#(not to say i don't think there's genuine affection. they are literally my fave dynamic on the show lmao. it's just like

[romulussy]

thinking about the trailer thinking about how i love romangerri as, like, a not for nothing sort of ship. like yeah it'll end in disaster but that won't negate the importance of what you were to me/what you did for me, etc. you know.

[dootznbootz]

A favorite type of ship dynamic? And one you don't like? (the type that would put you off reading or watching the story for example)

Thank you so much, Dear Anon. This was super fun and I got really introspective with it. It'll be long and all over the place lol

Disclaimer: If any of my notps or least favorite ship dynamics are ones you enjoy or even have irl, please know that this is not to shame anyone in any way. I'm just talking about my stupid opinions. Just because I'm explaining why something isn't my cup of tea doesn't mean you have to spit out said tea or feel bad about enjoying it.

I'll be upfront and mention how I'm asexual so that REALLY affects how I view shipping and romance as a whole. As for my notps and ships I don't vibe with I believe are deeply affected by that.

Honestly? For me to like a ship, all they gotta do is be a bit silly/chaotic and absolutely fucking devoted to each other. I would go as far as to say a possible mutual obsession lol.

For my FAVORITES though, Usually it's the CIRCUMSTANCES they go through that really makes me "click" with them though. I like a good balance of silly and dark. As I can vibe with MANY relationship dynamics but if they went through some very neat and compelling shit??? Or just how many of their decisions are deeply rooted in how much they care for one another??? ughhhh I love that. I think it's cause I'm often bursting with love and affection for people in general so I just love exploring that in media as well.

And I won't lie, I like nonhuman aspects as neurodivergent feels 🥹 Also cool as fuck

I also tend to gravitate to ships that give at least semi-aspec vibes.

I like being gay about smart women. I go feral at the sight of Penelope, Lucy, and Zelda.

All three have the "guy being from less prosperous place/standing, Woman being of "high class" with the guy ending up being "worthy" in some way anyway. (Link is the Chosen Hero, Natsu is technically a prince/demon, Odysseus' name is literally part of the title) so there's probably something there.

I'll go into specifics on similarities and things I love about my main ships (OdyPen, NaLu, ZeLink) at the end :D as I get silly.

Now for the bitterness of Notps bit before getting silly with comparing my faves:

One huge one I genuinely have a hard time understanding is "These two are hot! It would be even hotter if they fucked! I ship them!". If a ship needs to have sex or physical attraction, to exist or that's the ONLY appeal about it then that's an immediate no for me. To me, JUST ME, sex is a horrible foundation to start a relationship on as I don't understand it. I often times forget sex exists so I do not understand the whole "wouldn't it be hot?" part of shipping. I'm a "Wouldn't it be cute/funny/wild?" person lol. Ships only become "hot" AFTER I see the relationship between them. Sex can (and often is) be a part of a ship (I mean, OdyPen has a canonical child) but if it's the first "building block" or the "foundation", I'm out. To me, that's like building an upsidedown pyramid.⯆It's going to fall over and there will be bricks and destruction. (One of my big ships is in an anime with a shitton of fanservice. I fucking hate it but that's just... the world they're in. Not necessarily because of what THEY do. And the dynamic is just that fucking good that I can just grimace through it.)

That goes hand in hand with "Ohhhh so much tension!" and then perceiving that as romantic? Like if you're mad, you're mad. If you hate them, you hate them. For complex reasons? Yeah, but I really don't like seeing a character be genuinely mean to another with only SMALL moments of "nice" in between. I've seen enough of that irl and I'm so tired. Shipping is supposed to be FUN, not stressful. There's bickering and natural fights but there are some ships where they're literally PURPOSEFULLY hurting one another and I can't stand it personally. Most of my visceral notps are because there is a "I'm hurting you, I'm enjoying it/don't care". There can be tension/bullying (not teasing) for like, one or two episodes for me to care for a ship but if it goes longer than that and/or never resolved, that's not a ship, that's a dynamic.

Exploring toxicity as a character dynamic and how it affects characters??? SURE! I even do that! :D But to see that in a romantic light? No. Not for me. No thank you. Please separate them. They will kill each other and one will end up scarred for life in order to still be in character.

also the "I must completely change this character for the ship to work". For an AU? Sure! For the canon stuff? No. I don't like to cut up an already neat puzzle piece in order to "smooth them down" so that it can fit with a completely different puzzle. If the puzzle pieces never have a fit? That's okay! :D

I think a lot of it is because I'm a weirdo who is like "Let's make this world as fantastical as possible and make the RELATIONSHIPS grounded in reality as possible. I get silly with it sometimes but there will always be some grounded reason that I can pull from 'canon' to justify it. lol".

Sometimes it's the fandom that will ruin it COMPLETELY for me. I could tolerate it before, but now it's blocked because it makes me so mad. Especially when they make shit up about one character to justify "hating" them. They don't have to be your favorites, but at least tag it right! I've also noticed a pattern of just hating female characters because of it. If you hate Lucy Heartfilia or say some bullshit about how she's whiny or weak, Natsu and I would like to have a word with you. I swear on fuck if you're all bent up outta shape because Zelda, a 17 year old in most games, is a bit of a mess at some points, I'll start my own yiga clan of assassins just to take you out. I've thankfully only seen ONE bullshit for Penelope but holy fuck. shut up.

Okay, got the bitterness outta me so now let's have some fun.

*opens briefcase and presents the "special bonded pairs of Mad"*

Time to ramble about my sillies.

I mentioned before about how most of their decisions are very much centered around each other or even what they do for one another.

Zelink: Lil hard to explain as I enjoy all incarnations (Though OoT and Botw/TotK are probably my faves) but in all games, regardless, they are intertwined. They protect one another and fight for one another. I love the dynamic of commoner and royalty as that's very juicy. "I don't care what people say, I love you."

Nalu: Intelligent heiress runs away from home to escape an arranged marriage and where her father only sees her as an object. She meets lil shit dragon man demon and her life is absolutely changed and she changes so many of the lives around her. Lucy is the main character, she just is. It's not Natsu. Fight me. Lucy literally gets BURNED when she was saving him. Not letting go despite that it was hurting her. She rewrote his grimoire to save him. Many people see/saw him as a monster but he never will be one to her. Natsu uproots a fucking TREE and sends it down the river outside her house so she could see it's "once a year blossoms" as she was too sick to go. He is her biggest cheerleader. Even when he doesn't understand why she's so excited about something, he does it happily because he cares. She is what helps him become friends with others. (poor guy was too "weird") Her "dying" is what unlocked E.N.D. She's what brings him back constantly. They are best friends, (also yeah, demon dragon man still being loved despite how strange he is? yes please)

Odypen: Holy shit. He looks over the most beautiful woman in the world to marry her, racing her father for her. She leaves her more "prosperous" home in order to live with him on his "rock". The entire Odyssey and Iliad is him fighting to get back to HER. He will never give up. Goddesses are nothing compared to her. He respects and adores her so much, to the point where he is placing himself, his wants and needs, beneath her own. And she will never give up on him. She stalls and never wants to be with any other even if he is dead. No other man is like him. She will protect their son, putting herself in harm's way so he has a home to come back to because he makes Ithaca her home. :'D (Water Wife being seen with heart eyes despite how strange she is and "better" opportunities? Man so fucking traumatized and "ruined" is still "her Joy" regardless? YES! YES PLEASE!)

