#i loved this episode even with the flaws i wrote about ok?

[ketterdamskaelishprince]

ada's spectre, and why i'll likely always feel sad about it

here is the promised analysis/talk about ada's spectre. going to preface this by saying i obviously don't know the true intent behind everything and her design, i just like to look, giggle and then make sad little observations which just help me love this silly webcomic even more. so if you disagree with me on something– totally ok! i love to learn and i love to see different interpretations.

there's also a few bits i missed out because i wrote this all last night in a bit of a haze, and i cannot be bothered to expand on some of my ideas, especially when it's just stuff like "BROS SO PARANOID AND RAW RIGHT NOW".

anyways, here we go :) @mugcereal this one's for u pookie <3

so i think with ada's spectre, we first need to look at the instance as to how she gets it, because that always makes things way more sad!

to specify, she turns into her spectre at episode 69, and i think it's really sad how she does it. she basically gets a string of roasts from prospero that go along the lines of calling her "conceited" "twadry" and "... and stupid!" – effectively throwing back in ada's face what she believes everyone thinks of her.

(obviously, as a very big and glaring sidenote, i believe prospero is aro/ace or just aromantic so OBVIOUSLY i am not bashing him for this. bros told her so many times that he doesn't want to be with her, let alone to be touched. that is a flaw in ada's character and is a reminder to us on the importance of boundaries!!!!)

so, ada is basically there, collapsed on the floor in a robe– effectively showing the most intimate and private part of herself as an insecure and lonely girl. and that's when she transforms.

i think it's interesting to understand how this most likely links to her life and how she died. so we know she was killed with an axe, most likely by the man she fell in love with and worked for, and how prospero's words in this situation, hurt her just the same as the words before her death. why?

because they remind ada of what she knows and fears she is: just a stupid, fake and cheap person who will never have the same status and respect as the people she pretends to be and surrounds herself by.

i think it's also interesting that she's clutching her stomach/torso here, and correct me if i'm wrong but that could be a potential signal to the part of her that was axed to death (?). no idea if that's a good shout or not but it's what i first thought!

anyways! now we move onto her spectre design!

first of all, her spectre design eats. like just a personal side note, i love it. it's just so gorgeous and i don't care if she's terrifying to some because to ME? to me, she's my gorgeous little pookie who can scream and show people their worst fears and she looks amazing whilst she does it <3

ok anyways, actual design.

to first understand her design, i thought i'd show you what banshee's traditionally in folklore look like!

typically, they are described in two ways. the first way is a youthful women with long black hair, blue eyes and just super pale. this description could also lose the blue eyes and just keep the black hair– either way the first depiction of a banshee is a super young woman.

this is not the one we're focussing on today folks!

we're going to focus on the second depiction. a hag/ old woman, with red cheeks, a grey cloak and a green dress, often seen to be combing her hair. banshee's throughout folklore are known to wail, scream and cry when a family member had died. to most, the banshee was a sign that death was coming to your household and they are known in myths and folklore as a predictor of death.

now, hold onto the green dress and look at ada's design real quick for me.

here we see a lot of green, which yay! definitely shows signs it comes from the second depiction. i think, on top of it being a nod to the second depiction, i think it could also be an allusion to something else: jealousy.

green symbolism in media can often vary, from meaning new life, luck and also jealousy. and i think if we take in the things ada screams whilst in her spectre form, such as this from episode 82:

you see there definitely is some sort of jealousy there, but this isn't something i necessarily want to focus on, it's just an observation i made that may or may not be true!

anyways, to continue, i want to look at ada's outfit when she's a banshee. i'm going to basically be making my notes i took last night look nicer.

(keep in mind that when i wrote these, my ideas were literally bouncing off my brain and sometimes they're a bit contradictory, but i think that's the beauty of my crack theory analysis!)

i think the act of almost showing her bones to the outside, there's a level of rawness to ada we don't usually see. her spectre form essentially gives her the power to scream out her anger, and by seeing her bones it's almost as if to say this is the ada she doesn't show people. this is the ada that she keeps to herself because god forbid anybody love her (because in life and death it's become abundantly apparent to her that nobody does seem to love that ada).

but then, what i thought was also a super cool thing as how the bones almost act like a corset!

then i got sad because i looked at the bows, and because something dawned on me and it made me start to frown. there was a sad realization to me as i looked at ada's spectre design that even in this all powerful form, she hasn't lost her insecurities, they just become more prevellant. because for all of the traditional wrinkles, hag-like appearance a banshee is meant to have, ada barely has any.

obviously this could be in part to character design and stuff, and yeah probably– but let me be sad!

because ada carries her frills and bows from life here because she doesn't want to be ugly, she doesn't want to be this creeping monster who rips apart people. because if she's not got her intelligence or status or anything going for her, she has her appearance and by god she's not going to let that go to waste. so here her spectre form is, a banshee.

so what must ada do? she must takes her frills and keep her insecurities, her fears and her crippling need to be loved.

another aspect which is super interesting is the stitching on her body. one one hand, it could be an allusion to her violent death, suggesting the man she fell in love with didn't just stop at axing her once, but just kept on fucking going (which, you know: fuck you, whoever you are).

but on the other hand, it could be a metaphor for ada's thinly veiled facade she puts on of being a prim and proper lady (which we actually, interestingly enough, see she looses a lot the more time she spends with montresor– opting to take parts of his language like "ain't" and "beggin'". this sort of leads on from previous ideas people have made of ada willing to change herself to be loved. she swaps civility for the wild wild west all for a bit of love).

ada offers up parts of herself in this metaphor. that's what she always does. she offers herself to the rich man she fell in love with, she offers herself up to prospero (again, look at the. side note. bro wasn't wrong for rejecting her he literally can't like her) and she offers herself up to the acolytes and she fucking barks for them (because i'm not over that).

piece by piece, she strips away everything she is until she literally is just skin and bone. and once she's torn herself apart, she needs to stitch herself back together– because it's against the facade she's put on to look so broken and messy. and so she repeats the cycle again, giving more and more until she is literally hanging on by a thread.

her powers are also super cool. traditionally, as i said, banshees wail when a family member is soon to die/has died, and is often like an omen/predictor of death. so yeah, ada having a banshee scream makes sense. but the whole 'fear itself' is also super cool. i kind of like that she has this– because its sort of satisfying for her, the girl who's been pushed over but still comes running back, to watch as people become paralysed with fear. idk, retribution or whatever.

i'm going to leave you with this not very profound thing i wrote last night (and then just some other mumblings):

i think that although spectres are super powerful and also just a very fantastic concept, they're also fragile. spectres are quite literally the monster inside of you. yet here ada's monster is, and with all her bows and revamped dress of a banshee (or potentially an allusion to her life as a maid) she tries desperately to be anything but that. because to here it's ugly and it's too much of her on display. and with some much of you on display comes the very fear that if you are hated, disliked or something repulsive, you no longer have anything to blame on anybody else. you just have yourself to blame.

(as morella says here in episode 88).

i'm not saying ada isn't deeply flawed, because she is. she has so much fucking baggage and insecurities that they literally forbid her from doing the right thing sometimes. i don't think she's a good person, but i also think that she has the opportunity to be a good person/ do a semi-good/ non-bad thing, and all she has to do is take it. but i also think it's nice how that's shown in her spectre design.

and, you know, if none of this makes sense, that's also fine!

anyways, yeah. somebody tell me never to make a random analysis at night again because it's a bit of a bitch to translate in the morning.

[sokkas-therapist]

Ok so I decided I am going to post that “atla live action hot take” I mentioned

Click below the cut if you’re interested in hearing my take on the whole “taking away sokka’s sexism” thing

1) nobody is glorifying sokka’s sexism by saying it should be kept in the show. It’s quite literally the opposite. The original series did a great job using his sexism as a lesson; any time sokka made a sexist remark in the first 4 episodes it was made abundantly clear that he was wrong, and as soon as Sokka was proven wrong he admitted that he was misguided, apologized, quite literally bowed down on his knees to ask for forgiveness, and even asked to learn from the kiyoshi warriors, and excepted wearing their traditional uniforms, further surrendering his flawed perspective of societal gender roles. A wonderfully executed example of writers using their characters to teach viewers a lesson: which was, in this case, that sexism is wrong. Sokka’s sexism was not left unresolved, so why take away a valuable lesson in the show??

2) if you take away a character’s flaws…then they don’t have development. A character can’t learn and grow from their mistakes if they never make mistakes.

If a charecter starts off perfect and unflawed then they are surface level and lack depth or the ability for an arc.

And no, this is not saying that Sokka didn’t have many other admirable qualities like his intelligence and adaptability etc.. He 100% had those qualities. But one of the coolest things about the original atla series was their ability to flesh out side charecters and give them depth. A charecter who is simply smart then becomes smarter, or adaptable then becomes even more adaptable, lacks depth and internal conflict.

Sokka’s sexism was the starting point for his internal conflict. Sokka wasn’t just sexist to be sexist, or because the entire southern water tribe was misogynistic (and we know for a fact they weren’t, because if they were misogynistic, then Katara wouldn’t have been shocked when the North denied her waterbending training). He was misogynistic because being seen/accepted as a “man” and a strong warrior was all Sokka wanted after his father left him behind. In reality, we know his father was only trying to protect his son from the horrors of war. But to a young and impressionable child, Sokka internalized this as him not being “man” enough, so he dedicated himself to becoming the person he thought would make his father proud. He was always reaching for this unattainable standard he set for himself, which lead to him having a skewed and toxic view of masculinity that he took out on the women around him. He associated being a worthy warrior with being a traditionally masculine man, and leaned way too far into fulfilling the gender roles men and women are told to play in society in hopes of gaining his father’s approval. We see him do this by suppressing his feelings of inferiority as a nonbender, along with all the aspects of himself that he thought could be seen as “weak” or “feminine” (ex: his love for shopping and poetry and art that we see develop up until the literal end of the series).

So clearly, the vast majority of sokka’s charecter development that deals with internal conflict stems from the toxic view of masculinity and gender roles that he adopted after being left behind by his father, which caused him to outwardly lash out toward katara and Suki with misogynist comments. So taking away the sexism we see in the first few episodes eliminates important context that makes sokka’s character development throughout the entire series significant, not just an “iffy unnecessarily bigoted message”, because it was quite literally used to show that sexism was wrong.

I wasn’t going to say anything about this at first but seeing so many people display a fundamental lack of understanding for the premise of character development and the usage of charecter flaws to promote positive messages in media set me off. Just…WTF????

