#basically both sides to the same character

[date-everything-has-taken-over]

Hi hi hiii I wasnwondering if u could do a fic thing where reader is basically dating most dateables n one day they (the reader) basically ends up feeling extremely sick from not taling care of theirself properly, running around to fix stuff, starting a new part-time job, going out with new friends. Could some of the characters included be dorian, eddie & volt, hector and whoever else? Pls and thank uu!!

Gonna add Barry and Betty because I think they'd fit in very well with this case (And they're my babygirls)

Dorian🚪

● One of the first to notice something was off

●After losing your job at Valdivian, you had gotten two part-time jobs to make up for it, and it was beginning to take its toll

●He was the kne to see you before you walked through the front Dorian. Before you would take a deep breath and put on your best, "everything's okay" face

●He'd try his best to convince you to give yourself a break and get some well needed rest, but you kept reassuring him you'd be fine

●Well, he was right. After one too many overtime shifts combined with coming home to help everyone with their problems resulting in many sleepless nights, you come home and practically collapsed in the front hallway

●"Right, that's it. You're taking a couple days off work and resting"

●Unfortunately, he's still the front door, so he can't take you to bed himself, but bedroom Dorian will take things from there

●If you thought he was like a bouncer before, you haven't seen anything yet.

●A dateable wants to see you. "Are you on the list?" "What do you need with them?" "You're not gonna cause a fuss are ya?"

●He even contemplates moving the hanks downstairs. Sure, they're usually in your room, but they're so loud. He gives them a stern warning (which scares them just a bit) and let's them stay

●He makes sure the house is safe and that your room is the pinical of peace

●"Autherized personal only" Dorian blocks anyone trying to get in, but especially the more rowdy members of the house

●"Darling, you never believe what I heard about Hoove!" Scandalabra tries yelling through Dorian, which was followed by a suspicious thud (I'm sure it's nothing to worry abt)

●Until he sees you're 100% better, Dorian doesn't let you out of his sight (not that he does that anyway). Going to the kitchen for chicken soup? He's got an eye on you just in case

●When you actually do recover, he's making sure you don't get yourself in the same issue and makes you promise not to push yourself

●"It's not just my job to keep you safe from the outside world, love." He holds you close to him, enveloping you in a warm hug. "I will always be there to keep you safe from all danger"

●Even after you're better and going back to work, he's checking on you every chance he gets, reminding you to eat and sleep at a reasonable time

●He may not woo with words as much as other dateables, but he shows how much he loves you every day by being a safe and reliable presence for you

Eddie & Volt⚡️

●Work was short-staffed, and with it being busy season, you were picking up extra shifts almost every day

● They know overworked when they see it, so when you show up to the club, noticeably tired, they clock you right away

●Volt takes a seat next to you, placing his lips on the side of you head

"You know we're always happy to see you, live wire-"

Eddie cuts him off

"-But you look dead tired, go to bed"

● Volt chuckles, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you onto his lap

"Our live wire doesn't need to leave to rest, do they?" He brings you closer. "You can relax right here, live wire"

●After that night, Eddie stopped letting you help out around the club

"Don't worry about it, alright? You look like you're about to fall over anyway"

●Eddie acts tough, but he's checking on you and bringing you water every time you visit the Breaker Box after work

●When everything catches up to you and you actually do end up getting sick enough to take a couple of days off work while stuck in bed, they're both worried (and a little pissed)

●They've seen you running around the house helping everyone, fixing things around the house, settling arguments between other members of the house so they have a pretty good idea of how you ended up like this

●They check on you every day to make sure you're doing alright

●If you're not awake when they come by, you'll wake up to find a glass of water, Nyquill, and a note

'Rest well, live wire -E&V

●After a couple of days of bedrest, you return to the club, and they're happy to see you doing well

●They've both accepted you're too nice to say no to helping everyone in the house, so how do they remedy this?

●By practically keeping you hostage in the club for the next couple of days (Can't get exhausted again if they just keep you at the Breaker Box)

●Eddie still refuses to let you help out even if you insist

"And you get on me for not taking a break," he sets a glass in front of you. "Little hypocritical, don't ya think?"

●He places a gentle kiss on the top of your head, keeping close for a moment before going to the back to do maintenance

●They may be busy running the club, but never too busy for you, and they make sure to remind you

Hector💨

●Also, very quick to notice

●He was very worried when he noticed how much slower you seemed lately

●Asks how you're doing multiple times a day. Never believes you when you say you're fine but he doesn't wanna push it and upset you

●Fully panics when he sees you collapse after walking through front Dorian

●The temperature spikes for a moment until he calms down

●He doesn't leave your side for a moment

●Takes extra care to keep the temperature at a comfortable level for you

●You don't even have to say anything. Ate you pulling the blanket closer to you? Heat up. Are you kicking away the sheets? Air on.

●He so badly wants to be there with you. To hold you and comfort you. But he's still terrified to leave the vents

●He's slightly soothed knowing Betty is taking very good care of you (but also kinda jealous)

●In the middle of the night, when he's sure everyone is asleep, he sits beside your bed, watching as your breath rises and falls

● He brushes your hair aside, admiring your beautiful face (even though it's sick and sweaty, he doesn't care)

●Before leaving, he gives your forehead a kiss. "Feel better soon, my love."

● If someone tried disturbing you or kept you awake, he'd turn the heat up in the room they're in to be petty

●When you're well enough to get out of bed, he's overcome with both joy and anxiety

●Joy because you're well enough to see him in the attic now. He can hold you again (and you can watch him turn bright red as you kiss his face)

● But anxious because, what if this happens again? What if the human keeps pushing themselves? What if it's WORSE next time?!

●He begs you to slow down and not push yourself too hard. To give yourself more free time and rest more often

●The look he gives you is like a kicked puppy, and you just can't help but hold him close and promise to take care of yourself better

●He clings to you for a bit before you leave the attic to go to bed "Rest well, my love."

