#top 5 redemption arcs of all time

[adrinoir]

The Miraculous Movie was different than the series…and that’s okay!

I watched the movie this morning and loved it! I think it’s important to talk about the changes that were made and what impact they had.

How the characters were rewritten

There definitely was a difference in how the characters were written in the movie, and some of the redevelopment of characters was really good!

Gabriel was by far the one who had the best redevelopment of his personality. Gabriel in the series is awful, as we all know.

In the series, he barely gives a shit about his own son, like there is absolutely nothing redeemable about his character. In every “what if” episode and the season 5 finale, Gabriel does not show any regret to hurting people, including his own son.

However, in the movie, Gabriel actually makes a better attempt to communicate with Adrien and, most importantly, feels strong regret when he hurt his son. He cries; he feels remorse for destroying Paris and injuring Adrien in the process. He hugs Adrien (along with the spirit of Emilie 🥹) and decides to stop being Hawk Moth. It was beautifully done. He got a redemption arc that he never got in the series. I know I personally felt so good watching that and seeing the relationship between him and Adrien being repaired.

Marinette was her usual clumsy self, but was written as having no friends at school because she embarrasses herself so much. In a way, it makes more sense than her being so popular like she is in the series. Kids in high school can be pretty judgy and ruthless. So it makes sense for the “clumsy girl” to be made fun of and judged by people who don’t know her well.

Adrien was different in a lot of ways. He wasn’t shown running to school to gain freedom. He wasn’t introduced as being a super model who’s friends with Chloe. Instead, he’s already going to the school, he’s already friends with Nino, and he happens to run into Marinette at the library. He doesn’t have that same chemistry with Marinette as he does in the series which is a bit odd that they took that away, but it does make sense that he’d turn her down when she asked him to the ball, since he loves Ladybug. In the movie, he very clearly sees Marinette as just a friend and it’s shown that he’s building a friendship with her without him developing a crush. It’s different but still wholesome, especially when he shows her the old family photo to her. Plus, it evens it out well since Ladybug obviously turns Cat Noir away but they’re still building up their bond, too. They both get turned down.

It was ehhh that Adrien was a bit too cocky at times as Cat Noir, but overall, his goofiness and self confidence is still pretty on brand for him. He was still very encouraging towards Ladybug but not overly flirtatious, pushing her to her limits. Instead, it was them lightly teasing each other and then playfully fighting. And, speaking of the playful fighting, their bond was stronger in the movie seeing as how they were shown spending more time together off duty and that they were treated as equals.

In the show, Cat Noir is automatically made sidekick and left in the dark about everything. But in the movie, he gets to meet Master Fu in disguise alongside Ladybug. Sure, he didn’t help Master Fu with his cane like he did in the series, but that didn’t matter since the lore was changed.

Alya was less annoying in the movie. Sorry. Don’t get me wrong, I love Alya in the series, but she’s so over the top at times with how obsessed she is over the heroes, blogging, and filming things for her blog. In the movie, she was toned down a lot and I liked that. It was also cute that Nino had a crush on her and just her, not Marinette first. Unlike the series, he wasn’t on that pipeline of guys who fell for Marinette since that pipeline doesn’t exist in the movie.

Tom was made out to be an embarrassment for Marinette which is honestly more realistic for a teenager. Most teenagers get pretty embarrassed by their parents, especially when they still treat them very childlike. And, I like that he went out to the fair to look for her since he heard there was danger. Marinette’s parents don’t usually go out to look for her or make sure she’s in her room when there’s danger afoot. So, I appreciate that they made Tom do that since he obviously loves Marinette a lot.

The rewriting of (some of) the lore

As I had mentioned in my previous section, the lore was rewritten, too. Instead of Master Fu being the one to pick Marinette and Adrien simply because they helped him, the kwamis sense that Marinette and Adrien are the right people to be Ladybug and Cat Noir. That was a much better way to write that, in my opinion.

Hawk Moth got ahold of the butterfly miraculous by mistake. That part wasn’t changed but also, it didn’t need to be.

The change of plot

The plot was very simple. It didn’t have a whole lot of crazy, in depth details like the show’s does. So, anyone who has never watched the show can easily understand and absorb what’s going on (I will be forcing my boyfriend to watch it with me since he’s never seen the show lol).

I like that it was very clear cut and easy to understand while still being intense and meaningful. It still summarizes a lot of what the series entails while fixing some issues in the plot development.

They didn’t doddle with Hawk Moth like they do in the show. He was a successful villain in his second attempt but then realized he should stop when he hurt his own son in the process.

Also, there was a reveal. It was a wee bit underwhelming, but I still think it was done well! It was a moment with just Marinette and Adrien alone, as it should be. And, it was cutesy and heartfelt. The fact that Marinette dressed like Ladybug for the ball (cutest dress ever imo) and Adrien dressed like Cat Noir was so cute. That’s what a lot of the fandom has been asking for and written about in fanfics, I feel like.

The romance between these two is most important. They didn’t need Kagami and Luka as 2nd love interests to throw things off track. Yes, I like these characters in the show, but they weren’t needed in the plot.

The music

I love musicals. I was a bit of a theater kid in high school, plus I’m obsessed with music lol. So, yes, I’m a bit biased when I say I love that they made this a musical.

I personally loved the music. I can tell a lot of good effort was put into it and I’ve already been listening to the songs on my Spotify. The song between Ladybug and Cat Noir in the theater “Now I See” and Cat Noir jumping on the clouds (literally, on cloud nine) singing “My Lady” was absolutely adorable and super romantic, which, as we know, is a big part of the show.

Even Gabriel’s song “Chaos Will Reign Today” was amazing! It conveyed a lot of emotion and turns into one of those dramatic villain songs. Keith Silverstein is clearly talented enough to sing for his own character and he did it well.

My only nitpick is that Marinette’s singer, Lou, has a very different voice than Christina Vee. So, Marinette sounds very different, much more mature-sounding when she sings and it kinda catches you off guard. I’m surprised they didn’t have Christina sing for her, but there must’ve been a reason why she didn’t. But, SQVARE sounded similar enough to Bryce Papenbrook when he sung for Cat Noir which i absolutely love.

Conclusion

I personally give this movie a 10/10 just because it made me smile the whole time, and it’s such a feel good movie. I’ll happily watch it again and listen to the soundtrack, especially on a day when I’m feeling down. It wasn’t perfect in every aspect, but it was perfect in a simple, heartwarming sense and that it can be watched by everyone, not only people who watch the series.

I understand if it made you cringe or you were moreso looking for a continuation of the series not a retelling. But, I prefer some simplicity which is a big part of what made me like it. Like I said, I know it wasn’t absolute perfection, but it was so frickin adorable and I can’t help but smile.

There’s a lot of differences but also plenty of similarities between the movie and the show. But understand they’re not meant to be the same and that’s okay! I don’t think the movie was horrible for most of the changes it made. In fact, I think most of them made sense and made it a bit more realistic (as I explained).

[thestrangestthing89]

Reasons I think Byler is getting together early... 1) Everyone thought byler would get together at the end of S4 because there was so much build up and tension between the two. It made sense with the story to fit that at the end of the season, so much so, that people were anticipating it. 2) The constant interruptions, mainly by Jonathan. They don't need to be interrupted if nothing is happening. Both scenes in Lenora that get interrupted were flirty scenes with a lot of tension. If Jonathan hadn't interrupted this, what would have happened? There is a strong implication that something would have. Otherwise, why bother doing it. There are several other conversations that get interrupted, like the one on top of the car, where things were getting personal and they were on the edge of saying something. They are close to saying what they want to say and being honest. 3) The original plan of Jonathan's that Will and Mike agree to, is to go back to Hawkins and help their friends. It wasn't to find El. When Mike realizes this he goes to have his second talk with Will (the one where Will is kneeling on the floor). He stresses they are a team. If their original plan was to go on a less stressful road trip back to Hawkins, what would have been happening with them? Because that letter El left Mike was a break up letter that Mike is moving on from. (I don't know anyone who would have thought they were still together with someone after being told they weren't going to see that person again for months, possibly years, and weren't going to be able to communicate with them during that time. Who would be waiting around indefinitely? Mike was moving on the second he threw that note out.) 4) The audience needs to start rooting for Mike again and he needs a redemption. Will brings out the best in Mike and he knows him best. So I'm not surprised we have hints that they are filming a lot together. Getting to see the side of Mike who is in a healthy romantic relationship is an important part of his character arc. Especially given how much this show likes to compare Will and El. We need to actually see him with Will to know that this is better for him. Without seeing this side to Mike, there isn't as much of a chance for the audience to reconnect with him because we would still not get to see him when he's at his best. 5) Will's character arc has been about embracing his sexuality and using that as a source of empowerment. A thing that doesn't have the same impact if he doesn't actually get to act on his identity/sexuality until the very end. Seeing both Mike and Will be confident and comfortable with themselves would provide closure to both of their arcs. 6) Other character arcs relate to byler getting together - mainly Jonathan. Jonathan is struggling to find himself and feels very strongly about protecting his family. He feels responsible for them and doesn't want to leave them. Part of this is because they moved away from Hawkins (where their friends and support are) and part of it is the loss of Hopper, who has been helping protect them all. Hopper returning helps a lot. But there is also the added component of Will being gay that I think would still make it harder for Jonathan to want to get his own life if he isn't sure how Hopper would respond to this. Plus, I don't see him leaving Will if Will feels sad and alone and is still having problems with Mike/El. El's character arc also plays into this because her independence has to do with her and Mike breaking up. A thing I suspect already happened by the end of S4. But El really hasn't seen what a healthy romantic relationship even looks like at this point. Byler could be a good example of that for her. Not to mention would be a good reason for Mike and El to clearly end things with each other. El has had trouble separating herself from Mike and uses him as a safety net/backup caretaker when Hopper isn't there. It's not good for her. Knowing that Mike wants to be with someone else could push her to stop being so fixated on him and learn to rely on herself instead.

