#it still gets to me how much of a non-character link is while everything else relies on him being a character

[waywardsalt]

still kinda. idk grates on my nerves? that in botw and totk (ESPECIALLY totk) nearly every other character revolves around in some form or otherwise plays off of link without link. being a character

[sweettsubaki]

Ok I like characters getting better as much as the next person but every time a fic tries to tackle Sanji's sexism problem it just takes me out completely.

Like not every time obviously, but so many people seem to like...Not understand it ?

For one thing, part of it is linked to Oda's own sexism and the general sexism of the series (highly lessened in a lot of places thanks to Oda being an actual good writer who cares about his characters but it's still there) which means most characters are somewhat sexists (yes even Zoro king of I'll cut up anything and my childhood girl best friend could have been the greatest swordsman). So the fact that they usually just focus on Sanji but keep the rest kind of weirds me out.

Then there's the common "the girls don't like you back because your special treatment makes them uncomfortable" often answered with something along the lines of "but I respect them, I think they can do no wrong".

Which is so wrong on so many levels. Not the idea itself, but its application to Sanji. Like, he doesn't want to get anything out of those women (except seeing them naked and being stomped on but we're not getting into his kinks here). He does believe women are better than men...which includes him. So at no point does he want or expect anything other than being able to serve them which is part of why Oda focuses his development on his own self worth rather than anything else.

That boy does not have the self worth to actually try to flirt with anyone with the expectation that something could come out of it.

So like...Not wrong per se but this advice is very much a "missing the forest for the trees" kind of situation. He also does consider them to be people with their own wants and personalities.

Then there's the Nami/Robin part of it. Because people seem to think that they aren't close and that it's because of Sanji's behavior ? So first things first, they are close. They can have conversations and have fun even if Sanji will put them ahead of everything and everyone including himself (I'll touch on that bit in the part after this one). And like while he always agrees with the ladies BECAUSE they're ladies and it is an issue, he still like...listens to them ? And does think they're right most of the time (he'll also say it when he truly disagrees with something, like he did in Water 7).

- Let's start with Robin who behaves toward him the same way she behaves toward the east blue crew + Chopper, aka all the kids (yes, again, including Zoro, just because he's calmer doesn't mean he isn't also just a dumb kid). She entertains their excentricities in a way different to the way she treats the other adults. Sanji and her are actually fairly close because thay have a similar personality (and now they both know they also have similar backstories too). While he puts a big horny and romantic flourish over everything, he basically just treats her similarly to how he would have treated Reiju (how he did treat her in WCI) had they not been on different "teams".

- Then we have Nami. And I find it the funniest because she also has a bias toward women. A slightly different one sure (because they don't have the same issues) and it's also something I'll go over in the next part but it is a parallel between them that's pretty important and people often act like it's non existent and does not play a role in their relationship. Now they're both friends and before they met Vivi they were the most "mature" of the crew, the caretakers, and this is something that bonded them pretty early on. So yeah they're not the closest and Nami doesn't understand Sanji perfectly (that's part of why she needed to be in the WCI part as opposed to most of the Dressrosa/Wano crew) because they have basically similar symptoms but different reasons for these symptoms to exist, one of them being their self worth. It does not mean that they're not close or even friends. And because of Nami's own bias she has no problem taking advantage of Sanji's simping even if she can get a bit annoyed during serious situations and she has no problem telling him off when she wants to. So she actually encourages him and plays with his simping. And most of the time they're both fine with it. It's not one sided ! They're basically in a symbiotic relationship at this point.... Edit: I just remembered that on Egghead Robin even confirmed that Sanji will forever be in Nami's corner.

Now let's talk about double standards and lack of them. Nami and Sanji both treat women better than they treat men (tho Sanji goes pretty girls first then other women, then boys while Nami just generally prefers women). Nami would give girls her treasures while making sure the men are indebted until even after their deaths.

So like...way better. That's why it's not just "treat them less like goddesses, more like people" or "this is the way to get girls to like you" problems.

Sanji's relationships with other men aren't "better" than those with the girls, and especially not because he treats them more "equally" than he does women. Like...Sanji is a brat, an asshole. He's closed off and emotional at the same time. He believes no man deserves women and especially not himself. He's kind but he's not particularly nice. He'll still protect and feed other men and just generally take care of them but he'll be mean about it.

And that's the thing, he's generally different in his overall words and attitude, but not really in his actions with a few exceptions. Like in chapter 700, he'll still make Onigiri for Law who doesn't want bread aka doesn't want sandwiches and he'll cut tiny sandwiches so Momo's tiny dragon hands can eat them normally despite being an ass toward them half the time.

Women aren't the only ones who get tailored help. He just does it with heart eyes for women and for the men he does it while insulting them.

His level of closeness is the about the same between men and women and the difference depend more on how the others chose to take him at face value than their gender. Because he hides from everyone and feels empathy for many others (event if he often won't admit it). It's the main difference between his relationship with Nami/Viví and Robin. Because Robin and Sanji have clown to clown communication.

I've reblogged this post recently, about how Sanji's empathy is directly linked to how he treats women, how "Sanji has an understanding that sometimes a woman has to lie." is linked more to his trauma and empathy than sexism tho that's how it manifests. You can add that the way he treated Usopp in Water 7 was actually fairly close to those too.

Also generally you have people who are either team "he's sexist because of his mom and sister" or "he's sexist because of Zeff" and it's kinda...weird ? Like it's both. Zeff offered him a way to channel his trauma and the way his sister and mom play into it plus because Sanji doesn't do things by halves, he went ahead and ran with it way too far (plus it developed while part of him was scared Zeff would aba'don him).

So yeah Sanji has a sexism problem but so many fics (and fans in general) tend to see it as the cause of his behavior and not just a symptom of a different problem which is that his self worth is worse than that of a twig and his sexism is part of a coping mechanism for his trauma.

[arinwritesstuff]

Got bored so I made some moodboards for my krbkdk fic

This also doubles as fic promo and a way for me to make character files :)

Fic link

Thank you to everyone who’s given my fic a chance despite the scary-sounding premise (cause let’s face it, ao3 is a gamble with a lot of topics), and who’s continued supporting me through updates. This has genuinely been one of my favorite things I’ve ever written, and Eijiro’s story has taught me a lot about portraying healing through connections with other people, whether familial, platonic, or romantic. It’s also allowed me to explore something I’ve always thought to be true: It’s not the trauma that makes you strong, but the determination to heal and turn yourself into someone stronger.

Tw under cut:

Past teen pregnancy and implied past non-con (not between krbkdk), some spoilers for the fic

Kirishima Eijiro🪨

Age: 17 (as of chapter 19)

Birthday: October 16th, 2203

Identity: Gay trans man and poly

Parents: Kirishima Reika (mom) and Kirishima Kiyoko (mama)

Nicknames: Dada/Daddy (Eiko), Eichan (Izuku), Red (Katsuki), Ei (Izuku and Katsuki), Eiji (Mina), Eij (his mom), sweetie/honey/sweetheart (his mama)

Favorite Food: Meat, especially beef

Likes: Eiko, working out, manly things, muscles, sharks, heavy metal and rock, his boyfriends stealing his hoodies, playing with Eiko, baby shark (formerly)

Dislikes: Baby shark (someone please help him, his toddler is obsessed), assholes, his extended family

Love Languages: Words of affirmation, acts of service

Bio (au differences): Eijiro experienced some of the worst life has to offer and came out the other end a person determined to be strong no matter what. He never expected to be a dad so soon, and while he wishes circumstances were different, he loves his daughter with everything he has. His moms have been his number one supporters through it all, being his shoulders to cry into on difficult days, helping him learn the ropes with Eiko, and even taking care of her when he first started at UA. At UA, he was able to grow his and Eiko’s family a little more, first with Mina and Mr Aizawa, and then his entire class, who welcomed Eiko with open arms when she came to stay in the dorms after the war. Relationships scared him at first, both because of his past and the self-awareness of his own situation, but Izuku and Katsuki helped to break his walls down. They’re patient with him, and accept every part of him. They also have no problem including Eiko and recognizing her importance in his life, which feels like an absolute dream come true for him. He hopes the four of them can be a real family someday.

Bakugo Katsuki💥

Age: 18 (as of chapter 19)

Birthday: April 20th, 2203

Identity: Gay cis man and poly (also demiromantic but I don’t get to show that as much within the fic, it’s just what’s true in my heart)

Parents: Bakugo Masaru and Bakugo Mitsuki

Nicknames: Kacchan (by Izuku), Suki (by Eijiro), Kats (by Eiko)

Favorite Food: Anything spicy, mapo tofu

Likes: Hiking, playing drums, cooking, Eijiro’s hoodies, sparring matches, rock and classical music, making bracelets with Eiko

Dislikes: Being pitied, liars, his hearing aids giving him headaches

Love Languages: Acts of service, physical touch

Bio (au differences): Katsuki had done a lot of changing and adapting the last few years. If his middle school-self met him today, he’d probably explode on the spot. Half-deaf, half-paralyzed in one arm, in heart failure, yet still working to be a hero. He’s not just friends with Izuku, but dating him, and Eijiro, too. He’s not sure how his past self would’ve reacted to him having multiple partners, but honestly, he couldn’t be happier. Both of them embrace that he doesn’t always show love in the same way as everyone else, and recognize he’s better at showing his love through actions instead of words. The thing middle school him would be most surprised by, though, is the fact that he’s grown attached to a kid. Eijiro’s kid. Eiko. Before he met her, he never saw himself having a family, and yet, he can’t imagine a future without all three of them. He wouldn’t ever admit it out loud, at least not yet, but he hopes there comes a day when Eiko recognizes him as one of her dads.

