#and yes i did choose screencaps that matched as best as i could get them

[thebroccolination]

I don't know if this will ever happen to me again, but watching the series finale of Be My Favorite in the theater was exactly the same experience for me as when I watched Return of the King in the theater.

Damn, that ending was amazing—

Oh, there's more! Wow. I knew I'd cry but—

OH MY GOD LET ME REST—

STOP STOP FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK sTOP MY HEART IS CRYING

…

………

I DIDN'T MEAN IT I'M SORRY I WANT SIX MORE HOURS

[ylizam]

dear creator: femslashex 2k20 edition

Hi, Hello, Hey. First of all–thank you! This is my standard you offered to write one of my fandoms, so thank you for being awesome opening spiel, full of generals likes and dislikes, I’m sure you know the drill. I’ll make sure the fandom specific stuff is up by the time assignments go out. (That said, if you already have an idea about how you want to write about the fandom/pairing we match on—wow, I’m jealous! tell me your secrets!—just skip over the fandom stuff and go forth with your bad self.) 

Things I like include, but are in no way limited to: fun with POV, fun with linear vs. non-linear storytelling, fun with tone, fun with writing. I really dig character studies, stories that really get into what makes a character tick (and something porny that can get at that is wonderful too), and I like relationships that are hard and prickly and worth fighting for. I like happy endings that don’t feel tacked on or forced. I like doubt, and hope, and theology; I like actors, and directors, and I like the random deity. I like fairy tales. I like (love) romance tropes. Forced to share a bed, marriages of convenience, fake dating, friends-to-lovers, idiots-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers: it’s all like unto catnip. I like interesting turns of phrase, I like the perfect line, I like any story written just for me. If you have any questions about my taste (or lack thereof), feel free to ask @summervillen​ who probably knows my fannish tastes better than I do.

DNWs: noncon, necrophilia, pedophilia, incest, animal harm or death, child harm or death, pregnancy fic, A/B/O. Things that I would prefer you not include—especially gratuitously; there are obviously ways to engage with problematic actions/thoughts/etc. in fiction, but there’s such a fine line there—are as follows: non-character driven racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-semitism, etc. etc. etc. I’d prefer no high school AUs. I also have a pretty big embarrassment squick. And while I'm mostly interested in these characters in the worlds in which we meet them, if you really have an AU (non high school division) you want to write I'm there. Just, you know, grounded in the characters and their relationships and all that fun stuff. That's basically it.

Babylon 5 Delenn/Susan Ivanova I just ship them post-canon so hard. Later in life chances at love are sort of a thing of mine, and add to that two of my favorite characters ever, well, it’s like this pairing is made for me. That said, if you can find a way to write them during canon (maybe John doesn’t return from Z'ha'dum, maybe Delenn and John just never get together at all, maybe you can think of something I can’t) I’d love that too. Delenn/Shaal Mayan I’d love a story about them that’s really Minbari–that understands that neither of them is human. Something set when they were young and just figuring themselves out (and first love is rarely forever but it feels like it must be) or something set when Mayan visits Babylon 5 in season one or, heck, something set after the series ends. (I have a thing for writing on skin, so if you can find a way to fit that in more power to you.)

Last Tango in Halifax Gillian Greenwood/Caroline McKenzie-Dawson Oh gosh I have so many feelings about Gillian and Caroline and their relationship. How it’s grown, changed, and now they’re at a point where they see each other all the time and talk about basically everything and it’s all so beautiful. And, I mean, come on, they both have the best chemistry with the other; it’s just a fact. So what if they get drunk and kiss (or shag or something in between)? Or just deal with things like adults (I’m sure you could convince me that’s possible)? (She wasn’t part of the tagset, but I also liked what little we saw of Olga, both how she interacted with Caroline and how she befriended Gillian when they both showed up late to the play, so if you want to go the threesome route–whether it’s a V or a triad or whatever confusing mess of emotions you prefer–I’m there.) (P.S. I haven’t seen the most recent season, but I’m spoiled and have seen all the gifs and screencaps so include or don’t as you see fit.)

Lucifer Linda Martin/Mazikeen

Their relationship on the show is a thing of delight and wonder, so basically I want that but also MORE. Maze fighting people to protect Linda! Linda, well, trying to fight people but mostly realizing that Maze loves it and is good at it so. Maze panicking again about Linda eventually dying, but also MORE SO because now they’ve been fucking and also having weird candlelight dinners and um is this romantic this might be. (Whether Amenadiel is involved (romantically with either or both, as an active parent but no longer romantically, etc.) or off doing something else stage left and never mentioned is up to you, but please no bashing, killing off somehow, etc.) Feel free to include hijinks with the rest of the gang, but I’d prefer no focus on any police work. 

 The Old Guard (Movie) Andy/Quynh

Note: I haven’t read the comics, so this is strictly a movie request (I know they’re separate fandoms and listed thusly, but I just wanted to be clear). I’d love anything about them, in all honesty. Something in the past: a first time (they kissed, they said “I love you,” they refused to say “I love you,” they had sex, etc.), a fifth time, a mission gone wrong. Or something in the present/future: angst and fractured trust and fighting on opposite sides until they’re suddenly not. All too mortal Andy. Immortal Quynh. The options are basically endless. I also love everyone on the team, so feel free to include them however you see fit. 

Star Trek: Classic Timeline

First of all, I don’t know book canon, so include it, don’t include, whatever floats your proverbial boat. Second of all, I am more than happy with “this character lives” stories here. Obviously. Third of all, please no bashing of any other characters (even that one).

Beverly Crusher/Laris

So I came out of Picard with an undying devotion to Laris and a burning curiosity about what the heck Bev is up to these days. So tell me more about both of them. Is there’s a longstanding affair, often at a distance? Did they start out prickly and reserved, wary? How are Jean-Luc and Zhaban involved? (I am happy with whatever you decide on the Jean-Luc and Zhaban front, other than gratuitous death or bashing of either. Feel free to have them off having their own adventures and don’t mention them if you prefer not to involve them.) Is Beverly’s French as terrible as Jean-Luc’s? 

Kimara Cretak/Kira Nerys

Feel free to have Kimara escape/live/etc. I’d especially love something that recognizes that neither of them is human; play around with what we know of their cultures, about how those cultures might clash or unexpectedly mesh, how that can affect a relationship both positively and negatively. I’m always interested in Nerys’s faith and religious beliefs, and how that interacts with Romulan culture would be very much something I enjoy. 

