#this is so FUN i love being a comic relief side character'

[reactionimagesdaily]

#'@tumblr user kane-wolf. u have earned my respect compadre. it takes nerve to incite a flood in the boss’ inbox so. godspeed. #i await their raccoony glory with anticiPATION #this is so FUN i love being a comic relief side character' #I love enabling funny side characters so this works out pretty well #reaction image #reaction meme #daily reaction images #image mood: raccoon double-week #submission

[meaningofaeons]

Sampo with a reader who does metal music- and bonus if they have like this stern and angry personality 😍😍😍😍😍

tysm btw your works are really nice

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ hard rock

⊹ character(s) - sampo koski ⊹ word count - 954 ⊹ notes - gn!reader, reader is part of serval's band (implied to be more of a contract member than a permanent member tho), post-belobog storyline, reader is also implied to be friends w/ both serval and gepard

hi anon!!! thank you so much for the req, it sounded so fun I just had to do it right away! and thank you for the sweet words (₌♥ᆽ♥₌)

As someone who remains in the shadows—as said himself, "People like us are more suited to being shadowy comic-relief"—Sampo didn't exactly expect to get tangled up with someone who shined so brightly in the spotlight.

You were blunt, almost rude, with a fiery personality that clashed with plenty of people.

Sampo's... conman-styled disposition also clashed with people, sure, but not in the same upfront way yours did.

Needless to say, when you two first met, opposites did not attract.

"I've half a mind to go tattle to the guards now! 'Savior of Belobog' or not, I don't care!"

"Hey, heey! No need for all of that, huh, sweetheart?"

"Call me that again and you'll be scamming the demons in Hell next, you filthy leech!"

So maybe Sampo had tried to sell you a counterfeit electric guitar, and maybe you weren't quite as gullible as he thought you looked weren't interested.

Can't blame a guy for trying, eh?

But still, your reaction and intuition interested him somewhat.

Despite the situation with the Supreme Guardian and the Stellaron clearing his name a bit, Sampo was still pretty universally despised by the Silvermane Guards, and they still had it out for him

So walking around the Overworld wasn't quite the walk in the park he sometimes made it look like...

But still, he found himself considering paying more visits to the overworld Belobog, hopeful to catch a glimpse of you.

You, meanwhile, actually found yourself in the Underworld more often.

The people were less uptight, less noble, and far more able to take your rough and tumble personality.

Plus, there were far more enjoyers of the metal music you loved putting on shows for.

Sure, you'd still play with Serval in Belobog when she had a show going, but the Underworld was a different type of crowd.

However, more than once, you'd notice an unpleasantly familiar head of blue hair enjoying your performances.

So finally, you confront him.

"What are you doing here, Koski?" You'd heard plenty about him from Gepard by way of Serval.

"Aw, just coming to appreciate the beauty of your music!"

It was rather irritating how his eyes raked up and down your form on emphasis of "beauty".

"Aren't these free-for-all concerts? Can't blame a guy for trying to find some good entertainment down here, huh?"

"Just don't cause any trouble with my fans."

"But I'm also one of your fans, Y/N!"

Eventually, Sampo wormed his way into your company by way of sheer annoyance.

It didn't take long for you to become reluctantly used to his company, allowing him to hang out after concerts and show you the ropes of the Underworld.

He got on your nerves, but you tolerated him.

Sampo, meanwhile, enjoyed your presence a lot. You were rough around the edges, sure, but he saw that hidden sweet side occasionally.

As you put up with him, he started to grow on you, too.

A conman, sure, but he always repaid his debts just as he claimed. Not to mention, he was a pretty good audience member for your shows.

Though you still got on his case if he tried to scam you, you quite frankly scared him a bit.

Soon, sometimes, you'd pretend to go along with his scams. When you were quick to transfer him some credits for his latest scheme one time, it freaked him out so bad that he stopped trying his tricks on you.

In fact, he had showed up to your doorstep with a bouquet of flowers and a deeply nervous grin.

"H-Heey, Y/N! Sorry again about that... little misunderstanding with the product link, ahaha... I thought these might make it up to you!"

"Flowers? Really? Do I look like the flower-enjoying type?"

Please spare him... he's already at his wit's end.

"Take me out to dinner instead. Your treat."

Oh?

"Then maybe I'll forgive you for that little stunt."

Oh?

Sampo had had plans to ask you out formally, but you kinda beat him to it.

He honestly thought you'd be more difficult to catch.

"All thanks to my endless charm!" he would preach months into your relationship, to which you would bluntly remind him that he annoyed his way into your life, and that you were the one with more charm here.

After that night, it was clear to everyone that you and Sampo had begun dating. You were quite the odd pairing to most, though.

Gepard even asked you if he was extorting you or anything, and if you wanted him to beat Sampo up on your behalf.

But no. In fact, Sampo was quite a gentleman as a partner.

You didn't go on dates all too often, but he was always your loudest supporter at every concert.

He already took a real shine to your music, but after getting together, he had a newfound appreciation for your work.

You also taught him to play, though he wasn't the best at most instruments. His voice isn't too shabby, though.

You found yourself worming some lyrics into some of your newer compositions that had to do with him.

Somehow, it felt like the songs that were subconsciously about Sampo were a bit easier to write.

Serval took a habit of teasing you whenever your lyrics would get mushier than usual, and as though reflecting your hot-headed embarrassment, the next several lines would be loud and raging.

Still, Sampo appreciated what you did.

In spite of all his flaws and unsavory ways, you could at least be thankful for that.

Besides... running up prices on ticket resales to your shows was a way more lucrative business opportunity!

He got a smack over the head for that one, though.

#honkai #honkai star rail #hsr #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #honkai x reader #anon #sampo #sampo koski #sampo x reader #sampo koski x reader

[kaibutsushidousha]

With the Heian chapter of FGO soon approaching NA, I thought it would be good to make a refresher post reminding people of the basic concepts behind the main Heian cast of characters. Kinda long post. Enjoy.

Minamoto no Raikou

This character presents herself as a prim and proper lady who never misbehaves and reprimands those around her for their misbehavior. This concept is taken to somewhat of an extreme, with her attempting to force herself into a very emotionally sterile lifestyle, to a point beyond what she can humanly handle, leading to some really messy slip-ups.

The reason for overwhelming self-regulation is that this character is a mixed-blood of human and oni. And one whose oni traits are remarkably ancient and powerful, at that, so can't afford the risk of allowing herself overtly emotional responses to anything, or the consequences will be severe. Her inability to function like a normal human is a consequence of her attempts to remain human.

Another key character trait of hers, usually at the forefront, is her pseudo-incestuous infatuation with our hero Sakata Kintoki. They aren't actually related in any way, she just overlays her conscious romantic feelings with a family framing because she's a freak like that. She's also a frequent target of jokes about her chest size.

Sakata Kintoki

The protagonist of his cluster of characters. He was born and spent his early childhood deep in the Japanese mountains until he was brought to the big city and adopted into the house of the character above, Minamoto no Raikou, because his birth lineage makes him a powerful asset for oni slaying. One of the powers granted by his genealogy is the Pure Eyes, which makes his irises blue and allows him to see things others don't.

Despite his mountain background, his story is set years after he's already grown accustomed to civilization, but his childhood years still left him a man without concrete goals. That said, this is not a bad thing, as he's ultimately content with his simple everyday life.

Being the protagonist of a monster vs human setting, he naturally embodies the heroic virtues of compassion and willingness to be a bridge between both sides. And of course, he gets his fair share of both human and monster love interests.

Shuten-douji

Sakata Kintoki's main love interest. She's the most powerful being on this sub-cast, but she's actually a weakened state of something much greater. Contrary to the restrained half-onis, this character is portrayed as fun-loving and unstoppably free, although she still has principles she strictly follows about the nature of her species.

Her first interaction with her love interest involves him trying to slay her. As someone who always saw herself as invincible, she got very interested in his real prospects of killing her and developed a deeper relationship over time and mutual demonstrations of violence. Despite this, she's actually very insecure about the long-term viability of human/inhuman relationships and ultimately chooses to keep her distance from her love.

Ibuki-Douji

The older and more powerful entity Shuten-douji used to be. She has a far more solemn and dignified presence at first, but at her core, she's noticeably still the same character as her more recent self.

In this specific story, she's more of a setting element and plot device than a proper character, but she gets to show her personality in other stories.

Ibaraki-douji

Mainly a comic relief character but with a sweet deal of tragedy hidden under the surface. She's a loser woman whose key draw is being a loser woman, but that doesn't make her any less capable of gruesome on-screen violence. Holds a huge one-sided grudge against Watanabe no Tsuna, to point this could be considered a core element of her character.

Her personal story is that of a human forced into an oppressive environment due to a suspicion that she had monster blood in her veins, until she reached a breaking point and chose to become the monster she was suspected of being. With that, she gained power and freedom but remained essentially a loser leagues below the level of her aforementioned Watanabe no Tsuna rival (although their shared history enables her to cause meaningful psychological damage).

Watanabe no Tsuna

A remarkably skilled member of the monster-hunting organization and somewhat of a senpai to Sakata Kintoki. Tsuna was born as a common peasant who was perfectly fine with staying that way until the character's first encounter with non-humans changed their life.

The narration surrounding Watanabe no Tsuna loves to describe the character's non-human hunt as thoroughly machine-like, reflecting the character's habit and ability to shut down emotion and perform full self-dehumanization for the sake of a mission. Though one exception to this comes with Ibaraki-douji, as Tsuna's greatest trauma and regret is the incident that orphaned Ibaraki.

Ashiya Douman

A character presented by the narrative as a dark mirror to Sakata Kintoki, but in a that still lets him stand out well as his own character with a completely different background and personality. Character foiling aside, he also has a literal spiritual connection to Kintoki.