Midoriya Izuku🐰

Age: 17 (as of chapter 19)

Birthday: July 15th, 2203

Identity: Gay trans man and poly

Parents: Midoriya Inko and Hisashi

Nicknames: Freckles/nerd (Katsuki), Zu/Zuku (Eijiro), Izu (Eiko)

Favorite Food: Katsudon (and whatever his boyfriends are eating (food thief))

Likes: All Might, taking notes on heroes, heavy metal, helping others, silly shirts, Eijiro’s hoodies, letting Eiko put stickers on his prosthetic and notebook covers

Dislikes: Phantom limb pain, feeling like he’s useless without his quirk, his bio dad

Love Languages: Words of affirmation, physical touch

Bio (au differences): Izuku struggled a lot as a kid. His dad abandoned he and his mom after he was diagnosed as quirkless. He was bullied quite heavily, for both his quirk status and being trans, and didn’t really have any friends until he got to UA. Eijiro was the first trans person his age he ever met, and he admired him for his strength and courage to be so open right off the bat to people he just met. It helped him to be brave and open up, too. After the war, he lost OFA, rendering him quirkless again. He also walked away with half a limb less than he had before, losing his left hand and most of his forearm. It was definitely a big adjustment on both fronts, but he was fortunate to get a killer prosthetic from people in the support course. Now that he’s dating Eijiro and Katsuki, he often finds himself daydreaming about their future. He wants to do all the domestic stuff people in serious relationships get to do, and he wants to do all the family stuff people with kids get to do. Even when everything else seems uncertain, he knows deep down that he’s found love that will last the rest of his life.

Kirishima Eiko🦈

Age: 3 (as of chapter 19)

Birthday: July 21st, 2217

Identity: Cis girl (other info tbd)

Parents: Kirishima Eijiro and ███████ ████

Nicknames: Little shark/baby (her dada), sweetie/honey/sweetheart (her grandmas and dada), squirt (Katsuki)

Favorite Food: Miso soup, apple juice, and strawberry cake

Likes: Sharks, her dada, her stuffed shark: Bips, her Auntie Mina, her grandmas, Izu and Kats, stickers, making bracelets, playing with her toys, Piggy, cuddles, having her nails painted with her special Eiko-safe polish, princesses, baby shark

Dislikes: Bell peppers, seeing people sad

Love Languages: Physical touch (give her all the cuddles right now), words of affirmation

Bio: Eiko has known nothing but love from the moment she was born. She missed her dada a lot when he first went to UA, but after his first year and a few scary weeks during the war, she got to stay with him, her Auntie Mina, and all his friends at hero school! Now she’s surrounded by so many people who care about her and would do anything to make her happy. She was very happy when her dada made Izu and Kats his princes, because now she gets to spend extra time with them, and see her dada super duper happy! She really likes when they take her with them on some of their dates, like going to a cat cafe or the aquarium, and when they help her dada take care of her. Her favorite thing is to be snuggle up with the people she loves, safe and warm and happy.

Fic link again

[rimeiii]

WHB as random esports-related moments

So. I have a new obsession right now (League of Legends and Valorant esports), which naturally means I'm brainrotting a lot about them. I've been watching a bit too much of the players, the games, and the streams, and I have an entire list of players and teams I support (very extensive list but Chovy and Oner are pretty much at the top). And ignoring some of the worse things going on in particular (holy fucking shit T1 LoL management + coaches PLEASE get your shit together) pro play is actually Really Cool! That first Gen G vs T1 match this LCK season was so hype it's insane tbh. Same with T1 vs G2 on Masters Bangkok (Valo).

One thing that I've definitely noticed is that a lot of the players are just...really funny and cool people! A lot of them have very clippable moments (looking at you Oner, Doran, ShowMaker, stax, t3xture, and more), plus their team's YouTube accounts and their own personal accounts (if they have one) often do a good job of compiling their moments. So I might be linking some of their vids too ahaha-

Which means...more tier lists, with explanations to boot. Based on vibes too, since it's been a while since I actually caught up on the main story of WHB. Apart from esports, Touhou is a VERY dangerous rabbit hole to enter yo.

Without further ado...

WHB characters' reactions to getting their pentakill stolen

A bit of context: since League of Legends is a 5v5 team game, one of the most impressive achievements one can get is a pentakill (often shortened to penta) - where someone gets the killing blow on every single member of the enemy team. A penta is 'stolen' when a teammate accidentally lands the killing blow on one member of the enemy team while their teammate is close to a penta (often when they're on their fourth kill).

Tier 1: self-explanatory, and probably the least toxic reaction out of everything else

Tier 2: self-explanatory, I'll let you imagine how bad their plotting gets

Tier 3: the LoL GOAT himself, midlaner Lee "Faker" Sanghyeok of T1 did this during their 2022 LCK Spring season match against KDF, when T1's jungler Mun "Oner" Hyeonjun stole his penta. No damage is done, sure, but still...

Tier 4: self-explanatory, also another non-toxic reaction

Tier 5: Gen G's ADC/botlaner Park "Ruler" Jaehyeok is INFAMOUS for having his teammates actively aim to steal his pentas and cursing his teammates out when his penta is inevitably stolen. Pretty much a meme now as shown in 2025 LCK Cup Quiz Ep 1, where several players (namely Gen G's toplaner Kim "Kiin" Giin and support Joo "Duro" Minkyu, HLE's ADC/botlaner Park "Viper" Dohyeon, Nongshim's support Son "Lehends" Siwoo, and KT's midlaner Gwak "Bdd" Boseong) had something to say during the question about LCK pentas about his tendency to demand pentas...and their dedication to stealing his pentas.

Tier 6: midlaner Son "ucal" Woohyeon of DRX, during the 2025 LCK Cup match against DNF, pretty much fell off his chair after he got his penta stolen and actually fired off a teleport while ON THE FLOOR before getting back up to his chair, all while apologizing.

Tiers 7 and 8: self-explanatory

2. WHB as moments in official LoL and Valo contents

So. I will preface this by saying that the LCK (Korean League circuit) and VCT Pacific (Asia-Pacific Valorant circuit) have some of the best official content within their reapective esports scenes. Part of this is due to their players being Absolutely Fucking Unhinged, as we will see right here...

Tier 1: the LCK season opening for 2025 is a for-fun tournament (not really because the pride of each role is on the line /j) involving all 10 LCK teams, with teams for the tournament being formed based on the individual players' roles. There are five roles in League, which are Top, Jungle, Mid, ADC/Bot, and Support. Team Mid's leader, Faker, drafted Gen G's midlaner Jeong "Chovy" Jihoon (who's a pretty flexible player known to be good at multiple roles - notably Top), with the translation for his reasoning sounding so incredibly wrong out of context (Faker means to say Chovy was a good toplaner and listens to his shotcalls when they played together on 2024's season opening, which was a similar format to 2025's season opening). Like they HAD to know, right...

Tier 2: the ZERO/point challenge (VCT Pacific) is a just-for-fun faceoff between two teams where they essentially play with some silly challenges in place, randomly selected using a roulette wheel and only revealed to the other team at the end of the match. T1's Lee "carpe" Jaehyeok's aim with Chamber's skill wasn't the best, and as a result he ended up getting heckled by pretty much everybody (both T1 and Gen G), up until the end of the challenge, which T1 lost.

Tier 3: Know Your Enemy (VCT Pacific) is a mini-series where players that have something in common are put in a room together to chat and talk. Very chill and wholesome vibes overall. In the Young Guns episode, which involves some of the youngest players in VCT Pacific (and the youngest in their respective teams), DFM's Ibuki "Meiy" Seki reveals that he's a fanboy of DRX's Cho "Flashback" Minhyeok. Meiy requested that Flashback tell him if he ever changes his PC settings, and Flashback promised to tell Meiy about the complete details of his settings after the shoot. And, well, they're all just very sweet and wholesome, with Meiy being just so happy that they had the opportunity to talk like friends.

