#I'm predicting that she is going to develop a crush on him. It isn't going to go anywhere.

[merkerlerspeaks]

ik a lot of people want it but I just simply do not think that simon & fionna can have a father/daughter relationship. Not without it being weird.

[dracosbabygirl8]

TWIN

Theodore Nott x reader!Matteo Riddle’s twin sister - PART 2

Summary : in which Theodore Nott develops a forbidden crush on his twin sister's best friend in three situations (inspired by this tiktok)

Warning : toxic siblings relationship, mention of alcool and smoke (lmk if i missed any)

n/a : it's my very first writing, and I'm soooo nervous to post it!! and i also questioned myself if i had to provide a better ending. i just love the suspens and the tension in this one, but if you wanted more details about what private place you go, just let me know, and i’ll add it in the second part (yeah, it's already in the works). hope you enjoy

As Mattheo Riddle's twin sister, navigating daily life isn't a walk in the park. While he can be an incredible brother, showering you with everything you desire and providing unwavering comfort in times of distress, his overprotective nature poses a challenge. No one dares to approach you as he harbors a deep distrust, particularly towards men.

You're in the slytherin common room, casually hanging out with Pansy, Enzo and Blaise when Theo, Matteo, and Draco join you after their weekly quidditch training.

As soon as Matteo enters, he lightly taps your shoulder, which is touching Enzo's shoulder due to the smallness of the sofa you're seated on « hey more space, shawty » he remarks. You chuckle and roll your eyes, finding him quite ridiculous, but you oblige, shifting forward to avoid bothering your brother, who seems to be in a delighted mood, likely due to their quidditch win against ravenclaw.

Draco wanted to teases him a bit « let her breathe mate, she needs to experiment yk, have a boyfriend, etc » he says while lighting a cigarette. « Oh, i had a boyfriend once » you share with a mischievous glint in your eyes. Blaise jumps in with curiosity « and... how did it end? ».

You turn your head, your eyes narrowing as you fix a deep, playful stare on Matteo, your tongue rolling on your cheeks « and…he broke his jaw ». Laughter ripples through everyone, and amidst the chuckles, you catch a faint « that was predictable » from Theo, who observing the dynamic between you and your twin brother, shoots you an amused look, recognizing the subtle nuances in your expressions. Undeterred, you retort « yeah, but we were 11... » casting a mischievous glance at Matteo, who now sports a proud, devilish smile, you add « poor Craig... » in a hushed whisper, you shake your head in a sorry way before erupting into laughter with the others.

•••

You take place in the Great Hall patiently awaiting Matteo’s return from detention, you focus on a parchment resting on your lap. Meanwhile, Theo enter the Great Hall either, he see you, lonely sitting, while reading your parchment. Pretty as always, distinguished as always, like you were out from a fairytale.

He approach you confidently. You feel his intense gaze, accompanied by the wisps of smoke from his cigarette. « may i join? » you just replies with a light « sure » he take place next to you, dangerously close. « What are you doing here? » he attempts to start a conversation « uh- just waiting for Mattie to get out of detention. I had to give him my notes from potions before his quidditch training, n’you? » you answer. « Waiting for him to go to quidditch training » he replies, smiling lightly. « Is it your notes? » he points to your parchment, and you nod. He moves a bit closer, your knees now touching. « You’ve beautiful handwriting » he says while leaning, his words dancing tantalizingly close to your cheeks, the warmth of his breath and the alluring blend of his cologne and cigarette teasing your senses, sending shivers down your spine.

You turn your head towards Theo, faces remarkably close, and you find yourself lost in his deep green eyes. However, as you spot Matteo descending the stairs in the background, you swiftly step back on the bench in a heartbeat, creating a more formal distance between you and Theo.

« What are you two doing here? » Matteo inquires, reaching an eyebrow as he approches. « We were just waiting for you. I wanted to give you this since you overslept this morning, it's the notes from the potion class that you missed » you explain while handing him your parchment, Matteo expresses his gratitude by offering a light embrace and kissing your forehead.

« Here we go, mate, we'll be late for the match, i have to change » he says to Theo, already hurrying off and heads towards the stairs.

Before following him, Theo stands up and suggests « yk i think we should go out together sometime » looking down on you. Lifting your face towards him, you internally question if you heard him correctly « no- i mean, i don’t date my brother friend’s- sorry » you respond with a light smile, wondering if it might be a stupid test orchestrated by Matteo. « Oh that’s suck- i guess i should have kicked his ass then » he replies with a smirk on his face, stubbing out his cigarette and abruptly start to walk, leaving you alone with your heart racing dangerously fast.

•••

Pansy informs you that Draco will be hosting a party in the slytherin common room tonight. Despite being aware that it will undoubtedly irk your dear brother, you are determined to attend the party. You begin preparing yourself, opting for a subtle makeup look, donning earrings, and choosing a dress that strikes a balance between not being too provocative yet clearly not formal, for the occasion.

As you walk through the corridor, the booming music and lively cheers signal that the party is in full swing already. You're well aware that your brother — likely already drunk or high, or both — is somewhere amidst the revelry. A slight unease settles in; you know how unpredictable he can be, especially if he's not in the mood or if someone approaches too closely. Despite this, you muster a resolve, telling yourself « no- not tonight »trying to convince yourself and boost your confidence, you repeat silently « i’m an adult, capable of making my own decisions ».

As you make your entrance, you subtly scan the crowded room to locate your brother, intending to steer clear of him as much as possible, « the magic trick is to avoid eye contact » Pansy says with a chuckle, guiding you to move in the opposite direction of Matteo and his friends — who are, incidentally, your friends as well — are seated.

As you approach the table to grab a drink in a green goblet, the sensation of numerous eyes on you is palpable. Engaging in conversation with fellow girls students, you gradually find your way to the dance floor, feeling a bit tipsy. Joining Pansy, fully immersed in the beat, you begin to sway your hips to the rhythm, surrounded by other drunk students from various houses. You’re suddenly yanked by the wrist, and a familiar voice demands, « what tf are you doing here? » you sigh; facing this situation was inevitable, knowing he would spot you eventually. « Well, i was just yearning for a generous dose of infantilization from my dear twin brother, so naturally, i found the prime spot for it. Thrilled to see you here too » you retort, rolling your eyes. He doesn't bother responding, guiding you towards the group seated on the couch. He turns to face you, raising an eyebrow, poised to question you once again, « just here to enjoy the party, same as you » you reply after a sigh « stop treating me like a fucking child, can you ? » you add. He settles into a seat, commanding « fine, stay next to me then. I didn't like the way they all dance around you » with a resigned sigh, you lower yourself onto the sofa, a tinge of disappointment lingering. Positioned between Matteo and Theo, you observe Draco, Blaise, and Enzo engrossed in a spirited debate on who is the sexier girl at this party while sipping on their whiskies.

« What a way to enjoy a party » you whisper between your teeth, arms crossed. Theo ear you and chuckles, « want to try it? » he hands you a blunt. Smoking is nothing new to you, and he knows that. You indulge in cigarettes daily and experiment with weed during parties surprisingly receiving Matteo's approval. You accept, take the blunt and muttering a quick « thank you » to him. As you savor the hits from the loaded blunt, the smoke lingering in the air, you immerse yourself in a conversation with Theodore.

Despite finding him very attractive, you haven't talked with him much, especially one-on-one. Unsure if it's because he doesn't like you (or quite the opposite) or if you lack the courage to talk with your brother's best mate, whom you've secretly fancied for so long.

The conversation delves into things and other, drifting effortlessly from one subject to another, punctuated by shared laughter at his jokes and reciprocal smiles. Suddenly, he says « uh- you’ve got a bit of lipstick—just right here », he point out the corner of your mouth. Embarrassment flushes your cheeks, and as you reach to wipe it off, he leans in, his thumb brushing the side of your mouth, « and there you go » he says, offering a smile. You feels your ear and your cheeks burn from his move and his smile. You smile him back. Unbeknownst to you, the entire scene unfolds before Matteo, who abruptly crashes onto the sofa between you two, declaring, « fine, enough conversation » while death staring at Theo.

A sigh escapes you, it's incredible how your brother manages to disrupt everything. Irritation seeps in as you become increasingly bored. Rising from the sofa, you announce « i’m a bit sleepy, guys, i'll head back to my dorm, g’night ». They wish you a restful sleep, and as you stand up, Matteo asks, « do you need me to accompany you until your door? » secretly hoping Theo would offer, you respond, « no, it's okay, i’ll find my way, don't worry ». Taking your time to bid farewell to friends, you discreetly search for Pansy to tell her about your quick interaction with Theo. When you can’t find her you leave the room in direction of your dorm.

During this time, Theo replays every moment of your conversation in his mind—the brightness of your laughter at his silly remarks, the way your hair cascades perfectly over your face, and the sensation of your warm skin against his fingertips. Lost in these thoughts, he stands up abruptly, stating, « uh- i’ll grab a pack of cigarettes from my dorm » and departs without waiting for the group’s reaction.

As he exits the common room, instead of heading to his dorm, he veers towards yours, hoping to run into you in the corridor. « Already heading to bed? » you inquire upon recognizing Theodore's silhouette in the darkness « uh- yeah, not really. Actually, I was searching for a pack of cigarettes in my dorm » he answers a bit surprised. « Isn't your dorm in the opposite direction? » you respond, a hint of doubt in your voice « hm yeah, you get a point. Tbh, i was searching for you » he admits with an embarrassed smile while scratching the back of his head, in the dimly lit corridor, you look at him a bit confused, he step forward and confesses « i guess we didn’t finish our conversation earlier ».

Seated on the corridor floor, you share deep conversations and cigarettes together. During a comfortable silence, Theo inquires « isn't it annoying to have Matteo as a brother? » while staring at the wall in front of you. « Oh, definitely! He's nice and all, but he tend to put a damper on my freedom. There are plenty of things that i want to do, but he doesn't allow me... » you share, exhaling a puff of smoke, « and if he stopped preventing you from everything, what's the first thing you'd do? » Theo locks eyes with you, his gaze intense and unwavering. You lock eyes with him, torn between sharing the genuine answer or letting it linger unspoken. As the alcohol and weed take hold, you consider whether to reveal the truth. Summoning by a burst of courage, you smirk lightly and say « this... » before crashing your lips onto his. Your arms wrap around his neck, he kisses you back instantly, placing his hand on your waist and deepening the kiss. Seconds pass in this intoxicating embrace before you separate to catch your breath.

