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artzychic27 · 1 year

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There are AUs where Marc is Marinette's cousin, right? What if that was canonical? In my country there is the concept of the perfect cousin and privileged by relatives and they often compare anyone who steps out of the norm to this cousin…. I imagine them almost as siblings in childhood, but with Marinette always getting more attention. And when they grow up, she becomes manipulative with him, it has happened that the whole family fights with Marc because of her. And that's why he always helps her with her plans… and I imagine the ones who would interfere would be Nath, Zoe and Felix (the first two for obvious reasons and Felix as "ok, I'm a shitty cousin, but this is crossing the line").

Since he was born, Marc has always been overlooked by his cousin

She was always so talkative, sociable, making people laugh and smile, and he just read in silence

Oh, never mind that he gets 100% on a test, because Marinette got 101% after she explained her reasoning behind the answer she gave. La-dee-dah!

Because she’s the “perfect cousin” out of the two, Marinette is always getting whatever the fuck her spoiled little heart wants- A new expensive sewing machine, fancy fabrics, magazines from high end fashion brands, and some of that stuff even comes from Marc’s own moms

Alyssa and Penny don’t outright say Marc should be like Marinette, but they’re more like, “Sweetie, why don’t you spend some time with Marinette?” And that’s code for, “Why can’t you be perfect like your cousin?!”

Sabine and Tom, though? They will take the opportunity to brag about Marinette’s accomplishments for twenty minutes then finally remember Marc’s in the room and ask his moms what he’s done lately

They have no idea about the awards he’s received in school for his stories, and he doesn’t mind keeping it that way. All of his certificates are just sitting in a folder in his hoodie drawer

It’s due to his treatment, that Marc’s wardrobe is toned down a bit. And by that, I mean he looks like his concept art-self

He secretly enters writing contests, and has been doing so and winning since he was ten. He’s earned a lot of money and keeps it saved up because if he tells anyone in the family about it, they’re definitely gonna use it to spoil Marinette. The only person he can really trust in Kiran, and occasionally treats him to ice cream

Marinette wants nothing to do with him. She always says she asks Marc to hang out with her, but he keeps declining. I’m reality, she doesn’t want a “Total weirdo” anywhere near her friends. And she lets him know it, too, but he couldn’t care less. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near a bunch of people who are probably psychos like her

He’s seen the way she acts around boys she likes, sniffing their hair, taking pictures of them, even following one guy home. It hasn’t escalated past that, but at least he’s not a part of it

However, his family doesn’t notice that about “perfect little Marinette”. He gets reprimanded for not being sociable like her and laughed off for having crushes because who would ever date someone like him?

Then he gets sent to therapy for his “issues” as Marinette so helpfully pointed out. There, he lays in to her that she can’t get a single question in

Marc: Oh! And then that bitch cut off my bangs while I was sleeping, and I got in trouble for playing with scissors! I mean- Oh, is our session over? Thanks again, Lisa. You are just wonderful for letting me vent. See you next Wednesday. *Leaves the room*

Lisa: … Damn, that boy’s cousin sucks.

In DuPont, everyone knows they’re cousins thanks to Marinette just so more people can compare Marc to his “perfect cousin”

Marinette has instant popularity she bought with custom clothing, her high-end connections, and Marc has his writing under the stairs while Lila quietly reads… Only for that to be interrupted when Marinette drags him out and into the art classroom one day where a few of her friends are gathered

They’re a little disturbed by her “psycho burnout cousin” being in the same room as them. Apparently, Marinette started a few rumors about Marc taking unprescribed drugs along with the ones for his “mental problems” just to make herself look better by comparison

Marc: … Well, that explains why moms keep searching my room for something.

Ignoring that, Marinette let’s him in on why he brought him in here- To help her with her plan to get Adrien to be her boyfriend by making a comic with Nathaniel that will map out the perfect date between them, which will eventually lead to marriage, having three perfect children, a hamster, and then dying together in a couples coffin

Marc: No.

Akuma Class: What?!/She’s your cousin!/You’ve gotta help her!/Don’t you want her to be happy?!

Marc: I am not obligated to help her, I know none of you, nor do I know this boy she is suddenly so infatuated with. So, pardon me if I sound rude, but leave me the fuck alone. All of you. I know how her fan club get when she is told no.

For context, Marinette’s “friends” will do anything to make her happy. Even bully those who are the slightest bit mean to her or show an interest in Adrien. Like Lila

Lila was the new girl who had no idea what she’d be getting herself into. After her Akumatization into Volpina when Ladybug called her a skeeze in front of Adrien, she was made an outcast by Marinette and eventually adopted by Marc

Now she swears to protect him with her life. On with the rest of the story!

The next day, Marc has his books slapped out of his hand, his glasses snatched, and he gets tripped on his way to class. All by some members of Marinette’s sychophant club

Some jocks who always leave stuff for Marinette on Valentines Day corner him in the locker room, but before they can do anything, some redhead walks in and tells them Marinette needs help with her books, and they’re gone in two seconds

Marc almost thanks the guy until he recognizes him as Nathaniel. Along with him is Lila. Before he can storm off, Lila stops him and asks Marc to hear him out

Nathaniel: Uh… Thanks.

Marc: For what?

Nathaniel: … *Lila nudges him* … For getting me out of that. I didn’t even want to make the stupid comic, but Marinette’s family bakery is more popular than my mom’s diner. She threatened to get her fan club to leave bad reviews and get her shut down if I didn’t help…

Marc: … You, uh… You guys wanna hang out… Away from here?

They skip school and not to their surprise, no one notices except for Nathaniel’s mom, Mme. Mendeleiev, and to Marc’s surprise, his classmates

They sort of stay out of the loop when it comes to Marinette, and the reason they don’t talk to him is because they didn’t want to make him uncomfortable since he always seems to close off when someone attempts to make conversation

Because Nathaniel hangs out with Marc and Lila, this turns him into more of an outcast. Oh, but don’t worry, because Chloé owes Marc a favor for something she won’t reveal, she gets her dad to leave a glowing review for Aya’s diner and boosts sales

Then there’s that whole shitstorm on the anniversary of Adrien’s mom’s disappearance. Marc (Who was dragged along), Nathaniel, Lila, and the surprising addition of Luka actually overhear Marinette’s totally insensitive and inappropriate confession to Adrien on what is supoosed to be a day of mourning, and Max sends the messages off before they can stop him

Then “Adrien” arrives. When it seems like he’s about to accept Marinette’s feelings… He tears into her, calling her all sorts of names

Lila just had to record it all for whenever she needs something to make her smile or laugh. But, when another Adrien arrives, it turns out “Adrien” is actually Félix, Adrien’s cousin

Marc: Which one do you guys think is the asshole cousin?

Nathaniel: Well, I like Félix, and Adrien seems too nice.

Lila: … Let’s keep Félix.

Luka: Yeah.

After some sychophant Akumas try and kill Félix to defend Marinette’s honor and after Ladybug puts on a show of being this angelic savior while Chat Noir is just her sidekick who does all the work, the Akumas are eventually defeated

Marc catches up with Félix and… Hugs him

Marc: You are truly the greatest human being on this godawful planet!

Félix: Uh… Thank you?

Marc: I’m serious! Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to tear into that girl? She needs to be taken down a hundred pegs, and because of you, some people are beginning to doubt her intentions with Adrien. If I weren’t in love with Nathaniel, I’d kiss you

Félix: Please don’t. I’m asexual.

Marc: Noted.

Félix: And I’ve decided to stay in Paris for a while, anyway. Someone’s gotta keep my moron cousin from walking into traffic, and it seems like you’re in need of friends

Marc notices a slight change in the school the following week. For one, a few people, namely his classmates are giving Marinette the stink eye whenever they can

As for the Science Kids, while they were appreciative of the nice clothes they got on their birthdays even though they weren’t in their style, they were never really fond of Marinette

Plus, a ton of bad reviews were left on Aurore’s Akuma Analysis blog and she has the suspicion it was started by Marinette to boost traffic for Alya’s Ladyblog

Reshma had a hard time making friends because Marinette convinced people she was just another Chloé (Someone Marc is considered adopting)

Simon was in the same boat as Marc once. Marinette saw his videos and “asked” him to get some footage of a boy she liked for “personal reasons”

And they never went to anyone about their treatment, because who’d believe them over Marinette? So, they were a class of outcasts no one ever wanted to be associated with

Also, Félix is in their class and gives everyone the latest information on every creepy thing Marinette does when Adrien doesn’t notice. Nathaniel and Lila would switch, but that would be like letting Marinette win

Now onto Reverser

Marc has a particularly bad week. He’s forced to go to dinner with the Dupain-Chengs just so they can brag about Marinette being asked to design an outfit for Clara Nightingale while Marc’s moms embarrassingly admit that Marc made a few friends

Marinette and her gang, for the hundredth time, badger Marc into making the Adrinette comic with Nathaniel, and go so far as to drag him to the art classroom where Nathaniel is, and where Marinette is banned due to her toxicity

Marc and Nathaniel are making a comic, but about Chat Noir, painting him in a positive light due to Ladybug soaking up all the glory. And Félix and Lila so helpfully point out that they should turn Marinette into a villain in their next issue… And they do, but only give copies to their inner circle

When he gets home, he finds a check in his mail as an award for another writing contest he entered and goes to put it with the rest… Which is not there

His moms aren’t home, Kiran would never, and the only other person with a key is… Marinette! And his suspicions are proven right the next day when he sees her in a VERY expensive outfit, and she just gives him this look

Well… He lets her have it

Marc: MARINETTE! Your pigtails are MINE! *Tackles her to the floor*

Lila: Yes! It’s finally happening!

*Marinette puts up a fight, but Marc has so much repressed anger and doesn’t hold back*

Marc: Take a bite of my Doc Martens, bitch! *Roundhosue kicks Marinette*

Marinette: Someone stop him! He’s a fucking psycho!

Félix: Shut up. Fuck you. Eat shit.

Marc: *Denise and Jean pull him away* You want some more, huh?! SCREW YOU! And screw these assholes, too! I HATE YOU, MARINETTE! I FUCKING HATE IT HERE! *Runs away crying*

Nathaniel, Chloé, Lila, and Félix try to call him back, but it’s a little hard to hear over everyone calling Marc a “Demon” and all sorts of cruel names. Cue the Akuma

Okay, so it’s not Reverser. Imagine the Grimm Reaper going through a punk phase, his scythe causes the worst parts of people to be revealed when they’re slashed by it, and he’s got Oni-Chan’s teleportation powers

Nathaniel, Chloé, Félix, and Lila attempt to stop him from killing Marinette and only giving her more to use against him, but he only promises them that “Things will finally change,” then leaves in a dramatic cloud of black smoke

Nathniel: Do we want him not to kill Marinette?

Lila: … Wow, you think of something for so long, and then it happens. I gotta sit down for a bit.

Félix: Get up and help us stop Nath’s boyfriend.

Nathaniel: What?! I- No! What? No!

Chloé: Relax, Kurtzberg. We know you’re crazy about him. You can kiss him after this is over. Now let’s help Chat Noir

Marinette can’t find a place to transform due to Marc always finding her, and while she would love to take a “much needed rest” for protecting Paris and let her “lazy partner” finally have to work, she can’t!

To her shock and anger, four heroes arrive on the scene. Vulpix, Queen Bee, CapriKid, Bomb Shell. Well, she’s not letting them get all the credit and goes after Marc herself. Finally, and excuse to hurt him… But he’s a lot stronger than she expected, and only succeeds in creating a crater in the road when she lands

Bomb Shell: *Watching Akuma!Marc bashing Ladybug’s head against a car window* … Should we help?

CapriKid: Nah, he’s got this.

Bomb Shell: I meant Ladybug.

CapriKid: Oh… Later.

Marc finally slashes Ladybug and all of the worst parts about her are revealed live, not by Alya, but by the heroes using their weapon phones, with the addition of Simon and Aurore. And… It’s a lot

When Marc is cured, Ladybug goes to reprimand him and force him to apologize like she does with all Akuma victims, but Bomb Shell threatens to slice her head off with her shield

Bomb Shell: Remember me, skeeze? *Whispers* I will find you, and I will break you.

