#incredibly funny wording + really entertaining dynamic

[maxwell-grant]

do you have any favorite batman henchmen?

I put a lot of stock into how a Batman work tackles the resident henchmen and assistants and organization surrounding any specific Batrogue and how those intersect with each other so yes, absolutely I have Bat-henchman opinions, and favorites per villain. I'm gonna about pick about one or two among my favorites and name a few honorable mentions, with one exception and that's Rhino, Scarface's muscle. I know he's sort of a package deal with Mugsy, and Mugsy's pretty good too, but Rhino's the one I love.

I have a huge amount of fondness for Rhino and Rhino specifically because of his showing in "Read my Lips", as one of my favorite musical pieces for the series is the leitmotif that plays specifically for Rhino's moments in the opening heist and his brawl with Batman in the climax, and frankly he earns a top spot for me solely on the basis that he has his own theme and it's a banger on top of that. Scarface is exactly the kind of Bat-villain you want funny stereotypical cartoon gangsters attached to, and the big dumb grunt archetype is always more fun when paired with a proportionally much smaller partner or boss. And in Rhino's case, not only is he a titanically strong wall of muscle taking orders from a hand-held puppet dressed like a gangster, but cowering in fear when said puppet gets angry at him and relieved when reminded that he's too stupid to betray da boss. They made a lot with very little out of a bit character and it makes me love the episode so much more, and again, he has his own theme song and it opens the episode even, pretty hard to top that.

Penguin: My favorite overall has usually been Lark, specifically the version of her that was introduced in Tony Daniel's run. Like with Rhino and Scarface, the tiny funny-looking Oswald Cobblepot having a tall, intimidating lady chaffeur following him around makes for good contrast, and although I didn't like "Bullies" much at all, I really liked that scene of them being on friendly terms with each other, how much Penguin trusts her with his life and what he does. I like she is not abiding by any kind of formal dress code, like everyone else who tends to work at the Lounge, she's got almost like a punk thing that really contrasts with Oswald's own outfits and I always liked that, her individuality.

A more recent favorite would be Lili Kwan from Penguin: One Bad Day, someone who is far more marginalized than Oswald, and someone who was marginalized and pushed aside BY Oswald, but who joins up with him because he is the best lesser evil she is going to get and because they have enough in common that he can relate to her and respect her and ensure she is respected, but she pointedly does not mince words around him and does not entertain Oswald's delusions and self-loathing. She kinda demands Oswald to be the better class of criminal he paints himself as, to learn from his mistakes and earn having her by his side because "a king can't have illusions", and that's an incredibly interesting dynamic to me, this person with a vision of what Penguin and his empire should be like and in a position to have Penguin listen to her about it, not just muscle by his side but a voice in his ear pushing him to get his head in the game, be someone who deserves the loyalty he has from the underprivileged and the outcasts he claims to be a part of.

Honorable mentions would be the Red Triangle Gang from Batman Returns. I don't think they would really belong in any other version of the Penguin, and I have some very mixed feelings on Returns still, but I like the history they have with this Oswald and I like them in the movie proper, my favorite is the Poodle Lady for no real reason. I would also name the Kabuki Twins from The Batman cartoon, and Mr Decondor from The Batman Audio Adventures.

Joker: I gotta go with Bob the Goon, the Number One Guy. He is not even called Bob the Goon in the movie, he's just become so emblematic a figure for goons everywhere that he earns that name, Bob the Goon. See, I actually don't think the Joker should employ clowns in his gang, I think if you have more than one clown going around doing crimes, then they're not that special individually, I don't see the Joker surrounding himself with people who look or act even half as outlandish as himself, and that’s part of why Bob works for me, this comically ordinary schlub grunt who nevertheless endears himself to our sympathies for putting up with the Joker, being endlessly loyal to Napier before and after his accident. We like him in no small part because the Joker clearly likes this guy as much as he's capable of liking anyone on the planet, which is why it actually lands when the Joker guns him down just to vent. Rest in peace Bob, an example to low-lives everywhere.

If I had to name another favorite, and one I think works better on a reocurring basis, it would be Charlie Charleyhorse, from The Batman Audio Adventures. Charleyhorse has the mannerisms of a smooth-talking wise guy and is the guy who handles the day-to-day businesses of the Joker, sweet-talking recruits and negotiating deals and convincing rookies to eat poison and even hosting his broadcasts, and in contrast to the other villain sidekicks in the show who provide comedic contrast he is this very efficient, very charming and dangerous man, fully cognizant of the cruelty he's assisting and the man he works for. To me he feels like a very organic way of establishing how much more dangerous the Joker is compared to the other villains, that he runs his disorganized crime with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine, that behind all the chaos and mayhem there is an unfathomably brilliant mind at work and a smart, affable businessman to act as a conduit between that mind and the city, as if the Joker plucked the ghost of Jack Napier from his soul and found a sweet deal that lets them both happily exist.

Honorable mentions would be Prank, from The Batman cartoon. I think Joker gunning for his own Robin is an idea with legs (Harley never really counted in that regard), I really liked his design, a perfect combination of Robin aesthetics with a clown/jester motif, and I thought he had one of the more interesting set-ups for a "Joker corrupts people into extensions of him" story, definitely one of the better Joker episodes in that show. Other honorable mentions would be Jackanapes and Captain Clown from TAS, because the Joker getting unreasonably attached to a horrible giant clown android is a pretty funny concept to me.

Riddler: God, what a perfect character Miss Tuesday is. Pairing up the self-obsessed artist of crime with the harshest critic of all, the disinterested judgemental teenager, is such a perfect combo and it does so much to breathe new life into a very classic take on Riddler. The fact that she regularly stays in touch and coordinates stuff with other villain interns is amazing and part of the incredible worldbuilding The Batman Audio Adventures has in general. Miss Tuesday is this physical embodiment of ennui to deflate his cartwheeling histerics, manifesting every bit of self-awareness that the Riddler completely ignores, annoying him just as much as he annoys everyone else (her included).

It's punctuated by her being casually murderous to an extent that even surprises him, and the fact that she is just as smart as he is, so by the standards he lives his life by, he can't brush her off as another small-minded knuckle-dragging ignoramus like he does with everyone else, no, he can't tell himself that she simply doesn't understand what he is doing. She does understand him, she is just not that impressed by him, and Eddie will simply have to roll with the barbs and work harder if he is to prove himself. She is the closest The Riddler has to a conscience and thus her job is not to push him towards any kind of moral self-improvement or an approach to his work that doesn't involve murder and terrorism, but to dunk cold water on his head and call him cringe when he gets in too deep or for doing this instead of, like, making money off this crap or something.

The other candidate would be the Riddler's Followers from The Batman. They're not a concept I think would work for a more traditional version of The Riddler, but God they work SO well for that movie and that version of him, marking Eddie Nigma's transition from malajusted murderer into not just a supervillain with a city-destroying plot, not just the rise of supervillains as a thing Gotham is gonna have to deal with forever, but as a sickness aimed at the heart of the city, and a sickness that Batman is indirectly responsible for and that he must owe up to. I really like how The Riddler: Year One elaborates on them with "He doesn't trust people. But numbers never lie." His "henchmen" are numbers, numbers on a screen he never has to actually interact with, but can still send on to be proxies of him, embodiments of how much bigger this is than anything Batman could have imagined it being.

Honorable mentions would be the classic duo of Query and Echo, and much like Bob, we gotta bring up his henchgirl Molly from the Batman 66 pilot two-parter, who tragically died by falling into the Batcave's nuclear reactor. "What a way to go-go".

Two-Face: It's common for Two-Face to have twin sets of named thugs but I can't say any of them have ever been particularly memorable to me, but one that does stick out to me is Benny from Long Shadows. I'm of the opinion that if any Batman villain should be establishing a working relationship with a henchman/assistant, if any Batman villain really needs to be depicted putting in the work as far as convincing people to work for him, it should be Two-Face, the former widely-beloved District Attorney/politician turned crimelord who somehow stays a dominant player in the Gotham underworld despite everything stacked against him (his face, his reputation, his past being public record, the coin-based decisions, etc). I think Two-Face needs to be some degree of charismatic and conversational and convincing, he's someone with more tangential history in this world than the other villains and should be willing and able to engage with people at any level, even if, and especially if, he's going to betray or save them at the flip of a coin, and the closest anyone's ever come to capturing that for me has been Benny, this guy who's willing to question Two-Face's decisions and is smart and sensible and generally pleasant enough that Two-Face lets him do it (with some limits, of course) and lets him in on what he's planning. Being drawn by Mark Bagley, who can convey a lot of expression and personality on any character, is definitely a bonus.

Scarecrow: Not so much of a henchmen since this was technically a villain team-up, but Scream Queen as she was featured in that Brave and the Bold segment has literally nothing in common with comics Scream Queen as debuted in Scare Tactics to the point she is a new character in every way. I like comics Scream Queen quite a lot, and I wouldn't want her to be any kind of underling to Scarecrow, but BATB Scream Queen is a very cool design and concept and in general I think Scarecrow could stand to have some cool and inventive henchmen, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing BATB Scream Queen turn up again so long as she had a different name. I'm also extremely partial to the Strawmen and the idea of him employing former students and offering them teaching exercises mid-crime.

Bane: There's really only one form of Bane henchmen that matter and it's Bird, Zombie and Trogg, the Fabulous Five to his Doc Savage (I always felt like there could be two more members to actually make them five, I know it doesn't have to be an exact reference but). I like them as they are in regular canon but my favorite depiction of them so far has been in the Batman 66 comic by Jeff Parker, which retrofits Bane to fit the 66 aesthetic and tone by further emphasizing his lucha motif, and having his Fabulous Three all dress up in distinct masks of their own referencing existing iconic luchadore characters.

Black Mask: I think the False Face Society is one of the more interesting parts of Black Mask's concept and it really doesn't come up enough, and when it does it gets folded into just being a name for his gangster lackeys instead of the weird cult aspect it acquired when it was folded into his character, I'd like to see that stuff get folded back in.

Hugo Strange: Honestly I love all of Hugo's varied forms of henchmen over the years, all of them have their place in the grand tapestry of his designs (I'm not too big on Sanjay from Batman and the Monster Men, there is stuff to like about their dynamic but I don't think the pulp racial manservant is a thing deserving of the charming throwback treatment). The gangsters from his debut, the androids/mannequins, Night Scourge, the TYGER guards/troopers from Arkham City, the mind-controlled villains and inmates from his Deathstroke arc, and of course the Monster Men. I do prefer the horrific body horror kaijus from Night of the Monster Men, but I also like the mutated giants, especially when they dress up in oversized trenchcoats and slouch hats.