(Also I know I wrote a summarized version of this in the tags for another post but I wanted to expand upon it more and make this a separate post)

[mastersoftheair]

Sorry but am I the only one that thought that episode…sucked? Like it was straight up bad. Horrible pacing, no wrap up of all the random characters and plot lines they’ve thrown around all season (the tuskegee airmen, Westgates spying, literally all the guys beside like the main 4). (Seriously it makes me so mad that the three redtails got all of 5 seconds of screen time, almost no lines. Literally what was the point of introducing them other than to pretend the show was iNcLuSiVe) Even at the end of BoB and the Pacific you get a much better idea of what happened to all the remaining guys. In this they’re like what happened to DeMarco or Hambone or Brady or (insert character here) we don’t know! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The concentration camp scene felt shoehorned in compared to how it was done in BoB. Unless that actually happened to Rosie (which i haven’t heard anything about) but it was just like.. ok? It all felt so rushed and emotionless to me. Maybe I’ve just fallen out of love with MoTA but it’s been downhill for me since episode 6 or so.

i already made a little (read: long) post-finale write-up here, where i talk about the use of the tuskegee airmen, l'sandra, and overall editing/pacing issues i felt the show had. but i don't agree with the notion that adding the redtails was in any way insincere or trying to halfass being "iNcLuSiVe", i just think they suffer from this show's obvious time constraints. and to summarize what i wrote in my linked post, there's a limit to what white writers/directors/producers can do when creating a story about black people. there are some stories i'd feel uncomfortable with them telling on their own, truth be told. dee rees wasn't the sole nonwhite director, but she Was the only black one. i think she did her job well given the limitations and i appreciate that they let her direct those episodes, rather than leaving it up to a team of white people trying their best to tell a black story.

the worst i can say about the finale is that it didn't feel like That strong of finale, tho i wouldn't go as far to say it "sucked" or call it "straight up bad". i liked it plenty, it's just the weakest of the hbo war finales imo.

as for the concentration camp scene, artistic license was taken with both shows. unlike what's seen in the BoB, easy company wasn't the first to arrive at kaufering, and there's 0 mention of the all-japanese american 552nd who helped them liberate it). similarly, rosie rosenthal did assist in liberating those camps, though it would've been after the events shown this episode. idk if he saw one in that up-close way seen in this episode, but he could've (i should research this when i have time). plus, it would've felt weird Not having him acknowledge them at all. "shoe-horned" is an odd term to use here imo, as both scenes more-or-less center a jewish character (BoB's liebgott and MotA's rosie). the former show has survivors the characters can help, the latter shows no one left to help. the former has all of easy company there, the latter has rosie there all alone. rosie's scene felt deeply personal in that way. at the end of the day, both scenes are communicating different things. that doesn't make one better than the other when they aren't trying to be identical. (disclaimer, i'm not jewish, so i'd be interesting hearing from the perspective of someone who wrt whether or not they felt it was "shoe-horned")

i can understand if you've disliked the show post-episode 6 (and episode 6 was a very strong episode i'm ngl). eps 7 and 8 were weaker in many ways, even to me, so i get it. everyone's entitled to their own opinion (i'd be a hypocrite saying otherwise). just understand that this blog is run by someone who overall enjoys this show despite its flaws! basically, i encourage you to take this energy and make your own posts.

[pansy-picnics]

HE'S BEEN GASLIGHTED, HE LOVES LANCE NOW. I WOULD NEVER FAIL HIM

LANCE IS A COMPLICATED CHARACTER JUST LIKE EUGENE AND I NEED PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT HIS DYNAMICS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS LIKE ANGRY AND CATALINA BECAUSE OMG I CANNOT THINK OF A CARTOON THAT WROTE ABOUT A PROBABLY QUEER BLACK MAN ADOPTING AN ASIAN DAUGHTER AND A DAUGHTER THAT'S. WHATEVER TEH FUCK CATALINA HAS GOING ON. BUT HE'S SO SPECIAL??? HE'S AMAZING??? ALSO THE FACT THAT TEENAGERS ARE VERY RARELY ADOPTED AND HE SAID FUCK THIS AND TOOK THEM IN ANYWAYS BECAUSE HE REMEMBERS BEING A TEENAGER ON HIS OWN TOO

LITERALLYYLYKYLYKY OH MY GOD???? NO BECAUSE. no bc kiera and catalina parallel lance and eugene as kids almost EXACTLY imo and its SO important in a sense that like. ok i don’t think the rise of flynnigan rider is canon necessarily bc that book was a mess but lance and eugene’s interactions in it are so GOOD it drives me crazy.

basically lance at that age (like 11-12) is portrayed as a kinda shy and anxious kid who tends to keep to himself but is really nerdy and smart and well aware of his surroundings. he’s still a kid and he can be dumb and impulsive but he’s emotional and clings to people who show him affection. eugene’s the opposite, he’s super charismatic and talks his way out of things easily but he never really thinks before he acts and it gets him into trouble really easily. but together they balance each other out, and eugene is super protective of lance bc he knows he’s the more shy and cautious one.

they’re such a good team bc they balance out each others strengths and weaknesses perfectly. but lance actually has a point where he felt betrayed by eugene and it hit so hard despite the plot being so messy. LIKE HE GENUINELY TOLD HIM OFF AND STOOD UP FOR HIMSELF AND IT WAS SO GOOD?? and then theres the whole alleged scrapped lance and eugene backstory episode which might not even be real but its CANON TO ME EVEN IF ITS NOT BC THATS HOW GOOD IT IS. yk the one where eugene almost got adopted and lance was afraid of being left behind so he broke a window and blamed it on eugene so the couple wouldn’t want him anymore? Yeah. Yeah i think about that a normal amount actually!

AND ITS BC. ITS THE SAME DYNAMIC KIERA AND CATALINA HAVE. WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT. AND I THINK ITS CLEAR THAT THE REASON LANCE CHANGED SO MUCH FROM THAT POINT TO WHEN WE SEE HIM IN THE SERIES IS BECAUSE…. EUGENE WASN’T THERE ANYMORE. THINK ABT IT. THEY BOTH BALANCED OUT EACH OTHERS FLAWS. LANCE WAS SHY AND CAUTIOUS BUT EUGENE WAS RECKLESS AND CHARISMATIC. WHEN THEY GOT SEPARATED LANCE HAD TO TAKE ON A SIMILAR PERSONA BECAUSE THE SHY KID HE USED TO BE WOULD BE KILLED IF HE GOT LEFT ON HIS OWN!!!

LANCE SAW HIM AND EUGENE IN KIERA AND CATALINA. THE QUIET AND CAUTIOUS BUT CALCULATED ONE WHO’S ALSO A LITTLE SHIT AND THE RECKLESS AND CHARISMATIC PROTECTIVE ONE. HE SAW THEM TOGETHER AND HE REMEMBERED WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM AND EUGENE. HOW THEY GOT TORN APART. AND HOW HE HAD TO CHANGE HIMSELF TO SURVIVE. HE TOOK THEM IN BECAUSE HE KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN TO THEM TOO.

Godddd I’M SO. there are so many traits and little details abt him that just got passed off as jokes or one liners in the series but they SHOULDN’T BE. GODDD HES A CHEF. HE LOVES FOOD AND COOKING HES A THEATER KID!! HE LOVES LITERATURE AND HE LOVES MUSIC!!! I THINK HE LOVES THEATER AND DOESN’T FEEL AS AFRAID IN THAT SENSE BECAUSE HE TRULY FEELS LIKE A DIFFERENT PERSON ON STAGE. ITS WHY HE DOESN’T LIKE SINGING AS HIMSELF BUT HE’D ABSOLUTELY KILL IT IN A PLAY.

and god it annoys me so much bc whenever anyone DOES talk about how lance got done dirty in the series nobody actually brings up WHY….. i love this series too but we cant just sweep the issue under the rug. theres a reason they only played him for comedic relief and made him look childish and stupid IT’S RIGHT THERE ITS BECAUSE HES BLACK. AND YES WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. I LOVE THAT THEY HAD HIM ADOPT THE GIRLS IN THE END AND IT WAS SO SWEET BUT HE WAS STILL THE BLACK BEST FRIEND TROPE AND HE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER!!!

HE LITERALLY JUST HAS ADHD AND NOT TO MENTION THE FANDOM ALWAYS ACTS LIKE EUGENE IS THE STRAIGHT MAN OF THE DUO WHEN THEY’RE BOTH EQUALLY DUMB AND SILLY??? AND THEY BOTH SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BE SILLY. people always talk about lance getting into varian’s stuff even though EUGENE DOES THE SAME THING AND HE’S JUST AS BAD. AND YALL AREN’T CALLING HIM IMMATURE. ITS RACIALLY MOTIVATED!!! AND IT MAKES ME SO MAD!!!!

he’s not stupid in fact i genuinely think he’s the most emotionally mature out of the entire cast. i think he came to the orphanage as a young child rather than from birth and he had a mom who he loved very much and who taught him to manage his emotions well and bc of it he’s very in tune with himself!! and he’s very much the dad friend!!! he’s just a silly guy and he wants to make his friends laugh but sometimes he ends up sacrificing himself for others too much!!! and he needs to care about himself too!!!

God i just. I GET SO INSANE ABOUT HIM HE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER. GTRRRRAAASGHHGHHHHH.

[signalnext]

It's the wee hours of the morning and I can't stop thinking about TPOTD and Thirteen/Yaz

(long post - many spoilers) Here's a bunch of thoughts (about 2k words) from the perspective of someone who loves Yaz and Thirteen. Fair warning in advance that my love for Doctor Who is about characters, and it's them as Thirteen and Yaz especially in Flux and later that I loved most. If I don't post this now I might not ever. Sorry for any typos or grammar etc.

There were many parts of TPOTD I really loved. Overall I loved that it was such a prominent episode for Yaz, and that so many of the hints we got to her character development were not forgotten, especially her co-pilot status and her becoming solo pilot in this episode.

(Gosh, what I would have given for Thirteen to say "Co-pilot?" and hear Yaz's reply one more time for their last journey. Why didn't that happen??)

It's clear that this was an emotional scene already and Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill did a stunning job - I had no doubts about that. They've always been terrific with the writing they had. I am really going to miss them.

Story-wise, I don't fully agree with the canonical ending with Yaz and the Doctor in TPOTD, but I can see how the characters might have gotten there, and for Yaz to keep repressing herself, for the sake of The Doctor. For the Doctor not actually saying the words but saying them in a roundabout way. But dang it, I did not like it. This was a chance to stick that landing, just like Dan did. This was not a 9.9.

In the scope of the storyline between Yaz and The Doctor, I wished two major areas had been different. I'll mention them briefly first and then get into more thoughts about them.

(I'm 100% sure I'm not the first person to touch on these topics, but I wrote this all immediately after watching. So I hope this comes across as a "yeah, I feel the same way!" nod to you if you do feel the same on some of these things.)

I kept waiting for a conversation that didn't happen. The ending did not follow through with the messages that were brought up repeatedly through their earlier scenes and through their entire run. Being brave enough to be honest and vulnerable with the people you love, and that love is worth it. The writing really dropped the ball on this. Even in this final episode, you have Graham semi-joking-but-not-really to Yaz about whether the Doctor's still not telling her anything (seriously? still?), and there was no satisfactory resolution to that. The Doctor never really let Yaz in, like she said she wanted to. What is the message we're supposed to take away? The Doctor is just flawed, people want to change but sometimes they can't, so deal with it? Even if this is so, then it's a strange way to lead up to it.

