ok as i said in the tags of one of my liveblog posts. this show has somehow succeeded at making me actually care about obi-wan&anakin

like i still dont care about them as individual characters. both of them are the furthest thing from what i could consider a character i even LIKE - obi-wan bc im just utterly ambivalent about him, anakin bc im a #Hater

BUT. by god. a story of two brothers who stand on two opposite sides of an ideological chasm, who reach a point of no return to where there’s nothing but bad blood and endless pain between the two of them? one twisted into a monster, committing atrocities left and right, and the other must stop him but still, somehow loves him? the angst. the pain and agony. the trauma they deal to each other. by god

rots kinda touched upon this too - i dont think i genuinely enjoyed any parts of the movies, except for the last like thirty minutes or so of rots. something about finally see it all come to a head with that dramatic battle, the betrayal, just the. everything of it all LMAO

its the way obi-wan held himself at arms length for years because love was frowned upon by the jedi and he couldnt let himself get attached but he DID but he never voiced it. and anakin fell to the dark side in the meantime. and obi-wan finally, FINALLY lets himself admit he loves anakin only after anakin has turned, when hes literally burning alive, he says “you were my brother, i loved you” and just, god the past tense? but the way its still obviouslt true even in the present because of the way he cant bring himself to actually kill anakin? and in a way thats WORSE - he leaves anakin to burn alive, dying in one of the worst most painful ways possible, (+ then unknowingly for obi-wan, leaving him to become darth vader and spend the next few decades of his life in even more agony) because he cant bring himself to actually be the one to deal the killing blow? his greatest mistake is that he couldnt bring himself to kill what his brother has become

and now showbi wan. by fucking god dude. the absolute horror and grief on his face when he finds out anakin/vader is still alive. the way how, after a decade and endless trauma dealt to each other, they still know each others force signature from across the galaxy. and then part 3, the whole fight there i just. im speechless. “what have you become?” “i am what you made me” and the way vader doesnt go for the clean kill, no, he recreates mustafar - he sends obi-wan into the flames to burn just like obi-wan did to him. obi-wan’s act of cowardice, born of love he could barely admit he felt, is now turned into vader’s act of revenge, hatred.

and knowing that some part of obi-wan still cares for anakin/vader at this point of the show, due to how absolutely shaken he is while fighting him, due to him whispering “anakin” when finding out vader is alive…. and knowing that at some point that has to turn into whatever the fuck obi-wan feels about vader in ANH, that “anakin” died that day on mustafar, that vader is a monster, no longer the person he loved, and must be killed

the tragedy of it all…. its driving me NUTS

I love korra! I love the legend of korra so much!! There's so much i love about this show!!

I grew up with atla, i remember coming home from school when i was a kid and watching atla and i loved it and later on, in my late teens i rewatched atla, from start to finish and i actually absorbed everything and i loved it so much more, atla is damn near perfect of a story for me!

And then i watched lok for the first time and i loved it too! I love the expansion of the world, i love the expansion on the lore, i love seeing how the world changed and develop, i loved republic city, i love that the world didn't stop after atla and that republic city was a something that the characters of atla developed. I love how much lore we got in lok, i love knowing that the lion turtle that came out of nowhere in the finale of atla, is actually the reason why bending exists in the first place, i love wan and ravva so much! I loved finding out how the avatar came to be!

I love the villains of this show, they're so much more than just straight up power hungry villains! I know some people think that amon being a bloodbender undermine the oppression of non benders and even though I'd have loved seeing a high level non bender villain, i absolutely love the story with amon! The villains of lok are genuinely one of the best part of this show!

And i just love korra! I love her journey, her growth and seeing the way some people talk about her, just makes me love her even more!

Yes, season 2 is my least favorite, but it's still so good and so fun! Some people act like it's the worst thing in television and it's just crazy! These people are so fucking dramatic!!

Yes, lok has flaws, yes, it's not as "perfect" as atla, but it's so fucking good!! And now that I'm older, i prefer lok, because it is more mature and more complex and just very compelling.

There's probably one thing i disliked about lok and it's the love triangle from the first 2 seasons, and even then, i didn't hate it, i was just annoyed.. and you know what, I'm more than okay with having 2 seasons of annoying love triangle stuff because it lead to korrasami!! Even though they barely got any screen time and some people still try to deny their relationship, I'm so glad it exists, I'm glad that korrasami is not just some non canon ship that fans like, it's actually fucking real! The creators made it as canon as they could!

In conclusion: i love atla, i love lok, i love korra and i fucking love korrasami!!

Regarding your August and justice reply, I don't think you take in consideration what August wants when you say you hope he gets helps and realises he's been damaging others. Especially because he is well aware of the long lasting damages he has caused and other than being scared of being found and facing consequences, he hasn't shown to regret or be sorry for the pain and suffering he's responsible of. He's sorry his wrongdoings could cause him problems if found out.

I don't think he'll get any kind of judicial nor poetic justice. I think he'll be shown to kept in his way for the rest of his life, maybe not protected by the crown, but he won't let go of his habits not because he can't be rehabilitated. But because he doesn't want rehabilitatio. And you cannot help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

That's my favourite thing about August, actually: he is conscious of who he is and I don't believe anything can change his ways. Not even love. Opposite to Wille's journey where love changed it all.

About sullying wilmon's eventual happy ending? I think they deserve to be happy away from August's perceived toxicity but also, being away from him would be the only justice they could get.

TL;DR: I think August represents traditions and the nobility and that cannot be changed. Because they don't want to be changed. Just as August who enjoys his 'bad ways' and which make him such a compelling character to other too good characters like Simon or Wille.

I assume you're the original anon - thank you for getting back to me! EDIT: I stand corrected! Thanks for chiming in, August anon 2!

I understand your position, and I agree with parts of it. I'm going to put a cut here in case someone sees this who doesn't want to read any speculation on S3 - I wouldn't say there are any spoilers below, but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone.

The start of your text actually aligns with what I mean when I say August doesn't fully understand the gravity of his actions or regret the harm he caused to Simon. I just don't believe he understands the long-lasting damage he caused. I think August's demeanour when the damage to Simon comes up and sometimes even when talking to Wille suggests that he doesn't truly get why people are making such a big deal out of the video. He wanted to hurt Wille and Simon, he understands that he succeeded, and he understands that he betrayed Wille. However, I think there are many aspects to it that he, as an incredibly privileged and emotionally immature straight man, simply cannot understand. Such as the fact that the video will come up for the rest of Simon's life when applying to jobs and such, or that outing Wille to the world and subjecting him to homophobic hate etc. was nowhere near proportionate to Wille's humiliation of him in front of their peers. We agree that August hasn't shown much remorse. I do think it's possible he feels some genuine regret for the pain he caused Wille, who is a member of his family and someone he was meant to be loyal to, because that's the kind of damage he's been taught to consider. But he doesn't feel as much regret on a more general human decency level, especially for Simon. You are right that most of his regret is purely based on his fear of punishment, and that isn't the kind of regret that can lead to emotional growth. As to your points about August not wanting to change his ways... It's true that he hasn't wanted to so far, but I reject the idea that he couldn't still realise he needs to. The fact is that August already voiced to Sara in S2 that he felt like there was "something wrong inside his head" and that he felt like "the worst person in the world", and he clearly wasn't doing well in between Lucia and the start of their relationship. If he ends up back in that headspace in S3, after the experience of having been expected to take responsibility for the first time in his life and without the miracle solution of the crown being dangled in front of him... I do think it's still possible for him to reach a point where he finally chooses differently. Whether that's him hitting rock bottom, being forced to talk to a counsellor as part of a legal punishment, realising that the breathing exercise Sara taught him and potentially having to care for Rousseau helps him, or something else. On that note, I would also like to push back just a tiny bit on what you said about love changing everything for Wille and nothing for August. Simon's love acted as the catalyst for Wille's change, but the change only happened when the internal processes sparked by that love and his own betrayal of it had run their course. He also needed counselling to get there.