There are a few others but I'm lastly gonna say Mr.Freeze and his polar bears Notchka and Shaka, from Batman and Mr.Freeze: Subzero. I'm not opposed to Mr.Freeze having regular henchmen, or even ice-themed henchmen like in Batman and Robin, there are ways to have it make sense, but the polar bears I think have this sort of almost innocent fairytale logic to them that just fits Mr.Freeze and his imagery a lot better, abstract guardians of the concept of the arctic that Mr.Freeze claims dominion over. Even at their most benign, you can't extricate human henchmen from the inherent brutality of their profession, but when it's trained animals defending a master, it's easier to find innocence and sympathy, traits that fit well with Mr.Freeze. If there's anything in that movie I remember, it's the bittersweet ending where they walk off into a blizzard together, his sole two companions into this new life he's cursed with.

Does it really make any sense for Mr.Freeze's established skillset and character for him to have a duo of trained polar bears on call to do crimes with, the way Penguin and Catwoman have their own trained animals? No. Is it corny? Arguably yes. Do I think it's cool? Is it a cool image? Very much so, and when it comes to Batman, that tends to be the final word in things.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Winter 2024 Anime Overview: Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)

Premise: Laios is the leader of an adventuring party, and his sister, Falin, got eaten by a dragon while sacrificing herself to save the team. Fortunately, in the dungeon they were exploring, people can be resurrected with magic. Unfortunately, if the dragon fully digests Falin, they probably can’t resurrect her. They have no time to resupply and must traverse many levels of the dungeon filled with monsters to find the dragon. Laios declares that since they can’t get food, they’ll eat the monsters in the dungeon instead-- and as a huge monster fanatic. he's unsettlingly excited about this. He’s accompanied by elf mage Marcille and hafling rogue Chilchuck in his quest, who are much more reluctant about monster-eating. They run into a dwarf, Senshi, who is an expert at cooking monsters, and the delicious race against time to save Falin begins!

...Oh what the hell, I'll say it. FINALLY, some good fucking food.

Memes aside, I love this story so much that writing a review of Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi is daunting, because I really want to get across how great it is. But are there enough words in the English language to convey this? We can only try.

Dungeon Meshi combines cooking and adventure animanga expertly, humorously treating eating monsters with the complexity of actual recipes (and indeed, the recipes for the monsters are based off real life recipes). You can experience the warmth and contentment of sharing a meal and enjoy the way the story goes in depth about the biology of the monsters and ecology of classic RPG style dungeon. But at the same time these characters are on a classic fantasy quest and there’s lot’s of excitement as they work together overcome monsters, obstacles and their own weaknesses to save Falin.

The first thing that stands out about Dungeon Meshi is that it’s immediately entertaining and funny. A lot of humor is mined out of Marcille’s complete disgust at eating monsters (and Chilchuck’s more measured reluctance) contrasted with Laios and Senshi’s bizarre enthusiasm for it. The face game of the series is on point, especially Marcille’s.

The characters play off each other very well, have a hilarious dynamic and tons of quirks. They're immediately lovable. They're eccentric weirdos who push each other's buttons, misfits who just happen to fit together, and that's always the best.

I've seen some first time anime viewers complained about that how the early episodes are supposed to be race to save Falin, but there isn't much urgency as the characters have adventures and meals on the way. I can see that as a criticism (though it didn’t stick out to me much in the manga) but this is because we’re mostly seeing them in between the times they’re traveling, when they need downtime and mealtime. The fact that people should never neglect eating and rest if they want to succeed is a pretty important message of the show. You’ve got to let the series cook (forgive the pun). As it goes on, the urgency and tension increases ramps way up. the plot truly takes form and we see a lot of the world building from early parts pay off.

Phenomenal, intricate worldbuilding is the next big thing that stands out about Dunmeshi. Any viewers paying attention will notice it pretty quickly. Ryoko Kui doesn’t dump her complex world or her character’s detailed backstories on the viewer all at once, instead she lets it unfold bit by bit, so the viewer/reader can watch the world expand as the journey goes on, as if we are truly living this world and exploring it along with the characters.

 Everything is carefully thought out, from the structure of the societies, the cultural nuances and physiology of the different magical races, the conflicts between said races and the ways they integrate, the ecosystem and the different monsters and how they function…I could go on forever. And best of all, Dunmeshi's worldbuilding is never to the detriment of it’s incredibly rich story and characters, all of which are also developed wonderfully.

After all, Dugeon Meshi isn’t simply a story about making food and eating monsters—it’s about the ways we consume and ARE consumed, it’s about the endless cycle of life and death and the pain of struggling against that cycle. It’s about the endless hunger that drives us all and the ways we try to fill ourselves up. It’s about the ways we can find both solace and terror in the monstrous, about our struggle to accept not just monsters, but anyone who's different from us. It’s not just about natural ecosystems, but social and societal ecosystems and the ways they both hurt and help us. It’s about all the things that make good meal, one that can draw people together and help us find essential humanity that connects us.

These strong themes are all expressed through the world and the journeys of the characters. And god, do I love these characters.

Even from the start, the characters overturn RPG/fantasy archetypes. (We have an elf who’s not that into nature and dwarf who LOVES nature and doesn’t like blacksmithing)… but the most special thing about these characters is how they deepen, becoming more and more complex and fascinating as the series unfolds. None of them are quite who you think they are while also being exactly how they appear.

Marcille is one of my favorite characters in anything ever. She’s just an absolute disaster, while also being terrifyingly powerful. She’s a magic honors student who buried herself in theory but doesn’t have a lot of experience with the real world and gets upset it doesn’t work like school (I feel that). Her pride and generally high strung nature can lead to blunders that make her very funny to watch. She’s a total nerd in a way that’s so relatable, she has intelligence in spades, but not a lot of wisdom.

 But on the other hand, she’s an aching wounded soul who’s struggling under the surface, dealing with grief and loss constantly. She's obsessed with control in a world that uncontrollable. She’s incredibly driven and unnervingly dedicated to her goals. She’s also scarily devoted to the people she loves and will cross any moral line, break any taboo, and cover herself in blood and sin to save them. She refuses to let silly things like “laws” and “rules” stifle her research or get in her way .And while she's a neat freak who's grossed out by monsters, she's the first person to dive into the blood and guts and horror when shit gets real.

The contrast between her being a sweet, silly, dorky lovable nerd who flails around and being a powerful badass who has complex motivations, an intricate arc, and sometimes questionable morals is so great. Get you a girl who can do both. She's basically everything I love in a character.

Marcille’s love for Falin and infinite devotion is also key to the story, and it’s so refreshing to see a well-written relationship between women be so central to a fantasy anime like this. And yes, by love for Falin, I mean in a gay way. It’s not technically canon (Dunmeshi is not into confirming romantic relationships for any of it’s characters really) but it’s hard to interpret their relationship as anything else, and honestly it’s one of the best wlw ships I’ve seen in a while. It’s got everything, the softness, the sweet and sensual intimacy, the angst, the tragedy, the raw unbearable yearning, tearing the world apart and defying even the laws of nature for her, crawling through hell and soaking your hands in blood and not letting anything get in your way...yeah, it’s good.

While Marcille is my #1, all the characters in this story are fantastic and I love them all. They all have incredible depth and similarly complex backstories and arcs, and are all fun to watch. For instance, Laios may look like generic human fighter but he’s just the weirdest dude, a wonderfully unhinged man who absolutely has a monstersona. But then we also discover he's someone who struggles socially in a way that many neurodivergent people can relate to, who had a troubled childhood, who grapples with survivor’s guilt, and who, like Marcille, would do anything for his sister and the people he cares about. Chilchuck and Senshi and Falin and all the others the same, really interesting characters who deepen and grow. Everyone's relationships also develop wonderfully.

And on top of all that, it's a show with really well-realized and well-written female characters…who even have diverse body types! We have stocky dwarf ladies with muscles! Huge orc and oni women! They’re allowed to be messy and complicated, badass and vulnerable, and that’s definitely a part of my affection for the series. (and famously, most of the fanservice of the series is focused on Senshi’s endless pant shots (loincloth, if we’re being specific)) and while there are moments with the female characters that make me fan myself, it’s not the obnoxious anime unsexy bullshit way that treats women like objects.

And specifically for the anime, Trigger is doing great work with it. There’s so much cool and vivid animation. There are some small moments from the manga that I really miss and wish they had kept, but it’s been a largely faithful adaptation that understands what makes the story great, and I can’t ask for much more. The English simuldub is also genuinely good with all of the VA’s turning in great performances (and Prozd plays Senshi!)

Dungeon Meshi is honestly one to the best stories in recent years, and it’s easy to let it take over your brain. So come along with me and enjoy the funny jokes, the splendid storytelling, the endearing and endlessly fascinating characters and the delectable world. You don’t want to miss out on this delicious meal.

[jacarandaaaas]

I notice how (most of) the fandom likes to pin Mirabel as motherly but...Camilo's right there. I can see him getting strict when he needs to be or blurts out the right advice at the right time...which literally shocks everyone when he does but still. In other words, he's the "mom/dad" friend that everybody needs at the right time.

He takes care of kids all day + Is a natural caretaker like Julieta is. We don't know much of his personality other than "mischievous" but taking care of kids from an early age can surely make someone responsible and mature overtime.

Mirabel isn't the town babysitter; she has her own things going on. And I know she loves kids and all, but she strikes more as an older sister/ "aunt who gives you the candy you aren't supposed to have" kind of gal than a motherly type. Don't get me wrong, I honestly think she's good with advice too, but Camilo comes in a close second.

Yet, there's literally a tag on ao3 that's "Mirabel Madrigal acting as Antonio Madrigal's parental figure" that belongs to 94 fics. It's not a lot but still.

I'm okay with it being an au and all, have your fun, but Camilo takes care of kids on a regular basis. Shouldn't he be the one that's seen as parental?

It would be funny to see the slacker get fed up with someone's antics and start scolding like a parent would. I'm sure when it happens it makes the person do a double take because it's not something he does often. Rarely even.

So, when it does happen, it's shocking.

It would be nice to have Camilo be painted as someone who is emotionally mature. Maybe not to the extent of Mirabel, but like I said, he takes care of children. That has to make someone emotionally mature to some extent.

It would be nice to see Camilo not painted as a jerk for once. Sure, he's incredibly blunt but not a jerk! And yes, he's a teen boy, he's going to feel emotions like one, but we SAW him giving tea to his mom when she was freaking out.

Not jerk teenager would do that unless they were forced too. Camilo isn't forced, he wants his mama to be calm so SHE can feel a little better. We can see that by the way he's talking to her.

It would be hilarious to see Camilo using a chancla on someone (maybe a bully who's harassing Mirabel) and ending it with-

"AND DON'T THINK YOUR PARENTS WON'T HEAR ABOUT THIS!"