I felt there's a kind of absence of acknowledgement, of how significant an earned, happy ending would have been for queer representation -- especially for a queer Muslim woman of color in Yaz. I don't mean that I expected Yaz and the Doctor to live happily ever after. I acknowledge and am SO GLAD that Yaz lives and gets back safely! And that the last scene that Thirteen had was with Yaz together! But their ending -- whether intended or not -- was one of repression, from a queer Muslim Asian woman of color. Yaz had to repress the full extent of her feelings, again, and that was sad to watch for her after everything she went through. This ties in with the first thing above, but in the context of representation, here we have another queer person of color who, ok, gets to live and return to Earth in her own time and have a support group (and I admit the support group was lovely but…honestly it felt almost like they had more dialogue than the Doctor and Yaz's last scene (?), and that didn't sit right with me. It just refocused on how their last scene together was too short (and how Thirteen's solo last scene was too short)).

The more groundbreaking choice -- and the one I (and I suspect some other folks aside from me) expected to happen based on her prior story arc -- would have been to have Yaz be brave one more time, and say what her heart feels, in this final moment they have. I had been waiting for her to be able to say those words, and she never got a chance. Even the actual dialogue in EOTD, Dan said "just tell her"!

Where was that moment for Yaz? To finally find the courage to say her piece? She knows their time is ending. Why choose to have her repress herself again? Yaz has been so brave through the entire episode, so for it to end like this… Perhaps the argument is that Yaz is being brave by tamping down her feelings, but again, in the scope of the narrative that's been put forward in canon, that is not the ending that makes sense to me here.

What would have made more sense to narratively continue from the amazingly vulnerable scenes in LOTSD was for Yaz, after showing how brave she really is -- how determined and relentless she is in her actions -- to be emotionally brave, too. She knew these would be the last moments with The Doctor. And Yaz, just like the Doctor, has a hard time with being vulnerable. Yet we saw them being brave before - we got to see them being sincere and opening up - at least on the Doctor's side, and a little on Yaz's side -- in LOTSD especially, literally the prior episode. So this would have been the perfect narrative chance for Yaz to open up, too. To be brave, and say aloud what she has always felt.

(more after the cut)

In their big reunion in Flux, they have a literal scene-stopping, crushing hug. And Thirteen says "I missed you" and Yaz says "Missed you too." That is their way of saying "I love you" and "I love you, too."

It would have been so easy after Thirteen says "I have loved being with you, Yaz" for Yaz to just say "I love you, too."

Not reusing Thirteen's phrase and saying "I have loved being with you, too" because that would be the safer option (which, btw, she still doesn't get a chance to say??? Not even that???).

But Yaz saying "I love you, too" would be her way of acknowledging to Thirteen that she understands what Thirteen is saying between the lines, but she's not going to be cagey about it. She's going to say it, finally, out loud, what she feels. Because she knows she's gonna live and it's not the past tense for her.

How amazing would that have been? Yaz was already standing up for herself - to call out Thirteen in earlier episodes, and in this one to tell her to stop and make time and explain the Daleks. So for Yaz to finally get to utter those words aloud to the person she loves...! Even if Thirteen just listened to her and those words, looked her in the eye, and smiled.

And kiss or no kiss, it is so bizarre to me that Chibnall wouldn't even let them have a hug. Yaz could have asked for a hug. The Doctor could have given her one. Even Ryan asked about a hug in Revolution of the Daleks and the Doctor immediately gave him one, and then gathered them all for the group hug.

Why the heck for the repression for the characters here. Is the argument that the characters knew they'd start sobbing and lose control, so and they didn't want to so they held back? I can understand that argument but gosh it didn't work for me for the reasons above.

The writing could have had them in a hug, and saying those words, AND holding back the tears.

And yes, Yaz could have said "I'm not leaving you" but I won't get into that now.

Yaz still could have said "Let's not say goodbye." They could still have kept that line after, and Yaz being dropped off, and walking away, and nodding. For me, it would been so much more attuned with the story arc to have them get their moment of vulnerability and openness, and THEN have to pull back and part without saying goodbye in public.

Why do I think it was a dropped ball? Because in the larger context of Yaz, having her feelings acknowledged by The Doctor and the Doctor reciprocating her feelings but being afraid of acting on them romantically -- because in the larger context of Yaz being a queer, female, South Asian Muslim, who has repressed her feelings for so long, for her not to get to even tell the Doctor a simple "I love you, too" is...not just a missed opportunity, but -- narratively, it diverges from all the groundwork laid already, and continues the representation of repression.

Their last scene could have been far, far more monumental. It could have given Yaz that much, and shown this queer WOC on screen driving through her fear one more time and saying those words because this was her last chance. It could have given Thirteen, the Doctor so afraid of her feelings, the chance to be brave for Yaz, and to tell her "I love you." The Doctor, who wears rainbows on her shirt and coat. We got so far in the story, and then...this.

I give all the love to Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill, but gosh as far as the writing for their characters here at the end…

Where is the emotional bravery for Yaz and the Doctor that should be the bookend to all the steps we've seen them take?

Where is the message to be kind, and to choose love? Did that not even get remembered from the last regeneration?

Is it because Dan, who tried to keep them in line and have them be honest with each other, conveniently wasn't there to make them talk it out (joking… but am I?).

I think it's frustrating for me more than I thought it would be, because they DID get that scene together at the end, alone. That literally EVERYBODY ELSE on the TARDIS was conveniently GONE (and that Yaz herself made that happen!) so that they could have their few minutes together before the regeneration, plot-wise, and so the significance of their relationship was recognized for sure logistics-wise, but seriously, just a few more words that Yaz and the Doctor could have had a chance to say. One hug. That's all it would have taken for me at least, to feel a little better about their ending. For Yaz to be brave ultimately in that last moment and let herself be vulnerable.

But she didn't get that. Why?

We have learned from the writing that bravery is letting yourself be sincere, to be honest, to be open, to letting someone in. And for some reason, Thirteen doesn't ever let Yaz in like she promised her at the end of Flux, and Yaz never completely gets to say what she feels. Why? Is it for dramatic angst? Why? They've already had their dramatic angst. Thirteen is going to regenerate. Why continue the angst all the way to the end? It's disappointing to me because that should have been their last hurdle to get over. To be able to be free about her feelings, one last time. And it doesn't happen. It feels like someone took a red pen and edited out a bunch of stuff that was supposed to be there, after all of the telegraphing from prior episodes.

After those parallels with Vinder and Bel's love story (and seriously Vinder coming back, that was a lost op too), and especially that direct parallel with Nick and Sarah…?

Gosh there were some great moments here though, such as Yaz carrying the Doctor. Seriously… but in the context of their entire storyline together, this is another seed planted and very deliberate. It was Yaz who carried her. She didn't even ask for help, it was her. It's an iconic, dramatic visual, that is associated with so many romantic storylines. We already know they've been slow burning this, and they show us Yaz carrying the Doctor?? and after this; after their hands against the glass; those moments earlier; THAT's the final conversation we get?

The emotional parts to the episode -- returning to the heart(s) of the emotional backbone of the entire Flux series and after, with Yaz and the Doctor -- it was not up to the same level as prior episodes. And for their last episode together, that is unfortunate.

Nothing is perfect, of course, but it's just unfortunate because it could have been so, monumentally significant even more so than it was, and could have been so much more gratifying in terms of queer representation, especially for POC.

I'm so, so thankful that we did get what we get. Thirteen's speech at the end also resonates for me personally and also resonates for her storyline with Yaz. It was so special -- the scenes that we did with them. All those wonderful moments of Yaz/Thirteen. The adaptive hologram (oh I almost forgot…I have so many thoughts on the emergency AI, and while I appreciated it, it felt so off from the adaptive hologram ball -- Tegan and Ace got their sincere conversations -- where was the sincere conversation with Yaz? Why was there no comforting message for Yaz?).

That beautiful scene on the ocean floor surface. The beautiful and still heartbreaking scene on the beach. Tbh it's still in some respect hard for me to believe they actually happened and are canonical. But because of the strength of those scenes, I was hoping for something similar in the last stretch. And gosh this is why I absolutely appreciate fandom writers who will take their own disappointment and channel it into something healing. They wield a magic power of their own.

I'm so, so proud of Yaz. This post is more about Yaz/Thirteen, but I loved Yaz from the beginning and early on wished she could get so more to do, so I'm really glad that she got to feature so prominently in this episode, and very, very relieved and happy that she gets to live and so do Graham and Ryan (off-screen) and Dan.

Sure I wish I would have seen her family, and her talk to her mother about the Doctor. But I grew up during a time when there was hardly any queer rep on tv, and rarely positive rep, let alone for queer people of color. I have to remember also that never did I imagine we'd ever get to see this kind of story on Doctor Who. There's progress, but then there's not-progress. It's how most things go I suppose. I'll take the progress, with the reservation that there was room for improvement.

Gosh I miss them already. If I had two hearts about this, I'd be happy in one, and sad in the other.

[spiteless-xo]

IM GONNA RAMBLE!! im so glad sasha was asking the real questions 😭 thats why she should’ve been there earlier 🤨 but anywho.. djshdh i was wondering since there’s 5 chapters left are we going to find out who she’s with on the final chapter ? idk i feel like based on this chapter it kinda sounds like it’s gonna be eren? but reader is so unpredictable it’s still not obvious to me.. OR WAIT 💡☝️ i don’t think you’re gonna answer that question so i’ll just theorize LMAO ok so i’ve seen other people mention this but maybe she IS gonna go on that little trip or vacation and then there’s gonna be a time skip because i do think at this point, the three of them need space from all this drama and to work themselves out. like maybe she shouldn’t be jumping into a relationship rn? IDK I THINK THATS WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN. maybe that’s also why eren didn’t answer, like she took too long deciding and he’s gonna be taking a break for himself too to actually work on himself.

i think throughout the story i started off as team eren and then i kept switching until the both of them made me go like 🥴. but that doesn’t mean i loved your writing any less. i think once i stopped being on “teams” lol i still appreciated that you made everyone with a lot of flaws and drama. eren would’ve been perfect minus the whole misogyny thing obvi. and if i HAD to choose only between him and jean, the only reason why i would choose jean rather than eren is because he at least wasn’t doing what eren was doing. but that’s the ONLY reason. jean just isn’t as charming or romantic 😭 he’s too dry for me (i’m sorry)

if this was real life, i don’t think anyone would ever forgive eren even if it was in the past or if he “changed” but bc it’s fiction i guess that’s why some people are being more lenient? omgjfgk but i wishh sometimes that we could have had a story with eren except not with this type of drama LMAO you wrote him being romantic TOO well. like i was in love *twirls hair, kicks feet* ANYWAYS GREAT CHAPTER AS ALWAYS tuesdays are my favorite days because of you! 🤍

omg ty so much for sending this in!! hehehe i loved reading all of it 🥰💗

tbaw ramblings below

yes, you'll find out in the final chapter! the final chapter is also ridiculously long in order to flesh out the endings for everyone. i thought about splitting it up into two chapters but there's not really a good "cut off" point. and i don't want to drag out the ending.