We don't know yet if Sara's love or August's betrayal of that love ends up catalysing anything in him. Not in terms of winning her back, but in terms of highlighting the contrast between her kindness and desire to hold him accountable for his failings vs. his own and his family's unkindness and lack of accountability. That remains to be seen in S3.

As you said, the alternative is for August to stick to his bad ways for the rest of his life - and as I tried to say without saying it directly, I fear his life may not be very long if he does. We've already seen him physically punishing himself for his failings, both with overexertion and not eating, so we know he is prone to self-harm. He's also addicted to the ADHD meds, just like his father was addicted to whatever it was. We know Carl Johan chose to take his own life in the face of ruin, and that August idolises him and must've been brought up with the same kind of worldview.

So, August is displaying some serious warning signs of going down the same path as his father, and unless we get at least some signs to the contrary before the credits roll on the finale, I don't think I personally can find any joy in his defeat/fall from grace. Again, I don't mean we need to see his growth in the show or that I want to see him forgiven by his victims in S3. They certainly deserve to be rid of his toxicity, and even if he does decide to change his ways, he's got a very long road ahead.

But I understand that you feel differently and place more weight on August not wanting to change! It's a very good point that he represents harmful traditions and the nobility, and any change he undergoes would also represent some kind of change to those institutions. Liking his character as the toxic relic that he's been thus far is extremely valid.

Personally, I think August realising that he needs to break free of the toxicity would be a way of 'breaking the wheel.' Either showing that these institutions can be changed after all, similar to how Wille started enacting change at Hillerska in S2 when he encouraged the first-years to rebel...or simply showing again that these institutions hurt even the people who seemingly benefit from them, and when freed, even they can grow and heal.

Please know I don't mean to invalidate your stance in any way! I think it just comes down to the types of conclusions that the show wants to leave us with.

[As a final sidebar, I have to say that I respectfully disagree about Simon and Wille being "too good characters" as you put it. I think they have some morally grey sides as well, the same as most other characters in the show, which is what makes them so very human. But that's a whole other discussion!]

Phew, this got really long... I'm not even going to attempt to summarise it but I hope it made sense. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Time wasn't in our favor - Part 3

Pairing: TASM Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) x Female!Reader

Summary: What if...your soulmate is from another universe but you didn't know? Soulmate AU. Set during NWH, fluff.

Note: So...ended up making part 3 before the two endings. Also, I apologize for the long wait. I went from "University makes me want to die" to writers block, so that was not great.

Word count: 1.5k

Series Masterlist: Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Happy Ending, Sad Ending.

"Any closer to finding out who that is?" MJ asked, gesturing to the photo booth pictures in front of Y/N as she slid Y/N her favorite doughnut.

It has been a week after the incident - the day that Y/N found herself crying near the Statue of Liberty out in the middle of nowhere; the day that she, Ned and MJ sported several injuries for no apparent reason; the day that her life felt oddly empty, as if it was missing something essential; the day that her tattoo turned red, yet she had no recollection of how or when it did.

"No...and I don't know who I kissed either. Was I that drunk? Did we sneak into some college party and drink to the point we blacked out?" Y/N theoreticized. Ned, who sat next to her, patted her back in empathy, "It's okay...you'll figure it out." Y/N stared down at her photo again, ignoring the sound of the store's doorbell ringing.

"Hi, anything I can get for you?" MJ asked the customer while Y/N racked her brain for possible explanations. It was clear that she was intimate with this stranger. She scowled at herself, flipping the photo around.

I don't even know anybody with the initial "P.P.", mayb-

"Hi, I'm Peter Parker and-" Y/N snapped her head at the boy, but her excitement died as soon as it came.

He was not the boy in her photo.

-----------------------

"Okay so...crying....down there," she muttered to herself, as if it would help. It was crazy that she was standing up here, but something about it felt compelling enough. Currently, Y/N was standing on the scaffolding next to the Statue of Liberty, peering down at the spot she was previously crying at. Y/N scrunched her eyes as she leaned a little outwards to look at the shield. Upon seeing what looked like blood, her foot instinctively took a step forward to get a better look, though her hand clinging onto a pipe to ensure she was being somewhat safe. 

Against her calculation, the already leaning section of the scaffolding let out a loud sound before rapidly crumbling down. As she tipped along with the construction falling outwards, her hands automatically wrapped around the pipe they were already clinging to. A scream left her lips as she could feel gravity pulling her downwards. 

The scaffolding stopped. 

It didn’t completely fall apart. Instead, it was hanging her outwards with a chance of falling to her death. The adrenaline pumped as she could feel her heartbeat tripling its speed. It was foolish, but Y/N looked down and shut her eyes immediately after. She knew it was high up, but seeing no ground touching her feet made her panic even more. Upon opening her eyes, Y/N’s mind tugged at an idea as she spotted the level below her that looked somewhat stable enough.

It was risky, but at that point, what other choice does she have? With all her might, Y/N swung herself forward and landed in the level below. Her body fully collided with the metal ground, hitting the air out of her. The impact definitely left a bruise.

It was moments of silence, before Y/N felt tears emerging and free falling down her cheeks. It had only sunken in now how it felt almost too familiar hanging like that. Y/N slowly sat up as she registered what just happened. Using her hand and wrist, she wiped away the tears and covered her eyes, ignoring the sting on her soul mark as soon as it made contact with her tears. She sniffed before removing her hand from her eyes. However, the girl was caught off-guard upon seeing yellow sparks on her hands and wrist. They illuminated, shining brighter and brighter. Slowly, they multiplied before rising from her hand and floating around her. Y/N stood up in shock, unable to utter a word as she glanced at the floating sparks around her. 

Before she knew it, they all evaporated.

“After you save my New York City.”

Y/N gasped as she turned around to the source of the voice, only to see sparks shaping like a human being - the shape of her. Opposite to it was a spark version of the guy from her photo. He was hung upside down, wearing a spiderman suit which made Y/N mouth fall slightly open. Both of them evaporated again.

Then her world was sent into a whirl.

Y/N turned around as she heard another voice. This time she saw the two in a lab sitting next to each other. Her ears started buzzing as noises of mutters from different conversations took over. Meanwhile, the sparks multiplied again, jumping everywhere and displaying different moments between her and the stranger. 

“I think you need it more than me,” she spun around again, seeing herself holding a dandelion while the guy peered down at her. Y/N stumbled slightly as she tried to take a look at every little scene, feeling overwhelmed as more conversations popped up. Then she heard a scream, which made her look in that direction.

“No!” she shouted, hands reaching outwards as she saw the spark version of herself fall from the scaffolding. Y/N ran forward and towards the fence, peering down at a reflection of herself. What surprised her was a figure that dove from above her, his sparkled form shooting straight forward at her falling spark-figure. 

Both her hands covered her mouth as Y/N watched the scene unfold. As soon as the figures’ fingers touched, a breath of relief left her mouth before the memories came colliding inside her brain, knocking her backward and onto her knees as the sparkles all gathered around her.

It felt like a hurricane as the memories flooded back - the moment she met him, the moments they spent together, including the moment he left her. She remembered it all. She remembered crying as she clung onto the sparks that slowly evaporated as he returned to his universe. 

However, she never noticed until now how some of the sparks clung to her and stayed behind. It sunk into her while she cried and mourned for a love she never had the chance to explore, before her memories of him were pulled. 

--------------------

“Doctor Strange. Please.”

“You were never meant to remember in the first place.”

“Do you know how it feels to be away from your soulmate? Knowing you may potentially never see them again? It hurts, Doctor Strange. Please,” he somehow halted at this, causing Y/N to abruptly stop behind him as well. She watched as he turned around to look at her. She could see the battle that was going on in his mind as he contemplated her wish.

“Fine. One visit.”

