#which is valid bc their dynamic is really funny

[zuzuzuko]

Honestly zdarsky’s run just upsets me because I see glimpses of things that could be good if they were just done a bit differently

[mrstellmeafuckingsecret]

"mauraders fandom doesn't know happiness-" maybe it should because the oversaturation of sad fics/hcs makes me think all this fandom wants is damsel-in-distress x white knight.

wolfstar, jegulus, ... - actually nvm i forgot this entire fucking fandom has two ships - but like why is everything i read and see just 'sad character who desperately needs saving' x 'tragic hero' and then sad char gets obsessed w hero char which is POWER DYNAMICS THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST IN RELATIONSHIPS BUT THEY DO BECAUSE THE FANDOM HAS A THING FOR GETTING OFF ON PEOPLE GIVING PERSONALITY UP FOR DICK

like it's just . so ick. trauma isn't something for you to add to your chars for ship development. it's something real that happens - reality that mauraders represent !!

i miss actual 70s fics and hcs where queer ships hid because it was complexity and it was real !!

remus when being a werewolf didn't turn him into fucking greyback, where he was soft and gentle and sensitive and a coward because being bitten doesn't define him !!!!

james who was disgustingly spoilt and shaken by normal people problems because he was raised in the lap of luxury !

peter who was more than 'ace' (which he only is bc people dont wanna ship a fat/unattractive guy with anyone btw stfu) and actually did have feelings for people and was funny but felt 'less than' who craved validation but also had an ego (he was a maurader!)

sirius with problems bigger than remus' dick and 'my baby brother 💔' because HE IS HIS OWN PERSON AND I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE MADE THIS GUY INTO SOMEONE WHO EXISTS FOR OTHER PEOPLE ONLY ??? and he's some how simulatenously selfish and narcisstic ????????????? i dont. i dont get it. i fucking. god. please help.

they had . real shit to work through. because they weren't all carbon copies of each other (dumb worshipper sexslut x nonchalant smart who's really good at sex).

just. stop making everything about ships, for one moment please. ships and trauma and sex aren't the only things going on.

[pinkblahaj]

rick riordan's female characters pt 1: annabeth

this year i reread pjo and hoo for the first time since finishing the series five years ago, and i now understand the (somewhat?) common opinion that the way he wrote female characters was definitely flawed in some ways. although, i don't completely agree with all the criticisms, and i still love the majority of his characters. because i have so many thoughts on annabeth, i'll make this post just about her and discuss other characters later.

i'm certainly not one of those avid annabeth haters, but i do think there are valid reasons to not like her- I think there are valid reasons to not like any character. for me, there are moments where she is a bit too arrogant or mean. but i don't think she should have been written with an entirely different personality either- it makes sense why she is the way she is, and all the characters are flawed in their own ways, which is what makes them relatable. i just don't relate to annabeth like i do to the characters i like more.

i see how some ppl dislike the dynamic between percy and annabeth, but i feel like a lot of those issues are just a product of their time. the judo-flipping scene in mark of athena has been made to be way bigger of a deal than it is. it was not annabeth "abusing" percy- it's more akin to play wrestling. but... i do agree that moments like this would be clearly unacceptable if annabeth were a boy (which, i know, those "if the roles were reversed" type discussions sometimes are used to weaponize the suffering of men in order to diminsh women's issues, and i am not trying to do that here). it unfortunately does make sense when you think about the whole anti-femininity trend that used to be so common, and existed in rick's books as well (ex: aphrodite's children). annabeth is supposed to be tough and scary, not soft and weak. but we should also keep in mind that every relationship's boundaries our different- annabeth might joke about percy being dumb, but it's obvious that doesn't bother him and he likes the nickname "seaweed brain".

annabeth's treatment of rachel in botl seems to be a dividing topic, and i can see both sides. i honestly was quite bothered by it when i reread botl, and i find it strange that some ppl will hate on percy on this book while not criticizing annabeth. but honestly that's probably because i'm a sensitive person. some ppl find it funny, which is probably how it was supposed to come across. it was probably just as obvious to rachel as it was to us readers that annabeth was only being mean out of her fear of losing percy... and rachel did indeed like percy. but i do wish that we would've seen someone call her out or see her apologize, and while her abandonment issues are an explanation for her behavior, they are not an excuse. but again, it's safe to assume that rachel was not that affected by it, and being a teenager who is rude to someone bc they like the same guy as you is not the worst thing a person can do. (i do think it's interesting how this situation is brought up more frequently than leo bullying frank, which actually did hurt frank.)

contrary to what i've seen other ppl say, i actually really liked annabeth in heroes of olympus. i thought her povs were great, and i loved to see her interact with the new characters, especially piper. i also found her more likable (ik some think she was too perfect, but i loved seeing her as a competent leader). the scene with frank and the finger trap was so cute and because i love and relate to frank, i will forever appreciate her for that. however she was def underutilized- outsmarting arachne by attacking her pride made sense because of arachne's backstory, but that strategy became overused (the way she defeated nyx was kind of ridiculous). and of course, who doesn't love the percabeth scenes- sure they were obsessed with each other, but that makes sense. they just met the rest of the seven, ofc they're not going to care about their new friends to the extend that they do for each other (side note: i don't disagree that seven felt like "co-workers", but i don't see a problem with it either).

