#i was completely convinced up until the end of the arc that it was some sort of fakeout

[blueskittlesart]

is detcon actually good

no <3 hope this helps

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

i've been thinking lately about the consequences of how Wheel of Time the show changed a lot of Moiraine's character and the effects those changes have. to be clear, this isn't a criticism, i really like both versions of Moiraine (and i generally don't care that the show changes things because it's good in its own right) but it's fascinating how changing a few things about her life creates this domino effect of a difference in character. (disclaimer that while i know a few spoilers and background details i haven't gotten to yet, i'm only up to reading book 4 + New Spring so sorry if i miss something obvious about book!Moiraine)

as far as i can tell the core differences shown are: 1) show!Moiraine is much older than book!Moiraine; book!Moiraine is in her early forties in The Eye of the World and while show!Moiraine is never given a specific age (and Aes Sedai aging seems to work a bit differently than in the books) but given the age of her younger sister, she would have to be around 80 at the start of the show and 2) instead of being the youngest daughter of three (plus a half brother), she's the oldest of two (presumably still with a half-brother though Taringail is never mentioned in the show) and her father lived until old age instead of dying while Moiraine was a novice.

as for what this changes well:

book!Moiraine & Siuan overhear Gitara's prophecy that the Dragon is reborn when they're Accepted and it's only through a series of Black Ajah related deaths that they're the only ones left who know. while in the show, Moiraine & Siuan are established Aes Sedai and are the only ones who ever hear the prophecy which definitely changes the tone from "two young women who long for adventure take on this quest & responsibility for the world without realizing how all-consuming it will be" to "two older women who think they're finally getting their happy ending are burdened with a responsibility neither of them wanted knowing full well they probably won't make it out alive". it doesn't inherently change the plot of the 20 year quest for the Dragon, but it does create such a different and much darker tone.

obviously, Moiraine & Siuan's relationship being explicitly romantic changes their dynamic but i would argue the new ~40 years that exists between them becoming Aes Sedai and them receiving the prophecy in the show affects their relationship a lot more. it takes their relationship from "high school/college (girl)friends who grew apart because of circumstance" to "a committed 40+ year relationship and work partnership" (and i imagine it took a lot more First Oath side-stepping to convince other Aes Sedai that they hate each other/had a falling out). like obviously Moiraine & Siuan are still very close in the books (platonically or romantically) but the sheer amount of time they must have spent together in the pre-canon showverse paints a completely different picture of their relationship and how hard it must have been to be separated in both space & rank.

(i could talk a lot more about how the show changes affect Siuan's character & arc but she deserves her own post and i want to wait until i get a little further in the books bc i feel like i'll have more to say then)

aside from her relationship with Siuan, the ~40 years Moiraine would spend as an Aes Sedai in the show would definitely change her identity some. in New Spring, Moiraine is raised to the shawl and then runs away from the White Tower a few days later. she is Aes Sedai (more than she'll ever be a Damodred) but upon being raised to the shawl she immediately learned about the Black Ajah, that she can't trust other Aes Sedai, and never spent a significant amount of time in the White Tower after. show!Moiraine, on the other hand, would have been much more ingrained in the power structures of the White Tower (doubly so considering she likely would embrace being Aes Sedai as a way to escape Cairhienin politics) and would probably have had a harder time distancing herself and cutting ties.

regarding the pressure Moiraine faces to take the Sun Throne — i think there could be an argument for why she might have more or less pressure. more because show!Moiraine has significantly less family than in the books — her possible cousins are never mentioned so as far as we know, after Laman died it left her, her father, and her younger sister. her father (who was alive at this point according to episode 2.07) would have been an old man who likely died shortly after so Moiraine would have been the de facto head of House Damodred and would have a much stronger claim to the throne (should she want it) than in the books. however, Moiraine clearly never wanted to be Queen in any version of events and only faced that threat in New Spring because of the Amrylin Seat's desire to have an Aes Sedai Queen. i think it's likely she would have had some pressure to intervene in Cairhienin politics regardless but a 22 year old Moiraine, just raised to the shawl and not at her full power would have been much easier to manipulate than a powerful Aes Sedai with decades of experience. it's very possible that the White Tower, even if it wanted an Aes Sedai Queen, would have thought Moiraine too difficult to control as a puppet ruler and would not have forced her to take the throne. but again, who knows how exactly that went down in the showverse.

also as the Aiel War was happening when Moiraine was ~60 and not a sequestered Accepted, she would have either actively participated in some regard or more likely — faced pressure from her family to participate. regardless, i imagine the War was a much bigger deal for her than in the books and even though she hated Laman in both versions of events (and blamed him for starting the War), being in the Aiel Waste in s3 probably dug up those memories.

as for her relationship with Lan — book!Lan is Moiraine's slightly older contemporary and in New Spring he definitely has more experience of the world. but in the show, Lan would be about half Moiraine's age. i don't think this would drastically change their early dynamic other than Moiraine not being quite as naive but it would mean that Moiraine was a full Aes Sedai when Malkier fell and while she's not Green Ajah so she probably wouldn't have been a direct participant in the Aes Sedai's botched plan to help Malkier, she would have still been a powerful Aes Sedai and i imagine it was much harder for Lan to forgive Moiraine personally for watching Malkier fall than the Aes Sedai more broadly.

there's probably more i could say but this post is long enough as is 😅 anyways my point is just that i feel like i see a lot of fanworks ignoring the differences between the show and books or combining Moiraine's character/backstory, but i feel like it's a missed opportunity to really dig deeper into how her pre-canon life really does affect her character and the whole tone of her story.

[bugsandboos]

reading everyone’s thoughts on the london special and marinette’s actions have given me a serious case of deja vu in relation to the s5 finale, here’s why

a very very VERY common reaction from the fandom i saw to the finale was “why are the writers letting gabriel get away with being a hero why isn’t he being held accountable horrible finale horrible writing i hate this show etc etc etc”

before i share my thoughts on this for like the thousandth time i just wanna mention i DID cry during the finale, partly because i was in shock and also because i HATED it. but now i genuinely believe it was one of if not the smartest thing the ml writers have ever conjured up and i just. fucking love it. (point is: i understand disliking it. that was me at some point, until i began to consider the implications of the “ending”)

similarly, a reaction i’ve seen to the london special (mainly from ml salters) is “why would the writers let marinette lie to the world when it’s so clearly morally wrong she’s such a horrible person she needs to be held accountable blah blah blah”

something both the s5 finale and the london special share is that THE ACTIONS THAT TAKE PLACE IN BOTH. ARE NOT MEANT. TO SIT WELL WITH THE AUDIENCE

NO writer on ml is trying to convince a fan that “gabriel was actually a hero because he made one selfless decision (that wasn’t even that selfless?????)”. NO writer on ml is trying to convince a fan that “marinette is completely right for hiding the truth about gabriel from not only adrien but also the whole world!!!!!! no one should ever find out!!!”

the entire point of the finale and special is to make the viewer uncomfortable, as we watch marinette sit with her questionable choices, watch adrien refer to his father as a hero and watch their class throw a party. none of this is supposed to make us feel at peace with the way this arc has concluded.

what people seem to be missing is that even if the s1-s5 arc has ended, the s6 arc is just beginning, CENTERED AROUND THE CHOICES THAT HAVE MADE US AS THE AUDIENCE FEEL SO UNCOMFORTABLE!! you’re completely ignoring the way the plot is set up if you think the writers are going to neglect gabriel’s storyline, because it is far from over.

i think it’s also important to mention that neither marinette nor adrien are at peace with what’s happened (even if that was implied during the s5 finale—the london special has provided us with this new information on their emotional statuses). marinette is clearly being eaten alive by guilt, seeking confirmation throughout the entire special that protecting adrien from the truth was the morally correct decision. adrien was obviously affected by his father’s death (contrasting the idea that he just “threw a party” without any emotional backlash), and will undoubtedly learn to grapple with his conflicting feelings on gabriel’s character throughout s6 (he sacrificed himself??? but he abused me??? but he saved ladybug and nathalie????? but he apparently assisted monarch?????)

POINT IS

no one is meant to be satisfied with the way things are in the miraculous universe at the moment. you aren’t supposed to want the truth about what really went down during recreation to stay hidden. if you feel uncomfortable with the current situation our main characters are in, GOOD! please stop the discrediting the writers, because your discomfort means they have done their job well.