to me, it's like when the final episode is an hour-long special or whatever for the finale lol that's like the final chapter of tbaw. atm it's a little bit longer than the jean fucking kirstein chapter.

forgiveness is a really interesting concept to me. it doesn't really help the person you're forgiving (in this case, eren), because they still have to carry the guilt of what they've done, but it kinda frees you, in a way.

you can forgive someone without allowing them a place in your life. it doesn't mean you trust them or you like them or whatever, it just means that you're not going to let what they did continue to hurt you.

forgiving eren doesn't make him a good person. it's what he does and how he lives the rest of his life that determines whether or not he's learned from his past and reader doesn't necessarily have to be in his life after she forgives him.

idk if that makes sense? i'm also a generally pretty forgiving person, so i'm pretty lenient lol but i also understand that there are things that are completely unforgivable, but i'm just rambling now so i'll stop lol

anyway i'm glad you're liking the story!! 💗💗💗

[gillianthecat]

Not Me

These are my notes, raw and only lightly copyedited, from four months ago, taken as I watched Not Me (around September 8th). In them I think about revolutions and the culture of activism, make predictions about what happens next, am endeared by romance, and fangirl over First. Among many other things. It is interesting to read over what I noticed then and how I felt about it, after having had months to mull it over and reading other people's thoughts on the show. Even now, I still have complicated tangled feelings about the show. It felt incredibly important and unique, and also like it was trying to do too many things at once. It felt flawed to me, swinging between a very human sort of realism and complete ridiculous nonsense. But having since learned more about it's fanfic roots and how much was changed from the novel it was based on (thanks @moonchildridden!), I can see why that came to be, and admire just how political they managed to make this show despite everything. I wrote early on, "this is not escapism for me," and that still very much feels true, even though the romance was beautiful and tender and I adored it. It brought up all my feelings about the times in my life when I was an activist, and about why I'm not doing that now and how I can get back to that. And all my thoughts about how to do activism, and how to actually make change in the world. Which is a lot, and the main reason it took me so long to write about this show. I only took notes up to episode 9, so there is nothing on the last three episodes. It got too intense for me to want to write about it, though I do remember many of my thoughts and want to write more about the series as a whole. I did write some about the romantic relationships in (or not in) the show, my love for Sean in response to an ask, and talked about the realism of the Not Me world in comparison to KinnPorsche in this conversation with @lelephantsnail.

long so all my notes are below the cut:

Episode 1

I get so anxious for characters when they have to pretend to be someone they're not. Although less so here than usual.

Ok. Looks like they have chemistry! I see why they're a popular actor pair!

That dirty oil fight is adorable but also... dirty motor oil! Blech. I can't focus on the cuteness for the grossness of it. 

I like the voice overs actually. They're not necessary, Gun is conveying everything with his acting. But it's nice to have my questions articulated. 

Yok is hot -> Wait, is that First？-> *checks MyDramaList* -> Ah, yes.  That is First. 

Episode 2 (and 3?)

It's so fascinating to be putting together a picture of Black based on the little snippets of what people say or how they react to White.  And of course White is going through the same thing. 

I live in a much drier climate than Thailand, but it still makes me nervous to see people starting fires in the middle of the forest. 😳😬

Oh no! Please don't have this fellow activist vandalizer die in the fire!

This show is intense for me. I'm feeling kinda raw about it. Definitely not escapism. 

I love that they have this mute character and are portraying real issues. I wish it wasn't portrayed in a scene where it felt like Yok and his mom had never met each other before. 

Wow they are not pulling their punches. I am really curious about the context that this got made in, and what the reception in Thailand was like. 

Lots of feelings on my failures as an activist. Something about that room in the garage, evokes all those warehouse punks from my 20s. They still exist, I'm just not a part of that world anymore.

This show is very didactic. I don't know how it would work for me if I was a Thai activist. Or Thai in general. I think if it was a US show, or English language at least, it would feel too didactic. Either annoyingly earnest or I wouldn't trust the filmmakers. 

But because I'm watching it as a foreigner, and it's about a political scene I know little about, the didacticism doesn't bother me. 

Also I'm watching with the assumption that this was politically risky to make. I'm guessing that just making the film is a political statement in Thailand, and so I already admire it for that. Whereas in the US it often feels like it's relatively, not easy, but uncontroversial to make a political film, so I accept more. Or at least don't admire their bravery. It may be hard to get funding, but for the most part it doesn't feel like the government is breathing down filmmakers necks in the same way

I am making a lot of assumptions about the Thai political context. I need to learn more to have a proper opinion. 

However, it feels really honestly radical, and getting that on mainstream tv in the U.S. would simply not happen. Indie films yes. Series by a mainstream company this overtly political no.

In this us there might be radicalism for the aesthetic, but not actually a look into the issues. Not actually a show that direct action as anything real, rather than a dramatic superhero moment. 

I can't even think of any tv shows that are directly about activists and activism. In a metaphorical way, yes,  but not direct like this. I'm sure they exist, but what are they?

And a lot of the tv shows films that are about activism are historical. Black panthers, etc.  

I don't even know about in other counties. 

Whew, this show has got me in my feelings and thoughts. 

Anyways 

I wonder if this show is going to address the parents each abandoning half their children. And how/why etc Black and White didn't talk for a decade(?). Or if that was mostly a plot device to get the false identity thing going.

I like that this is a lot about White's relationships with other people besides Sean. That those seem to be equally important, or more important than his awaking.  

So far it is more about his radicalization than the romance. Which I actually am glad about. 

The pace of Sean figuring out something is wrong is good. There is chemistry but no flirtation or anything like that yet, which feels right. And the fake identity thing gives a good reason for Sean to be an asshole without making him seem like an unredeemable asshole. 

I wonder if we'll ever get to hear what Sean was thinking during this time. I hope so. 

Voiceovers. Getting very didactic. Mixed feelings about that - see above. 

Are they contractually required to have a pratfall kiss? The towel mechanism was stupid (although better than a bouncy wall, á la The Eclipse), but at least the almost kiss was better than usual. I liked that their faces were actually offset, no lips touching or almost touching. That fits them better, is more realistic to what bodies would actually do in that situation, and I'd better for the pacing. 

Guns are a lot more terrifying in this real world than in the mafia world. 

I hope we get more of that dude from the diplomats exams. 

Episode 4

Political modern dance!!

Aaah! The Kinnporsche pool. I'm afraid that's seared in my brain as part of mafia mansion now, I don't know if I can buy it as another place but I'll try. 

Are we suspicious of Todd? 

Initially I wasn't because he was the one bringing White in. And I think people ship Tod & Black. 

But I got suspicious when I saw how rich he is. (Oh right, they were childhood friends.) Is his dad Tawi? Would White have known/remembered that? 

They seem to be a totally isolated group? Which is probably plausible for self radicalized university students?  But also makes the show feel less grounded in real political activist work. Gives everything more aesthetic activism vibes. 

Also these boys don't know how to organize or create a campaign? Which is also plausible, but they feel like dilettantes. I guess I don't need the ideas to be any better, just lots more talking to get there...

Episode 5

Oh, and hooray for a trans woman character who like an actual character and not comic relief or whatever. (Possibly multiple characters in multiple settings (I don't know what I was referring to here)). 

This violent stretching while they're cold is making me anxious. 

Ok this leaping across building stunt is annoying me more than it should. I think I have to let go of my expectations of realism here. The political message is legit. But the depiction of activism is closer to the aesthetic/fantasy side of the scale than I initially hoped. 

Ok. I think I'm not going to love this as much as @lelephantsnail does.  Or as much as I want to.  But I admire it a lot. And if I adjust my expectations I can like it a lot. It's hard to enjoy exactly because it's hitting too close to home. Or at other moments too watered down didactic. (Black is defending capitalism and monopolies? How are they not more suspicious?) But I can enjoy parts. 

Episode 6

Oy. I don't like thread of Gumpa constantly testing them. I get that it's to heighten the tension without going too far into plot that can't be backed out of but... partly I guess I don't think the emotional fakeouts are a good thing. 

And partly I feel like it makes a joke of the activism? Like, it's quite possible it's a real training technique used. But combined with the general floppiness around the activism world building, it just... it's just like a standard spy thriller. Which is fine I guess but not what I expected or wanted. 

Also, if Gumpa can call on all these extra guys for this test, why is their little group so isolated. Gumpa acts like a mentor but is supposedly not the leader? What is their internal organization anyway? What are their connections? Are they just privileged kids who decided to become anarchist [vigilantes] on their own? Are they connected to any broader movement? Have they considered and rejected less violent/illegal means, or is that not happening in this world? Would I understand better if I knew a lot (or even a little) about Thai politics? Or even if I just understood Thai?

Ok, final having a conversation about how to do activism. 

Ok I genuinely love that this... romantic? not exactly yet but there's something there... scene is White-as-Black earnestly discussing political philosophy while Sean is drunk and floppy and red faced. It's just so unique and real. 

Which maybe is why I get annoyed at the other stuff that feels less real. But I will hold judgment to the end, because I honestly don't know who's evolving in what direction. And what the final message on activist tactics/philosophy is going to be. 

I also really like the music (other than overdramatic hospital music.) 

Also! They have a beverage sponsor, and the plot is them targeting a beverage manufacturer?! Bold. 

Police brutality is brought up as well.

I like getting insights into Sean, but I don't think it works with the structure that’s been set up. Mostly we're discovering everything along with White, and then all of a sudden we'll get Sean's memory? It feels out of place. 

Also, I appreciate this version of only-one-bed. OOB as a get-along-shirt. 

These boys are beautiful in sunlight (see: Sean on the rooftop). 

Like I know it's usually good storytelling technique to not have them endlessly talking in the same place. And it adds drama to have the conflict in the moment. But also why the fuck did that not plan all this basic stuff out ahead of time? Why are they having these basic conversations at the site? There had to have been a third option. 

I guess part of what makes me anxious is I can't tell if their bad plans are because they're supposed to be inexperienced activists or if it's because of filmmaking shortcuts (or perhaps even ignorance on her part about radical activism?). 

I genuinely love that they gave this romantic moon gazing scene to a platonic pair. 

Oh poor Gram. I keep forgetting, but these boys don't know their friend is in the hospital and almost died 😞 

Episode 7

I don't know if I've mentioned this yet but I really like the cinematography. 

Sometimes I really love it!! 

See I'm glad they agree with me that Sean's plan was stupid. But why they hell aren't they discussing this beforehand? I feel like every activist group, even the most pro-destruction anarchist terrorists, has endless discussions of philosophy and strategy. Anarchists especially are not just going to follow one guy without asking questions or sharing their opinion. It's just so odd. 

Unrelatedly, I love Yok's tattoos. So hot. I unironically kind of want the bird one. Although I do not have First's biceps and deltoids. 

And I love the set design and these kids hanging out in boxers and low cut tanks all the time. The aesthetic feels very authentic. Which is why it's weird when the activism style doesn't. It's not so much that they're bad at it, but the way in which they're bad doesn't feel genuine to me. But also what do I know. I've never been part of the anarchist property destruction movement. And I don't know what it's like in Thailand obviously. 

