#which makes him SO fun as a character and I LOVE his arc but Jesus Fucking Christ this man is FRUSTRATING at first

[damnghouligans]

Bruh I’m on the alien episode….. Ford. I love him but I fucking HATEeeee him Jesus

[allwormdiet]

Extermination 8.5

Skitter is now one for three on interacting with New Wave kids without making them hate her.

Also fun fact I actually hit the image limit while making this post so I had to nix a few of the smaller observations made, there's just that much shit going on

Neat to meet more of New Wave, but boy I wish it was under different circumstances

Also Taylor you were so close to making that descriptor of their anguish work, you shouldn't have acknowledged it

How fucking harrowing must it be to let your daughter go anywhere near the fucking thing that killed your son.

Also I like how even as Skitter realizes that this is not the time or place, she's still indignant at being called "the girl."

What an awful fucking day for all of them. What can even be done, what can even be said?

Just a wet fucking cat of a girl, being carried through the air.

Oh hey Coil, bet your asshole is clenching really fucking hard rn

I wish there was a way for Coil to drown down there without killing Dinah too, but alas

Also absolutely insane that this has all been in the span of, what, an hour? Maybe a little more? What the fuck

And here's Parian proving that she's actually a huge badass

"Why manipulate cloth" honestly my first assumption is that it's bc her power is cloth control

Really fucking funny that people apparently keep thinking that superpowers are magic, though

We hardly knew ye.

I did learn that this is a retcon; Browbeat survived in the initial version of the story, although he quit the Wards in the wake of this attack and never comes up again. The retcon was in... 2019? Reasoning is speculative but I guess people kept making stupid jokes about Browbeat and he got tired of it?

Hey you know what though, really good showing overall, better than a bunch of other capes today

Okay so did this attack go through Leviathan? What the fuck is going on with this Flechette girl, that is utterly fucking cracked. Armsmaster's fucking nanothorns couldn't hack that, what is she doing where her shots do this kinda damage.

Leviathan likes playing with its fucking food, which is weird as hell

This dramatic fucker

God that's so cool, just opening up a fucking chasm in the middle of the battlefield.

...I wonder if it was trying to get into the bunker like Coil was afraid of. I know enough about Noelle to know that could've gone really fucking poorly.

Laserdream is cool, does she get much love in the fandom or is she too peripheral a character for that?

This is kinda funny ngl

That's a lot of fucking dead people, Jesus H

Taylor you are genuinely being too cool about this, your arm is still broken

He can do anything he wants down there, it's terrifying

Very funny that Armsmaster's brand-spanking-new halberd is being put to better use in this fight by people who aren't him and for purposes he didn't intend

Haha, wuh oh!

First indicator that Coil's got some pretty remarkable commercial ties considering he managed to sneak his own fucking Endbringer shelter in for private use and nobody noticed.

Also, god that's gotta be fucking terrifying

...I think like 99% of things that have come up in this arc are fucking terrifying if we're being real for a second but I'm gonna keep saying it

Seeing someone who treats you like dirt and have a happy life outside of treating you like dirt is a certain kind of agony. Also fuck Gladly on principle tbh.

Ah fuck

She could have so easily given into spite and let them all suffer and die. She was under no obligation beyond her own drive to be good, to be better, to be better than Gladly. And that's why she's among the best of these fucking people.

And so the bug girl, both creepy AND wet, goes in there and saves everyone left standing by shoving the Halberd up Levi's nonexistent asshole and baiting him back out the shelter

She's a bigger hero than so many of the others

This might be one of the most intensely and personally terrifying moments of all. Paralysis and drowning hand in hand. A slow and insidious kind of horror.

Rachel Lindt MVP

Well hey, cool of Rachel to be concerned though

They should be giving Bitch the key to the fucking city for this, honestly

This poor girl sacrificed the closest thing she has to family to buy even a fraction of extra time for this asscrack of a city

And then there's this fucking asshole

Imagine if God thought you, personally and specifically, fucking sucked. What a weird feeling that must be.

Skipping past the downturn in the fighting and the teleportation bc we have to get to the conclusion of the chapter

Taylor did more to save this whole city than any of these people can even imagine, and they manhandle her into a cot and cuff her broken-ass arm because y'can't be too careful with villains, can you

This is going to go so poorly

Current Thoughts

Taylor did more, in the moment-to-moment breakdown of tracking, fighting, and responding to Leviathan, than like 90% of the other capes in this whole fucking deal, and nobody will ever know the full extent of it. She might have honestly saved more lives than Armsmaster, because he was too busy fucking grandstanding in the moments leading up to his, ahaha, disarmament.

Skitter is a hero, idgaf what anyone says. She earned better than what she's about to be fucking put through, that's for sure.

[artist-issues]

So if you could tell everyone about your favorite movie, what would you tell them about it?

PS I love your blog and your media deep dives

Thank you! So kind! Anything good I have to say is really just because of Jesus, not me. I'd tarnish and ruin good things, left on my own.

I keep trying to tell everyone about my favorite movie, but I get so choked with all the things I want to say—and knowing that the more deep I make it seem the less they'll like it because they're not accustomed to deep-diving into children's media and that'll skew their enjoyment of it—that I wind up falling back on the tried and true "it's so good, you have to see it, I can't believe you've never seen it before, we have to watch it!"

It's Lilo & Stitch.

Lilo & Stitch is incredible for so many reasons.

It was an underdog in the Disney Studio. One of their lowest-budget movies, in their B-Team Shabby Florida Studio, and only a handful of higher-ups really believed in it. And now it's one of their biggest, longest-lasting, farthest reaching worldwide franchises.

Disney was stuck in a rut of making only a certain handful of movies; Triumph-of-Humans Adventures, or Princess-Fantasies. And Chris Sanders, the guy who basically invented their Story Department during the "renaissance" period, came along and said, "let's break the mold. Let's just try something small, quirky, bold, and new. Let's flip the script on everything except good storytelling." Instead of Princesses, you get Normal Humans Living in a 2002 rural beach town. Instead of Magic you get Sci Fi—but only like five minutes of Sci-Fi. Instead of a Romance you get Family. And when we say "family," no, we don't mean, "Epic Lion King or Tarzan Coming-of-Age Destiny Stories—" we mean "orphans about to be split up by the foster care system, needing a friend." Instead of Lassie (pet movies, like 101 Dalmatians or Lady & the Tramp.) you get something closer to Gremlins meets E.T. Instead of an Epic Adventure, you get Smalltown Sister Tries to Find a Job. Instead of Dashing or Loveable Main Character you get Mildly Disgusting Main Character who picks his nose and pushes little orphan girls down, for fun. Instead of a Namable Famous City on Earth, like New York or London in their old movies, you get Nameless Town in Hawaii. Instead of Hero Triumphs, you get Villain Redeemed.

The style. All the alien ships look like fish, all the alien creatures look like some take on small-town animals like armadillos or pigs or bobcats, or more aquatic life. And then it matches with what? Small Town Hawaiian Imagery. So you get the idea that not only, stylistically, do the visuals of the movie blend well, but, Stitch not only doesn't belong in outer space among those aliens—he doesn't belong on Hawaii, where even the locals have something in common with the Galactic People, and he does not.

Watercolor backgrounds. Nobody was doing that. Nobody is doing that. They didn't have to do that. It's just beautiful, and soft.

Stitch. As a character. Name one other character whose arc starts with "you can never belong; there is nothing inside of you that is good." and then ends with "loved unconditionally, adopted into a family that loves him in spite of the trouble he brings them. In spite of his inability, at first, to love them back."

Lilo. Lilo is loved that same way by Nani. Nani willingly invites trouble into her already fraught life if it'll make Lilo the tiniest bit happier. Even though Lilo already makes Nani's life hard. Lilo, too, is about to go into the next phase of life with nothing—if the social worker takes her away, she'll have lost her parents, her sister, her home, and her hometown, which she's shown to know and love—and we've already seen how feeling lost and like she doesn't belong causes Lilo to act destructively, because her classmates treat her like she doesn't belong and Lilo beats the crap out of them. The directors said it like this: "Lilo is a future Stitch," if she's taken away.

All these characters have holding them together is this commitment to this definition of family: "Nobody gets left behind or forgotten." Lilo and Nani were "left behind" by their parents, because their parents died. Or they could think of it that way. But Nani doesn't. She does whatever she can to keep Lilo with her, and refuse to "leave Lilo behind." She's eighteen, nineteen—she could go on to college, live in a dorm, while her troublemaking sister goes to foster care. She has all these surf trophies on her nightstand—she could've been somebody if she'd left her family behind. But she doesn't. Whether Lilo loves her back or not, she won't leave Lilo behind. And guess what? Whether David, the surfer boy, gets Nani's love back or not, he loves her and is there for her. Whether Stitch loves Lilo back or not, she sticks with him—until she almost doesn't, but guess what, by then it's okay, because he's learned. He's been transformed by the idea "nobody gets left behind," which is just another term for "unconditional love."

The commitment to FOCUS. Chris Sanders is always good at this. But this movie could've been about, or addressed, DOZENS of social issues. It could've picked up the "government worker" flag. It could've picked up the "racism" flag, or the "classism" flag. It easily could've picked up the "feminism" flag, or the "be yourself" flag, or the "find who you truly are," or the "you're worth everything" flag. But it didn't. It CUT OUT previous scenes that would've addressed racism or classism. It JUST later-focused on one, universal, unifying theme that every human on this planet can understand, and relate to, and needs to be reminded of: "family loves unconditionally."

This movie is why I looked into being a storyteller. Just this movie; no other movie did it for me.

[bluepeachstudios]

Oo rank the splinters from worst to best dad! I have my own personal ranking but i wanna hear yours

SPLINTER BEST DAD: Worst to Best

Last Ronin Splinter: Raised children to fight in a family blood feud! Didn't let them stop even when they claimed to be tired of fighting and killing! Got one of his sons killed by refusing to retreat! Horrible person and father!

Mirage Splinter: Raised the turtles to kill a man that HE had the beef with because Shredder killed HIS master, but he couldn't do it on his own so he just!!! RAISED CHILDREN AS SOLDIERS INSTEAD???? He's mostly "sensei" instead of "dad".

IDW Splinter: OOuuhhohoho. I could get into it. I won't. I get why he did some of the things he did. Plus he never really raised kids, they just kinda. Mutated into teengers. Bad dad though like jesus. Made more trouble for his kids than he helped.

Bayverse Splinter: He's just.... there.... he taught them how to fight... his guidance is kinda blah and he's pretty harsh with his punishments. You don't see him have any really soft moments with the kids, but he's not really a horrible dad, he's just... meh. Mid. I blame this on the bad writing of the movies.

