#or have an interesting enough dynamic i can stay invested

[catmask]

the 'all marriage is gay as far as im concerned' except its me watching a man and woman character in a show i like and accidentally saying 'theyre so gay' because i literally forget thats not the word for romance because to me all romance is gay

#normally i find the way m/f pairings are written to be really frustrating #not because its like 'i hate straight people' or whatever i literally just want them to actually like each other and communicate #or have an interesting enough dynamic i can stay invested #also i am bisexual and m/f pairings can be nice. but liek they actually have to Be Nice and like eachother or be funny at the very least #txt #scratchpost

[yamujiburo]

Why I Love Hanamusa

I get this question very frequently but have never given a really in depth, definitive answer. All just kinda implied through my comics and spread out asks. So here's this I guess! Long post ahead:

First, as a Pokémon fan in her mid 20s, I love seeing a ship where the characters are both in their mid/late 20s. Already, they’re much more relatable to me and my current experiences. Most Pokémon ships are between preteens, which can be cute but ultimately don’t interest me as much as they used to when I was a kid myself. Not enough to get super invested in and draw a lot of fanart for anyways haha.

I’ll also start by saying that canon doesn’t always influence whether or not I’ll ship something. I’m much more drawn to potential. Could the characters work together? Do their personalities work together in a nice way? I feel like this so much of fanon is anyways. Especially with queer relationships because they’re rarely depicted in the first place. A lot of the context for these ships is usually up to the fans to piece together or make up in general. And that’s the fun part to me!

Jessie and Delia have only met in the anime a handful of times. Any interaction they’ve had has either been pleasant, or just a typical Team Rocket interaction, with Delia dismissing them/not seeing them as a threat. Already a great jumping off point for me since, truly, they don’t have any actual beef or true, ill feelings towards each other. It’s not TOO out of the realm of possibility for them to potentially fall for each other. “But Jessie chased Delia’s son around trying to steal his Pokémon!” That’s where that dismissive and aloof attitude that Delia has comes into play. I’ll go more into Delia’s whole deal a bit later but I do think this aspect of her personality is a large reason why this ship can work. It’s not that she doesn’t care that Jessie has a bad past, but she can tell that, on the inside, Jessie’s a good person. And, in a scenario where Jessie is trying to become a better person, is forgiving enough to give her a shot. I feel like this is such a solid foundation for a ship. A character who has done wrong but is trying to be better and another character who is willing to help them be better. A classic dynamic!

It’s not just one-sided though; where Jessie is the only one benefitting and learning from the relationship. I believe Delia could get a lot out of being with someone like Jessie. To understand why, I think it’s important to know these characters’ respective backstories.

Jessie is an orphan/foster child who grew up in poverty. Her mother Miyamoto (from The Birth of Mewtwo) was a Team Rocket operative herself, who went on a mission to find Mew. In order to do this, she had to leave Jessie when she was just a toddler. Unfortunately, Miyamoto went MIA on her mission leaving Jessie to more or less fend for herself. Jessie went through life with zero stability, evident by her MANY different careers and constant moving around. It’s implied in the show that she went from foster home to foster home, and later in life tried being an idol, weather girl, florist, wine connoisseur, actress, most notably a nurse and finally a Team Rocket field agent. And even while in Team Rocket, she, James and Meowth were always doing odd jobs to get by. We see that Jessie used to be a sweet kid, and even adult, but the world and her circumstances repeatedly did her dirty, leading her to become the character we know today. Hot tempered, mean, selfish, etc. But despite this, her soft side does still shine through for the people and Pokémon she cares about. She is incredibly loyal.

Delia, unbeknownst to a lot of fans, also had a rough past (see Pocket Monsters: The Animation). Like Jessie, she had a lot of dreams and aspirations like wanting to be a model and even a trainer. But when she was 10, her mother didn’t let her, telling her that she had to stay home and learn to run the family restaurant (she’s an only child). Delia’s father left her and her mother to be a trainer, and never returned. When she was 18, she married Ash’s father and became pregnant shortly after. But right after Ash was born, he also set off to be a Pokémon trainer. And soon after that, her mother passed away, leaving Delia with just the restaurant and baby Ash. This gives so much context to Delia’s attitude in the show. We see that Delia is pained whenever Ash leaves on a journey, but she never shows that pain to anyone. ESPECIALLY Ash. She’s very quick to shoo him off when he shows any sign of wanting to go on another journey and even when he returns home, she acts more excited to see Pikachu than him almost every time. Without all this backstory, it’s easy to just read this as a funny gag, BUT with context, I think it really shows how quickly Delia shuts down and detaches in order to not confront her own feelings. She’s afraid of losing people and getting hurt again.

All that said, I think Jessie and Delia provide each other with EXACTLY what the other needs. 

Aside from becoming rich and famous, Jessie’s biggest aspiration is to get married. In my opinion, this is more so an underlying want for love and stability. There is no one more stable in the show than Delia. Delia’s lived in Pallet her whole life, she’s worked at the same restaurant since she was young and she is always there when Ash comes back home. She has all the love, patience and stability Jessie needs and craves. While forgiving, Delia’s not stupid and can keep Jessie in check. Delia’s also just an angel, which I feel, would make Jessie want to be better. And on top of all this, on more of a surface level, Delia’s a chef and excellent cook. She shows love through cooking and Jessie, who grew up poor, regularly starving and eating snow, happily receives that love. Jessie’s able to live a happy and healthy life with someone like Delia.

Delia, as stated, is very stable. Likely pretty monotonous and solitary, especially living in such a small town like Pallet. This isn’t a bad thing but it’s a little sad when you consider that Delia also had dreams of traveling, being a model and a trainer. She had to give up so many dreams in order to fulfill her duties as a restaurant owner and mother. And even now, when Ash is off on his journey, she feels the need to always be home and be that stable pillar, leaving behind any ambitions she had, thinking it’s too late for her (she’s only 29 btw). But then along comes Jessie, dangerous, passionate, an absolute firecracker. Someone who’s whole life has been about chasing dreams and either, never giving up on them or finding a new dream to chase. Upon learning about Delia’s past aspirations, I could see Jessie pushing her towards them, letting her know that life’s too short and she has nothing to lose from trying. On top of this, Jessie’s also loyal. She, James and Meowth are depicted as doing anything for anyone who gives them food or shows them kindness. Delia does both so there’s no way Jessie would leave her. This fulfills an essential need for Delia, who is afraid of the people in her life leaving her.

There’s so much potential for mutual growth and learning between these two and I adore that. They compliment each other, they help each other and they bring out the best qualities in one another.

I’m not really sure how to end this and I could truly talk about them even more but I don’t want this to be tooooo long haha. OH I could end it with maybe the most funny aspect of this ship that I've brushed over and also what drew me to it in the first place. Jessie. As Ash’s stepmom. THE END.

#hanamusa #hanamusashipping

[ooc-themis-cattails]

Can I just say how much I appreciate the diversity of ace identities in ISAT and all the detail about it?

(spoilers ahoy)

I love how at first Sif sees the porn scroll as "people doing fun things" but later admits it doesn't interest them at all. Their first response is to say what they know they're "supposed" to think it is, what everyone else is probably going to think it is. But then they learn that it's really ok to admit that they're not into it.

At first Sif is like "why does Beau like me?" but after a while they start to find him cute because they understand the emotion behind his feelings, and while they're not sure if they can actually take it as far as a sexual relationship, they're interested in figuring it out, because for them, that doesn't gross them out, it's just not a drive. This is so relatable to me and I love seeing it bc it's not the typical ace in fiction where like, this character is ace so we mustn't put them in a ship because we should assume it'd gross them out. Sif can be ace but not entirely horrified by sex, and Sif may be romantic (I don't know if even Sif knows whether they are romantic or not)-- I suspect they are demiromantic because it's the intimacy and familiarity of Beau's emotions that makes them start to feel things about the moment by the tree, to the point where they miss it when he doesn't try.