[calamarieater]

Daves ENTIRE PERSONALITY revolved around being just like Bro he never had the time to develop his own personality because from day ONE he wanted to be JUST like Bro he thought Bro was so cool to the point where he even ignored the abuse and just considered it normal, it's so common in abusive households for the abused kids to want to be JUST like their abusers because they've never seen like a normal household, and like most kids you tend to look up to your parents, which is what Dave was doing. Daves entire personality all his interests like everything were branched off from what Bro liked, he never got into things that Bro DIDNT like the only thing he didn't like was Bros puppets but dave wanted to be JUST like Bro he looked UP to him and people seem to completely ignore Bros abuse because of how dave reacted to it but ? what Bro does is still abuse and often when kids are introduced to abuse early in life they dont know that its abuse and they consider it normal which is why Dave reacted the way he did because he WASNT AWARE THAT IT WAS ABUSE WHICH IS NORMAL IN ABUSIVE HOUSEHOLDS AND ABUSED KIDS OFTEN THINK LIKE THAT which is why it comes off as such a SHOCK when you tell a kid they're being abused and whats going on isn’t normal and it seems like most of the fandom just ignores Daves abuse and everything and the fact that he never really developed his own personality until later on just because of the fact that he never really reacted or talked about it which annoys me SO badly I get its like hard to understand what abused kids are like and their bebehavior and stuff but!! you gotta understand like all his interests and everything came from Bro, his entire life until Sburb he wanted to be just like Bro he looked up to Bro so much to the point the abuse wasn't even something he considered abnormal because he thought Bro was just trying to help him be stronger and have a better reaction time or whatever but that's not what was going on and dave didn't know because he hadn't ever seen a normal household/this was his entire life this is what was normal to him so he considered it normal even compared to his friends lives, especially considering all the kids have semi abnormal lives other than john for the most part so dave was just convinced his life was normal because it was what he was used to and his friends also had odd home lives so he was just convinced that his life was the same gah I love Dave. I just think people should TRY and understand Dave’s character more, and it also just irks me how people see him as some flirty dude when thats not how he is, hes a wannabe cool-kid who has no idea how to behave and just mimics his Bros behavior!!! He WANTS TO BE JUST LIKE HIS BRO!!! HE SPENDS SO MUCH TIME TALKING ABOUT HOW COOL HE THINKS HIS BRO IS and you guys i swear he would NOT be a flirty little shit. He lives for bickering so he can come up with cool comebacks so people think “Wow this guy is REALLY fucking cool” when they're talking to him. So many of you guys seem to forget hes 13 in the beginning, his behavior is just a direct copy of how he saw Bro. He did not develop his own personality until later in life, and even then he still had a lot of Bros traits. Most kids dealing with abuse dont even know that its abuse until way late in life, because again, ITS ALL THEY KNOW!! If you lived your entire life not knowing what you were going through was abnormal, or even unhealthy, you would consider it as “the usual” WHICH IS WHY DAVE NEVER HAD A BIG REACTION TO IT, BECAUSE HE WAS SO USED TO IT. HE DIDNT KNOW IT WASNT NORMAL. Dave was a 13 year old boy dealing with an abusive father figure. From his interests to his personality, he just wanted to be like bro. that's all he wanted.

But, towards the end of his arc, we DO see him start to turn away from that desire to be like bro. We see him slowly realize, he isnt like bro. He doesnt want to be like bro. He isn't a "hero" like bro was, he doesnt WANT to be like bro was. But his entire childhood circled around being like bro, and it wasnt until bro died that he finally realized that wasn't what he wanted. But, as it wasn't until late in his life that he realized, he wasnt really able to form his own personality.

In conclusion: Dave is NOT some coolkid flirty boy, hes an abused child with no personality of his own. He is so much more than most of you guys let him be, and its so irritating to me.

[antianakin]

So I actually love that the Syril/Dedra stuff in this latest arc ended up being this massive parallel to Anakin and Padme in Revenge of the Sith.

I also love that it's not an explicit 1:1 comparison, either, they're BOTH evil assholes and BOTH get to have direct parallels to both Padme and Anakin.

Syril is a dreamer of sorts, and his partner uses him and lies to him and he eventually ends up having to watch his whole world come down around him because of that.

Dedra is making her own choices, she didn't HAVE to include Syril in this project on Ghorman, but she also didn't want to be on the project to begin with and people higher up than her put her in that position of needing to follow through on it and SUCCEED by whatever means necessary. Trying to keep both her relationship and her work life despite the lies and manipulation it would require was a selfish thing to do and something ultimately did have to give.

It's Syril who finally has to see things clearly, has to see his PARTNER clearly, and it's Dedra who is begging him to stay with her, giving him platitudes and excuses to try to convince him that it's worth it to stay.

And, ultimately, it's Dedra left in the ashes while the man she clearly cared for gets killed and turned into a martyr, destroyed by the fire she helped to start.

But it's also Syril who CHOKES Dedra when he finally gets angry, and who does not seem inclined to let go until she tells him what he wants to hear. Syril is not some innocent little waif who didn't know what he was doing. Syril is in this for selfish reasons, too, despite the ways he's convinced himself he's a hero working for a just cause. When he finally learns the truth, he doesn't share that with anyone else, he doesn't try to help the rebels. And when he sees Cassian, the first thing he does is ATTACK him. Syril's sense of self has been completely upended, but he's been manipulating the Ghorman rebels and lying to them this whole time and he KNOWS IT. He's been spying on them and reporting on their movements to the ISB.

And I love the complexity of that and the way they utilized all of these parallels to Anidala in Revenge of the Sith and Mustafar to highlight the toxicity of this relationship and the selfishness of both of these characters.

[jinxfixeseverything]

Prologue: Zaun. (Chapter 0)

Notes and disclaimers

This started out as a Jinx smut one shot, but my OCD made it impossible for me to not have it make sense in the canon Arcane timeline, so it’s set after the show ends. (When Jinx would have the time and head space to actually have sex.) We just wanna see our girl happy right? I started to do a little world building and it ended up becoming an epic tale of the relationship developing. It is complete, 26 chapters and took three months to write. Story is JINX/FEMALE READER. There are some light slang reference to things that truly exist in Runeterra/League of Legends, but you don’t have to be familiar with the game. It’s all just general chit-chat and easy to understand. 

Most chapters contain SMUT and or FLUFF, there is LIGHT ANGST in a few.

Important notes: Reader refers to Jinx often as Pj, for a term of endearment and rare but occasional reference to Jinx as Powder, by the people closest to her, as this is set after her redemption arc she does not mind it used in context!! But still prefers and continues to go by Jinx. She is mainly referred to as Jinx in the story and by the characters in it, don’t worry! Jinx is canonically bisexual in this story. I do not own any of these characters, I just play with them. 

Warning: Story will contain VERY graphic depictions of sebian lex, main coupling will consist of two switches to keep everyone happy. All characters are fictional except for you, so I’ve tried to keep the reader as non descript as possible. I’ll shut up now and I really hope you enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been 10 months since the war. Life had sort of settled down. Zaun and Piltover had shifted into some kind of a new routine. The land was healing, not fully healed, it would take a long, long time. But life for its citizens had found a new normal. 

Jinx had used the vents to escape, just like people that knew her well enough had suspected. 

But unlike the rumours and theories, she had returned to Zaun, eventually. After 2 months away, to think things through, mourn Isha, mourn Vander and Silco and gain some clarity. She became home sick, missed Vi, missed the lanes. It was all she’d known. Stealing away was necessary, letting Vi have a semblance of a life without her. But they’d missed so much time together already. Why spend even longer apart? Losing Isha had made her realise that time with the people you love is priceless and should never be let go of. She understood that now. She had relationships to heal, with Vi and with Cait. With everyone. 

When she returned Servika was a member of the council and was doing a pretty good job of governing Zaun. Shimmer had remained dismantled. And life was… quiet. 

Her reunion with Violet was one of elation and heartache. They talked a lot. Healed so much between them. Though they still bickered like cats and dogs, even clashed on occasion. Old habits die hard, they were so different, yet too similar. Vi understood why Jinx left, but was even gladder she decided to come back. Cait and Jinx very slowly warmed to each other with a lot of forgiveness and soul searching. Cait saw a change in Jinx, saw the pain in her eyes for all she had done. She was so different now. She cared again, in a way she had forgotten how to. The council had pardoned Jinx for Silco’s order for her to make the hex weapon that ripped though the council building almost 2 years ago, on condition that she help with all maintenance needs of the hexgates until told otherwise. They put her brilliant mind to good use. Though maybe a little mundane for her talents. She was one of the only people that understood it anyway. Having Servika on deck certainly helped convince them she was coerced into a life of crime from a young age.

Piltover had made an attempt to give Zaun more autonomy. It was put forth to the counsel that the Zaunites could register a last name, based on the district they were born. 

Vi had taken a reluctant Jinx to sign. Though Vi was born in Zaun, she’d registered herself as a Kiramman and suggested Jinx do the same. She refused, settling on the Fissures for her place of birth. Jinx put the pen to paper, intending to write a J on the page. Hearing her own voice tell Isha “Jinx is dead.” Echo on her head. She slowly wrote a P on the page, followed by ‘Powder Fissure.’ And signed the document. 

“Jinx? Shall we go?” Vi called her. Pulling Jinx from her thoughts.

“Yeah. I’m all done.” Jinx replied. 