1987 Splinter: He's a great caretaker, honestly. But he's more a sensei than a dad. He acts more like their teacher, he calls them "my friends" or "my pupils" and "my turtles" which is v cute. They definitely see him as their dad/master. He's very good to them, so he gets extra points. <3

2012 Splinter: OKAY I KNOW PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE MAD ABOUT THIS ONE. But he ALMOST NEVER fights beside them. You never see him doing anything fun with the kids. I'm sure he has! But like you never see it in the show, he tends to keep a distance. He keeps them safe from the blood fued, doesn't want them getting involved with Shredder. He does push them to save the world and does the whole "sacrifice anything or anyone to complete the mission" to Leo, a 15 year old boy, and then just sits at home???? Until April has to convince him to help?? AND HE DOESN'T HELP HIS SONS HE HELPS APRIL AND I'M??? Anyway that always bothered me. I love him as a character.

Rise Splinter: Here's our boy! He's shown with photos that he participated in fun activities with the kids when they were little. Not in the best way, obviously, but like!! He helped them make a lemonade stand!! Which is such a human child thing to do. He wanted them to have a normal life! He refused to train them for a long time with anything but movies because he didn't want them to have to fight. He's depressed as hell and yeah he's selfish at times but he has character growth through the series and turns into an honestly great dad by the end of it. I wish they'd had more time to show that growth and the aftermath of it.

1990 Splinter: THE LIVE ACTION DAD EVER. (I'm electing to ignore The Next Mutation. he's not even a dad. he's their sensei. anyway fuck next mutatio-) He's so gentle with them. He loves them so much. Calls them his sons all the time. Protects them despite being captured and interrogated and presumably tortured for information. HE LOVES THEM SO MUCH.

2003 Splinter: The Best Dad. He's a rat dad. He's not carrying a whole lot of human baggage. He lost his family once and he knows how to make one now. He takes care of his boys, he scolds them for going out, and when he realizes they're going to keep going topside and he can't stop them, he makes them do it safely. He is with them for ALL of their big fights. He EXCLUSIVELY calls them "my sons" constantly. He loves them so much oh my god. Would die for them in a heartbeat. Never wanted them involved with the Foot, tried DESPERATELY to keep them safe from it, and when he realized they were involved, he explained everything to them. He hugs them every time they get separated, he handles Leo's Depression Arc(tm) as well as he can. He never gets mad at Leo for hurting him. He just realizes that he can't help his son and must send him to someone else. And that's so hard to do.

So anyway 2k3 Splinter is best rat dad. Rats were made to be dads imo.

[izzythehutt]

if you were to tie faith into 'black mask', where do you think each character would regard their own faith? I'm asking for the sirius, regulus and the parents, maybe Colette too or someone else if you've thought about it? also, a chapter from the new testament you've reread the most? wishing you a good lenten season!

This has been lurking for a bit but since I got into a whole "religion in the Harry Potter universe" conversation I figured I'd answer it.

So, in my universe as opposed to the canon Harry Potter universe, I'm drawing on my own family—the Blacks are recusant English Catholic landed gentry. I think it honestly fits the whole "there are only 28 acceptable families" inbred pureblood vibe since that's basically the upper class English Catholic families, everybody is related. I feel like in canon HP universe if they are in an actual denomination they'd be Anglican, since they're so "establishment", but then again the Norfolks irl are Catholic so who knows?

As much as I have been accused of Black family apologism, even I cannot in good conscience describe anyone in this family having a healthy relationship with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but were they religious this is sort of how it would shake down:

Orion is a classic trad with all the attendant dysfunction therein. Extremely legalistic, he's very comforted by a the sense of order, regulations, hierarchical structure and tradition that the Church provides. Probably reads Thomistic theology in his room for fun and would never miss a Holy Day of Obligation. Does not have a good grasp on how to love, show mercy to his children for their failings or give a good example of the relational aspect of their faith. When the shit inevitably hits the fan he's left wondering why following the rules didn't make everything turn out right. I kind of feel like I did give him a moral arc in BM in the sense that he really had to grapple with his own failure and let go of the idea that he can control everything.

Walburga I see as having a pretty childish and shallow understanding of God/religious faith. Faith is more tied to family tradition than personal piety and is practiced out of habit/duty more than out of genuine interest. She is not an imaginative person, she's the kind of person who thinks if they follow the letter of the law and pray they should get exactly what they want. Zero understanding of theology of suffering as a form of sanctification.

Sirius is projecting his daddy issues onto God and struggles to see his own lovability outside of the conditions set by his parents. Will do the opposite of his family just to rebel—I could see him getting into the cozy provincial Anglicanism of the Potters when he moves into them. He's the kind who would start going to church all the time if his parents were secular atheists just to piss them off. His arc is about seeing that God loves him in a perfect way and that helping him forgive his parents for their extremely damaged and wounded way of showing they love him.

Regulus is classic Elder Brother in the Prodigal Son. Has some resentment about doing things right and not getting anything in return. I kind of feel like he's the only one who actually has a prayer life or thinks very deeply about metaphysical questions, but that he also has massive cognitive dissonance with all the religious hypocrisy in the family which makes him question the whole thing.

Bonus: Colette actually has sincere piety and an imaginative soul and would maybe get Sirius rebelling from his family and not really practicing back into going to mass, etc.

[miivrs]

talking about my faves, my wording will not be scholarly or intelligent rather completely zany and incomprehensible

god i LOVE the entire junkyard killer arc + the relationship between malcolm and john and just how complex it is to me. there was SO much going on and every scene, line, etc. burns a hole in my retinas. watkins was our first non “villain of the week” and that’s probably why im so attached to him, but god i love that we really get to see and understand why he does what he does. and he’s smart , I LIKE THAT. i like that he makes malcolm really truly struggle. i love their little cat-and-mouse type thing. john makes malcolm go through hoops and plays him like a stupid little fiddle and i love it. he makes malcolm’s brain (and body) hurt.

and the dialogue they share on the phone/in the basement is AN ABSOLUTE FEAST FOR ME and i love reading way too much into it. seeing how the power dynamics flip LIKE FOUR TIMES is just. UGH. their first call where things are mostly neutral, their second call where things get CRAZY, then FIVE MINUTES LATER their first face-to-face and john traps malcolm, their THIRD call where john now realizes he can manipulate malcolm and finish his mission, and then we get an ENTIRE EPISODE of what im 1000% sure is watkins leaving a breadcrumb trail JUST so he can get malcolm alone(remember guys, john is actually smart), which leads me to ALONE TIME. THE WHOLE EPISODE. and now they’re both fighting for dominance, malcolm with his new knowledge and watkins with his. well, aggressions LMAO.

their meeting was totally by chance (watkins definitely says otherwise), and i wonder what things would be like if malcolm had maybe met watkins under different circumstances (like NOT breaking to a junkyard to look for an abandoned station wagon because, lets face it malcolm, you broke in) because during their first call watkins seems..fond? of the whole junkyard meeting..he even SAYS he doesn’t want to hurt malcolm, so maybe at this point he’s over it?? so i wonder, if malcolm wasn’t a killer catcher and let watkins do his thing, would that have been the end of it? would either of them seek out the other? but that would be BORING im glad they decide to chase eachother its fun.

jesus they make my brain hurt. alone time shows us how they both try to hit jabs at eachother and stay superior, and really no one’s winning lmao. malcolm’s eating john alive via psychoanalysis and john has malcolm STABBED and CHAINED TO THE FUCKING FLOOR. oh i love them…

now, i have many MANY personal thoughts about them, but specifically john and his side of the relationship. the things he says/does to malcolm feels obsessive, and characters like that are always my favorite to dissect. hes so goddamn manipulative and its great. probably once of my favorite things about this arc is when he just ABANDONS HIS MISSION???? (M: “Force me to atone to my sins?” J: “I’m finished with that work.”) and for what??? just one guy? because this one guy who stabbed you when he was 10? we already know that john actually does not have a deep grudge against malcolm for that (or maybe he does…) so why bother trying to LEGITIMATELY CONVERT SOMEONE when you could have just killed them???

because he needs malcolm. like how he needed martin. (sort of but now in a cool new fresh way)

SIRENS ARE BLAAAARING IN MY HEAD. who wrote this dialogue you need to be shot dead (positive). malcolm not afraid to call him out and say “hey you’re a little bit of a codependent freak aren’t you??” also the “I don’t care what you think.” “Of course you do.” DONT. TALK. TO. ME..

why does he need malcolm?? because he’s the nearest target? because he’s the next best thing to martin? because they share such a complex connection spanning 20 years that he can’t left go of? WE MAY NEVER FUCKING KNOW..and mannnnnn dont even get me started on this shit..

this is about YOU and ME and that fucking scar. and them he gives him AN IDENTICAL ONE (probably much less painful but still) god WHAT was the POINT of that. and to that i say it is because watkins feels the need to deepen their connection (or he’s just fucking kooky but thats boring) and now they have matching scars wow so best friends core now they’re intertwined (even more than they already are..) fate (by the hand of god) brought them together and now he needs to make sure it stays that way.

and then we get this..

“Face it, you’re just like me. You judge, you hunt.” oh my GOD im gonna be SICK……… “mick hes just misreading malcolm’s character because he’s narcissistic” im gonna stop you right there because this is my blog and john watkins is my character ever since the pson writers made him complex and then threw him in a damn box (which is another scene i will ramble about at another point) if you use your brain that is literally the bare bones of what malcolm does, what defines his job. john has found the median, the simile, the connection (the one that he NEEDS so he can excuse himself and his actions and also to cope)

AND THEN..AND THEN…….

during this scene AND I SWEAR IM NOT TWEAKING as malcolm is trying his last ditch attempts and stopping watkins from actually murdering his family we SEE JOHN HESITATE..we see it i swear to god. i swear god for just a fleeting moment he actually considers what malcom is saying. but alas. he says “if i get help i’ll lose my sparkle” and goes anyway…

and then the fucking box scene, our very last look at watkins.

i hadn’t noticed it the first time i watched it because i was so hyped but around my second or third rewatch i caught it and heard it and physically shriveled up and died. our very last scene of him and (to me) its GUT WRENCHING. malcolm kept to his word and locked him up in the dark. but i find it so peculiar that watkins is crying. because, if anything, wouldn’t he be pissed?? kicking and screaming and rolling around in that damn thing? makes me wonder…what might have happened in the time between when malcolm wallops him with a fucking crowbar and when jessica reunites with him. what did malcolm say or do??? malcolm bright youre an awful sly little manipulator and you’re damn good at it and yes you use it for “good” but the way you did a 180 on those power dynamics. malcolm you are dangerous..

and that’s my extremely unnecessary deep dive and extreme analysis of john watkins and his relationship with our beloved malcolm bright. watkins really is one of my favorite characters that i feel could have been so cool if they had just given him a little more time or something like that. they are so complex to me in ways i haven’t even mentioned in this text post/probably forgot while i was typing this but i really wish we could see more of them even though what would happen. lots could happen, that’s what. now here’s my pitch for season 3 that revolves around just them where-

[lizlives]

Something that's always kinda been a pet peeve to me is how people talk about Archie Sonic Preboot and Postboot. Often in conversations there's this idea that the old world is old hat, and anyone upset about the way it went out is just stuck in the past, with the implication that we really didn't lose much in the transition.

To me this reads as incredibly disingenuous and dismissive. Putting aside the obvious fallacy in claiming not much was lost (two decades worth of original lore, much of which was either good to begin with or seeing redemption in better writers), the transition was so obviously rough.