7) I suspect that one of the main themes of the show is going to be how love saves the world - in opposition to how El's anger has saved them (and not been affective at saving them). Byler being the key to this, and Mike being the heart. There needs to be more interaction with their relationship. Will is the main character and the hero of this story. If his romance is saving the world, we need to see it. And Will deserves to have this whole story play out and not just have it be quick at the end. 8) Just because a lot of other shows have the main couple get together at the end, doesn't mean this one has to do the same. They have inverted plenty of tropes already, this could be another one. Plus, all of the other endgame couples are already together (or mostly together). Byler not getting to have a relationship that we see sticks out as them not wanting to show the gay couple specifically. Which I don't get the impression is an attitude they have. 9) The outfits we have seen Mike and Will wear so far in S5 have been a lot of blue, yellow, and green. They match. Couples on tv shows usually match and they have for several seasons now. But the green is an interesting addition. We have seen blue be associated with Mike and yellow with Will and now we are seeing them wear their own colors along with the other persons. The green (a mix of those 2 colors) suggests that they are already together. 10) I don't think they are going to push this as a love triangle. The time to do that would have been S4 when there actually was one. We got Will pining for Mike, Will standing between Mike and El, tension with Mike and Will, El being confused by some of Mike and Will's interactions. There was something going on with the three of them this season. But the promo/posters didn't suggest this. We know mileven is either over or almost over so there is no point pretending like this is ambiguous. Especially when most of the audience is rooting for Will/byler.

[raelle-writing]

I love how many people on here are always talking about who is and isn't doomed by the narrative in DFF like -

Are you sure? Because I've analyzed the hell out of this show and I cannot tell who is and isn't doomed by the narrative at this point. The story is too complex and nuanced and there's so many pieces of it moving at any given time.

Are Phee and Jin doomed by the narrative for betraying Non? I doubt it, because Non isn't the smiling little ingenue that people think he is. He's a character who has also made mistakes and fucked up, so idk if putting him as the tragic hero at the center of this tale makes sense. Like, of course he is the true victim of the show, but he's also way more complex than a tragic little kid. I know that people want Non to be that, and Phee and Jin to die because of it, but is it true? I don't think so.

Is Tee doomed by the narrative? You'd think so, and yet I feel like I've been seeing him move toward a redemption arc in recent episodes. I honestly can't tell if he'll live or die. He's not an irredeemable asshole because he loves White, and loves him so deeply that he'd rather die himself than bad things happen to White.

I don't think that anyone in DFF is obviously doomed by the narrative. They're all too complex and sympathetic for anything that simple and clear-cut.

That's not to say I'm positive Phee, Jin, Tee, or any of the others will live. It's impossible for me to say at this point because the show hasn't had a single high stakes death so far. I cannot tell how cut-throat the writers will be toward the end of it because we haven't lost anyone that actually hurt yet.

So far the deaths are:

The spoiled bratty rich kid (and we only found out that he was a more complexly sympathetic character AFTER he died)

The driver uncle who had 5 minutes of screen time total

The evil uncle who we all wanted to die anyway (and who was killed off-screen so far)

The narcissistic bully who has no backstory

They've killed four people and none of them hurt. The only reason Por's death hurt was because we got a moment of the characters mourning afterwards. We didn't get that with Top, and tbh I don't think I'd even care if we did because he's so flat. All of the characters who have actual nuance to them aren't dead yet.

I feel like DFF kind of sacrificed being a horror for the sake of being a mystery. It would've made for a better horror (in my opinion) to confirm Non is already dead in episode 8 and then work back toward a bloodbath. But instead of that, they've kept us in suspense for three more episodes without confirming if he's alive or dead.

I don't particularly mind that because I love a mystery, I just think that they'll have a hard time course-correcting back to a bloody slasher in the last two episodes after so much time spent in the past and on this mystery element.

I hope the show sticks the landing and doesn't throw away all of the interesting and complex writing and nuances built into it for the sake of a shocking ending, that would truly ruin it.

[incorrect-riordanverse]

Riordanverse Characters as quotes by people i know have said

dedicated to @lord-of-pterodactyls, i know you asked for friends in particular but i’m broadening it as even people i consider my nemeses (old ass philosophy teacher) are funny

Percy: i truly feel as if nothing will ever incapsulate my being as truly as the singing monsters water wubbox

Annabeth: *screaming from adjoining room* GET LOST APPLE MUSIC PRIVACY

Piper: *in bikini* i don’t like people with big boobs

Jason: *trying to compliment piper* your hair looks like dementia

Leo: *emerging from the stinky depths of his room after being in there for 16 hours straight and no showers with clothes from 5 days ago, red scabs all over his body and lips so dry it looks like a snake shedding its old skin by how crusty it is* guys on a scale from 1 to 10 how sexy do i look rn?

Hazel: *yeets her foot out and jiggles her toes menacingly at people she dislikes as an intimidation tactic because her toes are particularly hideous*

Frank: *after literally being targeted by a racial ‘joke’* worse than that, you white people eat spam

Grover: *pats air purifier* a good trusted friend

Nico: *drifts into hazel’s room* bro i ain’t even gonna lie, the holidays are better than the black plague *leaves room before she can question him further*

Reyna: *sleeptalking* stallion le meghan

Rachel: *pretending her coloured markers are vapes*

Thalia: *pointing at luke* my bro be the victim and the perpetrator

Tyson: *when talking about doing math* all i have are my fingers and a dream

Clarisse: *sees a sick person in bed* you’re looking pretty vulnerable *proceeds to ransack their room and steal their sheets like some gremlin*

Octavian: i am THE riddler *speaks in riddler voice and puts on devious little expression* what is... a curtain?

Will: *sees a dying person and looks pointedly at nico* and thats because they didnt take their cenovis vitamin c

Luke: i am constantly one snap away from either committing homicide or suicide

Apollo: *feeling face after new skincare routine* gosh my face feels as soft as a silicone tit

Meg: *pointing at apollo after redemption arc* YOU WON’T GO TO HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU ARE A COMMUNIST!

Magnus: *eating falafel* this is an orgasmic experience

Samirah: *substituting random words in english for arabic and not realising no one understands what she’s saying*

Alex: *laughing at the death threats she gets online after posting a meme about BTS in the military*

Blitz: *does something naughty* omg sorry im such a libra（＾ν＾）

Hearth: *walks into room* god is dead.

Carter: *walking into sadie’s room visibly upset with a box of cadbury favourites* here take them. if you don’t im going to eat them all. please, dont make me do this

Sadie: take a shit and be late to school or dont take the shit and be on time hell loop

Zia: my top artist on spotify this year will be xi jinping’s wife

Walt: *simply, appreciatively and completely without context* yeah, buddha is a pretty amazing guy

Anubis: i dislike being emo because i can only go as death note characters for halloween

Bast: *absolutely entranced by watching love island uk and is just repeating everything any person says back in a treacherous essex accent*

Bes: *walking into classroom full of young teens with an oversized ‘free james assange’ shirt* today i am a nice, trendy leftist. tomorrow, who knows?

[eleanor-bradstreet]

Thoughts on Bridgerton season 3

No one asked, but putting it out there. (Written after viewing part 1.)

The Good

Polin - it’s their season after all. There is plenty of them and a lot of scenes pulled right from the book. I don’t think Colin/Newts is all that charismatic or great at acting tbh, but Pen/Nic is carrying the season. Seeing through her eyes, there is a compelling story of self-acceptance, struggle and romance. I was whooping whenever she got steamy with her man.

