#love that the whole cast deserves consideration

[well-dressedwords]

Lingering questions: LBFaD

Siming:

While she has some very important lines and roles in the show, the thing I’m left thinking about is how Chengheng thought it would go if he ever did get together with Xiao Lanhua. I mean, was he just going to continue letting her think her master was more interested in roaming the mortal realm than visiting Xiao Lanhua? Was he going to reveal that she’d been locked up with her (awesome) dragon husband? 

How was he thinking that would go? There’s no way Xiao Lanhua would be content with her master being exiled. Though I’m sure she’d forgive him as her character has forgiven worse. 

And what were the shitty emperor’s thoughts here? I’m curious if he just exiled her as quickly and thoughtlessly as he does everyone else, but Siming has an important role?!? And even if Xiao Lanhua is doing a great job as her disciple, if you lose her (which he certainly didn’t spare a thought for  when he was about to spear her), who is going to do the job? 

Is this lack of forethought or lack of care? I almost wish there was a more nefarious reason behind leaving Xiao Lanhua to do the job by herself - she can be intimidated by the higher immortals to do what they want (at least in their minds). 

Consequences of defying fate:

If we go with the straightforward, defying fate = death, which I’ve seen posited somewhere, then Xiao Lan Hua’s death was both the ultimate love sacrifice and also the result of changing Changheng’s fate book (which was only possible also because of love.). That would also account for Chidi Nuzi’s death sacrifice (for bringing Rong Hao back to life), Dongfang’s death for meddling with Xiao Lanhua/Xiyun’s fate book, Rong Hao’s death for screwing with Chidi’s, and potentially even Danyin’s death in the mortal realm for trying to prevent Changheng destiny from happening. I am curious if Siming allowing all these fates to be changed (specifically Rong Hao’s and Xiao Lanhua’s) resulted in her facing any consequences as well? Or does it take direct action for the punishment to kick in? She reminds me a bit of Yuuko in xxxHOLiC, not allowed to truly intervene but giving just enough help to people so they can change fate. 

There’s the flip side - that of the prophecy. “That those who are able to see it are the ones who can make it happen” - Danyin is the major player for making it possible for Changheng to go to the mortal realm and get married to Xiao Lanhua, and even for exposing Xiao Lanhua’s true identity to the Fairy court so that Changheng’s life is spared so they can later have the wedding procession. 

Obviously, Dongfang has his contribution in that, too. 

Unresolved or unused plot lines:

What happened to Danyin and Jieli’s father? Did he manage to turn himself in? Was he later released? 

How many other cross couples have there been, if even a high immortal fairy managed to secretly have kids with a Moon tribe woman? How did he explain where Danyin came from in the first place?? At least his wife could make up a story (if she’d needed to) of being abandoned by her lover. I don’t think the reverse would hold water?

Are Siming and Changyuan released from exile/ finally exit themselves after all this goes down? I know in the novel at least they get to reunite with Xiao Lanhua when Dongfang Qingcang is reviving her, but that’s not how the drama plotline went. I just want her foster mom to dote on her again and let Xiao Lanhua have one other person she can be herself with! 

Also, Siming and Changyuan’s two kids. Personal headcannon is they already have the kids, but Siming was putting them safely behind a ward when Dongfang Qingcang and Changheng visited. If they had 1,000 years of exile together, at some point they probably decided kids might be a fun way to relieve the boredom. 

The fact that we don’t get any Danyin and Xunfeng interaction (in terms of romance) is so sad. Xunfeng needs to be flipped on his head by love just like his brother was, and Danyin deserves to finally have a requited love. 

Shangque and Jieli’s resolution - would’ve liked to see more about that. 

When does Lord Dong come out of seclusion and punish/strip his oldest son of his powers and position? And if that doesn’t happen, can the rest of the rational high immortals take him down? 

If Xiao Lanhua spends her 500 years of waiting in Cangyan Hai, surely she and Xunfeng get to talk and reconcile/forgive. It would be hilarious to see Xunfeng bumbling through trying to befriend his sister-in-law while handling the chaos of 100,000 men returning to their domain. 

Also, with 100,000 men back home, can you imagine the population boom in the following years? Those are real political problems of supply and demand to figure out! Would love to see someone explore that in fic, honestly. Xunfeng is probably longing for the day his brother returns!

[nobodyfamousposts]

Scarlet Lady Essay: Frightningale

Yet another essay for @zoe-oneesama. Because you deserve it.

I’m not going to bother with a compare/contrast of canon vs Scarlet Lady Frightningale because Frightningale in canon was a pretty forgettable episode. Akuma was lame. Setup was wasted. And it’s removal from the series would lose nothing of value.

So instead, I'm going to focus primarily on the Scarlet Lady version of Frightningale and what it does that makes it memorable.

I guess to start with, I should make it clear that I’m not a fan of shows being lazy, especially when they display a lack of planning or consideration of their story and characters. And perhaps one of the greater indicators of this issue is when a series suddenly realizes they they neglected multiple plot points until it’s too late to give them all the focus they warrant so they end up shoving all of those points into one episode and try to present it like it’s supposed to be an adequate resolution of all that buildup or in any way intentional.

Penalteam was that episode for Miraculous. They had the “temporary heroes” setup going for them but then wasted so much time on filler like Frightningale that it seems like they honestly forgot about it until they were reaching a designated end point and they realized they still had four more heroes they were supposed to introduce. Whoops? Ah well, just introduce them all at once. Not like anyone will care!

And when you treat most of the cast like they’re all as shallow as a puddle, I guess that’s true.

The thing is, when you have a setup where there is a running theme of every person in a specific group getting their own episode/chapter to detail their issues and how they get a power up, it’s going to stand out whenever one of them doesn’t. Especially when that one or more are forced to share their limelight episode. 

That’s not to say you can’t do it, but it’s bound to get attention if you do. It reflects poorly on the writing. It shows whom the “favored” and “unfavored” characters are. And it displays the issue with pacing—namely that it’s next to nonexistent until it hits you with the force of a freight train.

But can it be done and be done well? Is it possible to pull off such a thing and have it make sense and fit in lines with the characters?

Well, yes. Off the top of my head, I can think of two different ways to do it to make it work.

And Zoe did both of them.

If you look at Scarlet Lady as a whole, you’ll see a conglomeration of characters—each with stories and arcs attached. They have personalities. They have goals and problems and their own highs and lows. One sign of good writing is that some focus is given to highlight these other characters as people. Individuals in their own right with lives outside of the main characters or situation.

Miraculous doesn't really do this.

Scarlet Lady, however, does. Because contrary to the title, Scarlet Lady isn’t just about Chloe.

It isn’t even just about the heroes.

It isn’t just about Chloe being horrible. Or Marinette being in love. Or Adrien being in desperate need of a hug and a nap. Because while the story is centered around them, it isn’t solely about them. Other characters get focus and growth and their own arcs throughout the comics.

But the big two—the BIGGEST two with arguably the most depth and most growth and quite frankly the best storylines out of everyone in the entire series?

It’s Sabrina and Lila. And their individual stories have led up to this.

As such, this episode—which was mostly filler and all around forgettable in canon, matters here.

It’s where Sabrina and Lila reach the culmination of their respective character arcs. 

Yes, it’s when they both get to become Miraculous Heroes and meet their own kwamis, but it’s more than just that! They both hang out with the girls group as full members of the crew, getting to take part in a music video together. It’s also where they both get to stand up for themselves and the city at large while calling out Chloe and Scarlet Lady. This is what their storylines have been building up to and where their growth really shows.

Sabrina started out as Chloe’s minion same as canon—albeit with more attention to her feelings and her responses, no matter how seemingly small, allowing her to feel more like her own person. And through this focus, we got to see her open up more, pull and eventually break away from Chloe and her influence, and over time stand up for herself and try to establish herself both with the class and as an individual.

