#pls develop these romances so i can at least get that

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

It's always the 40% mark that gets me on these books. It's just that Fourth Wing particularly doesn't seem to want to commit to a genre (and this is the case for many others like it). Is this a fantasy romance, where our focus should be primarily on the romance with a fantasy backdrop? Or is this an ambitious fantasy focused on the plot, intrigue, character motivations, etc.,

Because the characters are so flat...and so is the romance. Like we're told that Xaden should hate Violet, and yet he doesn't really seem to. There's not much depth to these characters. The character deaths either (1) make no sense or (2) add no value to the story. Like-in N.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdom we have two important, expositionary deaths: (1) Yeine's mother and (2) Enefa (These deaths are introduced in the beginning). They drive the entirety of the plot. They mean something, and they echo across the story like ghosts. But they aren't senseless, unfounded tragedies for shock value. Or even the deaths that occur within the actual events of the story mean something to the plot.

Fourth Wing is written in a very careless, relaxed way. Does not imbue the characters with anything actual character goals, and then shoves them into these 2D cutouts.

Enter Dain, who raises absolutely valid concerns but he's written so obnoxiously that it's obvious the story doesn't want us to consider any other alternatives. Why is Violet continuing on this path when one option is (1) death and the other is what? being shunned by a mother she doesn't even have a relationship with? Violet trained her whole life to be a scribe, her father is a scribe (and she seems to have had a relationship with him) and yet when she's offered an opportunity to become a scribe when Dain gives her multiple opportunities to a scribe -- he's somehow boring. The girl can't even mount the dragon. She gets hit once and she's got broken bones. Cadets die everyday. And we've watched like two people die (who are much more qualified) because???? And then -- just as I guessed she gets not only the biggest dragon of the lot but TWO. I literally wrote in my notes when we hear about the black dragon 'she's probably gonna get that one despite being the least qualified in the lot'

And if they need these cadets and dragons so badly -- why are they allowing hundreds of cadets to die senseless deaths (see: the parapet and all the other tasks)? It's dumb, and it makes no sense. How are y'all letting HUNDREDS of people die in BASIC TRAINING? Like allowing people to die fighting their own mates??? How is that even building camaraderie?????

Look, I like parts of Violet's character -- like when she finds innovative ways to combat her inexperience and shortcomings or her seemingly genuine tenacity for kindness. But the book is losing me here because we're 40% into the book and the WB is bad and the romance is just as flat. It's getting to the point that I can't ignore some of the plot holes.

[sewerdraws]

So happy that i finally completed my red spy's refsheet !! Meet the Niko, an embarassment to spies everywhere 😊

(With a guest hand appearance from Lawry, his situationship/pet/obsession/love of his life)

Backstory, lore and infodumping under the cut ! (cw for substance abuse and sex mention without graphic details, and uhh big wall of text ig)

i hope you love him at least 0.1% as much as i do pls 🥺

Biography :

Niko is born at an unknown date in the 1920's in Algiers from a Kabyle mother (part of the Amazigh peoples native to algeria) and a well-off russian businessman, who was initially on holidays in Algiers and fell madly in love with Niko's mom.

Somewhere in the 30's, they move to France because of the call for Algerian workers and because Niko's father can get a very well paid job in the capital. As such, Niko has access to an unusually high grade education for an algerian immigrant and speaks arabic, french and russian fluently from childhood. He's already showing great wit and an ease with words.

It all goes well enough until college, racism is a common occurence in his life but his financial status protects him much more than his peers. In college, studying advanced french literature, he gets sucked into the toxic circles of young boys from the parisian bourgeoisie who try to rebel and detach themselves from their status. At this point, he starts drinking and smoking, not knowing he will never be able to stop either. He experiments with absynth and opium to fit in, even though he hates the experience every time.

It's also at this point he discovers his sexuality and has his first gay encounters (of many), being constantly surrounded by young men who are also exploring their own feelings. He develops an aptitude for manipulation through romance and sex and quickly draws the conclusion that he can use this skill all throughout his life to get his way.

Somewhere in his early 20's, a party devolves into public chaos and Niko is unfairly convicted of Battery and Assault on a police officer. With barely a mockery of a trial, he is sent to prison for the next 5 years where he will be both psychologically and physically destroyed, but also develop new skills and come out an entirely different person.

[Skipping the trauma and hardcore stuff here, will touch on it on the alt !]

After a few years of struggling to get back on his feet, dabbling in both the legal and illegal, he is hired as a low-level spy to infiltrate prisons, due to his skills and past experiences. This continues up until he is contacted by RED, at which point he drops his past contract and disappears in the US.

End of biography

So yeah !! He's basically just Convict Spy. His grills are a very recent addition to his appearance, he gets those teeth busted at different points in time (the first in a college party, all subsequent ones in prison) and goes with a hole-filled smile for most of his life.

He has various non-pictured tattoos, all done in unsanitary conditions in prison, except the two on his neck who were done by Lawry and Blu Spy (ill develop his character later :3c). Some of them are to signify another person's ownership on him, wether wanted or unwanted, and some of them are to signify his ownership on another person (like the two neck ones hehehe)

[pavedinashes-if]

how would the romanced ROs deal with an MC that sometimes just forgets to eat... all day. because they got distracted

Finally getting back to this Q, from what feels like a century ago. But, I have to say I was jumping around from excitement when I received it. This is such an amazing ask and it took me a while to get it done properly so it fits the ROs just the way I imagine it would... enough of this tho, here's the A to your Q: L-O-N-G RESPONSE BELOW [author's comment: dear followers, pls remember, these Qs addressing all ROs are from a time I had my inbox open for these kind of long scenarios. atm my inbox is closed. thank you 💜]

Your Neighbour: They are a bit surprised they didn't notice any earlier, and they feel ashamed for it. From now on, they will make sure to have some light snacks ready in their fridge - always something different to prevent boredom and perhaps even inspire your appetite. They will also leave you little messages on post-its and send mobile check-ins. If their schedule allows, they want to eat together with you to establish a healthy habit and combine it with some quality time. There will be an equal mix of eating at home and dining out.

Your Ex: They know you struggle with eating regularly, and they hate seeing you go through it. They worry a lot because of this. Therefore, they came up with an ultimate plan. While they admit they're not great at cooking, there's one dish they excel at: their signature lasagna. So one thing's for sure: there will always be some lasagna in the fridge that they'll feed you if necessary. Furthermore, they've developed a strategy of placing little treats you enjoy everywhere, like a tasty protein bar in your jacket, an apple in your backpack, or a self-made shake with your favorite ingredients in the fridge - hoping to remind you to eat, keep your mood up, or prevent your blood sugar from reaching hell.

Your New Foe: They're fuming. Seriously? You're not a kid anymore. They will definitely scold you about your careless behavior. Damn, this talk will be uncomfortable. What you don't know though, is that they are deeply worried. Unfortunately, their coping mechanism with worrying sucks. They're really mad at themselves for not seeing it sooner. Suddenly, they storm out of the room, and you think it's because they're still mad at you. When they don't return and you hear noise from the kitchen, you decide to check what's going on. "What are you...?" you ask, but all you get is some Polish mumbling, and although you don't understand it, you're sure they are cursing. Besides this, you don't get any attention for now; they are fully focused on cooking. Lucky for you, they are incredibly talented, and you can expect a table full of mouthwatering dishes. I mean, what you don't finish today will surely feed you for the rest of the week.