I just fucking realized that fucking trees are important to them all xD Rainbow sakura for Nalu, Deku Tree for Zelink, and Treebed for Odypen.

All are silly in their own way. All will ALWAYS choose their "person". Odypen is definitely the most morally gray and the oldest lol (Though I do think Natsu would be like "you killed 108 people for her? Rad." It's just that FairyTail is "no deaths allowed") Penelope would be impressed by Lucy's tricks into getting things but then Lucy would be like "what?" as soon as she hears about the other shit Penelope's done. Link is horrified by Odysseus' warcrimes, and Odysseus gives him shit for "killing more than he has" and Link tries to defend himself by saying that they were monsters, not people. Penelope would catch frogs for Zelda. Zelda and Lucy would share books while Penelope would be like Wtf is a book?. Penelope and Natsu would be like "You got sharp teeth too?!" Odypen and Zelink would probably have a lot to talk about with "gods have affected our lives". Odysseus would be impressed by Natsu's property damage. Natsu would be so excited about the dragons in LoZ and think Zelda having been one is cool af (not knowing that it's a touchy subject)

Ugh, I'm getting so so silly. I love them all. They are so special.

Funny thing too? Gruvia (from Fairy Tail) and Menelaus and Helen (From the Epic Cycle) are both ships that are often intertwined with "my main" and both have the "quiet man and chatty woman" dynamic and I find that funny.

[fancyshooting]

ocelot and love has been a topic I've wanted to write about for a long time. hope neither of you mind if I answer you both together. I want to make it very clear that the only reason for my scepticism is because we're talking about ocelot, my favourite character of all time in anything, ever. I feel like I dreamt him up sometimes. it does not come from a place of malice. I want to have the most thorough understanding of my fave and I don't want to misinterpret him. I also wouldn't show doubt without having a canonical basis for it. I'm only interested in what we are told in canon

it's undeniably true that the driving force of the series is ocelot's love for bb. you've given examples like the mgs4 kiss achievement literally saying the word "love" in japanese. since I've only ever been concerned with cold hard evidence like this, I used to believe ocelot was in love with bb, too. back when I first got into mgs, I was convinced that he was gay. shipping has never really appealed to me regardless of the series/characters but I actually liked bosselot. I used to read fanfic, something I don't usually do. I even wrote some of my own (that no one will ever ever ever be allowed to read). once I really started to think about ocelot, the way I saw their relationship/dynamic changed. my thoughts on that are probably clearest in the post I made about the westerns mentioned in mgs3, which is the first game we learn about the "true" ocelot, rather than the persona he adopts. we learn about his abduction as a baby, his oppressive upbringing, his connection to the boss and why bb is so important to him. obviously I've spent a tragic length of time writing about ocelot, so I'm no longer content to condense everything about his character into "he was in love with bb". I know this is a wildly unpopular opinion to have, especially on tumblr, but I'm only sharing it because I've been asked. I don't think ocelot being in love with bb is clear cut canon, like the anon before said. it is a matter of interpretation and I do not mean that to sound dismissive

there are multiple instances of the word "love" being used in relation to ocelot and bb. here's a list:

• the emblem for the "you're pretty good" trophy in mgs4 is "love" in japanese

• kojima describing the relationship between snake and ocelot as part of his commentary on mgs3:

「スネークとオセロットはひと目会ったときから、お互いに気になっているんです。純愛です」

"Snake and Ocelot have been interested in each other since the moment they first met. It's a pure love."

• this line after ocelot praises snake for surviving the colonel's torture in the novel (not strictly canon but kojima-approved):

「それは皮肉などではなく、本物の親愛の情動だった。」

"It was not sarcasm, but a genuine, affectionate sentiment."

• mgs3 leaked casting doc description of ocelot:

「常にしのがれることの畏怖に、オセロットはスネークを尊敬し深い愛情を抱くようになる。」

"In the awe of constant shunning, Ocelot comes to respect and develop a deep affection for Snake."

I've always been hesitant to share this because although I find it interesting, I do NOT understand japanese and I always make that clear when I post machine translated text. mgs is a japanese game series, originally written in japanese, so the connotations of certain phrases will be lost on non-native japanese speakers. there will be cultural references that we will not understand and nuances we are unable to comprehend. the explanations and translations I post here are inadequate and should never, ever be taken as fact. I rely on machine translation, online dictionaries and forums. this is based only on my own understanding after minimal research and I am ALWAYS happy to be corrected.

every one of the above examples uses one of a multitude of japanese words for "love": 愛 - pronounced "ai". translated directly, it does mean "love" in english and it can be used romantically. however, it's a term used to convey other forms of love too, many of which I believe are overlooked in favour of romantic love. this explanation is talking specifically about romantic love but the depth of feeling fits ocelot imo:

there's also this from an article by journalist based in japan in which he briefly describes the same phrase kojima uses in the mgs3 commentary:

those two examples were both romantic lol... but I'm using them because of the way they explain "ai" love as being all-consuming and selfless. it seems to be a charged word full of nuance and depth. this is the type of love mentioned in every example of ocelot being "in love" with bb. it's not an exclusively romantic word and changes meaning depending on context

"fallen for him?" and "in love with the legend" are not as simple in japanese as they appear in english either:

「伝説の英雄 に惚れ込んで いるだ。」

"She's in love with the legend"

「 惚れたのか?」

"Fallen for him?"

this is from the interview with kojima in mgs3: the countdown:

「スネークを追いかけるうちに、ほれこんで しまう。」

"As he chases after Snake, he falls in love with him. "

these examples all use variations of the word 「惚れ込む」, pronounced "horekomu". direct translations to english give "to fall deeply in love". the following screenshots are explanations from people who are japanese and/or based in japan, i.e. people far more qualified to explain this than I am:

(x)

(x)

(x)

I'm well aware that this the most pedantic, joyless post but as I said, I want to have the fullest understanding of ocelot's character and this is part of that. for me, a lot of indecisiveness on the exact nature of ocelot's love for bb comes from reading about "horekomu" in particular, especially since the above screenshot mentions allegiance to a boss. my thoughts on their relationship are all over this blog, so I'm not going to write more of the same here. imo there's not enough solid canonical evidence to entirely convince me that ocelot is romantically or sexually attracted to bb. there are lines or actions that can be interpreted as such but those have valid alternative explanations, too. his feelings are deep and nuanced and I don't think the english translation can convey them properly

thanks for the ask x2

[blairwaldcrf]

elena gilbert & stefan salvatore for the chara meme ~

Stefan:

1: sexuality headcanon

definitely something under the bi umbrella

2: otp

caroline!!! .. like yeah, my brand lately has been klefan lol but I'm under no delusion that they could ever make an actual romantic relationship work. I simply think the dynamic is fascinating and they had so much untapped sexual tension it drives me crazy. that being said..... i wouldn't say no to romantic or nohumanity! klefaroline, who I think might be able to balance each other out? I'd be interested in seeing it explored at least (more than in my smut oneshot and wip)

3: brotp

Lexi!!! no contest

4: notp

steferine. i think the way their beginning parallels daroline so much upon my rewatch ruined it for me. if the genders had been reversed for steferine I genuinely don't think it would be as romanticized as it is? there's a lot of complexity I'm glossing over right now for the sake of a short answer but that's the tldr lol

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

he and klaus had sex in the 20s lol

6: favorite line from this character

per my OTP tag: "Not that you couldn't do it, that you wouldn't. Because that's what makes you you"

7: one way in which I relate to this character

oof, I mean to keep it light? brown hair green eyes? caroline's personality never bothered me? if we're being serious? the struggle of addiction

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

the fact he acted surprised caroline had feelings for him

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

lol problematic, and more than the murder. his enabling of damon, mainly, but also the darker side to st*lena

Elena

1: sexuality headcanon

I'd say demiromantic (stefan being doppelganger curse related rather than exception) and also under the bi umbrella. per transition I'd consider her a kinsey 1.5, afterwards a kinsey 3? vampirism heightens everything after all lol and her relationship with rebekah got significantly gayer

2: otp

i was literally talking to @laufire about this last night lol. i honestly don't particularly ship her with anyone romantically for many reasons, but the closest I'd say would either be Elijah or Rebekah. If their dynamic wasn't so damaging to her emotional/physical/mental well-being I would have said Bonnie.

3: brotp

hmmm, I mean. I think Stefan after s5 maybe? pre-s5 I like to think her dynamic with Tyler is the most interesting

4: notp

stelena/delena

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

the way she grows into vampirism is distinctly affected by her having been the "good human form" of Katherine's "evil favor" and her identity as doppelganger

6: favorite line from this character

right now because of my personal life: "People are going to stop giving you breaks, Jeremy. They just don’t care anymore. They don’t remember that our parents are dead; they have their own lives to deal with. The rest of the world has moved on.”

7: one way in which I relate to this character

grief

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

the way she slut shamed a r*pe victim

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

problematic for sure, but like. I get it.

[elfdyke]

Hello max sawtual you are the only normal bitch abt Steven universe . Tell me abt why u like lapis, do you have any particular dynamics or ships u like for her? Or is she just crazy crazy <3 thoughts on Jasper in relation to Lapis?

thank you for bestowing the most unhinged insane title upon me 💖 I'll wear it with pride

i loooove lapis cuz shes a messy as hell trauma survivor. shes going through shit and she will be making it other peoples problems and i love her for it. shes another one for the BPD baddie crew and nothing anyone says will dissuade me from this belief.

my fave dynamics are definitely her and steven and her and peridot. i love how stevens her One Friend. literally the only person she trusts for quite a while. i really see them as a little brother + big sister dynamic, where he wants to be around her and looks up to her so much but shes SUCH a mess and so she often will just try and close herself off from him, because of this self loathing.

LOVE her relationship with peridot, fuck the haters ^_^ i really adore how she slowly warms up to her, from outright hostility, to cold indifference, to a neutral coexistence, until finally forming genuine care and affection for peridot, despite everything 💖 i wish sooo badly we got to see them fuse 💔 i think it would have been a really cool moment to see lapis open herself up to that kind of vulnerability with someone she trusts, and see peridot have grown from someone disgusted by fusion, to open to trying new things 🥺 SIGH!

i think jasper and lapis are sooo messy for real. my genuine opinion which i don't get why it's unpopular tbh, is i don't think lapis did anything wrong when she formed malachite 💖 jasper was literally forcing her to fuse, she was trapped with no way to escape, IDK i just think the whole situation was incredibly triggering for her, so it caused her to fight (she literally tried flight 😵‍💫). i do really enjoy the intricacies of their dynamic though and if it wasnt more of a sore spot i think id enjoy analyzing their dynamic and interactions a lot more, ALAS i am afflicted by being in the fandom when it was at the peak of popularity and and thus slightly affected by the fandom agony + my own issues at the time. oh well, ill always have other toxic wlw to pick apart like lab rats

[marshmallowgoop]

Hey Goop! Do you have any favorite Detective Conan episodes? I'd love to hear your recommendations.

You know, I've actually just been thinking about editing some GIFsets of my recommended/favorite episodes for each season! It's information I wanted to include in a series of seasonal write-ups for the show, but since I was feeling like I'd never complete those, I thought the GIFs might be a nice alternative.

Not sure if either the write-ups or the GIFs will ever really happen, but I'd love to share a few standouts now, thank you! I'll just note that there's a lot I haven't seen yet; I'm only on Season 14 right now and have watched very little beyond that point. So, most anything I can recommend will be pretty limited to the earlier half of the show.

Also, I wouldn't particularly consider myself a mystery fan! If you're looking for cases with especially clever tricks or phenomenal detective writing, I wouldn't be able to tell you. This list is more about charming character interactions, main plot development, and emotional resonance.

All that said, here are some of my favorites, in chronological order:

🔎 The first 12 or so episodes. I think these are generally all pretty solid, even the ones that aren't at all relevant to the overarching story (like Episode 8, "The Murder of the Art Museum Owner") and the literal anime-only filler that is Episode 6, "The Valentine Murder Case." In many ways, Detective Conan isn't my type of show in the slightest, but every one of these stories exemplifies why I like it so much anyway. The interactions between characters are fun, the scenarios can get so ridiculous that they make me laugh, but I also genuinely feel an emotional connection to the events that are occurring, too. I don't know if I'd single out any one of these episodes as an absolute fave per se, but they are all classics that I like to revisit.

🔎 Episode 36, "The Monday, 7:30 P.M. Murder Case." I feel obligated to list this one because, well, I wrote a 4,000-word essay about it. Yes, my longest essay for this show is really about an anime-only filler. But I like the central conflict here and the questions it raises. It's an episode I've clearly thought about a lot.

🔎 Episodes 48-49, "The Diplomat Murder Case." Heiji Hattori's first appearance, as well as the first case Shinichi solves as himself since Episode 1. Need I say more?

🔎 Episode 54, "The Game Company Murder Case." Just a solid story dealing with the main plot. I admittedly get a little (or maybe a lot) lost in the actual case, but I love the sense of tension here, and the ending scene is one of the most affecting moments of the series for me.

