#but it’s still a really REALLY good episode with a lot of great character interaction and some EXCELLENT development for the group

[gremoria411]

*This post will contain spoilers for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. Also, I’ll probably ramble more than usual here, since a lot of my points are interconnected*

Alright then. I was planning on doing a big post breakdown on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury after rewatching it, since I find that my general thoughts on a series typically coalesce around the second viewing. However that probably won’t be for a good while yet, so I figured I’d do a big post now, and I’ll add a few notes if anything jumps out on me on my (eventual) second viewing.

In a nutshell, I found The Witch from Mercury to be really, really good, with an excellent cast and gorgeous action. However, I feel it’s let down by its comparatively low episode count.

And I’d like to stress that that low episode count is basically my only major criticism - I have several smaller ones, but they’re ultimately all extensions of that low episode count.

The Cast.

As above, really good. You’ve got a good selection of characters coming from various strata’s within society - Spacians, Earthians, Mercurians. It’s a good variety of characters and seeing how they interact with each other. They all feel pretty well-rounded as characters honestly.

Like, Suletta’s great, obviously. I feel like you don’t need me to tell you that which is great, because I’m not sure how to put it. I guess I like how emotive she is, how she portrays how she’s feeling so well, but then that might be because we, the audience are close to her as a protagonist (I’d argue that Miorine and Guel could also be counted as protagonists, if you wanted, but Suletta’s the one we spend the most time with). Suletta’s also good because she’s a newcomer to the Asticassia, so not only do we learn things with her but she’s also absolutely primed to upend the status quo there, which she does fantastically. I like the contrast between her doubts and capabilities - she’s not the most social of characters and doubts herself multiple times, but put her in a mobile suit and she is confidence incarnate.

Miorine feels like an extension of Gundam’s “Princess” archetype: your Sayla, your Relena, your Lacus. I really like how proactive she is - we first meet her in the process of attempting to run away from her school, and her arc feels more about her recognising the power she weirds and how to best use it for what she wants, rather than rejecting it outright. She’s in the process of actively cultivating “soft power” (negotiations, word-of-mouth, etc) rather than just having it inherently and -crucially- because the hard power isn’t actually that valuable. Compared to, say, SEED. Lacus has a whole lot of soft power, but it’s Kira and the Freedom that’s the driving force of the plot. Suletta has Hard Power - Aerial, but it’s borrowed power fundamentally, and it’s Miorine’s soft power that ultimately does more good. Actual Diplomacy versus Gunboat Diplomacy, if you will. I also like how Suletta and Miorine’s relationship progresses - they balance out each other - it starts out with Suletta having the power Miorine needs, but as Miorine grows they start relying more on each other. Also their interactions together are really great. They’re compelling because of both who they are in universe - a pilot and a princess, and because of their personalities with each other and how they spur each others development.

I do want to call out Lady Prospera as being amazing. She feels exactly how Char would be as a mother - manipulative and ruthless, but still caring in her own way. I’m given to understand she’s the first female Char Clone in the series, which is neat. Her relationship with Suletta (and Miorine) is just really good. She’s not unpleasant and she’s certainly charming, but she won’t sugarcoat how things are. Miorine knows she’s being manipulated in her interactions with her, but it’s genuinely good advice so she goes along with it, even as she has her own reservations. It’s also rather telling that once Prospera doesn’t need Suletta anymore, she leaves her. While callous and heart-breaking, we know now that Prospera fully believed she was going to die. While this doesn’t exactly forgive her abandoning Suletta, it does cast her interest in Suletta making friends and having relationships outside her in a new light. Prospera wants vengeance for Nadim and the rest of the Vanadis Institute, but she recognises that that is her and Eri’s vengeance, not Suletta’s. And doesn’t that sound similar to Mr Char “I have never once betrayed any one, in my life, ever” Aznable, who just wants his sister to grow up in peace while he avenges their family? It’s a fun relationship dynamic and it’s done well, is what I’m getting at. I also like how unapologetically villainous she is in some of her actions - both the audience and Miorine kinda clock her as a threat immediately, but we can also see why Suletta trusts her so much, even if it’s not the healthiest relationship. I just really like the juxtaposition of her being sweet with Suletta, uncompromising with Miorine, and absolutely brutal with everyone else.

Setting

I find the school setting genuinely fascinating, I don’t have a clever segue so I’m just going to get into it.

Asticassia School of Technology is a school to pilot giant robots. Great, Instantly appealing. However, then you get into all the ways it’s indicative of the wider society. It’s maintained and run by the Benerit Group - a Mega-Corporation that dominates the field of military-use mobile suits, which requires actual military force to be brought to heel and is basically a sovereign nation all its own - it’s rather telling that we never really see any national representatives throughout G-Witch, it’s all about the companies. So it takes this normally aspirational thing “wow, a school to pilot giant robots!” And extrapolates it out to what kind of setting would create that. Giant Robots are used in military applications, so you end up with a facility basically dedicated to the production of child soldiers to serve this military-industrial complex actively profiting from the glaring class inequality present in the setting, as set out in the prologue. And because the characters exist within that system there is no “easy fix”, the story ends with the characters making small progress against those inequalities rather than solving them in one fell swoop because the inequalities are systemic, and you can’t just take out the superweapon and expect everything to work out on its own. The existence of child soldiers is baked into the setting- not as a desperate gamble or as an illustration of the necessities of survival, as in other series. But as an accepted and -crucially- normalised thing. Notably, no-one expresses surprise or horror at Sophie and Norea being pilots - just that they’re a threat and have GUND Format units. We also see several child soldiers in Fold of Dawn in addition to Asticassia itself, so there’s also the angle of generational differences - the children exist in an unfair world built and maintained by the adults, fighting for the causes they are taught to. Many of the Benerit Heirs have unhealthy relationships with their parental figures, typically conflicting over them wanting different things (Guel vs Vim’s expectations, Shaddiq going out from under Sarius and basically everything about the Elan’s). So there’s the angle of the children fighting against the unfair world of adults, tying into the familial relationships in the cast. Which is a theme Gundam’s got a lot out of historically. So the school setting shows to illustrate how Ad Stella is civilised a first glance, but far more beneath the surface, and demonstrates several of the issues inherent in the setting.

I also really love how GUND format is actively debilitating to its pilots and how Suletta, while still a very good pilot, is essentially unbeatable because she has a way around the downsides for most of the series. Because it feels like an examination of “the Gundam is the strongest mobile suit”. G-Witch essentially states that having a stronger or better weapon does not solve these problems, in fact, the various elements of the company all fighting over Aerial gets several people killed, so if anything it feels like a takedown of “Gundam” as a concept (ie This great strong weapon that will win us the war”). It also puts emphasis on themes of dehumanisation - both the Elan’s and Sophie&Norea show that child experimentation, while not exactly common, isn’t unfamiliar ground in Ad Stella, particularly with Elan being replaceable, which again ties into the child soldier angle. I also find it delightfully hypocritical that Benerit, the weapon merchants, have issues with it because of the PR backlash of it killing its pilots, not because of any “moral” reason. It’s a bad look to have a weapon that can harm its user - who’s going to want to pay for that? The militant liquidation of Ochs Earth was essentially a PR stunt to show that Benerit will not make these weapons (not that that stopped Peil). Which is really horrifying to think about, really.

The Space Assembly League, Quiet Zero and the Interplanetary Laser Transmission System (or ITLS, that big gun in the finale) all function as illustrations of the excess of corporate power - a near full-scale war/ large scale destruction is only prevented because of Suletta and Ericht’s intervention. The SAL functions as a regulatory body for the corporations, but while it isn’t exactly lacking in force, it acts far too late to prevent the damage - Benerit has been allowed to run independently for too long, so it’s difficult to pull back even with evidence and force because it’s just so big. Meanwhile, the ITLS was constructed under the guide of a power transmission system, but it’s intended to be fired as a weapon. Furthermore, the destruction it will cause is written off as “Oh, Peil will get the reconstruction contract”, killing hundreds for corporate gain. The fact that it’s Peil specifically is also notable, since they are probably the most ethically bankrupt of the three corporations and were actively involved in the GUND-format technology themselves. But because the corrupt elements of the governing body favour them (and can presumably cut a deal for reconstruction costs), much of their misdeeds would have essentially been swept under the rug. Notably, other than their stock plummeting, we don’t actually see much in the way of consequences for the Peil CEO’s.

Mechanics

A fairly short one here - I’ll admit I’m not crazy about a lot of the mobile suits in Ad Stellar, but I like how each company has a different designer and are different thematically. Jeturk has big, bulky beetle-esque machines - heavily armoured and analogous to Zaku’s and other grunt suits from the series. Peil focuses on mobility - spindly MS with lots of thrusters, and typically deployed with aerial combat in mind. Finally, Grassley tends to lean towards units with exotic systems, such as the Michaelis’ beam bracer and Anti-GUND format and often have monoeyes. It’s a good illustration of the competing philosophies within the group and each one is distinct and easily recognisable (Burion’s utilitarian, I don’t have much more to say on it). It also emphasises what a big shakeup the Gundam’s are, since they look so different, and can put down any of these units with little trouble. I rather wish we saw more of the smaller developers - those units Suletta swatted aside en masse with the Aerial Rebuild, since they seemed to have a greater variety of designs (I particularly liked the little Acguy-looking one - the Hosler II?). Also, really liked the Prodoros used by Dawn of Fold (though that’s likely due to how it moves).

Criticisms

Or rather Criticism. Your typical Gundam series is usually around 40-50 episodes, whereas Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a comparatively paltry 25. Now, one series having a lower episode count than another isn’t inherently a point against it - better a short story well told rather than a long story poorly told, and it’s a new show, and (despite my persistent comparisons with other Gundam shows) should be allowed to stand and be judged on its own merits. But it kinda feels like it was meant to be a 40-50 episode series that was cut-down mid-production and fundamentally, it feels like we could’ve gotten more.

The pacing of the second season ratchets up considerably compared to the first, and I would like to stress that Witch From Mercury is a very-well-paced show - every episode has some sort of plot development, but it feels like that’s because it had to be. And every criticism I have of the show feels like it flows from that cut-down episode count.

It kinda feels like Peil Industries was supposed to be a much bigger player in this, and the Pharact doesn’t really do anything after its opening fight.

Peil’s never brought to justice, and Elan 5 just decides to join Earth House’s move on Quiet Zero. Meanwhile, the real Elan Ceres just resigns from Peil, even though he was presumably in on the Enhanced Person stuff too.

Lauda’s whole subplot about him piloting the Schwarzette had very little foreshadowing - I assume they put just enough of it in that they couldn’t cut it entirely (i.e. the Schwarzette), and it was necessary for Guel’s character arc.

Guel taking over Jeturk Heavy Industries didn’t really go anywhere.