Debling - wonderfully acted and such an interesting addition to the ton, I love this character. He is so kind and honest, he deserves the world.

Francesca & John - Hannah Dodd is doing a wonderful job. We get to see the one and only shy Bridgerton, which is novel. Her odd chemistry with John is magical and I am already fucked up about them. I’m more invested in them than Polin 😅

Eloise - we are seeing more facets of Eloise which is wonderful. That she is willing to look deeper at peoples’ true character - including Cressida and Pen, though the reconciliation with Pen isn’t finalized yet. Cressida also makes Eloise check herself, her assumptions and privileges which is crucial for her development. She’s growing this season.

The Cowpers - redemption arc for Cressida incoming! We are learning that her bitchiness stems from a competitive nature, which she feels she must have to secure a good match thanks to pressures from her awful parents. This is interesting in its own right but please please please have Sophie also being mistreated in their household. That would be the bow on top.

Marcus Anderson - hello handsome! He is wonderfully acted and immediately has a warm spark with Violet. The mystery is built as to why Lady D is so aggravated by him. What has he done in the past that makes her wary of him?

The music - great instrumental covers of on-point pop songs and revisiting a few tried and true Bridgerton original themes.

The Bad

Kanthony - But only for part 1. I'm guessing they had to work around JB's busy shooting schedule, but it sucks they found a lame way to essentially write them out of episodes 2-4. I'm happy to see from the trailer there will be more of them in part 2.

Benedict - for fucks sake, he does nothing. Season 2 might as well not have happened. Not only is he not sad nor frustrated with Anthony about art school, he has no introspection or personal development in part 1. He’s just shoved in the background again, making sassy little comments and fucking a random lady. Where is this ‘crucial role’ the showrunner mentioned? What ‘comes to a head’ for him as Luke keeps alluding to? All of his material must happen in part 2 because there is nothing in part 1.

The fucking Featheringtons - I know the entail is a plot line set up by season 2, but getting into microscopic detail about the sex lives of the elder two Featherington sisters is not the comic relief the show thinks it is. It actually makes me nauseous. The whole ‘race to produce an heir’ could have been a single line explanation from Portia and screen time with the Featherington couples could have been spent on more Benedict.

The sex - part 2 better be mind blowing because Nicola’s claim that Polin has ‘won the steamy battle’ is unfounded based on the first four episodes. Okay we’ve got Anthony and Benedict each with a scene between the sheets kissing ladies but not a single Bridgerbum to be seen. The claims of ‘threesomes’ and ‘lesbian sex’ are extremely generous. It’s 5 seconds of Colin kissing sex workers and them peformatively kissing each other. I know we have the mirror scene coming in part 2 which threatens to blow the roof off anything Saphne and Kanthony did but thus far, I am unimpressed. It feels more buttoned up than ever.

Now, I have also watched part 2 in its entirety. Without spoiling any details, see below the cut for a general note.

Part 2 contains some MAJOR twists that I feel are going to fracture the fandom. Brace yourselves.

[jaydenix]

Miraculous Ladybug is so disappointing to think about - it could have been way better

I probably sound like an NPC at this point but I just need to get across a brief amount of the totality of the thought I've put into this mess of a show

So, Miraculous Ladybug has received a wide array of critique over the years. One of the key reasons for this is the writers overblowing the characters' personalities. Marinette is a commonly cited example of this, it's okay to write a young girl infatuated with a good-looking wealthy boy, but Marinette is obviously not an example of this. To say her obsession with Adrien is unhealthy would be an enormous understatement. We all know what she's like - she's a stalker, knows everything about his routine and everything else, it's genuinely hard to put into words how insane she is without just listing off everything she's done but if you've watched the show you know what I mean. Marinette just goes way too far and the show never challenges her on what is obviously wrong behaviour, it tries to make her seem like she's just a little too boycrazy like isn't she so quirky? But it's just frustrating and wrong. Similarly, Chloe also is just way over the top, she is indisputably abusive to Sabrina, in general treats everyone horribly, and she's only gotten worse since the beginning. Every time she opens her mouth its the same old shit you've heard 1000 times it's bad to begin with but it gets so old very fast. And all the while I'm constantly reminded that show decided so deliberately to miss out on what could have been an awesome redemption arc for her, maybe they'll do that in the later seasons but like I don't have masses of hope + the show should've ended with season 5 but not with fucking GABRIEL getting redeemed are you SERIOUS??? The S5 ending is horrendously bad but that's a story for another time. There's plenty of other issues to like Adrien just... not getting anything to do and other stuff but sufficed to say: MLB has a laundry list of issues that hold it back significantly.

But there's another side to MLB: at times the show has proven that it can take itself seriously, and this is what really gets me. It's few and far between don't get me wrong but in these moments I start to see the MLB that could have been. The one I like the most is at the end of S4E3 - Gang of Secrets, Alya is with Marinette and she finally confesses the truth, that she is Ladybug. This point in the show definitely has a "calm before the storm" kind of vibe, things aren't so bad right now but it feels like it's gonna get really bad sooner or later. Marinette is the new guardian and so the pressure to keep her identity a secret is higher than ever, but she finally breaks. It's a beautiful moment and feels so real and very serious. One of either Marinette or Adrien were gonna break eventually and this felt like the perfect time to do it. MLB really could've been a serious show that had its comedic moments but knew at the right moments when to not mess around, it's disappointing there's not more like this.

[flower-boi16]

Who would you say is the most poorly written character in Hazbin Hotel, and why?

Well looking at my top 5 best and worst characters in both Hazbin AND Helluva I’d say…Charlie. I’ve already made a full post about why Charlie isn’t a particularly great protagonist so I won’t go and repeat myself here.

But my biggest issue with Charlie is that…she never grows. She doesn’t really learn anything, and she stays the same from episode 1 to episode 8. She doesn’t have much of an arc…at all.

And, just to add on something I eventually realized after watching a video about Charlie that made pretty interesting points; Charlie does display many character flaws throughout the show, being naive, emotionally immature, and not really understanding how people work.

These are interesting character flaws for Charlie but something I realized while watching the video was that, although Charlie has character flaws…she never grows from them. At all. Her flaws are shown but they are never confronted or called out. She never grows into becoming more understanding of others or realizing that her views on redemption are heavily flawed…nothing.

And it gets worse when the show HEAVILY idealizes Charlie’s views on redemption, always her as purely right and anyone who opposes her is automatically in the wrong (something I talked about in my post about Charlie).

And THATS what I think is the fatal flaw with Charlie as a character; she’s always portrayed as in the right, that her views of redemption that everyone can be redeemed is purely correct in spite of it being just as heavily flawed and simplistic as Adam’s “no one can be redeemed” mentality. Not only does it fly in the face of the show’s themes of being against black and white moralities, it also prevents Charlie from growing as a character because the show is so busy portraying her as completely right that it can’t have her go through a real arc.

Like imagine if Charlie went through an actual arc of realizing that her views of redemption are kinda too idealistic and she grows and matures to being more understanding of other's emotions throughout the show. That would’ve been so interesting! But we didn’t get that, now did we?

The sad part is that pilot Charlie was better than Charlie in the series, purely for the fact that the pilot ACKNOWLEDGED that Charlie’s views on redemption and her understanding of other’s emotions is a bit flawed, and it looked like they were going to confront these flaws in the show…but they didn’t.

I WANTED to love Charlie, I really did, she’s apart of my personal favourite character archetype after all (optimistic bubbly female protagonist) and I’ll admit, she’s slightly endearing at times, but she’s so lacking as a character, ESPECIALLY for the main protagonist.

[mirpuzzle]

I've been really curious about this, who are your top ten Yu-Gi-Oh characters?

Hello! 🌷 Usually, I only have a few favorites. So, aside from the first three, the rest is constantly changing. I'll try to put them in order (all under the cut).

♡. 10 ── Carly Nagisa (5Ds)

What's not to love about her? She's funny, pretty, and a complete mess of a person. She gets in all sorts of trouble, all because she's trying to make a living. I like it when she gets screen time.

♡. 9 ── Noa Kaiba (DM)

He was my favorite as a kid, so I still have a special place in my heart for him. His story made me cry. He did not deserve that. He only wanted others to understand him. You're valid, Noa.

♡. 8 ── Yusei Fudo (5Ds)

It's rare for me to favor a protagonist. That's how you know he's good. This man is a blessing to Yugioh. He has a natural charisma that's impossible to ignore. He's perfect.

♡. 7 ── Bandit Keith (DM)

...I think. I have mixed feelings toward him. I don't even know why he's on this list. I keep going to him in games where Kotsuzuka is not there. So, that must mean I like him, right? I'm confused.

Cross Duel showed me he can be really nice to you if you help him win. I appreciate how he helps other duelists fortify their decks, using the themes they originally had instead of giving them a completely new deck. He cares.