K'Ehlyer/Deanna Troi

K’Ehlyer deserved better, and who is better than Deanna? I posit no one. This is another pairing where I’d love something about the fact that they’re not fully human and the implications thereof. (Feel free to include Alexander or not, as you choose. Ditto Thaddeus and Kestra. I’d prefer they not be a focal point though.) Whether you set it during TNG or Picard or in between, I’ll be equally happy (or an alternate version of reality works too! those are just the time references I can think of right now!). (Please note that I very much also ship Deanna and Will, so please, please, please don’t bash him or kill him off for no reason or have Deanna cheating on him or whatever. I’d much rather you don’t mention him at all if you don’t want him in the fic.) 

The Untamed Jiang Yanli/Wen Qing

Is part of this my desire to have two of my favorite characters pushed together? Yes. Is it also part of my desire to have them actually live? Absolutely. (Which is to say: I’d love a “Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing live” AU here. Or at least live longer than they make it in canon?) I’d also be fine with modern AUs here, but I’d prefer cultivation be in there somewhere even if it’s set in the present (or the 1980s or basically any time period). Maybe there’s a political partnership of convenience situation! Maybe something shifts in canon and Jiang Yanli helps the Qishan Wens out and things happen and trust grows and they fall in love! Maybe they have a secret fling! Honestly, it’s all good. 

[ettadunham]

A Buffy rewatch 4x15 This Year’s Girl

aka surprise bitch

Welcome to this dailyish text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and go on an impromptu rant about it for an hour. Is it about one hyperspecific thing or twenty observations? 10 or 3k words? You don’t know! I don’t know!!! In this house we don’t know things.

And today’s episode is SO GOOD. It is soo good, you guys!!!! Just as good as you remember it.

What I love about This Year’s Girl is that even some of the meh-y s4 plot elements work in it. Adam as a background invisible threat doing demon autopsies is legit chilling. Forrest is still the worst, but Riley mostly works as the guy who didn’t watch s3. And I love the running gag of the Scoobies checking him for hidden chips because foreshadowing.

The Scoobies themselves are working together and yet still scattered. Xander and Giles running into Spike and asking for his help, and him reminding them once again that he’s evil is priceless.

And of course the scene between Willow and Tara is adorable… even if it uses way too much slut-shaming language.

(To be fair though, it unfortunately isn’t a rare occurrence for the show or Willow to use that kind of language. Especially with Faith who we know she has a grudge against. You could almost say that it’s in character. I just… you know… wish it wasn’t. Not to mention that a writer chose to write it that way…)

Now that we’ve got all that, let’s talk some about the main attraction of this episode - Faith.

YOU GUYS DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I LOVE FAITH IN THIS EPISODE, YOU GUYS!!! GUYS!!!!!!

And you know what, hands down to Eliza Dushku, because the way she’s playing Faith when she’s alone is such a wonderful and subtle performance. It feels especially powerful when contrasted with the Faith we see in a confrontation or a fight, often with Buffy. That Faith is full of posturing and manic energy, and yes, innuendos. So many innuendos.

The Faith we meet in the quiet however, is much more reflective. And sad. I love the score in the episode too, as it both underscores (heh, get it) that and fills it with an ominous atmosphere. We feel sympathy for Faith, but we’re also supposed to wonder what she’ll do next.

It doesn’t really help that the Scoobies clearly have no idea how they’d be handling a Grey Faith. Riley jokes about how he doesn’t know how to handle grey the way Buffy does, but when it comes down to it, the Scoobies’ response to the idea of Faith’s Heel-Face revolving door doesn’t really support that.

Willow and Xander are Pro Kick Her Ass, which I just realized… Is a s2 finale callback? It must be. And this time Willow is the one saying it. Oh my God. You guys… Willow did tell Buffy to kick her love interest’s ass at some point, it’s true.

(At least she didn’t lie about Xander saying it. He just straight up agreed with her in person.)

Giles does say that ‘perhaps there’s some form of rehabilitation’, but he lacks any conviction or specifics. And as much as Buffy theorizes that maybe Faith is scared, she’s still thinking in binary. Faith is either sorry and is ready and willing to be redeemed - or she’s angry and a threat that needs to be dealt with.

This isn’t an unfair assessment though, and in many ways, a necessary mindset for Buffy to have. She’s compassionate, but she also has a responsibility. If someone poses a supernatural threat, she can’t just Power of Love through it and hope for the best. She has the power to fight, and she’s often the only one with the power to stop them. She is the law.

(This theme of course will come up even more so in s6 and s7, especially in the context of Willow and Anya.).

Whatever the motive, at the end of the day, her and the gang’s attitude only works to reinforce Faith’s outlook. She can’t go back and she can’t move forward. She’s stuck with no one to fall back onto, now that the Mayor’s gone.

And the Mayor’s last message to her is both adorable (look at her little smile in the screencap) and highlights the inherent toxicity of that relationship. As much as the Mayor may have cared about Faith, it still wasn’t the kind of love that recognizes the needs of the other.

Telling someone you love that there’s nothing else in the world for them once you’re gone? That’s the work of pure evil, my friend.

In a way, I feel like Faith mostly goes along the body-switching plan because it gave her something to do. Faith is all about action - good or bad, she must keep moving.

The way she acts with Joyce especially felt like a performance. She’s playing the part of the psycho murderer more than anything - and maybe that’s just because she’s executing a plan… Or maybe it just feels that way here, because we see her in those quiet moments as well in this episode.

Faith’s dreams are another part of that puzzle. And the way Buffy is portrayed in them is especially intriguing to me.

There are three layers to this.

1) Bufy and Faith are connected as Slayers, and therefore can appear in each others dreams. This especially seems true in the first dream, where Buffy’s dream persona is the closest to her actual character.

This dream is also very similar to the one Buffy has in Graduation Part 2. I then suggested that it might actually be the same core dream, only shaped differently by the dreamer’s perspective. Even the foreshadowing and metaphorical language is in a similar vein (clean sheets that smell like Summer which Faith wouldn’t know about).

Except this dream ends with Buffy twisting the knife in Faith. Which brings me to my next points.

2) The Buffy Faith sees in her dream is also informed by how she perceives Buffy. She felt betrayed by Buffy long before she went over to the dark side. Her Slayer gal pal stabbing her to save Angel? That was the final twisting of the knife, reminding her that Buffy would always choose him over her.

I suppose Faith also sees Buffy as the person who took her last connection away from her in the form of the Mayor. Which is what we see in Faith’s second dream, but I’m more prone to interpret that as…

3) …Faith projecting herself onto dream Buffy, much like Buffy did with Drusilla in Surprise. This interpretation especially jumps out in the third dream, where Faith is running away from a Buffy that’s stalking her with the knife she stabbed her with.