We actually don't see much of the actual Douman-born Douman because he spends most of his on-screen time possessed by an ethereal being who can be considered another incarnation of himself after experiencing death many times.

The flesh-providing Douman is presented as a very implicitly tragic figure in his limited screentime, while the reincarnator Douman (called Limbo for differentiation purposes) is remarkably knowledgeable of the magical secrets relevant to the overarching plot and serves as a neat window for the things to come. Limbo was also somewhat of a simp for Ibuki-douji before the events of this story made him change his mind.

And one key aspect all versions of Douman share is their comedy relief aspects, which are centered around him being the unwanted member of his group or him getting easily excited and losing the ability to shut up.

Murasaki Shikibu

A lady-in-waiting to a noble lady. Has something of a sisterly relationship with her fellow lady-in-waiting Sei Shounagon. She's actually the more naturally excitable of the duo, but the dark circumstances of her work environment made her somber, outwardly dispassionate, submissive, and courteous to a fault.

Sei Shounagon

A lady-in-waiting to a noble lady. Has something of a sisterly relationship with her fellow lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. She's actually the more naturally introverted of the duo but since the person that she cared about the most started to lose her smile, Sei Shounagon became a constantly cheerful silly girl in a questionable attempt to make her feel safer and remind her of the good times.

She went through some really bad times in the past, but her compassionate understanding of the heart of the lady she served and the knowledge about onis she gained from personal experience prevented her from acting out of hatred towards the one who made her suffer.

My favorite character in the entire game, by the way.

#type moon #fate grand order #tsukihime

[heyimcelery]

Okay so I watched all of Ninjago Dragons Rising s2p2! I've got so many thoughts and I'm dumping them all here in a long list. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

to start: Cole!! He's a family man! He's got a boyfriend and they hold hands and they care for their kids and Bonzle so obviously came out to them and omg I wanted to cry. The joy of acceptance. I mean come one she kept saying how alone she felt, they're found family, she was repeating that she chose he town name and identity and the villains were insistent that she wants a person but just a spell like come on

But there's more than that, I have questions I have concerns!! Like wtf happend on Coles quest?? With Sensei Wu??? Like he disappeared and turned up again and said he would explain but never did.

Cole also came back from that in his bolder form so did he figure out he could do it on his own then? Is that what he learned on his quest?? If so it's gonna be a little awkward when he tried to explain that to his bf Geo.

With part 2 I really want to see the whole gang meet them and talk and catch up on everything. Like cole has been missing since the merge and no one this season cared. At all. They hadn't seen him in ages- didn't even know if he was alive until drs1 but nope no worries or concerns. Not even a question of what he was up to.

When he came through the portal Zane wasn't worried or confused at all, just oh? You need some help?? Sure let's beat these bad guys and not worry or show emotions! Is a tearful reunion for my fav character too much to ask?? Cuz he clearly deserves it. :(

And then into both Zane and Coke this season!! Love them!! They've always been my fav duo (gonna have to start shipping geo/Cole/Zane as poly now) it was so fun to see them going around together with Bonzle. They had some great moments and I'm praying we get more in the next part.

On the other hand it was a shame they got such small roles- just seperated from the others as a way to help Bonzle. It means they didn't have the same lessons or knowledge the others got which is totally unfair!! They have a lot to catch up on. They also never got a chance to be part of the main battle

It's dumb but I was kinda hoping for Cole to show off his stronger powers (he always seems to get new powers every other season but that's a discussion for another day). Like sure he could use his robotic mech suit but that's been done before! He can do his boulder thing now (unless somehow he still thinks he can't which means he kept up that form for several days on his quest) and when he made that giant mid hut to protect his family!! I want to see him do that again! Let me man go ape shit to protect Bonzle.

And on another note, Geo my beloved, you should get a chance to shine with your powers. A chance to show off or at least have a talk about them with Cole.

Next up WyldFyre. I was worried they would make her the annoying comic relief cuz if her injury but her talks about losing loved ones and dragon culture and her home were really sweet and it was great to see some development so driven by battles. I love those too don't get me wrong but like I needed to see this side of her. And I adore her relationship with Kai, being besties/mentors/dad for her works so great for both characters.

I will be first to admit that

Kai wasn't really my favourite. If you couldn't tell I love Cole followed by Zane. Always have and likely always will. I suppose that early Kai reminded me too much of some guys form my class and they turned into shitheads and I've always struggled to reconcile Kai's image form theirs. He was always a little too brash, hotheaded, and too often written as stupid to fall into my good graces.

And yet this season I adored him. Of course I've never hated him but like this season made me see what all his fans (many many fans) see in him.

I thought Kai being the first to master such a new, difficult and crucial skill was incredibly satisfying. Form all the way back to season 1 he's been the butt of jokes- having to learn he's not the centre of the universe and sometimes it's others like Lloyd who are the chosen ones. That's all great but him now getting a starting role, his ability being fueled by thoughts of his family, by his childhood and by protecting is friends was just too good to ignore him. Love this form of his character more than any other I've seen.

And now Kai is trapped :(

I'm glad he's got Bonzle with him tho so hopefully they can have each other's backs (she's meant to be a POWERFUL spell after all) they'll need each other if they're trapped with those other 4 guys. If they can apparently demolish everything then I'm rather worried for the duo. Tbh I'm sure they'll survive just fine, probably making jokes at Cole's expense all the while.

On a side note, I found it super cute how WyldFyre was willing to protect and go down with Kai. Besties I'm telling ya

Now Jay. I've never thought too hard about him I know he's one of the favs of the fandom but like Kai I was never so besotted with him. Still a great guy and omg I feel so bad. One of his worst fears was always being alone and now stuck, confused, forced to hide such a fundamental part of himself.

On the other hand he's got a gun now so that's fun!!

And you can't talk about him without mentioning Nya. He worst fears being him forgetting hurts my soul. And she was so sure it could never be true that she snapped out of her nightmare state!! She's going to break when she finds out.

She's already grieving her own brother, we saw her break down into WyldFyre (more proof she's an honorary sibling by now) but now knowing what's happening with Jay, I'm saying the angst is going to be overpowering. It's a greek tragedy fr

Part 2 is going to be rough. Jay only had a single scene but it's already a sign for the worst to come.

Speaking of things being rough, Lloyd is going THROUGH IT!! give this poor guy a break. I do appreciate that we physically get to see the effects of all his trauma- that everything that's happened has real consequences for his character and the story but I can't help but feel bad.

I've also suffered from anxiety for most of my life so to see it in a character like that feels really personal to me. Hope he gets a little break though, god knows he deserves it.

Have to say it's pretty funny that Lloyd's had so much Oni trauma that he forgot that he's part dragon too. Yes ninjas dragons can do spinjitsu why are you surprised at this point

The animation this season has been incredible, the fights were beautiful the angles so interesting and dynamic and I could go on for hours about how much I love it. It's always great when kids -and even animation in general is treated with respect. It doesn't dumb it's ideas and stories and characters for the sake of it's younger audience, and that makes it so much better for me who is definitely out of the age range.

I have my more points to make but I've been adding stuff in and off for ages so I'll probably go through this all later. Thanks for reading, please I want to know your own thoughts too I love discussing that kinda stuff!!

<3

#cole ninjago #ninjago kai #ninjago cole #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago dragons rising #ninjago dr spoilers #ninjago analysis #dragons rising season two #spoilers #ninjago spoilers #thoughts #discussion

[oscconfessions]

I am back again.

And I fucking hope OJ lets Balloon into the Hotel after Season 3, 'cuz if I don't, I'm drinking a whole jug of orange juice in protest.

Anyways-

Though the writing of the season may be bad...

I think the Season 3 debuters are great. Considering we may never see them again after III19 (if they don't get invited to the Hotel and, thus, are never in Season 2), I just want to say that all the III debutants are nice in their own way.

Blueberry was a nice two-off villain who hid himself under a downer, blue personality.

Lifering is a nice guy who only wants fun and to save others' lives.

Tea Kettle is a motherly figure who would protect her teammates from harm.

Cabby is both physically and mentally disabled, and I really liked her arc about trying to apologize to others when she didn't need to. (I will say, I hated how it was revealed that her files help with her Short Term Memory Loss)

Clover is comic relief with a side of ADHD and she's just so innocent, outside of the one episode where she thought "OH, MY LUCK IS A CURSE" yet she goes back to innocent bean.

Goo is the definition of awkwardness, and I love that.

Bot's arc was okay, though it may feel gross that Fan and Test Tube made a robotic replica of a dead person, Bot's arc about being separate from what they were made to be was really uplifting.

The Floor was comic relief and yet became one of the most important parts of the show, being MePhone4's assistant from Episode 12 onwards, and that to me is genius.

Candle is just... UUUUUUGH- where do I start, her arc in Episode 11 was cool, her Inner Flame is cool, she is just... girlboss, I hope she's saved.

Silver Spoon is my favorite in all the characters in II for one reason: he's written in such a way that he's both comic relief and a serious part of the plot at the same time, his character balances it really well, and I just love him for that, hope he apologizes to Candle in III19 and maybe confess his crush.

.

#confession #osc #/ii #inanimate insanity #/ii/blueberry #/ii/lifering #/ii/tea kettle #/ii/cabby #/ii/clover #/ii/goo #/ii/bot #/ii/floor #/ii/candle #/ii/silver spoon

[tangledinink]

what's your centaurworld opinions?

spoilers below if you care.

I'm so torn on that show, because there are parts where I think it's beautiful and compelling and visually stunning, but there are also parts where I'm just... so disappointed in it? Like, I commend it for being out there and taking risks and trying to be different, but like...