Lila started off as a liar and manipulator, selfish and self centered, much like canon. Unlike canon, her lies are tied to her issues, noted to be poorly thought through, and give her more introspection as a person. After the lies are revealed, she’s not “redeemed” so much as she is “accountable”, and it doesn’t change who she is. She remains selfish and certainly far from being considered “good”, but she’s letting people in past her walls and masks in a way she hadn’t been able to before.

Both of these things? Figuring out who you are and letting people know you for who you are? They’re incredibly hard. And a lot of time was devoted to both of their journeys along the course of the comic.

Sabrina’s arc was about her figuring out who she is on her own. Outside of Chloe and her previous role of being a follower and lackey. And sometimes it feels less scary to stay with someone toxic than to be alone and facing the unknown. We see it in the way she tries to put herself out there afterwards, reaching out and risking rejection and just figuring herself out. Even or perhaps especially with those she already knows and has a less than positive history with.

And we still see the struggle of her view of herself in this episode. It was in the way she was upset that she legitimately tried to help and it still resulted in bad things happening. And it was also clear when she calls herself a “sidekick” to Marigold after the day was saved, as if it’s a role she still sees herself as and one she struggles not to fall in to. Over time, we’re seeing Sabrina learning that she doesn’t have to be attached or subservient to someone else to have an identity or be accepted. 

Lila’s arc involved her figuring out who she is with people. Outside of the lies and manipulations she creates, the masks she wears, and the identities she crafts to make people like her. The “real Lila” is far from the best person and arguably not even a good person, but she also doesn’t have to be for the others to accept her as the still somewhat bad influence she is. She’s still very much selfish and flawed, but she’s less inclined to hide it or treat it like something that needs to be hidden. And isn’t that a common lesson? That it’s better to be liked for who you are than to force yourself to be someone else to be liked?

And at the same time, even with being less than a fully good person, she’s showing that she can still find better ways of acting that allow her to help others rather than hurt them or serve herself. She still hates Scar, but rather than working with Hawk Moth to kill her and risk dooming Paris and the world, she’s instead working with Alya through more legitimate (and legal) means…and hitting Scar where it hurts most. She and Adrien may not be friends, but rather than try to punish him for not going along with her, she’s instead rescued him, putting herself on the line—something that the former Lila wouldn’t have considered doing and one that canon Lila wouldn’t be capable of. Even if she’s motivated by pettiness or self-interest, what would have been straight up revenge on someone who upset her has grown to be something that is working in everyone’s better interests.

Both Lila and Sabrina hid themselves in different ways and for different reasons. So having them both assert themselves and call out both Chloe and Scarlet Lady is a show of their growth and overall a huge deal. It’s not something either of them would have done at the start of the series. Sabrina, because she was a “yes man” who wouldn’t dare to argue with Chloe and Lila because she wouldn’t risk openly doing something to make herself a target. 

And now boom! Look at them both! Lila stepped up to openly and publicly denounce Scarlet Lady as not being a hero for real reasons that aren’t just about herself or her feelings—complete with receipts! The girl did her research, noting incidents from before she even came into the picture. Then follow up with Sabrina standing up against Chloe’s machinations and dismantling Chloe’s main source of power: her father. Even better, she’s using logic and knowledge she would have as a former ally of Chloe’s who would know her tricks, taking her former friendship with Chloe and using it against her.

And on top of that, each of them are given the Miraculous by the person they wronged in the past. Marinette to Sabrina and Adrien to Lila. Especially in Lila’s case, it says a lot that they’re trusted. That shows narratively that even with their mistakes and bad choices and continued struggles, they still can move forward—not necessarily to find redemption, but to find themselves and be their best selves.

This is why it makes sense for them to share this episode. It’s also why both of them speaking up matters. They are both publicly confronting their greatest foe, and the fact that their foes are really two faces of the same person further highlights this. 

So they both have issues with the same person, are dealing with forming their identities without catering to others, are working out how to have/be friends, were formerly not the best of people, and have a fear of rejection. As such, this isn’t just their obligatory hero episode, this is what their individual stories have been leading up to. Almost like they’re two sides of the same coin. And the comparison between the two helps them both shine.

And speaking of shining, does anyone remember how the all girls team up didn’t get a chance to shine in canon? Zoe sure did.

I have a whole list of problems I have regarding Party Crasher, but perhaps number seven on that list is that the boys got to have an all male temp hero team up episode while the girls didn’t.

In fact, by this episode in canon, only Alya, Chloe, and Kagami actually got to be temp heroes.

To be fair, only four of the guys out of seven in canon got to be part of their particular event in Party Crasher, leaving out Ivan (who often tends to get overlooked) and Nathaniel (who has had a precedent of just literally disappearing from the episode). But originally, part of the appeal of Party Crasher was that the focus was supposed to be on the male classmates and getting to see at least some of them being part of a team against the akuma.

Why then didn’t we get an episode like this with the girls? Or at least something LIKE this?

Frightningale became that episode. And if any of the episodes were to do it, it makes the most sense for Frightningale to be the one.

All of the girls were together to take part in this event. So Zag would have had the perfect excuse to include them all in the fight or just have the girls do something to help even as civilians. I mean, we’ve had episodes do this before. Max in Robustus. Nathaniel and Alix in Reverser. Luka in Captain Hardrock. Let the civilians show their heroic traits even before they become heroes. It’s not a Miraculous, but it’s still giving them focus and expanding on them as individuals.

Instead, canon Frightningale was a filler episode. And not even a good one. For an akuma who forces people to sing or dance, it’s a waste that they just had the heroes spend the whole time rhyming. A waste of writing and talent. I mean, have you heard Christina Vee sing? If there needed to be a musical episode, I would think that the akuma who forces people to sing would certainly warrant it! At least more than it’s Christmas and they sing just cuz.

So this is yet another thing that Zoe improves with the Scarlet Lady version of this episode. Giving us the all girl team up episode so many of us have long wanted and getting to see all the female heroes together at last. 

And with this, we get the full roster of friends-turned heroes.

Except for Alix. Poor, poor Alix.  ;_;

Your day will come.

In this way, the end where Clara goes a different direction with her music video feels less like a half-assed fix to a half-forgotten plot point and more like something that was built by everyone involved. I don’t know about the rest of you, but given Clara’s excitement over the all girl band playing and Pigella’s gift showing Clara an idea for her video, it highlights the focus on EVERYONE being part of this—both the video and the episode itself. It kind of comes off as a lesson of its own about teamwork and giving everyone a shot rather than focusing specifically only on one or two specific individuals.

And isn’t that what separates the heroes from Scarlet Lady?

But there’s a third important aspect of this episode.

This is the episode where Chloe is smacked in the face with Scarlet Lady’s falling popularity. 

Let’s remember that at the start of the comic, Scarlet Lady was fully and widely considered THE Hero of Paris. She was beloved for doing nothing and it was a point of frustration for Chat, who actually was having to pick up her slack. Initially, there was nothing he could do because him being the only real hero among the duo meant he often couldn't stick around after akuma fights to prevent Scar from telling "our story". In addition, he didn’t know who she was or who chose her and why. Then even when it was clear her getting the Earrings was a mistake, for a lot of the first couple seasons, she was so popular that they couldn’t just take the Earrings away from her lest they risk backlash from the rest of the city. It’s a backlash that seems increasingly unlikely as more and more people get to see her behavior and callousness firsthand.

We’ve seen hints of it in other episodes, but none of them were so blatant to Chloe that she couldn’t ignore it or shrug it off or otherwise make excuses to protect her ego.

