#*my favorite part of the entire episode if i'm being honest

[finalgirlmoment]

Noteworthy details about the first two PJOTV episodes (spoilers)

First of all, every single of them ATE DOWN. just wanted to throw that out there, i'm so so impressed with the cast, everyone was perfect and gorgeous and i'm completely sat for any and all future installments. A fine piece of media. Let's begin.

Percy's confusion and bewilderment finding out that he's a demigod. "You fell in love with God.... like, Jesus????" LMFAO but seriously his frustration in this moment, thinking there's something actually wrong with his brain, feeling lost and confused and hurt and BROKEN. the struggle in that moment is so relatable to people discovering they have some sort of mental illness or neurodivergence, especially when they weren't believed/listened to etc and i think walker played this part beautifully

GROVER AND PERCY PLAYING MYTHOMAGIC TOGETHER. GROVER AND PERCY PLAYING MYTHOMAGIC TO TRAIN PERCY. I AM LITERALLY SCREAMING OFF ROOFTOPS THE IMPLICATIONS THAT THIS HAS???? ARE YOU ACTUALLY JOKING??????? IMAGINE SEASON 3 PERCY FINDS NICO AND THEY HAVE THIS IN COMMON???????????!?!?!?!?!? FEELING SEVERELY FRANTIC AND MASSIVELY UNWELL ABOUT THIS

luke's empathy towards Percy throughout-- his apologies for what happened to his mother at the bottom of Half Blood Hill, him telling P that he relates to the nightmares, the restlessness, the ADHD..... so fucking sick and fucking twisted, I will be sobbing at the ending, gorgeous job on both ends on making this relationship feel very warm and authentic and the trust starting to build. this will H U R T.

CLARISSE. she's so gorgeous and vindictive. Her beauty took me off guard initially, but she's such a spiteful little badass that I completely fell in love with her. I CANNOT WAIT to see more of her characterization, especially into season two. perfection.

Percy burning the blue jelly beans- the thing he'd miss most- out in the middle of the woods at night in a damn can, just to pray to his MOTHER. *sobbing intensifies* i couldn't ask for a more sweet, heartfelt, honest moment. the perfect addition. 10s across the board

Percy's ANGER. OH BOY this was one of my most favorite parts. I feel like we see Percy as a very happy-go-lucky kid altogether but I loved, LOVED to see his frustration and agitation from the very beginning. Everything is so confusing and foreign and all he knows is that 1. he's been betrayed or left behind by everyone he knows and 2. he's been ignored his whole life by his godly parent. His mission is to MAKE HIS DAD SEE PERCY, at ANY COST. Before he even knows who his dad is. He is entitled to feel ALL of this anger and hurt and resentment!!!!!!!

Annabeth calling Percy "sunshine". TOTAL CULTURAL RESET. I gasped. The dawn of a new age of Percabeth. I will be screaming into my pillow about this for the foreseeable future.

The entire characterization of Percy throughout the capture the flag scene. His contrast of being just a kid- flossing (lol), peeing the woods, petting a gecko, just vibing and hanging out VS. being thrown suddenly into attack from his peers that don't care about the rules, surprising himself and everyone around him with his finesse in battle, quick instincts, swordsmanship..... i'm weak fr. I can't wait to see him grow, train, become stronger and more confident.

Overall, I'm entirely floored and beyond happy. I can't wait to see more. 10/10

#percy jackson #pjotv #pjotv spoilers #percy jackson spoilers #percabeth #walker scobell #annabeth chase #leah sava jeffries #grover underwood #clarisse la rue #luke castellan #brain so rotted its unspeakable #good lord #THE ADAPATION WE DESERVE #please dm me if u want to talk more im foaming at the damn mouth

[bredforloyalty]

alright now that i've watched it again, about fear no mort: how fascinating that most of morty's fear hole journey revolved around rick, so much so that an extended part of it was just a scenario in which rick's dead wife climbs to the top of his list of favorite people/reasons to live for and not only does he abandon morty but endangers the both of them. wild! morty third wheeling grumpily is wild (although i don't at all care about diane so that part of the episode was kind of soiled on first watch by me going "oh ://".. to be entirely honest. and i'm so mortypilled that if i could tweak the episode i would've put less grandpa in it lol and played it a bit more straight with focusing on morty but then again that's me and that would be a very different episode)

so, morty's afraid of rick not choosing him but also not choosing life, he's afraid of not being able to save rick and be someone he can depend on. it's an awful lot to take on, being the companion of someone who historically has not given much of a shit about himself and ended up hurting everyone around him with his callousness. it's a certain kind of selfishness, when you hate yourself and the world enough to turn inward and forget you have a responsibility to the people around you, and you forget there is a way out and forget the world does not abandon you, ever, only you can abandon yourself. and rick's only recently made some changes, it's a lot to look out for and care for someone (regardless if you intend to care or it was never a choice. and it wasn't) when they've been exceptionally cruel to you, when they don't think of you as capable of that or themselves as in need of that. morty's afraid of the very fact that he's committed, that he's got a mixture of affection and resentment and fear and a bunch of other things swirling inside him and it's all related to one man. he's terrified of what will happen if rick ever starts needing him and he's just not enough. fuck i loved that and thought it was delicious. eating the episode like an animal and licking all ten of my fingers after...

morty's also afraid of becoming his dad, who spent the majority of the previous seasons as a kind of doormat, who let his wife and father-in-law walk all over him, who didn't appreciate beth, who abandoned the family. maybeee even.. who didn't stick up for morty when a certain old man was taking advantage of him and breaking him down systematically. he fears humiliation and ostracism (typical teenage things, i was like that too and yet. not everyone is like that so it matters to me that i was very much like that too).. he's got so much shame, and although the settings are the school and the wider public for some of the fears, rick's role isn't exactly incidental in how morty functions outside of their relationship and who he's become. who has made him feel small and weak and stupid and who isolated him and prevented him from having the normal experiences all those other normal kids have? like sure it's not all rick but considering that by the end the fear is all about him, i feel like i can emphasize this. and sure rick's also the one who toughened him up (nothing scares him anymore, the school had to alert homeland security once, etc) but that's part of his fear too: rick's got his handprints all over him, he's everything, while rick's everything is not morty ((according to morty of course. little does he know.......))

anyway, the tragedy is that his worst fear does become reality, is his reality: rick didn't jump in after him. it's tragic because he perceives rick as someone who would never go as far for him as he would for rick, who could replace him, and by the end he accepts that. the fear is gone because being together is inevitable, there's nothing else to do but accept how they are and how vulnerable he is to rick. don't fear what you're destined to suffer!!! he's a loyal little dog! rick will never change and he's okay with that now. that's devotion, it's veiled by sci-fi bullshit and goofy jokes (and that terrible naked rap number that had me cringing uncontrollably hxsgvy) but it's devotion! except, to add to the tragedy while not really making it,, heavier, it's straight up untrue that rick could or would replace him. not jumping in the fear hole wasn't real evidence of how he feels, to morty it was just a representation of what he thinks is the worst of their relationship (the worst for him). we've been watching rick try and try and seeing the evidence of how he's changed all season, i think that makes it sadder that he's still not reassured the kid, that he still can't be honest or open enough to untangle the knot at the center of morty. that he tied

and yet, if i wasn't already reassured that rick's also committed, if not to morty personally then to the family and to making a continuous effort to improve, i would be reasured by how he didn't jump in at the end and instead took a picture of his grandson out of his wallet and pinned it to the 'went in the hole' board (lol). he had a picture in his wallet, god. he finally listened, he listened to morty who said it's not worth it, not even if diane is there, he chose not to immerse himself in his fears, his past and his wounds, and i would even say he chose not to go where morty couldn't follow. he chose his current reality and admitted morty is braver than him by pinning the picture, he wasn't condescending about morty running and jumping by himself. and most importantly, most cuckoo bananas of all, most 'kata is not going to be feeling well for a while' about the episode, when morty hugged him, he, for the first time!!, timidly started hugging back. and then morty immediately let go and pushed him away because he can't imagine a rick that hugs back, that loves him like he loves rick, he's so scared of the part of himself that wants to believe in that level of respect and care and reciprocation, the part that craves that. what the fuuuuck

rick's only recently started loosening his claws and thinking of how he could do right by his grandson and by others in general, it hasn't caught up with him yet that while morty does see him and does assess him accurately, he's not a mind reader and he's got insecurities and rick's at the center of them and well, you could say, you could say he should take responsibility for what he's done ('take responsibility' NOT in a canceling rick sanchez on twitter unless he repents for his grooming crimes way but in a waggling my eyebrows way forever and ever). ngl i wasn't super satisfied by the rest of the season as it was coming out but i'm excited to see where they take this, how these characters will develop further. and i was very happy to see an episode just about morty's side of the equation, i've been fed <3

#but mostly i want to see how they grow around each other. the minute it's implied they have to go their seperate ways to fulfill #themselves as individuals and find real pure happiness which they can only find somewhere else i kill myself immediately #^___^ <33 #rick and morty #rnm #i did draft this immediately after watching btw i just needed to be sure i won't change my mind on a second watch..... #kata.txt

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Best of QL 2023: Favorite Lines

Okay well, I was going to spare everyone (and myself) from having to choose between all the pre-2023 shows I binged this year, but @twig-tea wanted more pain and suffering so here it goes:

Top Five Pre-2023 Lines that Lived Rent-Free In My Brain This Year:

"I don't want to see him sad." -Oh'Aew, I Told Sunset About You, Ep. 5

Okay so you see, my real problem here is that my favorite parts of ITSAY, the things that stay in my head rent free. No. The things I pay to stay in my head because I love them so much are the things that happen in the silence. Beginning of Ep 3, end of Ep 3, the kiss in Ep 4, the wrestling at the end of Ep 2. Those aspects, those moments are what absolutely destroyed me with this show. But I am gonna be real with you all, when Bas let Oh go like that? I wept. And I do love what it says about Oh that despite how much he has been hurt by Teh, he loves Teh enough to know how utterly devasted Teh is right now, and he cannot bear the pain of seeing someone he loves so hurt. Especially when he and Teh haven't spoken since Teh gave up his seat.