leah was a perfect choice for the tv show adaptation. i honestly could not care less that she's not blonde and white. yes, the acting could be a bit better, but they're young and i've seen worse acting from older actors. what i do have an issue with is how annabeth was written in the show. i feel like the writers read that she's the brains of the group and she's serious and forgot that she's also a twelve year old girl. annabeth is a great character because she is strong, smart and skilled, but still flawed, realistic and relatable. i wish the show delved into other parts of her character, such as her love for architecture, the scene with the spiders, and her relationship with luke- this last one especially is such an important part they missed out on, because it's a huge source of her vulnerability in the books. i'm completely fine with them cutting out her crush on him, but the fact that she looks up to him and sees him as family is so central to why she can't accept that he's betrayed her. her believing that there is still good left in luke is also key to how they defeat kronos with luke's help. show luke says that annabeth is like his little sister, but without us actually seeing this relationship, it's going to be hard to understand in later seasons why annabeth defends him.

overall, annabeth is a great character and deserving of her popularity, but i don't think that if you dislike her you hate complex female characters. while she's not my favorite, i see her as a testament to both rick's ability to write good female characters and some of his shortcomings in this area.

[smoshsfavoritepizzaplace]

I first started to ship them when they started the "Why We're Bad At Dating" videos back in 2019, which was before they were a couple. I don't know if that series was their idea or Sarah Whittle's or what, but come on, those videos... someone at Smosh knew EXACTLY what they were doing. Two conventionally attractive people with a great friendship and great chemistry, who get teased at work about dating each other, making videos going "Woe-is-me, look at us, sitting across from each other, both single... whatever shall we do about that?!?!" And it was always funny how when Courtney described what they're looking for in a partner, it was always just... Shayne. Lol.

Around that time, you REALLY got to see their chemistry on the original SmoshCast. Shourtney podcasts were simply the best! Their reactions to each others' stories, their playful banter, the way they were so focused on each other. You could tell they just had the best time together.

I feel like I'm pretty good at being realistic and not making up excuses for why my preferred ship is real/should be real, but being a Shourtney shipper back then was SO validating because their chemistry really did only get better as time moved on.

I could be wrong but I think “why were bad at dating” was some of the only videos where it was only Shayne and Courtney in it w/ no one else at that time. So it’s really easy to see how actually good their chemistry was/is bc it was just them. It’s hard to see a dynamic when you have other cast to focus on unless you’re looking to see it specifically. I think it was a podcast episode or maybe wwbad I don’t actually remember, but Courtney said when she was younger, she thought her boyfriend would be a guy that wears flannels and loves movies…

All jokes aside, shourtney really is a very validating ship. Courtney joked before that people shipped them bc they’re both blonde but we all know that’s not true lol. And the og smosh cast Shourtney episodes really were the best. Something about the og pod was so vulnerable and a cozy vibe.

[numberonemargarethazellefan]

Since closing night has come to an end and added a lot more context to characters I've followed the story line of for years, I have so much to say.

First being on Violetta and Murro, even after all these years they're still only brought up in conversation to validate or criticize another characters actions, I barely see anything of either of them without the main focus being on another character, which is so disappointing after they've been introduced and fleshed out so much. However, I always viewed Vio with a bit of a bolder personality, so I will say her being more meek was disappointing to me, but I still adore her endlessly. Seeing Murro and Mike finally in the same frame was so bittersweet for me, especially after the ending, seeing Murro as a whole was so nice, AND THE BOAR!!!

It really perplexes me how people still like Joker as well? I mean, whatever, everyone has their faves, but.. really? He's really gonna stand there and scream after massacring a whole circus for what? bc people were mean to him? it surely wasn't to protect Margaretha, because come on.. he gives me the biggest incel vibes I've ever seen

And onto Margie, it makes me so viscerally uncomfortable to see her STIILLLL paired with Joker, especially seen art where shes naked and brutalized and he's fully clothed? Idec what it's supposed to represent, genuinely. It's so weird. She has both stated in letters and now visually reacted with distaste and horror over him.

I think Margies reactions are beautifully done, as a victim of the same thing, I love how shes written, I think the point where Mike asks Murro if he thinks she's honest and he just says "oh, well. we know shes not a very good actress :}" is so funny and added a really nice detail to her.

It was interesting to me how she interacted with each character, she makes me so sad.

and finally for Mike, I still truly believe his fans don't make any effort to understand him and are so goddamn insufferable. I do think netease could've expanded on his dynamic with Bernard more than just him telling Murro "ohh you're just like Bernard, from what I remember at least" like COME ONNN

Mike is such an interesting character just like the others but from what I've seen for four years straight, his fans just acknowledge that he was bitter about the circus so that... equals a good reason for him to be a prick to everyone..? and not the more interesting details of his character. yes, we get it, the circus massacre was horrible, he's not the only one suffering though (which is an ONGOING plot point his fans conveniently brush over) I think those two points can be true at once, but not one more than the other if that makes sense.

and of course, why is Mike Morton nagito komaeda and adrien agreste.

[rainbow-arrow]

Something people miss with lukadrien: bonding over daddy issues.

okay yes literally this. I love love love playing with this idea in fics bc they really are such mama's boys it's really funny (also why I fully support Adrien being informally adopted by the Couffaine's so he gets a mom figure back).

They both have such valid reasons to hate their dads. Each were either previously or currently protected by a lie (Anarka not telling Luka, and now Marinette keeping Gabriel's identity a secret), but both Jagged and Gabriel were. not great. Jagged knew the whole time, and well, Gabriel's list is long but mostly he's neglectful and really doesn't care about Adrien, despite saying he does.

There's such bonding potential in the sense they have very different relationships to their dads, but they're both, boiled down, to bad.

Unfortunately as much good as I think it would do for him, I don't think Adrien will ever say he hates his father on the basis that he's his father; we saw his reaction to cataclysm-ing Monarch. But fuck I think Luka should say it for him fjdsklafsa.