Mirabelle going through the dating service papers is the most wonderful scene because this is what it was like to be ace when I was in my early twenties. Most people didn't know it was a thing, and friends/family were very helpfully concerned that you should find a partner in order to not be alone, because the theory was that it was a basic human need for everyone. I did exactly what Mirabelle did, and had the same kind of reaction: "I have to pick one of these people to try dating because I have to figure out how to be sexually interested in someone so that I can do the whole partnership thing that everyone says you need to do in order to have a fulfilling adult life." Looking at pictures of people trying to figure out how to be attracted to them, or what you like, when the answer is really that you're just Not. And you're kind of torn because some part of you knows that this isn't going to work, but the other part of you legit believes that it's like staying hydrated, you have to do it for your own good even if you're not thirsty.

Mirabelle's being into fictional romance and shipping, just not into doing it herself, is also such a good detail. I'm not aro so I can't speak to that myself, but still, it's a thing. She's emotionally invested in the dynamics between people, she loves watching the details of how they play out, and that's completely separate from ever wanting to do it herself. I've seen it in others and I definitely get that from the perspective of an ace person reading smut-- you can very much enjoy a dynamic without wanting to BE in the dynamic yourself.

Sif coming to understand how attraction works from the outside: "Wait, you can't choose who you get a crush on? That explains so much!" The line made me wince because it's so self-deprecating-- they're probably thinking they're not good enough for Beau-- but I also very much appreciate the realism of how... nobody explains to you how attraction works because they assume you know what it's like, and you probably don't ask because it's embarrassing if they assume that you're an immature late bloomer with no experience of the world, rather than someone who will never have a libido no matter what they've seen. It's so easy to feel infantilized or to infantilize yourself if you're not comfortable with your ace identity. Both Mirabelle and Sif are young enough that they struggle a bit with whether this is really their identity or whether they've just not figured it out yet. In reality, at their age, this probably IS who they are. But they're also a bit hesitant to rule it out because it's really hard to know that you are NOT something, and (given that Mirabelle hadn't really considered the possibility that she's aroace) the culture doesn't seem to have a lot of representation or support for the idea. It's obvious to the player, well, if this is how they feel, then they're ace! But neither one of them can quite settle on that for sure. Because, unlike being attracted to someone where you can go "well that sure did happen", being not attracted to someone is a nonproof. So Mirabelle keeps trying, and Sif doesn't know that their reaction will seem valid to others (as evidenced by the change in how they describe the scroll). Odile, who is aro and who seems to be not entirely ace but isn't exactly the thirstiest plant in the garden, has a different position. She seems to pretty much know where she's at, which makes sense for her age, but we can't really tell if she's always been okay with it or if it's been an issue. We don't know if Ka Bu is a more uptight culture, or how long society has been normalizing non-hetero identities, but we do know she had no female role models, so if any of this heteronormative business was an issue, I imagine it contributed a lot to her feeling of outsiderness. I'd love to know more about how Odile's sexuality impacted her life but she's obviously not about to infodump it on a bunch of 20 year olds, so it remains a mystery. Nonetheless it's pretty great that there's an older aro character, illustrating that people have always been this way, it's just easier for young people to discover it now because they feel more allowed to not be heterosexual. [eta: @butterflyknifepoisoning reminded me that I've misremembered this and Odile isn't actually aro, she's had hatecrushes before and explained them to Mirabelle. Which I kind of sort of remember now! Not sure why I thought she was aro, my memory is crap sometimes. It's still a far cry from yamato nadeshiko, but yeah. Point taken]

...In the end, I find it extremely refreshing that there's a whole RPG party here and only ONE of them experiences sexual attraction, and it's a flamboyant gay-seeming dude with a poorly-kept-secret crush on an enby they/he. ISAT is so cool, it's the best aroace representation I have seen in fiction so far ever.

#isat #in stars and time #ace spec #ace representation

[k-s-morgan]

Hello! Could you please talk about Bedelia’s feelings regarding hannibal and her dynamic with him? it’s not just professional curiosity and we know she has some darkness but not like him or Will. So why is she so invested in hannibal? Going willingly with him to Europe, presumably sleeping with him and even goading him into killing and eating Will. She had already skipped town once and acknowledge he was dangerous, so why not stay as far away as possible?

Hi - sure!

I think Bedelia has a very high self-esteem and a painfully strong sense of curiosity, plus some darkness that she prefers to keep dormant. She always knew that Hannibal is dangerous, but she still continued therapy with him, genuinely trying to understand him, too fascinated to back off. She says she tried to refer him to another doctor, but based on their interactions, she truly enjoys sessions with him, likely because she feels in control. In S1, when Hannibal reaches out, she backs away, never letting him close but keeping him interested enough to keep him coming to see her. It's like she's playing a game of her own, getting to know this unique man in a person suit, understanding she's the only one he can more or less confide in, and enjoying her power. But the balance begins to shift when Will appears and when Bedelia realizes she underestimated the depth of Hannibal's depravity. Hannibal is focused on Will entirely now, he doesn't need Bedelia all that much, and she doesn't like it because losing Hannibal's interest means becoming disposable. As she sees more and more of the real Hannibal, she freaks out and runs.

Another shift comes when she sees him after Mizumono and agrees to escape with him. Bedelia thinks she holds control again: Will is gone, Hannibal is a wreck who desperately needs council, and she feels confident about her own importance. Hannibal tells her, "I never found you to be lacking," which she likely takes as a certainty that she's never been disposable, after all. In that shower scene, it's obvious how she gradually relaxes and becomes lazily arrogant. She thinks she can step forward now, getting to know Hannibal even better, behind the veil, being the one who'll gather the pieces of him, and also satisfying her curiosity along with a morbid and mostly latent fascination with darkness, as well as basking in knowledge that someone as dangerous and unique as Hannibal needs her.

All these motivations are gone as soon as she understands that Hannibal is not only not over Will but that he's also casually planning to kill her (in E1 of S3). She didn't expect it, based on her reaction, at least not this soon. That's where Bedelia starts another game with the aim to survive. Trying to get Hannibal to focus entirely on Will is the strategy she considers winning because Will is the only thing she can genuinely distract him with from his plans about her. If Hannibal is busy hunting Will, probably killing him and then destroying himself over it, she will have more chances of escaping to safety unnoticed.

Here is another post about Bedelia and her dynamic with Hannibal that you might be interested in. It focuses more on S3.

#hannibal #bedelia du maurier #hannigram #hannibal lecter

[myobsessionsspace]

Looking at jikook's behaviour especially from the last 2-3 years, it's apparent that they are pretty inseparable. From spending a lot of time with each other during pandemic to ptd times and then flash forward - enlisting together.

Even when Jimin was busy for his album, it was very apparent that jungkook missed him, inviting him multiple times too.

Even though people think they didn't meet up in 2023, it soon became obvious that they did, because they can't just 'not be close ' and suddenly enlist together.

Whatever they are to each other, I'm seeing a pattern of a (almost extreme) dependency. Which makes me think that we might be seeing this behaviour from them even in future, after MS.

Please don't get me wrong, I don't claim them to be dating each other. Because who really knows? But this absolute dependency they have on each other makes me think how would they navigate if they ever have an official public relationship with different partners.

Now hypothetically, can you imagine Jungkook in the same room ( let's say a couch) with a gf and Jimin? We know his whole attention and physical body language changes around Jimin. How would a gf feel with a boyfriend who's more attentive to his guy friend than to her?

( I'm assuming gf because it's hard to come out with a same gender partner in S Korea)

Hello lovely!