● When you finally go back to work, he anxiously waits for your return, watching Timmy just a little too closely

●When you finally return, he observes your every move to see if you look tired or overwhelmed

●If not, good. But if you look any kind of distressed, he's whisking you away to the attic to cuddle, then practically dragging you to bed at the end of the day

●You're honestly a little surprised since he's normally not this bold face-to-face

●Even long after recovery, it becomes a new routine. If you come home tired, he's attaching himself to you koala style

Barry💄

● Well, technically, he noticed pretty quickly when he'd see you so exhausted every morning, buuuuut then he forgot and would notice all over again each morning

●Feels terrible when you come home sick and remain bedridden for days

●He's almost too nervous to visit you, scared you'd be mad at him

●"Are you feeling alright, darling?" He peeks into your room, "Anything I can do to help?"

●When you tell him you'd just like to hear his voice and that you love it when he goes on little rants about whatever he's obsessed with at the moment, his whole face turns red

●"Oh! W-well, that's, um, very n-nice, darling." He laughs nervously. He takes a moment to compose himself. "I 'm-I'm glad you enjoy hearing me talk. I'm happy to keep you company, darling."

●Since you're stuck in bed with nothing to do, Baeey is happy to keep you company while you recover

● He'll talk about just about anything that interests him at the time. Makeup, toucans, history, lions, movies. He's also happy to listen if you have anything to yap about

● If you're not able to shower, he'll brush your hair so it doesn't get too knotted while you're sick, taking care to be extra gentle.

●It's so soothing you send up falling asleep. He brings the covers over your body and turns the lights off, letting you sleep peacefully

●Before leaving, he leans down to kiss your cheek "Goodnight, darling."

● You may or may not have woken up with a lipstick smudge on your cheek, but you certainly didn't mind

●When you're feeling better, Barry helps you through your post-sick self-care routine. Warm bath, skin care, hair care

●Helps you with your bath so you don't fall asleep, definitely not because he wants to rub your soapy body noooo definitely not

Betty🛌

●She noticed right away. You've barely been sleeping and even when you do, you toss and turn all night.

●She tries to get you to come to bed early, but you're busy helping around the house. Then she tried getting you to sleep in, but you got called into work early.

●This repeated a couple of times until you stumbled into your room and fell onto her.

●She's happy to be able to spend so much time with you, but she wishes it weren't under such conditions.

●She holds you close, your head just under her chin and your face against her chest (awooga). She's somehow the perfect temperature for when you're cold or overheating.

●She'll gently stroke your head and hum softly until you fall asleep.

● When you wake up, she looks down at you and brings a hand to your cheek. "Good morning, lover." She presses a gentle kiss on your forehead. "I'm afraid I can't let you go anywhere until I'm sure you're better." Her gentle voice makes it seem like a joke, but you know she's serious.

● You wouldn't have thought to leave anyway, you could barely move, and your whole body felt achy but more importly Betty was just so damn sweet and comfortable.

●Ngl it's mostly sleeping and cuddleng with you and occasanaly getting food

●When you finally felt better, she convinced you to take an extra rest day with her "just in case"

Sorry, Betty's is so short! I couldn't think of much for her

[jackoshadows]

@agirlisnoonesdoppelganger

People cannot act like Sansa is choosing to be that way when to her, that’s the only way a lady should be. That’s not choosing; that’s just existing and then being confused and upset when not everyone wants to exist the same way you do.

I get your point. And yes this is true to a certain extent.

This is why I think Sansa is a follower and not a leader. Sansa always accepts the way things are instead of questioning if it should be that way and that has been a consistent character trait for her all the way to book 4.

This is why, despite straight up seeing, right in front of her how terrible Joffrey is as a person - something that Jon, Robb and Arya see right through in like the third chapter of the story - Sansa is shocked at the events that start with Ned's execution.

According to Sansa, Joffrey is beautiful and a prince and therefore Joffrey is good. In her mind it must be Arya who is evil because Arya is different. This is more than just taking dance lessons because everyone is taking dance lessions. This is a character flaw in Sansa that she can only see things one dimensionally.

Sansa is not a critical thinker, she does not think outside the box. So when her mother and her teacher tell her this is the only way a lady should be, she accepts it happily because she excels in it.

However, Sansa also grew up in the harsh North, not the south. Her mother and Septa were Southron who moved to the North. She's the daughter of Ned 'Winter is Coming' Stark. She grew up on Old Nan's stories.

Did Sansa not hear of Lady Maege Mormont or her daughters? Surely she would have seen them when they arrived for the Harvest feast.

Was not her great grandmother a Flint of the Mountain clans? Did she not have an aunt Lyanna Stark, who, according to the stories of the Winterfell workers, was a great horse rider?

So it's not that Sansa does not know that there are other types of Ladies around in the North, it's just that she follows what her mother and Septa have told her is the only right way to be a Southron Lady, and does not question it.

For example, Arya has learned the same things that Sansa has and yet:

Arya cocked her head to one side. “Can I be a king’s councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?” “You,” Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, “will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon.” Arya screwed up her face. “No,” she said, “that’s Sansa.” She folded up her right leg and resumed her balancing. Ned sighed and left her there.” - Eddard, AGoT

With Arya specifically, the issue for her is the lack of family acceptance and support - she wants her mother's love and acceptance and sees it as conditional if only she becomes like Sansa. For her it's not about being any specific way to gain acceptance into society or for having a good marriage. For nine year old Arya it is basically "My mother would love me if I was like Sansa".

And we know this relationship between Arya and Cat is complicated because Sansa thinks of Arya as 'wicked' and even base born and surely that stems from the way both Cat and the Septa treat Arya.

This is also where Arya's bond with Jon comes into play because Jon Snow is the only relative who accepts and loves her as is, the only person who is like 'I love who you are, never change!'

So yes, I agree to a certain extent that Sansa had no choice given her mother and the Septa teaching her that there was only one right way for being a proper Southron lady. However, I also think a character with curiosity, who questions instead of blindly following, who thinks 'What if', who sees others being different and wonders - all of that is also possible.

After all how did we evolve as a society if it were not for people at every point of time in every century going 'what if' and embracing change and reform?