“Thank you,” she breathed out in relief.

A couple of grumbles escaped from the man. Even though she couldn't hear, Y/N knew they were complaints about her. Doctor Strange settled his coffee mug onto a table before turning back to the girl. With ease, the man opened up a portal. The sight was similar to the alleyway she saw Peter Parker enter from, but it was daylight instead.

“Thank you so much, Dr Strange,” the girl repeated once again as she walked out of the portal that the man had just conjured up for her.

“Avoid yourself in this universe and don’t cause any trouble, alright?” Dr Strange lectured sternly, knowing that his actions were wrong and could potentially cause a multiverse problem. But he empathized with the girl. A part of him did it because he knew how it felt to not be with your soulmate. Despite the unbothered exterior he had set up, his heart ached every morning as he put on the watch that his soulmate had gifted him while they were still together. His eyes glanced down at his soul mark, which was covered by the pre-mentioned watch, except it was cracked. Then he looked back at the girl again.

“Come back in two hours, yeah?” though his voice made the question come out as more of a command than anything. But the girl knew it was all with good intentions, so she nodded and watched as the man closed the magic portal.

The girl ran through the portal without any hesitation, jumping slightly when she saw it closed straight away. Cautiously exiting the alley, the girl gulped as she realized how reckless she was being - entering another universe with no plan beforehand. How was she going to find Peter?

---------------

Series Masterlist: Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Happy Ending, Sad Ending.

Did you or do you ever struggle writing character x reader fanfiction? I read it quite a lot but I just can't get used to writing in that format. I'm writing an OC x Homelander story, though.

I had never created an OC before, but I am certainly more comfortable writing a character that has a name, face and backstory of their own than using a generic reader. Particularly when I'm writing about the character's past and other individual characteristics, addressing the reader as you seems so weird to me. It makes me feel like I can't give in to specifics because it breaks the illusion.

Also, I've enjoyed the act of creating an OC. Giving them a name, a story, motivations, designing their psychology, etc.

However, I find it discouraging to see that OC x HL stories are nowhere near as popular as HL x Reader and I worry that I may not find an audience. When I post anything in ao3 it gets like two likes and in tumblr I'm just ignored completely 😢

Could you please give me some advice pls?

oh my darling! i hear you. the disparity in interest between x oc content vs x reader content is undeniable, but it's also inevitable. all the reasons you describe struggling with reader perspective fics is why it's so popular: the lack of detail allows the reader to adopt a nebulous perspective, whether they see their own oc in that situation or their literal selves. it doesn't require them to get to know or become invested in your creation, it allows them to indulge in what feels like their own.

i don't think readers get enough credit for their suspension of disbelief and the mental work they put into filling in the blanks that authors leave. similarly, it's absolutely difficult to tell a compelling story while leaving what is often the perspective character a near blank slate. that said! the fics i get the most feedback on are where the reader does have a stronger personality. people love banter, and even if the reader's voice doesn't always feel like something they would actually say, it always produces much more engaging interactions.

i've definitely had my struggle with this in the past, but i'm still learning. the series i'm working on right now, Guilty Pleasures, features a reader with quite a lot of personality, and i've established things about her that i wouldn't normally go into such detail, and the response to it has been great! your reader perspective SHOULD still feel like a character with thoughts, motivations and feelings. otherwise, the story is going to fall a little flat.

if it's easier for you to write the reader perspective as if they're your oc, you should do that. there's a delicate balance between too much and too little information when it comes to reader fic. sometimes taking liberties really works, and i think you'd be surprised how well readers can stretch that illusion. reader perspective should resonate, but not be so overpowering that the actual person reading doesn't like them.

but you absolutely do not need to force yourself to write a particular style of story if it's not something you actually enjoy. i also write and enjoy oc fic! i honestly think my oc fic Eat Your Ego is some of my very best work. unfortunately, it's rare that any of those chapters ever break close to 100 notes, whereas even little reader drabbles will see 2-3x those numbers, sometimes more.

but i write it because i love it, and it's the story i want to tell. that's what matters! and because of my dedication to the story, people have been kind enough to trust me with their time and investment. oc fic will never have the same broad appeal that reader fic does, but that doesn't make it less valuable. you just have to invest more in promoting yourself and convincing people that your story has something to offer them.

my best advice is just don't give up! i'm horribly erratic when it comes to the creative projects i work on, but i've been writing Eat Your Ego for over a year and it has gathered a lovely little following. feedback on that fic means SO much to me. even though there's less of it, the joy it brings me is immeasurable because that fic is special to me. don't give up on your story! it deserves to be told. 🖤

Been getting back into Stranger Things recently and this is probably a hot fucking take but Nancy and Steve works 100x better than Nancy and Jonathan romantically in my humble opinion.

Stranger Things is clearly a show that leans heavily into 80's archetypes and cliches. One of the classic cliches is the popular/smart girl dating the jock guy, but then she falls in love with the loner underdog. I feel like season 1 definitely hinted at this being a possibility, but what I really loved was that they didn't actually do it. At the end of the season, Nancy gives Jonathan a kiss on the cheek, and then he walks away, and Nancy goes to sit next to Steve. It felt almost like a final goodbye to the potential romantic feelings that could've been there. It directly goes against what you'd expect the series to do, like season 1 actually does a lot, especially with the teens.

Two teenagers having sex? They should die while the smart "not like other girls" girl lives to fight the monster, right? No. The teenagers live, and the smart friend dies without anybody there to witness it.

The loner dude and the smart/popular girl are sharing a bed? There should be some tension there, right? Nope. Nancy is fucking traumatized, and she just doesn't want to feel alone; she's bonded with Jonathan through trauma, and in that moment romantic and sexual feelings are nowhere near her mind, she's simply seeking out comfort in somebody who made her feel safe in a moment of need.

There are more examples of this, how the show both honors 80's cliches while also subverting expectations. But then season 2 rolls around, and things change.

Obviously, Steve, as a character, subverts the typical 80's jock douche cliche that he very easily could've been. He has undergone the most character development and change of any character in this series, and it's clearly served well as he's now a fan favorite. This process did begin in season 2.

But season 2 also gave us the beginning of Nancy and Jonathan's romantic arc. Now I'll admit, 14 year old me was SCREAMING for them to kiss back in 2017, but as I've grown older I feel more and more icky about it. It plays right into what fans were expecting to happen, even when the characters themselves - to me - seemed to display little to no romantic interest in each other until Murray outright says it.

Nancy and Jonathan are victims of a very cheap trick to build romantic tension between two characters- outside influences and characters.

The woman after Jonathan is arrested who says that only love can make somebody be so crazy, even though Jonathan was completely justified in beating the shit out of Steve because he was being an asshole, and was not at all implied to be an act of jealousy based in feelings for Nancy.

Mike asking Nancy if she likes Jonathan, which is a question that really seems to come out of nowhere and feels like a very unlikely thing for Mike to have asked given the current situation.

Then, the most egregious of these examples, Murray telling the two characters that they have romantic tension. This breaks the very basic writing rule of "show don't tell" in the most literal way.

The only reason Nancy and Jonathan ever had tension is because of that 80's cliche, and outside people telling the characters they liked each other.

Then, you have Nancy and Steve. I find their romance in season 1 to be incredibly compelling in multiple complex and fascinating ways.

These characters are never TOLD to have tension with each other. They're never INFLUENCED to like each other. From before the show starts, they're already seeing each other. It's clear that both characters actually like each other just because they like each other, and not because of shared trauma or outside influences. A fascinating aspect of this is Steve's typical jock douche demeanor that has Nancy questioning Steve's intentions with her.