"You're tired, aren't you?" -Mork, My Ride, Ep. 5

If you saw my Favorite Lines 2023 post you would notice that this line is very very similar to my favorite line in Moonlight Chicken. And that is because loving and caring for people is super fucking exhausting. Meeting the world with kindness and grace and radical empathy in the face of horrible things, in the face of people who think you are weak for your kindness, or who seek to take advantage of it is fucking exhausting. And it is honestly quite rare that I see kind characters being asked this question, so I always go feral when they do because it is such a testament to love to say 'i see you' but to grant people enough space and autonomy to decide how honest and vulnerable they are going to let themselves be. I was talking with @ginnymoonbeam about this line a little so I am going to steal a line from her: "have you eaten" = I love and care for you

"are you tired" = I see how much you love and care for me/others

Of course the fact that Tawan absolutely just melts in to a puddle of tears because yes, yes he is tired, so so fucking tired does absolutely nothing to help me stop thinking about this scene. I love my boys!

"Because you raised me this way, that's why I'm not like other kids" || "I had to hate Pran, to compete against him, because of you? That's the reason? -Pran || Pat, Bad Buddy, Ep. 10

I cheated here. I do not care. These lines come almost one right after another and are just the same level of one-two gut punch that makes Bad Buddy so fucking incredible. Pat and Pran have been through so much because their parents were trying to save face. All the pain they have suffered, the lies they've had to tell, the caution, the fear, the secrecy in their relationship. How long Pran has had to keep his feelings for Pat at bay, how much Pat is sacrificing to let Pran maintain a good relationship with his mother, is all because their parents have decades old beef. There are so many good lines in this show, if I were to pick another one it would be "do you want to be friends?" "no" from Episode 5, but I feel like no lines sum up the conflict of Bad Buddy better than Pran and Pat confronting their parents.

"You must be disappointed in me." -Wang, 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us, Ep 7

Ok so I lied about this one, the line that absolutely stays in my head rent free is the line "Mom." Wang sobs after his fight with In in Episode 8 but I had a legitimate 30 minute melt-down over that singular line and moment so I am picking one of the next most painful lines for me. And if it wasn't this it would be the entirety of the 52 Hertz Whale monologue that In gives in Episode 3 because that is the saddest gayest monologue for the saddest gayest man. And if it wasn't those it would be the boy in boarding school monologue Wang gives in Episode 5. Honestly this entire script, and this entire show is with me always.

BUT what absolutely kills me about this line in particular is that Swasimol tries to shake her head no, and can't bring herself to lie, and Wang watches his mother nod in confirmation that she is disappointed in him when he tells her he is in love with In. And that's the part that is truly crushing.

"I know you're hurting," -Shiro, What Did You Eat Yesterday?

GOD. THEY MAKE ME SO. AGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH. Honestly a huge fuck you to @bengiyo for introducing this show to me, this brain rot is 1000% his fault.

There is something just so fascinating to me about Kenji and Shiro's dynamic especially around how they handle and navigate their queerness. Kenji is loud and out and proud and while we don't know if there was time his mother had to work up to it, we know that Kenji's mother is pretty accepting of Kenji being gay. But Shiro didn't have that same experience, and he is quiet, and struggling with internalized homophobia, and decently rooted in the closet. And I think when you have a character like Kenji who rarely seems to take the insults and the jabs to heart, who is just the human embodiment of sunshine you can forget that Kenji is human, and Kenji uses his sunshine as armor the way that Shiro uses his silence.

Shiro never says I love you to Kenji, in the first season he rarely engaged in any level of physical affection, and kept a distance from Kenji if they were walking together in public. But Shiro loves Kenji so goddamn much, so so fucking much, and while he can't bring himself to say the words it is in moments like this one, where Shiro knows despite the fact that Kenji hasn't given any indication, that Kenji is hurt by the fact that Shiro's mother rescinded his New Year's invitation.

Shiro and Kenji mean everything to me.

If anyone is curious about any other favorites (shows, cinematography, pain, etc) from this year, feel free to drop an ask!

#i told sunset about you #bad buddy #bad buddy series #180 degree #180 degree longitude passes through us #what did you eat yesterday? #kinou nani tabeta? #my ride the series #best of ql 2023

[friendofthecrows]

I love AO3 because it is the only place on the internet where you do not need to worry about your works, or other people's works that you love, being deleted. You also know you can comfortably talk about anything you want. And I can properly tag it so that those likely to be triggered can block it.

For example, on Tumblr, if I wanted to discuss something dark, serious, or of a taboo topic, like say, eating disorders or anything sexual, I used to be able to tag it so that people triggered by those topics don't see it.

Now? If I talk about my experience with eating disorders and attempt to encourage others to recover, all with an educational and honest mindset, if I tag it with any of the common tags to get it seen by those people, I risk my entire blog being deactivated.

I have literally had this happen before. That is how my last blog died.

Now, if I want to make sure I don't see those topics, I can't block the tags because the people talking about them aren't tagging them properly. They don't want to be deactivated, so when they talk about them, it's with no tags or the wrong tags.

The amount of triggering pr0/*na stuff I've seen on my dash lately is ridiculous despite the fact my blocked tags look like this:

And so on.

Or think about an egregious example...wattpad. I don't want your shitty alpha mate erotic self insert bts fanfic. You know what I can do on AO3? Filter literally any of those terms out.

You know what I have to do on wattpad? Scroll past them all because they make up the majority of the top stories in some categories despite wattpad's terms of service. Sometimes, I will start reading a nice fantasy story only to get part way through the second chapter and MC is getting r*ped by a pack of "muscular, dominant werewolves." I would much rather the author mentioned there would be explicit heterosexual sex and rape. I would not read it then.

People also have boundaries in wildly different places. I'm okay with reading a story about lesbians involving consensual nonconsent, you know, bdsm style, where the rules have been worked out in advance and there's a safeword + signal. That's fine, it doesn't bother me at all even if I'm not particularly interested in it. But make it a man r*ping someone physically weaker (regardless of gender) nope! I'm out. Even if it's not for pleasure purposes and is a dark scene which is traumatic for the character and is important for whatever psychological themes of the work. Aspects like that can be included in writing legitimately, especially in works on the more psychological side. But I do not want to see those particular topics, so I filter them out. No problem.

My favorite fic author of all time writes a ton of disturbing stuff in the death note fandom, which, given the tone of canon, is a ripe canvas to work from. Half of the good psychological death note fics would be banned within the first couple of months, I'm sure. Even darker/more intense works like psycho-pass? It had a r*pe scene in the very first episode. It was definitely not meant to be gratifying to the viewer. It is meant to be horrifying. Any fics that deal with any of the topics canon deals with? Control, manipulation, gore and physical violences spanning the range which occurs in the real world and how you deal with them? How you deal with the people who commit them? There is a vast amount of ugliness canon portrays that is meant to make the viewer uncomfortable. If it makes you uncomfortable, good, you are a normal person. If you're not up for these topics, filter them out.

Those of us who want to see even the ugly sides of human experience discussed in writing can read them in deeply unsettled peace and you can read a different fic.

Banning these topics from being discussed entirely? You make the whole of literature, of what we are allowed to discuss publicly, more shallow. The depths are banned. You can't discuss anything about them. Not from the cathartic voice of an abuse survivor or the philosophical curiosity of someone who wishes to understand people, even bad people.

In short, it's dumb, and completely missing the point of an ARCHIVE.

#AO3 #censorship #not even going to get into the whole purpose of it being an archive thing but #you don't just delete shit from an ARCHIVE because you don't like it #it is meant to preserve everything #that's like banning fascist books from libraries even if academics are reading them to understand the cultural mindsets which led to fascis #ran out of characters #anyways you get what i'm saying #the bible has whores and violence #somehow that is okay for children to read #yet fics on ao3 that are decidely not for children cannot even EXIST #like bestie your 7 year old is not looking up smut fics chill out

[vickyvicarious]

I love the way everything is said in June 30's episode. Everything, let's be honest. That said, here are some of my absolute favorite parts:

The chains rattling once again and the way Jonathan says "the door - would not - move." The waver in his voice on the word "despair" right afterwards

Honestly, everything about his struggles with the door. The screeching, the effort in his voice on "pulled. and pulled." and "shook it", the way he's breaking down, frantic... finally fading into resignation to the horrible reality.

And then determination not to let that stop him. Reckless, wild indeed, but he will not be stopped this time.