Thank you for the ask, I’m gonna answer it in two parts, one about their ‘codependency’ and two about a hypothetical girlfriend being added to their dynamic.😉

Jikook Close Enough Orr Too Close?

Yes they’re close, the closest, the I am you, you are me duo. It’s insane those that believe them to be their favourites still deny this, from early days until now. They work together and play together 

I’m so grateful they have each other to push each other, like when they stay after to practice together or like when one give the other vocal help.

I’m also happy that they *like* each other, they like cooking together, watching movies together, going to concerts, ice skating, restaurants and escape rooms together. 

Like the rest of us we saw times in chapter two when one really missed the other, when one was worried about the other over working themselves, when one wanted to eat chicken, go live or box together. 

BUT they have also done well with all the constraints of idol life and being in THE biggest  global group with their hectic and publicised life to have cultivated a life outside of the group and of each other (well not completely).

Jikook have their own interests, hobbies, homes, family and friends. We’ve been able to spot Jimin travel the world with friends, go to shows with friends, relax at home alone etc.

Jungkook, I find due to his introversion, has always been more of the homebody out of the two (I can always give example of his well documented introversion if asked 😉) however he’s actually come a long way in recent years. More than just staying in and gaming all of his free time away, in addition to with Jimin, he also has been spending more quality time with his friends, spending time on his hobbies, going on meat tours etc.

The two are able to not be around each other 24/7 and still have full lives, Jungkook is still deep down an introvert and if not out with a select few close friends would rather enjoy himself at home, one of the bonuses of that for us is that he can feel no issue with being on live whilst enjoying being with himself at home, over a decade of sharing his life on the camera with ARMY has allowed us that window. 

Jikook like each other and like spending time with each other but they also show maturity in making sure they invest time into themselves, into their other friends, sometimes these friends even overlap, because who says they have to keep each other separate from other aspects of their lives?

They compliment each other and are doing a good job of it. If we do see them as together, they work together AND see each other and after all these years still like each other?! They’ve got a balance that seems to work for them. They’re able to still dedicate time to the other members, even when it seems like they’re constantly in a Jikook bubble.

Yes we may get more Jikook jikooking, but with the added public understanding that they went through 18 months of life changing, unforgettable, intense comrade bonding.

But I’m not worried about them after their service, the days of 'unhinged, bold and reckless' fetus jikook are mostly gone, they know when to push the envelope and when not to. They’re not new to this, they’re true to this 💪

Jimin & Jungkook plus a ‘She’

With this, I think of it as if either Jimin or Jungkook had a girlfriend, cos why just Jungkook with Jimin being the third wheel, hmmm👀? Jiminie has given us a lot of queer coding, he’s been literally painted the bisexual flag.

Bi-erasure is real y'all 😪

Jimin could also be the one in this hypothetical scenario, as much or maybe even more than Jungkook, when it comes to a girlfriend in the mix. 

Before getting to the woman, It actually would say more to how f*ck*d up Jikook themselves would be as her boyfriend, getting involved with a woman and bringing them around the other to act like that around her. Those aren’t the type of men I could be fans of ☹️

It would actually say more about them as people to add an unsuspecting woman into the mix of a bond that allows for many questions as to the nature of it. Why would either one of them even do that to even have this scenario occur?? We know they aren’t heartless a**holes but even this fake scenario makes me upset for the third party 😭

On the hypothetical girlfriend side…to be honest it is possible with the dynamic that Jikook have, for a girlfriend to join them and them still have their bond continue with some adjustments.

It would have to be a special sort of woman, confident in herself, in her differences to either of them. She wouldn’t be a carbon copy of Jimin or Jungkook, she would have to be someone who has qualities not found in Jimin or Jungkook, but compliment them either way. She would have to be someone that would also platonically fall in love with the best friend of her boyfriend. She would have to be someone firm to set boundaries with skinship etc but not controlling to allow their friendship to continue to thrive. She would  have to be a welcome addition to their friendship time, but also be confident enough to leave them to have their own time, someone the boyfriend would crave individual time with her also.

It’s more the type of character of the woman that would determine how she’d feel. If she was dating either, she would be confident enough to know that her man isn’t romantically involved with the other. She would be dating him and learning him and understanding his dynamics with his friends, family, co-workers etc.

If she was putting the time in when dating to learn her boyfriend m, it would work, if she was a self assured woman, it would work. If she believed her man not to be gay or not to be romantically interested in the other member then she’d last. 

She wouldn’t even make it to the label stage to be calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend if she couldn’t handle Jimin/Jungkook in her boyfriend’s life. if she couldn’t handle Jikook jikooking, minus skinship, the relationship would be over the first time seeing Jikook together.

It’s possible but it’s a special type of woman. This is all hypothetical and dependent on Jikook only having been nothing more than best friends, the closet duo and platonic soulmates.

If we were trying to insert a girlfriend in the mix for any other scenario then…I dunno love 🥴

Thank you for your ask and thanks to any readers, likes and comments.

💜

#Jikook #Kookmin #Minkook #Anonymous Asks

[sky-fire-forever]

I am... once again so sad and disappointed by Izzy's death.

Like... I just very genuinely do not understand the purpose his death served. Like if it's to fuel Ed's arc, it very genuinely fails to do so! Like, he says the crew loves Ed. He says the crew are Ed's family.

But Ed LEAVES THE CREW BEHIND! He does not stay with them!!! What is the point of that??

Why did the crew just fucking stand there while Izzy bled out?? This crew, who fucking risked their own lives to save Izzy, who accepted him as their family, just fucking stand around awkwardly while Izzy dies in Ed's arms.

Jim, Archie, and Frenchie could have been fucking KILLED by Ed for hiding the fact that Izzy survived. When Ed told Frenchie to fucking murder Izzy in cold blood, Frenchie risked death to refuse and hide Izzy from Ed. To lie to Ed's face about it.

They risked their fucking lives to save him.

And to declare him the new unicorn. They made him a new leg after they cut his flesh leg off to save him. They helped him find his place as their family and this touches him so much that he cries over it. Izzy fucking Hands. Cries over this meaningful gift that proves to him that despite his disability, they want him around. They love him.

And these people. These people who accept Izzy as their family and risked everything to save him from Ed. They just... stand in the background so Ed can hold him. Not one of them is shown to be affected by Izzy's death, NOT EVEN ED.

Ed just says "that's that" and moves the fuck on to run a terrible inn with his boyfriend who he rushed into another whim with despite them addressing that that is their flaw in their relationship.

I just don't understand the fucking POINT of Izzy's death. Yes, death can be meaningless in real life. But this show is not fucking real life. It's a show and it's supposed to be a comedy.

And yet this show depicts suicide, abuse, trauma, and then... laughs it off. But those heavy themes aren't part of the joke. They're just... there. But only when the show wants to be Edgy and Dramatic. And nothing has consequences.

It genuinely feels like they just didn't know what to do with Izzy, so they killed him off because they thought it'd be Dramatic.

I am so, so grateful to this show for his queer representation. I love the characters. I love the first season. I love a lot of how they handled so much.

But I'm still just... disappointed with season two.

I'm disappointed with its treatment of women. With how basically the whole crew become little more than background characters. I'm disappointed that they brought so many interesting ideas to the table and then didn't follow through with any of it.

I'm just... disappointed. That doesn't mean I regret that the show exists. I'm grateful for the good parts. I just think it could have been better

And keep in mind, I was not a part of the fandom until season two was airing. I watched season one when it came out and I liked it, but wasn't invested enough to seek out online takes. I had no idea what the fandom's opinion was.

The first episode that I started looking at stuff online about was Calypsos Birthday. That was the episode when I joined the fandom. Because I loved Izzy's display of queerness as it's presented in that episode and I adored Wee John's presentation as well. I got so excited by it, I went online.