Sophie Pulone and Norea Du Noc are really only there to tick gundam’s “Doomed Child Soldiers” box. Also Dawn of Fold just…… still exists after the events of the series?

The fact that Ochs Earth was still a thing kinda didn’t amount to much did it? Prospera just destroys them and their Gundam Lfrith’s. The ones used by Dawn of Fold might have well been older models, scavenged or bought by them.

Chuatury (Chuchu) Panlunch - great character, great design, excellent illustration of the tensions of the setting, but it feels like she was supposed to have a subplot focused on the people supporting her on Earth.

It just feels like they made the first 12 episodes of a 40-50 episode series, with a bunch of setup that’d pay off later, and then they got cut down to 24 episodes and had to cut a lot of stuff to fit. I’d like to stress I think they made a good compromise - most of my criticisms are minor and the Suletta and Miorine are the heart of the series, and they come out very well. But all the same, I’d rather the compromise didn’t need to be made in the first place, so we could’ve seen the “full thing” as it were.

Even my….. restraint on the mobile suits designs can be pinned on this. My favourite designs are typically Monster of the Week and late-season Weirdo’s - the stuff that’s the purview of your charismatic villain or a specialised grunt. But if you’ve got to cut stuff for space and time, then by their very nature, those designs won’t stick around.

I should however mention that I’ve been unable to find any reputable source as to wether The Witch From Mercury did have its episode count cut, before or during production. My criticism is mostly about the series feeling like it should have had more, not that it was actually cut down. It is possible that Bandai wanted to see if the show could make a comparative return on a smaller budget than usual, especially considering most of their recent Gundam output has been adaptations (IE. Shows that already have a proven audience and prior success, and are consequently a lot less financially risky), like Unicorn or Thunderbolt.

All that said, I do think that the emotional core of the show - Suletta and Miorine was excellently done, and I found the action and themes to be similarly well-done. I’m mostly only complaining we didn’t get to see more of the world, since it has so many interesting concepts that feel like they would’ve been interesting to see.

#gundam #ramblings #mobile suit Gundam the witch from mercury #witch from mercury #Gundam g-witch #Gundam the witch from mercury #suletta mercury #miorine rembran

[leverage-ot3]

Is leverage redemption worth watching? I love Leverage but idk if i could enjoy the show if hardison isn't in most episodes or if the reboot sells out in some way.

okay so I showed up to this ask like four months late with a smoothie so I'm sorry about that BUT

does redemption have it's flaws? yes, I will be the first to admit that!

however, as someone who deeply loves leverage, the characters and what the show stands for, I still can find myself enjoying redemption.

there's one post that's in my drafts talking about the differences between the og and redemption and the so-called universe physics (how logic works in both shows and how they are the same/differ) and there are definitely some differences. there are some really good posts comparing them in the tags and I'll try to tag them as watch redemption when they come up!

I'm going to be really honest right now and say that (no shade) I feel like redemption s1-2 were lacking because john rogers was not a main writer for them. devlin and the others are great and know their stuff, but redemption was missing some of the grit (balanced with everything else) that the original run had. redemption is more fun and lighthearted (where the og was still fun and had comedic elements but also had a more jaded perspective). I think part of that change is the absence of nate as a character and what he brought to the table, but the other part of that is very much the way the show is written overall

I have seen some criticism about parker being a caricature of what she was in the original run (ex: how she goes to a child's psychologist and uses puppets sometimes, is overtly weird, more loud about stuff, etc) BUT I will say that I think there's some nuance to that

I don't think the child psychiatrist thing is infantalizing- some methods of therapy work for people more than others and that is me speaking as someone who works in mental health. if play therapy and stuff like that work for you as an adult, good for you! whatever works for you is more than enough the overtly and loudly being weird thing I really do think can be taken either way. in the original run part of parker's character progression was that she was learning how to interact with people normally (or at least more efficiently), but her being more out about that now can be taken as she is more comfortable in her skin and acting like she wants because she is surrounded by people who love and support her. maybe she doesn't want to (or have to!) mask all the time and I don't see a problem with that

HOWEVER! there are certain criticisms that are related to her characterizations and overlaps with her autism and I don't want to speak over the autism community about those aspects and how they have manifested in her character in redemption so I'm leaving it there

as for the hardison being absent aspect- I was REALLY afraid of that at first BUT the loss isn't so deeply impactful when you have characters like breanna and harry added to the mix. I went in ambivalent about harry and excited to have breanna (a canon queer) joining the team, but I have come to love and cherish both of them dearly and wouldn't want to replace them or lose them as characters in this found family ensemble. I think the writers handled aldis' packed schedule really well and even though he isn't there in most episodes, his presence is still very much around. parker and eliot talk about him and reference him when he's gone. so do sophie and breanna, even harry. he isn't on the screen but the relationships he's formed with the other characters and the impact he's had on them is very evident.

there are some takes from users about whether or not the ot3 was queerbait, un-canoned, etc in redemption. I have a lot of thoughts about it and a lot of them are incomprehensible but what I can say is that I have renewed hopes for the progression and canon development of their relationship now that john rogers is back as the main writer for s3

#leverage #leverage redemption #eliot spencer #parker #alec hardison #leverage ot3 #parker x hardison x eliot #leverage redemption s3 #breanna casey #harry wilson #character appreciation #watch leverage #watch redemption #jackie talks #mine #asks #answered asks #open-source-anarch3y #i tried to write the best i could but i have a bad cold and I am technically working rn so this was the best i could do :/

[do-not-resuscikate]

A long, slight critical, rant about The Bad Batch.

Let me preface this by saying, I love this show, I think it has been one of the best animated shows to ever come out of Disney or Star Wars. This rant comes from a place of love.

-------------------------------------------------------

I think it's pretty clear at this stage that The Bad Batch Season 3, while excellent in so many ways, is not quite sticking the landing when it comes to human moments.

There's a reason The Outpost is a fan favorite ep.

There's a reason a lot of people resonate with The Crossing.

And the reason is not action or setpieces, it's the human moments. The emotional moments.

The moments where characters stop and react.

I always thought it was an odd choice to bring back Echo but then have him not even mention Fives, nevermind not giving us any insight into Echos feelings about the circumstances surrounding his death. Rex even talks about how Fives tried to warn him about the chips, in front of Echo, and nothing!

Maybe it's a fluke, an oversight, I thought? Maybe, a story arc they had to trim so they could better explore the new characters!? 

And wow, did the writers do some amazing character work in season 2! I mean, chef's kiss, 10 outta 10. Gorgeous. Give me more of that.

But then, season 3 came.

Do we see proper conversation about the loss of Tech? No.

Do we see Crosshairs reaction to learning of his death? No.

Do we see Phees reaction to his death? No.

Do we see the groups immediate interaction after Crosshair returns. No.

Hells, Omega is taken AGAIN and Hunter doesn't even blink.

We maybe get a token mention here or there, and then on to the next copy/paste rescue/escape.

The writing team leave these beautiful breadcrumbs for us, we're dying to know how X will react to Y next week, and then they just never follow through.

I love this show, I really do, but I can only excuse this so many times.

With the series almost at its end, I think it's becoming increasingly clear that the writers think action setpieces, and escape plans, and heists are what the fans want. 

Don't get me wrong, the setpieces are great. But action is a dime a dozen these days. Plenty of shows and movies give us awesome explosions and shoot outs.

Far rarer are shows, and especially animated "childrens" shows, that give us genuine, gut-punching, emotional moments.

With so little time left, I'm doubtful of a truly satisfying finale to the Batches story. 

So many threads are still dangling, and we're all dying for answers. But we'll spend the next precious few episodes watch Omega break out of Tantiss AGAIN.

Whoever's under CX-2s mask might be significant, but will we see anyone's reaction to it? Will we have time to explore it's impact? Would they explore it even if they had the time?!

The thing many fans fell in love with about the clones is not that they're badass soldiers blowing up droids, it's how they behaved as people. 

How they interacted with each other, defined themselves, pushed their individuality, morality, and goodness to forefront despite being told they are only weapons.

 It's how they reacted to the world around them and their place in it.

The point of the clones stories is not action, it's reaction.

#star wars #star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #star wars tbb #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb hunter #tbb spoilers #tbb crosshair #tbb omega

[rubyscarbuncle]

So, in the aftershow talk Anthony laments about season 2 but honestly? I love season 2.

I think season 1 had a lot more clear of an objective, and a lot more clear of a structure, but that’s kind of perfect for the story of season 2 right?

season 2 is a story about being a teen. It’s about all the ups and downs and struggles and heartache and everything about being a teen, it’s about crushes, and emotions, and fathers, and weird mustaches, and it’s about the incredibly gen z/alpha experience of trying to figure out what you can do in a world that feels like it’s doomed by the people before you. It’s a very teen story. It’s very proud of this, and it does it very well, and while I can’t say whether or not it was *intentional* I think the structure and flow of season 2 is perfect for that story.

It starts off with a decently defined structure in school, with a vague but simple enough goal to reach, then you’re thrusted out into the world, having to make big choices for yourself and that’s when it starts to get… Messy. Things aren’t as simple as they used to be, there’s lots of moving pieces, people who are going to be making their own decisions that you can’t really change, there’s a lot of things going on. And it even feels difficult to lean on the people you care about but you do it anyways.

I think season 2 has had some of the best pc to pc emotional character interactions of the entire series and I don’t think you get there without season 2 being structured the way it is. Season 2 being so much more loose and more focused on the players pushing the plot I think purely serves it for the story it ends up telling. I don’t think you get moments like Scary siding with Willy and even while lashing out and eldritch blasting still being hugged by Linc and piled on by everyone to show she’s cared for in a season like season 1. I just don’t think that happens, because I don’t think everything being the way it is and the more almost tv show like structuring of season 1 would allow for that. It had plenty of great emotional moments, but I think the teen nature of it being messier and more impulsive and trying to figure out who you are and where your place in the world is absolutely benefits from a looser structure and goals that are less neatly defined.

The dads have, for the most part, figured themselves out as people even on episode 1 hitting. Sure they all grow and learn and change, but they never stop being those people they are during episode 1, they just become better versions of themselves. Even Glenn. Debatably. (he definitely changed but he might have become a worse person, like he’s a stoner who plays a guitar and says “far out” at the start and by the end is creating big vats of oil to blow up an entire commune and pissing in the sand lying down.) They’re adults, they have their priorities, and they know who they are. We’re in a freaky situation, we’ve been through a lot, let’s get our kids, let’s get tf out, let’s maybe try and fix some things because we’re not totally monsters or anything. Bing bang boom.

The dads have very clear outlines, but the season 2 cast has very strong vibes.

They’re a lot more chaotic, loosely defined, and their outlines are less immediate, but in exchange they are absolutely vibrating with energy and possibility and chaos and all of these interesting dynamics and things that never feel forced because, well, they’re still figuring themselves out! By all rights, they SHOULDN’T have those same defined outlines to their characters that the season 1 cast had.