You know the opening scene in the very first episode? Before Horse ends up in Centaurworld? And we get the whole Rider's Lullaby Thing before Horse and Rider get seperated? After that I was immediately, like... so disappointed. Because right off the bat I was like! Well... I don't care about this world or this story, quite frankly, I care about that world that we saw before! about Horse's world! About her and Rider! And, like, yes, I know the plot is about "oh this is how Horse gets back to her world and gets back to Rider," but, like, at least for me, none of the Centaurworld characters really won me over, esp not at first. I didn't give a shit about them or their world! So they were really just... in the way. They were obstacles standing in between me and getting to see more of Horse and Rider's story, and that's, like, idk, maybe not what you want? For your main cast?

That's not to say that I hated it, because I didn't hate the first season! There were episodes and moments that I enjoyed, and I liked most of the music, as well, but I really wasn't a fan of the second season at all.

I HATED the birdtaur episode. Like! I HATED the whole gimmick where they treated Horse and her Herd as a 'TV show' and the main cast were all annoyed at them for 'treating their lives live entertainment' and judging Horse's decision to split up with Rider as like? A kind of subtle jab at criticisms from fans because it... it doesn't work!? Like, in the show, Horse's main defense against the Birdtaurs saying that the ending of season 1 wasn't good and 'felt empty' since they did all this build-up to reunite with Rider only to immediately leave her again was "well this is my real life!!!"

Okay, but, like... it's still a TV show. If the Birdtaurs are a stand-in for real Centaurworld fans, then Horse's defense... doesn't work at all? Because it's not her real life. It's a make-believe TV show. That you seemingly have no actual defense for. (Because it's... it's valid criticism, actually...) Also just in general making fun of your own fans is, like... stupid, I think.

I also feel like season 2 totally assassinated Wammawink's character? I liked her in season 1! She was overbearing and protective and a bit much sometimes, but one of her main character traits is that she loves her herd and is their caretaker, and she wants to ensure they're safe and protected at all times... in season 2 she just? Doesn't seem to care about them at all? She spends the entire second season just being so self-absorbed and catty the entire time, and it makes no sense.

I didn't like Durpleton, Glendale, or Ched at all, they were all just... too annoying for me to enjoy.

I'm still fucking mad that literally ALL the main cast got at least some kind of backstory/side-story type thing... except Zulius, for some reason? Despite being a fan-favorite (and my personal fav because I mean. Come ON. He's just fun.)

I understand it's a kid's show and they're gonna have silly moments and jokes and comic relief, etc etc etc, okay, sure, there will be fart jokes, fine, not my taste but it's fine it wasn't made for me, whatever. But it often felt like... the show wasn't allowed to breathe? There was no point where it truly took itself seriously. There always had to be some dumb heeheehaha fart joke shoehorned in. Which is, like, fine, if you wanna be a fart joke show, that's fine! It's just that Centaurworld also tries to be an edgy drama at the same time, and it just... I don't think it pulls off being both. Comedy and drama can definitely exist at the same time but! There are times when you have to allow the show to be one or another! Is this a dramatic character moment? Just be a dramatic character moment! It often felt like Centaurworld truly was not capable of even having a single scene with some 'bad-dum-ts' fart joke moment in it, which made it very hard for me to? Take any of it seriously or enjoy it.

Also, I hated the Nowhere King's story. I thought he was so dumb and uncompelling. I know he's the bad guy and you're not supposed to LIKE him but like? When they told us the backstory I think they expected us to, you know, feel SORRY for him? And I didn't! At all! I found no part of his story to be sympathetic. That guy was just a fucking idiot the whole way through, just repeatedly shooting himself in the foot by being this self-important "I'm not like other centaurs" dude while at the same time being all "woe is me this girl will never like me since I'm a centaur so I won't even ATTEMPT to get to know her at all, I'm gonna jump straight to crimes against nature and deceiving her." I thought that guy was stupid and I did not care about him.

ALSO? HOW THE FUCK DOES THE PORTAL KEY WORK? Like??? It makes NO sense to me??? Like, sure, apparently, it keeps the Rift open to connect the two worlds or whatever, I guess, but then it also like, just... does other magick? It can just??? Separate centaurs, for some fucking reason? Which I don't understand? Is that just what the key does? Open the rift AND de-centaur people? Or is it just a generic magick item that can do anything? But then also the Nowhere King could make minotaurs... without the key??? It makes no fucking sense to me and I think it's dumb.

... I like the songs, though, and the animation is really pretty. Also I thought the ending was dumb lol.

#centaurworld #youve unlocked an unskippable cutscene im sorry #asks #anon

[dustteller]

I just finished watching all the available episodes of The Apothecary Diaries, and I have to say that it surprised me!

The premise of an apothecary working for the emperor's consorts and solving medical mysteries is already a gun one, but the execution really elevated the concept past entertaining romcom to genuinely fantastic storytelling. It's not revolutionary, but it's certainly deeply endearing, and I really enjoyed how it found a balance between lighthearted comedy and acknowledging the awful aspects of sex work and being a woman/lower class in a world where neither are valued. It doesn't explore the darker side in detail, at least not so far, but it still does a fantastic job in making the horrible parts feel like a real part of the setting while still making the choice to focus on the women's joy even when faced with hard situations. I guess I just appreciate these things being openly discussed without immediately having it be a psychological story about dealing with trauma?

The characters are also soo good, and while most lack depth (its been nine episodes, so for a cast this big, that can be excused), usually their schtick is strong enough that it can easily carry their appearances. You also get the sense that while a lot of these characters do fill out comedic roles/archetypes, there's a lot more going on beneath the surface. Their schtick is fun, but its not all they have, its just there to help the audience familiarize themselves and bond with the charcaters while their entire personality is unearthed. The entire cast is genuinely absolutely delightful and reasonable and feel incredibly real while also being really funny.

The romance portion is also really really fantastic. Both Maomao and Jinshi are hilarious little freaks, and their dynamic is so fun to watch. Maomao is such a good take on the cold, blunt, genius character, who is socially challenged but very far from frigid. She's practical and logical while also keeping a very strong emotional core founded in empathy and genuine care for the people around her. Her obsession with poison is also pulling triple duty, as it 1) serves to break her cold facade and provides comic relief in the form of an ongoing gag, 2) gives the reader a strong understanding of her guiding motives/desires, and 3)gives her role as a medical investigator narrative justification. Of course she'd know what was used to poison someone, that's her whole thing! Jinshi himself is a counterpart to Maomao's colder tendencies, being very clingy and emotional. This show is not afraid of making him a pathetic little obsessed man, and it's all the better for him. Unlike other possesive and obsessed male leads, Jinshi manages to mostly stay away from the creep factor by being so uttely pathetic and cringe that he never really comes across as an actual threat. Couple that with him actually being very respectful of Maomao, only engaging in light flirting, and how he never actually wants to change her (most rapey MLs try to break the FL out of their feisty charcater or demean her for it while showing her how they're more powerful), and Jinshi makes for a very good love interest that also feels like a very safe comfortable person, which I feel matches the tone of the show very well. He's also as much of a freak as Maomao ("she wants to crush me like a bug <3333🥰🥰🥰), so they're very well matched there, too. He's such a petty loser, and that makes him a stronger character.

The story seems to be ramping up, and while I don't think it'll ever lose the lighthearted tone, I'm excited about how it already seems to promise a more in-depth exploration of the world it's set up the scaffolding for. For what it's worth, I also think the show has done a very good job at making the world feel expansive and mysterious, while also balancing that wholesomeness, which for a show centered around sex workers is quite the feat.

Anyways, long story short, I think the nine episodes that are out so far are really great, and the story thrives through how utterly endering it is. I am charmed by the world and the characters and what the plot has promised us, and while I don't expect it to revolutionize anime or whatever, it's still a masterclass in narrative shorthand and the act of balancing its heavy themes, especially when it comes to the characters themselves. There's so many of them that are so fun and memorable that I didn't mention, but who absolutely deserve their own posts, and that's only nine episoded into a comedy show, which I think goes to show how strong of a start this series has. Overall, I'd rate the show so far an 8/10, and I'm really excited to see what will come from the next 15 episodes.

#my thoughts #the apothecary diaries #maomao #jinshi

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Season 5 really killed my love for love square, especially with the way the choose Adrien, a kid with massive trauma and depression, as a therapist for his girlfriend. The whole "I want to be everything Marinette want" is bad for Adrien even more so because he doesn't get the same effort from Marinette.

The whole Adrienette is one sided and it remind me of a girl in one yt clip where she basically said she want a man who do everything she want while the man should already be grateful to be chosen as her boyfriend, which means she will do the bare minimum if nothing at all in that relationship.

Marinette isn't that kind of girl but the way the story goes it sure seems like that because Adrien doesn't allowed to bother her, he just continue to serve whatever she needs without her needing to do the same.

People saying that they'll break up and I agree, but also it will take a whole lot of character development for Adrien, something that the writers seems to hate it seems. Even if they argue or have a break up, I doubt it will be last for an episode before Adrien goes back to Marinette and say sorry. That's how Ladynoir conflict solved Kuro Neko after all, with Cat Noir be a bigger person while Ladybug do nothing at all.

Girl power is supposed to be a slogan to empower girls and Marinette supposed to be a role model for the young audience but at this point I don't even want my nieces and nephew to watch this show if what they teach them is that boy should do whatever the girls said and never bother with their girls with their feelings because man should "suck it up" while the girls can do whatever without minding about their man need.

I would actually be surprised if they broke up. Not because it's unearned, they arguably should breakup or at least get some sort of therapy, I just don't think that the writers have the guts to do that.