The Jinxers had disbanded and all but forgot about Jinx. Which was just fine by her. Cait could see Jinx was a different person now and developed an empathy for Jinx’s past traumas. Growing up being the child of one of Zaun biggest Chem criminals had a way of shaping a person. Losing her family, she hadn’t had the best start. Isha was the first friend Jinx had since she lost everyone and losing her too made Cait feel sad for her. Not all damage could be repaired. But they could move forward together and try to make a better life for what remained of their fractured family, for Vi, if not for themselves. Over the next few months they found they had more in common than they realised, both with brilliant minds and an impeccable shot. They’d even hung out at the shooting range in Piltover and actually had fun! Competing over points and scores. Cockily shit talking each other to get the better shots, but also encouraging and praising each other when one of them did something extra impressive. For Jinx it was refreshing to spend time with women that shared common interests with her. Not just hanging in the shadows listening to the thugs and criminals from Silco’s days. 

But spending time with these women she had begun to admire had made her feel a kind of new longing. Cait and Vi seemed so happy. So loving. It made Jinx feel sort of lonely, out of place, even a little frustrated. 

When Jinx first returned she stayed with Vi and Cait, but living in Piltover just wasn’t for her. She headed back to the lanes. Back to the arcade, boarded up the shattered window and made it as homely as she could. She dropped in on Ekko, who was shocked to see her too. He wrapped her in a crushing hug. He’d asked her to stay at the Firelights but again she declined. Jinx wasn’t a joiner. Things were a little awkward between them at first, due to Ekko explaining about Powder in the realm of heebee geebies, how they were a couple, a life that Jinx had absolutely no memory of, the girl there wasn’t her. That was Powder. She was still Jinx she’d tell herself, and that suited her fine. In a short time Ekko began to separate the two and they became friends again. 

Her hair had grown quickly and was back in her signature braids. Though much shorter. She had no idea what else to do with it. She should ask Cait. But she definitely didn’t want it to get down to the ground again. For now they rested just touching her shoulders.

The voices and hallucinations had mostly subsided, the guilt never truly leaving, had been worked through and Jinx was on her way to healing her past traumas.

She on occasion still spoke to Silco. Sometimes he spoke back. But never very often. 

Jinx returned home after an evening in Piltover, she walked home slowly, not looking forward to another night of tossing and turning, feeling hot and bothered. Laying up in the rafters of the arcade she began to recount the evening, seeing Vi and Cait laugh together and share a palpable electric vibe as they teased and joked with each other made her realise, she should probably make some friends of her own. She felt like kind of a loser hanging out with her sister and her girlfriend so much. 

She spoke out loud to an imaginary Silco. 

“…So now I’m basically a third wheel.” She continued. “Watching them have their little ‘girlfriend jokes’… I don’t want that! I’m not interested!” She babbled “Icky! Heh heh, I don’t wanna get all wrangled up, you know? Of course you know. But I mean, would it kill me to get a little action now and again?” She chuckled sheepishly. “What would you say if you were here? ‘Jinx! You need to focus. Blah, blah! You absolutely need to stop thinking about getting laid. It’s beneath you.’” She mimicked his voice. 

Jinx had never had anyone special in her life, she hadn’t even kissed anyone. When she was a kid she had a little crush on Ekko, that all but disappeared when she began to live with Silco, in her early teens she often found herself thinking about Servika late at night. There was no romance in her fantasy, she delighted in mocking and tormenting the woman, which gave her a strange thrill, but even then, the older she got the more bored and volatile she became. Sex wasn’t something she cared about or had any interest in. She didn’t want anyone touching her. That was for weak and needy people. She wasn’t weak. Damaged, yes. But she didn’t need anyone. Over time she grew to resent Servika ordering her around and treating her like the loose canon kid she was. 

“I could always talk to Vi. Is that weird? I mean she’s my sister. That might be awkward. But it’s not like we grew up together. And we agreed to be ‘open and honest and share our feelings’.” She theatrically stated. 

“I can hear her now. ‘Boys or girls?’ Either.” Jinx replied to herself. She raised an eyebrow and slyly smiled. “Both. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” 

She pictured Violet cupping her cheek in that loving big sister way she always did. 

“Vi would tell me, ‘just go out there and be your crazy, lovable self, Pow Pow. You’re ready...”

Jinx sat up on the wooden beam. “She’s right. I’m ready.” She still spoke out loud, not knowing if it were to Silco or herself. “How hard can it be to meet new people. I’m a hoot! I’m gonna go out there, find someone to… ‘hang out’ with. No big deal. And maybe stop all these weird, sleepless nights I keep having.” 

With that she slunk down off the wooden structure, grabbed her cloak and headed out the door. 

[melthegoblin]

you write about HAWKS, DABI, SHIGARAKI, BAKUGO, DEKU, KIRISHIMA, DENKI, SHOUTO, SERO, ALL MIGHT, AIZAWA, PRESENT MIC (copied and pasted, which is why all caps)

But is there ANY possibility you could do HC’s? Or more specifically HC’s about Kai Chisaki; even more specifically after his arms were removed?

🤍Kai Chisaki - Handclap🤍

"You're a nurse working in Tartarus to take care of Kai Chisaki"

Warnings: Heavy subject? (Losing both arms ain't sunshine and rainbows), fluff, maybe ooc, manga spoilers? (Idk if Lady Nagant arc has been animated yet)

A/N: Hiiiii, I'm horribly late but y'know between the holidays and moving- It was quite hard to balance lol

Anywho! I normally don't write about Chisaki BUT trauma linked to loss of arms?? I'm all in lmao

Anyways, hope you enjoy!! Song I listened to while writing this: Handclap by Fitz and the tantrums

REQUESTS ARE OPEN AGAIN <3

Tartarus wasn't your typical jail

Prisoners aren't allowed to get out of their cells

So they have everything they might need

And no one else but their own thoughts

Which could easily drive someone down a never ending rabbit hole

Losing both of his arms felt like more than a curse to Chisaki

He felt like he was reduced to nothing, since he wasn't able to do things

Eating? Getting dressed? Showering? Literally anything?? He couldn't do it by himself

It was quick before the will to live was completely gone

Without his ability to do things on his own, it was like he was already dead

The commission talked about this and even though he's a big criminal, they didn't want him to die

So you were hired (with some basic training on self defense of course)

Chisaki felt even more worse when you appeared, though it's not your fault

The poor boy couldn't help but feel like a useless baby when you took care of him

Not even a week after your arrival and he had enough of you

He began to tell you to "fuck off and let him die"

His state started to deteriorate since then

You hadn't interacted much with him before until that happened

Being a nurse, you believed that every life was worth saving

Even if you didn't necessarily agree with the crimes he did

So you started talking to him like he was your friend

Maybe you could convince him to AT LEAST eat a bit

You'll think about the rest later

Chisaki was a bit more at peace when you left him alone but oh boy was he annoyed when you started talking to him

He often got pissed and often told you to shut up, but you'd restart after an hour or two

And 3 days later, he gave up, letting you speak, plus you lived with him 24/7 so it's not like he had any other choices

(What? You were inside a criminal's cell all day long, you think they're gonna let you get in and get out nonstop?? Of course not, the commission is not gonna risk any evasion)

Anyways, most of the time, he didn't listen but after a while, he'd get bored and curious

He, of course, didn't say it out loud but he'd lend an ear to your stories

When he eventually joined the conversation, it was a week after you first began the "tactic"

Then, his state was slowly improving for the better

And you were glad to have found a somewhat friend in him

(MANGA SPOILERS FROM HERE) (You may stop here, as I said up there, I only watched up to S5 so I don't know if Lady Nagant arc has been animated yet)

That was until Tartarus fell into ashes

Chisaki felt another kind of "hope"

Where he could apologize to the boss

For some reason, he and Lady Nagant saved you from the destruction of Tartarus

Then he vanished with her, you didn't hear about him for a while

You followed the commission's oders to survive during those harsh times

Until Kai Chisaki and Lady Nagant were stopped, you were, once again, asked to take care of him in his new cell

Because you knew him well enough

Since he didn't get to apologize to his boss, when he saw you again, he ran to you

Out of surprise, combined with his weight, you fell on your butt

He lied his head on your lap and begged for you to forgive him

You didn't understand shit but you pet his hair nonetheless, and Chisaki, surprised, looked up to you

And you gave him one of your best smiles while promising him that everything would be okay from now on

[ry0ubakura]

I've been thinking about how in almost every video game Ryou is in, he's often treated like a tutorial-level character alongside characters like Tristan, whereas Yami Bakura is usually reserved for late-game duels or high ranks.

So much of YGO in general hinges on the idea of partners and friendship. Even if Ryou and YB couldn't be labeled so simply as 'friends,' if they had worked together, and been able to communicate with one another the way Yugi and Yami did, I wonder if YB would have actually been unstoppable. Not just in DM, but in general.

