#she just doesnt make sense at all and she's annoying and bland

[fadewalking]

I dont understand the appeal of Shadowheart.

[mistlestripe]

read wings of fire book #10 (spoilers)

so mad. idk how controversial that this is but this book was terrible and probably the worst of the SERIES so far lmao. everyone was so bad but especially the moon/qibli/winter trio. they were all terrible in this book and i feel so bad for winter. I loved moon in the first book and she was like one of my top 2 second arc protag faves but she's dropped down to the bottom of the group because of how obnoxious she acts in this book...qibli too kind of sucks but like he doesnt do anything annoying (or when he does it makes sense cause he values moon over winter.) he just never gets to obtain a win that isnt weak and overall lacks much weight behind it. everything he does moves on very quickly and it feels like the book just "waits a few seconds before showing what he does to artificially cause suspense". like I would have appreciated him denying animus magic more if he didnt react to the offer the same way he reacted to cobra tricking him (acting hopeful to the prospect only to reveal hes gonna say no at the last second as though that WASNT the obviously correct answer)

and like i probably do have some bias because winter is definitely higher than qibli for me in terms of characters but like I dont even have an issue with the fact that moon chose qibli over him, but its just the fact that the narrative needs to go out of its way to characterize winter as extremely unreliable and untrustworthy JUST to make qibli seem better. Winter is rash and irrational so I get it to a CERTAIN extent but the book acts like he is incappable of making correct decisions to the point his own friends don't trust him enough to tell him what happened to darkstalker (which i know they were like "we trust you to be there for us. not to do the right thing." WHICH IS BS AND RUDE ASF BRAH HIS BOOK WAS LITERALLY ABOUT HIM BECOMING OPEN MINDED LMFAO i feel like he'd be pissed but like with how much he hates magic he'd probably eventually comprehend it as deserved. Maybe if they said something like "its for the best you dont know" then THAT would make sense because they want peacemaker to have his own chance at life but like their reasoning is so dumb and it just makes me feel bad for winter and think that he deserves better friends who actually value him and the things he cares about. I wouldnt mind if moon chose qibli of her own volition because i DO like the subversion of winter seeming more like a love interest in the beginning (only for qibli to become the "true" love interest for her by the end) BUT i cant even trust moons agency and it feels entirely circumstansial because of how much the book went out of its way to make winter unlikable and the obvious "worse option" than qibli who acts perfect to her the entire book comparatively. it just feels like they did not give winter a chance at ALL and it even goes on to act like he NEVER had a chance with moon being like "i want someone nice to me who make me laugh." Their relationship in general is so bland and neither of their personalities are utilized to make a fun dynamic so it just feels like theyre both sanitized when theyre togehter. I think moon x qibli has a lot of potential to be interesting and cool and in concept/without context i dont mind the ship but they just dont utilize any of it at all in the book and it feels extremely unearned and obvious by the end.

[spidersmiceandeverythingnice]

Ya know what tbqh I'm having a lot more fun interacting with SJM since deciding to hash tag stan tamlin but also what grinds my gears!?!? What butters my fucking croissants!?!?!

Tamlin has HOBBIES.

No no. Seriously. I have a point. Listen:

We know the following pieces of information about the Spring Court/Tamlin in ACOTAR: Most of the government falls squarely on Tamlin's shoulders because most of the old guard and the former sentries are dead, because they left the Spring Court to search for a "cure." He and Lucien actively patrol their borders and hunt for monsters that threaten humans and faeries alike. Taxes are collected once a year via the Tithe, but Tamlim absolishes the Tithe during Amarantha's rule. There are no cities. There is almost no distinction in the Court between High Fae and "lesser fae." He was a victim of abuse via his father and two much older brothers. Human slaves used to be common, but Tamlin finds his family history abhorrent and considers himself a protector type. He personally took Lucien to another Court for healing after Amarantha damaged his eye in a way that Tamlin himself could not fix. A faerie dies in his living room and Tamlin personally buries him. Tamlin takes refugees from other courts. The most important holiday is Calanmai, wherein Tamlin sacrifices his bodily autonomy and gets possessed by a god (?) in order to generate magic during the changing of seasons. He can be grouchy but he has a sense of humor; he writes silly poems for fun and plays music well enough that Feyre thinks he could make an actual career of it.

A lot of this gets re-conned, re-framed as "conservative" and sometimes actively ignored in order to attribute more positive qualities to Rhys - who in ACOTAR, is shown to be a manipulative liar who commits murder for fun and drugs/assaults Feyre. Tamlin clearly suffers from PTSD in ACOMAF but his symptoms are not "noble" or cute like Feyre. The narrative postulates that while Feyre needs to learn that she's worthy of love and freedom and that her dark past doesnt define her, Tamlin needs to be "redeemed" because his trauma is not as important or as valid as hers, and he can't be worthy of help until he repents for his "crime" of acting in ways that are - from his perspective- completely logical, and based in genuinely good/loving intentions.

In ACOWAR, Feyre states that she begins implanting/altering the memories of Tamlin in other people's heads to make them abandon him. She also steals a gift (presumably, a gift from Rhys to Tamlin) because she doesn't feel he deserves it, and contemplates burning down the rose garden which is pretty much all Tamlin has left of his mother.

This... does not make me hate Tamlin in the slightest. I read these books and actively struggle to hate him the way the narrative wants because everything about him is legitimately just tragic and pitiable.

While all this goes on the narrative goes on to reposition Rhysand - the guy who caused a lot of the main heroine trauma - as the best guy who ever lived. He's cruel to be kind, deeply misunderstood and hurting in silence. A martyr whose pain is just like the heroine's, who is an immortal ancient warrior king more powerful than any other person in the world but still somehow the narrative equal of a barely literate 20 year old woman. That sure is a choice and ya know what fine, whatever, I accept that this is the story I'm reading. But back to my earlier point:

What hobby does Rhysand have other than sex and fighting?

Answer me. Quickly.

The retcons with Tamlins character are annoying on their own because SJM clearly thinks her audience is too stupid to remember book one of her own series. But it's especially annoying for me given that Rhysand is a boring mouthpiece for the author to moralize her faerie books. As a character he's incredibly bland. There's nothing about him that's compelling because everything "bad" that he does is justified and righteous, and he can't be challenged or hurt because that would make Feyre (the other author mouthpiece) very sad. :(

Anyway remember to stan tamlin, send tweet.

[arlakos]

Miraculous Rant

Actually, you know what, while im still mad from the previous post I made, lets go off on a rant. No punches pulled. Lets do this.

The lovesquare is the most terrible ship in this fandom. One girl is a hyper obsessed stalker who tracks her crush with her planner for 3 whole seasons, while the boy couldn’t learn to take a hint and stop flirting for 3 whole seasons until he decided to move on with another girl. Ironically that makes them perfect for eachother, but its in a creepy kind of way, not a loving kind of way.

Adrigami and Lukanette in the S3 Finale were wasted events and never should have occured because they were immediately axed in the first few episodes of the next season. I feel sorry for those that were hoping their ships could be real for at least a short actual while, and it makes me want to curse the writers for their story-boner for the status quo of teases

Despite what I said earlier, none of the girls are good for Adrien. Marinette’s stalkery and a borderline yandere, Kagami’s somewhat controlling and too similar to Adrien help him grow as a person, Chloe is a queen bee beyotch and honestly too much like a sibling to Adrien, and Lila is garbage. Fuck it, have Luka date Adrien and they can play some sweet music together (not like that you pervs, I meant they both play instruments).

Nino needs more love. Not only that, but there needs to be more Adrien/Nino bro moments. If Marinette and Alya can have moments together, why not the bros?

Chloe’s character is a mess, and is neither redeemable, nor notably evil. Her role as a villain in season 1 is very hamfisted, such as in the episodes Mr Pigeon and Kung Food. Not only that, Chloe also lacks any of the qualities that makes a good “bully villain” or rival to Marinette, and her sympathetic moments (which are Written by Sebastien) are mostly overshadowed by the fact that Astruc wants her to be a bully, so it just makes her bipolar and confusing when her character is tugged between two writers.

Chloe should not have joined Hawkmoth in Miracle Queen, see my other post as to why I think so. TLDR, its kinda ooc  for her to go full on 2d villain like Hawkmoth especially after Miraculer, plus Lila was being build up to be the main antagonist of S3

Chloe got kicked from the Team in Miraculer because people know her identity? Fine. Kagami gets to be Ryuko again despite being known to Hawkmoth in Ikari Gozen? Not cool. Ladybug shouldn’t be a hypocrite and be willing to break her own rules just because “Kagami is my friend and Chloe’s not”. Same goes for her breaking the rule with secrect identities with Alya, only for her to go on and on about the rules to Chat when he pries.

Zoe is a bland character who’s only notable trait that she likes Marinette, which automatically makes her worthy of a miraculous after two episodes and no actual development.

Astruc is a petty frick who makes episodes that give the finger to fans of the show that have a different opinion than him. Queen Banana, Miracle Queen, and Reverser are good examples of this (Reverser did Nathaniel dirty).

Master Fu is a shit guardian. Read my post for more.

FRICK THE FEAST EPISODE. Not only did is ruin Fu as character, it ruined all the good theories as to why the order fell, and wasted the idea of a new villain being introduced or even taking over as the main antagonist! Speaking of Feast, despite the sentimonster destroying an order when he wasn’t even big, he still go beat by 2 kids even when he was supersized!

Marinette is not a good Guardian. Her ability to choose heroes does not make her capable, and just because “tradition is stupid” doesnt mean that Marinette shouldn’t be tested like others before her!

Despite the Kwami’s being ancient magical buildings, they seem to act like kids a lot, and that annoys me when in S1 they are supposed to apparently be mentors to their wielders, like how Tikki was before she was mentally de-aged.

Lila is trash and should be removed from the show. The only reasons her lies work is because the writers dumb down every other character in the show and ignore the fact the people have smartphones with google.