Tier 4: Talk-Back Time (LCK) is a mini-series released in 2025 where players new to each team's roster are interviewed with two of their teammates - only possible because for the first time in three years, every single LCK team had a roster change (prior to 2025, T1 had the ZOFGK lineup from 2022 up until 2024). And with Gen G being Gen G, Ruler being a yapper and menace combo, plus Kiin being more or less a tsundere? Chaos, as Ruler and Kiin ended up arguing about the etiquette of eating out with teammates (it makes sense in context) while Chovy closes his eyes as he tries to ignore the argument between Kim "Ruler is Gen G's dog" Giin and Park "Kiin straight-up curses at me now" Jaehyeok. The editors even edited in little Zs on top of Chovy's head!

Tier 5: Arena: Duo of Destiny (LCK) is a mini-series filmed near the end of 2025's LCK Cup (as in, only the finals between Gen G and HLE left), where eight former pro League players (whose identities were initially kept secret) were randomly paired with representatives of the eight eliminated teams from the 2025 LCK Cup to play the updated Arena mode. After the first match, the former pro players were revealed to the current pro players, with a possibility of having any existing pairs changed for match 2 by correctly guessing who the former pro was. Former pro player and current analyst Shin "Helios" Dongjin got last place while paired with T1's Oner during the first match, so he made a declaration of war against Oner for match 2 while paired with DNF's jungler Hong "Pyosik" Changhyeon.

Tier 6: the 2024 VCT Pacific Stage 1 teaser essentially had them all in an elevator leading up to the VCT Pacific floor with a brief stop at the Valorant Masters Madrid floor (IT MAKES SENSE IN CONTEXT I SWEAR), and Kim "stax" Gutaek (current T1 player who was playing for DRX at the time) yelling at commentator Clinton "Paperthin" Bader about how he "always goes" during that brief stop at Masters Madrid (DRX always qualifies for Masters). Unfortunately, stax (like at least 50% of VCT Pacific players) has a pretty severe case of ijbol-itis, so there were several outtakes of his ijbol-itis acting up, causing a chain reaction of ijbol-itis moments for EVERYONE (including, but not limited to, TS's Jessie "JessieVash" Cristy, now-former DFM player An "Medusa" Mincheol, and now-former TLN player Peter "Governor" No).

3. WHB as pro LoL and Valo player's rage and/or toxic moments

Listen. They're gamers, of course they're going to have toxic moments. Though do note that some players might be more toxic than others and VCT Pacific is generally much more toxic compared to the LCK. It's all in good fun though, because otherwise these clips wouldn't be so widespread.

Tier 1: pretty high tier rage/toxicity, and also one of the quintessential 2HJ moments (LoL). T1's Oner was in a solo queue match with HLE's support Yoo "Delight" Hwanjoong in the opponent's team. Several missed attacks later (which cost him the game), Oner ended up raging so hard he left his chair to yell while punching and kicking the wall behind him. Unfortunately, his toplaner teammate Choi "Doran" Hyeonjoon was in the streaming room right beside Oner's, and his stream picked up Oner's raging. Doran ended up closing the door to his streaming room because of that.

Tier 2: less toxic and rage, but with an added touch of despair (LoL). The Gen G LoL roster in general had difficulty just getting into a solo queue ranked match in the 2023 off-season (even HLE's current jungler Han "Peanut" Wangho, who was playing for Gen G at the time, mentioned his queue had a 14-minute estimated wait time), so when Chovy finally got a match after a 28-minute wait, he was SO happy despite playing a role he wasn't particularly fond of (ADC/bot). Unfortunately for him, Doran (who was playing for Gen G at the time) was in the same team as Chovy and was forced to play support while he wasn't feeling it, so he dodged the game - much to Chovy's despair. His screaming only came later, after he confronted Doran on-stream for his match dodging. Also, why catdespair? Chovy's often represented with a yellow cat emoji, and just take a look at the thumbnail to this stream moment + his reaction to Doran's match dodging.

Tier 3: more frustration than anything, honestly (Valo). Gen G's Kim "t3xture" Nara invited his teammates to play 5-stack League of Legends in queue. Unfortunately, these Valorant pros forgot that they were playing League, which led to them entering the fight for the dragon objective essentially one at a time. Byeon "Munchkin" Sangbeom, the In-Game Leader/IGL of Gen G's Valorant team and jungler in this particular League match, ended up yelling out his frustrations at his teammates. They somehow won, which is honestly a wonder considering the dragon was killed by the enemy team. As a fun fact, the roles were as follows - Kim "Karon" Wontae as toplaner, Munchkin as jungler, Kim "Meteor" Tae-oh (playing for Gen G at the time, now playing for T1) as midlaner, t3xture as ADC/botlaner, and Kim "Lakia" Jongmin as support.

Tier 4: a show of supremacy at the end of the day, perhaps a bit toxic though (VCT). Regardless, it's an iconic quote from T1's Yu "BuZz" Byeongcheol during Masters Bangkok (Valo), who yelled it out while playing against DRX in the loser's bracket. BuZz had been playing with DRX until the end of the 2024 season, where for some reason his contract wasn't renewed for 2025. T1 picked him up and reunited him with his longtime teammate stax, former DRX player whom T1 signed halfway into the 2024 season. DRX prior to this was often known as the best team in Korea and one of the best teams in VCT Pacific, so...

Tier 5: it's toxic, yes, but oddly...wholesome, somehow, in a sense (VCT)? We welcome PRX, a SEA-based esports organization, and two of their younger members in their Valorant team - Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie from Singapore and Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto from Indonesia. During PRX's match against DRX in 2024's VCT Pacific Stage 1, f0rsakeN stole Jinggg's Ace (think of an Ace like a penta in League terms), leading to Jinggg complaining to f0rsakeN in Indonesian using those exact words. A rough translation of what Jinggg said is "Bro, my Ace! Fuck you! Ei, you bastard, my Ace!" ('bangsat lu' can be roughly translated as both 'fuck you' and 'you bastard'). Which is doubly hilarious when you realize that it's likely f0rsakeN HIMSELF who taught Jinggg all those curse words (and maybe Aaron "mindfreak" Leonhart as well since he's also Indonesian, but f0rsakeN is more toxic).

Tier 6: toxicity, followed by self-awareness (Valo). During a week where most of T1's players (in both LoL and Valo) were streaming at T1 HQ, stax was streaming Valorant ranked as a duo with his coach CheongGak, with their first game as a duo being an abject loss. He got so pissed at his other teammates that he ended up yelling incredibly loudly in response to a teammate's missed shots, before realizing just where he was - at T1 HQ, with his streaming room located right beside the much calmer and more soft-spoken Lee "Gumayusi" Minhyung's, ADC/Bot of T1's LoL team. Which is an issue because remember, Oner's raging and wall-punching shenanigans could be heard over in Doran's stream. So stax immediately started apologizing on-stream...

[skaruresonic]

I want to like Amy but her fans make it difficult.

Every other moment they're throwing another character under the bus to make Amy look better when that shouldn't be necessary. It's like they're playing victim over something that people don't do anymore.

If Amy is perfect like they claim then they shouldn't feel this threatened whenever another female character gets any kind of attention or praise. But without fail every single time another female character is girly, kind, brave, or anything else you can think of, it's somehow an attack on Amy.

Imagine if Sonic's fans got mad everytime there was a new character who was confident and athletic. That's how ridiculous this is.

Normally I'd say it's not really equitable not to give a character a fair shake just because their fans are being obdurate, but I can sympathize with your mindset when it comes to how folks gas up Sonamy. If they were chiller about it, I'd probably like it more. While I appreciate Sonic and Amy's dynamic as friends, I swear people portray it as an issue of life or death, and it's so freaking tiring.

Despite not posting about her much, Amy is actually tied with Maria for the third spot in my favorite Sonic characters list. Both girls are great characters for similar and different reasons. It doesn't make much sense to me to claim Maria is boring when Amy displays many of the same traits.

Heck, I kind of think people exaggerate how bad her Battle portrayal is, making it out to be the bad apple that spoils an otherwise good bushel. It's not fantastic, pretty Yikes(tm), actually; yet you'd think she singlehandedly ruined the game based on the way folks hone in on her portrayal at the expense of ignoring the others. ...and idk, I still laughed at a few of her lines. :v

Amy sits in the same boat as Shadow in that everyone holds their own interpretation of the character close to heart and will get defensive if you say otherwise. I've noticed a certain stubbornness among Amy fans that is also shared by Shadow fans. One time I said "I'm an Amy fan, I don't need a crash course on her character" in response to being linked a thread on her character, and got hit with "oh you're just saying what everyone else says." Like? bruh?

I'm just not one of those fans who's like "AMY DESERVES EVERYTHING EVER." She has her flaws and foibles, just like everyone else in the cast. She has a tendency to step on toes, be a bit whiny, overbearing and one-minded... and it can be simultaneously true that her kindness wins over hearts. Amy contains multitudes.

But it's almost like, for many people, taking her as she is isn't enough. She needs to practically be shown curing world hunger in order to be considered as valid as the boys or something… Which I kinda find more offensive to her character than dismissing her outright.