I feel like it doesn't even really matter if Ryou really was just an average type of duelist, because the fact that they learned to share a body itself would be the main source of plot armor. Of course, they would still inevitably lose to Puzzle in the end, but I have a lot of fun thinking about it: How things would've turned out had Ryou actually been willingly working with YB. On his side. Actually a part of the MW arc.

What if Ryou was jealous of the way his friend Yugi got to communicate with his ancient spirit...of the bond they had? And he decided to do anything in his power to try and do the same with his: No more fighting for control. No more arguing about what was to be done, what wasn't to be done. Finding harmony, a state of compromise was now the most important thing to him--even if it meant Ryou would have to temporarily be on the opposing side of his friends until YB's goals were complete.

But luckily, they aren't his only friends anymore! It's not like he'd be loosing everything. Now he has YB! In fact, he's had YB with him for all these years! The only friend that had ever stuck with him...

So it's okay. Plus, YB has promised him that no one has to actually get seriously hurt. He easily lies and even compromises to win over Ryou's affections. And even if his friends are mad at him for a little, Ryou knows he can mend things in the end. Of course it helps that YB is convincing over time.

Ryou grows a little bitter of Yugi, then. This could also be because he had finally embraced the darkness of YB within him. It became easier to have these negative sorts of feelings.

BUT! I think YB has also embraced some of Ryou's light. Ultimately, that's where he'd lose in the end. Somehow, his bond with his host would be his downfall, just as it had been his greatest strength up to that point.

Overall, I think it would've been really cool if Tender went on a parallel journey to Puzzle. And the Dark RPG would've held so much more significance. And Ryou could've played a much bigger part within the game. Bittersweet Heart would've had a lot bigger focus overall, too, with Ryou secretly growing more and more bitter towards Yugi, but also growing as a duelist as he works more closely with YB.

And like...the thing is that MW and TTRPGs in general have always been Ryou's specialty.

For once, they'd be playing on his stomping grounds. He'd get to be the DM in the campaign he'd been working on for months. YB would be in the game as TKB facing the Pharaoh. He would finally get to prove to Yugi that he's formidable, too. That Yugi and Yami aren't the only ones who can be great at games.

And it would be so interesting because Yugi, during that arc, is going through basically the opposite!

While Ryou is feeling more confident than ever; that he's finally become a worthy host of YB, that he's finally become strong enough to protect the friend that has always been at his side, and that he's ready to show that strength to the friend he's always felt inferior to...

...Yugi is feeling like he's only been chasing after his other self. He is doubting everything. He is feeling unworthy. He isn't sure he can do this on his own. He isn't sure of anything.

I COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON I'M SORRY BUT I JUST LOVE THINKING ABOUT THIS AND I'VE ALREADY TYPED SO MUCH---

i'm sorry this doesn't have any proper structure i just wanted to ramble about what if Tender worked together....

[jjs-brainrot]

2024 is coming to an end, all my anime from the current season finished up and next season has yet to be begin. it's time for me to actually sit down and figure out what my top 10 anime were for this year!

God damn was this an amazing year of anime for me. Every season had multiple shows I was hardcore obsessing over with a surprising amount of them outright entering into my top 10 of all time. I'd say I'd be surprised if 2025 can match it, but a lot of the shows I was obsessing with are getting continuations next year so I might end up with back to back peak years.

10. Yuru Camp S3

The greatest propaganda camping has ever received is back again to try to convince you that you should totally buy some camping gear and drive out to the nearest camp ground. You will surely not regret both of these decisions!

Yuru Camp feels like it's the platonic ideal of the iyashikei genre. It has just the right mixture of beautiful scenery, slow and chill vibes, the right amount of goofy humor and some really delicious looking food to make you feeling rejuvenated (and a bit hungry) every episode.

Season 3 has been particularly notable as its the first season being handled by Eight Bit instead of C-Station. While I'd say it's still as strong as previous seasons, the environmental backgrounds definitely felt like a step back compared to the previous 2 seasons and movie. It wasn't bad enough that it put a damper on my enjoyment of the series but it was a noticeable downground. The rest of the animation was pretty solid though with some of the later episodes (7 and 8 in particular) being incredibly creative and fun.

It's Yuru Camp. You should watch Yuru Camp if you haven't already…. You will not regret any purchases you make after watching Yuru Camp…

9. Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

The classic medieval fantasy/economic/romance/drama series has returned to once again lure unsuspecting otaku with the promise of a cute wolfgirl, only to lock the door behind them and reveal that they've been signed up for an econ 101 class.

It's an updated adaptation that's much more faithful to the light novels then the first anime was. Not too much to say until we get season 2 as it covered a lot of the arcs the first anime covered. The one exception being that it actually animated book 3 which the first anime skipped over in order to cover book 5 (or rather 90% of book 5… I'm still salty about that…)

Holo is still a complete charmer, Holo and Lawrence still have excellent chemistry together and the economic drama is still top tier.

8. Dungeon People

Dungeon Keeper Yuri or the other show from this year from a mangaka thinking long and hard about how a fantasy dungeon would actually work. Though Instead of looking at it as an ecosystem like Dungeon Meshi, it approaches the idea as a workplace with its own logistical and management issues that need to be addressed in order to function.

It's mostly a pretty chill series but it also doesn't shy away from exploring darker topics like how the dungeon management deals with sexual assault and murder amongst adventurers.

Both of the protags (Clay and Belle) are fairly morally grey characters with neither having any qualms about killing when the job calls for it. There's also some strong coworkers yuri going on between them as well.

Kinda got overshadowed by Dungeon Meshi, but it's another really interesting examination on the idea of fantasy dungeons with some light yuri elements on top.

7. 'Tis Time for "Torture", Princess

The princess will be pampered, cared for and provided more friendship then she's ever experienced in her life until she divulges state secrets of frivolous quality.

An extremely chill little comedy that manages to be both extremely funny and incredibly relaxing as the same time. The closest series I can think of to compare it to is Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle (and maybe The Helpful Fox Senko-san to an extent). Just a nice series of skits about a character getting pampered.

Each of the "torturers" having the own niches (i.e. the titular Torture Tortura (yes that's her name) being a foodie, Krall being an animal lover, Youki and Inki basically playing around as the princess' best friend, etc) does a good job of making skits varied enough to never get stale.

Very good series to chill to after long day at work. Also has a season 2 on the way.

6. Dungeon Meshi

It's Dungeon Meshi, one of the best fantasy and foodie series to come out in decades.

In truth, the fact that I've been keeping up with and recommending this series for like 8 or 9 years now kinda does lower it a bit on my list since most of the novelty has faded over the years and most of the stronger moments of the series will be in the second season.

That being said, this adaptation has been fantastic so far with it easily being a contender for one of Studio Trigger's best works.

5. Mayonaka Punch

Desperate simp vampire girl wants to suck a cancelled youtuber girl('s blood) dry, the cancelled youtuber wants to reach 1 million subscribers. Win-win!

An absolutely hilarious comedy that also manages to pull out some pretty strong emotional guy punches when it feels like it and has an absolutely exquisite cast of girls who suck (pun intended).

Easily up there with Shirobako and Ya Boy Kongming as one of PA Works' best anime.

4. Shangri-La Frontier

A trash game loving birdman plays an actually good game for the first time in his life. Alternatively: LetMeSoloHer the anime.

One of the very few VRMMO anime that's… actually about the joy of playing an MMO? Honestly it feels weird to say but it feels like almost ever other anime that takes place in an MMO is either an isekai or a romance where the MMO aspect is just a forgettable backdrop. The only other series I can think of that did something similar to Shangri-La Frontier is Bofuri. So it's weirdly an untapped aspect of the genre.

Shangri-La Frontier really does nails every aspect of enjoying an MMO excellently though. The fun of first loading into a game and trying to figure out the basics, gushing about the game to one of your old gaming buddies and getting them interested in it, finding another old gaming buddy you didn't realize was also playing the same game as you, learning and mastering a raid with your friends, getting real into the lore of the game and even taking a break from your main game to play other games to recharge your love for the main one.

The entire cast is a wonderful collection of gamer cryptids with the main 3 protags being up there as one of my all time favorite trios as they're just as easily likely to help each other out when it counts as they are to stab each other in the backs for the laughs. They absolutely nail the "gaming buddies who've known each other for years" vibes.

It easily has the most stellar fight scenes this year with The multi-episode Weathermon fight alone absolutely deserving to top everyone of those "top x anime fight scenes" lists people put out there.

It's painful how under talked about this series seems to be for how good it is.

3. VTuber Legend

Lesbian VTuber gets drunk and loudly talks about how much she loves to fap to women. Proceeds to awaken a new fetish in every one of her coworkers (never the same one).

Hilarious, unhinged, gay af, probably the second kinkiest yuri this year and is the gold standard all future VTuber anime must be compared to. It gets it. It fully understood the level of unhinged insanity it needed to be to represent what watching VTubers is actually like and does so with flying colors.