Sorry for the rant, I didn't intend for it to get that long.

anon you are speaking my language!! I’ve talked about my dislike for parentified mirabel before so it’s nice to see I’m not alone on that!

camilo definitely has a more nurturing side and we see it as early as the opening song! Whilst I wouldn’t go as far to say he acts like a parent he definitely knows how to discipline children and is just naturally good at dealing with them! I would love to see more content that talks about how caring camilo is (I am sick of the jerk camilo thing he’s not heartless guys!) I can definitely see him as more experienced with kids than mirabel as he’s the babysitter she’s more just the fun one who hangs around with them! it’s a very different dynamic as we don’t really see mirabel necessarily looking after kids only entertaining them! As for your point on camilo being emotionally mature I would have to agree! the mothers wouldn’t trust him with their kids if they thought he would be irresponsible! he definitely knows how to scold them even if it’s surprising when it happens! I’m glad you mentioned the tea scene, as I think it shows a different side to camilo! he is caring and he’s good at comforting people! he isn’t gonna try make a situation worse he cares about his mother and wants to assure her! and I hate when people use that scene against pepa too! it is normal to make your mother tea weirdos!!! I love that scene despite how brief it is and we see glimpses of that side of camilo in the comics too!

As for mirabel 100% agree! she definitely strikes me as someone the kids would view as the cool older best friend much more than a parental figure. They don’t want to make her mad because in their eyes she’s cool! she’s fun and entertaining and they don’t want to make her mad! it’s not the case of a parent where it’s they know they’ll get in trouble for it! that’s partly what inspired my camp counselor au lmao! the fact mirabel is so good with kids in a way she makes them feel validated she doesn’t reprimand them she is someone they view as a friend! The mirabel is antonios mother fic genre is one I completely avoid i love their relationship because she is so much more of an older sister figure to him! I’ve said before I don’t like these fics so I tend to avoid them even if I don’t really read fics anymore lmao!

but I agree with most of your points! camilo is always seen as the fun one whilst mirabel is the parental one when in canon it’s the other way around! that’s not to say camilo isn’t fun because he absolutely is but we see him actually babysitting we see mirabel just hanging out with kids for fun! what I really need to see is mirabel and camilo as a babysitting duo that would be so fun!! both of them are 15 and deserve to have fun!! let mirabel have fun!! I would love to see more stuff involving camilos nurturing side for sure though!

[olasketches]

What do you think are Sukuna and Yuuji’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

oh I love questions like that!!

for sukuna, I wanted to say his intelligence and creativity but to be honest I think it's his curiosity and inquisitiveness. Intelligence and creativity are like muscles. you develop them the more you observe, learn, practice and experience and one of sukuna's defining traits is that he's incredibly observant. his curiosity in a way contradicts his "I don't give a fuck about anything" attitude but then we have witnessed time and time again how he finds other sorcerous intriguing or in sukuna's words "fascinating". he even admits later to kashimo that he finds people tasty interesting

sukuna's curiosity allows him to learn new things and lets him acquire more knowledge (hence why he's so adaptable and strategic in combat), probably as a way to keep himself entertained, after all he's also a super bored individual. However, one would think that for someone with such strong sense of curiosity and inquisitiveness that naturally leads him into exploring and learning, he would be much more prone to growing and evolving as a person... well not in sukuna's case nuh uh. cause this guys biggest problem obstacle is him himself.

sukuna claims he doesn't need anyone and thinking his way of living is perfectly fine and yet he showed doubts when that one "annoying brat" who he can't seem to ged rid off (by literally and metaphorically cutting them off) the way he did everyone else, made him reflect on himself for the first time in millennium. sukuna is a great and cunning observant... of everyone but himself. I think his greatest personality weakness is his absolute lack of self awareness, which is kinda funny considering that he's also a character with the most overwhelming sense of self. it’s like he knows damn well who is and doesn’t need external validation but then because he never self reflects he can’t really grow and evolve as a person… and if it wasn't for sukuna and yuuji's forced coexistence, sukuna would have most likely still kept going about his life the way he always did without trying to understand his own thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs, and actions. the reason he never questioned his own way of being is cause others are just a way for him to pass time rather than an opportunity to reflect upon himself and learn something about his own inner workings…

and then we have yuuji who I would say is on the same spectrum just on the opposite end. yuuji doesn't really reflect on himself or question the world he lives in but that wasn't always the case. in the first ten chapter we actually get to witness his internal monologue about death and his place in all of this but after his first encounter with a certain death, everything changes. yuuji stopped reflecting on himself and instead started repressing his emotions. someone actually made a great meta about this, he actively avoids thinking about the whole situation, which brings me to my point. I think yuuji's greatest personality weakness is actually his impulsiveness. he tends to make decisions without thinking about the consequences first. yuuji, like most of teenagers tbh, doesn't want to think too hard about the world he lives in so long as he has something to do but I believe this might also be related to the perception he has of himself as "the dumb one". “Im an idiot so there’s no point in me thinking about these things right?” you can even see that sort of attitude when megumi admits why he saved yuuji that day

you’re so smart fushiguro. thinking about all sorts of stuff, unlike me.

oh yuuji.. yuuji.. :/. but in some ways yuuji's impulsiveness can also work in his favour. his "do it now, think later" attitude doesn't allow him much room to overthink, so once he commits to a task he doesn't back down until he achieve his goal. that's why, I believe his greatest strength are his determination and strong will, something even sukuna couldn't break.

sukuna and yuuji’s strength and weakness go hand in hand and complement one another. sukuna's habitual curiosity reflects yuuji's obliviousness to the world around him, whilst yuuji's determination (but also just sheer existence) caused sukuna to have doubts about his way of living. they're complete polar opposite and yet in some ways they're more alike than they think. neither of them is a big fan of self reflection. they're both stubborn af. physical pain is just an after thought to them, they'll keep going even if they loose half of their limbs. "violence is the solution". they're both freaks who don't mind eating human flesh and one of them actually enjoys it. and lastly, they're both just really miserable. sukuna's selfishness only made him hollow inside and yuuji's selflessness only brought him more suffering and pain. they also think that the solution to their problems is to kill the other one (which is kinda funny now that I think about it lol tho in yuuji's case this is kinda true.. but also not really) and yet they’ve been essential to each other’s growth. they’re both really fucked up individuals who hate each other’s guts and make each other’s lives a living hell but at the same time they also know and understand the other one’s soul like no one else… what’s not to love?

sukuna and yuuji’s dynamic is actually the reason why I fell in love w jjk in the first place. their interactions are always fun and entertaining and they always leave with an even bigger brainrot but at this point I think it’s safe to say that these two consumed my mind and heart and maybe even soul completely. I just can’t get enough of them.

[cassberry]

(Looking to watch 3rd Life, Last Life or Double Life? Here you go!)

If you are looking for a guide of some Limited Life episodes to catch up on for no particular reason at all (certainly not a new season being around the corner), I've got you covered!

Now I'm not going to lie, trying to curate this list for Limited Life broke me. The mechanics of this season meant that you gained time by killing other players and in doing so it felt like 50 things were happening all at once constantly across the server. As such I haven't been able to get absolutely everything onto this list, but I did try my best to get all the important events and a wide range of perspectives!

WARNING: Incredibly long read more where I go over why I picked certain POV's and what to expect. I do so love to ramble. Spoilers ahead!

SESSION ONE

Skizz - Breaking from tradition from recommending Grian first because you need to watch Skizz's POV first out of everyone unspoiled. The way things unraveled this episode felt like a sitcom in the best and worst ways lol 

Grian - Just a good solid first episode honestly and with the start of the Bad Boys™ how can you not love it. 

Scar -  I really have no words for whatever is the dynamic of the Clockers because you really just have to see it to understand. It’s a fun episode and as Scar, Cleo and Bdubs have set up near spawn, you always get to see something interesting. 

Big B - Big B’s episodes are always a treat as he does super long ones that give you a little more insight into what's happening on the server, rather than just the big events. But if you wanted something specific to watch, his last 10 minutes of this episode were a blast. 

SESSION TWO

Joel - Bad Boys Bread Bridge was both the most amazing and ugliest build on the server and I’m so glad it was made. Also Joel gets some amazing kills this episode that are so tense to watch. 

Martyn - Look this one is here because of a little personal bias. Martyn shouts me out in the episode so I couldn’t not add it lol It’s also a very good episode in of itself in that it introduces the Mean Gills and I’ll always be a Mean Gills supporter. Also that Tilly roast? oof 

Pearl - Pearl is constantly on the move this episode and living up to her Nosy Neighbour title so watch her episode if you want some good gossip and to see the lay of the land. 

Tango - Tango always delivers a solid episode and as he was building the TIES Tower a majority of the time he receives a lot of foot traffic through the area creating some fun interactions. 

SESSION THREE

Scar - And in this episode of Limited Life, Scar rediscovers the joys of minecart TNT. 

Impulse - Impulse is such a fun boogey to watch, and the way he edited this episode around his thought process of who to kill was great. 

Grian - Kind of a different episode this session as Grian was sick so he was afk the entire time. It was very very very funny to watch, but as he wasn’t interacting with anyone you’re going to miss a lot of context if you only watch his POV. You should still give this a watch though! 

Joel - Watching poor Joel run around after Grian trying to keep him safe was incredibly entertaining lmao 

SESSION FOUR

Scott - I believe Grian said it best, but this session felt like a final session with the way the yellows were chasing after the greens. It was pure chaos the entire time and Scott beautifully evading them all until his descent into yellow was perfection. 

Tango - Tango is here for the same reason as Scott but as the last green the final hunt for him was terrifying to watch. 

Cleo - I love Cleo’s episodes and this one was just a joy. She was slightly sick this week but I feel like that only lowered her inhibitions to do some out of pocket stuff. 

Jimmy - The exciting saga of Judge Judy and Executioner continues in Jimmy’s episode this week and if you didn’t know anything about it, that's ok! Neither did anyone else on the server except for Jimmy, Pearl and Big B lmao consider this the best episode to watch if you want this plotline covered. 

SESSION FIVE 

Etho - Considering the episode starts off with Etho having to babysit Bdubs, then an awkward family dinner and an explosive game of catch, I really couldn’t have asked for a better Etho video. 

Big B - This session was a lot more calm than the previous, so there was a lot more alliance talk happening. Big B has a great perspective on all that as he and Pearl get up to a tonne of mischief that causes some problems with some alliances they already had. 

Scott - Once again this was an alliance building week and Scott’s episode really highlights some of the more fun things that happened to make and break some relationships. 

Grian - Poor Bread Bridge o7 you will be missed. Thankfully M-Rye 5 was there at the end to rain chaos from above. (<-sentences that make no sense out of context) 

SESSION SIX 

Cleo & Pearl - I couldn’t choose between either of these two this session. Both Cleo and Pearl were out sick so they handed over their accounts to two other players. I won’t spoil who they are but these episodes were amazing. 

Jimmy - The Bad Boys were going through it this week goddamn lol It never stops being funny how much of a mess everything becomes when they get together. 

Martyn - It was his birthday this session and he’s just a little guy! Surely nothing would go wrong at his birthday party? And certainly not caused by him! 

Tango - The last half of Tango’s episode is just a comical amount of deaths that only get funnier and funnier as the time between them shortens. 