The “Miraculous” Ladybug spell should require both Ladybug and Chat Noir to cast, because not only does the power have nothing to do with creation, but it also “destroys” anything created by the akuma, which thematically makes no sense. Also it would place more emphasis on the two heroes being equals and “two halfs of the same coin”

On that note, Ladybug has too many powers. Not only is she the only one who can purify akumas, and can cast a spell that can fix Paris time and time again like its no one’s buisness, but she also now gets a new suit and the ability to nullify Hawkmoth’s akumas. Like COME ON! Give Chat some powers too.

Mayura’s feather’s shouldnt be able to be purified by Ladybug since they have no dark energy, and (thematically speaking) Chat should be given an ability that allows him to “vanquish” the energy in Mayura[’s feathers similar to how Ladybug can purify Hawkmoth’s akumas. At least it would develop a rivalry between Chat and Mayura, and would make Chat necassary against Shadowmoth rather than being replacable with any other hero.

The are too many temporary heroes. They should have just stuck with the 3 heroes from s2 and leave it at that. Sure, new heroes were cool, but the overuse has made the whole hero thing feel less special. It made sense for the first 3 to have them, but now it’s just like Oprah where everyone gets a miraculous. Except Gabe.

Chat Blanc was a stupid reason as to why secret identities cant be revealed, also Chat could have told LB who Hawkmoth once he returned back to normal was and the show would be over.

Hawkmoth should not be Gabriel. Frick the lore about Gabriel’s wife dying and him going evil to get her back, it makes the story feel too much like a star wars/Darth vader reference and leaves Gabriel acting bipolar, flipping from wanting to save his wife and doing this out of necessity to being a power hungry madman wanting to take over the world ( which is said in his canon music video). Having Hawkmoth be his own character means he can be an actual maniac who wants world domination and not just have villanous plot that rely on obtaining magical jewellery (perhaps doing other evil things/taking a more active role), while Gabriel being his own character means he can be a father that has become estranged from his son due to the lose of his S,O, and thus can have a plot about him reuniting with his son (I liked the end seen in Simon says, ok?)

On that same note, I think Mayura shouldn’t have been Nathalie. Considering Hawkmoth’s plans were repetitive as heck for most of the show, when I heard about the Mayura leaks back in Season 2 (when she was called “le Paon”) I was theorising that Mayura would actually being Hawkmoth’s boss, the villain the was responsible for giving him his Miraculous and the one who destroyed the Order of the Miraculous, and would take over as the main villain in season 3 due to Hawkmoth’s failures. However, that turned out not to be the case.

Not only that, but Mayuras power is a copy paste power with some modifications to make it complement Hawkmoth’s power, by basically giving his akuma’s magic pokemon.

Speaking of Hawkmoth’s power, for a miraculous that is supposed to be used for good, how can his power mind control people and make them become evil? More importantly, for a miraculous that is supposedly weaker than the main heroes of the show, having it be able to multiply and posses people to create an army is kinda strong.

Fuck the Maribat ship that the salt fandom came up with. Its trash, it was made to bash most of the Miraculous cast sans Marinette, and anyone thinks it is good are either those same salters or are the same people who think that Rey-lo and the Twilight Saga are masterpieces of romance.

Whew! I needed that vent. Hope you enjoyed it as as much as I did, and Tune in next time on the next episode of:  Arlakos loses his Mind and Rants for 2 pages of writing!

[courtney-deserved-better]

my opinion on td finalists

spoiler alert, im not a fan of most

TDI: Owen & Gwen

uh I personally don’t like either of these guys for finalists. gwen did do a lot but there were so many times where she just acted so apathetic I was like why?? are you still here?? and as for owen... I didnt like him as a character for a Long Time and he's growing on me but he just doesnt seem like finale material

I think a duncan versus leshawna finale would've been super fun to watch. especially if they teamed up to take down heather in the semifinal. those two had such a fun dynamic, especially in the triathlon episode, that I think taking it to the finale would've been fantastic. also leshawna deserved to win that season and you cannot change my mind

TDA: Duncan & Beth

duncan, while not my first choice, I can see making it through to the finale this season. but beth?? no. im sorry but shes just too much of a side character and is canonically fake nice and annoys everyone else so it doesn’t really make sense

an interesting finale would’ve been duncan versus courtney considering how volatile their relationship was this season. however, bc courtney was kinda awful to duncan, I dont think she deserves to win this season. it would be cool if there was one ending where their votes tied and they made up and decided to split the money but that just feels too tame, both for a finale and for their dynamic

harold versus duncan could be interesting, but because duncan tends to bully harold, I dont think his win would be fair in this situation. I think lindsay versus harold would be the best, as this season is about lindsay learning to take charge and come up with strategies, and while he can be off-putting and occasionally condescending, I think harold has a lot of useful skills that could really flourish in the finale

TDWT: Heather & Alejandro

while I dont ship them at all, I truly dont think there could've been a more satisfying final two. we’ve had their rivalry build up from day one, they have a ton of good songs together, it really completes heather’s arc of antagonist to antihero to protagonist. heather winning is the best ending in my mind, but I like  alejandro winning too. the only problem I have with his ending is that it only happened because heather threw in the wrong dummy-- I think it would’ve been more clever for him to have switched them or something like that

ive been thinking about some other final twos that I think would be interesting, though unable to top the canon one imo. gwen versus courtney would be really cool because of the friends turned enemies thing-- I think it would be interesting for courtney to be put in danger and gwen has a choice of saving her or going for the money and she save courtney before apologizing again (maybe dumping duncan) and the two make up and split the money. 

though I don’t really enjoy either as characters mostly due to their writing, cody and sierra would be an interesting final two. maybe cody finally stands up to sierra, or sierra struggles with wanting to be the winner of total drama or helping the boy she likes win. it definitely wouldn't be as good as the canon two but there would be a lot of clashing dynamics at play that'd be fun to explore

TDROTI: Lightning & Cameron

admittedly, I don’t remember too much from this season, but it really felt like these two kind of coasted by. I never found lightning to be a particularly compelling character and thought it weird how he suddenly went from dumb jock to evil jock in the last episode or two. cameron really felt like he was just carried through the season, similarly to beth, though I dont have as much as an issue with him winning. I dont think it was a bad finale, per se, I just think if those were the final two they should've been written better from the start

seeing as how jo really played the game and went all in, I think she would’ve been a great finalist. it would’ve been interesting to see her versus (commando?) zoey though im not the biggest zoey fan. I think a jo versus lightning finale could actually work (or brick) though if there was a jo versus cameron finale, I couldn't see him logically winning bc jo would just destroy him

TDAS: Mike & Zoey

*BIG FUCKING INHALE* no. just no. im probably not gonna say anything that’s not already been said so ill keep it short. bland, mal writing bad, have someone who's been in the game for 3 previous seasons instead of  1 make it to the ALL STARS FINALE. jfc.

you know what would’ve been an interesting finale? gwen versus courtney. they both said they wanted to reach the final two with the other one, so maybe they do! maybe they start to struggle with their friendship because of courtney’s competitive streak! maybe one of their helpers is duncan and that causes strife between them! maybe they become enemies again and don’t make up until the finale! maybe they decide to split the money! idk! it would've had a hell of a  lot more flavor than what we got

TDPI: Shawn & Sky

I don’t really have an issue with either of these characters making it to the finale. they’re compelling, worked hard, and have distinct goals. I would’ve liked to see jasmine in the finale but I'd be cool replacing either one with her: jasmine and shawn having to compete against one another would be an interesting relationship hurdle and sky versus jasmine would've been cool because they’re both very athletic and it would’ve been the first f vs f total drama finale (we've had m vs f and m vs m but no all-girl finales...)

TDRR: Surfer Dudes & Police Cadets

Again, I don’t really have an issue with this finale. I really like how Sanders and MacArthur both work hard in their own ways and have to learn how to work together (MacArthur breaking Sanders’ arm and realizing that she can negatively affect her partner and also that Sanders is super tough was a GREAT arc). I know there’s been some contention about the Surfer Dudes being eliminated and then coming back so late in the game, but it made sense to me. They chose to lose because they felt that they owed it to Devin and Carrie, and that choice paid off when Devin and Carrie called in a replacement team. I doubt the surfers expected that to happen, they were just trying to be fair, but that kindness was rewarded in a big way which I think was sweet, especially  considering how much of a hot mess this show can be. 

I gotta say, this does kinda remind me of the TDI finale, with the villain (heather/ice dancers) getting eliminated third, and their rival (gwen/police cadets) making it to the finale with the fun guy (owen/surfer dudes). The reason I like the Surfer Dudes as finalists more than Owen is that I felt they put in more effort during challenges and had more of an arc (with Josee’s mind games ending up bonding them as a team after strife, choosing to be eliminated for the sake of fairness, etc). 

Speaking of Owen, it’s kind of ironic that if I had to replace a team in the finale, I would replace the surfer dudes with the reality tv pros. they’re my favorite team and I think it wouldve been great for them to really live up to their name. I think it also would've been funny for the ice dancers to be so focused on their rivalry with the cadets that the pros just completely go under their radar until its the final three and the ice dancers are like “oh crap they’re PROS why haven't we been trying to destroy them??”

I also wouldn't mind replacing the surfer dudes with the sisters. I know emma gets a lot of hate (mostly because of nemma which I only like platonically) but I actually like her as a character (when she wasn’t being obsessive) and I think she and kitty were a great team that had a good arc of learning to work together. I also think it would be really interesting because for the final three they would all have rivalries with one another: the police cadets and the ice dancers (obvious) the ice dancers and the sisters (josee messed with them in at least 2 challenges) and the sister and the police cadets (kitty and macarthur’s game/road rage was hilarious)

[azurevi]

Hello! I saw that your requests are open. Can I request a oneshot for Jade who is crushing on a fem!MC but MC doesnt believe him cuz she always feels like hes just doing this for some other reasons *cough* contract *cough*

Jade having a crush on fem!MC

I feel like this is kinda bad... because I suck at confessions lol, hope you like it though ^^

Jade is the same around anyone.