Why does Amy need to star in everything before you're happy, even though of the female cast, she's technically enjoyed the most screentime? Again, not to pit two bad bitches against each other, but Maria's representation isn't exactly sterling, especially considering how often folks objectify her as Shadow's morality pet or treat her death as something to shock non-fans into thinking the series is Deep and Dark(tm). If you're really for better female representation, you should be arguing for better representation for every girl character, not just saying "let Amy get hers and fuck the rest." This shouldn't be a competition. Everyone can have a seat at the table.

First the fandom consensus was "Sega sucks because they didn't include Amy in Origins." Then when they actually did that and included her in Superstars to boot, fans proceeded to move back the goalposts. Superstars doesn't count, apparently, because (insert spurious reasons here).

Maybe it makes me a bad Amy fan or whatever, but I find her crush on Sonic to be the least interesting aspect of her character in part due to how much emphasis people put on it. She and Sonic cannot have a single conversation without fans being like "OMG OMG THEY LOOKED AT EACH OTHER SONAMY IS CANON," even if canon implies that Amy is imposing on Sonic, such as SatBK's manual describing Sonic preparing for their date as "awaiting a stressful encounter."

Although I can acknowledge that Amy's crush is integral to her character, the way people talk about it makes it seem like female representation in the series as a whole is at stake every time she's mishandled. There's apparently a hashtag trending on Twitter called #letamylove that was made in response to what people perceive as Flynn's mishandling of Frontiers!Amy, FFS. They can't just say "Amy sounds too depressed in Frontiers," no, it has to be blown up into a near-political issue.

The other thing is that people who ship Sonamy often ignore Sonic's feelings and comfort in the matter. Ohshima's tweet that Sonic isn't a "real man" due to his reluctance to express his feelings towards Amy exemplifies this. It's like Sonic is considered some sort of prize that Amy earns through personal growth, when really, folks should be arguing for Amy's personal growth for her own sake.

[pinkestlemonades]

Chase and Carmen have the opportunity to spend some peaceful time together after the ending. Moreover, Carmen has promised to tell Chase about her past. This is a good start for their friendship and romantic relationship. Just the two of them, talking, a cafe, and a park...

Chase is still a good, kind, attentive, and smart man. And he can be nice to Carmen.

I don't think Carmen will consider him a ridiculous fool if she finds out how much work he put in to find her (but instead found VILE Island, which is probably shocking to Carmen).

And I think they're both interesting people. And Julia isn't the center of the world.

ARE YOU THE FAMED CARCHASE ANON?? I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT OMG. This feels like a rite of passage. I'm so happy you sent this ask!!

First off, I'd like to apologize for taking forever to answer this. I'm actually a bit scared that since you're on anon, and I supposedly haven't had any new followers recently, you won't see this at all and assume I deleted the ask, which would actually be a tragedy because I want to open a dialogue here!! I'm interested in different interpretations of Carmen and Chase's dynamic and the show as a whole, and I love that you gave me just that <3 in other words, get off anon!! I wanna be friends :3

But here's my take:

I actually agree with most of what you said. Chase is absolutely a good man, and he has tons of energy to put into cherishing his life partner, if he so chooses. We see his conviction that overnight, his job has turned into Capturing Carmen Sandiego and Nothing Else in the show for like. 3.5 seasons. When he goes for something, he goes all in, and I think that would translate to romantic relationships as well. To me, he's the type for grand romantic gestures, perfectly planned dates, all the classics. That man knows how to woo!

And he absolutely can be nice to Carmen!! We see that especially at the end of the show, with the whole 'Julia is kidnapped' arc, considering he didn't yet know she wasn't with VILE the night he got kidnapped and yet still trusted her, and basically every point beyond that. I don't think she'd ignore that either, which in retrospect I can see where you got that from but it certainly was not my intention to imply that in the original post. Carmen, as much as I love to clown on her for having poor people skills (raised on an island, barely says anything to anyone she talks to outside of Team Red, etc etc), is not blind. She knows that chase has all those qualities you listed, as she should.

I could also believe that, were they to date, they would be pretty peaceful compared to the life Carmen led. Chase throws his whole heart and soul into everything he chooses to hone in on, and I think Carmen would enjoy just being along for the ride. Like, in my ideal Carchase world, Carmen would make fun of him for failing to catch some criminal and, once again, driving himself into a river, while also secretly finding it hopelessly endearing and also kind of scary because WHAT IF THE EJECT BUTTON DOESNT WORK ONE DAY. and then she offers to teach him how to drive and he focuses on it so hard that she's like 'damn. he's so cute.'.. or something. idk.

And while I do agree with you that Julia isn't the center of the universe, she's also the strongest and original link between Carmen and ACME, and by extension Chase. She is most definitely, at least at the point the series leaves off on, closer with Carmen than any non-Team Red character, much rather any ACME agent. Especially right after the finale, Chase would most likely be the third wheel to Julia and Carmen's homoerotic friendship, which would probably be where any relationship between the two of them would build, platonic or otherwise.

Most of my gripe with Carchase actually getting together, is that I don't think they could get to a place of romantic interest in each other. Right around the same time Chase starts showing what could be interpreted as feelings for Carmen, he also starts showing something similar towards Julia, and I don't think that they were ever meant to be romantic. he mentions them being "one big happy family" at some point, referencing her getting back with ACME and him getting to be her partner, and his improved relationship with her felt much more platonic than anything else to me.

My interpretation of their relationship post-Julia kidnapping is that he was in awe of both Carmen and Julia's competence and smarts because he realized Carmen wasn't with VILE, and Julia was right about her all along. This kickstarted his admiration of Julia, and Carmen being Carmen and seemingly effortlessly confident even when (in my world at least) she isn't, he quickly grew to respect and appreciate her brains. The doylist reason is most likely that it was a pretty quick redemption arc addressing his borderline misogynistic treatment of Julia at the start of the series, but on the watsonian side, added depth to his character in that he was shown to be able to grow as a person and accept when he was wrong.

For the purposes of my headcanon post, I mainly meant that they tend to hate on each other recreationally. A kind of 'I'm friends with this guy but I'm not sure WHY bc s/he's a loser (affectionate)' vibe. They get along pretty well and don't cut contact post-finale, but they also don't ever a romantic attraction to each other. AKA, they end up as each others homeboys.

While I think the scenario you pointed out as the start of Carmen and Chase's relationship is a possibility, I don't think it's the most supported one. Carmen has historically been endlessly exasperated with Chase showing up and forcing her to rework her plans, and I don't think one caper team up would change that. Not only that, but Julia being kidnapped was a sudden turn around. Julia is someone Carmen has put in danger of VILE, as well as a close friend that isn't on Team Red, so she wouldn't know how to stay safe in this situation and Carmen knew it. It was an emotionally fraught time for her, and I believe that when she asked Chase if he wanted the whole story, she'd meant it more as a challenge than anything. She also went back on it immediately after, as soon as he 'called her bluff', because she wasn't expecting him to try it. From what she's seen of him so far, she'd expected that he'd see it as her trying to sow seeds of doubt into the facts he believed: Carmen was a bad guy, and he had to catch her.

I definitely enjoyed reading your opinion though!! you're right, they're both very interesting people, and their relationship is just as fascinating if not even more so. At the end of the day, one of my favorite things about Carmen Sandiego as a show is that it introduces all these different love interests for Carmen, and then canonizes exactly none of them. It leaves all these different pathways for Carmen to take, whether it be in romantic relationships or otherwise, and we as the fans are given the opportunity to get silly with it!! Your scenario is just as valid as mine, and I'd honestly love to hear more about it <33

[starsthoughtsonthings]

Okay, look, I just, I just can't, so I'm gonna make a post about it. I have mod issues, and I do not know how to still try to figure out which mod specifically is causing it. If you feel like maybe you could, please try to help me, I would very much appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

My situation is the following:

With all my mods in, most of the sets from badwitch don't load. The items are there, but equipping them has my character naked or, with some of the sets, parts of the clothing appear and the rest doesn't. I'm assuming this happens some other mods likely too, though I didn't go through like all my clothing mods yet again to figure out which else don't appear. I'm like 99% sure this is NOT an issue about that modders' mods, I just noticed it with their things so far. Plus they load fine on their own, so again, I don't think it's because of their mods specifically.

When I have active only all the clothing mods I have - and the "summon tutorial chest" mod for being able to check right at the beginning of a new game and not having to play further into it first - everything loads just fine, all the clothes show properly and everything.

When I have active only all the mods non-clothing I have (things like "more wild magic surges", some dialogue editing, some restyles of npcs, all the head and hair things) - and two or three of the clothing sets of course because that's what I have to check if this issue is appearing or not - everything loads just fine, all the clothes show properly and everything.

It's only once I put in both, that I start to get issues. I've tried to narrow down which mods I'd need to take out, but depending on which I start with, I either end up with a bunch - multiple, never just one specific mod - of clothing or non-clothing mods I'd need to keep out for things to work. Not just one or two mods, but a whole group of them, on either side. Also, with the few that I've tried so far, if I then try to put in only the "conflicting" mod together with the bw stuff I need to check and the tutorial summon, it doesn't make the models disappear. I haven't continued trying after a while now, because I've been at trying to troubleshoot this for at least a week now and I just can't anymore, so I can't name you the exact numbers or which mods they are.