In the middle of one of the most emotionally harrowing sagas and well-written arcs in the entire series, the Mecha Sally Saga, readers who were keeping up with the behind the scenes drama basically had to watch every month as more cracks started to show. At the start of the Endangered Species mini arc, issue #243's text is obviously altered to remove any references to specific characters and events. Then next issue, in the most lowkey way possible, without so much as any real fanfare, the entire echidna society is erased basically for good. The rest of that saga is one long drawn out fight between Knuckles and Thrash, that they tease could end a number of ways, but again, anyone following the behind the scenes drama knows that the characters are never coming back. The sheer inevitability of the conclusion almost feels chilling reading it now, like a Greek tragedy. There are lines that almost feel like the writers venting their actual feelings, how they feel angry that all of this has to change.

The final shot of Knuckles in the entirety of preboot archie is him punching the floor in rage because his entire species and family, his mother, his baby brother, and the love of his life are all gone forever. A mini arc arc that was originally conceived as a way of bringing Knuckles out of his depression arc was transformed into one where all his worst feelings are completely justified. Jesus Christ.

Then one more issue, and just as Sally is rescued, the world is re-written by a Genesis Wave. What follows is a Megaman crossover arc that would be fun in any other circumstance but following everything else we've seen just feels bizarre. Then it ends with Sonic attempting to restore their reality but just... failing. Again, knowing this moment's repercussions now reads extremely bleak and tragic. If it weren't for the fact that it was all done because of external forces it would be artfully tragic, idk maybe it still is.

The reboot that follows immediately hits the ground running, and very slowly you realize what you should've realize all along. Two decades worth of lore was just wiped with simultaneously too little fanfare, but also in the most tragic and bleak way possible. The reveal is made that the entire multiverse is wiped out as well, great.

No attempt is made to explain the mechanics of the fate of people who didn't find their way into this new reality, because they literally can't legally. Did they become other people somewhere? Did they just die? We don't know, and to make it worse, they even acknowledge that the characters are just losing their memories of the previous reality? The sheer dissonance in how the characters are acting vs how they emotionally should be treating this is kinda insane.

But you know, after all this, the reboot is fine. It's really fun actually. Really, I don't hate it. Any and all of my issues stem not from it itself, but from the fact that it was necessarily marketed as a continuation of the old story, it just isn't. That's not an insult, it just isn't and can never be.

I'm not kidding when I say they should've just canceled the comic, said we're sorry that we couldn't finish it, and just started a brand new comic from issue 1. To me, these are two separate series, that's I think the best way of thinking of them, because trying to think about the reboot in terms of the fact that an entire multiverse was wiped out and we're never implied that some characters weren't just wiped out in every way permanently, is just so bleak. Like the old reality or not, it doesn't change the fact that trying to just move on from something like that with no catharsis or explanation is weird.

So yeah, I kinda got distracted remembering how conflicted the whole situation makes me lol, but to make a long story short, I think that people should stop treating the reboot like it was a natural continuation of the original story, and stop treating people who liked and/or still like the old reality as stupid. It was imperfect, even very imperfect, but it was a lived in world that was allowed to develop and was only going to improve more if it was allowed to.

With the reboot, we basically started from scratch and given Sega's restrictiveness, we probably weren't gonna see as many off the wall concepts like we did previously. Many people might have seen that as a boon, but to me it takes away from what I like the most about Sonic, that being that it's a franchise that isn't afraid to be weird, to be wacky. I think tbh that's what I miss the most about the preboot era.

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time i am sooo behind. thursday we did voy's "drone" and ds9's "take me out to the holosuite," friday we did voy's "extreme risk" and ds9's "chrysalis," saturday we did voy's "in the flesh" and ds9's "treachery, faith, and the great river," last night we did voy's "once upon a time" and ds9's "once more unto the breach," and tonight we did ds9's "the siege of ar-588"

drone (voy):

this is kinda like the episode of tng with data's daughter but (sorry) better. you've got the robotic, inhuman character more or less having an awkward, adult-like offspring who they come to love very dearly in a short amount of time being taken from them tragically. which i did call, by the way

i did think the little guy was gonna wind up betraying them due to like the temptation of the borg or whatever so it was really satisfying when he fucked them up instead

also, borg SPHERE? where did they assimilate that from? the death star, ONCE?

"abort that thang" jokes plentiful in this episode's first half. thank you star trek

janeway meeting him was very sweet. i liked that she treated him really niceys it was so much nicer than picard being a little bitch to data about his daughter

when seven said voyager was her collective 😭

the standout part of this episode to me was the bookend of "you are hurting me," delivered in different ways and meant in different ways. i forget that jeri ryan can like. act. but she can and she hurt my feeeelings

take me out to the holosuite (ds9):

FINALLY the sports movie episode we had been waiting for............

ten out of fucking ten no question. every word of this episode contained ten more words. fucking fantastic

the arc with sisko getting to into it bc of past drama and not letting rom play because he sucked. everyone agreeing to quit on rom's behalf. REPEAT: KIRA NERYS WAS GOING TO QUIT JESUS'S BASEBALL TEAM IN PROTEST. sisko being like kassidy do NOT tell them about my wretched past and the slam cut to her immediately narcing on him. odo's umpire motions <3

actually, odo's everything. he got so fucking into being ump because he cares about rules and fairness to a degree that is truly autistic. which makes it the PERFECT setup for him booting sisko out for touching the ref and THEN ALSO BOOTING THE VULCAN OUT. like every scene continues to get funnier and funnier

i kept thinking they would cheat. but celebrating being a bunch of losers who only got a point because rom accidentally bunted a shot is even better. no, you can't win a baseball game against vulcans, but there are other ways to win against them. at the end, when they were all shit talking him, i FELT leonard mccoy in that room. he was called back from the great beyond to embody the spirit of bullying punk ass vulcans. and honestly? after all those years of playing hard mode (needling spock) a guy like this is kind of easy pickings. child's play to laugh that little bitch out of the room. chefs kiss

extreme risk (voy):

TIME TO EAT MY WORDS. i was recently making fun of trek's history re: mental health bc of ezri in ds9 🙄 but every so often voyager will get plucky and show ds9 up when ds9 is having an off day. (and see, this never happened with tng!) this was one of those times.

like, sure, yeah, the language was a little dumbed down to make sure it was understood by people who have never had a word of conversation about mental health in their entire lives, and it could have been paced a little better, and holodeck safeties are always maddeningly illogical, but the acting was great, the concern was great, the explanation of numbness rather than sadness because there just isn't anymore sad left in her was fantastic

like when b'elanna was like yeah i don't care and janeway says okay now i know there's something wrong. AAAUGHGHGHG

and she gets to save the day in the end! i also found this a little unrealistic, but you only have 45 minutes to work with, you know? more realistic was like, her little jab at chakotay again about threatening to break his neck that you could still was a little half-hearted

also, like, whatever they had going on in that holodeck...chakotay and b'elanna coulda been in. i obviously prefer jc and i don't mind her with tom as much as i used to but wow they had some serious chemistry happening there.

oh oh and before i forget...neelix being really nice to her because he also just had his own mental health crisis :( <3 that episode did so much for him. wah.

LAST THING. i almost forgot this too. it was really funyn that tom paris tried to put spoilers on the new shuttle and tuvok logicked them away. i'll think about it every time i see the shuttle from now on. but also, kind of badass that trapped out there they can just design and build a brand new kind of shuttle ON THEIR OWN without any help. you kind of forget they're all geniuses because they are so god damn stupid

chrysalis (ds9):

I CANNOT BELIEVE THE AUTISM GANG IS BACK IN TOWN

what a great treat...i was initially so wary of them and wound up loving them so much by the end BECAUSE of how offputting they are so seeing them again was amazing

i loved this arc, too, even though i think it could have never worked between them cuz HE IS HER DOCTOR but like. even this would have been better than julian and ezri

i was sooo worried this would be a flowers for algernon sitch and they faked me out like two times but no thank god her quality of life just gets to stay improved

the singing section went on for a little too long but it's just the right kind of like. slightly cringe but also wholesome kind of vibes these guys bring to the table

idk it's just so sweet. they were so happy to see her after she got the ability to talk like you can tell they genuinely love her so much. it really sucks that they aren't allowed to like, go out and live on their own, but their characters are treated with so much compassion i enjoyed every second of them being onscreen <3

in the flesh (voy):

EVIL BOOTHBY EVIL BOOTHBY like why is that so fucking funny

i don't like tng cameos. but it's funny that this alien was using friendly old boothby language to talk about like world domination or what the fuck ever. it's so wildly stupid

loved chakotay kissing the alien also. he really did wince and only then decide once it was inevitable to put his back into it, so to speak. captain kirk moment for sure

also funny how the rest of the cast was like. ha ha chakotay why don't you kiss and tell. and janeway like ha ha how was your date. like this was all totally normal

and lest we forget: VULCAN NIGHTCLUB PON FARR NIGHT. i really thought this was a fandom joke. i had no idea voyager did it first. sent me into absolute fucking hysterics i can't believe they WENT and we didn't get to see it. i refuse to believe that this is not a thing that happens on the real earth, also

loved seven getting all twitchy around those aliens since they always scared the shit out of the borg <3 and then when she was like wow janeway you really impressed me! gay.

treachery, faith, and the great river (ds9):

I LOOOVED THIS ONE WOW

first of all we have to say it nog is so fucking good. what a long way he's come, you know? like you know the whole time he's gonna come thru for obrien but it just gets funnier and funnier the deeper obrien gets into it. rom makes a bad ferengi but nog would have made a GREAT ferengi except he literally chose to do starfleet. king

weyoun six my beloved............like, at first i was devastated weyoun five was out because i loved that little freak but 1. extremely funny that damar killed him 2. FUNNIER STILL that damar killed him and he shows up to work the next day but he's weyoun six 3. and weyoun six is the saddest wettest cat who ever lived. like that's WORSE somehow and all damar can do is be alcoholic about it. he's like connor from detroit become human. you kill him and a more horrible version breaks into your house the next day. sorry for bringing up detroit become human

anyway, weyoun six was great. i love that he was like odo i just wanna stare at you for 14 hours without stopping. odo i think you're fascinating. odo you have to live. so true. me too. i was so sad he died and didn't get taken back to ds9

love also when he was like hey odod do you want the ENTIRE GAMMA QUADRANT because it's about to be yours and odo is like having an entire existential crisis firmly going no i do Not want that are you out of your mind what the fuck is wrong with you

all in all 10/10 episodes it;s about time we had some good IC odo content

once upon a time (voy):

THIS WAS SO SWEET.............idk ever since neelix became an atheist i've liked him so much more. and touching on his dead family, an early episode which also drew me to him initially before all the kes stuff ruined it, was a great touch. the version of neelix that lives in my head is a really amazing character

i love 90s trek kids. they are without fail fucking adorable every time. look at her little overalls. her horrifically ugly little doll. her tiny horns. aww.