I also feel like Luka's response to Jagged in canon was...not accurate to his character? (which I hate saying about canon, but they did make him a twin four seasons in) It is important to consider that yeah, he admires Jagged's music, but he really, realistically, especially with Jagged's reaction to Juleka, should've been more upset. This boy got akumatized over the truth TWICE. For Luka to find out that Jagged KNEW, and they'd interacted multiple times throughout the show before that moment, you'd expected any kind of reaction.

LIKE LISTEN. I love love love Lukadrien bc they're both such people pleasers in such uniquely different ways. With Luka (I say this with all the love in my heart) being so fucking enabling if he likes someone he will let them do wHATEVER (see: whatever the fuck he had with Marinette, and Ephemeral). And then Adrien doing whatever anyone and everyone wanted him to do (see: literally his entire existence, and Wishmaker). It places their dynamic on such a 'what do you want' type care is such an hnnnnn. sO good my fAVORITE.

Luka has every. right. to be upset at Jagged Stone. Adrien has every. right. to be upset at Gabriel Agreste. And they have every. right. to bond over this.

Sorry for the TedTalk, in my defense, I did cut like five paragraphs, but I have four fics to update and so much lukadrien passion

[andro-dino]

Since there has been a lot of Dan and Reiki posts recently, I am curious about what kind of things you think they were doing during Masters and Fury?

honestly? therapy mostly. I mean that post-fusion in general actually. yk sometimes I think a lot about how dan and reiki were there to see gan gan galaxy off with the rest of the group when they first left during masters. I think about that frequently.

The wbba-mandated dark nebula kid support group hc is still one that holds very firm in my head and I very much believe that it was beneficial for dan and reiki. Yk what else I think about? Dan and reiki have been at the dark nebula the longest compared to some of the other recruits (obviously sans Ryuga and probably Reiji) since their first appearance was early on in fusion while everyone else joined way later. You ever think about that? I think about that a lot. Can you tell I think about that a lot? Can you tell I think a lot about how much the dark nebula probably really fucked them up and how their main episode after their first appearance showed how desperate they were for doji’s approval and were willing to do like anything in order to win back his favor and prove their worth? Cuz I think about that a lot. And I definitely also think a lot about how much their conflict stems from the fact that the team battle dynamic that they have is clearly dysfunctional for them because despite how similar they are, they are so fundamentally different to the degree that having them control one bey is just setting themselves up for failure bc of how much their differences clash with each other but they don’t really get the opportunity to acknowledge that because they’re always seen as a team because they’re twins.

A lot of what I imagine them doing post-fusion is kinda working through all that, both their need for approval and validation from a higher figure but also acknowledging more of their individuality. That’s part of the reason why I draw them with different hairstyles. One reason is bc it’s more fun for me and I HATE drawing their canonical shaggy boy band cut, another is bc it makes it easier for other people to tell them apart, but the main reason is because I like it as a show of them becoming their own separate people and being able to individualize themselves more.

I also do like to think about their potential friendship dynamics with other characters. One that I’ve thought abt a little bit is I think they’d both be good friends with Tobio, and by extension they hang out with dss a lot, which I can only imagine would be the most chaotic matchup of people and they are probably banned from a lot of public spaces, but it’s a lot of fun. Tsubasa also I like to think of as one of their more voice of reason friends. The main reason they even hang around each other is bc of the whole support group thing but they enjoy Tsubasa’s company a lot and he checks up on them and introduces them to new people and I think that’s fun. Hyoma is one of the people I could see Tsubasa introducing them to which is also an extremely silly dynamic, and Hyoma then introduces them to Axyl, which is how gemios trio happens. They mean a lot to me, obviously <3 gemios trio is also how the idea of the twins and their beef/also extremely silly friendship with zhouxing came to be. I just think they’re funny I like them a lot. (I also. haven’t talked abt this ever. but the idea of crackshipping zhouxing and reiki has crossed my mind more than once. for reasons I think are obvious. but it’s very silly and I love them.)

In general I just enjoy pairing the twins up with a bunch of different characters, either together or individually, I like giving them friends and more character interactions because I think it’s fun and they deserve the world. But yeah that’s most of what their post-fusion shenanigans are in my head, individualizing themselves, exploring different hobbies and means of self-expression, unlearning their dark nebula trauma, and making friends and hanging out and being silly because they deserve it <3

[bylerfields]

the ask you answered about not seeing dominant mike is really interesting! i feel like a lot of people fight against a more dom will bc they assume people took “buff byers” and ran with it, ignoring characterization, but this take on it, will being the same will regardless of his looks and it fitting mike who’s just more gentle by nature makes so much sense.

thanks anon!!! waaah i’m glad someone else sees it like that, i feel on an island most of the time

the hc that mike goes back to being his gentle s1-2 self once he has nothing to be so wound up about might be the closest one to my heart, it’s really important to me! people always talk about going back and watching will in the show in defense against buff byers and pointing out how he’s just as soft, which i agree with obviously. he didn’t change in s4 because of his looks.

the way i look at it isn’t that will suddenly rose up to mike’s level and made them both balanced masc dudes in s4 - it’s that they started out on the same level and mike has gone out of his way to rise up past will, and he’ll eventually come back down when he settles into his identity. idk if that makes sense.

kinda sidenote mike character study but this is also why it’s funny to me how his brattiest most bottomy moments are showcased during s3, because it’s also the season where he’s conforming the most. the dichotomy is fun to watch, and while i don’t think this dynamic stays put when he grows up, it says a lot about mike i think. the whole “will isn’t a good partner for mike then if you think he’s characterized like that” claim is interesting to me bc its

