#I don't know if these are interesting answers but at least they're honest lmao

[mangosaurus]

Hi! Love your jwcc fanarts! (Hope u don't think my question is to annoying lmao 😭❤️)

I wanna ask u what do u think about that theory abt Ben gf being a catfish? Maybe one of that people that have been hunting them idk. Some posts claim it's actually Brooklyn trying to keep herself updated about the whole situation?? TO MUCH THEORIES

Also if the gf is actually real I'm curious about your opinion. Like I saw a post saying that Ben could be Bi, Pan, etc, but really, I am bisexual myself and there is no bi subtext on that boy... and it's not like they suddenly are gonna officialize he is bi/pan, or give him this type of subtext at this point of the franchise. Is not cool when people call "bi/pan" a media trying to avoid dealing with a character queerness. It's just painful that people think this is a real way of portrait of a bi/pan experience. It's not!!

AW thank you so much! i know i haven't posted much art lately but it still makes me really happy to hear that people enjoy it. and your question isn't annoying at all, don't worry about it :) i love receiving and answering asks, it doesn't matter what they're about

the more time that passes the more plausible the catfish GF theory sounds to me. if i had to guess, ben probably met his girlfriend online, possibly through dark jurassic (which a lot of the fandom seems to be in consensus about). as for it being brooklynn ... not too sure about that one! i've mostly treated it as a crack theory up until now, if just because of how absurd it sounds on paper, but i wouldn't put it past brooklynn to pull something like that. keeping in touch with ben is probably one of her only links back to her friends, besides her contact with ronnie (who is only partially connected to darius at this point, since he quit the DPW). i'd recommend giving these two posts by kitabearuwu a read if you're interested in exploring that theory further.

now if the girlfriend is real: i obviously can't speak for you or other bi/pan/otherwise mspec people, but i've come to not care all that much, if i'm being honest. it was definitely a shock to hear, as was the intended effect, since darius, sammy, and yasmina all initially reacted with surprise. but my question is what harm does ben having a girlfriend in chaos theory pose? like, does it play into any negative stereotypes? does it communicate a dangerous message about queer people? i've seen some people argue that it perpetuates the notion that mlm relationships are "icky" and shouldn't be portrayed in media, but i have to disagree, respectfully.

i think it's also really important to remember that subtext is ... ultimately kind of subjective, and is totally independent of the creator's intentions. that's the whole point of subtext—it exists below (hence the prefix sub-) the underbelly of the text. you have to be looking for it to see it, basically. and for a long time, the fandom (or at least the queer part of the fandom) subtextually read ben as gay! a lot of that had to do with his rather intimate interactions with the other boys, juxtaposed against the way he rejected yasmina when he thought she had a crush on him ("i like you, but i don't like like you ... i'm just now starting to find myself"). but ... i don't know, if we want to start citing text, you could also argue that ben's whole thing about not putting him in a box circa jwcc s5 could be a point towards him being generally unlabeled, which leaves room for him being mspec.

if i had to make some definitive statement on the matter, i guess it'd be that this fandom gets really bogged down by the specific labels of these characters, when it's really not all that necessary. this is still a gay show made by gay people featuring unapologetically gay characters in explicitly gay relationships, of which has been some of the best gay rep i've ever seen in media. and having that kind of representation on TV matters more to me than knowing what ben specifically identifies as, even if it doesn't align with my headcanon. it doesn't have to! but i also don't know for sure if it doesn't align with my headcanon, because we haven't gotten the full story yet. ben's girlfriend is most likely gonna be of some importance, given that he mentioned her twice without going into much detail about her. that leaves a lot of room in future seasons to expand upon who she is and her role in both the greater narrative and ben's life specifically, including his identity. i just think it's best we reserve judgement at this point, basically

[creepylittlelady]

wait, I don't understand why fanon Masky is so hated?? /genq (I was never really that interested in him tbh so I only know shit about him.)

OKAY, I can answer this one!

I'm happy that the whole fandom turned around on Fanon Masky recently (at least, I believe it must have been recently considering Cheesecake Masky was a thing before I 'left' the fandom), since that version of him is a bit problematic lol

If you've watched Marble Hornets, then you'll know that Masky and Hoody are REALLY scary (seriously, I had nightmares about Masky for absolute weeks), and work against the Operator. However 'fanon' Masky is a loyal employee of Slenderman/The Operator (I'm gonna make a post addressing the differences one day), and isn't really all that scary?? From what I remember, he was mainly joked about as being the 'Sensible one' of the Proxy trio (Him, Hoody and Toby), who was basically the dude always tired of their bullshit. Not only is this the complete opposite of how Masky is, as he would NEVER work FOR his enemy, who literally ruined his life from childhood, but it also sort of flanderised him and no longer made him scary, which is something the Creepypasta fandom tends to do a lot lmao

Another thing is his sudden change of character design. A lot of old Creepypasta fanart depicting him from 2013-2017 show him with lighter brown hair and a yellow jacket, which isn't what he looks like at all?? Actual Masky has much darker hair and I don't think he's ever seen with that ugly ass highlighter coloured jacket.

There's also the complete change in his body type, definitely one of the most controversial things about Fanon Masky. Let me first say that I do not believe that Tim Sutton (Masky's original actor) is fat, I'm not sure WHERE the old Creepypasta fandom got that idea from. Fandom in general, especially the Creepypasta fandom, is quite 'fatphobic' from my experience. What this basically means is that if you're not a skinny twink you will be body shamed in every way possible. The Creepypasta character market has always been oversaturated with men who basically were twinks, with slim and pale bodies, such as Jeff the Killer.

I believe that making Masky so thin came from the fact that when the Creepypasta fandom really took off around 2013-ish, a lot of Creepypasta fans looked for content and eventually I believe that a lot of them must have stumbled across Marble Hornets. Upon seeing Masky and Hoody, two characters that could have passed off as Creepypasta characters (as most of the other characters in Marble Hornets looked like ordinary people), the fandom probably adopted them and adapted them to 'their tastes', no matter how good they were or not. It might have also been a game of telephone too, as maybe a Creepypasta fan's friend of a friend told them some info about Masky and they misunderstood and instead of who Masky actually was, saw him more as the silly goofy masked guy. And to be honest, I don't think the Creepypasta fandom has ever really been known for actually doing their research, so that misconstrued version of him just became canon in everyones minds.

Not that it was always that innocent though...

One titular thing about fanon Masky was his strange love of Cheesecake. I myself saw a lot of it in 2016 sewed into every bit of content for his character, and was confused on where it came from. Then, I found out that it was meant to be a joke SHAMING him for 'being fat'. I originally stumbled across this for the first time in a satire comic, where one of the panels is Hoody chastising Masky for eating cheesecake, stating that Masky will become fat. The cheesecake joke is one I've seen in some fandoms before, albeit in different ways and with different foods. For the life of me I cannot figure out why everyone decided to associate him with Cheesecake, but everyone just did.

Fanon Masky is a perfect example on how fandoms can flanderise characters to the point where they're unrecognisable; pull up a picture of Masky in the Marble Hornets and then a Masky fanart from 2015. The difference is STAGGERING. The Creepypasta fandom is very much infamous for flanderising characters, such as making Jeff a misunderstood bad boy, Toby a waffles-obsessed manchild, and Masky a Slenderman-loving, Crayons and Paper-having, Toby-hating, Cheesecake-eating twink.

TL;DR: Fanon Masky was made as a shitty misconstrued fat joke.

[mitskook]

a very mitskook 2023 wrap-up

hi everyone

so i didn't write very much in 2023, that much is apparent. now i'm not gonna sit here act like that's a massive loss considering the vast amount of extremely talented writers that produced wonderful work this year, but i am still disappointed in myself from, i guess, a labour of love perspective. i look at the work i have contributed to the fandom over the years and i still have more i want to add, more stories i want to tell (trust me the wip folder makes me weep too).

but every time i wanted to write, the idea of making a love story made me so miserable i had to scrub it from my head. and worse, when i pushed past that obvious discomfort, the love in those stories soured into resentment, rage, and a cruelty i couldn't justify (to this audience at least). particularly with tsdverse, this next installment is about m'boys really grappling with conflicts that have no easy answers (if they have answers at all) and man am i so fucking glad i wrote that flashforward with heejin to keep a north star on where they would end up because if i hadn't, i would've completely shattered them in a misdirected fireball of righteous grief. im glad i had that to hold on to bc i haven't had much else.

my 2023 has been. uh. trying amongst the good stuff (and i promise there was some good stuff) but not this. my mum had a heart attack, i was fired for not coming back to work straight after her surgery, and i was couch surfing and unemployed for long enough i felt like i'd wrecked my life forever. and, of course, i was mourning my relationship that ended at the end of last year, and to be honest i'm still not done with that. that's the absolute joy and misery of tying your heart to someone you're hoping will be around forever: your eyes don't see anything the same anymore, certain songs that come on shuffle make you break down on the tube, you realise huge swathes of your social media presence, including ao3, were built for one person and it wasn't you, and now? all those things are monuments to the emptiness you feel every time you remember they're not in your life anymore.