I had no expectations for the finale. I had no idea what the fandom was like. I had no idea of the reception of Izzy or how things were expected to play out.

When I watched season one, my favorite characters were Oluwande and Jim. Jim meant so much to me as a trans person and I just thought Oluwande was such a kind and lovely person while not being portrayed as an idiot when so often the kind male characters are also written as stupid. And I really loved that Oluwande wasn't that!

I loved Ed and Stede's relationship! And their arc! I thought they were lovely characters who had such a good dynamic! I was rooting for them!

Izzy very honestly faded into the background for me when I first watched season one. I forgot most of what he did. He was kinda a plot device in my mind.

That didn't change until season two, when they gave him such a beautiful arc. And he skyrocketed into being my favorite character.

But I noticed how heavy the first episodes of season two were. And I noticed the way none of the actions had consequences. I was so confused as to why the crew just... accepted Ed back after he literally tortured them. I was like... "wait, what"

And I spent literally the whole season believing that Oluwande and Jim were in a polyamorous relationship because it was never made clear what the situation was.

And Ed and Stede became so... unlikable. Like they both became worse people and then never had aht consequences for it. Ed never had to deal with the fact that he fucking TORTURED his CREW. To the point where they had to try to KILL HIM. But he was saved through the power of love because it made a pretty mermaid scene.

I also didn't understand when Oluwande became romantically attracted to Zheng. I thought they were friends and he liked her as a person, but he seemed so awkward when she was flirting with him and I thought he was still in love with Jim. I very genuinely thought Jim saying they kissed someone else and the two of them laughing about it was the beginning of a polyam relationship. It very genuinely did not occur to me that they were not together

But this is a queer fucking show. And I assumed they were going to do a queer thing instead of wanting the audience to assume how their relationship played out based on social norms. I thought that's just... what made sense

And Lucius and Black Pete suddenly being portrayed as so... monogamous despite season one portraying them as Not That hurt so much as a polyamorous person. I didn't understand why it became like they were the people who mattered most to each other and they even got married, which polyam people can definitely do, but it felt like a moment of "You Are And Always Will Be The Most Important Person To Me"

I dunno. I very genuinely didn't mean to ramble this long, but I guess I had a lot to say

#ofmd #ofmd critical #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death #queue-no steel

[laf-outloud]

https://www.tumblr.com/laf-outloud/731654919176732672/anyway-regardless-you-are-correct-that-however

I think these all really good points about why TB is not really culturally relevant and probably won’t hold up in years from now. I’d also like to add that them parodying very current events is also off-putting to me as a viewer because I don’t watch tv to wallow in the mess that is today’s world, rather I watch shows or movies to have some time not to think about it.

I also think shows that have the best fan retention are have a big focus on relationships and characters you care about. I think both Rory and Lorelei on GG are insufferable, especially Rory, but they are "quirky" people love their mother-daughter bond and get invested in their love interests. Friends is abiut friends who can be snarky but care about each other (until later seasons when half of them just because dicks), Supernatural was never huge, but it keeps getting new fans even now and has incredible staying power because it mostly doesn’t get that political, and of course because it focuses on these brothers who love each other so damn much that they’ll do anything for each other. These are the things that make people get attached to a show, stay with a show, and rewatch a show. They want to turn in to watch people they can relate to, want to be like, or have something they value in life.

In TB almost every character is a psycho with little to no redeeming qualities. Yes, there are some nice relationships, but most of the characters are (after Season 3) massive hypocrites, assholes, racists, murderers, just plain dicks, or pathetic. Yes, there are amusing moments and shocking moments, but once you've seen them, you’ve seen them. I have no desire to sit down and watch the show on repeat because the characters aren’t truly likable, and their relationships can thus only interest me so much. When you rely heavily on shock value, you automatically lose some people after because once they’ve seen it, they don’t need to see it again.

Kripke needs to get his head out of his ass and remember what worked about shows like supernatural and stop relying on simply being as violent and disgusting as possible if he wants people to rewatch his shows.

I suppose if the story is good enough, watching a show filled with unlikeable characters is okay, but you're right, it's the relationships that really draw people in and make them care about what happens next.

As for Kripke, he got incredibly lucky with Jared and Jensen and the work they did to create Sam and Dean's dynamic because I don't think he originally planned on the brother's relationship being at the core of the series. That came later as he and the other writers/producers saw what a goldmine they hit with J2.

#ask box #the boys critical #anti eric kripke

[hennike]

hands off

this week, a hot new bombshell enters the villa! a follow up to rule break (AO3)

Damen is a friendly guy. Ask anyone in the villa, they’ll tell you the same thing: generally level-headed, easy to talk to, the works. Besides the one slip-up last week with Laurent, no one should have anything bad to say about him. He’s cultivated a rather good reputation for himself at the retreat.

Of course, with the way the cameras are trained on him now, that will probably all fly out the window.

“Easy,” Nikandros says. “Keep looking at him like that and he’ll burst into flames right where he’s standing.”

“Sitting,” Damen replies. “He’s sitting.”

Nikandros snorts. “Right. Sorry. He’ll burst into flames where he’s sitting.”

Damen ignores him, busy watching Torveld sidle up too close to Laurent while they talk. His hands flex where they are beside him.

Torveld is the newest addition to their cast, a curveball meant to throw off the dynamic they had already built amongst themselves at the retreat. Damen isn’t stupid; he’s seen past seasons of the show. He hadn’t been concerned, initially. Torveld seemed harmless enough when he stepped into the villa yesterday morning, all charm and easy smiles.

At least, Damen had thought so, until Torveld set his sights on Laurent.

“He isn’t so bad.”

Damen shoots an incredulous glance at Nikandros, but Nikandros is serious-faced, watching Torveld and Laurent just as intently.

From the twenty-four hours Torveld has been with them, Damen knows three things about him: 1) he’s an investment banker (or something just as dreadfully boring, Damen thinks bitterly); 2) he’s got enough body hair to stuff a pillow and then some; and 3) he wants Laurent.

Damen wants to talk shit. It would make good TV if he did, probably, the cameramen probably foaming at the mouth for it. But he isn’t interested in giving them material right now. He’s sure the scowl on his face is plenty generous.

Damen settles on a response as inoffensive as he can muster. He clears his throat. “He’s bulky,” he says, faux conversational, “if that’s something you like.”

Torveld is a lot closer to Laurent now than he was at the start of their conversation. Damen itches to go over and pull them apart, maybe throw Torveld around a bit, maybe kiss Laurent, damn the money, just to stake his claim—anything. He’s sure Laurent would enjoy it, at least.

He doesn’t. Instead, “Someone needs to tell him.”

“Tell him what?”

“That”—Laurent’s mine, I’m his, it’s non-negotiable—“Laurent and I are partnered up.”

“Is that supposed to be my job?”

“If you’re volunteering.”

Nikandros, if his answering silence is anything to go by, is unimpressed.

To Laurent’s credit, he doesn’t seem very interested. Damen knows what Laurent’s interest looks like, has seen it, received it, marvelled at it enough times to know that it isn’t that. Laurent barely even glances Torveld’s way. If anything, he’s politely pleasant at best.

He watches Laurent cross his leg over the other, elegant and unthinking, as effortlessly alluring as he always is. It’s what makes Laurent so dangerous when he’s deliberate about his attraction, the full force of it nearly incapacitating. Damen usually likes that about him, enjoys the effort of resisting his advances, and giving back just as good.

He isn’t so happy about it now, not when Torveld’s hand creeps closer in that moment, probably ogling Laurent enough to warrant several rule-breaks.

Where is Lana when you need her?

Nikandros nudges Damen’s arm, gesturing to Torveld and Laurent. “Looks like they’re done.”