1) so limiting and (dare i say) so sex focused, like you think they wouldn’t be able to figure it out at all if they wanted different things in bed? 10+ years of close friendship? will’s head over heels for mike. not the idea he has of him (even the painting even the knight stuff etc etc etc - i think he’s right about mike and the show is obv telling us this. my point is that, it’s a s5 plot point. it’s not informing every aspect of their dynamic like most assume). and again, i simply have trouble believing will’s desires would be so concrete when this is mike, it’s not a fantasy it’s his best friend who’s also gay and comes with his own baggage. which leads me to point two

2) it’s ignorant of any potential depth mike has. there’s the argument that will’s needs and traits are ignored when people write a more subby mike. i think more often than not, mike’s areas of depth, esp areas where he wouldn’t be as compatible to will, are cherry picked out. and i don’t think this is too far fetched to think because of how many have said they see him as just a love interest for their favorite character. there are for sure aspects of mike wiiiiidely accepted that are fanon and people don’t even realize bc it just fits will so perfectly. and tbh! fanon is fun au’s are fun so idc! but let’s call it what it is i guess and not be the canon validity police for other things.

i’m also incredibly bored of the idea that “leader” is a masculine role.

tldr; will’s more dominant side doesn’t require him to become more aggressive than he is to power over mike, bc a mike who’s accepted himself, settled, regulated, and with will doesn’t need his power taken away. he’s just chilling 💞

thanks for the ask sooo sorry for the essay answer <3

[thatsparrow]

post-honor among thieves thoughts

a delight!!

truly, a fun fantasy film with all the right blends of serious stakes and goofy missteps that is so emblematic of playing dnd

one of the things I was most curious about going into it was—given that so much of dnd is a) collaborative storytelling and b) ultimately determined by dice rolls, how would those elements of unpredictability translate to a scripted story? (which I suppose is not new to dnd-based media, there have been novels and the 80s show, but those aren't things that I've consumed.) and like. yes the story was pretty predictable overall, but I did like that there were moments of abject failure scattered throughout that really captured the vibe of rolling a nat 1 (it was also very fun to half-watch it through a lens of, oh, this person would be rolling a deception check right now. this person is succeeding then failing on a bunch of acrobatics checks, etc.)

it is. so very fun to me that bards are categorically also spellcasters, and yet they did not let chris pine do one damn magical thing, that lute was a melee weapon only

michelle rodriguez barbarian my beloved (also like, in terms of balancing references to the game with still making the movie accessible, part of me was expecting/hoping to see some visual indication of her going into a rage, but I did like that they didn't tip the hand quite that much while still making clear during fight scenes that, oh, she definitely has some rage-fueled strength right now that is allowing her to yeet a dude across a courtyard)

seeing all the spells and wildshaping was incredibly fucking cool!! that may have been the bit I was most excited about, and it did not disappoint—doric's whole infiltration and then escape of the castle was so good. the displacer beasts. the mimics!

sir that's just a portal gun

the comp het was so funny. look, I really loved both justice smith and sophia lillis but cmon guys. there was nothing there

although speaking of, edgin and holga as determinedly platonic best friends raising a child together was an absolute delight—the bit when edgin says to kira like 'I'm not trying to bring back your mom but my wife' bc yeah!! kira's mom is already right there!!

halfling bradley cooper having a clear type of 'women twice my size who could break me in half' is so valid

god paladin regé-jean page be still my heart (although yeah, the paladin as a straight-laced LG humorless type is not the only way to interpret the class, but I thought it did make for a nice contrast w the rest of the party)

but also his armor! I thought the costumers did a great job of giving them all designs/looks that spoke to their classes. truly, the visuals of the whole movie were so cool—not just in terms of the aesthetics, but the framing and movement of the shots, too. very dynamic, very fun to watch

overall, a genuinely good time!!

[sieglinde-freud]

Can I get you started on the derailment of Duncan and Courtney?

what is this, a total drama vent blog now? but yeah you can :) under cut

i think the derailment of courtney is like five thousand times more annoying than duncan but that might j be bc i dont really like duncan (hes fine in island, kinda boring in action (didnt deserve his win idgaf that shouldve been harold there. yes im still mad lindsay went home instead of him in rock n rule), and the entirety of that mid section of world tour just revolving around him and the stupid love triangle drama is SO annoying. and then he makes final five FOR WHAT??? FOR WHAT???? im sick of his ass. what was i talking about. right) but either way theyre both two very major characters so its just really sad to see them both fall victim to horrible characterization? cuz you start in island right and in general island is a lot more grounded than the other seasons and leans more into the fact that theyre all 2000’s teenage stereotypes so in island theyre just the good ol cliche good girl/bad boy couple its iconic, its cute, WAY more entertaining than gwent (but they get a pass cuz gwen was basically the main character of that season. u go girl. go get that bag AND that boring wet dog man) and its just nice. courtney shows signs of being controlling but for the most part duncan’s attitude gets courtney to loosen up a bit and have fun and courtney made duncan a better person.