to be extremely clear, i'm not blaming my ex for these feelings, and if anyone harasses them on my behalf i will personally hunt you down and gut you with a knitting needle, but in missing them as much as i do i realised how inextricable they were from my writing process. i mostly wrote fic to make them happy, to hear their praise and notes and excitement to read the rest, and that was unfair on everyone; me, them, and you (if you look forward to my work, i don't wanna presume lmao). that's too much pressure to put on someone who just wasn't interested in bangtan rpf anymore, and that's normal, it's okay to move on from that, but it meant even before the breakup i didn't know who i was doing it for anymore. that level of directionlessness (<- not a word but whatever) gummed up those creative gears until they had no choice but to stop.

anyway to maybe cap this pity party a bit, i want to start sharing my writing more on here, and i won't wait for people to clamour to let me know that that's wanted bc again, i need to start rebuilding my confidence in my writing and feeling out where i fit into this community after basically silently moping around for a full year. i want to sincerely thank everyone who's ever read my work. i won't promise to do anything but my best, and in the meantime i'll give all the snippets to you.

lots of love

zeeb "hyperlight" mitskook

[doomzday-zone]

can u pinpoint inspo? whether heavy or not wt is so weird and vast i kinda just wanna know where this.... how did it get like this..... and or / where did it rlly start ? simple stuff like what character did u make first or really expand on if canon ? r there any characters you just specifically attach to and... may there be a running theme..... raises eyebrow...

also LMAO this is rlly fast but i have like nothin else 2 do :3>

YAYAYYAYAY<3333 oh boy!!! Wt takes insp form A LOT of my interests I couldnt rlly pinpoint one specific thing it's based off of... Sum of my biggest insp that comes 2 mind rn tho r:

Wristcutrers: a love story, every my chemical romance track, German industrial metal in particular but also I'm a HUGE metalhead<3, repo: the genetic opera, speculative biology(my wifee<33), blood. gore gay sex. lol., sonic......... LOL, AND LUK. ten million mot etchings I profess my love for openly<33 I'm v honest abt my interests if anything,,,,,

Where is started ermmmm!!!! Actually wt is a huge mix of. A lot of different aus I've had for manyyyyyy many years. Wt is itsoen thing but kinda doubles as my Canon if u get what I mean. A lot of stuff abt the aus it's made of sadly got deleted w my og blog but u can still find oalylists n shit on Spotify n whatever. Wt started formally I think like a year ago?? Couple years ago???? I was still in my mcrhead era ik this meansnothing to you but u know. Iwbskbdjdb basically I just wanted to make an au that actually had like, a storyline..... Most of my aus r centered around v specific concepts. So I took a lot of those from my other aus n put them into my Canon of sorts n I men..... Here we r lol<33 :3c

Wt was always a shadow and infinite centered thing. I rlly started working on wt the way we see it now in my infinadow era so it was always abt them form the start<33 I'm kess into the ship like I used to be but I still DEEPLY care abt the characters n their relationship to each other even if it's not as romantic as I use dto be abt it u know :) nowadays it's wayyyt more infinite focused(as I've stated bc of the above reasons but also like. I've been hyperfixated on him for going on five years now..... He's my one and only<333) he's the official main character now but shadow is still an integral part of it 2 me,,

Kind of the same answer for the specific character attachment one INFINITEEEEEE INFINITEEEEE he's beenthe center of all my aus since like. Going on what?? Five or so years now??????? It's wild.... Lol. Anyways!! Shadow. Infinite. Wave. Fang, n silver n my special guys.... I have such a specific attachment 2 them it's weird. I don't explain it. I luv them..... They're The characters I think abt when I have new weird shit on my mind... U get it. Lol.

ALSO LOL???? KNAO???????? perhaps there's. Arunning theme....<- guy obsessed w themes n narratives l. Blood guts n gay sex r integral to my creative works, and I mean that.... If it's not bloody at least a little sexual or homierotuc n have graphic violence I did not make it. Skbsjsbdh. I guess....... Idk......... It's kinda hard 2 explain but I put. A lot of myself into my works. It's personal to an extent I also rlly like highly fictionalized stuff caus edit silly to explore real shit in a heightened sense n whatnot but like. Like. Idk. Lol. There's a lot of identity stuff in wt, I have a specific fixation in clones n robots(if u can't tell) n a lot of that comes from me n my weird queer n mental ill ess shit dibdjdh n a plethora of other things u know. I write for myself in an extremely literally sense first n worry abt mass appeal later(or never.. kamo)

[quietbluejay]

Betrayer 10

in which Lorgar gets irritated a lot, Kharn checks in with Lotara, and Erebus and Argel Tal talk

so who are the four ah it's our four main protags, Lorgar, Angron, Kharn, and Argel Tal Lorgar has been 100% healed Lorgar pontificates about all the worlds they've killed so far blah blah song of the warp etc etc Angron: so about that warp storm that was supposed to form from Calth

Lorgar: don't ask me what, idk yet Lorgar: but it has to be a super important death OH lorgar's gonna kill 2 birds with one stone "fix" angron and fully set off the ruinstorm so since Armatura is dead they're going to split up and go hunting in small packs Angron wants to know why not go after Maccrage

lorgar? calling something meaningless symbolism? it's more likely than you think but seriously, lmao it's the nerve centre of ultramar it should be pretty symbolic in terms of warp stuff iiii think someone isn't being entirely honest here

I wanted to pull up the arrested development gif here but I couldn't find it

boy someone's touchy

they would both hate it so much but lorgar 🤝 mortarion ITS NOT MAGIC GUYS

lmao angron just picks up a book and fans through it like "whatever" and lorgar gets the anime angry marks on his face

uncanny valley lorgar continues to uncanny valley

i mean you're the one who destroyed them in a fit of temper they didn't just do that themselves

also people should do more art of lorgar smiling irritatedly with his forehead twitching

he does that a lot in this book and time for Erebus to show up

and in that moment erebus knew he fucked up

wheeze angron is also wheezing lol erebus: uhhh yeahhh anyways kor phaeron needs reinforcements lorgar: lol. lmao.

huh another use of "whore" (in a weird spot, too) like even using it metaphorically it doesn't really work there?

erebus: about signus prime lorgar: will people shut up about signus prime it's not going to work

TYPHON MENTION okay it's time for Lorgar to analyze Sanguinius

that does track with my impression of sanguinius

and that's why Lorgar thinks he's the most loyal because he's got the most to prove or at least, he THINKS he has the most to prove

Angron takes a parting shot at Erebus (verbal) about him not being there to help when they needed him

he's going to be Very Disappointed in you if you do this, Argel Tal lol time for Kharn to go check up on Lotara and also say hi to Lhorke

lol hey Kharn remember when you hung up on her

lmao anyways it's lorgar's orders

"he wants to burn them for the sin of cowardice" and also squeeze out the last drips of suffering, kharn guesses

he doesn't really have a response to that it's a question people on every side of this war are asking and Angron is here

literally everyone likes Lehralla huh

Angron and Lhorke share a few words, and Angron remembers what it was like to fight dreadnoughts at Isstvan Part 1 ends here! on the order to salt the earth of Armatura

part 2: Nuceria it begins with Argel Tal visiting Cyrene's tomb as we talked about earlier, Argel Tal is very fun in a lot of ways he's got a lot of positive traits and virtues but ultimately at his core he's a guy fighting for evil in this specific case what i'm thinking about is him passing by the graves of his former comrades and the way he remembers them so Cyrene's worshipped as a Chaos martyr

also "the girl" she was about 50

annnd Erebus interrupt he wants to know why the world eaters are out for blood after Armatura

it's interesting because this is all we see of the Word Bearer side of things re: Armatura it sure says something when the daemon living in your skin wants to kill Erebus

heh

the Horus thing, lmao

again, lol anyways Erebus wants Sanguinius on their side because in every future where he's on Terra when they get there, they lose

erebus internally: welp guess that settles it heh

Erebus doesn't answer Argel Tal goes full daemon this really was a dangerous move on Erebus' part he could have gotten eaten here but luckily he's a fast talker or "luckily" depending on how much you hate him lol

oho it's a twist

[partynoobvanii]

Small Important Update :

Hello there! It's Ethanvanii here, posting a small update cause I've been inactive on Tumblr lately, and I wanted to clean stuff up.

I will be on a break now, I won't be online so much and I'll be working on homework, and other art projects/series.

Where i have been in life ���

So far, i have been behind on homework, so much that the homework line on my computer is RED. And not completed, behind even. But yeah, aside from that.. Life has been a bit boring and honestly sad. I've been worried for my online son, Ryker since they have been going through a lot of mood swings, terrible shit happening to them and all. I hope they'll try to stay safe and healthy while I'm gone for a bit.

