fandom deteriorating rapidly, due to it being overtaken by trolls.

I’ve spoken about what Robron mean to me, and how I latched onto them during the most difficult time of my life, and there was a point where they were probably the main reason I got out of bed in the morning, which is so fucked up but it’s also true. The fandom also became a huge saving grace for me, having a place where I felt safe and valid and important after watching my old fandom be so horribly ruined; I had all of that there once, until it was overtaken, until me and several other people in that fandom were targeted by some really disturbed individuals who resented the fact that we run popular blogs. It was upsetting and....creepy. Like seriously, seriously creepy. But above that it made me feel really unsafe here.

And then I felt like I found a new home. People were so nice and friendly and this fandom was a lot bigger and more active and I loved that people wanted to talk, that people used their voices and expressed themselves and I just found it so inspiring and a wonderful thing to be a part of.

And then The Incident™ happened, and there was a big shift. The divide was so obvious. Some people....changed. I didn’t like the way there seemed to be “sides” - the people who were managing to be positive, and those that weren’t. As someone who really struggled with what happened on screen, I definitely felt looked down upon by some corners of the fandom (note: this isn’t ALL the “positive” vs negative people, not at all. Most were respectful and understanding), and I didn’t appreciate the way some people behaved and made people like me feel, just because I wasn’t making excuses for ED or believing all the theories or doing cartwheels about the fact that they were sabotaging our ship right before our very eyes.

I understand how some people needed to be positive and sort of erase the negative in order to stay sane, I honestly genuinely get that, because I’ve been in that place before myself. But the coldness and bitchiness by some people was completely unnecessary and I know it made several people scared to speak our minds. It’s all good and well being told that your feelings are valid but it’s not so nice when you see people virtually mocking you for feeling the way you do. The hypocrisy was like nothing I have ever seen. I know nobody is perfect and everyone can say questionable things, and maybe these people didn’t mean to cause any upset, but to me and from my POV a lot of it was unnecessary and done purposely to shame certain areas of a fandom that was dealing with a lot of crap.

Then a series of things happened to me here directly and personally that shattered what confidence I had left. I did write about what happened, but I’ve deleted it. But about 4 or 5 people here really hurt me, in completely different ways, and two of those incidents in particular have really totally and utterly fucked me up and made me feel worthless and not good enough. In one of those cases, I forgave the person who hurt me and things were relatively resolved but the damage has had a really negative affect not just on how I feel here on tumblr but how I feel in my real life and even with my real-life friendships. It has triggered paranoia in me that I managed to deal with (for the most part) about 11 years ago, but what happened brought it all back and that incident, along with a few other people here (not people I considered friends, but people I respected none the less) doing some pretty crappy things has just....shattered me. It’s made me feel uneasy, uncomfortable, unsafe.....I don’t think these people are bad people, but at the same time what they have all contributed to has left me feeling like a sort of shell of the person I used to be here on tumblr. I used to be confident in speaking my thoughts/feelings, whether it be about personal stuff or fandom stuff or whatever, but now I’m just.....pretty shattered. Some of you know the specifics of these incidents, and your support has meant a lot. But I’m still pretty damaged by these things, as they all sort of happened one after the other, within about maybe 6 weeks or so, right after things went to shit with Robron.

So I feel like I have sort of been ground down to nothing. And I know this is such a small percentage of this fandom, I know the majority here are wonderful people. And even these people who have fucked with my head....I know they’re not bad people. I don’t think they’re evil or anything and I try to hang onto that even though I hate the way they have made me feel. But what they have done is damage me and damage my confidence and I do not know how to fix it. Above my dislike for how certain people have made me feel, I really resent how I have given these people the power to make me feel this way, and to help ruin something that was really special to me. It’s something I need to work on, to not focus so much on the negative/negative people, but I don’t know how to fix it.