Polite smiles, gentlemanly gestures and well-calculated words. It's hard to understand him sometimes, considering how often he wears the same expressions. 

That's why there was no way he was interested in you. He treated you just like how he treated every other person. Even if he showed additional kindness, it was probably because of the contract you signed with Azul.

It was probably a bad choice to do business with Azul, but you had no choice. You had been in need for money, and Grim's constant desire for tuna cans was getting out of hand. It wasn't like you could leave him to starve, and you didn't really feel like leaving the campus to find part-time jobs. That was when Jade came in with the suggestion that you went to help in Mostro Lounge.

Jade was always offering help whenever he could, you noticed. Like teaching you topics you didn't understand and leading you to your destination because you were still unfamiliar with the place. You realized that it was probably out of guilt, after all the mess that happened in the Octavinelle dorm.

Back to the present, that explained why you were now bound to work by a contract. It wasn't that bad though, everyone was friendly and understanding even though you made mistakes sometimes.

"Y/N, do you need a break?" Jade walked towards you on your way towards the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm fine, there aren't that many customers for me anyways," you looked around and saw Floyd rushing back and forth to take orders. "For some reason, Floyd is working extra hard. I wonder why he's so energetic these days,"

"Well, that means you can work less, so it's not really a bad thing," he said casually. You knew that they were simply out of courtesy, but his words showed so much care that you felt happiness growing in your chest.

"I suppose so-"

Before you could finish your sentence, you were cut off by an annoyed Floyd stomping towards the two of you. "How can you two just stand here while I do all the work? This is so unfair!"

"Come on, Floyd. We had an agreement," Jade said quietly, but loud enough for you to hear. You wondered what he meant.

Floyd looked insistent at first, but then he sighed and walked back to the customers, looking defeated.

"Well, I guess I'll find something to do too," you said, albeit still curious about what that was all about.

"Ah, right. Be careful then," Jade waved you off, seemingly a little disappointed that your chat ended so soon. 

--

"Why are you doing this anyways? It's not like she'll know," Floyd murmured as he cleaned the place with Jade. Everyone had already gone home, except for the twins and Azul, who was working in the VIP room.

"I simply don't want her to overwork himself,"

"So you're going to overwork me instead?"

"I'm not overworking you. I promised to get you the limited edition of the sneakers you want, didn't I?"

Floyd grunted, unable to retort. 

Working at Mostro Lounge could be stressful. The number of customers varied depending on the time, and it could be difficult for a newcomer like you to get used to. Not to mention that you were still a first year trying to adapt to this world.

"You know, Jade? I think you just like her,"

"What makes you say that?" Jade said, although his smile had already given him away..

"Everything? You treat her so nicely! I've never seen you so generous before,"

"Am I that evil in your eyes?" he laughed. "I guess I do find myself attracted to her,"

"I'm not sure if she feels the same way though. She seems to think that you're doing it out of respect,"

Jade didn't answer. 

Of course he noticed. No matter how much he did for you, you still couldn't seem to pick up the hint. He was already doing all he could, going out of his way just to delight you and show to you just how special you were to him, but all his efforts were futile.

That didn't seem to stop him though, if anything, his feelings even started to blossom because of the increased chances of seeing you. It was all so new and exciting to him, falling in love and experiencing all the conflicted emotions inside him.

"Why can't you just tell her?" Floyd asked. 

"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that,"

Floyd tapped his chin for a few times. "Just go up to her, give her some flowers and say anything that's on your mind!"

"Are you sure it's that simple?" Jade said. Floyd's suggestion wasn't half bad, but Jade had envisioned something more official. A bunch of flowers seemed so bland.

"If she really likes you back, I think she'll like whatever you give her," Floyd said before getting back to work, leaving Jade in his deep thoughts.

--

On a tiring day after school, you found Jade waiting outside your classroom, hoping to invite you to tea. You accepted right away, already anticipating hanging out with him.

Apparently he set up a nice table and some snacks in the botanical garden. The garden was warm and refreshing, with fragrances of flowers and plants enriching your senses. 

"What is the occasion?" you asked, settling down on the seat across Jade. He poured a crimson colored tea into your teacup, hiding a soft smile. You weren't sure you'd seen it before.

"I just wanted to enjoy your accompany," 

Your heart leapt to a great height, but you hid it behind the cup as you took a sip. The surprises kept coming as you tasted the sweet, warm tea in your mouth. 

"This tastes so good! What's it called?"

"I experimented on it a while back then. It's one of my favourites," Jade grinned, his mismatched eyes disappearing into slits. "I wanted you to be the first one to taste it. I thought it'd be a good opportunity for me to tell you something,"

"Yes?" 

There was silence for a while, and you could see what seemed to be nervousness on Jade's face before he spoke again. 

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

You were glad you hadn't been sipping the tea, because you would've choked on it. 

"Go- go on a date with you?" Does he actually like you that way? Why hadn't you noticed before? Does he have a crush on you?

"Yes.. I understand that you might not have noticed, but I actually like you a lot," Jade basically just answered all the questions on your mind. "Will you give me a chance? I promise to take good care of you,"

"Of course!" you said ecstatically before clearing your throat, composing yourself. "I've always liked you too, you know? I just wasn't sure if you felt the same,"

"I guess I'll display more affection to you from now on," he said, lips arched in a small smile as he raised his cup of tea to it. It was useless though, as the blush on his cheeks were vividly visible. It was a Jade that you'd never seen, and a Jade that only you could see.

[thefandomsurfer]

Favorites-Re: Zero

I love Re: Zero so much I just had to find a reason to talk about it some more so-Here We Go.

My top 5 Favorite Characters:

1. Rem

Even after a season goes by her impact on me is still here. She makes me feel so soft and warm. Her story of going from 'sisters replacement' to herself was so satisfying and heartwarming to watch. Shes also fuckin adorable and I love how loyal and protective she is over Subaru and her sister. Her backstory was tragic (Not overly so though) and it revealed so much about her and why she acts the way she does. We also find out in the novels just how self sacraficial and hardworking she really is-I love her so much.

2. Ram

Ram, oh Ram. My sassy queen. Her wit, confidence, and sarcasm all drew me to her. She starts out as someone your supposed to see as inferier to Rem but we learn through her backstory that really, Rem was 'inferier' to her the whole time but due to tragic circumstances Ram can no longer be who she once was. But she also doesnt seem to be held back by this-Shes made peace with it. And her love for her sister, her devotion to her, it made me lover her and now I love all these other aspects to her character.

3.Subaru:

I know a lot of people dislike him-or flat out hate him-But I honestly...never did? I thought he acted a fool at once point in the story, The royal selection bit-But I never hated nor disliked him? I always felt so bad for him and thought he was rather funny. I think his character if fabulously written and his development is phenomenal. He starts out as a whiny kid who expects things to fall into his lap and turns into a more mature and reliable person. I also relate very, very highly in his backstory regarding school.

4.Beatrice

She literally went from 'mildly annoying' to 'precious child who deserves no hurt'. I didnt enjoy her at first because I thought she was just another character who was 'angry but will become soft later' and, while I'm right, theres so much more to her character. From lonliness, to abandonment problems, to wanting to die she went through a lot of phases. But then the 'choose me' scene happens and I just. Fell more in love with her then before and now she is one of my favorite characters and has one of my favorite relationships in the show\novel.

5. Emilia

Emilia is odd? For me? Because I really, really enjoy her sometimes. And I feel so bad for her because shes truly lived a sad life, filled with discrimination and loss, and she loss even more in season 2 with puck, but I also find her...strange in the sense that I get bored of her. I think its because of her personality-she seems very bland at times. But even then-I think shes grown so much-Both in the novels and in the series. Shes grown from a neive child to a more mature leader. And I think thats wonderful for her.

Best looking Male:

I. Honestly dont think any of the guys look good at all. Other than this guy at lease. Young! Wilhelm looking fine.

BI couldnt find a gif-Sorry. ^^

Best Looking Female-This is super hard because mosst of the women look great. But I'll say...

Theresia.

Shoutout to Ram, Emilia, Priscilla, Carmilia, Secmet, and Crusch.

Favorite quote-

Oof...I could actually do four because...I love these three equally. Theres so many memorable quotes to chose from.

“No matter what happens, even when it looks like you’re gonna lose, when no one else believes in you, when you don’t believe in your self, I will believe!” – Rem

“You don’t get it, A million sorry’s is not equal to 1 thank you.” – Emilia

“While we talk, look forward to making up for all the time you’ve wasted looking back! We can start by talking about tomorrow. You can say anything like, whether you’ll make Japanese or Western style breakfast tomorrow, or whether you’ll put on your right or left shoe first. It can be something silly like that. No matter how silly it is, you can talk about tomorrow because you have a tomorrow.” – Natsuki Subaru

“You stole my sister’s horn and stole my reason to live but that wasn’t enough? Now you have come here, and stole my reason to die, too?” – Rem

Favorite Couple- haha Subarem. Sadly, very sadly.

Their bond just really hit me somewhere deep down. I could feel their closeness and how tender they are. And, Especially in the novels and in the special chapters, how blatantly Rem flirts with him. And its how much trust and care he has with Rem, how he says in the novels 'his weaknessess belong to her' and calls her 'my Rem'. Her impact in his life is so massive and his on hers was also huge. She calls him out, fills him with hope, and gives him her love. All in return for the fact that he did the very same for her.

Favorite Platonic Couple-

A toss up between...

Rem and Ram-

I have a big weakness for sibling relationships, and twin ones go double for that. Theres not much to say expect I just love their closeness and how much they care for each other. Ram shows a very special softness for Rem she doesnt show anybody else and Rems love and admiration for her sister is blatant. I just adore them.

and

Beatrice and Subaru

And thats about it! I could othat they grew into something so big after all that happened between the two. Subaru very obviously cares for her a big amount and she always wanted his attention due to her loneliness. And him helping her turn from someone who wanted to depend on another person to shave away her fears into someone who will protect and save others-Also how much he seems to adore her and her little tsundereness about it, even though she pouts when he doesnt give her proper attention-Its adoreable.