About Sickpants Lullaby ☎

As you can see, Sickpants Lullaby has been on hiatus for like... I dunno... SINCE LIKE OCTOBER... But the question is, WHY was it on hiatus?

Homework aside, the reason why i haven't worked on it was because of my motivation dying down for the series, without Cobalt/Natt here... I feel very unmotivated to work on it at the moment, he is my beautiful and silly online son, he is like a whole ray of sunshine even. It was fun to hang out with him, before he left to China... I'm honestly lucky to have him in my horrible ass life. Not having him here can be really lonely honestly, even he had that problem while working on Parodies College House (A Spongebob Parodies Fangame he made) To the point he had to put it on hiatus till Benjamin and Juan were back. (Since they are needed, cause they're voice actors in that. And also cause of the fact Cobalt misses them.)

HOWEVER....

Not to worry, cause Sickpants Lullaby will continue once he comes back! Hopefully, if I don't get art block...

ALSO...

Please do NOT slide into my DMS just to ask me when I'm gonna work on Sickpants Lullaby, or if im working on a drawing of your character. It just makes it annoying and makes me not wanna complete it anymore, I hope you understand that.

Another mention though, I have a second reason for having no motivation for working on Sickpants Lullaby as i used to.

The second reason why Sickpants Lullaby is on Hiatus ☎

The SECOND reason why the series is on hiatus, is just because I've been working on another series which is called "Ethan's Void Life (EVL for short)" more. I've lost some interest in working on Sickpants Lullaby now that Cobalt/Natt is gone, it just doesn't feel the same anymore without him... I don't feel the same joy i get while drawing Sickpants Lullaby frames for my audience as i used to.........

....But besides that, look at the bright side. At least i get a break from the Internet for a bit..? Yes, I'll be checking my Tumblr Inbox in a while, just in case to answer questions.

Anyways, time for more fun stuff.

NEW INTERESTS!! YIPPEEE- 📣

So far, I've gotten around.... Well I don't know, 3 INTERESTS?? MAYBE EVEN 5???

But yeah, I'll try my best to remember most despite my poor memory.

1. PHIGHTING! (Roblox Game)

2. Item Asylum (Also Roblox Game)

3. Guts & Blackpowder. Again, another roblox game. But this time Cobalt got me into it in the first place. I don't regret playing it.

4. Regretevator.... HOLSLSYY FUCKKKK I LOVE THIS GAME 😭😭 IT'S THE WHOLE REASON WHY MY TUMBLR USER IS NAMED AFTER PARTYNOOB NOW 💔💔💔

Stimming aside, it's a pretty cool and fun game. I liked the voice acting, fun stages, and the characters are pretty creative to be honest!

5. Dayshift At Freddy's. Despite the... Ahem... Problematic parts due to it being made in like 2018.... It's a really goofy and silly game! I honestly love it despite me still trying to get all the way to DSAF 3... DSAF 1 was a pain in the ass to play, hopefully I'll skip it and just see if DSAF 2 is easier. (Because my dumbass can't press the springlocks fast enough in the first game lmao, but don't worry i still love the game anyways)

6. Dialtown. Made by the same creator of DSAF. I really enjoyed Dialtown honestly, the dialogue, the story, and the characters! They even added some phone guy characters from DSAF into it. Maybe as a Easter egg? I don't know. Either way Dialtown was still fun. Not to mention the creator is really nice, bless their heart. :)

Interests i MIGHT stream 📣

1. PHIGHTING

NO. As much as i love it, i am ass at playing on computer, I'll most likely make a video of me playing it on phone instead of streaming.

2. Item Asylum

Possible? I haven't tested it on computer for lag, so it's a maybe for now....

3. Guts & Blackpowd-

NO. I've tested it on my laptop before, believe me. It's laggy for my small ass laptop. I'll be posting videos of me playing it on mobile instead, thank you very much... It may be less laggy on your laptop, but mine? Nah.

4. Regretevator

Yes. It's still fun either way if i die to lag, one death isn't gonna hurt my soul. ^_^

5. Dayshift at Freddy's

Maybe?? It's if I DON'T GET SPRINGLOCKED A BUNCH OF TIMES DUE TO FAILING... but yeah, it is possible, I'll be streaming myself watching DSAF 1 gameplay on youtube, and then the next streams will be me playing DSAF 2 and DSAF 3 (that's IF they don't springlock me again... It sucks tbh but it's still a loveable game)

6. Dialtown

Yes! Though I'll have to add some warnings before people watch it, since i don't want my viewers getting uncomfortable due to the themes in it.

Thats all for now, I hope the news up there was useful.

No, not the interests, the Sickpants Lullaby part.

Anyways, bye for real! :3

[onyxisnotuniqueenough]

About Karen Page

so. i know this weird little argument should've ended long ago. but i'm in the process of rewatching the defenders saga and i'm actually in the middle of s2 of Daredevil....AND YES I WANNA WRITE A WHOLE TUMBLR POST ABOUT KAREN OK

but first, i wanted to give a little extra info or context or whatever i'm supposed to call it

here are the links to the posts relevant here

0 (me)

1 (me)

2 (me)

3 (nyxxhecate)

4 (nyxxhecate)

5 (nyxxhecate)

also the comments count too. look at whatever nyxxhecate commented on these posts

I unblocked nyxxhecate since i first blocked them, out of honest curiosity. right before i'm writing this actually.

I just wanted to see if they've commented anything else since then or if they made posts on their own about their opinions on Daredevil. Three of the links above are their posts, and idk if tumblr notifies for that but I still don't want to @ them.

I'm not interested in debating with them or starting another argument, and couldn't care less of they see this or not. I am not writing to this person like i was in my other posts, nor am i answering to their comments or whatever points they brought up in their reblogs.

there is ONE thing they said that rang with me though :

"knock your fucking self off that pedestal you're trying to put yourself in. Imagine the level of delusion one must have to think they're intelligent because, *checks notes* they typed in word salad to defend why they like two atrocious TV characters LMAO. You're on Tumblr not the fucking Congress, get a grip IJBOL"

I'm gonna be honest here - I DO enjoy typing word salad. I enjoy writing. I enjoy writing essays. I enjoy trying to use exact words to say what i want to say.

English is my second language, technically, yes, but I have been speaking it for more then ten years, and i'm doing my best to improve because i'm hoping that i'll get to work in english some day. My accent isn't perfect but I'm confident in my spelling and writing and everything.

I've been raised in french, I've done primary, middle and high school in french, and my uni is also french-speaking. I write everything in french all of the time. But since i've taught myself to think in english first sometimes, and none of my irl friends or family like Daredevil or Breaking Bad or anything i like in general - I don't get many chances to argue irl.

So yes, I use Tumblr as an outlet to type as much as I want, even if that means talking to a wall, but at least i get to talk about (IN LENGTH) things i love - and open some kind of discussion (although i'm not blind, i know that rarely anyone replies or anything, but that will hopefully come in time)

---

Now that that's said - let's get to the actual main course :

Karen Page !

As I've said in the beginning i am in the middle of s2 of DD, just finished EP6 : Regrets Only to be precise. I've already got a few things to say.

but first : I'll only talk about her in S1 and S2 and Defenders - because believe it or not, as much as I love Daredevil I AM SORRY but I HAVE NOT YET WATCHED SEASON 3. i miraculously haven't been spoiled about much, all I know is that Matt wakes up in church after his "death", boxes there, there's some kind of detective that seems important and he fights with Fisk again in his black outfit. THAT'S ALL I KNOW AND LET'S KEEP IT THAT WAY.

So.

what do i, Onyx LastName, think of Karen's character.

On my first watch, I didn't like her at all.

Not because she was a "hypocrite"or whatever everyone else is spewing but because I had this huge crush on Matt and was jealous of her.

I'll admit, that's all that my judgement was based on. I thought I didn't like her chemistry with Matt, the way that it made the Nelson-Murdock-Page trio awkward, and how it left Foggy on the sidelines. I like him. I related to him. He was suffering of Sidekick syndrome, with Matt getting powers, getting to be the hero, getting all the ladies, etc etc. I spent my whole life and I'm still actually spending it feeling like I have Sidekick Syndrome myself. If you also feel like you got that you'll know what I mean.

"So Foggy has a special place in your heart. Boohoo. what does that have to do with anything?" You've read this far and you're JUST NOW running out of patience??

Since that initial watch, and after watching countless videos, reading countless fanfics, and honestly my taste just having changed - my perspective of Matt shifted, and so has my opinion on Karen.

I don't think i'm blinded by my attration to Matt anymore, even if he still holds a special place in my heart.

But unfortunately, I still have some issues with Karen's character.

I don't think I've ever really talked about it on here, except maybe with a friend or two in dms, but it's true that I don't really like her. Or how was she was written. This post is not structured or outlined, it's a stream of consciousness...so let's hope i get the answer to that by the end of it.