SESSION SEVEN

Skizz - Oh Skizz. You are too good for this world. His ending for this episode was heartbreaking and Affirmation Station will live on in my heart forever.

Scott - I love watching Scott run around the map and hunt people down because he is so good at the game! I believe he had the highest kill count this session and I loved every minute of it. 

Joel - (Major Spoilers) Ah Joel it just wasn’t meant to be! But hearing the desperation in his voice grow higher and higher as the clock ticked down was nail biting. Scar - Just a good Scar episode honestly! Shows what the Clockers are up to during all the chaos and a great view of the server devolving into anarchy.

SESSION EIGHT 

Martyn - WOOOO YESSSS LETS GOOOOOO (<- does that count as spoilers???)

I distinctly remember being on the edge of my seat this whole episode and Martyn delivers in every way possible for a fantastic final episode of the season. 

Impulse - I haven’t mentioned it yet but Impulse’s editing this season went wild and it's none more apparent than in this episode. He and his team went crazy for the finale. 

Etho - Such a fun episode!! The twist at the end with the diamond sword coming into play was everything I could have wanted and more. 

Pearl - It was really a toss up between Pearl and Scott for this last spot, but I loved her perspective for the one last minigame on the server. 

BONUS 

Bdubs - Do you have a spare 12 hours to dedicate to Limited Life? Then oh boy does Bdubs have a video for you! Instead of weekly videos he decided to collate all his episodes into one mammoth video which was an absolute blast to watch over a weekend! It’s a really interesting POV to watch because when LimLife was airing Bdubs would just appear all over the map and we never had any idea what he was doing so it was awesome to have some concrete evidence of his shenanigans. Definitely give this one a watch if you’re in the mood for a marathon! 

IN SUMMARY…

I swear if the next season is as messy as this one, I think I’m going to have to start taking notes when it's airing because I think this took years off my life haha if you think I’ve missed anything please tag it because I would love to see it! I definitely could have added more POV’s per session like I did with the Last Life and 3rd Life guides, but I think a more curated list helps keep down the overwhelming nature of trying to watch a million Limited Life episodes. 

But really, I loved watching Limited Life live so I’m glad I give myself an excuse each new season to go back and watch the season over again. There are so many little foreshadowed moments that you don’t see on the first watch and honestly it all just makes me more excited for the new season! Thanks for reading <3

[thirdtidemouse]

as i gaze upon your blog i wonder, “what the hell is taskmaster?” i’d journey the lands of safari but its much better to hear the words of insight from the enjoyer. quite interested in the au tho, tempted to watch this thingamabob because of it. i like hearing your ramblings about your fave doodabs and whatchamajigits. i am determined to return to you with the holy gift of a singular hilda but finals are kicking my ass and i’m learning a new art program. while i wait i’d love to be graced by your words :3

HI ANON!! first of all good luck with finals and your new art program i hope everything turns out BEAUTIFULLY for you don't forget to have fun!!

i'm so glad you asked! taskmaster is a ridiculously entertaining gameshow that originated here in the uk with other versions in other countries. it's super fun to make aus/character studies around the tasks because they're so telling of personality!

the format of the show is - 5 comedians per season are set tasks by host greg davies (6'8" ex-schoolteacher, and it shows) and creator/cohost alex horne (the brains behind it, but onscreen is very weaselly/neeky and generally picked-on).

each episode begins with a prize task, in which contestants must bring in prizes to be won by the winner each day - the most high-octane item, the thing that makes the best noise, the most difficult thing to take home. prizes range from body parts to furnished bathroom sets. these, along with every other task, are scored in the studio from 1-5 points. the rest of the tasks are filmed beforehand mostly in one house, individually and sometimes in teams, and are incredibly arbitrary, silly, confusing or difficult:

eat as much watermelon in 60 seconds. eat an egg the fastest (it starts raw). interview, then write and perform a song about this stranger. conceal an entire pineapple on your person. take three huge exercise balls to the top of this large hill. make the biggest mess, then clean it up. get this object as far away from here as possible. go the longest time without blinking.

sarah kendall purposefully, blindfoldedly, throws her own house and car keys into the trees in front of the building. james acaster gets taken aside onstage to be told off by greg like a schoolboy. respected academic richard osman throws a shopping trolley into a river in a fit of rage (it is retrieved). nish kumar and mark watson write a genuinely beautiful song together. bob mortimer makes a floor-size chart documenting the amount of piss produced across britain.

the episodes end with a live task in the studio in front of the audience. the show allows the contestants to genuinely go off the rails with comedic creativity and problem solving, and it's SO fun to impose characters onto this template. person gets presented with task -> completes task as they see fit -> is judged on their actions -> reacts to the judgement. like if you want to develop an oc. look no further!! put them on taskmaster in your brain.

every contestant, whether it be famous comedians, up-and-coming stand-ups, or actors & presenters, really shine in taskmaster. people who i don't really find funny become entertaining and i root for them simply because of the genius format of the show.

it gets gross, argumentative, tense, earnest, and never ever loses the clownish spirit and light-heartedness of the meaningless and hilarious program it sets out to be. greg davies is ruthlessly harsh with points, alex horne is endlessly nitpicky and often bullied, and they frequently bring up fanfiction written about the two of them for some fucking reason. they embody such perfectly fine-tuned characters, only to break them constantly to laugh at the show.

if anyone (no one) wants to know a few of my fav contestants rn they are:

sam campbell, lucy beaumont, sarah kendall, bob mortimer, nish kumar, james acaster, and the ENTIRE freakish family team dynamic of frankie boyle, ivo graham, jenny eclaire, kiell smith-bynoe, and mae martin

thank you anon :-) i'm sorry this was so long i hope you didnt mind reading it all and it told u what u wanted to know!!

[deafknell]

why anapris is one of the most ships ever

I blame @frefallingtea for this post entirely (ily)

So I've vaguely discussed this ship in a few different posts, but never fully elaborated on why exactly this ship holds so much mental real estate in my brain. The fact most of their interactions are relegated to side content (both translated and untranslated) certainly doesn't help, meaning I can count the fans of this ship on one hand.

The primary reason I ship these two comes down to one fundamental factor: they're always seeking to one up each other, and value the challenge the other poses as a rival/enemy.

Priscilla is, as we all know, a very prickly character. She does not mince her words and will only take an interest in things she finds entertaining. It's why she doesn't remember Subaru after arc 3, and why she brings Heinkel to the arc 5 meeting she was never invited to. The world exists in her favour, and that includes entertaining her, be it watching people dance in her palms or struggling against their own fate.

But Anastasia doesn't do either of those. She's in a different league entirely - a candidate for the election, but someone who acts outside of Priscilla's expectations. Anastasia is one of the rare people who Priscilla takes an active interest in, outside of her camp and perhaps Crusch.

To Pris, Ana is her biggest enemy in the Royal election. She says so directly in Lugunican Papers 2:

She's somebody Pris cannot afford to underestimate because she's so capable at turning the tides in her favour. It's a sentiment that goes both ways, as we see later:

Their first meeting really hammers that sentiment home. Going over her Camp Formation Story, we get to see Priscilla's first meeting with Anastasia, told from Schult's POV. After contacting the Hoshin company for some assistance regarding Priscilla's husband (at the time) we get to see them bicker about their true natures.

Schult observes instantly how different Pris acts with Anastasia, down to the "equal footing" and "corresponding value." Neither of them are pretending to be on good terms, but they're clearly enjoying each other's company.

Later, in the same SS, Anastasia rejects taking financial compensation for helping Priscilla out.

Both Pris and Ana are noted, multiple times through canon, to be intelligent women. They're equally capable of getting under somebody's skin, and one-upping most conversational partners. But with each other, there's that sense of unpredictability. Ana does something Pris couldn't have anticipated, and it delights her.

Pris and Ana also have that one commonality - being the two "outsiders" to the election. When Ana's heritage is brought up, Pris even defends her selection to Al, calling her "worthy."

A very common theme in most side content focusing on the pair is the presence of others observing them interact. Usually Al or Julius gets saddled with watching them bicker, largely in parts due to how neither of them necessarily reveal their intentions. Anastasia and Priscilla both speak in ways designed to rile or get at people's weak points, which makes it incredibly funny to observe as an outsider.

Just look at their interactions from Vainglory IF:

They're so fun to read, even if their back and forths seem to exhaust Subaru every time he sees them fight. It's very reminiscent of the bickering between Julius and Subaru, the way they won't admit they respect each other just a little.

Julius even says as much, directly to Subaru:

And he's right, in more ways than one. Sure, they bicker and insult each other while acknowledging their strengths, but there's more to both dynamics. One big example of that: the way both pairings tend to agree with each other the most, even with all the fighting they do.

In arc 5, Julius goes against Ana's proposal for minimal casualties, choosing to side with Subaru. Almost every occasion he disagrees with Ana is due to him actually agreeing with Subaru, something that I don't think either of them are necessarily aware of.

The same happens with Ana and Pris. Even though they're constantly at each other's throats, they're the candidates that agree the most with each other. Lugunican Papers has them share pretty much identical opinions on the other candidates, praising Crusch while dismissing Felt and Emilia:

And in Arc 3, Pris is the one to back up Anastasia's refusal to intervene in the Julius-Subaru duel:

A lot of what Priscilla says is incindiary to the rest of the cast, something that Subaru regularly clashes with. It even happens a few times in Prophecy of the Throne, where Pris will state something heartless (i.e. not caring about helping Melty) and everyone else will react negatively to her.

But Anastasia 9/10 times agrees with her and faces less blowback for it. In that Prophecy of the Throne example, she outright explains Pris' opinion and translates it in a way that's more agreeable - it's not that they want Melty dead, but they need incentive to help her. Pris gets annoyed with her, but doesn't disagree with anything she explained to the rest of the cast.

In my opinion, the reason Anapris works so well as a pairing (platonic or romantic) is due to the strong mutual understanding they have of each other. There's no hiding each other's natures, or playing to a crowd. They only want to get the upper hand on the other, but can only gain small victories moment to moment. They acknowledge and understand each other more than anyone else, and that's why they clash so much.

I think this short interaction in arc 5 summarises it best:

[hella1975]

Hella something incredibly traumatic just happened to me.  I cannot find the original list thingy i have for chapter 42.  (i was like half way through and then stopped i dont remember why) so i have to start over which isnt a bad thing because i get to reread ittt

Your getting 42 and 43 in one thing 

“It had been one day and one night since they left the Western Air Temple and Zuko had a headache.” sme one get this poor boy some tylenol

Bros extremely overstimulated

“Nanook expected they’d arrive at the White Lotus camp-”  i forgot theyre going to the white lotus camp again and if irohs there still thats going to be really fun.  (probably not for zuko though)

I love your sokka so much its insane.  

It always takes me so long to read your chapters and write these and stuff not because of the length of your chapters (i love long chapters) but because i always try to process every single little thing because its so good and a lot of the stuff doesnt even make it into the list because i dont know how to put it into words and thats how i feel about the dynamic youve created around zuko and sokka.  Like how you took Sokkas canon traits and magnified them to accommodate the traits zuko got threw taob perfectly and theres something so artistic about it and i wish i had the words to better explain how in awe of you i am every time i read a new chapter.