The heroes, Aurore, and Simon waste no time posting what they recorded, and many Akuma victims step forward about Ladybug’s treatment. Even local law enforcement is suffering from pay cuts becuase of Ladybug insisting that she and Chat Noir get paid for their work. Chat Noir never knew about the cuts and donates his checks to the officers

Now there’s a active campaign against Ladybug, started by people who have a vendetta against Ladybug due to her poor treatment of Akuma victims after the Miracle Cure. Akuma class students who are most active in the campaign are Chloé and Nathaniel while a few are still on the fence

She claims Akuma victims need to be reprimanded for their actions and not coddled just because they can’t keep their emotions in check

Well, let’s just say therapists aren’t on her side

Everywhere she goes, Ladybug is jeered while Chat Noir finally gets the praise he deserves. They only keep her around and don’t try to steal her Miraculous becuase she reverses all of the damage

But while Ladybug is losing her status, Marinette still remains popular and uses her influence as a designer for celebrities to publicly denounce Ladybug Haters, but that doesn’t deter them

Oh, and Marc was suspended for a week after attacking Marinette, but he doesn’t give two flying fucks. Now he’s got a reputation as a badass who will go off on anyone who looks at him funny, and it keeps the Marinette Worshippers away. Also, his friends and Kiran are the only ones to believe him about the money, so that’s another thing to add to the list on why they hate Marinette

And Cue Zoé! She arrives in the middle of the semester like Lila instead of near the end of the year

Zoé is almost dragged into an Adrinette plan involving them getting stuck in an elevator, but she knows all about Marinette due Chloé’s long rants about her at home, so she keeps her distance and becomes an outcast. The only reason she’s not being actively bullied is because of Chloé threatening to get the mayor involved

Zoé never cared for Marinette, but she comes to hate her, because what person just does that bullshit to their own cousin? When Marinette tries to start another rumor about Marc taking antipsychotic drugs, she comes at her with, “Don’t you think it’s rude to expose people’s medical history?”

Now, you might be thinking. “Where does Adrien stand in all of this?”

Well, you see… Adrien is just so confused. DuPont seemed great at first, and his classmates were all so nice to him, especially Marinette. It’s too bad she’s so shy around him. Now things just keep shifting around. The girls are so secretive around him, Félix insulted Marinette for no reason, the guys don’t hang out with Nathaniel anymore, and Lila… He’s not entirely sure

And Marinette always lets him know who it’s safe to hang out with... But the list keeps growing. For example, Nathaniel has anger issues so it’s best not to talk to him, Lila is a serial liar who was kicked out of her school for causing a girl to commit suicide, Marc is… It’s best to just not to go anywhere near him, Zoé got expelled from her last school for excessive bullying, and to his surprise, Félix is on the list. He gets Félix pulled that stunt on her, but he’s his cousin!

Something’s not right. Well, at least he’s getting praised as a superhero for once, not that he ever asked for it. But, it’s nice to be appreciated by people

Though, he can’t help but wonder why Marc attacked Marinette all of a sudden… So, he asks

Marc: Because my cousin’s a lying, thieving, no good son-of-a-bitch who never should have been conceived and should crawl back into the darkest pits of hell like the Satan spawn she is!

Lila: Hey! Satan happens to have lovely children.

Nathaniel: You would know.

Lila: Oh, you hush.

Marc: Anyway, Marc Anciel, Marinette’s unfortunate cousin. Nice to meet you. Are you a sychophant, bystander, or outcast?

Félix: Trust me. He’s a bystander. You see, my dear sweet innocent cousin sees the chaos happening around him and knows it’s bad, but is afraid to do anything.

Adrien: That’s not true!

Lila: Ladybug called me a skeeze in front of you.

Adrien: … Okay, maybe I am a bystander.

Nathaniel: Not necessarily. Marinette just knows how to keep the worst part of herself hidden so people will like her and go along with whatever she says. At least you’re aware that something’s off. Anyway, we’ll help you.

Marc: Nope! First, he has to help us. And for that to happen, Félix, show him the video.

Adrien: What video?

Félix shows Adrien the confession video Marinette sent him on the anniversary, and it goes as well as you’d expect

So now, Adrien wants nothing to do with Marinette, especially after the outcasts gave him some hard evidence of Marinette being a stalker, and Marc even put him in touch with some of Marinette’s past obsessions so he can know just the kind of person she is

Marinette is NOT happy and confronts Marc in the locker room one day

Marinette: What the hell did you do this time, you freak?!

Marc: What are you gonna do, beat me up? Look how well that went last time, jackass.

Marinette: Because of you, Adrien hates me! Why are you so hell bent on ruining my life?!

Marc: That is so RICH coming from you! The second you were born, your life’s ambition was to make my life hell! Because of you I had no friends growing up, my moms and all your little sycophants think I have a drug problem, I’m in therapy for problems I don’t have!

Marinette: And who the hell would believe some pathetic loner?! Face it! Your only purpose in life is to be compared to me! The physical embodiment of perfection itself! You are nothing! No one would even know your name if I weren’t born! Hell, it’s not like they bother to remember anyway! Even your own moms love me more than you and your sad sack of a brother-

Marc: *Death glare* Leave Kiran’s name out of your fucking mouth. Go on. Try me, bitch.

Marinette: You- you think you can threaten me?! I have all the power over these pathetic losers! Just like you, they are nothing and would have nothing without me! All of them are nothing but pathetic sheep riding my coattails! Why?! Because I gave them those coattails in the first place! I gave them some form of hope to grab onto, a shred of hope that they would get to bask in my glory if they just did every damn thing I said and kept them happy, but once I am out of here, they will have NOTHING! They can’t even do something so simple as to make Adrien MINE!

Marc: You do realize he’s not an object, right?

Marinette: I don’t care! He’s perfection! I’m perfection! I deserve him! He should be modeling my clothes, worshipping and groveling at my feet for my love like every idiot boy in school! And once I marry him, the Gabriel brand will be in my grasp, I will take the fashion world by storm, and you and that little boy toy of yours will be doing favors just for a scrap of cash before dying in an alley somewhere! As if you ever think your writing career is gonna take off! Those contests you entered? They obviously have low standards! Thanks for the cash, though and for giving these idiots another reason to hate you and adore me. *Leaves*

Lila: *Exits the girl’s bathroom with Chloé* Wow. That was intense.

*Félix, Nathaniel, and Adrien walk out of the boy’s bathroom*

Nathaniel: Simon? Did you get all of that? *Opens a locker to reveal Simon with a tape recorder*

Simon: Every last word.

Félix: Man, it’s a good thing you fit comfortably in a locker.

Simon: There’s a pencil stuck to my ass. Does that sound comfortable?

The following week, Marinette finds herself on the receiving end of some dirty looks and makes a mental note to get her idiot classmates to do something about those losers

But when she goes crying to them, Kim slaps her across the face

Nino: Jesus, Kim! She’s a girl!

Kim: … Screw gender rolls.

Nino: … Okay, that’s fine.

When she recovers, Max plays Simon’s recording, but Marinette is still trying to save face

Marinette: Who are you gonna believe?! My psycho of a cousin, or your best friend?!

Max: I’ll believe and ax-wielding murderer over you. And I’m done doing your dirty work just so you’ll keep quiet. Everyone! I am a proud homosexual, and I am in love with my best friend!

Rose: I have a severe medical condition and I didn’t want any of you to pity me or treat me like glass!

The Akuma class all come out and share the secrets Marinette blackmailed them with unless they did exactly as she said

And as for Adrien, he hits Marinette with a restraining order and yells at her to stay YARDS away from him at all times

Lila: Oh, she’s violating the restraining order right now. Off to jail!

Marinette: Shut up, Lila! Adrien, you don’t know what you’re saying! You’re supposed to be my boyfriend!

Adrien: Why? So you can have my dad’s company? You’re either desperate or stupid. I have no interest in inheriting the brand and plan to go into child psychology, so even if I were to go crazy and fall in love with you, you wouldn’t be anywhere near Gabriel.

Marinette: You all… Arr going to be SORRY! Tikki! Spots on!

Marinette transforms and is about to take off with Adrien, but a familiar Doc Marten boot hits the side of her head and knocks her out so that Marc can snatch the earrings off of Ladybug

Marc: … I’m fucking serious, guys, I had no clue about this.

And to make matters better, the police arrive to take Marinette in for questioning about her stalking, but as she’s being shoved into the police car, she actually grabs for an Akuma

So now, Paris will face the wrath of La Dictator

Zoé: We… Are so fucking boned, you guys.

Not necessarily. Chat Noir gathers the Miraculous and brings back Vulpix, Bomb Shell, CapriKid, and Queen Bee. And Calamity, Viperion, and Mariquita make their debuts

While La Dictator is smiting and punishing everyone who went against her, Calamity is getting survivors out of Paris with her portals so the team can take care of her without anyone else getting hurt

The battle lasts well into the evening, but they win, and Marinette is arrested becuase EVERYONE saw her reach for the Akuma

Bomb Shell: … *Giggles* Oh my God! We’re still alive! We’re alive, you guys!

CapriKid: We fucking lived! *Kisses Mariquita*

Vulpix: Yeah! Get your boy!

Things are… Somewhat normal after Marinette’s sentencing. For one, his moms apologize for how they’ve treated him, but he can’t find it in his heart to forgive them just now

The Akuma class and everyone Marinette has blackmailed are getting some serious therapy and make it a goal to make up for their treatment of others due to Marinette’s influence

And there are several permanent heroes now, that’s good. Lord knows Paris needs them, and… Oh yeah! Marc and Nathaniel are dating

Adrien found comfort in Luka and they began dating. Zoé’s dating Cosette. Félix is dating the library. Lila’s been learning how to skateboard from Ismael, and Chloé had her lesbian awakening when she met Kagami

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #answered ask #ask me stuff #marc x nathaniel #mlb au #Made a whole ass au here!#someone! send in another ask!#let me turn in into a whole ass au!#mlb ocs #Marinette salt #favoritism #favoritism au

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cozymochi · 4 days

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It's just strange when you want YOUR boundaries respected, but when people set their own boundaries, you mock them and call them silly. Hypocritical of you. As long as nobody is hurt, what is the problem.

…Huh? …Ok, fine. I’ll bite.

My single serious boundary is just cut and dry to not ask me for nsfw and pornographic art when I say repeatedly to not ask me for it.

I am not mocking somebody for saying I find an entirely separate concept (the “non-share yume” ) that, that on paper, sounds a little silly. At least to me, who doesn’t personally do that for one reason or another. But that is solely just on me? I’m not blaming anyone else for that. I’m sure somebody out there finds my boundary un-relatable. I do not think it’s fair to say that I’m being hypocritical for… not fully getting into somebody elses mindset.

And trust me, I think I’m hypocritical enough on a lot of completely unrelated things already.

Is it because I used the word “silly?” Was that being interpreted as mockery rather than just me going “ah, okay. i guess??” I never even said there was any problem either, nor that I hated anybody for it. I guess to be fair upon reflection, I could have just straight said “ah, okay. i guess” rather than “oh that’s silly.” Or not have answered at all. Even if my intent was more so just a passing shrug, I should have been more cautious that somebody could have read that as full dismissal/mockery/finger pointing.

I just personally just don’t get that level of attachment to fictional characters for one reason or another. I just have a disconnect. But if somebody else treats these things on a bit more of a personal level, they can do that, it’s fine? I’m not offended. I’m not sure how else to even articulate this via text that won’t come across as cold (as is that nature of text and no vocalizing).

I do not care nor mind what any of these users do or how they engage with stuff, it’s not my business. I literally didn’t even want to engage on this discussion I had no business talking about further, I was just recounting something that happened to me, like, months ago and having a goof.

I mean, If I think about lot of what I do on paper, it sounds silly if I remove myself for a moment. But, I don’t really mean that in a pejorative way… if that makes sense. Although my way of typing doesn’t always register how I’d like.

ALSO to the prev anon, assuming it’s a different person (tho if not, this still stands), whom I did not answer directly/nor publicly, sorry that I got a little slighted by your sudden long message. Sometimes if I’m done speaking about something, I just want to move on at my own discretion rather than dwell. But I get your intent was to be informative, empathetic and positive rather than talking down to me as my initial gut reaction assumed. This is a me thing, I just tend to get miffed. That’s really it, it’s not personal at all.

It’s out of my control ultimately how I’m perceived. If what I said registered as mockery towards a whole subset of fans’ way of engaging with media, then I’m sorry.

I don’t really plan on speaking nor reflecting about any of this again though, so maybe there’s some solace in that.