Sansa, Arya, and the Issues of Choice Feminism and Conformity

There's a lot of discourse surrounding Sansa and Arya, and I'm aware I may being stepping on a hornet's nest with this one, but oh, well. I've seen many of the discussions/arguments, and I think a level of disconnect comes from how people practice feminism. In particular, the idea of choice feminism feels like it's permeating the discussions even if it isn't brought up directly. Funnily enough, Sansa and Arya actually present the perfect opportunity to examine the issues with choice feminism while also examining the attitudes behind both the characters and the people who defend them.

Some of you may be wondering, what is choice feminism? Simply put, it's the idea that the individual choices of women/girls are inherently feminist. Now this idea often gets a lot of criticism since it tends to ignore the very real systemic, societal problems that affect and influence women. That is to say, our choices don't exist in a vacuum. The choices that we make are always influenced by outside forces and pressures that may make us feel like we have to make certain choices. Many proponents of choice feminism will argue that they enjoy things like doing their makeup or being a a stay-at-home mom which is fine. However, they never seem to ask whether they would make the same choice had they felt completely free and able to. I'm not saying you can't have fun with makeup or feel fulfilled being a mom, but these are choices that society expects women to make. Even if you nominally have other options, you are still expected to conform to a certain ideal or risk being mocked or ostracized. And I think a lot of women are looking at these choices with hindsight. You enjoy the thing now, but would the younger you who hadn't made that choice yet really have made the same choice if they felt completely safe choosing something else? The unfortunate reality is that under a patriarchal society, many choices that women make are colored by systemic pressure.

So how does this relate to the Stark sisters? Let's start with Sansa. Sansa is a character that is well loved by many women who tend to enjoy more feminine/girly things, and it's easy to see why. Sansa herself enjoys very feminine activities and is quite good at being a lady of noble birth. This is, of course, where the real issue lies. In the Sansa/Arya discourse, there often seems to be some issue with Arya's dislike for typically ladylike things. Many people seem to think that Sansa should be allowed to enjoy whatever activities she wants. Who cares if they happen to be the ones that are expected of her? And that's the problem. Sansa may enjoy those activities, but not because she chose them herself. These are things that all highborn ladies are expected to do, and Sansa was made to do these activities as soon as she was old enough. Now, Sansa happens to be quite good at them and receives a lot of praise for her talents, so unsurprisingly, she enjoys these activities. Most children would probably feel the same way. However, she didn't choose to enjoy these activities, which is something I think many of her most ardent defenders are missing. They never ask the question "Would Sansa, free of all expectations, encouraged to pursue any activity of her choosing no matter how 'feminine' or 'masculine', still willingly choose to be the same Sansa we see in the books?" The truth is, we can't know because Sansa is a fictional character who is shaped by the world she exists in. Sansa is fortunate to fit quite easily into the box Westeros expects her to and so never questions it.

Arya, on the other hand, struggles to conform to the strict standards that Westeros has set for her. She's constantly told, not just by society, but by the people in her life, that she does not fit what a highborn lady is supposed to be. When she does engage in the activities expected of her, rather than receiving support to help her improve, she is met with derision and comparisons to her better, perfect sister. It's no wonder, then, that Arya finds little enjoyment in these activities and actively tries to push against the box she's being forced into. Like many young girls who realize they don't fit entirely with the standards of femininity that society expects of them, Arya fights back and asks "if not everyone can fit in the box, why are you trying to make them?" What's interesting is that Arya struggles with her femininity, not because she doesn't like being a girl or being feminine, but because she actually does like those things. She hates being referred to as a boy, she likes to pick flowers, she enjoys songs, she even seems to wish to be perceived as beautiful. Arya wants to be able to engage in femininity, but because she doesn't neatly fit the societal standards of Westeros, she struggles to do so. Arya also doesn't have a particularly strong desire to engage in a specific masculine activity, like being a knight, as some people claim. This is brought up in a conversation with Ned where she offers up several options, like being the lady of her own house (not married) or becoming maester. Ned refutes her questions by offering the only option available to her: marry a lord and have his children. Arya isn't expressing a specific desire; she's expressing her wish for options. Arya wants to have a choice, wants to be able to decide her own future, and she doesn't understand why she can't. Arya isn't necessarily opposed to the idea of marriage wholesale; she's opposed to the idea because she has to do it whether she wants to or not. Thus, we must ask sort of the opposite of the question we asked with Sansa. Would Arya, free of societal pressure and encouraged to pursue any thing of her choosing, still feel such dislike for the typical ladylike activities, or would she willingly choose to participate in some of them?

Now we have to look at both of them together and how they interact. As previously mentioned, it seems to me that many people who strongly defend/identify with Sansa feel like Arya's distaste for certain activities is judgemental and pointed. I personally disagree with this, and I don't think Sansa's pov chapters support this idea. Sansa is generally displeased that Arya doesn't like those activities, but she never seems personally offended or acts like she feels that Arya is judging her. Rather, she is annoyed that Arya won't conform and even more annoyed that the adults around her aren't doing enough about it. Sansa is sometimes embarrassed by Arya, not because Arya has insulted her or made her feel judged, but because Sansa fears other people will judge her for her sister's lack of conformity. This is not Arya's fault; it is the fault of society for putting expectations on these young girls. Again, Sansa is lucky enough to meet the standards easily, so she never needs to put any work in to conform, whereas Arya has always struggled and would be forced to change to fit in. And Sansa wants Arya to change. She looks down on Arya for her "wild" behaviors, thinks Ned should be doing more to correct Arya, and fundamentally seems to dislike Arya the way she is. Sansa doesn't examine the restrictive standards of Westeros because she doesn't need to. When people defend Sansa even to the point of saying that Arya does need to change, they are continuing to uphold restrictive, patriarchal standards of what it means to be a woman. They, like Sansa, are blaming Arya for the poor treatment she receives instead of blaming a system that allows for only one type of woman to exist.

HOTD demonstrates this, too, with Alicent and Rhaenyra. The root of Alicent's anger and problems with Rhaenyra is not Rhaenyra's children or Alicent's fears for her own or even Alicent's feelings of abandonment. Alicent holds so much anger for Rhaenyra because Rhaenyra dares to defy the gender roles that have been forced upon them, that Alicent has spent so much of her life upholding. Rhaenyra dares to believe that she is worthy of power and respect just by virtue of existing, while Alicent goes along with her supposed duty with the expectation that she will be rewarded, only to realize that she keeps getting nothing. So she gets angry and hates Rhaenyra because she can't bring herself to hate the men who are really responsible. If she hates them, blames them, then she finally has to reckon with the fact that all her suffering, all her duty was pointless.