But Faith can’t keep running from herself, and as she slips and falls into a grave, it gives enough time for her past to catch up with her. And as she re-emerges, accepting the killer as part of her, she wakes up.

Of course, there’s also just the trauma itself of being stabbed by Buffy that gives a much more obvious layer to these dreams. There’s a lot going on here, as is the case usually with dream sequences on this show.

On the other side of this, we’ve got Buffy. I personally feel like there’s an understanding here that she feels guilty about how things went down between them, but it’s not explicit.

In the scene where Riley is trying to get her to tell him more about what else happened with Faith, and what Faith’s done to her, I feel like the intention may have been to show that she’s keeping the Angel-related details from him… But my mind immediately went to how Buffy might be thinking about what she’s done to Faith.

The first (real) interaction between Faith and Buffy is also just super loaded, but it’s telling that neither of them are making the first move to fight… Not until the cops show up. There’s taunting and innuendo, of course, and Buffy makes a half-hearted plea to Faith.

“It doesn’t have to be like this.”

But Faith is not ready to let down, and Buffy is quick to match her pace. Maybe too quick, but remember… Murder… Also, responsibility.

Here’s one more thing I want to leave you guys with to think about though. Buffy receiving the call from the hospital means that she was Faith’s emergency contact. And sure, you can take that as Buffy leaving her information at the hospital after Faith got into her coma, to make sure that she knows if (and when) she wakes up…

…But imagining Faith listing Buffy as her emergency contact at some point in some form beforehand is much more fun, and causes much more pain to me.

You can’t stop me from making myself sad with Fuffy. It’s what I do.

[avengerscompound]

Super Like - Chapter 7

Super Like: A Captain America Fanfic

Series Masterlist Previous | Next For Steve’s POV

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  1850ish

Warnings:  None for this chapter.

Synopsis:   Nerves about meeting the team builds.  Steve finally finds out the secret you were keeping.

A/N:  Re-uploading from @emilyevanston.

THERE ARE IMAGES IN THIS FIC THAT ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE STORY.

Chapter 7

Meeting the family.  It was big.  Yeah, the Avengers weren't his biological family.  They were still his family and this was important to Steve.  He needed it to be sure of his feelings and knowing this was right for him to go forward with.

So, of course, you started to overthink it.

What if they didn't like you?  What if you were too normal?  Too boring?  What if you said something wrong?  What if you couldn’t keep up?  What if?  What if?  What if?  You were going to make yourself crazy.

It was always nerve-wracking to meet best friends and parents of your new relationship.  Somehow this was worse.  They weren’t just his family.  They were the Avengers.  Superheros and celebrities and billionaires.  Who were you compared to the Avengers?

Your panic sometimes turned into freaked out text messages.

You rolled your eyes.  You loved sassy Steve normally but right now you could choke him.

The pet names were new.  He’d started using them the day after he’d invited you to meet them.  It was cute and you liked seeing them on the screen.  You couldn’t wait to hear them out loud too.

The conversation didn't help at all and you kept going through your wardrobe choosing thing and then deciding against them only to come back to them again later.  You also worried about how to wear your hair and makeup.

Not that how you looked was your only concern.

Not that Steve was the only one getting text messages from you.  Your friend Max was being bombarded with every little thing you were overthinking.

You knew it was a joke but your sense of humor had completely fucked off on you at this point and all rational thought had long since left you.

Max came through for you.  He always did.  You modeled about 12 dresses for him before settling on one and then caught the subway to the Avengers’ Tower, still freaking out that you should have stopped and gotten dessert or something.  Or maybe made it?  Tony Stark can’t have a cellar full of homemade desserts surely.

You had to check in at security.  You’d known it would be coming.  They weren’t going to just let any old person in off the street into the building, obviously.  Still, it felt weird having to pull out your license and have your identity verified just so you could see your boyfriend.

Boyfriend?  Did you just think of him as your boyfriend?  Was that okay if he wasn’t quite sure of his comfort level yet?  That ‘defining who you were’ conversation hadn’t happened yet and you really didn’t like those anyway.  It had been months now, surely boyfriend was fine.

You rode the elevator up and the doors opened into a large open room, with a bar, pool table and couches scattered around the place.  Most of the Avengers were sitting on a group of couches raised above the main floor by a window that looked out over the Chrysler Building and East River.

Steve, however, was standing by the door.  “Hey, right on time.”  He said kissing your cheek.

You laughed.  It sounded weird and slightly hysterical.  “Anxiety makes me be on time.”

He smiled softly at you and took your hands.  You looked up into his pale blue eyes and felt yourself relax a little.  “Hey.  It’s me and my friends.  It’s not that big of a deal, sweetheart.”

“They're your family.”  You whispered.

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around your waist.  “Come on.  Let's get it over with.  Right off.  Like a band-aid.”

You went over to the group and they all stood as you approach.  Steve introduced you all, not that you need to have them pointed out.  You knew each of their names.  You heard them enough on TV.  They each shook your hand and took a seat.  You sat down too, right next to Bucky Barnes.

Steve sat beside you and put his arm around your shoulders.  You moved so you're pressed against him and it felt comforting.  That little touch made it feel more natural and not so much like you’re meeting a bunch of celebrity superheroes.

“Can I get you a drink?”  Tony offered before he took a seat.

You asked him for a drink and he skipped down to the bar to get it for you.

“It’s about time we met,”  Sam said.

You smiled at him.  “It sure is.  I guess I have you to thank, huh?”

“Tell you what, first kid is named Sam, okay?”  Sam teased.

You laughed but your body tensed up.  Steve rubbed your arm up and down and rolled his eyes.  “We’ll be sure to.”  He shot back.

“So tell us about yourself,”  Tony said, coming back and handing you your drink.

Thus started the cross-examination.  It wasn’t so bad.  You told about your childhood and what you did for work.  About your family and hobbies.  It became slightly more relaxed when dinner was served.  You learned more about them.  How funny Tony, Clint, and Sam were. How quiet Natasha, Bruce, and Bucky were.  How Soft Vision and Wanda were.  It was interesting seeing them just casually.  The longer you spent with them the more they felt like real people and not just superheroes you’d seen on TV.

After you’d eaten you started hanging out, playing pool and drinking.  Sam cornered you at the bar while you were making cocktails.  “So, I gotta say,”  He said as he poured himself a scotch over ice.  “I always assumed the person who would respond to that add would be crazy.  Like a stalker or something.”

You laughed.  “No.  Not a stalker.”

“So why’d you respond?  It literally just said ‘I’m Captain America’.”

“No.  It said ‘I’m Captain America.  What else do you need to know?’”  You corrected him.