#cozy ask

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fernsnailz · 7 months

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February 2024 Review Roundup

well i sure did watch some stuff and read one book this month

the things i finished this month reminded me that for every incredible piece of art i find myself enjoying, i end up watching some Hot Garbage immediately after to balance things out again. idk why i do this.

i have quite a bit to say about both the things i enjoyed and the things that brought me physical pain this month, so there is um. a lot under the cut. any previous desire for brevity i had in january has been completely thrown out the window as i use these roundups as an outlet to gush about things i like and complain about things i didn't. fair warning, if you open the readmore you will be scrolling for a while. enjoy i guess

House of Leaves

does any other book out there have the balls to write a completely fake interview with stephen king

House of Leaves is a novel you gotta throw around a little bit. It feels really weird that my copy is still in the pristine state I bought it in - It seems like it should have water damage and smell like mildew with its pages falling out and spine cracked into pieces. Getting the full story from this book requires flipping back and forth, turning it around, searching for answers. All things considered it’s not that difficult of a read, but its format still allows you to feel like you’re discovering every hidden piece for yourself, and I really liked that interactivity. I was engaged pretty much the whole way through.

I don’t really think I’ll be able to revisit this book anytime soon though. It’s difficult for me to format what else I’d like to say about it because to be honest, it caught me off guard and disturbed me on a fairly personal level. There’s a relief I feel when I remember that I don’t actually know what was going on with the house - maybe that was intentional on the book’s behalf, maybe I just didn’t look hard enough for answers. I don’t know. But the implication that something divine was down there was enough of an answer for me. The book's good. read it if you want a spooooooky time or if you never want to look at a hallway the same way again

Doctor Who (Series 1-4) (rewatch)

ok so this is a fuckload of doctor who to cover so i’m gonna give some thoughts on a few of the characters and my favorite + least favorite episodes

9th doctor: My favorite butch lesbian. Christopher Eccleston truly embodies the concept of The Doctor so, so well: otherworldly guy who knows too much, genuinely cares about life across the universe, and also has a bit of deep, unresolved rage. His moments of joy and careless fun stick with me the most, he absolutely radiates with life and brings so much to this character.

Rose: I first watched Doctor Who when I was in middle school, and I didn’t like Rose that much back then. And guys. I have bad news. I'm still not really much of a Rose fan

I definitely understood her more this watch through - that desire for adventure and some sort of control over her life, emotions so strong that she’s willing to throw near everything away. That’s just what being 19 is like sometimes. I think Rose is a very compelling character who just happens to frustrate me a bit. And that’s kinda the point, her co-dependent relationship with the Doctor is doomed to fail and it's meant to hurt. Ultimately, I think when I first watched the show I was too young to understand Rose, and now I’m just too old to relate to her.

Captain Jack: Jack is my favorite character. I fucking love this guy. Dude has the worst luck in the whole universe and still cannot be stopped. Legendary. Every episode with him is a goddamn delight because he has so much chemistry with every single cast member. No notes 10/10 i love my problematic bisexual king

10th doctor: About four episodes into David Tennant’s run I realized that he dresses like a Hazbin Hotel character and it made me very sad. Still, there’s a reason this guy inspired every middle schooler to buy a pair of converse in 2008. He has style, he has depth, he’s got the sauce. It’s genuinely terrifying to see his anger, I like that a lot of 10’s run is about his denial of godhood and power over life in the universe, something that the rest of the time lords desired. idk i like my sad pathetic little weasel but he's also a huge fucking asshole sometimes which sucks. especially when it's directed at Martha.

Martha: Martha I am so sorry for what this show put you through. Martha was my favorite companion when I first watched the show, and I still have a huge soft spot for her. Her ability to hold her own and navigate foreign worlds using her own intelligence absolutely rules, and her drive forward is unbreakable. But the show seems to put her down at every possible opportunity, most notably with how 10 treats her. Her struggles and wants are constantly ignored, and she's often treated as a rebound from Rose. And I like that she eventually chooses to end it by not traveling with 10 anymore, but it hurts because it feels like she was never given the same chance or care that Rose and Donna were. This era of Doctor Who really doesn’t treat its black companions well because Mickey goes through something similar - both Martha and Mickey are characters designed to be ignored or left behind, and it sucks.

Donna: Donna Noble is one of the greatest fictional characters to ever exist. Despite seemingly living a fairly average life and working a fairly average job, Donna reflects the idea that no one is truly "average" and every single person is brimming with personality, life, and love. I love that her relationship with 10 is purely platonic, personally their friendship feels like it has a lot more depth than either of the romance-oriented relationships 10 had with Rose and Martha. 10 and Donna bounce off of each other so well and it's delightful, Donna brings so much humor and life to every world she's taken to and it's incredible. I wish her and Captain Jack could have interacted more.

My favorite episode: The Runaway Bride is hard to not choose as my favorite. I have a blast every time I watch this episode and it’s such a good introduction for Donna. Also the Tardis car chase kills me, I love when it cuts to the kids in the back of another car clapping and cheering. I was also surprised by the episode Midnight - it’s dreadful to watch and I kinda loved it. So much spirals out of control when shit hits the fan, even though no one has any idea what they’re trying to fight against. Really interesting exploration as to how fear can drive people apart.

My least favorite episode: It’s Love & Monsters. I wish I liked this episode - stories that follow regular ass people living in this world are often some of the best episodes in the series (Weeping Angels and all that). And this episode definitely has some of that. It’s honestly really touching to see this group of nerds get together and enjoy life in the first part of the episode. I think the antagonist of “guy who absorbs people” ends up dragging down any charm this story had because he just. eats all of the interesting characters. But despite me disliking this episode, I honestly have a deep respect for it - it’s fucking crazy. It ends with the main guy telling us about his sex life with his girlfriend who is now stuck in a piece of concrete. Where else are you going to get a story like this. It fucking sucks and that’s hilarious

oh also the production design: GODDDDDD I FUCKING LOVE THE PRODUCTION DESIGN AND SETS ON THIS SHOW. I love how dirty and rundown a lot of the spaceship sets look with wires and lights scattered everywhere. And a number of alien designs also go CRAZY with the prosthetics - I keep thinking about the Hath from The Doctor’s Daughter and how every head prosthetic had liquid inside it that could bubble. Absolutely crazy. I also love the moments where you can clearly see they did not have that much time and just had to throw something together or pain a bald cap green. Jank is the nature of sci-fi production design and I dearly love and miss that Doctor Who jank.

Rebuild of Evangelion

Last year after finishing the original Evangelion series + End of Evangelion, I remember going through the Evangelion tumblr tag and being very confused by the number of slice of life/found family-esque fanworks of the cast. It left me puzzled and thinking “...did we even watch the same thing??”

APPARENTLY NOT

[spoiler warning here because these movies are very good and i give the best parts away. if you want to watch these movies then DO IT NOW!!!!!!!!]

I honestly never expected a world where these characters got a happy ending. I so, so badly wish I could see 3.0 and 3.0+1.0 in theaters - these movies are stunning. I know I say things “go crazy” a lot, but man. They go fucking CRAZY.

While I have a few issues with how the first two movies adapted the original show, I do think the changes they made better serve the story this rebuild is trying to tell. For example, my favorite episode in the original Eva series is episode 18, where Toji is chosen to pilot Unit 03. It’s absolutely terrifying because Shinji doesn’t know who 03’s pilot is, yet he’s forced to be inside Unit 01 as it tears 03 apart. His resolve not to kill anyone despite not even knowing who’s in danger is an aspect of that episode I love and speaks to Shinji's inherent humanity, and when he learns Toji was in there it hurts even more. The rebuild movies change Unit 03’s pilot to Auska, and Shinji knows she’s in there from the start. I think this choice works for the movies and is still an effective emotional beat, but personally I still prefer the version where Shinji had no idea who was in there. That lack of knowledge is infinitely more terrifying to me.

I really like what these movies did with some of the angel designs though. The sixth angel (the fuckin. blue diamond cube thing) works really well in 3D/CG animation. The way the thing warps and moves is otherly and terrifying - and it’s just a fucking cube. I’ve always really loved how the Eva series approaches angel designs and the divine - despite the alien-like designs, there’s often something extremely familiar about them. They’re often reminiscent of an animal, a machine, or a human. This is also how they approached the anti-universe in these movies, I loved how it takes the form of various locations from the series and turns them into a movie set. It’s deeply familiar, but ultimately just an illusion of familiarity like the angels and the divine.

Also I gotta say. I fucking love Mari. I think she’s hilarious. She first meets Shinji by accidentally parachuting into him and then immediately starts crawling on all fours to sniff him. This girl also introduces “Beast Mode” where the Eva pilots can go wild turn their mechs into a fucking. superpowered beast of some sort. And also she defeats a whole army by using the Eiffel Tower as a spear. She’s such an absurd character and I honestly kinda love it. The only thing I knew about these movies before watching them was this gif of her Backing That Shit Up and she truly lives up to the insane nature of this shot.

My favorite section of these movies is definitely the first part of 3.0+1.0 where the pilots are basically just living a domestic life in a small town - it’s truly beautiful. The growth that Rei’s copy goes through here is fantastic, I love stories about seemingly emotionless beings learning how to live. And right after she dies, we get the shot that absolutely broke me the first time I saw it:

This shit. The way you can just barely tell he’s been crying from the red around his eyes. They don't talk about it, they barely linger on it, but it's allowed just enough time to punch you in the gut. I don’t know why this shot got me as hard as it did but goddamn. jesus christ. i want to throw up

There’s some goofy shit in these movies. The infinite synch rate. Misato’s stupidass hat and sunglasses. Some goofy ass 3D animation that doesn’t age super well. The rainbow that shows up every time an angel dies. But these things really didn’t take me out of the core of these films, and there’s so much genuine emotion and beauty in this series that had me absolutely hooked - especially in the last two films. They go crazy. My favorite line is 100% “The only thing a son can do for his father is pat him on the shoulder… or kill him.” and man. ain’t that what Evangelion is all about. i love these movies

High School Musical 3

kinda slaps just a little bit

High School Musical 3 starts with a finale number. The last high school basketball game of Troy Bolton’s life - and it goes kinda hard. The classic pep band brass that’s essential to so many High School Musical numbers returns, and the constant theme of two feuding cheer teams in the background? Genius. This is truly art. I love listening to Now or Never without visuals because in the middle Troy just starts coughing and gagging seemingly out of nowhere

Unfortunately, starting the movie at such a high point means that the rest of the runtime doesn’t quite match up to it. The story lags and meanders quite a bit, but part of me kinda appreciates that - it’s their last semester of high school, which is always a time of confusion and turmoil. However, I do have a pitch for how they could have countered the constant falling action this movie seems to go through:

The Wildcats should have lost their last game at the beginning of the movie.

What if the game is instead the inciting incident that leads Troy and his besties through their tumultuous last semester? Troy is still torn between basketball and theater, but his identity would be even further challenged here - is winning and success all that matters for him, or is it the love of sport and performance that keeps him going? idk whatever this movie came out 16 years ago i can’t be out here writing AUs for it jgnfsgfnjdksg

Some miscellaneous thoughts about this movie that i don’t care about formatting into larger paragraphs:

Ryan and Sharpay’s number (I Want It All) slaps as usual. The part where Ryan shouts “MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!!!!!!” makes me so happy every time i hear it

The production design and sets go absolutely fucking crazy. I still have no idea how they pulled off the spinning hallway in Scream.

One of the classic staples of HSM is Chad’s shirts. Most of them are fairly silly and like something you would expect to find in the walmart clearance section. However, there’s one shirt he has in this movie that confused the hell out of me. It’s this one:

What the FUCK does Greenster mean. Is it just a combination of Green and Monster?? Why??? What green monster are we talking about here????? Where the fuck did this shirt come from?????????

Avatar The Last Airbender (2024)

There’s really only one word I can think of to describe what this show is like: sauceless. No flavor. No depth. No character. No sauce. This show is honestly so fucking boring and seems to fundamentally misunderstand what the appeal of the original Avatar series is - not necessarily because things are changed or removed from the original, but because nothing of substance is added in return.