And then there’s what’s happening with Robron on screen. I am at a point now where I simply do not care anymore. Whenever I read a new spoiler, I feel nothing. I don’t feel sad or angry because I’m unable to be shocked. I do not care if Robron split or stay together, because this isn’t Robron. Emmerdale have made a mockery of them, a joke of them - they have turned them into a laughing stock. The lack of care, respect and time that have been put into their story since the start of the year is embarrassing and I will genuinely never forgive Emmerdale for ruining such a wonderful gift. Robron were a gift. They were a gift to us but also a gift to the show. I long for the day people stop rewarding ED for the good times last year, and focus on the now, and stop voting for them for awards, or supporting them on social media. I can’t wait for people to just.....not care. For ED to post some Robron teaser on twitter and get nothing but crickets in response. I don’t want them to get hate, I want them to get silence, because silence hurts more. I resent them, I resent Iain and the storyliners, who must’ve smoked crack the day they came up with this storyline. I respect the people who are hanging on, probably by the skin of their teeth, and managing to be positive. Like seriously, I have massive respect for being able to get into that mindset.

But when you’ve loved characters for so many years, long before this ship was even a producers wet dream, and you get to watch the highs and the lows and the highs again.....and then get to where we are now, it is pretty soul destroying. Like I won’t pretend I’m not heartbroken by it. And it’s my fault for getting in too deep, for latching onto them and relying on them the way I did. But I feel like I’ve grieved, like I’ve dealt with it in many ways. Like I’m just angry/bitter about it now. I don’t think they have the power the really deeply hurt me anymore, not like I was hurt when The Incident happened, or when it was confirmed there was going to be a baby. Everything I’ve felt since - even the decent stuff - has been.....weak. I mean two good (Maxine) episodes in, what, 4 months isn’t good enough for me. Even those episodes didn’t pack the punch they should have, because for me, Robron have been ground down to their bones. Like, there’s barely anything left. The flesh has gone. The heart, the soul.....it’s all gone in my eyes.

And I’m not saying there’s not a way back from this. I mean it won’t ever be the same again, too much damage has been done, but if this baby isn’t a thing then maybe in a year or so things could be....alright. But my prediction is Robron won’t be around in a year. I reckon Danny and/or Ryan will leave within the next year to 18 months. Thinking about it, I wish they had’ve left after the wedding. I’d have much preferred Robron going off into the sunset together, happy and in love and married and faithful, than have to witness what we’ve had to witness since the 16th of March.

But it is what it is. I’ll keep watching Emmerdale because I’ve watched it half my life. And I will always “ship” Robron. I will always want them to be happy and find a way back from this, because you can’t just stop caring completely. Not 100%, anyway.

But at the same time, what I feel now is nothing compared to what I felt at the start of the year. And it breaks my heart but at the same time I don’t miss the endless stress over spoilers, or the disappointment when we realise we’re going around in yet another endless circle of: Robron are happy - Robert messes up - Aaron cries - RELATIONSHIP ON THE BRINK: WILL THEY SURVIVE??!!1?1 - Robert does something romantic - fluff - romance - Robert messes up - Aaron cries - rinse/repeat. Like we’ve been doing this since April last year and every time we think things will improve somehow they get worse?????? Like I always (stupidly) thought after they got married things would cool down but NOPE, it got worse than ever, and here we are in this hell-hole of despair and never-ending misery porn. I bet the producers sit up all night trying to find new ways to emotionally torture Aaron and new ways to make Robert look like a dick.

These characters deserve better and I have no time for any of it anymore. I can’t say anything productive or enlightening and I can’t analyse scenes or moments or spoilers because I simply just do not have the energy or the care for it. It literally makes me sick on so many levels that this storyline is a thing that’s happening, I find it so offensive in so many ways and there’s nothing I can say except expressing my horror and disgust, which isn’t productive, and I’m sure it’s boring to read too because everyone has said it all already.