this was also one of the more charming holodeck scenarios we've gotten because it's extremely silly in a charming way rather than in a way that makes me want to commit homicide. ironically, it's voyager, not ds9, that has made me warm up to the holodeck a couple of times...love and light, most of the ds9 holodeck stuff sucks. but this and then like the jane eyre one and the da vinci one were all very tolerable (at least until the da vinci ep, but you know). i still wouldn't let my kid in one, but whatever

the little girl like asking about neelix's sisters. AUGH. neelix talking to her photo. AUGHGHG.

idk it was sweet that he tried to protect her and that when he got upset about it janeway like took him aside and talked to him instead of just misunderstanding and yelling and being aggressive. one thing i like about trek, and i feel like i see it most often on voyager, but ds9 does it too, is that when somebody snaps and starts biting heads off like that the people they snap at, instead of getting hurt, usually realize there's a bigger problem and then drop whatever the conversation is to stop and address that instead. i just feel like you don't see this as a norm in most long-running series. like can you imagine this happening on m*rvel or supernatural lol

anyway, i'm very glad they did not have the budget for a giant beetle.

once more unto the breach (ds9):

man this episode was such a bummer. i'm not saying it was good but jesus christ kids can you lighten up a little

on the kor/martok spat, i'm 100% siding with martok, though after kor had his dementia moment and the others started mocking him i definitely felt bad for him

and what was so nice was that martok also felt bad! he got absolutely no satisfaction from his revenge! i don't know if that's right morally because kor did do him really dirty but like...as an emotional beat it worked SO well

i think also it was Such a choice not to even have a pov of the flaming ship or whatever as he went down - no last act of heroism - we had to watch it from the outside pov just like everyone else

and what a good way to address the complicated emotions. we're klingons. we'll drink to their courage if they win and drink to their courage if they lose. you know? he literally expressed himself.

ezri and quark's moment in this episode was soooo good. i love it when they let quark have a soul. it took them so long to get there but here we are and i'm here for it wait hold on let me do this in the next one

the siege of ar-588 (ds9):

EZRI E QUARK. can i just say it? she's mostly fine when she's not trying to do therapy or talk to julian or worf. which means that her best scenes are with sisko, which has a very platonic element except for how they fucked twins together once, or QUARK, where the dynamic is both extremely natural and unique - he doesn't treat her like jadzia 2.0, but he is also still in love with what makes her Dax(tm)

i think it's fun also that the more three-dimensional version of quark cares about people, which is really all i ever wanted him to do. i'm kind of afraid to rewatch season 3 because i literally wanted him dead but i wonder if i'd feel different about those episodes now...idk, there's something so layered about the way he took ezri aside to warn her about trying to get with worf (even though she wasn't) and brought nog food even when nog'd rather he didn't

even though his reasons for being there this episode were so so so SO flimsy he did such a great job...i kept wondering why he wasn't in the final fight, if he was like objecting on principle, but when he pulled that phaser on a dime to protect his nephew...jesus. then you know.

ALSO, SPEAKING OF. wow i knew for a long time nog lost his leg but to see it happen!!! like he's so fucking brave and tries so hard and AUUGHGGH you know? like sisko came in to tell him he was proud of him bc rom wasn't there and quark wasn't gonna do it and this is the boy he used to forbid jake from hanging out with!!! just incredible character development, jesus christ

final note: i really hate this semi-permanent holodeck hangout area. it feels like it exists even when the holodeck is turned off which is beside the point. if it had been a real venue on the promenade i'd like it MUCH better. also, vic has grown on me, but it's silly to have him be a hologram. ironically, i think a guy with this kind of attitude would have made for a much better ship's counselor - he gives out advice all the time anyway. having him AND ezri do it is overkill!!!

OKAY. WOW. I MADE IT. NEXT TIME!!!! we do voy's "timeless" and "infinite regress."

[hikennosabo]

trimax vol 13 random thoughts (ch 5-9)

part 1 here!

chapter 5:

okay, it took me way longer than it should have to figure out what happened in this scene, lol. razlo gets behind elendira and blocks her nail gun with the nail that's already in his body which jams her gun and pushes the nail further into his torso which takes them both by surprise.

"some dumbasses"?? do you mean wolfwood and vash?? LOL

come on, come on, come on!!! he's so cute, lol. he's like a dog who wants to play.

i love watching razlo fight!!! it's so fun seeing him fight a different way due to not having his punishers/third arm anymore. he's having so much fun too, it's infectious~

UNTIL ELENDIRA USES A PSYCHIC ATTACK ON HIM. JESUS CHRIST. THAT ONE ALMOST HAD ME.

chapter 6:

ma'am could you please stop serving cunt for a second i'm trying to read manga and you are distracting me

AAAAAGH AND THEN SHE BLASTS HIS LEG OFF. THAT ONE WASN'T FAKE THAT ONE WAS REAL. he'll be okay but :(

CHEKHOV'S VIAL?!

uuuueeee... wolfwood... just seeing the little panel of him... i miss him so much... and the reminder of wolfwood brings livio back out. ueee... waaahhhh...

i'm sitting here trying to articulate my feelings about livio and razlo and i can't, really... :') livio feeling so bad and apologizing that he has to rely on razlo so much, razlo doing his best to encourage livio... they really care about each other a lot. it's very sweet. i care them. :(((

oh this is so very much not how DID works but it's both cool and important to their character arcs so it's FINE!!!! it's fine

huuuhhhmmmmm something something symbolism in livio's guns being reversible and livio and razlo working together, two as one... is this anything? am i connecting any dots here?

they were able to bring elendira to her knees with their teamwork!!!!

chapter 7:

uwaaahhh! young livio flashback!! this is where his twinky stampede self came from i guess. i hope season 2 gives us a beefier version-

...wait. wait, wait, wait, wait, wait wait wait. hold on. speaking of stampede. give me a second.

*returns 30 minutes later* HUH. INTERESTING. so stampede shows us livio working hard in EoM to catch up with wolfwood, but in the manga, it's all but outright stated that he's trying to catch up with razlo.

sorry i'm just fascinated by the tristamp/manga differences and seeing younger livio doing pushups reminded me (stamp!livio does pushups the same way!!)

we're not supposed to know that razlo exists yet in tristamp; i wonder if or how season 2 is going to reframe any of this. it's not like i dislike livio and wolfwood's relationship in stampede!! i think it's really sweet, introducing livio into ww's story earlier is a good move, and livio joining EoM to catch up with ww makes everything in the relevant episodes more emotional. but the relationship between livio and razlo is just as important!!

razlo encouraging livio is SO cute, uwaaaahhh...

WAAAHHHHH!!!! I LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH!!!!!

babygirl, please, i am begging. why are you so sad. tell me who hurt you. i am on my hands and knees.

to him... while drinking wolfwood's last vial... i am going to fucking throw up i feel so normal about this

chapter 8:

elendira, killed by her own nail... oh girl... my beloved... i did not expect her to live but i'm still sad she's gone. what a fantastic fight though. might be my favorite fight in this manga.

also livio's gonna have an interesting time trying to get up and get her off of him once his limbs regenerate... uh... if they can regenerate? i'm assuming they can...

i am gonna fucking CRYYYY... calling him by name... wwwaaaaahhhhh...

he would be so proud of you, livio!!!! WAAAAHHH!!!

okay, time to cut back to my other faves having their own battle.

it's so funny that legato thinks this. dude, she hates your guts. if she knew she was gonna see you in the afterlife soon she WOULD worry.

huh? that's her name? like the painting?

also i've been wondering this whole time why she looks like that. like why is she designed to look like a woman. did legato design her himself?? is this his aesthetic sense??

haha ouch! thanks for spelling out the metaphor so plainly!

ahhhh, july flashback... this was uhhh... *checks* ten years ago. supposedly. i'm not sure how much i trust the timeline anymore.

actually i do wonder how measuring time works on this planet. like, everything seems to be measured the same way it is on earth, so does noman's land also have 365 days in a year and 24 hour days?

he's so cute, i am holding him gently in my hands.

knives is so mean... to be just a tiny little bit fair to him, i too would be low on patience if my brother just blasted me with a death beam and someone suddenly started handling my guts that were hanging out. but he's so mean!! i feel bad for legato!!

i AM surprised that knives is still conscious... and that he's still mostly intact. like his guts are hanging out but it looks like his legs and arms (or at least one arm) are still attached, and he's still got. y'know. most of his skin. certainly more intact than his stampede self, lmao.

vash, honey, what on earth makes you think he plans on living through this fight any more than you are. :')

i just like this spread.

chapter 9:

OH BOY, HE'S FERAL!!! truly, he is going out in a blaze of glory just like he wanted. i wouldn't expect anything else from him at this point.

ahhh... stampede!legato talks a lot about discarding emotion in favor of devotion. but emotion and devotion are intrinsically linked. legato is a pretty emotional person, he cries a lot and yells a lot... as long as he can express his devotion to knives, he feels like he's fulfilling his purpose, so he's happy... i'm glad he's having fun at least... :')

WAAAAHHH VASH IS REMEMBERING WOLFWOOD NOW... his face is not quite visible but... vash is remembering wolfwood's words because he's thinking he really is going to have to kill legato to end this fight... killing legato just like in the 98 anime...

i get caught up in the action, but every time they bring wolfwood up i realize how much i miss him...

this panel fucks.

i love watching legato go fucking crazy fighting. i wanna see this fight animated so bad :''')

when i read the top panel, i was like, "because of knives, right?" then i read the bottom panel... ahhh... not just knives... every plant... it's a good thing tristamp established this relatively early because we don't really see vash doing this in the story lol

i'm remembering "do you think we can become friends with them?" "yeah... it might take a lot of effort though..." :'''')

chronica, girl, i know you're very angry with knives, but as far as revenge goes, you need to get in line. you got here like five minutes ago, there are other people with much longer-lasting beef than you who deserve a shot at him before you.

the smallest meryl u can imagine...

WAAAAH this is so sweet, they love him so much :(

i said this already but i LOVE seeing legato go all-out, it's cool!! it gets me pumped up!!! this is just... such a good fight!!!

wait, is the earth ship falling because chronica used up so much energy firing the cannon multiple times?? GIRL...

THIS PAGE FUCKS!!!

THIS SPREAD ALSO FUCKS!! the way that the debris fades out above them, they're only focused on each other...!!!

final thoughts... i'm surprised legato survived this volume?! i really thought he would die in this one... he lasted longer than i thought he would, not that i'm complaining... UUAAAAAGHHH i am gnawing on my arm rn, i can't believe there's only one volume left?! i'll be finished *checks day* TOMORROW?!?!? if i don't procrastinate on reading... which i might do because i don't want it to be over... waaaah...

how will knives be defeated? can humanity survive? will livio's limbs regenerate? and most importantly, HOW WILL VASH GET HIS WILL TO LIVE BACK?!?!

[navree]

I never cared before about Alys when I've read F&B but the way some of those shippers hate her so much , in Twitter i see alot of them call her ugly hag , gro**mer and so many misgonystic/ ageism names and even hope for her to get cut from the show.. What for ? She is very important to the narrative and especially to Aemond's arc...