« Are we waiting here for your brother, or should we find a more private place? » he inquire with a husky voice and a smirk on his face, the lingering warmth of the kiss still palpable.

masterlist

[apatheticlexicographer]

i'm about to get mauled ALIVE for saying this but here goes:

i think m'leven's relationship should be based on a mutually requited crush. both the implications it would have on their personal development as characters and the message it would send to the audience would be substantially more impactful, healthy, and progressive than if they only dated out of obligation. in fact, the thematic message of their relationship SIMPLY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE without a foundation of genuine romantic attraction.

still with me??? okay, good.

when shows deal with romance they tend to fall into the categories of either having pretty much every character shipped with every other character at some point, or of having the endgame ships be the most obviously pushed from the start. byler has definitely been built up from the start, but the majority of the show's audience didn't consider it as an option for canon until s4, when they started making it blatant. hell, a lot of people didn't even realize WILL was queer until s3 (again, when the show started to place heavy emphasis on it), and even then a lot of people thought he might be ace rather than gay.

mike and el, on the other hand, were practically the show's flagship couple for the first 2 seasons at least. it wasn't until s3 that their popularity started to dip and their relationship began to receive a lot more criticism. which makes sense, considering they hadn't actually been IN said relationship in the previous seasons. they had a couple of romantic interactions, sure, but we didn't see how they would interact *as a couple*. people obviously couldn't predict how their dynamic would actually pan out!!! that isn't to say that the negative aspects of their relationship were a bait-and switch, though: red flags were visible since at least s2, but they were far from being the focal point and a lot of shippers interpreted them as being cute (like el's jealousy over max).

having a show acknowledge the fact that the first person you get a crush on (because correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure they're canonically each other's first crush???) isn't necessarily your ~soulmate~ is a great thing. even better when they go a step further, and play with the concept!!! the text of stranger things doesn't actually push m'leven as a paragon of romantic love. if you listen to what the other characters say about their (romantic) relationship, their opinions are entirely neutral/negative???

lucas teases mike about his crush in s1, but calls him hopeless in s3. hopper is out of line with how agressively he acts about their relationship, but the resolution of that character arc for him is about him acknowledging that he's been overbearing and accepting that he needs to let el grow up, and NOT some hammy realization that "what they have is true love, i was wrong to interfere!!!" max thinks their clinginess is sweet at first in s3, but she isn't very close with either of them. once she and el start to bond AND SHE LEARNS THAT EL HAS NO EXPERIENCE WITH ROMANTIC ATTRACTION OUTSIDE OF MIKE she encourages el to assert her own self-worth and dump him. [which... actually mirrors the progression of opinions in a lot of audience members??? 🤔🤔]

and those are just a few examples!!! i won't go on an exhaustive list, because honestly we'd be here all day.

furthermore, m'leven's steady downward trajectory is not the only instance of the show basically dunking on the trite expectation that a character's first love interest is automatically their happily-ever-after, AND the recurring motif that any relationships a character explores before their endgame ship are wrong because the alternate love interest is Bad.

dustin has his first crush (onscreen, anyway) on max in s2, but ends the season happy despite his sadness over rejection and later gets together with a girl who's basically his perfect match. in s3, robin confides to steve about how she was so far gone for tammy that she would cry into her pillow. in s4 she's able to laugh over just how bad her singing is without denying it, and is tentatively flirting with vickie. joyce was genuinely really happy with bob, but after having time to heal from the tragedy of what happened to him she's ready to move on with hopper.

again, not an exhaustive list. why??? because outside of m'leven, the only relationships where the characters ARE each other's first love interest are: lumax, whose entire arc together is about growing up as a couple (you know, the exact arc m'leven shippers pin on mike and el, as if it would make sense for 2 couples to have the same format and message...); stancy, which is only one prong of Love Triangle Hell and the controversy around it speaks for itself; and TED AND KAREN. WHO ARE POINTED OUT EXPLICITLY BY THE TEXT OF THE SHOW IN S1 NO LESS, TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF A WORST TIMELINE FUTURE THAT CHARACTERS DO NOT WANT TO REPEAT.

but if you're reading this, you already know all of that.

the point i'm trying to make is that stranger things shows a consistent palette of themes across all the relationships it portrays. i've obviously been going over the romantic ones, but this applies at least as much to the plationic bonds as well. those themes are of GROWING AND MATURING, of SHIFTING DYNAMICS, and of BECOMING SECURE IN YOUR PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE.

i'm sorry but to present a pair of characters with apparent mutual feelings; to elaborate on how dysfunctional their relationship is; and to ultimately reveal to the audience that actually they were both just confused, they never had feelings for one another in the first place and that's why their relationship didn't work out; sends an extremely mediocre message, to put it nicely. all the characters learn from that lived experience is "don't date people you don't have feelings for, and if you were unsure about how real those feelings were... get good???" meanwhile, all the audience learns from that VIEWED experience is "if the relationship doesn't work, it's because the people involved don't like each other enough." if byler goes on to be canon and is immediately much healthier, that only enforces that shitty message. in that situation the only reason THEIR relationship works while mike and el's didn't is that they actually have feelings for one another!!!

from a show which has explored complex arcs and messages with *LITERALLY EVERY OTHER RELATIONSHIP* they touch on, this would be beyond disappointing. particularly as the central message for the arc of 2 of the mainest main characters in the whole show!!!

on the other hand, to present a pair of young characters at the start of the show and flag them as having an obvious mutual crush; to allow them to explore that crush as a serious prospect; to have them realize that their relationship is dysfunctional; and to have them move on as friends; sends???

a great???

fucking???

message???

they both get to progress and move on as more enriched people than they would have been without their time in a relationship, and that is fucking wonderful.

el has a deeper understanding of romantic interactions based on actual lived experience and not just TV shows. she's able to develop into her fledgeling sense of identity more securely with the knowledge that relationships can change, and that's okay. not everything has to be forever.

mike understands how to process and manage his own feelings much better, and is equipped with a firsthand understanding of how a relationship can become emotionally dysfunctional without proper communication, making him ready to enter a new, healthier relationship. he has displayed the same overprotective behaviours towards will as he has to el, but he's begun to learn how to manage them so that he doesn't stifle his partner. after previously failing to communicate his feelings to both el and will in s3 when he fought with them, he's been making a deliberate point of doing so in s4. this didn't work with el when he tried to open up about his own experience with bullying, but it DID work with will when he admitted to his failings in balancing relationships.

are either of them finished in their personal arcs??? no, of course not!!! they're not even fifteen!!! but they have both grown as people, not in spite of their romantic relationship, but BECAUSE of it. you don't change as you grow up, so much as you start to understand yourself better. but self-discovery and subsequent self-acceptance CANNOT come without self-explaration.

it's okay to try things out, and it's okay if they don't end up being right for you.

meanwhile, the broader message about relationships that this imparts on the audience is an extremely important one. one which gets overlooked continually by storytellers in every industry. one which the show itself has brushed on, but not explored in depth.

one which fandom, in particular, likes to ignore.

ATTRACTION ≠ COMPATIBILITY

(...and that's okay!!!)

[skania]

Do you think kana would be perfect for aqua once he tells her everything and heals from his trauma? Kana is light his bright shining star and kana long term crush on aqua will be a good payoff for once. Akane will probably see that kana is best for him and help them get together? I see fans theorize on this and I want to hear your opinion

I typed a reply to this and Tumblr lost it! 😭

I'll also replying to these here because they're all Aq/Kan related:

I'd also like the chance to clarify something. I'm not here to convince anyone that Aqua/Kana won't happen! It could very well happen! A part of me is expecting it to happen,not because it'd be the best outcome but because it's the most predictable one lmao

So yeah, I'm not here for that and I'm not interested in doing so either. I'm here to talk about Akane, Aqua and AquaKane and all the reasons why they won me over and why I personally find them much more satisfying!

Forgive me for the PSA anons, I'm answering these but I need to redirect my agenda to the ship I actually ship lmao

To summarize what I wrote before Tumblr ate my reply, of course there are theories like those because it's the most obvious reading of the manga. If you take every Aqua and Kana interaction at face value, it's natural to come to that conclusion. And they could very well be right, maybe Aka is subverting expectations by making us think he is above going for the obvious, only to do exactly that. It's possible! The ships in Kaguya were blatantly obvious, too.

Except. And here is the big thing. Aka has already written a character that approaches love in the same way Kana does. This character is Maki. She was in love with a boy but never did anything about it. The consequence? The boy started to like her best friend and pursued her. What did Maki do? Nothing. The boy and her best friend started to date, a casual relationship turned to love, and Maki did nothing but mope pretty much exactly like Kana. Was Maki's love rewarded at the end? No, because Aka portrayed her inaction as wrong.

Now, the main difference between Kana and Maki is that Aqua may very well be into her, too. But the rest of the picture remains the same: lack of action from Kana, a complete lack of development between them, etc., while Aqua and Akane have gone through like 10 different relationship stages in that same amount of time, growing closer each time.

So which road you find most rewarding depends on which road you personally think has been more developed in the manga. Same goes for whether you think Kana would be perfect for Aqua; I think that at the surface, the manga wants the reader to get that impression. But is she really? Kana is too naive. Whenever Aqua manipulates her, she blindly falls right into it. She wears her heart on her sleeve; this may be refreshing to Aqua, but it also puts Kana at a clear disadvantage because he knows exactly what to say and do to get her to react exactly how he wants her to. Would theirs be a relationship between equals? Right now, I'm not sure I can see it.

But you know what? It's actually impossible to know how Kana would fare around Aqua, the whole Aqua, because we have simply never seen it. Aqua's darkness has always been kept from her. And the scenario you're painting here involves a perfectly healthy Aqua, but he may never be like that. I am definitely hoping he heals and I'm sure he will heal, but that won't magically erase everything he has gone through. Is Kana equipped to deal with that? Maybe, maybe not. We won't know until Aka actually allows her to see all of Aqua.

So all in all, my thoughts are that it's kind of pointless to worry about this. You either enjoy Aqua/Akane's dynamic more or you don't. There isn't a right answer, it's subjective.

I have no thoughts about this lol Akane was just trying to reassure Aqua, she had no idea that Aqua had never done emotional acting before because at this point, she was only getting to know him. Akane isn't the type to force her way through without first having a clear understanding of what is going on inside the person.

Once she sees how he acted in the past, Akane figures it all out and gets to the heart of the matter. What does Aqua act for? Why does he want to act in the first place?

And she doesn't settle for Aqua not giving her a straight answer.

Ai was Ruby's light too. Was Ruby in love with Ai?

In this manga, being someone's light doesn't have to be romantic. Now, I'm not saying Aqua's feelings for Kana aren't romantic; like I've said a bunch of times, the in-your-face reading of the manga is that they are.

I'm saying that Kana being Aqua's light doesn't automatically mean she's his one true love, because being a light for someone isn't an inherently romantic concept in this manga.

As for whether Aqua was "forcing" himself to think he would be better off with Akane...

Aqua dated Akane because he wanted to and he stayed with Akane because he wanted to; because she did him good. Aqua's actions show a dedicated boyfriend who literally calls his girlfriend every night.

But Aqua's happiness was built on Aqua deliberately turning his eyes away from the truth about Kamiki. Rather than face the music, Aqua ran away. Same goes for his bond with Kana. Instead of having a honest talk with her, Aqua let his trauma get the best of him and simply cut her off his life.

I think deep down, Aqua was aware that he was running away. But by running away, he was able to spend his days in relative peace. So even when Gotanda spelled out the truth to him, Aqua couldn't find it in himself to stop running.

Of course, this is only part of what weights Aqua down during his "freedom" period. I believe another thing that weights Aqua down is that he hasn't told Akane that he is Goro. Despite all the truths he has told her, he is still hiding this from her, and we know for a fact that he sees this as him "deceiving her."

All of this, coupled with Aqua's inherent trauma which shapes itself into thinking: Do I even deserve to be happy? shackle Aqua to the past he is desperately trying to run away from.

But this is such an interesting topic that it probably deserves its own post lol

[extraclwnporeal]

Steve Harrington sucks at keeping secrets.

(That one is long and english is not my mother language).

Steve can remember it — even though he was 7 at the time. Tommy stopped by Harrington's house and rushed to Steve's room. All of sudden there was a young and freckled and smiley Tommy shaking Steve to make him swear to keep it a secret that he kissed Carol for the first time.

The morning after, all of school knew. Steve didn't do it because he was mean, he just couldn't tell that it was something bad or unworthy of being proud upon — his best friend kissed a girl, after all. Carol did kick Tommy's ankles for telling Steve, and Tommy did give Steve a two day long silent treatment for telling the whole school, tho.

He couldn't even keep his own secrets, dear God. Steve's travels and grades and hook ups and hated foods were everybody's business, if it depended on him. Of course, that extended to his personal, personal life.

Steve Harrington always knew he was bi and was cool with it, since, well, everyone just assumed he was straight. There was no risk on it if everybody just assumed otherwise, he figured. The way he eyed guys at trainings and spent too much time alone at Tommy's house and had a soft spot for his swimming team couldn't mean anything, Steve's a ladies man after all, isn't he?

Yeah, he was fine. Until he met Eddie.

The day Steve met the metalhead, the DM, the guy Dustin couldn't shut the fuck up about, he was lost. Eddie was a magnet to Steve's eyes, his voice was melodic and all his manners made Steve smile, how did he do that? Suddenly he understood why his kids kept telling Steve how he and Eddie would get along just right — Steve hoped they would.