As you said, a breakup would only work if it led into character growth and they're allergic to doing that in this show in part because of the mandate that every episode must stand alone. That's a fine rule in a monster of the week show where all the drama is sitcom stuff that can be easily solved in 20 minutes, but a terrible rule in a show that's diving into the levels of complexity that Miraculous is trying to pull off. The show's current format is the worst of both worlds: complex plots that lack the complexity to really work and monster-of-the-week battles that feel rushed because they're being squeezed down to make room for the more complex stuff.

Prior to season four, my opinion of Miraculous was that it was a decent show for its indented audience, but there were a few plot points that required serious discussion to explain why they were wrong (for example: the "don't confront liars unless you're doing it for ideologically pure reasons" lesson from Lila's intro). As the show currently stands? I would not willingly introduce it to a young kid for a myriad of reasons. One of those reasons is the fact that the relationship drama we're currently dealing with is suited to a show for teenagers while still having the writing of a show for young children, leading the drama to feel weird and toothless. Yet another worst of both worlds.

All of this is quite sad because Miraculous has such a fantastic setup for being a cute, fun, healthy romance for all ages! It's why I started watching it and the choices made by the people running the show are truly baffling.

They picked a setup that allowed for all of the tension of a love triangle with none of the awkward fallout and then.... decided to introduce two love triangles.

They went with a duo setup to allow the male romantic lead to be mostly comic relief without feeling superfluous and then.... decided to introduce a larger team without establishing anything to make him feel like more than the comic relief.

They picked a setup that allowed for balanced support needs and then.... never let Adrien get any support.

That last one is the thing that really upsets me. When it comes to magical girl shows and their male-focused equivalents, it's somewhat standard for the main character (or main characters) to get all the struggles while the love interest (or love interests) are just there to give comfort and support, leading the love interest to have minimal character development. (Ex: Sailor Moon, Winx club, almost every shonen show ever made, the list goes on)

This isn't necessarily a flaw. You don't want to bloat a story with pointless side conflicts and you can still write a good romance under these conditions. After all, in real life, it's perfectly normal for relationships to go through phases where one person needs more support than the other. As long as it's implied that the love interest has more going on than just being a love interest, you're okay. Not amazing, but okay.

To put it in more concrete terms, if the Prince Dreamy Eyes is ruling the kingdom with his best friends at his side while Princess Sparkle Tutu is stopping the monsters, but the show mostly focuses on the prince supporting the princess and the princess fighting to save the day, that works. The prince is clearly not just arm candy. And maybe the viewers would really like a few one-off episodes about what Dream Eyes does while the Sparkle Tutu isn't around, but this IS a magical girl show so it makes sense that all the "filler" episodes go to the Sparkle Knights and not the Prince and the Dream Team.

This excuse obviously doesn't work for Miraculous because it didn't relegate Adrien to background love interest status. He is a key part of the team, but that's still something you can work around. In team-based shows with a large cast, it's not uncommon for some of the team to just kinda be there to round out the team while one or two main leads get the character growth and personal struggles. This isn't even a flaw as it's arguably better to have more focused drama. If everyone had a sob story, then no one does.

But that excuse doesn't work for Miraculous either because the show is driven by a conflict that's centered around Adrien. A beautifully simple yet powerful conflict that was perfectly tailored for making the relationship between the leads feel balanced.

On the hero side, Ladybug needs all the love and support because everything is riding on her. On the civilian side, Adrien needs all the love and support because he's a sheltered kid whose father is the villain. That allows for a setup where it doesn't feel like either character is nothing more than the love interest. You can make them both complex and flip around the support/supporter roles based on what part of the conflict the story is dealing with in a given moment. It will forever be a tragedy that such a wonderful premise was pulled off this terribly, which is why I say that I'm still a fanon shipper even though canon is dead to me. I love writing and reading takes on this premise that do it right. It's why I got into the fandom in the first place! I'm not really drama to cute romance. I'm drawn to interesting story ideas that feature romance, which is what Miraculous should have been.

#ml writing salt #ml writing critical #adrien deserves better #marinette deserves better

[rustic-space-fiddle]

Why do you want to fight BEN from treasure planet?

Oh boy. LEMME JUST RANT A LIL’—

He’s just rather… abrasive? Granted, Ben in the original Treasure Island was also loud and obnoxious, but I think the difference between them is the tone they both brought to their respective stories. Ben from Treasure Island was funny in that he said outlandish phrases and kept trying to touch people (which I admit I LOVE that they kept about B.E.N.), but his character wasn’t ever explicitly used for comic relief. He was more tragic that comedic, even to the very end of his story. Jim at the end of the book tells that he spent all his money at once and was homeless again in just a few weeks. It’s funny-ish, because you’d think he’d be a bit smarter with his money after being marooned for 3 years, but mostly it’s tragic because he’s still wandering and poor with no one, even though all that treasure was rightfully his.

B.E.N. on the other hand is blatantly used for comic relief, which I really don’t think was necessary. It’s not like the story was exceptionally dark up till then. Captain Amelia’s dry wit, Doppler’s bumbling earnestness, Jim’s teenage sass, Silver’s crude pirate-y commentary, and even Morphy are all plenty of fun! They seamlessly inject comedy into the story without taking you out of it. But when B.E.N. is funny, it’s just “WOOO HE’S CRAAAAAAZYYYYYY” comedy. Granted, a lot of his one-liners are really funny! I quote him often, even though I don’t care for him very much. Nevertheless, some lines just feel out of place in the story, and he acts so much like a person that you wonder why he’s even a robot (he’s robot to explain why he’s still around after 100 years [yes, I get that he’s programmed extremely well. But still!]). For example: “WAS I EVER DANCING WITH A DROID NAMED LUPÉ?!” just SCREAMED out in the middle of the moment when it feels like our heroes are losing. Silver has gone full dark side, showing no mercy; Doppler and Amelia are tied up, apparently hopeless, and Jim is being used as a human GPS, being lead for all the world like a dancing bear (geddit?). If B.E.N. was gonna shout something, it didn’t have to be so uselessly funny. Just him shouting would be inappropriate enough in that moment. But nope, because he’s voiced by Martin Short, Mr. Comedy Man, B.E.N. has to be 80% idiot, 20% accidentally useful. The more accidentally useful a character is, the closer to Jar Jar Binks they are. And I cannot stand Jar Jar Binks.

OPPOSITION: He’s just that stupid because his brain is gone! He’s smart at the end of the movie! — Yes… but he’s still obnoxious. He’s a little better, but talks just a little too long. His “I know you don’t like hugging, but get ready cuz I’m gonna hug ya—“ THAT was actually humorous and kinda sweet. Then when Jim hugs him back, it’s wholesome! But then they have B.E.N. go on to cry (badly) and ask for a tissue—AS JIM IS REALIZING SILVER IS LEAVING. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I thought that exchange was funny and wholesome and I wish B.E.N. had been reeled back a bit in his surprised reaction to getting a hug back. His surprise is warranted, but dang.

That’s all just a very long way of saying that I wish he’d been played a little quieter (still loud, but quieter), and that he’d been more purposefully helpful. Ben from Treasure Island was like a geode. He was crusty on the outside, but showed himself to be actually quite clever (though not financially savvy) and basically secured the treasure all by himself. He just needed a ship and a crew. B.E.N. from Treasure Planet was like a Wish.com quartz crystal. A rather useless fellow dressed up in a shiny comedy crust. “I have to pee!” (A thing robots can’t even do?) —BOOM! Hiding place! “I like this fresh air door I have!” —BOOM! Gateway to the center of the planet. The only time I really like that dynamic is when he’s lamenting that he can’t remember something super important (the booby traps), and then immediately after Jim reinstalls his brain, he’s like “HOLY FRICK THE BOOBY TRAPS—“.

Again, this is all just my opinion! I don’t fully hate him, and he is funny, but I think they over exaggerated him in an attempt to appeal to kids and they just didn’t need to do that! If they’d dialed him back just a tad, I think it would’ve made that last part of the movie feel less like a tonal rollercoaster. What do y’all think?

#Rusty rants #treasure planet #don’t roast me! I just don’t like the way his character YANKS you into ‘LAUGH NOW’ mode. eghh #anyway #YEE

[rikebe]

thoughts on x men evolution kurt?

i LOOOOVE evo kurt!!! i have a huge soft spot for evo in general (i love love love any animated version of the xmen and evo is so silly and whacky i cant help but adore it) and i think kurt is sooo adorable in that show.

i love how this version of kurt leans wayyy more into his mischevieous and silly pranky side than most other adaptations and i really appreciate that. i feel like its such an underutilized and underrepresented aspect of his character that it even kinda gets tossed to the wayside in the comics half the time, but it's one of the things that makes him such a fun, three-dimensional character. i think its awesome that evo chose to go with that side of him when other adaptations focus more on his melancholy, somber side (which i also love of course! but its not all there is to him!)

im also a huuuuge sucker for little brother and comic relief characters in general (bobby's always been my fave o5) and kurt rly kinda takes on his role of the silly team baby in evo. i adore a silly team baby. plus, kurt is ACTUALLY the youngest of three siblings in canon, so i can totally see him being the annoying kid brother who tags along with amanda and stephan and gets on their nerves.

i liked the more serious plot they did for him too with the whole thing with mystique. ill never get tired of that storyline i wont lie and i think evo manages to strike a good balance where kurt is funny and comedic relief, but you still care about him and when he has a more serious moment it works.

although i think he CAN be a little overexaggerated with his teen speak, i like to imagine that's due to his status as a non-native speaker so he awkwardly overuses slang to try and fit in. I gotta say that I think most of the time Kurt being a teen from germany coming to america is treated kinda weird (see: the reboot movies acting as if kurt doesnt know what a movie or a store is. like guys hes from berlin in the 80ies. hes not from fucking dorf schragensdiek mid-14th century he probably has done way wilder shit than suburban teen scott summers.) so i like to make up my own headcanons to make it make sense a little lmao. also as a german: we think american/english sayings are super funny and like repeating them as germanly as possible. its like a nationwide sport so kurt doing it for funsies would also be totally reasonable.

overall i tend to take a lot of inspiration from evo for my version of a teen kurt bc the way he's characterized could totally be a super young and immature version of the sweet calm fuzzy guy we all know n love. hes silly and pranky and kind of annoying, but he's also really caring and the way his relationship with kitty evolved from a silly crush to genuine friendship was SO sweet. i love when kurt is shown that way, flirty but ultimately completely unselfish when his affections aren't returned and totally glad to just be friends with someone he had a crush on. i do think it's really lame how he uses the image inducer all the time since kurt NOT using the inducer anymore is such a big part of his character arc, and him using it at HOME all the time too is really weird but... well, whatever. in total one hell of a lovable, great kurt.

plus his design is super cute. how can you not love that 90ies boyband middlepart??