It made him throw his head back laughing.  “Oh yeah.  That was good.  Still.  Spill.  Why’d you reply?”

“Honestly?”  You asked.

“I thought it was fake and just wanted to screencap myself getting matched with Captain America.”  You said.

Sam laughed even harder.  “Oh my god!  That’s a good one!”

“I nearly shat myself when actual Steve Rogers showed up for coffee that day.  I thought I’d been roleplaying with some kid pretending to be Captain America.”  You explained.

Sam laughed even harder putting his hand on your shoulder.  “You … thought… you… were… what?”

“Roleplaying.”  You said.  “I had money on a 17-year-old girl.”

“Holy shit!”  He said doubling over.  “Does Steve know?”

“No!  I didn’t know how to tell him.”  You said.

“Tell me what?”  Steve asked appearing behind you.

“Oh god, man.  This is so good.  Tell him…”  Sam said clutching at Steve uselessly.

You groaned and dragged you hand down your face.  Steve looked at you, a completely puzzled expression on his face.  “What is it?”

“So,”  You said.  “When you super liked me on Tinder, I thought it was just a fake account.”

“I - I guess that makes sense.  It would be pretty weird to have Captain America be on Tinder.  There’s probably a lot of fake accounts.”  He said.

“Keep going,”  Sam said nudging you.

“Oh god,”  You groaned.  “So, then we were talking.  And I thought you were just someone pretending to be you.  Like we were playing a game.  I was taking like me, but I thought you were faking it.”

“You what?”  Steve asked.

“Tell him who you thought he might be?”  Sam wheezed.

“I thought you were probably a 17-year-old girl.”  You said hiding your face in his chest.

He rubbed your back and didn’t say anything for a moment.  “That’s why you asked how you’d recognize me.”

“Yes.”  You answered, not even being able to raise your head.

He laughed and kissed the top of your head.  “This explains so much.”

You looked up at him from your spot on his chest.  “You aren’t mad?”

“No. It’s not like it changed anything in the end.  We get along now you know right?”  He said.

“Yeah.  I like to think so.”  You agreed and leaned up and kissed him.

As the night drew to a close you were feeling really good.  You were getting on with everyone.  You’d cleared the air.  The realness of this relationship started to set in.  You imagined sleeping over.  Not just sex, which you had imagined a lot of times, but sleeping being spooned by him and waking up in the morning in bed with him.  Making breakfast.  The real things people did together.

Tony called a car to come and get you at around midnight and Steve went with you down to the garage.  You stood in the elevator, your body pressed against his, playing with the collar of his dark blue shirt.

“I thought of you as my boyfriend today.”  You said, leaning in and ghosting your lips over his neck.

He tilted his head to the side and pulled you a little closer.  “Is that not what I am?”

“I hope so.  We hadn’t talked about it.”  You said.

“I definitely think about you as my girlfriend.”  He said.

You leaned up and kissed him.  It was slow and deep and a little sloppy thanks to how much you’d been drinking.  You could still taste the scotch on his lips as they moved with yours.

He pulled back as the doors opened into the garage.  There was a man waiting at a black car who rolled his eyes when he saw you.  Steve stopped you just as you approached the car.  “Thank you for coming.  I hope you had fun.”

“I really did.  I really like your friends, Steve.”  You replied.

“And I really like you.”  He said and kissed you again.

The driver cleared his throat and Steve looked up at him sheepishly.  “Sorry, Happy.  She’s all yours.”  He held onto your hand as you climbed in and leaned in and pecked your lips again.  “Text me when you’re home.”

“Of course, honey.”  You replied.  “I wouldn’t forget that.”

[gggno]

bio/ THAN.

NAME: thanthai kerongthikhikhorn ( แทนไท เก้รงทิขฃร ) * ALIAS: than ( he only goes by than ) FC:  bank thiti mahayotaruk SPECIES: human ETHNICITY: thai BIRTHDAY: 2001 THAI HOROSCOPE: snake [ source ] ELEMENT: fire AGE: 18 FAMILY: tuk ( mee ‘mom’, deceased ), sert (phcc ‘dad’, alive ), top ( piichaai‘eldest brother’, alive), tharm ( nongsaaw ‘little daughter’, alive )  LANGUAGES: thai, english

BACKGROUND: born to a small family of four, than has always been a mama’s boy. they used to live in chiangmai, far from the capital and the urban buzz, until his mother fell ill in 2006. they moved to bangkok to seek better medical treatment, and they were moving around the city a lot due to toppling rent and bills. his family owns a photocopying store in bangkok, which also doubles as their home.

his childhood was turbulent and lonely, without many friends around. he would skip school to sit with his mother all day.  tuk, a nickname given by her friends for her sweet nature, used to teach, so she home-schooled -- hospital-schooled, in the literal sense -- than for a long period. sert was too much of a perfectionist for such arrangement, and than’s relationship with him began to crack. his elder brother, top, tried his best to maintain harmony.

things turned bright briefly during 2009 and 2010, and his mother was healthy enough to be discharged and stay at home. she was pregnant and gave birth to his sister tharm in early 2011, then her condition took a nose dive. shortly after, she passes away, leaving her husband and three children.

than had trouble socialising with classmates but no issue on the volleyball field, and so the sport quickly became his new comfort. he did his best not to fail his subjects but couldn’t reach the standard sert expected, further deepening the divide between them. soon enough, than would devote all his free time to volleyball, aiming to go professional after school. sert was mad but most of the time distracted by tharm, who began showing learning disabilities. since than was always away, top took care of tharm the most.

father-son tensions were at their boiling point in 2016, when than faked sert’s signature to apply to st sebastian, the school with an elite volleyball team destined to go pro, but failed to get in. stubborn and unwilling to accept defeat so soon, he went for the second best -- theppanya.

it was there he met puen, the begrudged captain with a personal mission to defeat an ex-teammate, singha, in the next national cup. than used to attack but was assigned to set for puen, their main spiker. initially unhappy with this arrangement, he only found determination to succeed because of puen’s constant provocation. at some point, the two bonded, and hostility softened into comradeship and eventually more.