🔎 Episodes 57-58, "The Holmes Freak Murder Case." Heiji's second appearance. I love his dynamic and interactions with Conan (even, and perhaps especially, before he realizes that Conan is Shinichi), and the case itself does well in keeping my interest, particularly with FUNimation's English dub. While the script or performances regretfully don't do anything to localize Heiji's Kansai accent (which is maybe odd, given that there is an effort to localize Tequila's Kansai accent in the aforementioned Episode 54, making it into a Boston/New York accent), I get a real kick out of the fortuneteller's lines being riddled with references to "sensing" things and premonitions:

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 57 of Detective Conan/Case Closed. Several characters, including the fortuneteller Maria Toda and Ran and Kogoro Mori, look towards an offscreen window. Maria says, in FUNimation's English dub, "I'm sensing that this rain will go on for some time," and Kogoro adds, "I'm sensing that I'm tired. And hungry, too." End image descriptions.]

This is definitely one of my most rewatched cases. Silly, fun, and I love to see Heiji and Shinichi vibing.

🔎 Episode 118, "The Naniwa Serial Murder Case." Probably my favorite episode so far. Yes, I am definitely biased towards Heiji. But I again love his dynamic and interactions with Conan here—he's so unabashed in how much he cares for his friend, and Conan also clearly cherishes having Heiji as a friend, too. You can't tell me that there isn't something genuine behind his fit when they're separated.

I'm a sap. It gets to me.

But beyond that, I also feel invested in this case, and I like how it calls back to past episodes.

🔎 Episodes 138-139, "The Final Screening Murder Case." Admittedly, this one might be on here simply for the mirror scene. Which I adore. But also, while you could totally skip this case and not miss much, I do really like the character interactions here with Conan and Ai and the Detective Boys. Just super cute and charming. I'd definitely recommend not skipping it, even if it's not on Xerblade's important episode list.

🔎 Episode 174, "The Twenty-Year-Old Murderous Intent: The Symphony Serial Murder Case." My biases are showing, I know, but I got a lot of love for this Heiji case. How much Shinichi values his detective friend is depicted in heartbreaking clarity, the actual case is one of the more emotionally affecting, and there's just some stunning and memorable shots. Would really love to see this one remastered one day.

🔎 Episodes 176-178, "Reunion with the Black Organization." It's probably an unpopular opinion, but I think I would actually rank these episodes above "The Desperate Revival." I love the exploration into Conan and Ai's thought processes—into the contrast of her jaded worldview and hopelessness and his childish impulsivity and recklessness. There's a great sense of tension, tons of heartwarming scenes, and unlike in "The Desperate Revival," I find Shinichi's immaturity here to be charming rather than irritating. Just stellar episodes all around.

🔎 Episodes 188-193, "The Desperate Revival." But, of course, I'm not leaving "The Desperate Revival" off of this list! It's definitely still a favorite, though it's probably also an unpopular opinion that I'm most fond of the first two episodes, 188 and 189. I'm a sucker for the drama and love to see the Detective Boys taking on a more active, productive role. But there are great emotional moments across all the episodes, lots of fun twists, and a heartwrenching conclusion. Absolute classic Conan. No recommended list would be complete without these.

🔎 Episode 196, "The Invisible Weapon, Ran's First Investigation." An anime-only filler, but I feel it's worth mentioning because I was so... let down? by the first canon case in which Ran gets to be the detective (Episodes 343-344, "The Convenience Store Trap"). She's a lot more proactive here, there's so much less repetition, and it even references "The Desperate Revival," so it has a sense of continuity!

Season 8 was kind of a huge slog for me, with tons of dull, subpar fillers, but I like this one a lot. If nothing else, I think it's at least nice to look at, with some great shots:

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 196 of Detective Conan. In the first image, Ran and Sonoko sit on opposite ends of a table as the sun sets. They both have glasses filled with a dark liquid and a straw in front of them, but neither is drinking; they are instead looking intently at each other. The second image depicts Kogoro's office. Ran stands at one end of Kogoro's desk with her head bowed, while Kogoro sits in a chair on the other side. It's mostly dark, with a small bit of light coming in through the window behind Kogoro. End image descriptions.]

🔎 Episode 225, "The Secret of the High Sales." An absolutely hilarious anime-only filler. I can understand having problems with it because Shinichi's character development arguably goes backwards here, but personally, it's just so dang funny that I can't find it in me to be bothered. DetCo is such a formulaic series, so episodes that break the formula like this one are a breath of fresh air.

Plus, "Koi wa Thrill, Shock, Suspense" is such a bop of an OP.

[Image description: A GIF from the eighth Detective Conan opening animation. Conan dances against a green rectangle, a serious expression on his face. Behind him, a shadowed figure mirrors his movements against a yellow rectangle. End image description.]

🔎 Episodes 277-278, "English Teacher vs. Great Western Detective." Probably no surprise that I'm recommending another Heiji case! But it's a rare case with him that's very main plot relevant, with so many great moments. I think I summed it up all right in the tags for a GIFset I made from 277:

#anyway anyway just felt a great need to gif this after posting about it the other day! this two parter is one of my faves #doesn't quite top 118 for me (not nearly as interested in the case here) but it has so many gems #like heiji and conan going into jodie's bathroom together to steal her gamergirl bathwater lol #(no that's not what really happens but okay it totally kind of looks like that omg) #and it's also got plot!! #great eps would recommend

🔎 Episode 304, "The Trembling Police Headquarters: 12 Million Hostages." Okay, I'm a sap, and lots of things make me cry, and, yes, of the handful of DetCo episodes that have brought me to tears, this is one of them. This is an incredibly emotional special, full of fantastic character interactions and edge-of-your-seat action. I laughed, I cried, it's good classic Cone.

Just wish there was some closure for Jam-chan.

🔎 Episodes 309-311, "Contact with the Black Organization." I'm a big fan of the main plot, and I love the intensity of these episodes. The ending bit of 311 is the most anxious and edge-of-my-seat I might have ever gotten from this series thus far.

It's a shame that my OCR'd softsubs are a total mess, though...

[Image description: A screenshot from Episode 309 of Detective Conan. Conan sits by the computer, a shocked expression on his face as he stares at Ai, whose hair is still wet from the shower and who looks entirely unamused. Dr. Agasa smiles nervously as he talks to her. The English subtitles, riddled with errors, read, "of weste :n novels: you see I Mm hooked eon this internet series." End image description.]

I started editing a nicer softsub file made for the remastered version to fit with my DVD (as the remastered version of the case cuts out a significant amount of content), but it's a long process. Still, I'm so fond of these episodes that I really want to get some proper subs on them! But maybe Crunchyroll could start adding some more episodes and save me the trouble...?