#also this goes without saying but his transgender swag is off the charts. #xmen #xmen evolution #kurt wagner #xmen evolution nightcrawler #nightcrawler #x men #x men evolution

[notexactlyrocketscience]

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood: a critically kind review from a femme acespec physicist <3

> scroll to the next section for my review on the physics academia content in this book!

First, a quick romance novel review!

spoiler: it wasn’t my favorite but I gave it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 because being a writer has made me a generally more appreciative reader + I am so starved of woman in physics rep.

the good

It just felt good to read about a woman physicist, who are still incredibly underrepresented in fiction, especially as protagonists. (I’ll go off about that in a minute.)

The romance is so swoony with shoujo manga vibes, I haven’t read straight M/F adult romance novels in a while and I just loved the flutteriness of it.

A couple of chapters were so soft with excellent pillowtalk. There was something about the ambience of the snow, the hypnotic sadness of failure, the prescence of a comforting person.

I enjoyed identifying the relatable parts about physics academia. Hazelwood clearly did a lot of research, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely kept me reading!

the bad

The academia issues are so over-simplified it’s almost juvenile. For an adult novel, even one marketed as a romcom, I expect more nuance, more explanations, more explicit lingering in tight positions.

And then the romance tries to be complex (and has a lot of potential!) but not a lot of conflict really happens.

A fictional physics fued between theorists and experimentalists is a really fun (and actually not far off) concept, but I would have expected some things to be the other way around. (More on that later!)

Okay this is personal but the main couple both have terrible taste in movies. Twilight vs white male rage movies??? There is no lesser evil here

Elsie’s hardships aren’t put in a very serious light. Her diabetes and lack of access to health insurance is used as a plot device to engineer romantic momentum between the characters and/or comic relief.

Just overall, the book tried so hard to remain “light” that I think it fails to garner depth. Because adult lives really aren’t that light all the time, and a book can bring relaxation and joy whilst including real worldly negative experiences.

There were aroace and sapphic side characters, but I wanted so bad for Elsie to be demisexual. It's set up so perfectly only for it to be averted—As a demisexual person myself, Elsie’s feelings about attraction felt acutely familiar to me, and every other reader I've spoken to has agreed that the book took a dissapointing and unexpected turn. I understand Hazelwood may not feel equipped to write queer protagonists but if I were her editor, I would have flagged that and recommended she make it canon. It would have added so much more context and dimension to Elsie, and would’ve put hetero demisexuals on the map. </3

Following up on the above: The smut tries so hard to be meaningful but it ... really is icky, stereotypical, unrealistic allocishetero stuff. Think: the shy inexperienced girl vs the man who knows exactly how to advise her. The characters try to subvert the trope by calling it out, but it feels performative because all is forgotten in the next second. The PiV sex is weirdly conventionally idealistic considering the pairing’s size difference. I’m picky about smut but also forgiving when I do like the dynamic. I just didn’t here.

Following up once again: I was ready to ignore all the repetitive comments about how sexy Jack’s height and muscles were, because sure, I guess Elsie has a type. But the sex scenes solidified the redundancy of it all. I've read this same dynamic in countless smutty heteronormative M/F paperbacks. And I have also been made aware by every Hazelwood reader that all her books focus on this kind of physical build pairing. I just want more diversity, you know?

IDK, I just wanted more physics in here than complaining about teaching, glossed over toxic mentors, and using some quirky physics term in every other sentence. (More on that below!)

I just wanted ... more? It’s not an extremely short novel, but both the plot and the character development fell flat. The ups and downs were too fast and easy, and the placement felt off. I finished the book and wondered, “That’s it? That’s all that happened?” It just wasn’t fulfilling. The side characters aren't expanded upon, and don’t get enough pagetime. My other romance reads this year were Bellefleur's The Fiancee Farce and Mcquiston’s One Last Stop. In both of those novels, the drama was fleshed out with so much care and detail. In comparison, Love, Theoretically may mention similar social difficulties in passing, but failed to really, really show us.

Overall ... the novel was fun for being about physicists but I really don’t see myself picking up another Hazelwood book, especially considering this isn’t even a debut novel. The conventional white steminist vibe and the particular allocishetero M/F dynamic just isn’t my thing.

But perhaps a reader wanting more of a novel and its characters is a good problem to have. Never say never, I guess! I look forward to keeping tabs on what Hazelwood publishes in the future!

Now, onto the physics!

First, most physicists, as good scientists, understand that theory and experimentation are fundamentally linked. It’s true that we each are often biased towards our own methods of research, but it is quite a stretch to imagine full professors so blatantly feud against others solely because of theory vs experimentation. Regardless, I was happy to suspend my disbelief for the sake of the plot that was framed in a genre-specific, lighthearted, humorous way.

Secondly, both theory and experimentation have sources of funding that are motivated in different ways, and Hazelwood's decision to have the theorists struggle with funding cuts due to declining interest in pop culture/the general public is actually quite credible. Experimentation garners a lot more interest from the application and engineering end of society, parts that are easily fueled by capitalism.

However, I think experimentalists in general are far less likely to be mean to theorists than the reverse scenario. Dr Fatima Abdurrahman has a great video essay about that called on her YouTube channel called “Quantum Physics, Feminism, and Objective Reality: What Physicists Don’t Want You to Know About Quantum Mechanics.” Dr Fatima outlines how old white men in physics have maintained this image of unwavering scientific objectivity in the name of rigor, despite studying a field that fundamentally is barely fathomable for humans. In simpler terms: Men, even in theory, pretend to be better, smarter, and more valid as physicists despite being in an infamously iffy field. And I would have liked to see that represented. It was just really hard for me to buy narcissistic grad students mansplaining Elsie about her field, and Elsie’s righteous feminine rage, when the field in question is … physics theory? It just didn’t make sense to me, when all of my personal experiences point to the opposite.

But every cloud has a silver lining, and having a woman theorist in a physics field that’s less popsci-oriented is actually … really cool. And having her love interest be a man in experimentation … sort of subverts gender roles and conventional media expectations.

Let me explain. The reality is that when women are represented in STEM, media prefers to put them in biology, like a nurse to a doctor, a people-oriented nurturer, a mere sidekick to the real “objective” scientist—often a mathematician or an astrophysicist who is always a man. And when women are placed in physics, they are automatically assigned to observational astronomy, which is dismissed as passive and easy. (This is wildly untrue—though styles of research in astronomy has interestingly allowed a somewhat more diverse array of researchers in history. Even today, you’ll see a higher frequency of women and queer people in every astronomy department.)

I think my ideal version of this novel would be retaining Elsie in theory, while also making theorists the overall bad guys in the feud. I would love to have her talk about the unique sexism she faces as a theorist. I would kill for a scene in which Jack gets gobsmacked by how fucking good at math she really is, compared to him (instead of, like, only making fun of it like it’s easy). I would love to read about her getting a tour of his lab, and just more physics content. But maybe I’m the only one saying that, because I’m a physicist. Maybe Hazelwood simplified it all to keep the book appealing to the general masses.

Still, it all read more like a girlpower!!! chant rather than a real commitment to represent a woman in STEM. I savored every moment Elsie or George would go off about physics. I loved Elsie’s conversations with Olive, a different STEM academic. (Monica was more complicated and actually quite interesting, and I wish we could have seen more of her. Heck, I wish we had actually been given any tangible info about Jack’s mom, even.) But I genuinely felt these instances were rare. Elsie referred to being a physicist a lot (and frankly, her mind is more physics-y than any IRL physicist considering the sheer number of physics-inspired figures of speech she uses … but I excused that as silly comic relief, a quirk in Hazelwood’s writing style). But she didn’t tangibly do physics on page. It was disappointing, considering women characters in STEM is what Hazelwood is known for.

And there are physicists who love teaching—even physicists who solely want to teach. Physicists who do pedagogy research. I know the book was mainly trying to criticise the adjunctification and dismissal of physics higher education, and it’s actually quite accurate in representing that most physicists in academia would prefer not to teach. But the excecution also ends up erasing physicists who aren’t in academia just for research. And I say this especially because the validity of teaching physicists as physicists is dismissed in real life. It’s used as justification to further force all physics academics to try to juggle between both research and teaching, whether they want to or not.

Which leads us to bad mentors. I’ve had a bunch of those. As Olive pointed out in an excellent quote, “Academia is so hierarchical, you know? There are all these people who have power over you, who are supposed to guide you and help you become the best possible scientist, but . . . sometimes they don’t know what’s best. Sometimes they don’t care. Sometimes they have their own agenda. […] Sometimes they’re total shitbuckets who deserve to step on a pitchfork and die.” And the thing is, the novel really doesn’t show us any of that (perhaps other than in Monica). We don’t fully get to know what happened to Jack’s mom, or Olive. We are not shown what Dr L’s agenda really was. Their final confrontation was so quick, when in reality shitty mentors are often sticky and entwined with your work, hard to cut off and scarier to talk back to even after you’ve finally realized they’re toxic.