While there's no excuse for what he did to Kotsuzuka and the boys, the fact that, behind that 'bad guy' front, there's a sad, broken man makes me feel bad for him. He deserves to heal.

♡. 6 ── Ryou Bakura (DM)

The anime doesn't do him justice. The more I learn about him through other fans and Duel Links, the more I like him. He's a precious cream puff who likes spooky stuff and is treated terribly by almost everyone. He deserves better (friends).

♡. 5 ── Divine (5Ds)

This man is terrible in every way, and that's the point. I hate that his character was designed to be hated. He gets no backstory, no redemption arc, no nothing. He's just there to be blamed for every bad thing that's ever happened. I pity him. He's the worst. I love this guy.

♡. 4 ── Thief King Bakura (DM)

PLEASE give this guy a break. He has gone through enough. The way he pulled himself back up after all that tragedy is impressive. Imagine how one skillful Thief became a Pharaoh's major threat. A Thief who brings up important moral questions that society seems to ignore (deliberately). He deserves to be heard.

♡. 3 ── Kiyoshi Takaido & Satake (DM)

They share third place because I can't have one without the other. I automatically started loving them because they're close friends with Kotsuzuka. I like that they care about him. These guys have so much potential to explore, and it's a shame we see so little of them.

They're not 'Keith's lackeys'. They're duelists in their own right. They have ambitions and aspirations. They just didn't get to be in the spotlight.

♡. 2 ── Yami Bakura (DM)

Sometimes switches places with Takaido and Satake but usually stays in second place. He's wickedly perfect. From his gorgeous design to how he pretends everything is part of his plan, even though he's literally dissipating into nothingness. He has the nerve to make empty threats that he never carries out. And I love him for that. No one can deny that he looks cool when he shows how evil™️ he is.

There's something beautiful about this ancient evil spirit dedicating his existence to fulfill his objective - all while showing us that he can enjoy normal human activities, like playing games. The complexity of his character captivates me. You can study him for hours, and it will still take you a while to figure him out due to his confusing lore. I like reading what other fans have to say about him.

The way he makes others suffer causes me to have mixed feelings. Sure, I love angst. I just wish there were some feelings involved.

Seeing him make enemies with almost everyone he crosses paths with makes me think he wants to keep everyone away, and that's sad. I want him to care about someone other than himself. I want someone to care about him.

♡. 1 ── Ghost Kotsuzuka (DM)

Yes, that one guy who's known for using Zombie-Type monsters. That short, spooky 15-year-old who walks around hunched over pretending to be a ghost, not realizing he's too cute to be scary. That naive boy who trusted the wrong person and then was unlucky enough to cross paths with the main antagonist. He's my favorite.

I love him. The way his eyes light up when he talks about the things he likes is adorable. I could listen to him gush about ghosts for hours.

His character tends to be frustratingly misinterpreted and overlooked. It's sad that some people think of him as nothing more than collateral damage to Yami Bakura's 'mischief'. He deserves better than that.

When you see past his 'side antagonist' role, you realize he's a precious little guy who's trying his best. Behind that ghostly, mischievous smile, there's a lost youth looking for guidance from a 'big bro' figure he can look up to, whether he realizes this or not.

Despite the differences in his characterization between the manga, anime, and games, one thing remains consistent. He grows into someone who wants to prove he can duel by himself.

But what does he get? Nothing but pain. Betrayed, deceived, ending up dead or lost in the darkness, condemned in almost every canon, with only his sentient Duel Links data to remember him by.

He only wanted to duel.

---------------------ꕥ

I'll stop here. Otherwise, I'll be talking about Kotsuzuka for hours. Thank you so much for the ask! ♡ Sorry that it took a while. I was struggling to organize what I wanted to say for some of the characters, and I wanted to add some art :3

Keep in mind that I've only seen Duel Monsters and the first half of 5Ds, so there are many characters I don't know yet.

[loisfreakinglane]

What are your top 5 Dollhouse characters and episodes and also just moments in general?

okay okay okay lettuce get into it! i must warn you ahead of time, i am about to ramble incoherently for entirely TOO LONG!!!!!!!!!!

top 5 dollhouse characters:

priya. always priya. my judgey dorky lil vagabond. she's an artist she's a world traveler she's a survivor. she confronts her problems head on, she is brutally honest. she doesn't give a fuck about money or prestige. she loves loudly, through acts of service. infiltrating a military compound to save tony. coming back to the dollhouse to save her friends. introducing baby tony to his father. i love her rage and her perseverance and her bitterness. i love her willingness to forgive and start anew. she's an all timer for me.

tony. priya's other half. i really want to crawl inside his brain to try and understand him. what is it that made him sign up for the dollhouse to recover from ptsd, only to immediately turn around on his release day and sign up to be a soldier again- only with no individual identity, part of a mass hive mind. he had no wants for himself, not until he met priya and she became the center of his world. he could be so cavalier, so lighthearted in the face of horror. making smalltalk with priya in the middle of a gun fight. joking that she should wound him if he was imprinted with someone evil, but to ~stay away from his junk~ did he only truly value his personhood when it came to protecting priya and their son? I DON'T KNOW BUT I KEEP FLIPPING HIM OVER IN MY BRAIN LOOKING FOR ANSWERS.

topher. on first blush- an amoral asshole, so focused on stroking his own ego with his giant genius brain, he never stopped to worry who was peering over his shoulder. i think he gets dismissed as a dick a bit too much, when on rewatch, his biggest flaw to ME was naivete and carelessness. he convinced himself he was a good person- he ~fixed~ priya, he ~cured~ a fuckton of soldiers' ptsd, he imprinted echo to reach out to abused children. and he never worried that the dollhouse couldn't be trusted- he trusted adelle, he trusted her ability to retain control. he's a goofy, dorky childish dumbass. and he ends the fucking world (or at least heavily speeds up humanitys downfall). but his arc from careless dick high on his own prowess to traumatized, guilty, grieving, desperate to actually be a good person for once. and that's not even taking the epitaph's into account! and whatever it was in that decade between the hollow men and the epitaphs that drove him entirely off the deep end. anyway topher makes me sad and i love him and i think his ~redemption arc~ is very engaging

boyd. STOP JUDGING ME. DON'T DO IT. I LOVE WHO I LOVE. okay like first off- obviously- THE WRITING IS A MESS. THE REVEAL IS A MESS. WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH IT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE TAKEN AS A WHOLE. but right now, coming off this rewatch? i just??? love him???? i love my evil dad, a total wackadoodle mastermind, taking an entry level job at his own fucking company because he's fixated on a new innovation he discovered- caroline, her weird body quirks, her innate capacity for revolutionizing the dollhouse tech. he was so intent on guiding her progress while pretending to be some lowly ex-cop. and then he went and fell in love with his coworkers. much as he ruined their lives, he had genuine love for echo, adelle, topher. perhaps claire. (when did she become clyde? was it right after she left the house?) beyond them, i'm not entirely sure how far his adoration spread- i like to think he was fond of priya and tony too. he guides echo's development, he's genuinely upset when he is removed as her handler. he prods topher about his sense of morality for 2 seasons straight, pushing him to consider the consequences of his actions. helping topher and priya cover up nolan's (righteous, justified, absolutely self-defense) murder. he throws more and more opposition adelle's way until she takes charge. he wants them all to be their best selves- and he wants them all to save each other. AND BE A FAMILY. TOGETHER FOREVER DURING THE APOCALYPSE. and there's something very funny to me about him hating paul, while he spent two years arguably pretending to be a man very much like paul.

caroline. echo. i still struggle to grapple with the differences. is this like a holy trinity thing, is caroline just another facet of echo, alongside all her other imprints? is echo a facet of caroline? have echo and caroline turned into the same entity? did echo truly remain the porchlight, waiting for caroline to come home? YOU KNOW WHAT DOESN'T MATTER. tho carolecho should be considered nonbinary i am just saying. both alpha and echo should be enbys. sometimes i struggle with echo when her plot becomes very paul-centric, because while i very much love tahmoh and enjoy paul in his dynamics with other characters, the echo/paul relationship is not for me. but outside of that? i love her. i love that she's a warrior, before and after becoming an active. her fixation on rossum, her willingness to lie, manipulate to get to them. she found rossum first, and that got them interested. and her wacky health stats got them laser focused. she wanted so badly to save animals, save humans, save the world. having the weird bodily capacity to manufacture a vaccine was just a bizarre stroke of luck. but it was her choice, again and again and again, to do good things, to help people.

honorable mentions: adelle dewitt. laurence dominic!!!!!! ivy. alpha. margaret bashford.

TOP 5 EPISODES!