His BREATHING, mentioned now but I wanna emphasize it throughout all the episode! He sounds breathless, almost panting, so much of the time. It's the extreme emotion, the exertion, the complete collapse of all facades, the blood loss... it's excellent

The way he delivers the line "I went through the door in the corner and down the winding stair and along the dark passage to the old chapel." - so quick and all in a rush. It's a horrible journey that only a few days ago was absolutely terrifying, but today it's old news. He moves through quickly, confidently. An echo of the way he went from absolute terror to 'the Count went out lizard fashion again' but more driven.

The genuine horror in his voice when he describes Dracula. His voice stuttering as he says "looking a-as if his youth had been half renewed..." and that EXCELLENT music repeating again throughout, building

ALSO, creepy Jonathan moment? The way he says "the mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin... and neck." is sooooo?! He lingers a little on the red lips again but most especially the way he says the word 'neck' almost sounds hungry as well as horrified, it's like he's merging with Dracula a little, I dunno, but it's creepy and amazing

honestly the whole description sounds even creepier read aloud and it was plenty creepy before

"I shuddered as I bent over to touch him" *long steeling breath* "and every-sense in me revolted at the contact." *nearly chokes up, wrestles his voice back* "But I had to search-" GHHHHH

His tears on "or I was lost." and the way seems almost to vanish into the picture of the future he envisions

"the very thought drove me mad" - the roughness on that word gave me chills

Shovel Noise So Good

but then as Dracula sees him, oh god - the low horn, ringing noise, music getting faster

Jonathan's slight stutter on "fore-head"

"But my brain seemed on fire" being so rough and pained, god Someone Hug Him Now (no not you vampires!)

the rush of the wind

"I was again a prisoner" the EMOTION, and on "net of doom" too!

The entire bit where he narrates in present tense is SO much more intense/immediate this way. Love the little stutter on "I - I can hear the heavy feet"

and I'm just sitting here thinking about how hopeless this must feel, after all his effort, after everything - to have the wind itself turn against him, to be trapped once more, to have to just sit there and listen as the key he has risked so much to find is used and then taken away, leaving him as trapped as ever

But he REFUSES to sit and wait.

the way he scoffs so violently when comparing the vampire ladies to Mina, "nought in common"

the quiet desperate way he says "home"

The way he almost sounds hopeful to fall. I wanna cry.

And then ending on "Mina" still so rough and despairing but the love is felt in every part of the word, AUGH

The theme song is so good!

bonus mention of the bonus, as hilarious as it was in the original little clip

#dracula daily #re: dracula #catchup post #jonathan harker #edit: i meant june whoops

[utilitycaster]

Something the latest Candela episode and panel sort of helped me put into place is one of my frustrations with how Imogen is being played - overall I really like her, especially the exploration of what someone with (at least until recently) unwanted psychic powers might actually look like, but...for lack of a better way to put it, of all of Laura's characters, I feel like she is the most in need of going loud but isn't quite there. Based on Arlo this past episode, I know Laura can do it, and so while I know that episode was probably filmed some time ago, and that the different game systems and story lengths are almost certainly a factor, I really hope this carries over into how she plays Imogen.

Laura's long been one of my favorite performers at the table. I think my one criticism of her, however, would be that she tends to be very failure averse - which is extremely valid and common in D&D players and I can't say I don't feel the same way some time. And, for what it's worth, I think it worked well for Vex and Jester as part of their characterization. Vex is also always trying to angle for an advantage and work in a system that's fucked her over; a core trait is her fear of showing vulnerability, and so of course she won't let herself fail or look stupid. And Jester I think let Laura play someone who was at times disappointed or frustrated (RIP her many Inflict Wounds attempts) but who could also see beauty in the chaos that failed rolls often cause and who did take wild swings.

With Imogen, however, because she's so central to this story and because she is often portrayed as headstrong, impatient, and not always sensitive to the needs of others, I find myself wondering why she's not taking those shots. Even something as small as the most recent episode - not shooting through the hammer - makes me go "why not?" Like, I understand it mechanically, and perhaps (as with all these criticisms) there's something there in the backstory I'm not aware of, but why wouldn't Imogen do this? For what it's worth, and I cannot believe I'm saying this given how much I hated that tweet in the time and still do not care for the methodology, it made perfect sense to me in the moment that Imogen would do everything she could not to give in to her powers with Otohan was encouraging her to do so - a character built around the concept of this control against her powers absolutely would hold out - but it does feel like she should have learned something from it. And especially now with the circlet, with an undercurrent that she is starting to loosen that control, those little things - especially being too careful in combat, or indecision about the Vanguard (though that's been improving) are feeling incongruent.

Arlo this past Candela episode was fantastic. The only reason she didn't run away with the show entirely was how much others brought to the table, and I get this might be because it was the final episode of a series, in a system that is designed to bring failure to the forefront, but she went hard, nearly to the point of sacrificing herself, and it paid off in the story. And Laura recognized this very much in the panel, and I love what she said about it. I would love to see that level of intensity for Imogen, because, to be honest, for her specifically, the stakes are Candela-level high in Campaign 3.

#meta in both senses of the word huh #critical role spoilers #candela obscura spoilers #cr tag #imogen temult

[flower-boi16]

My Problems With Raine Whispers

Before I start this post, I just want to say that I'm a big fan of The Owl House. It's my personal favorite cartoon of all time - I think it's one of the best modern Disney cartoons out there. That being said, as much as I love The Owl House, the show isn't perfect, and today I'm going to talk about my problems with a specific character from the show; Raine. I never really cared for Raine, I didn't hate them but I didn't really like them either, they were just kinda meh to me. However, after a while I began to realize my real problems with Raine as a character and how their written. This is probably going to be a pretty big hot take so without further ado, let's begin with this post...

1. Raine doesn't feel that developed

This is something that's just an extension of a much bigger problem with Raine that I'll get to later, but a major issue I've always had with Raine is that they never really felt that developed of a character. Seriously, nothing about them was really that interesting to me, the show doesn't really develop them much. Now, I'm not expecting the show to give a full-length character arc to a side character, however, the show has many side characters like Matholamule, Hooty, Viney, and Boscha.

Raine has waaaay more screen time and plot importance than any of the characters I just mentioned yet they still feel less developed than those characters. Granted, this is probably something that could just be blamed on the shortening, but it's still a major problem nonetheless. But this is something that is just a part of a greater issue, which is the fundamental problem with Raine to me:

2. Raine feels solely defined by Eda

This is my biggest issue with Raine; their character feels like it's solely defined by Eda. Now, having a relationship with another character be a core aspect of a character isn't a bad thing; take Amity for example, Amity's relationship with Luz is definitely an important part of her character, the first thing people think about whenever they think about Amity is that she is Luz's girlfriend.

However, while Amity's relationship with Luz is a core aspect of her character, she isn't just "Luz's girlfriend". There are still many aspects of Amity's character beyond her relationship with Luz, and she gets her own character arc of gradually becoming a better person throughout Season 1. Even in Season 2 where people say that Amity is just reduced to "Luz's girlfriend" she still has some episodes in Season 2 developing her as a character where they explore her relationship with her parents.

And If I'm going to be honest, Raine kinda feels like everything that people say Season 2 Amity is. Like, really think about it, what other aspects are there about Raine's character aside from "Eda's childhood friend/Ex"? The only other things about Raine I can really think of are that their a bard and a Coven Head rebelling against the EC, but that's...kind of it. And these two traits aren't as prominent as their relationship with Eda.

Raine's whole character feels like it's solely defined by Eda. The character they interact the most with is Eda, the character they spend the most screentime with is Eda, and the biggest and most prominent trait is their relationship with Eda. And Eda's awesome, she's one of my favorite characters in the show, but when a character is developed beyond their relationship with another character, that's kind of a problem.

It never feels like the show really develops Raine beyond "Eda's childhood friend/Ex", they do not have many major characters aside from that and the few that they do have are overshadowed by this one trait. The entire concept of Raine's character IS defined by Eda. I'll admit, Raine is a cool idea for a character, but the show really develops them beyond that idea and it ends up being very mediocre in execution.

Again, there's nothing wrong with making a character's relationship to another character a core aspect of them, again Amity is an example of how to do that right, but you need to develop a character and give them more traits beyond just their relationship to another character. Otherwise, you end up with that character becoming solely defined by that other character, and that simply isn't good writing to me. Again, I know these problems were probably caused by the shortening, but they are still major issues that I feel need to be pointed out. Besides, the shortening didn't stop Season 2B and Season 3 from being amazing anyway.

Again, I know that Raine's just a side character, but considering that their the side characters with the most plot importance compared to others, I feel like It isn't unreasonable to expect the show to develop them well.

3. Conclusion

So uh, that's why I don't really care for Raine as a character. If you like Raine, good for you, but I just don't really find them that good of a character. I know this is kind of a hot take (which is why I am very scared of posting this) so uh if everything I just said is objectively wrong then uhhhh please tell me lmao. And that's it so...

...bye

#raine whispers #toh #raine toh #the owl house #toh critical #toh criticism #the owl house critical #the owl house criticism #toh analysis #character analysis

[the-eeveekins]

So last month I started watching I'm in Love with the Villainess.

I'll be honest, I wasn’t too sure about this show going into it. I ultimately didn't like the last Yuri Isekai series I watched (The Magical Revolution), and I've gotten fatigued over yuri adaptations never being finished after getting a one season anime adaptation.