Your Best Friend: They sigh. They know you tend to skip meals, and they've tried to talk to you to figure out how to fix this, but until today, nothing has helped. When they find out it's one of those days again, they'll suggest going to eat something - maybe some deli, some fries, just something quick because their priority is to ensure you eat something as soon as possible. It's a nice side effect that the time meant for a quick meal turns into a fun exchange and a sorrow-free 2-hour talk. They'll set a reminder on their phone to check in on you and call at least once a day. In the evening, they will order food from your favorite restaurant and enjoy it with you at home.

Your New Friend: Your new friend is confused. To them, eating is almost a holy ritual, which they celebrate properly - maybe even a bit obsessively. "Wait a sec, imma be back real quick." A raised finger demands you not to move. They hurry out of the room, and 5 minutes later, they return with three plates full of... um... food? You take a skeptical look. You're not sure if it's some art project or something that your body will reject the moment it enters it. You try to recognize what's served. Are these flowers? Truffles? Gold leaves? WTF? Your brows furrow. When you look up at them, there's this expectant expression all over their face. All you manage is to send them an awkward "Thank you?" before you take a fork and cautiously explore the contents of the plates.

Your Childhood Friend: Bianca is surprised to hear that there are days when you don't eat. She only remembers that you had a healthy appetite when you two were friends as children. Fortunately, she always carries some snacks around. Maybe they're not the healthiest, but at least you won't faint. Besides, she will come visit you at work/university, etc., and bring you some fresh smoothies and cupcakes. Okay, okay, it's still all sugar, BUT (!) the smoothie has fruits in it, okay?

Your Rival: "The fuck do I care?!" Sigh, sorry, MC.

Your Best Friend’s BF/GF: It’s rare to see them so serious, and that’s because they suffered from an eating disorder for a very long time and only recently managed to regain control. They understand that food can be a sensitive topic. Suddenly, something in their expression changes, a smile growing on their face. “You know what, amore mio? We will eat together from now on. I will make sure you get some proper authentic Italian food. Nobody can say no to that. You don’t need to take care of anything, capisce? Let me…” they send you a seductive smirk, their finger gently running over your forearm, “…take care of you.” accompanied by a flirty wink.

Your Boss: You two sit in their office and talk, and then, out of nowhere, you drop the bomb. You didn’t eat anything today, and obviously, this is something that keeps happening to you. They look at you with an emotionless expression on their face, their eyes not betraying their thoughts - yet you notice their jaw clenching. Then they stand up without a word and leave the room, but before you can figure out what’s going on, they’re back and sit down again. None of you is talking. It’s an awkward atmosphere. To ease the strange energy, you begin to speak about your day, and they listen - still no emotion visible. About 20 minutes later, there is a knock at the door. “Come in,” they respond, without taking their eyes off of you. One of their employees enters with a plate full of food. Once it is placed down in front of you, you realize it’s your favorite dish, together with a glass of water. “Eat.” This single word makes you look up at them, their arms crossed as they expect you to do as ordered. They won’t leave before the plate is empty. And neither will you. Oh, and this will be the last time you didn’t eat anything in a day.

Your Doctor: Worried wrinkles on their forehead, their head resting on their hand, a heavy sigh with closed eyes. “Ok, that’s not working. We need to…” they hesitate, thinking which words to pick next. “figure out a way to avoid this in the future. Tell me, is there a reason this happens?” They’d like to find out why you don’t eat and since when this is the case. They will worry, a lot, and their thoughts will circle around this topic so much, they’ll be zoning out mid-day, thinking about you and whether you are okay. Knowing just too well about the consequences for your physical and mental health, they will make it their mission to help you develop a healthy coping strategy. To them, this means cooking for you in the evening and preparing little bento boxes for the day. Congrats, you’ve just added another thing to their long daily bucket list. Fun fact: Your meal plan is way superior to their own.

Your Supplier: Oh? They forget to eat too. It seems like you’ll both starve, and it’s just a question of who’s first. They’ll joke about it. Though, to your surprise, your admission changed something in them. It’s from this day on that they will finally eat regularly, just to make sure you do too. Who would’ve thought this was possible, turning this chaotic being into somebody taking responsibility for themselves and somebody else. Spending time together eating, creating a ritual out of it, this feels like a gift to them, and they discover emotions they never experienced before. Finally, your relationship takes another turn, a more serious one.

A Stranger: They noticed - of course they did - and while they tried to make sure you two eat when you are together, they cannot control your eating behavior when you are not together. They didn’t want to address it directly to avoid making you uncomfortable, but now that it’s out, they will ask if it is okay for you if they… take care of it. “What do you mean ‘take care’?” you ask them, confused by their remark. From tomorrow on, there will always be a delivery with the most delicious dishes for you, no matter where you are - at home, at work, wherever. And it will always be something you would kill for. Of course, when you two are together, you’ll be going to the fanciest restaurants in town and even abroad, because why not fly spontaneously to Paris for the freshest baguettes and croissants in the morning? Yup, they’re good at these kinds of things.

[physalian]

I think being an ace writer lets me write sex and romance with less of my own biases/wants/what-I-think-is-sexy getting in the way, to better incorporate these scenes into the story as a method of plot and character development instead of just gratuitous, among other things. In the same way being atheist lets me write real and fantasy religions without my own beliefs interfering, because I can respect religion academically and objectively, as a tool, not a given.

I write my characters in tons of situations that I myself would never enjoy, anything from bathing together or having kinks or even making out. I know why people enjoy these things and I’ve read enough romances to know how to write the proper buildup and the right tone to strike and all that jazz and I do enjoy reading romance.

There’s absolutely other factors at play here and I can’t speak from experience for a lot of the situations I put my characters into (nor do I write smut, I’ve tried, I’m bad at it because I’m ace) but I’ll beta read sex scenes for original authors, especially cis/het authors, and while “writing to satisfy yourself or your readers” is different than straight up just writing a story that includes romance, I seem to keep finding myself stuck with a constant stream of author wish fulfilment, a lot of newbie original authors seem… narrow-minded when it comes to sex.

Like they can only imagine what they find kinky or romantic or sexy, like the subtext is saying “this is sexy because I think it’s sexy and if you don’t think it’s sexy something’s wrong with you”. Which isn’t at all a problem in fanfic for whatever reason (probably because these authors also tend to think sex=romance thus smut=character development).

So I have a character with a medical kink, for example. I haven’t had readers gushing over him or that scene (haven’t had that many readers period, mind you), but I haven’t had any complaints, either. Heck, my protagonist in ENNS is a frustrated virgin in a vampire romance who at one point realizes “hm yeah I definitely don’t hate teeth anymore pls do it again” meanwhile I’m sitting back with my metaphorical coffee going “you have fun now, enjoy”. Maybe because it’s not just an 111k word fantasy smutfest but his self-discovery is part of his arc.

But I think the difference is, either in just skill at my craft or being on the outside looking in, is that I think “what would he think is sexy? And how would I go about writing that?” vs “what do I think is sexy? And how do I go about contorting my characters to fit that?” I spend the time making sure he’s in character, it makes sense for his character, and that he’s acting authentically.