The show sets up the idea of Steve "corrupting" Nancy through Barbara. "This isn't you," she tells Nancy, right before Nancy goes upstairs to sleep with Steve, which has been set up as something she's hesitant to do. It's very clear that Nancy is petrified that Steve is only interested in her for sex, and after she does sleep with him it's clear that she feels a sense of shame or upset. With the 80's cliche, this probably would be the case. Steve would've only used her for her body, then she would run into Jonathan's arms and be treated with the respect and love she deserves. But then, Steve is still interested in her. He actively defends her against his friends when they're teasing her about Barbara. He's shown to be worried about her multiple times between Barbara's disappearance and when he finds her with Jonathan.

Steve is given redeeming qualities that show how much he genuinely cares for Nancy, even if he is somewhat consumed with his own woes. Then, on the flip side, we see genuine conflict that feels a little less forced than that between Nancy and Jonathan. Steve is self-consumed and more concerned with getting in trouble than giving the police valuable information about Barbara's disappearance. This is incredibly believable for his character at this point. Then, when he thinks Nancy is cheating, he's a complete douche to both Nancy and Jonathan, and rightly gets his shit kicked in for it.

But then he shows genuine remorse for his actions in helping clean up the theater, and then going to apologize to JONATHAN. Not only to Nancy in order to get back into her good graces, but to the other person he GENUINELY hurt because he GENUINELY wants to right that wrong.

Now this isn't a "Jonathan is a horrible character" party, he definitely is a good character, and Steve is not "better" just because he's a fan favorite.

I have a difficult time articulating my thoughts clearly and stringing them together to make them coherent, but my point is:

I feel like Nancy and Jonathan would've worked way better as platonic best friends bonded through trauma. I feel like this would've allowed Jonathan to operate more as his own character instead of being turned into "Nancy's sidekick" for most of the series. It also would've allowed Nancy to just have a friend even after Barbara's death.

I also feel like Nancy and Steve would've worked better as a sort of "slow burn, right person wrong time" romantic relationship. Nancy is no doubt traumatized and feels guilt for Barbara's death, which happened to take place while she was with Steve. The basis of the Nancy/Steve fight that ultimately ends their relationship is that Nancy doesn't feel like she can just move on. To paraphrase, Nancy is saying "Pretending like we're in love, like we're just dumb teenagers at a dumb party, like we didn't kill Barb, is bullshit." Then Steve, still being a bit of the self-consumed guy he is, focuses only on the "like we're in love" piece. "You don't love me?" he asks. And I think that this just pisses Nancy off. I'm telling you that we killed Barbara, that I can't live with myself and this guilt, and you're worried about our relationship? "It's bullshit."

I don't necessarily think that Nancy didn't love Steve. I think that she simply wasn't in the right place to love ANYBODY. And I think he was still too immature for Nancy to maintain a relationship with him.

Nancy can't be with Steve because she's simply too consumed with her guilt, and Steve is too consumed with maintaining a sense of normalcy to confront that guilt head on. She NEEDED Jonathan in that moment, because he shared that guilt in feeling responsible for Will's disappearance. He had just as much a desire to burn Hawkins Lab to the ground. It wasn't until Steve was FORCED to grow up in order to protect Dustin, Max, and Lucas that he finally let go of that desire to be normal.

I think both Nancy and Steve needed those two-ish seasons to grow and heal for them to even consider reigniting that flame. Then, in season 4, when Nancy sees Steve as somebody finally willing to do the hard thing and be an adult, I think she finally starts to consider allowing herself to love him again.

So, in my ideal version of events, Nancy and Jonathan would've been really close platonic friends, and Nancy and Steve would've been tragic lovers who simply couldn't find the right time for each other.

Anyways that's my word vomit. Don't take this as a ship war thing cause that's stupid I think everything is good I just wanted to express my preferences

It’s not an ask, it’s not really anything that you need to know but I haven’t been able to ever share it aloud except once to my now Husband. But with what gets said and posted a lot these days I just felt compelled to share it with you knowing you and I’m sorry if it bothers you.

When I was in middle school I had a friend that was always actively acting out, sneaking out, doing things she shouldn’t and hanging out in questionable areas in town. I was shy and quiet by nature (still rather am) and one day she had me follow her off to some house near by her apartment that I never been to and I had no idea who lived there. Once inside it was obvious it was some sorta flop house (obvious in retrospect of course) and my friend was speaking with two adult males I’d never met before. She went along with one to another room leaving me with the other guy alone. She had been my friend since elementary school I’d never imagine she would put me in harms way, so she must know these guys well? The other guy offered me to the other room to hang out, I didn’t know what to do or say, I didn’t want to leave my friend and I didn’t want to be rude to this guy so I unfortunately followed him in. He showed me to where to sit, a bed, and he wasted no time touching me. I uncomfortably tried to push him away and stay to the other side of the bed it was in vein. Without a lot of detail he got me pushed onto the bed, touching and kissing me and I had little chance against him to get him off. I was stuck between frozen fear as he kept touching and kissing me and telling him to stop. I could feel now what I know as an adult his bulge and I was in sheer panic. Saying “No” was getting me nowhere and I felt helpless and trapped.

I don’t know what my friend had been up to but soon I hear the door to the room I was in open to which I called her name and I could hear her laugh. The guy got off me as he realized his friend and mine there more so because I kept calling my friends name. After some short talk between my friend and the two adults she was ready to head out and I was more than willing, I felt dirty and gross, scared and upset, and a whole other mix of things. The way back to her house she was laughing at me and teasing me that I have a new boyfriend. I’d never dated anyone or kissed anyone even at that point and she knew that. I was quiet, I was at tears and went home as soon as I had the chance as I had to wait a bit longer as I lived a distance away for just walking on my own.

I couldn’t ever say anything to my family I felt shameful and stupid I should have known not to go along with her but I did and now a part of me will never feel the same. We started drifting from friends from there…which as other friends were friends with her made me lose some more friends. I don’t know if she ever shared any of this with anyone else. She never apologized she never even made it seem like there was an issue at all. As adults I sometimes see her around town as it’s not a huge city and every time I feel a deep pit inside me that aches and I nearly panic and have to advert my gaze until I feel she is gone again.

I’m sorry again I just needed someone to tell it to as I’ve been seeing a lot of SA stuff around and like you felt like the one to talk to. I’m sorry if it upsets you I tried to keep it vague to not trigger anything hopefully and if I have I am even more sorry for my poor judgment.

Thank you.

I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you anon. That "friend" of yours doing that to you is just.... and words can't describe what I hope happened to those 2 men.

I'm sorry, this should never happen to anyone but especially not to someone so young. 🫂

top 5 things u love about smic :>

ohhhhhmglksadfjlkadsfj

hm

HMM

i've been so full blown obsessed with them for so long that i don't even know how to articulate all of the things i feel but this is a delightful question thank u and i will do my best to stay coherent

in no particular order

1) i mean look at them

like this is of course not the main thing that draws me to them but they are very aesthetically pleasing together lmao and why lie? that's definitely one of the things i love about them. the dark haired one and the white haired one is a combination that simply does not miss

of course it's not just their hair colors either, i love a good height difference ship but for smic i love that there's just a 1cm difference between them. the visual effect of ichiro growing throughout their knowing each other is so so so good to me. like him being quite noticeably shorter than samatoki in their tdd days, when he looked up to samatoki (literally) and idolized him, to being almost samatoki's height in the present when they're both leaders of their own divisions, more like equals than ever before