Most of the characters are mere echoes of their original counterparts when compared to their source material. Sokka is reduced to a guy who wants to fight good, Katara’s stubborn and confrontational nature is very rarely utilized, and Aang’s mischievous antics and love of fun is sorely missing. One of the major reasons for the dull interpretations seems to be the directing - While I have faith that most of these actors are trying their best (especially since a number of them are kids/young adults), the direction seems to be incredibly lackluster and takes away nearly every cast member’s stage presence or personality. There’s a number of reaction shots of the main trio that just look like this: 😐😐😐 as if they were just told to “look concerned” at the events unfolding before them. And these issues are apparent in the majority of the performances - for example, General Zhao talks like he’s in a board meeting up until the last episode, and it’s an incredibly flat performance. He talks somewhat monotone in the original series as well, but this live-action take on the character often meanders with his dialogue and lacks that sharp, terrifying quality that I think this character needs. Uncle Iroh also feels incredibly stiff in this adaptation, and it’s a goddamn crime that they took away the cunty little outfit and chains he was originally wearing when he gets captured by earthbenders. wait who said that

Credit where credit is due, there’s a few cast members that seem to be giving their best. It’s clear that Aang’s actor enjoys the role and does pretty well despite the lackluster direction and dialogue he’s given. On top of that, I think Zuko’s actor is honestly the best part of the show. His take on Zuko leans much more into teenage tendencies and sarcasm, which, although it can be silly, is a welcome take of the character in my opinion and pretty fun to watch. There’s this one line he has at the beginning of episode 2 where, in an incredibly whiny tone of voice, he goes “He RAN! The ultimate warrior! He’s a Coward :((((“ and the read is so. fucking funny

The case of bad direction isn’t limited to the performances, however. It’s also stunningly apparent in how everything is shot. Despite being in a widescreen format, most shots are incredibly centered - you could crop the entire runtime into a 4:3 frame and you wouldn’t be cutting out much of anything. I’ve seen some speculation that this was an intentional choice to make things more adaptable or readable for TikTok/phone video, but honestly I think that’s a dumb take. I think the issue stems from a lack of creativity and thoughtless composition. Keeping everything staged in the center can make shots feel disjointed, lacking much depth, or completely empty. It’s a boring way to shoot and indicates that the show lacks any unique vision at all.

Overall, this show doesn't really seem to understand what makes Avatar interesting in the first place. It's more interested in spectacle and action than the characters' relationships, emotions, and mistakes. I try not to compare it too much to the original since it's allowed to take liberties with its adaptation, but very few of its changes add much to the end result or give it a unique voice. It's just sauceless and boring.

Some YouTube videos i liked in February:

💥 My House.WAD - Inside Doom's Most Terrifying Mod (some supplemental House of Leaves material for ya) 💥 Martha Jones Deserved Better (this video explains how Doctor Who did Martha dirty better than i ever could) 💥 bringing JUSTICE to the worst garfield game 💥 Selling Kids for Clout: The Downfall of Family Channels

And that’s my roundup for February! Thank you for reading, I promise there are no more reviews left to scroll through below this goodbye. Nope, nothing else I watched this month. Bye!

…ok is everyone gone. phew, i’m glad no one noticed i pulled an hbomberguy and hid the largest part of this post under a false ending. Anyway holy shit i need to talk about hazbin hotel

Hazbin Hotel

well i didn’t like it

Hazbin Hotel is a weird, fascinating mess of a show. Every episode left me wondering what creative decisions (or lack thereof) led to the sequence of images I just watched. There’s been a lot of discussion of this show recently and I’m not interested in covering every critique I have, but there’s a few things that I'd like to talk about somewhat in-depth.

Hell is real and it's just Red Chicago

The setting of Hell is kinda boring in this show.

Let me try to put this into perspective. Aside from the hotel, here’s a list of the locations we see in Hell:

A boardroom

A video store

Vox’s evil lair (it has cyber sharks which is kinda cool)

Various streets

Another boardroom

A BDSM club

Carmilla’s house (it’s gray and has. balconies?)

A porn studio

A bar

Another bar

A town square (full of cannibals)

None of these locations really take on any sort of otherworldly form besides some vague demonic imagery scattered throughout (and the cannibals. i guess. whatever). In short, Hazbin Hotel’s setting resembles Chicago more than it does Hell.

I can see a world where that’s intentional. Perhaps making Hell resemble a modern city could be used as a thematic tool or point of relatability? But Hazbin doesn’t really do anything like that - since the characters rarely ever interact with their environments, these locations end up seeming like they lack creativity, like they’re just cardboard sets where characters go to swear. They all start to blend together after a while - every street feels the same, every boardroom fades into the background, and every bar feels like a google image search result for the word “club.” This world feels stunningly empty despite the busy designs and colors. Even though the backgrounds are painted and designed fairly well, nothing of substance is ever really added to them through the story.

However, a few musical numbers take effort to break away from these settings. This felt like a weight off of my shoulders whenever it happened, it was nice to see some interesting setpieces and backgrounds that weren’t red. I liked the bombastic and over-the-top broadway lights in Loser and the glowing alternate world in Charlie and Lucifer’s song. But these moments are few and crowded by the dull locations in Hell - or worse, the Hotel itself.

Despite being the namesake of the show, the actual Hazbin Hotel is… lifeless. Which, yeah, it’s a hotel where dead people go in the afterlife, but it’s missing any sort of personality or history besides “it’s old and falling apart.” I expected the hotel to be full of secrets - like maybe some hidden passages or rooms, or mysterious cabinets full of rotted meats, or old valuables hidden under the rugs by the previous owners. Something for the cast to explore and discover, and as they get closer to each other they also start to understand the hotel more. Alastor seems very intent on keeping the physical hotel standing for some reason, but I never really understood why. There’s nothing there. And that nothingness is fully realized when at the end of the show, they just rebuild the entire hotel to be grand and beautiful - an emotional beat that didn’t hit me at all because I never felt like I knew the hotel in the first place. Despite rebuilding it from the ground up, it will feel just as empty.

3 SHOTS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY

I was truly baffled at how some of these scenes are timed and put together. Multiple sequences left me feeling nauseous and dazed - the camera moves like it’s being swung on the end of a rope, and there’s so many misplaced or meaningless cuts scattered through these episodes.

There’s a sequence of three shots in the first episode that I want to dissect. I will fully admit that I'm breaching nitpicking territory here, but the shot composition issues in this show are pretty rampant and my analysis here is just a hyper-specific look at a single part of that larger problem. Hopefully you can also use it as a quick storyboarding lesson too idk

First, we see Adam teasing Charlie.

Then, it cuts straight to this shot:

A few things here.

Shot 2 is just closer on the characters, which is not a great idea to cut to after the previous waist-up shot. On top of being a jarring jump cut, there is no purpose for this new shot. All the information we see here (Adam laughs, Charlie fake laughs) could have just been conveyed in the previous shot.

Despite the characters being in the same position as the last shot, the background changes. This straight up just feels like an error. I think the idea is supposed to be that the camera is at a different angle, but the position of the characters does not convey that. It looks like reality changes behind them.

And if that’s not enough, this is the shot we get immediately after those two:

In this shot, the residents of the hotel sit on the couch as Vaggie walks into the shot, framing them between her legs. But there’s something… off.

Vaggie either looks like she’s floating or she’s three stories tall. Quick storyboard lesson as to why:

The main problem with this shot is that the perspective of the background doesn’t match up with where Vaggie is placed. The couch is framed as if the camera were above it, but Vaggie is framed like the camera is floor-level below her. I’ve traced the shot and added a perspective grid to hopefully better illustrate this:

Do you see what I mean? If the camera WAS actually on the floor like Vaggie’s position in the shot suggests, the composition would look more like this:

Notice how much closer the floor grid is to the bottom of the frame and how you can see the underside of the couch.

And to be fair, this is probably what the original storyboard for this shot looked like! Personally I think something went wrong in the compositing stage - this might be a couch background from another shot that was reused here to save time, or whoever approved this shot just let the error slide since the shot is so short (i've been there. sometimes you let the jank slide). Most animated shows will have some poorly framed shots and continuity errors because mistakes are bound to happen, but two egregious ones right next to each other like this is. pretty bad. It's so noticeable from a directing perspective.

Here’s the thing: these three shots happen in the span of like 10 seconds. Most viewers probably wouldn’t notice these issues, and that's fine. But even though these errors are quick, they stack upon each other so fast that even if you can’t pinpoint exactly what’s wrong, something still feels wrong. There’s so many other moments where the show breaks extremely basic shot composition, continuity, and staging rules - for example, the second musical number of the show breaks the 180 rule like four times for no good reason. The whole show feels like a dizzy, nauseating mess because the shots rarely feel like they form anything cohesive.

MY ROOMMATE TOLD ME TO GO TO BED SO HERE ARE SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a rundown on some other thoughts that I don’t care to format into larger sections:

The show seems to lack much to say about sin and redemption other than “redemption good.” like sure, but what are they being redeemed from? Is heaven truly the place they deserve to go after being redeemed, even though it’s shown to be unjust? Are there sins that are too great to be redeemed from, or others that shouldn't be considered sins at all? I asked myself a number of questions like this, but never got many answers from Hazbin.

This show has a bad relationship with kink and sex. Both are mostly used as a punchline or a form of control. I didn’t like it. Perhaps the reason Hazbin never really comments on the nature of sin is because it needs you to consider sex and kink sinful or otherly for these jokes to hit.

Some of the animation is crazy good. I will praise any animator that even attempts to make these character designs move. A number of extremely talented people worked on this show, a few of the musical sequences in particular have some incredible movement.

Alastor is a very boring character. It’s wild that most of the side characters in this show only exist to talk about how much they like or hate Alastor, he mostly just stands to the side of some shots or kills random nameless goons. I expected him to have a much larger role in the story, but he just gets his ass kicked in the final episode and then crawls back to the hotel.

Episode 4 is the most cohesive, and i think Angel is the best character in the show. Unfortunately, the fact that Hazbin takes so much effort to show Angel’s misery left me… concerned? None of the other characters get treated as poorly as Angel by the narrative. There’s a few smaller explorations of trauma, but nothing remotely compares to what Angel is put through on-screen. This isn’t to say that I think the whole cast needs to be extremely traumatized and constantly miserable, but rather that I find it concerning that the only character subjected to incredibly graphic abuse and torture (that we see or hear about) is the gay sex worker. Which sucks, because I think the concept of hypersexuality resulted from sexual abuse is an important topic worthy of discussing in adult media. I just think they tried to execute this theme without much critical thought beforehand.

I think the voice cast does a fantastic job for the most part. Keith David is way too good for Husk.

I really liked the one shot where Charlie opens her phone and we see that she has a contact for every individual egg minion.

I was very brave and got through this whole review without talking about my new least favorite character of all time, Vox. here’s what I think of him:

The overall vision and end result of Hazbin Hotel is just mediocre. While I don’t know what led to the messy state this show ended up in, my guess is that it was probably the result of inadequate direction, sloppy writing, and lacking creative support from the studios involved. Because of this, please understand that I have no desire or intention to put down any individual artists that worked on this show - I hope it's clear that most of my criticisms are directed at the larger vision these artists were given to execute and/or the lack of creative support they received while working on this show.

I also don’t really have much desire to participate in any further Hazbin discussion or discourse because it has wasted enough of my time already and I want to be free of this curse. please spare my inbox from hazbin hotel discourse. please. i'm begging.

You want to know what the most fucked up thing about this is though? Despite everything I said about Hazbin, Avatar the Last Airbender 2024 is still the worst show I watched this month. I would take Hazbin over Avatar 2024 literally any day.

well if you got this far. thanks for reading. also sorry you read all that. whelp alright back into my hole i go bye bye

#to get to my hazbin hotel opinions you must first read my pitch on how i would have written high school musical 3 #jesus christ. either i gotta watch less things or learn to shut the hell up next month this is a longass post #review roundup #long post

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self-spaghettification · 6 months

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ok so i accidentally deleted the draft but a while back an anon asked me basically saying they had read Gone (are the Days) and wanted other good fanfic recs. and this was my response LMAO

hmm !! this may surprise you but i actually don’t consume that much fanfic. partially because i’m picky, partially bc i tend to consume content slowly or bounce around a lot, etc

i will say a general tip is to sort by bookmarks or kudos to get the good stuff and filter by specific tags as well! like i just read mage pride which is the top bookmarked item in the viravos tag and it was definitely worth the hype!!

if you enjoyed gone are the days,

you’d probably like the Professor Next Door by detectiphoenix (also a professor au but high school teachers!) besides that, here are some viravos fanfic i’ve enjoyed, off the top of my head:

(for context i’m not hyper into smut personally or try to find variety/creativity and i’m biased towards certain things lol but)

VIRAVOS FICS I LOVED <3

Mage Pride by luminiex - This is the top bookmarked fic in the viravos tag, and for good reason! While it is written after S2 and has more sympathetic Aaravos than in canon, it is still very well done in my opinion. I also love whatever it takes by them, it’s great if you don’t like smut too! Aaravos and Viren living together in this plane together lives rent free in my head 😭 I also love their fic where Aaravos gets to meet Viren’s family :)

Recidivism by indefensibleselfindulgence/ @iamalivenow - the viren characterization is everything, it takes place in s2 prison era, and it’s very humorous!