Prime Queen wanted to focus on Marigold and Chat Noir for their “romance” to try and boost ratings. Alya and Lila made some snarky comments, but Chloe could easily dismiss them both. Nadja also made a comment that nobody cared about Scarlet’s love life, but a lack of interest in her love life isn’t a lack of interest in herself and Chloe despises both of her “sidekicks” and wouldn’t want anyone trying to pair her with them anyway. And Nadja reassures her that they’ll focus on her after they’re done with Chat and Marigold. So yes, she can dismiss that as well.

Reverser has Chloe faced with both of her identities are made as villains in art and a story. However, she clearly looks down on Nathaniel and Marc barely registers to her. So she can dismiss them.

Look at Despair Bear, the Intermission, the interactions with the various other heroes, and the fact that only Chat Noir and Marigold are privy to the Guardian’s secret existence and allowed to pass out other Miraculous. Much has been shown of the other characters being less than impressed with her, snarky towards her, or showing the process of how they discover the truth about her and how she actually handles akuma attacks…namely in that she doesn’t. And Chloe can dismiss all of that because to her, none of them really matter to her.

But Chloe can’t dismiss the fact that a renown celebrity dedicating a music video to the “Heroes of Paris” isn’t including her. Bad enough her sidekicks are taking center stage but she’s not even in the music video at all?

And when someone she despises calls out the reasons why she’s not a hero in an openly public setting surrounded by a multitude of people who all agree with her? You could say it’s insult to injury. But some would say it was a long time coming.

Some Rando: Scarlet Lady sucks! Alya: Marigold and Chat Noir do all the work, not her! Kagami: She’s barely even necessary at this point. Clara: This video and song are to celebrate hope and love. And Scarlet Lady lacks both when push comes to shove. Chloe: ARGHHH! WHATEVER!

It further shows the turning tide of public opinion against Scar. What was once a trickle has grown into a wave, and now Chloe is forced to acknowledge her image and status aren’t as ironclad as she thought. Sure, she could denounce Lila as a liar like she’s done before, but Lila is bringing up instances that Chloe can’t deny: being late (as she’s just plain been a no show to several fights), endangering civilians, and being caught live on camera being willing to let someone die in a particularly horrible way because it’s easier.

This is the episode where it’s not just people seeing Scar is horrible, but acting on it and letting Chloe know they know she’s horrible. It’s reached the point where Chloe can’t just disregard the claims or discount and ignore her critics. And we’re seeing Chloe starting to lose control as a result. To the point she has to force her dad to ruin a previously sanctioned event in what has to be one of his most flagrant displays of abuse of power to date just to shut down her detractors.

And even that would come with more consequences for Chloe if it had been allowed to continue. Sabrina herself points it out that Clara is very popular with a lot of fans—people who would be aware she’s making a music video and whom would be very disappointed if word got out that it was cancelled due to an issue with the Mayor. And given all the very unhappy people we see in the comic in question where she points that out, it stands to reason that the word would get out. Heck, I’d be surprised if someone wasn’t recording it.

Then there’s the love square/hero shenanigans.

Remember how in canon, the whole “playing themselves/risking identities” bit kinda just dropped out halfway in? The kwamis were the only authority figures involved to call out on the risk and of the two, Plagg didn’t care and Tikki gave one knowing stare at Marinette before turning around to gush about the suit. Even though Marinette offers the alternative idea to the music video by the end, there’s no further comment or notice of how she and Adrien nearly blew their identities….or alternatively a comedic take where nobody recognizes them regardless and they worried for nothing. Honestly, I would have taken either setup.

Having Fu present to call them both out shows there is a responsible authority figure watching, makes it clear there are rules they are expected to follow, and reinforces that this was, in fact, a horrible idea. Sure, Marinette and Adrien worried enough to hide their masks, but it should have been obvious that wouldn’t work long term. They are risking their identities, not just to Paris but to each other. And he calls them out for doing it on purpose.

Then there’s the beautiful crescendo of the love square dance in that the two both pretty much have figured out the other’s identity and just want an identity reveal to make it official—which Fu won’t allow. We see it in their playful banter that gets mistaken for “getting into character” and in Adrien in particular pushing Marinette to take part.

This is a point where we are seeing them be teenagers. Foolish of them? Yes. Should they have known better and not done it? Yes. But is it in character and the sort of teenage shenanigans we would expect of teenage superheroes? Definitely. And that’s part of the point. Because they are teenagers. Teenagers in love, no less. Teenagers in love with secret identities to dance around. Which is half the fun of secret identities!

It’s just another aspect to this episode that makes it enjoyable.

So overall, the episode matters in ways that the canon version didn’t and was fun in ways that the canon version wasn’t, making it stand out not just as an episode or a remake of the canon episode, but as its own standalone episode AND a noteworthy point in the overall story.

[forgotten-daydreamer]

I love how inclusivity is handled in The Dragon Prince, here's why.

In most shows, as much as it bothers me to admit so, some people are right, inclusivity does feel forced sometimes. But it's not the characters' fault, it's not because of them being part of the lgbtq+ community, or being disabled, or being POC, or being strong women who do not conform to patriarchal standards.

It's not that.

It's that the show they are part of is a straight, white, abled parade - and notice, most of said shows won't even pass the Bechdel test.

So yes, in a show written by and aimed to straight, white, abled people, even I, a gay, non-binary, chronically ill person feel weird seeing charcters that are there just for the sake of inclusivity, albeit 'inorganic'.

In a show with the premise of "straight, white, abled men are the indiscussed MCs", seeing that one side-character that stands out and is often ridiculed and/or reduced to a single trait of their 'personality', such as 'the gay one', 'the asian one', 'the disabled one' (etc) is upsetting and feels uncomfortable as hell.

But TDP is different.

They immediately introduced powerful women, people of color, characters that are openly part of the lgbtq+ community, disabled characters etc. And not one of them per 'category', no. For the lgbtq+ community we have Amaya, Janai, Runaan, Ethari, Terry, Kazi. For the disabled community, we have Amaya again, Villads, and even a disabled wolf Ava. For the POC community, we have literally half of the cast, starting from King Harrow, then Ezran, every sunfire elf, Terry as well, etc. Same goes for women, who take up on roles that are rarely considered 'for women', like Opeli being the main member of the High Council, Amaya being the General, Rayla being the main Dragon Guard, Claudia being one of the main antagonists, etc.

Both main and side-characters are part of the communities, everything is so much more organic, enjoyable, thrilling.

We do not come in 'minor quantity'.

We are everywhere, among others, living our lives, doing our best, existing, thriving, proud. It's not just one or two of us among thousands. Surprise, 'categories' can mix! Just like I, a real human being, can be gay, enby as well as chronically ill, we can have characters like that as well! Amaya being lesbian and disabled, Terry being black and trans, Janai being black and lesbian, etc. And, another surprise, 'categories' don't define us. We don't 'shove it' in anyone's face like they say we do, we're just being us and cishets are upset because we don't conform to their sick standards.

Inclusivity is organic in TDP because nobody in that universe questions anyone else's color, gender, orientation, etc. And it's organic because we didn't have to wait half a season to see a black character, or a disabled character, or a gay character.

The key to inclusivity is to realise that we aren't just 'bonuses'. Fill shows and comics with lgbtq+, POC, disabled, and female characters. Not just one every 15, 20 characters. Everywhere.

We are everywhere! We are proud! We deserve to be seen! We deserve to be depicted as the normal people we are, without diminishing our traits but without making them our whole personality either. Treat us like human beings, be considerate like you should be with everyone on the planet of course, but treat us like humans.

Antagonising people who are 'different' (in the mind of straight, white, abled people) will not suppress us. We will keep insisting until you hear us. It's literally one of the main messages, one of the main teachings of TDP and it's so damn important.