It is not an issue of loading times for the models of the clothes - I have left the game open for several minutes and the models don't load in.

My mod list is very long, I know, but I don't think the length of the modlist should be an issue. I don't want it floating around forever, so I'm linking to it through a private post (which I can delete once this issue is solved or once I give up on hope or something, so once this link doesn't work anymore, well, one of these things will have happened) here, because I know that that's the first thing anyone would ask to see to try to help.

Please, if anyone has any idea what could be causing this, please give me your thoughts or advice or whatever. I am absolutely at my end here and I'll just have to live with these mods not loading for now and it's so frustrating because I really want to have those available too and I feel like there should be one simple issue causing all of it but it just seems impossible to figure out.

[fumifooms]

oh, sorry for so many asks, i also wanted to say too though i really agree so much with your chilchuck thoughts so far, even down to your personal headcanons about how things might go post-series. and you're absolutely right, i'll defend that little guy any day myself. you understand him so well and it's kind of relaxing to have someone else dish out this kind of analysis and already agree with all of it cus it's just so real, so thank you again for the Meal <- perhaps the perfect thing to say about dungeon meshi analysis when i think about it

i know you have playlists and stuff so i wanted to share a song i've been listening to that that reminds me of him: divine loser by clem turner

No worries, they’ve been a lot of fun! I do plan on getting back to each one btw, just gotta get through some other things first hopefully. Aaaah that’s really nice to hear 🥺 I do know the feeling haha, it’s always fun to have posts that Get It that you just nod along with 🤝 I’ve thought sooo much about Chilchuck I rotate him in my brain like rotisserie chicken more often than not, glad it all ended up being productive haha. Y’know recently my friends have been calling me a Chilchuck superfan/scholar jokingly and it actually made me have a realization moment of…

Bc I’ve always said Laios was my fave and like, he does mean everything to me idk if I’ve ever felt so seen as with Laios, I relate to him sooo much, but then. Okay alright that can be a different thing than a character being your favorite fine FINE I admit it Chilchuck’s my top blorbo. He’s so.🧍‍♂️I can’t even describe. He’s so….. He’s a clown but he’s also perfection in its best imperfect form I will not be taking further questions today. My friend called him my silly rabbit like that one meme and it makes me laugh sm

Thank you for the music rec!! I listened to it and yes agreed, sent straight to my Chil playlist. Songs are my bread and butter when I have character brainrot bc like with web weavings I feel like there are so many emotions and thoughts you can communicate about something so simply through one… (Which for anyone interested here’s my web weaving tag, got 2 about Chil). Gonna link all my dunmeshi playlists while I’m here: Dungeon Meshi, Chilchuck & his wife, marchil, Mithrun.

Ok everyone saw this coming but this ask ran away from me and I ramble about some song lyrics I associate with Chil & different facets of his life below the cut. Some people find my, ehem, heated rambles about Chil entertaining, this is your cue to get out the popcorn.

When thinking about songs for Chil I have 3 angles I take: About Chilchuck, about him and his wife, or about him & Marcille. Marchil is so engraved into me with their arcs together, that they’re like the concept of closure and letting go and letting yourself live again to me, sorry for all the non-enjoyers… But his dynamic with Marcille is a large part of his character arc so still fits, rock on.

I think currently my top song for him is Jackrabbit by San Fermin, because it combines all three it makes me go wild. It’s about trepidation… Throwing yourself into it even despite the fear (working with traps, survival in poverty where you have to rush & hustle), or just staying there paralyzed(not reaching out to his wife). Flight or freeze!! Saying goodbyes and saying hellos!! Not dying alone!! The life cycle of a wild rabbit living and dying, the baton pass race of life from generation to generation!! Chil and his daughters even!!! Going through life at a frenzied pace!! It is so Chilchuck and so marchil, and the music does give that hurried and scared energy to me too, and sigh the Marcille side to it with fear of death too…

Extra fun context but the other day on the discord server we were talking about what animal each character’s fursona would be as we do and I thought of a rabbit for Chilchuck: Quick footed, ‘cowardly’, small and frail and seen as weak 🙃, athletic and slender, pulls stunts, stressed out, has very fine hearing and has good instincts, etc. And ofc that fits really well with Marcille since she’s kinda associated with dungeon rabbits hehe~ But I think while Marcille’s 100% the cute round rabbit Chil’s more like a brown hare, more wild and like, more like a jackalope if we’re still doing monsters... I do lowkey find it more fun than his associated monster being mimics because he’s crabby, because they’re clever (with where they place themselves) and because of how he has a soft shell but soft insides, lol.

OKAY so that’s my song pick with the main 3 facets sure, now I’ll share some lyrics for each 3 sides separatedly 😈 Kinda summarizing my web weavings for him thus far. If we start with Chilchuck by himself we have… Enter One by Shelby Merry and Drunk by The Living Tombstone

With his wife, we have the bad end, and the good end for if they get back together with Lost Kitten by Metric and North by Sleeping At Last… Okay okay plus Love Like Ghosts and My Heart is Buried in Venice… Little Soldier by The Crane Wives for them also RUIN me

And Marchil… Marchil oh my beloved. Another buddy also made a full analysis on discord about Soap by The Oh Hellos for them lol, but these are Not I by I Fight Dragons and My Heart is Buried in Venice again~

Okay okay two more. Boats & Birds by Gregory and The Hawk, and Tummy by Tamino.

Finishing it up with quotes from, in order, A Softer World by Joey Comeau, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Acknowledgements by Danez Smith, The Letter by Richard Paul Evans, and last but not least posts from dead tumblr account flintcoded. I keep looking around and finding MORE fitting quotes. Someone stop me- In loving me you hold a knife at my throat, in loving you I tell you exactly where to cut. Forgive me, memory is a rope around my neck. I need you to be happy, I need one of us to be happy.

Hand in unlovable hand…

In conclusion;

[commanders-company]

Audio Log Archive: Calculator Zoxxe

Entry 34 - 1326 AE. Transcription start:

Ten years with the Inquest, and I’m still equally amazed and appalled at what my fellows get themselves caught up in. I’m sure sciences like herpetology and ichthyology have their uses, but it gets aggravating seeing promising researchers become obsessed with some rare fauna or another when they should be applying themselves to the stated goals of our organization.

Case in point, this “Scarlet” character. Everyone and their golem is buzzing about this mysterious sylvari who studied at all three colleges - personally, I doubted the authenticity of her certifications even before the Council revoked them. As though a non-asura could ever hope to achieve our heights of genius. Ha!

Still, I can’t deny the spark behind her eyes. She has big plans, whatever they might end up being, and I have no doubt she will do anything to see them through. I have no interest in partnering with pirates or bandits or whatnot, so I will continue to watch from a distance as I continue my own aetherology research here. Who knows, maybe Scarlet will impress me after all. Or maybe dolyaks will sprout wings and fly.

Entry 39 - 1327 AE

Of course Scarlet ended up being a bust. Anyone who believed differently was a fool of the highest order.

She certainly went out with a bang - my aetherology instruments were going haywire from the sheer amount of magical energy that rushed towards the deep jungle. Now that we know the truth about the sylvari, we can near-conclusively see that her true goal all along was to reawaken Mordremoth. It was certainly a bold idea to flood the ley line stretching from Lion’s Arch to Maguuma with magic; not unlike jump-starting a stalled golem with an external power source.

Whatever her exact motivations for this could have been, her success does open up a potentially fascinating avenue for my research - what sort of link is there between the elder dragons and the magic of the world? Clearly Mordremoth was attuned to it, but what about Zhaitan, and for what purpose? And most importantly, how can we exploit it for ourselves?

I’ll prepare my thesis and send it to high command along with a request for additional funding and personnel. I have no doubt they will give me all I ask for, so I will begin my personal work at once. I wonder if the Pact would miss one of their submersibles…

Entry 53 - 1335 AE

The Pact and that blasted commander of theirs continues to be both a boon and a curse! While our agents in the Rata Novus lab have passed on immeasurably useful data from their efforts, that blasted sylvari keeps killing more dragons - good for the survival of the common folk, I suppose, but absolutely detrimental to my research.

Only one dragon remains, the ever-theorized but heretofore unproven “deep sea dragon.” There’s so much more we’re on the cusp of discovering, and the commander is on track to ruin my career without even knowing!

But, as always, I have a plan. I was able to find records of Scarlet’s notes left over in an old workstation. She mentions time she spent with the late Omadd, and most importantly, a fascinating device he constructed near the Silverwastes. Supposedly, the device allows the user to peer into the fabric of reality - the very Eternal Alchemy itself!