The Sound of His Voice by portmanteau_press - very very cool setup/worldbuilding concept i think

Constellation of the Heart by @yurayuramiharin - This fic is one of my absolute favorites and has inspired some of the art I’ve done as well! As someone who loves vintage & goth subculture & IS a baby bat in college I feel like I resonate with it really well! I love the taking of the worldbuilding of the dragon prince recontextualized in a college setting and the way Aaravos was actually an inspiration for Bowie & caused Viren to question his sexuality!! It’s so deliciously perfect but sadly unfinished, but I would say it’s still definitely worth the read! It doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger either, just one of the best burns ever 😁

Touch of a Star by @detectiphoenix - really unique take on what it’s like to touch Aaravos, I adore it sm and think about it everyday too. Fluffy S5 extrapolation/continuation

To Serve or Slaughter by beastlybrooke - viravos recontextualized as vampires like castlevania my other recent fixation? sign me up. it’s interesting how viren’s prejudice towards elves is recast as a prejudice towards vampires, and aaravos’s fight towards the elves and view towards humans i love it everything

honorary mention ficlets:

the stars they lie by rikku - this is short but i really like the way they incorporate virrow and mindgames, as well as enby aaravos :)

Checkmate by @thrandilf is also short and sweet but i adore it, i think about the alternate versions of the s5 trailer sm and even tried writing my own a few times but they never went that far but yeah i love it and they have other fics that are great too

respect his decision by @vestaldestroyer because aaravos didn’t have to revive viren s4 but he did and ughgghhghh while i don’t think he cares that much cause he might have just been using the revival as a way in with claudia and continuation of all that, there’s always that off chance and he doesn’t even realize how attached he is and love is just that huge when you’re that old and powerful, large enough to move mountains and yeah </3

i’d put my own can you stay by @self-spaghettification but that’d seem a bit unfair lol

—

there’s probably others i’ve yet to read or that are cool but i don’t remember or that have some good parts but are kind of iffy imo but those are the only ones i can think of off the top of my head i’m sorry </3

but i’ve also have been compiling a list of fic ratings on a google doc and uhh its not really sharable in any way, but a while ago I also had a website concept where people could share fic ratings like goodreads but for ao3 with some other site inspo in the mix that i spent a few hours sketching out the concept of but idk if i should share but yeah :)

#q&a #fic recs #there’s also ones i loved for aaravos specifically or aaravos&callum but they don’t necessarily fit here #aaravos #viravos #edit bc i put slash before and definitely did not mean to</3 #viren #the dragon prince #self spaghettification #anonymous #asks #mine

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parasitoidism · 6 months

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Long meandering ramble about isabeau under cut sorry idk what happened

Ok I wanted to expound actually I do think it’s really interesting how Isabeau isn’t like a “wishy washy” kind of neutral she is really serious and principled about it. Like when you fight her in law (and I assume things turn out the same in chaos, haven’t finished that playthru yet) if you extend your hand to her she takes offense to it + tells you to have conviction in the path you chose to the end despite her being so horrified and appalled by it that she would put down her life to fight you to prevent it from coming to pass.

And in neutral as well after you defeat Merkabah she expresses respect for him in seeing his principles through. I think it’s interesting that she has such high respect for this concept of commitment to a belief, even a destructive one + even when that the belief itself is so fundamentally morally repellant to her. So anyways this is where I get kind of headcanony right. But I was thinking more about this again

And yeah like she doubly has this thing of coming from a family that has always gone into the monastery as well as being a woman samurai (the level of rarity of this can be inferred by the fact that she’s like, the only female samurai npc iirc) that feeds into this right? Tho it’s conjecture on my part bc we don’t really hear her thoughts on any of this she’s already in this position of being like, an outlier, somewhere she “doesn’t belong” (as she apparently grew up expected to go into the monastery like the rest of her family- it’s a “loss” for the monastery) in terms of her place in the samurai. So I think that’s like .. where her position ultimately comes from. She grew up believing in the good of the kingdom like Jonathan but is in a position where she understands Walters feelings of being hemmed in by her society which I think just like is how I at least understand her character. But her neutrality isn’t just from a place of helpless desperation or an inability to choose its something she really believes in. So this is the part where I insist her love of shoujo manga is actually really important

so yeah. I thought this was a little funny but the more I think of it it is super interesting how manga is cited as what makes her soul unshakably set against you and the destruction of Tokyo. And I think it’s just that it’s representative of or partly responsible for her genuine love for Tokyo, its art and by extension its people. Like to everyone the “unclean ones” are basically like some ancient historical threat once faced by their kingdom but through finding used copies of Rose of Versailles on the ground throughout the game and it, a product of the culture and people who live/once lived there, it just gives her a level of empathy/respect for them beyond what the others achieve.

And she just cares about the people a lot yknow. When everyone splits off at shen duque her first worry is about skins and fujiwara. Walter and Jonathan’s motives both are concerned with the fate of Mikado, be it tearing it all down to start over or preserving it by destroying Tokyo (although that isn’t really /Jonathan/‘s motive but you know) but Isabeau is the one who actually wants to help the people of not just Mikado but Tokyo as well. So like “isabeau’s stance is that killing a bunch of people is bad” isn’t like groundbreaking literary analysis im aware. The game tells you that. But all the stuff I said is like In my cute little opinion Why she thinks like this. Anyways I wrote this for no particular reason other than I thought about isabeau and I like her. Sorry. Obligatory “but I’m probably wrong about everything” disclaimer

#category 5 isabeau moment #again if you think I’m wrong about anything keep in mind I haven’t beat chaos yet and also I have no confidence in my analysis abilities #and I probably am wrong about everything #OH ALSO SPOILERS FOR LIKE ALL OF SMTIV LOL.#< oomfs who ahvent played stop liking thsi DONT READ IT

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antibioware · 1 year

Note

ok i'll bite. have you read any one piece fics, and are there any you would recommend?

you're so damn lucky One Piece is a fandom full of shit fanfictions because last time someone asked me a question like this, they ended with a 50+ fanfictions rec list.

Anyway, I'm gonna divide the list between gen/pairingless fics and fics with a romantic pairing.

NO PAIRING:

for all the love and gold (don't just do as you are told) by guiltylights

Nami asks Sanji to reduce the amount of money spent on grocery shopping.

Blood of the Covenant by kiite

Zeff never wanted a kid. A restaurant, sure— but he hadn’t planned for the kid. (Or: a brief look at Sanji’s childhood, through the eyes of the man who raised him.)

triskelion by razbliuto

Sink your fangs in, sister, and don't let go. — The Boa Sisters, still breathing despite all odds.

[this one is insanely good, literally made both me and my girlfriend cry]

UV by razbliuto (Viola/Doflamingo, Viola/Monet)

There's only a one letter difference between ultraviolet and ultraviolent. — Viola, and the art of unforgetting.

[while this one does have pairings, it's less a romantic story and more a deep dive into traumatic relationships in Viola's life. This is my absolute favourite OP fanfiction and it's heavy, be warned]

that certain calmness by grainjew

Because Sanji's rebellion has always been service, and there is nobody he would rather bow to than his captain.

you are not immune by pheenick

It starts with a rather gut-busting sneeze that’s concerning enough to bring all conversation juddering to a halt. Sanji blinks, absently patting his chest before furrowing his brow at a strange thickness congealing in his throat. Another sneeze. Fuck.

Customer Service in the Food Industry by Maldoror_Chant

They were starving. That was reason enough for Zeff to open the Baratie's doors and feed them, whoever the hell they were. Then he offered them a job, because the waiters and most of the other cooks had all jumped ship again and these guys looked kinda tough and not likely to scare easy. He didn't care if they were refugees of the World Government, he didn't care about their past, he didn't care what else they could do as long as the dishes were cleaned, the soup served, the vegetables chopped and Zeff's rules respected. Oh, and the pigeon had to stay out of the kitchen. That was a must. Give the Health Inspector the wiggins otherwise. Oddly enough, it did not turn out to be a complete and utter disaster. Strange things happen on the seas.

[CP9 post-Water 7 start working at the Baratie, the concept is so funny]

nothing to do (with you) by guiltylights

Judge thinks that Sanji is a failure of a son. Zeff doesn't think that much of Judge at all.

the mortality of kings by guiltylights

Zoro and Sanji, the right and left-hand men of the future Pirate King.

breathlessly, live (there's a place for us) by guiltylights (modern AU)

'You don’t have to prove anything, you know,’ Nami says finally. Sanji frowns, puzzled. ‘I’m not proving anything?’ ‘No Sanji, I think you are. It sometimes feels like you’re doing this more for your own sake than for mine.'

we slept on the ocean last night by Origamidragons

It starts like this: Luffy can’t sleep alone. (Pirates have nightmares, too. The Strawhats, as always, find a way through.)

PAIRINGS:

Burning Man by neonglaceon (Zoro/Sanji, multiple chapters, M rating for sex scenes)

“You’re lucky, Zoro,” she had spat, eyes turned up towards the sky, like she was trying to hold in tears. He'd never seen Kuina cry before. He’d never seen any expression on her face other than her teeth gritted in determination or her grinning in victory. “I want to be the greatest swordsman too. But girls grow up, and their bodies become weaker than men's. I’m never going to be the greatest.” Kuina tells him this, and Zoro can barely comprehend the words she’s saying. He thinks of the countless hours he’s spent training by the river bed, the green locks of his hair left on the floor after Koushirou helped him shear it all off, of the people he thought of as family a lifetime ago calling him by a name he despised. Zoro puts a hand to his chest, where he’d hastily wrapped bandages earlier that day, remembering how his body had begun changing and he didn’t understand why- “You’re lucky to have been born a man, Zoro,” Kuina finishes lamely. Zoro sees red.

[This is THE trans man Zoro fic and one of my favourite zosan fanfics, I suggest to pay attention to the trigger warnings before reading]

and then the sun came out by demonzoro (shrinewreck) (Zoro/Sanji, M rating for sex scenes)

Maybe there is something to be said that the first time they kiss, they kiss on a sinking ship. As if to say: this too, is inevitable. The waves are gnashing above the sea’s bottomless maw, and the timbers of the sinking galleon groan their own dirge – as far as this space of sea is concerned, the world is ending. Then there they are, balanced on the cusp of it, concerned only with how they exist relative to each other. There’s an awful devotion to it, and it shouldn’t be romantic. But Sanji is hopeless. He’s always wanted a love like this.

Be Hungry For Me byJacknessofHearts (Sanji/Usopp)

It takes more than years for Sanji and Usopp to confront their feelings. It also takes a lot of good food.

Don't Look Back byJacknessofHearts (Nami/Vivi)

Nami and Vivi and saying good-bye.

[This is the best namivivi break-up fic]

Like Ink Through Her Veins by grainjew (background Nami/Vivi)

Vivi manages, away from her crew. Usually, managing means ruling a country, reading the newspaper, and checking up on her father. Sometimes, though, it means sneaking out of the palace at midnight and getting drunk with passing pirates.

[while this isn't a pairing fic as much as it's a Vivi-focused story, the romantic pairing is important enough to the story to finish on this side of the list]

poison and wine by Origamidragons (Nami/Vinsmoke Reiju)

Nami isn't expecting to run into Vinsmoke Reiju plotting a murder at the same high-society party where she's planning a heist, but, well. Two birds, one stone.

You, Drowning Between My Arms by ginger_snappin (Sanji/Usopp, M rating )

Again and again, Sanji is forced to relive the day after he rejected Usopp.

[God I fucking love "stuck in a time loop" fanfictions, especially if they have characters as well written as this one]

salvage by hongmunmu (background Sanji/Usopp)

Franky offered Usopp a place in his family. Leaving Water 7 on the Thousand Sunny, Usopp considers who he is, why he left, and why he's there now.

[fic focuses more on Franky and Usopp's student/mentor relationship than romance, but as before, it falls more on the pairing fic side of the spectrum]

free and alone, together bysrididdledeedee (Alvida/Boa Hancock)

In which Alvida arrives on Amazon Lily, and everything changes.

Easy as Anything, Simple as That by Trixree (Sanji/Luffy)

“Luffy? What’s the matter?” “We’re gonna’ have a wedding,” he says incomprehensibly. Which—no. Absolutely not. Haven’t they had enough of weddings, lately? Nami's certainly had enough for a lifetime, thanks. “What are you talking about? What wedding?” she demands as coherently as she can while running on only two-and-a-half hours of sleep. “Mine and Sanji’s,” Luffy declares.

a glance that holds the world and all its seas by JacknessofHearts (Sanji/Usopp)

It's the big party after defeating Hody Jones. Usopp gets Sanji away from all the mermaids. (Honestly, Sanji, these nosebleeds are disgusting.)