Eddie walks by and Steve has this impulse to just follow the guy with his eyes, not really caring who was around — especially if they're alone with the party. Time goes by and it gets worse, because now they know each other. Oh, Eddie was prone to talk to Steve now, to spend time alone and have their own inside jokes. And Steve's infatuation wasn't just glances anymore: he got vocal about it.

He compliments Eddie's curly hair, his handmade or customized clothes, the eyeliner Max bought for him, his painted nails and smiles and the way he light up the mood every time he enters a room. Yeah, Eddie is always willing to listen to any sort of rant Steve might go by and not make him feel dumb about anything he says. Steve feels safe and that's new, that's good. He might feel he's developing a massive crush but, yeah, that should be predictable by now. Predictable and pretty much noticeable.

Robin was a genius, Steve's sure of it. She could tell a musical note by ear, learn a foreign language in the middle of a crisis and is pretty good at acting her way out a situation. It doesn't matter that much, of course, because you don't need to be a genius to notice when Steve have a crush: you just need to be his friend.

Steve would go on full debates about Eddie and she would engage him on it.

“I swear, Robin, his hair is so soft, someday I will touch it if he lets me.”

“Oh, tell me about it, dingus.”

And he does. All day along, if she gives him the freedom. He does it because Robin's a safe person, and it's fun, it's so fucking fun it's unfair — be all giddy and silly and keep talking about a guy with his best friend, God. And she doesn't know he is well aware that it is a crush, just letting him be. Until, of course, she points it out — because it could be dangerous for him to go on and tell everybody about other guy's cologne and shit —, and all he says is a shy “hm, well, I know?”. She looks at him dead in the eye.

“What do you mean by 'I know'?”.

“I'm bi, Robs”.

Her eyes are wide. “Then why the fuck did you get so nervous when I told you I'm a lesbian?!”

“Don't be unfair, I wasn't nervous! I'm just not good at keeping other people's secrets.”

And she couldn't argue with it. He is shitty at hiding that kind of thing even if it is about himself, you know.

Dustin knows — he is the second one to do so. Of fucking course he knows. Because the little prat is always there, gravitating between his two older brothers for enough time to notice that they were always glued together, intertwined in their little world. Enough time to notice how Steve's eyes lit up as soon as Eddie entered the room and headed straight for him. Enough to notice that they were both smiling more, talking more, a little happier. And of fucking course he went straight to make fun of Steve.

When Steve was driving Dustin to a D&D session — what he, suspiciously and enthusiastically, volunteered to do —, they were both in silence. Steve was smiling like a dork and Dustin eyed him curiously. All of sudden, he shouted: “Do you like Eddie?”.

And Steve almost crashed the car.

“Hey, watch out, you dick, I didn't die to interdimensional creatures yet so I refuse to die because of you!”. And Steve doesn't laugh, so Dustin is a little unnerved cause usually he would've. Yeah, he was tense.

“Sorry for being so straightforward, didn't mean to startle you”, Dustin says, softly.

Steve looks at him for the first time, eyes watering just a little bit by noticing the kid's tone was reassuring and sweet. He sighs — that idiot.

“It's okay if you like him”, Dustin assures, not keen on making fun of him anymore, “really”.

And Steve softens. Because why on Earth would he think that Dustin could be anything but supportive? He hugs Dustin. An awkward hug, cause he was on verge of crying and the positions in the car were weird, but a good hug nonetheless. “I do”, Steve says, “liked him for a while now. I like girls and dudes, okay?”.

Dustin smiles widely. “You were always greedy, man. Who knows about it?”

“Only Robin”. And Dustin winces.

“What?”

“I might have discussed it with Lucas too”. Okay, great. First Robin, and then Dustin, and now Lucas, which meant Max also knew. It was getting complicated.

“He's okay with it — I'm sure everybody in our group is —, and he told me that I should say that he's bi too, if it makes you feel better?”.

Steve shout him a look, a really, really confused one. “What?”.

Dustin shrugs. “They come in packs, man”.

And then, finally, there was Nancy. As if he wasn't going to be humiliated enough, his ex would find out how whipped he was for the weirdest guy they know. But, to his surprise, none of it was humiliating, not even awkward.

Steve was a touchy person, specially with loved ones. He was willing to hold hands, hug, kiss their cheeks; and Nancy did know it firsthand. And when she saw Steve not-so-subtly going out of his way to put his arms over Eddie's shoulders, to pet his hair — he finally got the pass to do it whenever he wanted, just 'as long as you don't ruin my curls, Harrington' —, or hold his waist from behind, the way he only did to his girlfriends, something clicked. She walked on them during a meeting in the Harrington house. Loud music, some weed, friends kissing: like the old times, minus the underage drinking.

Steve had a smiley Eddie by his side and a hand on his leg, drawing circles on his skin with his fingers while they talked. Then Eddie got up (getting a frown from Steve), to run to the toilet because 'Mother Nature is calling, sweetheart'.

And Nancy waltzed to him, two beers in her hands. Steve smiled brightly at her, saying a really soft and maybe a little drunk “Nance!”.

She handed him a beer. “Having fun? I kinda missed those parties, you know.”

And he looked around, his kids talking loud and laughing and Mike shamelessly eyeing the beers he was not allowed to touch. “I did, too”, he smiled, looking at her again. “What are you so smiley for?”.

“I was just looking at you, all happy talking with Eddie”, she took a sip from her beer can, and Steve blushed.

“I'm glad I got to know him better”. Even if it was in that shitty context, he almost added, but didn't — because why would he? Everything was okay now.

“You two are getting along, aren't you?”, she softly punched his arm. “I'm proud of you, I mean, you found someone that makes you feel all sappy”.

He looked at her deep in the eyes, maybe to find that spot of mockery he expected from everyone. But there was none. It was Nancy. The same Nancy that helped him study to graduate, laughed at his stupid jokes.

“Thank you”. He whispered. “He really does make me happy. The happiest”.

She grinned, like she always does when she makes a correct guess. “You deserve it”. And then she gets back to her old spot, listening to Robin and her rant about some new movie that her menager won't put on the shelves no matter how hard she begs. She smiles even more.

It's not a surprise that Eddie was the last one to know. Because what Steve had in obviousness Eddie had in obliviousness. Sure, Steve's words and acts were a little weird, but not in a bad way. Sure, his tummy was filled with butterflies each time Harrington leaned forward to better listen to him talk about his favorite bands, even though he knows Steve's not understanding shit. Sure, he was dragging Steve along his nerd shit and, sure, Steve was willing to be dragged. But that was because Steve was a gentleman. Felling funny next to him was natural and expected, because he is charming and touchy and really, really good at making Eddie laugh. So, he kind of accepted it. He was liking Steve. In love, if you will. And was pretty mad at himself for it — Steve Harrington, of all people.

So, months go by. And Steve is still in love, and Eddie is still in love, and none of them are actually doing anything about it. Until there's Christmas. And they were stuck together in Eddie's trailer because snow was thick and Eddie didn't want Steve to risk himself driving home.

They were watching The Grinch, cause Eddie said he liked the guy — enough to wear a ugly sweater with Grinch's face in it, telling Santa Claus to fuck off. Steve thought the green grumpy thing looked like Eddie, but didn't say so, because the blonde Who lady might look a little too much like Steve and that may be used against him.

They were cuddling on the couch, and that happened without much thinking. They just sat down and in the next moment they were as glued as it comes. Steve was playing with Eddie's hair, the movie almost on it's end. Eddie was holding on Steve's torso, seeking the warmth the weather wasn't providing that night.

Steve's hands lowered, caressing Eddie's back, and he shuddered.

“What's wrong?”, Steve asked, voice hoarse from being unused.

“Feelin' cold”, Eddie whispered. “Could you lay lower? I wanna hug you”. Steve didn't have to be asked twice. He lowered himself and was facing Eddie now. His nose and mouth red from the cold weather, making him look like a deer — with his pretty doe eyes.

Steve smiled, hugging Eddie and putting his chin on his shoulder. “There you go”. He felt Eddie's smile against his skin. “It's late, wanna sleep?”.

Silence. And then a silky voice ghosting his ear. “Could we stay here a little more?”. Eddie turned his face back at him, finding Steve's lips in a pout, and his eyes closed. Eddie's cologne really felt like heaven that night.

Steve opened his eyes, finding an amused Eddie in front of him. “What?”.

Eddie chuckled. “I'm trying to figure you out”.

Steve smiled. “What did you conclude so far?”.

“That you like to be held, and gets really beautiful when sleepy”. He said shamelessly. It was really late and his mouth had it's own mind now.

Steve blinked. “Do I?”.

Eddie's eyes also had their own mind now, flickering between Harrington's hooded eyes and his mouth. “You do, I swear”.

Steve got to catch Eddie's eyes on his mouth for a little too long. And whispered a low, low 'Eddie'.

Steve was trembling, just a little bit. Eddie was pretty and the night was perfect and all that rightness made him disconcerted, the butterflies in his tummy dancing like crazy.

Unbeknownst by him, Eddie was feeling the same. God, having a former ladies man in his arms on Christmas night was almost killing him, specially if said ladies man was looking so, so beautiful by dawn light.

They kissed, not sure about who started it, but glad enough it happened. They kissed for minutes or hours more, who cares. But they kissed, fucking finally.

And they didn't have the guts to get up and go to bed, so Wayne was the one to find the two of them sleeping on the couch the next morning, with The Grinch tape still on.

Yeah, Robin, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Nancy and Wayne: now them all knew. After all, Steve Harrington sucks at keeping secrets.

(Adapted from my twitter account @/sillycervero).

[piduai]

I saw that you tagged sugi with "character assassination of the decade" and i couldn't agree more, crazy how shogun ass arc felt like the absolute peak of gntm and especially sugi's character and then everything afterward fell completely flat thanks to that nonsensical uts*ro twist. it's not even that i hate the idea of shoyo being evil before becoming a schoolteacher (in fact i think most ppl predicted he was connected to the naraku back in 2k13 lol), but why say "akshually he's alive all along" the literal arc after you reveal his dramatic death?? so much wasted potential because of that failure of a final boss and so many characters suffered as a result bc they weren't allowed further character development - i'm particularly pissed as a fan of zura, nobume, kagura (why is she still stuck to ginsan's side by the end instead of following her dream of being a space hunter) and the kiheitai

honestly i still remember reading the end of shogun ass arc when it came out, and i think bansai says "shinsuke's eyes were firmly focused on something" and how much hope it gave me... like the potential of zura + sugi working together to put the final nail in the coffin for the bakufu (zura by aiming for a legitimate place in a new govt and sugi with more underhanded methods lmao.. i still think kiheitai should've become high-grade bounty hunters at the end of the series), or the reveal of a bond btwn nobume and sugi since sasaki was working so closely with him. but instead that godawful "everyone vs aliens + dead guy who's actually alive" shonen cliche final battle happened. in fact i think it actively undermines the themes of the series bc until then i thought the true enemy isn't necessarily the amanto but the corruption and greed that existed in the so-called samurai country long before the amanto even arrived, and the goal was to figure out how to adapt to this new world and change yourself along the way.... but i guess the actual message was just "foreigners bad" which is way more reactionary than i expected lol. the gintaman in my head ended around ch 525, maybe ch 540 at the latest, after that it's all my delusions

yeah it definitely peaked there, chapter 519 to be specific. after that it started steadily going downhill until it decided to sprint just to land in shounen hell. excruciatingly long-winded spiritual successor to beelzebub. utsuro as a whole was very messy and nonsensical, and yeah as you said that reveal being IMMEDIATELY after it was established that hacking his sorry head off ruined the trio's lives and relationships with each other was just... umm... okay... it's also funny that shoyo was like a separate identity from utsuro altogether he was able to summon and suppress so when the guys met the evil guy with the same face as their angstily and unwillingly murdered teacher they were like Well there's aliens at play. not our guy not buying it. bye. dude??? that thang has put you to sleep once, man up and be sad about it. but god forbid there's any kind of actually complex conflict or anyone is ever guilty of anything. tbh i don't remember shit after shogun assassination i just remember this whole thing being structurally underwhelming and feeling cheap.