So that is where I’m at. And what I want to say is, I understand if you want to unfollow me, because I’m not going to be posting anything Robron related anymore (maybe one day, I think it’s stupid to say “never”, but as it stands....there won’t be any Robron content on this blog, and it remains to be seen if there will be any Emmerdale content either. I don’t know. I’ll never say never because that’s stupid but the outlook isn’t great right now.)

I don’t want to lose people. This is the shitty thing about fandoms; people come and go. Like I said before, it’s a revolving door. I’ve been in fandoms for about 15 years now. I’ve probably spoken to hundreds of people who I’ve gotten friendly with, never to be seen or heard from ever again after a certain period of time, or once I or they have moved on from said-fandom. I know it’s how it works. I don’t want to lose contact with certain people here just because I’m not participating in the thing that brought us together.

I still have the blog @thank-your-lucky-starrs - it’s sort of a replica of this blog, in a way (same icon, virtually the same name!) - which I made for 100% Emmerdale/Robron, even though I’ve never really used it. I followed a bunch of you there, and I know several people followed back, so I guess if you only care about what fandom/Robron/ED related stuff I have to say, you could always continue following that other blog, if you don’t want to follow me here for personal/other stuff I’m interested in, on the off-chance that some day I want/can talk about Robron/ED again. So you can still follow me but not follow this blog, if that’s what you want.

I’m sort of at a loss to what to do myself, because obviously there is a LOT of Robron on my dash. But unfollowing people is really hard for me....I’m too loyal and it makes me uncomfortable because I don’t want people to think I have an issue with them (honestly, if I was ever to unfollow you and you want to know why, you can ask me and I’ll be 100% honest because I’m not a twat and I respect people and honesty is important to me). I may start unfollowing people at some point on this blog, but keep you all on my @thank-your-lucky-starrs blog, for if I ever want to delve back into Robron land (that was the purpose of the blog in the first place, so I could have a Robron dash and a non-Robron dash, but I chickened out of unfollowing people on this blog because like I said I’m too loyal and I care too much, even about people who probably don’t give a flying fuck about me lmao).

So yeah, this post is long but I needed to say all of this stuff. If you still want to support me and this blog then honestly thank you. If you want to unfollow because you don’t think I’ll be sharing any content that will interest you, I understand (and please feel free to shoot me a message and tell me that, because that would mean so much to me to know that’s the reason you’re unfollowing and not because you think I’m an oversensitive freak!!!). Honesty is something that is really important to me and anyone who knows me well enough will know that I am a really honest person, maybe to a fault sometimes, but at the same time I do think it’s a good thing, because if you talk to me about anything or anyone or any situation, you know that with me I will tell you the truth, my true thoughts and feelings, and I can do it in a way that is sensitive - people can be honest without being rude/horrible, people can be honest with tact and care, which is what I always try to do (but several people don’t know how to do that!!) so what I’m trying to say is.....you can be honest with me too. As long as the honesty is delivered with care and respect then that care and respect will be reciprocated.

I don’t want to lose people just because I have lost this fandom. The fandom is a collective but it’s filled with individuals and so many of these individual, unique people are kind and special and I don’t want to lose you. I am trying my very best to be strong and to not let myself be robbed of so many of you. Your support has always meant more to me than words can describe.

I’m going to shut up now but if you’ve read this then, as always, thank you.

#mine #personal #this is very important #it's about my blog and my feelings and about you guys #about how i may not be offering the content you want to see anymore #about my feelings for robron #because i've really reached a dead-end with robron #and i explain that a bit #i mean some of you already know #but i'm just clearing some things up #and i want people to know i understand if you don't want to follow me anymore as i won't be posting about robron #but please read my post #because i say near the end that i don't want to lose people #people this fandom is a collective but it's also filled with individuals #and many of you are wonderful #and i don't want to lose you #but i also understand if i'm not giving what you want to get #but please feel free to reach out to me #because all of this is really hard for me #and writing this took ages #and i edited it a lot #a lot of the personal crap #there's a lot of personal crap at the start #because i'm in a bad place #but i'm trying to be proactive #and i was going to run away and just abandon this blog for like months or something #but i shouldn't have to do that