Now i'm nowhere near agreeing with ANY of what nyxxhecate said, but knowing I wanted to have a definitive opinion of her and make a post about it maybe, I've been looking at her closely during my rewatch - and there are some things I've missed.

So, first, to correct my previous post,

Why is Karen attracted to Matt in the first place?

I made my post about the Foggy and Karen thing before rewatching and refreshing my memory of the ACTUAL EVENTS. I just wrote that in passing after seeing a reaction of that "date" at Mrs. Cardenas.

Here is an updated take :

I think Karen fell for Matt when she first lied to him about keeping the Union Allied file.

You just lived through an intense traumatic experience. You find yourself with a bloody knife in your hand next to the lifeless body of someone you knew and found really nice. Someone tries to hang you in your prison cell at night to make it look like you killed yourself, and no one believes you.

until Nelson and Murdock come in. You're not sure about their intentions at first but they seem kind and most importantly they believe you and are willing to defend you. They're giving you a chance. Not good samaritans but literal guardian angels.

While Foggy is hesitant at first, Matt "I believe you Miss Page"s you right off the bat. (everything's a verb if you squint hard enough)

Matt invites you to his place and assures he'll protect you.

Matt opens up about his blindness and is willing to be vulnerable in front of you.

Matt gives up his silk-sheeted bed to make sure you're comfortable.

All of that when you're vulnerable and Matt is tall and handsome and has this charming smile and ugh. How not to fall for him ? I mean you're wearing his shirt and the beautiful pink lighting in his living room is making everything all romantic. Also if you've noticed the billboard outside his window is for "Xining Airways", company that uses CHERRY BLOSSOM imagery in their advertisement. COME ON.

But then you get to talking about the case again - I mean the reason you're here in the first place - and he asks you an important question.

Did you keep the file?

You lie and say you didn't, feeling your heart beating faster. You're not even sure that sounded convincing at all. And you see the cogs turning in his head, and even if he let you off the hook, you know deep down he didn't really believe it. May seem like me extrapolating here but it IS obvious that he doesn't believe her. But as long as he's not pushing further, that doesn't change much for Karen anyway.

I think that his expression reads that he's seeing right through her.

He believed her when no one else would the first time - but seemingly for no reason.

Matt just KNEW you didn't do it. He saw right through you. You almost feel like he knows what you're thinking.

And again, that kind of connection that you're feeling, in an especially emotionally vulnerable state - plants the seed for love. EASILY.

Any of their awkward flirting before they started dating i am willing to close an eye on.

AFTER THAT? that's just cruel to Foggy and unprofessional and weird in general. Why the HELL are you holding hands in front of whatever DA or cop you just talked to to walk in Frank's hospital room?

Why are you kissing in front of Foggy???

I can understand the thing at Josie's but when you're in the middle of dealing with an extremely important case and Elektra's driver shows up out of nowhere and you're abandoning your partner in a situation that you created and ugh. ew. It's all so weird.

I don't like Karen and Matt dating any more than I did on the first watch but I don't see it through jealousy-tinted glasses and more for what it actually is. misplaced.

Season 2 is the least favorite Daredevil season of anyone I've ever met or talked to and I completely agree that the structure is strange, even if I get what they wanted to do with juxtaposing

Daredevil/Elektra/Hand stuff

and

Matt/Karen/Punisher stuff.

This juxtaposition, while I kinda get the vision, just isn't working. The Hand is the worst plot I have ever seen in my life, and that applies to Defenders too, so that's one reason, but the fact that they tried to mix everything together at once just felt weird pacing wise - and they lost characterization on Matt, Foggy and Elektra's part. All three and their relationships with each other were written weird.

...

Let's get back on track.

Season 2, Karen spends her time investigating and defending Frank.

And that is what she's most criticized for : "protecting and defending frank's actions" and "condemning Matt's lying when she's lying herself."

Frank Castle is a difficult subject.

He is the subject of many debates, wether in the fandom or in the actual show. Is he a hero? Are his murders justifiable? Are Matt and Frank two sides of the same coin? What message is he sending to the audience? How should he be interpreted by his audience? Is Frank redeemable? Is he a glorification or a fetishization of everything that's wrong with the USA? and so on so forth bla bla bla

What matters HERE is what KAREN thinks of him.

Karen is a very determined and ambitious journalist, to say the least. She'd do anything to get to the truth. These qualities that seem very noble at first are also her main flaws. By putting the story first, she throws caution the wind and that very recklessness of hers is what kills Ben Urich, and what compels her to defend Frank so adamantly.

But there's a facet of her personality that I haven't seen being delved into or explained anywhere - her sometimes misplaced but very much there Savior complex, or White Knight syndrome.

She empathized and honestly liked Mrs. Cardenas (a cute old little guatemalan christian lady, who had no one). She wanted to help her. She felt that she was treated unfairly, that all the tenants were treated unfairly, and that was what prompted her to want to take down Fisk. Fisk was using, manipulating and stealing blind people who were already unfortunate. Fisk is lying to the public and hiding his true criminal activities. Savior Complex is activated, now Karen has to find a way to bring him down, even if that means putting her nose where it doesn't belong and provoking the death of Ben Urich.

Now let's look at the situation in S2.

She empathizes with Frank Castle (a man who's entire family got killed and now has no one). He has some kind of moral code that seems noble to her. She feels that he's being treated unfairly, that no one is taking his dead family into account, or what he's already done as a soldier. Frank is unapologetically admitting and sticking by his actions and his code. He doesn't want to hurt anyone that doesn't deserve, in his eyes, to die. Reyes is not upholding her side of the wit-pro deal (She used Grotto as bait, someone Karen already empathized with). Reyes was purposefully trying to get Frank the death penalty for her own gain (she had her eye on the mayor's office) and is hiding a shady past. Savior Complex is activated, now Karen has to find a way to prove that Frank's not all bad and to expose Reyes, even if that means putting her nose where it doesn't belong and overstepping boundaries when she's not a lawyer, and frankly doesn't deserve to get Ben's desk or his job.

When you finally pin down her behavioral pattern and why she acts how she acts, it's easier to understand.

So yes, I understand Karen. (In my opinion at least.)

What makes her who she is is that savior complex of hers, that MORAL code of her own. How she sees herself and what she thinks is her PURPOSE is how she justifies her mistakes, or the risks she takes, to herself. As means to an end.

She doesn't seem to doubt herself or question herself enough to see that her behavior, even if her goal is noble, is not always right.

Her believing that she acts as a savior to others is precisely what makes her a little self-centered.

And, because Matt has this problem too sometimes, she is an interesting character to compare to him.

But now, see, as i've spend a lot of time writing this, my own cogs are turning. I think I've identified what my problem is with Karen.

It's how she's framed. by the writers. by the show.

We see Matt's guilt but don't see hers.

We see his internal turmoil but not hers.

We see him doubt himself all the time and seek for answers in his faith or in people but not her.

If we got to see Karen doubt herself more, show more of her guilt over her killing Wesley, her causing the death of Urich, that would make for a much more likeable and relateable character.

When she argues with Matt or something, what she says makes it seems "hypocritical" of her not to hold herself to the same moral standards than she does others.

But I don't think seeing the flaws in others means you don't see your own. Again, if we had seen Karen questioning and doubting herself, and feeling guilty for what she's done (and not just crying or having ONE nightmare about it. Her trauma should have been more explored in general. from the beginning.) then we'd see that she is self-aware and recognizes her own mistakes and her continuing to feed into her savior complex is her way of finding closure. or trying to save herself from being completely consumed by her own guilt.

So yes. I don't like Karen, not because I don't like her, but be..cause...I wish... we'd seen more of her? or at least framed her differently?

I didn't think I'd reach that conclusion. I thought I'd actually find a real reason not to like HER.

But that's maïeutique for you i guess. or to put it differently, rubber-ducking, right? Isn't that programming lingo?

Also maybe i'm not completely over how Matt and Karen third-wheeled Foggy. or how Matt doesn't really fit with any of his on-screen love interests and how I wish they hadn't dated. but that's a story for another day.

Thank you for reading this far, if you're still here! Tell me your thoughts and opinions on Karen or my own way of explaining it :)

[tm-trx]

Only Friends.01

I was on the fence about starting this one, but I decided for the sake of my blacklist to just go for it. Thoughts behind the cut:

A few stream-of-consciousness bullet point notes, taken as I was watching

"viewer discretion is advised" - is this as uncommon for a GMMTV BL as I think?

of course they're all still in college; I guess it was too much to hope for this show to be centered around working adults

does Mew actually want to lose his virginity or are his friends just being obnoxious? he doesn't seem too concerned about it, so I'm leaning towards obnoxious drunk friends (ugh)

Mew being the center of this show is a surprise, but I like it. I like him more and more as the episode goes on. (Or maybe the episodes will take turns focusing on different characters?)

oh good, no one took Ray's keys :/

so how did Mew stay a virgin this long if he’s so quick to invite a guy home? he's very self-assured

ah okay that answers that question - it’s likely he’s taken other guys home and not gone through with it with them either

First and Khao - when it's just the two of them I'm riveted; how are they so good?!