Finally, a chance to mathematically prove what I’ve always believed - to show those boorish idiots I call my fellow researchers that absolute structure is the only way to success. Everything down to the smallest particle of the least important atom can be determined, charted, predicted and directed. The Inquest has always strived to control the Eternal Alchemy, but no one ever thinks about what we’ll do with it. Absolute order to all things is the only conclusion that makes any sense, and I will be the one to put it in place.

I will be traveling alone to the machine - no reason to give anyone else the chance to muck everything up, or worse, steal my work. Very soon, all asura - the entire world - will know my name!

Entry 55 - 1335 AE

[unintelligable] -it’s wrong. It’s all wrong, everything is wrong, I was - [crashing, papers scattering, yelling]

I fixed it. The machine worked and I saw everything. All magic flowing in and out the dragons like water through a filtration matrix. For a moment it was so beautiful. But the dragons died one by one, and in their place, there is…

Nothing. Less than nothing. Void from end to end. No greater purpose, no rules or equations or anything comprehensible. An emptiness that will take and take and take until there is nothing left.

She’s doomed us all. She can’t save us this time. Now everything we’ve done, everything I’ve done is worthless. No one can stop what’s happening.

The Void comes for us all. The Void comes. It comes. It comes. It comes… 

[unintelligible]

Entry 56 - 1335 AE

Ahem.

I’m not going to delete my last entry - embarrassing as it may be to admit, it is important to acknowledge when one’s conclusions end up being incorrect, if only for the purpose of proper documentation.

Which is to say that the world didn’t end, obviously. The Commander found a way, as she always seems to do. Our agents report that Aurene now fulfills the role the previous elder dragons used to, sans the whole death/rebirth cycle. Magic flows through her to be cleansed, and the world is balanced once again. The Void is - it’s gone. It has to be -

[coughs] I’m putting together another thesis and personnel request. The events of the last few days opens up yet another previously unknown facet of aetherology. We’re not under immediate threat anymore, but it demands to be studied. All sorts of possible applications could be found, if we can properly contain it.

I cannot - I will not be taken by surprise again. I will master its flow and dictate its course.

I will be the one in control. It will have no power over me ever again.

Should my proposal be approved, and I have no doubt it won’t, I will be forming the V.E.R.G.E. krewe - Voidic Energy Research and General Exploitation. We will decipher every secret of the Void and turn it to our own ends - and prepare ourselves should it ever return like this again.

I will be ready. And someday soon, all of creation - even the Void itself - will bend before me.

[avopumpkin]

🥤🌻🎨 pleaseeeeeeee

I'm done with setting up my new phone and finally can answer some asks now. 😎💪

🥤 Recommend an author or fanfic you love

I don't read much now, so I don't have anyone or anything to recommend. Buuut!

I'm going to recommend Tsukasangst you wrote for me because I love it. <3

🌻 Tag someone you appreciate but don't talk on a regular basis

I love this question!!

@rosehippiefield . I already told you this in your ask box but I'm really happy whenever we interact with each other and I'm ultra happy that we became mutuals!! My mood is much better and I grin whenever I think about it. Thank you for being here. <3

🎨 Link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

SLIGHT SPOILERS TO JUJUTSU KAISEN BELOW

Not big spoilers because it happened years before the main plot, but I still wanted to mention it + a mention of a death of a character that doesn't appear later in the series, but I know some people still care about this

TW: mention of death, supremacism, harassment, blood

I saw someone's interpretation about orchestra and how it beautifully link to Gojo/Geto situation. I don't remember this interpretation and know nothing about orchestra + I already don't remember much because it's been a few months since I watched JJK, so I might have mixed some facts. But I will try to put some thought into this anyway because I love this art so much and wanted to cry the first moment I saw it.

I can't help but feel extremely sad when I think about Gojo's and Geto's friendship. Two besties having fun while being jujutsu sorcerers. All of this for Geto losing sense of everything in the end and becoming jujutsu sorcerers supremacist and calling everyone else monkeys. (I still hear his "You filthy monkey who cannot even use jujutsu".) Because he had to see his friends dying, so those monkeys can live. And then those monkeys bullying other sorcerers only because they can see curses. Because they can use cursed energy. Because it's easy to put the blame on them.

But the moment he had to see Amanai getting killed right in front of his eyes must have been really shocking for him. Especially when they eventually decided she won't get sacrificed as a Star Plasma Vessel for Tengen. When she chose to LIVE. And then almost immediately he also found out that his best friend, the honoured one, the one who was supposed to be the strongest, was killed by the very same man who killed Amanai. And then after everything Geto also got beaten by him. By a filthy monkey who cannot even use jujutsu. (Toji said it ONCE and Geto became obsessed with this phrase.)

Of course later he saw that Gojo survived thanks to the Reversed Cursed Technique. But Geto was already spiraling down, looking for a sense of life as a jujutsu sorcerer. And all of it ended when he witnessed two girls getting harassed by non-sorcerers in a certain village.

And this is where the art hits me really hard, especially because how I interpreted it. The depiction of Gojo/Geto falling. The fall that started after Geto killed every single villager from the village where he found those two little girls. Because every single monkey should disappear. Because those monkey are below sorcerers.

And this is how I see the art. The moment when everything changed. When Geto completely changed his values and chose a different path for him as a jujutsu sorcerer, leaving his best friend and everything else behind.

Thank you for reading my yapping. I hope what I wrote is understandable. 🙏

[mapsofnonexistentplaces]

hi cubeguy i sent u an anons a while ago that i dont use tumblr but i periodically check ur blog bcus it specifically rocks & im back. i listened to an album u recommended on here but im curtailed by the character lim to give a review so i typed out a real time extremely long reaction to the songs LOL definitely the logical nextstep. its @ pastebin.com/Ejd8E9VX idk if im allowed to link shit on tumblr?? anyway i hope to get around 2 other musiks u like bcus i lovedd this btw its get to heaven that i listened to THANK U 🎀🙇‍♂️💋💗💗💗

HEY YOU HAVE AN AWESOME WAY OF TALKING ABOUT MUSIC. GRINS SO MUCH. i’m glad you enjoyed gth it’s so so special to me genuinely the album of all time …. my favorite songs off it are s/s/w/d the wheel and blast doors Lways a joy to see someone go crazy about them

^ really fond of this descriptor here also i think it succinctly puts a lot of what i love about ee’s songwriting down into words…. the weird entanglement of love and hate and confusion and clarity it’s a very very special moodset

also YEAH the way you described the vocals…. the early everything everything albums play a lot with like. roughness and scratchiness and the kind of ‘animalistic’ register of the human voice. (honestly everything before raw data feel. this is literally because the singer just decided to learn how to sing in high registers without falsetto for the first time which is like cool but also AUGH i miss that old sound

OK SO the thing about this bit

absolutely YES the thing about get to heaven is that it’s literally just like. a complete album of bangers. going down through their other stuff is gonna be a little more rocky, you might enjoy the like once-per-album weird slow ballads you might not, even though i’m lazy about listening to some of their weaker stuff when i do go through the entire albums i still find a lot of quirks in the instrumentation or lyrics that manage to impress me. i’d recommend delving into either man alive or arc next those are basically on par with gth although a bit more weird and morose? if you’re feeling it id then recommend raw data feel which oscillates more around pop/new wave but still has some really interesting musical constructions, gets extremely electronic and synthy…. a fever dream is like a 50/50 split between really long slow songs which are just Fine and really fast heavy bangers. just go listen to notln, can’t do, desire, good shot, run the numbers and ivory tower LOL. uhhhh reanimator is arguably their weakest album probably the most unremarkable but it’s also like my second favorite right after get to heaven. it’s weird and glowy and flimsier than their other tunes. that enchants me i guess…. they’ve also got an upcoming album that once again seems to be more pop oriented, cold reactor is the best of the singles they’ve released for it yet. what else. there’s like a youtube playlist out there of demo/outtakes/non album stuff that you can find real easy, there’s some really good stuff in there. personal favorites are the come alive diana demo, even the dogs and dna dump

ok so the fucking thing about the “lore” of this album. there technically isn’t any and most of ee’s albums are a per-song thing usually revolving around like. modern social commentary. the genius pages for most of their songs have like. direct songwriting annotations by the band and explain the thought process behind them. however for gth there’s also like a small layer of overarching lore about this one guy called thomas silhouette as a character. he’s not so much the crux of any narrative or presence as much as he’s just like. funny anagram arising from a lyric in fortune 500 that gets alluded to in later albums because he’s loosely representative of a lot of themes that get tackled in ee songs like capitalism and dread and shit like that

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: One Piece Film: Red

(Thanks @knightsweeties for the picture)

As this is long overdo let me break it down to how I will be breaking it down

Plot

Characters

Animation

Music (Because yes, the music is going to be a huge part in this)

Final Thoughts.

The Plot

HIT SINGING SENSATION UTA is having a concert, her first in person show and the whole world is tuning in. And just like all One Piece Movies, the Straw Hats are going there because it sounds like fun.