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wisdomsword · 7 years ago

Note

🔥

Unpopular Opinion (accepting)

Okay, I’m going to put this under a cut because it’s going to get long. I’m going to give my personal opinion on all story arcs in the original DM anime, ordered from best to worst. This doesn’t include Season Zero/YGO Toei, Capsule Monsters or the movies, but it does include all filler arcs. Please respect that this is just my opinion and I fully understand if anyone disagrees, and please do note that I recognize that each arc has flaws and qualities of its own, but depending on general opinion on the arc, I will focus more on the qualities or the flaws.

Again, this is ranked from best to worst in my opinion, I fully understand if you disagree with me and I’m willing to listen to your opinion as long as you’re civil about it. Feel free to approach me over IM or ask, you’re even allowed to go on anon as long as you’re not being mean, and discuss things with me.

1. The Doma/Waking the Dragons Arc. Okay, I’m very much biased because I have a massive weak spot for a lot of things that were done in this arc, but this is my personal favourite of them all. The story is really well thought out and adds something new to the series, we actually get to see the protagonist (Yami) at his weakest and most flawed, the villain is an amazing manipulative jerk who still has redeeming qualities (*cough*tragicbackstory*cough*), and the minor characters introduced in this arc are really interesting. A lot of people hate it just because it’s a filler or just completely ignore its existence and I think that’s a real shame. It deserves more love than it gets.

2. The Duelist Kingdom Arc. I love the quirky mechanics in this arc, especially with the field (why do so few people use Field Spells in the rest of the series??), and I like how simple the game is at this point. Okay, it’s extremely unfair and luck-based, but I think that fits the theme of this arc really well. Looking past all the sad stuff, Pegasus is really the kind of person who just wants everyone to have fun playing his game, so he doesn’t care if it’s a little unfair or luck-based as long as everyone gets to use the cards they like. Adding to that, Pegasus is a really amazing villain imo, the poor guy is just crazy with love. That doesn’t excuse him from being an ass, but I love how he has a very reasonable (from his point of view) motivation behind what he’s doing.

3. The Dawn of the Duel/Egypt Arc. My opinion on this arc is… Mixed, by lack of a better word. I really love the story, even if it is a little rushed, and I like a lot of things they did in this arc, it used to be my favourite before I watched the Doma Arc, but I started seeing a lot of flaws after rewatching it once and watching the rest of the series and now I just can’t love it as much anymore. It’s a good arc, with a lot of potential, and it’s a shame that it was so rushed, but there are a few things earlier on in the arc that were not necessary (*glares at Bobasa/Hasan*) and there were a few things the manga just did better in my opinion. For example, we get a better idea of the Priests’ personalities in the manga, thanks to that hilarious mock battle that wasn’t in the anime. It’s a really small scene, but it adds a lot of depth to characters that were left a little bland in the anime. On the plus side, the anime did an amazing job on the death scenes (even though Isis’ death was unnecessary imo) and basically everything from the moment Horakthy is summoned.

4. The KC Grand Prix Arc. Okaaaaay, maybe I’m not allowed to judge this one, seeing as how I haven‘t watched all of it (I skipped a lot of early-arc duels), but I think it’s actually pretty good for what it is. It’s kind of bland, and most characters introduced in this arc are really not memorable at all (Vivian and the Schroeder brothers are the exceptions, and even they are not that great, just good enough to be memorable), but damn, is it hilarious! I went into this arc with the idea that I should take it as a lower-stakes comedic version of Battle City, and ended up loving it for what it is. It’s really absurd as a tournament, and just like with Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom, I love how the antagonist (I can’t think of Siegfried as a villain) has a motivation that makes sense to him. And I just really feel sorry for Siegfried and Leon. This arc is another that just gets a lot of hate for being a filler, in addition to having not-so-good timing in the series (second filler in a row, that’s kinda annoying) and being low-stakes compared to the rest of the series, but I think it has enough redeeming qualities, if you just take it as a comedic imitation of Battle City rather than a serious tournament.