Yeah, shippers of other things and antis have been getting weirrrrrrrrrd about Alys. And that's not just a thing specific to her, I've seen some people on my side say weird shit about Helaena (which is fucked up she's the number one girlie y'all are fake fucking Green fans if you're gonna shit on Helaena for no reason), and I'm really not looking forward to anything the Daemon/Rhaenyra shippers are going to have to say once Nettles shows up. Chillest shippers I've seen in this fandom thus far are the Rhaenicents, God bless. And it'd be one thing on its own if I could trust that this was just confined to dislike of a character, but considering the track record people have when it comes to ASOIAF related media (the people who made fun of Emilia Clarke's appearance and her brain injuries and bullied Emily Carey off of social media are never going to see Heaven), I do not trust these people not be utterly vitriolic to whichever actress they ultimately cast as Alys.

People can have their criticisms of the ship, they can point out what they want about the age difference (even though it's not grooming because words have meanings Jesus Christ, not to mention Aemond has significantly more power in the relationship than Alys does) or just not enjoy it, that's all fair and valid. But it's really weird to demand that Alys be cut entirely when she's a unique part of her story and offers a unique perspective that no other character can offer, as well as her place in the stories and arcs not just for Aemond but for Daemon and Larys and honestly even Criston cuz he was at Harrenhal too. Alys can't be replaced with another character, no one occupies the part of the story she's a part of in the way that she does, that's why she as a character exists. Nor is it necessarily "out of character" for Aemond to fall for her or prioritize her once he does, and it's not him "abandoning his family for some chick" as I've seen some people actually say. For one, sorry that Aemond's recorded actions as written down in one book aren't fitting into what you want to happen, but that's on you, not the writing. If, over the course of a single story, a character's canon actions and canon thoughts and canon feelings and canon words feel "out of character" to you, then you simply do not have an accurate read on that character, I'm sorry. For two, it's not even him abandoning his family or being out of character. Nothing about their relationship is out of bounds for the kind of person that Aemond is, and as I mentioned in a prior ask, Aemond is not in a position to help his family. Even beyond the fact that Aemond considers Daemon their biggest threat at the moment and his primary goal was to get rid of him before thinking of any way to depose Rhaenyra, his family's either dead or prisoners to a hostile faction, and any attempt to try and free the ones he knows are alive just aren't feasible at that time (if you think Aemond's going to gamble the lives of his mother and his sister on the off chance that an assault on Rhaenyra might succeed, then you're stupid, no two ways about it). With that backdrop, it makes perfect sense that Aemond is at least going to fight tooth and nail for the one person he does have and does love, that he can save, because he can't do anything for Alicent or Helaena or Aegon who at this point might even be dead, but he can do something to keep Alys safe and well by his side. And even if you want to be incredibly cynical about it, then at this point in time Alys could potentially be carrying a future claimant for the Greens. No one knows where Aegon is, Jaehaera is ineligible for the throne under Westerosi customs and laws, Jaehaerys and Maelor are both dead, and Aemond and Daeron are both actively participating in deadly combat that could (and does) kill them. For pragmatism alone, Aemond wanting to ensure that, if Alys is carrying a son, that this son survives to continue pressing the claims set forth by their side, or Hell even just to make it so Rhaenyra doesn't win, makes sense.

Even if you want to ignore the importance Alys brings to the narrative, what she furthers in Aemond's arc, what his love for her can reveal to us about the kind of character that he is, that still doesn't make anything about the romance or the actions it spurs "out of character" or an indictment on Aemond, nor does it justify being weird and vile about a fictional character or people who enjoy her relationship with another fictional character. Ya fucking freaks.

[number-1-kuaidul-fanboy]

My Opinions on Every VRAINS Ship

Well, every VRAINS ship that has an official ship name here on Tumblr, plus three bonus ships at the end that don’t have names but I’m familiar enough with to talk about. Gonna go in alphabetical order by their ship names because that’s the easiest and most unbiased way to do it. Gonna be rating them on a scale from: NO, not my thing, funny or cute idea, like, and love.

Because fair warning, I really don’t like some of these ships.

Abyssalshipping (Ai x Aqua)

NO. The one thing I dislike about Manjome in GX is his weird, sometimes creepy crush on Asuka and… yeah, it’s the same thing here. Not nearly as bad, as it’s less focused on and Ai doesn’t try to make her be with him or anything, but still, really weird and unappealing ship. I much prefer them platonically, which is what they are in Flame of Life.

Aiballshipping (Ai x Yusaku)

This is my OTP of VRAINS, and probably in all of Yugioh if I’m being honest with myself. I love their dynamic, their back and forths, all the build up and little moments throughout the series leading up to that gut punch of a finale. Their relationship is also the one thing keeping the VRAINS storyline of Duel Links afloat for me don’t @ me.

Algorithmshipping (Kengo x Shoichi)

Honestly, I had never heard of this ship before I read the list so I have no real opinion on it. Not really sure how it would work but I don’t mind its existence I suppose.

Altarshipping (Aoi x Ema)

NO. I always saw Ema as more of an older sister figure to Aoi, emphasis on “older” because Aoi is a minor and Ema… never had her age confirmed to my knowledge but watching the show, I always interpreted her as in her twenties. Early twenties sure, but too old to be with a minor.

Almondshipping (Aoi x Miyu x Yusaku)

Each of these individual ships are coming up and I have wildly different opinions on each of them so for now I’ll say I’m indifferent to this specific throupple, but throupples in general are nice to have.

Angelmakershipping (Aoi x Yusaku)

No. Out of all the ships here that aren’t like… illegal or messed up on this list, this is the one I hate the most. Because it feels so obligatory. Like in the blissful days before the god awful VRAINS dub, it was only a ship because “he was a boy she was a girl can I make it any more obvious” when they don’t have that kind of relationship at all. I think it’s actually novel and really nice that despite some pointless teasing early on, they were only ever friends and Aoi had a character arc and development completely separate from Yusaku. I feel like making their relationship romantic would’ve just ruined that. It’s not my bias to Aiball, trust me, I ship both Yusaku and Ai with other characters as well (as you’ll see coming up). This ship just really rubs me the wrong way, especially because the dub warped the text of the show to push this ship more, which coupled with their gay erasure, comes off as gross to me.

Blueghostshipping (Aoi x Spectre) NO. Even harder NO than the last one, jesus christ. Spectre is a huge creep to her, psychoanalysing her out of nowhere, manipulating her, and then beating her to death… in a card game but that’s basically assault in the YGO universe.

Blackholeshipping (Jin x Ryoken)

Really random (with only one canon interaction that is not good) but I honestly really like this ship. It has some really fun content here on Tumblr and the way I personally characterise Jin is this really cheerful upbeat person, who isn’t fazed by others’ rudeness. So Ryoken’s bluntness wouldn’t faze them at all. I just really like the whole “the sunshine one lifts up the grumpy one” trope and this ship, and really any Jin ship for that matter, is that dynamic to me. Plus I love Ryoken so putting him in that dynamic is really fun.

Braveangelshipping (Aoi x Shima)

No. I don’t have a strong take on this one like I do some of the other no’s, it’s just… no. He certainly has a crush on her, but I can’t see her ever requiting.

Bulletstormshipping (Ryoken x Windy)

Okay so this one’s tricky. I enjoy shipping Ryoken with Ignis and I really love both of these characters. There’s also pretty good content for this ship out there. But… the way I characterise purple eyes Windy (aka: Windy’s true personality) is really sensitive and kind of clingy, and he would be especially emotionally vulnerable after finding out that after his data was rewritten, he killed his origin. And blunt Ignis racist Ryoken would not be a good match for that. This is why the only WindRyo piece I’ve written is set at a point where they’re far into their relationship for the record. Ryoken taking in Windy as his partner (in the Ignis way but potentially the human way eventually) is a very cute potentially funny concept as long as one or both of these sides of them are scaled back. So while I like this ship, it’s not one I can see myself writing much.

Canineshipping (Akira x Kengo)

Like the ship name, don’t care for anything else about it. Okay come to think of it, maybe I just don’t care much about Kengo, because his ships are the only ones I’ve had virtually no opinion on so far…

Cauterizeshipping (Flame x Takeru x Ryoken)

My most recent currently ongoing fanfic, Flame of Life, is about this throupple. I love every individual ship in it, and I love the dynamic the three of them have. (Especially Flame and Takeru teasing the hell out of Ryoken, last week’s chapter was probably my favourite to write in the whole fic.) This is my favourite polyship in Yugioh, by a landslide. It doesn’t have any basis in canon, but the potential was enough to suck me in and write my own narrative for them that I’m really in love with.

Celebshipping (Go Onizuka x Yusaku)

I don’t really like Go Onizuka because he’s a different person every time we see him so it’s hard to get invested in him but this ship is fine. Go is a bit old for him but three years isn’t as bad as some of the other ships’ age gaps. It is a ship that exists I suppose.

Charismashipping (Aoi x Go Onizuka)

Same as above. This is indeed a ship that exists.

Chatshipping (Shima x Yusaku)

Similar to Braveangel, I think Shima has a crush on Playmaker, but I can’t see Yusaku ever requiting that, especially since he canonically finds Shima stupid and annoying. So no.

Chesspieceshipping (Go Onizuka x Queen)

No. She was willing to let him die with that AI chip implant stunt. Also, I don’t like either of them, but I hate Queen far more.

Cobrashipping (Go Onizuka x Ryoken)

I love Ryoken and am not attached to mister Go so this ship is not my thing. Their duel was pretty good though.

Coexistshipping (Ai x Pandor)

Uuuuuuuuuuh.

I mean, I see Ai as gay (or attracted to men I guess) but if I had to ship him with a girl, Pandor is probably the best option? So I don’t ship it but it’s fine. It’s harmless.

Conduitshipping (Akira x Ema x Shoichi)

No. I’ll elaborate on why in the Ema/Shoichi section.

Crystalheartshipping (Aqua x Earth)

Finally another ship I like. Earth’s crush on Aqua was cute, as much as I make fun of the whole “pushing Aqua off the hoverboard” thing. Still, it’s cute. Basic, but cute.

Cybersedragonshipping (Firewall Dragon x Topologic Bomber Dragon)

I have no idea why this is a ship, but I’m glad it is because it’s really funny. I don’t like Datastorm, but I can get behind this.

Darkcrystalshipping (Ai x Aqua x Earth)

Normally, I would say/joke that the best solution to a love triangle is polyamory but in this case… Aqua does not like Ai, and I do not like that ship. So I don’t care for this one.

Darkfireshipping (Ai x Flame)

Meh. I only ever saw this as platonic but it’s perfectly harmless. Would make a funny enemies to lovers fic honestly.

Datastormshipping (Yusaku x Ryoken)

I never saw the appeal of this one. I still don’t get why Yusaku was so desperate to reform/reach out to Ryoken after Ryoken said to his face that he regretted saving his life and the fact that this ship is just… everywhere and often characterises these two in ways I don’t personally agree with makes me really not care for it. I don’t hate it like I hate some of these other ships but I do feel nothing toward it. So it’s a no.

Daybreakshipping (Yusaku x Jin)

Nah. I always think of these two as siblings so I can’t see a romantic relationship between them.