The entire story is about being messy, and finding your way in life, and I think season 2 does that perfectly, and I think none of the incredible stuff that everyone brings to the table works without Anthony doing what he did and doing the incredible job he did. Good shit king.

#dndads #dndaddies #dungeons and daddies #dndaddies season 2 #dndads season 2 spoilers #dungeons and daddies season 2 #dungeons and daddies season 1 spoilers

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Misaki and Kazuki - Miri’s Mother and Her New Papa - SPOILERS!

I really hope that we get to see Misaki (Miri’s Mom) and Kazuki interact again.

In the interaction that we got in Episode 3, both Misaki and Kazuki were making assumptions about each other and their connection and experience (or lack thereof) with childcare based solely on their genders. 

They both show room to grow as people. Kazuki as a caretaker of a child, since he is still fairly (though not completely) new to the concept of parenthood, and Misaki as a person who values herself, her dreams, and learning to nurture the small goodness that we see inside of her (like when she tells Kazuki to sit down so she can care for the cut she caused to his face).

Both of these characters have experienced trauma, and Misaki is stuck in a cycle of abuse. I don’t think Misaki is going to be a one-off character, not only because of this image from the OP, which is very likely her crying eye (the eye color, makeup, and eyelashes are all the same):

But also because of this tweet from her Japanese VA:

The English text reads:

I play the role of a character named Misaki Unasaka. Let me stop here for now.  I hope to see the story through with you all.

(Note, I really appreciate that her VA also wrote the message in English!)

To me, that indicates that she will be making an appearance again. Over on r/anime, I saw some thinking that Misaki would only show up again if she learns that Miri has inherited a lot of money or something. But, well...

I don’t think that is likely, since we don’t even know if that mafia boss was aware that Miri had been born/existed. Also, inheriting mafia money is probably a bit complicated, and I doubt his actual wife (if she survived, tbh, I can’t remember off hand) would allow that. But even more so than that, I feel like it would just be falling into stereotypes, and be too much of a black and white depiction of child-rearing (in a negative sense) that Buddy Daddies has largely avoided up until now.

They’ve done great stuff with the Red and Blue Oni Trope. Kazuki is the red oni, and he is more expressive and open, but he isn’t as impulsive, which is Rei, imo.

Rei is the blue one who is colder and more closed off, but he is also the more childish of the two. 

Miri’s associated color is pink (with orange being her secondary, and honestly more fitting color), but she doesn’t have a demure or stereotypical girlish personality (because goodness knows gender presentation starts that young). 

So, I don’t think they would just write Misaki’s character like that - leans too much into poor and easy writing. Also, it goes against the writers wanting to make the child-rearing experience feel realistic.

Personally, I would much rather that they meet up again (or even a few times) and we get to see Misaki learning to value herself and reach a better place mentally and emotionally - finally being able to leave her abuser behind (perhaps with the help of Kazuki and Rei). BUT, her “happy ending” WON’T be becoming Miri’s mother and caretaker again.

How refreshing would it be to see a woman’s story end like that? Realize that the best thing she could do for her daughter and herself is to not be her mother or caretaker. While the proper and best caretakers and parents for Miri are two men. That’s a message we need to see more - the ideas that not all men are bumbling idiots who can’t care for kids and that not all women are natural caretakers.

Misaki and Kazuki both claim these things to be true, in how they spoke and interacted with each other in this most recent episode, Ep. 3. So, let’s see the series and future interactions prove them wrong and have them learn and grow together - coming to an understanding that these preconceived stereotypes simply aren’t true.

#Buddy Daddies #Kazuki Kurusu #Miri Unasaka #Misaki Unasaka #BD spoilers #Buddy Daddies spoilers #speculation post #meta post #long post #this may not happen ofc #but I would love it if it did!

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda Under Cut

Allura

Lots of people (myself included tbh) ship klance (Keith and Lance). In s8 the creators made Allura/Lance canon (but then they killed her off and left the ending ambiguous it was weird). Anyway the fandom treats her like she's the most terrible bitchy woman ever but all she wants to do is end the war and avenge her destroyed home planet. Yeah she wasn't always the nicest or always the best, but you could argue some other characters in the show aren't either and they aren't treated near as bad as allura. people really just hate her bc Lance liked her. I don't think allura/lance are good together, but I still liked her as a character and thought she was interesting and had a lot of growth during the show. she DEF is not evil like some people portray her as in fic or talk about her in captions on posts. I've seen people say that they HATE her and that she's the worst and I'm like ??? let her live (well sort of ig she is dead now). lots of fic writers use her as the villain which is so interesting to me bc the show literally has villains like use them. anyway allura so perfectly fits the bracket description she deserves better.

I hate to acknowledge my time in this fandom but I hate the way the fandom treated her more. Allura was treated like shit no matter what side of the Great Ship War you were on because she was always a threat to the biggest ships (klance and sheith). At best she got put into Background Lesbian or Consolation Prize Shallura (Space Mom-zoned) (She was not a motherly figure btw. She was just Black). At worst she was violently demonized for being ~racist~ (kinda not cool with the alien race that blew up her planet for a few episodes), complete with misogynistic language hurled at her (she got called a bitch sooo much). Allura was a good and cool character and the show did her dirty but the fandom was somehow worse.

i apologise for speaking the dark magicks, but amidst the voltron fandoms many, many transgressions, there were a particular subset of people who just hated this girl. the infamous klance wars of the 2010s kept this perfectly fine childrens cartoon character in the sights of shippers everywhere, and she (and her voice actress im sure) were subjected to years of petty squabble blown up to global perportions. ive seen hate, ive seen rants, ive seen fanfics that made her homophobic. girls been through the ringer, and even though voltron was never the show its fandom wanted it to be, i believe allura deserved better

Kayano Kaede

shes genuinely a really tragic character who had potential for a really compelling, effective arc concerning grief, identity, healing, and finding trust again all while going through the inherent ordeal of being 15 years old….if she werent a female character in a shonen anime 😭😭 instead she gets sidelined during the show up until her big plot twist reveal after which shes immediately sidelined again. whatever i still love her and know her to be a character of all time who has suffered more than jesus. in my experience shes perhaps the female character who like. ive seen most *obsessively* hated due to her “getting in the way” of the ship b/w the male protagonist + deuteragonist (bc of her proximity to the both of them) u woild think shes the devil incarnate and not just. 15 and traumatised 

She had a crush on Nagisa and they kissed and a lot of fans ship him with Karma so theyre mad that Kaede is there. She is super silly and nice but the fandom hates her for standing in the way of karmagisa.

she's a sweet person that was an actor and loves her sister. she is the main love interest of the main character but doesn't interact with him more than most of the other characters for a majority of the story. Often I have seen them removed from the story only to become some homophobic jerk that's desperate for the main characters love instead of letting her keep the good friendship that her and the main character had before the romance.

#poll #round 1 #allura #princess allura #voltron #voltron legendary defender #kaede kayano #kayano kaede #assassination classroom

[dysfunctional-doodle]

What is your favorite and least favorite version of all the turtles?

I feel like it’s fairly obvious who I favour the most if you read my chat fic, Too Many Turtles (I have a lot of bias, oops) but I shall break it down.

Ok so favourites:

1987: Michelangelo (come on, he’s a surfer dude and actual angel)

90’s: Donnie (the snark he has with Casey makes my day, though Mikey is still second because he genuinely has the best relationship with Donnie I love watching those two interact)

2003: Mikey, duh. Just look at my blog and my fanfics. I love this chaotic gremlin.

2007: Mikey (again! Especially after hearing about the cancelled sequel of him joining the foot, his brothers demutating, etc. I will say I am looking forward to finally getting to the 2007 plot line in my chat fic, it’s gonna be great >:) )

2012: Raph (I haven’t watched much 2012 at all, I just can’t. I don’t know why people think it’s good in all honestly aside from a few episodes, but from what I’ve seen and mostly read about Raph gets way too much abuse dude, someone give this turtle a hug)

Bayverse: Donnie, followed closely by Mikey. (Idk why but the “younger sibling energy” they give these two is actually great. And Donnie’s little stims and the fact that he licks the icing off pop tarts and puts them back in the box just about pushes him above Mikey.)

2019: Mikey (again. Come on. Have you seen him in that movie?)

Rise: Donnie, followed closely by Mikey. (For me they are both pretty much even in different ways. I love Donnie’s chaotic neutral status and Mikey got boosted quite a bit after the movie, and the rage I feel whenever I hear about hall the episodes he was the star of but then they cancelled almost all of them.)

Mutant Mayhem: Mikey (Something about seeing him sadly look through a sewer grate at the humans with that music in the background made me want to protect him forever. Also I love his effort to try and be a comedian but his jokes are…um yeah. As a second I would actually say Leo - I know, strange for me - but idk, he’s just an anxious mess.)

And now least favourites, strap in boys:

1987: uuuh Leo I suppose. Kind of a fun sponge

90’s: again, Leo (though this doesn’t mean I dislike him; I really liked how happy he got when Raph woke up and the way he guarded him before then. He’s just the least favourite.)

2003: Leo (again, the same reasoning i iterated with 90’s. I really like this Leo but compared to the other brothers…he falls a little shorter.)

2007: Leo (Patronising Asshole)

2012: OK, this one is weird. I dislike Donnie the most by far only when he is simping for April. When they let him not have this as his only character trait he’s actually fun to watch but DEAR GOD I hate him when he kept being a creep to her.

Bayverse: Leo (He insulted Mikey, he must die /jk)

2019: Um I guess Raph? I like all of them pretty much equally, don’t really have a least favourite at all.

Rise: Leo (yeah I don’t like him. Don’t get why the fandom does. Still an ass)

Mutant Mayhem: Donnie (idk why, I like everyone else much more. Don’t get me wrong, I still like him though)

#tmnt #tmnt asks #asks and replies #tmnt 1987 #tmnt 1990 #tmnt bayverse #tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2007 #tmnt 2019 #batman vs teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #tmnt mutant mayhem #tmnt raph #tmnt donnie #tmnt mikey #tmnt leo

[justeclotilde]

Thoughts on LEGO Monkie Kid, pacing, and season 5

I’m taking this from Twitter, but basically this thread about “Say something BAD about the show Monkie Kid” came up and my biggest gripe so far has been :  The show has way too short episodes. Like, 11min30. And tries to do SO MUCH in those 11min30 that either somethings get scrapped (DBFamily but not just that) or big important elements get solved way too fast (Samadhi fire and broken scroll among other things). And it steams I think from the fact that the show went from episodic to serialised while keeping the same amount of time. 