Sure enough, Torveld is getting up to leave. Laurent stays where he is, face turned to the beach as he waves a hand in Torveld’s direction.

When Torveld is gone, Damen immediately springs to his feet. Nikandros is saying something but he doesn’t hear it, instead making his way to where Laurent is seated on a beach chair.

“You and Torveld seemed cozy,” Damen says. He looms over Laurent, too keyed up to sit. He wouldn’t want to sit where Torveld was sitting anyway.

Laurent hums. “Did we?” He leans back on his arms, his head tilted to look up at Damen. Deliberate.

“You tell me.”

Laurent’s mouth quirks up into an almost-smile. Damen can feel Laurent’s eyes on him, shrouded as they are by his sunglasses, and it’s like cool water on too-hot skin.

“Are you jealous?”

Damen says nothing.

Laurent’s smile blooms with delight, sweetly gleeful. Torveld will never have this, Damen thinks, nor will any other newcomer, nor anyone after the retreat is over. This is Laurent’s gift to Damen, and Damen alone.

He stands on his feet, putting himself in Damen’s space, and says, “Down, boy.” He pats Damen’s cheek twice, then drags his hand down to Damen’s chest, where it remains for some beats before he slides past Damen towards the villa.

Damen stands there, unmoving, and feels the weight of Laurent’s hand burn, hotter than the sting of the ocean sun.

#PHEWWWW been thinking of this for a while so im glad i got it out!!!!! #lamen #cp #mine #captive prince #laurent of vere #damianos of akielos #i would also really like to write something in this verse from laurents pov so if anyone has any ideas send them my way <333 #and a huge thanks to carina for enabling this installment ily this one's for u xx

[the-darklings]

first of all last chapter broke my heart but in a way i'm still happy about it?? i expected something when you said dream was being his usual asshole self but unfortunately i did not see this coming!!

i am once again agreeing with cori that wanderer should run away and hang out with him the whole time instead (ignoring dream's repercussions but whatever!!) it was adorable how corinthian hangs out on wanderer's island now, very fitting with how there would always be a friend waiting for her there!! speaking of- the island stays right?? dream doesn't get so angsty that he destroys even that?? bc i would actually be down with murder if so

i've been doing very quick maths (which i suck at, so correct me if i'm wrong) but isn't the year wanderer is ordered to leave the same year that dream gets pissy and tells hob he doesn't need or want friends?? if so, does it by any chance influence each other?? also are we going to have any interactions between hob and wanderer bc i love them both sm and i'd love to see it :))

also i NEED to see death tear dream a new one for being Like That™ to her friend!! will we see reactions from some of dream's siblings in the future or is that going to be left to our imagination??

either way- it was an amazing chapter, as always!! this is honestly my favourite fanfic of sandman- idk their companionship feels so authentic to the themes of the sandman and it'd honestly fit right in the story and i'm invested enough that it feels like something is missing when wanderer isn't actually in canon :// anyhow- i hope you have a lovely day today <33

ah, thank you very much!! 💕

so, to speed through these:

yes, Corinthian is that friend whose always waiting with a smile (or a smirk in this case) to meet Wanderer whenever she arrives. He probs considers it the only place where he can unwind without a shadow looming over him because unlike the rest of the Dreaming, Wanderer Island comes half from Wanderer, so it adores Corinthian as much as the source does.

no, Dream physically couldn’t bring himself to destroy the island, but would write it off as “it’s part of the dreaming and mortals go to it often and it was created for a purpose yadayada” aka man is denial and looking for a reason not to destroy last remnant of Wanderer because it’s all he has left. the island is effected by what happened between them tho 👁

yes, both fallouts happen around the same time. which comes first, I’ll leave up to you to decide, but they do directly impact one another. Dream said: ruining my life on speed run ig. also yes, Wanderer and Hob will definitely meet and I think you guys will like them a lot. I’m personally in love with their dynamic in my head.

you will see Death’s & Desire’s reactions (still holding back from writing other Endless until I get to them in the comics because I want to do them justice) but eventually if/when I do other extras after tibyim is done, you might get glimpses. most def had reactions to it, quite interesting too.

#thank you so much for that final bit 🥺💕 means a lot to me. #fic: today i bury you in me #asks

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

oooohhh now u got me curious. how do you think an alarkling mentor/protégée focused dynamic a theater au would hypothetically go??

I'd probably just take heavily from a phantom of the opera esque relationship trajectory. though I think vanity or at least pride along with like hard power within the scope of the story is important enough to the darkling's character function that I wouldn't make it an outright poto au where he's like hideous and hiding in the walls lmfao. so he's probably like the artistic director of a theater company, maybe as a retired celebrated performer himself, and she's his favored up and coming actor. (for gothic value and bc there are no powers and I need something to keep me entertained I'd say like Something Happened and he stopped performing and it's a mysterious thing he's broody about. but that's not integral, I just like drama.) the first book already has like the contemporary vibes of a teacher/mentor/someone in power having bad boundaries with underlings despite the trappings of like a fantasy army. so translating that dynamic would be fairly easy, and it'd be simple to just lean into it more, where there's simply a longer period where alina is under his sway and more invested for it. he's likely exacting, again very bad with boundaries lol lmao, and promises her a lot but very conditionally. I'd also highlight the zoya rivalry in this, where she was the former favorite until alina showed up, and translate that into him actively pitting the performers against each other. and alina probably starts out some level of starstruck and apprehensive of like dfgh the red flags but keeps getting in deeper and deeper. something interesting about any sort of professional arts is that it’s SO competitive and alina particularly has like zero ambition. so tho I could see her getting into theater out of an initial genuine interest in it, to an extent, her wanting to like be the best or to just stay in the game on a career level feels like it would probably stem from wanting to keep his favor. but yeah overall trajectory, I'd probably have some sort of phantom esque thing where she does start to make it big and maybe needs him less as a result. he gets weird about it. like maybe the theater itself is seeing more success now because she got overnight famous for whatever reason and she's the one drawing audiences to him? and that threatens the power dynamic in a way that makes him volatile. hm I'd probably throw in some murders dfgh more just because it's fun. if I was planning a full on fic I'd say something related to The Incident that changed his own career trajectory comes back to haunt him. like the renewed interest means someone from the past who like Knows Something shows up and is threatening and he kills them. but the circumstances are such that he can spin it as like alina they were threatening you! this was me protecting you! (lol lmao it occurs to me that the overt connection to alina that circles around to an unknown past connection to aleksander seems most readily translatable to mal since he's the surprise morozova. but on a character level I feel like mal isn't the correct character type for the sort of Problem Causer I was picturing. I was thinking more someone that could function as a weird blackmailing creep in a vasily or apparat sense) and idk now they have to cover up this murder together while their own relationship is fracturing?

idk how I would wrap this up. she def has to learn about the Incident. whatever that is. maybe it was some tragic accident that was actually a crime/murder he committed-- hence there being any opening for blackmail. for more entertaining angst I'd say it's something with a vague degree of justifiability or tragedy. where she wrestles with being sympathetic vs maybe lets not solve all our problems with murder. and it slowly occurs to her over time that he probably did the recent murder for his own benefit too as opposed to the claim that it's all to protect her and her career. and that that's true of everything he does, everything in their dynamic is really about him. anyway uh idk how I'd wrap it up. she'd probably like fuck it and tries to find an out? I'd probably try to achieve that by introducing a fake out suitor to help her (nikolai? mal?) who also dies as the plot spirals in a phantom of the opera esque fashion and then she eventually actually succeeds by reaching out to zoya maybe? okay okay actually sdfghj I would combine the fake out suitor and causes problems on purpose guy. and yes now they can both be mal who shows up seeming like a poto!raoul type but he's actually only really there for blackmail purposes. and then he bites it as planned. alina can help cover up but also freak out about it and have many conflicted feelings. then eventually reach out to zoya? that actually facilitates some sort of option to successfully gtfo. and I think the end would probably hinge on her having a final choice of like deciding to stay bc the fucked up relationship is worth it actually, or leaving for good. which one would probably depend entirely on my mood when hypothetically drafting the last chapter dfghj

#thinking out loud here so this is not organized but also I was not expecting to have that many thoughts #but like what do you expect look at the phantom of the opera url #grishaverse #shadow and bone #alarkling #darklina #it would probably have a fair bit of zoyalina too knowing me #I ramble sometimes #all the bendy punctuations #long post #au corner

[scavengerssuccotash]

Besides clintasha do you have any other ships marvel and none marvel

No other ship besides Clintasha has quite enraptured me in the way they have which I wholeheartedly attribute to the amazing chemistry between Scarlett and Jeremy. As soon as Clint uttered Tasha I was hooked. And I’ve been stuck there ever since.