And thats about it! I could on and on about this so please-If anyone wants to talk to me about it or ask about please, please do so. I'd love to ramble on about it more.

[theoutcastedartist]

Give us all you animaniacs hcs (especially the lgbtq+ ones)((please))

Oh man I have so many to tell asfhjahsbsb I'm gonna leave out some of the more darker HC I have for this show (well technically, they are wildly-outlandish theories about where the Warner trio was for those 20+ years before the current time of the reboot, just gonna exclude those for now)

Ight imma start with the lgbtq+ headcannons first

Wakko: Nonbinary (Uses He/Them Pronouns)

Dot : Trans (Uses She/Her pronouns) and Pan

Yakko : Bi and Ace (Biromantic I believe it's called? Please correct me if I'm wrong on that)

On an unrelated note, Yakko is a whole mood

lmao look at my tiny clown-faced-puppy disaster son being the dramatic Bi-Ace icon he is when he's basically about to "die"

If you ever asked my younger siblings, they would tell you that I would 100% do the same shit, maybe even start singing "Little Miss Perfect" out of pure spite

Who knew me, as the oldest of a sibling trio would relate to the oldest of another sibling trio

ANYWHO BACK TO HEADCANNON STUFF BECAUSE YES

Oh man lemme start with Yakko HCs because he's the character I project so much on to nowadays:

Yakko

All his senses are very sensitive compared to the other two, sometimes he'll get really overwhelmed by bright lights, strong flavors, loud noise, etc... he feels like he's being dumb everytime he has a problem with anything regarding his senses.

Lights and noise: Sometimes it just gets too much for him if he's exposed to constant loud noise and bright lights to the point where he'll start crying or yelling (especially if noise is the main problem) out of stress from it.

Strong flavors: He will visibly shudder in response to a very strong and very noticable flavor. He honestly prefers to eat blander foods over savory dishes. With that being said, he hates spicy food with a burning passion.

Very unwilling to go to someone for help or comfort when he's genuinely having a crisis over how he views himself. If anything, he's will try to do literally almost anything to avoid having that sort of conversation, especially with Dr. Scratchansniff.

He will however go to Dr. Scratchansniff or another trusted adult for advice if he needs help for how to take care of his siblings or just for general advice on stuff.

He hates being picked up or hugged with zero warning.

The only people who he doesnt mind doing this are Wakko and Dot, of course. If anyone else tries it though, he'll bite them and yes, this includes Dr. Scratchansniff as well. He may be the closest thing to them as a parental figure (in the 90's show at least), but he's not in the same close knit circle Yakko is in with Wakko and Dot.

His main hobby is drawing, it's his go to coping mechanism if he's not up to cracking a joke(while he's in the watertower) as well.

He needs glasses/wears contacts (ones made specifically for toons I guess)

Prefers reading books over watching anything on TV/electronic devices in general.

If either or both of his siblings can't sleep, he'll sing them a lullaby 💕

Off-set/off-screen/ outside of the recording for animaniacs Yakko usually wears these thick, oversized hoodies, and he will refuse to take it off.

This is because Yakko feels really weird and off when his arms aren't covered(sometimes there is this random phantom ache in his arms that just wont go away until he covers them. It's not like painful, painful, but just really annoying at times.) Even if it's hot as hell outside, he will not take it off. Wakko and Dot usually have to wrestle to get it off him, otherwise Yakko will faint/have a heat stroke. They make a compromise by agreeing to Yakko wearing long sleeves, so long as they're made out of light material.

If he needs caffeine to "wake up" but is too damn tired to do so, Yakko will not hesitate to just straight-up eat pure coffee beans.

Wakko

For anything else, he does not mind eating food with very strong flavors, he actually enjoys spicy food (the spicier, the better), but for cereal they prefer the blandest one. Bland food is comforting to him (also doesnt want his brother to feel bad about not liking a lot of the savory foods he and Dot like)

Doesnt have much of a problem expressing himself. If he genuinely feels bad about something regarding themself, he wont hesitate to go to Yakko (sometimes he'll go to Dot if she happens to be there first, but 95% of the time he'll go to Yakko)

They actually likes being picked up and carried, but only by family and close friends. Any stranger who tries to pick him up will receive angry claw marks to the face.

Main hobby is composing music (instumentals). They will let Yakko or Dot write lyrics if they're feeling sad or bored (or as a sibling bonding activity too)

Favorite TV show is the Looney Tunes (classic cartoons)

He gives comfort to his sibs by just being there for them as a shoulder to cry on.

They don't like having their hat off for an extended period of time often. It's a source of comfort and his way of expressing his identity.

Is the one who usually has to stop Yakko from eating bare coffee beans when he's too tired to actually make coffee.

Dot

She's pretty in the middle when it comes to food.

If it's a minor thing, she'll usually just talk to Wakko about it. If it's something more serious, she'll go to Yakko about it.

She only let's Yakko and Wakko touch her or carry her. Outside of those two, she only let's Dr. Scratchansniff carry her. For anyone else, she will clobber anyone who makes an attempt to do so. She just really hates it when if comes to anyone else.

Main hobbies are sewing and designing clothes. She'll have her siblings model her clothes for her (they are very eager to do so everytime). It provides a good distraction for either Yakko or Wakko if they're down or frustrated about something. It's just super fun.

Really loves (well-made) action movies, it's like her favorite genre of movies.

Gives comfort by providing her siblings with soft materials (like blankets or pillows). She'll drape herself over either of them to provide a comforting pressure.

She expresses herself through her iconic pink skirt and flower scrunchie. Both are her favorite articles of clothing because her siblings were the ones who got them for her. (Yakko sewed the pink skirt; he was the one to teach Dot how to sew 💕)

She's a last resort to stopping Yakko from eating the coffee beans raw.

Original vs. Reboot headcannons

The original 1990's show is more "On-stage", having for educational songs and skits, whereas the 2020 Reboot/revival is more "Off-Stage" with the occasional show skit, hence any inconsistencies with the characters' personalities, especially Yakko.

Both shows take place in the same type of setting as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" (The idea of cartoons existing as real entities alongside humans; I got a lot of WFRR vibes during Sufferage City with the whole "Cartoon Rights" part especially)

Well that's about as much as I can write for now, I have more headcannons of course, but I found this to be a good place to stop.

These are just my personal headcannons of the Warner Trio, I don't really have any for Pinky and the Brain, but I wanna know what some of your guy's headcannons are for any aspect of the shows!

[oatmealzz]

Danganronpa Games Hot Takes (Spoilers for all Games)

Danganronpa 1/TTH:

I love the first game because most characters felt like they could be real people and were not too anime. People about their pets and stuff like studying, like a regular 16-17 year old who prob wanted to go to some top schools. The executions in this game WERE THE BEST. I LOVE ALL OF THEM. No game can beat the creativity of the first few executions.

I will say that the English voice acting overall was weak and very stilted. The English voice actors did better in their V3 characters than their TTH characters. Of course, people get better as they go and honestly I think they were just miscasted in their characters in the first game. 

Danganronpa 2/GD:

I love the trials for this game. Even though, I may not care for most of the characters in this game, they were put into some creative situations. 

Nagito had too much screen time and too smart among other things. I feel like he did the same thing as Kyoko in the first game with not telling the player the hints and that was annoying. I feel like he cant have it all, crazy lucky, has a huge presence in the game and is too smart. It’s like PICK ONE and split the rest with other more deserving characters. The thing is that even though I don’t have favourites in this game because most people are either too wacky or bland, there were some characters that would greatly benefit from having more screen time, helpful trial assistance or just plot armour. Mahiru, Soda, Sonia and even Akane. I find Mahiru to be helpful during the first trial, and if she got more screen time or plot armour, her character would be better because without doing her freetime events, no player likes her. I also include the survivors because I think some characters that should be smart like Soda and Sonia aren’t that helpful during trials. Some of the things Nagito did during investigations should have been given to these characters. Well maybe the ones that make sense to their characters, Nagito can keep the time he broke into everyone’s places to trace their shoes LOL. Imagine if no one told him about the game in chapter 2? and he doesnt have enough time to finish the game before the trial starts? That would give other characters needed screen time among other things like not making him be seen as much as a threat to the player because he came unprepared due to his situations. Also, Akane should just be more than one note and actually contribute to the trials. 

Quick tangent, but even though Nagito was out for both chapters 2 and 3, he still knew everything and I don’t think that’s fair. I feel like he needs space to develop as a character to have that buildup for Chapter 5. Not saying that his part in chapter 5 was unbelievable but imagine him almost getting away with it because he learned from his mistakes and whatnot from past trials. He realized that he wanted to commit the perfect crime and get away with it, he needs to understand what he did wrong the first time in chapter 1 and analyse the past culprits to really optimize his plan. I have mixed feelings on this character but I always felt he had too much going for him. Also his dialogue is so repetitive, I feel like thats why so many people hate him because reading his lines can get old quickly with the hope bs. 

Anyways, I like chapter 3 but just not so much the trial. 

Danganronpa V3:

Okay I could go on about this one, all I’m gonna say is that I think the English voice acting in this game is SO GOOD. I LOVE EVERYONE AND THE ACTORS DID SO WELL. 

Miu and Kokichi should have argued and bantered more, if anything I wish Miu fought back like she did when she called Kokichi an Abortion. I love their dynamic because they make the trials more fun and less boring to go through. I feel like they work better as a duo so when Miu died, the trials become less fun and a slob to get through. Same thing with Kokichi, it’s just I love these two characters because they make me laugh. 

I sort of liked them together because I can totally see them as friends and like I’m surprised Miu tried to kill him or that people don’t ship them more. 

Btw, I feel like for Kokichi, he should have stayed the same character he was like from Chapters 1-3. When chapters 4 and 5 happened, I lost what was happening and did not like how his character developed. I guess he is a really fickle character and he reminds me of Hiyoko/bully character. I never viewed him as that smart. I feel like you don’t need an antagonist character among the group. I get that no one trusts him but I just did not like how his character storyline went. His English voice actor is great thou, I remember listening to his Japanese one and not really thinking much about it. 