and then action happens and then courtney is like. rightfully mad she got screwed out of the season after harold gets her kicked off and no one gaf but its like. you can see where this could go and it doesnt look great. not much happens for duncan except he gets more insufferable bc they didnt give him any friends this season? unlike when he geoff and dj to bounce off of now he just picks fights with harold and the other gaffers which IS funny but. basically action is where the red flags start being put up. their relationship is. fine. like i liked it at the time but knowing where it heads is upsetting. anyways

then u get to world tour and theyre close to their island dynamic again (with the exception of gwen being there…) but then duncan quits first episode which i think was actually a great choice bc of how courtney finally gets to stand on her own as a character without him (i actually really like duncney. but her character was always tied to him in some way yk?) and make her own friends and it was looking great! until i see london and everything goes to shit. dude comes back, cheats on courtney, and then everyone on that god forsaken plane gets involved. first of all, ISLAND DUNCAN WOULD NEVER??? no fucking way. not even action duncan. dude was HOOKED on her crazy ass. AND FOR GWEN?!?! who has never been the same since island but thats a different thing. but they had literally zero romantic chemistry. all they have in common is that theyre both alt kids. NOT EVEN THE SAME KIND OF ALTERNATIVE! just alt. ugh. and then courtney gets sent into a spiral which, is a valid reaction to getting cheated on i do not blame her. and w/ someone you thought was ur friend like i GET IT. and i am on her side. but then her character goes back to ONLY EVER BEING ABOUT DUNCAN except this time its how much she hates him and her character just. pauses! she doesnt go anywhere else from i see london until shes eliminated inn… what was it. chinese fakeout? like shes just a hater who makes zero meaningful relationships aside from getting played by alejandro and shes just. like its just. its not good. and to know that any of this only happened bc the producers forced a duncney break up. girl sit DOWNNN

and then all stars just tramples them even more. since when has duncan ever gave a shit what people think of him? jojo siwa acting ass with this “im a bad boy!1!!!!” act island duncan would never. and then courtney. ohh courtney. she got flushed down a toilet force feeding herself ice cream with bird shit on it. all i gotta say (but also. nerfed bc she literally has an iron stomach in chinese fake out. whatever)

i still love them though. well, i love courtney. duncans alright but still neither of them deserved any of that

[utilitycaster]

I keep thinking abt your "'must a story have conflict?' Yes actually hope this helps" posts in the context of laudna and imogen because like. Their shippers keep saying like. "You just don't UNDERSTAND the beauty of their Perfect Relationship, the bond that Traumatized People have that makes them In Tune, so sad how you will never understand love or being with another etcetera etcetera" and it's like. what the hell are you talkinf about (they're usually the kind of ppl with weird and bad narrative ideas re: their traumas so uwu sad everyone is against them). Don't we want this relationship to be healthy and beneficial to both of them? Don't get me wrong, I love Toxic Girl Yuri fucked up tragic relationships as much as anyone else but shippers pretty clearly aren't angling for that kind of story, and neither would the trajectory of the campaign support it. The onscreen dynamic isn't even spicy enough to HAVE toxic codependency it's just. There.

what's funny is that actually my favorite era of their relationship was the "we transcend labels, you and I" thing Laudna said to Imogen. Partly bc personal aro feelings but also because THAT felt like genuine no expectations support to fall back on. The idea that they could just Be and always be It wasn't ASKING for the kind of dynamicism of a romantic relationship such and such, but now with the girlfriends thing, it feels like now there should be WAY more than what's been happening. Does any of this make sense?

Hey anon,

So I largely agree (will cover the one point of not entire agreement below). I do want to note that if you're the person who's sent me other questions recently on this topic please feel free to DM me! I think it's valid to want to voice those frustrations, and I get not wanting to do so publicly (though I think the harassment on Tumblr at least has largely died down) but also to be completely honest I have been fully in a Nein and Candela headspace with a handful of exceptions mostly relating to wiki stuff so I've been answering these anons but I'll admit it's not where my thoughts have been re: CR stuff for the past few weeks.

Anyway, I can understand the desire for a QPR or simply close friends for Imogen and Laudna! I am not aro myself, and I do enjoy a good romantic plot, but I'd rather have a well-executed story with no romance than a good story slightly marred by poorly done romance. However, it's actually really interesting to me (in a good/neutral way) that you recall it as "we transcend labels" because the actual quote (3x49, 4:52:57) is "We transcend words, you and I" and I could not stand that because my frustration has again always been that they spend a lot of time talking, and absolutely none of it communicating; they have never transcended words, they have simply not fucking used them well. More generously, I think a relationship in which a couple is on such a wavelength that they do have a sense of how the other feels without needing to talk (or read minds, in this situation) can be aspirational in real life, though again, I don't think that's actually what's going on here; but even if it were, that is not remotely interesting to watch. I truly do not give a shit in the end if relationships on the shows I watch are healthy or unhealthy provided the narrative knows what it's fucking doing and I think people who are obsessed with unproblematic wholesomeness are frankly suspect, but man, either be toxic codependent yuri or be two people trying to understand each other, instead of two people who seem to only occasionally remember that they are important to each other, and never seem to remember why.

But yes, the fact that virtually nothing has changed despite a relationship upgrade, especially in light of the relationship losing my interest as a platonic thing 30 or 40 episodes prior to them becoming a romantic couple is now thrown into more stark relief because you'd think something would change. Like, that's the thing. There was no romance; there was no plot. While I think the people who insisted from the start that CLEARLY they were already dating are the kind of people who would unironically ship my mop and broom solely on the basis of them leaning against each other next to my garbage can, at least if they had already been dating from the start a lack of forward momentum could be somewhat forgiven. I say somewhat, because Veth and Yeza were married from before the campaign or, for a platonic option, the twins were...twins from before the campaign, and both those relationships were still infinitely more complex and ever-changing and thoughtful over the course of their respective campaigns than whatever Imogen and Laudna were doing; it still, to be clear, would have been dishwater dull. But it would have been forgivably so; I would have simply politely lost interest episode 5 or whenever and moved on without saying much, whereas now there's a series of increasingly lowered bars in their wake.