I ramble :  I see a lot of newcomers say that they jumped s1 and 2 and really started with s3/4, and while everyone has their reasons I think that’s silly Because that format is what made me love the characters and settings in the first place. The episodes are short, so the show can only focus on a tiny thing, but sprinkled LBD being a menace throughout the season, with the spider gang being a menace. And now ? lBD is still reveared as one of the best villains, and Spidergang is still very appreciated. Same thing for DBF : Red Son was slowly developed through s1, and returned on s3 Granted he wasn’t in s2, but since he was a major part of s1, and the spider queen special, we grew to care about him and the family to an extent. Because that’s what the show is good at ! Characters interactions, character personalities, CHARACTERS !! And now, the show is going for serialised, which is great and maintains attention, but it wants to do too much with the same amount of time: - In s2 : LBD took 10 ep to build her mech. MK started slowly to grow, and his relationships were explored one ep at a time. Slowly. - In s4 : we lose SWK, MK meets Azure, we learn about Tang, Pigsy and Sandy through their ancestors, we start to question MK’s existence, Monkey MK, the scroll is a menace, Azure betrays the group, MK loses his mentor and morale, DBF is important but scrolled, the JE is defeated and BAM world explodes we have to kill God in 4 episodes now. 

Granted for the characters as well it feels rushed. We don’t have to see everything either. Of course. They have a life outside the show. And overall they did a good job in those 11 bloody minutes 30.

But

But

But.

Now that we have a bit of breathing room, maybe it’s time to have that character moment by episode we’ve been asking for instead of cramming feelings and heartfelt conversations in an episode while the world is teared apart outside. Especially since we’ve seen the characters go through hell for a whole season. MK needs to breath but he isn’t the only one. We could have an episode on Red Son and his time in the scroll, an episode on MK going monkey a whole episode, an episode on SWK and Macaque in coloc, an episode on Tang Pigsy and Sandy trying to get back to their lives since they’re the most normal of the bunch - technically (cuz apparently having episodes focused on them in s4 wasn’t enough to have conversations about it but that’s a gripe i have with the community for LATER). We could have SWK and DBF reminisce on their time together, since DBK is one of the last friend that doesn’t QUITE hate him anymore, or an episode on how Nezha starts rebuilding Heaven by himself while keeping the JE power safe, or an episode on Mei just being awesome honestly, like just Mei observing MK going insane and being the girlboss she is, especially since she went through the whole “excess power that could kill everyone you love” and is still living with that, in a way. That could answer where the Samadhi fire business went. Cuz like in real life some things are tamed but don’t disappear, she might still be struggling but has learned to live with it. And MK is going through a similar path. We could also have Red Son in this one since he’s honestly the most controlled in a way.

And through all that… discretly… the world starts to break apart again ? Tears appear and with it new monsters and ghosts of the past maybe start seeping from the Underworld ? Maybe an unmasked man tries to prevent Mk’s attemps at coming back to some normal because as long as he’s confused and scared he stays the Harbinger of Chaos ? Idk ! TL:DR A lot of critics I see sum up as « They should show this more, why did THIS disappear out of nowhere, this is wasted potential », which seeps from the show not having time to show all that happens at once. Maybe it’s time to take a breather and tackle the problems one at a time again, ep by ep, like in season 2. And then go back to « We’re all gonna die in 4 episodes » to get the panic back on track.

Anyway Please come talk to me about the show and your theories, or headcanons about what the characters are doing now that the wreck of S4 has rolled past them. I wanna talk about my babies some more...

#monkie kid theories #monkie kid #lego monkie kid #monkie kid mk #monkie kid mei #monkie kid red son #monkie kid dbk #monkie kid wukong #monkie kid macaque #monkie kid tang #monkie kid pigsy #monkie kid sandy #monkie kid nezha #monkie kid season 4 #lmk s4 spoilers #lmk season 4 special spoilers #lmk season 5 #i'm putting maybe too many tags but i really just want to converse a bit

[kazz-brekker]

hotd episode 7 thoughts

let me tell you, i have been anticipating the funeral drama in this episode for WEEKS and it absolutely did not let me down.

as always i am happy that we got to see some of the dragons but i would have loved even more. where is syrax! i want to see her all grown up!

i’m glad we got the velaryons mourning laena, but it really did make me wish that we’d gotten to see more of her alive. laenor is clearly grieving his sister, but i honestly don’t think they ever had any significant scenes together.

corlys and rhaenys with their grandchildren was really sweet, i especially loved seeing rhaenys comfort rhaena and baela at the funeral.

helaena targaryen continues to be a weird little girl and i support her!

i love the idea of making aemond care more about helaena than aegon does, it’s a good characterization bit and also incredibly evil (cannot wait to see Certain Events that happen as a direct result of aemond’s actions utterly ruin their relationship).

why was this episode so dark. i could see everything but it was really gray :(

however i did like the part where everyone was standing around awkwardly after the funeral, the interpersonal drama was delicious.

matt smith and emma d’aracy have great chemistry, all the staring they did at the funeral made me SO impatient for them to actually interact, and their conversation on the beach was fantastic. 

loved getting to see them confront all their thoughts and feelings about each other that have built up over ten years. i’ve always found their relationship compelling to watch even though it’s obviously. you know. incestuous. it’s just fun to watch! and i feel less “step away from the underage girl” now that rhaenyra is older.

i know harwin strong is dead and never coming back but i’m still glad that we got to see jace mourning him and rhaenyra talking about their relationship.

a brothel …. a shack on the beach … daemon i am literally begging you to bring rhaenyra somewhere actually nice on your next date.

the scene of aemond claiming vhagar was both funny and awesome, the visual of this tiny little kid riding a huge old dragon and screaming his head off was hilarious but the moonlight dragon ride was very cool.

truly family solidarity as exemplified by the targaryen-velaryon kids is when your cousin that you just met for the first time that day wakes you up in the middle of the night to tell you your uncle stole her dead mom’s dragon so you go beat him up together!

i like the added detail that rhaena was planning to claim vhagar, it adds even more betrayal to aemond taking her instead.

is house of the dragon actually an extended psa about the dangers of giving young children knives? maybe so!

mom rhaenyra looking after her kids and making sure they’re okay is very important to me :)

honestly, i felt pretty bad for aemond in the big confrontation scene, he was kind of a jerk to the other kids but it can’t be fun to get yelled at by your dad when you’ve just lost an eye.

i absolutely LOVED the tension in that scene and the way that it built and built until alicent just went for it and tried to stab rhaenyra. characters going completely feral and unhinged in the BEST and alicent dropping her mask of cordiality and screaming at rhaenyra was so, so good.

viserys your parental favoritism is reeeally showing…

the scene between rhaenyra and laenor was wonderful, i’m so glad the show made it clear that even though they have their differences and have been basically forced into a marriage together they still care about each other and their kids a lot.

loved that larys was like “hey alicent want me to stab a kid’s eye out for you? :)” and alicent was like “no dude i’ll actually TELL you when i want you to kill someone.” she’s learning!

there were 3 dragons when the boat was sailing away, does that mean helaena has already claimed dreamfyre?

when rhaenyra and daemon started talking about getting married i was SO worried that i was going to see them engage in some not chill behavior together and kill laenor so i’m glad that didn’t happen.

i do have to respect this show for avoiding another bury your gays by having laenor fake his death but. uh. is anyone ever going to tell corlys and rhaenys that their son isn’t dead?

the valyrian wedding between daemon and rhaenyra was really cool but tbh i was kind of laughing at them passionately making out with tongue in front of their kids.

i say this every week but i am VERY excited for next week, looks like we’re in for even more family drama.

#pie says stuff #pie watches hotd #hotd #hotd spoilers #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen #alicent hightower #aemond targaryen #laenor velaryon #jacaerys velaryon #lucerys velaryon #viserys targaryen #larys strong #vhagar #helaena targaryen #baela targaryen #rhaena targaryen #why did i tag everyone. that is so many people #basically: love some good funeral drama this one was funnnnn

[bengiyo]

Cherry Magic TH Ep 1 Stray Thoughts

I'm excited to see Tay and New work together again, and glad they were selected as the ones to explore what GMMTV BL looks like between adults. I had some issues with the way the Japanese adaptation approached sex AND intimacy, so I'm hoping this one handles that differently.

I kinda like Newwie's hair, and I like the way they're contextualizing Achi's economic state.

Oh, good. We're keeping the bit where Adachi/Achibus bad at elevators.

Sing Harit!!

Tay is still just so beautiful.

Jan!!

Not surprised we're getting Japanese language and characters since this is a collaboration between GMMTV and TV Asahi.

I'm glad this show knows that Tay is a not-so-secret luxurious bitch.

Well, this gentleman from the Japanese office seems kind.

I like how much internal monologue we're getting from Achi before the magic starts.

GMMTV has asked me to believe that Newwie is a virgin twice within a year. This is a tall ask.

His first interaction with the power is being judged by a monk! Lol

Another scene on the Thai metro! What changed recently that we're finally filming there?

Elevator scene, my beloved, I'm glad they kept you.

Newwie has really improved over the years. He was really stiff in the beginning.

Hahah! They referenced the manga! I can draw comparison as much as I want now.

I like that Achi is hearing people think kind things about him as well, especially this senior.

Now why are they making Achi bring cake to Karan on Achi's own birthday? What do they know, and are they meddling?

Ah, Karan ordered it. They are facilitators!

I like Jinta. They ported the essence of Tsuge well with him.

That cat is so stressed. Cats are terrible actors.

Oh right! They cast Mark as the Thai version of Minato.

Okay, I like the way they're modulating the office dynamics for Thailand. The bit waiting for the boss to leave was good.

I kinda like the removal of Adachi's desk mats and having Achi stay late so Rock can meet his partner.

Oh wow we're getting to the overnight condo stay in the first episode.

Very glad Cherry Magic original means they're required to incorporate rain into the narrative. Also seems like they used the Sky train because Adachi had transportation struggles because of the schedule.

I lost it during the fantasy bit where Tay has to lower Newwie's big ass onto a bed.

Newwie looks great when he's wet and tired.

Oh my god they kept the pajamas moment!

Okay, I really loved this so far! This kept all of the things about the characters that I thought were really important while attuning them for the local taste. Really solid first episode. I'm having a lot of fun.

#cherry magic #cherry magic th #thai bl #bl series #Ben watches

[rocketturtle4]

Only Friends, Shipping Culture, Cross-Generational Differences, Themes and Endgame

Strap in, folks. This is a long one.

What finally pushed me to make this post was a very interesting discourse between @lurkingshan, @waitmyturtles, and @twig-tea here around the way this show has subverted norms to a lesser extent than first hoped and how the fans themselves, and the creator’s interactions with these fans, have impacted the creation and completion of the show, as well as the way themes built through the series may now feel less clear after the latest episode.