This game has the worst cast. Love the group dynamics but woah, these characters need to stop saying their catchphrases. 

[autistichoromatsu]

daydreaming about a lot of things rn. chibita's complicated relationship with iyami, for one, since that never gets brought up in the ososan fandom i feel. and his deep loneliness and lack of resources and care as a child leading to him trying to care for everyone around him as an adult to make sure nobody lacks what he did at the expense of his own happiness and income. and i was like (screams)

but ALSO. i was imagining what it would be like if nyaa chan formed meaningful friendships with the sextuplets. nyaa and the sextuplets know totoko REALLY well but both know her from different sides, if that makes sense. the brothers have known totoko since they were all kids, they know what she likes and how she acts and what makes her mad. but she doesn't really talk to them about her personal worries, her problems, her actual inner emotional life, because she doesn't actually trust them to take that seriously or not take advantage of how she feels in some way. and she doesnt trust them to not be super fucking annoying about it. but she and nyaa DO talk about how they feel and their worries and their personal stuff. so i think itd be neat seeing the bros and nyaa trying to figure out how those pieces of totoko can fit together

that and i have a lot of Thoughts about totty, kara, kinko, nyaa, and eventually choro helping totoko with her brand. totoko is clearly super worried about her idol career and where it's going, but the Status Quo Is God part of the show means that the writers are complete pussies about addressing that in meaningful ways. for me it's really obvious that she CAN keep the fish themeing and be very successful. fish can be beautiful, be deadly, big and small and every color ever. also some of her outfits that are played off as ugly are actually really good displays of craftsmanship and i like them a lot (the one where shes a grey crustacean in particular but i forgot which specific animal shes supposed to be in that one lol)

i just want her partnership with nyaa to be further explored, since it's clear that it has become a permanent fixture of the show's canon and of nyaa and totoko's relationship with each other.

in my daydreams specifically i just love the idea of her friendgroup all arguing around a big table about her costuming. kara added too many sparkles to the design but totty's suggestions on their own are all incredibly bland, choromatsu is too focused on the cute factor, kin-chan's taste is eccentric and questionable, nyaa is simultaneously trying desperately to keep the peace and add her own suggestions, and overall everything is chaos. but in the end, all of them come together with costumes and themeing that is genuinely impressive because they cover each other's weaknesses. totoko can be a fighting fish or a shark or a mantis shrimp, all strong and unyielding and COOL, and have her costumes still be cute and frilly while retaining the aquatic themeing

her strong personality coming through in the kinds of fish she represents on stage could be really cool. nyaa being a housecat but also a big threatening wildcat depending on the loose story their music and stage themeing has would be so cool as well. like, i genuinely think there's a lot of potential for their competitive spirits and strong wills to really shine on the stage and be compelling for audiences. ITD BE SO FUN. OKAY.

itd be so fun to see totoko get the love and attention she deserves but from people who also won't just crumple under her Intensity. i think the matsus in particular need to see women as people instead of sex objects and i think this storyline lends itself well to that as well. like, choro helping nyaa with her themeing and ending up seeing her a lot outside of her constructed idol persona..... i think after he realizes she's just some lady with a Lot to worry about, they could actually be friends. i also think that she and oso should be friends. i think everyone should be friends and hold hands in a circle and work out their problems. and nyaa and totoko should kiss. i love how they love (by yelling)

[hazydaaze]

jed vs. women anon back again to yet again agree with everything you said. i also wouldve liked to see more farida, especially bc what we were left with was a quite damaging portrayal of a queer woc who seemed to be pretty toxic relationship-wise, which is not the positive representation that they thought it would be. i agree, steve is bland, and kate and ted have always been the more interesting of the trio. ive seen some people online arguing that the kate and jo storyline wasnt finished bc ultimately its steves story, not kates, but then why even bother to show kate at MIT in the first place?? if its steves story then surely we should have stayed at AC12 for the whole season, with kate only being relevant when steve visited the Hill? If its steves story why are we being shown kate and jo scenes directly intercut with scenes of this seasons ‘romance’ between him and steph? the fact that, because it was left so open, it almost feels like we should assume kate was just playing jo rly doesnt sit right with me (nor does it make sense bc we're led to believe they had some kind of relationship before jo is under investigation) and kinda feels like they deliberately never concluded it to escape backlash from both sides (avoiding the str8s being angry that kate was queer or vice versa). felt at times very much like pre-covid he was happy to go forward with some kind of relationship between them, but post-covid (possibly due to restrictions on intimacy idk) he floundered and decided that the best thing he could do if they couldnt kiss or hug was to just forget it ever happened.

I wish we were at the pub having these conversations, they’re too good and we could talk for hours about them. :( Thanks for your thoughtful words again. X 

I fully agree with your point about Farida. Jed portrayed her as a needy, possessive, jealous lesbian, who stalks her ex and cuts up her leather jacket that probably cost Jo at least £50. That is never a good look and it is quite a bitter portrayal of a queer character. It’s a horrible shame given Farida is one of the few ethnic minorities on the show and an open lesbian - she was clearly a good person with good intentions, who didn’t know how to love someone in a healthy way yet (given that Jo was dealing with her own trauma, this surely would've impacted their communication). It’s shite that Jed didn’t feel this aspect was important enough to explore further. However, I do also understand sometimes there are characters that are introduced only to drive plot. Ultimately, the storyline wasn’t about Farida, but she certainly fed into it and there was much more that could be said here. Maybe Farida will return in series 7 (if there is one)? 

The argument that Jo and Kate’s interactions were part of Steve’s wider story, and that is why they weren’t addressed in the finale, is kinda ridiculous. It’s an accusation that annoys me. What significance is Steve meant to have, right now? Steve had so much gusto and passion in series 1. He was angry about the Police corruption and innocent people getting killed. He wanted to make things right. Now he is tired and a slither of that man (he has gone through a lot of trauma, so this is unsurprising.) I would love for Steve to have a more significant story line in series 6, but unfortunately he didn’t. All we took from Steve this series is he had a bad back and erectile dysfunction - which is shite for him but it led to nothing, no break-throughs, no big announcements, no shock twists. All that build up about Steve ignoring his emails led to him having his firearm taken away, and even that didn’t play into anything. I thought perhaps Jed had included this scene to foreshadow that Steve would fear for his life at some point later in the episode, and he’d need his gun to protect himself (or else he’d die). But that never happened either, so why do we care if he has a bad back? Why do we care that his gun was taken away? Why introduce a theme if it doesn’t impact the overarching story? There’s red herrings and then there is plain baaad writing. 

I don’t know why Jed left Jo and Kate’s dynamic open, like he did. I don’t know. Personally, I wouldn’t even say he left it open - he completely disregarded it, as if the previous six episodes of interaction with Jo and Kate never happened. Saying it was left ‘open’ suggests it can still be explored, but with Jo in witness protection (with a new identity and an undisclosed address) and Kate firing into Steve, I don’t trust Jed considers any aspect of Kate’s relationship with Jo as open. He won’t even allow Kate to explore her feelings there, which were so clearly confused and hopeful and genuine towards Jo. This is awful, by the way. I’m not enjoying typing that, and I sincerely hope I’m wrong. As I mentioned before, I'm only watching series 7 if Kelly MacDonald returns.

I also feel like COVID and social distancing rules isn’t a good enough excuse to warrant dropping Jo and Kate’s storyline. I didn’t think Jo and Kate would’ve kissed, at least not on screen, and I don’t believe for one second Jed was ever planning to write this in. The physical limitations of COVID shouldn’t play into it. All it needed was one single sentence in the script. A single fleeting look when Kate rescued Jo from the van. It needed words or something. COVID doesn’t hold any relevance in concluding (or giving answers to) Jo and Kate’s relationship that they took great pains to include. So if he tries to say this, I’ll come for him. 

I thought I’d be a wee bit calmer today about what happened to Jo and Kate who would've been honestly perfect together but I’ve just realised that I’m not! Haha. 

[foiblepnoteworthy]

[basic id: three drawings in a sketchy art style. first is of a young jon and james wright in the tunnels beneath the institute; second is of elias in his office; third is of a framed photo of jon and elias.]

Wow it sure has been a minute since I posted fanart for my favourite fic that you all must read, nature has taught her creatures to hate by @polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup

better id and headcanons under the cut

[ID:

First image: Jon and Wright in the tunnels from chapter 2. Wright is on the left, lit from above by the light from the trapdoor. He is tall and broad, and the light casts his face into a shadowed frown. Jon is on the right, hiding behind a wall, eyes wide and staring in Wright’s direction. Jon’s face is just barely visible in the darkness.

Second image: Elias sits behind his desk in his office, hands on the surface. Light streams in from the window behind him, bathing the room in a sickly green. There is a subtle glow to his eyes. (Quote from fic: “There are jars of mismatched shapes and sizes on a mahogany table lining the wall, filled with dull, viscous-looking fluids of all colours... Thick, leather-bound tomes lined the bookshelves bracketing the walls...”) The drawing is not a perfect recreation of that, but honestly doing that much clutter sounds exhausting and would have taken away from the imposing focal point so. 

Third image: (Quote from fic: “Elias stands in frame, smiling against a light stone wall for backdrop. His left hand grips a shoulder, and at the end of that shoulder is Jon.”) Jon’s shoulder is tense under Elias’ hand, hands in fists and elbows drawn in protectively. Their shirt and ties match. Jon’s hair is long, but neatly combed and not in his preferred bun. 

okay so here’s my latest headcanons:

-around the house jon and his nan would sometimes speak her mother tongue, which jon was comfortably conversational in. elias, wanting jon to be a tiny version of himself, discouraged this. when jon began in his rebellious phase, he tried to remember some, and was overjoyed when he managed it. later, when looking through cookbooks in his own language (wanting to eat something other than the bland white people food elias gave him), he realised his grasp of the language was far more complicated than it must have been even as a child, never mind after years without practise. this was how he discovered the eye could translate for him. 