I won't lie that I enjoyed it right away. I do not like the opening music (I skip the OP every episode, which is incredibly rare for me) and I was initially put off by Rae & Claire's actions in episode 1. But I stuck with it, was really surprised by episode 3 directly addressing Rae being a lesbian and touching on the struggles of being queer and dealing with homophobia, and by episode 5 I was so impatient to learn what happened next that I bought the 1st Light Novel.

Well, it took me about a week to burn through the first 2 volumes of the LN and the Revolution storyline and honestly I was blown away. It touched on topics I never would've expected when I started the show last month. The depictions of the struggles faced by queer people were already hitting close to home, but then the 2nd volume blindsided me by touching on gender dysphoria and there were moments that brought me to tears.

Since I assume the anime is only going to be 12-13 episodes, I sincerely hope that Wataoshi gets a 2nd season to adapt the entirely of the Revolution Arc, but I won't get my hopes up. Like I said earlier, most Yuri adaptations never get more than a season, and I would be shocked if a 2nd season was greenlit that would tackle the queer issues present in the 2nd volume of the light novel.

(Seriously, if angry hets and bigots were freaking out over the conversation about Rae being a lesbian in episode 3, they will lose their fucking minds over some of the stuff later on in the series.)

If they do make a 2nd season and adapt it without punting on the queer issues, I could definitely see I'm in Love with the Villainess being among my favorite anime. I wasn't expecting the first 2 volumes to be a self-contained story, and since I was so satisfied with the ending, I'm not in a hurry to start reading the 3rd volume (and I've heard mixed things about the 2nd part of the story).

In the meantime I've started reading the manga adaptation and I'm rewatching episodes of the anime to catch foreshadowing I missed. My wife is officially complaining that I'm almost as obsessed with it as I was G-Witch 😅

#i have new gay girls to hyperfixate on #this is why we need more queer stories by queer creators #i'm in love with the villainess #wataoshi

[drealovesxenomorphs]

Robot and Monster Appreciation Post because I said so...

For an upcoming project that I'm working on, I *had* to rewatch Robot and Monster, and I have too many feelings in my heart and too many thoughts in my head to function, so this is a bigass love letter to one of the most underrated Nicktoons shows.

[TL;DR: the show is funny, give it a chance.] Before I get into the meat of it all, I want to say that the show features a lot of physical humor (characters being crushed and blown up etc etc) as well as dry humor and japes. I like both nuance and point-and-laugh humor so this was made for me (or I was made for it), though I do want to warn you, the first 5/7 episodes are very corny, just like any other beginning to a cartoon. I do ask that you give the show a chance despite those moments, the lore doesn't get too deep until later in the series so it's all pretty straightforward if you don't pay close attention to the beginning episodes.

Anyway, I wanna talk about the characters now 'cause I love 'em to death.

💜MONSTER:

-Monster is my favorite because. The best.

-Whether explicitly stated or not, Monster is a himbo. Sweet towards others-literally everybody loves this big lug,-buddy gets hugs by complete strangers and so much love and and more hugs; though not too much, Monster is shown to be fairly strong and physically inclined; and we know Monster ain't that smart.... but that does lead me to my next part, and a personal headcannon that I feel very strongly about.

-OH MY GOODNES OKAY so we know that Monster's character is meant to be the dumb sweet dude that completely contrasts Robot and provided character balance and all that, but I swear man, the guy is just leading everyone on with that idea. So, when Robot messes up on an invention (which happens often,) Monster will try to say something supportive that ends up being a blunder that insults Robot, and we just chalk that up to it being nothing more than a blunder. I BELIEVE WITH MY WHOLE HEART that Monster is actually very cunning and witty and will get occasionally angry at Robot that this dude will actually use the misconception of his intelligence to strike Robot right in the heart. Monster is just too good at bullishitting that nobody can tell the insult was meant to happen. Good lord ❤‍🔥

-Gardener. Understands that love helps grow plants. Too good for this world.

-Has a security blanket from childhood. You're telling me this grown-ass adult STILL has the heart and understanding of sentimental value to hold onto a comfort item regardless of societal pressure to suck it up and forgo childlike tendencies? A whole character.

🧡Robot

-Robot strives to be a great inventor, wants the fame and all that, but I'll be honest with you, only Monster sees the best in Robot's abilities, and there is nothing more relatable than a character who has the entire universe against them.

-If there was ever one thing that bothered me about the inventing, it was the fact that this dude was making MACHINES. Would this classify as regular handcrafting that we humans do, or is Robot actually creating children? If Monster could bring the organic bacon tree to life, you cannot tell me that Robot Default was not creating fetuses of the mechanical variety. And this is where I burden you with a headcannon: I think that this is based on Robot's own upbringing: Robot wants to put all of the attention and love into the little machines and projects because this guy won't let his ruined and near-loveless childhood get in the way of a healthy and happy future generation. Wants to heal the inner child while making sure the newest generation gets all the love and support they need. Anyways great character 🙏

-Sorry, the inventing this has me hooked to an unreasonable degree... does this mean Robot has a huge understanding in mechanical biology, or does Robot just understand how things are made? Look, this show was built on the bases of wanting to incorporate all the fun ideas that come to mind without giving any rhyme and reason, and I truly think that this is beneficial to the imaginations and mental stimulation of young'uns. But regardless, if that's the case, Robot would probably be regarded as a medicinal herbalist in our society (or maybe a chiropractor.)

-Arch-rivals with another scientist named Lucy, and this dude cannot catch a break on civilians that hate him. However, these meetings show us the depths of Robot's morality, and in the end (though pushed to do the right thing by Monster,) the well-being of another person is always chosen. Lawful-evil critter :D

-Already established that the Defaults are horrible to the baby of the family, but guess who Robot works for? That's right, Robot and Monster work for the Default Family Business, and I am near POSITIVE that they only receive minimum wage.

-Robot takes a lot of damage, and I assume if the heart is still beating in his chest, then everything is A-okay. Love a character that can take fall damage like a bug 💕

-Oh yeah, and despite the ego and sarcasm, Robot could have ended up being a snob and stuck-up just like the rest of the fam, but tries not to be. Robot keeps it real 99%, and I can respect that.

-One last thing that probably goes against all the good things I just talked about, I'm pretty sure that when Robot couldn't seem to make Monster feel happy again, he was literally going to kill a dude. Robot was going to make Perry disappear so Monster could be happy again. I shouldn't be this happy about the situation, but Robot's a true homie omg.

🤍Ogo

-Mentioning this Mofo at all will either be the catalyst to get you to watch the show, or deter you from it. Regardless, I am giving you the straight up facts, and if you think you won't like this kind of character, then I promise you won't. However, if you appreciate a little spice in a cartoon, then Ogo's got PLENTY to offer.

-Mega ultra horrible creep. Neighbor that knows everything about Robot and Monster. Slimy. You could consider him a yandere. Had the show been more popular, probably would be the fan favorite. Has that creeplord rizz.

-The first ever gaslight gatekeep girlboss. This SOB is manipulative. Will keep the darkest of secrets. But radiates the purest of girlboss energy. I can't explain it. It's just Ogo.

-Apparently accidentally leaves stains on their stuff, you know, when Ogo is breaking and entering into their home. What kind of stains is never mentioned, but even Ogo thinks it's gross.

-Has a dream journal filled with trips and delusions. I actually ache to be able to read what this dementoid's head can create.

-Speaking of delusions, this girlboss also invented the word delulu. Again, can't explain how.

-Knows how many bumps are on Robot and Monster's tongues. This show molded me into what I am today, send help and watch the show.

🩷❤JD + Spitfire

-Look, this show made 2 great, badass female characters. That's all. But, I was debating on whether to make their own separate lines, but you can't separate these two... I mean they tried to in an episode so you understand why I can't do it now. They are a team.

-Biker girlies. They beat up gangs and keep the streets safe at night. Fight dudes bigger than them and win. Wonderful.

-I love that they were able to make JD have everything going for her, but also have flaws as well. I mean, she's extremely strong, she's very pretty, she's got a sweet personality, and she's academically gifted. However, she's also a slob and doesn't really read people's emotions all that well. I don't know, I just feel like that's a great character.

-Spitfire is the complete foil to JD (and vice-versa, of course.) Spitfire is grounded and down-to-earth, cynical towards life and people, organized and calculating, and uncaring about the norm and societal standards. Seriously, sarcastic and badass. That's a great character.

-Despite their differences, they still have the same level of calmness. They work together so well from a fundamental standpoint. Dynamics similar to Robot and Monster, just... different vibe.

-JD has a very feminine air about her, and Spitfire has a very butch air about her. They very much level each other out.

🤖👾Final note💕🌚

-I would not be surprised if they have explored each other's bodies/hj. Very nonchalant as well.

-No lie, I don't know how to describe Robot and Monster's dynamic. "-And they were roommates." If you watch the Christmas episode, it seems like they were trying to make a nicktoon-friendly family splitting up a non-hetero situationship [which, hey, they find happiness with each other, wouldn't be surprised.]

-The show is weird, funny, sweet, comforting, the best. It is what it is, and for better or for worse, it will always hold a special place in the core of my soul.

#sorry I have problems #this will not be the last time I talk about them like this #I like their big dumb faces #robot and monster #my headcanons #i'm just speaking nonsense #long post #appreciation post #thank you for coming to my ted-talk

[arcadiabaytornado]

Do you prefer Before the Storm or the original LIS? I prefer the original. Before the Storm has such a sad vibe/feel to it. Its depressing seeing Chloe so angry and upset.