Or at the very least, I think aceness (and possibly aro-ness we are undecided in that department) gives you a baseline of 0, clean slate, not that aces can’t enjoy the idea of sex, the idea is that sexuality is self-contained. But when your whole life is sex-favorable/allonormative I think it puts blinders up.

Or, I just keep reading heterosexual romances that leave something to be desired. Not just beta-reading, the romances in like, Maas books, for example—no kinkier or more wish-fulfilling than a fanfic with the same tags, but there’s something so cheap and artificial about those sex scenes. The first time I read… I think it was book 3 or 4 of the TOG series and I realized just how much sex there was, I legit got bored and scanned ahead until I could get back to the story—and I have sat through fanfics that surpass 100k words with as much smut and I am fine and entertained. Is it because she’s not a great author, or because she’s a cis/het author with blinders up, or some mix between the two? I have enjoyed poorly written but sincerely written smut in fanfic, so it can’t be that, either. If this was a science experiment and I’m controlling for all other variables except the sexuality of the authors and/or characters, I’d have my answer.

That’s not at all to say allonormative authors cannot write beautiful romances and hot sex scenes. There is only one (1) romantic scene in Maas's books that I used to go back specifically to reread, and it was just two characters finally tossing decorum aside to make out. She lost me completely after that.

Just in my experience, inexeperienced allonormative authors vs queer of any kind tend to be worse at making it compelling and sincere and my theory is that they can’t escape their own ideas of what sexiness is, because they've never had to, and can't get in the minds of characters and readers who don’t all think like they do.

—

Interested in a queer vampire fantasy novel? Eternal Night of the Northern Sky is out now!

[jadequarze]

I’m considering getting Fields of Mistria. Can you give me your best sales pitch/thoughts on the game so far? Main point would be is it worth its price or do I wait for it to be on sale? Alternatively is it just a shit game (based on what I’ve seen I don’t think so but you’ve actually played it, so I’d love your opinion pls and thank)

Keeping in mind, it is an early access game and I haven't full gone too deep into the game yet. So, take it as you will.

It's a really chill farming game. There's no mini game when it comes to fishing, though you need to throw the cast near the fish, basically cast the hook in the fish line of sight. It does get tedious though especially when you're still in early game and the fish doesnt spawn immediately (afaik). But it is great, I do like that there's no minigame and the fact that you really need to be ready to reel them fishies in. Farming is as usual so, nothing to add there. At the moment, you basically have infinite watering can. The game have skill points that you can put into as you're leveling your skills. You gather your skill points by farming, fishing, chopping trees etc. i do want to say, you have to make sure you have ample stamina if you unlock mining. It's difficult (at least to me because I wasn't focusing on cooking) to have food stock up. Gameplay wise, it's a fun little pixel farming game. The characters are charming and you can pet the animals. There are animals NPC that you can build friendship with and you can pet them!

This went longer than I thought. Technical for this game, the audios sometimes glitch and the music cutting out. It does come back when you get into an instance and went back in again. The combat is clunky so be careful if you're going into the mines. It's not game breaking, it's early access shenanigans. It is a fun game, it's still in development and don't expect anything much. Romance wise, there's a lot of romance options in this game. So, have a look into them if you're curious who there are.

[actualbird]

hi zak!

the main story cn pv reminded me of a question I had! sorry if it's boring / has been discussed on here before, but how do you think the timeline of the game works? do you read the main story as an au different from the universe in which Rosa is with one of the guys (which means there'd be at least 4 "universes", one per guy but with the main story as part of that development), or do you see it as entirely seperate?

I personally tend to like the idea that the main story is a precursor to the relationships / happens within the first year before they start dating. I think it (as of what we have on global rn) has to come before that first anni mark, bc the boys are still stuck in some of the issues they had before they began to develop. also, some of the important developments from the main story must exist, such as meeting vyn in his home or defending Marius in ep 2 for their respective stories to even exist, which implies some sort of layover between the two. some characters, such as Harry grant, also appear in events tailored toward the others (if I recall, harry appears in the event for vyns first birthday), which implies the story has continued beyond the point "required" (only up to ep 2 is 100% necessary to begin vyns route) for each ml. in my opinion, this implies that the main story has unfolding effects on the story, but it feels like we see less of the latest chapters have impact into the specific solo ml events or stories.

the events do sow a little more chaos imo. the really big events imply a realistic passage of time; 3rd anni event seemed implied to have also come in the 3rd year since Rosa joined nxx. but this also feels like a wrinkle because it stands in the way of the idea of it existing in the same timeline as Rosas relationship with whatever man. if they were doing the blizzard red thread event as an nxx team, it implies the nxx duty has not been completed, right? but at that time in the mls story line, they were dating right?

I find it hard to believe Rosa is in a relationship w whichever guy at the time of the main story just due to their lacking growth. as a vyn stan, it's most apparent in him to me. in the main story he struggles w trust and still seems very standoffish, but these are things he has begun working on and continues working on as his feelings, and eventually relationship, develop. I'm not as bothered by some differences, like how Luke's illness is revealed in the main story vs how it was revealed to Rosa in his story, bc I can reason that to myself as making up for the fact that not everyone plays everyone's stories or in whatever universe, such as one where Rosa is with Artem, she would not find out as she did in Luke's story, but if she were with luke, maybe his main story would "take presidence" in the sense of what's canon? I guess in the sense of a weird if; then sort of thing?

idk if this made sense and I'm so sorry it's so dreadfully long and ranty. I have a lot of thoughts about how the storylines could connect but also struggle to line up, and I was curious as to what anyone else had to think or say about it, especially if there's any details I'm for getting. but also as this is so long pls don't feel the need to answer it, or even to answer it with something like super detailed. I just wanted to put my thoughts out there and ask what you personally tend to lean toward in ur own thinking :]

ohhhh this is a really interesting view you have!!

my personal view is kjsbflkdl completely different tho. i personally see the main story route and all the romance routes as like Completely Different Timelines/AUs, where main stories 1-5 happen before the romance route but then after that, diverge completely

i remember....i made a chart about this....once.....but i didnt save the image and i cant find it on my blog anymore kjBKSJFDF

but yeah i view them as different timelines. mostly because it's a headache to marry all the timelines into one, but also because luke (my brain's constant focus) is so different in his romance route and main story route. i view those two lukes as separate versions of luke, and thus these stories as stories that happen independent of each other

your view is really cool tho and i enjoyed reading this ask :D

[sungpeach]

n a v i g a t i o n

hi yall i'm demi (26, they/she, pacific) and this is sung! feel free to give this a like or dm me on discord at demi6468 if you'd like to plot

if you're wondering if i'm the demi you know... probably. it's been a while since i've done tumblr rp so pls bear w me. this barbie is also a shawol so expect constant references in and out of character. that said, more sung info (sungfo, if u will) below:

-----

background:

grew up poor but then listened to paris hilton and just stopped being poor (or, as history will say, his parents' restaurant business blew up)

moved around quite a bit in older child/tween years as the business grew

was an idol fan from a young age, but the 'rents wanted sung as their business successor

sucks 4 them sung became a trainee anyway. was set for debut after a couple years but that fell through, then the company started treating him as a model instead of an idol and it wore him down and he left

took on military service

didn't give up on his dream tho, joined another company after coming back and worked as a back up dancer for a fallback

tldr for the ending survival show > temporary group > disbandment > solo

personality:

vitamin, sunshine, kind, sweet, polite, hopeless romantic, hard working, determined, introspective, dreamer, overthinker, judgmental, gives himself very good advice but very seldom follows it, can be a bit manipulative (though he doesn't think he is)

he's a pisces, for context on all the above. also a crybaby. cries for happiness, sadness, anything in between

sung's idol self and true self aren't particularly different, idol sung is just more careful/shows negative traits less. he has a pretty good reputation, and a lot of his Brand relies on being likable

the biggest actual difference is sung's a raging homo, which ofc isn't public knowledge

introverted extrovert. most would class him as an extrovert, but he really needs the time to have a cool down period

plots:

sung loves to read, so fellow readers are an easy connection

cares Very Much about music and dance. while he's a known kpop gg stan, he has a decent range of taste in music. over his idol career, he's developed a strong love for songwriting and choreographing to where at this point he's not particularly interested in releasing anything his hands Haven't touched. this is a great place for other diehards/creatives to connect, but also where sung's negative traits could come out. he could be quick to judge someone's commitment level and react poorly due to it

it'd be Lovely to fill the role of a choreographer that sung really respects and has a close relationship with. preferably not an idol for this one, but they would be the person who co-choreographed and starred in sung's move! i see this relationship as one where their passions about dance line up very well and it was an instant connection. they could have worked together at other points as well, like choreographing for bsides for his first solo concert

that said, would also love other dancers that he keeps on retainer for releases and performances! as he cares so much about his ~art~ he really wants to keep those he feels align with his work. so the same faces pop up a lot. he's very loyal and gives flowers (mostly metaphorical but literal too) to all staff and crew, whether they're on stage with him or not

also loves romantic dramas. he's less knowledgable in other fields (least knowledgable in horror) but still partakes. he's just more likely to sims 4 get famous scream and faint over a romance actor

any athletes i am so sorry to tell u this gayby has no clue who you are

other survival group members! idt i'll make it an official wanted ad since i left everything so vague, but there are so many directions for that. i also Headcanon jsj (the temp group) to being a pseudo sibling group with rhiannon and yebin's viv:id 🤓

i'd love for another vivid member to come and be the feat on sung's song be your enemy! yebin was karina in want and rhi was seulgi on heart stop so it'd be fun to continue the trend

another negative place to come from could be just catching sung on a bad day back when he was pushed as a model in his og company. he was very worn out, discouraged, and idk teen hormones im sure didn't make it easier. on the flip side, someone supporting him then would be lovely

the easiest way to tick sung off without much effort has to do with politeness. he gives a lot more grace to foreigners, but really doesn't stand for it from born koreans

i mention negative ideas most since those are hardest for nice muses BUT in gen, sung is kind of a 'friend of the industry' guy. though, especially when he was younger, he had a hard time picking up on cues from people that they didn't want to be friends. he's pretty full on and touchy straight away. loves him a little cuddle

with romance, he's a chronic falling in love with friends-er. but he's also a True hopeless romantic so a guy says smth nice to him once and he walks away with a little bit of a crush 9/10 times. doesn't tend to go for his best interests, so negative romantic r/s are welcome too (past or present)

also he had a gf sometime when he was around 16-18, so that could be fun to play with!

[mirrorofliterature]

1, 6, 7 for the questions to make you hate me ask, pls.

thanks for the ask! my answer is pretty consistent across these questions and probably not a shock.

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

I'm taking 'get' to mean 'understand why people ship something even if it does not appeal to me, personally,', which wipes out a lot of ships I just generally dislike. I'm pretty open to ships and generally can view a ship objectively and say: 'yeah, even though I don't vibe with that, I get why others do' (such as ernesto/hector or snape/anyone).

That cut away a lot of popular ships I don't ship but understand the logic behind - so all that came to mind was Tom/Mary from Downton Abbey. I just??? I like their canon pairings? They're great found family and siblings? Why ruin that with a romantic slant? Also Chase/Carmen San Diego like??? Carmen is a verified lesbian? And Chase is definitely not romantically interested in her? These are relatively popular pairings btw. And from HP I don't understand the appeal of Harry/Hermione. They're platonic! Very platonic and siblings and found family! (although if it is a Harry/Hermione/Ron fic consider me intrigued at the very least). Also Jason/Percy or Jason/Nico or Percy/Nico from PJO... they're all just bros to me.

Essentially: a bunch of ships where I'm like: but they're PLATONIC soulmates, hello??? why ruin that with romance? idk.

6. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

YES. Jegulus. Because popular fanon Jegulus or JegulusTM has NO RESEMBLANCE to their canon selves and I just - ugh. I have discussed this before.

Essentially the main draw for Regulus fic FOR ME is exploring his and Sirius' brotherly relationship, and I think James&Sirius relationship is EQUALLY IMPORTANT to both characters, and mainstream Jegulus fics just massacre these brotherly relationships. So if it hadn't blown up - I'd be like 'fun rarepair!' But now I cannot stand it, which is a shame, because my aversion developed just as a sequel to a lovely fic started with jegulus in it - by an author I trust! It's infuriating.

7. Is there anything you used to like, but now can’t stand?

See above: jegulus. Also remadora.

make people hate me: asks

[tharizdun-03]

86 Part 2 Review

I am moving some of my Twitter threads over to Tumblr as well. This is one of them.

Part 2 was a bit better. We didn't focus too much on the world-building issues that Part 1 has, which was immediately an improvement, but the foundation is still wonky with some underdeveloped characters, but it has its moments here and there. It ended well.

Let’s talk about Shin, cause he’s really the main character in this part. I often found him quite bland tbh. I do still think that most of his intrigue was in his backstory with his brother, which wasn’t much of a story, it was just back. It was that underdeveloped.

I mentioned it in my thread for Part 1, but as that part of his character is finished, he’s just really fucking boring in this part, my God. There’s the nice little, you know, don’t really have a purpose but fighting and am suicidal thing, which, neat, but it was so rarely really touched upon. Most of the time he just didn’t do much, or say much, anything. 

The second to last episode finally got into his head, and, it was mostly just stuff we already knew, so still not the deep dive I was looking for, but the visual presentation was pretty nuts. 

It was probably my favourite episode just for that tbh. This is Toshimasa Ishii's TV directorial debut, I just learned. Maybe a guy to keep an eye on in the future, at least from this episode alone. It's a pretty well-directed series, in general, tho, I'd say.

Then Lena comes in, and, I've mentioned it before too, but their relationship is just too under-developed, she shouldn’t be as inspiring to him as she is. 

The first ”hint” throughout the show, of romance, was Lena walking in on some couple flirting and imagined doing that with Shin as she was talking on the phone with him, and that's like, alright, 16-year-old girl, fine, she can think that, but we have barely anything from Shin. 

You have to build up romance. They're really trying to present this as if Lena gave him something that his friends couldn't, that she was of special value to him, but we don't get much of that in the actual show. Well, there’s a bit, of her being able to live on which is new, cause he’s the Reaper, but it doesn’t warrant all this, for me. Her boring, redundant lines shouldn't change Shin's entire worldview like that.