CHARACTERISTICS:

As told by his zodiac, 

venus is the mouth -- kindly spoken, but dishonest he doesn’t admit to his weaknesses, and this stubborn pride often leaves him in and unconscious cycle of self harm. he lies to his father, mostly by omission, hoping to choose his own career.

sun is the heart -- unreliable temper has been an issue, a barrier that prevented him from having close friends. that coupled with his fluctuating family situation, he displays spikes of joy, agony or anger. he is eager to please, too, which easily ends up with promises he cannot keep.

mercury is the loins -- enough carnal desire urges leave him jittery and uneasy. that’s why he would rather tire himself on the volleyball court.

saturn and moon are the hands -- works quickly and efficiently smart, versatile and flexible, he is good with handy work. he generates incredible momentum, powered by unparalleled determination and competitiveness. he is also rash in making decisions.

mars and jupiter are the feet -- enjoys travelling life is more to one place, even though he longs for stability. as soon as his father showed the slightest sign of recognition, he pictures himself at the olympics one day. he wants to feel as much as possible. [ source ]

RELATIONS:

puen ( puenthai ปืนไท, ‘gun’ ) -- boyfriend, 19 years old the star spiker at theppanya. initially harsh and unreasonable but quickly realising he was deflecting his anger towards singha on than. his parents abandoned him when he was young, and his aunt didn’t want to take care of him. as soon as he could manage, he moved out and made his own living aside from volleyball practice. his father remarried, had another child, and puen was devastated to find that his father was capable of parenting, after all. however, upon discovering the divide between than and sert, puen secretly delivered tickets so sert and fah could witness how serious than was about his dream. while than promised puen to win the u18 cup for him, puen told him, ‘no need to promise, just try your best.’ when singha was hit by a car and in a coma, puen had a meltdown and lost his will to play. his friends -- jane, naw and leng -- all expressed concern and disappointment, and than was remarkably upset. the night before the final match against st sebastian, than went to puen’s place. ‘i’m still trying, are you?’ he said, referring to that promise. puen showed up, in the end, and theppanya gave their all. some young blood got hurt but they never lost spirit. they fought till the very end, and for the second time in a row, was crowned second. after the match, puen thanked than for being there. that night, puen found than training alone at the gym, saying he couldn’t sleep. the two practiced till dawn, and than admitted he would miss puen after he graduated. puen promised to return and play with him no matter what. a year later, when than finally lead theppanya to champion, he confessed. puen said yes, and they have been dating since then. 

singha ( kraisingha ไกรสิงห์, ‘famous lion’ ) -- puen’s best friend, 19 years old famous setter who transferred from theppanya to st sebastian after the u18 2015 cup. his style is fluid and comforming to whomever he is teamed with. while his fallout with puen lasted nearly a year, the two reconciled and made peace with their diverging paths. once puen’s emotional support, singha understands his struggles and short temper. after the 2016 cup, than visited him in private, and singha took the step to ask if than had feelings for puen but let the younger setter respond with blank confusion. than sees singha as a role model but also an imaginary rival, hoping one day to surpass singha in all ways. [ source / source ]

* surnames were only introduced to thai culture by the 1913 surname act, which prohibits any new surname duplicating the existing ones. any two people of the same surname must be related, and it is very rare for two people to share the same full name. i tried by best to read from my screencap, feel free to correct me if i misspelled his surname. [ source, screencap ]

[kittensjonsa]

Hi Anon

Hope you get to see this because I took a screencap of this so it won’t end up in the any of the precious J0ns@ tags, if it does then blame Tumblr, I tagged properly since I refuse to tag my own crap/rant out of respect for my otp. Slightly spoilery ahead..

Anon, let me tell you first and foremost that it’s safe to say that I’m a fan of the books after I’ve read them and since then I tend to follow book canon more than the show.

Having said that, what I’ve seen on s7 is total and utter crap. This is not the Jon I know from the books, and dammit not Ary@ even. Wtf is going on? And all I can say is book!Jon and book!Ary@ would never do what I’ve heard the leaked episode showed they did. Character assassination was the central theme of the season. The only character I thought stayed true to hers was Sansa. And god that girl has been through enough already, why subject her to suffer more? Ugh.

And yes because of Sansa I do still ship J0ns@, I still want her to be happy in the world of Westeros and I think book!Jon is a great match for her still, best man she could ever have in terms of character, status and political ties. And I hope all that will translate into the next season.

I still have hope that there’s still something good ahead for Jon and Sansa as their true paths reveal to converge as one and endgame. Will be hard to do after this s7 but I choose to believe that it is indeed happening because his doomed romance with his own aunt will not last. THAT ship has death written all over it and I’m not the type to jump ship because I’m loyal to my otps. There can be only one ship in ASOIAF for me and there can be only one Lady for Jon and that is Sansa. I will go down with this ship, blood sweat and tears (okay not literally tho just demonstrating my loyalty). I am indeed J0ns@ for life. Always.

J0ns@ is coming. ✌

[yukiminamoto]

Elizabeth Midford: Character Analysis Part 2

I tag these people for the amazing things they do for the Kuroshitsuji fandom! I hope this analysis on Elizabeth Midford is to everyone’s liking! I did my best. Please enjoy! Ya’ll know when to inspire someone me! Thank you all the fan-artists, the bloggers who do AMAZING META in their respective fandoms, and the people who support this girl in general! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING. I dedicate this whole blog post to you guys!

@shinigami-mistress @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly @his-fiancee @sieglinde-sullivan @a-bitter-master @skania @queenzelda @eecmidford @cielizzydefencesquad @lizzy-phantomhive @lizmidford @thedarkestcrow @otakusiren @darkspellmaster @dorkshadows @silyabeeodess @akuma-de-shitsuji @i-like-phanime

I’m currently spending my Friday writing up this post for the last 4 hours, getting my thoughts together.  I’ve never thought that I would write something this big with this many references to Elizabeth Midford posts from other bloggers who love her as much as I do, including pictures, screencaps, and manga caps, but what can you do when inspiration hits you like a truck? 

I should be doing my weekly blogs for my classes and getting ready for my NUMEROUS group projects in all of my classes, but no I decided to spend 4 hours in the college library writing this bad girl up like it’s a final report that’s due in 30 fucking minutes. Fuck My life. 

And yes, I’m citing my sources. Dear god, it’s like a fucking final report on who Elizabeth is and how she fits into the story. Jesus. You guys better be happy that I’m doing this! I worked hard on this damn it! 

And thank you to all the bloggers that I used as references & adding more character analysis on my golden haired bae than I could ever cover on one blog post. 

Kuro Chapter References:

Ch. 37  | Ch. 51 |  Ch. 58 |  Ch. 66 | Ch. 117 

Elizabeth Midford Posts (more character analysis if you can’t get enough and want more):

Chapters 58 & 117 by @skania

A Second Look at Madam Red's Advice to Lizzy by  @shinigami-mistress

How Precious Lizzy is to Ciel by @otakusiren

Ciel’s Precious: Elizabeth by @otakusiren

Ciel and Lizzy: something special that happened on the boat… by @darkspellmaster

About Elizabeth by @dorkshadows

Reminder about Elizabeth by @lizmidford

Reflecting on the Kuroshitsuji Easter Chapter: by @silyabeeodess

Kuroshitsuji Positivity Day   @akuma-de-shitsuji

Rant: Respect Elizabeth Midford @i-like-phanime

I should write a fanfic about her thoughts (we rarely see her at all during the Lizzy Kidnapped arc). And when Lizzy does show up, she only gives us more questions. I hope Yana-Sensei does her justice. My girl deserves it.