Uta sings her opening number and we find out that Uta is actually one of Luffy's childhood friends AND she is Shanks daughter! As in the Red Haired Pirates Shanks.

Things build up when the reveal that Uta has a devil fruit that teleports everyone into a dream world where she controls everything. Uta's plan was to bring the whole world into an era of freedom in this dreamworld by having her fans transported in.

Luffy is the first one to get bored of the idea when Uta tells him to quit being a pirate and enjoy the eternal show. Thats when we see the catastrophic event from Uta's world wide concert. The Navy, The Marines and even the red haired pirates are pulled into a race against the clock to stop Uta before she dooms the world by leaving everyone in her dream world.

But if thats not the worst part, the Tot Musica, a Demon king summoned by the Sing Sing fruit when the lyrics are sung has created a link between the physical and Dream world.

The strawhats must work with allies and enemies alike in order to stop this Demon king of song, and hopefully save Uta.

Now a LOT of this sounds like non-sense if one isnt a One Piece fan.

But the plot does do its best to let the audience follow along the best it can, but this film is meant for the fans, the ones that know one piece.

if you are a newbie with no clue who luffy is its a 5/10

If you are a one piece fan, than I would say 9/10. Because it is confusing timeline wise as well as some of the plot points kind of blending weirdly in the end.

The ending was emotional and it hits right in the heart.

__________________________________________________________

Characters

I think I will divide this section up into 4 categories.

Uta: She is the main Antagonist of this film, and while she is the one causing trouble, she did it with noble intentions. She is a Sympathetic and Tragic character. The film does a PHENOMINAL job making us see her backstory and why she is such an important character. They also integrate her near flawlessly into Shanks and Luffy's backstories. Though I think that they did a cop out when they said the Wake Shrooms were what was making her more crazy. I think they just wanted an out so they can say she wasnt seriously going to kill Luffy. Though if I heard my best friend saying he wanted to be king of Traitors and murderous monsters no matter how much I warned him, I think I would probably gone a bit nutty to. Also I wouldnt have had Uta see the clip of the destruction, there was no point to it, have her have flashes of what happen and realize the truth, would have been better. But that ending DESTROYED MY HEART.9/10

Luffy: Luffy is in top form in this film. You really sympathize with him and how far he is willing to go to save Uta. He doesnt want to hurt his friends, and whats fascinating is the entire time Luffy never threw a single punch at her. Luffy is all for smacking sense into his friends, but he also knows what she needed. I also love how Uta and Luffy both love freedom and we see their ideologies crash, Luffy being interestingly astute in pointing out that Uta isnt freeing anyone. 10/10

Shanks: I think Shanks still maintains his aura of mystery, but the movie does confirm that he and his crew are good guys, always prioritizing the lives of others and their crew. He even was willing to take blame for something that was a tragedy just to avoid having Uta feel guilty about it. Plus we got to see some cool moves from him and his crew. (I love his crew humbling kizaru.) 8/10

Everyone else: Everyone was in top form. Bartolameo was in peak simp mode, the strawhats all mastered their vibe and were in top form, each one getting a moment to shine, especially Ussop who got to coordinate observation Haki with his dad. It was a touching moment, I hope we get something like that in the manga.

The gorosei were creepy, St Charlos got treated like Garbage as he deserves (I wish he died). The Big mom Pirates from Brulee to Katakuri were great. Law and Bepo were fantastic (Bepo making me laugh the loudest) Solid 9/10

If one is a fan of the characters its and easy 9/10. But even if one isnt, their personalities are easy to read and follow along with. 8/10

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Animation

I am going to be honest, that was the most gorgeous film I have seen this year. The blend of 2d and CGI was done MASTERFULLY. The way the animation moved with Uta's songs. The animators went HAM on this. It is just unbelievably gorgeous. I wish I could describe it more than just absolutely breathtaking.

When New World and Backlight were being sung, Oh man was it incredible. And the final bout with the Tot Musica? STUNNING

easiest 10/10

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Music

I downloaded most of the songs after watching this.

Back light is my personal favorite but they are all FUCKING BOPS!

I was practically dancing in my seat, the song has HUGE CONCERT ENERGY.

10/10

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Final thoughts

This movie is an emotional roller coaster and stimulation experience that needs to be seen to be believed. I wouldnt call this a movie as more of a Love letter to the fans, one filled with imagery and love that could fill ones soul.

The emotional highs and lows connect. You FEEL what the audience feels, you understand Uta's pain, but you also understand everyone's motives for doing what they do in this film. It is an experience that left my eyes Red.

As a one piece fan, this is the best movie to date 10/10

As a critic 6/10 with 9/10 music videos. Because without knowing the series there is a lot that is confusing.

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

(non spn watcher here) when did destial become a canon love story with writer intent? like was there more destiel-ness in the season leading up to the nov 5th confession?

Okay *cracks knuckles*.

First and foremost, I'm gonna tell you about my SPN history. I started watching SPN and got caught up with the show while s10 was airing and was watching live until the end of s12. I gave up specifically because Castiel's s11 plot proved to be just on the side of too miserable for me, and s12 didn't really make it any better (Cas dies at the end of that season). During this time, and until Nov 5th 2020, I was solidly on camp "Dean and Cas are never going to be canon just because of what SPN is fundamentally as a show, and even if they did, I cannot imagine a situation where it would be a good thing for Cas given SPN's track record on how they treat the angel."

When Nov 5th happened I was sucked back into the show. In preparation for the finale I watched all of s13-15 in the two weeks between the confession episode and the finale. Again, my perspective going into this endeavour was still very doubtful and pessimistic, specifically on the Dean side of the equation.

The beginning of s13 was a bit of a shock to me, honestly. It starts with what the fandom calls 'The Widower's Arc'. I think this was the arc that most solidly cements the feelings from Dean's side. It was so vehement in pointing out that Dean feels for Cas in a way so distinguished from how Sam does. In the very first episode of the season (so the first episode I watched after going back into SPN), Dean quietly wraps Cas' body with a curtain all by himself in a sunlit room. And I go Oh. Okay.

This vibe does wane after Cas comes back and regular SPN hijinks ensues. S14 actually ends with Dean and Cas fighting and Dean doing his usual Dean-isms. 15.03 is when that fight culminates: they break up and spend a couple episodes apart from each other.

15.09 The Trap features Dean and Cas in purgatory, and this was Truly An Episode. They bicker through-out the entire thing and are pretty pissed at one another, but then Cas gets taken, and Dean desperately prays to him, confesses his anger issues, forgives Cas and asks for forgiveness back. Later, they reunite, and Cas acknowledges that he heard everything Dean said.

This episode is so interesting to me because it culminates the Dean and Cas fight-separation-reconciliation plot of s15, and in doing so confirms it to be as important as it is. I cannot point enough that the plot reasons for the stuff happening in 15.09 is so pointless. They go to purgatory for a fetch quest for an item that can be interchangeable with literally anything else, specifically to put Dean and Cas back in purgatory (a meaningful place for them), have them be separated, and have the prayer happen. The whole point of the Dean and Cas portion of the episode is to do character work. We don't even see the scene where Cas finally gets the thing they're here to acquire in the first place. That's literally not the point. The point is Cas and Dean's story. S15 is the last season of a show with so many big things to wrap up, and they make it a point to have Dean and Cas go through a half-season arc that DOES occupy so much of the season and brings a new openness, vulnerability, and room for development into their relationship.

So yeah, before 15.18 there WAS very visible marks of the fact that Something was gonna happen. Interestingly enough all those marks were pretty dean-centric. I would say s4-10 destiel is the audience being inundated that Cas loves Dean. S11-15, ESPECIALLY 13-15 is so very much making it known that Dean loves Cas too.

On a related note, on Nov 21, 2020, a post is made here on tumblr claiming that around Dec 2016 (S12 was airing at this point), Warner Bros. conducted a market research about Supernatural, and from this person's experience, specifically about Dean and Cas and Dean's sexuality (link to a post that confirms the information in the post to be true). This market research was during the time leading up to s13, which I think does mark a big change in how the love between Dean and Cas started being framed by the show as something Dean both feels and is also aware of.

So, to answer your questions.

Was there more destiel-ness in the season leading up to the nov 5th confession? Yes.

When did destiel become a canon love story with writer intent? It became a canon love story by S15, but the writer intent to make it canon goes way back to s13 but probably even s12.

- Grey :))

[quetzalpapalotl]

Anyway, Energon Universe Transformers spoilers under the cut

Ok, so first of all, they fucking killed Bumblebee. Oh my god, if nothing else, I gotta admire the audacity of it. But I guess it makes sense, not just for the shock it would have for Transformers fans, but also because they're trying so hard to get non-tf fans to read this. Bumblebee is one of the few Transformers those people would be likely to recognize, so it's the best choice for it to have any sort of impact. I hope it sticks because otherwise it would feel really cheap.

(Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they want to kill Bee in idw1 phase 1 and Hasbro said no?)