5. The Battle City Arc (both parts). As much as I liked Battle City in the manga, I always feel like it was done very poorly in the anime. It’s too long for its own good, there are too many side-stories and other things going on at the same time (so many different things going on in one single episode!!) and it was interrupted by the Virtual World Arc at the wrong moment. I wouldn’t even have minded the interruption if it happened before the blimp left, but it was just very poorly timed. That aside, I think it was a really good arc with a lot of potential and the anime just messed up on that a little. It doesn’t help that I’m not a big fan of Marik and Bakura and I think the fandom severely overhypes them. I love Marik’s backstory (pun not intended) though, and the finale of the arc and all the character development going on in this arc are really good, I just wish this arc had better pacing and focused on one or two things at a time.

Honorable mention: The mini-arcs. I’m talking about those funny little filler side-stories that don’t really fit in any major arc (Otogi’s story arc counts as a mini-arc as well). These side-stories vary so much in quality that I don’t know where to put them on the list, but in general they’re pretty decent, despite not being very memorable. My personal favorite has to be the video game one (you know, the one in which Mokuba is a princess). I like watching these because they never fail to amuse me and for small fillers they’re really well thought-out for what they are.

Whoopsie: I never watched the Virtual World Arc (while watching the full series I was getting tired of Battle City and wanted to be done with it so I skipped over the Virtual World Arc and I never found the time to watch it) so I can’t put it on the list. As far as I know, it’s decent and most of the hate it gets is because it was poorly timed, but I can’t judge something I have never seen.

…This got SO long lmao. Anyway. Rant over, unpopular opinion posted, again, this is my opinion and I’m willing to listen to yours as long as you’re civil about it, feel free to IM me or toss a thing into my ask, on or off anon.

#kaginokioku #from the inbox #admin answers #unpopular opinion

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sulietsexual · 8 years ago

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The Appeal of The Idiot Hero - A Closer Look At Paul Ballard

Requested by theproxyfront

Paul Ballard is a character who cops a lot of unwarranted flak, both from the fandom and In-Universe. He is often dismissed as insignificant, useless, overly-obsessive and just downright stupid. His pursuit of the Dollhouse and by extension Echo are both seen as unhealthy and ridiculous and he is often put down by fans and by characters within the show, all of which is a real pity and does a true disservice to his character and his characterisation over the show.

Due to Dollhouse’s short run coupled with its’ ridiculously narrow focus on Echo, there is not a massive amount of background given to the other characters. We know virtually nothing about Paul’s life pre-Pilot, but the little we are told is somewhat revealing. In his first scene, we are informed that Paul was once a good agent, one of the FBI’s best. His life started to unravel when his wife left him, affecting his work and causing his performance to become erratic. It was at this point that the Bureau shunted him into a department which was intended to be a dead-end – the investigation into the Dollhouse.

This is actually a very important point, and one which should be remembered when discussing Paul’s obsession with the Dollhouse (and later with Echo, which I will also touch upon). Paul neither pursued nor discovered the Dollhouse on his own. He was assigned a case which many believed to be a dead end, mostly to get him out of the way and give him something redundant to focus on, where he couldn’t make trouble. However, as Paul discovers, the Dollhouse is very much a reality, a horrifying institution which deals in human trafficking, slavery and potentially murder. And Paul, being a Lawful Good type as well as a genuinely good person, can’t let the investigation go once all of this is discovered. He knows that the Dollhouse exists, he knows that innocent people are being trafficked and abused, and he refuses to let it lie, despite the Bureau’s insistence that he should. Paul’s obsession with the Dollhouse and bringing it down is actually an indicator to the goodness of his character, as opposed to the very negative light it’s usually shown in.