204 belonging. our priya-centric episode. the only priya-centric episode? which is very unfortunate, but hey, I'll take it. finally seeing her whole story. priya taking her power back, priya getting her revenge, priya making her own choices. priya/tony content. topher grappling with his complicity in horror. obviously he has always been complicit in horror but now he finally has to confront it head on, and it makes him second guess everything up to this point. and it makes him struggle with his relationships with both adelle- who he thought he could trust, who pushed him to do the wrong thing out of self preservation, and boyd- who he still believes he can trust, who protected him and priya, and helped topher do something fucking HORRIFYING for the right reasons. topher choosing to help priya, for real this time. after the bullshit help he was fooled into giving her. with a side of!!!!!! echo is still BECOMING herself, still exploring her mind, but this time it's boyd figuring her out, warning her of potential consequences from her actions, but helping her anyway. hiding her secrets, giving her the keycard for future use. god boyd in this episode..... warning echo of the consequences of her future actions, and helping topher deal with the consequences of HIS actions. helping cover up a murder. well. an act of self defense. righteous revenge. THE BITCH HAD IT COMING. which was soooooooo cathartic and beautiful and i LOVED IT.

209 stop-loss. OUR TONY-CENTRIC EPISODE! c'mon you knew i had to do it. another priya/tony episode. one of our only episodes featuring the crime fighting trio we could have had for multiple seasons in echo/priya/tony. echo getting to use her abilities to access her imprints. the journey we see tony take during this episode tho- being discharged from the dollhouse, given a pile of money and a new future. we got bits and pieces of this process through madeline, but it's given more time and depth here. seeing that although topher may have ~cured~ tonys ptsd, he is still isolated and traumatized by his experiences. and he knows something is missing- he sees priya in a club, only it's not her. and of course he's immediately swooped up by a rossum adjacent military outfit using active architecture to create a hivemind army. it was VERY dark angel x-7 series in a fascinating way. this should have been a multi-episode arc, but i'll take what i can get. echo and priya saving tony, tony having to overcome mind control to save priya. IMPECCABLE. but also! seeing our lil group of freedom fighters truly start to form! boyd, echo, topher, ivy, paul, priya, and tony. and our brief glimpse into adelle as THE BAD GUY. as well as! finally seeing adelle hit what we later find out was her breaking point. she got drunk, she got shot down by tony (in deleted scenes), she has that amazing moment where she goes down into the dollhouse, strips off her clothes and showers with the actives. this is the moment she chooses to join team TAKE DOWN ROSSUM. she had regained control over her house, but this is when she decides to take her power back. she's not playing rossum's game anymore.

108 needs. this episode!!!!!!!! our first time TRULY MEETING caroline, priya, tony and madeline. i mean i'll be upfront- i hate the beginning of this episode. i hate a dream depicting two women in a madonna whore dichotomy. angel devil shit. i hate it. BUT ONCE WE GET PAST THAT!!!!!!!!! 10/10. even the reveal that this ~awakening&escape~ was manufactured doesn't impact my enjoyment because the feelings are real, the experience is real. we get to see priya and tony be in love without understanding where that came from. madeline grieving a daughter she cannot remember. priya confronting the man who stole her life. tony protecting priya, the way he was unable to with joe hearn. and caroline- caroline gets to confront adelle and topher over the morality of their actions. and she gets to lead the dolls out into the light (which i do have to ask- they're 8 stories underground. did they take the elevators in shift? did echo ride up and down with the gun out every time? how did this go? you know what ignore me i don't need to pick this apart). which- what a goddamn moment. and to top it all off with the discovery that it was all claire's idea- and boyd takes issue with her over playing her own games with the dolls. she views it as necessary for their emotional states, but is he wrong? this was such an emotionally cathartic episode. and so so important for me and my connection to these people we usually only ever see as other fake people

109 a spy in the house of love. FLAWLESSSSS. first off, the framing device. following every active throughout their imprints day. missing bits and pieces every time. i loooove playing with perspective- everyone seeing different aspects, having different parts to pick over. priya and echo in parallel roles of a sort again, both hunting down a spy in very different ways. the revelation that dominic OF ALL PEOPLE was a fucking spy for the nsa. topher showing his soft side again when he suspected boyd and gave him the chance to run. in retrospect, while dominic was obviously... not a 10/10 person..... he tried to kill echo, he was prepared to torture and kill ivy, and kill topher and echo, to keep his cover....... he wasn't actually wrong about the dollhouse? the technology WAS too dangerous to let run rampant. adelle WAS naive to trust rossum. and echo WOULD be the one to bring this entire house of cards down. too late, but still. we also get to see the softer side of adelle here. she's not all boss bitch, she has vulnerabilities and dreams, she breaks down after dominics betrayal. she has no one to confide in but a person who is not real. oh my god not to mention! the reveal to paul that mellie is a doll!!!!!!!!! there are too many secret dolls this season probably, but the emotion with this reveal was so intense. it was so heavy and hurtful, so damaging. a great episode for topher, for dominic, for echo, for adelle. and at the end- adelle genuinely believing echo's progress is a GOOD THING because it protected the house. one of the best ENSEMBLE episodes.

212 the hollow men. not a choice i would have expected, but hey. i fucking loved that episode. much as it's hard to make sense of boyds secret evil mastermind identity, the reveal in context of this episode hits so hard and works so well for me. and the twist back around from 'boyd is evil' to- but also he still loves you guys a lot and wants to hang out forever while the world burns down around you! makes me feel so many feelings actually. clyde!whiskey is stupid hot. the mellie/paul teamup is fun until it's horribly depressing, and it makes me wistful for a timeline where these two actually did fall in love in some fashion. the chemistry is there, whether she's mellie or madeline. priya and tony coming back to save everyone- and the return of topher!tony. the hints toward tony's future with him already starting to be programmed with extra skills. the fakeout happy ending quickly followed up with an apocalyptic ten years later. everything here worked very well for me on an emotional level. echo and boyd still striking that beautiful balance of devotion, only now it is twisted and ugly. god truly just watching boyd navigate this episode, still basically acting the same way with the rest of the characters, but we see so much more in his face. there's an edge there, there's an eerie undertone. for however much this was sprung on us so suddenly, harry lennix was up to the task of selling it. he truly deserved more time to explore this aspect of the character.

#5 is more dubious and i wonder if it'll retain its top slot once i'm a little more removed from this rewatch but i'm rolling with it for now. it doesn't escape my notice that 4/5 of my top episodes heavily feature priya/tony lmao i am what i am. other top contenders- 110 haunted, 113 epitaph one, 210 the attic, 211 getting closer.

FAVORITE MOMENTS! i'm actually gonna use this slot here to talk about some of my favorite like...... ideas? things that keep bouncing around my brain? random shit!

priya/tony are the only ship that don't exist in a multiverse that perfectly fit that quote about how in every universe i will find you and i will choose you. also for years there, enver had appeared in the avengers as a young cop in modern day, and in agent carter as a war vet in the 40s. and in agents of shield dichen was an immortal inhuman we saw in both the 40s and modern day. so for literal years there i had a long running daydream about her the tragic immortal, and her love, the man constantly reincarnating. AND THEN AGENTS OF SHIELD WENT AND MADE ENVER A TIME TRAVELER WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH DICHENS DAUGHTER. I MUST LOL AT MYSELF. another impeccable ship, tho. has to be said. daisysousa5ever

the whole thread throughout 111 briar rose through 112 omega about sleeping beauty. echo telling susan to think of herself as the prince, who is fighting to save briar rose. she is both the prince and the princess. 111 making us think it is paul who is coming to save the sleeping beauty echo from the dollhouse- we even have him literally waking her up from her sleeping pod- the end of 111 revealing it was actually alpha who came to wake echo up from her doll-state and bring her back to life by making her MORE like he is- only for 112 omega to flip that entirely on its head and give us echo and caroline as two separate entities. echo given the chance to save caroline, first as a human girl trapped in the wrong body, and then on a hard drive. they kind of ruin it at the end by having paul catch the hard drive of caroline, but hey. whatever. I'M STILL SAYING ECHO AND CAROLINE ARE THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF THIS STORY.

i have little use for mag and zone as characters on their own merit, but that little moment in epitaph two where they ask what the other did before the apocalypse. it's something that always fascinates me in postapocalyptic content, who people were before they became an apocalypse survivor. kind of reminds me of lost in that way too.

topher v echo as progenitor of the apocalypse and the messiah respectively. adelle v boyd as parallel mentor figures. the initially villainous presenting character who eventually chooses good, ends the series trying to save humanity, and the character that initially presents as heroic, only to reveal he had evil, selfish motives all along. adelle and boyd have pretty equal parental/mentorship claims to echo and topher (tho adelle/caroline had a deeply sexual vibe i am just saying). it's just..... fascinating how they all four relate to each other. and the men both die, boyd in echo's efforts to stop the apocalypse, and topher in his own effort to END the apocalypse. echo ends her story underground, isolated and yet surrounded by (and filled with) people. adelle on the surface ready to shepherd a new flock into the light. there's just!!!!! a lot to pick apart and play with!