So anyway, yeah. It sure is There.

[welcometoteyvat]

random but have you thought abt gaming and hutao?

funny story anon, when I was writing ga-ming's fake voicelines and needed to give him more characters to talk about, I was considering adding a hu tao voiceline, but decided against it because I didn't really see a reason for them to meet (besides via friends (new liyue 6ang addition?!?!?!)). lowkey I now feel validated bc they don't have any in-game voicelines abt each other, but this would be a very boring ask if it just stopped here lol.

there's something to be said about gaming and hu tao's family baggage vs their cheerful external demeanor vs both doing a job that isn't super well received (?) by people in liyue harbor. but hu tao leans into her eccentricities a lot more while gaming is on the 'likeable by everyone' grind LOL also the dad similarities might increase if we ever get 76th funeral parlor director lore: hu tao's parents have been conspicuously missing forever, where did genshin put them? an interesting possibility would be if the 76th somehow split off from the family trade and subsequently got wiped from the family tree bc of ideological diffs (like ht's beef with baizhu), which could increase gaming and hu tao's possible shared father(?) troubles. but besides that I feel like there's not too much similarity there. They're both enthusiastic outward facing individuals, but idk if they'd have an interesting dynamic if they met.*

Although, you know that voiceline where hu tao does a magic trick and makes a butterfly of fire? and also how she plays with those lion statues outside the ministry of civil affairs? those two things would be straight up gamings alley ngl like he'd be so down for that kind of whimsy and playfulness. also hu tao would be a good candidate for a 2nd lion dance partner. she'd be completely down for doing odd jobs and this is absolutely a fun odd job, at least until she gets tired of it or has to focus on official business lol. idt she's the type to work hard at it; she's just there to try it out because it looked cool but gaming appreciates the enthusiasm regardless. would request to be the lions head in order to lunge at people and also pick greens. also there's potential for a gaming yun jin xingqiu hu tao tea appreciation club

oh also i think smth underrated abt hu tao is how shes like cheery and eccentric but takes her job seriously and has unidentifiable but occasionally present baggage .... which i already mentioned before is similar to how 75% of gm's voicelines are cheery, and then the other 25% is emotional conflict. idk! maybe under the right conditions, they could open up to each other and sympathize

*addendum: imo, hu tao has mostly moved on from her grief over her grandfather's death, and she doesn't have any regrets about the state of their relationship when he passed away, since they were pretty close and never on bad terms. My personal hc is that she still has some things she wished she said, ie. sincere thoughts and feelings from the heart that she usually avoids talking about (she would say "nice speech, but that kind of killed the mood" if someone made one of those anime protag power of friendship monologues). in my head, her grandpa taught her everything about death and funeral customs, played with her/listened to her poetry, pretended to go along w her pranks, and was in general a very loving person, but I don't think hu tao ever explicitly told him "I love you" before he died. she canonically tried to find him right after he passed away but knew that he wouldn't be there. by now i think she's made peace with his death, but still has a certain wistfulness about things she didn't think of saying. and then on the flip side, if ga-ming could see his mom again, he'd probably spend a whole day talking to her i think. he's also not someone to get drunk on grief or regrets, but i don't think he's quite gotten over it completely, and his rocky relationship with his father (before lantern rite 2024) makes this more emotional idk. not sure where I'm going with this, but maybe hu tao would be able to talk him through a bit of this messiness and urge him to simply continue with his own life. or show him that his mother was not at the border, perhaps never lingered there, because she didnt think there was any unfinished business with him or his father that she needed to worry about. the annoying thing about death is that even if the dead person was free of regrets, those who are still living will still miss them. maybe both gaming and hu tao would be able to understand that and/or sympathize with it. or maybe they'd just be silly together who knows, up to you

edit: it'd also be so funny to have gaming call hu tao "boss hu" 胡老板～～～～～～～

[thesmutalorian]

Yeah  they made the feral predator way too hot. The credits came on and I immediately went to Ao3 like “let’s see what the girlies have to say about thissssss” 🤭 I saw the original predator almost a decade ago and as much as I liked it, never would of guessed I’d be here now 🙂

 the ooman shit kills me, like why do they have these scary ass aliens saying such silly shit I’m gonna die. 

Turns ouuuuut, I actually have more to sayyyyy, but you don’t have to respond: I feel bad bc I don’t have an Ao3 account so I can never comment, but Gorl if I did, id have a whole essay for every chapter, including reaction images 😤. Ik you aren’t currently writing from Ta'Kesh’s POV (which is perfectly fine lol), but I really appreciated how you did so. The predator POV is so fun to read, they’re just so damn cold and pragmatic and just ALIEN yk? (Ta’kesh makes me laugh bc he’s such a lil psycho lol). At least when done right I think. The dynamic you have set up is really interesting, like I love a good slow burn enemies to friends to lovers, but the cultural differences and species hierarchy sets it up for some really fascinating (JUICY) interactions/character development. I was unfortunate enough to come upon your story very early, there aren’t many other fics that hold up to the standard you set! (Have you read The Devil You Know? One of the only other quality fics I’ve found that seems to accurately portray that sort of dynamic- 10/10 recommend). 