But what of his creepy obsession with Echo, you ask. Well, again, this isn’t your typical stalker-with-a-crush case. Paul isn’t Spike, hanging around Buffy’s house, stealing her panties and acting gross and entitled. As with the Dollhouse investigation, Echo was sent to Paul. Paul had already been investigating the Dollhouse for months when Alpha sent him the photo of Echo, which changed the game significantly for Paul. Whereas before he knew that the Dollhouse was operational, all of its’ victims were nameless and faceless. Once Echo’s picture is sent to him, he suddenly has a real, living, breathing person to focus on, someone whom he can actually save, which is why she becomes such a focal point for him. The Dollhouse is no longer a faceless monster, it is a real place, holding a real person. And once he sees Echo in her Rebecca Miner persona, the reality hits even harder, as Paul now has definitive proof of what is going on behind the closed doors of the Dollhouse.

And it must be noted that Paul fights his obsession. When Joel Miner rightly points out that Paul is indulging in a fantasy, playing the role of the Prince going to rescue the trapped Princess, Paul takes a step back, looks at himself, and decides to focus on the real girl, the one who is flesh and blood and doesn’t stir up his ridiculous hero complex. He turns away from the fantasy and chooses the reality. Which makes it all the more devastating when Mellie is also revealed to be a Doll, shattering Paul’s world again and making it near-impossible for him to separate fantasy and reality anymore, to be a real person involved with a real girl, to lead any semblance of a normal life. The Dollhouse has infiltrated his life, and they will never allow things to return to normal for him.

Now, all this being said, Paul Ballard is not without his flaws. In fact, one of the reasons he is such a great character is because he is deeply flawed. As the title of this piece suggests, he is a classic example of an Idiot Hero, rushing in without thought, charging into the fray without a plan, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs behind him for people to follow. He is arrogant, headstrong and doesn’t often listen to others. He’s got a big, good heart, but he is often ruled by his emotions and has a hard time looking at things outside of his narrow black-and-white view. He also never knows when to quit, which both serves him well and becomes detrimental to his cause.

Despite what I’ve discussed, one of Paul’s biggest flaws is his obsessive nature. While there are valid and obvious reasons for both of his obsessions over the show (the Dollhouse and Echo/Caroline) the degree to which he immerses himself, the lengths he goes to in order to prove his theories and the obsessive nature of his investigation are all alarming at times, and they clearly have a detrimental effect on his personal life, his love life and his work life. He ends the first season with no job and seemingly no prospects. He has proved that the Dollhouse exists but ends up in a Cassandra Truth situation. His obsession has ruled his life for so long, he doesn’t quite know who he is without it, as evidenced by his lack of direction at the start of Season 2 and his uneasy truce with the Dollhouse.

I think one of the more interesting aspects of Paul’s character is that he is truly the only character to never trust the Dollhouse. Even when he joins them, it’s to try to take them down from the inside, to protect Echo and to save Caroline. He never views the Dollhouse in a positive light and is never swayed in his belief that what they are doing is wrong and immoral. He is also the only character to broach the subject of “souls”, to point out that while the Dollhouse may have the technology to “wipe” a person’s original personality, they can’t erase their soul, their true essence, all of which becomes insanely tragic and ironic when Paul himself is imprinted with his own personality. Confronted with the realisation that he is a Doll, Paul must learn to adjust to his new existence, and if Dollhouse hadn’t been cancelled, I think that particular event would have made for some amazing characterisation.

At the end of the day, Paul is actually a really well-written character, with depths that the fandom just doesn’t seem interested in looking into, which is a real pity, because if you can see past the hero complex and obsessive nature, Paul Ballard is a fascinating and endearing character, who – as with everything on this show – had a lot of untapped potential. It’s just a shame that so much of the fandom refuses to see this.