Inevitable by LibbyLune (Zoro/Sanji, M rating for violence)

A closer call than usual makes Sanji give a precipitously timed confession, and waiting for Chopper to let him out of the infirmary makes waiting for a response much worse than he could have anticipated.

To Argue and to Cherish by modeoheim (Zoro/Sanji)

On a small island, on a lovely night full of music and fun and food, Zoro and Sanji accidentally get married. It is as ridiculous as it sounds—or at least it is at first, until Zoro finds being married to Blackleg Sanji isn't as bad as one might assume.

Variations On A Theme by rainsometimes (Franky/Nico Robin)

Four short interconnected pieces in which Franky does not save Robin from drowning. Although he’d like to.

stolen things by Origamidragons (Nami/Vivi)

A catalogue of things stolen by, for, and from Princess Vivi of Alabasta with regards to a certain thief, as documented by her long-suffering captain of the guard.

But Patience Boasts by Augment (background Zoro/Luffy)

Sanji and Zoro have very different love languages.

NSFW/Just Porn:

Little Things by KuriKuri (Zoro/Law, NSFW)

“Yeah, well,” Zoro says, “I thought you’d say no.” “Why would I say no?” Law asks, the corners of his lips tugging down in a frown. “Because you’re a control freak,” Zoro snorts, looking away from the sake bottle to meet Law’s eyes instead. “I thought control freaks didn’t drink.”

eager baby, blue by torkz (Nico Robin/Jinbei, NSFW)

Jimbei is training, and Robin is not immune to huge, handsome men in blue.

go back to sleep by itsmylifekay (Zoro/Sanji, NSFW)

His skin tingles with an unfamiliar sensation and he shifts, mind becoming more alert as he takes in his surroundings and the strange, lingering warmth on his arm. If he concentrates hard enough, he can feel the fading shape of long fingers pressed into his skin. “Go back to sleep, stupid marimo,” he hears. Sanji is standing close by, pulling on the last of his clothes and straightening his tie. His voice is low in the softness of the early morning and Zoro grunts at the words.

#long post #one piece #one piece fanfiction

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inkandpaintleopard · 1 month

Text

Sorry for dying (<- stuff I would genuinely say irl) have some old-ish drawings of my minion-rabbit AU that nobody cares about but me

Long rambly explanations for those last five under the cut:

Ok so like there are minions that appear ONLY in old promotional artwork and NEVER anywhere else. They would not, could not even, exist naturally in-universe, at least with the original design constraints. Here I present this fandom page screenshot

And the original images for three of them (Fox appears in both images)

Now, are these images official? Who the hell knows, that second one looks AI generated as hell, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to make characters out of these weirdos

I would also like to note these other two images:

I really want someone to let me into wherever Illumination keeps their minion jpegs ‘cause Jesus Christ my brain can’t comprehend this probably-super-simple thing

So Spooky Month fandom: y’know hiest-4738’s OC Keb? Love that dude, his origin trips me out beyond reason. I’m kinda thinking of these minions the same way I think about Keb; here are some mysterious lost media-lookin dudes, let’s make them characters. I use all minion names that the fandom wiki gives, because regardless of how accurate it is, what else am I gonna do

My current headcannons are that these guys are some of the very earliest clones, when Gru still wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, resulting in him making strange and unnatural minions. I think Harold is more or less a modified Kevin clone (due to that second image), Fox is a sort of mix of a short and tall minion, and Harley is a modified one-eye minion clone (with his “model” later being reused for Ralph once Gru had full control over minion genetics)

And then there’s that guy from the CONCEPT art:

(Ok but like how interesting is minion concept art like look what we could’ve had in a D-Sides timeline)

And I would like to think that that’s Harold on the end there

So for this dude, I’ve decided that since he literally comes from the concept art, he’s the first clone that Gru ever made (I believe in the clone theory with all my goddamn heart, it’s not theory it’s fact). He wasn’t a clone of any minion in particular, with Gru creating him simply to see if he could. I might retcon all this if I decide to make characters out of even earlier concept art, but that’s my idea for now

This makes no sense to anyone but me, feel free to ask about it

#despicable me #minions #stuart the minion #tim the minion #stuart jr the minion #mel the minion #dave the minion #ralph the minion #ron the minion #phil the minion (dm4)#ivan the minion #harold the minion #harley the minion #fox the minion #kevin the minion #Ok ok done

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jechristine · 5 months

Note

Two good roundtable discussions from critics about Challengers and Zendaya.

https://x.com/vulture/status/1784224020503707863?s=46

https://x.com/reeltalker/status/1783823205775343916?s=46

Thank you, Anon! There was so much in these two discussions. I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll just go with two excerpts that touch on topics that have come up on my blog recently.

A.J.B.: It’s kind of weird for Challengers to have that white-boy line because it’s a movie that doesn’t actually give a shit about race. Do you think white people are comfortable with Black women’s actual, fully embodied anger? Of course not. It would turn to them. It is hard for me to look at her as an exalted actress who deserves all of this power because there are so many talented young Black actors who get one good role before their careers flatline. Look at the men in Moonlight, Trevante Rhodes and Ashton Sanders. Look at Anna Diop from Nikyatu Jusu’s film Nanny — that woman is amazing. I’m happy there’s a powerful Black actress, but the fact that Zendaya is pretty much the only younger one who has this kind of power is not a compliment to her but a diss toward Hollywood. If she was so instrumental in the casting of Challengers, it behooves us to ask, “Why are you surrounded by white people if you have the power not to be?”

**********

Taryn: Tashi sticks out like a sore thumb in this very white world. She’s obviously Black. There’s even a point during her party early on in the film when we see she has a Black dad. It sucks, however, that “Challengers” aims to be colorblind up until the last 20 minutes of the film when Tashi says, “I’m taking such good care of my little white boys.” What’s funny enough is that that line made its way into the trailer. If it was that important of a highlight to make it to the film’s promo, then why is race put on the back burner in the film?

Instead, the filmmakers put an emphasis on class. Tashi notes that she doesn’t have the financial privilege that led Art and Patrick to tennis. That’s fair to point out, but it’s lazy to not explore the other obvious factors impacting their relationship.

Candice: Honestly, I think it could be that neither Luca Guadagnino nor screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, two white men, are equipped to handle any racial nuance. As we know, white filmmakers have historically been far more invested in themes of class than race. I also don’t think they have their Black audiences in mind either. I get the impression that they made a movie they thought was hot and cast a very popular Black star in a movie that would then exceedingly fetishize her through a white male lens. And that often made me uncomfortable.

[…]

A-ha, Taryn, I’m so glad you brought up that line about “taking care of my two little white boys.” It’s the only time in the movie where race is even brought up, and it seems so weird. Because part of the deal with colorblind casting is that race isn’t even supposed to be a concept, I thought. But then it’s brought up here and it’s like…. Um… OK? Seemed awkward to me.

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depressed-teacup-inc · 1 year

Text

Ok what was that play

Ok hi everyone, episode 24 out (yes I’m aware episode 23 isn’t out so we lack a whole bunch of fucking context) but let’s try to analyze this anyways.

So. Let’s try to take this a little bit at a time.

Episode starts, and Adrien is in London (probably happened in episode 23) and clearly had a bad falling out with marinette, courtesy of abuse mcbusive dad. Great.

Listen Adrien this episode was a mixed bag for me, because on one side I’m so happy that he finally got to stand up to his dad and tell him shit as it is (especially considering what happens in the season 5 finale which I will not spoil for those who didn’t see the leaks, but let’s just say he doesn’t get the chance to ever stand up to that man again) but the fact that all of that eventually boils down to “I’m done with you because you won’t let me be with marinette” is kinda upsetting?

And that’s really my biggest disappointment with Adrien’s character this season! Adrien was always a compelling and sweet protagonist that beyond romance, held friendship and support above everything, and craved freedom to live his own life, but all of this is kinda gone? He’s just a reward for marinette to win and save now, and everything he does (rebelling for his freedom) is only because of marinette.

If Gabriel decided to suddenly approve of Marinette or Marinette grew up to become just as bad as Gabriel (which frankly, considering the dynamic ladybug has with Chat Noir, where she constantly screamed at him until he became her yes man is unfortunately likely), Adrien would let it be, because he and marinette can be together! He would let himself be abused because he never actually grew as a person! If anything, he was downgraded by the show to purely Marinette’s love interest and it’s just such a disappointment because I genuinely enjoyed Adrien’s character (for all his flaws and bad writing in the show).

Anyways Adrien tangent aside, marinette goes looking for him during the end of year party (which just sidenote, a trampoline on the Eiffel Tower sounds super dangerous, and Marinette’s dress? Ugly as hell, for the dress that’s supposed to represent how much she’s grown and her talent in capturing people’s hearts with her designs, it is really bad, and I would have just put her in that concept art gown they had for her with the butterflies and warm pink gradient) and ends up in the art room of her school, where Felix and Kagami reveal to her the entire truth about the Agreste family!

…ok so several notes on this entire situation:

1. I’m sorry but for the life of me I couldn’t take this fucking play seriously. The masks and the poor props (the pillow for the baby bump) and Felix and Kagami’s super stiff abstract acting made me lose my shit and laugh, they could have literally just used the camera amok to make something with a bit more of a budget and an interesting art style, and had Felix and Kagami be the narrators instead of this shit

2. The sheer absurdity of this show to reveal all the biggest plot points and the entire catalyst for this story (if Emilie never made the sentibabies she would have lived and peacock miraculous wouldn’t have been broken, hence Gabriel wouldn’t be Hawkmoth) through a fucking play is beyond me and shows how little care the writers put into the plot of this show that doesn’t revolve marinette and true love, we should have figured this out not from two side characters but rather through Gabriel himself (bonus points IF ADRIEN GETS TO KNOW THE FUCKING TRUTH RATHER THEN HAVE MARINETTE KNOW IT AND CONTROL ADRIEN)

3. Felix and Kagami’s motives

Ok so this is a bit of a longer point, so let’s break this down. So I don’t understand Felix and Kagami’s motive change at all? I thought Felix all this time was working towards getting the peacock miraculous and stealing all the rings from the abusive parents because it was a moral thing for him? Like he is a sentimonster and he knows Adrien is a sentimonster, and therefore he keeps fighting to protect and save his cousin?

BUT APPARENTLY THATS NOT THE SITUATION ANYMORE??? So apparently Kagami is a sentimonster too (tho she never before season 5 gave that impression at all? If anything she seems very headstrong and independent, and her mom was never villain levels abusive, BUT I GUESS SHE IS NOW?!) and Adrien is not (this I believe is purely Felix being misinformed and not having the full picture, because there’s no way in hell this show would literally use the same visuals they used on Adrien to describe Felix being controlled by the ring without wanting people to draw a connection, but I thought Felix knew? I mean he was saying how he did all of this in hopes of freeing his dear cousin, so I assumed Felix knew all this time)

And because of that? Felix’s motive? True loveeeee.

…ok listen I don’t hate Felix and Kagami together but holy shit I hate that motive

Cuz it’s not like Felix can have a compelling motive for doing less then ok things because of devotion to family and protecting someone who’s the same as him (tho I will concede Kagami and Felix are apparently in love for being sentikids together and they are a cute dynamic so good for them) NO YOU GUYS WE NEED A HETEROSEXUAL ROMANCE, AND SCREW FELIX TAKING DIRECT ACTION TO SAVE ADRIEN AND TELLING HIM THE TRUTH, LETS JUST TELL MARINETTE EVERYTHING AND SHE’LL SAVE ADRIEN WITHOUT TELLING HIM ANY OF THE TRUTH BECAUSE SHES MARINETTE!

…but yeah I thought that entire debacle was a lot.

Also the way they removed akuma alerts this episode so Marinette can just not go to battle and be justified for chasing Adrien crazily, because otherwise she would have looked like a hypocrite? They literally had to remove something they had from day one of this show (an emergency alert for akumas) just to justify the fact marinette didn’t go to battle and chased Adrien so she wouldn’t seem like an awful person (and the way she’s literally not even feeling bad about missing a whole battle, and Chat Noir was berated for missing battles for not being able to escape his civilian life, BUT YEAH YOU GUYS ITS FINE LETS NOT THINK ABOUT THE DOUBLE STANDARD TOO MUCH)

Also Natalie’s hair going white to show she’s dying was kinda weird (was it supposed to show how she’s so sick she’s not even dyeing her hair red anymore?) and Gabriel’s akuma design was ugly as fuck.