sort of thinking a lot about how the first time paul met topher in 111 he tased him and then alpha helped him carry topher into the office. then the second time the three of them were in that office together paul found topher on the floor, having been attacked by alpha, and lifted him onto his feet. there is SOMETHING THERE eating at my brain. and that being the like...... last act paul had as his actual original real self, pre-dollification. THINKING THOUGHTS.

multiple times characters call out how protective echo is of sierra. i want so so so much more of that. plz.

topher!tony. dominic!tony. TOPHER!TONY. GIVE ENVER AN OSCAR FOR THIS TV ROLE.

the TO REMEMBER wall of photographs. especially its appearance in epitaph one, it always makes me so weirdly emotional? that wall, the song, the pictures of cast and crew. 10/10

i'm gonna cut myself off here or i'll never shut my mouth

THANKS BABES <333

[veveisveryuncool]

neat lookin color palettes from the internet + my top 5 kirby characters (in no particular order because i cannot choose)

-bandana dee. he's cute and simple and has so much potential for an epic character arc or a possessed boss fight (where is the epic rendition of the apple juice song. cmon hal.)

-adeleine! i think she deserves more recognition!! she is sweet and adorable and is the most mature 12-year old out there (her dialogue in the kirby storytimes goes hard) and the last human thing!! i crave the lore plus she is just perfect

-ayy taranza! silly little goober that i could write an essay about. i think he spent the first few months after TD being a sobbing mess, but picked himself up and no longer cries himself to sleep every night. he's gone back to being a royal prick, but he's... nicer now. (also his themes rock)

-PRINCE FLUFF AGBDJENXNF. nostalgia has taken ahold of me. he's got that royal sass™ but probably has no idea how to interact with people without getting flustered. please let him come back. i miss him.

-hands down BEST redemption arc. PEAK character design. TOP TIER moveset. GREATEST king of all time. he speaks for himself. (plus i gave him cheek blushies because if everyone in dreamland has them, he deserves them, too)

[eddiediazismyhusband]

Hey, I just wanted to share something I’ve been thinking about for a little while. Side note first- I do agree that 7x4 is the biggest confirmation that Buddie is coming. Besides Buck finally coming out and how incredible that was, me crying for 45 minutes after the episode aired was my emotional incredulity that we were finally getting the first step to Buddie canon. They would not have given us bi Buck otherwise, I believe that with my whole heart.

Anyway, since that episode aired and we got so much more info about them trying to give us bi Buck sooner and it being denied, I wonder if what KR was attempting to do was put distance between Buck and Eddie so Buddie fans wouldn’t feel queer baited. Since she knew (and we didn’t), they were never going there, she didn’t want to continue giving the audience reasons to believe it was a possibility. As we all know, the screen time and friendship between them in 5&6 (especially 6) went down, so that’s just my theory. And once the show changed networks, got the green light for Buddie and Tim wanted to go there- we’re back on track and they’re closer than they’ve ever been. (Please understand this does not excuse her writing or ideas- I’m not here to defend any of that because I can’t.)

Hi anon! I think the biggest indicator to me that KR was against buddie not just to avoid queerbaiting is that she has a tendency to push a very heteronormative narrative in a lot of her work. She also has this strange antipathy towards the found family trope which has always been intrinsically linked to queerness in media, and we can see that with the way she attempted to spark redemption arcs with both the buckleys and ramon. neither of these elements have been developed since (ramon has at least had a few moments but his and eddie’s relationship still remains stagnate, and especially with this arc of ramon and helena taking back chris it still feels out of place for eddie to have that much trust in them to allow it because we have not seen anything onscreen to show the development of their relationship since their initial communication) on top of this, she also is just terrible at keeping a consistent narrative… her storylines are often choppy and all over the place, feeling rushed and underdeveloped, and it makes me shitty tv. All of these factors combined are what turn me off from her as a showrunner/writer, but it definitely does not feel like a coincidence that she was in charge of the show when buddie’s buildup was basically decimated, as well as the moment in 7x10 where buck’s bisexuality was reduced to a daddy kink joke… she is very much the straight woman who writes gay people as these stereotypes that lack substance and depth, and that to me shows a level of disinterest in telling those stories. ofc this is just my opinion, but i wanted to explain my reasoning behind why i feel like her involvement in preventing buddie wasn’t purely bc she was told no, and why i think it came from a place of trying to drive home a heteronormative storyline, which ultimately fell flat bc ryan and oliver care too much about these characters and their relationships to let that happen, and made acting choices accordingly to prevent the total derailment of their relationship.

[azulas-daddy-kink]

Just to clarify some things...

"Ew, why do you ship Ozula?!"

I have been asked this question, and many variations of it over and again, and I am getting really tired of explaining myself. Despite that, I'm going to try one last time, so here goes.

First of all, do I think father/daughter incest is okay in real life? No, absolutely not... but Azula and Ozai are fictional characters. Shipping is not morality. Supporting/liking/writing/reading a ship says NOTHING about your personal values. It IS NOT the same as thinking said ship is moral and/or that these dynamics should be accepted in a real-life setting. In fact, I would be the first to say that the Azula/Ozai ship is morally reprehensible for a multitude of reasons: One, Azula is underage. And beyond that, it's abuse, it's non-consensual, it's grooming, and it's just plain toxic and unhealthy. Furthermore, there is a pretty disgusting age-gap as well as a power imbalance. All of these things are true.

"Okay then why do you ship it despite knowing all of this?!"

I do feel like a lot of people are confused about the purpose of shipping. It means something different for everyone, and it can also vary depending on what ship we're talking about. For example, I ship Kataang because I think it's cute, the characters compliment each other well, and I like the idea of them getting married, having children together, and living happily ever after. I ship Sokkla because it's hot, and because I like exploring the idea of Azula actually being in a functional relationship and being happy.

Ozula though? I ship that for entirely different reasons. There are many but for the sake of simplicity, I'm going to list the top 5:

It makes too much sense to ignore.

I love dissecting Azula and Ozai as characters, and what would drive them to commit incest.

It's infinitely more interesting than the popular pairings. While ONLY liking healthy and functional relationships is your prerogative, it ain't mine. A fandom experience made entirely of sunshine and rainbows is boring to me.

The potential for hot, kinky, sweaty incest sex. (Not sorry).

The tragedy of it all. Azula is and was always meant to be a tragic character. While a lot of her fans would like to see her get a redemption arc, I can't say I'm one of them. Not because she doesn't "deserve" it or whatever else her haters claim but because I think it works better for the narrative and her individual arc if she remains a villain and a tragic figure.

In conclusion, no one is out here shipping Ozula because they think it's "true luuuurve uwu", like that's just silly. Use your brain.

[dindjarindiaries]

By the fifth episode in season 1, all Din had done was rescue Grogu and started doing some jobs on the run.

By the fifth episode in season 2, all Din had done was run favors for others to get information he wanted.

By the fifth episode in season 3, Din’s already earned his redemption, unified a previously untrusting Bo with his tribe of Mandalorians, and at long last earned Paz Vizsla’s trust on top of finally finding his people a safe place to live out in the open for the first time since The Purge.

That’s not to say he didn’t have an arc during those first 5 episodes of seasons 1 and 2. It’s just to say that the less subtle parts of his arc always tend to become more apparent in the last 2-3 episodes, and season 3 has already been setting that up even more obviously than the past 2 seasons.

[operationslipperypuppet]

Top five moments of kindness in naddpod. (Can limit yourself to a single campaign or all of them if you can’t think of any.)

god damn. what a question.

Casting Geas on Pendergreens and going back to make sure he was doing okay. Truthfully his whole redemption arc and all of the work that they chose to do to redeem him. But especially the remember me how I was because I really like who I am when I'm around you bit. They really let that kindness fester. Moonshine is perhaps the character of all time.

When Moonshine tries to heal Marabelle, even after they've killed her. It didn't work, but they made sure she rotted properly. Moonshine pretended to be Jolene, allowed her aunt to think her sister had forgiven her, because she knew Jolene would. Giving Cobb closure on the whole ordeal. Just... yeah.

The Hexbuds' ritual with Moxora's ashes to change her alignment. Tarragon rolling a nat 20. "She may have rotted, but she'll make good soil". They didn't have to do it, but they did anyway.

Hank not giving up and killing Irina after Zirk died. That was a kindness not to her, but to Fia. He wanted to make sure she would be okay. And knew even if they could save Zirk, Fia would never be okay with Irina being dead.

