#girl even trauma can't excuse that behavior

[midnights-dragon]

so how about allison this season huh-

#girl even trauma can't excuse that behavior #the umbrella academy #the umbrella academy s3 #allison hargreeves #luther hargreeves #tw sa mention

[chiibinomonodamon]

WHO WANTS TO HEAR ME RAMBLE ABOUT GAY FURRY DEMON SEX? XD

(damn, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say....)

Okay...so I see some Stolitz confusion and bashing online and I need to type up a defense here because I won't be able to sleep otherwise lol

I consider myself to be a Ship Critic and someone who takes shipping rather seriously.

What I mean by this is, I like to analyze and break down romantic relationships between fictional characters because it's just interesting to write for me. I especially take delight in friendly debating with opinions that I strongly do *not* agree with.

Let me start off by saying I am NOT a "this ship is awesome because gay furry sex lol" type of girl.

FAR from it. I'm generally more passionate about hetero ships between human characters (because I can relate to them more) among other reasons. So if you wanna dismiss my defense as "shallow fangirlism", you can forget about that lame excuse.

I fell in love with Hazbin Hotel when it was finally released in February and suffered waiting for each new two-parts per week. During that time, I decided to watch Helluva Boss as well, after a friend showed me a particularly soul-crushing clip (Moxxie's childhood trauma about his mother).

Yes, I like funny sex jokes as much as the next goofy adult but scenes like this, scenes that carry a very heavy emotional weight are what really get me in the end, even moreso when VERY little dialogue is exchanged. I knew I had to watch the entire episode run after seeing that the creators had a talent for this.

I saw people asking:

"How did Stolas go from using Blitz as a sex toy to being painfully in love with him?"

Oh I can tell you. I can tell you the EXACT moment this is revealed. But it's not spoon-fed to you; it's quite subtle actually and this is why lots of people miss it.

See, one of the strongest talents Vivenne has shown me is that she REALLY knows how to get her characters to communicate their feelings to the viewers JUST from their expressions and body language. These can be 'blink-and-miss-it' teeny little scenes and it may require a couple rewatches.

But since people demand time stamps for all information others post here, I'll rewatch a few scenes from S1 E7 'Ozzie's' as I'm typing this.

'Ozzie's' remains to be not just my favorite episode of HB...but probably my favorite episode of any adult-targeted animated show outside of Japan (aside from S2 E7's Mid-Season Special)

It has this huge reveal for both Blitzo and Stolas.

We'll first address Blitzo's irrational, stalkerish behavior of Moxxie and Millie.

He's obsessed with them. He finds both of them very attractive, fantasizes about threesomes with them and is constantly inserting himself into their personal lives.

Why?

Because they have everything that he badly badly wants for himself.

They have the perfect marriage and he is trying to live THROUGH them.

This was hilarious to me at the beginnning of the show but it's slowly revealed that it's one of the most tragic and depressing things I've ever seen. And it's scarily realistic too.

But you know this already so let's move on...

Blitzo follows the couple to Ozzie's but he can't get in without a date. So he calls up Stolas and yes, this is very low but he doesn't realize how much this means to Stolas (hell, I'm not sure even Stolas realizes it himself!) but the owl man is giddy with joy, he rushes over and they enter Ozzie's.

When Ozzie and Fizz mock Moxxie for being so sappy towards his wife, this strikes a chord with Blitzo (because they're his IDEAL relationship) and he speaks up to defend them.

NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION; THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART:

Fizz, still holding onto his past grudge turns on Blitzo to humilate him:

"Some nerve you got commenting on a relationship"

Time Stamp: 11:37

As Fizz says "-ship", Blitzo VERY QUICKLY makes eye contact with Stolas who has a look of panic on his face. Blitzo is seeking VALIDATION from Stolas in this sharp, subtle second of screentime, as if to ask

"Well, ARE we in one?"

And then what happens next...Stolas remains silent, Blitzo's ex joins in to announce how selfish Blitzo was in bed with her, tearing him down further. Stolas stands up like he's going to put a stop to it but then Ozzie notices him and interrogates him about sleeping with Blitzo.

Blitzo looks incredibly ashamed and guilty as Stolas blushes with similar feelings...and hides his face behind his menu; HIS BIGGEST MISTAKE IN THE SERIES SO FAR.

Time Stamp: 12:24

The look on Blitzo's face as he grits his teeth and darts his eyes away basically says

"Yeah, I should have known...boy am I an idiot for trusting him to stand up for me".