Sansa and Arya present a very interesting dichotomy and looking at their relationship allows us to examine how certain perspectives, while nominally helpful, can be harmful. The idea that women who conform are somehow more judged than women who go against standards is one that has persisted, from NLOGs to pick-mes, and one that I have a lot of problems with. At the end of the day, I find it hard to agree that doing what society expects of you is particularly revolutionary and ignoring the way society may have influenced those decisions hardly helps. Often, these ideas tend to hurt all women, even the ones who fit in. We can see this in Sansa and Arya and how conformity and supposed choice affect both of them. Arya cannot be who she wants to be, cannot engage in her femininity in way that feels authentic to her, and is blamed for her own ostracization by others. Sansa is built from the societal expectations around her, and though she benefits from conforming, her potential is lost because she was never given an opportunity to truly choose what she wanted to be. Both are trapped by the patriarchal expectations of Westeros, but while Sansa's conformity renders her blind to it, Arya's rebellion makes it all too visible to her.

[blackholezyy]

Honestly, I don’t actively hate Scorfuma like I do certain ships like C//A. I just find it to be really, really boring. Let’s get into it:

I already don’t like Perfuma as a character. She’s hypocritical, annoying and ableist (like she put Entrapta on a leash). Not to mention, she’s just not a good written character. She’s boring, one dimensional and had no character arc outside of “nice flower girl preaching about peace.” I wouldn’t mind her had anyone called her out on her BS but no, it just doesn’t happen.

Perfuma also enforces toxic positivity.. which, if you don’t know, it’s basically an excessive harmful pressure to maintain a positive, happy attitude and in turn ignores or dismisses negative feelings like sadness, anger, grief, etc. I won’t go into detail too much so I might just make a separate post about this.

Moving on, Scorpia is probably one of the better characters from SPOP. She’s naive, energetic and deeply protective but also self conscious, deprived of love, and insecure. And throughout the show, she does go through character development (which got retconned in S5 but I digress). One of the most memorable things about Scorpia is her loyalty to Catra. As seen multiple times, she actively defended her even behind her back, is extremely defensive over her to the point where she hates Adora simply because she knows Catra is hurt by Adora leaving the Horde, stays by her side even if it gets her into danger, and is convinced that Catra is misunderstood.

Heck, I’ll even come out and say that Scopria strongest relationship is with Catra. It’s not exactly healthy per say (any relationship with Catra is unhealthy) but we could see that time and time again Scorpia deeply cares about Catra and Catra secretly deep down cares about Scorpia until S4.

The only grievance I have is that when they first met, Scorpia was immediately “ride or die” for Catra. I think it would make more sense and be narratively better had Scorpia grow to deeply care for Catra rather than her immediately caring right off the bat.

But what about Perfuma, you may ask? Well.. I have nothing to say about Scorpia’s relationship with Perfuma outside of aesthetics. It’s the same situation with Glimbow but at least with Glimbow, they were friends and had something. Granted, it was rushed, poor written and came out of nowhere, but at least it was something. With Scorfuma, it was nothing.

One of the biggest issues I have with Scorfuma is that Perfuma immediately liked and crushed on Scorpia the moment Scorpia arrived in Bright Moon. Excuse me for being pessimistic but that makes ZERO sense. You have been fighting for three seasons straight and have like no reason to trust Scorpia, who mind you was practically Catra’s right hand and helped the Horde with the Battle of Bright Moon, kidnapping Bow and Glimmer in the Princess Prom episode, etc.

This is why I say that this show just doesn’t portray war well because in the middle of a war, when an enemy deflects, they would be greeted with suspicion and a bunch of background checks and reasonably so. In war, the enemy could easily plant spies or use someone to gain the other side’s trust and use that to their advantage.

For the rest of the show, it was just.. boring. Perfuma and Scorpia had no meaningful conversations, no real connection, nothing. It’s hilarious that Scorpia seemed closer with Sea Hawk due to their similar insecurities than Perfuma. Which is a shame because I feel like if written well, these two could’ve had a good relationship, both platonically and romantically.

One of the things I do like about Scorfuma though is that in S5, when Scorpia was chipped, Perfuma was heavily devoted to save her and because of that devotion, Scorpia managed to resist Horde Prime, even briefly. Scorpia being chipped had a clear effect on Perfuma and I like how Scorpia sacrificed herself. But that’s where my praises end. Because this would’ve been way more impactful had their relationship had time to actually develop.

Overall, I don’t hate Scorfuma. I actually think it’s arguably one of the more better ships to come out of SPOP. But again, the poor writing and lack of development just drags this ship down for me.

[liquidcrystalsky]

i saw someone say they never actually played a splatoon game and only watched two story modes. it felt a bit weird to me but i think there is something to think about.

most of all the story/lore/worldbuilding in-game is text and images and are basically identical if you read them on a wiki

The chat logs and sunken scrolls and alterna/dev logs, have nothing to do with whats going on. The gameplay, the things you do, don't inform what information you're given at all.

You unlock things either just with normal progression or as random collectables. In splatoon 1 and 2 the sunken scrolls corresponded to each level, but they didn't take advantage of that at all. Most sunken scrolls just were about whatever. They made it per area in splatoon 3. So it's even more detached from the gameplay.

The Dev Diaries and Acht's letters, are all unlocked in exactly the same way. Every single one, other than having to change what weapon you use, it's the same.

Shit, most of the god damn world-building, ISN'T EVEN IN THE GAME! It's on the websites, in artbooks, interviews (both in-universe and developers), soundtrack releases, whatever.

Other than the first two story modes, there are like Actual things which happen in the games which can't be summarized in a sentence (most of the story about Octo Canyon was in the "Squid Sister Stories." Not Even In The Game).

Octo Expansion has an amazing final sequence, which, is mostly cutscenes and you can just sorta watch on youtube. You don't need to know what happens in Girl Power station or any of the levels at all.