yeah takasugi's eye was focused on something. it was focused on gintoki 😋 everything needs to be focused on gintoki all the time. takasugi's long-winded angst and anger need to shift focus from his love towards sensei to his bond with gintoki. zura's entire deal whatever it was needed to center gintoki and his interests. shinpachi and kagura needed to forfeit all of their initial plans and embrace arrested development forever because yorozuya means family means they need to blow the power of friendship up gintoki's ass 24/7. every single female of any species needs to have a cute little crush on gintoki and he needs to be the main character for every rando he meets, changing their lives forever through his imposing presence. other characters can not have any conflict or development or agenda that doesn't center or at least heavily involve gintoki. and also nobody is allowed to have any rapport with each other independently of gintoki. never forget about the specialest little boy in the universe, if he doesn't get to give at least 5 boring pompous speeches per chapter or have a few epic one-liners everyone working on this franchise will need to immediately kill themselves (specified in their employment contracts in bold). also if you have anything less than enthusiastic to say about this you're a cretin who is too dumb to understand that any story that doesn't revolve around its main character always with no breaks is worthless and that doing exactly that is the epitome of genius writing btw.

takasugi's character assassination felt particularly asinine because for 80% of the story he's being menacing without much screen time and his personal drama is mostly hinted at, then he gets lots of focus in shogun assassination and it culminates in the plot twist flashback, after which he dedicates all his efforts to being overtly sad for gintoki and suffering more than jesus, and then he's killed off without any resolution. AND THEN HE'S REBORN AS SOME UGLY ASS BABY. like he can't get any dignity or integrity even in death lmao but it's ok i still love him bc as mentioned above gintama ended on chapter 519...

yeah i still think it might be not that deep but like it starts off as foreigners are the enemy and they came here to destroy our beautiful country so we have to stay resilient against their harassment. then it transcends to this country has always had its own rot and we the righteous and lovable riff-raffs will bring justice to it in the name of the moon, the country itself doesn't matter, we just want to protect our loved ones against anything that threatens them. and then it goes back to foreigners are evil and we'll actually go and kick their asses on their own territory even. to protect this country. alright!

[justatalkingface]

can I ask you what you think of ochako as a character in bnha? I know that in theory she was 'developed to match toga', with all the things toga has going on with her character and where she is in the plot. But when I think about ochako a little deeper I don't really get her 'goal development' exactly, because don't they kind of conflict with each other rather than evolve together?

Because first ochako wanted to make lots of money for her family, then later it became 'who saves/protects the heroes?' But if she runs with that goal and continues to rock the proverbial boat in hero society, that probably won't lead to her making a lot of money right?

And her third emerging goal likely being something about saving/helping the villains in some way, which is definitely better/more interesting for the overall plot, but even more conflicting with her previous goals.

Which would be cool if it was really focused on in her head about how that all might work out or not but we never really get that with ochako. Can I ask you what you think about all this?

As a series, MHA has reached a point where every character can easily be labeled with 'wasted potential', but Ochako is a special case because she's a main character that was sidelined.

I always knew that, to some extent, 1A as a whole would be sidelined over time (though I couldn't have predicted how fast it would happen), but Ochako was part of the main trio, she was one of the more important characters in the early narrative. Even more, compared to Sakura, for example, or Orihime, she wasn't just the girl teammate, or someone's love interest. She had her own goals and ambitions. Most importantly of all though, and what made her so interesting to me, is that she decided to put aside her own feelings.

Manga is... let's be honest here, manga is broadly sexist. Shonens like this are worse. When a woman in shonen is in love? It defines her character, drives it. Their entire character arcs for the entire time they're in love, if not beyond it, hinge on that basic fact.

Sakura, Hinata, and Orihime are all broadly driven by their love for their men at first, and even when they grow past that being their sole motivation to fight, it still remains a fundamental core of their drives. Sakura's big growth early on, for example, is that she wants to marry Sasuke and become a proper ninja, when before her primary purpose in living seemed to be to unironically to have his babies. It was a good step, but it was kind of an insulting step, is the thing, and she never gets beyond her love of Sasuke even when both of them are trying to kill each other after he abandons her for years.

Ochako, though? She has goals first, then gets a crush, and then weighs being in love with her own ambitions and chooses her ambitions over love.

I shit over almost everything Hori does with anyone that isn't a man, because it's pretty much always shit, and the more I think about it the more I almost want to applaud him, just for this, because this? This isn't just a main heroine uninterested in love. This is one who explicitly rejects it for her own agenda, and as pathetic as it is to phrase it this way, that's a huge improvement for a shonen manga.

I mean, I've seen people say that she didn't need to do that, that she could both train to be a hero and chase her love interest, and when you think about it UA students do seem to have enough free time for her to pursue it, but you know what? Who cares?

Maybe there's actually not that much free time, maybe she just doesn't realize how much time she has, maybe she's exactly right! Does it matter? She decided she's not ready for a relationship at this portion of her life and she'd rather do something else with her time; good for her! Chase your dreams! Do what you want when you want!

And for a time, Hori seemed content to treat her as an actual important character, who develops as a combatant (which, as much as I like to say 'power ups aren't character development', I'm not blind to basic facts that mangas like this orbit around a lot of fighting, and you need to be able to fight to stay relevant to the story line) as well as develop as a person.

Actually, let me stop here and pivot a bit to better handle part of your question: her development.

Early on, Ochika training to be a hero was a basiclly a poor kid going to be a sports star to support their family; it wasn't about the job itself, per say, so much as that the job would pay well, and they could get in without getting crippling debt in the process. She had the talent, so she wanted to use it to support her family because she loved them. This was a lot more modest than, say, Lemillion's goals, but it was still noble, and she'd still do a lot of good while supporting her family. At the same time, though, she also just wanted to help people just to see them smile and what not, and so becoming a hero was really a multifaceted goal for her.

The problem with the later development, though, is the same thing that happened to everything about her post her learning Gunhead Martial Arts or so (let me take a brief aside to kind of laugh at that, because 'Gunhead' Martial Arts, rather than just martial arts or whatever just seems really ridiculously to me, but whatever): she was replaced, then her development was largely just given to her by the author happened off screen so we couldn't really connect with how it happened.

That replacement was bad for a bunch of reasons, really: because Bakugou was being promoted from classroom bully to rival character, he needed more focus with his 'rival' so he replaced Shoto. Shoto, who had all the build up of the rival character at first, needed to be in the story since he was so important to later plotlines, but didn't have a place anymore, so he needed to be put somewhere else still in the audience's eyes. The eventual fallout of all this, plus Endeavor's heavy character salvaging attemptings by Hori, is Izuku's core friend group of Ochiko, Iida, and himself was replaced by New Trio of Shoto, Bakugou, and Izuku.

Or, if I'm being even more honest, The Duo of Shoto and Izuku and then Bakugou is there too for some reason.

Something I want to point out here, while we're on talking about it; then new trio isn't a friend group, like the original one was, they're more... work associates. Shoto and Izuku are friends, by this point (and for some reason Shoto is hanging out with a person channeling the traits of his father he despises the most (cough cough, to try and salvage Bakugou)), but we don't see the three of them, like, hang out: they're together at first because they were all interning with Endeavour (for some god forsaken reason (cough cough, to salvage Endeavour)), then after that because they were heavy hitters and honestly just them being put there by the author. There's every indication that the original three are still friends, we just... don't see it, anymore.

But I'm off topic: point is, with the focus shifting from school life to 'let's save the world as first years!', the friendships took the backseat, and Ochika was just... ignored by Hori.

Eventually, she started being put back into the story, since she was still somewhat important, but by this point we had reached The War Arc (and shit, I don't think there's a post where I haven't dunked on that, is there?), and, well.

Everything Changed When The War Arc Attacked.

Everybody's characterization went to shit after that, not just her, and it's not surprising her story went down the cracks.

So, part of her changes, and part of the reason they're confusing with her original goal, is that at least part of them is mixed with her largely dropped but still weirdly there romance plot. Izuku is the origin of her thinking, 'who saves the heroes', because, well, Izuku needs saving from his own idiot self all the time later on, and he's heroic.

I'll point out that this isn't, fundamentally, a conflict with her original goal of supporting her family: she wants heroes to be treated better, she doesn't want heroes to stop being monetized (because that's too far against the status quo for any hero to support!). Even if that impacted her career (which, logically, makes sense as a possible concern and probably part of why you were confused, yet I don't think she thought about once) she's not Mt Lady; she's not going to be paying thousands in damages everytime she does anything. A rescue hero like her is always, unfortunately, going to find someone who needs to be saved by having heavy things lifted off them. Maybe she'd never be rich if this backfired on her, but she'd certainly be well enough to support her parents, at least, since we've never seen a poor hero (sighs, gestures vaguely in a, 'gee, wouldn't that have been nice to see to help develop the profession in literally any way!' sort of fashion).

The second point of 'development'... now that is honestly shit. I've mentioned before how, after a certain point, MHA's plot started turning more and more from the complex and fascinating topics that they presented to us (and got so many of us engrossed in the first place), to a more cliche format that I fondly call a 'Full Shonen'. Part of a Full Shonen plot is, unless an important villain is truly, absolutely evil (so, basiclly AFO) they aren't beyond redemption, no matter how little sense that makes. If they're not beyond redemption, The Good Guys(TM), are therefore obligated to at least try and save them from themselves. Another typical Full Shonen plotline is, if there's a female bad guy, the female good guy will have to be the one to fight them.

Following that logic, Himko, the crazed female serial killer, is not beyond salvation, and so it fall to Ochako, the female hero, to save her, no matter how little sense that makes on a character or narrative level, because, you know, cat fight or something.

*sighs for forever*

Problem being everything post-War is so quarter-assed that this entire new plot line is built off, and really isn't held together by, the fact they both love Izuku. Or rather, Himiko is vaguely in love with Ochiko because she's cute (or 'cute', by whatever arcane and ill-defined criteria she uses to target people) and feels a bond with her because she also loves Izuku, and Ochiko is just... there, basiclly, and fights her because, you know, she's a villain. The connection is beyond forced, and yet we all know that somehow she'll be essential to 'saving' Toga.

While we're talking about these two, I'm going to point out that people saying Ochaka in the latest chapters wanting to talk about love are dramatically missing the point. She didn't want to go girl talk with Toga about their mutual crush, no matter how hilarious a meme summary that was. Toga was leaving via warp portal, while turning into Twice, and Ochkaka wanted to stop her because, you know, Twice-Toga is going to make their temporary existence everyone else's problem. She couldn't physically stop her from where she was, so turned to the one thing that has always distracted Toga in the past: talking about love. Even a mere thirty seconds of Toga gushing about Izuku, after all, is thirty seconds less of a one man army fucking up the heroes plans, not even mentioning duplicating AFO or SFO or some other nightmare scenario; anything she could do to run the clock on Twice's blood at all is priceless for the heroes.

And before anyone says it, that's not some brilliant insight on Ochako's part, it's not some sign of their 'deep connection'; anyone who spends two minutes around Toga would know that much. Anyways, because of Toga's... random ass character development just before all this happened, she's finally able to control her impulses like a normal person, and leaves instead. Ochaka's comment at the end, 'she didn't want to talk about love', isn't sad that she didn't get to talk about some threesome or whatever bullshit, it's surprise, because that's not how Toga works.

So, yeah, Ochaka's great start early on fell apart after she lost the spotlight, and it's a shame. The evolution to 'saving heroes' could have easily been handled better just by, you know, focusing on her at all, and we could have seen rising concerns about how heroes are treated in their cutthroat line of work (obligatory screaming at failed heroic society development) over time, and grow more organically in her mind and motivation. Saving Toga... Toga is so unreasonable as a character that, barring a drastic redesign of her characterization, or more reasonably, something for Ochika to connect with her and make her care beyond being a female who, gasp, likes Izuku too!!!!!!, that... that was never going to work well. It, and she, are too much of a mess, and Ochaka is too good of a person.