I’ve tried to flirt around with other ships in other fandoms namely Reylo

(Kylo Ren and Rey from the sequel trilogy but JJ Abram’s killed my mom and ran over my dog with The Rise of Skywalker and I haven’t been able to find the same level of enjoyment out of the franchise since, obligatory fuck you to JJ!)

and oddly enough Sherlolly

(Sherlock and Molly Hooper, another obligatory fuck you to Moffat, the lazy writing for the last season felt like the equivalent of getting shoved in a locker and called a nerd so my love for Sherllolly is now strictly regulated to A03).

But alas they haven’t had the same staying power as my beloved duo.

There’s something so enthralling about their relationship that I don’t think I will ever be able to accurately portray on page, but that hasn’t stopped me from writing 170,000 and counting in an effort to do so!

I find some other pairing particularly thought provoking even though I hardly read about them nor do I look for such content. I can understand the appeal but it just doesn’t get me excited as Clintasha does.

These pairings include: Stucky (very interesting dynamic and I totally get the appeal, I would’ve preferred that over canon Peggy/Rogers (I just find her character annoying and uninspired imo, tired almost. Let Steve move on, ya know?),

RomanRogers (I get it, she’s Russian, he’s a stand in for America. It’s the Cold War but make them fuck, but I just don’t personally find Chris Evans that attractive. I prefer men who are not conventionally attractive. He’s almost too pretty. For me personally)

and Kate Bishop and Yelena (I don’t know the ship name for this one so if anyone knows that would be cool. I think it has the potential to get me invested but I doubt Marvel will give it the needed depth for it to capture my attention in the same way as Clintasha. If perhaps it can be twisted in a way that it doesn’t quite mirror Clintasha then I could be on board but I doubt Marvel will go that route.

Oh and Yelena and Bucky (weird I know but it lets me have my cake ((Clintasha)) and eat it too ((a Winterwidow equivalent)). If I were to ever indulge in this particular ship Yelena would have to be significantly different and diverge from her MCU counterpart.))

So TLDR other ships that I find interesting enough to read/engage with: Reylo and Sherlolly

Ships that I find intellectually stimulating but otherwise would not specifically seek out but am okay if a minor pairing or otherwise mentioned: RomanRogers, Stucky, Yelena and Kay and Yelena and Bucky.

Again would like to reiterate for the class that these are all my personal opinions and are meant to be subjective. My personal thoughts and opinions are not an attack on you personally because to be frank: “I don’t even know you kid!”

Thanks for asking!

#ask me #clintasha #other marvel ships #my personal opinion #shipping talk #ships that I don’t read or engage with but do find intellectually stimulating #not a hate post #but more so an open hearted thought excersize

[banshee-king]

AoS Realms of Ruin Gameplay Review:

I’ve played through the campaign, some of Conquest mode, not multiplayer so I’m not going to talk about that, and also did some creation stuff. I’ve also read other people’s thoughts online but here I just want to talk about the battles/gameplay. No story spoilers, I’ve leave that for another post.

I like this game but I also see valid criticism of it. I’ve all seen a lot of dumb as all hell “criticism” which annoys me. Firstly, this game is an RTS, not a MOBA. RTS games do not need base building, unless you think Homeworld is also not an RTS. Realms of Ruin (RoR) is real time and requires strategy, it’s an RTS.

Furthermore, you can not only upgrade your HQ 3 times (unlocking units + tech), but every outpost once captured can be upgraded into a choice of different buildings (and upgraded again). 2 resource production ones, a turret, and potentially a healing outpost depending on the faction you play. That’s more building options than DoW 2 which had set requisition/power nodes to capture. Yes DoW 2 had some other buildings, but they used army size limit. RoR buildings are separate to army size, and so functions like true buildings, not stationary units.

Upgrading outposts/the HQ also deactivates them whilst you’re doing so. As your HQ is your primary way of healing units, a mistimed upgrade can really cost you dearly as you’ll have to wait until it’s finished to heal again. Building/upgrades also costs a lot of resources, so it’s an investment, doubly so when upgrading a resource outpost stops it producing for a while.

That fact that unit abilities also require resources further complicates this. Splurging all your resources to improve your long term survivability can backfire if you suddenly can’t use abilities in a fight. Timing is important. There is strategy in this game!

Look I love base-building RTS games, but some people are way to elitist about it. It’s perfectly valid to have a preference and not buy RoR because it’s not to your tastes. But RoR is not a MOBA (derogative) because of this. You build/control units, it doesn’t have towers unless you build a turret (rare), and not every map can be simplified to 3 lanes. One map had the HQs in the centre of the map, with the outposts in a circle around the edges. That’s not a MOBA, the heroes aren’t even strong enough to solo more than a few units.

The tech upgrades (for unit types, not individual units) are also interesting. Some are normal stand-alone options, many others are an exclusive choice between two options. You could upgrade an ability, making it more worth the cost each use, but then you’d also have to use it more. Or you could improve the passive attack/defence of a unit, discouraging you from using its non-upgraded ability. How many units you upgrade their passive stats or activatable abilities depends on your micro skill.

As for the rock-paper-scissors dynamic, yes it’s simple and I understand that’s a deal breaker for some. That’s fine. I will say though that I’ve seen higher tier units defeat lower ones even when type disadvantaged. Some upgrades also improve damage vs heroes, or monsters, so it’s not so basic. Units positioning is everything though. Ranged units won’t slaughter assault units if they get caught in melee.

Some people have criticised how units get stuck in melee (you either stay and die/win, or retreat fully back to HQ). Whilst I can get this, it’s accurate to the tabletop where most units can’t fall back and shoot. The tabletop also doesn’t have base-building like RoR, but whatever. Furthermore, I’ve successfully juked wounded/ranged units away from enemy units, so it’s not all unfair. And that’s the big thing. The game punishes you for bad positioning/micro. Many other games punish bad players too. If souls-likes and Cuphead can get praise for daring to be hard, RoR gets a pass for absent minded players not paying attention. Because you’re doing less economy management, you have more time for micro anyway.

Units also don’t move unless you tell them to. If a melee unit is being hit by missiles, they’ll just stand there and take it, and if a nearby melee unit is fighting, they’ll still just stand there. This has been another sort of valid criticism. All units are on hold ground stance, and I’m glad my units don’t go charging off whilst I’m not looking. But other games have had before a change stance feature (no chase, chase a little, follow forever). I think a change stance button would help, but the game’s design is intentionally about micro. Again it punishes you for bad micro, or just not looking at the mini-map. Like I get the complaint, but it’d be weird to demand a stealth game be more action oriented just because you personally prefer action games over stealth ones. It’s a design choice, not for everyone.