RotM had a Lot Of Shit Happen but... actually i think it did it the best for experiencing the story Through The Game (not by much). Though It sucks that the story has absolutely nothing to do with the gameplay and they often straight up contradict or just doesn't make sense. Oh yeah the whole fucking thing crashed and killed everyone. Don't ask why everything's in completely pristine condition.

Side Order sort of just cleared up all of the story points within the first 10 minutes of the game, right after the tutorial Marina just explains Everything and then that's just what happens for the rest of the game. There's no twist or any evolving story that isn't in the Dev Diaries which don't affect the Actual Game.

The thing i'd say you miss out the most on is small character moments, but there's also plenty of compilations and people pointing them out too. There's definitely a lot of things you'd miss, a lot of spectacle, and some emotions, but idk i feel like it's not too much in the grand scheme of things.

Splatoon has amazing world building, but kind of bad storytelling (i guess nintendo in general, i can see it a bit in botw/totk as well) and it kinda gives room for people to actually be genuine fans of the series, story and world, without even touching a game at all.

As much as I don't want to buy a switch 2 and all that, i really hope Raiders does this storytelling well.

I also have nothing against watching like longplays of the game or just like full game walkthrough or whatever. I call myself fans of games which i've only watched and not played. I'm saying you can totally be a fan with a really large amount of knowlege of splatoon without even doing that.

I have had this comparison of RotM to Outer Wilds in my head a lot and i'm gonna walk my dog then i'll write it out

[soundop-central]

RE: your post about rebranding to megasound-central. I've always thought the best flavour of megop has soundwave squeezed in the middle, and the best flavour of wavewave has megatron off to the side only half in frame. Which is to say megasound too also is only improved by optimus being in there somewhere. I understand you.

AJDBWIXBWIZWH

megasoundop is the only brand of megop that i can tolerate, not even going to lie.

i just think that both of them need a sort of buffer there. soundwave fundamentally understands megatron (imo), and has a knack for coming to deep and accurate conclusions about others. meaning that if he spent enough time with optimus, he'd probably end up liking him.

ive always shipped megasound, like how ive always shipped wavewave and optiratch. there is so many of my favourite dynamic tropes wrapped up in this ship (i.e.: knight/lord, guard dog/leash holder, devotee/idol, etc.). i've always liked ships that have subtle power dynamics wrapped up in a morally grey (or straight up evil) bow. megasound has always been "universe's worst enabler/universe's worst warlord" to me.

i havent always shipped soundop. i actually pavlov'd myself into shipping it just because i came up with a really funny crack au that accidentally sent soundop careening from "silly nonsense" to "oh god, they're actually really good". soundop isn't as cut and dry to me as megasound- there arent a lot of dynamic tropes that actually fit them, so it's hard to quantify in simple terms what their relationship would be like. but its based on agreements, a mutual acknowledgment of the past and the future, respect and understanding. it's a lot of work, but it's rewarding.

i love both megatron and optimus as characters, and i totally recognize why the fandom ships them (ESP the idw and tfo side) (though, side note, i do actually like dpax; my opinion on megop is very nuanced and continuity dependent.) either way, i just dont see it working after literal millions of years of war without someone to act as a sort of mediator. whether that be in a romantic or platonic position, its up to whoever is doing the interpreting; but here's my take.

so we've got this guy (soundwave) who's basically sworn to this other guy (megatron), and the depth of his oath has become pretty muddy to both of them, even teetering on blasphemous if one looks hard enough. their (now ex-) enemy is an all around pretty Okay dude (optimus). while he's definitely tried to destroy everything they've done, they have also tried to do the exact same thing to him. and now that it's all done and over with...

well hey, why not? optimus seems amicable. he's definitely still sympathetic to them; remembering their time together before the degeneration that the war had become. maybe it would be worth it to try and test the waters.

i see it as an enemies to friends to lovers deal on all sides. everyone has to want it, has to work towards it, has to put in that effort.

soundwave is very suspicious of optimus at first, and frustrated that megatron would simply welcome him in so easily. optimus has to earn soundwave's trust. soundwave is protective of megatron- it's hard to undo 4 million years of protecting him from the very person he's now let in their home.

optimus is, understandably, a bit intimidated by how... intense... the vibe is. he feels like he's constantly in hostile territory. but he also knows that he's the odd man out. he resents having to earn his place, but also understands that if they want to have any hope at success, he needs to have soundwave's trust.

megatron is... both delighted and cautious. he's probably the one who's walking the thinnest line. it was his idea, he's the one who kept touch with optimus, he's the one who wanted to at least try. he convinced soundwave, no easy feat, and optimus, only slightly easier. he has the trust of two people that he cares very much about on the line.

it's definitely stressful.

both optimus and megatron are stubborn mechs. megatron has a temper and optimus has a no nonsense attitude. both of them can bicker back and fourth for hours, and to anyone on the outside, it would look like a normal conversation. yet, it is bickering, and despite how much both of them try to deny their own internal feelings, it does leave them a bit more hollow each time.

megatron never wants to apologize; he can only admit fault if he's given irrefutable proof of wrong doing. it's like pulling teeth.

meanwhile optimus is trying so hard to be reasonable, but also firm in his stances. he wishes to help both soundwave and megatron adjust to a life without war- while he can barely do that himself.

but soundwave, at first, would be doing this for megatron. as always, he's the self-sacrificer, the one who will do whatever is asked in order to further their goals. that much hasn't changed, even if the rhetoric has. yet, as time goes on, he slowly begins to enjoy this arrangement. which is something he never expected.

soundwave is adaptable and level headed; able to parse out fact and fiction within a blink of an eye. as he slowly grows more confident in his identity beyond just being megatron's most trusted, he finds himself growing more and more satisfied by finding another ship in the sea that is loving megatron.

anyway, tl;dr - they're gay. painfully so. theyre also traumatized and like not having a good time usually. but they're trying to fix that and make it work. and if that isn't real love idk what is.

[a-sad-mage]

Rewatching Slugterra lately, I find it has such untapped potential. I understand it is meant for younger audiences, but if it were instead for from young adults on, it could have truly turned out beautifully, and I'd just like your opinion on that.