Which isn’t to say the novel is just inadequate about everything. It’s correct in how goofy physics faculty are, and how white man-dominated the field is, how students try to mansplain women profs, how theorists madly work on their computers (as an experimentalist, I could never understand), how publishing is finicky (to put it kindly), and how tenured faculty fail to understand the reality of the job market in academia today. There are certain parts (like the quote above!) where I felt incredibly seen as part of a minoritized identity group in STEM academia. It’s rare to have a book written from this PoV, and as a first I think this novel will always be special for me!

If you’re interested in reading about more fictional women physicists, I would highly recommend skimming through this list I made on GoodReads (and feel free to add more!).

And if you’d like to support memoirs and science communication books by IRL women physicists, then look to further than this other list I’ve also made. (We’re actually currently seeing a boom in these which is inanely exciting to me, so again, contributions are always welcome!)

#love theoretically #ali hazelwood #romcom books #physics #the love hypothesis #love on the brain #romance novels #romcom #romcom novels #adult romance #queer #asexual #demisexual #book review #bookblr #feminist #steminist #stem #women in stem #lgbtq+ #queer in stem #astronomy #tiktok books #booktok #acespec #aromantic #aromantic asexual #aromantism #aroace #asexuality

[project-sekai-facts]

I’m not surprised by the most popular groups (though as a l/n fan it does feel discouraging sometimes asdfghjl). But do you know the most popular characters for each unit and maybe why they are the most popular 🧐

thanks to elongated muskrat I can’t check any of the old stats accounts so this is from memory.

I believe the most popular character in Leo/need is Saki. I think part of it is the gyaru/genki girl personality, like she’s very fun and that usually appeals to a lot of people. Also she’s very popular with people who are disabled/chronically ill for obvious reasons. And like all the Tenma sibs (Incl Toya) are pretty popular, and specifically Tsukasa so I think she gets a bit of a boost from that.

More More Jump I actually am not sure. All I know is they used to consistently show up at the bottom on title stats alongside MEIKO and Honami. I think Shizuku was usually highest (this is for JP). Tbh from observation I’d say she’s probably the most popular MMJ girl in EN fandom as well. I think her looks might play a part in it I can’t lie but her voice and character arc probably help as well.

I think the most popular from VBS is Toya but again stats showed that he, Akito and Kohane are all pretty popular on JP and consistently showed up pretty close to each other (An is the least popular from VBS by a noticeable margin rip An 6ever in our hearts). Again like I said all the Tenma sibs are popular but I think his voice (on top of the fact that I’m fairly certain that itoken is one of the bigger names among the cast) and his “appears cool but is actually very soft” character archetype make him quite popular.

Tsukasa is the most popular character in the game no question on both sides of the fandom. He’s got a lot of appeal so like it’s totally understandable: his arc in the main story is a pretty solid “starts out as a jerk ends up being a nice person” kinda arc, he’s also the onii-chan character and the comic relief character. Seriously I think a large part of it is just because the game is very aware of the fact that he’s their weirdguy and treat him as such (it’s why i post so many facts about him because there’s so much stupid trivia dropped about him compared to everyone else; he runs on rule of funny 50% of the time).

N25 I think is the main one with clear different favourites between EN and JP. Mizuki is the most popular one on EN. Definitely connected to their trans swag bc a lot of fans connect to that (prsk has a largely queer fanbase on EN side). Also they’re pretty energetic and fun but also depressed and have a compelling backstory that again a lot of people can relate to. They’re very popular on JP as well just not the most popular.

For JP the most popular Niigo girl is Kanade. She’s like up there with Tsukasa on JP for most popular character. I think the appeal comes from her kindness and determination to save people despite her own trauma and she’s quite cute in an unconventional way (hikikomori) as well. I think there’s some boost from tomoriru as well being another bigger name for the cast. She voices for Revstar and voiced for Love Live Nijigasaki when the game launched, as well as some anime, and has a good following so that might be a contributing factor in her popularity.

#i hope i interpreted this right. if you were asking for evidence of why they’re popular just send me another ask lol #mod talks #asks

[mdhwrites]

King and Eda are Bad Characters

Specifically because of the show they’re in. Conceptually, in isolation, neither is actually that bad or that great. Eda is just a grouchy mentor character and King is... Okay, King is a bad character because he’s comic relief until his character entirely inverts itself but any of the concepts present with him, being a disaffected young adult, being a megalomaniac child or even just being a lost kid trying to find his place without his birth parents are all good concepts that you can get a lot of fun or narrative use out of. The problem comes that they’re in a comedy adventure and both have this very peculiar and unique trait that does make them different from most fictional characters in that NEITHER WANTS TO DO LITERALLY FUCKING ANYTHING. Both are lazy assholes who don’t actually care about anything and don’t want to do anything. They are entirely content with just existing. Which is kind of a problem for your main cast of an isekai. Luz literally doesn’t know enough about the world to self motivate. She literally blindly walks to Hexide and it’s a good thing that happened instead of falling into a pit or monster’s mouth, etc. like that. And Luz does that because Eda isn’t interested in actually teaching, she just wants free labor and King sure as fuck isn’t going to do anything when S1 King wants everyone to just give him things without ever trying. That’s part of his one joke.

It’s why the found family aspect in S1 is actually as bad as it is. Most of the time the two of them are entirely dismissive of Luz so Luz either has to find a way to blackmail/bribe them into doing something with her or fuck off and do her own thing without them. When they are together, they’re making fun of Luz and her beliefs and not in a “We’re good friends who have this back and forth” but instead a “Look! This fucker cares about anything!” This is still true all the way to GROM! Three quarters of the way into S1. And it’s only a third of the way through S2 when Eda calls Luz and King her kids! It’s why S1 is dominated by Hexide and S2 is dominated by other characters than the main trio telling them going “Do this.” I’ve railed against proactive protagonists but this isn’t just not being proactive. This is actively being against being in the VERY STORY YOU’RE IN. Which is part of the point to TOH because I imagine they think they’re clever with this. That they’re being ‘subversive’. After all, fantasy shows have mentors who immediately start teaching their youths, Their mentors truly love their subject and so even while grouchy do relish in being able to pass on those skills. Fantasy characters don’t care about danger because part of the granduer of the world they live in is the possibility mixed with danger that is around every corner. You never know what will happen if you just point in a direction and go. But Eda and King are both characters who would go “You get eaten, the end, I’m gonna go take a nap.” In S2 this evolves a little towards the Hop Pop side of it where “Everything is so dangerous and these are kids,” but one of those people you’re talking about is literally one of the strongest witches in the Isles because glyphs are busted and the other is someone you have code names for crimes with and in this very season have gone out and done highly dangerous crimes with to get Palistrom wood. Remember: Eda ives so few shits about the dangers of her world that when the EC head and a squad of soldiers comes, Eda just keeps knitting Luz’s cloak while Hooty makes a literal joke out of them. That gets into just how incompatible the 2 seasons are though and I have an ask lined up inquiring about how detrimental the shit treatment of the EC is. But yeah, when 2/3s of your main cast are like this... How are you supposed to tell adventure stories? Easy: You don’t. They’re characters that feel directly out of something like Community, Always Sunny or even Family Guy (to the point where the playground B plot for King where he uses Eda’s monster form feels like its directly inspired by the episode Stewie meets Bertrum) so their plots are those. So many of them are in town or cleaning up messes of their past or really just exceptionally mundane because they’re NEVER going to go do something actually adventurous. Luz always has to go off on her own for that.

But that’s the problem isn’t it: In something like Family Guy, they would be entirely forgettable. Very basic and not even that funny or that ripe for jokes so they wouldn’t be great for that show but they would be compatible. For a KID’S SHOW... Why are they here? The only argument for them is the case of “Fantasy versus Reality.” They are the reality that crashes against Luz but they barely do that because they’re not nearly as much of the show as one would expect. Not only that but eventually they change to never question Luz and coddle her like the rest of the cast so now they’re not even working for thematic purposes AND they’re boring. And you can do this better. Karate Kid, Ranger’s Apprentice, a billion other stories have done grouchy mentors who still do things and still work for their stories but they’re usually at least enthusiastic about the thing they teach. The apprentice opens them up to grow and the like because they get a chance to see their lighter side through the joy they find in their passion. Eda fails at even this. Being a wild witch is important to Eda but we’re never given the impression Eda prefers it for a specific reason other than getting to be more free than other witches. Her freedom to do fuck all though because why should she bother? So she isn’t even excited about magic and her freedom barely matters to even her because it’s just so she can go “Yeah, you have to report to your coven head and all the friends you have at your coven while I get to go home whenever I want to a bird tube I actively dislike and a roommate I mock constantly!” Yeah... Keep winning Queen. I just wish you were winning somewhere else.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#eda the owl lady #King #The Owl House Criticism #TOH Critical

[13eyond13]

Who are your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Berserk? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Thanks.....

I think I kinda only have 4 main faves, really? And that's probably a pretty obvious bunch (Guts, Casca, Griffith, and Puck). I got attached to them all in the first arcs and then stuck out the rest of the stuff mainly just for them without getting extremely attached to anybody else (though I do think the rest of the story is definitely worth reading, and there are many amazing things that come later on as well).