-i recall that jon and og elias briefly had a friendly interaction, in which elias showed concern for jons wellbeing. so i hc that wright didnt warn jon before he switched bodies, and jon came to the wrong conclusions when an ally appeared in wherever he was

-bb jon had long hair. the day before he started at the institute, elias cut it. 

-i made that up and im so furious about it he cut his fucking hair

-like i put so much value in jons sense of his own self image and yes i made this up but jon could control very little about his life and he wasnt even allowed to keep his long hair he liked to put up in a bun like his nan (and maybe his mum) did

(-did i even make the self image thing up bc i known jon has this whole thing about not following the dress code but how far back does this way of acting go yanno? and how much is it to do with him wanting to look how he wants and how much is just trying to annoy elias? does he know the difference? is there a difference? does his life still revolve around elias even when hes trying to express himself and be separate?)

-on the flipside he got the courage to start growing it out again after he met gerry. this was also when he doubled down on expressing himself through his appearance. thats barely even hc im p sure thats just canon tbh

-as always i hc skirt jon but i also hc (is it hc if its basically canon?) skirt gerry anyway that also started at the same time. i like to think the skirts are a gender thing as much as a pissing off elias thing but idk. no i know - jon started and maintains it as a bothering elias thing and doesnt realize its a favourite for gender reasons. (he does not have time to gender poor soul)

-i will offer one nice crumb that is actually basically canon anyway teen jon had a specific alley cat he would feed that was in an alley next to the institute. the cat let him give her pets and cuddles. when she had kittens she let him hold them. 

-also i mentioned it before but gertrude kept a cat figure on her desk and jon kept it in pride of place when he moved into her office

anyway~

[ID a sketch of Jon, wearing a cabled green sweater and black jeans with ridiculous chains and buckles pointing at the open trapdoor saying, “get in the hole”. He is short.]

[kibybun]

Animatronic/FNAF Hawks au

tw: yandere, obsession, murder

Enjoy

💜You were broke and need of a job, so you didnt question it when that mysterious add showed up.

💜The job seemed relatively easy and paired too much for what it was asking. All you had to do is watch over a kids pizzeria at night. Better yet you didnt even have to walk aroound, just watch monitors.

💜Tonight was your first night, and you were excited. You could probably sleep on the job or just play your phone, easy money. You unlock the door and make your way to the office. Along the way you notice how everything feels off, only ever so slightly.

💜Along the way you peep through some rooms. You look into the supply room. Instantly you're filled with joy. You love animatronics!

💜You look at the endoskeleton sitting on the table for a second and turn to go on your way but stop. You swear its head moved. You look back at it but it's still looking at the wall. Weird...

💜You arrive at the office and take a seat in the spinning chair. You thought it was going to be more comfy.

💜You fall out of the chair as a static recording plays. Its voice booming and almost panicked as it explains your job. You pale as you hear that the animatronics like to move at night.

💜You panic more as the voice wishes you luck and turns off. Stay calm. You grab the tablet and begin checking the monitors. You click on the main stage and see the main three animatronics.

💜The bunny was named Mirko atleast, that's what phone guy said. She has long ears and a guitar strapped to her. First impression: she's too gorgeous to be an animatronic.

💜There was another female one but you can place what animal, her name is Mount Lady. There wasnt much to her besides the cupcake she was holding. First impression: bland but you dont think you should ever say that near her.

💜Lastly, you see the animatronic in the middle. He was a lot bigger than the two and was a lot more intimidating. His name is Endeavor. He has a little top hat on that makes him look ridiculous and a microphone in hand. He gives off big bear vibes. First impression: very intimidating but looks like he could have a soft side.

💜You were so deep in thought that you almost screamed when the camera was suddenly filled with static. You flip to another camera then back to see Mirko had moved. Your heart quickened as you try to find her. You locate her in the supply room staring at the empty table.

💜Wait.... where was the endoskeleton?

💜You watch Mirko. It's almost as if she's angry even if her face was built with a permanent smile. Her head slowly starts moving upwards towards the camera. You eyes meet and she tilts her head. Can she see you?

💜Her heavy steps sound through the pizzeria, slowly getting closer. The cameras arent helping, as they are static filled.

💜You swallow your fear and look out the left door down the corridor. There you see her and she sees you. Her steps speed up and you fumble to close the door. Only after a few seconds there was banging at the door.

💜You turn on the light and jump seeing how Mirko was pressed up against the glass. You proceed to tell her that you're not the endoskeleton. He agression halts and she looks at you intrigued.

💜No nightguard was ever so nice talking to Mirko.

💜She tries to speak but her voice box was damaged. You perk at the sound and tell her you'll help if she doesnt stuff you into a suit. She agrees.

💜You hesitantly open the door and gawk at how big she was. She gives a broken laugh then looks at you expectantly. You lead her to the supply room and look for tools. You had some knowledge with mechanics.

💜You sit her on the table and start introducing yourself. She gives broken answers that slowly get more recognizable the more you tinker.

💜Finally you fix her voice and she gleefully drags you to the other two to fix them. They seemed shocked seeing Mirko talking but more so when she explains you fixed her. The other two quickly get in line so you can fix them too.

💜Maybe this job wasnt so bad.

💜The first two nights were a blast! Mirko soon became your bestfriend with Endeavor slowly working his way there. Mount Lady was more... annoying in your opinion but you were still happy to be her friend.

💜Tonight you were checking the cameras and notice something new at pirate's cove. There was an eye staring at you from behind a curtain. Mirko walks up to you asking what you're doing and you how her the camera. She explains that that's Hawks and he is more shy than the others due to people tearing him apart.

💜Even though you've never met him you could help but feel bad. You also wanted to got and fix him but if he was shy you didnt want to spook him.

💜You get distracted talking to Mirko that you dont notice him slowly creep out behind the curtain. When you look back at the monitor there was no sign of Hawks.

💜Mirko sighs at the heavy footsteps that make their way towards you. She clicks the button closing the door and you jump at the loud thud from him hitting the door. She then tells at him to be nice and if he wanted to meet you he couldn't kill you. There was a distorted scream in response. She opens the door to reveal an adorable angry boi.

💜He was very attractive just like Mirko but has much more damage parts. The was a large gash in his chest with smaller ones on his arms, he had a leg and a hand missing, one wing torn off his back, and his left eye was gone. First impression: You want to fix him.

💜You try to start small talk with him but he refuses to respond due to his lack of trust in you. Once you start fixing him and Mirko telling him how you fixed the others, he seems to like you more. Once his voice starts working again he instantly starts to bicker with Mirko. It wasnt anything bad, just cute friend banter.

💜You were able to repair most of him besides his hand and wing. You apologize but both Mirko and him reassure you that you did an amazing job.

💜Mirko walks off and you're left with Hawks. Quickly the two of you become friends.

💜Soon 6am hits and you pack up to leave. Hawks doesn't like this. He tries to get you to stay but you end up winning that battle.

💜As soon as you walk into the pizzeria he's at your side. You find it cute, merely thinking that he was afraid to lose his friend.

💜The two of you spent the whole night together seeing little to none of Mirko, mich to your concern. The second you try to mention her he quickly changes the subject.

💜Around 5am you grow sad. Hawks questions why and you explain to him this was a one time job and that tomorrow was your last day. You can see the anger bubble within him and he slowly stands and walks away. You try to stand and walk after him but he pushes you back and closes the door behind him.

💜You leave that morning confused and with an unsettling feeling blossoming in your gut.

💜You arrive that night and are greeted by no one. You push aside your fear and walked cautiously through the halls. You make it to the office and jump seeing a new animatronic.

💜New was a stretch, a different animatronic that what you're used to. His body was tinted gold but was also covered in a thin coat of dirt. He was very big and had the biggest smile you've seen. His name was All Might. He looks at you with worry before whispering a single word. Run.

💜You jump and look around for the source of the loud sound. After finding nothing you look back at All Might only to see he disappeared.

💜You shiver as you hear your name being called out in a low, dangerous voice. Hawks.

💜Against your better judgment and All Might's warning you stay, watching Hawks slowly appear from behind the corner.

💜He tries to hug you but you step back. He doesnt like that.

💜Knowing you you'll never outrun him, you think fast. Grabbing one of the many metal tools scattered around the office, you strike the leg you repaired knowing it was the strongest.

💜He cries in pain and falls to the ground. How can an animatronic feel pain?

💜You take no time to think about that as you run.

💜He cries out for you but you keep running. You hadn't paided attention to where you were running and ended up at Pirate's Cove. You stop to breath but the air smells stale and is filled with the smell of decay. Confused, you look around.

💜You pull back the curtain and freeze in horror. The others were dismembered and oozing blood. How? How can they bleed? They arent real!

💜Hawks walks up behind you and corners you. He seems disappointed but proceeds to tell you a story. Long ago when the four of them were kids, they were friends. It was Endeavor's birthday but back then he was called Enji. Mirko, Rumi, and Mount Lady, Yu, were like sisters while Enji and Hawks, Keigo, had more of a mentor student relationship. They came to this pizzeria because it was herp themed and they all dreamed of being heroes. Enji had just made a wish to be number on hero when a man with weird black breathing mask approached them. His visible skin was wrinkled and burnt but they didnt say anything about it. The man asked what Enji wished for and when he got his answer he asked if the others wanted the same. When they all agreed he offered to show them what they'd look like as pros. He led the four kids to the back room and showed them their future selves and watched amused. The kids didnt notice when Rumi screamed and was stuffed into her hero self and how Yu sobbed over her. Keigo only saw the moment Enji was stuffed. He tried to run but was caught and stuffed. The next day they were forced onto stage while Keigo was forced to entertain the younger crowd. The younger kids didnt know how to keep their hands to themselves, resulting in Keigo being put out of order. That was untill, you showed up.

💜You whimper as he finishes his story and caresses your cheek. He gently tries to calm you before saying he loves you.