Awayuki Kokorone is my oshi of all time. May she forever suffer the consequences of being a human lightning rod of fetishes by becoming a chew toy for every woman in her life.

Easily the one of the funniest comedies to come out this year and is well worth watching even if you have 0 interest in VTubers.

2. Gushing Over Magical Girls

Girl who really, really, really, REALLY loves magical girls gets black mailed into joining the evil organization that fights them. This turns into an unexpected positive for her as she finds out that she really, really, really, REALLY loves domming magical girls.

As wild as "the extremely smutty, borderline pornographic bdsm yuri magical girl show was one of the most compelling and interestingly written shows this year while also being the most hilarious" is to say… The extremely smutty, borderline pornographic bdsm yuri magical girl show was in fact one of the most compelling and interestingly written shows this year while also being the most hilarious.

It's easily one of the most kink positive anime series I've seen, and I think out of every anime from this year, this one might well have had the biggest impact on me. The general themes of self-accepting ones own perversions and kinks genuinely got me accepting and being way more open with my own and others'.

The bdsm magical girl show made me a better person which is a hell of a thing to say.

1. Girls Band Cry

RAISE YOUR MIDDLE FINGERS WITH ME! (or at least you pinkies as we sadly can't have the actual members of TogeToge flipping their audience off every live show…)

Hands down the best band anime yet, easily a rival to Studio Orange's work as one of the best 3DCG anime out there and without a doubt the best completely original anime released this year. It's writing was consistently strong from beginning to end with a few episodes outright being some of the best 20 minutes of anime this year (episode 8 and 11 in particular). The entire cast was super fun with Nina in particular being an incredibly interesting protagonist. And god the music is some of the best out of any band anime with Togenashi Togeari easily being up there in my top 3 bands of all times and I've basically not gone a single week without listening to every one of their songs on repeat.

Girls Band Cry might be the most near perfect anime in years and is easily the series I'd most recommend everyone pick up from this year (now that you can actually do so legally cause god damn was it a crime that this one wasn't picked up by streamers when it aired).

[linkspooky]

What ending would you have liked for the League villains in BNHA?

Well, there's two answers to this question. What would be my ideal ending to the League of Villains requires major story structure changes. To the point where it almost becomes an entirely different story,v venturing into fanfiction territory.

Basically keeping the story as it is until My Villain Academia, there's no longer a clear and distinct line between Hero and Villain. Shigaraki is now the real deuteragonist of the story, and the story is split between Deku's journey and Shigaraki's.

The league are no longer just an insane fringe element that doesn't deserve to be listened to or have their wrongs redressed. Since they now have the MLA they have public support behind them, they like become actual rebels against hero society with even public support. Either the War Arc doesn't happen, or the villains win and society is effectively destroyed so that the heroes no longer have their tight grasp.

A bunch of kids die in the war, because they weren't relevant and it's a consequence for UA raising child soldiers. The remaining relevant kids are forced to cope with two realities, number one they were violent enforcers of a broken system, number two the villains are right in some ways. A moment of the kids going "Are we the bad guys?" However, they can't agree with destroying everything so they have to fight to rebuild. The kids have lost faith in the adults, break off from them entirely so the adults no longer hog all the screentime and try to attempt to solve the problem on their own. Also, Enji dies in the war arc because Hori didn't do anything satisfying with his character beyond that part, and Dabi is hit with feelings of: oh no killing my father didn't fix my problem.

Then you'd basically have to have the narrative find a compromise between Shigaraki's complete radicalism but lack of any motivation to rebuild, and Deku's desire to save others but lack of self-awareness about the evils of his society and how the system can't be fixed as it is. Like a war between the opposite forces of preservation and destruction and Deku and Shgiaraki having to eventually work together to build their world. Maybe Deku even manages to convince Shigaraki there is a future, and save him from statements like "I don't care what happens next." The League of Villains and the reduced Class 1A are like two parallel groups in the manga running in tandem, and also Deku's bonds with his friends are closer now and actually shown in story they become a tight knit group so both sides are trying to protect the people they love too.

Here was my realistic ending I was expecting when the war started. The kids fight their respective villainous foils and then manage to talk them down and solve things with words instead of violence. Then the villains and heroes team up in order to save Shigaraki from AFO, which is the first step of redemption of the league, and also the kids realizing that the league love each other. At the end of the fight Deku tells Shigaraki what he's always wanted to hear when he was Tenko, "You can be a hero, too." bookending the story with the words All Might told him. The villains either get rehabilitated because they helped take down AFO, or they run off to become vigilantes.

What we got was everyone being sent to hell instead and that sure is something.

[blue-eye-samurai-analysis]

Revenge is not always easy

What if Skeffington and Routley have families? What if one of them is a bad person turned good person, trying to atone for his sins?

When Mizu first mentions the Four White Devils she envisions them as demonic shadows and she probably doesn't expect any of them to have human emotions.

But we (the audience) already know that at least one of them has a compassionate side. And that's Fowler.

Remember how he mentioned his sister and famine in Ireland? Yes, even someone as evil as him had a loved one at some point of life. He loved his sister to the point of feeding her with his own blood to keep her alive. Actually, if you listen carefully to everything he said in episode seven, you may even reach the conclusion that his current devilish personality is not (entirely) his fault.

Which of course is NO excuse for what he does NOW (just like Taigen's dad drinking is no excuse for Taigen to act like shit - it helps us understand his behavior, but it's no excuse, not until he apologizes properly).

Anyway, whatever his motivation might be, Fowler is clearly a bad person and it makes Mizu's revenge easy in season one (from a moral point of view).

But for season two I’d like to see something different. Fowler called Skeffington and Routley “the absolute worst” and I’m on board with the idea to make them even WORSE psychos than what we’ve already seen… but it doesn’t mean their situation cannot become complicated.

Have you seen Kill Bill? If so, you might remember Vernita – that dark skinned chick the Bride murdered. Her case was really interesting, because she had a family and a KID. That didn’t earn her ANY mercy from the Bride, but from the audience’s point of view getting the bloody business done in front of the little girl was pretty savage.

Go to your room, honey! Mommy and her friend are busy trying to kill each other!

I think it would be interesting to watch in Mizu doing something simiar. And it makes perfect sense, because Fowler suggests that Skeffington and Routley are the discreet kind. You know what discreet criminals do? They blend in. And the best way to do it is to get yourself a proper wife and if you add cute kids to the formula, you’re on the highway to become the sweetheart of the society.

That would… well, maybe not STOP Mizu, but it could become the source of huge mental struggles for her. Because, yeah, destroying her maybe father, COULD result in robbing a completely innocent family of a bread provider, potentially even making them end up in the streets.

We know perfectly well that Mizu doesn’t like hurting innocent people. And she’s already had an opportunity to learn that revenge is not always easy – like in episode four, when Madame Kaji explained to her, that she cannot simply murder a powerful mob boss, because his lackeys will come and do the retaliation in form of a mass murder.

(But hey, if you are Mizu, you can always slaughter the dude’s entire army, so no worries).

So, the situation in which Skeffington or/and Routley would have a family (perhaps even Mizu’s half sibling!) could complicate things A LOT for our murderous protagonist.

And it would be even MORE interesting If one of the White Devils met her after having some sort of atonement arc. Remember: Fowler haven’t seen those dudes in ten years. At least that’s what the plot implies – though he might be in some contact with them, because someone GOT him the guns from England, and he seems convinced that they are both in London. But anyway, there is a chance, he doesn’t know them THAT well anymore.

Sooo… one of the devils could become good, perhaps even become a part of the English church (imagine Mizu murdering a Christian monk! – that would be sooo cool). He could have become a good person, take care of the orphans or help poor people in general. Hell, he could even decide to come back to Japan to atone for some stuff he had done. That’s something I wouldn’t mind seeing and I think it would make the plot (and Mizu’s character development) very interesting.

[justanotherpersonwhowrites]

We were seriously cheated from a great character arc with JJ and Jarah's baby.

Imagine JJ "you don't want me around your kid" Maybank meeting little Jarah junior. This guy is convinced that having kids is not in his future because he'll just mess them up, and he doesn't want to do to any kid what Luke did to him. He never even considers being a father because he just knows on a deep, intrinsic level that he's not someone to be trusted around kids. When John B and Sarah's baby is born he tries to find every excuse to be away from the house as much as possible until John B finally forces him to spend some time with the baby.

At first he's super hesitant because he doesn't want to do something that will somehow affect that kid later on and he "doesn't know how to interact with kids," but literally everyone else can see how good he is with the baby. There's some challenges naturally and he still doesn't trust himself around the baby very much but one day he ends up being the only Pouge available to babysit. He freaks out about being left alone with little Jarah junior, but the longer he spends with the kid the more he realizes that there is no way he would ever be able to hurt them. Like, he can't even rationalize how anyone can look at a baby and think about doing any of what Luke did to him.