Every single person on Earth should watch it. Every single kid should be introduced to TDP at an early age. Every old bigot should watch it, as well. Everybody. Even if it's considered a y7 (y10 for s4 and s5 apparently) show, everyone, no matter their age, should give it a try and watch it thoroughly.

Lots of love to the creators and everyone, literelly everyone involved in the production of one the best, most entertaining, most exciting, most formative shows ever. Please, keep it up! And thank you so much!

[chemzee]

Alright! Tier list of how likely are hpma characters of becoming dateable ( if we ever get the romance option)

Ok so here´s the list in question and my absolutely undenyable scientific reasonings behind each placement. ( /j, I understand my logic ain´t perfect so feel free to disagree)

IT´S GONNA BE VERY LONG SO BEWARE

Very likely tier

aka these characters are pretty much guaranteed to become an option or at least have a really high chance (85-100%)

Daniel: I think this one is like,,,out of question lmao. It´s pretty obvious that if you could date somebody in this game, he would be an option. First and foremost, he´s the only male companion available in the game rn, making him the most fitting male character for this role and you can´t make a romance option with no boys like cmon. Second, he´s one of the most prominent characters in a storyline and is pretty much considered to be one of mc´s closest friends along with Ivy and y´know how it goes. Also, we can take into consideration the "favoritism advantage", as in it´s pretty obvious he along with Cass is the most beloved character by the fandom and I believe it is something you as a dev should take into consideration when making a romance option.

Ivy: pretty much many of the same logic used for Daniel is applied here. She´s tecnically our first friend in the game, she´s one of mc´s closest friends and she is one of the more prominent characters in the story (she, mc and Daniel are at this point the "main trio" of the game), making her the most likely female character to be available as an option. I would say she doesn´t have a really strong "favoritism advantage" as there are less fans liking her than Daniel and Cassandra, but there are some people who seem to like and favor her and tbh I feel like it wouldn´t really affect the decision behind making her an option.

Cassandra: as much as she is supposed to be our "rival" in the game, first of all, Merula from HPHM exists. Second, we still have like, 5 more years (well, 4 tecnically, but you get the point), so there could be a possible chance of her either redeeming herself to some degree or just becoming less antagonistic towards mc. And it´s not like she hates the mc either, I feel like she actually kinda enjoys their company, just has troubles admitting her liking to us. Plus it´s not like dating a "rival character" is something new. But even if we forget about the whole "she´s supposed to be our rival" shtick, she is just a really good option for the romance. AS MUCH AS I HATE GOING OFF VIBES, she really does give of the dateable vibe, sorry. Not to mention the "favoritism advantage" not only from the fans but the developers as well. I would say that given everything, she most likely would be a lot harder to rizz up than Daniel and Ivy, in a sense that it would probably be more time consuming to get her to date us, but I feel like it would be a rather rewarding in the end of a day.

Pretty likely

aka there´s a possibility they won´t be available as an option, but given everything they have a high chance of actually being one (60-84%)

Lottie: I feel like out of the rest of the cast we have, Lottie is the most likely to be dateable, although she´s only availbale as a dancing companion at this moment (hope they fix that fr). The chances are a lot less than the three characters from above, with her not being a very prominent character in the story besides Year 2 and her not having a lot of fans but I feel like she does have a certain probability of being chosen for the role, especially since the more option there are the better. Right??? (she deserves more love btw)

Uhh

aka I have no idea at this point, it really depends (50%)

Colby and Fischer aka Frey twins: I´m gonna be real with you, when I first made this tier list, I had put them in a "unlikely" tier, below Kevin and Robyn, because I felt like given everything the chances were very low. They are not available as companions, they are highly implied to have some of crush on Cassandra and they don´t have a strong "favoritism advantage" even from the devs themselves (this mostly applies to japanese and korean twitter accounts for the game, which "forgot" to post their character cards (you probably know which ones I´m talking about) which contained character description, concept art and voice actors listed (as I do know that along with character from "very likely" tier they were the only ones who had their character description uploaded to the official site, at least in english,so perhaps this point is sorta weak in that regard). But the more I though about it, the more I realised they do have certain probability. Or shall I say, one of them. Yes, I feel like there´s a chance that we could potentially date one of the twins,as in only one of them. Which one is most likely to be dateable? At this point I have no idea, but my bet´s on Colby. That being said, the only possible logical explanation I could give is "we need more than one male option available" and Kevin isn´t likely to be one, so the Freys, especially Colby are the most likely contendants for it. But other than that, it´s just a vibe and gut feeling thing, which is not a very good argument material.

Most likely not

aka the chances are below 50%. It´s not completely out of the question, but I´d say the chances are very low albeit not non existent.

Robyn: in spite of her being a companion character for every game mode except dancing and having certain favoritism advantage, let´s be real here, the affection system behind her is probably only designed to buff her specific character desks. But yeah, girl´s got a crush on Kevin, pretty obvious one at that, so she probably won´t be a dating option. Also a gut feeling moment, I feel like at some point in the story Robyn and Kevin will date eventually, but again, it is a gut feeling, so it´s not an argument material, but yeah.

Kevin: same logic as behind Robyn except he´s not even a companion character so the chances are even lower kfdvjhkfdvjkhl

and that´s the list and my reasons behind each placement

IF YOU REACHED IT THIS FAR THANK U SM FOR READING THIS LIKE FOR REAL YOU GUYS R AWESOME FOR MANAGING TO READ ALL OF THIS!!!

[ykiwrite]

fiasco

description: after an accident on set, it was upon you to take care of your girlfriend for the time being

words: ~+800

*requested

This Saturday traffic did not benefit you when it was needed the most. Afternoons sun piercing through your windshield worsen it. Not to dwell on the lengthy line of cars ahead of you.

It wouldn't be fair to blame anyone. Most of the people behind the wheel were waiting to come home after work but not you. Quite the opposite.

You were rushing from home and currently stuck at the last turn that allows you to reach fellow actresses set.

After getting a call from unknown number that there was an incident, all sorts of thoughts rushed through. Props to the caller for being so considerate with describing what happened (he wasn't), it raised your panic.

Stepping on your pedal, you rushed to the building you're well accustomed to visiting.

Few familiar faces let you pass in no time. Dashing down the labyrinths of the set, you were told to find the 'Scream' room written somewhere. Jenna might bring you on sets but this was first time for the Scream one.

Having general and rough layout of this place in your memory, as far as memory serves there were few more corners around to pass.

Spotting a crowd blocking one specific doorway, you thought this must be it.

With no time to scatter, you came up to the person with visible caps lock "crew" letters printed on.

"Sorry, is this Scream set?" Which provided you with the gentleman's answer, "Yeah, and you are?"

"My girlfriends on the set, got a call there was some accident." As you pushed through with no remorse, the man was calling for you to slow it down from behind.

Ignoring him completely, you searched around the room jammed with presumed staff and equipment. Strolling across where you spotted the medics, you felt your uneasiness getting prominent.

"Is Ortega here? Is she-" your eyes caught her sitting on the chair with her leg wrapped in a cast. A silent wave of relief went through you.

The more you stood there, the more you realized the atmosphere wasn't blue at all. The only person in worries was the director holding a tense, loud conversation over the phone. Likely about who to recast instead.

Jenna seemed unbothered. So far.

Your name being yelled unfroze you from the spot. Her arms already extended and a surprised look on her face called you over.

Drowning in her hug, you assumed it was painfully obvious to everyone around how emotional it was. All the troubles left forgotten.

"How did you even know? I was about to call you to tell you." She said as you kneeled to her level.

"Jenna, for the love of god, i thought you died on the set how dramatic the call was. I was speeding down to the set." You admitted, slightly out of breath. Finding the difference between her relaxed self and your panicked one amusing to the point it made you pissed.