💜You mind rushes, everything make so much more sense. How they can feel, think, and bleed....

💜You're pulled out of your thoughts as a sharp metal feather pierces your gut. You cry but he shushes you as he carries you to a different room. You were unable to tell which due to you passing out.

💜You wake up on stage with Keigo in the audience. He claps an tells you to sing. When you refuse he yells and screams at you. Voice breaking and tears falling down your metal cheeks, you comply.

💜This was your forever. Stuck in a body the had no warmth and stuck in a relationship that you had no love for. All you can hope is for someone to come fix you.

Kiby~💚

[carebooks]

[3.01] legacies, why?

first off, why is Alyssa still a student?

she legit sent the headmaster and his daughters to a dangerous prison world because of some rivalry of mean girl-ness with Lizzie?

well, she also did discover the prison worlds when she was a kid and Alaric and Emma mind wiped her or something which left her with a bad impression on them both since they threatened to send her there because of ‘bad behavior’ likeeeee which is why she included him in the spell but she endangered two *at the moment* innocent teenagers cuz of a damn rivalry, she wasn't taken over by dark magic or anything that was all her, she coulda just sent Alaric and Emma if she were there too

then again, one could also ask why the fuck is Josie still a student when she literally killed another one and attempted to kill her own sister too. we'll get to her later

i hope Kaleb and Jed just stay friends that eventually turns into a relationship bc i cant handle them fighting over this toxic undeserving girl

Like, pls, don't have them still be into this girl, it isn't a good idea

the worst part of it is she's the only Asian female representation (except for Kaylee, but you know what I mean, Josie is portrayed as white while Alyssa Chang is not) on the show and she's the mean girl everyone hates, like come on people

Chad’s a total broni, he really wanted that pegasus

why are Maliwhore monsters still coming?

Dammit Julie Plec, I thought we talked about this.

Honestly you know what? I would've been fine if they just started the season a few months in the future and they made a small comment about Maliwhore and how they fixed it, just deus ex machina style, it's over and done time for new big bads and new plots

landon being stubborn to be brought back was so funny for some reason

FOR FUCKS SAKE JULIE PLAGUE STOP USING THE WORDS 'HERO' and 'BAD GUY' IN YOUR SHOW

Raf legit said Hope was in a 'hero coma' and Landon dying a 'hero's death' all leads to tragedy and Landon was like 'can't let the bad guy win'

for fucks sake

THIS ISN'T A SUPERHERO SHOW I THINK ACTUAL SUPERHERO SHOWS HAVE USED THESE KEY WORDS LESS

and

in other news, Wade remains one of my favorites,

Alaric just happened to have the actual sword of Excalibur? really?

well the green knight showed up after nimue, lady of the lake and the sword just got stuck in a rock

im seriously considering starting a petition for Julie Plague to just fucking listen to the fans about what we actually wanna see on this show

everyone just ran away asdfgjkllh

pedro just stepped up, love him, but the key is to limit his appearances to keep it up, if you use his running gag on the show too much it's just bland after a while

oh my god, Jed, stop being into Alyssa, you're clearly meant to be with Kaleb

how much you wanna bet Nimue is evil too? (i was wrong, but she was def annoying)

the reaction the kids had when nimue said 'or your world will be plunged into darkness' and kaleb just laughed, that was perfect and MG adding 'we've dealt with this before, a lot'

like, yep, that's how you know it's getting old

Julie, stop using 'end of the world' as a reason for the kids to do something it's so boring and anti-climactic cuz guess what? we KNOW they're gonna win and the world'll be fine

oh gods, you people are so reliant on Hope

for fucks sake, it's worse when it's Alaric that delivers that line like you're a grown ass man who's been in this game for decades, you've seen it all, and yet you've come to rely on a 17 year old to do everything for you

no wonder she wants to stay asleep

Alyssa leaving and saying 'Good luck beating one without me' ?????

tf, that's what they've been doing since??like?? always??

so apparently you can only wield the sword if you have kings blood in your veins and even though she isn't actually royalty, Hope is sorta royalty in the werewolf community and her dad was the king of New Orleans, so i guess what im trying to say is she's totally a princess and she coulda wielded it

ok, if im disappointed by everything in this season (and according to the first ep i have no doubt i will be)

the only requirment i have for this season is for Hope wolfing out at least once, that's all i ask for this season, not a plot that makes sense, not a lack of superhero bullshit, not even a good villain, just Hope wolfing out

wait, so is Raf like royalty too? that's actually not bad, he and Hope coulda been such a power couple

landon kissed her and she woke up

thats so stupid

thats so stupid

thats so stupid

thats so stupid

AND legit in contrast of their previous ep where Hope legit says 'im not kissing someone sleeping, consent is a real thing'

wow, Julie, letting them have their fairytale moment but nothing for Hosie huh?

her waking up because she doesnt want to face the grief was so boring, why not make it an actual foe going after her?? some magical problem i mean?? it feels like they left on a biggie like she's not waking up and its a big deal but next thing you know it's not a magic problem or a foe, she just doesnt wanna face grief, ffs

its good that josie's leaving to get better, otherwise her whole plot in the show woulda been her being sad and not wanting to help out cuz she's scared of herself and getting picked on so yeah

what-

lizzie you didnt ruin the field day, a monster did that, relax

OH GODS SHE DID NOT JUST GIVE HIM A SUPERHERO NAME

UGHHHHHHHH

OH MY GOD HOPE AND LANDON STOP TALKING ABOUT SUPER SQUAD AND BAT SIGNALS

GODSDAMMIT

klaus mikaelson would be so disappointed in this show

you know what i'd like to see?

some goddammed consequences

like let the kids mess up and have actual tragedies happen in town that they have to deal with

honestly the writers don't know a good thing even when the whole fandom is literally yelling it at them

[ambitionsource]

hi can we get some zaley friendship headcanons whenever you're free? ☺️

im not the best at headcanons just bc of the way my brain functions but im gonna do my best for you, sunny my friend. let’s go zay and riley let’s go!

thrift shop buddies!! one of the most common ways that they hang out is definitely going thrifting. considering they arguably have the two most eclectic wardrobes on the show, this makes sense. esp i fully believe they’re the perfect people to thrift shop with where they encourage each other to try on everything, even if it seems outlandish (and sometimes even more in those moments). that’s the only way to really get some good finds! and i feel like, beyond S1, when they wear items for performances in the show that are clearly unique / seem thrifted, it’s more than 50% likely the other helped them pick it out at some point

on this note, i think that they both have really good senses of what looks good on the other bc they spend this time together, probably better than anyone else (yes, including their significant others. not that that’s hard, since both of their significant others have notoriously bland fashion). like even when theyre not out together i can totally imagine them seeing something and being like “oh this is so riley / zay” and getting it for each other. they know each other’s sizes and have like an ongoing swap credit system gfJSKHJDLFH

riley and zay usually run performance by the other person before they perform them for the class / at an audition. like they find a specific time (usually during breakout sessions during class) to get in front of the other person and run them through their concept + do a run-through for them. they just really appreciate the other’s perspective, especially since they tend to complement each other -- zay is able to identify places where riley could heighten things or add some flair or just like... assert her talent more lmao, whereas riley helps zay pull back on some of his more overwhelming instincts when necessary or find the moments to truly lean in emotionally rather than blowing us out of the water the whole time

if we could actually Watch the show, i guarantee 9/10 times when riley or zay is performing, we would cut to the other enjoying the performance. like theyre always bobbing their head along and truly feelin the other’s performances. excellent vibes luv!

i also think they harmonize well with each other, which is why its kind of a shame they dont do more performances together within the context of assignments (as for why, couldn’t tell you... it might just be a weird psychological thing of like i have These people i perform with when it matters and these who are just for fun... like maybe zay and riley tend to see each other as easygoing comfortable duet partners and thats why they try not to overdo putting pressure on it). but yeah they absolutely have days where they just hang out in one of the rehearsal studios and play around on the piano and try to find ways to harmonize on their favorite songs. this is some of the best singing riley ever does, bc its so low stakes and fun

i also think that honestly, zay really helps strengthen riley’s vocals over the time they’re friends -- especially early on. riley is someone with good raw talent but she’s never thought about honing it seriously prior to joining aaa, whereas zay has been on a career mindset since he was little. so he is good at teaching her like small technique things or helping her expand her range and she really values that esp bc hes so selfless about giving it, but it doesnt come off naggy or unnecessary like maya’s advice often does

sometimes it can be hard for them to find songs they both wanna sing though bc their music taste is so different. i think they have like three small categories where their favorites overlap -- select big names (sza, chloe x halle), jazz / old-time crooners (frank sinatra, nina simone, and the like), and select musical theater. but i think this is mainly on zay, bc he’s much more picky about music than riley who will give anything a listen without much nudging. as we know zay likes to pick on his friends’ music taste (like charlie and harry styles / 1d) and i don’t think riley would escape this affectionate teasing. they exchange song recs and riley gives him like her usual piano ballad-y sara bareilles tswift rachael yamagata energy and shes like oh yes, another piano ballad and hes like STOP!!! JUST LISTEEEENNNN GFSJKLHJFDSKLHKDLFH

that said though, they’re definitely go-to friends when it comes to like checking out a new local artist or coffeeshop open mic nights. this is probably a typical zay / riley / yindra outing

zay doesn’t spend a ton of time watching tv bc “he has better things to do with his time,” but riley and zay are definitely the type to watch a show together. like not always Together, but they’ll try to keep up with each other so that they can talk about it (and riley has to try really hard not to keep binging and get way ahead of zay). theyre good at this bc they can have really intense and opinionated conversations about it but in a way where its like safe and neither of them feel like theyre actually being judged / are stupid if they disagree (something thats not common for riley, and zay usually is trying to discuss media with super strong personalities who aren’t great at Debating).

in general, though, they tend to agree on favorite characters / relationships. for example, they both hate rachel berry -- which always gets maya and farkle extremely heated if they’re around. i can only imagine why...