I love Mew - “I don’t want a one night stand because I’m sensitive and will want you as my boyfriend and heartbreak sucks” - self-assured AND forthright

however cuddling can have the same effect, Mew, careful there

smart friends: Top’s only been around a week - who knows what his intentions are

classic romance trope: Sand told Ray off and now Ray's interested

so Boston had one night with Top and clearly wants more but Top has become interested enough in Mew to want to date him - that's going to go well

lmao Sand’s face when Top asked for the mic

seriously Top, public declaration? am I gonna have to mute already?!

when he breaks Mew’s heart it’s gonna be bad - I can't wait

that end credits shot was gorgeous wow (see above)

Based on Top and Boston's conversation at the end, I'm going to go ahead and assume that Top is serious about pursuing Mew and it's not just to get another notch on his bedpost. But it's only been a week, and who knows what the "boyfriend" label entails as far as expectations. Hopefully, we'll see Mew ask, because I want to see how honest Top will be with him from the get go.

Weird stray thought: Is it me or do Mew's glasses scream "serial killer?" A hint of what's to come, when Top inevitably breaks his heart? [No, I don't actually think Mew will go on a murder spree. But he's clearly 'one of the quiet ones' to watch out for. At least I'm rooting for him to be. I watch soaps; I am here for that drama.]

[fefairys]

11, 17, and 49 for the ask game!! :3

you didn't specify so im doing EVERYONE under the cut bc this is a lot. i got way too into the logistics of the first question sorry. this answer got so so fucking long holy shit. this is what happens when u let me talk about these guys

11. If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?

now this is an interesting question cause not to give away the secrets but at least 4 of these bitches have powers that u cant just replicate and it would immediately be obvious to anyone who's close with them... i wonder if in the question, impersonation accounts for stuff like that? we also don't know what these impersonators know about the characters in question.. maybe you could ask fake!Psy something as simple as "do you like cats?" and they'd fuck up right there!

we have to assume that they know enough to impersonate them on a superficial level, mimicking their speech and mannerisms, and have at least a basic knowledge of their hobbies and interests and day-to-day life and likes and dislikes if they actually want to fool anyone, right? so lets assume that much, i suppose.

im kind of stuck on the powers thing. dunno how someone would just mimic that kind of thing, but i also dont want to just say out loud the parts of these characters that are supposed to be more like subtext? but if they're such a close copy that they even have their powers, then they must know everything about them, too, so that's TOO close of a copy for the purposes of this question.

alright im just gonna ignore all that and give you the answers i think are funniest.

if someone was impersonating psy, they'd simply use their powers to knock them out or something. lets also assume psy cant help for the rest of these because otherwise its just like "psy reads their mind and knows immediately"

for melody im imagining some shit like that scene from adventure time where finn asks pb to prove that she's real to recite what she wrote on his birthday card two(?) years ago, word for word, and shes like "finn how could i possibly remember that?" and he's like "🥺i remember......" that would be jett trying to figure out who's the real melody lmao ok but how would they actually discern this... lol ask about the lore of her Galaxy's Oath Online character :') there u go <3 (if u dont know what galaxys oath online is bc u havent read every single ask on the blog dont worry about it u will know next chapter)

for jett just give him super specific death note trivia. it can practically recite the entire series from memory and has read the manga and novellas like at least 5 times each if not more. u could literally be like "whats the first word Light says in episode 16 of death note?" and he wouldn't even have to think about it for that long he'd just know.

tate... well as of now i dont think any of his friends know him well enough for this to be honest with you (sad), but like, his sister could probably do it. ask him the name of the first boy he had a crush on because he was ANNOOOOOYYYING about that.

for guy, ask him what his plans are for the day. i think that would work. he has everything planned out down to like the fucking second so he can be fuckin everywhere at once.

probably shouldn't answer these for conner and rotom right now </3

17. What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

ok well first of all what do *i* notice when i look in the mirror hold on. ok i just checked. answer is my eyebrows. would not have known that just in general lmao so this is a tricky question bc i would never think about something like this

psy - they hate looking in the mirror and avoid it as much as possible. i cant imagine them focusing on any one feature, honestly. its like a blur to them. they dont want to see it at all. what do most people notice? hm. idk im thinking about the two times they've appeared in my dreams as a real person and what i first Noticed and it was their glasses im pretty sure. Defining Characteristic...

melody - definitely her smile she loves her lips and her smile she will smile at herself in the mirror all day. i think other people also notice her smile first if they're further away, but close up they probably notice her pink color contacts haha those are pretty striking

jett - when it looks in the mirror it immediately is checking the Hair to see if it needs touching up. very important. other people also definitely notice his hair first and foremost because i mean look at it.

tate - first, his eyes + mole (its a package deal) but he's p vain and can just stare at himself in the mirror forever, just his whole face, checkin himself out cuz hes soooo hot. other people notice the mole under his eye, its pretty striking. i was gonna say hair cuz its fucking ourple but like jett already got hair lets do something different. (dante wrote this one lol)

guy - he notices his eyes + eyebrows first. he got those big bushy eyebrows that stand out, and beautiful dark brown eyes..... other people usually notice his Arms first. (dante wrote this one as well 😎)

conner - his freckles he loves his freckles :) other people first notice how short he is because he's 5 feet tall hehe

rotom - lips or nose... other people probably notice faer fucking full facepaint xe always wears lol. more specifically the lips bc it wears black lipstick so that catches the eye

49. Would they eat something they find gross to be polite? psy - hell fucking no melody - she would at LEAST take a bite and if she hates it she'd politely be like "its just not for me ^.^;;" jett - no lol it'd be like "im autistic i cant eat this sorry" tate - depends on the person he'd be disappointing if he didn't like it... like in some cases he'd be like "that looks yuckydisgusting im not eating that" and in other cases he'd be like "mmm!! s-sooo good!*gags*" guy - same as melody. he'd probably give it more than one bite though just to make sure, like, maybe it'll be better on the second bite? maybe if i keep eating it it'll get good? he might eat like a quarter of it before giving up conner - absolutely. always. rotom - fuck no lol

[dreamsclock]

sorry I didn’t mean to scare you I only sent the. awesamdream ship I guess it made someone else curious. Do you enjoy toxic ships in all media? And is there specific reason? Feel free not to answer sorry if this is too pushy, I’ve just always found it interesting (not in a bad way) when people ship less conventional ships

DONT WORRY LOL i just have a knee-jerk reaction to seeing ANYONE ask me anything about ships lmao !! under a read-more for anyone who wants to avoid a long ass post about ships + unhealthy relationships :thumbs up TM:

i do definitely find toxic romantic relationships more interesting, in the same way i find toxic dynamics or platonic/familial relationships more interesting too. i think characters expose a really ugly honest side of themselves when they're around people who make them worse and as a writer that's way more fun to write !! i could go on about how much fun it is to write toxic dynamics in any capacity but i will. keep this as short as i can lol

i do enjoy found family / healthy relationships don't get me wrong !! but a lot of relationships people argue are healthy in fanon spaces actually make me uncomfortable - not for the actual ship itself, but for how fanon takes it as unproblematic when often there are actually loads of problems / toxicity within the ship. for example, ppl cite like. ckarlnapity as a ship without problems, or a ship that would work fine if they resolved their miscommunication - i fucking LOVE c!karlnapity and absolutely have written them this way (and will do so again dkjfkdj) but this interpretation feels like it's missing the core of these characters and how... incompatible i think they are with each other. that doesn't mean i don't enjoy it, but the way fanon media tends to gloss over the darker or unhealthy parts of this ship leaves me unsettled. at least w ships like c!awesamdream there's nobody pretending they're holding hands singing kumbaya in any situation other than being locked in a box with each other LMAO /j

also i tend to gravitate more towards unhealthy dynamics because it's more interesting to have conversations with fans without jumping through the disclaimers of "i know this is bad in real life and do not condone this behaviour and understand the consequences of reality etc"?? the people i've met that are also c!awesamdream shippers are so fucking talented and analytical and their aus are so interesting to me.

in all fairness this is MY disclaimer that i'm honestly not a huge shipper in the first place :') i've never been a ginormous fan of romance and it bores me a lot of the time (another reason i'm drawn more to relationships with More Than Just Sweet Healthy Romance TM), so i'm never gonna post loads about it or talk about my ships in any fandom in great detail unless asked about it XD. BUT TLDR - unhealthy dynamic + more interesting conversations = sparrow fan of weird unhealthy awful ships skdnsdkjs

[alexcaninnit]

I have a few questions. You don't gotta answer all of them.