I prefer Life Is Strange as a whole!

I think Before The Storm has some of my favorite standalone moments in the series. I LOVED the play scene between Chloe and Rachel. That's quite possibly my favorite moment in any Life Is Strange game because of how brilliant the entire sequence is. I also adore the scene where Rachel and Chloe discuss running away together before kissing under the streetlight. I also also adore the scene where Rachel sets the tree on fire.

However, it also has some my least favorite moments in the entire series. If I'm being honest, I didn't really like anything in Episode 3 expect the star scene and the scene where Chloe first dyes a strip of her hair blue. And both of those scenes are pretty short.

My enjoyment for Life Is Strange is far more consistent. I enjoy every part of Life Is Strange (expect for the bottle quest) and that enjoyment is on a super high level. From the amazing indie soundtrack, the time travel mechanics, the mysteries surrounding the town, and every episode just getting better, it's easily one of my favorite games of all time.

So my answer is Life Is Strange because I think every episode is at least a 9/10 where my personal enjoyment of Before The Storm goes down A LOT in the final episode. Though that's not to say I don't like Before The Storm. Amberprice carried it on it's back.

#asks #mod rambles

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

So I was in the Jonsa tag because I'm slowly getting back onto my Jonsa bullshit and this popped up as one of the latest posts:

And then I see the ever-so smart tags of someone else when reblogging said post:

To be fair, this op and reblogger didn't tag this post as Jonsa and obviously Tumblr is at it again with their algorithm but I found the content of said post and the assertion that Jonsas are "idiots" and "delusional" to be utterly fascinating.

For one, when the show was airing its final season, I never ever saw any Jonsas claim that it was Emilia's fault that Jonsa didn't get an HEA together at the end. Not in the circles I traveled. That's a ludicrous claim. Emilia had no investment on what Jon's or Sansa's endings would be, together or not.

What Emilia did change however that many have been (correctly) critical of was the dialogue in the throne room scene before Jon 🗡️ Dany. Rather than let everyone see exactly who Dany was, who she had become, she asked D&D to add in the lines of the whole "I couldn't count to twenty" bit. She admitted as much in an interview, stating that she wanted fans to remember who Dany was in the beginning of the show, and D&D obliged. That's a major problem, whether you're a fan of Dany or not, especially if you're a fan. That negated Dany's dark turn completely and her entire arc as a character. It negated why she chose to take such actions and the true ending that she deserved. While I respect Emilia as an actress and as a human being, she was wrong to ask D&D to do that. She's not a writer and/or showrunner. She should never have had that part added in because season 1 and season 2 Dany even was not who season 8 Dany was (or even season 7 or season 6 or season 5). That is the only thing I've seen Jonsas (and other sections of the fandom) be rightly critical of.

The "delusions" and "idiocy" I see coming from some of the Dany stans, though, is truly confounding to the rest of us. "Dany was never supposed to go dark!" "It was bad writing!" "Even Emilia knows!" "That's not how it goes in the books!"

Dany was always supposed to go dark. That's the entire point of her story. Go back and watch the show again. It's always been there. They have always framed her actions as just when really they were anything but. They've always shown the darkness waiting inside her to be unleashed. She was always going to be the final boss in the end.

While the last season was not most people's favorites and things were rushed & mistakes were made, Dany going dark in general is not bad writing. It's actually good writing because it closes up what they've been setting up for her since season 1 (mind you GRRM was involved in writing episodes of the show from seasons 1-4 so even if his books end differently, that part of Dany's darkness is still in there, just saying).

Emilia has self-admittedly blurred the line between herself and her character for some time now. And it's understandable. She played the character for 10 years (another example of an actor I can think of sharing this sort of blurring approach is Jensen Ackles with Dean Winchester after 15 years of him playing that character) and she underwent some intense and dangerous health issues during that time that thankfully she survived and was able to heal from. She has talked about drawing strength from the character during these times and she naturally is protective of the character for all of those reasons. But even she has stated that now when she looks back, she sees where the show was leading Dany all alone. She may have her own thoughts on why the dark turn happened when it did but again, she is not a writer, producer, or director. She also defers to the work D&D did despite being honest about her emotional reactions to Dany's ending when she first read it and afterwards.

"That's now how it goes in the books!" This is probably the most common argument point many Dany stans make that just causes me to repeatedly roll my eyes. This is the show, not the books. Two different universes essentially. Did you not realize the show was adapted from the books? Do you know what adapted means? Do you know that adaptations happen because a story is being transferred from one medium to another? Did the Twilight, Harry Potter, and Hunger Games films all follow the books to the last letter? No. Why? Because they were adapted from a written medium to a visual medium. This has been happening since your parents were toddlers. And did you not notice how there was no Lady Stoneheart or Val or Dacey Mormont or Harry Hardyng or Young Griff? Did you notice how it was Sansa that married Ramsay and not Jeyne? At what point were you going to realize that the show was going to go its own route? Should they have changed the names to Jansa Jark, Son Show, and Myra Jark in order to get your attention? Nanerys Margaryen perhaps? Jyrion Nannister? Black Beetle? Come on now 🤡

I will never understand why people refuse to see what's right in front of them, even when their fave is saying it. And yet they call Jonsas delusional. Okay, then.

Then again:

"Sansa Stark will die screaming"...okay, then.

#i saw this a while back #its been sitting in my drafts #i just find dany stans hysterical sometimes #theyre so hard up to disprove jonsa for anyone who might dare ship it by pointing to Emilia or the books #not a reliable point in either case #because it has nothing to do with what happened in the tv show #too funny #anti dany stans #got #gotposts #fandom bullshit

[ratguy-nico]

Mr Fischoeder for the ask game :)

fang did you ask this cause you know how horny I'm for this man? Calvin Fischoeder:

First impression: Gay, yeah Im not kidding, why did this man appear from the fog in an all white suit in the middle of the night, with an eye patch (anyone else feels the eye patch is like super gay?) to exclusively talk to Bob in a very mysterious and private way... what was that? let me told yah, gay behaviour

Impression now: he is still pretty much gay, also hot, but overall a simp. I love this man, I love his daddy issues with Bob, I love his relationship with Felix, who I dont know if you know but is actually his brother, I know shocking

Favorite moment: Hum, every single one. But I have April's Fools too frsh in my mind, "My dear Bob" sir, his whole family is there, keep it in your pants. And some of his first "JIMMYYY, please" I can not forget how he scream that XD Oh and in a more serious and ominous one Calvin rescuing his Bob from a trap he himself put him. But it was sweet of him to save his man. And being totally high too.

Idea for a story: Uh, we can always use more Fischoeder and Bob episodes, but Im craving to see how he lost his eyes, I want a whole Mufasa/ Scar thing, (tw: a lil gore) I want pure terror on Felix's face, his entire body convulsing, clinging to the bloody knife as if it were the only real thing in a world that is slowly becoming blurrier before his eyes, the blood on his brother's face dissolving into shapeless spots in his tear-filled eyes, the sound of Calvin's desperate screams becoming a mere buzz. Calvin holding the hole where his eye used to be not being able to see shit, not being able to recognize his own brother, not understanding what had happened, not understanding how they came to this, and fainting from the pain in his own pool of blood. Uh sorry, I dont know where that came from...should put a trigger warning for blood?

Unpopular opinion: I don't like his relationship that one time with that woman. You can tell me he is bi, but no, no, this man is gay, pretty pretty gay. But more than that I think we all agree, es un papucho, su cara parece tallada por los mismisimos angeles.

Favorite relationship: Oh i dont know-is Bob, is his non platonic totally pathetic uniteral crush on Bob. But also his relationship with Felix is so interesting to me, is the kind of crazy shit that shouldn't be real but if been honest the fact that they're rich make it totally believable. Also his whole relationship with Bob's family specially with Louise, they will bring Hell to Seymour's Bay if they want to.

Favorite headcanon: Felix totally rip of his eye. I used to think the eye patch was just for looks but now Im pretty sure Feliz took his eye and the best part is that Calvin doesn't to care. That's my headcanon, Calvin knows Felix is actually dangerous for him and everybody, but Calvin either cause he made something horrible to Felix or just cause is his brother and he loves him, he pretends, pretends Felix is alright and take care of him. Not letting anyone take him away from him. That and that Fischoeder has a crush on Bob, but Im pretty sure that's already canon.

thankiu fang, for real 🤗

#bob's burgers #calvin fischoeder #this has been my favorite one #and I love it #damn how come I didn't know how much I like this patetic man? #thankiu fang #you have made me the happiest man alive #thats a lie #but you made me pretty happy #you have give a totaly new perspective #q&a

[shinneth]

The Sailor Moon AU born from my saltiness towards the manga

Read this for context. tl;dr: basically my love for Sailor Moon's 90s anime and 2003 tokusatsu has only grown over the years, while my feelings for Crystal remained at pure hatred whilst my feelings for the original manga has taken a sharp decrease.

In other words, I seem to work backwards from most other Sailor Moon fans.

Over a year ago, I had written out a hypothetical of how Sailor Moon's manga would play out if Naoko Takeuchi rejected the Super Sentai concept and made Usagi a (mostly) solo hero, sort of in the vein of Sailor V but much less fun with even more tragedy. I guess you could say it's a Sailor Moon but with more of a Kamen Rider motif?