But also I fucking hate it, oh my god, that's my boy!!!! You gutted him like a pig!!! Why!!! I get everyone is tired of Bee getting the spothlight all the time, but you didn't have to kill him!!!

Well, it creates a link between him and the Witwicky's, which is as good as any hook.

Killing Jetfire does feel like a waste tho. RIP Ravage (is he actually dead) but nice that the Decepticons also got a fridged character so we can feel for Soundwave. Equality.

Now, for the most important thing, which is of course the man himself Optimus, he seems good. I greatly enjoy how much he's suffering and how troubled he is, but they seem to be sticking to a noble characterization. Not that I don't enjoy a gritty Optimus on principle, I just don't trust people to be able to do it right. Anyway, god, look at this man, I can already feel how he's regretting all his life choices.

The preview of issue 2 seems to imply that Optimus doesn't need energon to run thanks to the Matrix, which is cool and makes sense.

No trace of Arcee despite how prominent she's in the covers, but for that reason I'm sure she'll show up soon enough, very excited.

Speaking of covers, it's a sure thing Megatron won't show up at least until the first arc. Strascream is very vicious in this, so it'll be fun to see what happens when he inebitably returns.

What I'm interested in is how short the war seems to be. Strascream says they're been at war for a hundred years, I suppose he's not counting the years they were offline, but how much is that? I really hope is not millions of years this time, but on VD #1 Jetfire deduced he was stranded for millions of years (and he hadn't seen SS in centuries before that?) so the war could have started at any time after that.

Well, given everything they're saying and VD #4, it would make sense that it started due to lack of resources, which is supposed to be a component of the war in many continuities, but in this one you can really feel the shortage. If I had to guess, the most obvious conflict would be that the Decepticons wanted to exploit other planets for energy and the Autobots refused to do that, but even if that were true they don't seem to have actually taken the war to space given how unfamiliar they act with encountering other life forms.

That Squish typed in blood was really nice.

Anyway, it's too early to say anything, but this seems like a good start. I'm pleased with how the Autobots are in a really thigh spot, it actually makes me a bit nervous and excited to see what comes next. I don't really have any complaints expect that the Johnson still doesn't seem used to drawing robots and lot of the angles and poses are really awkward. Which is a pity because I would love to ogle at Optimus while he's in pain. Otherwise is pretty good, the flow, shots and general feel of it is very, vey good. The humans look better than anything from IDW and the colors are nice.

[spider-xan]

I liked Spider-Gwen at first, but then actually read the comics and they weren't. That Good. She is a good character in ITSV/ATSV, but idk I still feel indifferent about her. And she's been, once again, relegated to just The Love Interest by the majority of fans. Regular Gwen is Peter's love interest and Spider-Gwen is Miles' love interest. Nothing else. It wouldn't bug me if people weren't so obsessive about her, most fans are like "Gwen HAS to be there she HAS to we NEED Gwen!!!!" and it's very annoying. It especially annoyed me that people were drooling about the fact that Insomniac might (or might not) include her and make her Miles' age, so they can be together. Completely disregarding the fact that Hailey exists.

I like her design and all, but she's very meh to me, speaking as a woman myself. Beside the things I've mentioned, my biggest gripe with her that she feels like a completely different character and not a variation of Gwen Stacy. With alternate versions of Peter, while they feel slightly different, they still have the character's essence. The only thing she shares with the OG Gwen is the blonde hair and name, she might as well could've been an OC.

Yeah, this actually is p much how I feel about Spider-Gwen as well tbh! I actually do remember when she debuted and it was coming off hot from the massive spike in mainstream popularity she got after the first TASM film came out in 2012, and I think a major selling point was that her comics would explore what if Gwen lived and got spider superpowers - so I was surprised when I read the comic and aside from having blonde hair, a strong personality, and a cop father, she was basically a new character, rather than if 616!Gwen had a different life; I know a big Spider-Man fan on here wrote a really good meta post examining why Spider-Gwen fell flat for her that I don't have the link for on hand right now, but I remember it discussed the odd choice of taking away Gwen's science skills from 616 when that was a trait that set her apart back in the 1960s and would have been interesting to explore if she had spider powers.

But yeah, like, I would consider myself on the flexible side with adaptations instead of being a strict textual purist, but I agree that you do have to keep a core spirit to a character or else they may as well be a new character with a superficial resemblance, and that's what Spider-Gwen felt like to me - if she had been branded as Spider-Liz Allen or just a new Spider-Woman, I wouldn't have thought of her as actually being a Gwen with someone else's name.

And yeah, you're right that Gwen in general often gets reduced to a love interest who doesn't exist independently of Peter or Miles. (My controversial TASM opinion is that she's not really written as an independent character so much as the perfect girlfriend for nerds.) In Miles' case, it also happens in reverse where the non-Black fandom struggles to think of him as a character separate from Gwen, in stark contrast to how Peter is not treated that way by fandom unless they're hardcore shippers who only ship - and then yeah, you get misogynoir like people screaming, 'Where is Miles' girlfriend??', re: Insomniac Spider-Man 2 while posting a picture of Spider-Gwen and erasing Hailey.

Anyway, yeah, I agree she does not and should not be in everything, and it honestly bugs me when people try to point at Miles by comparison and act like she's on par with his importance when she's not - Miles was groundbreaking and still important to this day on a meta level bc he was an Afro-Latino Spider-Man who became THE Spider-Man in his universe and took Peter's place originally amidst a lot of racist backlash to that change in the (Ultimate comics) status quo, whereas Gwen is far from the first white woman Spider-Woman, nevermind the only one, like, no, she is not the Miles Morales of (white) women.

[automatanura]

Theming & Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 definitely feels like one of those once in a (console) generation games that creates new heights for the medium, like Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins, and the original Baldur's Gates before it. I loved it, I'm on my second and a half playthrough, but in loving it I need to give my full opinion on the game's story, especially the ending.

Warning: Massive Spoilers Below. Everything is Fair Game.

As a work, Baldur's Gate 3 feels conflicted in its theming, especially the farther you get into Act 3. This is understandable, as Larian tries to connect three mostly unrelated concepts in Faerûn (the illithid / githyanki conflict, the Dead Three, and the Nine Hells) into a unified whole, sprinkling other bits of Realmslore in to bridge the thematic gaps. In a lot of ways, it works. The Steel Watchers as a product of Gortash's dealings with the Hells, for instance, is inspired, and taps into tropes of hellfire, industry, and fiendish invention, which are then tied to the necromancy and brainomancy of the other parts of the cult of the Absolute.

However, other parts feel disjointed, such as the role of Bhaal. While it makes sense as a continuation of the previous games, and within the context of the Dark Urge, the player doesn't really see a way in which the Bhaalists benefit the plan, especially since they don't show up until the conspiracy starts to fall apart in Act III. The presence of the Zhentarim in Act I lays the thematic groundwork for Bane, as the undead in Act II do for Myrkul, but anything linked to Bhaal is conspicuously absent (again, unless you're the Urge)

The biggest thing which struck to me is the tone of the "good" ending, which mismatches everything else before. I'm already not a fan of "end of the world/universe" conflicts, and prefer things much more localized, but even as you save the world and everyone cheers, what's sorely missing is the acknowledgment of loss and sacrifice present throughout the rest of the narrative. If there's one question I think the story asks, it's "How far are you willing to go to be free?"

We see this conflict in pretty much all the Origin characters, even before the slavery implied by the tadpoling. Lae'zel has to contend with Vlaakith's tyranny, losing her place in her society if she doesn't submit. Wyll is stuck in a fiendish contract, Astarion and Karlach were soldiers/toys in the grasps of their respective masters, Shadowheart is tied so tightly to Shar that she's lost most of herself, and Gale is eventually charged to end his life in the service of Mystra. The Dark Urge, for their part, is bound by both blood and psyche to their father.

And then we have the tadpole, for which the game lets you go to tremendous lengths to rid yourself, with no success.

While everyone cheered, I had:

Inserted multiple alien parasites into my brain to gain the power to survive

Read a book of forbidden knowledge which fundamentally changed me

Made a deal with hag

Killed the Nightsong (because the game doesn't really let you know that keeping her alive still ends Ketheric's immortality)

Doomed everyone at Last Light (including a hero of Baldur's Gate)

Let my lover kill her parents to avoid angering a goddess

Attempt a prison break, which left half the prisoners dead

Advised Astarion to kill thousands of people (including children) in order to avoid the even worse disaster of their liberty

Sold my body to a fiend to gain the means to my own freedom

Allowed my friend to lose her body and soul in order to defeat our enemy

And probably other things I forgot (not to mention the ways loss, sacrifice, and freedom play out among the non-party NPCs)

And so if you take the non-evil ending, the narrative feels…oblivious, to say the least, of the costs, which I expect are still there, even in an ultra-good run (which mine was not).

The game has plenty, plenty going for it (the encounters are interesting, the characters are generally well-written and expressive, and the game lets you interact with it in so many ways. I think it's because of this, that some of the disjunctions in narrative and theming feel so apparent.