Any Haru ship

I have this opinion for every ship involving Haru: I know he’s an AI, but he looks and acts like a little kid so I don’t feel comfortable shipping him with any of the teens or adults. So all of his ships are a no.

Dischargeshipping (Jin x Lightning)

This one’s weird for me. I really ship my version of it in Blissful Ignorance: where Lightning isn’t a human hating serial killer that tortures children, they’re just kind of a jerk and Jin has no memory of them so their dynamic is essentially a “tsundere/deredere” and “the cheerful one lifts up the grumpy one” dynamic and also Jin is getting revenge without either of them realising it. And that’s how I like the ship. Other renditions of the ship… vary because the canon foundation is just awful and fucked up. So this ship is a yes in very specific circumstances.

Disastershipping (Ryoken x Takeru x Yusaku)

Really funny name and throupples are fun but I really only care for one of the pairings in this set romantically so it’s not my thing.

Elfinshipping (Ema x Hayami)

I hate Hayami so no. Ema is a lesbian probably, but Ema also deserves better.

Embershipping (Ryoken x Flame)

My favourite Ryoken/Ignis ship. Not really for anything canon (although I do like the scene where Flame tells Takeru that it’s possible Ryoken was trying to apologise to him) by throwing their duel but because of how I wrote in my story, Flame of Life. It’s just both precious and hilarious.

Emissaryshipping (Yusaku x Playmaker)

…what? No.

Entrustshipping (Takeru x Kiku)

Confession time: the first time I watched VRAINS, I thought Takeru and Kiku were brother and sister. Now that I know they’re not, I just find it really odd that Takeru asked this random friend of his to look after his grandparents while he fucked off to another city with no indication he intended to ever return until the very end of the series when he’d already been gone for a long time. Maybe Kiku was just his only friend at the time, the only person he could trust with something as big as this, which… sure, okay. But still, not telling her he intended to return and just taking off like that? That’s weird.

So I never really got into this ship. It feels like another obligatory “he was a boy she was a girl,” though I don’t vehemently hate this ship like I do Yusaku/Aoi. So it’s… fine. It’s a ship that exists.

Extinguishshipping (Flame x Windy)

Again, I really like these two platonically, and I can see where the ship comes from, but I don’t quite see it romantically.

Fireballshipping (Flame x Takeru)

Yeeees, love these little beans. I’ve always loved their canon dynamic and I always love reading fics about them. I love that Flame supports him but also isn’t above roasting him.

Firestormshipping (Takeru x Yusaku)

…yeah, I never got into this one. I honestly expected to ship it more than I did, but I vastly prefer it platonically than romantically. Nothing wrong with the ship, it’s just not my cup of tea.

Gateshipping (Ema x Ryoken)

No. She seems a little too old for him. I know Ryoken is 18 but that still seems too young to be dating someone who’s seemingly in her mid twenties.

Hireshipping (Ema x Akira)

I mean… I admittedly shipped this a bit on my first viewing, despite my meme about Ema being a lesbian. But like… I can kinda see this ship and her being bi instead. So, this is a very light “I ship it” but… yeah, I kinda do.

Hotdogshipping (Yusaku x Shoichi)

No. They’re stupidly far apart in age (with Yusaku also being a minor) and I always interpreted their relationship as more of a brotherly one.

Hydrogenshipping (Lightning x Aqua)

Absolutely freaking not, I might like Lightning as a character but Aqua deserves way better than them!

Ignisshipping (Ai x Aqua x Earth x Flame x Lightning x Windy)

…okay, I don’t particularly ship any pair in this romantically (besides Aqua/Earth) but I’m gonna say I ship it out of the humour and chaos factors alone. This is hilarious.

Infectshipping (Aso x Kyoko)

Yeah sure. I get behind this. I can especially get behind these two being a couple and also acting like parental or older sibling figures to Ryoken. That’s cute.

Lieutenantshipping (Aso x Genome x Kyoko)

I don’t like Genome. This ship is better without him.

Manipulateshipping (Ema x Kengo)

HARD NO. THEY ARE SIBLINGS.

Yes, half siblings, but they’re still related by blood and know they’re siblings. If this ship came about before it was revealed they were siblings, then I get it, but they’re siblings now so this ship is a hard no for me.

Mascotshipping (Ai x Shoichi)

Nah. Although the reason behind the name is funny.

Monkeyshipping (Ryoken x Shima)

Again, really funny ship name but I don’t particularly ship it. I wouldn’t be adverse to reading about it though. I have plenty of ships that revolve around the concept of annoying the shit out of Ryoken and honestly? The more the merrier. It’s what he deserves.

Monopolyshipping (Poly SOL executives)

…okay this is the best ship name out of all of them. It’s funny as shit but also legitimately clever. I’m won over to it by that fact alone… even though I don’t know exactly what the ship entails XD

Moonlightshipping (Miyu x Yusaku)

Wow. What a pretty ship name for a ship I give absolutely no shits about. I’d take it over Yusaku/Aoi, mostly because I can imagine Miyu’s adult personality to be whatever I want it to be (which for me is very positive and extroverted, so a good contrast to Yusaku’s introverted pessimism) so I can see them having actual chemistry beyond friendship. Plus Aoi and Ai acting as wingmen to Miyu and Yusaku respectively is a really cute idea, especially if it’s with the intent of inducing them into a polycule.

…actually you know what? I take it back, I can actually get behind this ship. It’s obviously not one of my favourites or anything, but I could see it being potentially cute.

Motherearthshipping (Earth x Spectre)

Yeah, I ship it. Spectre needs someone in his life he can feel close to who doesn’t have power over him in some way. Uh… spoilers for a later take I guess. This ship is good though.

Pathwayshipping (Ema x Shoichi)

No. I’m pretty sure the only reason this is a ship is because of that dub exclusive scene where Kusanagi… really crosses the customer service line and flirts with one of his customers. Gross. No. Bad.

Patronshipping (Ryoken x Shoichi)

Speaking of shipping Kusanagi with his customers! Yeah, I don’t like this one either. I’m sorry, the art is really pretty and some of the concepts are neat but Kusanagi is waaay too old for him. An 8 year age gap might not be a big deal for people who are 30 and 38 or something but Ryoken is 18 and Kusanagi is 26. You can argue Ryoken acts older but within the show, it is plot relevant that he is around the same age as the lost incident kids, one of which is Kusanagi’s little brother. Ryoken is closer in age to Jin than Kusanagi, who is also a lot older than Jin. So it’s uncomfortable.

Perennialshipping (Aoi x Kiku)

Huh. I didn’t know Kiku was shipped with anyone other than Takeru to be honest. Blue Maiden and Swift Storm should duel. Maybe date I dunno. Cute idea.

Phoenixshipping (Aoi x Takeru)

Okay, super dope ship name, don’t really care for the ship itself. Though that being said, out of the “Superhero” throupple (which I’ll get to) this is probably the pairing I can most understand. Takeru’s fanboying over and admiration for Blue Girl could easily turn into a crush and post canon they could comfort each other over the losses of their Ignis. And maybe bond over them if they ever got them back. I like that better platonically since I prefer other ships, but I can understand this ship.

Pistolshipping (Kengo x Ryoken)

Great ship name but like Kusanagi/Ryoken, Kengo is too old for him. Actually, I think it’s even worse in Kengo’s case because he’s quite a bit older than Ema, who’s also too old for Ryoken, something we learned was the case before these two even met. I’m sorry but a character being “legally of age” does not make large age gaps like these less uncomfortable for me.

Piushipping (Ai x Ryoken)

Ha. And I thought TakeRyo was a hate ship before this ship made its way into my life. I just think that the funniest way for Ai to get his revenge on the Ignis hating dirtbag would be for Ryoken to catch feels for him. Especially if Ai… well, I want to keep this post SFW so let’s just say that while I do ship this, it’s mostly for the memes and *clears throat* NSFW reasons.

Poltergeistshipping (Ema x Yusaku)

No. She’s too old for him. Moving on.

Proveshipping (Aoi x Akira)

No. That’s incest and has a stupidly large age gap of ten years, not to mention he sort of raised her. That’s gross. Moving on.

Rainwatershipping (Aoi x Aqua x Miyu)

Yes! Water throupple! The two water ladies should absolutely have shared custody of the sweet water bean!

Respectfulshipping (Spectre x Ryoken)

I am so sorry, MerryFortune, I love your work, but uh… Ryokie here has too much power over Spectre and recently (while writing Flame of Life especially), I’ve been thinking of these two like siblings. I’m not gonna cry incest or anything, as that’s just my interpretation of their relationship but that and the power imbalance make it really hard for me to see this as a romantic pair like I once did.

Yeah about that… this is actually the only Yugioh ship I’ve ever fallen out of love with. I shipped it when I first watched late season 2, as I disliked both of them at the time and those episodes made me take notice of the fact that despite everything, Spectre and Ryoken actually cared about each other, which I thought was really cute. And I still do, it just… doesn’t work romantically for me. I’d take it over Datastorm though.

Recoilshipping (Takeru x Ryoken)

Damn. Going right from my first Ryoken ship to the one I dropped that ship for. Well, okay, it’s not that simple, but I did start getting into TakeRyo around the time that SpecRyo began falling from grace in my mind. So TakeRyo is like the foundation of what I want out of a Ryoken ship: someone who’s his opposite, who’s willing to call him out on his BS, and be forward enough to annoy/fluster him. Well, in my writing at least, Ryoken was the more forward one at first, and for this particular ship, both work for me but yes I do have a preference for Takeru being the more forward/confident one, at least when they actually start dating. So yeah anyways I ship it. I like how they went from hating each other to being actually kinda okay with each other by the end of the series and damn is their second duel one of my favourites in the whole series.

Roboaishipping (Ai x Roboppi)

No. The jokes about them uh… being intimate in early season 1 feels like early series weirdness with their relationship in season 2 and especially season 3 shifting to more of a brotherly bond. And unlike SpecRyo, that is actually canon: at least to an extent, Roboppi calls Ai “big bro” and just generally looks up to him like an older brother. Even if they aren’t blood related, that is still the relationship they have so I can’t bring myself to ship it. Plus like Haru, Roboppi is baby, he is my son, I can’t ship him with someone who’s far more mature and just older seeming!

Wait a minute… Haru and Roboppi… Haru and… Roboppi… okay, new ship. Haru/Roboppi, Robobroshipping, named so for them both being robots with older brother figures, who’s with me? :D

Rockdustshipping (Earth x Ryoken x Spectre)

Merry, is this ship name your handiwork? :) I know you ship it and as much as I don’t like SpecRyo, I can actually kind of get behind this. Because shipping Ryoken with Ignis is a fun pastime plus EarthSpec and polyamory are certified bangers.

…I just realised it might have been important to note that I’m polyamorous earlier in this post.

Royalghostshipping (Queen x Ema)

No. Ema deserves better. I don’t ship her with Hayami either but even that would be better. Although the most ideal outcome from this set of characters would be the two mean girls getting together and creating the most toxic workplace on earth… okay I probably shouldn’t have described that as ideal. Oops.