First of all, Eli as a character could be much more layered, conflicted and interesting. We have this hero burdened with a legacy he doesn't even fully know the details of, seing the world in black and white terms, but realizing his father operated in a grey area at times, and struggling to understand his own place in all that. Darker sides of him would for sure surface at times, including self doubt which is hardly ever explored.

Also, the dynamics within the gang and its members themselves could have been much more complex. Racism and trolls for example, the whole idea of Pronto leaving his kindgom behind, and some backstory for Trixie which we didn't have. And about that, I honestly think it would be natural for her and Eli to get involved sooner or later. Too many interests and traumatic experiences shared, adding to the fact that the Shane gang would hardly casually go on dates with other people when busy literally saving the world. I see them having something similar to what hiccup&astrid have (I'm referring to the httyd franchise) in a near future.

Also, countless other characters have such great potential in terms of more mature storylines. For example giving Twist a redemption arc, exploring all the shadiness about will shane, the balance between business and darker interests for Black, just to name a few. I also find the Game Master a very interesting character, potentially taunting the gang in a squid game fashion.

Besides, slugs are well and good, but what about real harm? Ghouls are more powerful, but would Black go as far as using them to kill people?

I also find the whole idea of legacy, for eli but also for many of his antagonists, very intriguing and potentially leading to complex plots.

There are definitely so many shows out there, but I definitely feel like, if slugterra was meant for older audiences, it could really have been something, I'm talking Hunger Games-like fame, which was liked by both teens and adults. Other shows similar to Slugterra don't have the same potential imo. For example, Storm Hawks doesn't have that many realistic premises (the binding of capitalistic interests and darker deeds for one). I already mentioned it before, but I find it could have been as known as how to train your dragon (a cartoon liked by basically all ages, each group of which grasps different levels of complexity): the bonds between creatures and their riders/slingers are there already, as well as a tight-knit group having each other's backs, with a gentle giant, a comic relief, a badass no-nonsense female second-in-command, and a reckless protagonist male character (I know many would hate this idea, but I find Junjie's character pointless in a situation where so many other things could have been explored before going to the other side of the world).

Since you seem to have so many interesting takes on slugterra generally, I would like yours! Long message I know, but unexpressed potential taps right into unmentioned things.

Long rants how I missed thee-

also, swears near the end becase I started ranting lmao

Anon, all phenomenal points, that are on point.

Eli is one of those characters who, in my opinion, had a lot of right to get like, extremely angry and lash out justifiably on several occasions, for multiple reasons.

Kid needed, and quite frankly needs to be an angsty, moody, angry at the word teen but was essentially forced to be an adult.

And you may argue yes, Eli made the choice to follow through and take The Drop at 15, but you also kinda have to acknowledge, he like every Shane before him, for as long as they where acting as protectors, was basically groomed to become Slugterra's Protector from a young age.

Said it once, I'll say it again, Eli is justified to have a crash out, and even pull a Spider-Man and quite being Protector for however long he wants, till he genuinely wants to go back to being The Shane. If at all.

-

The relationship and dynamics of the Shane Gang are important and im tired of pretending it's not.

Four very different individuals, a Moleinoid, Cave Troll, Human male and Human female, all live under the same roof, all with different experiences, issues, baggage, and stories as to why they ended up the way they are.

In less than a month they are living together, and it's only hinted at briefly in the first handful of episodes that the shift to all of them living at the Hideout was difficult. They have clear house rules about what not to do in the house, the food preferences the building of small team tradition like a big dinner before an important mission, and so many other little things.

I mentioned briefly in another older post, but you can only take so much living with the same people for so long, no matter how well you all get along. Hence, all the pranks.

Pronto clearly has some self-worth issues, hence his need to be the center of attention.

Kord relies on being the tech guy, because if he's not that, than what is he?

Trixie, while I lover her, her need to film and make it big one day as a real director and not a Slinger implies her want to leave something tangible, and real behind so she is remembered as more than just a Slug Slinger or a member of the Shane Gang. To be more than a foot note in history like many other Slingers.

Personally, while I ship Eli and Trixie, I also do just enjoy them being platonic best friends, as i genuinely love good, well-built friendships with members of the opposing gender without romance, especially since romance was not the focus of the show.

hot take, but romance for the sake of romance is shit and can ruin a character especially if it ends up becoming a main focal point and fuck up a character, especially the 'woman' in the relationship.

[I love HTTYD, it's awesome but the Race to the Edge ep Mi Amore Wing pissed me the hell off because of what it did to Astrid.

While yes, season 5 and 6 had a focus on Hiccup and Astrid's relationship, and how it affects not just them, but the team a whole, something that was carefully developed, but having Astrid becomes self conscious, insecure just because her relationship with Hiccup isn't all lovey dovie was like Mala and Dager's, causing her to act like a brat while they where dealing with something arguably more important, in the middle of what's essentially a war and race to find the King of Dragons was stupid and just drama for the sake of not explicitly having it. it was such a dumb reason for Astrid to be angry at Hiccup I'm sorry. like I get it was also about Hiccup needing to be able to pay attention to the people in his life, and not zero-in and hyperfocus and communicate, but there where just so many better ways to do that,- ]

Not to say I hate romance or no to it entirely, or the idea of Eli and Trixie becoming cannon/getting together. it, like everything needed to be handled carefully, and not rushed, trauma bonding be damned

That's why Aerrow and Piper's relationship felt so organic and natural in Storm Hawks, it was never the main focus, but it was hinted at, the affection was there, and real, and had a purpose. Because yes, a relationship in any story needs a purpose outside of just 'getting to together to the sake of getting together'. Romance outside a romance Story has to have a meaning, hell even Romance's in a Romance have to have substance, out side of the pairing being lead boy and girl, boy and boy, girl and girl or so on and so forth. And while Eli and Trixie have chemistry, it very surface level to me, nothing that tell's me they care about each other more than friends and teammates. but that's just my interpretation of their relationship.

But yeah, the development of their and the rest of the Shane Gangs relationship as a whole is important. And I wish we had more-

And FUCK YES- RACISM BETWEEN CAVERN RESIDENTS- its real, it's so freaking real because of stereotypes and preconceived notions- HOLY FUCK MAN- CONFLICT!