Either way, I never released it anywhere until now. Mind you, it's not really a story so much as it is a gathering of ideas for a story...

THE SAILOR MOON MINIMAL SENSHI AU

One nagging sentiment I felt while rereading the manga is how it so often felt like Usagi, Mamoru, and Chibi-Usa were the only characters who mattered, and on several occasions the only characters who were able to get anything done. Even on the rare occasions where other characters got a chapter named after them, oftentimes the Moon Family still had more pages dedicated to them, and/or the non-Moon Family character's power-up ultimately became more of a battery to beef up Usagi and the character development was often minimal and inconsequential.

Crystal amplified that feeling many times over, but it was disheartening to realize one aspect of the source material it did justice was marginalizing the rest of the main cast. If I were to look at this in a super-cynical light, I'd hypothesize the likelihood that Naoko never wanted a big cast, or even the Core 5 team. If she did care about the non-Moon Family characters, perhaps it was out of obligation.

I'm willing to bet that the main reason Naoko Takeuchi bloated out her cast was due to mandates from TOEI hoping for more toy sales if more heroic Sailor Senshi existed. But that's just my headcanon on what must have been a nightmare production behind the scenes.

So it made me wonder about how the manga would have been if it “trimmed the fat”, so to speak. For all of Usagi’s protestations about how she “can’t use mist, fire, or lightning” to be useful… well, let’s face it: she already had a higher kill count than all of her friends even that early on in the story. Mamoru often had little episodes later on in the manga where he felt oh-so useless and powerless even though he’s killed monsters/notable antagonists plenty of times AND regularly takes part in killing off the main antagonists WITH Sailor Moon (while her friends were benched, even when they weren’t ragdolled into submission).

So, how much would really change in the manga if Sailor Moon was largely by herself with very few allies who could help her in battle? I can easily picture Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter being snipped from the story entirely.

Believe me, it KILLS me to say that. Mercury was my favorite since the beginning. But if I'm being honest with myself, it'd only take a few tweaks of the story beats to make Sailor Moon's first three allies completely superfluous.

For story purposes, Sailor V/Venus would have to stay in since she does play a vital role as a princess decoy, but otherwise… what if she lost her power entirely after the reveal of the true Princess Serenity? Or dies soon after? Without a team to lead, Minako wouldn’t serve much of a purpose. Heck, in this AU she wouldn't necessarily even need to wield Venus' power (since so few other planet powers are getting represented here) so much as a bootlegged copy of Moon Power.

We have a canon example in the Black Moon arc of how Venus was just “there” for much of it, even when she didn’t have to contend with her three teammates for spotlight/exposure. Hell, I recall her complaining in the manga that she’s bored and frustrated because she can’t do anything.

Luna and/or Artemis can easily substitute the exposition given by Venus.

Chibi-Usa would stay on and become Chibi-Moon; as previously stated, she’s a consistently focused-on character in the manga. In fact, she's highly integral to 3 out of the 5 story arcs. Definitely enough to the point where most of the manga would have to be changed if she was denied Senshi-ship.

Sailor Pluto… is tricky, but not impossible to write around. She’s heavily tied in with Chibi-Usa’s backstory and character growth. As Chibi-Usa’s friend and Time Gate guard, that much would stay the same. I would argue that Pluto needn’t be a Senshi to serve either role (she’s succeeding her father Chronos iirc, and Takeuchi is firm in her stance that men can’t be Senshi). So it can be arranged that she can maintain her duty as plain ol' Setsuna. It's heavily implied in the manga that she's not a reincarnation like the other Senshi were... at least, prior to her canon death. It wouldn't be too crazy to say Setsuna has beyond-mortal powers that give her extended life even without being a Senshi.

Hell, Queen Serenity basically enlists this child to duty saying "Here's all these awesome powers that you're not only not allowed to ever use, but if you DO use them, it'll end up killing you!" - Setsuna shouldn't need her powers to guard the Time Keys, and we've seen the Talismans can be held in civilian form. Though I'd argue her Garnet Rod needn't be a proper Talisman if she isn't to transform; it'd just be her means of self-defense.

Perhaps she never gets revived/reincarnated after her death? Because her connection to Chibi-Usa greatly diminishes from Infinity (and beyond).

The rest of the Outer Senshi… well. If one tweaks the Talisman prerequisite for the Holy Grail, such as make it LESS than three needed…

That’s all you need to cut Sailor Neptune and Pluto out entirely of the manga for sure. As much as I love Michiru, I can’t deny she is the epitome of “just there” in the manga. Pretty sure no one’s gonna contest this.

Even her relationship with Haruka is a side-note compared to Haruka’s constant pining/angsting over Usagi. I just kept getting this sense of Michiru being Haruka’s silver medal.

Haruka and Hotaru are the hardest ones to write around for this concept. That much I will admit.

But, one running theme for this AU is that, Moon and Chibi-Moon aside, no one else can wield the power of a Sailor Senshi indefinitely. Well, technically Mamoru is still there representing Earth, but only so much as he's able to in his canon iteration due to that pesky Y chromosome. I slated for Minako to permanently lose her power, and possibly even die for it once her narrative purpose was fulfilled.

Even if Setsuna remained a Senshi in this revision, it’s a similar outcome for her. In a best-case scenario for the latter, a reincarnated Setsuna likely would have no memory of her lonely past life and possibly come off as an entirely different person from who Chibi-Usa knew. She'd finally be able to live out a normal life no longer bound to duty and that's about as happy an end I could imagine for her.

(And hey, that’s all the more impetus for Chibi-Usa being drawn to Hotaru!)

Going back to Hotaru, then, her being a cyborg in this iteration of the story lends well to a tweak in the narrative: Pharaoh 90 attempting to artificially replicate the Moons’ Senshi powers, possibly referencing the means in which Minako was temporarily able to wield her power, to create a Sailor Senshi exclusively to realize its desires. One might say it's a perversion of the Moon Power itself.

But tampering with this dangerous power ends up corrupting Hotaru, of course, and retaining how Hotaru becomes Mistress 9 works nicely with this tweak. A Silver Crystal could sustain her powers without destroying her, or at least that's the running theory.

Whether or not Hotaru becomes a Sailor Senshi proper… I’m 50/50 on that. Mostly due to Saturn’s canon role as cleanup duty following the fall of the Silver Millennium. If any non-Moon Senshi were to exist for the long haul, it should be Saturn. Their powers are polar opposites, so it’d be a neat yin-yang deal, with Saturn still being dormant until an equalizer is needed.

Although I'd probably not call her Sailor Saturn, as it is arbitrary to include some planets (Venus, Saturn, Uranus) but not others. In general, I think the names of the non-Moon Senshi that have to be kept because removing them would completely upend the story would have to be a little more generalized than that. The Moon is often paired with the Sun and the Star(s), so that might be a safe bet. Even though the Sun itself is literally a star-

Anyway, keep Hotaru's rebirth a thing, but possibly end her role in the story once she becomes babby. So that Chibi-Usa, as canon manga mandates, seeks horse-boy as her rebound.

Alternatively, we could stay the course of the “Moon only” team narrative and have Sailor Saturn be little more than an artificial Senshi, not unlike the kinds we see all over the place in Stars. Between Dr. Tomoe, Kaolinite, and Pharaoh 90, I can buy them creating what is essentially a bootleg Senshi. Heck, that might even be the intended evil purpose of the Holy Grail once Uranus unlocks it with her Talisman.

Speaking of Haruka... Honestly, as far as the manga goes, she can single-handedly represent the Outer Senshi and their credo by herself.

But in the context of this AU, that doesn’t amount to much, lol. Honestly, I’m picturing Haruka as a darker counterpart of Minako. A temp Senshi at best, but one who’s using her powers for morally questionable reasons. This can range from romantic rival… (with no Michiru in the AU, that at least partially makes Haruka less awful - I’d nix the non-consensual kiss on Usagi, but in the spirit of a manga LITTERED with suchlike kisses, it’d probably need to stay as-is)

…. to embittered and vengeful foe who fully recalls her past life and blames Usagi+Mamoru for their failings. It was kind of a shit deal for the Outers to be permanently stuck in their post in the outer solar system, never getting to enjoy any of what they're dedicating their lives to serving. Perhaps she now perceives the practices of Queen Serenity as morally dubious at best - and tyrannical at worst, now believing, maybe, that the Dark Kingdom was RIGHT to end the Silver Millennium. And irony ahoy, Haruka - like Minako - can tap into her former life’s power. Make her take up Michiru’s role as the one who awakened as a Senshi on her own thanks to her Talisman.

Hell, one can have Haruka play both sides during Infinity. Tomoe can use his twisted science to amplify the "Uranus" powers to bypass the limitations of Venus’ powers. Probably at a deadly cost down the road.

As for the prerequisites for Super Sailor Moon? The whole “all Senshi aligned + grail” deal? Well… y’know, the Cutie Moon Rod came into existence as a trial run of how UsaMamo’s love is so potent that they don’t even need to do a WooHoo to procreate shit. Do that again, just add the actual product of future WooHooing. Chibi-Usa is familiar with the Holy Grail prior to its creation. Not a stretch. As far as this AU is concerned, Moon, Chibi-Moon, and Tuxedo Mask are the only "valid" Senshi to begin with.