The payoff doesn't feel earned when the writing that went into their relationship doesn't warrant it. And then they just shove the romance in our face in the finale too, as they all tease about Shin and Lena (their guardian even says ”boy meets girl”), like come on lol.

Then it’s also that the characters, having been on the battlefield all this time, have it ingrained in them that they want to go back out there and fight, and it's just, kind of... I dunno. It makes sense? Yeah, yeah it does. It's just a bit annoying cause the audience knows they're completely wrong and their guardian is correct, they deserve a normal life, but it gets the plot going at least? They could've really delved into this with them all in a more tragic kind of way, but well. Oh yeah, there’s Frederica.

Yeah…

She’s nine years old. She can drop complex lore on us or tactical strategies, yet can’t pull her hat from covering her eyes.

She’s really annoying, and the narrative finds any excuse it can to force her to the battlefield, where she has her little moment with Kariya (who does nothing but yell btw, give the "antagonist" a bit more meat pls 86). I don’t really like her much. Her voice grates me.

I actually missed Lena this season lol. 

The side characters don’t really get much. You know, the Kurena is still crushing on Shin, Anju is still scaring people, and the spiky-haired guy is, mostly the same, tho there was a nice confrontation with Shin. 

And, I’m gonna address a critique people brought up last time. Yes, of course, there are examples in the real world where oppression started suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, but no, that doesn’t justify the show’s execution of this. You misunderstood my point.

The world-building in part 1 is just that under-explored. Even in real life when there are sudden turns like that, it’s not really that sudden under the surface. There’s a history of propaganda, events; build-up that lead to that sudden switch. We don’t get anything of that in 86. I mean, I don’t even believe that fiction is automatically a-okay in its exploration of events if the same things happen in real life, but it doesn’t even happen here. The anime literally misses all of that. So, that was my point. Comparing it to reality doesn't do much here.

Anyway, the dialogue is really repetitive, they recycle a lot of thematic points and lines all of the time (they all harass the 86 with the exact same retorts each time, the 86's reasons for still fighting that they keep repeating, the side characters shticks being repetitive who besides that mostly just talk about Shin, every time we delve into Shin we get what we already knew in a slightly different but basically the same way, etc.) And it always has to be so on the nose, like the guy who wants to pay for his sister's education, of course, he loves her so much his entire room is filled with pictures of her, like come on, don’t shove it in my face (or Shin and Lena's romance being teased by the other characters as previously mentioned). They also bring Fido back, after that beautiful farewell in Part 1, which kinda pissed me off. Overall tho, it’s just boring, predictable, uninteresting, unoriginal, etc. It's stuff I've seen before, and here explored as little as possible, and when it does so also does it in such a redundant manner that it's difficult to believe it has the impact it has on the characters. But, a lot of the time when it is all these things, it’s fine. Not outright bad, just fine, and occasionally good. If you asked me if I think the show is any good, I’d say it’s just alright. 

Score:

Original Twitter Thread: https://twitter.com/Tharizdun03/status/1528093097183297536?s=20&t=zrQ61ygZkLcbEWXQzq0K2Q

86 Part 1 Review: https://www.tumblr.com/tharizdun-03/701000254353506304/86-part-1-review?source=share

[erb23]

Four seasons in and we finally have a new costume for our titular heroine. It feels a bit... too little to late by this point.

[jasontoddsguns]

I’ve read a fair amount with Talia (not a huge expert but good enough) and this is what I believe to be the situation as far as her age:

When she was originally created, she was SUPPOSED to around 18, yes. But in just the comics, I don’t believe it exactly got stated? We knew she was college-age, but not necessarily only 18. However, Dennis O’Neil stated in interviews that 18 was what he was going for. In my opinion, her behaviors in those comics, as well as her relationship with Ra’s, does make most sense with her only being barely an adult, even if obviously the fact that Bruce most certainly was in his late-20s or older is… not great, to say the least.

I’m not sure if saying they DATED when Talia was 18 would be accurate, though. In the early comics, their romance was mostly kept to Talia kissing Bruce on the cheek, and him smiling or blushing and complimenting her beauty/intelligence, while also trying to get her to understand that in the long run they weren’t going to work out. As far as Bruce’s receptiveness, he does kiss her (on the lips) once, but I don’t think much happened besides that.

Anyway, the whole 18yo thing got retconned around a year after her creation, in Marv Wolfman’s Lazarus Affair storyline (Batman #332-335), in which it’s stated that Talia is semi-immortal like her father, and (if I’m remembering correctly) around 150-200 years old. In this, they start actually dating for real and whatnot, but it doesn’t really matter since they’re both over the age of 25 (when brains are fully developed).

Her being immortal then gets retconned 6 years later in Batman: Son of the Demon, where it’s told that her mother most likely got pregnant with her somewhere around the end of World War 2. With today’s dates, she’d still have to be using the pit to look as young as she does, but this was in 1987, making her around 40. Probably not far from Bruce’s age, but possibly a bit older? (Also mentioned in Batman: Bride of the Demon, published 2 years later and by same writer, that no one but Ra’s has used the pit since Talia’s mother’s death, so she really couldn’t have used it before.)

Of course, this only lasts 5 years before Batman: Birth of the Demon, written by Dennis O’Neil once again, is published. In this, Bruce asks how old Talia is and assumes she’s immortal, admitting that he was hoping to get beauty tips from her on how to stay looking so young. Talia, although flattered, quickly denies this assumption and explains that she is “not yet thirty”. But obviously, when as young as 18 is a possibility, that’s pretty vague.

That’s where her parents meeting at a music festival comes in. Birth of the Demon was the original comic to include such a concept, with Talia stating that her parents met “in Woodstock, New York, during a music festival”. The confusing part is that I’m pretty sure Woodstock (1969) didn’t end up actually happening there? Either way, I’d assume that was probably still what she was referring to (most likely just an error on the writer’s side).

This, on its own, actually says a ton about her age. Birth of the Demon came out in 1992, which is only 23 years after the Woodstock festival. With pregnancy time in consideration, even if Talia was conceived at Woodstock itself, she couldn’t be older than 22. It also talked a ton in this graphic novel about how Ra’s and Bruce have known each other for a lot of years now, so… we’re back at the start. Yet again, Talia was canonically around 18 when they first met.

I haven’t read much from post-2006 (for obvious reasons), but between 1992 and 2006 the only age mention I can think of is Talia being younger than Nyssa, who… I believe is maybe around 200-300? Actually, just in general, it seemed like Talia definitely wasn’t immortal in Batman: Death and the Maidens.

Uhhh I guess there’s also Batman Odyssey to take into consideration? It’s one of the few things I’ve read post-2006, but I’m also quite confident it took place in a different universe. Anyway, it was a plot point in it that Bruce and Talia were friends as toddlers due to their parents being business partners. Since they were both toddlers at the same time, the age gap there really couldn’t have been more than a year.

That’s really it as far as my own information, so maybe someone else can add on to me as far as post-2006.

“Not an expert” bitch then wtf is this. Don’t sell yourself short.