But anyway, the arrogance, the entitlement, just the cold bluntness makes predator fic so engaging to me. When you take a person with that deeply ingrained of a mindset (that’s another aspect I love, the question of whether or not yautjas are innately “predatory” or if it’s largely due to cultural upbringing) and force them to interact with with someone they deem inferior in a way they never have had to before (and there was only ONE BED heheh) I’m eating that shit up with 2 hands like GOOD SOUP!!😤😤😤

 I appreciate it even more with a quality OC and I like Charlie a lot. I really struggle with reader/you fics bc beyond me just being like “lol I would not do that”, I like having an established character to root for :). She has an interesting past that you’ve managed to portray in an appealing and unostentatious way. Reminds me of Rust cohle from True Detective.  I like that she’s very brave, but not to the point of ridiculousness lol. She has her moments where she’s able to act courageously in order to try to survive, but still gets intimidated/scared (extremely valid) sometimes with the big ass scary aliens. Do you have anyone in mind for how she looks?

Some highlights so far:

Greatly enjoyed ta’kesh’s cringe fail lake venture where Charlie showed his ass up while he fucking stands in the background looking like a drowned ass rat ahahah but watching her Commit Violence like 👀

Idk why but aliens using bidets is so fucking funny to me

Kinda living for ta’kesh being a dork and talking to his cat all the time hehe

let me see what the girlies have to sayyyyy 👏🏼 absolutely the correct response. my friend and I stand by that alien v predator could've been entirely more romantic if they were brave enough but 🤪 no cause literallyyyyy when I read ooman I hear it in a baby voice and I canNOT take it seriously, like bless those authors truly but whoever started the ooman precedent.... I just wanna talk 🧍🏻‍♀️ and girly pop ofc I'm gonna respond you took the time to let me know how you feel and I /love/ interaction okay (I think there's a way to comment anon on ao3 with like a guest account or name or something but maybe I'm wrong idk) but either way you take the time I want to show my appreciation

I stopped his POV just cause I felt like I was backtracking and I'm already so slow (rip sorry) but I really do want to come back to it in the future just to have fun revealing his inner workings (cause sometimes I be writing things and giggling like pookie is such a brat and then I remember y'all can't hear the goofy ass voices in my head and you only know the story I show you) but yes yes their differences are gonna play out in so many ways that I just can't wait for 😇 AND YES IVE READ FRIGGY one of the few I made it all the way through and then had to literally have a whole moment to process that there wasn't a second part 😗😗 sick I tell you, sick,, but I completely understand the not being able to read FPOV or self insert because of the "ummm I would never" --- because that's EXACTLY how I started writing 💀😭 I was chatting w my friend and we were like ok but isn't it kinda weird how fast some of these fmc just like... accept the whole ass murder crab men? also--- how do they survive well in space and from there Charlie was born ahahahHA I was like ok but what if I made it realistic for bits (as realistic as scifi can be) and then asked people to suspend their disbelief for the fun bits like the space pond and the tail n shit 🤭🤭

I have a whole board of art for ta'kesh but I've never really stopped to think about Charlie 🧐��

YES DROWNED RAT IS SOOOOO RIGHT mans really does have an ego, which, like rightfully earned? but also... must be checked whenever author feels he needs it (all the time 😇)

the bidet was me being like what is something that isn't necessarily commonplace, but feels bougie enough that an advanced society would have it regularly around.... ah yes.... Bidet.

ta'kesh is a cat girl, confirmed

I promise to bring you more good soup in the future 🍲

[raayllum]

I loved this season, but the 3rd is still my favorite and for you, which one is your favorite?although season 3 is my favorite, but season 5 was the best rayllum season, I was so looking forward to a kiss, but it didn't bother me at all that I didn't have one, I just loved how close they were this season sometimes it felt like symbiotic the way they don't have to look at each other to punch each other's hand or say "surprise" at the same time, amazing! What aspect did you like most about them

Season three is still my favourite just cause I love how strong everyone's arcs are that season (especially Ezran and Soren) but season five is a very very close second, which is impressive since I adore S2 and it's held the 2nd spot for a while now.

I do think S5 might have my favourite like, Rayllum, so far? Even if there's something nostalgic and sweet/innocent about S3 (they hadn't really broken each other's hearts yet) so it's hard to say. But I loved the maturity and devotion in S5 and how much they've grown, and 5x01, 5x04, and especially 5x08 are some of my favourite Rayllum eps afterwards. I think 5x08 is probably my favourite episode for Rayllum in the whole series!

The fact we've gone two seasons now with zero Rayllum kisses (although I am hoping the hug ratio evens out soon bc just one a season isn't enough for me lol! I want more!) is funny & particularly validating when one of the (few) criticisms about their dynamic in S3 was that they were too teenager-y / kissed too much, and how that seemed to come from a lack of understanding that like - Rayla and Callum's bond with one another is so much more than that? Which S4 and S5 have put on full display, and I love it so much

[ooh-khamil]

do u support the way pretty treated mc in season 2 3 and 4 ?

Its really worrying that I even have to be asked that question.

Why the hell would I, of course I don't support how Pretty sexually harassed Mr Cat.

But I understand why that question was asked, I also saw the number of idiots fans of her who think that her actions were just comedy and not that serious. But it never was and its dangerous to think like this about it because the crap she did wasn't nothing.

Personally, I think the idea of a platonic duo between Mr Cat & Pretty could be achievable, because they've been shown multiple times to form a dynamic duo given that they both enjoy fashion, are evil bastards, I kind of enjoyed seeing it, but most of the time it was ruined bc well, Pretty had a shit obsession with Mr Cat. If Pretty never did these shits to Mr Cat It wouldve been really cool,

But I think it's important that the media shows how girls being creeps exist, and is just as much unacceptable and disgusting.