Thank you Yok! Finally some logical strategic thinking. 

Ohhh. Interesting intersections here...

(I'm trusting this is not going to end with oh Tawi isn't so bad after all, we should be happy to be part of society etc. But if it does I will be PISSED. 

Ok. This is going somewhere interesting. Starting a movement?

(Yok's fireworks moment was ridiculous but also a wonderful image. And hot. By the way.)

Oh thank god other people. I should have had more faith in the director. 

Yay! Huge rally! But also

Where did this huge rally come from? This is not a spur of the movement reaction to their (frankly) silly little direct action thing. There have been other people planning and organizing against Tawi all along? Why are these kids so disconnected from it?  Like I believe it's plausible that they would be, I just want to understand the story there. 

The secret identity plot creates some weird constraints around the activism plot. Like in a way Sean et al are being de-radicalized? Instead of getting frustrated with the slow pace of community organizing and turning to property destruction, it seems like they started there? 

So Sean and White will meet in the middle? 

This dance!  This feels like a real protest. 

I mean, sometimes a small seeming thing will light the spark. But there also seem to have been organizers there ready to seize the moment and build the movement

And Black is clearly part of a larger movement with Eugene and her political dance. Yok & Sean and there street artists.  Will we ever find out why they were so isolated? I'm starting to have hope that we may. 

Gram is staring at Eugene. But I can't tell if it's because he's in love with her or jealous of her and in love with Black.  Was he lying to Yok about Yok not knowing the person he was in love with?

Also, why couldn't anyone see that video of Black that Eugene took? Was their relationship a secret? 

Registering protesters? I need to read up more. 

Gun does a good job of making Black seem like a different person than White, even than White pretending to be Black. 

Again I keep forgetting Black's friends don't know he's hurt and then I get sad. 

So I guess that Gram is in love with Eugene. What's with the card White found then?

When is White going to tell them all? Are they going to deal with the fact he's been hurting them all with this? 

Nuch's... PSA is what it is. It works here. Despite most of her dialogue being political statements she feels like a real person. And the didacticism of her statement on marriage equality feels good actually. It's a reminder that this film is not just about activists, but it is activism. And to put myself aside, because I'm not actually the target audience. I can watch and appreciate, but it's not about me. 

Oh my god this scene. This fucking scene. I teared up when the queer couple catwalk across the rainbow flag started. I was not expecting that.  And then Sean and White staring at each other across the flag. And walking toward each other underneath it. Sean's expression. Like he doesn't even know what to think any more. Taking his hand. And it isn't even romantic exactly. It's victory. That temporary victory. 

This is the slowest of slow burns and it feels exactly like how their story needs to be told. 

Who is Gumpa in all this, anyway? Why is he training them but not participating? 

The high of victory!

Ooh, Sean and White are sitting on the couch together...

Ok, one thing a love about this is seeing a trans or any visibly queer character I can trust the show will treat them with respect. It's such wonderful and also a relief as a viewer. 

Yikes. I was thinking why is he cooperating with the police and then he started to run, lol. Again. Love this building. Feels like a real art school.

Is this cop or whatever kind of bad guy driving product placement car? That would be hilarious and... something. 

Oh, probably not the bad guy actually. Probably the artists friend rescuing him. It's still hilarious to see him getting handcuffed against the sponsors car. 

God I love all these sets! 

Oh wait, that's the artist himself. I forgot what he looked like. And that he had the cop ID card.

Yok you flirt. First's smile is dangerous. But Yok, why are you carrying this man's wallet around with you? Have you been waiting for this very scenario to arise? 

Hmm. How are they going to handle this cop romance?  I was kinda thinking the ID card was fake. 

I'm not so sure about this other guy yet, but First can probably carry their chemistry on his own. His smile! My god. 

Yok, you flirt!  "Of course you can paint me…” I had to stop and make my terrible gif. 

Ok, maybe this INAR actor can keep up.

Halfway through and it seems the romance arcs are starting in earnest. I am pleased with this pacing I think. 

I was gonna go to bed but now I gotta see what happens now that Sean pushed his way into White as Black's room. 

Also the way Sean (nervously?) fixed his hair though the peephole was adorable. 

Episode 8 

I love the physicality of all the characters in this. They feel like real people. The way they were slouching on the couch last episode so their jackets rode up. So real. Like I feel like I went to college with these dudes at moments like that. 

This scene! The soft warm lighting. The blocking floor bed floor etc. the way they're looking at each other. The way White listens. That story. 

Ack so much adorable. The head bonk 🥺 the trust fall

There's content and awww here and I don't know what to write about first because the aww is so cute. And such a relief. The first real softness between them. 

Oh but the lying. I'm guessing White doesn't even remember he's lying right now. He means it that he wants to trust and be trusted. But it's kind of ironic considering. Will Sean be mad when I finds out Will it be addressed? I'm somewhat hopeful yes.

Although that last line sounds manipulative so I don't know what to think...

And again all I can say is:

This scene. Tears charcoal intimacy the closeups on their faces so much of the time. Inar actor you've got me convinced. The flirting to start that turns so quickly to intimacy. Yes that makes so much sense he would cry being vulnerable like that to this man of all people. Yok's reaction? To draw first and then comfort without asking questions? I'm very curious about where this regretful cop story will go. 

Everybody's spying on everybody. Which is stressful in an activist setting.  But fits the enemies to lovers with several twists thing going on.  So I don't feel bothered. 

Honestly I  think simply connecting them to a broader activist community though the rally eased all my anxieties. I don't know if my objections have been/will be solved but I feel better.

Oh yeah, I forgot about my glasses related questions. How had he been seeing this whole time? They never show him putting in contacts, he just removes the glasses and goes. Does he have a very mild prescription? Are the just for fashion? Has he just not been able to see much (seems unlikely). 

But anyways, Sean is about to figure something out, we'll see how much...

Lol, ten seconds later there's a contact lens case.

Ok but he took his advice and is trying to bite himself out of those ropes. 🤣

Oh hello mic pack holder. But I honestly do appreciate the actors' commitment to physicality. In this case squirming around on the bed. 

They are starting to get sexy together and I like it. I really appreciate the slow development of their chemistry actually. Immediate BAM! is fun,  but this fits better for them and their story and is nicely nuanced. 

Ooh I love the recall to the first day with him now unthinkingly jumping this same wall. 

Dudes. You or someone else should have made a plan for how to protest this lecture. It doesn't even need to have been a good one. But there was this whole street of organizers? And apparently Tawi is the Jeff Bezos of this version of Thailand? So someone would have tried to organize a protest, right? Thai organizing can't be that different, even with a different culture around respect? Or maybe it is???

Like I get this shows Sean's passion and anger but...

Oh forgot their last interaction was Sean leaving White-as-Black tied up. 

This really is Only One Bed: The Series. How many different places can she conspire to have them sleep together. 

Episode 9

Sex scene tender sweet and hot. Consent communication can be very sexy omg. 

This feels very different from any BL sex scene I've seen yet. More real somehow? Why? The intimacy of the tent? The way the are communicating? Maybe because White's anxiety is not about sex but about being intimate while lying about who he is. The hands! The ear bite! Maybe because I haven't seen a bl sex scene get that montage/time lapse editing yet. It was a wonderful way to make it feel like they weren't just fading to black while still not showing a lot. (Which I guess why it's commonly used technique in other film industries lol.)

Did Black wake up because his twin was fucking? I'm not even sure what to think about that. And were the tears his own or transference from White?

That heartbeat convo and the little kiss. It felt so genuinely post coital. 

They seem to be transforming from enemies into softest boyfriends ever. Which I think I'm good with.

It felt rushed in a way but then also it didn't. Like there was all this under the surface that suddenly was ready to emerge. 

I love how they got a scene with the gayest bridge but it was actually about the decaying pier. Perfect. Although I'm disproportionately annoyed by the impossible leaps. 

I'm anxious about this cop boyfriend thing. Which side of the storytelling will win out, bl's hea or activism's acab? Why was he there to rescue Yok?

Ok. Yok may be falling for the dude but at least he's being smart about not revealing their work. 

Return sad poignet (probably I meant poignant? I don’t know what I was trying to say though.) amazing acting Gun. The grief of your long lost dead brother staying closed off to you ...

De transformation. Give me my phone. (I have no idea what this comment was supposed to mean.)

Called it! about shady Todd. 

And that was all the notes I took. After episode 9 I think I was too overwhelmed by the show and my thoughts about it to write down my reactions.

[nin-jay-go]

Sending this from my kinda not main but I was wondering how ningajo had changed from after the release of the movie. The last season I watched was skybound but I don't even remember if I finished that😭 but what I wanted to ask is does the story remain the same as it was b4 then? I've been trying to pick it back up for maybe 5+ years or so? The change in character design def threw me off and I felt kinda lost. (Sorry this is so long orz)

no you're good!! i love talking about my favorite show :D

you're correct in saying that the movie changed a lot of things. the character design, the world design, and the tone of the story changed a lot after the movie aired, and another change is lloyd's voice actor changing from jillian michaels to sam vincent (also the voice of double d from ed edd n eddy fun fact)

dw it took me a while to get used to the new designs (i remember being PISSED at the fact that they changed them djkghdkjfhg) keep in mind that there's also a canonical timeskip between s7 and s8

the story is.... well it's ninjago dfgjkhdkfjgh the core story remains the same, aka its a group of silly colorcoded ninja fighting crime and saving the world from being destroyed. again. but seasons 8, 9, and 10, usually referred to as the oni trilogy, have a much darker feel because the writers noticed their more mature audience and wrote to fit, while also still being a kids show.

the main change really happens after animation studios switch from wilfilm to wildbrain. wildbrain era (seasons 11-16) have a different animation ... vibe? like, the animation remains mostly the same, but there's different textures (hair gets textured, you can see every little wrinkle in leather, etc) and faces are animated differently, as well as using different animation techniques as is standard for a different animation studio, but the story also gets a big change

a bunch of things get tweaked post-wildbrain. for instance, the series is just ninjago now, not the masters of spinjitzu. elemental masters are just elementals. missions are called quests. sensei wu is now master wu (though i'm blanking on if this happens s8 or s11). they sometimes have anime segments (don't ask). and uh. most of the plotlines from the previous seasons are kinda... ignored? like, wildbrain heavily prioritizes its own seasons rather than the previous seasons, meaning a lot of that stuff becomes obsolete. tragic, but nothing we can do about it.

the main change in the wildbrain era is that the episodes are all 11 minutes long now instead of 22 minutes. this is remedied by having More episodes per season, but the shorter episodes are an interesting factor in how the seasons play out. many say that the seasons feel too rushed because of that, and i have to agree on some cases. but theyre decently handled for the longer seasons (s11 and s16)

so... the story. is it the same ninjago as s1-10 was? hard to say. post-movie was the start of an era for sure, and wildbrain had some thoughts about where it would go, but i can't say it's all bad. the oni trilogy is a masterpiece of writing (though its not wildbrain, its still wilfilms), s11 is pretty good if you ignore the bigger flaws, s12 is . ok i'm not the biggest fan but it's a very fun season its just clunky dkfghkdjhg but season 13 is amazing and i love it. seasons 14 and 15 are also good :) seabound esp

don't talk to me about the finale. i WILL rant about it. too much. this is a threat.

but despite it all, it's still ninjago. the same fun cast, the same stories of the ninja being dumbasses and saving the world, they just look slightly different. if the redesigns really bother you, there's not much i can say about that unfortunately. it took me a very long time to get used to it and i was in HEAVY denial for a while, but you warm up to them. after all, they gave us superstar <3 and that's all that matters

also you do not need to finish skybound it is . it's skybound! watch hands of time (s7) tho its very funny

tldr: i can't say whether the story stays the same post-wildbrain (s11-16), but i heavily recommend watching the oni trilogy. if the new designs squick you out, there's not a lot you can do but get used to it. if you want to give it another chance, go for it!! the movie either scared people off or invited people in, so it's up to you how you feel about the movie and its effect on the show. all i can say is you gotta make your own opinion about it, and if you wanna liveblog or stream any more thoughts about ninjago, feel free to message me again!! my askbox is open (and so are my dms if anything :D)

[smalltownfae]

Ask game 17 and 19?