[redux-iterum]

Now that you've elaborated on the cats you hate, could you do the same for your favorites?

Can do! And I'll answer you in this post, other anon.

Rock: This is total bias on my part - it has nothing to do with his personality or actions in the books. I just absolutely adore unsettling, ugly, vaguely eldritch characters who have lived as long as time has existed and are on an entirely different level than the rest of the characters. I don't even remember any of the shit Rock did in canon, just his potential as a mysterious force and a creature living in visions. It's so fuckin' cool. I love it.

Hollyleaf: I've gone into detail about her here, so I won't repeat all that. The bottom line is that she's a genuinely good character who had a lot going for her narratively that just got thrown out the window because of the writers' terrible decisions and lack of foresight. Every one of these picker pictures I've seen has had her on there as a favorite, so that should say something.

Monkeystar: God, she's such a delight. WarriorClan is full of dorky little kids playing like they're big bad scary fighters, and the biggest dork of all is at the head of it. And her name is Monkeystar. You look me dead in the eye and tell me that's not the best god damn thing you've ever read in this series. How could I not love her?

Yellowfang: I've also been over her a lot, so here's a couple posts from me going into detail about her. For a short version, she's a really unique character (and a pretty darn well-developed one) in all of the history of the Clans, and her getting ruined is one of the top five greatest tragedies in this series.

Thrushpelt: Simply put, he's a good guy who deserved so much better than he got. He's kind, polite, one of the rare toms who isn't a dick about having a crush on a molly, and he puts his own wants to the side to help out people he cares about. I still wish he got a mate in StarClan so that he didn't have to always be known as "the guy that Bluefur completely ignored for a one-night-stand with an asshole".

Sol: This one's just for his potential. He has a lot going for him - a male tortoiseshell who can scramble psychic abilities, predict an eclipse, and effortlessly manipulate everyone around him (at least in the third arc; I hear he lost a lot of that in the SkyClan SE)? That's such a cool concept! And he gets away with all the shit he pulls! He could've been the best villain in the series. I also elaborated on him on the old blog, if you want more details.

Bristlefrost: This one's pretty simple; Bristlefrost is just a good character who had a genuinely interesting arc and struggles that were weirdly well-written for this series. Her deader-than-dead status pisses me off so much. Couldn't they have killed Rootspring instead? Bristlefrost has way more going for her than that twerp.

Stemleaf: Bear in mind that it's not so much that I love him as it is that he's one of the few cats in the series I don't feel slightly negative indifference or outright dislike for. The list kind of ran thin at this point. Anyway, Stemleaf's a good kid! Like Thrushpelt, he's nice, honest, and overall pleasant to read. I like his drive to do the right thing and stand up to people in power. It's a shame that led to his death, but by that point I think he did pretty much all he had to do, so I'm not mad about it.

Heavystep and Loudbelly: Have you ever loved a character in this series solely based on their name? That's these two. You'll see more of my love for these two in the future.

[one-strugling-bean]

Random Thoughts on HTTYD RttE S5 (Ep8-13)

Ep8&9 - And we start with Hiccup suffering. Always a good way to start, I say

Jk, I'm not serious, poor leader boy

Aw, everyone's moods are down :'(

Awwww, Mala, Throk you're awesome!! This is super sweet of you!

Also, is it just me, or has Mala's armour-thing been getting more and more damaged as the episodes go on, and she just hasn't fixed it? It's all battered and scratched now

Viggo and his little creepy crush on Hiccup is starting to worry me

Omg, Mala's island! They just wrecked Ninja island

Ew Spitelout

Why was Gustav walking on all four?

Drago????! Whaaaaa- I did not expect for there to be mentions of Drago here

And Hoody is an ex-pal of his? Well, it explains his methods at least

"-And Spitelout's not what we need right now" or ever, really. But well said Astrid!

Like, I understand where Hiccup's dillema is coming from, but it feels dumb and forced when they have hurt dragons before. Never have they killed dragons, sure, but they certainly have attacked some, usually in self-defense or to save a fellow rider, but sometimes it's simply for the benefit of another dragon who the Riders are closer to - right now the only moment I can name where that happens is that ep with the Fire Worm Queen; they attacked another dragon and chased him away from her nest, despite the fact that this other dragon was just doing what they needed to survive as well. Hiccup and the gang still attacked him and drove him away. So, where's the difference here?

There are a lot of them, I know, but I don't think any of them can completely justify Hiccup's inner conflict right now

Hiccup!! Don't separate, that's not going to end well

Not this "man" again!

I guess Snotlout isn't the only one in the family who likes to name things

I really hate how much of an amazing voice actor David Tennant is - and by hate I mean love, I just hate Spitelout gets to have his voice, he doesn't deserve the beautiful accent :')

Dunno what plan Hiccup could've possibly come up with, but I'll happily wait to see it

Also, props for Toothless for holding his own against the Singetails so well

Throk is a super human apparently, that's fine

Good for the Singetails, they're free again

Sooo, now it's Dragon Eye vs Dragon Eye, let's see how it goes

I gotta agree with Snotlout, that Throk situation is really weird

Ep10 - So the Edge is under renovations, Tuff still knows Spanish,and Garff is trying to kill everyone - yeah, sounds about right

"See ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya! [...] -st least that's how my dad says goodbye to me." Spitelout is such an asshole

Those are some pretty snakes! Or Slytherwings, apparently

Before I continue watching I'm just gonna predict one of the riders is getting poisoned. And my guess is Astrid because it's always poor Astrid who gets this stuff

Okay, Stormfly was the one hit - Astrid still takes emotional damage by proxy, so I wasn't that far

Nice seeing Fishlegs calm Astrid down - those two have a really sweet friendship

I honestly think Fishlegs was the one drawing the short straw this time - he's stuck with the twins and has to extract the venom

"We get icecream?!" Pff, he looked so pure and cute there, poor kid

The serious-ish conversations Hiccup and Snotlout have sometimes are so nice - they always leave me with a happy feeling. Also, Hookfang and Snotlout love, yes please

Fishlegs dealing with the twins is really funny

Ruff, Tuff, now is not the moment

Wow, true, Astrid is a pretty good artist - also, that was really sweet of her

Wait, all dragons can evolute and develop new moves?? That's so cool, and pokemon-ish of them

Ep11 - Am I seeing things again, or do the twins have a skeletal human hand in their trash?

Astrid, knock him out

Awww, Ruff that was super sweet. Neither is ever going anywhere without the other and that's final - not even a marriage proposal exactly Ruffnut's style would move her

To be fair though, she didn't look all that heartbroken

Tuff is faking his own death?? Omg, what is going on

Also, Tuffnut is the baby brother. Random information but good to know

"And should I die, at least then my brother and I will be reunited." That was one heck of a deep and bittersweet statement, and you know what? Best part is that I'm sure she means every single word of it

"I call this Barren Soul Wrapped In Nothingness. It was between that and My Lousy Childhood." Goddamnit Snotlout, stop being funny

Ruffnut deserves a good rest after this episode: first she's proposed, then her twin brother dies, then her supposed groom is threatened by a hord of invisible angry dragons, then her brother's ghost comes to haunt her, then she finds out he's no ghost but was actually her brother, who faked his death for her happiness. It's a full day

The Changewings are kinda pretty

This was a sweet ending - I know I keep saying this, but it's always so much fun to see the twins being just a tad more serious than usual, especially since they're moments that don't last long

Ep12- Hey Heather, Dagur! It sure has been a while

Dagur pulled a sneaky-sneaky on Heather - she's not gonna be happy about it

Is Chicken pregnant? Or she found a lover? Also, Snotlout: the narrator we didn't know we needed

Ouch, Dagur. I thought you guys were buddies too

Astrid's on babysitting duty again

And we're back to Vanaheim, nice

I gotta say it or I won't be satisfied: I'll never forgive Dagur, nor the show as a whole, for forgetting about Shattermaster's existence. He deserved the world and more

I could argue this endlessly but I'll stop here or I won't be able to continue watching the ep

Fishlegs is so enthusiastic, I love him

Omg, Snotlout is indeed playing the narrator, that's great

Is the gigantic dragon skeleton supposed to belong to an Alpha dragon? You know, the big white ones that appear in httyd2? They were gigantic and I think had similar horns - the movie lore that keeps getting fed to this show :'>

Those small, purple dragons remind of the Obsidian and Nether Rock blocks from Minecraft

You know those "out of context" compilations in youtube? That whole scene with Chicken on the cliff would be perfect for one

I have a bad feeling Oswald might already be dead... Either way, I feel for Dagur, man hasn't seen his father for decades I'm guessing, no wonder he's nervous

Yeah he's dead, sad sad

Gotta say Hiccup, that wasn't one of your best comforting moments, but Dagur seemed to appreciate it, so I guess it's okay

Yeah, Chicken found a lover and kids

This whole situation weirdly reminds of portuguese and brazilian soap operas, except it's with a chicken and a guy

I appreciate the lengths to which Snotlout is taking this narrator thing

"I know!" Ahhh, Fishlegs was so cute, he was so proud of himself! As he should be, btw

Something tells me Heather is not gonna happy that Dagur found their dad's body without her

Or not, because she'll be too busy in a wild goose chase caused by Johann and his freaking rumors

Ep13- We're continuing the chicken plotline, that's nice

Hookfang's rider is an idiot

The sunburn marks caused by Snotlout's wrists and arm bracelets are a pretty realiatic detail and I appreciate it

Does Johann know this is trap? He seems even more skittish than usual

Now, are Snotlout and Hookfang gonna be able to help? Or nah? That's the real question here

Is it just me, or is Snotlout even more pissy and sarcastic today? He's been making quips ever since the episode started

Dragon riders that aren't Hiccup or Astrid being competent and making good calls will never not be satisfying

I gotta say though, I call bullshit on the whole "Hookfang can't carry more than 3 people for long" thing. Toothless, who's like, a third of Hookfang, is able to carry 2 people super easily - one of them being Stoick, who is one of the biggest humans in the HTTYD franchise. Barf&Belch, a bit thinner and smaller than Hookfang, are able to carry the twins all the time for whatever period they need. And yet you wanna tell me that Hookfang, who's bigger than both, can't carry Snotlout, Heather and a man who probably weights as much as a couple of Terrors? Hmmmm

And it's not like he's been flying for long either, and he got to rest his wings while Snotlout shopped

Poor Dagur, the guy got his sister back like, 1 year ago? And he's already risking losing her again, and the last time he saw her he stole from her, no wonder he's like this

Oh, fuck that man, seriously. Of course he just freaking tipped the cage to the ocean when leaving. Besides downright cruel, it's just a douchy move

"And how did they know about it?" Astrid, making the right questions

Speaking of Astrid, when did she get here??

Snotlout being competent, my beloved

Wow, Hiccup really just sent the lens right over his head. That's such a dangerous and provocative move. Hiccup really loves to rile up, and mess, and sass with his enemies and it's the best

Geez, thanks Johann >¦T

So, Snotlout and the twins invented popcorn in this world? How weirdly fitting

Astrid's voice is so soothing sometimes, it's really nice to hear

...

What

The

Actual

Absolute

Complete

Fuck.

Uhm, JOHANN!???

Omg, what the hell, I was not expecting this

This could've not have been planned from the start, could it? Isn't Johann already from RoB? Since when was this set up? Have there been previous allusions to his true self and I've just been too blind notice? Man I am so lost right now

In the beggining of this ep I did think he had/was going to betray Heather and the gang, but more in a Peter Petigrew-y sort of way, you know? Too afraid of the consequences dared he not aid that darling duo of Hiccup obssessed lunatics to stay loyal to the riders

Not like this!!!

Not revealing himself, his true self, from the darkness like a freaking comic book villain, voice changed to a much deeper tone, talking to Biatch and Hoody as if they were his protegees, about hating Stoick and that he's been a fraude all these years! What the hell.....