Which is why I wish that the show put more thoughts into Mr Cat and Pretty, if you wanted them to pair as friends in the end, even though she did all of this to Mr Cat, you couldve AT LEAST made Pretty apologize to Mr Cat.

I would not want Mr cat to immediately forgive her just because she said sorry. I'd want him to take his own time, to be more comfortable around her, and as time goes. They both find out that they couldve gotten along more easily if she didnt start shit.

I wish they dedicated at least a season to that before.

Instead they decided that, WITHOUT ANY ACTIONS, WORDS, that theyre besties like nothing ever happened. (not mentionning S5))

Everyone is free to have their opinion about her, if you hate her because of the shits she did, youre valid asf, if you like her I simply hope you acknowledge that Pretty IS an asshole.

on the other hand i hope that Pretty gets hit by a table and goes back to being normal

Cause her whole "development" was just like that one episode where they gave working neurons to Stumpy, and then they killed him to make him dumb again because they realized he wasnt funny at all without his main trait, dumb. She works perfectly fine as a recurring antagonist yall!!

[quodekash]

i went to sleep yesterday instead of watching the eclipse episode BUT im here now and ready to suffer in a good way from the beauty that is akkayan

bRO

the parallels in this are crazy

the eclipse is filled with parallels and i love it so much

this is so funny, akk why do you keep saying that, hes gonna keep kissing you-

OHHHH HE KEEPS SAYING IT SO THAT AYE KEEPS KISSING HIM

I love them so much

i love the upside down kisses, it makes me think of the spiderman which makes me think of akk as spiderman which makes me think of how transmascs love spiderman which makes me have trans akk headcanons and ghjbdgfhjb i love it

GUYS YOU COULDVE SLEPT IN AN ACTUAL ROOM TOGETHER

YOU DIDNT NEED TO SLEEP THERE

THE OTHERS DIDNT

WHAT ARE YOU DOING

I LOVE YOU BUT YOURE SO SILLY

HES SO PRETTY HOW IS THIS MAN SO PRETTY

this scene is so funny

none of them even offer an excuse or explanation, they just run

what are namo and wat gonna do in the meantime while the others are doing their work 🤔🤔

HUZZAH I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN

i think we all knew this would happen

WAT YOURE A GENIUS

HE'S MAKING THEM MAKE UP AS CHARACTERS WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY MAKE THEM MAKE UP IN REAL LIFE BC THEIR LINES ARE VALID POINTS

lets give it up for our lord and saviour, wat

pffffft

sorry i know this is an important moment but-

but aye is just so short

and its so funny to me

even tho i know im shorter than khaotung by 16cm

its still funny

"i really want you to see them hug. theyre like two people who truly love each other but believe in different things" GRHJBSGD

i love platonic watsani moments they make me happy

some of my favourite scenes in the actual show are platonic watsani moments

theyre both my favourite characters (only by a little bit tho bc theyre all my favourite characters)

im just terrified of them being coupled together and im so glad theyve kept them entirely platonic and havent changed it at all, cos like for os2 they completely deferred off the seanmaitee train tracks bc winnysatang became a thing, but im glad theyve kept watsani's dynamic exactly the same, it makes me happy

THE TRIO TOGETHER AGAINNNN i missed them

i know theyve been hanging out this whole time but its been ages since weve seen just these three hanging out, their little friend group who've known each other for years, and can read each other inside out

theyve known each other for six years specifically

which is a really freaking long time

thats since they were in... year 6? BRO IMAGINE HOW TINY THEY WERE

AWW

DO YOU SEE NOW

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY THEIR FRIENDSHIP IS SO BEAUTIFUL

BHBJHVJHVJGV

"i think people hate or are afraid of something because they don't really understand it" KAN SPITTING FACTS

also gotta love the metaphor

look at how pretty this visual is

guess who im adding to my parents-to-destroy list

IM GONNA CRYYYY THEY ALL LOVE EACH OTHER AND COMFORT EACH OTHER AND WAT'S CRYING AND THEIR ARMS ARE AROUND EACH OTHER AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP IS SO BEAUTIFUL ITS KILLING ME

OMG

I KNOW WHATS COMING

THE HATS

THE FLIPIN HATS

IM GONNA HAVE A MENTAL BREAKDOWN ABOUT A COUPLE OF HATS

THEYRE SO CUTE IM NOT OKAY

always, aye

aye, a summary: pretty

THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES THE BIKES

NOW IM HAVING A MENTAL BREAKDOWN ABOUT BIKES

the gender on these two is immaculate

i want their gender please

NOOO THEYRE DOING A NUENGPALM THING

I KNOW THEYLL BE FINE BC THEYRE SOULMATES BUT NOOOO WHYYYY

"your mouth is messy." "your mouth is messy too" "wipe it for me" "with what?" "your mouth." HHHHHHHH

IM SMILING SO HARD I CAN BARELY SEE

LITTLE CHEEK KISS

i think akkayan's cheek kisses will be the end of me one day

there you go, communication, good job, finally

WHY DID YOU GUYS COME TOGETHER, HMMMM??

ZOOM ZOOM

oh you stronzo

he's finished the song, hasnt he

and hes gonna sing it to akk tonight for his birthday

OH NO

POOR NAMOOOO

all good tho, now he can date wat

sorry im being insensitive

i hope he feels better soon

am i crying because of how much i love these two human beings? maybe.

OMG FILM TIME

JGHSDKGEUISJDFGVOIERJDHGOIREJBDL

WAT IS SO FREAKING TALENTED

i find it so funny that theyre all peeing together

also having a wall separating the urinals is so smart why is that not a thing everywhere

ah shoot i ran out of images again, hang on