[beaulesbian]

i definitely agree that byler endgame makes the most narrative sense with all 3 character arcs (will, mike, el) and what theyve shown so far, but that's assuming the writing will be airtight in quality, bad writing could still happen (although generally the show has been very well written in terms of narrative arcs). also may be just me but noah tweeting that he ships byler makes me think it wont happen bc he wouldnt tweet it if it was a spoiler? i am def overthinking things tho lol july 1st pls come already

I completely understand where youre coming from.

tbh its a bit weird seeing noah tweet about byler, but at the same time i think this is just so more ppl notice something else than their pressumed heteronormative romances in the show- like if theyre now mentioning it more in interviews, behind the scenes, tweets, etc, its to bring attention that theres something that maybe ppl missed if they didnt look for it.

If it was baiting i feel it would cast very bad light on netflix afterwards, especially since they were losing ppl interested in their streaming service this year and want to bring more ppl back rather than to make them more upset.

Also netflix just made heartstopper, which i think is doing pretty successfully? (Im not looking on any numbers, its just the vibe of reception of the show), so if they suddenly let the cast show support in this way (and i do think its probably discussed ahead how much or what they can mention), and then pulled it back.. idk i dont think that would do well in this year of 2022 during/after pride month 🤷 but we will see i guess

And then theres the story itself - it basically begins with mike and will, and will going missing and mike and his friends searching for him.

There could be so many foreshadowing between their dnd game and the monsters from upside down, and all throughout tue seasons. Their friendship is something that holds the show together. Ofc el becoming a big part of their team.

With the writing i agree, im worried it could be a let down, but something just makes me wanna keep that hope that it could be heading towards byler endgame, and will being more relevant to the plot again, bc it all began with will, and it seems the duffer brothers at least had an overall plan for the rough story from the beginning. Which is rare in this time of mediocre m*rvel movies where noone knows where its headed.

I dont have a link from the geekedweek vid from yesterday, but thw duffer brothers talked there about how even tho they has a plan for the story, theyre not opposed to changing it depending on actors or cast and crew, and developing what feels right for characters.

Which i like to hear, bc if they listen to what someone can say if they know more about the character, (like maya with robin being a lesbian, or letting steve become good guy leading role instead of killing him off), theres a chance we could get a satisfying ending which characters like will and mike deserve, especially since theres really been all these hints from the beginning. 🤞💖

[chubearr]

jwcc s4 review (finally)

》spoilers ahead

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okay so like ima try to be the most chill and unbiased with this review— i read some others that brought up good points that i didnt see at first, so now thats what ima try to do!

-the biggest fan complaint, kenlynn/cool kids/brookji:

alot of fans are super pissed abt this, and at first it didnt make sense but now i can kindaaa? understand it. my general take is that s1 & s2 the kids were just vibin and surviving, getting to know each other and etc. i think kenji started to have a crush on brook esp in s3, since they were paired up/talked a lot (when brook fought with darius, when sammy got posioned, when darius split up with the group to get ben when leaving the island and brook was worried) so they were kinda getting closer and comfotrable with each other already. and like kenji even confirmed in s4, he realized his feelings for brook when she got taken away, hence his fight with darius (i imagine he was super confused n frustrated abt it.. poor boy). and personally at the end of s3 when kenji got mad, i did find that overprotectiveness weird and was kinda thinking it was bc he liked her! so overall the crush reveal was not a surprise, but i was more surprise that it actually happened! as for brooklyn i think her feelings for kenji were never really developed until they got closer in s4; kenji being a doof and possibly his trueself? and realizing how alike they were made her start to like him a bit? and then he semi-admitted he liked her so she got super confused as well (maybe bc she didnt know if it was platonic or romantic). then yasmina basically opened her eyes, and i think after that brooklyn was thinkin a lot, and spending even more time with kenji she realized she liked him as well...

i admit they couldve done better to show brooklyns development into liking kenji in previous seasons, bc tbh i see both darius and brooklyn being equally super chill with everyone (tho im biased for benrius!).

i think bc the season went by super fast unlike previous seasons, it made kenlynn develop fast as well so it didn't look that well written. tbh even i myself was supperrr shocked that they actually made it bf-gf official! i even wouldve been fine with just confirmed crushes this season, but the ship is probably gonna go through it next season (esp considering the plot twist in the end of the last episode... someone protect kenji pls)

but overall, ship it or not, i still dont think fans should be too angry and crazy at kenlynn shippers or the writers etc. like no one knows where this is gonna go, so we'll just have to wait and see. shouldn't we just enjoy it while it lasts? i think kenji and brooklyn need some type of break from the chaos, and if they wanna be together thats fine by me. same for the other kids! i hope if theyre getting romance arcs that itd be similar screentime as kenlynn and maybe even better developed (i still think yasammy is gonna be the finale ship idk..)

one thing i do wish now is that their charas this season werent too much revolved around each other, but ig thats how it goes! at least we learned more abt them both anyway (theyre both lonely and sheltered kids... also, BROOKLYNN HAS DADS!) and yes im ignoring we still dont have a brooklynn last name reveal smh...

as for the age thing.. idk im not bothered tbh. its like what, a 2 year difference? so thats fine by me, i can see it realistically (if it were any bigger i would def understand the isssue). i dont think the writers are intending anything sus for that or anything— as long as these kids are all kids and just vibin im fine with that. kids have crushes, no biggie.

overall not a surprise to me or a bother! next.

-sammy:

i feel like her character is always the same throughout the seasons so i always found her boring and wanted the crew to work on her. this season was alright! its good they didnt let her issue with her fam die down (tbh i almost forgot thats why she came to the camp), her anger moment, although a lil reckless, made sense esp since we already know her fam obvi means the world to her. i liked her realization with the spinoceratops¿ (angel n rebel) was bc of her and her development from pity to saving them was good! still wish they couldve showed more yasammy, but slow and steady wins the race ig! the deal with mantahcorp (idk if thats how u spell it oops) got even bigger now bc of kenjis dad and im scared for her bestie relationship with kenji 😭 im scared for that whole drama in general but with sammy and her fam as a victim... send help to my kids pls!

-yasmina:

a lot of people send she was so out of character this season (mainly with the kenlynn thing) but tbh? i think this version of her is her real self. even tho she was more colder in previous seasons, we're not new to yasmina being a super supportive friend otherwise. and like she said, sammy is the one who brought out those feelings! i really liked this mischeavous side of her, and ben friendzoning her was the funniest thing!

im superrr pleased with the whole PTSD thing. like most kids shows dont take that trauma seriously and just shove it aside. but not jwcc, and thats prob why im so attached to the show is bc they arent afraid to commit (a kids show where people actually die?? coming after my own heart i see...)!!

i know we prob shouldve had more experiences from the other camp fam, but maybe its good they made this a mainly yasmina thing bc we're so used to seeing her be strong for the team. weak yaz make me weak myself... let her sleep pls.

-ben:

bens whole finding out his identity arc was pretty much perfect. im glad they brought up how panicked he was bc he knew isla nublar so well but now he knew nothing and felt like he was reverting back to scared-ben... but we all know that ben is just ben now! i hope he can get more actual moments with the others bc hes been so independent all these seasons (aromantic king maybe..?)!! a lot of fans like him but tbh /dont kill me/ so far he was always my least fav kid out of the crew.. but i did like him more with his whole s3 thing with darius! so maybe just having him spend time with the others and being himself is the key!! (also more benrius moments pls.. theyre such the mom n dad of the group idc what yall say!!) and his ptsd with the pterodactyl or whatev things? it hurted but im happy he was able to fight back this time!!