So after that moment he begins to trust himself more around the kid. He'd be the fun uncle who sometimes introduced questionable activities, but he'd also gain some (much needed, long awaited) responsibility. And you better believe he would be the most protective of that kid. Rivaling John B? Probably.

I can just imagine him realizing that he can choose to treat this kid the complete opposite of how Luke treated him, and taking every opportunity to do so. And eventually it hits him that despite how much Luke's abuse messed with him, it doesn't mean he has to let it control the rest of his life. Maybe he could be a dad after all and do his own kid justice, ya know?

Yup... it's safe to say that I can't get this story line out of my head and am 99% sure I will end up writing a fan fic on this exact premise at some point in the not too distant future.

[lune-moon-nuit]

What’s one moment that made you fully believe in byler?

I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment I had a "revelation." I think it was more of a gradual realization as the series progressed, absorbing information little by little until it all clicked. I remember that my first suspicions about Byler started in season 2, during Mike’s monologue to Will. At that moment, I was watching with a friend who had been following the show since season 1 and knew the whole story. When I asked him, "Are you sure there’s nothing going on between these two?" he chuckled and said, "You’ll see in the next seasons."

What heightened my suspicions was Mike’s change in behavior in season 3. Why would he change so drastically when he supposedly had everything he wanted? His best friend was back and alive, his girlfriend was back and alive, and aside from Bob (rest in peace, hero), his family and friends were all alive and present. So why would he undergo such a negative shift in behavior, making it clear that something was wrong? Because when you’re happy, you don’t exhibit problematic behavior or a drastic personality change to that extent—especially when you originally had a well-liked personality (and no, hormones don’t alter the core of your personality).

What truly confirmed my suspicions were three key moments:

The unreciprocated kiss with El in front of the closet, followed by Hopper’s letter, which reflected Mike’s thoughts at that moment—the same Mike who then hugged his mother, looking completely troubled and confused.

The failed airport hug (which I’ve analyzed in detail here).

The projections of Mike’s feelings in seasons 3 and 4 during his arguments with Will: "It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!" and "We’re friends! WE'RE FRIENDS!"

These three points solidified that Byler wasn’t just an illusion—there was something deeper brewing beneath the surface. And when I watched the rest of season 4, it only made me more and more certain.

In fact, the analyses by LesbianMindFlayer on YouTube made me realize just how much the Duffer Brothers and the entire production team have so much fun crafting the series—and more importantly, how meticulous they are with details, symbols, and clues. I think the first video I watched from her was the breakdown of Suzy’s house, which is literally filled with easter eggs and symbols foreshadowing Byler’s arc and the season’s ending. It’s incredibly amusing to realize just how much the Duffers are putting right under our noses without us noticing.

Ironically, LesbianMindFlayer, along with other Byler theorists and analysts, didn’t convince me of Byler—I already believed in it before. What they did was make me realize just how long Byler has been planned. The only thing they truly convinced me of—something I was unsure about—was the infamous "Is Mike bisexual or gay?" question. And logically, everything points to him being gay.

Think about it: he’s only ever kissed one person in his life—El, his girlfriend. How could he possibly realize that he also likes boys without ever kissing a boy? His realization at the end of season 3, when El kisses him, is that he feels nothing—not because of some complex emotions, but because he simply isn’t attracted to girls.

So no, there wasn’t a single moment where I went, "Wait, Byler is a thing??"—it was more like a gradual accumulation of questions and suspicions, stacking up over time until the pile became too massive to ignore:

"This platonic monologue to pull him out of possession is extremely intimate, emotional, and even romantic—wow."

"Why does Mike seem just as disappointed as Dustin when he sees Will dancing with the girl when he basically forced him to accept her invitation?"

"Why does Mike pull El’s hands off his face when they kiss?"

"Why is Mike acting like a completely different person?"

"Why does Mike seem more annoyed that El dumped him rather than actually sad?"

"Why is the argument with Will so much more dramatic and emotional than the breakup with El?"

"So Mike crosses a literal storm to beg for Will’s forgiveness but couldn’t do the same for his girlfriend instead of sulking?"

"So his girlfriend, who broke up with him three months earlier—whom he spent an entire episode complaining about purely out of frustration, whom he impulsively declared ‘I love her and can’t lose her again’—tells him she heard him say that, tells him she loves him too, kisses him, and his reaction is: 1. denying he even said it and downplaying it, 2. keeping his eyes open the entire time, 3. not reciprocating the kiss, 4. standing completely still without moving a muscle, 5. looking utterly blank with no facial reaction, no smile, no words when El looks at him post-kiss, 6. all of this happening in Will’s bedroom, right in front of an open closet, 7. right after a scene where Mike was beaming with joy when Will told him he wouldn’t play with anyone else but him?"

I won’t list everything, but you get the idea. When you stack it all up, it creates a tower of clues and questions taller than the Eiffel Tower. At this point, the only thing missing is Mike confirming it from his perspective in season 5, so that the slow audience—blinded by heteronormativity—and the homophobic, dishonest fans can finally admit the truth.

Moreover, Mike's homosexuality and his feelings for Will are the only logical explanations for his drastic change in seasons 3 and 4, which made him so "hated" by the audience because they no longer recognized or understood him. If Byler is endgame, the writers will have crafted an excellent slow-burn love story that successfully misled the audience’s instincts while placing all the clues right before their eyes—they only needed to observe and ask the right questions. In that case, Mike will have one of the most complex and fascinating identity arcs in the show.

However, if Byler doesn’t happen, Mike will be the greatest case of character assassination ever seen. He would become the worst-written character in television history and go down as one of the most hated, right alongside Rachel Berry. And honestly, I highly doubt that the Duffer brothers—who gave us the best character development ever with Steve Harrington—would destroy Mike Wheeler, who was the main character in the early seasons, who is Will’s best friend, and who happens to be the boy that Will, the central and most important character of season 5, is in love with (and the brothers and Finn have said several times that Mike, the heart, is going to become the leader he was in season 1 again, and they made it clear to us that watching season 1 and 2 for season 5 would be good). The Duffers have structured the story in a way that makes the audience root for Will’s happiness, and the only way he can truly be happy is if he is loved in return.

[applepie2523]

"The problem with how Alicent is written in HoTD

There's a feeling of the show wanting to have its cake and eat it too with regards to Alicent. It applies to many other characters, whose actions are immersed in miscommunication, mystery, or just general confusion to create the illusion of complexity (as astutely pointed out by Rolling Stone's review of this season). This is probably my biggest writing philosophy criticism of the show, but it rears its head the most in Alicent Hightower.

In the books, from the very beginning she, like Rhaenyra, is introduced under the banner of "Dangerous Women". This is what it's about, "The Princess and the Queen". She's an ambitious, snarky, manipulative villain. Not very complex, but undeniably important, and even interesting -- albeit only as a concept, remember the history book/s aren't written with ASOIAF-level characterization -- because she's powerful and influential.

In the show, she's just all over the place.

Season 1 does Alicent's arc in the wrong order

So, she starts out being defined by subservience to her father's whims, while also trying to do good and uphold her own morals despite this. This is why she's sympathetic in the beginning. I see Young Alicent's character as the girl who tries her best, under great strain, to make everyone happy -- her father, Rhaenyra, Viserys -- until she finally snaps in Episode 5. The problem is in the following episodes.

We begin Episode 6 with Alicent all the way she needs to be in order to fully resemble her F&B-self. She spends her days complaining to her allies about Rhaenyra, snidely accusing her of mothering bastards, refusing any attempt at reconciliation and pushing Aegon into wanting to be king. Very jarring, but alright, if we want to drop some of that complexity and make her a full-on antagonist (with a sloppily-bridged sympathetic backstory) then that works too.

Yet, Episode 7 weirdly seems to serve to push Alicent into being the person we already saw in Episode 6. It's the wrong way around. The family tension bubbles and boils, she snaps again, and has a moment of being consoled by Otto, which seems to suggest she is now firmly in the "Crown Aegon" camp -- "Together, you and I will prevail" are his words. Rhaenyra and Daemon also get married and firmly name the Hightowers and their kin "The Greens". The lines have been drawn. A bit sloppy but we're there.

Until... we regress yet again in Episode 8. The two are awkward but soon both women enthusiastically cling to rekindle their friendship. All seems to be going well, Alicent declares Rhaenyra the Queen even after years of building allies and apparent scheming with Otto... But then, on Viserys' deathbed he mistakes his wife for his daughter and this one misunderstanding is supposedly what will get Alicent back on Team Green. Alright.

Yet, Episode 9 reveals that Alicent was completely aware of the scheme to crown Aegon as King the whole time! She is shocked, and, unlike in the books, refuses to take part in this treason. It turns out she didn't have a change of heart at that dinner, it's just that she spent the past 8 years after the Aemond incident being blissfully unaware of the plans and... less angry at Rhaenyra, somehow? Plot-holes aside, the misunderstanding makes Alicent come around to the end goal of Aegon on the throne, and she spends the next day finding him so that she can crown him on her terms -- again, apparently completely caught off-guard that this was being planned the whole time.