I am very much confused and looking forward to the last season now, thanks Johann.

Uhm, yeah, I guess we're closing things here for now

I don't wanna finish the show though.... After that it'll be RoB, the specials, and then.... I dunno, no more Dragon Riders for me, I guess Q^Q

Welp, that can't be helped, byebye for now lovely person who reading this

Have a good day :>

[mesozoic-system]

Bakugou Katsuki is not as bad as he seems.

Okay, fine. That's a lie. Bakugou is a loud and obnoxious asshole with little to no character development and will snap at anyone who breathes on him the wrong way.

Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to why he's like that.

You all know what PTSD is, yeah? If not, it stands for "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder". It's something that causes panic attacks, unnecessary aggression, trust issues, nightmares, anxiety, depression, and more. People will develop it after a traumatic experience. It takes years of therapy to recover... actually, most people never recover from it.

Fun fact: Katsuki canonically has PTSD. It's confirmed, and you know what? After everything he's been through, it's not much of a surprise. He's been through one tragedy after another and never seems to get a break.

When we first met Bakugou Mitsuki (Katsuki's mother) in chapter #96, we instantly realized how aggressive she was. I mean come on! She talked smack right in front of him and his teachers- in front of All Might who she knew her son was very fond of. Katsuki may be irritable, but to have your own mother backhand you in front of your own role model is a little much.

Later on in chapter #165 during the Provisual License Exams, we get a little more information that only points towards more abuse- and this time it's not so verbal.

Most people paid no real attention nor gave it a second thought in these panels, but remember when Katsuki suggested to use violence against the kids? Of course, you'd look at it and wave it off as "normal Bakugou behavior", but what he says next took me by surprise:

That's right. He was raised that way.

Which means either Mitsuki or Masaru (or both) had struck him in some way multiple times as he was growing up, and I doubt it was Masaru.

"Spoiled" my ass. He might have a strong quirk, but people don't turn into little monsters just by being praised. It'll definely boost his confidence, but not dramatically. This could also explain his aggression toward Midoriya. He realized how helpless he was and had power over someone else for once. But that's just a theory.

Okay, let's fast forward a bit. He's finishing up his third year of Middle School and is preparing for the UA entrance exams. He's pushed away his childhood friend to follow his own dreams and tells him to jump off the roof.

Literally.

And then he walks out the door only to regret it much, much, muuuch later in the series- y'know. The "character development" I was talking about.

Next time we see him though, he gets what he deserves.

One panel he's tramping through an alley with his friends, and the next, he's being swallowed alive by the most perverted-looking slime monster I've ever laid my eyes on.

While Izuku's dreams are being crushed by his own hero, Katsuki is fighting for his life in the middle of town. He's struggling, but all he could do was look back at all the dozens of fearful eyes...

Right there. Right now. Look at him:

He's terrified. He's humiliated and afraid and hurt and despite all of the heroes that were there, none of them had even attempted to save him.

And this is where it really starts. This is where it all begins. Next thing we know, Izuku's running straight for him... The boy Katsuki's bullied almost all of his life is risking his own in order to save him.

You know the story from there; All Might trains Izuku to withhold his power, they get accepted into UA, and then comes the Sports Festival.

Katsuki's already made up his mind: he's gonna win. He's willing to give everything he has to show the country what he's made of, and this may be his only chance to make up for the mishap several months ago. And Monoma, being a professional at making things worse by opening his mouth, rubs salt in the wound.

It was pretty easy to predict Katsuki's reaction: pissed off and more than ready to prove him wrong. He does, but it cost him his "first place" during the Calvary Battle. But that's okay 'cuz it's not over yet!

Welcome to the next and last stage of the festival: The Battle Tournament, where all the kids get to beat the shit out of each other until only one remains.

Turns out, Katsuki does win. It was a foolproof plan: get Todoroki to go all out on him so he can make a final impression before the end of the day. But it was obvious that Shouto was still unsure of himself, so Katsuki did what he did best:

He had to piss him off.

But instead of getting angry and bursting into flames like he had planned, Shouto threw away the battle at the last second, and everything Katsuki had worked for with it.

No shit he's gonna be upset! He worked his ass off to get where he was, and the whole point was to leave himself a footprint! His entire life had been dedicated to that moment, and it faded away right in front of him.

Midnight put him to sleep and he woke up and threw a temper tantrum.

Now this is was UA did wrong:

Why would you do that?! They were all aware of what happened to him only a few months ago, he obviously hasn't properly recovered from it, and they restrain him in front of thousands of people. They cover his mouth and gag him, lock his hands in a tiny metal box and expect him not to go insane. Helloooo?! Wake up! He's just a kid!

Several months go by and now it's time for camp. Katsuki is tired. They all are. It's been a long day of training and training and training, and suddenly villains come out of nowhere, and nobody is prepared. And who shows up? The League of Villains, and they're after certain students...

Tokoyami escapes safely, but Katsuki isn't so lucky.

Just think about that for a second. When we see Shigaraki holding a picture of him, it's the one where UA tied him up. He knows what this child has gone through and he pities him. To be honest, I think the LoV treated him much better than anyone ever has (except maybe Kirishima). They're hesitant, but they treat him with kindness. They didn't just want him for his quirk. They saw what the heroes did to him and wanted to help him get the revenge he deserved.

But when All Might showed up (more like "burst through the wall like the Cool Aid man"), Katsuki is instantly teleported in the strangest way possible... and the most traumatizing.

He chokes out this weird slime-like substance that devours him within seconds. Thankfully it only last that long, but then again, the Sludge Incident, remember?

Yeah, bet that brings back some memories.

But what must have hurt him the most was All Might's downfall and early retirement. He said it himself:

After several chapters, he finally burst. He's been holding all the pain inside of him until it bubbled over and he couldn't take it anymore. So he went to the only person he could- the person he hated and yet trusted the most.

Maybe the Class 1A concert helped him in a way. It seemed like it brought him down and maybe even relaxed him a little. And something incredible happens. Something we haven't seen from him at all until now...

(From here, I'll try to keep it short to avoid as many manga spoilers as I can. That and I'm tired...)

He began to change; started to support Izuku... in his own twisted way, of course. As chapters went by, he started to open up little by little. He admitted what he had done to Izuku in middle school to All Might, which had brought him some peace of mind. It wasn't quite the apology we had hoped for, but I guess it'll do.

And during the war, he made the greatest sacrifice, finally unlocking his quirk's full potential. Despite being unable to move, he used his quirk to throw himself in front of Izuku without thinking, taking a blow to his stomach. To his stomach.

He was impaled.

Holy shit.

Last time someone had been impaled was Nighteye, and he died from his wounds.

But Katsuki somehow managed to survive... And woke up ready to beat Izuku's ass if he didn't wake up.

Anyway, that's all I have to say (so far). However, I'm excited for Season 5 of the anime series! Can't wait to see our new story animated! I mean, I've been watching the episodes as they come out, but still.

-Blightcon

[alexis-medina]

Dissecting: Edens Zero Ch. 130-134

Kleene/Jinn

I was reading Ch. 83 and found this.

See, I don’t know if Mashima plans his story out or if he develops certain plots on the spot because everything is connecting. “Oh, I could use this later...” Brilliant. Amazing. For real though, I was like damn it’s the Mildian/Sun Jewel arc again (Xiaomei’s battles foreshadowing).

Shura vs Ziggy

It was interesting to read that Shura isn't the biological son of Nero. This leads me to think...what if Shura and Shiki are related? I mean they both have gravity ether and they both were taught by Ziggy. They both are also strong in their own right. We also have the theme from Fairy Tail of Good vs Evil (Zeref and Natsu) but in this instance it would be Shura and Shiki. We also don't know where they came from - their origins. Plus, Nero says that his power was incompatible with Shura but he was able to match with Ziggy's gravity powers.

Later, when the crew of Edens Zero find another relic (Robo Cola cap), they infer that Mother could be a place and a person. I was also thinking that because in FT: 100 years quest, Aldoron was a dragon god but his body was home to 5 cities.

So, if I'm right then, Shiki and Shura maybe are from a city on Mother...and maybe even Rebecca.

I'm noting that Shiki is younger than Shura. When Ziggy was training Shura, that was 15 years ago but, that's also the same time Ziggy found Shiki as a baby....unless Ziggy is lying and he has false memories. 👀👀👀 Is Ziggy truly good or bad? Does Shiki have additional powers like Rebecca?

What is the all-link system? Looks like Shura and Ziggy have the same idea. I think if Shura and Ziggy battle - Ziggy will win. What did you guys think?

Xenolith and the Crew of Edens Zero

I wonder why Xenolith's maintenance is lasting longer. Perhaps it may be revealed in the future. I would laugh if he moved his consciousness/personality data into a younger robot body.

Weisz stays being a perv lol with the bondage training.

Did Xenolith teach Shiki 'Black Sky?' For me, I feel like in the next arc, when Shiki is facing a really tough opponent we will get flashbacks of his training with Xenolith and him learning Black Sky. Then, he'll perform it against the enemy...which could be Ziggy. So, yes, I think Xenolith did teach him. Could be wrong but we'll have to wait and see!

Both Xenolith and Xiaomei have stated that Rebecca's power will change/save the world/universe.

- Xiaomei (Ch. 64): "She has only just begun to unlock the secrets of Leap’s real power. This power may truly save the universe one day."

- Xenolith (Ch. 132): "Her power is weak…but it is the most special. Special enough to change the world."

Witch calling Rebecca a 'Chrono Witch' is giving me Scarlet Witch vibes...

Math for Dummies lol

Stronger heart = Stronger gravity Strength + Tranquility = Strong Heart = Rise from darkness Strength - Tranquility = Weak Heart Weak heart = Weak gravity = Fall to darkness

Fan service with the bath scenes but, at least it is keeping the story going, in that, she has to train in the bath in order to get stronger. Sister makes me geek, "You better get out of those ropes before this turns x-rated." When I read that scene, it gave me Virgo vibes from FT.

I also want to see how Xenolith met Ziggy. So, I'm wishing for a flashback.

I don't know if I put this on a post before or not but, my thoughts are that Ziggy did reach Mother and found Shiki there. He erased the Four Shining Stars memories because something bad would happen if he didn't (like they would get infected the way he is now). So, he did it to save them.

UGHHHH BUT THAT CLIFFHANGER...WHYYYYY - It'll probably blow my mind when it gets revealed.

Also, WOOHOOO! Jinn and Kleene joined the crew. That cute ass smile!!! OOOMG his face when he isn't able to untie Kleene. 🥺🥺🥺

The Oceans

So cool to see the winners of the Edens Zero character competition featured as the Oceans 6! I'm a fan of all of them and don't you worry...we won't forget Shura's assistant even though she's not part of the 6. However, she might be since Shura killed off Cyca. Yikes.... RIP Cyca

Their designs are so clean!! (Sorry if the images look blurry Tumblr only allows 10 photos per post so I tried stitching them together in Illustrator but I think the file size is too big for Tumblr so that's why it may be blurry but, I hope you get the gist of their designs.)

Holy

I wonder what she means by that...I feel like this will be important later. We also don't know much about the other members of the Oración Seis Interstellar. I'm excited to see what their ether gear is...especially Eraser. 👀👀👀 Does his ether have something to do with erasing things? Are they corrupt or good guys? I guess we'll found out soon...

B-Cube

Rebecca has carved 'Edens Zero' onto her B-Cube. Did you guys notice in Ch. 134 that Rebecca's ingrained B-Cube is the same one we see in Ch. 4? That's the scene where there are two robots 20,000 years in the future who find two bodies (a man and a woman) and a B-Cube which we can now confirm is Rebecca's.

The Ships + Other Notable Mentions

LOL I feel like if I was a B-Cuber, I would be an entertainment/fashion channel....basically like Sorcerer Weekly but make it Space Weekly or a cool name like Into the Void. Maybe a play off of 'Cosmopolitan' but shorten it to 'Cosmos.' So many options.

Anyways lets get into the ships. I talked about this first ship in a recent post.