I wanted to offer my understanding and perspective because it differs somewhat, but it is also very much informed by this post and the larger Tumblr discourse around Only Friends and shipping culture that this show has sparked. I will note, for the record, that I have been much busier since about episode 5 of OF than I had been for the first episodes (or than I was for BMF), so I have missed a lot more of the fascinating discourse that this show has sparked than I would wish.

Let’s do this.

Shipping Culture

I had never heard of this before joining Tumblr this year (in May) despite watching 50 BLs before that, due to being completely disengaged from the actors as individuals prior to joining Tumblr, and while Tumblr has opened my eyes to how much fanservice is part of these people’s lives and jobs and the problems surrounding that phenomenon. I remain largely disengaged from the actors personally. I do not have Twitter, Tik Tok or Instagram, I rarely watch BTS and even my revelation that First is the most beautiful man ever to exist (and I say that as a person who is both aro and ace) has only got me to watch one First & Khao Armshare interview (The Eclipse one). I have also never purchased merch or event tickets so I am in fact, not a good fan in terms of profit making or engagement.

I do, however, love the shows an awful lot and may engage with BTS more once I have fewer things to watch…

All this to say is that my firsthand knowledge of such things is limited at best, but I am still here to say:

I think Only Friends is doing excellent things here, even if all the ‘couples’ end up together.

Is it burning them to the ground like so many hoped? No, but I have watched 47 Thai BLs at this stage and not many of them explored relationships beyond the pairs in any way, shape or form, and OF HAS DONE THAT.

Of our main six characters, NONE of them have only kissed their “other half.” They’ve literally all at least made out with one other person from the core six, and thus far Mew, Boston and Nick have ALSO kissed other people.

This is, in my humble opinion, A PRETTY BIG DEAL.

I am currently watching Not Me (for the first time, haven’t finished, no spoilers please), and I have been informed somewhat reliably that the original novel included a Gram/Black plotline that was cut/altered (to Gram/Eugene/Black love triangle), and I posit that was due in part because they couldn’t have Gun even KISSING Mond even if he was also kissing Off. Black and White would have been a great way to shift things even a little by having the branded pair be together while ALSO having half the brand with someone else at the SAME TIME. Can you imagine??

And yet as recently as 2021 that didn’t happen.

Sometimes change takes time and patience and I think OF is doing really good work, even if it doesn’t go as far as we might wish.

EVEN IF all our branded pairs end up together unsubverted (which is not what I am hoping for but EVEN IF), this show will have still begun paving the way for more varied storylines and pairings in shows

The Clash of Generational Lenses

Speaking of the end game, lets talk about a little thing called hope.

I had a very interesting discourse back around, hmmm episode 6, with @shouldiusemyname and @plantsarepeopletoo , about the sheer confusion I felt about Tumblr’s idea that every one of these characters should end up apart simply because they’d done bad things or something? (this is extremely generalized. I was missing a lot of nuance from both Tumblr and my own lens hence the unpacking then and now).

Now I went into this show fully prepared for this to end sadly and I largely viewed this expectation of  sad as everyone ending up broken up and alone. I don’t normally watch sad by choice, but I was willing to try this one because Jojo’s stories are SO beautifully compelling that I knew it would be worth the journey. I have watched Love of Siam (not Jojo but sad) and Gay Okay Bangkok (complicated), two very different shows reflective of their times and their creators and from the beginning, Only Friends did not feel like those (although the links to Gay Okay Bangkok and the exploration of real queer relationships has been fascinating and I am very glad I watched that one before OF).

So why was there this, almost prescribed hopelessness, being projected onto these very young characters who were just in the process of finding themselves? Why were these young people’s flaws and choices so linked to the idea that they would end up alone?

Now @shouldiusemyname told me the following (in the context of a much wider discourse):

Ahhh I like this cos this is something I take very much for granted and I think it’s a generational gap thing. This is a reaction to the way we were brought up (again generalizing cos sometimes it’s necessary). There was no alternative to monogamy and being queer meant that you can’t have that for 2 reasons: 1.    Law doesn’t allow 2.    Socially unacceptable cos being gay was seen as what kind of sex you were having as opposed to relationships. If you don’t have the gay sex, you’re not gay. This is also the reason for being anti het norm. We couldn’t have that so we needed to find the alternative and have ALL of it.

We were both generalizing A LOT, but this idea was MIND BLOWING to me at the time.

(For the record I am born late 1990s, Shouldiusemyname is born early 1980s (and Plantsarepeopletoo is born late 80s so we have variety covered lol!))

Because while, (as @waitmyturtles for example has pointed out on multiple occasions) the imposition of purity culture and monogamy on queer culture (and in general) is wrong, the idea that no queer people are desiring commitment or monogamy is also wrong. (I am not here suggesting that even in an ideal world where queer people TRULY HAD equal rights they would magically all want monogamous long-term relationships because that’s just not true. In addition hets regularly oppose the het norm as well, long-term monogamous relationships are unwanted by many of them).

I come from a strong biological background (which unequivocally supports more than two sexes and more than two genders, do not come back here and make this about that, got it!) and am currently doing a PhD in Palaeontology so a lot of my relationship understanding is informed by a wider understanding of breeding, monogamy and nonmonogamy in reproduction across the animal and plant kingdoms just by exposure (and yes reproduction in the plant kingdom is very much included, some plants have both male and female parts, it’s fascinating!). And monogamy is present in a hugely wide range of species, it’s not soley something humans came up with just because of religious norms. Addtionally, there is the development of consistent monogamous and/or committed polygamous relationships (historically, most commonly men with multiple wives) across a huge number of cultures throughout history largely for the fostering of children. Most of this influence has been more irrelevant for the queer community because of their inability to produce children in monogamous pairs*, and children are a huge sticking point for the NEED for long-term stable relationships. So, without this sticking point (combined with the aforementioned factors around law and discrimination), relationships are viewed as less permanent. Thus, I had to unpack my own casual assumptions that relationships normally have a long-term goal. (*Generalizing hugely, obviously there are lots of variations that can produce biological children without assistance, but these points most strongly apply to same-sex relationships)

For example, I find the way this plays out in a show like What Did You Eat Yesterday particularly fascinating, and have realized since starting Season 2 that I had missed a lot of this subtext in the first season because, to me, the idea that the central couple would stay and grow old together was a given. PARTLY because of monogamous cultural lenses, but ALSO because they loved each other and wanted to be together, so why wouldn’t they assume they would stay and grow old together?

I also realized that I am further sheltered in this mindset by not just my age but by the acceptance of my wider family of non-marriage as a concept (or even just not having to have children) as normal and okay. My Grandfather (in his 80s) is one of 10 children and has multiple siblings (my great uncles/aunts) who 1 never married or 2 married but chose never to have children. While I am not going to pretend that my uncles/aunts were never judged for such things, that judgment was NEVER part of my upbringing and we visited my single and/or childless great-uncles just as often as those with children.

I seem to have gotten sidetracked…What is the wider point I am making here?

Ah yes

Only Friends is so interesting because it’s shot like it’s set in the 80s & 90s, before the turn of the millennia, with so much homage paid to the queer stories and reality that the youth of this time grew up with. But the generational change that the last two decades or so have brought is inarguably huge, and so these characters, all born after the turn of the century, are not truly from the world that, in some ways, it looks like they’ve been placed into. @wen-kexing-apologist did an extremely comprehensive post about gay cruising culture and Boston that was extremely relevant to his character and the story being told, but it also was a specific throwback to something that is different in the 2020s. Not because people like Boston don’t exist, but because the turn of the century brought with it so many things that make this exact thing more complicated.

And OF has been showing us why! Surveillance, SO MUCH surveillance, every character has been recorded or recorded other characters or shared recordings of other characters, sometimes all of the above, and this surveillance does have a deep impact on the relationships today’s young people engage in! Not just the queer community but all young people of today are under near constant scrutiny and surveillance, and the young people born in the last couple decades have grown up like this, queer or not.

One last thing to mention here is the specific, observable, phenomenon that has been going on in Thailand, it is clear when you look at media like Love of Siam (2008) and compare it to ITSAY (2020) (which I haven’t even seen yet gah but I still know this is a great example). The phenomenon of BL, for all its flaws, has wrought change in the psyche and culture of the people of Thailand, ESPECIALLY the young people, and this is absolutely informing our six main characters views on relationships because they would have gone through high school with this as a major part of their culture.

Themes and Endgame: I Think Hope is the Point

All this draws me back into how I think OF will end, because it’s been at the heart of the show throughout, and that is hopefully, Only Friends will end hopefully.

Jojo has (I believe) stated outright that his primary goal for this show was to represent his community in truth, the messy non-het non-monogamy of queer youths in their 20s has been playing out across our screens, but the thing that has been keeping my attention riveted on Only Friends is the heart of it all.

The journeys of growth and discovery on this show have been magnificent. @thegalwhorants has been pointing out the intentional parallels of language this show has been using to highlight some of that growth, and that is just one very interesting fraction of the way this show has used words, music (@plantsarepeopletoo), colours, styles and more to represent the transformation characters are going through as they grow into themselves before our eyes.

A few very brief examples:

Mew’s switch to wearing Ray’s wardrobe when he is trying not to care but cares so much about Top.

Ray’s changed wardrobe to match the style Sand picked out for him even as he tried to choose Mew and couldn’t, because he’s already moved on, even when he couldn’t accept it.

Nick’s whole makeover to catch Boston’s attention later even catching Dan’s attention and the way that in that scene with Boston outside in ep10, Nick had returned to his shorts and t-shirt because he finally felt seen the way he sees Boston.

One’s sense of self is often built in part, around their relationships (family, friends, sexual and romantic), ESPECIALLY in collectivist cultures, and so much of our 20s involves growing and learning who you are through these relationships. I have seen arguing about toxic friendship groups and how they all need to just let each other go, and maybe that is the best endgame, I don’t know. Sometimes, growing together can be so much stronger, and sometimes, growing apart is the only way to move forward.

But these last two eps in particular (but honestly every moment of this show) have left me with the feeling that hope is the point. Because things HAVE changed, the world is moving and the things possible in 2023 are often utterly unthinkable to the youth of the 1980s, 1990s and before. The world is growing, acceptance and love have always been there but, surveillance or no, it’s so much easier to find now.

To be queer is no longer to be isolated, not in the way it once was, it is not a sentence of aloneness. Nor a stamp of irrevocable pain. Are things good now? HECK NO, you look at any statistic: homelessness, mental health, suicide rate, poverty; Being queer makes your life harder.

No matter how hard you try things might get worse and while that’s true for all people, queerness compounds that and often makes the consequences of your choices harder through isolation.