2) their unique ability to understand each other

ok so i'm actually very big on the family bonds (*komachan voice* KIZUNA) between the divisions, and i absolutely do not think ichiro is the only person who can understand samatoki and samatoki is the only person who can understand ichiro. i see them as both having many significant people in their lives, like yes i'm perpetually unwell about them but i also think they aren't each other's only important person

that said

i think both of them being big brothers thrust into a position where they have to essentially raise their younger siblings is a point of connection that really compels me. i think ichiro doing his best to take care of jiro and saburo is something samatoki can respect about him

and i like what that can mean for their tdd days. ichiro always being the oldest, and finally having someone he can look up to like a big brother. samatoki so used to being a big brother that it just comes so naturally to him to take care of ichiro too

kind of unrelated to this point but i've always found it sooooo funny to think of like what if they bonded over samatoki being like "my parents are dead" and ichiro being like "wow mine too" but then

then samatoki meets rei

and then eventually [redacted] as well lmaoooooo

3) the growing they have to do

i looove a good friends to lovers story, i looove a good enemies to lovers story, but i LOOOOOOVE a good friends to enemies to lovers story like holy shit

this is possibly the thing that compels me most about them, like the fact that they were so tight and then completely broke down? having to work back to good from that? mwah i can't get enough of that

and i think that breaking down is really important to them, it's not just unnecessary drama. in their tdd days, the way ichiro idolized samatoki was so unsustainable in the long run. he had to be a little broken to see that samatoki's only human too, that he isn't all powerful, that he's just a man. i think it's so important for ichiro to see that samatoki is just a man before he can love him like a man, rather than some sort of god figure

samatoki has his growing to do as well, of course, and i looove to see a version of him that really struggles with that. like i am obsessed with this hc of him going from being hellbent on being respected by ichiro to realizing he's like uncomfortably horny about being disrespected by ichiro lmao

4) bbmtc famblyyyyyy

alright this isn't technically smic-specific but i am really really obsessed with this future where bbmtc are one big family, and i can so easily see it happening when smic are together

samatoki is such a big brother that it would come so naturally to him to be a big brother to jiro and saburo too. and i think nemu would be a really good big sister and friend to them too. plus uncles rio and jyuto! jyuto maybe insisting he is nowhere near old enough to be anyone's uncle lol

my old hc before jiro changed what he called ichiro was that jiro would one day call samatoki aniki and i still grrrrrrrr want that to happen but i do like the canonical growth in jiro too so it's all asdlkfja;kldfj I WANT IT BOTH WAYS

anyway. i guess to relate this to smic, i love that they would both care for each other's families like they're their own (and rio and jyuto are family of course)

5) they're so intense about hating each other that i can easily imagine them being just as intense about loving each other

looove a smic that's just grossly ridiculously absurdly in love. like let them be cringe honestly. i'm obsessed with them but they're more obsessed with each other and that's exactly how i like it

Sneak Peek!!!

snippet from Part 2 of Reflection, a Dignity of His Choice chapter (see previous or Fools Rush In series)

Steve Rogers x wife!reader after Steve fakes his death

(No warnings. Just a chat between Steve and Sam Wilson. Who will end up as Captain America?) WC 341

Steve sees the icy bank of the Hudson outside the vast East-facing windows, and the view triggers something inside him.

“I almost came back,” he starts quietly. “There was one time after the first real frost that I just…ran.” The serum held fast then; Steve hadn’t been pushed to the brink yet. “The nearest town—a village really—was across this frozen lake, and I made it right to the edge. Watched their lights for a while. Wondered if I’d make it back here before whoever—I mean, before the…”

He’s never, ever going to call them ‘Keepers.’ Steve would rather die for real.

“…before the group found me. I wondered if the villagers saw me, would she be grabbed before I got back, too? I sat out there all night,” Steve sighs, “and then I just…turned around.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore, Sam. It’s not the same,” he confesses flatly.

Sam nods, taking in that information, processing. Steve’s had a week (plus a few months) to process and is still nowhere near a conclusion, so he expects it to take his friend a lot longer.

“Your lady was like that, too.” Sam turns while moving forward and indicates the whole gym. “She circled. She kept circling, tryna figure out which door to go out, which thing to do next, tryna figure out if she wanted to get off the track in the first place. And we forced her off by accident. Thought it was for the best.

“You can walk in circles anywhere. Finding familiarity is natural. That’s instinctive. Also, totally normal to be scared as hell of the unfamiliar.” 

Pride swells in Steve. This is why Wilson was so good at the VA.

“It’s not like you’re waking up one day wanting a career change, Steve. Most people learn and train for a job. You were created for this job; that’s a tough gig. No wonder it’s a bitch to get out of it--get out of that mindset.”

Language, Steve’s brain shouts automatically.

A/N: Yes, I know it's been a shit summer for updates from me, and yes, I know this poor story has languished long enough. However, I dug us into such angst that I feel very compelled to raise us way, way out of that angst by the end. There is just this big hurtle before the super fluff, gang. I promise!

[Main Masterlist; Light Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

I'm-not-dead-tags: @im-a-slut-for-fluff @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @fangirl-swagg @georgeweaslysgirl @austynparksandpizza @bucky-fricking-barnes-reads @fallinallinmendes @claireelizabeth85 @patzammit @supraveng @1950schick

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 21: The Nine Rings

You can tell I'm getting into the weeds when it comes to chapter art. Frankly, the people who made this card were getting into the weeds when it comes to game mechanics because that card effect has nothing to do with Mr. Caldevwin. Is that a spoiler? The whole rest of this post is full of them when it comes to this series, so don't keep reading if that bothers ya.

This chapter starts up with the Harp icon as Rand performs this evening and reflects a little on Thom. I suppose it also reflects inns in general.

The innkeeper was a lean woman with a long nose and graying hair, but her wrinkles seemed part of her ready smile more than anything else.

A thin innkeeper? She must be evil! That's why she's giving a home to these soldiers.

“As you say, my Lord.” Mistress Madwen’s glance flickered to Rand’s sword; the bronze herons were plain on scabbard and hilt. She frowned slightly, but her face was clear again in a blink.

I was kinda joking because I don't remember much about this gal but she is very snoopy. I suppose part of it is just her job but her disapproval of Rand's weapon does make me wonder.

“We are not hunting the Horn, mistress.” Rand did not glance at the bundle in Loial’s arms; the blanket with its colorful stripes hung bunched over the Ogier’s thick arms and disguised the chest well. “We surely are not. We are on our way to the capital.”

A thousand miles away, Moiraine feels a sudden surge of pride and does not know why.

The innkeeper gave a surprised blink when Hurin sat at table with them—an Ogier, it seemed, was one thing, but Hurin was clearly a servant in her eyes.

All of this is pretty good set-up for how stratified the societies of the eastern subcontinent are. In Baerlon and the Borderlands there wasn't much concern for any divisions within the party except gender lines and Moiraine's being Aes Sedai, and it's hardly unreasonable to expect blurred lines in social divisions in a small group traveling like this, but it's clear that in Cairhien the wilderness is no excuse to start fraternizing.

Selene’s was still half full, but she motioned curtly for one of the girls to take it.

Lanfear's wondering what the odds are of her finding a stasis box with some proper Chinese food in it.

Rand hesitated only a moment. It had been too long since he had practiced the flute rather than the sword, and the coins in his pouch would not last forever.

Here's that important theme again. We're in book 2 and already Rand's worried he's losing his sensitive side to war. He doesn't even know.

Selene looked at Rand as if wondering what he was...

I wonder if LTT had ever picked up any instruments. Probably not.

Did she really let me go? I wonder if she’s following me. Or waiting for me. “Sit down, Captain. Please.” Caldevwin drew a chair from another table. “Tell me, Captain, if you don’t mind. Have you seen any other strangers recently? A lady, short and slender, and a fighting man with blue eyes. He’s tall, and sometimes he wears his sword on his back.”

Note here how Rand is already succumbing to the paranoia associated with his condition. Book 1 Rand wouldn't have had these thoughts and he wouldn't have felt compelled to ask questions like this immediately either.

“A wondrous place I have heard, Lord Rand—I may call you so?—and fine men, the Andormen. No Cairhienin has ever worn a blademaster’s sword so young as you. I met some Andormen, once, the Captain-General of the Queen’s Guards among them. I do not remember his name; an embarrassment. Perhaps you could favor me with it?”

You can tell that this guy is only a Captain because he's nowhere near subtle enough to play in the Cairhienien Major Leagues.