This is going to sound strange. But Callie giving Cooter the grenade. Yes it caused a problem for them later. But it was giving him a chance, acknowledging his pain. They reached out, exactly when they needed to.

ask me my top 5 anything

[gizkasparadise]

What are your top five xianxia cdramas? And, on the other end, what are your top five historical kdramas (any time period - I'm not well versed in this to know the various types names yet xD)? Oh, and lastly, your top five drama recs that are the most (generally) underrated? Thanks!

nice!

TOP FIVE XIANXIA (& I'M ALSO GONNA INCLUDE XUANHUAN)

love and redemption. girl meets boy. boy's part of a cursed theatre troupe and part of masochism tango of reincarnation with girl that lasts 10 life times. girl is actually kind of the god of war. crack, gender reversal, gender fuckery at large, feminist and queer friendly. incredible OST. just all-around one of my favorite dramas ever.

lost you forever (part 1). a xuanhuan vs. xianxia, but im not passionate enough about 5 xianxia for this list lol. another drama with gender fuckery. a fantastic FL and beautiful relationship building (and unbuilding) and character-driven story. dont even need the second part for this to be a favorite!!

love between fairy and devil. all those tropes you fucking loved when you were like 13 on ff.net given a lot of heart and near-perfect execution (aside from that ending). awesome characters, beautiful costumes and art direction. super addicting and bingeable

the legends. bai lu playing a powerhungry demoness and acquiring a dysfunctional harem in the process. xu kai looking like a sad blue-haired puppy. a monk that creates an entire demon because he has 1 boner. sismance. i had a lot of fun with this one and pointedly did not watch the last 5 or so eps lol

till the end of the moon. there's parts i genuinely hate and would not watch ever again. there's parts that are fucking incredible. sort of like the main couple, i have a love/hate relationship with this drama but when it hits it really hits

honorable mention: eternal love/10 miles of peach blossoms (xianxia fuckery at its finest weighed down somewhat by tedious side plots and one of the most infuriating 2nd FLs of all time)

TOP FIVE HISTORICAL KDRAMAS

gaksital/bridal mask. set in the 1930s. inverse character arcs between the hero and villain. dysfunctional romance amped up to the nth level. high stakes, high consequences, and a cast full of well-developed and written characters. bring tissues

empress ki. girl crushing and girl bossing her way through two kingdoms, one of the best FLs of all time. with her is a besotted baby enemy emperor and a Noble Good besotted powerless king as she goes from slave to smuggler to concubine to empress. chef's kiss

the princess' man. you want feral wrecks for your male leads? female leads ready to throw down in a parking lot? if you like lovers to enemy (?) lovers and star-crossed romances this one is a must

the king loves. this one's also on my underrated list. the first 4ish eps are a chore, but if you get past them you have the love triangle to end all love triangles, interesting palace politics with a fascinating "evil" empress, and im siwan getting to go a lil unhinged as a treat. it's the definition of an idol drama but gd did i love this and i binged the hell out of it no regrets

mr sunshine. le cinema!!! an interesting time in history (1870s-1880s) with a wide range of flawed but compelling characters centered around one of the most badass FLs of all time. winner of the #1 second lead syndrome contest for me with dong mae. only downfall to this one is i felt negative chemistry with the endgame ship but the show is good enough without it

honorable mention: chicago typewriter isnt on this list because it's only kind of half a historical drama BUT OMG WATCH IT. it's in my top 3 kdrama and while it has a slow build once it kicks off it fucking goes off

TOP FIVE UNDERRATED DRAMAS

the king loves as mentioned above. i think why it has a lower rating is the first handful of eps are kind of a snoozefest and there's a bit of an upset with the romance (which i was 900% for). but it's a fucking fun ride and full of awesome goryeo palace drama adventures

kairos. not underrated, since it has decent scores on reviewer sites, but underhyped? not enough people have seen this one and it's an incredible time-travel thriller that i found way more interesting than other popular dramas of its type like signal

cheese in the trap. the ending's a hot mess, but compared to how some 2020-onward dramas are ending it's poetry. a solid adaptation of a really great webtoon, awesome cinematography, and one of the few dramas ive seen that actually capture the campus/college life experience right

discovery of romance. the emotional cheating element causes a lot of folks to hate it/jump ship, but i love this one (and gd BOTH the fl and ml emotionally cheat ftr he's not innocent in this hot mess). jung yumi + eric mun are one of my favorite kdrama duos and they kill it, and kim seulgi plays an incredible second female lead

when a man falls in love. man people HATED this one but i think it's a blast when you're in the mood for mess + gangsters. if you're into watching fucked up romances with severe power imbalances and the dysfunction that follows, this one's for you. it's not perfect but definitely not deserving of its 6.8 MDL rating (gd!)

[themattress]

Sailor Moon (Toei): The Top 20 Villains

Ranked using my core tenets for villains, and done countdown style for dramatic effect.

Honorable Mention: Jadeite - The definition of a stock, cheesy "Curses! Foiled again!" supervillain, Jadeite embraced this role with style and class, providing much entertainment with his oversized ego that caused him to stubbornly repeat variations of the same failed plan over and over again until it got him run over by an airplane and then cryogenically frozen as punishment for his incompetence. He was partly responsible for Sailor Moon, Mercury and Mars' origins and coming into their own as superheroines, and for that he deserves respect.

20. Mimete - This bubbly, ditzy member of Witches 5 started out fun, but had the problem of coming directly off the heels of the more competent Eudial whom she had murdered to get the job. On top of that, she wears out her welcome, as much like Jadeite she tends to just repeat variations of the same scheme (target handsome celebrities) over and over again, and even Jadeite started out somewhat successful at it! In the end, after getting converted to energy and trapped in a computer, Mimete didn't seem like she ever justified how long we spent with her. But she makes the list purely due to her appealing design and personality.

19. The Four Spectre Sisters - Serving under Rubeus, these members of the Black Moon Clan had the dual tasks of capturing Chibiusa and conquering certain areas of Tokyo in order to weaken the defenses of Crystal Tokyo in the future. They were formidable opponents and also had distinct personalities that bounced off one another in a fun way. They rank low because Calaveras and Petz hogged too much limelight, their consecutive redemptions felt rushed, and despite staying on Earth we never see them again in any future story arc.

18. Fiore - The anime-exclusive antagonist of the Sailor Moon R movie, The Promise of the Rose, Fiore is a composite of Ail and En: an orphaned member of their species, not knowing how to properly express love, being male like Ail but in love with Mamoru like En, and corrupted by negative energy...in this case, that of Kissenean, a wicked alien flower being. Fiore only appeared in the movie so naturally he left no lasting impact whatsoever on the series. That and how derivative he is places him low on the list. However, he is still cool and charismatic enough to be considered one of the best, just as his movie is the best one.

17. Safir - Despite being pretty underplayed for much of his time in the show, Safir's final episode was impactful enough to make him a standout. Beneath the stiff, serious front he puts on, Safir reveals himself to be a confused and desperate young man who can see the self-destructive path Wiseman has led his older brother and his clan down and wants to stop it but doesn't know how because the natural solution - joining forces with Earth and the Sailor Senshi - doesn't cross his mind due to his pre-existing prejudices toward both. But in the end, he finally overcomes these prejudices and reclaims his humanity, even at the cost of his life.

16. Mistress 9 - While Mistress 9 sadly wasn't around for too long, she definitely made an impact with what little screentime she got. Fully overtaking Hotaru's body by sacrificing Chibiusa's heart, coldly killing off Kaolinite like it was nothing, tricking Usagi into giving her the power of the Holy Grail, gleefully summoning Pharaoh 90 to destroy Earth, and fighting against Hotaru's influence from within only to succumb to it and be painfully extinguished.

15. Black Lady - Another case of high quality in limited quantity, Black Lady maintained the childish gremlin side of Chibiusa's personality while carrying herself more like an adult (or at least what Chibiusa thinks an adult is like) and holding nothing back in trying to kill all who stood in her way and open up the Dark Gate so that Earth can be destroyed by the power of the Malefic Black Crystal. On the one hand, she has less agency than Mistress 9 since she's a fully brainwashed dupe of Wiseman. But on the other hand, brainwashed or not she still is Chibiusa, not some other entity possessing her, and that makes her a lot more interesting.

14. The Amazon Trio - Now in-universe, these guys are absolute failures in regards to my third core tenant of villainy. They didn't impact or influence jack-shit in the story, characters and world; their lengthy run as antagonists honestly is mostly filler. But out of universe, it's impossible for a viewer to forget them! They are so enjoyable in how they strike a balance between being endearingly comical with all their banter and mishaps, and legit dastardly, callously preying on victims in an allegory for sexual assault. And not only does this end up being fully justified and understandable when it's revealed what they really are, but their redemption is one of the most effective and memorable in the whole anime. They only rank lower because Tiger's Eye sadly hogs a lot of the screentime, even though he's arguably the least interesting of the three, plus the fact that the higher ranked villains accomplish more.