But the isolation is less now and I think OF wants to show that

You may do many things and sometimes these things will hurt no matter how careful you are, Not caring isn’t the point, Not feeling isn’t the point, God every character on this show feels so MUCH

This episode had moments of complete heartbreak

Complete regret

And complete Joy

And there is much more still to come

So when I think about endgame, I think about hope, and the lessening of isolation for all, and this does not mean 3 perfectly happy couples in perfect monogamous relationships wrapped up with a neat little bow, It means six individuals who have learned and grown through friendship and love, this may mean healed relationships, it may not, this may mean healed friendships, it may not. (It may mean Top, Mew and Boeing in a throuple but maybe I’m the only one hoping for that lol). We’ve clearly got more drama and pain to come but I am confident now that things will end with hope.

I do not know how Jojo and co will show that, but I trust them, and I can’t wait to find out.

#ofts #only friends the series #only friends #onlyft #rturts is wondering #only friends meta #ofts meta #roc goes haywire over only friends

[steveandbuckysdaughter]

Personal review regarding what if…? season 2 episode 8 (spoilers)

No ok, I must admit, the episode was good in some aspects.

Wanda was majestic. Loki and Scott were hilarious and I loved every single moment with them.

Thor was amazing, dark and serious out of loss but still enjoyable, and the crumbs of his relationship with Hela were very nice.

I’ve actually liked Tony for the very first time in my life, probably because I tend to like him a lot more in AUs and fanfictions than I do in the normal timeline.

And then… there were those two.

I will never comprehend why marvel wants Steve to be so dependent on Peggy. And I will never comprehend why, to make him interact with her, they have to destroy or sideline every other relationship he has built, or make his character flat.

Bucky being friends with Scott was amazing, but the fact that him and Steve interacted like two times was extremely disappointing. You’d expect “best friends in every universe”, if you dislike the romantic pairing so much, to acknowledge themselves for more than a few scenes, in only one of which they’re in frame together (Bucky was literally 😐 while his best friend disappeared, come on now).

And the storyline about Peggy coming from another world to save the universe was just… Mbah. It could’ve been executed in another way without including her and it still would have made sense. It really feels like a Y/N insert.

Seeing literally any other character was so good, so fun, and they had to ruin it this way, making Peggy once again the self insert and girlboss she didn’t need to be.

Plus, forgive my constant complaining, but it’s extremely infuriating how all of Steve’s friends were eliminated to put the focus solely on Peggy. Where’s Sam? Where’s Nat? Where’s Clint? It’s not an underrated friendship we’re talking about, a big chunk of the fandom loves the cap quartet or team cap, and after civil war it would have been nice to see them interact, especially after its popularity and popular demand. Outlaw team cap would have been glorious, a good chance to bring back many characters who aren’t here anymore in the right way, and involve characters that are rarely involved in What if in the storyline, for a change.

The treatment of Sam in this series particularly angers me, and even more so in this episode. I understand not involving him in other storylines, but Sam was a big part of CATWS and he wasn’t even in the episode centered on that film. What, because Steve met him while running he can’t be introduced in any other way? And oh, there’s no excuse for this episode. If there was one episode they could have placed Sam in, it was this one. Sam was there in infinity war, where the mess happened, and he should have been with the other avengers in this one.

If marvel wanted to involve someone from another universe so bad, it should have been a Captain America Sam from another universe. Can you imagine the poetry of seeing Steve and Nat again after endgame? Can you imagine having closure with them both, and having fun in the process? It would have been so great.

Another great storyline without involving characters from other universes would have been one where Steve, who touched the time stone, accidentally brought everyone in the past, and he was the only one to remember it. And to go back and prevent everyone’s distraction, he had to recruit the avengers, who don’t know him and don’t trust him but that in the end become his friends and companions. It would have been so interesting to see the original avengers involved in something different from being some side characters or extras in the one woman show that seems to be What if, constantly centered around the same bland, one dimensional reimagined side character. Peggy’s blandness is so obvious in these episodes (aside for some random remarks that made me smile) that literally everyone who’s involved directly with her must be bland like her, otherwise risking to overshadow her.

I don’t think I was supposed to cringe and look away as much as I did during Steggy’s forced scenes, but I did. If they had to force Steggy and Peggy down our throats, at least they could have done something different from the same bland and boring storyline as always. I wouldn’t be as mad as I am now if Peggy and Steve’s relationship wasn’t as bland. I would have preferred an enemies to lovers type of twist or change, where Steve doesn’t trust Peggy and struggles with her because he sees in her a different version of the Peggy that died in that universe. But noooo, god forbid, let’s go with the same old song.

An episode five or ten minutes longer with a better, avengers-centric or Steve-centric storyline would have been much better than what we got.

And given that this was my most anticipated episode, I was very disappointed by it. I hope for the next seasons, if there’s other ones, Marvel will listen to the general complaint regarding Peggy and will give her a break. I don’t think any of the original avengers or relevant MCU characters made as much appearances as Peggy, and being a main focus in four episodes out of nine is ridiculous.

#rant #anti what if #what if spoilers #what if season 2 #anti peggy carter #Steve rogers #pro steve rogers #Bucky Barnes #pro bucky barnes #Stucky #Sam Wilson #pro sam wilson #Sam Wilson is captain America #Natasha Romanoff #Clint Barton #the avengers #Tony stark #you will never catch me using this hashtag again so you better enjoy it #Wanda Maximoff #Thor odinson #Loki Laufeyson #Scott lang #episode review #I’m literally at a loss #they could have made the most glorious medieval au #instead they gave us one of those awful steggy fanfics written in ten minutes #anti steggy #mcu critical #Ross rants

[highfantasy-soul]

Things I LOVED in NATLA Episode 7 - The North

Lt Jee actually being worried for Zuko!!!!

And Iroh tenderly bandaging Zuko's head 🥺

Zuko desperate to make sure his father doesn’t truly think he's turned against him!!!!!

A FANTASTIC set-up for his eventual ACUTAL turn against his father

Zuko genuinely thanking Lt. Jee 😢

And aaggghhhh!!! Zhao being a tricky slimey mf

This is a slick way to get Zuko being blown up without the pirates - though they're fun characters, I think this set-up enhanced the themes they were exploring in the season more

TEAM AVATAR!!

So cute that Aang excitedly tells his friends he made a connection with Zuko - Sokka is unimpressed while Katara has hope that people can turn out to be good.

Agna Qel'a!!!!

It looks GORGEOUS! And love that it has a name now!!

Apparently it was given a name in one of the books, but they never did name it in the show, so I'm glad they did it here

I don't even care that they know it's the Avatar right off bat and they're ready to welcome them in - it was cool as shit flying over the city on Appa

Maybe they had scouts out that saw Appa flying and brought news to the city, same as the scouts who saw the Fire Nation fleet - I'll accept that

Them treating Aang like a weapon rather than a person 😡

It's something that comes up a lot in the series and I'm glad they aren't shying away from it

Lol Katara's sibling jibing at Sokka staring at Yue 🤣

I love these little sibling moments - they're just so cute

And Sokka now hard-core staring at the ground instead of at Yue because Katara said he looked like a weirdo doing that 😅

Zhao's overacting at how pissed he is 🤣

Then his 'omg I can yes and this. I can SO yes and this!' as Iroh tells him what he 'think's happened

Oooohhh Iroh's understated insults at Zhao's qualifications

And Zhao's comeback about no record of failure unlike Iroh😐 bitch, that still doesn't make you qualified!

More Azulaaa!!!!

I really love this added storyline to see exactly why Azula is the way she is

It's great to see that her place as next-in-line isn't a shoe-in here - she's desperate to show her father that 'she's the one' and will do anything to get there

Sokka's heart eyes 😍

Stewed sea prunes 😭😭😭

"It tastes like home" 😢

I like this intro to Pakku - like with Sokka, they're not doing a comical level of sexism, they're making it more realistic

YUE IS A BEEENNDDEERR!!!!!!

Also, using it for the most important things: dessert

Sokka's absolutely abysmal (bet very endearing) interaction attempts with Yue 😅

Her little fake gasps as he keeps saying the wrong thing, but smiling because she knows what he means, she's just teasing him 🥺 incredibly adorable

Love that they have a conversation that actually has substance!

Don't hate me, but in the cartoon, they never had a substantive conversation ONCE. It was just Sokka flirting, Yue giggling, then Yue freaking out and running away - rinse and repeat like, 5 times in the course of 3 episodes.

Omg Hahn isn't a dick!!!

I like the more mature tone they've taken in the live action - they can have jokes, but for serious topics like…idk, a battle against the Northern Water Tribe being genocided, they make the characters take it seriously

GOOOOODDDD the adults expecting Aang to be a master strategist and offensive weapon!!

This actually makes sense that they'd believe he could do it - Aang is the culmination of all the past Avatars, so they'd assume he has all their knowledge and power.

The poor kid just got out of his iceberg, though!!!

"Airbending is primarily a defensive discipline"

You tell them, Aang!!

"But you're not JUST an airbender" :( don't bring logic and reality into this, Arnook

"I did it with the help of my friends 😊"  sweet baby Aang

And here's Pakku, telling Aang what a lot of watchers were frustrated about this season: uuhh maybe you should have been focused on your training

While that's a legit comment, I think the live-action showed why Aang didn't pretty well

Love love LOVE that we're introduced to healing with respect rather than the distain it was shown in the animated series

Healing is a wonderful and beautiful skill and I'm glad we got to see Katara interested in it (and it being used) rather than Katara sadly moping into the igloo filled with children learning healing

Sometimes, when people try to make things less sexist, they end up making it more-so. I think that happened with the animated series where healing was actually put up in conflict with combat - where combat was clearly shown as the 'better' skill and healing was 'stupid and bad, we don’t want to do that'. The live-action showed that healing is an important and powerful skill, the only issue comes when you aren't ALLOWED to do anything else. Healing itself isn't the issue, the fact the women are kept from combat IS the issue.

Nice Hahn and Sokka fishing for info about Yue

Avatar Kuruk RESPECT!!!!

LOVE Yue getting more character here!

She can pop into the spirit world! It makes so much sense with her having part of the moon spirit inside her!

The live action fleshed her out soooo well!

Poor Sokka not understanding AT ALL why someone would want to go to the Spirit World for fun 😂

"Don't do that. Don't make it less than what it is"

Such an important message for EVERYONE. You don’t have to have the most tragic of backstories for your trauma to be important. This isn't the oppression olympics - we aren't doing the whole 'well someone else has it worse so you can't complain' bullshit.

Everyone has hurt in their lives and everyone deserves to have their hurt taken seriously and healed. It isn't 'strength' to pretend it's nothing - it's strength to face it and accept that it was important, not something to shove under the rug

Yue reminding Sokka about what makes him special - his care for his friends! He's not a selfish guy - just because he wasn't the best leader or warrior when he was 13 doesn't mean he has nothing to offer the world

"Hahn is everything a girl could want. But he is not the boy of my dreams" 😭😭😭

"Being the Avatar means being the one who bears the burden: alone."