Anywho

“If he spoke them, if he let them out, his friends would snatch these birds from the sky and beat them to death, and they would call it salvation.” oh my fucking god hella what the fuck

Zi Se <3

Oh jeez now he’s hallucinating

I love Zi Se.  Having Zuko take care of a small child is such a unique thing to have in a fic and you make it work so well.  Every scene between them is immaculate

The way you portray trauma is incredible.  The ‘two steps forwards one step back’ ness of it, and the way different peoples traumas rub against eachother and the lashing out and guilt and stuff its really so good.  

I think its funny to think about external zuko in taob.  Like a wet dog growling at everyone and pushing itself into a corner.  A little tragic, a little pathetic.  And then in his head he’s having some of the most profound, angsty thoughts.  And the transition between those scenes is also entertaining.  

I also really like the dynamic Zuko has with the entirety of the gang.  Like it’s not just sokka going ‘i can fix him’ and doing it, its a group effort and the different peoples individual traits work well with helping different parts of zuko heal.  When he needs sternness and bluntness, theres sokka, when he needs something more gentle, theres tomnook, and when he needs something in between theres katara.  

I saw your authors notes that was like ‘i’m writing another zukka fic!’ and i was so confused for a moment and i was like ‘wtf is she talking about’ and then it was like ‘you can read it here!’  and i was like ;holy shit its already posted!?  Why didnt she tell tumblr about this and then i was like ‘oh shes talking about tams.’  i forgot it was a zukka fic.  

That took me 3 hours.  

Anywho 

Chapter 43:  : )

“Gradually, things got easier and they fell into a routine.” well thats a relief i hope nothing bad will happen ever again : )

“Suki wasn’t far from him, dipping her water flask into the current,”  of topic but i dont get how people didnt just drop dead from drinking random ass water like how is suki not going to get dysentary.  Sokka needs to invent these people a water filter.

Im carefully treading ocross this chapterbecause of the stuff ive seen from tumblr and discord and while i guess i trust you not to kill tomnook *this chapter* im still very weary and terrified.  

Being american means that you might not be able to afford to read taob bc of the inevitable therapy bill

If i get ptsd from this i quit

Anywho

““Zuko, dude, buddy.” Sokka appeared from where he’d been washing his frankly disgusting tunic, now leaving it to drip around his neck, shirtless as he clapped a hand to Zuko’s shoulder. “If a girl calls you roguish, it’s a compliment.”” Bros projecting

“ this seemed to bother Sokka more than anyone. Hot stuff was one of her favourites, which Zuko thought made sense. He was a firebender, after all. It really didn’t warrant the spluttering and indignance Sokka met it with, stomping over to Suki and kicking water at her while she cackled.” Still projecting

If Tomnook becomes canon i will personally see to starting a movement across all social media platforms similar to the november 6th destiel thing

“He was still smiling. Always smiling. Nanook let him go.” THIS IS THE PART THAT DESTROYED ME????????????????????????????????????? IT WAS ABOUT HAIRR????????????????????/ im actually going to kms oh my god im suing

I experienced so much turmoil for it literally to just be tomkin walking away

Im so insulted

Also nanook definitely has a crush on him just in case you didnt know 👍

Now Kataras overstimulated

“Zuko had taken the carrots.” God dammit Zuko 

If Sokka or Katara find the carrots that wont be good

I dont trust you anymore

““There’s something you’re not telling me,” she said, staring out at the grass around them, the stars in the inky sky. It was the exact same as when they’d sat together the other day, hand in hand, when she’d first admitted to this anger.

Zuko was tense beside her, before sighing in defeat. “This is about the carrots, isn’t it?”  This is so funny for no reason 

““I could probably help you find those men, if you wanted,””  you fucking idiot i cant believe him

“He liked liked Zuko, with his stupid, roguish hair and his muscles and his gentle way of handling Zi Se and his stupid sense of humour and his sheer, stubborn will to keep going. How could Sokka ever talk to Bato again? This was the worst thing to happen ever,”  ITS HAPPENING 

I NEED THAT ONE GIF FROM THE OFFICE JFC

OH MY GOD

I CANT BREATH

The fact that he immediately thought of bato is so iconic i love that for him

The whiplash sokka must feel from coming to terms with his feelings for zuko and that he’s able to grieve his mom and then katara coming out like ‘yeah im going to murder him’ must be insane its like that cat in the hat meme where hes going to hit the dude with the bat

I dont think that conversation went like suki planned for it to

Zukkkaaa fight

THEYRE HUGGIN THIS IS NOTA DRILL OGM

“Katara wouldn’t kill those men.” oh thank fuck

“. local boy discovers the uno reverse card immediately makes it everyone else's problem.”  Lmfao 😂  💀

You have never written a bad anything hella lm tell you.  2 10/10 chapters good job, that was fabulous, i love it.  

Im in a class this semester that deals with analyzing literature and reading a lot of like ‘classic’ books.  And the entire time im reading these books some that are considered to be from some of the best authors of all time is that im comparing them to the things youve written and when ive said that your such a talented writer before, i dont know how much ground ive had to stand on but now that i have like a (very small) reference point for that stuff, holy shit you are such a talented writer.  

Like i know its not your major and that youve never studied it and stuff and the fact that you can produce all of that based on pure talent is honestly incredible.  Im constantly in awe every time i read anything of yours its insane.  I really do hope your as proud as you can be of yourself, you deserve it. 

~list anon~

list anon i get such a little smile on my face when i see ur asks come in like i get comfy and make sure i have time to go through the whole thing in one go and it just warms my heart that someone so consistently makes time for me and my silly stories. thank you x

[professorllayton]

emma louise i have a question. i was a big trc fan like from the start (like 2012) and have always been a big gansey girl but i tried to start the dreamer trilogy like 5 times and could never get very far into it b4 i got bored then i was like well i’ll just wait for the series to finish and see what people think um. we all know how that went. so with all of that in mind do u think the dreamer trilogy is worth reading or is my surface level understanding of what happens and the beautiful headcanons of my incredibly gay and autistic mutuals enough? like does that trilogy have any value on its own merit knowing how it ends or is it better left to my fwiends

my short and sweet answer is no.

my long and annoying answer would be. I think the series has its moments almost entirely w its new characters. I think jordan and hennessy r some of the most interestingly written and dynamic characters I've read in a long time . I think the story they bring to the table is truly fantastic and it is just . it's so good and beautiful and I think that 100% it is worth reading for them and them alone. I think the expanding of ronans lore is frankly nonsense and I liked everything better when he was just a bitch who brought stuff out of his dreams bc hes cool like that. that is just a personal thing tho ig. I think declans and matthews stories r very interesting and the expansion of those r very cool to see and experience and I think there's a lot of exciting stuff to read for them specifically and their relationship is fucked up in a way that makes my chest hurt . if u r wanting to read this series for any of the other trc characters there is absolutely fucking nothing there for u and specifically as a gansey girlie just know it was like being fed worse than bread crumbs . I was being fed flavored air but flavored air like the way lacroixs r flavored . ronan and hennessy's relationship is beautiful in a way I cannot put into words frankly I think i grew an extra heart reading their scenes.. bryde is very funny as a character he gets on my nerves every single time he's there but he really is very funny . women actually kiss other women in this series and there r many many painting scenes that kind of feel like my soul is being flipped inside out and u can see inside it a bit and it's bleeding pretty bad. YAAAAAAYYY WHOOOOO . all that said tho I personally. would read the first two books and that is it. I would not touch greywaren w a ten foot poll I would not even entertain the thought of reading that fucking book. the new characters get shit endings and the old characters get shit endings. it genuinely made me upset that I had ever picked up even the first two books honestly it ended that fucking bad.

to summarize. hennessy and jordan. jordan and declan. ronan and hennessy. and declan and matthew. those relationships and respective storylines were the most interesting to me and I think they slayed. I would just imagine ur own ending for them tho bc literally anything would be better than what every single fucking character got. so . yeah I would read the books just never the last one not even the blurb on the back

[piedoesnotequalpi]

🍉🍒🍊🥝🥭 for the fruit asks!

So many! Thank you :) Also I've never heard the turn of phrase cheese grater memory before but I think it's very funny

🍉 (Do you prefer to write short fics or long fics? Multichaptered works or single ones? Why?):

So, funny story: before I got the idea for Not till a hot January, which turned out to be ~25k words, I didn't think I was really capable of writing long things in general, and my writing strengths mostly lay (I just had to google the correct form for that) in short comedy pieces that made my love of Terry Pratchett books incredibly obvious (I'm still proud of those pieces, and might post them here someday!) as well as the occasional very gay short story.

All this to say, short fics are definitely a lot less stressful--I don't need to plan as much, I can write in a way that's closer to the comedic style I used to use more, and I will probably not question my ability to finish. But with long fics, it's really fun to build towards stuff over several chapters, and it's very satisfying to be like wow I wrote all that. So I'm not really sure which one I like better!

🍒 (What's your favorite character dynamic to write?):

I think I've given Spot and Race the most interesting (but wildly different) dynamics across everything I've written, so they've been really fun to write. I also like writing group dynamics, partially because the result is usually entertaining and partially because it's easier to move the conversation forward when there's more than two people.

🍊 (Who's a character you don't write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more?):

Crutchie's role in HIWB actually came in part from me realizing I hadn't incorporated him nearly enough into the other big AU I wrote! But now I think I should write more about Specs, because he's a fun guy but definitely a bit more in the background of HIWB.

🥝 (What's your favorite trope/AO3 tag to write?):

Enemies to lovers and Only One Bed/bedsharing in general have been the most fun, I think. This might be a little outside the scope of the question, but I absolutely love writing anything that has dramatic irony involved.

🍍 (What kind of AUs do you like? Are there any AUs you hate or just generally have beef with?):

I've read so many different types of AUs; I haven't written nearly as many. I tend to like writing things that give me a chance to use some of the random knowledge I've picked up over the years, because it makes the world/activities feel more real (and I'm not great at worldbuilding) and also because a major pet peeve of mine is when people butcher, say, rock climbing in a piece of media (I have a grudge against the movie Princess Diaries for this reason). Nothing I've written really falls into this category, but AUs where the authors ask weird, going-down-the-rabbit-hole questions about a common trope or variety of AU are really fun (I've seen this with soulmate AUs a few times, for example).

As for AUs I hate...well, the main thing that comes to mind is the omegaverse. I'm also not a big fan of student/teacher or anything with a similarly uneven power dynamic, but I haven't encountered that as much.