How do the brother find out about each other in your separated au?

In what order do they reunite?

Also, Raph stayed with Splinter, right? Does that mean he had to control his "Savage Raph Mode" earlier on in his childhood? And does Splinter act any different? I've seen some other people make him more protective and present in whichever turtle had been saved

What are all the turtles relationships with their guardians?

Who would be the most chaotic(idk, I just really wanna know lol)

Do any of them know they have brothers somewhere, living a different life?

And if yes to that↑ question, do all of them know, or only a few? And how do they feel about it?

Is Dr. Delicate Touch, Dr. Feelings and Dr. Positive still a thing for Mikey? I feel like the foot would be terrified of Dr Delicate Touch

I'm very interested in Leo and Big Mama's whole thing. Will it be like how she did with Lou Jitsu, but instead of the love part, like how she did with him, would it be motherly love them once he was old enough, just threw him in the Nexus? Or does he even fight in it?

Also, would some of Big Mama's speech patterns rub off on him, like how she makes up funny words even when being serious

What would Donnie be to Draxum? A son? Assistant in the lab? Both? Or just an experiment?

And how does Donnie see Draxum?

Since Donnie grew up with mystic stuff, would he be more open to using it along with his tech?

Okay, I still have a few more questions but this is honestly just getting really long, so I'll spare you from my curiosity–

Thank you SOOOOO MUCH for these questions!! To be honest, I had like just started thinking about this, so these actually helped formulate a lot of the au ngl-

Splinter straight up told Raph that he had brothers when he was younger, and the twins knew each other because Baron and Big Mama have such frequent interactions that they used to hang out together, along with Leo's adoptive siblings, Venus, Scylla, and Crollo. (Those last two are OCS.) They don't get along super well, but they talk a lot.

So the order they reunite is, Donnie and Leo, then the twins and Mikey, and then they all meet Raph.

Raph definitely has a lot more anxiety, to the point where he is selectively non-verbal. Due to this, Splinter definitely had to step up a bit more to make sure his kid didn't fucking die, but as he doesn't have as much to do in way of raising kids, since it's been pared down by around 75%, he definitely relaxes more.

All pretty positive! I... don't like writing angst lmao, so they're all pretty close with their guardians. Big Mama, in my ideas at least, is nice and kind and loving to all her adoptive children, the Foot are a bit harsh, but they still love Mikey, and Draxum and Donnie, while they have a very Jinx and Silco esque relationship, it's still got a lot of care and love behind it. Which, for a Jinx and Silco esque relationship, does check out. (LEAVE ME ALONE YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT.)

Mikey. He was already the most chaotic bitch in this group and growing up in a warrior clan with Cassandra Jones did not help.

They all know, as I said earlier. The twins hang out all the time so they don't care, but everyone really wants to meet Raph someday. And Raph really wants to meet them.

The Doctors are Still a thing for Mikey. He's still the optimist of the group, except much less controlled. If anything, Doctor Delicate Touch comes out a lot More! And yes, the Foot Clan are terrified of them.

Leo and Big Mama have a really loving relationship! She wouldn't throw a literal child into the Battle Nexus, and besides, he's her son. He is her son, she has claimed him as her child and she is not giving him up any time soon. He straight up just... volunteers for the Battle Nexus. He grew up watching his older brother Crollo (oc) fight in it, and he was like "Damn, that looks like fun," so once he was old enough he just asked. Took some convincing, but eventually, he got to go!

Sometimes when he gets really mad, he starts talking like her. It's hilarious. Donnie has to physically stop himself from laughing every goddamn time.

Donnie is like a reluctantly adoptive son to Draxum. When he learned he had gotten the soft shell, he felt a bit swindled at first, but the kid was so much like him that he became quickly endeared to him. They're not super affectionate, but they definitely love each other. And Donnie sees Draxum as his parental unit.

He's definitely more open to incorporating it, but it's too finicky for him. He doesn't like it, he can never quite predict the outcome and that scares him.

Thank you so much for the asks!!!!!!

[kimbapisnotsushi]

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Haikyuu? And why do you love them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

i'm happy to answer!! i've never gotten a question like this before so no worries :)) altho it DOES hurt bc i do have quite a lot of love for all of them, so choosing just five is going to be really hard :')) but i'll do my best

hinata & kageyama: okay i'm going to cheat with the number one spot because i adore them both dearly and we all know they're a pair anyways LMAO it's just like?? kageyama's and hinata's characters are so deeply intertwined that i think they deserve to share first place together y'know?? they both worked HARD to get to where they are today, and i can't even begin to describe how massively, intensely satisfying it is to see two main characters that we so intricately know to be happy and glowing and fulfilled with their lives!! literally everything about them and their relationship deserves an entire essay itself but i don't intend to write one for this post, so i'm just going to leave it at that LMAO

kenma: before i got to know all the other extra characters kenma was actually my absolute fave back in the day so i've got a GIANT soft spot for him. he's got such an interesting way of doing things and i love how snarky and honest he is. also the mutual love and respect between him and the people who care about him has my ENTIRE heart. like, the whole of nekoma (and then some) all understand kenma really really well, and no matter how different they are (i.e. tora and lev and hinata) kenma is ALWAYS doing his best to understand them too!! also his friendship with kuroo fills me with so much JOY. just hngngngn kozume kenma the absolute light of my life

sakusa: you might think this is a funny one since admittedly we don't know a lot about him, but i really admire sakusa's philosophy (as seen from my itachiyama motto breakdown LMAO). i think the way he looks at things and tries to put in 100% effort into everything he does is a great mindset to have, although i know that's really, really difficult for a lot of people to actually do. i know for me personally i have a long way to go in putting 100% effort into even the little things in my life, but i hope to be on sakusa's level one day!! i'm also a really big fan of pragmatic/practical characters in general - i know sometimes they can be seen as boring or uninteresting, but i love their sense of stability and how they're so often the calm in the storm, like how sakusa was when itachiyama lost their match

yaku: yes, i'm biased for nekoma. yaku's one of my faves bc i can relate to him a lot - always tries to be honest when it counts, has troublesome underclassmen, and short LMAO. also i really love how he's so acknowledged and respected for his skill that we would normally see reserved for the private school students. i mean, yeah, we see it for kageyama and nishinoya as well, but we're given their reasons for going to karasuno at least. with yaku we don't really know WHY he's at nekoma, but it IS clear that he loves it there and he loves the team. i also adore his dynamics with lev and shibayama and how that adds to shibalev as a whole - i always imagine him to be both supportive but internally conflicted LMAAO.

yahaba: i love all second gen captains but yahaba my beloved . . . i am a big big fan of how yahaba actually kicks ass when he doesn't look like it and that it's apparently a thing for him. he's got so much respect for his seniors and he doesn't take shit at all. i'm always wishing we could have gotten more yahaba-oikawa interactions because c'mon yahaba DESERVED more akcnowledgement from his beloved upperclassman, or i wonder what yahaba-kageyama interactions would have been like bc i think how yahaba respects oikawa on a level separate from kageyama's would have made their relationship really interesting!! also no hate on the anime but i'm still slightly salty that we didn't get yahaba with silver hair smh

now moving on to top five moments!!

trash heap battle nationals/practice game parallelism panels: okay i know this one is SUPER specific and don't get me wrong, i love EVERYTHING about the trash heap battle, but my absolute FAVORITE part is when the ball is all the way up in the air and everyone is waiting for it to come down, and we flash from being at a nationals game to karasuno and nekoma just playing a practice game at one of their home courts because HOLY SHIT. the message that karasuno and nekoma playing each other feels like home, feels like something they can just melt into and forget everyone else around them, that they know each other so well they're not worried about anything else other than having fun . . . i love it SO much. like!!!! that scene perfectly encompasses what it means to have the right people by your side and i am not ashamed to admit that i teared up when it was all over

"someone even better will come find you": I WILL NEVER NOT BE OVER HOW FUCKING GOOD THIS WAS??? LIKE WHAT?????? the fact that furudate CHOSE to position this sentence over kageyama and hinata making eye contact each other while in the middle of the adlers v jackals match like WHAT. the entirety of kageyama's backstory was BRILLIANT honestly - like now we know he spent forever waiting for that person!! for someone better!! and he found it in hinata!! and i just hgngndfnfnfnfh this whole fucking quote slaps and i have no idea what the hell propelled furudate to write something so heartbreaking and beautiful but holy SHIT. also i just really really love the adlers and jackals match in general!!

boom jump: the first time hinata successfully did the boom jump i teared up tbh. it was such a gorgeous gorgeous panel, AND it was proof of how far he'd come from the start!! the lights, the people looking up at him, the ultimate faith kageyama had that they 100% could succeed and that hinata was not the same person he used to be - as cheesy as the name is, the boom jump has so much meaning behind it and it was beautifully executed imo. there was no better place or time for kageyama and hinata to have pulled it off than when they did, and i think that's fantastic!!

olympics fistbump: this is going to make me sound like a sentimental sap but when kageyama and hinata bumped fists after they made a play??? beautiful!! stunning!! everything i could have ever wanted for them!! not to mention the build-up to that moment that was a collage of panels of all their friends and supporters that, even to this day, still believe in them?? like i'd get that scene printed on a t-shirt if i could

all star match: okay i'm going to cheat a little bit here because TECHNICALLY this wasn't part of the manga but i couldn't not include it you know?? but when ushijima and oikawa were facing off during the all-star match and oikawa asked him "what do you think of my petty pride now?" and ushijima said "i think it's fantastic" - that made me SO emotional like hfbhksfd they were able to do it out of mutual respect!! dare i say even mild affection!! without any aggression or assholerey!! they really have grown and i was overjoyed to see oikawa and ushijima in such a way it made my heart so FULL. not to mention how much meaning there was behind their words, but that's a whole thing for another time LMAO

[mikaelsrose]

Hii sorry I’m late but 🍓, 🍒, 🍊, 🍈, 🫐 for the fic writer game pleasee? ☺️

Thanks for asking! And sorry for taking so long to answer, these questions are pretty hard and I had to think about them haha

🍓what's a fic you've written that you feel is underrated?