The thing is: like in the animated version, this advice MAKES SENSE! But it's how you USE the advice that makes the difference

No, you can't put all the weight of responsibility on your friends, but neither can you do it without any help - or without caring for others. It's very much advice coming from pain: all the Avatars got hurt because they DIDN'T abandon their friends and so they're giving a skewed version of the advice onto Aang to try to spare him the pain they went through.

It's Aang's job to find the balance

Sokka's fish carving that Yue thinks is a bear 😭😭😭

I wanna see it, props department!!!!

Yeess!! Katara's first confrontation with Pakku!

I like how she still tries to lead with diplomacy, making her case, and Pakku has 'reasonable' excuses not to let her fight

Instead of him being cartoonishly sexist, he's much more realistic giving 'logical' reasons for Katara not to be in combat, but she stands up anyways because she knows it's wrong.

I can see how some might find Aang not wanting Katara to fight to be jarring, but this is in line with the animated series

When they're going into particularly dangerous missions, Aang does have a tendency to try to do it himself and tell Katara to sit this one out - he does it in The Winter Solstice: Part 2.

He's just been told a past life's love was killed because he didn't keep her out of his fight, he has no idea how he's going to win this battle, and he's realizing that he does see Katara as someone incredibly important to him. It's in line with who Aang is to try to keep her safe and away from the battle

Zhao coming up with nicknames for himself 😑

Iroh straight up calling Fire Nation 'info' propaganda!!

While some people could see this as 'treason', when you're in positions of power in high-control groups, you KNOW it's propaganda - you HELP CREATE the lies and when people are going to do something stupid (like attack the North without a solid plan), you let them know that they're being stupid if they're going to make battle plans based on the lies you've helped spread.

Zhao and his dumb bitch destiny 🙄 he's such a great villain - he's one who's bought into his own lies

"The plan is to prove my father wasn't wrong to trust me with this mission. The plan is to go in and capture the Avatar once and for all. The PLAN is to reclaim what is rightfully MINE!! 😤" - "So, no plan? 😐" - "I'm working on it uncle 🥺"

This exchange = gold. Pure gold.

"It's almost as if he's working for someone else - someone much smarter"

WOOOOWWW Iroh, throw that shade a little more, why don't ya 🤣

Though I LOVE that they're giving Azula her brainy due - she's smart and she's the one not to be underestimated.

AZULA'S LIGHTNING!!!!!!!

Love how she stood up to her father, but because she was able to 'prove' her strength, he respected it rather than punished it

"Set me loose" AAAAHHHHHHH

SUPPORTIVE BROTHER SOKKA!!!

Love how matter of fact Katara is "I'm going to challenge Pakku to fight" - just like that. She's decided, so it's going to happen.

Sokka admitting Katara was right 😭😭😭😭😭

"Who's talking sense? What I'm trying to say is: go kick his ass" FUCK YEAH THAT'S RIGHT!!!!

Aang trying to go forward and help Katara, but Sokka holds him back

Love the sibling solidarity!!

The fight is almost beat for beat the one from the animated series!!!

I love that the live action knew exactly which sequences to put in almost 1-1 from the animated - this fight being one of them

"Is that all you got?!?!" FUCK YEAH!!

"They'll just say I lost" "Did you?"

The fact that it wasn't just Pakku's opinion that would change everything - Katara's actions inspired everyone else, even if Pakku didn't want to change his decision.

Change isn't made by changing one man's mind - it's about standing up to them and inspiring others (like in the Imprisoned storyline) to stand up too

Even inspiring Aang to realize that the conclusion the other Avatars came to from their pain was wrong - that Katara was right and that EVERYONE gets to choose whether to fight or not for themselves

Avatars aren't the only ones who worry about protecting people - it's a human, family thing, not just a mystical force of balance thing

Only Aang can write his own story - not anyone else.

This is a great through-line for the whole series where everyone has expectations put on them and they have to decide themselves who they want to be

Don't eat the sooty snow, Momo!!!!!

"Ok, time to fight"

I like that we end on the fire nation ships arriving: next episode is going to be THE BATTLE

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

#natla #natla positivity #netflix avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar netflix #live action avatar #yue #sokka #katara #aang #iroh #zuko

[pumpkinpie59]

rating tmnt love interests for the turtles

under the cut ;)))

leonardo

radical / raven shadowheart - mirage

6/10

-she seems pretty okay, but i can’t tell how old she is.

-she’s only his love interest in a possible future, not in the main timeline, but she freaking dies in that future lol.

-i mean i think it has potential but there’s not much there. they seemed cute for what we got tho.

-prolly my second fav leo love interest but that’s not saying much.

leonardo’s wife - mirage

5/10

-from his side story vision or whatever

-kinda average bc they’re cute but she doesn’t exist :/

lotus blossom - 1987

100000000000000000/10

-idk what to say they’re my otp lmao

-objectively best romantic relationship leonardo has ever had.

-they’re mutually into each other, work off of each other well, even splinter likes lotus so leonardo’s dad approves!!

-only downside is lotus hasn’t been in anything since and i think that’s why i’m so salty that they paired leonardo with april in the new movie (kinda but i’ll get to that).

venus de milo - next mutation

-1000000/10

-what the.

-that scene was painful to watch holy cow.

-“we’re just a mutant guy and a mutant girl” *lip bite* -> she just wanted a family bro 😭

carmen - archie

?/10

-all i know is that it’s from a possible future and the wiki says they’re implied to be interested in each other but i don’t trust the wiki so i’m skeptical

-also it’s weird for leonardo to date his pupil

koya - idw

-1/10

-*explodes*

-bruh they have no chemistry and he literally crippled her and she hates him for it.

-this only exists for the bad future and i’ll stand by that.

karai - 2012

-1000000000000000/10

-it’s worse than venus bc they both have splinter’s genetics. they are blood related.

-also they’re cousins too.

-“tHeY’rE nOt rLLy reLaTed” okay even if they weren’t blood related, it’s still weird as hell to crush on an adopted or step sibling/cousin. family is family regardless. and in a kids show especially; tmnt shouldn’t be telling kids it’s okay to crush on your adopted/step sibling/cousin!!!!

-karai led leonardo on.

-it sucks bc if you drop the flirting and crush completely, leonardo and karai’s dynamic is really good for both their characters!! new girl in town is legit one of my fav episodes just for how it portrays leo’s conflict with himself as a brother and as a leader. and he and karai’s dynamic is very interesting as friends and/or siblings or cousins.

april o’neil - mutant mayhem

5/10

-i mean it’s just okay imo.

-leo’s crush is adorable and i like their dynamic a lot.

-i just don’t think april is into him romantically. but their friendship is great.

-i honestly want leonardo to move on and let them be good friends. but i don’t want it to be drawn out and excruciating.

-also i want lotus in a sequel or the tv show 😭

raphael

mona lisa - 1987

9/10

-okay so. if i’m being completely honest, in the show they’re not really romantic. she’s a bit flirty but their dynamic is mostly platonic. which isn’t a bad thing!

-i think as a romantic pairing, they wouldn’t get together for a long time, but i do like them as a couple.

-it’s one of those pairings where i like them as both a romantic couple and as best friends and they work for both equally!

-they’re funny i like them.

venus de milo - next mutation

-1000000/10

-oh yeah raphael liked her too …

-blegh.

umeko / ninjara - archie

2/10

-i’ll be real i do not care about ninjara.

-they broke up so it doesn’t even matter.

mezcaal - archie

6/10

-raphael’s wife from a possible future.

-they’re adorable. shout out to archie raphael for being the only turtle to canonically get married.

-he gives her head pats :3

joi reynard - 2003

8/10

-he asked her out how sweet :3

-i wish joi showed up more i would’ve loved to see them interact more

alopex - idw

3/10

-GIRL GET OUT OF THERE HES NOT GOOD FOR YOU

-she was tWELVE when they met

-he was sIXTEEN

-what the HECK.

-also he was so moody toward her several times ugh

y’gythgba / mona lisa - 2012

10/10

-there we go. the best raphael romance.

-idk they’re cute.

-my only issue is that their first episode together is badly paced and i just wish they had more episodes together. but that’s the issue with 2012 in general not just them specifically.

donatello

jhanna - mirage

9/10

-literally the same as 03 except not as much interaction between them, however, donatello did look much more smitten in mirage?? ig???

-but yeah i love jhannatello :3333333

irma - 1987

2/10

-does this. count?

-idk i only included it bc irma kinda flirts with him more than the others and they end up being closer friends compared to the other turtles.

-yeah no i really don’t think this should. be shipped gjdjfj

-she’s an adult. tho it is weird that she flirted with him but ig the writers forgot the implications 😭

-i could see ppl making her a love interest in a version where she’s a teenager too but otherwise noooooooo

-i like their friendship tho they’re funny.

((((also shout out to next mutation donatello for not flirting with his sister so i don’t have to include her lol))))

jhanna - 2003

10/10

-my belovedssssss

-idc that it’s only implied I LOVE THEIR DYNAMIC

-i ship them so hard.

-they have more screentime together in 03 which is why i like it more than mirage.

-also they slept side by side so obviously it’s canon duhhh

renet - 2003

6/10

-included cause some ppl think they were a thing

-they’re cute ngl

-i think maybe they were into each other for a bit but it didn’t work out bc time travel romances don’t work

april o’neil - 2003

2/10

-donatello kinda had a crush on her but thank God it didn’t go anywhere.

-yeah no thanks lol.

-love their friendship tho they bestiessss

mona lisa - idw

1/10

-why is mona a jerk in idw smh

-i’ve already talked about this but yeah i do not like their situationship at all.

-give him jhanna i’m begging fjdjfjdk

april o’neil - 2012

9/10

-yES I RANKED THEM THAT HIGH SHUT UP

-only turtle x april ship i like; otherwise i’m a jhannatello stan

-keep in mind i only rlly “ship” them in season 4 onwards

-season 1 to 3 was their messy phase and they needed to grow up before they got together

-they were totally dating in season 5 fIGHT ME

-they’re idiots and i love them

bigfoot - 2012

-1/10

-fjdkdkskfjskkdjdksdj

-thanks to my sister for making me add this

-yeah what the.

tbh i don’t count batgirl hhh

michelangelo

princess seri - mirage

1/10

-what in the soap opera—

-no bc she seduced him, had his babies, sent him to jail, and left him there when he called out for help; he was justified to hate her

-the way this plotpoint gets dropped and never mentioned again LMAO

-mikey is the only turtle with canon kids 💀

kala - 1987

10/10

-the best michelangelo ship bite me

-THEYRE SO PURE

-the way he looked after her when they first met 😭

-their cute flirting fjskfjdkdk

-i love them

buffy shellhammer - 1987

4/10

-she’s annoying but she’s capable of handling herself so i like her lol

-but michelangelo liking her was super random and was only there bc the episode was a copy of the transformers g1 episode where powerglide falls for a human girl. i’m not joking both episodes were written by david wise and have the same plotpoints.