[gaytwirights]

Baw the beheno post, explain /lh

okay so i am going to assume that this is asking me to explain what used to be a crack ship between Behemo and Seth (rather than explain an alternate universe where the two of them get along well enough to be doing coke in a bathroom together), which will get a bit long so yeah

i'm gonna be honest. i started shipping* these two because we were going through the standard yearly 'why plagiarism is bad' section of the school year, and they began occupying a non-standard amount of my brain. then i figured it would be funny to put them together. so here is my incomplete manifesto on dragonmask** supremacy.

[* it's less about them as a romantic ship, and more about them as a compelling duo. sometimes, bitches just be silly

** i'm gonna be honest, i do not remember where this name came from. i think i just saw someone use it on tumblr one day, and then it became part of my brain. but yeah that name is not my creation.]

Reason 1: They are funny

what can i say, they're funny. Behemo canonically stepped on Seth, which is something i don't think a lot of ships have going for them, in terms of canon interactions.

also they really hate each other, but it doesn't feel like some surface-level hatred. it feels like divorce hatred. and that dynamic appeals to me.

Reason 2: They have good chemistry

obviously, i'm not saying that they get along well. rather, they get along in a way that is interesting to the audience.

thing is, they don't really get much interaction, aside from the scene in the hellish yard, which is pretty entertaining tbh. however, it's the way they talk about each other that seems really interesting to me.

for instance, this part from OSS:C, when Seth talks about his creation of Meta

And this, surely, would be a great enterprise on par with the “god creator of mankind’s bodies, Behemo” himself! My “old friend”’s face came to mind. Ha ha…That one would surely be stomping his feet in a rage if he knew about this!

i may be seeing things from a braindead fandom perspective, but it kinda seems like Seth is talking about Behemo with a bit of admiration.

like, yeah, they're antagonistic, but that first paragraph seems like Seth is putting Behemo as somewhere "above" him, seeing them as someone who is more accomplished, but still someone he can surpass. and idk that dynamic seems kinda interesting.

now, obviously, there's the wording of "old friend" (in quotations, even) that is, again, sarcastic and antagonizing, but ultimately still putting them as (vaguely) equals.

furthermore, it's the specific word he uses: friend.

Seth talks about his "friends" as people who can understand him. this theme of understanding (or lack thereof) will be part of another section.

and then, yeah, there's the last paragraph where Seth laughs at the thought of pissing Behemo off to the point that they'd be stomping their feet in rage. little does he know, in approximately 600 years, Behemo would indeed be stomping their feet (on him)

now, on Behemo's end, we also have this part from Fifth, Pierrot

he wasn’t going to tolerate those low quality copies of that creepy mask man mingling among humans, his very own creations.

i'm gonna be honest, there is nothing romantic here, and again, i don't plan on always interpreting these two as romantic. i just think their dynamic is interesting.

come on, tell me it isn't interesting when two people hate each other's guts, but are still incredibly similar.

Reason 3: They are incredibly similar

so let's go over the surface-level stuff first:

incredibly arrogant (for good reason)

creators of men (with varying skill)

one funky eye

looking at things from a christian perspective*, one could say that these two really exemplify the meaning of Pride. to be Prideful is to think yourself on the level of God, to assume that you are somehow exempt from his rules.

[* i go to a catholic school, and we have fucking christianity class. the past four months, we have been learning how to judge morality in a """christian way""" like what the fuck is that???? we really gotta LEARN in a SCHOOL how to judge right and wrong??????? that said, i am nothing if not a pleasure to have in class, and i am getting full marks in morality lesson.]

based on memory (because i have no intention of reading through the whole series again just for a duo manifesto), these two have the most iconic declarations of themselves as gods

“I’m a god. Gods are special cases.”

In that case— I am the god who creates “evil”.

obviously, these aren't the only times characters in evillious have declared themselves gods, but they're easily some of the most memorable, and the most often referenced in fanfiction.

also, there's just something So Interesting about a dynamic where one of the few things we know about is the fact that, at one point, one of them committed theft of intellectual property of another.

i know plagiarism is awful and all that, but it really does make for an interesting story. the theft of what one has dedicated their life to, and all that.

anyway, the funky eye. that's more of an aesthetic thing, but they do have a sort of theme of knowing more than other characters, of being the one manipulating things behind the scenes. one could say that their theme of one funky eye implies their role as the one who sees* all.**

[* "see" as in "knowing more"

* "all" as in "whatever goes on in a certain arc" (that is, OSS and mothy arcs for Seth and Behemo respectively)]

Reason 4: The deeper stuff (oh my god how did i write so much)

they are fake

they are lonely

something i like to think about is the fact that Seth wasn't able to create "perfect" humans. when he tried to make ghoul children and artificial bodies, they would eventually age rapidly, while the humans Behemo made would age normally. for all Seth talks about being a genius, even after years of study, he really cannot get on Behemo's level of human creation.

but the thing is, Seth really is a physicist second to none. he may dabble in creating humans, but it isn't really his field. just as Seth cannot create humans that age normally, Behemo cannot make a spaceship traverse dimensions.

........i mean, they sure came close that one time, but that was less "crossing dimensions" and more "turning digital stuff into reality"

hey, didn't Seth also do a poor copy of Behemo's actions?

and on that topic of copying, the two of them are incredibly "fake" characters. many of the evillious characters are liars, but these two are possibly among the few that are defined by the various "facades" they put on.

it's very hard to analyze Behemo's character without analyzing their queerness. whether one interprets them as a trans woman or a gnc cis man, the fact remains that Behemo's conflicts with other people--usually because they are looked down upon for wearing dresses--are a major theme in almost all of their appearances.

the thing is, Behemo never says anything about their own gender, usually letting others out them as amab, except for that "I'm a man" in The Tailor of Enbizaka. but going back to that novel, Behemo lived for fourteen years as a woman. their words say one thing, but their actions say another.

and here's the thing: in my media-addled trans brain, this willingness to let others assume whatever they want about their own nature is, in itself, a sort of facade. are they a gnc man or a trans woman? there's no reason to say anything.

but in my trans brain, i do know that, sometimes, it's easier to be avoided as gnc than to be openly trans. to me, it's the sort of facade that you make subconsciously. if people are gonna think you're weird, you'd rather not be more open than necessary.

and there's another thing, Behemo's facade of being emotional and "chaotic." don't get me wrong, i don't think this one is intentional, but it does feel like the sort of "tee hee i'm silly and chaotic and there's nothing more to me :3c" thing* that the people here go crazy for.

[* i wish more evillious fans would give Behemo the Maya Fey Ace Attorney treatment, where we see a character who's definitely meant to be silly and kinda sad (but mostly just silly) and then we proceed to analyze the different tragedies that they have gone through and allow them access to the full range of human emotions rather than just "tee hee :3c" and "One Moment of sadness"]

i do feel like Behemo is naturally a silly sort of person, but i do find it a bit uninteresting how people tend to delegate them to the basic "chaos gremlin" role. but i do also feel like this character archetype was an intentional move on mothy's part.

in the scene in the mothy novel, when Behemo reveals both their true identity as the Master of the Heavenly Yard, and the truth of the First Period to Allen, i think that's the most genuine Behemo we're ever shown. in other appearances, they're either plotting something (Fifth, Pierrot) or watching in the background while everything goes wrong (OSS, The Tailor of Enbizaka).

in the mothy novel, we learn about their past, about their origins as an avatar, about the first and second periods, but not about how they feel about that whole mess. the information we get is objective, 'this' and 'that' and 'then', but while this tells us about Behemo's story, Behemo themself never said much about their character.

now, back to Seth Twiright, because this was supposed to be a post about them as a duo, and not just a Behemo Insanity post. sorry for loving Behemo Barisol with all my heart. as if it's my fault they're such a compelling character.

Seth is an easy character to see as a liar. after all, the snake always wears a mask. throughout the OSS:C novel, Seth lies about his name, about his intentions, about pretty much everything.

Seth is meant to parallel the original liar, the Serpent of Eden, who tempted Eve into the Original Sin, and caused the downfall of humanity, instilling in us the subconscious attraction to evil.

except, that last part is the one that feels accurate to evillious canon, that attraction to evil (concupiscence, if my christianity notes are to be believed) would be Malice or HERS in evillious.

now, according to my notebook (sidenote: this is legit the most i've looked at my christianity notes on sin since i wrote them down), Eve's Original Sin was an "abuse of freedom" because she "desired to be like God (Pride)."

in evillious, the one who tempted Eve through deceit is Adam, meaning that it's Adam who has that parallel to the Serpent of Eden.

[EDIT (2024): in a move unforeseen by any of us, mothy revealed that the parallel to the serpent of Eden was Michaela]

now, applying this to the evillious Original Sin makes absolutely zero sense. in evillious canon, the Original Sin is the stealing of the two fruits, Hansel and Gretel, and not the abuse of one's freedom in an attempt to defy God.

however, this context on the christian perspective on Original Sin leads to my point regarding Seth: he's not responsible for as many 'Evils' as he paints himself as. Seth is not a parallel to the Serpent of Eden.

now, obviously, this is because i am a good note taker who goes to a catholic school, and i am analyzing something written by a non-christian, but it's not my fault that, according to my notes, Seth Twiright's parallels to the Serpent of Eden are mostly in the "snake" and "source of sin" thing, and in fact, he parallels the biblical Eve more than he parallels the damn snake.

so where does that leave Seth? on one hand, there's what the author clearly intended. on the other, there are my detailed notes on our teacher's discussion on Original Sin and also the unintentional implications of mothy's worldbuilding.

Eve released the Original Sin, which was then divided into Seven Sins. however, the reason for the sad state of the world isn't so much that Original Sin, but rather the Malice that, from the beginning, had embedded itself so deeply in all the people with the power to change the world.

this all culminates to a certain point: Seth is not the great "Evil" he claims to be, or even seems to think he is. Seth isn't so much a "cause" as a "source".

so what is Seth? a fake creator of men. a fake Horus. a fake father. a fake human. a demon who never does his job. a fake Serpent of Eden.

Seth is a fake, a superficial stand-in for evillious' equivalent for the Serpent of Eden. he's a villain, a Demon, and a redeemed father-figure for three feral children. but in the end, the true "Evil" was humanity's desire, and Seth was just as blind as the rest of evillious' long cast list.

wow, that got way longer than i had anticipated or planned for. the trans shit? the Eve shit? not part of my original plan for this section oh my god what possessed me to write all that.

anyway, the next point, they are both lonely.

lots of characters are pretty solitary, but i do believe that these two, in particular, are very strongly shaped by their loneliness.

i know i've been starting each section by analyzing Behemo first (because they're my favorite <3), but this time i gotta analyze Seth first. it's easier this way.

so. Seth Twiright. pretty lonely guy. in Outlaw and Lychgate, he even says that people can never understand what he is thinking. in the same section he does this, he namedrops Adam, Irina, Eve, Ma, and Lich as people who could have understood him, as potential "friends".

note: Behemo is not mentioned in this section. this is because mothy doesn't see the potential. (this statement is a joke. i would never dream of seriously saying what an author should have done with their work. but i will die on the hill that Behemo and Seth would be an amazing duo, if Behemo were more fleshed out.)

anyway, in OSS:C, Seth says this

“Evil” is like a virus. It spreads, it infects—and tries to make “friends”.

for Seth, to be a "friend" is to be "Evil", to be able to understand him.

but the most important part of Seth's characterization is exactly that: no one can understand him, and so, no one can be his friend.

now, i do believe this is his own fault. in Outlaw and Lychgate, Seth uses the specific wording of "telling what he is thinking."

this is impossible. obviously, he's not saying that he wants a friend who would be able to read his mind, but it's still impossible for someone to always understand your intentions, your feelings, and your wants.