Despite the amount of non-Moon Senshi chapters in Dream, I don’t see much changing in a setting where only two Moons and a Mask are fighting. For pretty much every arc, Usagi gets the lion’s share of killing blows. Mamoru and Chibi-Usa canonly have several as well - so what’s a few several more?

After all, the manga’s focus was always first and foremost on Miracle Romance. More often than not, when other characters got panel time, Usagi, Mamoru, and/or Chibi-Usa were the topics of discussion.

At the end of the day, the antagonists of Dream are squarely focused on screwing over the Moon family; the other Senshi were mere chess pieces for them to knock over. And they only became an actual threat when they literally handed over their newfound powers over to beef up Super Sailor Moon to Eternal Sailor Moon, so... there you go.

And for those few times Usagi was just hanging out with gal pals at school? Well, that’s what Naru is for. Hell, add Yumiko+Kuri too; they might end up with some degree of characterization! Usagi never not had the benefit of company during downtime! There just... tends not to be a lot of that in the manga; that's all.

Really, the biggest question in handling Dream is wtf to do about the Amazoness Quartet, considering they eventually become Senshi themselves - namely the equivalent of Inners for Chibi-Moon to have in the future. Since Usagi wouldn't have Inners in this AU, it stands to reason the Quartet are likely not gonna be redeemed and likely one-shotted much like their Trio predecessors.

As for Stars...? Well, it's basically this entire AU but dialed up to 20. The running theme of this arc is fake Senshi running around parading as the real deal while they kill, conquer, and pillage for their tyrant, who'd be the culmination of all the worst aspect of not just past antagonists, but past attempted would-be Senshi like Minako, Haruka, and Hotaru who would all either be permanently powerless at best or dead at worst.

But a worst-case scenario just might make them come back for one last go, and this time, there's be no blurred lines or moral greys: if Venus, Saturn, and/or Uranus made a return in this iteration Stars, that would be their permadeath. Unless, you know, this series still ended with Usagi yeeting herself into an automatic happy ending. And even then it's a big maybe. It'd be in Galaxia's hands, and you know Galaxia don't give a damn.

Chibi-Chibi/Chibi-Chibi Moon would still be a thing, as would Sailor Cosmos, obviously, since they're technically a form of Usagi and all. Their stories would largely be the same, I'd imagine.

I honestly can't think of where I'd put the Starlights and Sailor Kakyuu as good guys in this AU, though. I think the only way to make them work in the story and not be killed as quickly as possible like the Sailor Animamates is to have them allied with Galaxia and be functionally identical to Animamates (aka they're all fakers), but function as undercover agents to identify the holder of the Milky Way's strongest Sailor Crystal (Usagi's), find her weaknesses and the best ways to corner her, then coordinate a strike.

Alternatively, pull inspiration from the 90s anime where they ARE legit Senshi (they just come from another galaxy and all, so it wouldn't break the AU if they're more just reflections of the minimized Sailor Team) - but make them willingly surrender their Sailor Crystals in exchange for bracelets that will keep them alive, so long as they do whatever Galaxia says. Then they become reflections of Usagi and her family, and even perhaps make analogies between the three Starlights and what Venus, Uranus, and Saturn tried and failed to be for Sailor Moon.

The other elephant in the room is whether or not Mamoru gets killed off in the very first scene of this arc like he does in canon. It's a no-brainer that he'd have to die by Galaxia's hand eventually. Usagi just won't have nearly as many buffers to block her PTSD and be in total denial like she did in canon. Naturally, Chibi-Usa will be even less effectual than canon since she won't have her own personal underlings to pretend she's BFFs with and add firepower, so if only to balance that out (since the Sailor Quartet are literally the only ones who didn't die at any point in canon), Mamoru might be allowed to live a bit longer and make his love-forged bond with Usagi not quite so easily broken. But it will still break by force, one way or another.

Of course, because Galaxia's intent will still be to break Usagi, no one's getting spared at this point in the story. All of Usagi's normal civilian friends will end up biting it one way or another throughout the arc. Stars is clearly meant to be a depressing af climax to the series - at least that'll kinda deter people from hounding the mangaka into yet another arc for money's sake.

Usagi would ultimately jump into the Galaxy Cauldron at the end, though I imagine it'd be somewhat a different experience than how it was in the manga, given most of her friends don't exist in this AU, and the few that do either left/died on bad terms, or fucked off entirely without remembering Usagi or her family at all.

Maybe, if we're being generous, Usagi reunites and the temp/fake Senshi she encounters here actually make amends and promise to work for a better future? There's a lot of variables here.

It'd still end in a wedding because this is the Miracle Romance Supremacy AU, after all. Guess it depends on your mileage whether or not the ending is worth it.

So yeah, that's the long and short of the really fucked up AU I thought up inside my head because friendship and comradery always came off so hollow in the manga to me. Especially with ~Miracle Romance~ being so infuriatingly inflexible in the manga.

Hope you got some sort of entertainment value out of that. Highly doubt I'd write this proper - it wouldn't be worth the backlash, and I'm not nearly invested enough in UsaMamo to do this concept justice.

Feel free to leave your thoughts or whatever.

#sailor moon #sailor moon au #bishoujo senshi sailor moon #pretty guardian sailor moon #sailor moon manga #sailor moon manga au #usagi tsukino #chibiusa #small lady #usagi small lady serenity #mamoru chiba #tuxedo mask #super sailor moon #eternal sailor moon #sailor chibi moon #super sailor chibi moon #eternal sailor chibi moon #chibi chibi #sailor chibi chibi #sailor cosmos #minako aino #sailor venus #haruka tenoh #sailor uranus #setsuna meioh #sailor pluto #hotaru tomoe #sailor saturn #galaxia #sailor galaxia

[crows-home]

Hello hellooooo I have thoughts about Tiger and Bunny :) below the cut because it's so long lmao. I tried to keep spoilers out of it, for the most part, but this is mainly me talking about things i liked

I really liked the character designs. It's what immediately drew my eye and hooked me when I was just channel surfing and came across it. I was like holy shit!!! Black people drawn super well in an anime!!!! It's something that I wasn't used to, Made my heart sing yk.

I adored the character designs for the most part!! Yeah some of them (barnaby) looked silly, but it really fit their character. It's a superhero anime- I was expecting it!

Oh man, speaking of, I'm such a goner for superhero/ mecha stuff. Some of my favorite franchises growing up were Transformers, Power Rangers, and Tenkai Knights. So when I flipped through channels, saw the heroes in action and the fighting/ animation, my brain went "!!!!!!! Yes!!!" I gushed over Tiger and Barnaby's hero suits, heck, everyone's hero suits. It just scratches an itch in my brain.

I watched the dub, and I thought it was great!! Lots of funny lines and great deliveries :) ("and what's that over there?" "Oh that's. A building." "And that?" "...also.. A building." And "I don't talk like that!" "I dOnt TaLk liKe ThAT!" And God any line where Bunny was crying was just so good. Really pulled on my heart strings even when I wasn't expecting it to) Sure, some of the scenes were corny, but I was expecting it!

The plot was solid, though I can see where some holes might be poked. But there was so much character in every episode, I love the teamwork and the way everyone interacted with each other. And the attention that was placed on their relationships with their families. Even if I wish for more, it's fun to play around with in my head. Like, I'm sure Fire Emblem was a big step forward, in universe, for gay rights and their flirty, flamboyant attitude is the biggest "fuck you" to homophobes. I'm sure Dragon Kid's debut, at 13, caused a commotion about children doing hero work, especially when she's getting hurt so much. I'm sure there's a lot of background politics at play regarding heroes and their sponsors that we don't see. I know a lot of this was left out, because they wanted a story with one plot, because they weren't sure how far this series would go, because it just wasn't as interesting. But oh man, these things have been in my head ever since I watched it. Tiger and Bunny is a fun playground.

(I'm going to be honest, I went in without high expectations for the plot. I was just here for cool fight scenes)

I appreciated the direction they took Karina's crush on Kotetsu. I was really wary at first. She's 15? 16? and he's like 36. If they were going to be pairing up the underage girl with the grown man she had a crush on, I was prepared to drop the whole show and hate it. But no!! The progression was sweet, the way Kotetsu obviously sees her as a daughter, and how Karina evolved into her feelings was just :')

Also. Holy fucking shit. Barnabys entire life just. Put out there, for the whole world to see. I can't imagine the sense of perversion that creates. The world knows his name, his backstory, everything. He no longer has his own life, his own choices. It's ridiculous, and I'm glad he had people there to support him.

UNLIKE KOTETSU JEEZ. Man was getting the short end of the stick at every turn ToT I felt so bad for him every time he tried to hard to be recognized, but also just embarrassed. Give him a break!!!

And. Even before going into this, I knew that people would ship Tiger and Bunny. I've been around the block, I know how this shit goes, especially in these types of shows. Two guys being super close, going on about their friendship and all that, is bound to attract shipping. I wasn't against it!- I was just ready for it, but was mostly planning on ignoring it.

But. Holy shit. It's really all there huh. They're like. in Love Love.

("you're only partners for each other." "You two fight like an old married couple." "we dont need to talk to know what the other is thinking." "you're always making me think about you."

Kotetsu "I wonder how Bunny's doing again" Kaburagi and Barnaby "Have I told you about Kotetsu today yet" Brooks Jr. Neither of you are subtle.)