#paul ballard #dollhouseedit #dollhouse meta #whedonverse #theproxyfront #meta #dollhouse #i know this isn't a graphic #but tagging it just 'dollhouse'' puts it in the general dollhouse tag #which is of course full of ACTUAL dollhouses #as opposed to the show #also sorry this took so long!

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ncscope-archived-blog · 8 years ago

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How does the mun feel about the fanon regarding Ana? Are there any particular fanon they do or don't like? How do they feel about Anahardt and Pharmercy, which seem to be the most popular ships for Ana and for Pharah?

For the sake of convenience I’m going to break this post in two, and under the “read more” thingy as to not clog other people’s dash. I’m kind of scared that this is going to turn into a bloody essay about Ana and her place in the O.W fandom. Oh, well.

How does the mun feel about the fanon regarding Ana? Are there any particular fanon they do or don’t like?

I haven’t been in this fandom for very long so I might have missed on a few things, but overall, I’m afraid the fanon regarding Ana is rather limited and limiting. I’ve noticed that very, very very often, the fandom reduces Ana to her being everyone’s mom/granny, and while it’s a trope I enjoy using myself (besides Ana is canonically depicted as the maternal type, her former team calling her “Mama Bear” in the comics), I find it really sad when she’s reduced to that stereotype only.

Yes, Ana is an older woman, she’s a mother, and she has this strong motherly attitude towards her subordinates. But that doesn’t mean she should be reduced to being the comic relief that sleep-darts McCree whenever he goes “It’s hiiiiigh noon” (though I love these drawings, they’re often hilarious), or goes full on protective mom whenever she appears in a Pharmercy strip. Overall I think Ana is very largely overlooked by the fandom and reduced to her age and gender. I would love to see more art or writing about Ana having to deal with Jack and Gabriel tearing each other apart; and how about her being a bounty hunter with a 70.000.000$ bounty on her head (which is more than the bounty McCree, an outlaw, has on his head, if his spray in-game is anything to go by, surely that tells something about what the hell she’s been up to for these five years)? How about her cynicism towards Jack, when she states she doesn’t care for his war - what is it she means and what does it say about her state of mind as opposed to before getting shot by Widowmaker? I need more ghost Ana and I need more of Ana’s darker sides, she’s such a complex and manyfold character, why would you limit her to her being Team Mom or the Cool Gal in the Overwatch founding members trio? How about her relationships with other Overwatch members?

That being said, there are things I absolutely love that the fandom has done with her: while there is little fanart of Ana, I always find it beautiful and pretty on point (there’s just a massive discrepancy in terms of quantity, a lot about her as Team Mom and close to none on other aspects of her personality). She escapes the oversexualisation that systematically happens with other female (or even male) characters (though I’ll talk more about that later, in the question about shipping) and I just love the occasional fanart where she’s just a freaking badass soldier.

Overall I don’t think the fanon completely goes off topic with her - she’s just reduced to the Team Mom trope way too often and it can be incredibly frustrating. It’s not inherent to Ana: I’ve played muses who were older women before, and it’s always, always the same thing, people go to them to serve as their muse’s mother figure. And I don’t now if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but when in the same fandom, you get the older woman reduced to her role as a mother, while the men of the same age with similar jobs/functions/responsibilities get so much more developed and so many more nuances in their depiction and relationships (friends, lovers, enemies, etc), and are not just reduced to beign Team Dads, I call that sexism. It’s nothing new that older wmen get less attention, it’s just a shame when it happens in a fandom that prides itself on the diversity of its cast and leaves out the characters that are less conventionally sexy than others (let’s not even talk about poor Torbjörn).

How do they feel about Anahardt and Pharmercy, which seem to be the most popular ships for Ana and for Pharah?