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Yes! Quite a few actually. I am going to order it from biggest surprise to not as big of a surprise. I will link my reviews for each book in the titles (if I wrote one).

1 - I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jenette McCurdy

I still don't know what possessed me to pick up a non fiction book and a memoir at that! It was probably the hype and the fact that I watched some iCarly episodes and I've heard that the book included information about eating disorders, parental abuse and toxicity of the child actors' industry. It's not an easy book to read, but it was extremelly good and very engaging. If there is one book that deserves all the hype is this one. It also included stuff about mormonism which I was not expecting. This book made me want to try more memoirs next year.

I used to think memoirs were all about people pretending to be better than they are, but this one was so honest and the author didn't hid her flaws, which I am very impressed by.

2 - Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Just like memoirs, it is a rarity for me to pick up a romance. Especially a contemporary romance. I am not going to say this converted me into a romance reader. In fact, the fact romance readers say this feels more like literary fiction than a romance makes me think that romance is definitely not for me. Still, this book was really fun and ocasionally emotional. If I ever feel in the mood to read a contemporary romance I will go to this author or Alexis Hall because he also wrote a book in the genre that I didn't hate. I gave this book 5 stars because given the genre it is very impressive that I liked it. What make me like it is precisely what I hear people complaining about: not focusing solely on the relationship and having family and work problems to deal with.

3 - The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Not only is this contemporary book, but it's also about an high schooler and told in poetry. If you know me you know I don't read these kind of books, but this one was so good! I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author and I loved it so much that I also listened to Clap When You Land and With the Fire on High. They are all similar but really good. The author puts such emotion on her work that it made me tear up. The Poet X is still my favourite but it's probably in part because it was my introduction to her work. She has a new book coming out next year and this time it will be adult instead of YA so I am very curious about it.

4 - Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

This was so much fun! It made me so nostalgic about the time I was obsessed with the anime Shaman King. Apparently, the only way to make like urban fantasy is if there are ghosts and possession involved. The themes of feeling like an outsider in their parents' country were also great and the main character is a closeted lesbian in a long distance relationship which was very refreshing to see. The book felt very modern, but in a somewhat subtle way when it comes to conveying the messages. I tried other 2 works by the author, but they were really short and just ok. This one made me curious about her other longer works even though I heard it's quite different.

5 - The Chronicles of Prydain by Loyd Alexander

I haven't read an entire series in such a short time since Realm of the Elderlings. It's true that these books are really short and that there are only 5 (and the short story collection I haven't read yet), but it's still impressive that I did it in only a few months. I knew I would probably enjoy these books, but I wasn't ready for how cozy the writing style and atmosphere made me feel. I especially liked The Castle of Llyr and Taran Wanderer (which he wrote after the last book in the series even though it is the 4th!!!). It makes me want to try the Alanna books by Tamora Pierce because sometimes I need a cozy short middle grade/YA fantasy book. This series made me feel nostalgic even though I had never read it before. It had some similarities with Lord of the Rings and a lot of usual fantasy tropes but it still managed to be very endearing. This is another tale about magic leaving the world, which I seem to be a fan of given my favourites.

19. Did you use your library?

No. My library has had very few updates since the 90s. I do plan to use it soon to reread Chocolate by Joanne Harris and read the sequel to that because I can't find them anywhere anymore in portuguese, but I did buy the 4th book anyway. I will need to find the 3rd one somewhere and probably I will end up reading it in english, but c'est la vie. I mostly use my library for old books since it has very few new releases and the ones it has it's for extremelly popular authors I am not interested in.

Thank you so much for the ask ❤

[laughingphoenixleader]

Top five Hera scenes in SWR!!

Also, top five books of the Bible

oh my wordddd how to choose??

1.) okay well definitely her first scene with Ezra in S1 E1. she spouts an amazing line and really shows how amazing of a role model she is.

2.) there’s one scene in Idiot’s Array—first she knees Lando Calrissian like the absolute boss she is and then when he’s trying to manipulate her she’s like “um no. absolutely not.” and I adore it!!

3.) of course, the scene in Wings of the Master when she talks about why flying is her passion—actually just that whole episode. she’s amazing the whole time and I will take no criticism—ok well at the beginning she makes some questionable leadership choices but I went ahead and wrote about that in this fic which makes me much more okay with it—but that shows that she’s flawed. even she, an amazimg pilot and leader, makes mistakes. and I love that Star Wars isn’t afraid to show that within its characters.

also the part when she hugs Quarrie is so fun and a side of her we just don’t get to see very often and I love it so much

4.) the one part in S1 E1 when she’s snarking Kanan while dodging TIE fighters. such a classic

5.) the part in S2 E2 when she outflies Darth Vader and traps him in a tractor beam. what an absolute legend

oooooooh books of the Bible!

1.) Romans

2.) Philippians

3.) John

4.) Ecclesiastes

5.) Psalms

[mickeym4ndy]

I only watched Shamless last year and I never seen any of the hall of shame episodes because everyone said they were terrible so I’ve only seen some of the gallavich clips. but I saw you talk about the 85% love thing which is an insane ooc thing they made ian say but I never see people talk about the thing mickey said about his bipolar? I was shocked it was such an asshole ooc move I can’t believe the writers thought it was ok?

Yea it was very fucked up by Mickey, hall of shame was the worst.

I don’t think it’s that ooc for either of them to lash out at each other when they’re hurt, but to sink that low was really fucked up, and yea very ooc given what they’ve been through. Seeing Mickey try to hit someone where it hurts when he feels cornered/hurt isn’t uncommon (eg: how he spoke to Svetlana at the baptism) but for him to actually make a comment like that to Ian about his bipolar after everything was imo really ooc for Mickey. And just a fucked up thing to say.

Going on a bit of a tangent here but I think one of the worst parts about Hall of Shame is that the writers were so close to getting it right, but they kept fucking it up so badly.

For example, the 87% comment was mean and unfair but not just for Mickey, for Ian also. Because the flashbacks implied Ian wasn’t talking about family & friends etc, he was talking about past “relationships.” Which Caleb and Trevor I can understand to an extent, but to include Kash and Ned and other men that took advantage of him in that “13%” is fucked up by the writers and imo does Ian a massive disservice. It’s like they’re treating these men like ex boyfriends, and not predators who groomed and took advantage of a teenager. It’s like they refuse to acknowledge that Ian was groomed.

And this ep/ Ned’s death, instead of being a way to make Gallavich fight over stupid shit, could’ve been a chance for Ian to actually realize that & come to terms with it. Mickey could’ve brought up how fucked it was too. They could’ve actually talked about and dealt with something real.

Even Mickey’s comment to Ian about leaving being his whole MO had validity based on their past tbh. It’s been talked about a lot recently how Mickey has abandonment issues with Ian because of everything that went down between them, and that could’ve been an opportunity for them to discuss that. Like actually discuss a massive element of their past that’s caused Mickey’s biggest insecurity in their relationship. Not visiting him in prison stuff, Mexico, etc.

But instead the writers made them lash out and say stupid shit to each other and make Mickey make that gross ableist comment.

Half the time in the later seasons it felt like the writers were just choosing things for them to say/do based on the idea like “what would someone say here” but not “what would Ian/Mickey say here.” If that makes sense. It’s like they barely knew the characters so they just wrote their own version of them? Idk

I’m sure there’s other stuff from the ep that could’ve been an opportunity to actually deal with stuff had it been handled differently, but I haven’t watched it in a long time so can’t remember.

I think s11 was flawed but there were things I liked, but hall of shame really was a mess. Only thing that was good were the kisses at the end lol.

[smilingperformer]

SM082 - Thoughts, shorter ver!

Because it’s way too hot to write full-on thoughts but I really want to talk about two events of the episode specifically: Amamaiko’s journey to Amajo and our beloved Rocket Gang! Let’s get started with newest episode:

Won’t You Give Us a Dance Dance Evolution?

When we first saw previews, the episode seemed to not really focus on one character, but throughout the episode, it was clear Mao and Amamaiko were the focus of the day. The theme being PokeDance, the episode consisted of fun scenes with different kinds of PokeDances (and with Satoshi not understanding the concept of Dance... hey, he never did, even if he tried doing it in XY, it makes sense he did what he did!), one being Alola Hula, which is pretty much Pokemon version of Hula Hula Dance! The Old Lady from the Market is finally named as Moani, as Mao and Amamaiko are apparently regular customers at her stop.

But the two sure get inspired by the dance, as they are now practising it for the little Competition at Pokemon School! Even Mao’s Papa lets her off from work early to practice for the dance. Alola Hula seems so fitting for Amamaiko. Shame they can’t showcase their dance in the end, thou Amamaiko being so tranced with the dance sure helped them out of Rocket Gang’s latest scheme! Speaking of Rocket Gang!

They heard Mao and Moani talking about the PokeDance competition while selling Malasada Donuts, and thus started planning on kidnapping all of the Pokemon at Pokemon School. All because Musashi wanted Back Dancers for her show, Kojiro and Nyarth agreeing! First time they do a scheme on School land. I sure hope Kukui does some preparations to improve security. But their scheme, ah!

Their scenes were so lovely to watch, it’s also fitting for Musashi to be so entranced with dancing, considering her career as Performer Musavie! She danced a lot during her Kalos journey!

I want to quickly mentioned how I loved Suiren’s PokeDance performance, and I think she’d do great in Contests/Showcases! Maybe a lil foreshadowing. Or maybe I’m overreading. Tehee.

Back to Rocket Gang thou! Ohmygod I never thought I’d be so happy to see their old days of crossdressing return! I now realise I truly missed it!