I'll make another post with some more detailed criticisms and takes, but for now, this is all my brain wants to gush about

#pobre payasito #tiger and bunny #taibani

[kdinjenzen]

kdin I know you're like chetney's #1 fan and also like laudna, but what are your thoughts on the rest of the bells hells + dorian?

Chetney is 100% my fav, and as much as I wanna say "BECAUSE HE'S A WEREWOLF", it was actually waaaaay before that when I was like "yeah, no, he's the fav for me."

I haven't seen the one-shot where he was originally introduced, so Campaign 3 was the first time I was introduced to him.

Travis just gets SO into it with Chet that it's way too fun to watch. Especially as a fellow voice actor, seeing Travis just maintain Chet's energy throughout the entire session - dropping it the least frequently of the cast - really is just something really fun to experience.

Plus Chet is just... he's a little WEIRDO but he's also super honest.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME! I COULD BE ARMED TO THE TEETH!" "...are you armed to the teeth?" "Yes!"

First of all, hilarious and also like he's RIGHT they just kinda blindly trusted him for no reason and he's like "bruh, you guys gotta be more careful"

And also FORESHADOWING! He IS armed to the teeth... LITERALLY!

And then when his werewolf form gets revealed to the rest of the party he just:

I won't lie. There are some things that I haven't told you yet, but I'm trusting you more, and I have selfish desires. There are people that need to die, and things that need to be righted, but that's down the road.

MAN, THAT FUCKS ME UP IN A LOTTA WAYS AND I LOVE IT.

And don't even get me STARTED on when Dorian asked if Chet had friends and he replied "I do now..."

These, the constant screaming of "BALLS!", and much more are why Chet has maintained being my fav since I first was introduced to him.

THAT SAID!

Laudna and FCG were my original two favs, and we are currently up to episode 36 (paused right at the ROLL FOR INITIATIVE part before bed last night) and I am ALL KINDS of not okay about SO MUCH.

As time has gone on, I got pretty attached to them all and my "order of favorites" has shifted around.

Chet is still #1 with Laudna being #2.

Orym (accompanied by the many heartfelt moments of his portrayal by Liam) have brought him up to tie with Laudna in the #2 slot.

FCG used to be my #3, but I feel like Fearne has swapped with him. So FCG is #4 and Fearne is #3.

Imogen is #5 on my list and is a great constant for the group. The thing I really appreciate about her, especially as someone who has followed Laura's career since I was a kid and took my very first VO class EVER with her when I was 14, is the fact that she's playing really close to her natural voice for this character which - honestly - I don't hear much in a lot of the stuff Laura is cast for. It's really nice!

I feel bad saying Ashton is my #6 on the list, he's a fun character, he's got a lot of stuff going on and he's super interesting and I love his agency but he's just not a character type I tend to enjoy much. That said, I appreciate him a lot.

Additional Temporary Party Members (That I've Met) Time!:

I MISS DORIAN SO MUCH HE WAS SO GREAT!!! I love that Orym and him are keeping in touch using the stones because those little messages give me LIFE!

And I really really REALLY loved Erika Ishii as Yu/Dusk. Like Erika RULES and they are legit one of my favorite people ever and I'm blessed to have been able to chat with them as many times as I have and their energy IN GENERAL is so fucking RAD and gets me hype - so Yu/Dusk will remain a favorite forever for these reasons and many many more.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I saw your ranking of Kresley Cole's IAD women. Do you have a favorite male character?

Yeah, I have a few. I mean, it's cliche to say this because he's like... an obvious fan favorite... But if I was really being honest, Lothaire is likely my favorite. I mean, I think he's the most developed character in the series (and once Nix gets her book, God willing, maybe she'll junior or exceed him). But he's also just so funny, and so insane, and unfortunately, very hot. How can I not love a dude who, when his pseudo-girlfriend (at the time) gets mad at him for mercilessly beheading a bunch of shifters, says it's "not like I'm going around cockslapping gnomes"? How can you expect me to not love someone who describes skull-fucking randoms as his "mischievous youth"???

And while I do think his romance is INCREDIBLE and part of why I love Lothaire is that he loves Ellie so much and I also love Ellie so much... I mean. He's one of the best parts of Dreams of a Dark Warrior, an UNDERRATED CLASSIC. He gets tortured by Declan Chase and talks about how long it took someone to cut his dick off with whip lashes once, because it's sooooo big (and since regenerated). He kicks Thad off a cliff and then Thad becomes HIS ONLY FRIEND LMAO. He wears a Panama hat??? Like Stede in that episode of Our Flag Means Death??? He blackmails Declan Chase, a man who hates all monsters, into letting him tap his blood on demand and GETS A BONER WHILE DOING IT (bi Lothaire confirmed). Regin screams to Declan about how Lothaire drinking Declan's blood means he now has Declan's memories of Declan and Regin fucking, and he walks up like "Oh nO WORRIES, I have already WATCHED YOU TWO FUCK A MILLION TIMES IN REAL LIFE LIKE A CREEP". The entire WEIRD boy's club scene where Lothaire gives Declan advice about negging Regin into forgiving him and everyone goes "Oh shit, that's great advice actually" and iT WORKS.

(And then later he gives Trehan advice about Bettina... and it works. And he gives Munro advice about Kereny... and it works. The point is that Lothaire can not do his own relationship to save his life which is why he literally lets his lungs explode in order to win Ellie's favor back, he doesn't even know how to get Ellie to forgive him without near-death.)

But I mean. There are so many heroes I love in that series, just like I love so many heroines. Like I said, I haven't given an IAD book less than 4 stars. They really work for me.

Other standout heroes for me would be like... Garreth MacRieve who I think is probably one of the best boyfriends? Of the series? Like, does he hunt Lucia across the world for a year while she's desperately trying to evade him? Sure. Does he sorta try to seduce her into breaking her supernatural vow of chastity? Yes, he does. Does e not care about her god-given mission at all because women shouldn't have to have jobs? Yeah, and maybe HE WAS RIGHT. But he's also soooo sexy, and sooooo wolfy and sooooo loyal and sooooo romantic. The butterfly he named after her! Garreth SMELLING Lucia masturbating and having a freakout because he's in a cage and she's upstairs and SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO GET HERSELF OFF NO SHE IS PRINCESS! Him holding his werewolfitude back as long as possible until he's like "fuck it I can't deal" and runs howling through the jungle for her??? The ENTIRE VALKYRIE PLOT OF "OH WE'LL JUST HAVE LUCIA FEEL PAIN ON PURPOSE SO THE WOLF GUY COMES TO SAVE HER"??? "She was born to be found by me"??? "Werewolves are natural investigators" lOL I CAN'T. Child-free by choice, but would have Garreth MacRieve's 7 werewolf children.

Conrad Wroth, who I think is just like.... a ragged open wound of insanity and romantic longing and pent up sexual energy... Like, Conrad has one of theeee hottest biting scenes in the series, imo. And also, just the sad hilarity of him swearing his chastity to a cult of vampire hunters, then getting forcibly turned into a vampire by his brothers and doomed to centuries of virginity??? And then he does meet his Bride and she's a GHOST??? *Curb Your Enthusiasm theme plays*

Rydstrom Woede is.... really hot... I love a morally upright man driven to horrible crimes. The minute Rydstrom THE GOOD BROTHER showed up in Cade's book, shirtless, tired, scratches all over his chest, with a woman screaming in the background like "HELP!!!" while he goes "don't. ask." I was gone. Then he turned out to be a legit DADDY who's into spanking and punishing Sabine and he feels gross and weird about it? Please. Theeeeen his first real smile in his own book is when she flips him off? PLEEEEEEEASE.

And of course, Uilleam "Will" MacRieve, "MacRieve", The MacRieve, of the novel titled MacRieve. I mean, listen, he's hot. He has such rough animalistic sex CONSISTENTLY that they call him Bucket List. But he's soooo sad. And don't get me wrong, he does some fucked up shit and I won't deny it. But his backstory. Made me cry lol. His entire journey. Made me cry. Him on his knees crying into Chloe's stomach because he wants to be better and heal for her but he can't??? Made me cry. His journey isn't for everyone, but I found it gorgeous. And also, did I laugh so much when they were like "well MacRieve, your woman needs sex healing, and we can't trust you to do it, so I don't know man maybe she needs to be double-teamed by some incubi" and he literally flinched because his inner werewolf instinct went SCREAMING at him??? Yes I did. He had no thoughts for like a solid five minutes. Just static.

... so those are my top 5... I also very much love all the other Wroth brothers (my 1D), Lachlain MacRieve (crazy werewolf king turned "Mature Dad Friend"), Bowen MacRieve (the original fuckboy/BEAST FAMILIAR), Trehan Daciano ("babe look I got you this bag of... severed heads... oh.... that wasn't...... the request..."), Rune Darklight (cue the TWO STANDING OVATIONS HE GOT FROM BITCHES HE'D FUCKED LMAO), and uh......... Declan Chase (..... I won't be defending this choice). And THAD, even though Thad isn't a hero. YET!

#romance novel blogging #immortals after dark #here have a novel #and even the ones who aren't my favorites like.... i don't think i hate anyone? #my favorite things about the wroth brothers as a quartet is how you can sum them up tho #'5 year boner; winner of the amazing race on cbs; fucked a ghost; icicle dildo'