My one shot "Princeling," lol. I know that it's a smut so it's not for everybody, but I think the plot (there is plot! Believe it or not, there is plot😂) is pretty good and I'm still thinking about writing a second part!

🍒What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

I love angst but I think that's obvious if you read my fics😂 I also like fluff! Especially when I write for Tyril and Jude, their relationship is angst x fluff x off-screen smut,lmao

🍊 Who’s a character you don’t write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more? (They’re so interesting! But maybe you have trouble pinning them down, or keep getting distracted by another blorbo…)

I don't write too often for Selene unfortunately, she's my sweet precious baby, and somehow I abandoned her 😭 I'd also like to write more for Adeline, I've so much info about her and I just can't come up with an idea of how to work it into a chapter without it being too out of place.

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

Jude, of course, since I gave birth to him (lol), and Selene! To be honest, now that I think of it Selene is kind of my OC, at least in terms of the modern au 🤔 anyway, I love how different they are at first glance but when you pay attention they're actually not that different and you kind of can make out Tyril's type.

They both have a reflective/contemplative quality which often pushes them to self-destructive activities but they are responsible enough not to let it destroy them completely (I hope that makes sense?). They know how far they can push the limits (especially Jude) and they take advantage of it.

You didn't have a chance to see it yet but Jude can be manipulative as hell. Ngl I'm kinda proud of myself for not making him perfect, I love how destroyed and mean that man can be, lol. I think thats my favourite headcanon.

I don't know if there's something that repeatedly shows up regarding Jude but when it comes to Selene then it's definitely flowers. And the ocean. I think I use quite a lot of metaphors while writing about her and sometimes I think it's actually too much (but then I remember that since I'm the author I make the rules hehe)

I'm not gonna rant too much cause I don't wanna spoil but Selene will come back once I'm done with the Tyril x Jude mini series, and tslof series will return! And don't think it's the last you see Jude!

🫐What’s your favorite underrated thing in your fandom? (A ship that only you seem to write for, a character there’s almost no fics about, a trope that criminally hasn’t been written yet, etc.)

Honestly idk haha, I'll say too little people write modern au blades hahaha

[timegears-moved]

totk rant anon here again! i sent an ask yesterday but it might not have gone through? or you just might not have gotten around to it yet. in case you didn't get it at all, the most important info i wanted to convey is that if you do the windblight fight in air and lightning with any character other than link you get a very interesting line from revali at the end which i feel provides important context for the following cutscene! and if you want i can let you know exactly what he says so you don't have to play through that mission again.

now, on a slightly different note, i'm a bit late in saying this, but i believe you can actually progress relentless as a waterfall even if you have mipha on your team? you just have to take her over to the relevant captain and use her healing powers yourself (either by using her special move or, if you don't have that charged, using her water spout move.) alternately you miiight be able to order her to go there while switched to a different character and that might work too?

to be entirely honest it's been a while since i played through that particular mission so i might be wrong, but i think that generally when missions have requirements for specific characters to do certain things (i.e. move to a specific location) if you have that character on your team you have to do all the work yourself to progress the mission, whereas if they're an npc they'll move on their own. that being said, mipha being a healer makes it a bit more complicated than most instances of this, since she's also required to use her healing powers here, while with most characters all you need to do is move them to the right location.

OOPS sorry anon i did get your other ask but i didn't see it until just now!! i'll answer them both here!

OKAY SO LMAO i just finished redoing air and lightning with your advice (i had to go back and get the korok seeds anyway) and ummm? what the fuck GSJSBSKWJKSH???

jesus christ revali. i have to admit i have seen this quote in another post in his tag before but a lot of the replies were saying that this was in regards to teba??? so i didn't think much of it at the time. but like. learning now that he ONLY says this when you don't play as link makes it obvious that this isn't about teba at all??? insane.

and you're right about it giving additional context to the scene right after. like revali's very abrasive backhanded thanks to link seems to me like it's stemming from embarrassment at being saved by someone he wants to impress (not that he'll ever admit that). but link not being there allows revali an opportunity to say that he doesn't want to seem weak or vulnerable to him.

i'm gonna be honest totk is looking to be my least favourite of the trilogy rn so i'm not too bummed out by that sjbsjejdj. excited to get the aoc dlc though my autism desperately needs it

also in regards to relentless as a waterfall my issue was that my objective never changed from capturing the three outposts even after all of them were captured? i wouldn't have even known that mipha had to heal that captain if i hadn't seen a video of it. i may test what you said out though! not rn since i've had enough of that mission after doing it three times jshsjsosksk but of that is the case i wish the game was more clear on that because it was very confusing.

[narratorstragedy]

12, 13, 29, 33 and 34 for the language asks!

i'm putting these under a read more because wow did this get out of hand. thank you for the questions wren :-)

12. already answered!

13. What do you think about language learning/teaching at school in your country?

i think it sucks! lmao. (in terms of pre-university teaching, bc i think in college it really just depends on the professor.) i can only speak to the public school system in my state but the problem is that unless you are personally motivated you can get an A with mindless memorization & filling out worksheets & never really being able to speak a language. i know people who took 3 years of spanish in high school but because they simply did not care about it their speaking skills are, like, the level of my basque speaking skills (which are essentially nonexistent). also we start way too late in the us (language learning is mandatory only in high school and i never had the opportunity to take a language in school before then), a lot of schools only offer one or two languages so kids can't learn the ones they're actually interested in, & it's just... whatever. ugh! i've been mad about this for years i just feel so dead inside when i think about it.. usamerican public school system moments. i had a great teacher for 2 years of high school & i'm sure there are a lot of great teachers out there in the public school system but it's just sad.

i think it's really different in private schools bc a lot of people at my university were like oh yeah i took mandarin for four years in high school, or korean, or italian, or french and i was like Oh... so we come from two different worlds huh (my school only had spanish and so everyone was forced to study it for 2 years at minimum.)

29. What do you like learning the most? (vocabulary, grammar, writing skills, oral skills… Whatever you can think of!)

i guess vocabulary bc i like fun little words :) and then when i see them or hear them again it's like oh! my friend! but i also kind of like learning about grammatical structures, or at least i have been lately? the other day i watched like 5 youtube videos trying to understand morphosyntactic alignment. So

33. What achievement(s) are you the most proud of?

uhhhh hm i recently read a book in italian which was exciting! also this is kind of lame but the fact that i can basically read anything (literary) in spanish if i want to. of course it's harder than reading in english and if you put a medical text in front of me i'd be like what the fuck but. yeah. one of my favorite parts of learning languages is getting to learn about the literature & history of that language so :)

34. What do you think is the best for learning? Websites and apps or books and notebooks and stuff?

my favorite thing to do is literally just listen to music or watch or read things in a language (once i'm at an intermediate level) to the point where i barely ever watch or listen to anything in english anymore. this is not really a studying strategy because to be honest i've never been one of those #langblr language learners... i just do whatever i want and then take some classes and have fun with it and make a lot of decisions based on vibes. this is because i have not had to learn a language from scratch (ie i don't understand a word of it) since i was a child and i remember nothing of what i did except that i did rosetta stone for months and then when i got to spain i could not communicate at all and came home from my first day of school crying because i had no clue what was happening. so like... i guess what i'm saying is at a certain point just i consume media and try to communicate with people in whatever language i'm learning bc why not. but that doesn't help for beginning language learning bc. you have to actually know some words and grammar lmfaoooo.

i am really a terrible language learner, i just happen to love it. in terms of spanish websites i am in a love-hate relationship with la RAE. my favorite way to distract myself in class is to go dle.rae.es and select the random word function and see if i know any of them, or to put in words and see the expressions that are linked to them. i also have insane, only vaguely organized bookmark folders like this.