Lastly I want to mention price. It’s been a frequent complaint. Price is something subjective I feel, it comes down to each individual person’s feelings about whether a game is worth it. I bought RoR, no regrets, fine with my purchase. I also happen to have enough disposable income to do that. Someone who doesn’t have the luxury to get or time to play many games, I get them thinking it’s not worth it. If this were a few years ago, maybe I too would wait until it came on sale. As it stands, the campaign is normal RTS length (not much replay value though), the Conquest mode adds a bit more fun (but isn’t too different to a series of skirmishes against AI), the army painter is useful for hobbying (even let’s you change individual unit colours separate to the army), and the map/scene editor is also fun. I’m glad I bought it.

#age of sigmar #AoS #realms of ruin #warhammer

[frobby]

Manwhas/mentions I like

No home

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 

This is obligatory at this point tbh. I fucking love this shit. 

Haejoon Goh has been bulied his whole life basically for his mom being real weird and claiming she can see ghosts. As hes moving to the dorms of his new school with his life savings it gets stolen by eunyung baek. After he figures this out he goes and confronts eunyung who has already spent all his money. They get into a fight and haejoon accidentally ends up in the hospital and misses the dealine for entering into the dorms and has to move into the abbandoned dorm of the school with another student. This student just so happens to be eunyung baek which as you remember stole haejoons fucking money. 

Like i said this is so fucking good. Please read it. Any reservations you may have should be tossed aside. Think its too scary cuz of ghosts? The ghosts arent in it that much. Art style weird? You’ll warm up too it, its very dynamic with color choice. Think it doesnt sound interesting  or comedic? This is a drama and filled with angst and is extra sad. DO IT NOW GUYS PLEASE IM BEGGING AT THIS POINT 

Eleceed

This is prolly the most popular here so ill keep it brief. 

Jiwoo seo is special. He has the power of super speed. Due to this abnormality hes kept it a secret his whole life. One day he picks up an injured cat which turns out to be the extremely famous and dangerous awakener kayden break who turned into a cat to protect himself and doesnt have enough power to turn back. Kayden tells jiwoo about awakeners which is people with powers like jiwoo and agrees to train him.

This is a really fun series. I love the found family and kayden and jiwoo’s father son dynamic. The battles are really dynamic and interesting. The world building is interesting too. (also kayden is hot lmao) its on webtoon but the unofficial translations are ahead by like 40 chapters so 

Papa wolf and the puppy(king of wolves)

Okay so this is lowkey the funniest shit ever and allow me to explain why: this started with a wolf and a puppy hanging out in the forest and then RANDOMLY the author did a human au and a few chapters later started a newass story where they’re human and its an ex gang boss raising a little kid he found in the fucking woods he was hiding out in. 

Its really cute. Im always a big fan of adults adopting little guys and raising them to be better than them(kayden and jiwoo). I like all the characters and i love that the kid is named potato. Very very cute 

(oops i messed up this is chinese im sorry) 

Dam of the Forest

Read this if you want to be fucking sad 

Dam had a strange power to make things grow. Plants and even people grow when he touches them. As he gets older he stays the same size and no longer ages. His powers get stronger and eventually he secludes himself in a forest for a very long time. He them comes across a group of travelers who tell him that the world has turned into a wasteland other than this forest due to pollution. 

Like i said its really really sad. Its not that long so far so im excited to see how it develops. Idk what else to say other than if u wanna read something sad go for it.

Phantom School

This is a bit of a shot in the dark but still. 

Ingan kim was given a job as a teacher just as he wanted. However the school he goes to teach for is a school for phantoms and if they find out hes a human they’l kill him. Having to keep this a secret and keep his nerves under wraps turns to be quite difficult for him along with educating the young undead. 

Imma be honest this premise is an A+ for me. Obsessed. But otherwise the storytelling is very interesting to me but its also rather short so far but im very invested. (my only complaint is one of the translations i was reading did my least favorite thing manwha translations do where they change the korean names to english ones halfway through) 

Man Drowning in a veil

I literally love this shit so much that i almost forgot about cuz i havent finished it lmao 

(bear in mind the translation i read actually used japanese names so sorry if u use those rn) 

Aimu is an extremely tall, big man but despite his towering stature he loves all things pink and cute. A true king if you will. However one day an extremely rude classmate tells him that everyone finds him weird and gross for his interests which makes him shut them down completely only dressing in black and such. Untill one day he meets kohaku who is the owner of a stuffed animal shop that quickly befriends him seeing his underlying interest in her wares and wants him to embrace his interests more. 

Kohaku is the girlboss to aimus malewife. Im sorry. In all seriousness this tackles the ideas of self expression and the breaking of gender roles. The characters are funny as hell and i like all of them a normal amount. 

EXTRA: just for fun 

This isnt a manwha its japanese but idk when else to talk about it so what are you gonna do about it its my post 

Ake no tobari 

Ive been reading this recently and i really like it. Its implanted itself so badly in my brain that when my friend and i went to see doctor strange (neither of us knew anything about btw please dont ask) this is what i was thinking about 

Tobari is a demon that love humans and wants all humans and demons to live peacefully and be friends. To do this go goes to shinonome village where his old friend sayuri lived to start his bloodless conquest of the demon world. There he meets reimei a barrier artist and the towns exorcist who keeps the demons in line and they quickly become friends. 

The fights are really good and i like the characters. The world building is easy to understand and they characters have fun dynamics with eachother. I binge read like 170 chapters which out getting bored which is a feat. overall full marks no complaints. 

#no home #집이 없어 #eleceed #dam of the forest #phantom school #저승고 #ake no tobari #捡了东西的狼 #papa wolf and the puppy #man drowning in a veil #manwha

[xylodemon]

i've been skimming through The Great Hunt as i plot out the next chapter of my fic and i ended up having some Random Thoughts about the Show

(book spoilers under the cut)

what got me thinking was the Dragon Banner scene in TGH, particularly Mat's less-than-stellar reaction to finding out Rand can channel. it's a hard scene to read - even on rereads, knowing that Mat stops Being Like That fairly quickly - but it does help set up the fact that (nearly) everyone is going to be at least a little afraid of Rand moving forward.

i am, however, wondering if the show will skip all that, thinking that Mat staying behind at the Waygate is enough to put the necessary strain on their relationship. although... Rand defended Mat pretty vehemently in 1x07. it'll be interesting to see if Rand really isn't upset about it, or if he just snapped at Egwene in a "no one talks shit about my boyfriend bestie but me" kind of way.

while i was writing the last chapter of my fic, i rewatched the scene where Min tells Rand about Tam finding him in the snow, which got me thinking about them. i love Rand's screwy love-life, but in the books, Rand/Min is the least compelling of the relationships to me, mainly bc she spends so much of LOC/COS trying to make her viewing happen, regardless of what he wants (or says he wants). Show!Min's "ugh, you" reaction to him walking into the tavern makes me hope wonder if the show is going to rework their dynamic a bit.

Speaking of relationships, the show leaning into Moiraine/Siuan so hard (love it) has me curious re: what it plans to do with Siuan/Gareth and Moiraine/Thom. i have zero investment in either of those relationships, but Thom and Moiraine's feelings for each other are tied up with how the Tower of Ghenjei stuff plays out.

(not me maundering about stuff that'll be in, like, Season 10 or 11 when we're still waiting for Season 2.

back to Season 2: in the promo and the stills, Rand sure does seem to be channeling a lot. i wonder if he's going to skip the whole I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN I PROMISE stuff. likely, he starts off like that in 2x01/2x02 but gets "talked" out of it by "Selene." Rand traveling with her alone instead of with Loial and Hurin (RIP) has the potential to do truly bonkers things to their dynamic.

back to Mat (sorry i'm genuinely all over the place today): there's a scene in the promo that looks like he's being Healed, which suggests he's at Tar Valon. i'm wondering how he gets out. i understand that they're collapsing some plotlines from TGH and TDR, which would probably put Mat in the Tower while Egwene/Elayne/Nynaeve are at Falme. that means they won't be there to bust him out with Siuan's Black Ajah hunting letter.