Banica Concerto!! talks about "her friends and 'him'," implying that, even as they travel through space on a food trip without a destination, Seth continues to hold people at arm's length because he feels that he cannot connect with them properly.

that feeling of alienation, of never being able to connect with others, it's something that a lot of us know. i mean, this is the evillious fandom, after all. but aside from that, it's also a sentiment that is experienced by many queer youth.

and so, the truth of my love for Behemo Barisol finally comes to light: i found myself relating to them the moment i finished listening to Barisol's Child is an Only Child.

and that's the thing, Behemo's experiences are, as i like to say, the unfortunately realistic trans experience. even if Behemo acts like it doesn't happen, the fact of the matter is that there will always be that something that makes them different from other people, something that makes it hard to connect.

be it their dressing habits, their queerness, or even the basic fact that they come from a different world.

that, i believe, is the core of my Duo Manifesto. that shared feeling of alienation, of being impossible to relate to. they are lonely. they are fucked up. they can't find anyone to relate to, and they won't end up relating to each other any time soon, but wouldn't it be nice to have someone who understands your loneliness?

thank you for coming to my ted talk, and thank you to my One Evillious Friend for checking for errors because my brain is so tired rn

[leojurand]

house of niccolò reread rambling thoughts: niccolò rising edition (part 1)

roughly 25% into my NR i'm having the time of my life and also have more thoughts than i anticipated! so post it is.

niccolò rising was, on first read, one of my least favourite dunnett novels. which isn't anything bad at all since i love all her books, it was just not on the same level of insanity as most others. probably bottom 5

also i've always thought this was a fun book, but coming here right after checkmate makes it especially fun lol

so here's the ramble!

starting with nicholas, in his claes era! and god, he's perfect (but ofc i say that, he's my favourite protagonist ever). i found him fascinating on first read, but reading this again after seeing nicholas's growth, after seeing him as a father and husband in gemini... it really shows what an incredible character he is! i've tweeted about this before, and i think some fans didn't agree, but when i read lymond i had this feeling that the person that is francis crawford already existed before the events of the series, and throughout it i slowly unraveled the truth of who that is, as lymond allows us to see, or is forced to show, his true self. but with nicholas there is a sense of becoming. there was no nicholas de fleury before the series, we see him transform into that version of himself. when it comes to nicholas there's a lot of discussion of identity; the idea that he had none, and every aspect of himself was an act, a role he was playing to achieve his goals. and only towards the end he becomes who he truly is.

there are some moments on this reread already that made me feel nicholas was learning, or becoming as i said, like this exchange with tobie:

“You haven’t the choice,” said Tobie. “No one has.” The other was silent. It was a deliberate silence. Tobie pressed him. “You’d never thought of that?” said Tobie. “I think of people dependent on me,” said Claes. The cellar was cold, but he sat quite still, his crossed arms tight round his body. “But no one needs to shoulder my burdens.” “Not even the people who are dependent on you?” said Tobie. That disturbed the boy a little. He said, “You and Meester Julius are not.”

you can almost see the wheels turning in his head, whether because he's learning something new or he's trying to find the right combination of words that will make tobie do what nicholas wants him to do, i don't know! but it's a very interesting conversation.

i could talk about nicholas for hours, both analysing every gesture or straight up gushing, but i'll move on

next is julius, a polarising? maybe straight up unpopular? character. i'm a big fan tbh. i've always thought he's wildly entertaining, the funniest character even, if not super complex. but the reveal at the end of the series does give me a lot more to chew on in this reread wrt his character, so i'm glad!! i really don't know who julius truly is, which is crazy because he seems so simple on the surface? does he care about nicholas at all? he's pretty protective of claes, at first. but how much of it is genuine, if anything? i also really like his dynamic with tobie, they both pay attention to the other like they're wary, maybe. but anyway, i'll pay special attention to julius this time. what a fun, evil little guy lol

katelina!! i've joked about her being the only brown-haired dunnett female character who is a mess. i'm noticing a lot of subtlety with her this time. for example, i think she's funny that she calls julius, claes, and felix "children" in the first chapter, when she's only 19. but she's been traveling with older people, and living 3 years by herself on scotland probably makes her feel more grown and mature than these bruges boys. in her first pov chapter she compares edinburgh and bruges, and in those descriptions you can really tell she missed her hometown. she thinks she wishes she were a widow, to have freedom and independence. and in her bluntness and mockery of simon i saw something of gelis, too. though gelis's tongue is sharper, and she has a madness katelina lacks, as nicholas thinks later on. i think i'm going to connect more with her on this reread... which will make her fate even more sad.

now some more random thoughts:

nicholas's blank expression, and the way he keeps his distance when they meet esota, hits really hard knowing what she did to him. god. and the fact he didn't even want to punish her makes me so sad

the way nicholas and umar become friends so quickly, speaking in sign language and bits of whatever language they share, is so sweet 😭 big boys who are mistreated and much more intelligent than anyone gives them credit for!!

mentioned this on twitter too, but kathi being one of the children nicholas plays with and who adores him is the cutest thing ever

i can't help but hate marian a little. every time there's a mention of nicholas arriving at her home at 10, being brought up with her children, and knowing what happened to him as a child... i just hate that she turned their relationship sexual, i don't care if she was grieving

claes crying after his duel with simon was heartbreaking, knowing that he's not crying because he almost died or because he's in pain, but because he just wanted to be recognized by his father. and to him that duel and simon's pure dislike of him probably meant that it would never happen :( my baby

that's it for now!! but i'll be back. i'm so happy to be back in this world with these characters :') n. 1 series!!

[hb-writes]

okay okay okay you are like such a treasure, i love all your characters. You seem to read my mind when I find out you have a character in a fandom i’m starting to get into. You’ve really mastered the little sister 😹😹.

Your writing is so entertaining, incredibly well written and very engaging, it never feels out of place and always blends seamlessly into the fandoms world

I had a few questions if you don’t mind answering them (i totally understand if you want to avoid spoilers).

Do you have a roadmap/idea of where Lenny ends up? I love how you’ve given Maria such character, like we understand what she was kinda like from what we see Frank reveal but she’s like such a fridged character. I guess i’m a glutton for pain and angst, i would kinda love to see what happens to her (it’s so interesting how there’s kinda overtones of her and Billy being a thing, if canon does occur it creates such a heartbreaking and complicated dynamic)

also funny thing but i’ve just recently started watching Suits (i know it’s super late 😂🙈 but this strike -death to corporations- is giving me the time to discover old shows) and i love Charlie Specter. She’s not this perfect little sister, she and Harvey have this father/older brother dynamic that’s so interesting to watch. It’s also really adorable, i understand since it’s an old show your interest might have waned but will you ever consider revisiting the character. I’m addicted to the dynamic between Younger Charlie and Harvey. How old was she when Harvey took custody of her?

Anyways thank you so much for the endless entertainment and content, i understand fanfics are a labor of love but i just want you to know your writing truly makes my day!

Ahhhh, you're a treasure! Thank you so much for the kind words. Definitely made my day reading this. ❤️ And I don't mind sharing at all.

Lenny's story is planned to be a bit of a crossover/ AU with the 2010 movie Life As We Know It where two single adults become caregivers to an orphaned girl when their mutual best friends die in an accident. It's supposed to be loosely related as the scenario isn't exactly the same and I haven't quite worked out if I want Billy to be bad/ somehow responsible, but yeah. I happened to rewatch this movie while I was first watching The Punisher and the idea just stuck. I haven't completely mapped out the main story yet, but I'm really enjoying writing the one shots to build out the characters a bit.

And I'm so glad you're loving Charlie. I'm actually also rewatching Suits at the moment, so there's definitely more to come there. Harvey became her guardian when she was 11, but he's been fairly involved in her life from the time they met when she was around 3.

[deaneverafter]

not certain people using footage of beau looking at jenny during the last scene for gifsets of their made up ship and ogling about it 🤦‍♀️

it wouldn't have bothered me so much, must be a day that ends with y, if not for the highly (un)entertaining fact that these are the same people who just wouldn't shut up about jenny and beau not having chemistry for the whole duration of season 3.

now they are admitting they were jealous because they wished for dean to look at their fave the way beau looks at jenny, and that never happened and is never going to happen, so the only thing they can do is this completely different character for their pathetic fetish ship. is that it? is this the takeaway?

because it's all i'm getting from this cringe fest 🤷‍♀️

I saw it, and 🤢🤮 I am so sorry, Dean, Beau, sweetie, I am so sorry these crazy people would do you so dirty, that they would even imagine that in any world, you could fall for that ugly, backstabbing creep 🤢 (it even looks so unhinged in the gifset). I usually try not to make fun people's looks, but what can I say, MC's inner ugliness is all over his face for everyone to see ☕

Anyway, the cringe is real. Catch me throwing up in the corner (what's funny is, they didn't even try to make him sound like Dean? But then, that's not surprising, shippers do not know who Dean is, just the false version that lives in their heads)

Here's the thing. I didn't care who someone shipped with Beau. Even though, there really was only one option. Jenny's the only one he had romantic chemistry with. Not Cassie, not Denise. He had subzero chemistry with Carla, and sure, there's a history there, but uh..... it's a history of abuse (but we can't really be surprised hellers flocked to that, considering their deathstiel ship). But anyway, if someone shipped him with someone else, but stayed in their lane, I'd be like 🤷🏻‍♀️ No accounting for taste, but it doesn't matter to me. However, most people who were shipping him with other people weren't doing it calmly, in a rational way? I saw like, one person who had a different ship and being normal, and that's it. Everyone else who shipped him with any of the other women, they spent more time hating on Jenny for existing (and being better than them and their self insert, imprint character could ever hope to be 💅🏻). And trying with every breath to prove there's nothing between Beau and Jenny, which......? Very interesting, because like you said, a lot of these people were deathstiel shippers. Dean can't breath without them screaming about how it's a sign. And then we have Beau, who literally from their first interaction, looks at Jenny with the utmost, naked adoration, that really is the only word I have for it. Scenes like the one in episode 4 and episode 10, he's an open book in that you literally see the wind knocked out of him as his emotions for her hit him. But nah, no chemistry 🙄 Those of them who couldn't say that, went around saying "oh, Jensen has chemistry with everyone, he has chemistry with a chair, it means nothing." Um? Not true. There's different kinds of chemistry. Sure, Jensen has working chemistry with almost everyone, in that he can make scenes work, regardless of the dynamic (though, let's be honest, with some people there's just absolutely such a lack of chemistry, that it was still cringe, like every single scene Beau had with Carla or Emily. Some people are SO utterly lacking in charisma and skill, that even opposite Jensen they couldn't make things work, for example, 15x18. WHO tf thought that was the epitome of acting? Like, what was going on on that set that no one told this man to at least try not to do whatever he was trying? Funny that you don't even see hardcore shippers use that so-called confession in their lovely dovey edits, I wonder why).