I mean, it’s hard and easy at the same time to see WHY she’s agreeing to go with Mr. Strange ( I keep forgetting his name honestly.)

Yeah, it’s going to be a LONG ASS POST. Sit tight and grab a drink and some food. I’m heading deep into Elizabeth Midford’s character in Kuroshitsuji. She’s so underappreciated in this fandom, I swear. 

Superficial and bubbly on the outside, deep as fuck with huge angst hidden behind a mask on the inside. 

It hit me that EVEN HARDER (in this mangacap in Chapter 133) she does care about Ciel deeply and even very misguided in her attempts to make him feel open to his feelings/trauma about his past when he was kidnapped as a child.

People tend to forget that Elizabeth is a teenager with TONS of baggage on her hands as well. The way many fans in the Kuroshitsuji fandom treat her as an annoyance and bother really gets under my skin.

If you had to go through society’s expectations of being a proper woman and at the same time feeling pressured to protect your future husband later down the line, you would feel very conflicted and confused at best.

EVERYONE needs to know that she is a teenager who lives in a society where if you are a noble girl from a very prestigious family, you are going to have to get married at one point or another (spinsterhood was look at with horror and revulsion). At a very young age, Lizzy path was already set for her: See chapter 58 for more information.

Hell, Frances sympathizes with her daughter, even if she disagreed with not continuing her training. Her mother slaps her for speaking out.

And yet, Frances knows what path she’s forcing her daughter to walk since she was born in the Watchdog family. This rare, and touching moment between mother & daughter is so significant. Frances knows how important this sort of training is to Lizzy as a mother and aunt. It’s unconventional training, but if Lizzy can survive being the Wife of the Watchdog, then she’s going to train Elizabeth the hard way. 

Frances only wants to protect her kids and Lizzy accepts her fate with tears in her eyes. At that moment she knows that Lizzy can’t run away. She has to continue her training no matter what. This was the pivotal moment she choose to make that vow to protect her beloved cousin. 

At the very least, she grew to love Ciel as a person and feared that if she showed that she was more powerful/masculine (gender dynamics were pretty strict back in the day too.) he wouldn’t love her. It goes to show how much of an impact Ciel made on her as a child.

She cared for what he thought of her so deeply, that she took those words to heart later on in the years.

She wanted to help Ciel and protect him to the best of her ability. She knows what she’s doing is wrong (in her own eyes and her family’s eyes) but she feels very strongly that this is the only way to save him.

See Chapter 117 for more information.

Her has two personalities at this point: cheerful,immature, bright, VERY socially aware of her surroundings, and slightly overbearing, but chapter 117 shows us that she has another side to her she hides extremely well. 

See Chapter 51 as reference. 

With her fight with Sebastian, she uses EVERY OUNCE OF HER TRAINING TO NOT GO BACK. She has to stay no matter what. It shows that she’s not as air headed as she portrayed herself. She can be stubborn, selfish, headstrong, and conflicted.

Like, A FUCKING 14 YEAR OLD WENT UP AGAINST A DEMON. A DEMON. YA’LL DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH I FEEL WHEN SHE FOUGHT AGAINST SEBASTIAN. HOLY SHIT. Why is the fandom not crying out with joy about this? I know Lizzy fans were freaking the fuck out when ch. 117 came out.

It shows so much of her character in that chapter, I wanted to hug my girl and never let go.

I was inspired by this AMAZING POST. Check it out! I mean from Ch. 58 to Ch. 117 compare the two please:

Before

After

Elizabeth Midford has changed so much throughout Kuroshitsuji. It’s funny really how Yana-sensei slowly shows who Lizzy is subtly until it hits everyone in the face in Chapter 57.

At first, we thought the same thing as Ciel: She was kind, overbearing, and very forceful in getting what she wants. That was how Lizzy wanted to be seen as.

She’s in-tune to how Ciel feels as early as chapter 37 when she visits.

When she figured out that Ciel was bedridden from Soma, she was worried about Ciel not opening up to her.

Sebastian reassured her that Ciel was all right and Lizzy was relieved and slightly skeptical. 

Even if the fans didn’t see it initially, when she slowly integrated herself within Ciel’s inner circle, she’s very much emotionally intelligent from the get go. Even if her ways of cheering up Ciel was a bit much, she admitted it to Sebastian privately.

It’s funny how Ciel shortly AFTER the Campania Arc, in chapter 66 he was also tricked by Lizzy despite “knowing”  and accepting Elizabeth for who she was strength an all.

It’s ironic, seeing that Ciel felt successful in tricking her in order to make her happy, Lizzy knew something was wrong the moment he “remembered” their Easter tradition.

She then wonders what happened to him during that month he was kidnapped.

It’s obvious that he’s changed into a completely different person because of the trauma he went through.

She knows that he’s changed and she’s trying her best to see him smile again despite the fact that forcing him to be happy/cheerful isn’t very good for his mental, emotional, and physical health over all.

But when you’re also broken, conflicted in where you stand in life, especially at such a young and impressionable age and a girl at that, it’s “hard to pick up the pieces” after someone who’s also suffered trauma in an untold amount.

What I personally want is an heart-to-heart conversation between the two of them. They’re both trying to push the other person away while at the same time, they’re both conflicted at how emotionally, mentally, and physically different they are from each other.  They’re both flawed characters who misunderstand what the other wants.

They really don’t know how to open up to each other and are hiding things that can be detrimental to their relationship.

Ciel is hiding and closing Lizzy away from his lifestyle in order to protect her from the dangers of being in the Watchdog’s family; a life she’s, ironically enough has been training all of her life for.

While Lizzy is trying and failing at making Ciel happy while at the same time trying to figure out where she stands with him as a person. She has a HUGE complex within herself in how to become a perfect Victorian Lady and how to be a woman who can protect the person she loves the most.

They’re both complex, broken, and fragile. At the peak of this arc, I hope that Lizzy finds herself as a person, not as Ciel’s fiancee she’s been told all throughout her life. I hope that Ciel is at least honest with her on how he feels about her and to reassure her that she’s fine the way she is.