It's a situation burdened with so much "complexity" that it loses its direction. Considering the muddled characterization of Alicent up until now, her actions feel confusing and, importantly, not that convincing. The most charitable reading of this is that Alicent's motive is staking out her own position, going along with Team Green's goals but for a completely separate reason, and she is apparently so sure in this that it makes her feel ok about blocking Rhaenyra's queenship and assisting her father in his deceptive plans. Despite being very disapproving of his actions. It's a very tough sell that Alicent's conviction regrading Viserys' last words is so stupidly strong that she can maintain this goal without cognitive dissonance, and as hard as Olivia Cooke is trying to sell it, I don't imagine many are buying. Add in the frustration of the audience being aware that her motives are built on a poorly-sold misunderstanding and there's no wonder people don't feel very connected to her.

Here's another issue with this "ambiguity": Alicent is not Daemon. She may hide her feelings to other characters, but she wears her heart on her sleeve for the audience, so there's no excuse for the contradictions. The intention for Alicent Hightower is clearly not to create an enigmatic force of chaos. Instead, it was to make her an understandable and complex character, and the show dropped the ball on that. This failure can be clearly seen in the average viewer, who easily finds plenty of reasons to cherry-pick Alicent's motivations to fit their biases, as they have been doing since the beginning.

And her friendship with Rhaenyra is just all over the place. I'm not saying there can't be a back-and-forth, but what we have is, within seven episodes: a friendship breakup, a rekindling, a fight and another rekindling, another friendship breakup, 18 years of hostility, and another rekindling. Again, within seven episodes. I would say it's exhausting but it's so all over the place that I found it difficult to be invested. And this is coming from someone who was looking forward to seeing this dynamic more than dragons.

The writers can't decide if Alicent is pivotal or incidental to the Dance

Alicent in the show is a thematic commentary on the powerlessness of women in a patriarchal society... except, is she really?

Rhaenyra and Rhaenys certainly seem to believe she holds enough influence to put a stop to the war. In The Green Council, she's apparently confident of her ability to send Council members to The Wall (although no one takes this threat seriously). For some reason, Otto also listens to her every demand when it comes to Aegon.

It's all over the place.

The thing is, we know her actions made no difference. And I don't mean "Ultimately, the same outcome would take place", no, Otto had already found Aegon and implemented his plans. The episode does not present any indication that any of Alicent's actions, after giving birth to Aegon, furthered The Green's cause.

This makes her entire character feel superfluous. Her convictions didn't matter, her actions didn't matter, her impact didn't matter.

The salt in the wound is there are brief sparks of potential where Alicent could have significant and believable control over the narrative, and these are actually set up very well.

There's hints of a slow-building, indirect yet effective form of power, almost perfectly developed and justified. In S1 and S2, Alicent has been effectively set up to have multiple powerful men as allies -- Otto, Criston, Larys. The interesting part comes from how all these relationships are independent of one another, and each man believes his connection with Alicent to be the most important one (you could also throw in Aemond and Aegon). However, despite this setup, neither the writing nor Alicent appear ambitious enough to do anything with it. None of these men actually do her bidding, and the hints at Alicent having some agency are trampled by repeated portrayals beating us over the head with how powerless she is.

I loved the idea of Alicent as a figure who's maneuvered her way into hidden leadership, with these men serving as her arms reaching into different areas of power. Strategic ruling power through Otto, information and intel through Larys, and manpower through Criston. Using Otto's shared interests as a father, Larys' strange Littlefinger-esque obsession with her, and Criston's life devotion to her, it would have again interestingly allowed each man to have their own imagined "It's Alicent and me against the world" fantasy, believably giving her means to exert her will over the narrative.

It would have also been a great way to bring Alicent to the a comparable level of Rhaenyra in terms of influence. Rhaenyra as the queen has direct power; she can order people about and she has a dragon. Alicent on the other hand would represent a more indirect form of influence. This would've made for a dynamic experience when the show swaps between both leads, fulfilling the marketed concept of these two women as the heads of the war in different ways.

Alicent has enough powerful allies to demonstrate her power within the female restrictions of Westeros, but since the show inevitably needs to remind the audience that all the men want war and all the men want peace -- and since is a show that depicts a very bloody war -- she can't actually use that power to do anything meaningful. Alicent (and Rhaenyra) have to be passive for the narrative to work, and I think that's a shame.

The absence of this power has become impossible to ignore in the recent episode. Finally the show must draw a line in the sand and confirm whether she has influence over the show or not. Given it's now a plot necessity to explain why the war doesn't end with the two anti-war leads managing to talk, the writers were forced to go with the latter. It turns out Alicent can't do anything and no one will listen to her. Yet at the same time... it kind of seems like Alicent didn't try very hard?

Because, while in the S2 premiere Alicent agreed with Otto that violence would be necessary, that was only because of Luke's death which she had reasonably assumed made Rhaenyra no longer willing to negotiate. So when Rhaenyra shows up in the Sept, clearly willing to negotiate, why is all we get a hurried vague scene of an overwhelmed Alicent repeating "There was no mistake" and storming out?

Like her ever-changing feelings on Rhaenyra, like her misunderstanding Viserys' last words, like her being remarkably unaware of the succession plan, it's yet another scene which appears to be duct-taping over a previous problem. The show continues to paint itself into a corner with Alicent's motives, and it feels like one big improv act. The only silver lining is it appears the wild oscillations of her character have finally landed on something that will be presumably kept going forward. I wish it was a more believable end point, though -- are neither of them going to continue trying to communicate via ravens? It's not like the trust eroded between the two, so why wouldn't they covertly strategize together to avoid bloodshed on both sides and move towards peace?

It's been a very bumpy road to get to this point, and when you put it down on paper it's understandable why things ended this way. The show's thematic goals and desire to tell a more fleshed out story, having to balance that with the source material, having to balance that with Game of Thrones, including the prophecy for GOT fans then using Viserys' last words to bridge all of it together... then finally needing to clear it up four episodes later so we can press onwards to the Dance.

The other side of the equation, Rhaenyra's character, also shouldn't be swept under the rug, as the flaws in her writing are just as paramount in contributing to this mess. But that's another topic or another day... and perhaps another post.

Conclusion

Despite my comparisons to F&B, it's important to recognize the writers and Ryan Condal were tasked with a much heftier job of needing to flesh out Alicent's motivations and have scene-by-scene justifications for her every action. This is not something GRRM had to do. The show deserves praise for its general accomplishments, and I've really been a fan of S2's character dynamics, even if the motives don't always hold up under a microscope. That being said, I think the writing choices have been frankly arbitrary with regards to when it sticks to or strays from the source material, and the adaptational issues underpin everything.

Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon, so far, is a shining example of how the source material can deeply hold something back when the writers don't have a strong enough grasp on a characters' independent existence outside of said source material.

There you have it, that's my "The Problem With Alicent" post I've been mulling over for a while.

I hope this provides some interesting discussion on Alicent particularly, as all I see across most social media is either one-note hatred or unenthusiastic guesswork at her motives. Because those motives do change numerous times across episodes, I felt synopses would make this post more full so I apologize for how long it ended up being, but thank you for reading nonetheless."

[roseroro]

Trans readings of John Marston's story

so i made my own lil' notes about john and transness. They might be a mess, I'm just trying to identify some aspects of why it's a compelling reading to me. I didn't really consider whether John COULD canonically be trans and in what way, I don't care. It's just vibes and conjecture. if you know about other detailed posts on this i'd love a link!!

His 1899 arc is based on his conflict with his own masculinity and gender roles. He has tension with his expected role as a father, but also with his already established role as a son - which is questioned by Dutch... a paternal figure. As someone already pointed out here, "struggling to be a man" works with both john as a trans man and woman, and I'd actually include any kind of transness. (A non-binary, agender, fluid, etc. person can meet that same struggle to fit into a binary gender and its norms / roles, whether because of their AGAB, lack of knowledge/acceptance about their own gender, or how their gender is perceived externally / how they present).

To cite Hosea, "Be a man, John. It would suit you.". To cite Arthur, "Be a goddamn man.". Both pressure John towards his expected role as a father throughout the story, which will even be Arthur's last wish to him. (check out Hosea's interactions with John, he's often trying to convince him to accept his role as a father, as what a man is expected to be). Social/familial pressure is so real.

Then there's the denial of Jack being his son, which seems to be an excuse to flee a father role rather than a true belief of John's. Jack is a pressure on John to take on a normative masculine role as a father of course, but you could add a physical element to it. Jack being John's biological son is a proof and reminder of what John's body is (regardless of John's AGAB). If we assume John struggles with his body as a trans person, then having a child could amplify that greatly, tainting their relationship, hence John's alienation of Jack (at least until John learns to either compartmentalize or get more comfortable with his body).