Don't get me started on Twist and EVERY OTHER MINOR VILLAIN/CHARACTER-

Twist's redemption would have been grate as the seeds were planted with the looks of hesitant on his face. I have mentioned it before with him being the Azula to Blakk's Ozai but give him Zuko's redemption arc. And would elevate his character. for me at least I don't know about others-

More and more Blakk Industries workers and highered marks slowly realizing Blakk is a nutcase who had become obsessed, and trying and failing to leave.

Game Master is Jig Saw but rated E for everyone.

As a Caustic main in Apex Legends, and a Toxzon from MaxSteel(2013) sympathizer, I have a special love for Blite.

And just, so many other minor villains/antagonists in the show who, quite frankly where done dirty, like Saturday and his Smoothie obsession. The show introduces so many cool characters but doesn't use them to their fullest of potentials.

And a lot of that has to do with run time, and them making more specialized characters than the story necessarily needs, and giving them complex stories and concepts without the proper help that is minor exploration of the character threw showing up again.

we see this in Storm Hawks. it's a fairly large main primary cast, for the main hero's you have 6 of them, 4 main villains, and serval minor supporting secondary characters and antagonists that all make reoccurring apparencies, with tertiary characters who appear once to fulfill a particular role, for a given storyline that they can't reasonably exist outside of. Like Princess Perri.

Slugterra's problem is that all its secondary and tertiary characters can exists out of their debut episode and relevant story lines, and have reasonable excuses for them to be present in almost any episode.

Also the noticeable lack of 'villain focused' episodes/segments. Storm Hawks had an episode dedicated to the Cyclonians, multiple scene with them to build of their characters, and dynamics as well.

sure Slugterra had it's villain scean's, but they where not all that insightful outside of a few instances, and didn't serve much of a purpose, outside of showing some details, some of which where never followed up on. like Twist's hesitance.

thus leaving a lot be desired in terms of character development and world building. especially when you have to deal with a PG/Teen rating to maintain.

You can very much to talk/reference more mature topics and dynamics with media like Slugterra, and have it be able reach all preserved age groups, while still being tasteful about it.

(don't ask how I know this, I just watch a lot of old cartoons, read a lot and know a weird amount of random shit-)

-

Junjie is love, Junjie is life, I cherish my emotionally unstable Champion of the East, but I fully understand your point, because I'm similar with Tad Blakk. That being said;

Junjie in a lot of ways mirrors both Eli and Twist.

Eli for obvious reasons and Twist for his desire for revenge against the Emperor, as compared to Twist's desire for revenge against the Shane's. Junjie, like Twist, let's his anger get the better of him on a few occasions during the first Eastern Caverns Arc of the show. Do the others draw him back to his senses?

Sure but he has his moments. If the Gang was not there to keep Junjie in check he would be acting impulsively, and making dumb choices, just like Twist. and yes, Twist make's dumb, impulsive choices, even if we see him like, three times-

love my disaster boiz, but DEAR GOD THEY ARE TRAMATIZED IDIOTS

-

Blakk as a character has always been my favorite.

for the simple reason being he came from nothing. and made a name for himself. and the best part, he kept his fathers name and the insignia of the Viggo Dare. The two men who treated him like shit, and out did them in both Slinging, leading and Business, keeping both name, Blakk, and insignia as a massive fuck you.

he became better then them, but also way worse, and I love that for him.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but I am a villain apologist/sympathizer

-

but yess, Anon thank you for sharing! your points where very interesting and I very much so enjoyed reading and overanalyzing it, and everything else!

as always, floor is open to the opinions of others in the community to discuss, add to or just talk about in general!

✧˖°. ⋆｡˚(✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)｡･:*˚:✧｡

[read tags]

[jacarandaaaas]

little ramble on the importance of both of mirabels songs in the movie:

Starting with our opening number, “the family madrigal”. I feel like this song is quite overlooked outside of being known as the opener that introduces us to the characters and world. It also tells us a lot about our main character mirabel, the song is fast paced and upbeat just like our protagonists attitude! The most obvious thing this song displays is mirabels love and pride for her family! whilst she’s avoiding the topic of herself she’s truly happy to tell the children about her family! We see mirabels personality shine with her optimism and energy and see how she truly loves the people of the encanto. We also get little hints at mirabels jealousy especially towards her sisters. Outside of her calling isabela “the perfect golden child” we get another line that demonstrates to us mirabels surface level understanding of her sisters based on the roles they have taken up. “The beauty and the brawn do no wrong”. The obvious implication here is mirabel does do wrong and she does mess up, a lot. This also shows just how little mirabel actually knows about her sisters referring to them by one word titles she’s heard others repeat. She sees them as perfect and can do “no wrong” she’s completely ignorant to the fact there’s so much more to them. That’s an important part of this song it shows the pedestal that not only the town view the madrigals to be on but also mirabel. Mirabel doesn’t see a single flaw in her family other than herself. What’s also important to note is “the family madrigal” is a polished song, it’s public it’s about the image of the madrigals as a whole. Mirabel avoids talking about herself because she views herself as a stain to that perfect image.

Now onto “waiting on a miracle” this is mirabels want song and it’s important to note that it never actually is said out loud. The entire song is in mirabels mind, it’s her raw unfiltered feelings about her situation and nobody else hears it. So there’s a huge difference, mirabel obviously isn’t happy when she’s signing this song and she even starts it as a reprise to “the family madrigal” to convince herself she’s ok. When the dam breaks we see once again she’s putting the madrigals on a pedestal this time instead of avoiding talking about herself she’s comparing herself to each one talking about what she can’t do. Mirabel also talks about her own desires, she wants to contribute she wants to be seen as valuable and feels a gift is the only way to do that. What we see here is a different side to mirabels personality she’s frustrated she’s upset and shes determined to change and to fix herself, only for the crushing realization at the end that it seems practically impossible to get a gift now.

So I guess the reason I’m comparing these songs is because they both are incredibly important to mirabel. “The family madrigal” reveals a lot of character but it’s ultimately a public facing song whilst “waiting on a miracle” is raw unfiltered desperation. They both play a huge role in mirabels arc and it’s not a case of one song being more important than the other I just wanted to give them some appreciation!