(Warning for spoilers below):

I love Guts because I just cared about him and what happens to him way more than I initially expected I would. I think he's very relatable to me personality-wise and just not your typical macho protagonist guy in some pretty interesting and unusual ways. I also like that he's both kind of simple and complicated all at once and not just a corny noble typical hero type guy, but not completely boring and edgy and nihilistic either. It's a fun blend. I felt a ton for Casca as well and just thought she was very sympathetic and tough yet vulnerable too. I think Griffith's idealism and ambition makes much of the intriguing drama and plot happen that I actually care about in the story, and that he's definitely a complex character that's maybe the most fun one to analyze in a fandom sense. And Puck is just that cute little voice of reason / comic relief sort of character who keeps you going when Guts is being particularly grim and surly and difficult to connect to and when the story is verging on way too dark and bleak, and since he's with you from the very start it's hard not to get attached!

Some Top Favourite Moments (I couldn't narrow it down to five):

-Guts's interactions with Theresia, the Count's daughter / that entire scene in the Black Swordsman Arc: Maybe a bit of an oddball choice, but I distinctly remember that this part of the story was surprising and interesting to me in a good way because it just showed some sides of Guts's character that I didn't expect, and made him seem a bit more unusual and interesting of a character to follow in my eyes. I felt like his weirdass/awkward dark advice to her to just kill herself if she really didn't want to live anymore was obviously because he himself had gone through something like that as a kid and then come to that conclusion based on his own survival instincts as well, and just spoke a lot about how strange and rough his own life and upbringing and worldview probably was, to see that as sincerely good advice to give to a kid at that time? It was different than what you'd expect a typical hero to say or do, and the fact that Puck comments on it like "dang, he's not even trying to be an asshole or mean, he legit thinks that's a good thing to say to her" made me laugh as well, because that was the impression I got from it too. It was also surprising to see him like tearing up afterwards? Idk it just marked a moment to me where my interest in the story and in Guts as a character deepened and changed a bit, so I like it for that!

- Guts and Griffith's first swordfight:

So good and iconic and also perhaps one of the most homoerotic things ever to be put on a page

-Guts holding his sword up to the moon and deciding he was gonna fight for Griffith's sake

- Guts and Casca's first kiss: I kinda get the feeling from most Griffguts fans that it's not super popular to have and share positive or warm feelings about this pair, but I thought the moments between them like their first kiss were actually so cute. I thought it made sense for them and their relationship at the time, and was nice to see them both having a soft and warm and consensual moment with someone else that they trusted that way

- Guts explaining how Griffith is the only person he can't stand looking down on him to the rest of Band of the Hawk:

Another moment where Guts pleasantly surprised me as a character, this time with how self-aware and forthcoming he was about his thoughts and feelings on this front. He's a pretty close-lipped character about such things and also pretty private and secretive most times, so whenever he does share those kinds of feelings I'm just like !!! and very invested in what he has to say. I also didn't expect the story to take this direction so explicitly, and thought that his prioritizing of his relationship with Griffith over everything else would remain background and buried in his subconscious at best, so I was pretty intrigued that this part actually happened at all

- Guts and Griffith's second sword fight in the snow:

So many interesting things going on between the main three characters here, and I feel like this was one of the most suspenseful parts of the story to me, I was having actual like heart racing physical reactions to it. I also love how it teases the audience a bit with certain clever fake-outs and whatnot, like making you think this is probably going to be how Guts will lose his arm...

-Griffith's visions of his childhood self / guilt about his dream:

Anytime we got a glimpse right inside Griffith's head was a fascinating treat for me, and I think the scene of him being guilted by the God Hand over his childhood dream was a fantastic bit of writing and artwork, and so important to the story as a whole.

-The Eclipse (up until that one scene):

You love to hate it and hate to love it, basically? It's an awful and traumatic time, but also just so effective at doing what it's supposed to do and such a great buildup of dread for this extremely climactic scene, and the horror of it all is super well done to me (though once it gets to the Casca and Femto part it lost me a bit, because I did not like how tastelessly that was depicted at all)

-Griffith's frozen heart starting to beat again:

There's no way that's just because he's fused with the Moonlight Boy or whatever, right? Love the idea that there's still a kernel of his old vulnerable self in there that he couldn't completely kill

-Casca's healing: this was such a LONG TIME COMING and I was so glad it actually happened and that Miura got to depicting that part of the story before he passed, I felt like it actually took 1000 years, and it was one of the major things keeping me reading due to wanting to see it resolved

#berserk spoilers #ask #anon #p #berserk

[sunbearsophia]

*blows the dust off my tumblr*

Been a hot minute since I posted art here, so here, have some Matt/Anna content! Or, as I'm starting to take to calling their ship, MirrorGlasses! ^^

Def need to talk about them more, because second to only Eduarel, they're my second favorite ship. I'm really sad we haven't seen her in later Eddsworld media, but Anna seemed like a neat lil' side character in her and Matt's comic arc, and they seemed like an adorable couple! (Even if it did turn out they were faking for Edd and Tom.)

---

So, yeah, def in my Eddsworld universe, they started out the same way, Matt hiring Anna to play the role of his girlfriend to prove to the others that he could be in a relationship and pretty sick of the "dating a mirror" jokes. Anna was happy to play the part, because she liked having an extra bit of cash, but also thought the idea of playing a smoopy-woopy girlfriend sounded fun, and a lot easier than her real relationships had been up until then. (I imagine she probably didn't end up in the happiest relationships prior to Matt, which wasn't... great for her self-esteem, which was already pretty poor thanks to her parents.)

However, the more time they spent together, the more it felt natural to them. It stopped being an act after a while, they found the things they did in front of Tom and Edd, like holding hands, giving cute nicknames and compliments, warmly embracing, talking about their lives and hopes and dreams, just generally enjoying being around one another, it... it wasn't something they had to pretend to enjoy. They did those things when no one was watching.

Matt didn't realize at first what was happening, just assuming Anna was a great actress and he was just... y'know, pretty in-deep with the whole thing. Anna, however, got hit with the realization that, "oh no, i've fallen for this cute, silly man aaaaaa"

Maybe later on, after narrowly avoiding a close call with the boys catching them NOT acting all cute, Matt sighs in relief their cover wasn't blown, and commends Anna for her own acting skills, his friends genuinely seem so convinced they're actually in love!

And at that moment, Anna just seems... hurt. She's not upset at Matt since they're not really in a relationship, it's just... she'd honestly forgotten they weren't. She was convinced, or at least convinced herself that after a string of bad relationships, she'd found someone who loves her for her, and that his acting wasn't acting anymore, like her.

But she understands, it's okay. He had no real romantic obligations to her, she knows it's selfish to be upset when they've both made it clear that it's all an act. They're not in a real relationship... Matt could do better than her anyways. He's such a kind, sweet, silly and handsome man, and she's just... well, she doesn't feel she'd actually measure up, anyways.

However, she does ask him after that if they can end the facade, she doesn't really want to keep it up anymore. Matt is taken aback, wondering if it was something he said, and Anna assures him it's not, it's just that even though this has been fun... some of the most fun and wonderful times of her life, really, she doesn't really wanna keep pretending they're in a relationship- keep him in a pretend relationship- if they're not. He deserves to find a real partner, who gives him all the love and joy he deserves. She just doesn't... want to be in the way of that for him.

Matt is just completely shocked and worried, already seeing her low self-esteem show its face and tries to at least figure out if he said something or did something to hurt her, and convince her she's not "in his way," but... doesn't want to keep her in a fake relationship if she's not happy or comfortable. The two agree to end things, and mutually part ways... with both fighting back tears.

Later, similarly to what happened in the actual arc, Matt tells the gang they broke up, but doesn't really take to their attempts to get his mind off of it, just trying to make sense of it to himself. Tom's no good with this mushy stuff, so Edd sits down with a cola for them both to try and talk to him. Matt doesn't reveal it was them fake dating, but does express a lot of his sadness, genuinely asking Edd why it hurts so much, knowing it's over. And Edd, just trying to be a good and supportive friend, is just like, "Well, y'know, it's because you loved her, right?"

That's when it finally hits Matt at a million miles an hour. He... He does love Anna. He really, truly loves her. And she loved him, and... and...

Oh, no, he's made a terrible mistake.

Quickly rushing out the door faster than Edd can ask where he's going, he practically makes a break for Anna's apartment building, determined to try and make things right, to tell her it was all real to him. Once he finally makes it, it hurts to see her open the door, as he's greeted by a pair of sad, puffy eyes that had clearly been crying for hours, and a hoarse, but genuine, "... Hey."

She lets him in, and the two genuinely do have a heart-to-heart where Matt apologizes for rubbing in the fact that they were fake dating, never meaning to hurt her genuine, real feelings. Anna explains he doesn't need to apologize, she knows full and well he'd never hurt her and it wasn't even really that. She admits that yes, she does have feelings for him, but she knows their relationship wasn't and never was real, and she doesn't want Matt to pretend to like her for others, or for her. He's a wonderful person who'll find an equally wonderful person for him, and she doesn't want to hold him back from that, when she's not close to good enough for him-

Matt stops her right there, refusing to let her talk badly about herself. She has absolutely no idea how amazing she truly is, how beautiful, funny, nerdy, patient and loving she is, and how every moment he's spent with her has been some of the best of his life. He knows he messed it up, but he won't stand by while the woman he loves talks badly about her...

It only just then hits Matt what he said out loud, and Anna, with wide, hopeful, teary eyes asked him to repeat that, and he, a tad sheepish and blushing, gently reaffirms that yeah... he loves her.

Cue her grabbing him by his overcoat collar and bringing him in for their first kiss on the lips, which Matt just absolutely melts into reciprocating.

Edd and Tom are equally confused by the next day, seeing the pair apparently back to dating, only this time, they're more genuine, and not as insistent on acting all lovey dovey around them...

Just kidding, they end up acting even mushier as a genuine couple, genuinely and blissfully in love. All's well that ends well! (Except for Tom, who needs to keep nausea pills on hand anytime Anna's around, or Matt even brings her up, bleh.)