Unraveling the Pattern on YT did a promo breakdown that's convinced me the Rand/Siuan meeting goes down in Cairhien. i'm wondering now if Siuan brings Mat with her. that would get him to Rand in time to go to Falme and blow the Horn.

Sadly, this could end up costing me two of my absolute favorite Mat sequences: his quarterstaff face-off with Gawyn and Galad, and the whole bit where he gambles his way out of Tar Valon.

(he still better answer the door naked when Rand saves him from the Darkhounds. that is peak comedy. PEAK.)

i'm probably not saying anything anyone hasn't already figured out here, but i'm thinking, since TGH and TDR are getting meshed, that Rand goes straight from Falme to the Aiel Waste. i've seen some speculation that Aviendha is the Aiel Perrin rescues from the cage, thus explaining why she's with him at Falme, but she wouldn't be the only Aiel around. i'm betting the show is altering the People of the Dragon prophecy so that it's about Falme (the Car'a'carn appearing in the sky???) rather than the Stone. Maybe Rand takes the Aiel with him when he goes to Tear and picks up his plot coupon Callandor.

okay, that's it. i swear.

#random thoughts #wheel of time #wot book spoilers #i talk about a bunch of people here #but mostly Rand and Mat

[blindrapture]

I also got my hands on Tunic, got a physical copy for Switch, comes with the manual and everything-- but I do know enough to know to stay away from the manual until I've beaten the game, it is a treat for existing fans, not for newcomers like me

I have played a little bit of it. it is nice to have something to dig into when I sleep for ALL THE GODDAMN DAY and WAKE UP IN THE SMACK-DAB MIDDLE OF NIGHT and need to kill a lot of time.

all I knew going in was it's a Zelda-like. I did not know it is also a Souls-like. I am going to try to play it vanilla, and I reserve the right to resort to the very appealing accessibility options that make it much harder to die. but I will really try first.

fun fact: I'm not even a fan of 2D Zelda. I have never beaten a 2D Zelda. (the only zeldas I've beaten were Skyward Sword, BotW and TotK. I am halfway through Link to the Past!!! but I seem to... find the dungeons to be the least interesting part of that game? which sucks, because there's a lottt of dungeons.) I just wanted a game where I can explore without context and discover things, and this does let me do that.

I definitely never figured out how to enjoy the combat in 2D Zelda. weirdly, it was after I made a lot of progress in Dark Souls that I went back and actually kinda found more appreciation. Tunic makes a lot of sense to me. though I still struggle with actual, like, mid-fight maneuvering. my instinct is to tank the damage and be aggressive, because the 2D format just... doesn't encourage anything else. the controls aren't that fine. and the enemies respawn, which discourages just being patient and slowly taking them all out, because, you're gonna be coming here again...

but!!! that's the kind of mentality I am coming in with. I am willing to get invested and learn how to maneuver in fine degrees in a 2D space during a dynamic fight. Tunic has plenty going for it to invest me.

....bizarrely long load times, though. every time I enter a doorway, or save the damn game, I have to wait like ten seconds. is that, uh.. is that a Switch thing??? .....and, uh, does this game have any... music in it later on? I can appreciate the general synth-ambience, sure; I'm just.. wondering.

#tunic

[allieebobo]

Allieee help I've been researching tennis to build my MC better and now I'm invested this is all your fault >:(

Also, curious: what does the tennis ROs play style look like, like who IRL is the closest to their play style?

First anon: you're the absolute cutest, and I take full and gleeful responsibility.

Second anon: hehe, the french open!! bumping this up because the French open will no longer be in full swing and I wanted to add a side-fangirl squee about Nadal.

Edit: OK so it took me so long that the French open is now over and MY BAE Rafa has done it again ((and whattt a trip that was)). Not even gonna put a spoiler alert because anyone who’s interested should’ve found this out by now. 

Take another obligatory Rafa pic as celebration, because belated Rafa Nadal gushing is apparently part of my brand now. Cheers! 

(P.S. I put the answer after the cut because I expect this level of tennis nerding out might not be for the average joe. feel free to share your theories as well!)

Rayyan is modelled after Nadal - single-track-mind determination, power and grit, aggressive topspin shots from the baseline. Most of all, Rayyan resembles Nadal in that they are both absurdly resilient, both physically and mentally. Both love the clay surface most, because they can pound ball after ball at their opponents in a brutal, punishing rally, and showcase their surprising ability to stay in the game, against all odds. 

Tobin is modelled after Federer - an all-court player with unmatchable grace, finesse, and fluid versatility. I thought it'd be fun for the current no. 1 and no. 2 on the Cargill team to have this cool Nadal-Federer dynamic. Tobin is more-or-less solid on every surface, but like Federer, they do best on grass - with the ball’s slightly more unpredictable bounce, they’re able to hit beautiful winners with staggering variety. 

Sam - Trick shot master, known for their creative showmanship and ability to work a crowd. But beneath their love for improvisation and joking around, there’s substance that people often don’t give them enough credit for. First, there’s the pure racket-wizardry and reflexes (not to mention imaginativeness) that characterises their playing style. Then, (and this one runs deeper) there’s a resilience and stoicism that comes with knowing that life can - and will - throw anything at you, and adapting to it is all one can do. And so, where other players would rage and throw their rackets, Sam would simply take it as it is, and crack a joke.  Someone similar would be Mansour Bahrami, for reasons I touched on briefly here :) 

Deepal, Max, Akimi - Counterpunchers, though Deepal is extremely fast and hence able to use their speed as an offensive weapon, similar to Gaël Monfils, maybe? Akimi is on the extreme end of the defensive spectrum, while Max is generally more unpredictable and leans more towards being a junk-baller - often slipping in a silly shot here or there (or perhaps has simply not grown into a rigid style yet). Both are more similar to Caroline Wozniacki/Chris Evert perhaps (sometimes the latter was described as a “human backboard”). All of them generally prefer clay surfaces, because clay is a little more forgiving, allowing them to drag out the rallies and wear their opponents down (or slide to the ball for unbelievable gets, in Deepal’s case). 

Emerson, Blake - Emerson is a serve and volleyer, very quick to the net, aggressive and eager to end the point early. Sharp reflexes, superb in the air, with sharp smashes and dropshots. There aren’t many pure serve-and-volleyers left in the modern game, but Serena Williams has a similarly powerful serve and usually starts dominating the rally right from the get-go. John McEnroe is another example I guess! Blake is also a serve-and-volleyer, but a far less successful one, with a HUGE serve and good net skills, but not much else to back it up - sometimes, they get caught in front and struggle with passing shots (could be a better player if they had better judgment on when to rush the net). 

Jacks, Lee - Like Tobin, Jacks is an all-court player with relatively well-rounded strengths, but Tobin plays slightly more aggressively, and is more likely to go for winners using their tactics and racket technique, while Jacks prefers to slowly build up a winning position and construct defensive-to-offensive transitions. Pretty functional on all surfaces. I’d say Tommy Haas might be the closest match, especially because Tommy is also considered one of the “best players to have never won a grand slam”, which seems to encapsulate the difference between Jacks and Tobin (at least right now). Similarly, Lee is a well-rounded player with a natural athleticism and sharp tactics. They’re good at reading people, but because their time is stretched too thin as it is (they’re in about three different clubs), they’ve never had much ability to focus solely on tennis.

#CT:OS #college tennis: origin story #asks #if #interactive fiction #nadal #french open #tennis playing styles #Rayyan #Tobin #Jacks #Emerson #Deepal #Max #Akimi #Sam #Blake #Lee