But yeah I’m dreading the finale as I already know what is happening there and im fucking scareddd

(P.S. can everyone calm down saying Kagami and Felix are fucked up for how they got Marinette’s attention? They literally did the one thing they knew she’d care about aka she’s obsessed with Adrien she’d follow if Adrien is involved, this isn’t bringing up her trauma settle down girlies)

#miraculous ladybug #mlb fandom #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #felix graham de vanily #kagami tsurugi #ml season 5 #ml spoilers #ml representation #I am having a funeral for Adrien’s character and Felix’s motives #still find Felix and Kagami cute tho so good for them

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viccharine · 1 year

Text

who the HELL is panicking at this disco!!!!

(reblogs greatly appreciated!)

(available on my ko-fi shop!)

process + commentary under the cut!

about the piece: i found myself in a bit of a slump after pushing out so much art in about 2 weeks so this piece took wayyyyy longer than any of my other ones. i knew I wanted the concept of a thermometer as a “cigarette” (do you guys get it. because like. a fever you can’t sweat out. a high fever. right you guys get it right??????) but it took me a LOT of tries to eventually land on a composition i actually liked—do not even get me STARTED on how I incorporated the title. I couldn’t decide on using a font or hand lettering or even where to place the text, it took me a solid two days to get to where it is now and I’m not even 100% happy with it. i tried to mimic a playing card design with the text placement but I’m not sure how well I pulled it off

here are some of the process pics:

the concept itself comes from a lot of the references to addiction in the album as well as the heavy burlesque, early 1900s, circus influence on the album aesthetic (whoever thought of this album theme deserves an award, AFYSCO has genuinely some of the coolest concepts from a design perspective to me)

about the album: AFYCSO is probably one of the best debut albums imo (although that title probably goes to Olivia Rodrigo’s “SOUR” for me)—it’s genuinely in my top three favorite albums of all time, no skips whatsoever on there. regardless of my opinion on Panic! at the Disco (which was pretty much neutral, I never really got into bandom and I didn’t really listen to panic’s music outside of AFYSCO) AFYSCO will always have a special place in my heart, both musically and lyrically it’s SO GOOD

although, I will say that there are some misogynistic undertones (and in some cases just outright misogyny) in these lyrics—I did touch on this topic in my DANCE DANCE commentary so I won’t repeat myself, check that post for more of my thoughts. all in all, the album bangs, but the misogynistic undertones were basically unavoidable if you look at the album in terms of being written by a teenage boy in the early 2000s who got cheated on. hell hath no fury like a woman scorned but the devil himself doesn’t write lyrics like a teen boy cheated on—go figure. im not saying all the songs have misogynistic undertones but I will say there are a couple that are WAY in ur face (looking at you, I write sins)

anyway, that’s basically it, ok byeeeeee!!!

p.s: i was debating mentioning this because I feel like im beating a dead horse, but in light of Brendon Urie’s recent actions (as well as past controversial actions), I don’t support him and feel extremely bad about the people who his actions have hurt—but I don’t think that means much from a person who never really liked him in the first place. again, while I was a BIG fan of AFYCSO, I never really got into Panic! at the Disco (I only listened to Pretty. Odd. recently this month and before that I only really knew the big radio hits). im not gonna pretend like I know everything about what happened with Panic! at the Disco in recent years and truly? I don’t Care to find out—panic! has been disbanded, and while I look at AFYSCO fondly with nostalgia, I don’t feel much about the band itself

p.p.s: AFYCSO almost killed me once because when I had a kidney infection (although I didn’t know it at the time) I had an INSANELY HIGH fever. I thought to myself “haha this is a fever I can’t sweat out!! like the album!!” and then promptly passed out—I wasted my last coherent thought on some stupid P!TAD joke instead of. asking for medical attention. anyway I ended up in the emergency room so I didn’t die but it was a near thing

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lermisv4 · 2 years

Text

Some thoughts about Dabihawks and the “Enemies to Lovers” trope (someway through this turned into a character study).

OK, so this is a very weird thing for me to post, especially since I normally don’t post at all (and for the few people that actually follow me and may see this, I just reblog art and photographs for the most part so this may be even weirder). But anyway, I want to dump this here. I don’t know if this makes much sense or has much of a basis. And I’m far from a shipping expert. Warning in advance.

Normally, I do not ship. At all. I support canon pairings if there and I can tolerate ships for the most part. I am one of those people who get annoyed if everyone is gay in a work because my mind goes to “what would be the odds in real life” - I don’t mean many offense, but my environment made me only encounter homosexuality in fiction so I doubt my experience with LGBTQA people is universal, but to me it’s a rarity.

And a type of ship that particularly annoys me is “enemies to lovers”. I just couldn’t see it. At all. I hated the very concept of those ships and they were among the first things I would filter out when searching through the Archive. “Don’t like, don’t read” as they say and I sure as hell didn’t read.

This probably has a lot to do with me being a bit of a stickler for canon or canon details in many case, but to each their own.

Enter Dabihawks.

Funny thing, I don’t have a 100% clear memory of how I ran into this pairing because make no mistake, I’m VERY new in My Hero Academia. As in, barely a few months new. So I’m pretty sure I ran into Dabihawks when I was looking for porn and was mostly unfamiliar with the characters.

Yeah, that’s another thing I should mention. I don’t normally read porn fics featuring characters I’m familiar with. Mostly for the stated above reasons.

But Dabihawks? That’s different.

MHA is the first fandom in which I can actually say that I ship non-canon pairings. That “yeah I can absolutely see that”. And Dabihawks is the chief of them for reasons I don’t really get.

It should be everything I hate in a ship. My issue with the enemies to lovers thing is that very often those people don’t have a reason to become lovers, at least not the way I see it. I’m excluding AUs and stuff like that because your story, your playground, but Dabi and Hawks do not have an actual reason to get emotionally close to each other. It’s lies and zero trust and openly murderous intentions from both sides, and Dabi is a goddamn maniac (no I’m not using the medical definition of the term).

But this at the same time is what this makes this pairing work.

Dabi and Hawks feel fundamentally like very similar - or rather, parallel - people.

Normally, when taking an enemies to lovers dynamic, there are two main approaches that I see.

1) one of them is the victim of circumstance and the other person comes as some sort of saviour

This is a ship dynamic that I can see working, it has some tragic elements that work well for drama, puts both characters on a good and decent moral ground, and if written correctly can promote growth for them. When this becomes problematic is when this dynamic is shifted to “I can fix them”. When I’m not given sufficient reason to believe that “villain” person can become better.

Enter the second approach

2) Stockholm Syndrome - EDIT: I was told I was using the term wrong. They were right so I'm rephrasing it to "unhealthy attachment"

Excuse me if I wrote “Stockholm” wrong. Regarding the subject of “I can fix them”, I know just enough about relationships to know that this is a toxic mindset in real life. Many times the characters in these series get obsessed with the “villain” of the pairing, and likewise the villain becomes obsessed with the hero. However, in this case, instead of having a dynamic of “I want to offer a chance to help because I care about this person” and “I want to become better and I’m grateful to this person for giving me the chance to do so”, we instead have both characters adopting a far more toxic mindset. The hero feels less like “someone in love” and more like “someone with a guilt and/or superiority complex”. Likewise, the villain still acts with villainous intent. They want to lure the hero in. So in these pairings, the hero and the villain - the two sides of the enemies - do not share a common ground other than the battlefield.

And then there is OOC.

The thing about enemies to lovers pairings, particularly the seond type, is that one character needs to be the victim of the other character, or act wildly out-of-character for this to even happen. That’s why I oftenly associate enemies to lovers with manipulation to a certain degree.

Now, I admit my pool is... limited. My main encounters with such ships are all those “Harry Potter x Voldy/Draco/death eater here”, as well as some miscellaneous stuff like “Hibari Kyoya x Mukuro” or “Dark Marik x literally anyone” or “Aizen x Ichigo (wtf)”. Either the Draco in Leather Pants syndrom is in full strength, or this is going on.

So why do I find Dabihawks different?

Well, they’re both in the same shoes, and they’re both the victim, and they’re both the manipulator.

Dabi and Hawks have an extremely personal, pre-established connection long before they even meet, said connection being Endeavor. And it’s not really in terms “I want to overcome this guy” but rather “this guy irrevocably changed my life and is connected to my family”.

There are far better analysis essays here on this, but Dabi and Hawks are defined by two very different versions of the same person. Dabi knows Endeavor as the monster who pretends to be a hero and never loved him as a parent, while to Hawks Endeavor is the proof that there is good in this world and saved him from his parent. Endeavor is the physical manifestation of how they perceive the world they live in. Dabi sees the worst of the hero society because he grew up in it, while Hawks has completely fallen for the glamorous image. For Dabi, the existence of pro-heroes among people is not a spectacle but an inescapable part of life; literally, he lived in the same house as one. Meanwhile, for Hawks it was such a spectacle that he did not believe it to be real. So they both start from the same point - Endeavor - and reach completely different conclusions. One of them thinks the world is fake, while the other thinks that miracles happen.

Another thing they both are parallels/mirrors/foils to each other is how exactly the abuse was for each of them. I’m trying to put this in terms of invisibility and expectation.

A core question in both their childhoods is “why was I born”. We see both of them being faced with this question as early as their toddler years. Both of them are undeniably too young to get existential like that. Here is the difference though; Dabi was clearly told exactly why he was born by his father, while Hawks’ own mother posed this question to him. So here again we have two different paths from the same starting point. Dabi already knew the answer but it was ripped away from him, while Hawks was asked to find the answer until it was shoved into his hands.

I’ll talk more about that later.

So, invisiblitity? Dabi and Hawks were invisible in their own house in different ways. At first, Dabi had ALL the attention on him but then it was ripped away along with the answer to the question “why I was born”. This caused instability in his life, like somone tore off his foundations. Dabi desires this stability back; he technically already knows the answer to the “why I was born” thing, so he believes that with thee attention he will get it back. He always, ALWAYS screams at people to look at him.

Hawks on the other hand thinks that being invisible is a good thing. Hawks knew he was unwanted from the very beginning, and since he could not leave, the best thing he could do was pretend he’s not there. Hawks doesn’t want to be seen. So he’s quite, inexpressive, and diverts attention away from him. Hawks wants the answer to the question “why I was born”, but he knows all too well that his parents won’t provide it, so he doesn’t seek them out.

And that is when they both are thrown into the exact opposite situation of their comfort zone.

Dabi is shoved - metaphorically - intoa world where everything is defined by secrecy. Limelight villainy - aka the villains who attack people in broad daylight - are in danger because they attract attention, and now Dabi is a villain who works in secret, even though his nature is to want ALL the spotlights on him.

Meanwhile, Hawks is thrown in the world where all the limelight will be on him, while he’s most confortable just disappearing.

Here we come back to Endeavor. With the Hero Comision, Hawks is shoven the answer of “why were you born” into his hands. Now, I’m not saying Endeavor has ties with the Hero Commision. Unlike what fanfiction claims, I really don’t think Endeavor wants much to do with them. But the important bit here is how Hawks preceives it. Hawks already thinks that heroes are fantastical guardian angels, and tols that he WILL be a hero.

So Dabi starts out with all the expectations and attention piled on him, only for them to be taken away and for him to be thrown in the shadows. While Hawks starts with nobody having any expectations or paying attention to him, and then he gets shoved to the spotlight.

And how do they react to the situation? Well, with the exact same way; putting on completely opposite but based on the truth masks. Dabi pretends not to be the massive attention seeker that he is and instead feigns apathy; except this apathy is only partially feigned because he only cares about one thing - it’s just not villainy itself, it’s a person. Hawks on the other hand pretends to be far more happy-go-lucky and friendly than he actually is, but that’s also partially based on a truth; he is optimistic to a fault (his words).

And this is a very simplified version of what makes this pairing work. When they collide, they collide HARD in every single area. Because every single area is a common area. Their lives match each other’s step for step long before they actually meet, so they have a lot of common ground, and the line in the sand between heroes and villains is not straight. It’s jagged as hell because they both got dragged through it.

So when they do finally meet, their oposite beats more or less forces the other to remove the mask. We see Hawks getting angry and laser focused and emotionless, killing someone in a location where no one could see. We see Dabi danceing around like a drama queen and laughing at the camera in front of the whole world. In a sense, tey are finally back in their comfort zones. And they had to collide to do it.