🔎 Episode 345, "Head-to-Head Match with the Black Organization: A Dual Mystery on a Full Moon Night." I feel like this one is often cited as absolute peak Cone, so it's probably no surprise to see it on my list. I do think the first half is a little weak myself, so I wouldn't personally put this at the very top of my recommended episodes, but this is most definitely a fun ride. The way that things introduced literally over a hundred episodes before finally get paid off in the most outlandish and ridiculous ways is incredible and addicting and exactly the kind of nonsense that I love this show for. You get intensity and hilarity and the wildest reveals here, and it is such a treat. I absolutely adore the ending bits of this one.

🔎 Episode 356, "Kaitou Kid's Miraculous Midair Walk." Probably my favorite Kid episode so far. I had a lot of fun trying to figure out his trick, and there's a really fantastic interaction between him and Conan at the end. This is just a good time.

🔎 Episodes 521-523-ish, "Murderer, Shinichi Kudo." I've obviously just skipped to this one, so I'm definitely missing a lot of the build up, but I'm still really fond of it. I do have to say I'm disappointed that it teases a plotline that it ultimately doesn't go through with, but there are so many good moments with Ran, Heiji, Kazuha, and Shinichi. Plus, it's one of the rare times that Heiji and Ai actually interact, so that's fun. The case is cheesy and dramatic (and I say this affectionately), and the displays of love and friendship get me so good. I'm excited to go through it again when I have watched everything leading up to it.

🔎 Episodes 853-854, "Memories From Sakura Class." A flashback case about how Shinichi and Ran first met that's unbelievably cute. I was smiling like the whole dang time because they're so adorable.

Also... I've never related to Shinichi more than when he tries to impress Ran and get her to like him but only insults her instead. Big mood.

🔎 Episodes 927-928, "The Scarlet School Trip." Just... cute. I don't think I really have much more to say about it than that.

And I think I'll leave it there! There are a lot more episodes and cases that I'm fond of, but these are probably the ones that stand out the most to me now. Thank you for asking!!

[vanveronicango]

if you don't mind me asking, what aspects of s2 did you dislike? bc for me, although i liked it a lot better than s1 (mainly for the increased focus on sibling dynamic scenes). i also kind of realized that it had kind of a Lot going on, that although i appreciated, didn't get enough equal attention? idk

i agree that the dynamic scenes this season were pretty great. we got some great interactions between characters that didn’t have much last season (personal fave being klaus/allison/vanya and every individual combo in that trio). 

i personally love reading other peoples’ opinions on shows/movies, even if they don’t match my own, because a lot of the time they open my eyes to some stuff i haven’t seen, and i love to see work affecting others the same way it does me, even if it has a different outcome. 

so, i know  i said i wouldn’t, but since you asked, under the cut i’m going list out some of the stuff i wasn’t a huge fan of, and some of the stuff i really liked. 

(edit warning: this shit is LONG. but please don’t take this as me absolutely hating the season - I didn’t. there was some genuinely enjoyable stuff. but, in my opinion, it didn’t have the spark and intent that s1 did. it wasn’t the caliber of the season i fell in love with. i think it’s still rewatchable though, unlike a certain godawful season of a certain hit netflix show...... coughstrangerthings3cough)

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

1. not enough characterization/development in most of the characters (this will be the longest point, so I’ll get it out of the way first) - for one, the siblings - save maybe vanya & allison - really... did not develop much this season, and weren’t explored as heavily as in the first season. hell, even in vanya and allison’s cases, i still think s1 did a better job at delving into their characters and psyche, even though they still had a bit of it in s2. but especially in the other siblings cases, i feel like SO MUCH of this season leaned into trivial things the fans liked, that it either (at least) took time away from or (at worst) was an active detriment to the characters’ development and plots. they said oh you like banter? we’ll give you unnecessary arguing and jokes that go on for 20 minutes too long when we could be delving deeper into these interesting situations we saw on the surface. here’s some fart jokes and forgettable music when we could be seeing more of how these characters are coping with the literal end of the world/being sent back in time/facing the prospect of never seeing their families again. 

in s1, we got luther’s immense internal struggles in living up to his “name” and only existing to please his father... diego finding his relationships through his jaded nature towards his siblings and himself, and grappling with feelings of inferiority... allison’s coping with the effects her powers have had on her life, and trying to become someone without rumoring everything into existence, which is a new feeling altogether that she isn’t quite sure how to cope with... klaus going through intense development as a simultaneously self-obsessed and self-destructive drug addict that gets thrown into a gruesome war for a year, only to watch the person he loves most die, grappling with his ptsd from war & his abusive childhood, and discovering new powers... five coming back home after decades of solitude and then being used as a weapon, trying to reestablish himself within the group while dealing with an eating feeling that he doesn’t belong in his body or in this group.... vanya, oh vanya, with her depression, anxiety, feelings of loneliness and betrayal, feeling invisible and utterly ordinary, gripping to whoever makes her feel special (and dealing with that fallout) before suddenly being slammed with unbelievably powerful abilities that she can’t control.

in s2... yes, we get lesbian!vanya who becomes truer to herself, and - through intense struggle - finds a way to harness her abilities so she isn’t so out of control and can finally feel extraordinary herself. but much of the latter was given up for a vast majority of the season bc she literally didn’t know who she was (there was a positive in that though, which i’ll list in my positives list), and so we lost a LOT of potential coping and learning time, which easily could have mingled with her sissy storyline! allison’s storyline i actually dug, i don’t have too much gripe with it except that i wish her throat injury didn’t just kind of magically heal, and they could’ve addressed it more. the end of ben’s story was interesting, but still lacked depth imo. as for the other siblings.... it all just felt like a TON of jokes that were funny at first, but quickly became stale and had me wishing they would take the story a bit deeper. that said, a lot of the gags, jokes, and quips were great, but they could’ve been incorporated WAY more intelligently, and allowed for characterization at the same time. loads and loads of banter, not being balanced with poignancy like s1 did very well.

we could have seen luther’s descent into the criminal underworld, and why he felt the draw and obligation to go that route. a more detailed look at klaus’ beginnings and relationship with the cult, his motivations (which s2 kept super shallow), more of diego’s life inside the asylum and even beforehand. but no, we got five and old five farting.

2. the music - man, the s1 soundtrack was iconic, was it not? effortlessly cool scene/music combos, countless iconic music moments, brilliantly and thoughtfully done. this season felt like they said “music? oh ok throw music EVERYWHERE” and it was just. not. good. instead of music that intertwined with each scene like it was a character itself, amplifying the tone and adding a new layer (like in s1), the music this season was mostly just distracting, forgettable, and felt like they were this close to just making a bunch of music videos. i even found myself hating a couple of their choices (the rest i just kinda... forgot). i did like the vanya/allison/klaus dance scene, but other than that.... eugh.

3. the handler - I HATE. HATE HATE HATE. when shows/movie franchises do shit like make a big deal of killing off a villain or lead and then just being like “hehe jk uwu” and bringing them back with some totally bs reason that they lived. a metal plate? really? and she magically awoke... how long after? not to mention how unbelievably lazy and lame it is. they could’ve done so much more with carmichael and the swedes, but they had to bring back... the villain we already had? don’t get me wrong, i LOVEEE kate walsh, but come on. it’s season 2. give us something fresh.