Safeshipping (Akira x Shoichi)

Uuuuuuuuugh. Soft nah on this one. There’s nothing wrong with it, I just don’t see the appeal.

Saviorshipping (Ryoken x Spectre x Yusaku)

I don’t like either of these two with Ryoken because he has too much power over both of them, Spectre more so but Ryoken/Yusaku also has the problem of Yusaku putting Ryoken up on a pedestal, just to a lesser degree. And, it’s an issue that would probably be exacerbated by putting the three of them together. So this ship is a no from me.

Scytheshipping (Ema x Kyoko)

Yay! A decent lady for Ema! I ship it!

Yeah, she was a cyber terrorist I guess but she eventually did the right thing :)

Stauroliteshipping (Earth x Aoi)

I am confused why this is a ship (because Aoi took in Aqua maybe?) Cool ship name though, really creative.

Subservientshipping (Jin x Spectre)

Back when I disliked Spectre I hated this ship. Now I’m pretty neutral to it. I can’t think of a particular reason to dislike it but I can’t say I care for it either.

Superheroshipping (Aoi x Takeru x Yusaku)

I love these three as a group of platonic friends. These three plus Ai, Ryoken, and Miyu are pretty much a clique in my VRAINS long fics but I don’t particularly care for it being romantic.

Teardropshipping (Aoi x Aqua)

I mean as you could probably tell from my cheers of “water throupple! :D” earlier, I ship this. I think it’s cute how Aoi took her in and how supportive Aqua was of her in their duels. I wish we could’ve seen more of them together. Duel Links, I’m still pissed at you for fucking up Revolver so badly, but make this happen!

Tornadoshipping (Windy x Lightning)

No. Lightning is so bad at making friends they have to either create them or brainwash them. Sweet lil Wimdy would never have gone along with Lightning’s plans if not for them brainwashing him! Which is 100% canon, rewatch Lightning vs Revolver, they explicitly say this.

But yeah anyways my point is Windy deserves better.

Trickmirrorshipping (Ryoken x Aoi)

Eeeeeeeeh. Ryoken did try to kill her back when he was evil, but I ship pairings who’ve done far worse to each other. And having another character on team Ignis punching Revolver in the face with their lips is always a good thing…

Wait, am I only considering this because I ship Ryoken/Aqua?

Okay, well, uh, I’d never write this (because I see Ryoken as a gay man who only initially made an exception for Aqua cuz tentacles) but this is honestly a decent ship. Like, if I was tasked with shipping Ryoken with a girl, and it had to be a ship with an official name, this would be my pick.

Vaporshipping (Flame x Aqua)

Meh. They get along pretty well so I can understand where this came from. Not my thing though.

Vestashipping (Ema x Flame)

I’m not surprised this ship exists since they’ve canonically flirted. But uh. No.

Wildfireshipping (Takeru x Spectre)

This seems like it would be very messy. Could work I suppose, though it’s not a ship I’m all that drawn to.

Wisteriashipping (Yusaku x Spectre)

One of my newest ships. I got into this one while straight up searching for characters to ship Spectre with and out of the human pairings, this one stuck out to me the most. So I read a fic about it and… yeah I really like it. I’m very into opposites attract narratives if you can’t tell and these two had the exact opposite reaction to the Lost Incident. Interesting drama :)

Zinniashipping (Aoi x Miyu)

More flowers. Guess these two are water girls and flower girls. Maybe they’re mermaids? :D Anyways, Aoi/Miyu is a yes. They were the tertiary ship in The Lost is Found (even in the bonus chapters) and are featured again and Flame of Life so I think that was obvious. Maybe childhood friends to lovers is also just a favourite trope of mine because I started shipping it pretty much as soon as it was introduced. Maybe it’s the Lion King fan in me.

Okay, bonus ship time! Disclaimer: these are all Ryoken ships, he’s probably my most shipped character in anything.

First off, Ryoken/Miyu. Aka: a rarepair I respect enough to not steal its name, Watergunshipping, after I realised it was being unofficially used for them. Like Ryoken/Aoi, it’s not my thing at all due to my preferences/headcanons but like if people wanna make it an official ship I’d vote in the polls for its name.

Next, Ryoken/Lightning. I suggested a ship name for them but it was generic and I didn’t care enough about this pairing to come up with a new name or push any harder for it to have an official name. Because the only reason I wrote about it was to complete a set, it is not a functioning pairing in the slightest for many reasons. They cannot stand each other. And between the two of them, I actually root for Ryoken more than Lightning so the concept of Lightning getting revenge isn’t even particularly appealing.

Finally, Ryoken/Aqua. My one true exception to Ryoken being exclusively into men. Came for her tentacles, stayed for her cute, beautiful, wonderful soul- I have a crush on Aqua, I admit it. But also pairing the lying gruff tsundere disaster man with the sweet gentle living lie detector Ignis is just a hilarious idea to me. Some of the other Ignis might openly flirt with and try to seduce him, Aqua would just exist around him and watch with a smile as he falls further in love. This is probably the reason I’m a little more okay with Ryoken/Aoi and Ryoken/Miyu. I don’t ship either of them but if he’s with them, Aqua will be close by. Neeheehee :)

[d20-brainrot]

who are your favorite pcs on dimension 20? (either as a whole, per season, whatever you want!)

oh gosh, that's such a difficult decision! i might go based on seasons i've seen? and as a disclaimer: i love every single pc, everyone plays so well on dimension 20 and i love the choices people make, this is all just my opinion!

fantasy high freshman year: god i love gorgug in this season, he was such a goofy guy, and i love him. he honestly was what made me switch to playing more barbarians in my own gameplay

fhsy: fig was sooooo good in this season, the stuff with her and ayda, all the skateboarding away, and just her coming into her own as a person hit very hard for me.

the seven: ostentatia wallace was so good, and izzy was so fun at the table! i'm so excited to watch her in coffin run and in burrow's end. just yelling "i love you" at her dad and all the cleric shit was amazing, and i loved every second of her.

unsleeping city: i've only seen the first season, but i loved kugrash so much!! him being rat jesus was too funny, but he also had his heartbreaking moments. he was a very well developed character and murph played him so well

crown of candy: it's a tie between 3, which i know is so bad, but they are liam, lapin, and theo. they each are just so fantastic and i love them all so much. liam was so sweet, and then when he was a war guy, that was so good too! him and primsy <3. lapin was fucking hilarious, i don't care what anyone else says. his banter with theo was unmatched, and the last episode with him was heart-wrenching and i loved every second of it. theo is also so good. casting knock on the door!!! the banter, sprinkle, the protectiveness all of it!

ravening war: god i love colin and raphaniel so so much! they are such a duo. but so are colin and deli! but then deli and karna! but then karna and amongeux! god, that season was full of top players and i probably couldn't choose one rn.

starstruck oddyessy: god i loved gunnie! the ball is rolling up is in my vocabulary now, and i honestly enjoy everything that lou wilson does, he's phenomenal. also skip is fucking hilarious in the beginning, when he's learning how to talk, it makes me giggle all the time

neverafter: tbh i loved everyone in this season! my top favs were definitely ylfa and pinocchio though. lou's voice was fucking crazy but it was wonderful. his arc with his stepmother slayed. ylfa is a character that i relate to a little too much probably, but she is so wonderful. her and the wolf are crazy. i watch way too many edits with ylfa clips, it's probably something i should work on haha

escape from the bloodkeep: tbh i love leiland! i'm only on episode three but he slays figuratively and literally (though not much literally lol) matt mercer is a great player and i love everything he does!

i'm so sorry that this was so lengthy lmao, can you tell that i like dimension 20 and dungeons and dragons???

[blue-is-a-sapphic-color]

For the dreblr ask game 5, 20, 23, 24?

Hellooo thank you for the ask <3

5. What do you think is the most character-defining c!Dream scene?

I'm going to be more general than a single scene, mostly because my analyst days are long behind me. I'd say c!Dream throughout the daedalus arc.

A little late in the timeline and there are probably way better and obvious choices (maybe the revival book montage) but I'll stick with this one.

I think these scenes are the closest we ever were to a c!Dream pov. My mental recollection of these scenes sometimes has Dream looking at Sam in Minecraft instead of the other way around. They are very private moments between c!Dream and c!Sam without the extreme power imbalance that other scenes with them had.

We got the reveal that c!Dream wanted to sleep in the prison cell even after he escaped. We got c!Dream free but freshly out of hell, hiding things from c!Sam, keeping The Plan and c!Punz safe but letting some things slip, revealing some things because it felt good to make c!Sam see how wrong he was about him.

We saw c!Dream kill c!Sam but ultimately, let him go. We saw c!Dream let c!Sam leave.

20. What are some of your favourite pieces of c!Dream analysis?

Oh my, so many. From the OG analyses from @ruby-whistler, to the amazing meta from @simplepotatofarmer. And of course, some of the awesome posts from the loreheads™.

But I'll link two posts that I think never really got the love/discussion about them/their content that they deserved:

c!punz's motivators by @merrinpippy

how c!dream lies by @rutadales

23. To what extent are you a c!Dream apologist?

If we are talking Seriously™, all the things he did to c!Tommy and others are unforgivable, and the stunt he pulled with the boomers is straight out of a horror movie. Any good intentions he has will always be stained black by his completely fucked up morality.

If we're not talking Seriously™, then he suffered a thousand times more than Jesus. He quite literally never did anything without a logical or justifiable reason, and all the crimes he's accused of are greatly exaggerated for the purpose of dehumanizing him and using him as a scapegoat for everything wrong with the server and all its other members.

I think he should be loved like he deserves by like half of the server At Least, starting with c!Sam in this essay I will-

No because I'm serious, c!Sam is just a mentally ill puppycat (he has ocd) who placed his loyalty on the server when he shouldn't have, and just has to learn he can let himself love c!Dream like he's fighting tooth and nail not to!!!

As you can see canon and arguing about morality doesn't serve me At All and I couldn't care less if my meow meow tortures people and is Extremely Weird About, first of all why do you think they're my meow meow in the first place, second of all it's literally all in Minecraft my meow meows aren't hurting anyone irl Calm Down Everyone Let Me Have My Fun!

24. When/how did you become a c!Dream apologist?

Early 2021. The first big dream smp stream I watched was Doomsday from Techno's pov so I was not that invested in clingy duo's fate during the disk finale, I just wanted to Take It All In and enjoy the spectacle aka Dream's performance. Then, the very first prison visit got me Interested, and the subsequent c!Ranboo lore streams got me Hooked. I was big into endersmile then, but I slowly transitioned to being more focused on the prison arc as a whole as well as the prison trio.