Just as Selene opened her mouth, one of the serving girls let out a cry and dropped a lamp she was taking down from a shelf.

Lanfear's really restraining herself here to not make the Captain himself have to run away screaming.

The Cairhienin’s eyes sharpened. “It is part of the statue, my Lord Rand,” he said slowly. His gaze flickered toward Loial; for an instant he seemed to be considering something new.

"Are the Ogier allying with Andor to steal our old statues?!" Sure it sounds silly but like, what else can they be thinking? They probably don't know that the statue's a sa'angreal (it's way outside of the usual) but why couldn't it be a war asset from ancient days? Why would the Andorians even know about it to send a spy? Rand's causing trouble again and he barely even knows it.

“I have five hundred laborers in camp beyond the diggings, and even so it will be past summer’s end before we have it clear. They are men from the Foregate. Half my work is to keep them digging, and the other half to keep them out of this village. Foregaters have a fondness for drinking and carousing, you understand, and these people lead quiet lives.” His tone said his sympathies were all with the villagers.

Well based on the size of the village, five hundred carousers hitting them up every night would probably get the place burned down in a week or two. Keeping civil order is an incredibly difficult task!

For twenty-three years Barin Madwen and I were arguing when we weren’t kissing, so to speak. That’s by way of saying I have some experience. Right now, you’re thinking your Lady never wants to see you again, but it’s my way of thinking that if you tap on her door tonight, she’ll be taking you in.

Again, the "skinny innkeepers are obvious Darkfriends" things is a joke but... it could work for Mistress Mad wen, couldn't it? Moves from Lugard to Cairhien to escape bad deeds there, runs the inn to keep her eyes open in case anything happens, Choedan Kal discovered so she becomes important, Ishamael takes her to the party so she's up to date, and here she is with advice that could be entirely innocent or could be straight from Lanfear - and why attack Rand like all the DFs from last book did when he's already in a Forsaken's clutches?

It's probably not remotely intended in the text but hey.

“Daes Dae’mar, Lord Rand,” Hurin said.

In the Game of Houses, you win or you die.

Okay maybe I'm getting my fantasy epics confused but I do enjoy how Jordan managed to communicate all of GRRM's themes even though they're not central to his own thesis.

“He has the right of Daes Dae’mar, Lord Rand. Cairhienin play it more than most, though all southerners do.”

And this is a bit of cultural blindness, really. We saw that Malkier's end came from someone playing Daes Dae'mar and while everyone has to fall in behind their leaders for obvious reasons there's going to be some jockeying. The Borderlands are just so far away from the rest of the world that they don't have to play the game at all, especially since Tar Valon actually comes through for them consistently - but then, that's the Game too, in its own way.

But in the morning, Selene was gone. When Rand went down to the common room, Mistress Madwen handed him a sealed parchment. “If you’ll forgive me, my Lord, you should have listened to me. You should have tapped on your Lady’s door.”

I'd say this still fits the Darkfriend theory.

Loial almost missed a step. “I never like to be far from my books, Captain.” His wide mouth flashed teeth in a self-conscious grin, and he hurried to strap the chest onto his saddle.

Okay Loial, I guess I was a little mean calling you naive before.

“He had the inn watched, Lord Rand,” Hurin whispered. “The Lady Selene must have gotten past them unseen somehow.”

Caldevwin has every reason to wonder if Lord Rand murdered his wife and is having the Ogier carry her corpse around in a box at this point. Good thing we'll never see or hear from him again, unlike Mistress Madwen who apparently gets mentioned again in Winter's Heart for some reason? Bizarre.

“Nothing is happening the way I expect,” Rand said.

And it never fucking will.

Next time: Stuff doesn't happen as Moiraine expects either! (Unlike Rand though, she'll sharpen up on her understanding of the future)

hi liv, hope you’re doing well! i have some asks too!

how did you start shipping drarry?

would do please go on a giddy, adoring rant about how much you love drarry?

thank you so much and hope you have the best day ever <3

Hi anon, sure ask away! I don’t know if this will be the adoring rant you were hoping for but it will be an honest one 😊

I’m not quite sure how I first found Drarry fic - it’s been so long my memory is fuzzy! But I’m certain I started shipping them shortly after watching Chamber of Secrets. How could I not? The tension, the implications & complications, the blonde x brunette aesthetics! But I wasn’t fluent in English back then, so I’d mostly read fics in my mother tongue on Brazilian archives and on ff.net. Green Eyes was a major hit back then and one of my favorites. I started reading in English sometime around 2005, that’s when I found FictionAlley, Hex Files etc. I remember being utterly obsessed with Irresistible Poison, i don’t know how many times I’ve read it in a row, together with other old classics like Eclipse, Bond, Maya’s fics.

To be clear, I wasn’t only reading Drarry back then. I’ve always been a multishipper at heart and my fascination with the problematique was awaken pretty early on lol I’ve read all kinds of ships (If You Are Prepared is a Snarry series that still haunts me to this day) and tropes you can imagine - in fact, I was into sooo much stuff I don’t enjoy as much these days, like dub/non con, bond fic, Amortentia, infidelity etc. I’ve read it all and had a blast! I’ve also had a brief Wolfstar and even briefer Scorbus phase when Cursed Child was released but haven’t revisited them since. The sad thing about reading mlm as a kid and having to hide your internet history is that I didn’t keep track of anything :(

After 2008 I took 2 major breaks from fandom but my interest in Drarry remained, and I’d still read it occasionally, despite being completely immersed in another fandom. Something about the fic quality, the epic stories, the emotional payoff in Drarry still hit me hard and lured me in. But I was a lurker, too shy to interact besides embarrassingly long comments on ao3. I had no fandom friends. That changed when I got into the MCU in 2013 and created a Tumblr to get involved with the community. I had 2 short-lived but intense otps that consumed me as much as Drarry does, and I shared my first rec lists on a sideblog for one of them. But like I said, I’d still read Drarry on occasion! I found RoA as soon as it was published, and thankfully sara_holmes wrote for both HP and MCU 🙏🏼

I’ve said this before but I think my love for Drarry remained untouched over the years for a variety of reasons: the first one is that I really really loved the universe, and through fandom, I’ve fallen deeper in love with the (fleshed out) version of of these characters. I loved fics that were creative and full of world building because I couldn’t get enough of that magical universe. Unfortunately JKR ruined my sense of wonder for canon beyond repair and so I’ve had to repurpose the way I experience fandom and what I seek out of it. I haven’t read the books or watched the movies in a very long time and at this point my perception and feelings about HP and Drarry are fully shaped by my experience here, by the brilliant works I’ve read and the dear friends I’ve made.

Now this is about finding a safe and welcoming community in this corner of fandom, one that’s compassionate, brave, kind and that explores these characters the way I want to see. Now it’s about feeling like I belong somewhere after so many years of lurking around. Besides, enemies to lovers will always be one of my favourite tropes, I find it really compelling and I love the many ways we find to get these idiots to fall in love with each other over and over again. It’s certainly been a rollercoaster with lots of ups and downs, but fandom has been a big part of my life and identity for two decades now , and I’m nowhere near done 💜

Hiya! What video games dovyou think would be the Octonauts favorite?

HMM that’s a hard one...I’m sure people have done these kinds of posts before with more accuracy in mind, so I’m just gonna be Indulgent if that’s okay >:3c

Captain Barnacles only plays video games with the team, and they HAVE to be motion based, so he LOVES Just Dance and 1-2 Switch n that kind of stuff.

Professor Inkling is the same to an extent, but more with stuff like Wii Sports that doesn’t require as much full-body movement. I think he’d also be a Clubhouse Games fan for sure.