#1 Homura and Creed

I'll say it again...I SHIP IT! I am hoping for some more scenes with them together. He always looks so cute when he blushes <3 He's a Homura stan too hahah. 🥺🥺🥺

Predictions: - Creed and Homura will fight - Creed will protect Homura again - Homura will save Creed - Creed will join the Edens Zero crew

Now, I was reading on a few discord channels that people are comparing Creed to Mest (Fairy Tail). Now, I am really trying to understand this comparison because frankly, I don't see it. Creed has a crush on Homura. That's valid. Also, Creed doesn't just have pictures of just Homura, he has Weisz, Rebecca, and Shiki. He's not creepy like Mest.

Mest was a weird guy when we first met him laying in the pool or eating flowers. Their personalities are totally different IMO. We could talk ages about the age gap stuff but I'm not really gonna go into that.

Do you see the comparison?

#2 Rebecca and Shiki

Shiki escaping from his restraints to save 'Rebecca' made me happy lol. It makes me think what he would do if it was Homura or Weisz in that situation. What would Shiki do? Plus, after the simulation was over...we can see Rebecca in awe and blushing.

Then, Shiki is hugging Rebecca and they're both blushing 💕 That's a cute moment ngl.

"I'm not THAT into Shiki." - So, you don't deny that you like him 😉

#3 Hermit

I don't know if I mentioned this but I fucking love Hermit's name. It's such a cool name.

#4 Justice

Ch. 130 he was looking gooooood with his bandages. 🥵🥵🥵

Ps. Did you get a chance to view Edens Zero PV 2?!?

Did you notice the homage to Fairy Tail in Ch. 134? "Why are your ideas so Fairy Tale?"

[convenientalias]

Lovers of the Red Sky Review (a little belated)

So a few weeks ago now I finished watching Lovers of the Red Sky. It was pretty good.

(Review below contains some spoilers.)

Some Things I Really Loved About Lovers of the Red Sky:

The two main characters! Definitely my favorite thing about the show <3. I love Hong Cheon-gi. She's such a fun character. She's a mix of career ambitions and concern for others and not incredible professional ethic (I love a forger haha, tho Prince Yang-myeong is right that there's something shallow about forgery). She has so much painting talent; watching her paint and listening to her talk about painting is one of my favorite parts of the show. She cares tremendously about her father and Ha Ram and her friends. And at the same time, she's not too serious. She can be sassy, get panicked over doing something awkward or improper, get a little dreamy-eyed over seeing her crush. She just feels very three-dimensional and very alive. I love her.

Ha Ram I had more mixed feelings about. Mostly I really like him. He gets whumped a lot, which is always a point in someone's favor for me. He has a secret identity. He can fight well, and he's calm and collected except when he's really really not. And he's a love interest who isn't too tsundere about having a crush (I've gotten tired of dramas with a lot of bickering lols) even though he has reasons that having a relationship right now would be inconvenient. Also, a desire for revenge! Always fun.

The other thing I really like about this show is its aesthetics. The paintings are all beautiful and showcase different styles and interpretations of themes, both the paintings by Hong Cheon-gi and those by other painters. And aside from that, it's a pretty show in other ways too. People's costumes generally suit them, Cheon-gi and Ha Ram always look good together, and there are some nice lingering shots of starry skies. It's a pretty pretty show <3

Things I Did Not So Much Love About Lovers of the Red Sky:

I guess the thing that frustrated me the most was the ending of Ha Ram's arc. When a guy wants revenge--when it's his character's driving motivation--I want to see him either get that revenge or go through a process of letting go of that desire. But Ha Ram barely does anything to get revenge; some actions he takes towards it are kind of ambiguous to me (sure, Ha Ram, you totally predicted that having the truth of the Crown Prince's illness would send the king into a coma. sure.) and others I'm not sure what he's going for (if he was trying to ruin that first sealing ritual he was part of, I don't see how--he spent most of it possessed and didn't really accomplish anything). And then when he decides to let it go, it's because it turns out the thing he was trying to avenge... actually just never happened? and NO ONE explained this to him at any point even though at least one person (cough the king cough) KNEW he was obsessed with revenge (I think? the ending was kind of confusing that way). It's so anticlimactic and boring. I WANTED TO SEE HIM MURDER SOME ROYALS. Well, at least he killed one subordinate... but apparently he wasn't entirely justified in that anyway? Oh well?

I also think the two princes could have been better developed. I wanted to see more of their relationship to each other, to their father. I wanted Prince Ju-hyang in particular to be more complex of a villain; it's not like he doesn't have reasons for what he's doing, but the show kind of handwaves this with "well, he was evil all along anyway tho, he should have just been FINE WITH DYING OF SLOW SPIRITUAL ROT" wtf. Didn't really dislike either prince, tho--I know some ppl get frustrated with Prince Yang-myeong but eh, if we're going to have a love triangle I'd as soon have the second male lead NOT be the one I'm rooting for anyway, and he was at least interesting in his dynamic with Ha Ram. (And his crush on Hong Cheon-gi--honestly, relatable.)

Finally, the depiction of Ha Ram's blindness is so inconsistent. The way he fights seems kind of unrealistic for a blind man, for one thing, and he often seems to be making eye contact with ppl or looking at things. Also, the whole point of his blindness is that MAWANG isn't supposed to be able to see--but it always seems like Mawang can, when he possesses him? What the fuck was the point of giving Cheon-gi his eyes, then? Just for the drama of it all?

Overall

Despite my complaints, I really enjoyed this show! The romance is cute and fun, the political intrigue is... not awful, and the paintings are lovely. Would recommend to ppl who like female leads who are fun, driven and a little bit tricksy, and male leads who are calm and collected and get whumped a lot.

[jw231992]

Danganronpa: Despair Time

(ダンガンロンパ:絶望のタイム)

=======================

First of, I just want to say that this is a fanganronpa that I recently found thanks to Moboxer, the head of what is known as Danganronpa: Kill/Cure. I want to do an analysis of that one soon, but this one I figured would be a good start. So, like the series we've come to know and love, Danganronpa: Despair Time is a series where a group of high school students are trapped in a building and must commit a murder to get out of their situation. With the prologue being released just now, we can get a feel for the characters, and maybe some of my predictions will be right? Who knows. Without further ado, let's get into it.

We will start with the main female lead, Teruko Tawaki, the Ultimate Lucky Student. She's seemingly plain, but not Tsumugi Shirogane plain. I really like the hair color she has going on, and I can't accurately tell what color it is, due to me being colorblind, but I believe it's brown going into gray ends. What also sets her apart from previous Danganronpas is that most of the leads are male. Ones like Danganronpa: the After and Danganronpa REbirth both have female leads which I find very refreshing and would like to see the killing game from a female perspective. The thing that also seemed to stick out to me was how she says she was cursed with bad luck, much like Makoto Naegi feels he was in the first game. It also gives me a sense of sadness, much like Qrow Branwen of the RWBY series and his semblance of always bring bad luck to those around him. As of right now, I can't say too much else about her, but as the main character, I feel she would be a survivor. She'll make it to the end and stop the televised killing game (more on this for another character.)

Alexander Matthews, or Xander, is the Ultimate Rebel. He definitely gives of a Kaito Momota vibe from how he confronts those that insult him, but he also has a very friendly demeanor. So because of this, I am giving him the title of Best Boy, because we all need a Best Boy and a Best Girl. According to the series, his talent isn't so much as being a troublemaker, but moreso taking a stand against what he doesn't like and wants to improve for the better. Honestly, maybe Revolutionist or Protestor would have been a better title? Maybe, but Rebel also has a nice flair to it, so we'll go with what the creator intended. His red hair also gives him a fiery feel, which is what I've come to expect from the Best Boys of the games and fangans. The sad part is, I see him dying in the fifth chapter as a culprit. Probably something he didn't even mean to do or something he didn't want to do, a heartbreaking chapter. But the series isn't fully out to the public yet, so we can't say for certain.

Eden Tobisa, the Ultimate Clockmaker. She's adorable, soft, and I just wanna protect this innocent cinnamon bun. That being said, I don't think she is the one that would get the Best Girl status. A lot of her sprites are pretty cutesy, much like a cat, which seems to be a running theme within this fangan. Or I may just dig a little too deep and find stuff that really isn't there. She gives me a big Chihiro Fujisaki vibe, and would love to see this character being explored more. However, it kind of breaks my heart to say she's probably not going to make it, and I believe she would be the Chapter 1 victim. Like I said, she's small and soft, and makes for an easy victim, but I would definitely love seeing an execution if she ends up being the culprit in a case. Probably something sad and gruesome like her being crushed between a few clockwork gears.

So I wanna say this right off the bat, and I'm sure anyone that saw this girl's talent was like, "What the actual hell is a Zither?!" Thank goodness they tell us what it is and I appreciate learning new things. That being said, this is Hu Jing, the Ultimate Zither Player. Her demeanor gives me a slight Kirumi Tojo vibe, especially given the sprite that I took of her. The way she speaks is amazing and I want to see more. I am probably being way too premature about this, but I have wholeheartedly given her the additional title of Best Girl. She may not have a lot to bring to the table as a Zither player but playing instruments takes dedication and I can speak from experience. Not all instruments are easy to play so learning exotic instruments is that much harder. I also say that she's going to be a survivor as well, making it to the end of the killing game but if not, she'll more than likely be a victim.

Here we have J Moreno, the Ultimate Effects Artist, a talent I can also really appreciate. According to the series, J is a nickname but she gets flustered and doesn't exactly say what that nickname is, which may actually come up later during a trial or some form of Free-Time Event. She also seems to prefer quiet people, as opposed to those who seem flashy or boisterous, like the actors she deals with behind the scenes. I use to be a theatre kid (bring on the TikToks) and whenever I could, I would also attempt to learn tech stuff, namely moving set pieces and the sort, so I have a slight personal connection with this talent. She may have a bit of a standoffish attitude but deep down, I feel she has a heart of gold and would definitely help her friends in a time of need. This sort of demeanor would probably give her more of a Kiyotaka Ishimaru vibe, but not in a "Running in the halls is not welcome in a school environment" kinda feel. More towards the personality. However that assistance may go too far and I feel she is more likely to be a culprit in Chapter 2 of the series. Makes me wonder how the execution of an effects artist will go. We'll see if I'm right.

Oh Jesus. This name is gonna be the death of me, but meet Veronika Grebenshchikova, the Ultimate Horror Fanatic. As you can probably tell from the screenshot, she loves everything horror, and I really like the hair ties she has on with the eyes. It makes her stand out, and I feel makes it tie her whole outfit together. The outfit also seems to be giving me Celestia Ludenberg vibes, but at least people aren't asking if she's Japanese. When I first saw her, I thought she would be some form of Optometrist or something but I'm glad she's a horror fanatic. I, too, also happen to like horror pop culture, and I thought it was kind of funny, and slightly suspicious, that she mentioned that they would be trapped in the building and be forced to kill each other. Because of that, it makes me think she knows more than she's letting on, so a possible traitor/mastermind thing going on with her? If not, she's still probably not going to make it and I've labeled her as one of the victims in Chapter 3. But a horror fanatic's execution would definitely be something I'd be interested in, like Emma Magorobi from Super Danganronpa Another 2.

The Ultimate Inspirational Speaker, David Chiem. I'm unsure of how to pronounce his last name, either Hhheee-em or Chai-em. Either way, I feel kind of let down that a speaker that Xander looks up to really hates his talent, or moreso the people that actually listen to him, revealing he's kinda two-faced, being able to talk shit about those that come to his speeches and then nice to their face. It might have been something that developed while doing it, like he was amazing and loved it at first but then later down the road, he started hating it and wanting it to stop. I don't think the two-faced bit will be as extreme as Kokichi Oma or Nagito Komaeda (his facade at the beginning of Super Danganronpa 2 to the end of Chapter 1) but it may come into play during the trials, maybe during his own? Or if he's being framed for a murder? Despite that, I've marked him as a survivor who let's this killing game change him back to OG David where he loved giving speeches and uses the killing game for a new lease on life.