I’ve ot to admit, I’m not much of a shipper myself. I’m what I call a passive shipper: I’ll never think of two characters as shippable until you show me a nice art or a nice thread between two characters and then I’ll go “oh yeah, that’s really nice actually, I like it!”. That’s pretty much how I feel towards Anahardt: out of all the ships I’ve been able to see in this fandom, I enjoy it because 1. it makes sense, personality-wise and lore-wise (even though I strongly disagree with the idea that Ana and Reinhardt’s lines in-game indicates sexual or romantic attraction, why can’t it just be playful banter/flirting?), and 2. the fact that this ship is P.ORN-FREE. This ship is nothing but fluff and frankly, in the ship hell tumblr can be, it’s really refreshing.

As for Pharmercy, I don’t really care fo that ship. They look good together, it makes sense to me, but I’ve seen quite a few Pharah muns complaining about seeing Pharah being reduced to existing solely for that ship within the fandom, which I find just as sad as Ana being reduced to her Team Mom role. Don’t reduce characters to sexy bodies that onyl exist for shipping purposes, buddies. It’s not cool. Pharah is an awesome character who deserves way more than she’s currently getting from the fandom. But then, I have to say, I’ve never seen more shipping art than in the Overwatch fandom, so I’m afraid almost all characters are getting that treatment, sadly. That, or they don’t even get shipped and are virtually non-existant in comparison to those who do.

Which brings me to my next point, aka Ana being considerably less shipped with than other characters, including her male counterparts Jack, Gabriel, and even Reinhardt (again, Torbjörn feels like an exception). It’s not something that really bothers me, since I’m not a huge shipper, buuuut it bothers me to notice that once more, the older woman is left out of this aspect of the fanon. Soldier:76 and Reaper get shipped a lot with each other and with virtually any other character (even 19yo D.Va), whereas Ana, well… There’s Anahardt, and that’s about it, really. I wouldn’t say it’s her most popular ship, I’d say it’s her only ship, really. Once again, the older woman is left out - it’s a phenomenon you see a lot in movies and popculture as well, why do you think they cast 20-30yo actresses to play the romantic interest of 40, 50 or 60yo actors? Because in our collective imagination, women past the age of 40 cease to exist as possibly romantic and sexual beings - on that topic, I highly recommend this video by Amy Schumer (”How about men, who tells men when it’s their last f***able day?” “Honey, men don’t have that day. They’re f***able forever, they could be a hundred years old and nothing but white spiders coming out but they’re f***able!”).

I’m grateful Ana escapes the gross p.orn and oversexualisation other characters and ships can get, but I’d be interested to see her in other ships, heck, why not? Why not try and be creative? Why not Ana and Reaper? Why not Ana and Jack? Shouldn’t they be pretty obvious? The three of them were always very close, she had a special relationship with them just as much as Jack and Gabriel had a special relationship, didn’t she? How about, say, Ana and Torbjörn, two of the characters that rarely get shipped? How about Ana and Mercy, who also have a long (and possibly complicated) friendship behind them, two supports and founding members of Overwatch? I’ve seen people ship Jack with D.Va or the obvious McReaper shippers saying “age gap is not an issue” - but apprently that’s only the case if it’s two men OR when the man is older than the woman and not the other way around. How about Ana being shipped with a younger character? How come the fandom decides Ana complimenting an old friend on how good they look (which I do all the time with my friends, and trust me they know I’m not flirting with them thank goodness) is blatant flirting, but her telling McCree he was always a charmer is not? I could go on with pretty much all the characters but this is already long enough of an essay, so I shall stop there.

Then again, at least, Ana doesn’t get to be reduced to romantic relationships and that is bloody freaking great.

I feel like I’m just rambling and half of this post lacks coherence and all of it is just messy thought jotted down without structure, and I’m probably forgetting a lot of things, and I’m really sorry about it, but I just thought a lot about all these questions and finally got the occasion to express myself on the matter, so many thanks Anon!

#ooc #ask the mun #munday on a tuesday #thoughts on ana

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