Dabi doesn’t want to be saved by the hero, and Hawks doesn’t want to save the villain. They do NOT trust each other, but know each other better than anyone else, because their lives are so close.

And I think their fight in canon perfectly reflects that. In a darkned, enclosed location like the ones they grew up in, with Hawks trying to keep something a secret while Dabi demanding that all eyes are on him.

And this is why I believe it works as a pairing. Yeah, there is a lot of symbolism and popular ship dynamics you could throw here (icarus and the sun, blonde and brunette except that’s a lie, sunny boy vs emo dude) but no. It’s how they force each other to be REAL and to look at the other side of their path that makes this ship work.

I read a fair bit of Dabihawks fanfiction, and it rarely starts with love at first sight or “I love this person”. Of course it fucking doesn’t. It starts with them actually considering murder, and then getting uncomfortable because the other person is getting under their skin. By taking a look at each other, they are forced to take a look at themselves. Because they have the exact same kind of baggage.

It’s also one of the reasons I think that this ship has so much variety in it. I read plenty of Dabihawks porn. A thing I find in slash fiction is that in a popular pairing, there is almost always a designated top and a designated bottom with designated preferences. Who will be the Uke and who will be the Seme of the relationship. I can’t believe I just wrote that. There is this general concept of what they’re into. But with Dabihawks, there isn’t such a pre-established concept because both sides of the pairing can fit any role. You can have anything from service dom Dabi to pillow princess Hawks to both of them being soft, or both being sadomaschohists, to switches, and who tops or bottoms in fiction is up to a coin toss. And it always feels in character because they both have this...zigzagging yet parallel dynamic, of having same yet different starting points, and moving at the same axis, taking turns at the same points.

So yeah. Not sure how to finish this but... yeah. Here is why I think this pairing works. Thanks for reading, if you did.

#long post #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #dabi #todoroki touya #hawks #takami keigo #dabihawks #enemies to lovers #essay #shipping dynamics #fanfiction #fanfic #referenced smut #this may be very baseless on my part but feel free to criticise #actually I ASK you to criticise #original post

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jazzy-art-time · 9 months

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I didn’t post about it on my mod blog because I didn’t want to dampen the spirits that everyone else was having but I’ll mention things.. briefly here before the year ends.

If you just follow me for art then you prolly wont know what I’m sayin!! Carry on soldier. I will post more art again soon, it’s just time for me to post a long text post that prolly 90% of the people here wont know wtf I’m on about!!

Putting under the cut to avoid long post/put that negative crap under wraps

This year was horrid for me. In many ways but.

The entire thing with the stalker/doxxer went.. a lot deeper than people realize it was. That’s due to me just not mentioning what happened directly but It wasn’t just hate and harassment and doxxing it was..

Abhorrent. I’ll spare the nitty gritty details, to be Frank idk what good it would do to mention it all.

But even so, I was not the best person this year due to this.

I became irrational and paranoid. I left places suddenly without a word (or was being told to and did so out of fear). I stopped talking to a lot of people and became more of a concept than a person to many. Got snappy and bitter a lot of the time as well. Just overall became afraid of everyone and didn’t trust anyone at all and it made me someone I didn’t want to be.

Regardless of the situation I was going through, I shouldn’t have acted in a lot of ways I did. I can play the “I was being abused so wehh it’s ok how I acted” card all I want but the reality is.. it wasn’t really cool of me. I’m a grown adult, I’ll own up to that.

And I know I caused a lot of people worry by my sudden disappearances or mood changes. I was too focused on trying to protect myself and those I cared about that I became a bit?? Of a prick. And honestly I feel like I caused more damaged trying to “protect” other people from the situation. Irony is a cruel mistress.

I let someone else get too much control over me and my actions and let them use my own mental illness against me and make me somewhat nasty.

But it wasn’t right of me, no matter the circumstance.

But it’s all over now! All over now… for now anyways. But I still have to look at the mess left in the wake of everything and try to reassemble what I can.

So, if you were someone who was effected by my irrational and erratic behavior.. I do apologize. Idk what real “good” me saying that does.. but I don’t want to just not say anything at all.

I’m not saying all this as a like NYEHEHE IVE APOLOGIZED AND NOW I EXPECT EVERYTHING TO RETURN TO NORMAL that’s not what’s happening trust me lol. This is just my own guilt welling up a bit and me chucking it out into the world for the time being

I’ve been drafting and deleting a post like this all week because I didn’t want to go into a new year just brushing everything aside. But kept wondering what good it would even do or who would even give a shit.

But. Here is this post! It exists, for now! Who knows I may wake up tomorrow and go WTF NO and delete outta paranoia. Idk!

All in all…

I’m going to spend 2024 trying to rebuild myself. I haven’t been.. myself in nearly 2 years due to everything (and IRL circumstances as well that I won’t get into).

I have a better support now. So that helps me and has been helping me get better again. Not just in recovery and help with legal things but like. Just emotionally keeping me in check lmao

So I hope in 2024, things will be better. If not for me, then for others at the very least.

I know this post was long and negative and repetitive, but if I spend too long revising it I’ll just delete it again.

Idk if anyone will actually read this but??? Shrugs. Oh well. If anything I’m being selfish and just posting this for my own personal “”closure”” if you will

Happy new years, see you all around.

#negative #long post #delete later #doxx mention #stalker mention #I’m not staying up to celebrate new years cuz hashtag.. work 2morrorw #but I hope everyone else has a lovely night

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lemonthepotato · 1 year

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I Understand Goodbye Volcano High Now: A Short, Positive Review (Rambling)

When I first learned about this game, it was while watching a Dumbsville video on Life Is Strange 3, another game I enjoy. I have a peculiar interest in watching critiques of things I like. After watching his review, I found the concept and ending of this game to be humorously flawed. Intrigued, I decided to experience it firsthand. However, after only ten minutes, I found myself losing interest. I shared my thoughts on Discord, stating, and I quote:

“So I heard about this game called Goodbye Volcano High, and I opened a playthrough on YouTube to watch, got 10 minutes in and got bored. Read a review of it, and apparently it’s a story about a group of friends, emotional drama, blah blah blah, high school shit. And the ending, no matter your choices? THEY GET WIPED OUT BY AN ASTEROID. DID I MENTION ALL THE CHARACTERS ARE DINOSAURS. Oh that’s hilarious. I could get some ironic enjoyment if the dialogue didn’t feel so… stiff to listen to. I love it. Edit: Ok basically I’m 50/50 on this being either the best game or worst game ever. Imagine sitting through hours of choices about relationships and dynamics and then they get hit by a fucking asteroid. Edit: never mind this game is peak.”

So how did I change my mind only 40 minutes in? Let’s go on the journey. Who knows? Maybe YOU will change your mind.

Please note: I haven't personally played the game yet. I typically prefer to watch a playthrough before diving in, particularly for narrative-driven games like Life Is Strange or The Quarry. While it may seem unconventional, this approach allows me to provide insights on the story rather than technical aspects.

In fact, I will share the notes I took while watching.

At the 40-minute mark, I found the game to be peak during the tarot reading. The presence of foreshadowing indicated that the game had a deeper message to convey. I will admit though, the designs took some getting used to, the forward-facing Fang was a bit overwhelming. Perhaps the art team could have toned down the dinosaur features while maintaining their overall essence. It felt somewhat uncanny, (although I must admit it grew on me by the end.)

I appreciate the little moments in this game, like how Fang's small mishap with the MIDI controller caused a strong reaction. Pal, there’s a thing called “handle the situation with a thorough and careful cleaning rather than a light rub.” I love them, my little over dramatic iconic blorbo.

Massive kudos and praise to the talented artist responsible for the captivating visuals in this game. You’re a champ. Now, for the animation itself. Personally, I believe that animation is an incredibly challenging field, so I refrain from criticizing animators. The exceptional artwork compensates for any perceived shortcomings in animation, in my opinion. While the dinosaur aesthetic may not be my personal preference, I admire the creativity behind it. And you know, a criticism…

I often come across, is the criticism that Naomi's crush on Fang wasn't evident. However, personally, I believe there are several instances of foreshadowing that hint at their connection. Even if I were unaware of the plot twist, I might have still guessed it. It is amusing, though, that Fang is comfortable conversing with an unknown number.

Anyway, why do I cough and get wheezy when I eat?

Why are all the songs in this game so goood? They cut off suddenly sometimes, but still. Are they on Spotify? I’d love to listen to these. Honestly, I feel this games predictions isn’t too far off. If a meteor were to attack us, we would act non-chalant. Make memes. Older people wouldn’t care or comfort their younger kids. Everyone would pretend it’s okay.

While it may be, and probably just is coincidental, the presence of an intersex flag pattern on Trish's shirt in the F&F game has led me to a new headcanon about Trish. <3 Look, I just think it’s worth noting that intersex individuals often lack representation beyond being included as an "I" in acronyms. So even if it’s probably coincidence, I like it.

So it looks like this is the big reveal, with Naomi making the same dress the mysterious number showed Fang. And it seems like Reed is really down about the comet situation, and now it's all coming to a head. But the thing is, what can they even do? It's like no one wants to take action or even acknowledge it. I'm not an optimist, but there has to be something we as a species could do if an asteroid was heading towards Earth.

The tarot earlier was forgotten about, which is a shame, because I thought it was going to be explained. I forgot what it was so I can’t even google it. But yeah “death” isn’t good.

Perhaps I'm biased towards Fang, but saying "fuck off" doesn’t really sound that severe when Naomi was kinda being a bit of a dick. While Naomi had a valid point, she also seemed dismissive of others' aspirations. Personally, I might have responded more harshly in that situation, which is why I struggle with friendships haha… Additionally, I didn't fully agree with Trisha placing all the blame on Fang for not understanding her feelings. Fang can't read minds, but it's a complicated situation given their denial. But still- unlike Trisha, Naomi’s outburst seems… sudden? Less justifiable? Maybe I wasn’t reading in between the lines enough. At least everyone made up in the end. Coolio.

Wow, that ending. My interpretation is as follows. It’s better to be together than alone in times of hardship. Life is fleeting, and we could lose it any-day. We need to live for the moment, not for the future. We need to live our dreams, not just wait for them to happen. When destiny fucks you, you fuck it harder, essential.

Overall, a sincere 5/5 game. The problems are so little for me, and I say that as someone who criticises EVERYTHING. My only complaints is that MY ship wasn’t validated /j. Nah, I have very few.

Pry my ship from my cold dead hands, essentially.

Ranking:

Story: 4/5

Art: 5/5

Game Mechanics: Again, I only watched a walkthrough, so I can’t comment on that.

Pacing: 3/5.

Overall: 5/5.

I don’t normally do reviews. But well, this was an exception. I did use an AI to make my points more professional sounding, but most of what I wrote was from the heart, raw.

Why do people hate this game? It’s what I call the High Guardian Spice Effect. People get a bad first impression, so judge the final product too harshly. Granted, I think HGS isn’t as good as GVH, tbh. I thought HGS was okay. Good, even. Not great, flawed in many ways. But it was pretty average. But GVH? I think it’s a worse case. While HGS had a questionable trailer, GVH didn’t really have many red flags. People just didn’t like that it had anthropomorphic gay people in it, so judged it because of that.

I went in thinking I would hate this, but I loved it. I can’t wait to see what KO-OP has in store for the future.

Because I only watched a playthrough and haven’t played it for myself, I don’t know how much different dialogue options affect the story. I guess I’ll have to see for myself, one day. For now? I’m going to give my recommend/don’t recommend status. If you like story driven games, small interactions, slow-pacing (too slow for some, which I understand) and want a surprisingly wholesome apocalypse story? Check it out. If not? Understandable. Not every game is for everyone, and no game is without flaw. Even though I enjoyed GVH, I don’t regret watching that review I did. Didn’t I tell you? I love watching media I like getting criticised. It gives me a lot to think about. But I just think the story works for me. And while the story may have a “sad ending,” it’s the journey that matters. Can’t that be said for life itself? The meteor may have hit, but it’s everything in between that matters.

Although, yes, portraying it like your choices impact the ending may have not been the best decision. Then again, “nothing you do matters” is probably a bit hard to sell. Anyway, that’s all I have to say. I’m gonna go do my Duolingo lesson (2099 streak baby) Feel free to tell me I’m wrong though. Or right. I guess.

#goodbye volcano high #gvh #review #lemons random rants #lemons reviews #lemons random reviews

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