"Really? I have no idea who called, probably someone from the cast in a hurry? I'm sorry, did you panic that bad?" She said laughing through the whole sentence.

"Let's just get you home. Don't expect any special treatment since i see you're doing amazing."

Jenna had to rely on crutches for the time being. And you, partially.

Being a quiet night, no chores left unfinished and most importantly your girlfriend being taken care of. For a week straight, you counted, it's a deserved rest.

She insisted on staying in and far from human contact 'till she gets better. You, on the other hand, tried to get her moving but it was effortless.

"Do you have any idea how nice it is to be locked up in our apartment, with your best, most beautiful girlfriend ever?" Your lover poured out while stretching on the couch. Lazily scrolling through movies with no worries in mind.

"Yeah, keep talking about yourself like that," as you decided on what snacks to bring to the couch.

" I wasn't though? I'm talking about youuuu. Come here already."

"What're we watching?" You asked throwing the bags on the couch. Catching a sight of her unkept hair, shirt too big, eyebags from the last night's movie marathon, you let your eyes linger on her. Sure, make up is nice, fancy outfits pretty but this is ahead of it.

"Sounds good?" She asked, proudly catching you staring.

"Sure." Not sure of what you agreed to, you continued, "When's the last time you posted anything since the injury?"

She reflected, "I don't know, a long time?"

"Your team texted me to convince you to post something. Give an update at least. You got fans outside this four walls, you know?" You tried to reason with her while unlocking your own phone.

Holding up her hands to rub her face in irritated manner, she replied "I know, i just hoped to get some rest."

With your camera prepared, you said softly, "Hey Jenna." Knowing that will make her turn around, you kept going.

"I love you."

The second she smiled and looked over like it was her last time she will see you, you took the photo as planned.

"Here, give them an update, c'mon. They are surviving on crumbs." You chimed, plopping down to her side. Notification going off letting her know the photo is sent made her whine.

"Anything for you."

notes: god i wish

[sisterdivinium]

You know, for a show with so many female characters that so many of us love given how they all get time in the spotlight one way or another and they fill that time up rather wonderfully since they are deeper and more developed than what we're used to seeing in general media, it is peculiar (to say the least) to see so few "alternative" ships to the main one.

I'm not saying the canon ship doesn't deserve its attention -- I'm wondering instead why the canon ship and it alone seem to guide the WN fans who just so happen to enjoy writing/reading fic or fanart or whatever.

You'd think all these cool women would inspire more ships or combinations thereof, but those of us who aren't invested in avatrice just... Float along, around one another, ignored (and, yes, mostly undisturbed too; being unpopular does have its advantages and that includes a lot less weirdos leaving you strange or awkward messages -- it does not, however, shield us from people flooding our goddamn tags on AO3 with fic that has nothing to do with our little ships and I do wish such negligence of the pairing itself meant we didn't have to deal with this spam...)

I am also not saying that fandom activity should be based solely on shipping (and recently someone on Reddit was rather confused by the fact that a lot of it is, which is quite an interesting topic to discuss in itself -- after all, there is more to fan creativity than shippy fic... Or there used to be), merely that, here, it appears that a canon relationship can outshine interest in the other, non-canon ones. It's already there and it was doubtless well-done by the show, so it's natural that it should claim people's attention, sure. It's just that being canon was never the parameter for whether people were interested in these or those two (or more) characters maybe being involved and trying to explore what that could mean through fanwork.

There has always been a complaint haunting fandom spaces concerning the minuscule amounts of f/f fic, art, discussion, w/e based on how few (interesting or sympathetic or relatable) female characters there are in media at large. So what I'm curious about is why fan creations made around WN -- a show that finally gives us a whole cast of female characters that are what we have been craving for decades -- don't also reflect its diversity.

There are alternative ships (I'm here, all happy in my tiny Doctor Superion bubble, and I know there are Camila/Lilith, Ava/Lilith, Mary/Shannon, Mary/Lilith shippers out there, so a warm hello to you if you're reading this), but go on AO3 and compare the numbers of things tagged with these proper pairings to the grand total of WN stories. Better (or worse) still, do so with the "otp: true" trick or simply by excluding avatrice from the search to see how many are left.

It's... A considerable difference. And a mystery, at least to me.

[bytaylorswift]

if it’s true that some of the s&b cast is being put forward for emmy consideration (not nominated yet but submitted for nomination) then i whole heartedly believe that the supporting actor award belongs to kit young. the layers that he brought to jesper this season honestly blew me away. the way his backstory was done, how he showed us jesper falling in love with wylan, and don’t get me started on the jesper + inej deleted scene. kit young owned the screen every time he was on it and he deserves to be an emmy award winning actor.

[certifiablyinsanez]

In the Job minisode, the conversation at the end between Aziraphale and Crowley has so much more depth than people are giving it credit for. Let’s take it from the top.

Aziraphale is sitting by the edge of the ocean. We can only imagine how long he’s been sitting there and what he’s feeling. Because from everything we can tell that Aziraphale feels extremely deeply. His expressions betray that. Imagine how he must’ve been feeling in that moment, that any minute he’s going to Fall. They don’t know what it’s like. Crowley does but he would never dare ask. He’s probably imagining all kinds of horrors that will happen to him, not just in the Fall but what would come after. He doesn’t have it in him to be an agent of Hell. He can’t possible assume that he could be like Crowley, just “evil” enough to avoid suspicion because he’s not like Crowley. He didn’t fall with the others. He would be a target. Imagine if you were the new kid at an eternal school of manipulators, cruel people, and even killers? He is trying to force himself to the conclusion that this is his fate, grappling that any second it’ll happen. You’ve ever anticipated something horrible about to happen? That feeling is unbearable.

So when Crowley saunters over, probably to check on Aziraphale, Azi thinks that it’s time. What breaks my heart is that beneath all the anguish, there’s a hint of relief to see that it’s Crowley who has come to take him and not some hellish monster. When he says it’s time to be taken to Hell, he is being extremely brave because Aziraphale is perhaps braver than anyone else in the series. The way he breaks down that he is now “a demon”, “a fallen Angel”, we can’t help but chuckle along with Crowley because many of us are like Crowley. We see how silly that is. That someone who does something like thwart a bet to save the lives of children and lying to your (asshole) coworkers about it is definitely something that would not constitute damnation. But is it as ridiculous as it sounds? After all, Crowley was just a sweet little star maker who loved her art and had a pension for questions. Aziraphale has been around the angels for a long time. Every interaction with them is pins and needles, constantly trying to dance around the subjects and the (drum roll) questions. It’s agonizing to watch because what is clearly toxic and abusive to us (and Crowley) is just “the way things are” for Azi. These pricks would absolutely cast Aziraphale out for this. I think Crowley remembers this because he quickly stops joking about his curly white hair and robes.

This part is a mirror to episode 6. Aziraphale is offering to go to Hell. Crowley could’ve been selfish. He could’ve been demon-y and accepted. He could’ve seen this as an opportunity to be closer to Azi, to bring him closer to his fold. Surely they could more easily be together on the same side right? It certainly removes a lot of the danger associated with their relationship. Not once does any of that cross Crowley’s mind. He is very firm in denying Aziraphale the passage. He says that he “wouldn’t like it”, but in that phrase was also, “you don’t deserve it”. Crowley would never have brought him to Hell.