[reactionimagesdaily]

if someone was on the fence abt checking out any of your hyperfixations, what would you tell them to persuade them to actually look into it?

basically: what do you think are the best points/parts of the hyperfixes?

Ooh, this is an interesting question! (Thank you for asking it!) I'll have to put some thought in my answer to this one. Or, since you guys are reading this after I've written it, I will have put some thought into this answer xD

Anyways! I'll go through each hyperfixation I mentioned in the QnA post piecemeal, starting with...

(continued under the cut because this one turned into kinda long one, whoops)

BIONICLE

I've already talked at about as much length as I've been able to get away with about Bionicle on this blog, including this post where I do my best to surmize the entire Bionicle canon, and this post where I was asked to show off my Bionicle collection. (Good times xD)

If someone's on the fence about Bionicle, I'd be honest and tell them that it's a story spread out of a great deal of expanded media (toys, comics, online serials, movies, and videos) that was all released between 2001 and 2010. Not that it'll be impossible to consume the story and enjoy it, but it might get a bit finnicky. xD

If you're willing to give it a try, though, you'll be met with, in my obviously biased opinion, a really damn good story. The fact that it's so sprawling, and there are so many smaller stories in it, means that the world feels incredibly realised, and there's probably at least half a dozen serials and comics that fit the exact tone your looking for; whether that tone is 'character gets cut in half by an interdimensional portal that closes on them while they're only partly through', or 'character makes a canon "I use two guns because I have two hands" joke'.

The real strength of the story, though, is that it's very cheesy in a lot of ways, but it's played straight enough, and delivered with enough heart, that it becomes very earnest and a joy to experience. It feels like a classic 'epic' story, akin to something like Lord of the Rings - in LOTR, Aragorn leads the Army of the Dead to save the besieged Minas Tirith from Sauron’s Orcs, and in Bionicle, Jaller leads the Ta-Koro Guard and the Gukko Force to save the Chronicler’s Company from the Rahi. It's that kinda vibe, you know? There's a lot of weird and crazy stuff inside (both in a whimsical sense and in a horrifying sense), but it's played straight, internally consistent, and manages to be cool more often than not. If that sounds like you're thing, then I think Bionicle might be worth checking out :)

TLDR BEST PART: 'Epic' story told across multiple media that's a lot of fun digging into

FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS

Oh, Fallout: New Vegas, my beloved. The more experienced with RPG videogames I've gained over the years, the more convinced I've become that New Vegas is the best RPG videogame. Ok, if you're on the fence about New Vegas, here's what I'd say: the level of narrative control that the player gets is incredible.

A lot of RPG games have an issue where you're kinda railroaded into a plot. To use other examples from the same series; in Fallout 3, you being from a vault with a scientist father is a non-negotiable aspect to your character. (And you probably murdered a whole bunch of security guards to actually leave the vault, whoops.) In Fallout 4, the game's entire plot hinges on whether you give a toss about your kidnapped son - if you don't, or you want to play a character that doesn't, there's a real lack of immersion in so much of the world you interact with, because the game takes for granted the idea that you're invested in the story they've come up with.

In Fallout New Vegas, you are linked to the plot by a single inciting incident (that I won't spoil here because I think it's kinda cool to experience lmao). You wake up, you spend like 8 minutes (or 30 seconds if you know what you want from the get-go) making your character, you leave the building you start in, and from then on, you have total narrative freedom. The plot runs entirely off of your own initiative - if you want to, you can go track it down from the get go (and most people do, because it's a good plot hook that raises a lot of intriguing questions), but if you want to, you can also ignore it completely!! You can follow it in multiple different ways, too - either following clues around the long end of the map, or beelining it through the most dangerous parts of the map straight to the city of New Vegas. And the way the dialogue and characters are written not only accounts for the choices you might make, but also doesn't PRESUME that you're going to deal with this plot, and doesn't force you to keep focusing your character on it all the time. It only comes up when other characters - who were involved in the plot before you ever came along - want to get you involved for their own benefit, and even then, you can feasibly tell 'em all to get stuffed if you want!

I've played through New Vegas like,,, 5-ish times, and I've gone in a different direction from that spawn more or less every time, and I've STILL had a fulfilling RPG experience that I can create a story out of every time so far! It almost feels like a sandbox game, and it's so weird and refreshing. For that aspect alone, I'd say it's worth giving a look! :D

(Also, uh, the actual plot and all of the side quests are really good, and the characters are really great and compelling, and the 4 story DLC are all separate experiences but also have their own interconnected story that coalesces into the last one which is really fuckin cool, and you can go on a mission to find a new brain for a cyborg dog that belongs to a leader of a gang of Elvis Presley impersonators, and also "Nobody's dick's that long. Not even Long Dick Johnson, and he had a fucking long dick, hence the name" is an actual line of dialogue. Just please play New Vegas if you have any interest in story-driven videogames. I'm begging ya.)

TLDR BEST PART: ludicrous amounts of player freedom to engage with a really well-written story how they see fit

MASS EFFECT

Uh, yeah. Me bigging up another RPG videogame right after I just said that New Vegas was the best one is probably a bit weird, huh? (Especially bc I stand by that statement, New Vegas slaps, go play it)

But here's the thing. Mass Effect does essentially drag you along on a story it's telling. But the story it's telling is - for the most part! - really fucking compelling and well-put-together. It's this big, longform story set in a Star Trek universe (intimate and interesting sci-fi detail) with Star Wars protagonists (interesting, violent, madcap characters), and as someone who's had a lot of fun with modern science fiction, it hit really well for me xD

Actually, I'd take it further than 'hit really well' - I honestly have no idea why it worked for me specifically, but it was the most engaging and, like, visceral gaming experience I can remember having. Project Overlord had me hunched over a sink genuinely worried I was gonna throw up, the Citadel DLC had me laughing out loud and gleefully liveblogging my whole experience to my friends who'd already played it, and the ending - lame as I'd heard it was gonna be - still left a pit in my gut, in a good way.

(I think in my case it helped that I played it with the perfect level of contextual knowledge vs. going in blind. I did my first playthrough with the Legendary edition (all 3 games + all DLC in one remastered package), so I wasn't missing out on anything, and I knew going in that the ending was bad enough that people were complaining about coloured lights almost a decade down the line, which meant that I'd built it up enough in my head that when it happened I was like "oh, that wasn't actually that bad".)

My TLDR is that it's a really really engaging story with some ESPECIALLY amazing character work (oh, man, the characters/companions and the dynamics you can build with them basically make this trilogy). Just get the legendary edition (because some of the best companions are technically DLC, because fuckin' EA), get a friend who's played it before to nudge you and make sure you don't miss any of the little details, and assume that the ending sucks, and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. :D

(Also the 4th game (Andromeda) isn't as bad as a lot of people say it is but my fixation here is really on the original trilogy, so that's what I'm referring to with this one. Fingers crossed for the 5th installment!)

TLDR BEST PART: Fun adventure with really well-realised characters that grips you emotionally in a way that few videogames (to my knowledge) have been able to lay claim to

WARRIOR CATS

I think the most interesting thing about this series is that it's pretty raw? for a series that's marketed to children?? I'm aware that's not a unique thing, I know about Animorphs and Watership Down - and hey, I grew up on The Clone Wars - but it's still noteworthy! And what's cool about it in Warrior Cats, like it is in these other media, is that it doesn't really feel forced, or gratuitous, or even necessarily contradict the fact that it's media aimed at a younger audience (even if I'm not sure they wouldn't have gotten away with some of the stuff they did if it wasn't done with cats lmao).

The main plot compliments these darker elements as well - it's essentially a character drama built around secrets and political espionage, as well as an outsider's perspective clashing with longstanding traditions; exploring why those traditions are in place, but also what kind of damage they can cause.

And hey, the characters are good too! I'd argue that the 'Clan' dynamic hits its peak in the first series (the first 6 books) and never really reaches the same heights in later series, but I think every story arc so far has had multiple characters that people have really enjoyed. The fact that the entire series has taken place over -multiple generations- at this point is something that a lot of other media doesn't get the chance to do, and it serves a lot of Warrior Cats' longform storytelling really well (even if some of the writing decisions that the authors have made over the decades have been [???] lmao).

TLDR BEST PART: Longform dramatic storytelling that has some really compelling character and plotwork, and also has some grim shit happen without going over-the-top or being obnoxious about it

(Personally I'd recommend just the first 9 books in the series - that's the 'Prophecies Begin' series and the first half 'New Prophecy' series - because I think that's Warrior Cats at its peak, but there's things to enjoy in every story arc if you want to read further ^_^)

-

--

---

Aand that's me talking about those hyperfixations I mentioned! Sorry it took so long to finally publish an answer to this ask - a lot of thought went into this one xDD