Tension between a normative and non-normative ""chosen"" family. Jack & Abigail represent the normative nuclear family. The gang represents - or at least is perceived as / strives to be - the freedom to be who you are regardless of societal norms and laws. A non-normative family. The two aren't completely separated entities, but they do bring different expectations and issues. When the gang falls apart and its promises with it, John ends up fleeing with J&A, which brings us to brand new conflicts.

John's decision to leave with J&A is kind of a mess. A nice little cocktail of contradictions - resignation, love, societal pressure, acceptance of the masculine role that gave him so much trouble (which may be read as a positive or negative - resigned acceptance of something that doesn't fit him, or self-acceptance?), a sincere want to do right by them... and that's why the epilogue is such a struggle for them all. As a trans person, his choice to prioritize his normative family is in direct contradiction with John's non-normative nature. That's not to say it's a wrong choice, of course, I'm a big fan of the Marston family, just that it's a complex one considering John's upbringing outside of the norms he's expected to fit. He tries to change himself to fit into the mold he's been given and pressured towards... out of love. He doesn't quite manage it, of course. Now that's good trans angst.

But! He does reach a comfortable point... when he brings back part of his non-normative family into the mix. He only manages to truly build a solid house base for his life (after YEARS!!!) once he has a support system that's not entirely normative. Importance of community and all that. Happy pride month everyone. Remember someone is always willing to help, even if you're a stranger. Reach out when you need to. ANYWAY.

In 1911, that's broken. External forces bring back his struggles to the forefront, harass him based on the person he used to be. No matter how comfortable and seemingly normative John gets, some people still have a problem with him. Again, good trans angst. John is, as he's always been, stuck between two worlds and shunned for it. That's just how it is sometimes.

[idle-compy]

jwct season two review!! spoilers below!!

to start off, I really enjoyed this season! it definitely had some weak spots, but overall wasn't a bad season

the animation is definitely the first thing I want to bring up. it was absolutely beautiful. the colors and lighting were stunning, and the way everything moved made it feel a bit more real. I'd like to give a special shout out to any scene involving water because, one, the water was animated extremely well, and two, the way the characters looked after getting wet was a huge upgrade to jwcc

speaking of the characters, I want to talk about them a bit! this is going to be a bit of a mix between good and bad

darius: unfortunately, darius felt kinda flat this season. before the initial release, the show was advertised around him, and he shone his way thru season one. he had conflicts, he had emotions, he an arc. in season two, he felt kind of like a side character. only watching the season once so far, the only memorable moments I remember are him trying to bond with zayna and that extremely awkward flashback of his confession (which is a whole other thing I will get to). other than that, he didn't really have much going on. there was no actual story; no arc. maybe when I do a rewatch, something else will stand out to me

sammy: unfortunately, sammy's story this season also felt kinda weak. for starters, she didn't get to kick a single ass. I feel like her whole arc was just being attached to zayna. she clearly got very emotional about the mballo family, so I guess I was just hoping they would elaborate a bit more on what's going on with her own. I also definitely do think she saw a bit of herself in zayna, so I was hoping that would go somewhere, too. I was really happy about her being a canon vegetarian, though

yaz: yaz, as always, was an icon. she was THE character this season. she was so good at reading people and noticing they weren't okay, and then she tried to help her friends, no matter how much they refused to communicate. a moment of appreciation for her patience when dealing with kenji and ben, because they were not making it easy for her

also her solo episode!!!!! was insane!!!!!! it was literally never ending tension, and good god nothing was going right for her, and yet she kept going. she kept fighting. that episode was also a really good example of how much she's grown. no matter what was thrown at her, she didn't let herself fall into a state of panic and irrational thoughts

ben: I loved his arc. he was put in such an insanely messy and complicated situation, and mixing that with his anxiety and paranoia, of course he'd struggle with it. they did a good job at making the audience understand his thought process. he had to choose between telling the group their dead friend is actually alive because he saw her in the background of one video, or holding back this info until he got more solid proof. then, said dead friend video calls him and begs him not to say anything. that only made it more difficult for him, because he was 100% sure she was alive then, but was asked to not tell. watching him fall deeper and deeper into a state of panic absolutely crushed me

kenji: oh kenji, kenji, kenji. I don't even know where to begin with him, so I guess I'll start with the overall character. to be completely honest, there were moments (especially in the middle of the season) where he just did not feel like kenji. he was abrasive and just seemed off somehow. I'm not gonna go too much into that, though, because most people aren't the same person at 22 that they were when they 15. he has also been through an insane amount of stuff and was at a point where he was overwhelmed with emotions, but was trying to convince both his friends and himself that he wasn't

now his arc is a different story. I like where they took it (in a way that added complexity to an already complex character, not in a yippee!! kenji wants to kill himself!! way). the arc itself was hard, and absolutely depressing, to watch. the way he kept throwing himself in danger's way as if he had a death wish was absolutely heart wrenching. then when he realized what he had been doing and how it affected others, and when he said "I don't know how much more I can take" I wanted to rip him through the screen and give him a big hug

brooklynn: loved loved LOVED her storyline. I was so happy to see her side of the story and how she ended up where she did. the first scene I want to talk about is when she wanted to see her family and friends, she wanted to reach out, but realizing that it could potentially put them in danger, she solidified her decision to stay "dead." I loved that scene so much because it knocks out all of those "heartless brooklynn" theories. she faked her death for them, not to hurt them

I loved that they had moments of focus where she adapted to her new limb difference, and that she was allowed to grieve her missing arm. it felt real and human. also watching her ability to manipulate others and make her way into those different situations was so extremely fascinating. like she is an amazing investigative journalist

also the final scene, where she went with soyona. as agonizing as it was to watch, I'm actually glad she made that decision. it wouldn't have felt realistic for her to choose her friends, not after everything she had gone through to even get there. she was in too deep, and it was very brooklynn of her to continue the investigation instead of going back to her old life. I feel that giving bumpy's egg to the others was her little sign saying "I'm still in here"

ok moving on!

there's also some good and some bad when it comes to the way they told the story

for the good, I really liked the way they switched back and forth between brooklynn and the others. it was a good way to keep up with the timeline while also filling in gaps (ex: the crate moving into the pen just long enough to get them out only to find out brooklynn was on the controls)

on the other hand, the story in the middle of the season (more specifically eps 4, 5, 6), felt like it was moving a bit slow at times. certain things seemed dragged out and there was a lot of filler time. the first episode and the last four did a really good job at avoiding that. the stakes were high and the scenes were so full of tension and ominousity that I was drawn in just about the entire time

now for random little things

I loved the inclusion of the mballo family. it was so refreshing to get new characters that didn't have bad intentions, and I feel like they were exactly what the five needed in that moment

going off of that, I absolutely adored zayna!! she was such a good inclusion. she was determined and strong-willed while also still being a kid. her sarcastic personality (towards darius specifically) was a good way to bring in some light humor too

geba!!! that's all just geba

also the eyeless leucistic baryonyx. I felt so bad for the poor thing knowing that she was intentionally created to be that way. her interactions with the characters were absolutely terrifying, though, and when she communicated with the acrociraptor???? I didn't think it could get more intense

I was actually losing my mind when the baryonyx and red were hunting the nublar five with all the lights turned off. that was another extremely well done scene

the darius confession flashback was..... something. definitely NOT how I was expecting them to go about that scene. season one made it seem like she had been staying with him for a while and he slowly developed feelings that way and eventually she caught on. but that flashback threw all of that away. like she clearly hadn't been there very long and darius had already fallen HARD, and it just seemed out of character for him to insist kenji didn't love her that much. the whole thing was just ugh

the video call flashback was great tho!! it was nice to see they still continued those calls

ben and kenji!!!!!! no but I was actually obsessed with what they did with their relationship this season. the bickering, the divorced couple vibes, and of course the heart to heart. I've been waiting years for that to happen and it did. just for their relationship to go to shambles the next episode 😭

but on that note I will say the reveal to kenji was set up so extremely well. being able to see and hear ben and brooklynn but they don't know he's there, and then everything he does witness is out of context, so he builds up his own conclusion. him confronting ben was so intense like godddd. I couldn't stand the pain in both of their faces. when kenji cracked the glass??? imagine if he had actually aimed for bens face

on the other hand, the reveal to the rest was kinda meh. I just felt like they could've done more with it, but hey, I guess it's realistic. not everything is going to happen under dramatic circumstances

speckles ❤️ (just call me kenji the way I'm attached to that egg)

I loved to see some behaviors from nublar come back!! like yaz going for casual runs through the forest with dinosaurs and darius creating another field guide. I missed dino nerd darius

also the roar identification competition they were having in the beginning was so funny but also such a them thing to do

wish brooklynn would've kept her grey graphic tee (I think it said kroxic??). I liked it more than the plain navy one (/lh)

speaking of clothes, why did they change for that one episode then immediately change back??? felt like a waste of those models (/lh)

anyway I think that's all!! I might come back and edit if I think of anything else to add