-darius:

i didnt get fans complaint with his arc this season at first but after reading some reviews, now i do a bit! now in weirded out as to why darius has like 0 trauma.. maybe its bc he loves dinos so much that overall it doesnt bother him? esp bc dinos are what connects him to his dad the most and etc... and i saw people talk abt him being super leader-y this season but i didnt see much of a difference? he was always the one everyone looked to for answers so i wasnt surprised that he made his own decisions again— everyone still trusts him and knew what he chose was the right thing to do. but they didnt tell him abt their ptsd so obviously darius wouldnt know abt it bc all of their bonds are so strong that i think darius trusted them to tell him anything (but since they didnt he was obv blinded to their true feelings??). and surprisingly a lot of fans seemed to think he was out of character or smth when choosing the phone over the dinos? but i think it was good development bc it showed that even tho he loves dinos to death, he would still do anything for his friends (esp bc they told him they had ptsd). im glad in how he handled it!

one thing i agree on with others is that he definitely deserved some more screentime. mainly with the other kids, and less solo screentime, like the other seasons!... yes i admit, kenlynn and kenji did overshadow him a lot, but at least i believe its to build up the plot twist in the end for kenji and onto the next season (maybe theyre giving each kid arcs? and s1 was mainly darius's? idk tbh!)

i loved how darius handled kash— who i hate and pls let big eatie eat him already...

darius is just so smart and damn im jealous! that kid can think fast and improvise like breathing, no surprise he's the leader (and brooklyn being second in command to the group was very interesting).

》others:

-mae was a fine character! i like how quirky she is, and finally not an evil or dead adult 😭 but it was funny how even so she still got injured and was out of commission the whole time... can someone just save my kids and not die, pls theyre too traumatized!! (ps where are the camp counselors who i 100% forgot their names— are the gonna come back or naw...)

-i agree with others, kash is a weak villain. but tbh i feel like he was that annoying and ridiculous to just blind us with the ep11 plot twist aka the REAL villain¿ (i keep mentioning this but ill talk abt it soon i swear). the robots were boring i do admit as well, maybe it wouldve been better if they were like.. dino robots? to help with the island but also be disguised with the other dinos? idk tbh!

-darius's brother who i forget his name... im rootin for him obv! maybe he'll get the camp counselors to help him out and they'll slowburn their way to help the kids? i hope we get more of the mainland stuff bc like.. is no one worried that 6 kids are still missing from the island??! like maybe they do think theyre dead after all (which angsty thats so rude im cryin) but is there like really nothing they can do? get chris pratt on the case already!!!

-and lastly? i think? EP 11/SEASON ENDING. how dare you. how dare you!!! like ive seen other peoole say that they guessed it, but i legit had 0 clue bc i literally never think abt the adult characters period.. BUT HOW DARE YOU ANYWAY!! so ya.. kenjis dad— i can't even say it. I WAS NOT SEEING THAT. like even rewatching that episode i still gasp like ive never seen it bc its so unreal to me... its so good. it pretty much made up whatever complaints i had before! first "appearance" i literally was like who tf is 'daniel' (bc the subs) and i thought it wouldve been a character they already introduced previously! but ig technically they have (even tho i didnt know his connection to kenji until he literally said dad..).

im super hyped for the next season esp bc of this.. LIKE KENJI IS GONNA GO THROUGH IT! who he'll have to choose, the dino and camp fam or his actual dad... and again sammys reaction? i am not ready. like maybe theyll handle it easy and let mrkon have a change of heart bc of his son, but i also really want them to spice it up and make him a serious villain? (ik whats wrong with me) but like consider the contrast itll be compared to darius's dad... like darius and kenji can have a real test of their bond bc of this... and yes i also feel like this will test kenlynn, bc just kenjis dad being here just changes the whole game in general. like will kenji be reverted back to his selfish n spoiled ways and it'll cause a rift between him and brook/campfam?? theres too many questions and possibilities... WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN?? im so worried..

and i know kenji is a fan favorite, so i wish people were freaking out more over this than ships...

SOMEONE PLS FREAK OUT WITH ME!!

- overall i rate this season 9/10 (originally 10/10 so not much difference but i did put more thought into it...?)

if you guys follow my crackheadness in other posts i probably seem insane but i hope this review levels it out a bit? i hope i got everything..

》 pls feel free to discuss with me in replies! i really do wanna connect with some jwcc fans even tho im alao scared bc all i see are angry fans 😭 we'll see! ima try to be more stable and less angry now this review is out.. if you managed to get through it all, thx! and sorry for typos or if it doesnt make sense, it sounds better in my head i swear..

[mc-lukanette]

Talking about soulmates, something it started to bother me was the fact that in the first season of the show it was stablished that at the end of it, Mari and Adrien will end up together bc they are “meant to be” and honestly to say this in the early times of the show seems to… take off the magic for me in some way.

Like, it didn’t matter if they had a love rival (for example, Luka and Kagami), at the end I know they are not gonna end up together, even if they seem to end up having A LOT more chemistry than the main love interest.

Maybe bc that’s the way I see love, yk? Sharing a relationship with someone you feel at ease, where you don’t have to hide your true self, loving without fear of being less than the other or idolizing someone to a worrying level. Lukanette felt like that to me, it gave me that reassurance that they were being their best self with each other, knowing all faces of the other (and most important of all… it didn’t feel FORCED, at least to me) and if you put to this ship the title of “meant to be” it feels right because there is a background to this statement, it didn’t appeared out of nowhere and it developed naturally

When I think of the love square, I don’t get that feeling, bc they haven't had that kind of closeness in the last three seasons (idk if in the fourth season it’s still like that, I’ve missed most of the episodes) for me, the title of “meant to be” doesn’t feel earned at all. Even in “Chat Blanc” or “Oblivion” the love square feels forced.

It would have been better if they left the love square flow with ease, leave the viewer see the development of their love for themselves, will it work? Will it fail? Let the time pass to see if they really deserve each other instead of letting an old dude with a floating turtle thing say it from the very beginning lol

Ok, I’m gonna stop my rant. In conclusion, love square feels forced and empty, Lukanette felt right but it ended bc he’s not “ThE OnE” for Mari, bc she and Adrien are “MeAnT tO Be” so it feels like a waste to even care of other love interest or other ships for the protagonists if you think about it carefully.

And more if the hardcore love square fans try to invalid every good point of Mari/Adrien being with “x” character romantically with the famous phrase “BuT TheY aReN’t mEanT tO bE”

Ok, that all. What is your opinion in all this, MC? I really want to know, Am I wrong for seeing things like this? Or idk anymore lol but I really wanna see your side of things hehe

(Pls forgive if I have a misspell in my text, english is not my main language hehe)

(can confirm; virtually nothing has changed with the fourth season because the core of their relationships relies on communication issues)

I agree with you, and I don’t think you’re wrong either (your English is also great, no worries; the only thing I take issue with at all is the line “deserve each other” but it’s a nitpick and I know it’s not what you mean lol).

I think what happens in writing romance is that the characters who end up “meant to be”/endgame don’t really need effort because it’s not the writers have to physically fight their script to convince it that their endgame ship deserve to be endgame, but in order to make side ships works, they have to put in at least some effort to get the audience invested to show that they have some allure/purpose for the part of the endgame ship.