Arturo Giles, the Ultimate Plastic Surgeon. I don't like him. He's a bit of a snob, and to those that he seems ugly aren't worth his time apparently. Which seems odd, given his talent. I mean, he's a plastic surgeon, so of course there will be people looking to fix a few things they don't like about themselves (I'm talking like Nip/Tuck here, people.) He has this utter fetish for celebrities and their beauty however I was watching a thing way back when, I dunno what it was, but it says the ones that have the most plain faces and such tend to be more beautiful to humans. Or something along those lines, but I'm thinking his mask is hiding something he doesn't like about himself. It makes me kinda sad because precious girl, Seiko Kimura, wore a mask and she was so upfront about everything, so maybe there is a hidden redemption arc just waiting to come out. Watch it be something like ugly teeth or some scar he doesn't want people seeing. Enough about this guy though, as I have labeled him a victim, specifically Chapter 5. Remember how I mentioned that Xander would probably end up being a culprit? Well, I think it'll end up being something that he didn't mean to or want to do, despite not really getting along with Arturo. But if he isn't a victim, he might be a survivor.

Daddy. Haha, I'm kidding, this is Levi Fontana, the Ultimate Personal Stylist. He gives off the "intimidating but innocent cinnamon bun" vibe that Gonta Gokuhara gives off, and even mentions his past during the introduction. Something I wish to see come into play during a trial. Now, a theme I seem to run across is the big person, who is amazing usually dies in Chapter 4, and I hate to say this might also be the case. His past may not have something to do with the trial, but if it does, he would be a culprit. I hope not though because I would love to see the intimidating guy live to the end.

Okay, this guy is also an asshole, and I wanna say it's probably because he's short. Kinda like Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. Ace Markey, the Ultimate Jockey. Despite how he's short like Fuyuhiko, he isn't as willing to go to that point, as he's kind of a wimp. This kind of demeanor makes him less likely to have friends, but I'm interested to see how he got to this point. Probably some form of bullying while he's on his horse, to be honest. Like maybe having issues getting on and the other jockeys laughing at him, but maybe his coach, or mentor giving him this disapproving face when he tries to start something. That's how I see it anyway, but he is probably the Chapter 1 culprit. His execution might be something along the lines of being tied to a fence where horses have to jump over him and he gets hit in the head with horse feet and horseshoes. Then as the fence falls over, he gets trampled on, leaving a bloody mess. I wouldn't be too sad about this character but we'll see as time goes on.

===============================

I would love to continue on but apparently there's a 10 photo per post limit. I will be posting the second part shortly.

[prancis-film-reviews]

To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020) Review:

THIS SEQUEL DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A SEQUEL—IT'S POINTLESS 🤨

written by: Prancis

I'll try not to act biased towards this kind of film 'cause I don't pretty much care about this kind of genre. But here it goes...

Everything in the film seems pointless; It doesn't have a sense of direction nor the ending serves a great purpose. It's just plain and boring. Allow me to let me explain...

So basically, Lara Jean is at the point of her life where she finally has a boyfriend—A handsome, an affectionate lover she could ever dream of. She feels like a princess in a fantasy world and that's one disadvantage: she's annoyingly stupid about understanding her feeling, about making decisions, and blindly being stupid about love. She thinks love is all about happiness and cuddles. Well, can't blame her 'cause she's a newbie but, everything about her in this sequel makes me uncomfortable. She's hundred times better in the first movie than this one.

Lara Jean coincidentally met John Ambrose. He's the guy that Lara Jean has been crushing on since middle school or idk... Technically her first love. But then, she already has a boyfriend and it bothers me how she have to conceal it from John Ambrose. I mean, what's the point if eventually he'll know in the end?

Throughout the film she's this innocent looking girl, emotionally cheating on her boyfriend to flirt with another one because she felt happy and easy while constantly putting her guilt on her boyfriend's shoulder in the end. Her decisions are plain stupid and that goes on throughout the film which we can conclude that makes no sense. That's all the plot gave us—Lara Jean two-timing guys but she still ends up with Peter.

That's all so, what's the point of the conflict when it doesn't even have a resolution in the end? Lara Jean just kissed John, dumped him and went back to Peter. Pointless isn't it?

Also, Lara Jean is a hypocrite for getting mad at Peter but her, flirting with John is fine. She even acts like she's the one who's right? What the hell is this??

It totally makes no sense how the ending just ended like that knowing we actually already expect it? We all know Lara Jean's gonna go back to Peter. So what I'm implying is, the direction the film was heading was predictable and those conflicts that the protagonist had were pointless. It's just there and it served no purpose for Lara Jean's character development. The only good character development she had was realizing she needs to resolve her conflicts with Gen and be friends again and also allowing her father to have a new lover. That's the only good thing she did throughout the damn film.

Technically I'm saying, the conflicts were just there and nothing more. It doesn't have a resolution in the end. Lara Jean just randomly realized something and then, the movie ends. The film didn't even have major accomplishment nor good character developments. The ending was rushed as well.

Now let's talk about Peter.

He's also stupid. He promised not to break each other' hearts but he's the one who still hides a lot of secrets from Lara Jean. He even made a fake poem for her knowing it will break Lara Jean's heart if she finds out the truth? The worst thing he did was getting the necklace back—the one he gave to Lara. What the hell was the point of that scene? Also, the "Break your heart into thousand pieces" type of shit he said in the end was so cringey.

Another cringey stuff that happened in the movie was when Lara Jean Started lip-syncing randomly. It was awful...And in the end when they kissed and started levitating, that was some hard-level type of cringe right there.

I'm gonna rate this movie a 3 / 10 👎

The movie gave a lot of negative stuff that blocked the good stuff the film can offer. We can say that the first movie gave us a lot of great stuff but this one—gave us less. I'm really so disappointed; I actually liked the first one. Anyways, thank you for reading my rants...😂

Movie Info:

Rating: NR

Genre: Drama, Romance

Directed by: Michael Fimognari

Release Date: February 12, 2020

Watch the trailer here!

[buffyshirley-blog]

Tyrus Speculations

So I wanted to talk (again) about whether I think Tyrus will happen or not, the answer is yes but I'll get into the reason why in just a moment.

Now with the gun safety/peer pressure storyline coming up in ep6/7 it seems unlikely Cyrus and TJ's feelings will be addressed in those episodes, unless they confess feelings during the makeup but I think it's more likely that this storyline will just be making their bond stronger as friends. But I don't think the gun safety storyline is taking place of a gay storyline. Yes the gun storyline could've taken place with any characters, but TJ and Cyrus are the best options because 1) TJ is the character most likely to be mixed up in something like this and 2) Cyrus is such a soft character I think it makes the storyline so much powerful to see a less-assertive character making the right decision in that situation. So no, I don't think this is in place of a gay storyline, but I don't think this particular storyline is leading straight to the gay storyline in either.

In his YSBnow interview when asked what we can expect from TJ this season he said: "you can expect to see a lot of character development and craziness happening with TJ. Especially in his mind. And with other people. Just saying" And his smirk after saying "with other people" speaks volumes.

Now the character development is probably referring mostly to the ep6/7 storyline, the craziness happening in his mind probably has to do with the mental health storyline (mentioned by Josh in another interview) and the craziness with other people is almost undoubtably Cyrus.

So Tyrus will happen in some way or another for certain. I'm convinced it will be at least explicitly stated that they have crushes on each other, the question is when will this happen? I don't think Tyrus can happen until one finds out the other is gay. In my mind I thought TJ was going to be a character who has already come to terms with his sexuality long before meeting Cyrus as that would make the path for Tyrus much clearer BUT after learning about the mental health storyline I'm wondering if that ties in with him being gay? I’ve also seen it speculated that one of the new characters (played by Raquel) could be TJ’s girlfriend or something since they obviously have something to do with each other, and she’s basically Iris 2.0z It is possible TJ doesn’t even know he’s gay so we could get a coming out storyline for TJ, but that seems like A LOT in addition to all his other complex storylines so I think it is most probable that he already knows he’s gay. I hope so ‘cause I really like the idea of assertive gay TJ.

Josh said recently that there is an upcoming episode that will make all ship stans lose their mind. He is undoubtedly  including Tyrus in those ships 'cause he's such a big Tyrus stan. I'm thinking this is probably episode 8 because the gun storyline will be resolved and Marty will be back by or in ep8. I believe Episode 8 is the episode where they are at the park? And you know that scene where Cyrus is sitting at the table with someone with a very concerned look on his face? I feel like it's definitely TJ he's looking at. I don't know what's happening but it probably has to do with either the mental health storyline or their relationship. Something big has to happen with Tyrus in ep8 since we won't see them again until ep11. It will probably be Cyrus realizing and admitting (not to TJ but maybe Andi) that he likes TJ because we've actually gotten more confirmation about TJ liking Cyrus than vise versa. I think Tyrus will be more of a slow burn than any of us anticipated.

Now I think people are mostly worried over the fate of Tyrus because of Disney's constrictions and it’s a legitimate concern. I don't think Disney is homophobic, I think they are a business acting like a business and yes, maybe they are being a little cowardly, but this is a very political issue being directed toward children, they are going to be overly careful about it as it’s kinda a delicate subject and they don’t want ratings to drop. Which is unfair, but it's still a step forward for the industry. Baby steps ya know? Tyrus is the first gay couple on Disney and they walking a road untraveled. With time that road will be a lot smoother. Tyrus is paving the way. Constrictions also exist because these are middle school kids. Even with Andi and Jonah there relationship is kinda tiptoed around. They don't call each other boyfriend and girlfriend for the longest time, they don't hold hands or kiss until mid season 2, and they didn't even go on an actual date until the season finale! BUT it is made very clear that Andi likes Jonah and he her, so that needs to happen with Tyrus. And it will. Disney is very aware of the blacklash they will face if Tyrus doesn't become more than subtext. And it will become more than subtext. It would just be stupid if it didn’t.

And I know people are upset that Cyrus's sexuality hasn't been addressed yet but I feel like it doesn't really need to be reaffirmed. We KNOW Cyrus is gay. We just need to know if likes TJ. I know Josh's recent posts have made everyone really worried but I'm convinced it will be explicitly stated that they like each other, if it isn't that would be a step backward for Disney since they already had Cyrus say he has a crush on Jonah. Not only do Cyrus and TJ’s crushes on each other need to be said aloud, but it I feel like they need to find out about each other being gay before Tyrus can happen. I mean not necessarily but it makes the most sense.

Josh seemed to have a positive outlook on Tyrus during the earlier stages of filming season 3 so that make me think that while WE might find out they like each other, THEY won’t find out that the other likes them for a while, hence the reason Josh said he doesn’t know Cyrus’s endgame. But they haven’t even finished writing/filming season 3 and I’m certain Tyrus will resolve itself in some sort of way, while still leaving doors open for their relationship to continue in season 4. ‘Cause I really do think Andi Mack will get a season 4. I know people think it’ll get cancelled due to dropping ratings but I’m pretty sure Andi Mack is one of their most popular shows. It would be stupid to cancel it.

So this is my tentative prediction of how Tyrus will go.

1. In ep6 angst and drama (look back 2.0)

2. episode 7 issues are resolved and they reestablish a positive friendship.

3. In episode 8 Cyrus realizes his feelings for TJ and admits it to someone. I’m thinking Andi ‘cause him, her and Jonah are supposedly hanging out that episode.

4. In episode 11 supposedly there is going to be a funeral but I’m confused as to how people found this out. While I’m sure the funeral is the center of the episode, I think it will bring about TJ finding out Cyrus is gay or vise versa. Or maybe TJ admits to someone that he likes Cyrus and the step of them finding out the other is gay will occur in future episodes.

From there I’m not exactly sure what will happen but those are my (tentative predictions) for how their relationship will go.

Whether Tyrus comes out of subtext or not (and I feel pretty confident it will) it’s still the best written and most developed relationship on the whole damn show.