I want them to talk without Sebastian or anyone on the outside to interfere with their relationship and I know that’s almost never going to happen.

And what do you guys think about Lizzy and the pressures she has to go through to conforming while simultaneously trying to hide who she is underneath?

I’m gonna quote George R.R. Martin since it matches Elizabeth so well:

My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel.—  George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

[sage-nebula]

Pokemon XYZ or blue exorcist please!

Someone else asked for Blue Exorcist, so I’m going to go ahead and do Pokémon XY(&Z). I’m also assuming you mean the anime here, but if not and you meant the games, feel free to send that in, haha.

But as for the anime … oh buddy.

Very first order of business here is to fix Alan’s ending, because I hate, hate, hate everything that happened with him post-episode 44 to the point where I feel actual anxiety in my gut every time I so much as think about it, much less actually see screencaps or gifsets of it. (Well, okay—that scene where Sycamore tries to encourage Alan to dance despite the fact that Alan clearly doesn’t want to, only for Bonnie to drag Sycamore off a couple seconds later despite how startled and reluctant he is, while Alan grins at Sycamore getting a taste of his own medicine there—that was super cute. But everything else? Everything else was garbage, and I’m wiling to sacrifice those seconds of cuteness if it means getting rid of all the other trash.) While the abusive situation that gave me C-PTSD that I’m still grappling with to this day lasted a lot longer for me than Alan’s lasted for him, his situation also came with so many more severe incidental traumas, so I feel it evens out in terms of relatability for me. With that said, the fact that he was given no time to deal with them—the fact that we see in XYZ044 that he’s feeling and sounds suicidal enough to worry Ash to the point where Ash basically gives him a “promise me you’ll battle me again at some vague, undefined point in the future, which means you have to be alive and well enough to do it” offer and that Alan refers to this as Ash saving him, all to just completely sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened two episodes later so they can toss him out on a journey again (despite, you know, the fact that Professor Sycamore said that with the way Lumiose City was Alan was needed there in episode 44 and Alan was so happy he practically started crying while smiling when he heard that), sickens me.So! Before I get into anything else, the first thing that’s changing is that. Alan is staying at the lab—his home—at the end of the series, in order to rest and recuperate. He no longer has the Mega Ring (and Lizardon no longer has that godawful collar), but the Key Stone and Charizardite X were kept and Sycamore has them fashioned into a matching set of pendants: a half-sun for Lizardon, and a half-moon for Alan. But even though they have those back, they’re still staying at the lab for the time being, with no definite plans for the future. Right now, Alan is just focusing on recuperating—or rather, Sycamore is focusing on Alan recuperating, while Alan is focusing on helping out around the lab. You know how he is. In his mind, he’ll rest when he’s dead. (Which Sycamore would like to be very many decades from now, rather than at some point before his sixteenth/seventeenth birthday, but that requires getting Alan to actually rest and take care of himself, and sometimes that can be a struggle.) So he has no definite plans, but before Ash leaves he does reaffirm that they’ll battle again someday, and whatever he does will work toward that. Ash is pretty happy to hear it.Manon, meanwhile, returns to her own journey. She’s reluctant at first; we see throughout TSME and the main series that Manon has little to no real confidence in herself as a trainer, shown both in how she never actually has a single battle on-screen aside from when she captures Fla-chan (which Alan helped her with and might as well have never happened anyway since Fla-chan was never seen after that moment)—and no, TSME 3 does not count, because Manon did not command Hari-san. He acted independently in order to defend both Manon and Alan. Her lack of confidence is also highlighted in TSME 4, when she tells Alan that if he’s with her then she and Hari-san can grow stronger, and he tells her (truthfully!) that she needs to stop relying on him all the time. So Manon is reluctant to go on her own, but Alan encourages her, tells her that he knows she can do it, and as an added bonus invites her to pick a Kanto starter to take with her. She chooses bulbasaur, and he gives her a cryptic message about how he might have something special for her should she ever manage to evolve her bulbasaur all the way to the venusaur stage. Manon gets excited and pesters him about whether or not it’s a Key Stone/Mega Stone (“Will I be able to mega evolve?!” - “It’s your pokémon that mega evolves, not you—” - “I know that, jeez! Just answer the question!!”), but he refuses to tell her. Just smiles and playfully shoos her on her way. She’s still nervous—scared, even—but she and Hari-san (and her new bulbasaur Fushi-kun) go on their journey to build confidence in themselves and each other.So that’s number one—the biggest one, but a very, very important one. As for others?

The Showcases have got to go. They do. They just do. They’re bathed in idol culture, which is extremely toxic and harmful, and honestly I wouldn’t be as bothered by the Showcases if they weren’t female-only, but the fact that this is The Girl Activity (whereas Contests, for instance, were always co-ed) bothers me, particularly since there isn’t any battling involved, but there is a lot of dancing and cooking, et cetera. It feels like a rigid enforcing of gender roles on top of being steeped in idol culture, and I don’t like that. It needs to go.That said? The Pokémon anime actually did introduce the concept of idols way back in the OS—specifically in the Pokémon Chronicles special episodes—and it was far less of an issue then. Pokémon Idols in the OS took the form of trainers like Marina (who was based on Kris from the games), and while the actual job description is somewhat vague, from the way Marina made it seem the goal of a Pokémon Idol is to be as entertaining as possible while battling. It is, essentially, to be a performance artist as well as a battler. So for instance, whenever Marina would battle she and her pokémon had choreographed entrance moves whenever she released them from their pokéballs. She also insisted to Jimmy (who was based on Gold from the games) that she wanted to “turn her battles into performances” in order to make people happy. And you know what? She did! Marina participated in the Johto League/Silver Conference, as well as a Grand Festival, but she was also shown modeling the Pokétch on a magazine cover and has had her face on t-shirts. She has become a star/idol, while at the same time working as a trainer skilled enough to participate in the Johto League/Silver Conference, and a coordinator skilled enough to participate in a Grand Festival.This is relevant, because if they really wanted to capitalize on the popularity of idol culture/idol anime such as Love Live!, the PokéAni writing staff could have worked in something similar for Serena. Rather than inventing Showcases the way they did (and removing the battling aspect completely), they could have instead set up something such as a Kalosian Idol Search, which hosted special battle competitions around Kalos in order to search for the next idol a la Marina. Perhaps these are similar to, but not the same as, Gyms, in which the objective is both to win a series of battles, but also turn those battles into performances in order to win the favor of the public (so, sort of like Contests, but not wholly the same). This could be co-ed as well, meaning that Tierno could participate in an attempt to be an idol, which would be perfect for him given that he loves to dance (and likes to incorporate dancing into battles, which is right in line with what Marina liked to do back in the OS). This way, Serena could be an active battler while still pursuing a goal that doesn’t mirror Ash’s badge quest, and yet isn’t so rigidly “this is for girls, and girls don’t battle,” which is the vibe much of the XY&Z saga gave me. Something like that (albeit a bit more refined, as this is a rough idea) would be far better than the Showcases were. (More entertaining to watch, too, imo.)