---

BONUS HEADCANONS THAT I'VE WRITTEN FOR FUNSIES:

I've mentioned this on Twitter, but in case I forgot to mention it here, I headcanon that Anna is the youngest sibling in Mark's family. (They have an oldest sister, Loretta, who's Balloon Head Fred's wife, then Blonzie, then Mark, then finally her.) Mark isn't... pleased with the situation that his beloved little sister is dating his dumbass rival from next door, nor confident in the fact that Matt genuinely loves her for her, and not just playing some cruel joke on him through her. Plus, with all the dangerous shit they get into on a regular basis, Mark doesn't like the idea of Matt putting her in harm's way, especially after how toxic and unloving her previous relationships were, the last thing Mark wants to see is his little sister getting hurt. The two already had a tense relationship before, but after Matt and Anna start dating for real, him and Mark really don't get along. Anna appreciates her older brother's concern for her but doesn't take kindly to him insulting her sweet and loving boyfriend, and assures him she can take care of herself. Similarly, she'll shut down Matt if he says something bad or insulting about her brother, reminding him that Mark is just looking out for her and that's her brother and she loves him. I definitely think as their relationship goes on, Matt and Mark slowly get along better and better, realizing that if they agree on nothing else, they both love Anna, and want her to be happy. Ultimately, Mark decides that if Matt loves Anna, if he makes her happy and feeling like she's loved and worthy of being loved, then that's really all he needs. Guess he stans now lol.

Love the idea that even before they officially start dating, Matt and Anna end up being really close confidantes, and are able to confide things to one another they can't with most people, even the ones they're closest to. I think Matt is a gentle voice of encouragement and support when it comes to Anna's depression and low self-esteem, consistently reminding her of the things he loves about her, and Anna, in turn, is just as gentle with Matt's metal health and self-image, reassuring him he doesn't need to constantly put on a brave or happy face for her, he can be and feel whatever he wants around her. They're just a mutual space of love and understanding for one another.

They absolutely indulge in each other's hobbies and interests, no matter how bad they are at it. Someone once mentioned a headcanon about Anna at least having an interest in rebuilding computers, which I LOVE and am rolling with, she's def a computer technician and could genuinely ramble for hours about it, which Matt loves to hear and engage with. She teaches him the ins and puts of computer systems and parts, he teaches her about hair care (I dun like the EW Fan Movie, but Matt being a hairdresser is a fun idea!) and ABSOLUTELY involves her in his cooking. He doesn't mind that her cooking is the equivalent of rat poison, he lives doing it with her and always encourages and praises her attempts.

SPEAKING OF COOKING, I like to think Matt, the first time he visited her apartment, noticed a lot of takeout bags and cups and boxes in the trash, and not a lot of dishes in general. Anna jokes it's just because she can't cook for shit anyways, but it's also because she's just generally too depressed to make the effort most days, something Matt recognizes without her needing to say it. He decides right there on the spot that no, this won't do, and cooks her dinner right then and there so she has something a bit more substantial. She insists that he didn't have to go to that trouble, but... she might sniffle a bit and genuinely thanks him, for doing that for her, it means a lot that he's looking out for her. (Also she realizes he's a fucking AWESOME chef girl you gotchu a catch aaaa)

I think that Anna is kinda the type of person who copes with her depression with humor, and tends to make a lot of dark jokes at her own expense. She always found it easier to do with friends, her siblings would always get really concerned and she didn't wanna worry them, and after all her experience with her parents, bad friendships and probably previous relationships, she figured no one else cared enough to point it out. Matt, however, is VERY quick to get worried the more she talks down about herself, and it's not long before he brings it up directly and gently, but genuinely asks her to stop, taking her by the hands and looking far more serious than normal. He thinks she's perfect in every way, and her insulting herself or insinuating the world is better off without her isn't funny at all, he can't bear to imagine a world without her, and he doesn't want her to do the same. she's definitely taken by surprise, unused to anyone aside from her siblings trying to cut that out, and unused to being told the world is a better place with her in it. she probably laughs a little, before softly crying for a bit in Matt's arms, since she feels safe doing that with him.

Matt definitely helps encourage her in the best and most gentle ways to help handle her depression. He's not overbearing about it at all, but genuinely wants to help if he can. He'll take her to outside areas for dates so she can get some sunshine and fresh air, probably invites her to go jogging or practicing yoga with him, teach her different, easy recipes to make herself dinner and definitely takes on making it himself if she needs, and always reminds her how beautiful, wonderful and loved she is. (Maybe anytime he stays over at her apartment, he'll do cute little things like fold her laundry and make her lunch, all the while hiding little notes for her like Easter Eggs with things about her he loves and wants to remind her of. Peak boyfriend material there aaaa)

Anna, meanwhile, I genuinely do believe is encouraged by Matt's love and help, and tries to do better and be more self-reliant thanks to his support. Her self-esteem challenges are definitely a fight, but she knows she's not doing it alone, which makes everyday a little easier. Likewise, I think she's constantly doing the same for him, giving him organization tactics to help with his hording problem, reminding him, as well, every chance she gets what she loves about him, supporting him in all his hyperfixations, and will throw some verbal hands at anyone who dares try and even imply he's not smart. ("Idiot, huh? Awful big words for someone who blew up half of London because he hated Christmas, isn't it, Thomas?")

I like to imagine their ideas for genuine dates are pretty different, like Matt, even when he's not pretending to be "couply-wouply" with Anna, loves big, romantic dates like fancy dinner, dancing, walks on the beach under the moon, basically he's a hopeless romantic kinda guy. Anna, meanwhile, will gladly go along with it, especially when they were trying to sell the idea of them being a couple, but actually appreciates smaller scale dates, like picnics, going on walks through the neighborhood, and just ordering pizza and watching a bad movie together. I think Anna gets better as their relationship progresses communicating this to Matt, who ofc doesn't want her to do anything she's not comfortable with, and they def end up more balanced with their date ideas, and come to genuinely enjoy eachother's date types as much as their own. (Matt had always planned to propose to Anna with some big, romantic date and gesture, but ultimately, he ended up asking her while they were just cuddled on the couch together. qwq)

They eventually have kids! These are my designs for the little half-vampire ankle biters lol:

#eddsworld #eddsworld fanart #eddsworld matt #eddsworld anna #eddsworld ships #matt eddsworld #anna eddsworld #matt/anna eddsworld #matt/anna #mirrorglasses #eddsworld fankids

[cross-my-heartt]

thoughts about the finale from what I can remember right now:

[SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT]

They finally did it. They finally put their foot down about rescuing Crosshair and if there's anything that's gonna tide me over until season 3 it's THAT SINGLE CONVERSATION

We got a quality moment with Tech and Phee, so quality that I think I actually ship them now. (HAHA BUT FRICK ME BECAUSE THAT WAS ACTUALLY FORESHADOWING) I was worried when they didn't show her last episode because I thought they were just going to tease a fun comic relief kind of ship instead of, you know, having the characters be there for each other during important moments. As it should be You can't just put Phee in a side pocket and expect her to disappear when stuff gets serious.

That moment where they all look at Wrecker in sync is something I'll tuck under my pillow and look at when I feel like crying. This show has no right to be this funny before taking a sledgehammer to our hearts.

I was begging any god that would listen that the other infiltrators were clones, like I wanted it to be Cody so badly in that moment. I even think I heard DBB's voice when one of the commandos spoke and my pulse skyrocketed But no it was Gerrera. Which, okay plot reasons, and good plot reasons but still 🥲 Man but they really outdid themselves with the plot, it's actually crazy good. Such a roller coaster.

Kudos for actually letting one of the officers defend the clones. That's good writing. Realistically it makes sense and you don't get the feeling that they're all one dimensional psychos. As a side note I was impressed that one of the baddies (the one responsible for surveillance) had an accent other than posh British. And then I realized it was German 😂 like... c'mon guys

TECH. TECH MY MAN. YOU ABSOLUTE AMAZING INCREDIBLE BREATHTAKING LITTLE DUDE. I'm sorry guys but he stole it. Gave Crosshair a run for his money. I salute our little nerd for being the biggest bamf tcw has ever seen in that moment. The sass, the style, the one linery of it all. Of course he's not dead. You can't kill a character like that, you just physically (and metaphorically) can't.

I literally don't know how they'll recover from a trauma like that. They think he's dead. They watched him plunge to the ground. I am unwell (on their behalf).

So glad that AZI was incorporated back into the plot. The little dude deserves it and we love to see him.

'I liked goggles' 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪 girl you better know how to perform miracles because that's the only thing that's redeeming you now

Wrecker was wiping tears when they talked about Tech. They were trying so hard to be strong for her. They were in agony on the inside and they still tried so hard for her. Wrecker was shaking his head when Hemlock offered Hunter the exchange, they are ready and willing to die on the spot for her I-

'who knew clones could be so... paternal' *cue shot of Hunter's face* *cue me being deceased on the floor*

AHFSEGFHJRDGHARDGRHGR that's it, everything that happens next is just AHRJHEASGFHJEGFHFRDGG. don't expect me to be more coherent than this

I didn't know they could animate Kaminoans to emote but dang they did a good job with Nala Se.

I'd given up hope of seeing Crosshair's face these episodes but we got him and Omega in one scene together and I guess that goes to the 'help me survive until season 3' pile.

I know we'd already clocked Emerie as a clone and fishy but there's nothing more satisfying than good foreshadowing paying off. This show doesn't give us cheap subversion but actually good plot twists where it's appropriate and they don't make the audience feel like fools by feeding us false clues. Mad respect for that. I don't think we realize how rare that it these days.

Finally, I'll need all of you to hold my hand after this, please-

#the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #tbb #the bad batch #tbb season 2 #the bad batch season 2 #tbb hunter #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb omega #tbb echo #tbb crosshair