And now here we are in Season 4 where the big shippy moment of it so far is basically, “wow she asked him to platonically walk home with her (and then it didn’t happen anyway).”

+ all the laughable retcons and handwaves needed to try to “take down” Lukanette as quickly as possible in their panic; Lukanette is great because it’s two people actually spending time together out of choice (”Heart Hunter” + “Silencer”) instead of needing to have so many “coincidences” and the confusion of the love square shenanigans to keep them dancing around each other because they’re “made for each other.”

[epicmoonintensifies]

Part One: Headcanons: A Relationship with Qrow

What have I been asked for?

Ironwood headcanons.

What have I not been asked for?

This.

What am I doing???

… This.

Have some Qrow Relationship Headcanons, Part Two!

🖤

Okay I said he wasn't a big crier but let me clarify something because by some standards, he really isn't, but comparatively–

(Listen growing up in the tribe + the anxiety he developed from dealing with his semblance combined into a trainwreck of emotional processing issues, so he very often struggles to cry when all he wants to do is have a breakdown, but–)

He sniffles and tries to hide tears when it's not the time for this, dammit, but the second he's alone with you it's big fat tears and heaving sobs against your shoulder and shaking so hard and for so long that he's wrung out and lethargic for the rest of the day because he has such a hard time crying that when he finally gets to, it's like a dam has broken.

He brings you shinies that he finds. Not any shinies, not foil wrappers and coke cans, but brass buttons and lost earrings and colored glass and anything that catches the light that is also interesting, and you can use them to decorate or craft into something else or keep in a jar because these are tokens of affection but also evidence of his funny little bird habits that he denies having, ha

Speaking of which!!!

N E S T

"I'm not actually a bird; I don't nest," he says, building a nest, which he will nest in.

Soft things soft things soft things, all together, meant to be a safe soft space, the places where The Best Cuddles happen, just hold him there until he doesn't feel like a mess.

Play. With. His. Hair. Pls.

He wants to feed you let him feed you. Or at least let him pay for the freaking pizza, okay, it makes him feel good about himself.

Nobody messes with you, because everybody knows about Qrow. Just saying.

Mmmm ravens and crows both mate for life and that translates in his human brain much more strongly than anyone would guess.

He's gonna keep you, he has too, he's never been this close with anyone before and he doesn't know how the hell he's supposed to let go if you ever decide that this isn't working out–

(There's a ring in a box that he's too scared to touch, so he waits and he waits and he hopes that you might bring it up first because how is he supposed to be braver than the knot of fear in his chest?)

He can't fly with you so he settles for a fast drive on a country road with the top down so that he can feel the wind on his face while you're by his side, but he'd do anything to give you a chance to fly.

He's good at fixing things because he was so sick of breaking everything around him and you can feel it in the rough calluses of his hands, where the work was put into making himself dangerous and effective and efficient, but he's so gentle when he touches you that it takes time for you to get used to it.

He sees you holding Yang and Ruby, tucked in at your sides, and he melts buttery-soft around the edges.

The girls adore you and end up in your house a lot because apparently anybody who can get Qrow to be a sober, not-entirely-depressed person is the responsible babysitter version of the "It's free real estate!" meme, according to Tai.

(Hey guess what, Qrow's semblance doesn't act up as much when he's emotionally stable! Who would have thought!!)

But you embrace your role as the fun aunt and treat Ruby and Yang like the darlings they are, recruiting them to help you make sweets or cheer Qrow up or play very, very important games of hide-and-seek.

He is big spoon. He is little spoon. He is whichever spoon. Pls, spoon. Big spoon kisses and nuzzles the back of your head and plays with your hair and holds you. Little spoon holds your hand and curls up against you like he wants you to squish him down small.

Let him spoooooon.

Play fighting. Play dancing? Both? Maybe. Hard to tell.

Sings. Hums. Catches little bits of birdsong while he's in one form and translates them into something comprehensible when he's human. Mostly for you.

Ohhhhhh boy does he dote on you when you don't feel well.

He might tease you a bit at first when he thinks you're just being a wimp, but if you're actually sick or hurt or on your period, he is Nurse Qrow, to the rescue.

I'm not saying that he's good at it, I'm just saying he does it.

He tries.

He can bring you water and cuddle you and make sure you're comfortable but all the food is gonna be takeout and leftovers because he doesn't trust himself to boil water, okay. His semblance isn't trustworthy and he won't tempt fate with chicken noodle soup.

You don't "go out" on dates very often because it's safer to keep Qrow in a space that you've sort of baby-proofed. You have mastered stay-at-home romantic dates, and Qrow actually loves them because he's a sap and also because dinners by candlelight and making a blanket fort and pretending it's a movie theater is… well, in the tribe, romantic pairings were a battle. This is so different and, quite frankly, the height of romance, as far as Qrow is concerned. He's convinced that you're spoiling him.

So he spoils you in return, but the the ring in the box burns and he can't stand not knowing–

He cuddles and kisses and hides his blush against your neck as he tries to find words but can't, so he just pulls out the box and hopes that you'll understand when the ring inside gleams and glitters in the dim light all he can bear to say is, "Please."

[tomdutch]

i just saw the leaked trailer on twitter. hm.

well. (no spoilers) first off, i liked it. but i still don’t feel that hype for the movie :/

i’m also still super sour over the fact that it’s MJ he’s with.

rant: in homecoming, he didn’t show any interest in MJ whatsoever, he even seemed annoyed by her in some parts, and then in ffh he all the sudden has this huge crush on her? that doesn’t make sense to me and i know a lot of people didn’t like how fast that progressed.

furthermore, i’ve always thought that this peter (tom holland’s version) should be with another hero (or someone who can understand his hero side better), like cindy moon or blackcat (even though she’s not really a hero). i think that this peter parker has more problems finding a good balance between being spider-man and being peter parker, so if he had a superhero gf, like cindy, he’d probably have a better support system in his love life. not to say that MJ can’t be supportive, but she’s still only human. she can never fully understand what peter is going through all the time. i mean, i think marvel could’ve even given tony stark a teen daughter to pair with peter, because she’d at least understand the danger and the sacrifice that comes with being a hero.

i think zendayas MJ is amazing, she’s an amazing actress. but i personally am not a huge fan with how the character has progressed throughout the movies.

i swear some of the fanfic writers on here should just write for marvel. like far from you by @hey-marlie was a perfect example of why having tony starks daughter be peters love interest would be better. her story has more emotion imo than some parts of the films.

pls don’t hate me for this opinion :/

i agree with a lot of what you said!!! i’ve said it before but i rlly hate that they made romance such a big part of ffh when i think we were all expecting to see peter developing as a character after all the trauma and the change he’s gone through both on-screen in endgame and off-screen while adapting to life after the blip. instead we got a repressed mopey boy who is suddenly in love with a character he said no more than 4 words to in the last film and these feelings were all developed off-screen with no flashbacks or anything like??? why did we get here (we know why but i don’t feel like getting into it lmao)??

and yes x 18371936 abt cindy and him having a super gf lmao. i LOVE cindy in the comics, i think she’s one of the most interesting heroes of all time and like i said, i actually got my hopes up in hoco at mentions of her.