Which is why it’s so much more painful when Aziraphale offers him something else. Not only does Crowley refuse *again (something that is not normal in their relationship since it’s usually Azi doing the refusing), this time it’s Crowley who won’t go with Aziraphale. It hurts because Crowley considered Aziraphale in 2,500 BC. Knew he “wouldn’t like it”, but that it was not a place that he belonged, and somewhere he would never in a million years take him because Crowley knows it is a compromise of Azi’s entire identity and soul. And because they don’t communicate and say what they actually mean, it appears to Crowley that Aziraphale has not given him the same courtesy and consideration when he is offered to become an angel again. That, coupled with the whole “of course you said no to Hell *YOU’RE the bad guys” and the misunderstood “nothing lasts forever”, Crowley is left with the conclusion that he just doesn’t mean as much to Aziraphale as he had hoped.

[girlwithamissingpearl]

Does sharing negative reviews about the movie and Sam from reputable film critics make me a Sam hater? I plan to see the movie some day, I don’t expect much from it, but I like corny movies sometimes so who knows. But honestly, the clips I’ve seen from Sam in this movie make me cringe… for him. I wish he was better, because I like him as Jamie, especially in earlier seasons, but in everything else he’s just 😬.

I’m not sure where you think I have a problem with any criticism or discussion of anyone’s performance let alone SH’s. Love Again may not have been his best performance but he was part of a cast. As a whole I enjoyed the movie and left the theatre happy. Others who saw the movie may have seen things differently. But in all honesty how can anyone rate it 1 star? CD’s performance and soundtrack deserve more consideration in my opinion. Again CD’s music may not be your thing but CD definitely did CD. What were people expecting? My issue has always been the corner of this fandom that predicted, trolled and revelled in what they perceived was a huge failure for SH. Then for fun they go after his fans. I’ve never seen such self congratulatory, bullseye emoji posting people who to me not only wish for but seem to celebrate every negative and mean spirited SH related mention. And again please anyone explain to me why a person would spend hours and hours trolling an Outlander/SH fandom if you clearly hate SH? By the way anyone who wants to discuss SH as JF past and in the soon to be released season 7 is always welcome. I hope you will come back with your take on the first episodes .

[pico-digital-studios]

Mini IAB! update for the Poppy Playtime fans

Hey, people. Hope you're having a lovely day/night so far, and if you're not, I simply wish you the best.

Now, I've been seeing the very positive reception this post for my takes on the Smiling Critters for Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond! got over the past few days, and I'm really happy for that new support. You should go check out the original artist (whose work was not made solely FOR the project, of course), as they did a wonderful job integrating the crew into Mobians.

Of course, the Smiling Critters are going to be the ONLY thing representing the game for all of IAB!, and I don't want that to detract away from the main focal points of my project. That means none of the other Poppy Playtime characters (e.g., Huggy Wuggy or Mommy Long-Legs) are going to show up in any shape or form; only alluded to on rare occasions.

While you're browsing this, I'd like you guys to come along and check out IAB! more as a project. It's my massive love letter to all corners of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise (both official and fanmade), and contains a whole array of colourful characters and storylines, just like its major inspiration, the Spider-Man: Spider-Verse trilogy. And to think one idea from a friend evolved into a diet Spider-Verse, eh? 😅

You guys definitely deserve to stick around my profile to see what there is to offer. I've done backstories for a lot of the cast thus far (with supporting characters and villains as my next focus), as well as some general lore tidbits and full-on scripting posts if any of those peak your interest. I know I can't force you to look at it, but please do take it into consideration. I do want the other posts to gain a similar level of traction as the Smiling Buddies post.

(Plus, I've got the game counterparts of Sonic and Shadow in all their glory, if that interests you too!)

Well, that's all for this update. Catch you in the next one!

[morkofday]

ten bl boys i want carnally to put in my pocket like tamagotchi

thanks for tagging me krish @i-got-the-feels ♥ i took the liberty to make this a softer version of the original ^^ these are in no particular order!

-

I. Mork (Jimmy Jitaraphol) Last Twilight

after all this pain, i just want him to be happy. have him smiling like this, living comfortably. let him have an easy life with a lot of good days and laughter. let him have love. i care for him so much that this is all i want for him ♥

II. Ten (Off Jumpol) Cooking Crush

very my type of character. sweet and kind but has his own troubles. needs way more loving than he has received. i melted when prem was being considerate about ten's aversion to touch and never questioned him, just tried to make him comfortable, and how ten was so baffled to be treated like that. he deserves that type of love so much.

III. Cher (Book Kasidet) A Boss and a Babe

my boba-eyed baby! i adore him so much. cher was such a fun character and i felt very deeply for him. a boy filled with only happiness on the outside with a horrible sadness inside. i want to pinch his cheekies and ruffle his hair and tell him he's doing amazing ♥

IV. Zo (Dunk Natachai) Hidden Agenda

unlike the majority (i think?), i very much enjoyed hidden agenda. and zo was one of those characters that became very important to me this year. he's very familiar to me somehow and watching him change and grow gave me a lot of comfort. he was so brave!

V. Ai Di (Chiang Tien) Kiseki: Dear to Me

the casting choice here is so interesting but works beautifully. ai di is tiny but extremely spicy, and i love him for it. a hissy kitten truly, and you approach him with your own risk. most likely, he will bite you. he's the highlight of this whole show.

VI. Li Ming (Fourth Nattawat) Moonlight Chicken

i was reading some of my old tag games and there i mentioned how i could relate to li ming's struggles in a world run by adults. that one still stands and maybe that's why he is so dear to me. a very brave boy i hope knows all his efforts mean a lot ♥ it takes a lot to be so kind in this world.

VII. Nuengdiao (Phuwin Tangsakyuen) Never Let Me Go / Our Skyy 2

he's so, so precious. i will fight you if you think otherwise. i am serious. this boy deserves all the love he finally got for himself. he deserves to be carefree and happy after all the trauma. let him have a happy life with his beloved, far from death and suffering ♥

VIII. Talay (Sea Tawinan) Vice Versa / Our Skyy 2

it's huge when someone who doesn't believe in love turns into someone who is the epitome of love. that's what happened to talay who, despite this change, is still learning how to believe in love and see it as something permanent in his life. he's doing so well tho. i adore him ♥ also, he will make one amazing parent one day!

IX. Tinn (Gemini Norawit) My School President / Our Skyy 2

absolute loser of a boy, but i love him for it. there's no one more perfect out there. he has a heart of gold and so much hope in him. he believes only in love and gun. it's amazing how he was so lonely and despite it, was so ready to put all his faith in one boy and their future together.

X. Wai (Jimmy Jitaraphol) Bad Buddy / Our Skyy 2

another absolute loser. a little asshole kitten. bastard. douchebag. am using these words as i would use endearments. i love him so much. that will never change thanks for asking. i'm in this wai-loving bullshit for life.

tagging: @stormyoceans @dimpledpran @celestial-sapphicss @jimmysea @leonpob @daymork @smileytharn if any of you is interested! or if you've done this already, this is your sign to send that list to me ^^

[rubykgrant]

Finally finished touching my picture of a re-design for one of my super hero characters! On paper, I used white paint to blend the colors of the markers, and it looked very vibrant... until I scanned it, and the colors were muted. It took a while to fix it in MS Paint, but it is done!