Jensen does not have romantic chemistry with every character. There's plenty of familial, completely platonic relationships he's played, and he's done them incredibly, with the correct type of chemistry. It would actually be weird for their to be romantic chemistry in those dynamics. He does have romantic chemistry with Jenny, and incredible amounts of it. I've seen him play characters in romantic relationships/interactions, in Supernatural, in other shows, and they were all done really well. Jo Harvelle, Lana Lang, Jen Lindley. But none of them had what Beau and Jenny have, because the actors do have a ton of natural chemistry, and then the characters have a very complex, varied dynamic, and the romantic feelings are one of those facets, and their chemistry really worked for that. So that excuse just..... does not work.

Anyway, sorry, my point being, yeah, these people didn't just ship other ships and stayed in their lane. No, they spent all season trying to demean Jenny, and dismiss what was there between them. So, yeah, that makes it even more gross how people from that same clique think that it's a flex to use their interactions for their own dumb ship. Like?

And, if people were shipping him with other characters because there was something there that they liked (and a few did), it would be like, whatever, not my cup of tea, but, to each their own. But, most people were going into it with an agenda, I'm sorry, but that was just very transparent.

Cassie, because of her name. How is that not dismissive of the character she is, treating her as a cass-insert? Cassie because representation, which, yeah, that's important, but not at the expense of the story. Or because they can't stand that Jenny and Cassie are both leads, not just one. Cassie had her own love interest, talking about how Jenny and Beau being a thing is disrespectful to her or "sidelining" her is silly, because frankly, she got way more focus, and certainly way more of a personal story than Jenny did. Jenny had her mom's story, which they gave barely 1.5 episodes too. And her other big season arc was her relationship with Beau, where the showrunner did try (and fail 💅🏻😌) his best to treat her like the third wheel in a love triangle. In her own story. Imagine treating one of your leads like that. Could not be me. That's how much attention Jenny got. But nah, let's spend 13 episodes, the very last season on guest characters, Fiesty Firecracker #1 and Fiesty Firecracker #2, not even the mystery. Like, they could've used a lot of that time to focus on Beau's past, his trauma, Jenny's relationship with her mom, her grief about Cody, getting shot, AND they could've spent that time on the actual mystery. Why did Buck kill people? Why did he stop? Who killed Luke? Did Sunny really have no clue? So many things they could've focused on that were more important. Besides, Beau did not have any romantic chemistry or vibes with Cassie, he just didn't, and those are the facts. What I find really interesting is people who are like "yeah, I know Cassie and Cormac are a thing, but, why can't she have two love interests." So, Jenny's not allowed to even have one, but Cassie should have both? Or "Jenny gets all the good men". Beau's the first one, but sure, go off. The ones who admit that yeah, there's something between Beau and Jenny, but Cassie should run off with Beau anyway. Like? At that point, it's clear they don't even actually care about Cassie, because frankly, that would ruin her character. I actually saw a fanfic once. The author had every chance to make Beau and Jenny platonic if they wanted to make Beau and Cassie a thing. But no, they had to be like, from Cassie's POV, mind you, "ugh, Jenny, why's she into him? Ugh, why must I be made to feel like the bad guy from wanting him, why do I feel guilty?" Uhh..... idk, sleeping with a second man someone has feelings for/is involved with, that should make a person feel guilty, idk, I don't think that makes you a victim, but, maybe I'm old fashioned that way. But that does show a really weird resentment towards Jenny from the author, when they could've just written their ooc fic in their own lane, idk.

Poppernak, because, Beau isn't allowed to be straight, because straight people are a myth. I saw someone saying "oh, he watched romcoms, he is SO into men". That's...... really offensive to propagate stereotypes like that. Not to mention, he literally used to be married to a woman, a demon woman as she may be, but a woman nonetheless. Not to mention, that his only even romantic adjacent relationship all season long was with Jenny, also a woman. But sure, let's ship him with Poppernak.

Carla, again, I really think there's this really toxic idea in fandom (across fandoms) atm that being cruel and selfish is how you become a strong girlboss. That's false. Specifically this fandom, more and more it's being normalized and condoned, encouraged even, to treat Jensen (and his characters) like trash, so I can see why that dynamic would be appeasing to some people. Someone calls him a cockroach, that's a haha funny joke. Someone calls him name every con? Again, a funny joke. Demeaning him, degrading and humiliating him, treating him like a leper to hype up other people? Nothing wrong with that. Because he's a "rich, white man in his 40s", and apparently they're not allowed to have feelings and be sad when treated like this. Hellers, of course, think this dynamic was sexy and cute, they've been getting off to the crypt scene and the alley scene for a decade now 🤢🤮

And, well, at the end of the day, I really think a lot of people were jealous of Jenny, how beautiful she is, how interesting and badass without being.... well, a bad person, and most importantly, that Beau was her love interest. That made Carla a really compelling choice for them to try to send him back to. I mean, I've seen people yonder on twitter, waxing poetics about Carla the victim, insulting Jenny for existing and doing her job, while actually treating Beau like a person, not a dog the way Carla did. And then, when seeing that a lot of people were seeing what's between Beau and Jenny, I've seen those same people turn right around and be like "wow, Beau and Cassie are SO GOOD together". Like? You ain't slick. You don't care about Cassie, it's literally that you can't get a handle on your hate and resentment for Jenny. Which is really interesting, because you don't get to watch a show and then complain about the lead and act like she's nothing. That's like the bozos that watch Supernatural and then get mad when Dean and Sam are onscreen. Why are you watching The Dean and Sam show if you have a problem with Dean and Sam (both, not even one)? Make it make sense.

ANYWAY, you didn't ask for an essay, but, I think it's really weird how so many people in this fandom refuse to watch the story actually playing on their screen, refuse to see who does have a story together, chemistry together and instead go in with agendas, and then try to fit the narrative to that. There was a lot of weird hate towards Jenny, based simply on these agendas, and because some people can't handle him having a love interest. Those same people who were claiming it's misogyny to hate Carla and Emily. Uhh, no, it's not. Hating those two because they gave us plenty of reasons to, because they're awful people, is not misogyny. Hating Jenny, because she's a love interest, because she and Beau had what Dean and Cass never did, what Beau and Cassie never did (deathstiel lite, for these people), because she was a love interest whilst respecting him and being there for him rather than being toxic like Carla, that is misogyny. And yeah, spending all season hating on her, trying to dismiss Beau and Jenny's relationship and chemistry, and then turning right around to make edits using him..... that's not only hypocritical, it also makes them look like idiots of the highest degree 🤷🏻‍♀️

[theskyexists]

Another episode of longsuffering older sibling having to deal with annoying younger siblings messing up all their shit. These writers must be completely traumatised by the experience of having younger siblings. But at least these ones aren't like Polly and actually express some remorse for destroying shit. Apparently making sure that your younger siblings don't steal your extremely dangerous magic book to do some sort of plastic surgery on themselves is your responsibility as an older sister. That makes sense . But it's NOT your responsibility to entertain them to keep them from idiotic behaviour. Imo. But I guess that just goes to show I'm a younger sibling.

The funny thing is that I would be Marcy in this scenario but somehow she's my least favourite. She's alright. But she's not getting treated right by the narrative

So first temple is brain. And wisdom (Marcy)

Second temple is heart. I.e. selflessness (Anne)

Disobedient, foolish, impulsive

See? ANNE gets a whole temple episode dedicated to JUST her positive and negative qualities

Selfishness

Pronounced sense of justice

Incredible athletic ability

Lying, thieving

Learning from mistakes

Sacrificing for friends, strangers AND enemies

Empathy AND responsibility

Intelligence AND wisdom

I wonder what Sasha's will be

Ahh. Impulsive Anne retained some of her power by not fully charging the stone.

Huh...Sasha gives jester toad an out... uncharacteristic....ah she goes back on her word

Sashas positive quality is sheer willpower.

Her vices are always prioritising what she wants and her plans over other people's wellbeing

Willpower AND consideration...

Lift to enter brah LOL. I guess Sasha just proved that she could do that on sheer power of will. Now I need an amv to that classic for amphibia

How are they gonna charge the damn stone without Sasha. Really sad Sasha isn't gonna get her trials...

It's funny....I got it wrong apparently? Sashas first attribute is strength? Nah no way. The temple is just built to goad somebody like her

SASHA!!!!! SHES SO COOL!!! She went to look for Marcy and Anne ofc when she heard they were hanging out without her. Lol. While Marcy doesn't ever give a fuck about that and Anne is upset about the breakup

They're lying and leaving out the rebellion

Ok so apparently they switched tacks from season 1 and Sasha is now the strong one

So strength and teamwork?

Man... What the fuck. Sasha was NOT the physically strong one in season 1. They messed up the themes...

SASHA WAS WEARING SUPER HEAVY ARMOUR ALL ALONG AHHAHAHAHAHA

Strength and resistance... Ok...

'ill get this friendship back under control' what does that MEAN sasha. She probably doesn't really know that herself

The way they handle this reconciliation is crazy lol. The conclusion is that Sasha needs to recognise that Anne's changed? I don't know if that follows from this episode dude. I mean...Sasha is concerned about being left out and being unimportant to Anne. Anne is concerned about her killing people she loves and her being controlling and bossy

Ok actually this battle of the bands episode is much more clear about the dynamic. Sasha always wanting it her way. Anne not wanting that anymore.

Too bad they never realised that King Andreas is evil.

Honestly like Sasha a lot and what she did wasn't particularly bad but also understand Anne's fury

'redesign the political system so this sort of uprising never happens again'? She only realises that now. I wonder whether Marcy is thinking of Democracy.

At least Sasha and Grime know he's evil now. Too bad they're breaking him out now

Hmmm Anne did Sasha's move from season 1. It has no significance

'we were so focused on each other we couldn't see what was right in front of us'

Actually, you should have listened to Sasha. That was the real lesson. Or 'on ourselves' is the right term

ANNE GOES BACK HOME WITH HER PLANTER FAMILY??? WHAT??????

And Marcy died. And Sasha is still in Amphibia. Probably gonna lead a resistance. Oh my god.

Anne was willing to let Sasha stay in Amphibia forever tbh. Damn.

THEY ACTUALLY 'KILLED' MARCY. INCREDIBLE

YESSSS MARCYS GONNA BE AN ANGSTY VAT EXPERIMENT

[southern--downpour]

@comicaurora panel redraw bc this specific bit has infected my brain