they’re also definitely safe-space vent people for each other. they don’t use the privilege all that often bc i think both of them try to like keep their cool and not get hung up about things, but if they really just have to pop off about something they know they can go to the other person and they’ll actually Listen and keep it under wraps rather than either spilling it to everyone else and/or immediately trying to problem solve rather than just listening to the Emotions. and it’s helpful bc for the most part, their friends don’t actually really overlap that much, so they don’t really like harbor the emotions the other person unloads on them or let it affect their dynamics with other people? like riley can talk about dasher and zay can talk about yingel without it having any ripple consequences bc theyre different circles.

for example, i can totally see riley talking to zay about how she feels like -- at first -- asher doesn’t really like her and won’t really let her in and like he doesn’t want her to join the friend group (even tho that isn’t really true). like she can’t talk to dylan about it bc she’s not going to put him in that position and she’s not foolish enough to think that’s a good idea, she can’t talk to lucas about it bc he like doesn’t get stuff like that gFJKHGLFJSDLH and also he has such a set impression of asher it would be hard for him to understand it from her perspective. zay has none of that, so hes a good person to listen to her nerves about it.

the only times this gets kind of complicated / janky is in the midst of zay x charlie stuff where riley is kind of unintentionally (or, sometimes, intentionally) in the middle. like, zay trusts her not to go telling charlie what he says about him, but he knows they’re good friends too, and its an awkward position to put her in. but still, i think when zay is really hurt or frustrated he’ll snap sometimes and just vent out all his anger about charlie to riley in one foul swoop, and she’ll just absorb it like a sponge without judgment and then not bring it up again. but you can also see little ways where this puts pressure on their friendship, like how when he was drunk in 304 zay expressed resentment towards the fact that riley also talks to charlie and sometimes he feels like she puts him first, even though that isn’t true. it’s just..... a very very complicated (and interesting, if emotional) situation with that trio.

that being said, when things are Good, i think that zay feels comfortable talking about his significant others (including charlie) with riley. he doesn’t really get too Detailed about anything personal or anything, but they definitely discussed charlie in s2 in the small window of time where riley knew and zc wasn’t actively imploding LMAO. on the flip side, riley doesn’t really talk to zay about her relationships, but only bc her relationship is lucas GJFSKLJHLKDJHFLDSH. like anyone else she’d be like okay sure this is fine but she knows zay finds lucas annoying 65% of the time and talking about him in a romantic context grosses him out so she respects that LMAOOOO. hysterical

in general, if they’re gonna hang out, they usually go to either a local coffee shop they like (like svorskis) or each other’s houses. its kind of a relief to have a person they can just take anywhere and have around their parents with no trouble at all, considering both of them are used to having a boyfriend who cant be seen in their house (for different reasons). and theyre comfortable enough that like i think when they hang out at their houses, they just spread out in the living area of both bc theyre not hiding anything, its like very lowkey and comfortable

that being said, riley doesnt spend much time in zay’s usual studio at school. most people don’t, its a place zay now likes to be alone (and it feels weird with someone else being there who isnt charlie)

as for how they come off to their families, the babineauxs love riley. jada has met her a couple of times and thinks she’s super sweet + zay could afford to learn a thing or two from her like how to chill the fuck out (cue zay going shut the fuck up). donna is excited that zay has another friend who isn’t batshit intense about stuff like maya / farkle, she figures yindra has the diva best friend role covered and zay needs more friends like nigel and riley to ground him. she’s right about this.

cory likes zay, but he also does have some prejudices from the teaching perspective about how zay doesn’t pay attention in class half the time and blows off his assignments -- but this isn’t partially because cory isn’t a great teacher and his assignments suck. so the feeling is mutual, tho zay gets along better with cory in a neutral, polite sense than say, asher and dylan, where it’s like guerilla psychological warfare. topanga has no opinion about zay bc riley doesn’t introduce her friends to her (wisely).

they’re still very common lunch buddies. essentially when riley isn’t eating with the techies (which is only when lucas is there usually) or bothering lucas in the booth once a week, she’s with zay (which usually also means nigel, yindra, and farkle, though not always)

ultimately, i think that when someone asks riley who her best friend is, her mind will always jump to zay first. not even because theyre necessarily the closest at any given time, but because he really was her first life raft at aaa and he extended that kindness to her in a moment where she was so used to being brushed aside, talked over, ridiculed -- and you don’t forget that. it stays with you. so when she thinks about her Best Friend, speed round answer, he will always come to mind first. i think she greatly admires his skillful balance of confidence and compassion, his sarcastic sense of humor, the way he gets so passionate about dance and music and how these elements come together, and his inarguable kindness that is at his core and so fundamental to everything he does (even when his more known reputation is a bit more barbed and witty).

on the flip side, i think riley came into zay’s life at the exact moment he needed it. we know he felt isolated in s1, and even though i think he thinks of nigel and yindra as his first-to-mind best friends, riley was a breath of fresh air who allowed him to be himself with someone who wasnt going to judge him on past decisions or impressions. just like he gave her the chance to define herself in his eyes with his extension of company on that first day, she does the same for him by not making assumptions about him and learning who he is on their terms. i think she’s also just a really great, measured system of support -- she’s not busting his balls or keeping him in check like yindra and nigel do (except when its really needed, like 304), but she isn’t as in awe / romanticized with him like charlie. i think he appreciates that he can go to her for an honest perspective, but she’ll take the care to deliver that honesty in a gentle way. it’s like, he’s tough enough to take a hit, but sometimes its nice to know you have someone who will be kind with you even then.

that’s what is at the core of their friendship overall. kindness.

-- Maggie

[archer3-13]

Naruto anime and some general thoughts

well i kept up with the manga back when it was still ongoing, ill admit i never had much interest in pursuing the naruto anime. Partly because of how i tend to consume media, partly because the show was never able to convincingly drag me in. However, ive decided to parse the anime a little recently so i thought id put down some bullet point thoughts from about the first 10 episodes

- the first theme songs weird, i kinda like it as a song in of itself as its very... 80s rock i guess but at the same time it just feels out of place. its not a very iconic first foot as it were i guess, which is fine cause not every anime can have one, but it doesnt help with its sense of misplacement in general tone is all.

- which brings me to how the ost is, cause the ost and first op feel mismatched af. that said the osts pretty solid for the most part, just used haphazardly at times. rising fighting spirit might be the more iconic fighting naruto ost piece, but i honestly feel its kinda bland and bad situation works better at generating tension.

- narutos an annoying shit just as i remember. it certainly works early on where hes suppose to be an annoying shit to some degree or another. it helps that a lot of these early episodes are dedicated to showing how out of his depth naruto currently is, its just bittersweet is all considering how character wise he'll stall out at this point as his weaknesses get gradually eroded over time.

- sasukes a hyper competent mf for the most part, as much as a kid his age and experience can expected to be. hes definitely not broody and emo all things considered, stand offish certainly but the really weird thing is, is that its gone out of the way to emphasize that even as early as now that sasuke could give a rats ass about the attention and thus is stand offish because people wont leave him alone. its somewhat similar to the usual aloof rival behavior in shonen, but in this case it comes off as unusual because sasukes shown to be unusually compassionate in instances. sticking up for naruto in front of sakura when he had no obligation to and just after naruto acted like a little gremlin child and tied sasuke up in a supply closet, among other smaller moments.

- veering back on topic, sasukes easily the most competent of team 7 genin both in terms of strategic thinking and raw combat skill, to the point that it genuinely felt weird for naruto to be the one to come up with the shadow shuriken trick when that feels more like something sasuke would come up with. its a good sequence mind showing naruto and sasuke teaming up to take on a stronger foe in contrast to the bell test and something that probably should have been extended or given more time to breath in order to sell the idea that the two are forming a genuine bond if through adversity.

- moving to the fights themselves they... aren't good? at the moment atleast the pacing of the fights makes something like the kakashi zabuza battle feel slow paced and kids happy slaps in comparison to the demon brothers brief taijutsu and weapons fight which feels more actively dangerous. to compare it to one piece fights around the same time of their production, it lacks snap and impact in the fights so to speak.

- i forgot how fun kakashi actually is, since he spends a lot of the rest of the series as a bit of a wet blanket. hes the man of mysteries wrapped up in the roshi unconventional teacher model 'i taught you by not teaching you' kinda manner. that and his 'im not touching you' method of annoyance in his mannerisms helps contrast and make more impressive his strong insights and the moments in the zabuza fight where hes pissed at the possibility of people dying on his watch. it makes the rest of his series performance feel especially clownish as he increasingly defaults to an empty caricature spouting off state propaganda and generic i love naruto catchphrases... but as it stands by the wave arc hes an interesting and fun guy.

- id be more willing to be lenient to you sakura if you didnt leave such a bad taste in the mouth even now. is she more then a generic fangirl here? in the sense of being very intentionally written as an aggressive bully yes but thats not even the backhanded compliment im making it out to be. shes useless not in the sense of never doing anything in a fight, or being a bad character. Shes useless in the sense that she really does nothing for the actual dynamic of team 7 as a unit of characters. individually sure theres some interesting meat and aspects to them but as a unit team 7 feels more like a duo then a trio and sakuras the quite obvious weak link in it because she might as well not be there in the 'team 7' scenes.

- hunter nin seem to be implied as something every village has in some capacity as opposed to a kiri exclusive thing its more so treated as later on. theres also the implication that anbu look a lot more mundane then they do later on since zabuzas anbu flashbacks just have him in a regular flakjacket setup.

- narutos mixed and confused anger at haku both for taking a life and for showing team 7 up well they tried extra hard is very confused in what it wants to be, but also something i wished the series explored more in naruto. cause like, later on its more so dropped to just have naruto be jealous of other people who are better then him because hes a petty bitch, but here theres very much an air of naruto being uncomfortable even deeply afraid of killing and death, both times he freezes up in the first 10 episodes are when hes presented with the physical possibility of dying, and having the grapple and struggle with that concept given his chosen profession would have been a hell of a lot more interesting.