This is one of the character I've had since 8th grade, and has thusly gone through SEVERAL changes; initially I had a character with wind powers and feathered wings as their whole theme. First it was a crow, but then I decided to go with golden eagle feathers. The character evolved as well, and eventually, I thought it was just too type-cast-y to have a Native American character with nature/animals powers... but I didn't want him to NOT be Native American anymore, that wasn't what needed to change. I shuffled around powers between other characters, and finally had something better! Now with energy abilities that projects as physical forms of colorful light, the character became Vivid! The light can change into shapes that work as force-fields for defense, stairs for climbing up high, or simply as energy blasts for attacking (I gave the wings/wind powers to a different character, still golden feathers, but with more of an "angelic" theme for the whole look)

Who the character is, just as himself, is mostly the same, because I love this kid; Rodney is an easy-going friendly guy, a little bit socially awkward, but with an open and kind attitude that makes him easy to relax around. He's sensitive and considerate, and really smart as well. He previously went to a school for gifted kids, but the atmosphere there was too competitive and harsh. He finally convinced his family to let him go to a regular school with the friends he has (a handful of them become super heroes as well), and it is a relief to chill academically, and grow more into who he is. Sometimes Rodney worries too much about being annoying, and tries too hard to be helpful or avoid confrontation by keeping his comments to himself... his friends help reassure him- he doesn't need to be perfect, he deserves to speak-up, and they aren't going to stop liking him over disagreements or because he's "weird". They're ALL weird!

Rodney has the chance to get into different types of art, and he appreciates many things that are surreal, both whimsical and horror. While he was good at memorizing facts for school, he's also incredibly creative, able to figure out complicated puzzles and recognize patterns other people don't notice (he's got a whole galaxy-brain mandala-universe going on in there). In his every-day life, he wears his hair down, but pulls it back for the hero look (during formal occasions, he braids it). Some elements from his super hero outfit comes from different sci-fi sources, but I wanted to keep it simple and easy. I like to imagine the kids made their first outfits from clothes they had, and up-graded to to proper hero clothing later, but it still isn't too complicated. The undershirt and leggings are bright colors- orange/yellow, teal/green, blue/aqua, purple/pink. He has a large short-sleeved shirt with a high collar (but it's loose, not tight around his neck). The shirt is dark, but not quite true-black, and specifically doesn't have too many details with the wrinkles or creases (like an optical illusion, it seems almost like a solid object even where it over-laps). He has matching boots as well. He also has a visor that works as his mask to hide his secret identity (and it's a bit inspired by Garnet's cool look~). Rodney's a bit of a string-bean, but he's not "scrawny", and he has soft shapes to his features

[alwida10]

have you seen the new loki spoilers? I don't know if you want to be spoiled (let me know and I'll link you) but according to them they're doubling down on everything we disliked in season 1. More Sylvie, more Larry pining, more romance. Sighs

I don’t think I have seen the spoilers, but I would love a link! It’s very considerate of you asking for consent before sending the link. Thank you.

I’m including a cut since I’ll mention some older spoilers for season 2 underneath.

That said, after I finally made myself watch the trailer I got exactly the same feeling. For me it looked very much like this season is focused on Sylvie’s character arc, which by itself isn’t a bad thing. (I just wished they would leave Loki out of it, so I could skip it without second thought.) Despite me not being interested in Sylvie, from a story-telling perspective I agree that she deserves more screen time to get a fulfilling character arc. I just dislike the message that anyone, be it women or men, would need a relationship to become better or whole. Amatonormativity is fucked up, especially for a character so many othered people identify with because he doesn’t adhere to the traditional Christian values. Values that teach you aren’t successful if you don’t have a job, a house a wife and children. Loki should be chaotic. Hell, Sylvie should be chaotic. Arguing they both need anyone to be complete is a disservice for all those who struggle to keep a deeper relationship for whatever reasons. That doesn’t make one lesser.

I think one of the earliest spoilers I heard were about an older version of Sylvie who allegedly led the TVA, implying she went dark side. This trope is often used to give a younger hero (or in this case variant) the chance to “do better”. In the trailer, Loki and Sylvie cast this massive green wave of magic while holding hands. This is most likely about them being strong together and incapable alone. (subtitle, isn’t it?) so, yeah, I expect this season to hammer down the message that their relationship is the only thing that could save the multiverse, while the lack of it would make them both die or become irredeemable villains with a sledgehammer.

Sadly, I can both see and understand all that and still am unable to let go of my Loki-obsession for good. Perhaps I should write a fan letter to Dante, proposing this concept for another circle of hell. Given the fact the divine comedy is basically a self-insert fanfic where he imagines meeting all the people who admires I think it should meet the premises. 😩

Ok, this got long for a simple “yes please”. 🙈 sorry!! So, yes please! Give me all the discouraging spoilers! Kill my hope! I beg you!! 😭

[littlealeta]

Why Catherine Needed Rin

I know a lot of people criticize Full Body for things like its transphobia and the inclusion of Rin. While I do agree that Rin could've been written better in terms of the story, I am not at all mad at the inclusion of Rin and her different personality at all. In a game where everything and everyone is constantly traumatizing and treating the main character like he's the devil, it's nice to have a character that sees past his flaws and anxiety for the caring person he truly is. And that at the end of the day, despite his mistakes, he's just a sad, anxious, traumatized dude who needs a hug and a real friend. Their relationship is honestly really sweet, which made me feel really disappointed that Atlus couldn't include her for the whole Classic route. I mean, imagine Rin comforting Vincent after his breakup and getting beaten by Catherine. She could've been the one to save him from the beating!

Rin is truly the breath of fresh air the game needed. She's such a pure-hearted character that she becomes the only person who Vincent truly feels happy around. We don't see him stutter, yell at, or overall feel uncomfortable around Rin. She is the only person who never yells at or criticizes Vincent. She lets him be himself, even if it may not fit with what other people expect for someone of his gender and age. Vincent does lash out once but it was very minor, he had a lot on his mind, and he apologized afterward.

Rin, in my opinion, made Catherine a slightly better experience. One of the reasons I didn't like Catherine was because everyone in the game is kinda shitty and I especially didn't like all the pressure everyone put on the main character, who was going through a tough time and like me, has trouble making decisions and is possibly autistic.

Everyone else is just horribly written because of how surface-level they feel. They all are selfish and/or whiny jackasses with no rhyme or reason, no self-awareness, and no character development. Vincent is definitely the most complex character in the cast because while he is a selfish, whiny jackass, he has his reasons (his struggle with his toxic relationships and being forced upon while drunk) and he grows as a person. And he's often aware and guilty of how selfish he's being. They try to develop Orlando, but was also implied to already have been a jackass in the past and he brought the emotional damage onto himself by hurting his lover with his bad decision-making, so no sympathy for him there. Also, please be more considerate of your best friend who is going through an extremely horrible life crisis. Erica is definitely bitter and cynical because of the treatment she gets from her friends, but she's also very self-righteous herself and likes to force her own biased morals and feelings onto other people. It also doesn't make sense at all why she would not tell Toby about her gender when the game now takes place in 2019 where there should be less stigma against trans people. Toby is just... a stupid selfish whiny brat. Like dude, you're close to my age and yes I can be whiny and selfish, but not to that extent. Grow up, man. Katherine is just so stupid to me. I know she's trying to be the logical one, but she's just so stupid in her determination to get her lover who she's clearly unhappy with to marry and have a family with her, not understanding that logically, Vincent is not fit for serious relationships let alone with her and she makes no attempts at fixing their relationship. She tends to be unnecessarily nitpicky and bossy toward Vincent even for little things like not getting out of bed while she's SITTING ON HIM. And the Boss is just... a classic power hungry self-righteous dictator, just on a fantasy level. He's the villain so whatever, I guess.

Vincent did not deserve either atherine in the original game because neither were good to him. I theorize that maybe the loved ones he has are in some way responsible for the mess he became. Because I can't imagine having such a toxic community like that around and being acting like my normal nice self to them. I would act a lot worse than Vincent ever has (cheating aside). I think he's way too forgiving how he still keeps these fake ass "friends" around that constantly tells him how much he sucks because he can't make decisions and runs away from conflict and act like Katherine is an angel who Vincent should stick with despite their obvious communication issues. Yes, Vincent has flaws, but I would not want to be around someone who's constantly treating me like I'm the worst person ever and pressuring me to make decisions faster.