4. the swedes - in s1, cha cha and hazel had personalities, wants, desires that were all explored. we knew their motivations, their doubts, their fears. we liked to watch them. then the writers threw in the swedes... who were completely devoid of any and all characterization (they could’ve gone in my #1 point too heyo), personality, backstory, anything. it was so painful that when each one died, it was clear that we were supposed to feel something for the others, but did any of you really feel anything? no. because we didn’t know these characters at all. they were walking guns, pretty much. nothing substantial.

5. ben & klaus - being someone who loves these two characters so, so much (hellloooo, my old url?), this one breaks my heart. i was so unbelievably disappointed with them this season. all either of them were was horrible to the other. in klaus’ case, he just decided to keep ben’s presence a secret, not even telling the group ben loved them, or that he was there. he called him his ghost bitch, he used him as a personal pet, he lacked sympathy or compassion. we saw a glimmer of hope when he allowed ben to possess him, but that’s where ben’s issues start. seriously, possessing your brother past his breaking point, fighting him out of his own bodily autonomy, until he is in a state of complete exhaution? then saying he “regrets nothing”? and then the show playing it off as ~comedy~ bc that’s almost all they cared about this season... no... there was nothing in their relationship this season that compared to last’s. no moments of tough brotherly love, where ben tries to help klaus through his drug/alcohol desires or ptsd flashbacks, no moments of teamwork (besides the brief moments of consenting possession before that was ruined), no tender moments between brothers in general. all just REALLY FUCKING LOUD “comedy”, anger, resentment, bickering, and cruelty, all played for laughs. not about it son

6. “we’re not blood related!” - and, once again, getting played for laughs... for a show that became uncomfortably self-aware with trivial fan desires (but not the deeper stuff...), they sure do lack a lot of common sense of realizing what we don’t want

7. hazel (& agnes) - they went through the trouble of saving hazel and agnes just to have agnes die off-screen before the season started, and for hazel to die five minutes into his only appearance? lame. lame lame lame.

8. plot pace - i don’t really recall any moments in s1 that i thought “this scene doesn’t need to be here”, “this is moving so slowly”, or “this is being really rushed”. there was plenty of all three of those in s2. s1 was constant, everything was either towards the main goal or was filled with private and fascinating character moments. i love just watching characters live and do their thing if it’s done properly... but those scenes this season really weren’t very entertaining (save one or two), didn’t really seem to serve a purpose or hold weight, and didn’t give us any character insight.

9. klaus - the reason he’s listed specifically even after i mentioned him in the first point, was because of how personally saddened i was by his “arc”, if you could call it that. i know, him being my favorite (along with vanya) in s1 isn’t an original thought. but the writers, directors, and robert created a character so entertaining, charming, layered, and multi-faceted that it was hard not to fall in love with him. for all his goofiness, he then got a shit ton of characterization and development in the war, in dave, in his ptsd and discovering his power. his poignant moments were so powerful because of how different it was from his typical outward appearance. and fuck if he didn’t develop! this season, klaus felt... shallow. the cult stuff had no depth, no real reason to be there at all (the show really wouldn’t be much different without it, besides it being how five and allison found klaus), and it was kind of a throwaway point anyway, just another tool to get - shocker - more laughs. those touching, serious klaus scenes were completely absent in s2... he was just the ~quirky~ and/or ~high/drunk~ guy. there was literally no depth to his character at all this season. yeah, he crawled from behind the desk in e9.... and what else? nothing. robert did all he could this season, but something tells me even he was probably disappointed by just how one-dimensional klaus was. he was really no different at the end than he was at the beginning of the season, which is a no-no. 

10. klave - this is kind of an expansion of #9, but i was so disappointed by it that it needed its own spot. the only stuff that was supposed to be serious in klaus’ story - the klaus/dave stuff - was really not good. the moment the shopkeeper said “david?” in the store, i literally gasped bc i was so excited... but that was the last of any excitement i felt for the two, which, if you know me, is BONKERS considering how much i adore s1 klave. but this new young actor had ZERO chemistry with robert (fuck if rob wasn’t trying, though. it looked painful for him, but this guy really was just not well casted) (cody and rob were phenomenal together and had a fraction of the screentime this new actor had), and klaus being 30 and this actor/character being a kid was just... weird to watch. plus... so many white actors look the same, they really couldn’t find someone who looked like cody ray thompson? c’mon now ...... also, was there any point to it? at all? dave just wound up going anyway and there was literally no differences made in that situation. i think the writers thought they were catering to the audience by adding dave, but you need actors with chemistry (cody! cody!!!) and a good plot to do so.

11. s1 fallout - there really was none. that’s it. you’d think there’d be more after the explosions in the relationships of these siblings, but everything was just kind of glossed over.

12. sparrow academy - mostly here because... does this mean 7 more characters? meaning MORE time taken away from our og siblings, who already (mostly) didn’t develop well this season? i’m not gonna lie, i’m worried/

WHAT I LIKED

1. the chestnuts - i absolutely loved ray, loved allison, and loved their and their group’s work this season. the issue of race is so important all the time, but in the 60′s the tensions were so high and it would’ve been a joke if the show hadn’t addressed it or just kind of went with little racist remarks. these two had some of the most touching scenes of the season, and the sit-in scenes/every police scene had me incredibly anxious. that was well done, imo. which is proof that they still know how to do a good storyline, which makes me even more upset that the show was overall lacking that this season. i’m also so glad they didn’t go the “oh sry ray i still love luther’ route bc i literally don’t know if i would’ve kept watching. ANYWAYS im gonna miss ray sm :(

2. vanya & sissy - lesbian!vanya is all i want and more. vanya/sissy was all i want and more. these two, much like the chestnuts, breathed so much life into an often-dull season. so in love!!! vanya connecting with harlan even in just the most human ways!!! sissy finally standing up to carl (and carl d*ing god bless).... little found family oh my GOD!!! super devastated that sissy didn’t come back to the future with vanya, but because of harlan’s ending, something tells me we haven’t seen the last of them. oh and i am so conflicted about vanya’s amnesia, bc while i think so much more development could’ve happened without it, i also don’t think a lot of what happened with her and sissy could have happened, at least as quickly, if vanya was bogged down by guilt, anger, and lingering feelings of self-hatred and anxiety.