This animation was definitely a turning point to my interest in the character. Made my brain invested in c!Dream's mental state and well-being, which means I would never again be a c!Dream casual and would from that point on be a c!Dream apologist <3

[okthatsgreat]

hiiii 6, 10, 11, 12 and 17 for the asks :)

hello lily i love u lily hiiiiiiiii

6. do you have a fan character? tell us about them!

this question is dangerous LMFAOO i’ve got too many man TOO many. i think the reason why is bc the aus i usually write about require that i pad out seasons 4-52 with a bunch of random ultimates and a few of them have definitely stuck with me!! i’ve rambled about the ultimate miner here, but the other one i think about the most is the ultimate free runner only because she’s recently resurfaced in my mind lmfao. her name gets updated every week lol rn it’s naomi ishikawa 👍🏻👍🏻 personality wise she has this like character arc where at the beginning she is really paranoid and runs a lot bc yknow. free runner. but eventually she grows close to a few people !! when i originally created her she was a part of season 50, and because it was the 50th season danganronpa wanted to go big so they had the first ever canon case of a class failing a trial with naomi SOMEHOW making it outta there as the sole survivor. so u can imagine the kind of stress she is under </3

10. which was your favorite trial from THH?

i liked chapter four mostly bc it bummed me the hell out el oh el

11. which was your favorite trial from SDR2?

don’t really have a favorite, probably chapter 5

12. which was your favorite trial from V3?

chapter one! because it made me SAD!

17. list five headcanons for your favorite characters!

limiting myself to one character so i don’t flood everybody’s dashboard but i can’t CHOOSE!!! so i’m just gonna go with akane lolol

- fantastic with small kids but grows soooo stressed out when she’s shoved into a parental roll intentionally and for too long. kids think she’s so much fun

- cracks her knuckles so often without knowing it and it is LOUD

- you know that one soulmate of eleanor’s from the good place that takes his shirt off and yells “i’m going to the gym” whenever eleanor asks a question that is too difficult for him to answer That’s Akane. she’s the type of person to suffer more than jesus and go “Nah I’m Not Worried About It The Grind Never Stops 👍🏻💪🏻🔥”

- mainly wears activewear, has maybe one good formal shirt and a bunch of oversized tshirts to fall asleep in

- she uses the thumbs up emoji way too often. Yeah Man 👍🏻 You got it 👍🏻

(from the danganronpa ask game!)

[sulietsexual]

I saw you rebloging content about Daisy Jones and the Six, I was curious what were your overall feelings/thoughts on the show? I really enjoyed it personally, I’m a fan of the book but I was able to have a lot of fun despite some things obviously being pretty different

Oh man, I have so many feeling about this series, not all of them good, but I'll start with the positives.

I have a major '70s fetish, have since I was a kid, and so I automatically enjoy media set in that time. While I didn't think the series leaned into the decade as much as it could, I did like the obviously '70s musician influences on the costuming (particularly with Daisy's Steve Nicks looks and Cami's Bianca Jagger-inspired wardrobe). I also loved all the '70s music used and the way the series captured the spirit of music and live shows of that decade.

I really liked the original songs as well, particularly The River, Honeycomb and Let You Down Easy. I loved that all the actors actually sung and played their instruments for real and jesus does Riley Keough have some pipes on her! Those Presley genes are strong!

I also really liked most of the characterisation. Even though so many of the characters were so messy and at times highly unlikable, they were also charismatic, well-written and portrayed in such a way that you really empathised with them and understood their motivations. Daisy is a particularly strong character and I think Riley was perfect casting. I also find Sam Caflin to be quite charming, so Billy became a much more endearing character because of him, despite the fact that he is such an ass.

A favourite character of mine is Simone, and I've heard that she's much more fleshed out in the series than she is in the book. I absolutely love her character arc, her exploration and eventual comfort with her sexuality (her relationship with Bernie is honestly the best relationship in the series) and her dynamic with Daisy. I absolutely love the way she calls Daisy on her crap and the way she is also so supportive of her.

Also Teddy Price is awesome and his relationships with Daisy, Billy and the band are amazing.

The series has a good pace and I think every episode is written well and moves well. I like how we see Daisy's journey paralleled with The Six's until the two finally converge. Also, the way the series opens is amazing, I loved the whole tease of why did the band fall apart?

With all this being said, I have one big fat issue with the series (from which stems many smaller issues) and that is the ending, which gave me horrible echoes of the How I Met Your Mother finale. The minute Older Billy said to his daughter "And when your mother got sick" my stomach just dropped because I knew where we were headed, and yes, the series went there, and had a dying Camila tell Billy to essentially be with Daisy. And I know this is somewhat true to the book, but it just drove me crazy.

I don't know how different it is in the books, but the entire series was built around this "soul mate" connection between Daisy and Billy; I mean, even before they meet they are linked together by music, events and the trajectory of their lives. We see their similarities long before we even see their connection, and once we do see them meet onscreen, it's obvious that the series is about them. Everything revolves around their dynamic and the way it affects the music and the band, both positively and negatively. Everyone interviewed talks about how the two of them are electric together and both Older Billy and Older Daisy talk about one another in terms of being The Other Half.

Which, for me, makes Camila's story that much more tragic.

I don't doubt that Billy loved Camila and their initial courtship and relationship is very sweet. But, for me, once Billy cheated on her on the first tour, there was really no going back. I understand narratively why Camila stayed with Billy initially; this was the '70s, she was pregnant with his child and didn't have the options women have today. She also loved him and, like I said, I do believe that he also loved her. She saw him get sober and work on himself (to a certain extent, at least) and their initial reconciliation was sweet and they do have many sweet moments after.

But once she realised the depth to which he and Daisy had fallen for one another, once she confronted both of them about it, once she had confirmed that Billy loved Daisy - I don't understand why she would ever take Billy back. How could she ever go back to someone knowing that she was second choice, that the only reason he stayed with her was because she represented stability whereas Daisy was nothing but chaos?

And I know that the series was maybe trying to show that Billy was making the "right" choice with Camila, that he was choosing the stable and happy path, as being with Daisy at that moment in time really would have been disastrous for them both. But, again, this doesn't work for me, because it really comes across as Billy settling. The entire series kept telling me that he and Daisy were soulmates, that they were two halves of one whole, which makes his love for Camila seem second-best.

And I don't think that this was actually the intent of the series, nor the book. I'm guessing this was supposed to be a tale of how even though we connect with someone, it doesn't mean that we're supposed to be with them, which is fine, and I think that works for the Daisy and Billy storyline, but I just don't agree with him getting back together with Camila. She deserved better.

In fact, both she and Daisy deserved much better from Billy, as he really treated both women like crap at various times. So the ending of the series, where Billy gets to play Happy Families with Camila until she dies and then gets to reunite with his "soul mate" essentially lets Billy have both women and this ends up feeling very uncomfortable.

I would have preferred for both women to leave Billy, permanently, and for Billy's redemption to be through his daughter; in fact, I liked that they somewhat worked this angle in, when Billy says that he never missed a soccer game or dance recital. But I think the series would have been better had Camila divorced Billy and gone on to have a good life of her own, maybe even marrying someone else. Then, when she's older and maybe feeling nostalgic or reflective as she's dying, she tells her daughter that her father has become a good man and deserves to be happy, and that maybe he should call Daisy.

Also, just as a last annoyance, I really didn't like the reveal that it was Billy and Camila's daughter who was interviewing the band, as that made everything so weird, like, why are these people telling this young women who they knew as a child and watched grow up all these intimate details of their lives, not to mention, all of them are basically telling her "Oh, your Dad's soulmate is actually Daisy, not your mother." Again, I don't think this was the intent and I would like to read the book to see if this maybe comes across differently. But it bugged me.

So, to sum up, I did very much enjoy the series but the ending does bring it down for me, and I think some of the intent got muddled, possibly due to moving from page to screen.

[partyinthemysterymachine]

Ooh, deleted scene?

D E L E T E D - S C E N E

ok SO!! this is a Deleted Scene™️ (1/????) from the Library Arc©️ fiasco that it was (fond), specifically Ch64: Bible.

it's VERY silly, LOL, but the idea was in my brain and i had to do what i always do: Just Fuckin Write It Out, Cuz U Never Know If It's Worth It™️ (but also, i consider all my scenes - whether the make The Cut (haha, funny bc it literally got cut) or not - to be an exercise in character development; we're just here to have fun, gang!!)

so....... without further aduuuuuuu:

✨the deleted scene✨

(spoiler alert?? .. idk...???? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ spoilers-ish. maybe. FEH idk)

(CONTEXT: this occurred just after James came back up from the basement and Harry's telling him about the botched bible. Unfortunately i don't seem to have whatever'd led up to this, but one can only assume that James had the Universe Brained idea to suggest that Harry go look for another bible in the library.)

“By god, we are just on the same wavelength today!” Harry exclaimed, loaded with enough petty sarcasm to burst a bat. He pushed the chair back a bit at an angle to give himself room, threw one knee over the other, and landed the topmost a good  smack. “And yanno what?” Then, with the flair and wobble of a wet noodle, dropped his side into the short backing of the chair, and slung his bent elbow over its ledge, beaming at James’s unamused face. “I thought the same thing! — and even went to check!”

James stared deadpan into Harry’s fake, stretched-out smile. Facing each other with contrasting expressions like that, they looked like the famous pair of stage drama masks. He knew where this was going the moment Harry started up with his dramatic nonsense, and now that it seemed like Harry was waiting for him to take his turn, he still hadn’t decided how much freedom to be an asshole he wanted Harry to have.

His nose released a short bout of wind. “Oh dear. Oh no.” James uttered, all in a monotone that made plywood seem interesting. “Did something happen.”

“James, you are not going to believe this,” Harry began in a way so sugarcoated that James thought that if anything, the guy should consider hosting daytime TV as a backup in case his writing career ever failed, “but something. Did.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes!”

“What was it.”

“Hold onto your ass, and onto your seat for this one— because they don’t. Have. One.”

James had never struggled so hard not to break character. He was so fucking close to cracking up that he was considering leaving right then and there; and yet, he bravely persisted. “Oh, no: they don’t have an ass, or a seat?”

But Harry was still talking, though. “But who [REDACTED] are of course both news to me, and totally unknown to me. It seems like you were right about your theory though, which is damn spooky, if ya ask me.”

“.. yeah,” James quietly replied. “I’m a little spooked too.”

“You sure Silent Hill didn’t give you a hint for this?”

“Not at all. — I mean, it didn’t give me a hint, or say anything about it. Honest.”

“I believe you; I’m just steppin’ on your tail for fun.”

“It’s okay.” pause “.. so what’s it mean?”

“That’s a question I’d love to answer,” he sighed, “but I got nothing. Ran into a bigger problem during all this. Look.”

“Trouble in River City - this copy of the Order bible is borked. Seemingly random too,” he elucidated, picking at dog eared pages to show James more examples, “but this seems too fucking messy, really, for it to be accidental.”

“No kidding. These were going to be shipped out to Utah in a box.”

“Jesus, you remember that?”

“What?”

“The destination. Utah.”

“Yeah, cuz I thought it was weird. It’s all Mormons over there. 

“You’re sharper than a hornet on a stick; I felt the same way. But yeah; this seems fucked. The good news is that we left the box back at the police station, and we ought to head over to the Central side of Silent Hill at some point, anyway.”

“Hmm. Yeah. Good call.”

“Thanks, I made it myself.” sighs. “I think, other than that? That’s it for me; I’m beat, James.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you make any progress with the moths?”

A shrug. “I made notes. I’ll go over them with you later.”

He looked thankful. “Sounds good.”