If you think Vincent is an evil person or that he deserves everything he gets, shut up and have these pictures of Rin and Vincent being sweet together.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I’m genuinely shocked that Emma Stone won for Best Actress.

For political diversity reasons and the fact that she won Best Actor for drama at the Golden Globes – the best pointer for Oscar glory – I thought Lily Gladstone had this sewn up.

All other winners were as predicted and for the reasons I posted afew weeks ago. 

************

I was 70/30 on Emma/Lily winning. I wanted Lily to win but I was sure Emma was going to take it. Weird and quirky will usually win out.

I didn’t think Emma deserved Best Actress for La La Land. (2015 was poor year for film for me because most of those films weren’t very remarkable. Or memorable.) But Best Actress for Poor Things is very well deserved so I’m happy for her. Pretty sure she didn’t expect it, though. Emma looked truly shocked to win, so I think she was expecting Lily to take it.

My Monday armchair quarterback opinion is that I think it was the marketing campaign that did Lily in. Flowers of the Killer Moon had been promoted as Leo and De Niro’s movie, with Lily as a supporting actress/character - which, if you look at the story in the film and the perspective of the story, makes sense. This was a Leo/Bob vehicle and a story of the white man, and they really lucked out with the spectacular casting of Lily for Mollie. If all of that had been reversed - if the story was told predominantly in Mollie’s perspective as a Lily vehicle, she would’ve walked away with the Oscar last night. 

But they didn’t start promoting or marketing or “for your consideration”-ing Lily until after all the reviews came in and everyone was already talking about Lily’s performance. And it’s also because of the strikes - Killers couldn’t be promoted because of the ongoing strikes, so of course the studio is going to lean more heavily on Leo and De Niro, because people know them. They’re bankable. 

The other thing to keep in mind (this isn’t to you, anon, but to others who may be reading) is how the Academy votes. The specific guilds individually vote on who the Oscar nominees are - actors decide the acting nominees, sound decides the sound nominees, editors decide editing nominees, etc. (the best picture/documentary/animated/shorts categories are different) - but the entire Academy at large votes on who wins. So the whole Academy is voting for Best Actress, the whole Academy is voting for Best Sound Design, etc. And usually when the whole Academy votes, weird and quirky usually wins.

It’s why I suspect the Screen Actors Guild awards are the most meaningful for the actors - because it’s peer-to-peer recognition. Golden Globes is who schmoozes the best (or it used to be, before the cultural reckoning it had a few years ago) and the Academy is often who arts the best (or who’s toiled the longest and needs career validation the best). But the Screen Actors Guild, and all the guild awards, is who’s the best at our craft. So I hope Lily isn’t too upset - she got that peer-to-peer recognition - and I hope she gets more roles. It looks like it; she has a new streaming series coming soon and it looks phenomenal.

Well, if you made it this far, a few more observations from Oscar Night:

I loved Ryan Gosling and the Kens. I love it when the Oscars get cheesy and nostalgic like that.

The John Cena bit was awkward.

Loved seeing previous winners come back to recognize the nominees but the Academy spoiled themselves. I knew how the acting categories were going to be presented beforehand and I knew they were keeping the tributes a secret for the broadcast, but seeing people on the red carpet and in the audience that we don’t usually see at these events (Nicholas Cage, Ben Kingsley, and Charlize Theron for example and for me, specifically) gave the plot away.

I know it’s tired and overdone, but I love the Jimmy Kimmel/Matt Damon fight. I wish they’d have done something in the broadcast. I honestly thought the critic Jimmy was reading at the end was going to be the Matt Damon bit and for the writing categories, I thought they were going to announce Matt and Ben Affleck as the presenters (since they won their first Oscars for writing Good Will Hunting)...ah, oh well.

The red carpet was absolutely lackluster and very disappointing.

Meghan didn’t show up as Misan’s plus one and Misan didn’t win his category. I mean, the guy was up against Wes Anderson. It’s a no-brainer.

The dancing during the In Memorium segment was...A Choice.

I loved the 7pm start time. More, please!, shouted everyone on the East Coast.

I really can’t wait to see what Oscar bait movie Bradley Cooper does next, and what movie he does that the Academy finally decides “let’s put him out of his misery.” Will it be for a film worthy of the recognition or will it be a lifetime achievement award for a meh performance/film? 

I’ve got my bets on lifetime achievement.

[depressed-teacup-inc]

Oh god another Lila episode

Hi yes, before you say it I’m aware protection released yesterday, I was taking a mental health day for myself so I’m late but we’re doing this now ok? Let’s go!

So as the title says, this is another Lila episode! Which usually means that people are dumbed down to believe stupid things Lila says and everyone is against marinette being obsessive and that’s depicted as bad! While there is no dumbing down this episode, LILA MAKES SOME ACTUALLY GOOD POINTS THIS EPISODE THAT ARE SWEPT ASIDE BECAUSE “OHhH shES tHe VillaiN”

So Kagami confides with Lila in how marinette and Adrien being in a relationship, despite her being happy for them, hurts her a lot and that she’s just trying to help her friends be happy right?

So Lila starts saying how selfless and kind Kagami is for tolerating this shit and helping marinette get Adrien (which she’s right to say) and says how frankly, the fact marinette always has people help her with her love life issues is kinda weird, because she never seems to help others or acknowledge other people’s emotions or effort, AND SHES FUCKING RIGHT!!!

Like this is a serious problem in the show!!! Every single character except for marinette doesn’t have anything going for them anymore except helping marinette and Adrien get together! When is the last time we saw kitty section just play for the sake of playing, or marinette discussing Marc and Nath’s work, or hell! When is the last time we saw Adrien, Marinette’s love interest have anything going this season except for loving marinette?!

This show has a whole cast of different characters that they can easily grow and make new and interesting plots with, with episodes that rather then revolve around marinette confessing, can revolving around LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE!!! And instead, everyone in this show has been just dumbed down to a couple signature traits, and constantly praising marinette and helping her with her stupid confession!

And when they’re no longer of use to Marinette? THEY WRITE THEM OUT OF THE SHOW (THEYRE LITERALLY WRITING LUKA OUT OF THE SHOW, WHO LET NINO PLAY THE FUCKING GUITAR?!)

And sure, Lila lies and definitely exaggerates and calls marinette “toxic” and shit which is very much “I have my own motive I want her to suffer” and I will acknowledge that! Lila isn’t a saint, and she never was!

But she’s not fully wrong. Marinette again, runs away from her friends trying to help her and when the plan doesn’t work cry about how “she doesn’t have the magic” or what not, instead of getting her shit together and try to consider and evaluate her feelings (again she immediately went back to Adrien after the thing with Chat Noir) and be considerate of her friends who are really trying to help her!

But again, whenever there’s a problem in the writing of the show (the plot being purely “marinette deserves everything and we should always help her get what she wants”) the show will make the villains say it, with a couple of mean words thrown in to argue that anyone who thinks this way is manipulative or wrong

Like hell, the way they “counteracted” Lila’s points? About the fact that people are constantly in service of marinette and don’t ever get the same kindness or support from marinette? Was just saying “well Marinette is the best and Lila is just lying so ha”

WHAT SORT OF ARGUMENT IS THAT?!

“Hey why is everyone constantly in service of marinette? Don’t you think the confess to Adrien plot is overdone? Don’t you think characters deserve more depth then being Marinette’s lackeys and perhaps even have marinette help them with their life?”

“Well it’s because marinette is the best and we love her so she’s fine”

Anyways that was a stupid episode, Lila is not necessarily wrong, and Gabriel not letting Adrien be with marinette is still weird? Like the show is trying to say that Gabriel’s only reason to not approving is blackmail from Kagami’s mom? Bitch if they try to redeem him