3. sibling dynamics - okay, this one is a contradiction, kinda sorta. i know i said the ben/klaus relationship was horrid. and i didn’t dig absolutely everything with all the siblings.... but they had some REALLY strong stuff this season. i know i’ve already mentioned it multiple times, but vanya/allison/klaus was everything to me this season. i knew i wanted klaus/vanya stuff happening, but adding allison to the mix gave it a whole new layer and they all just worked SO. DAMN. WELL. i just kind of wish it was vanya with her memories getting that bonding time, because i feel like the trio really could’ve gone in with how they all related to each other, their struggles, etc. but still, just some Happy Time was much appreciated. in addition to them, i really did dig a lot of almost every sibling dynamic this season. not every relationship got the attention it deserved, but it wasn’t too bad, it would be really hard to get all of that into 10 eps. plus, the fact that almost all of them grew so much closer was everyyyything. it’s odd, because good dynamics usually come with good development but uh..... nvm im keepin this section positive

4. the humor - another kind of contradiction, maybe. for some of the humor, i thought it went too long, was extremely heavy-handed, often took away from the plot, and some of it even degraded certain characters and situations (see examples throughout my points above). however, the stuff that didn’t fall into these categories was so, so good. some favorites: olga foroga, “think of batman, then aim lower”, “you look like antonio banderas with that hair” “thanks man”, i’m t h e  d a d d y  h e r e, “not everyone here likes you” “sounds ridiculous but go on”, klaus’ little pop culture quips to his cult, “being smart doesn’t make you interesting” “neither does that beard”, klaus calling ben to manifest and ben being like ”...nah”... there are plenty more, but these were the first i could think of in 60 seconds off the top of my head. some of it really was laugh out loud funny, which can be hard to do, especially consistently. if only they didn’t lean into it so damn hard, and put in WAY too much heavy-handed humor that it dampened the experience

5. old five - although i don’t love all of the stuff in the five/old five scenes, old five’s actor was fantastic! he got aidan’s mannerisms down really, really well. it’s always cool to see actors do that kind of thing when they play a character at a different age, or a character’s sibling, etc.

6. time period bigotry - i’m really, really glad they didn’t gloss over the intense racism and homophobia of the era. it was mostly brought up with allison, vanya, and klaus, and all three actors did a great job in their respective roles when expressing their reactions to the hatred. the scenes were really hard to watch, but well done.

7. pogo/grace/reggie - don’t get me wrong, i still hate reggie with a burning passion. but i actually found his scenes with these two really interesting, and it gave us great insight as to why pogo was always so loyal to reggie, and how grace was more than just a face on a robot to hargreeves. (which actually makes lack of development in our mains even more infuriating... they clearly knew to put some in there, where is it for the rest of the sibs who got nothing this season!!!)

alright, i’m gonna stop here. i’m sure i can think of more for each section, but i’ve been thinking this out and typing for an hour (holy shit) and it’s 2am and i need sleep xoxo

[hopefullystuffed]

OK- i don't know of you've already done this and I'm just dumb, but you put your hc's for irumatsu,, so can you put ALL your hc's for saiouma?? Please?? (I'm desperate I need more hc's for these two,,,)

[rubs hands together in These Are My Favorite D.anga.n Characters Because I’m Basic] with pleasure.

under the cut bc this got long i’m sorry heh.

i know you mean just for feeding/wg but hold on. koki.chi and sh.uichi have a relationship based on trust and discovering more about each other and it’s fucking beautiful. the more i went back in and analyzed their relationship and what they represent beyond the obvious truth vs. lies, the more i kept thinking they possibly have my favorite protag/antag dynamic of all time. koki.chi’s whole thing with lying and wanting to get sh.uichi to understand them made the finale so much more satisfying… almost like koki.chi taught sh.uichi something without either of them even realizing it. [chefs kiss] 

okay nOW LET’S GET INTO THIS FUCKIN sHIT. i seriously see them getting into the whole feeding thing out of sh.uichi’s concern for koki.chi’s well-being (since he’s a fucking twig) as well as koki.chi’s general love for sweets and being served/bossing ppl around. 

also… koki.chi’s all for seeing sh.uichi flustered… especially when his teasing is the cause of it. because koki.chi is a huge tease. he lives for making things a show, and he always wants a reaction out of someone. so when it comes to his sweet, beloved detective, he has a field day. whether it’s passive-aggressively asking for belly rubs, talking about how much he ate/wants to eat, or straight up almost kink-shaming, he wants to see sh.uichi stutter as his face goes bright red. 

koki.chi is mostly the dominant one (they’re both bottoms someone has to do it i mean wh) but he like…. demands that he gets tended to. sh.u is just a caring guy in general, and he wants to make sure koki.chi eats and all. but then he has this dumb fuckin fetish that keeps getting in the way goddammit. 

once they get used to holy shit we’re… both into this, things get a little more interesting. sh.uichi’s a bit more comfortable with ki.chi’s teasing and maybe teases him back but it’s more… loving? like he smiles and goes, “i think you might be outgrowing this… when did i get this for you?” like LITERALLY everything this boy does is fULL of love and iT’S SO DUMB.

but yeah koki.chi starts putting on noticeable weight pretty quickly because, like i said, he’s a twig. weight shows up easily on him. he isn’t really too sure how he feels about it until sh.uichi’s hands are on him. then it’s like….. this is the best thing in the world, holy shit. sh.uichi’s sweet comments and constant doting affection… even though he’s worried he won’t be this Fearsome Leader he wants to appear as, sh.uichi’s love, as always, makes it worth it. he realizes that it’s comfortable and almost fun to put on a little weight. he doesn’t mind it so much anymore. stuffing is still more exciting to him, but the weight is sort of like an added bonus… pun intended? i’m not telling you.

spEAKING OF STUFFING,,,,, this is literally where it’s at for both of them. they have like.. accidental feeding sessions. they don’t start planning them until later on. it’s always just…. koki.chi craving something and sh.uichi being that attentive boyfriend he always is. then they both go overboard and end up poking fun at each other for enjoying it so much… then enjoy the aftermath of koki.chi being stuffed to the brim and having no walls up. it’s just…. a good time.

i don’t think ki.chi starts feeding sh.u until they’ve been doing this whole thing for a while because i genuinely think sh.uichi is too much of a wuss to be stuffed near the beginning. talked about my hcs for this in another ask but yes. i think Eventually sh.uichi would indulge himself a bit as well, but nowhere near as much as koki.chi.

just uhhh… dumb bonus hc here. koki.chi’s favorite food to be fed is definitely something sweet uh… maybe i’m just basic or still in strawberry shortcake mode, but i seriously think he would love cake. mostly chocolate, probably, but i think he’d be Very Particular about what he likes. y’know how some chocolate cake is just fuckin dry as all hell and not that satisfying? yeah. he won’t have that shit. Give Him The Goods Or Perish. luckily, sh.uichi knows his high-maintenance bf pretty well. i see ki.chi snacking on those mini chocolate chip muffins and donuts a lot. he just likes Soft, Sweet stuff imo. and then of course we can’t talk about his faves without mentioning panta. he’ll go through those things like there’s no tomorrow, especially now that he’s all into making himself feel all full.

anyway to sum up my opinions on sa.iou with feedism: Chubby Koki.chi Good. Flustered Sh.uichi Great.

there’s probably more i can say on sa.iou bc it’s one of my faves so seriously don’t be afraid to drop qs and your own ideas :3

[coldtomyflash]

Why don't you ship Captain Canary?