Kojiro looks absolutely stunning and Musashi looks absolutely amazing in her suit! I keep thinking about Smooth Criminal when seeing her in that outfit and just... ah. Nyarth’s outfit is a reference to some japanese puppet play of sorts, apparently. Saw it linked on twitter.

Their scheme was kind of a typical one, but considering Satoshi hadn’t been trapped liked that since well, long time ago (I think XY had similar ‘Pokemon here and Trainers there’ scheme but I don’t remember clearly), I don’t blame him for not remembering about such occurance. Amamaiko being in a Alola Hula trance of kind thou, she didn’t listen to their instructions and is actually free! So she’s their only hope! Sort of similar to SM018 where Amamaiko evolved from Amakaji! This time Amamaiko is a threat to the plan thou, when last time they didn’t think Amakaji could do anything, until it evolved and double slapped the hell out of them lol.

Some may find it lazy, but it’s sort of a nice touch to make Amamaiko’s evolution episodes have similarities with each other, with added scenarios like Amamaiko’s actually being capable of doing something. Althou, it seems like they prepared for a flaw in their flawless plan (8D), and welp.

Amamaiko gets trapped in Basketball net. Which by the way... was very poorly animated? It literarily had three frames when coming down from ceiling like they usually do. Wonder if this episode’s animation production somehow had trouble? Because some scenes were gourgeus, but this bothered the hell out of me.

But y’know, Rocket Gang obviously thinks Amamaiko’s no longer a threat with her slapper hair trapped. But her legs are still free. :)))) Nyarth, you done goofed. Even more when he tells them exactly how to break the cages. I think he’s been too used to saying his thoughts out loud lol.

Mao and Lilie take action right away, Nyarth trying to fix his mess-up by catching Amamaiko before reaching the top of the cage. Considering Amamaiko cannot use any of her moves atm (her moves involve hands and her hair pretty much!), Lilie helping her out by causing Nyarth slip with Shiron’s Powder Snow was good thinking.

But oh boy, the scene we’ve been waiting for! Since Amamaiko only has her legs free, she’s using them to break the cage! And each time she’s kicking, she’s actually learning Stomp, confirmed by Kukui! You guys know what that means!

HERE WE GO!!!!

OH!

MY!

GOSH!

This whole sequence! ;____;

I told you guys Amajo is happening the moment we had the title Dance Dance Evolution! This was the very first evolution episode I watched without being spoiled, only having speculated of her happening, being super anxious, and then crying out of happiness when it happened ;v; And this is most definitely my favourite evolution sequence in Pokeani up to date! Why? Because it actually shows what’s being changed when evolving, and in what way. It’s not just blue aura changing form. This is something that is extreme norm for Digimon and love it a lot there, and I think I like this evolution scene even more! Sure, quite Magical Girl inspired, but I don’t mind one bit!

I do hate how my mind keeps thinking Waifumon because of watching Vinesauce Vinny’s Pokemon Moon playthrough. God damn it.

Anyway, I love Amajo’s design, and her voice changed exactly how I pictured it to be! And I freaking love how Nyarth is self-aware of the fact that once again, Mao’s partner evolved under their watch, and is gonna screw them up! And oh boy. Amajo’s legs are strong!

Also freaking love how Kojiro says that Amamaiko evolved into a Queen Pokemon! That is beautiful! Oh! I just realised Amajo means Queen of Fruit! Niiiice that explains the Berry Tiara!

Let’s try to end this post thou: Amajo Trop Kicks Nyarth into the other Basketball net in the room, and breaks the cages, letting everyone free! While it looks like there’s gonna be a Alola Squad VS Rocket Gang battle, Kiteruguma comes and grabs the naughty kids back home :)))

Episode finishes with an upgraded MokuShot combo ending up being Amajo’s PokeDance performance, and considering how strong her legs are now, it’s a nice showcase of how much more powerful MokuShot is now as well! Just look what it did to Satoshi:

Cracks on the floor..... someone needs to renovate the place. That was one powerful MokuShot.

End of the episode! Erm. Amajo caused me to talk for a bit long apparently. I just really started adoring Amajo when I finally evolved my Amamaiko in Ultra Moon. She’s so badass!

The episode as a whole was a bit on the weaker side. While I truly enjoyed it, animation was lacking in some places compared to the quality we’ve had throughout the series. I can’t help but be bothered by it. I can definitely see the people who watch Pokemon for battles not enjoying this episode but eh. I’m not one of those. I watch for characters, and their interactions. And this episode did that to me!

But it was nice for Mao to debut the full Amakaji evolution line, and I’m extremely happy for her! Next step for her journey would be either getting Z-ring, or something happening with the Aina Cafeteria that could be devastating, or a step-back. I’m not sure. Catching another Pokemon is a possibility as well, thou I wouldn’t bet on it, considering the big cast of characters!

The episode as a whole kinda seems like it could work as a basis for future Contest/Showcase debut in Sun & Moon series. This is definitely me being wishful, but considering how they introduced Gyms, it’d be approriate for Kukui to arrange an introduction to Contests at least!

When it comes to next one to evolve.... Ashimari? Mokuroh? Those are my two guesses!

Pokeproblem post-segment shows Amajo looking sad with her apron being too small now, to which Mao respondes by promising to fix it to fit her again. It’s a nice nice scene <3

Next week, Sauboh is back, and accidentally minimizes Satoshi, Lilie and Mamane, who end up going on an adventure outside the School Yard with giant-sized Pokemon around them!  And apparently Sauboh trying to capture them in a clear pokeball as well!

Also with a return of Ganbalilie hairstyle, with Lilie’s usual outfit! That is wonderful combo! Also...

I can imagine this Persian being the same one from Nyabby’s episode, SM007! I could be wrong, but it would be a nice callback!

SM083 - Satoshi Minimizes

Looking so forward to this episode! Cya all next week!

[helbertinelli]

Do you think in any future Padme books there should be like a scene where another woman is flirting with Anakin and Padme is trying not to become jealous? Cause usually only Anakin gets jealous and even in fanfics we hardly see Padme getting her turn to be the jealous one and it's getting kinda old especially when people are like 'oh, Anakin is always jealous' well I think Padme would get jealous too if she saw a girl making moves on Anakin. Of course, it should be done in a way that keeps them both in character like a woman is being flirty with Anakin and is clearly interested in him and he's getting increasingly uncomfortable and Padme who is of course extremely bothered by all this but doing her best to not to show it subtly intervenes and manages to get Anakin away and it ends with them kissing and some fluff. Honestly, I think it would've been much better if they had done something like this instead of the whole Clovis arc and it could've shown 'hey, Padme can get jealous too, she has some human flaws too, it's not just Anakin'. But what do you think?

Not really. I don't like relationship drama or love triangles for Anidala. I think the dynamic of their relationship was always the two of them against the world, not the two of them against each other.

I think it would have been better to see Padme get jealous or her get jealous too, but TCW wrote Padme so ooc that she barely cared about Anakin in most episodes. It was definitely not the same level of love and care we've seen in AOTC and ROTS. Plus TCW was trying too push too hard that Anakin is jealous. Like ok, he was jealous when he was going mad with the dark side in ROTS and then when he was completely unhinged on Mustafar. But jealousy wasn't his default trait for his love for Padme.

[miraculous-or-horrendous]

I decided to share the Zoe and Y/n comparison I wrote awhile ago

Gentle reminder that I usually don't hate the character, I hate the writing

This is my opinion, and it's ok if you like Zoe

That being said, this is why Zoe is someone's shitty self insert:

To really get into the spirit of Y/N, I read a bunch of really bad MLB fanfictions. From x readers to self inserts. This will be discussing MLB! Y/N *specifically*

I debated on whether or not I wanted to use screenshots but

If I did that, I should give credit to the writer and...I'd rather not send hate or call out any specific author

Small note to any fanfiction writers out there, y'all are great :) don't take any of this personally. If anything, take this as a what NOT to do when adding in a self insert or something

Alrighty, my first point:

Comes from America and is related to one of the main characters

In my scavenge through bad (and good) fanfictions, I found that Y/N (usually) comes from America. (Some fics are more inclusive and don't specify where the reader comes from, but a lot of them say America). This point isn't bad necessarily, I just find it hilarious that Zoe also comes from America (New York to be specific). Zoe's story is so similar to Y/N's, it's almost unbelievable.

Another thing I noticed is that a lot of fanfictions make Y/N related to one of the main characters even though it makes no sense/ruins the character*

*For anyone wondering about that last part, home life can change how you may act. For characters like Mari or Adrien, being an only child helps highlight certain parts of their characters. Mari being the spoiled only child who gets all of the family love, while Adrien was lonely in his own home. Introducing siblings screws with that.

Y/n is usually written to be one of the main character's siblings simply to give the story an excuse to immediately give her relationships with the main characters.

Marinette and Chloe are the most common victims of this.

Y/N is only Marinette's sibling to force her into the lovesquare at all times.

And when she's not Marinette's sibling, she's Chloé's sibling. Because Y/N is Chloé's sister, naturally the characters are going to compare the two. They'll make comments about how nice Y/N is and how brave she is for putting Chloé in her place (because, ofc, the writers always make Y/N tell off Chloé the second she's introduced). Y/N ends up looking better by comparison. She gets more praise from the main characters who should realistically be weary of her/care less about her. (Being nicer than Chloé isn't an achievement in the slightest, and Mari tells Chloé off every sunday. Y/N isn't doing anything new here.)

I think you may know where I'm going with this, as all of that applies to Zoe. The show continuously compares the two, showing us that Zoe is so much better because look at how NICE she is.

She's just Marinette but without any character quirks

I'll continue with this point later, but for now, I feel like it's self explanatory.

In a lot of reader inserts, Y/N is just Marinette.

Most of the fanfictions I found follow every single MLB episode without changing a thing. They just kind of...squish the reader in there. Y/N even ends up stealing some of Marinette's lines for some reason...???

(an example: In a miraculous!reader fanfic, Y/N said "The catsuit will do, thanks." In response to Chats flirting in Stormy Weather. That's just what LB said in that episode. They didn't change anything).

This results in Y/N just being a carbon copy of Marinette.

But! Because this is perfect y/n we're talking about, they take anything interesting about Mari's character and get rid of it. Y/n isn't clumsy, she doesn't stutter (unless it makes her look cuter), and for some reason, the universe always bends over backwards to go her way. 

Zoe is like this as well.

If you were asked to describe Zoe's character, what would you say?

Zoe is nice...uh...kind?..did I mention she's nice? OH, and her flaw is that she's insecure sometimes. 

That's just Marinette, but extremely watered down. Heck, that's all of the girl characters but watered down.

Our main girl cast consists of a tomboy, a naive sweetheart, a shy and timid goth, a passionate yet fearful plant enthusiast, a sassy and intelligent reporter, and a clumsy fashion designer.

All of them are nice, and some of them get insecure at times, but they're not all the same. They all have a trait that is over exaggerated to help them stand out. Every character should have that so they don't end up being a generic nice person.

Even Emmet from the Lego Movie did this. The writers over exaggerated how generic and basic he was to give him some character.