[villa-kulla]

oh nothing, just book lawrence and bellini being work husbands who have each other's backs...

....and praying together...

...and supportively sassing each other...

...and being soft ...

...and passing notes during conclave like schoolchildren...

AND WHATEVER IMPROMPTU 'GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE' REPRESSED TENDER ROMANCE MOVIE YEARNING BULLSHIT THIS IS

i'm crying, they're married, they're dating, they're confirmed bachelors, they're courting, they're besties, they're flirting, they're in love, they're everything to me, amen

[1hotmuyfunbro]

I think the issue between Lin defenders and Su defenders lies in the fact that both sides complain about the other and demonize the opposite character in the exact same way—just reversed. The truth is, both of them have serious flaws in the show!! That’s the point of any literary or fictional character: the goal in storytelling is to allow characters to grow, become more complex, and more interesting. And since fictional characters are inevitably based on reality, their personalities and mistakes are, at the end of the day, human. Most of their actions can’t be justified, but they can be understood.

Regardless of who I personally prefer, I think: Su has character development because she represents the idea that “everyone deserves a second chance.” Not a third or fourth—but a second. She paid the consequences she had to (moving away, seeking knowledge, traveling, etc). Maybe those consequences weren’t as harsh as some people would’ve liked, but they did happen and she followed through. Maybe they weren’t the fairest when you think about things like… ROBBING and joining a borderline gang at 13 years old like… wtf.

On the other hand, Lin represents all the older sisters frustrated with their younger siblings, those who went through parentification but were never truly acknowledged by those same siblings. She made mistakes too, of course—she’s stubborn, rigid, emotionally reserved, and was even paranoid with Pema, Opal, and others. But that’s also part of her arc. Lin lives alone in her 50s, but by choice. And if that makes her suffer… maybe that’s her self-inflicted punishment(?)—depending on how Su defenders interpret her resentment or her choices.

But honestly, it’s funny how fans argue like crazy when at the end of the day, Lin and Su reconcile. They accept that they love each other as sisters, despite the damage they may have caused. Maybe there wasn’t a dramatic apology or a super deep conversation... sure, Su can come off hypocritical or cynical at times, and Lin can be unbearable and intense—but both of them did the best they could while growing up in the shadow of a mother like Toph.

Toph might actually be the root of all this… AND I LOVE TOPH. She and Sokka are literally my top 2 favorite characters!!!! But come on—where there are kids with issues, there are parents with issues. And both sisters craved their mother’s attention in totally different ways. Lin lived alone with Toph for about six years, which probably made them closer. And Lin’s more mature, aware personality may have led her to think: “If I become like her, she’ll give me all the attention I want. We’ll have the same schedule, same interests, and end up talking about the same things.” Su, meanwhile, is the younger sister—six years younger. Like most younger siblings with a big age gap, she was probably “raised” a bit by Lin, and not very willingly. She spent less time with Toph, and that’s hard. So Su tried to get attention differently—by standing out and not being like her older sister, as younger siblings often do when they stop idolizing and start rebelling.

It's impossible not to compare characters, especially when they're siblings who grew up in the same environment but turned out completely different from one another! (In psychology, this is called EQUIFINALITY. Basically, it means that a single starting point can lead to multiple different outcomes.)

Or in other words: Different paths can lead to the same result, and the same path can lead to different results.Even if two siblings grow up in the same family system, each one:

1.Has a different subjective experience.

2.Fulfills a different functional role.

3.Forms unique alliances, conflicts, and emotional bonds.

As a result, they may develop completely different personalities, values, or ways of connecting — even within the same environment. That’s equifinality in action. It’s not a competition, obviously — but you get what I mean.

Both of them were girls who lacked emotional attention and proper guidance.So yeah—now they’re both doing fine. They’ve made big mistakes, but they’re also victims of the parenting style they grew up with… and of the lives they each chose to live.

Lowkey it's actually crazy that Suyin was quite literally thrown out of the house and Republic City at 16 and Lin took that as "once again she gets to do whatever she wants" what do you MEAN!!! she was literally thrown out of her home!!!! what!!!

[cassmouse]

Okay so I think I've finally finished having my long think about teen Shauna lmao

I really really love her arc and I think her whole journey so far is one of the best in the series (probably alongside Nat who also has incredible character progression) and USUALLY I'm all over deranged characters (Villanelle, Rhiannon Lewis, Alice Morgan, Emma Grossman... The list goes on)

HOWEVER

I think the reason I'm not perceiving Shauna in the same way as this long parade of other absolutely deranged female characters is because you're not MEANT to. The show is raw and dark and mildly upsetting with her on PURPOSE and I think I'm picking up what they're putting down- her portrayal, like most of the other characters, isn't MEANT to be black and white- in the context of the show, there isn't really a definite you should or shouldn't fully like her at any given point (ESPECIALLY not now with it getting particularly complicated)

She's an excellent character and I understand her motivations and actions and that's the important thing- however unfortunately I still can't get behind them in the latter half of the season 😭 girl I get it but watching all the actual damage she's doing to the others DOES invoke similar feelings that I have for Aemond in HotD and that's not a good thing

[lokittystuckinatree]

Cursed Doctor Who Pitches That Almost Work:

Doctor Omens: Neil Gaiman as writer, David Tennant as the Doctor, Michael Sheen as the Master, Nina Sosanya and Maggie Service as companions, John Hamm as a villainous President of the USA.

Doctor Loki: Kate Herron as writer, Sophia Di Martino as the Doctor, Tom Hiddleston as the Master, Owen Wilson and Ke Huy Quan as companions, Gugu Mbatha Raw as the Rani.

[shadowedvales-gone]

i am so totally fine about them x

[clumsypuppy]

[sysig]

What your fave says about you: Sona/Undertale edition (Patreon)

[arolesbianism]

Just realized I forgot to post these

[kookiecamera]

THEY ARE MY BELOVEDS. EVERYONE GO WATCH THE SHOW WHITE COLLAR ASAP. WATCH THEM (AND NEAL) IN ALL THEIR GLORY.