Kwazii and Tweak have similar taste in games, mainly because they often play them together. Tweak made her own gaming console on par with an NES or SNES, so she usually plays high score-based games like Pac-Man. She doesn’t have the time to commit to RPGs, as much as she’d probably really enjoy them, but sometimes she’s willing to stay up late playing Super Mario World for the sake of not losing progress. She’d also play fighting games with Kwazii probably, and they would be his favourite, but ultimately she’s always better than him at whatever they play because gaming is her ELEMENT. So yeah, Kwazii’s a Smash Bros fan, but the only person that plays with him is Tweak, but she’s not always around. Pinto and Koshi are ABSOLUTELY willing to try and take him on as a duo when they visit though, hehehe.

Peso’s an Animal Crossing guy, or at least someone who enjoys those mobile games where you can check in daily and play for a good 20 minutes, so not hardcore in the SLIGHTEST, haha. He’s not even really committed or “good” at the games since he’s a busy guy and it’s not his Most prevalent hobby, but he finds them relaxing and cute. I’d want to believe Pinto is the reason why he’d play a little more sometimes and try out different things, though :)

DASHI IS THE RPG FAN. She 100% gives me Deltarune and Mother fan vibes. She loves a good story with pretty environments and compelling characters, and her and Koshi tend to bond over their favourites together. She would love to commit to a life sim game like Animal Crossing because of the aesthetics and appeal of building a community from the ground up, but she VERY easily ditches them unfortunately. She is a handheld console player by heart and she LOVES playing on her pink Nintendo 3DS BECAUSE I SAID SO!!! (also Koshi is a YKW fan and a M&L RPG fan she is JUST like me fr!!!!!!!)

Shellington is very hard for me to think of something for LMFAO 😭 he doesn’t strike me as a Gamer...but I think he’d take an interest in Minecraft because of the vast landscapes and all the creatures n stuff. He definitely likes to explore around and modify the environments with some more scientifically accurate elements, such as the animals and plants, but overall he just has fun experimenting with the logic of the world and seeing how it’s ecosystem works differently from the real world. He also builds models to show the crew and educate the Vegimals sometimes :3 BUT he plays Exclusively on Creative Mode and on Peaceful settings because the first time he played on survival without knowing the difference he almost had a panic attack once it became nighttime. Again, though, not much of a gamer, so it’s really only a once in a while thing he does once it crosses his mind.

As a bonus: Paani also isn’t much of a gamer, but Minecraft is something he’s interested in, much like Shellington. Though the difference is he absolutely LOVES the thrill of playing on Survival Mode. He isn’t much better at it, he is nowhere NEAR going to the Nether or fighting the Ender Dragon, but the nightly brawls he has with all the mobs is a lot of fun. Pinto joining is even BETTER. He’s a mobile player so he can play with him no matter where he is! >:3c

Out of the degrassi movies (don’t look back, Hollywood, Manhattan) which one do you think is the most ridiculous and why? And how would you rank the plots in each movie?

(I did not include Schools Out cause while a lot of things that happened in the movie pissed me off it was nowhere near as ridiculous or far fetched as the others)

Oh god. This will be fun, because the story lines during those movies were all over the place. It was very clear the writers weren't aiming to do anything remotely realistic and just wanted to have fun.

I'm inclined to say that Don't Look Back, even though it's widely despised, is probably less ridiculous than the other two movies. At least they stayed in Canada? Tristan was trying to run a successful YouTube channel, but I don't think it worked out. For some reason, I can't remember the details of the kidnapping story line, but it's not totally unbelievable that a girl would do something drastic like fake her own kidnapping because her older, abusive boyfriend was manipulating her into thinking it's the only way they could be together. We already know Maya to be someone overly concerned with keeping people safe and that she can't stop herself from getting involved. So that's not totally off to me.

Degrassi Goes Hollywood and Degrassi Takes Manhattan speak for themselves. Multiple characters ran off to either LA or New York and managed to find fame in a short period of time. In defense of Manny and Paige being cast in Jason Mewes' movie, there was at least a previous connection because both worked on the set of the season 4 movie. In Manhattan, Jane just randomly met a guy in a band that was about to take off and ends up performing with them on live TV. Since we're led to believe Holly J got the internship on her own merits rather than Declan pulling the strings, that's kind of hard to believe. Meanwhile, Spinner and Emma drunkenly elope and decide to remain married, declaring themselves in love after less than a week. Ellie's plot was somewhat more grounded. The Crellie stuff was ridiculous, but Ellie was intentionally running from the reality of her father's condition. Not only that, but Craig and Ellie had both been ruined for years by this point. So sadly, it wasn't too shocking to see Craig's cheating ways mixed with Ellie's desperation and codependency come into play once again.

I guess this means my answer is Degrassi Takes Manhattan? Honestly, they're all ridiculous. None of them hold up compared to the regular episodes, but oh well.

Degrassi Goes Hollywood:

1.) Manny (If not for Craig's involvement in Ellie's story line and the heavy emphasis on their non-romance, that one would rank first. I'm not afraid to say that this one places first because Manny is my favorite and I like seeing her dreams come true. Also, Janny got back together. Cassie Steele's voice was at least good enough to justify Manny landing that role even if Manny hadn't been established as a good singer prior to this. I just wish Peter and his stupid fucking band didn't have to be involved. The writers never let her be free of that man)

2.) Ellie (As I said before, this one had a solid basis. After Ellie's family problems were placed on the backburner for four seasons, finally we were given an update. We'd already known Ellie to self harm. Season 7 hinted at Ellie eventually developing a drinking problem. The elements were there for Ellie to have a really compelling story with her spiraling and relapsing to cope with her dad's condition. Unfortunately, the crux of this story line involved Ellie reconnecting with Craig, and I can only overlook that so much)

3.) Paige (This is easily the worst part of the movie. It was hard to understand why Paige was suddenly after fame or why she was even living in LA in the first place. The Paige of seasons 5-7 had different goals in mind. It felt like they wanted to resume the Paige vs Manny feud, only not even that got much screen time. For some reason, the writers really wanted to punish Paige and imply that she and Marco would never be friends again. Also, Perez Hilton showed up during all of this. We need to give the writers so much shit for that. They legitimately gave that creep a paycheck. Unforgivable)

Degrassi Takes Manhattan:

1.) Holly J vs Fiona (Arguably, this was the best plot in any of the movies. It was literally just Fiona and Holly J feuding while attempting to stake a claim on Declan. Holly J got most of the focus, but Fiona's character and the hints of her alcoholism and mental health problems were the most interesting aspect of it. I mean, Declan wasn't worth all that for numerous reasons, but he and Fiona had an extremely codependent sibling relationship. Declan wasn't beyond redemption at this point, so even his role was somewhat sympathetic with his loyalty being divided between his girlfriend and his twin sister)

2.) Spinner/Emma (Like I said before, the fact we were supposed to think their impulsive marriage was a sufficient happy ending with so little build up was unbelievable. But at the same time, the actors gave it their all and made it almost charming if you didn't think too much about it. Spinner and Emma together isn't the problem. It's the way it was done and the fact it was blatantly a rebound for Spinner and Emma being so desperate to figure out her future that she jumped right into a marriage with someone she was barely friends with. Had more time been devoted to their relationship set up or even if they'd simply become a couple, the fact they were endgame wouldn't feel so random and forced)

3.) Jane (Jane's five seconds of fame was ridiculous. I can't even talk about it because there's literally nothing to say. She randomly met a guy who was played by someone more than twice Jane's age (37), and suddenly she's in the band and ready to blow off college to be famous even though Jane was never into anything like that. Then, she finds out Spinner's getting married and stops just short of talking him out of it. Somehow, we're supposed to feel good about her ending. It felt like a series of totally random, bizarre events that have no basis in any sort of logic)

Don't Look Back:

1.) Zoe/Grace (I'm not going to pretend as if I'm not biased. Their story line was literally a lesbian romcom. I loved everything about it. I don't give a fuck that Zoe had three different love interests in one season or that the writers could never keep straight how academically smart she was. All that mattered is that she ended the season with Grace and finally met her match. We saw Grace more vulnerable with Zoe than we had with anyone else up to that point. Zoe finally realized what sort of love she wanted to experience and the kind of partner she needed. Had the writers just fucking let it happen and not been all, "Well, actually, it's problematic to assume that just because you dress vaguely alternative, color your hair, and have piercings, you must be gay. We're just going to ignore the times we implied Grace was into girls because the girl crushing on her BFF's boyfriend trope has never been done before and we need it for our tone deaf plot twist," everything would have been great. I even thought Miles's role in the story line was pretty fun)

2.) Maya/Zig (This isn't Maya's best story line and pales in comparison to all of her other season 14 plots, but it's like Gracevas's story line to me. I got to watch Zig and Maya be adorable together, kissing in every other scene and taking care of kids together after waiting for them to be canon for years. So I took what I could get and just had fun with it. Other than that, Maya's continued anxiety and need to involve herself so that she's never "responsible" for someone else's misery tracks for me. I thought Maya and Gloria coming together towards the end was interesting. And obviously, Zaya's first technical endgame since TNG could have been the end of the show)

3.) Frankie (To be honest, I just didn't care about this story line. Frankie's relationship with Gloria's abusive boyfriend wasn't well developed or given enough depth for me to believe Frankie seriously fell for him that quickly and easily. I know Winston was boring and had literally just kissed one of her best friends, but mostly I blame it on the fact that Frankie has the worst taste in men. I know the writers wanted to get everyone involved in Gloria's disappearance, but I wish anyone else had gotten the spotlight)

4.) Tristan (I don't know if this counts as a plot, but Tristan's constant interruptions take me out of the movie. I know it's supposed to be intentionally overdramatic, but this wasn't the best use of the character. Sometimes I wonder if the writers were trying to make everyone hate him)

Do you happen to have any fic recs for the Danny Phantom content you loved?

Oh man, I have gone through so many fics it's kind of hard to pick and choose. The Phandom is wildly creative, and it is really hard to narrow things down.

I can give a few, at least? I'll try to do sort of a tasting menu of different genres. This is nowhere near a full list of my favorites, I'm just trying to show examples of what sorts of stories are out there.

Something's Wrong With Danny Fenton - This is a horror interpretation of the concept, where the ghosts are a lot more ghostly. Starts with Sam and Tucker not knowing Danny or that he is Phantom, and there's (spoilers?) some very sweet scenes when the two learn his secret and accept him as he is. A+ eerie ghost stuff.

Tucker Foley and the Long Arc of the Paranormal Universe - An AU where Tucker is a psychic, Sam is a witch, Danny is a ghost portal, and there's a serial killer stalking Amity Park. The central mystery plot is the driving force of the story here, and it's one of those fanfics that honestly could be a standalone urban fantasy/mystery/horror novel if you filed the DP serial numbers off. Tucker-centric, which I love, and there's some pretty interesting reinterpretations of canon characters. The main trio have an interesting rock-scissors-paper power dynamic that lets each of them cover the weaknesses the others have to various supernatural powers in this universe.

Product Reviews - Danny reviews his parents' inventions on Not-Amazon. Amazing, perfect, hilarious, Wes Weston makes a cameo, I love it.

Improbable, Not Impossible - College-age Danny is caught by his parents, and the only one who could help in time is Vlad. This is a good example of two of my favorite tropes: 1) a villain reluctantly coming to the rescue (while still being kind of evil) and 2) a short story pared down to the bone, presenting an interesting concept and then leaving you to imagine how it plays out. The final line in this story had me actively yelling in my room.

But First, A Word Of Instruction - Danny's having trouble with anxiety, and Clockwork gives him an old book that may have some useful advice. Danny Phantom is famously queer-coded despite...*waves vaguely at the entirety of Butch Hartman*. This story, specifically the passage from the book that Danny was given, made me, a trans person, feel so many Trans Emotions that I actually started crying and had to walk away from my computer for a bit.

Mortified - The Legend Itself. A story that actively tries to hit virtually every popular DP trope at least once. Massive, popular, compelling, directly inspired multiple new fandom tropes. I may be slightly biased towards Mortified.

So, gonna be honest: part of me suspects that the real reason for Black Lagoon’s enduring popularity in the English anime fandom is because the dub is stuffed full of swear words. Combined with the goofy ultraviolence and tasteless, empty attempts at dark themes, it lands this show at pretty much the perfect intersection of dumb teen edginess that would blow the minds of an early anime fandom still learning that animation could be more than kid’s stuff. And if that sounds like a backhanded compliment, well, that’s because it is. There’s undoubtedly a place for this kind of tryhard bad-taste shlock, and I’m not gonna pretend I didn’t have fun with it. But every time Black Lagoon tries to actually be about something, all it does is drive home just how empty and brainless this thing is at its core.

Not all shows are meant to be heavy, weighty explorations of complex themes. Sometimes a show can just be stupid and fun. But Black Lagoon tries too hard, too many times, to carry out the kind of “meaningful” story that it’s nowhere near thoughtful or smart enough to properly convey, and the results are embarrassing at best and outright offensive at worst. And considering how many anime I can turn to that pull off being stupid and fun without this much baggage- or how many anime actually are well written enough to turn their edgy ultraviolence into a compelling narrative with something to say (friendly reminder to go watch Akudama Drive cough cough)- I just don’t see the point of returning to this show now that I’m done. 4.5/10 for season 2, call it a cumulative 5/10 for the whole package, and may Revy’s ass live on in the dreams of hormonal teenage boys everywhere. As for me? I’ve got another anime set in a grungy exotic locale to check out. See you next time for Michiko and Hatchin!

My Top Acting Pairs of the 2022 So Far

Basing this purely on chemistry in their shows. This is an ordered list.

5. MileApo. These two look great next to each other. I can't think of a pairing that feels more natural in NC scenes than these two. My only qualm here is that I sometimes feel like their romantic chemistry isn't completely natural (though I feel this is mostly a failure of the script).

4. OffGun. These two just get better and better. While I feel their romantic chemistry was better as KhaiThird, their sexual chemistry was much stronger in Not Me. These two always give me this excited feeling. They're so good at playing oblivious or even star-crossed lovers.

3. OhmNanon. The best friend chemistry is strong with these two. As I've noted before, they feel really natural opposite each other. I think a big part of their chemistry, though, is that Nanon is just so fucking good as an actor and Ohm is so good at romance. It's no wonder these two feel so good together.

2. FirstKhaotung. It's been two episodes of The Eclipse and holy shit. Anyone who is familiar with me knows I love First and found Khaotung compelling in both TonhonChonlatee and A Tale of a Thousand Stars. These two have a really unexpected chemistry that, up to this point is difficult to define. If I had to try to put it into words, I'd say that First is a hell of an actor and he puts his soul into his characters. You can feel the fear, the excitement and denial radiating off of Akk whenever he's near Ayan. It's just so perfect. And who knew Khaotung could play a mischevious flirt so well? It's not Off Jumpol levels of fuckboy behaviour but it's good enough for the story thus far. I can not overstate how in utter shock I am that this story is pulling the chemistry out of these two so quickly and so well. I just can't wait to do a write up on the show almost entirely because of FirstKhao's chemistry.

Honorable Mention -

NeoLouis. Honey, Neo stays acting his ass off. He is just so incredibly talented and it shines through his chemistry with Louis. I'd even go as far as to say that most of the chemistry that exists between them is because of Neo. It's both my main issue and my main praise. I don't buy Louis as much, but I have hope that'll change as The Eclipse goes on.

1. ParkPark/Suamchan. Girl, these two came out of nowhere and went for the jugular. I've discussed it before but I still can't believe how much these two worked for me. Seoham was so good at being stupid in love and Jaechan just DID the damn thing with Sangwoo. The innocence Jaechan was able to portray was so incredibly well-done that I am still in disbelief that a rookie IDOL actor did this!