13. The Amazoness Quartet - Directly following the Amazon Trio is the Amazoness Quartet. Not only do they live up to how enjoyable their predecessors were, but they have a more consistently progressing character arc and they actually matter to the plot of the story arc! These girls would rank a lot higher if not for the absolutely bone-headed choice by Sailor Stars to not bring them back to continue their redemption arc all the way to becoming Sailor Senshi even when the finale of SuperS blatantly hinted at it! They can at least rest assured that they're not the only SuperS villain that Sailor Stars has screwed out of a higher rank...

12. Ail & En - Before the Amazoness Quartet, we had these goobers that went against the Sailor Senshi all while disguising as civilian frenemies to them. For anime-original creations, Ail and En are stunningly well-written, with the filler arc they star in feeling like a natural bridge between the canonical adaptations. They can feel love, but they don't know how to process and understand it since their view on everything has been warped by the "take whatever by force to survive" mentality their rough life has shaped, a mentality that also causes them to slowly kill the life-giving tree they're trying to save and infect themselves with negative energy. They are sympathetic villains you want to see redeemed and are glad when they are. They'd be Top 10 if only they hadn't left Earth at the end, never to be seen or spoken of again. They could've made great returning supporting characters had they stayed.

11. Kunzite - So close. Kunzite was SO CLOSE to being one of the Top 10 villains of the Sailor Moon anime. He had it all: charisma, menace, power, intellect, style, a softer side shown in his romance with Zoisite, a great backstory just waiting to get tapped into....but tragically, following Zoisite's death and Kunzite's subsequent battle with the Sailor Senshi for revenge, the anime's writers just lost the plot with Kunzite: pairing him with brainwashed Endymion just to have them childishly squabble, having him concoct dumbass plans utilizing utterly campy monsters in order to capture Sailor Moon, and brushing on absolutely none of his backstory before killing him off as an afterthought. God, such a waste of a great villain!

10. Eudial - The Death Busters' most efficient minion and among the most efficient minions in general, Eudial is a case of extremes balancing out. She's silly yet intimidating, hot tempered yet cool headed, clumsy yet competent, achieving some embarrassing failures but also some monumental successes, and she does it all with a unique gadgeteer genius style. She was the starring villain of the best stretch of episodes in S, which was also the last consistently good in the anime, and she deserved better than the lame-ass joke of a death she received.

9. Crimson Rubeus - Rubeus is very similar to Eudial in being an especially formidable redheaded foe for the Sailor Senshi, but he has three major differences that propel him higher. First is that through his selfishness and cowardice, he actually avoided personal setbacks and embarrassments, as he left the dirty work to the Spectre Sisters. Second is that he is far darker and crueler, possessing a sadistic attitude, being hell-bent on killing a child to earn favor with his boss, and having planned from the get-go to manipulate and sacrifice the Spectre Sisters so that he can get all of the glory. Third and finally is that he gets an epic resolution, fighting Sailor Moon in his spaceship and then having it explode with him still in it.

8. Queen Nehelenia - Now, if SuperS was all we had, then she and number 5 would have swapped places. Queen Nehelenia is a truly terrifying figure, cold-hearted and malicious even by the standards of this anime's villains, casting a dark pall over every scene she's in. And in the end, we see just how twisted and tragic she is, ultimately being a child who never wants to grow up so that she can stay young and beautiful and be worshipped for it forever, to the point where she condemns herself into an isolated existence trapped inside a mirror so long as she can keep her youth. But then....sigh....Sailor Stars came along. Because of the absolute butchery of the character it gave us, Nehelenia can't place any higher than this.

7. Prince Demande - Demande only falters for two reasons: one of which being that he's only a consistent presence in the last stretch of episodes in R, being barely seen or mentioned beforehand, and the other that the show pussies out of letting him meet his end as the villain he was in favor of a half-assed, overwrought "redemption". But that aside, Demande is still an excellent villain: threatening, cold-hearted, absolutely twisted in his rape-y desire for total control of Usagi, but also nuanced in his backstory and motivations regarding his planet and people, and tragic in how he has been misled by Wiseman for all his life.

6. Queen Beryl - It's the OG Big Bad of the anime! Beryl can't breach the top 5 only because the majority of her screentime is her sitting on her butt and waving her hands over her crystal ball while talking to her minions, making her pretty repetitive and easy to predict. But she still makes up for that by how developed her personality becomes over the course of the series: showcasing class, intelligence and dignity that soon crumbles to reveal the petty, entitled and ruthless tyrant she truly is, while toward the end we see that she is capable of a twisted sort of love as she pines for Endymion. When merged with her master Queen Metalia, she also engages in the anime's first and best Final Boss battle. What else can I say - she's a classic!

5. Zirconia - Queen Nehelenia's twisted mirror image runs the Dead Moon Circus, and she is honestly pretty terrible at her job....but that's part of what makes her so much fun! She is basically a campy sentai show lead villain; heck, Rita Repulsa herself voices her in the Viz dub! Watching her grumble and fret and rage and scream her way across SuperS never gets old. On top of this, she is still a legitimately detestable villain and a real threat when she needs to be, seen most clearly during the final episodes. I love Zirconia so much that I hold a soft spot for her nonsensically male Cloverway dub version! The character is just that good!

4. Nephrite - "The stars see all, the stars know all." Nephrite showed promise when he debuted, being charismatic and intellectual while also holding a repressed, simmering sense of anger. But it only took a few episodes before his shtick started to feel like an even less efficient version of what we'd been through with Jadeite, so his prospects dimmed. But then something funny happened - Nephrite changed and evolved. He adapted to the fact that what he was doing wasn't working and changed his strategies up accordingly to focus on hitting the Sailor Senshi's weaknesses. When that was met with failure, he switched things up again to focus on finding the Silver Crystal, and added to it a strategy of manipulating Naru's feelings for him that he'd learned from his prior strategy shift. All while trying to hold his cover as rich playboy Masato Sanjoin, competing with his rival Zoisite, and developing legitimate feelings of care for Naru that made him rediscover his humanity all while he technically remained a villain. By the time he tragically died protecting Naru, Nephrite had proven himself to be a radical game changer not just for villains in the anime, but for the whole anime itself.

3. Zoisite - As a kid, I hated Zoisite. He killed Nephrite, kept getting away with seizing Rainbow Crystals that the heroes tried to claim, and always fought as low and dirty as possible while being the smuggest, scummiest shithead about it, all while having the gall to whine and cry to Kunzite when things didn't go his way. All these years later, that's exactly why I adore Zoisite as a villain. He's an immature youth in way over his head because his mentor and lover is the highest ranked warrior in the Dark Kingdom - and he knows it too, which is why his insecurity and desire to prove himself manifests in this petty narcissism and ruthless cruelty. He's utterly loathsome, yet pitiful and ultimately tragic at the same time. And since he was the focal villain in the best stretch of episodes in the entire anime, there's no way he can't rank among the highest of villainy. He died a failure, but he exists a success.

2. Wiseman / Death Phantom - And here he is, the uncontested greatest Ultimate Evil in all of Sailor Moon. Wiseman at first appears as a royal advisor to Prince Demande, meaning that Demande is set up as the "new Beryl" who will make it to be the endgame foe. But it turns out you really should have suspected the character waving their hands around a crystal ball. Unlike Beryl, Wiseman is a manipulator, keeping to the shadows and presenting himself as unassuming so that he can better control his pawns, all of whom he looks down upon and intends on discarding once he gets what he wants. And what he wants is to reshape the universe as a place of nothingness, reigning over it as the supreme god: Death Phantom. Wiseman is scary as Hell and personally despicable more than any other villain, because he doesn't even have a relatable motive for what he does. He is simply a heartless monster.

1. Professor Tomoe - I tried. I tried to measure the villains in a way that might avoid this predictable choice for Number 1. But the math just all adds up in the professor's favor! S is a series that peaks about halfway through, when Sailor Moon obtains the Holy Grail and achieves Super mode, after which the head writer position switches hands and the writing quality rapidly drops off a cliff. And yet not only is Professor Tomoe unaffected by this...he arguably defies it! He only gets better as the show goes on! The fusion of a man and an extraterrestrial demon, Professor Tomoe starts out as the most unique and certainly most entertaining boss villains the anime has ever seen, being equally creepy and hilarious. The longer the show goes on, the more credible of a threat and the more comedic of a character he becomes, and we even get a lot of nuance and pathos in how affable and kind of a boss he is to his evil minions and how loving of a father he is to Hotaru as both herself and as the Dark Messiah. In the end, we have a great final battle against his evil side while his good side receives a heartwarming redemption and second chance with his daughter. He's perfect.