That’s a complicated question with a complicated answer.

It’s hard because I’m compelled to be honest because I respect my anons enough to give a serious, honest answer to pretty much every ask I actually take the energy to respond to, but I feel like any person who would ask this doesn’t actually want my honest answer from it. Last time I answered a question about CC, I was accused of attacking the anon because I summarily disagreed with the points they were making and explained why. 

So, if I say this question feels a bit like an accusation, I hope you understand that it’s because it makes me nervous to go into negative detail about another ship and to know that it can ruffle feathers even with the best intentions. I’ve always been 100% disinterested in bullshit like ship wars and I don’t consider CC as in any way counter to anything else. I just… don’t ship it.

But I’ll answer my reasons for why honestly, leave it out of the ship tags, and hopefully you respect my answer.

The reason I don’t ship CC is a mix of on-screen chemistry, characterization, Sara’s seeming genuine dislike of Len at the outset and lack of attraction to him throughout, and… the shippers.

To go into detail on those. Their on-screen chemistry is amazing, and to a certain extent, I do ship them. I ship roguecanary (len x mick x sara), or Len and Sara for a fling, a dirty make-out in a dark corner sometime, a quickie in a supply closet sometime. I also ship them in the sense that they could, in theory, be a much much slower burn. I genuinely thought they might have a slow progression across two seasons or so, back when it first looked like there might be something between them, that they had some mild flirting. I think I might of liked that, and I certainly wasn’t against it. Killing off Len kind of accelerated that timeline though, if it existed.

But what I don’t ‘ship’ about their on-screen chemistry is that it feels so much more like friendship to me than romance. And that’s fine for some people. But the same way I don’t ship sn*wb*rry because I literally cannot see them as anything other than friends, and simply do not see romantic chemistry there at all, I also don’t see any genuine romantic chemistry between Len and Sara. That they become friends is sort of undeniable and I loved to see them playing cards and having insight into one another, but I didn’t feel that needed to be romantic and I thought it was better off being what it was, simply. 

Characterization-wise? Well, this isn’t anyone’s fault, but I was a pretty hard Nyssara shipper, so Sara’s prior characterization made me not want to ship her with anyone other than Nyssa for a while. I’ve finally relaxed off that after it became clear I’d never get to see them together again, but it was hard letting go of that canon ship. I also found the logical ship for Len to be with Mick, because of their amazing dynamic. I found their chemistry to veer more toward romantic than Len and Sara’s did half the time. Moving in sync, the angsty break up, literally willing to die for each other, having a little memento ring, inside words, Mick being the only one Len seemed to initiate contact with. 

So none of that helped. But none of that made CC a nOTP either? I mean, it’s not really a nOTP across the board. like i said, i do ship roguecanary or len and sara for a fling or an open thing, a casual understanding.

But Sara disliking Len at the outset did make give me an anti-romance sense. And throughout the entire season, she seems disinterested in him romantically.

Contrary to people with shipper goggles on when they watch that deleted scene from the pilot, I see her being annoyed by him and like she finds him distasteful. they get along for a drink by the end of the episode and she’s teasing him, they get closer, but she also says that she literally doesn’t like him when they’re dying of the cold. teasing? maybe, idk, but it’s not really something you say to someone you’re crushing on. it just seems so very platonic and also like the notion of being with him makes her uncomfortable. it’s hard for me to read her otherwise. he alludes to his feelings about her when he’s deflecting talking about mick and she looks surprised then impassive, completely shutting it down. he mentions thinking of a future with her when she’s already upset and doesn’t want to talk to him and she… well she basically tells him to fuck off? but as a “soft” no instead of a hard no, because maybe she doesn’t have her feelings sorted out but now is obviously not the time and she’s not interested in pursuing things with him with how things stand. 

but basically, she never demonstrates reciprocal interest in him at all. and we know that she’s not especially shy when it comes to expressing herself, her attractions, or her intentions. i know it would be more complicated with a teammate, but i don’t think she’d be dishonest about her feelings either; she values honesty far too much for that.

and this makes him a pursuant of a person who is totally uninterested in him, and that’s a place i’ve been? people uncomfortably trying to pursue their attraction to me when i’d shut them down already? it’s not a pleasant position to be in, after a while. and i trust that len’s not so much a creep that he’d push it after getting a clear answer from her, but it still wasn’t something i found… romantic? endearing? a little cute in the scene where he says “my feelings about you” when deflecting, but if he were pursuing it further after she gave him that “have to steal a kiss” line without getting a clear signal from her that she’d changed her stance, it would have actually pissed me off.

anyway… so there’s all that.

there’s also… if you look at that ask i linked above, that’s the type of thing that really pushes it into… i have the ship tag blacklisted because stuff like that annoys me. and look, it happens in the coldflash fandom too, and i ignore it then as well. i’m never a fan of reducing a character down to a ship, attributing their development to a single romantic relation, saying they’re “so in love” when they’re literally really not. and look, gifset edits for your fave ship are cute af, i get it. it’s fun to speculate how your ship’s characters are going to feel when they see each other again. 

but i get asks about ‘don’t you think len would have died for sara as well as mick?’ and my answer is… literally no. i don’t. i don’t think that’s how they saw each other, or how deep they felt about each other. and given that the producers have literally said sara has basically moved on, posts making her arc this season about len, or about how him coming back is going to affect her, just make me sigh. but i’m a canon-compliant asshole with my meta even with shipper goggles on, most of the time.

and i’ve seen a lot of those shippers try to reduce len’s relationships with lisa, mick, and other characters (including, yes, barry, who was important to his arc preceding legends) to being lesser than his friendship with sara. that’s so discomfiting to me. and it’s even more discomfiting to me how they reduce all of sara’s best emotional moments to being about len? her overcoming the order to kill martin was aided by len but not about him. her decision to talk to mick in the brig and that awesome conversation and the emotional insight she had? i’m tired of seeing people make that about her feelings about len. that was a great moment for her. she has so many great moments like that. so many great relationships i wish the fandom would explore more, rather than focusing on just a single romance.

and… look, i’m a person who prefers things when they don’t go canon half the time. my canon vs. non-canon ships are radically different. i love WA in the flash and wanted it to be canon and it is, but i love CF just as much and would never want it to be canon. with CC, the ways i would’ve wanted it to be canon never happened, and the ways it’s romanticized and populized in the fandom tend to rub me the wrong way maybe because of that. 

So… long answer there. but it’s really honest. i don’t hate CC, and i do respect the fandom and genuinely wish them all the best. these generalizations, as with any generalization, are obviously not going to apply to every shipper or every fic or every meta. but they’re trends i’ve personally encountered and opinions i’ve either seen in the tags or had to interact with and eventually, it slowly turned me off the ship as a major romantic pairing.