And speaking on Serena some more, we’re not going to have her hero worshiping/hero crushing on Ash for the entire series, because to be quite honest that created far more problems than it solved. It’s fine to have them meet in childhood (even though bby!Ash in the flashbacks do not at all resemble OS!Ash, which they should have—and that would need to be remedied, too), and it’s fine to have her remember that meeting and still hold a childhood crush on him—but he should have changed a lot since then. She should have, too. And we should have—we needed to have a moment early on where Serena realizes that he’s not just the amazing and courageous hero that she remembers, that he’s a human being with flaws, and maybe that bursts her bubble a bit, maybe she’s disappointed and put-out that this isn’t exactly like a fairy tale …… but then she gets to know him, as a person, flaws and all. Sometimes they quarrel, sometimes she’s less than impressed with him, but othertimes she is impressed with him, other times she sees that he makes her laugh or that, even if he’s not some amazing hero, he’s a guy she likes …… and, if we must go down the romance route, feelings develop from there.What made Ash/Misty so great in the OS was that Misty wasn’t introduced with the idea of, “This is Ash’s love interest.” Instead, their friendship was first and foremost what was developed, and the romance—which was canonically there from both sides, even in the JP version—developed naturally over time. They are most definitely best friends with crushes. If the anime writers wanted to write a romance arc with Ash and Serena, okay, that’s fine—go for it! But in that case, focus on developing them as friends first. Have the crush grow naturally. Don’t create Serena with the express purpose of having her fawn over Ash (which, yes—a recent interview revealed that the reason why this was written in was because a writer wanted to “see the series from the eyes of a female companion who admired Satoshi” which is just … no). Instead, even if she has a crush on him at first, have her get to know him—actually get to know him this time, not meet once and then separate for years on end, but know him as a person—and have her develop feelings for who he is now, not who she has idealized him to be. (And don’t have him be perfect all the time, either! Let him get mad! Frustrated! Selfish! Petty! Let him be feisty!) And likewise, have Ash develop a special and concentrated friendship with Serena, rather than just cute shippy moments here or there. Show us that he actually feels something for her beyond friendship. Show us before the very end where you just have his eyes sparkle after she kisses him, because you know what? His eyes sparkled the same way when Rowlet cuddled up to him in the Sun/Moon anime. Different animation style, sure, but I’m js. That’s not enough. And if the writers have to tell us later on “oh yeah, it’s meant to imply Ash and Serena are a couple later,” that’s not good writing. You guys can do better than this. Prove it.… So, um, yeah, I’d fix that. I’d change that ship from “girl meets boy when they are 5, develops a crush on him, and continues crushing through to the end as she works to be worthy of him” to “girl meets boy when they are 5, develops a crush on him, realizes when they are 10 that he’s not the Ideal Hero she built him up to be, befriends him as a person, realizes she’s developing new and stronger feelings for him now that she actually knows and sees him as a person, and he comes to see her as one of his closest friends and confidants, and their relationship is much more believable and stronger as a result.” That’s definitely a change I would make if the romance angle needs to be kept. (Which I don’t think it needs to be, but you know, in the interest of fairness, I’m just saying I could have done it better. Js.)

I can’t believe I forgot about this until point four, but rework Bond Phenomenon ffs. First of all, we’re no longer giving it to Greninja (or at least not limiting it to Greninja). That was stupid pandering meant to push Greninja’s popularity, and I’m not having it. If any one of Ash’s pokémon is getting it, it’s Pikachu, particularly since “but Pikachu isn’t fully evolved!1!1″ doesn’t matter because Bond Phenomenon is not mega evolution, and therefore the same rules don’t apply. The entire point of Bond Phenomenon was to avoid giving Ash a mega evolution for whatever asinine reason the anime team had, and if that’s the case, then there is no reason not to give the special love-powered super form to the partner and platonic soul mate that Ash has had since day one, particularly since Ash’s bond with Greninja was so poorly developed and not believable in the least bit. So if Ash is still getting Bond Phenomenon for whatever reason, it’s going to Pikachu, and that’s final.Second, although I know there are many people who would hate this, sorry I’m not sorry, but I felt that there was plenty of foreshadowing that made it seem as if Alan and Lizardon would be tapping into that in the finale of the Flare Arc, perhaps following a scene where they tossed off the Mega Ring and collar right in Lysandre’s face and tapped into Bond Phenomenon afterward, given that they have “a bond that overcomes reason” (Alan’s words, TSME 1) / “a bond that surpasses its limits” (Malva’s words, TSME 4). So on top of giving Bond Phenomenon to Ash and Pikachu and making it clear that it’s not exclusive to that (which, conveniently, Sycamore’s explanation in XYZ036 did plainly enough by saying it’s rare but there are several recorded instances throughout history!), we’d perhaps tap into it here as well, albeit only on a Lvl 1 or 2 scale, and one that probably knocks them both out at the end of the battle due to the physical toll it would take on them.Or, if not that? Then ditch Bond Phenomenon altogether and just give Ash a goddamn mega evolution, particularly in the form of ‘Zard Y. I’d be very happy with that as well, especially since Ash wearing his Key Stone attached to his hat would be adorable (and a nod to Red, whom the anime team specifically said they pulled from when putting together Ash’s XY design, most notably with the sideburns). Either way, Ash-Greninja is getting the boot for sure. Gtfo, froggo. No one wants you here.

Last (but certainly not least), I wanted a real confrontation between Lysandre and Sycamore over what Lysandre did to Alan—the lies, the manipulation, the abuse. We see in TSME 4 that Sycamore gives Lysandre a cold reception when first meeting him, and I really, really wanted Sycamore to go save his son, or at least confront Lysandre over it. So I definitely would have worked that in there, as well as more focus on Sycamore and Alan’s father-son bond in general. We needed more of that. More childhood flashbacks, perhaps (imagine flashbacks showing little five-year-old Alan, fdsfdsafda), some more heart-to-hearts near the end, perhaps … things like that. So, an actual confrontation between Lysandre and Sycamore, and more focus on Sycamore and Alan’s father-son bond, yesssss.

There is a lot more that I would change, I feel, but these are major ones. And this is super long/a lot as it is, so … that should tell you how many feelings I have over it, haha.