-“main flame” my butt michelangelo

-maybe he crushed on her bc kala being in an alternate dimension and near impossible to contact made him feel like it was never gonna work or something … that’s so sad omigosh

-leonardo of all ppl telling him it wouldn’t work bc she’s a human is hilarious tho. like boy lotus blossom is into you too and you know this lmao

mitsu - 3rd 90s movie

3/10

-i haven’t seen this movie, but i don’t like time travel romances.

venus de milo - next mutation

-1000000/10

-pls end me

sara hill / horridus - image

3/10

-… tbh i don’t like hook-up dynamics … it’s not romantic to me …

-also idc if a character is curvy but the girls in image comics are drawn so badly like they have no spine,,, just boobs and butt 💀

princess trib - idw

9/10

-finally a good mikey ship

-THEYRE ADORABLE

-the purest idw couple fr

-they’re just sweet to each other and encouraging and gahhhh

-mikey wanted to show her his manga collection to impress her and i think that’s funny

-it is kinda weird that trib is based on tribble from 1987,,, aka the neutrino baby … but whatever lol

renet - 2012

7/10

-i mean y’know whatever they’re cute

-it’s still a time travel romance which is … mehhh for me

-like it’s sad bc i don’t see it working out unless renet quits her timestress job …

shinigami - 2012

4/10

-pls they’re just friends.

-there’s no reason to make the turtles crush on every single girl character in the show 😭

april o’neil - bayverse movies

2/10

-end my suffering.

-making april pretend to think it’s funny was also cringe. like make her tell him to stop pls.

lemme know if i missed one ….

#tmnt #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 1987 #tmnt 2003 #tmnt mirage #tmnt image #tmnt archie #tmnt idw #tmnt bayverse #tmnt 90s #tmnt next mutation #tmnt mutant mayhem #pumpkin stuff #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt donatello #tmnt michelangelo

[leonardalphachurch]

saw the question of “how long does it take rvb to pass the bechdel test” and i got curious and also wanted to make myself mad so.

my answer is Reconstruction: Chapter 5 (s6e5). there’s a recorded conversation between sheila and tex about the ship crashing.

my answer with no caveats is Evacuation Plan (s9e4). carolina, 479er, filss and south all participate in a conversation that takes up a good chunk of the episode.

i talk a LOT more about the state of female character interactions under the cut.

the first time two women talk at all is s2e11/bgc30:

sheila bisexual moments. while iconic, this isn’t much of a conversation (tex doesn’t ever speak to her) and it’s certainly about a man so. doesn’t count. next!

next is s3e1/bgc39:

while here it’s implied that they are actually having a conversation at least we still don’t actually see any exchanges between them and they’re still talking about men and quote “Boring stuff like oppression, and a hostile work environment.” which is great but. a) we don’t see it. and b) again, still about men

next is tex and kai’s exchange in season 5. which is misogynistic as fuck and even if it did pass the bechdel test i would refuse to count it. but guess what! not only are they talking about men, but we literally do not see them talk to each other. kai speaks to tex “who’s o’malley?” but tex doesn’t respond to her, instead asking the guys “who’s the girl?” (s5e10/bgc92). then they talk in the background of the next episode while church and tucker are misogynistic. then it’s two more episodes until we get this gem

y’know, girl stuff! how fucking charming. these writers really have a great grasp on how woman act. god, it’s even worse when compared to tex and sheila’s conversation earlier. in what world would tex be fucking intimidated by kai.

and you know what the joke of this all is. even if they did have a conversation here that passed the bechdel test it still wouldn’t count under some rule sets because kai still doesn’t have a name at this point. great work team.

s5e15/bgc92 has a deleted scene where kai calls up a girl friend and they talk… i’m not counting it because 1) kai is as of yet unnamed and the girl friend is never named, 2) the conversation is ostensibly about junior, though they do talk about other stuff enough that you could argue it’s not about a man, but 3) it’s deleted. you don’t get credit for shit you deleted.

next time two women talk to each other is recovery one episode 4. this is the first time we see two women have an actual, back and forth conversation. the conversation is between south and commamd about wash, delta, and the fact that south isn’t rejoining freelancer. i do think this conversation fits the spirit of the bechdel test (two women talking to each other with deeper characterizations unmoored from being about men) but that’s only really by technicality. command isn’t a character here and doesn’t become one for another 4 seasons; the conversation is only retroactively a deeper one. it’s up to you whether or not you pass it. i think it’s important to remember that the bechdel test isn’t really a hard test to determine what’s feminist (and was made in the first place to be about queer women being able to see themselves in media) but rather a marker to help sort out if the female characters in a work are allowed any depth outside of men. this exercise is less about finding a scene fitting exact criteria and more about. me going oh god it really is fucking bad out there huh.

my actual pick, as i said in the beginning, is s6e5. though tex mentions gamma and the aliens, the conversation is still about the fact that the ship is crashing. and in terms of the spirit of the test, two women yelling at each other as they die definitely fits definitely fits “deeper character motivations outside of men” imo. it’s. kind of really sad though. the first time we ever see tex and sheila have an actual conversation is the last time we really see either of them, chronologically. we only got to see them have a relationship as they were dying. why couldn’t they have been friends in life.

if a recorded conversation isn’t good enough for you, you’ll have to wait until s8e15. season 7 does not have a single woman in it. tεx and filss talk about pfl’s files. it’s not exactly an in depth back and forth and the conversation is shared with simmons and church but. it’s something. i think sheila and tex’s convo fits the spirit of the test a bit more but. let’s chalk it up to two conversations in the 8 seasons. fantastic.

all right, season 9 time. come on, a third of the main cast is women! that’s gotta bring our numbers up, right?

episode 1? no. 2? no. 3?

incredible! we have a conversation between female operative and pilot! just kidding. the wiki doesn’t name them bc they haven’t been named yet, but this is a conversation between carolina and niner! no funny business! just an actual conversation between woman! wow. only took us nine seasons to get to a point where i can confidently say something passes the bechdel test with no caveats. unless we look at the 60 second rule. then. oops.

but… wow! episode 4 has… THREE women? talking to each other? and then a fourth joins in? i thought it was a myth! being able to handle so many women on screen at once… they really did something special here. anyway, this episode is the first to pass with flying colors. i can’t time shut bc i don’t have the videos on hand but i’m certain this passes the 60 second mark. great work! if only it didn’t take you nine years to get to this point.

ugh. i had more written past this point but tumblr erased it and i don’t feel like fucking redoing it. i got to the point i wanted to so. maybe i’ll continue this later. would like to explore the rest of pfl and chorus. it’s impressive how well pfl manages to avoid having women actually speak to each other. they’ll literally be in the same conversation but never actually address each other. this happens multiple times.

#rvb #red vs blue #analysis

[brekwrites]

Wassup, I hear you like screaming about Solar from tSaMs, I am here to get my ear drums busted :D

I will gladly talk about Solar with you, I am somewhat new to tumblr (been here a while only started posting today) so I’m tryna engage with other artists and creators, and get my ass out of the corner.

I also really like your fan fictions! Keep up the good work :)

Hi!!!!

Yea I love Solar he's like. The guy ever. I could scream about a lot of Solar-related things, but at the current moment I'm thinking about how his relationships are with the other characters. This got long, so I'm sticking it under the cut.

Like, I wanna see more of him and Sun interacting and some sort of evidence that his feelings toward Sun are complicated by his grief surrounding his own Sun. I'd like to see some 'you're stuck in a body that's really similar to mine, I know how my own model works, let me help' solidarity between them as well.

I wanna see how his experiences with his own Moon affect his interactions with New Moon. I feel like he's remained calm in the face of quite a few of Moon's outbursts, which is interesting to me. Is he used to them? Is he freaking out a bit, but shutting down (bc that's totally a response he seems to have to stressful situations)? Is the time he spends with New Moon healing for him in a way that's similar to when Lunar spends time with him? I'd also love to see Moon provide some support and comfort for him, since it's been established he does the same for Moon. At the same time, there are times when he and Moon start to feed off of each other in a way that's not great, and I want to see more of that too.

I feel like it's been established that it was good for Lunar to spend time with Solar and that he sees him and Eclipse as definitively separate people now. Also, we know that Solar was lonely in his own universe and deeply hurt when he learned Lunar was gone. I wanna see a bit more of Solar's struggle with being one of the few good Eclipses, and I feel like that could be explored through his relationship with Lunar (if Lunar could focus on something other than his own issues for more than a few seconds). Does he feel like it's only a matter of time before he does something unforgivable? Is he constantly making an effort to prove that he's still good, still trustworthy, and it's still safe to keep him around? Is he ever afraid that if he slips up, even a little, they'll send him back to his dimension to be alone? We know a big part of Eclipse's issues stem from abandonment, and I feel like that definitely applies to Solar as well. I wanna see him sink his claws into his new family and refuse to let go because he feels like every good thing he has is taken from him eventually. I wanna see him be willing to fight to keep what he's worked so hard for.

It's really interesting for me to see Solar's interactions with Earth because she's such an open person, in contrast to the way he closes himself off. We know he was lonely in his old dimension, we know he's probably starved for approval and affection and kindness, but whenever Earth offers it he shies away. He admitted to feeling left out and wanting to spend more time with her and Lunar, but he was very blunt and matter-of-fact when he said it. Earth has tried to talk to him about his feelings, but he shut down and barely responded. But we know he wants to be more open and closer to her, because he agreed to learn to knit with her, agreed to make a new body for her, laughs and jokes with her, and hugged her back when she hugged him. He also looks up to her, which we saw in the recent ep where he tried to mediate between her and Lunar. It didn't go well, but that was his way of showing he cared about them both and wanted to help them work it out. Finally, I know they needed another person to play Frank in the Christmas episode, but Solar's hasty exit and comments about how he didn't know how to handle the interaction had me like GRRRRRR. YOU SHOULD EXPLORE THAT MORE DEEPLY MY GUY! And cry about it, maybe.

Also, with Eclipse coming back? I wanna see them talk more! I wanna see Solar be like, "I see right through you, actually. You're a sad, lonely, piece of shit. I know because that's how I feel, sometimes." I want Solar to see what he could have been and feel things about it. I want Eclipse to see what he could have been, what he could have had, and feel things about it.

Like idk it's just so fun to stick Solar together in a room with another character in literally any context. I like the canon concept of him joining the family, I like AUs where he gets together with Moon, and I also like AUs where he gets together with Sun. Fuck it, maybe I'll ship him with Eclipse too. Or Ruin. Or KC. I literally do not care as long as I get to put him in situations and see what he does. I want to study him like a little bug under a magnifying glass.

Anyways... I like Solar lmao. Thank you for sending me an ask! :)

#tsams #sams #sun and moon show #tsams solar #sams solar #meblog #answeredask