I remember reading a fanfiction where Alya of all people said that Y/N's hero alter ego may be better than Ladybug after her first debut.

Zoe doesn't have any traits like this though, she's just insecure and rich. They tried to do something with her being an actor, but it all feels underdeveloped or just stapled onto her in hopes it'd fix her character.

Gets a miraculous and everyone praises them for it

I was absolutely flabbergasted when I read it, because that was extremely out of character.

This happens a lot.

The reader gets praised after just one mission. She upstages our favorite catbug duo and wins everyone's hearts with a snap of her finger.

And Vesperia? She does exactly that.

Queen banana was just full of the characters talking about how amazing Vesperia is.

I get they were trying to make Queen Banana jealous for the plan, but some of the Zoe ass kissing was genuine. The characters immediately put her on this pedestal and praise her just because she's nicer than Chloé. That doesn't deserve praise, almost all of the characters are nicer than Chloé (the only ones who aren't are the villains: Lila, Gabriel, etc.)

The bad fanfictions I read were easier to stomach than the obvious attempt at making the viewers favor Zoe. It was so forced, it hurt.

And finally, my last point:

Their backstory is used for sympathy points rather than character development

Deku is a good example of this. He didn't cry to someone about how sad his life was and then suddenly become a bad bitch. You get to see his growth as he overcomes his problems. He trains on his own time, he makes notes, he doesn't complain when he loses, he learns from it. He develops.

Here's the thing: if a character is struggling with something internally, they need to overcome it themselves. 

They can get some help from others, but the character is never going to get over their internal struggles if they don't actively do something to better themselves.

But of course, Y/n spits on that. Her mental health and character development heavily revolves around how much validation she gets from others. She's usually broken and lost ™ until she gets a love interest who magically fixes it. If not that, she has small spurts where she improves until the author decides they need another overly dramatic scene.

Zoe pretty much does this. 

I actually like her backstory honestly. Is it underdeveloped? Definitely, but it's not a bad concept. I can relate to the idea of "acting" to please others.

This could've made Zoe question herself.

Make her ask: who is she? What is her personality? Who does she want to be? It would have been much more interesting to see her try to develop her personality or think about what she wants to be for once.

Maybe show a trait of hers that's embarrassing, like maybe she uses light mode on discord. This could have added to why everyone hated her so much back in New York. It could have built character.

But no. Zoe just spills her backstory, apologizes, gets a bit of praise from Ladybug, and boom. She's had her full character arc. All of that involves someone validating her.

And by the end of it? Nothing has really changed. She's the same as before, except she kind of awkwardly stands next to Marinette's friend group.

In short, all Zoe does is show that all of the bad fanfictions I've ever read could be plausible within the miraculous universe, and a character like that should burn/j

Thank you for reading <3

[volfoss]

How about Jobin, Daiya, and Fiore?

hiiii bestie i regret to inform you i have a ton of notes on daiya and a shit load of mentally ill moments for jobin so i am SORRY in advance like genuinely i hope it wont get long sdjfsfs

Jobin:

do I like them: yes hes my malewife my boytoy my girlfriend etc also a pitiful freak i love himmmmmm

5 good qualities:

1. genuinely how he cares abt his family he just is sucky at showing it.... ough the family dynamics in part 8 sobs and shakes at a violent pace

2. hes just like a freak (affectionate ofc i love him)

3. constantly like woahhhhh summer time i have no problems and its funny

4. OH MY GOD his uhhhhh his weird hoodie thing i love it.... hes tummy out like most of the time its so good

5. OH OH AND YEAH HIS SHRIMP POSTURE i love that his posture sucks its the representation i want in jojo :)

3 bad qualities:

1. doesnt give mitsuba (or tsurugi tbh) a ton of attention until later on

2. YEAH OK WAIT YEAH his uhhh his golden lambo... literally such a rich kid

3. his past oughhhh i dont wanna think about it

favourite episode/etc: wow beetle arc... but like genuinely its fun i love picking into his little brain and being deranged during it. its also just a fun fight. love to see him being a bit fucked up its funny

otp: uhhh him and mitsuba!! i love them theyre kinda fucked i love itttttt like she serves cunt and hes horrible <3

brotp: uhhh wait yeah yeah him and norisuke... i like how theyre just kinda buddies as well as being father son yk? i think its fun <3

ot3: none yet :)

notp: uh idk any minor w him hes like 30 smth idk his exact age off the top of my head but its gross

best quote: i rly like when he has his little poetry quoting moments and gets SOOOO mad that joshu doesnt finish the poetry its funny... hes so fucked up and funny

head canon: boils his own beetles <3 and finds the process rly relaxing, like he pins them himself and just is like yeah what a way to wind down after a long day of work. also oh my god hes nonbinary as fuck to me.

Daiya:

do I like them: YES MY BESTIE MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

5 good qualities:

1. her outfits omg!! she has such a fun sense of fashion and i love all her little teddy bear hats (she changes them for each outfit!!)

2. she loves prog rock and her little albums in her room are such a cool touch... she has good taste :)

3.OH MY GOD YEAH HOW SHES SO CHEERFUL i think shes just such a good character and shes just like such a nice presence to have around

4. i rly rly like how she and josuke r tbh!! shes just really nice to him and he respects her and their friendship is rly nice :)

5. OMG OMG HOW COULD I FORGET!!! i love how affectionate she is!! shes just like idk a rly bubbly person a lot of the time and just rly good... daiya my bestie!!

3 bad qualities:

1. HOW ARAKI WROTE HERRRR but like the entirety of her first arc was so shitty and it is such an uncomfortable thing to read

2. she didnt get enough screentime </3

3. how araki drew her </3 but like for her actual character no flaws bc i can fix her shitty writing <3

favourite episode/etc: uhhhh honestly none bc they rly kinda treat her bad but when she reunites w her mom its good :)

otp: none shes 16

brotp: HER AND JOSHU ACTUALLY... w them both being young they kinda bond over getting ignored by the rest of their family and i think its cool for like bestie time even tho they dont talk a lot.

ot3: also none!

notp: her and gappy.... guh

best quote: the quote somewhat early on in her first arc about memories and how thats how youre happy in life is by making memories w people you love. genuinely one of my fave jojo quotes of all time <3

head canon: its like established she rly likes bikes... i think she rides her bike to school and listens to music on the way there :)

Fiore:

do I like them: yeah! i feel yk hes my oc i have to but hes like not my fave oc ig? i think it was just bad timing when i got hyperfixated on part 4 then 8 because i havent been able to give him as much attention ig?

5 good qualities:

1. has literally a million hobbies like... no need for it but he sure does anyways

2. he literally powders his hair to hide the stupid little toothpaste dyejob at work

3. GOLDFISH MEMORY TOO OMG like worst memory and his home is coverd in sticky notes to TRY and remember shit (it doesnt work)

4. is like the MOST competitive in the kitchen but is like at most mediocre in the kitchen

5. lies about his top surgery scars being from a bear attack to anyone who asks but changes the circumstances each time just for fun

3 bad qualities:

1. his toothpaste hair... there was noooo need for him to dye it that way but he did

2. does NOT warn people about movies before watching (ask anyone who he asked to watch Cube with him <3)

3. a lil bit overbearing at times

favourite episode/etc: ignoring bc yk, oc!

otp: him n melone!

brotp: uhhh him and em sand-worms oc agnolotti for sure!! theyre friends :)

ot3: none rly! i dont think fiore would wanna be in a poly relationship

notp: uhh idk anyone thats in the rest of LS??

best quote: ive literally never written any dialogue for them sorry </3

head canon: is not allowed to drive due to a near car accident but enjoys being on the back of a motorcycle :)

[katatonicimpression]

Sam Wilson

do I like them:

Yes. A lot. MCU and comics.

5 good qualities:

He's kind, compassionate.

He's really intelligent, both in an intellectual way and an emotional way

He's great with animals

He's charming, good with people

He's good at his job. Both jobs. Seriously, he's a badass.

(Bonus) he's pretty

3 bad qualities:

I think he overthinks things sometimes. Like, he's so concerned about how his decisions reflect on him that it's causing more pain than it's worth. That said, I think it's good that he cares.

It's okay to just say what you want, Sammy. It's okay to want things, to not want things. Just tell people how you feel.

Ugh... trying.. to... think... of... flaws... OK so one of Sam's biggest character conflicts is this thing where his commitment to non-violence comes up against his earnest desire for change. This happens in the comics and in tfatws. And this isn't really a flaw per se, it's good that he's all about harm reduction prefers peaceful solutions and I think to some extent there will always be some inherent conflict here. But I would love to see him do a bit more to actually fight the system in his own way. As it stands, a lot of these stories present it as a choice between unnecessary violence and doing literally nothing. I know that the comics code had a massive impact on the old stories but what's the excuse nowadays? Let Sam oppose the government more, as a treat.

favourite episode/etc:

MCU: I think "The World is Watching" is really revealing about Sam's character. We see how he feels about Karli and her mission, we see how would like to have dealt with this if it had been up to him and we get more of his actual beliefs and perspective. Like, the show's not perfect by any means, but it's got some great details in there.

Comics: I'm still relatively early on in my disorganised read through for Sam in the comics. But I will say I enjoyed him being chased by a sentinel and getting increasingly frustrated about it lol.

otp:

Bucky. Sam works well with a lot of characters (I'm partial to a bit of SamSharon myself) but Sambucky owns me. For the mcu at least. In the comics I prefer Sam with Misty or Steve.

brotp:

Sarah. Is it against the rules if he's her literal bro?

I want to see more of his relationship with Rhodey - their argument in Civil War is one of the most interesting parts of the film - and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Sam and Joaquin interacting in the next film.

Comicswise, Sam and Sharon's friendship is honestly great.

ot3:

Ooh that's difficult. I don't think I have an answer for this. That said, I do really like a love triangle with Bucky competing against someone for Sam's affections.

notp:

Anything with Zemo. Ffs people.

best quote:

I liked the speech he gets in episode 6:

"Even now, here... I feel it: the stares, the judgment. And there's nothing I can do to change it."

Also:

"You like cats?"

head canon:

He's bi. Sorry you cannot convince me otherwise.

Comics: I choose to ignore the retcon about his powers. He's a mutant in my mind or at the very least he was born with powers rather than the nazi stuff.

Related, in earlier comics his powers aren't strictly bird themed. He gets hunches about the near future and dreams about Steve being in danger. He's a telepath, basically. With empathic and some pre-cognitive abilities. I like this. I wish they'd bring it back, but for now I'll just headcanon that he has these powers too.

MCU: Gideon exists and lives in Harlem. I wrote a fic that has a bunch of their relationship in it, but basically I think they're not that close, but they do love each other a lot.

MCU: Leila Taylor also exists. Technically Karli ended up doing a lot of the same work Leila does in Sam's story (I.e. the political radical who he mostly agrees with but nonetheless she challenges his choices), but this isn't a screenwriting class, it's a headcanon. Leila was Sam's girlfriend in college. She had a massive influence on how he sees the world, especially politically. They didn't break up so much as fizzle out, but they still think fondly of each other.