(look how SHOCKED he is...wow, this hurts fr ;_;)

This is a silent betrayal on Stolas's part. Afterall, his reputation is on the line, so if he were to defend Blitzo, it confirms they are in fact, dating. He chose his pride over Blitzo and Blitzo is crushed by this betrayal.

Moxxie finishes his song and kisses his wife tenderly. Stolas watches this and also wants to have an affectionate moment with Blitzo (who is rightfully glaring daggers at him) and tries to reach for his hand.

Blitzo rejects his touch and suggests they leave. As they do, Blitzo still looks furious and hurt. Stolas is now realizing how badly he screwed up with a "What have I done?" face (13:41)

He even looks disappointed with himself.

After Blitzo drops Stolas off, he thanks him and tries to smooth over the awkwardness with sweet talk but Blitzo just rolls his eyes in disgust and pulls on his face like "I don't want to hear this bullshit".

He responds coldly and curtly, "Yeah." Stolas makes more suggestions to spend time with him, which just makes him even angrier and he snaps

"I'm not fucking you tonight, okay!

I'm really just..." (14:28)

he pauses to wipe a tear because at this point he can barely hold it together (top notch voice acting and animation directing btw)

"...not in the mood, Stolas."

Stolas still tries to talk him into doing couple things unrelated to sex.

Blitzo's face switches back to anger and frustration because Stolas isn't getting the message so he goes for the blunt tactic;

"Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but YOU wanting ME to fuck you, okay?"

(14:42)

"You make that really clear all the time."

(again his voice sounds like he's about to break down)

"But I-I just can't do it tonight, okay?"

(Finally meets his eye)

"...I'm sorry."

I believe this is code for "I'm sorry we're even in this situation and how your reputation got damaged. " Or, more painfully, "I'm sorry I'm such an embarrassment to you".

Stolas replies "Okay" and takes a deep breath to compose himself. They say goodnight and depart.

An important note here is that Stolas calls him "Blitzo" instead of "Blitzy" to show more respect.

As Blitzo zooms away coldly, Stolas looks up at the sky with tears in his eyes, surprised at how much it hurts.

He then sits down with his head in his hands in anguish...because he's getting that

"Oh...no. These feelings are real" epiphany.

And as if this wasn't enough angst, Blitzo collapses onto his couch at home, goes through the memories on his phone and starts sobbing.

I'm going to be real with you; this is the most heart-breaking shit I have ever seen in an adult show of this type. It's also the first time a show of this type got me to cry.

The last six minutes have revealed so much information without spoonfeeding it to the audience because the show RESPECTS its audience.

To recap:

*Blitzo takes Stolas on a first official date to use him

*Stolas is extremely happy about it

*Blitzo gets humilated and looks to Stolas for validation

*Stolas betrays him and breaks his heart

*Blitzo snaps that their relationship is nothing more than lust-driven sex

*Stolas realizes he's actually in love with Blitzo and it's a huge problem because (he believes) that it's unrequited.

*Blitzo breaks down because the ONE person whom he thought would protect him didn't do so.

So these two are convinced that neither one loves the other...while the irony is, it's quite the opposite.

Because if Blitzo REALLY didn't feel anything towards Stolas, he would not have gotten this emotional.

Yes, they are both lonely...but I really don't think that's all there is between them.

So..........we know WHEN they started falling...now the question is why;

I think the answer's quite simple; single-target affection.

It was mentioned in S2 that Stolas and Stella did sleep together ONE TIME...but Stolas didn't enjoy it at all. He is stuck with a wife who hates him so much that she put a HIT on him...and a daughter who thinks he's a loser. Blitzo is pretty much the one person in his life who is able to make him happy. That one small, bright spot. He enjoys the sex with him but he also simply enjoys his company, as shown in Ozzie's episode. He is thrilled to simply talk to him about his day...and do anything else that couples do. They're complete opposites. Stolas is an intellectual but naive and sheltered. Blitzo is poorly educated but cynical and street-smart. Opposites attract...though this is likely more from Stolas's POV than Blitzo's.

In other words, Stolas is into bad boys xD lmao

In Blitzo's case, Stolas is the only character who shows him physical affection which he desperately craves. He's pretty tsundere about it most of the time...but I think he actually does enjoy that attention...especially when he's always getting disrespected by Moxxie and Loona..and quite a lot of people around him. BUT he's too scared to get serious with anyone because of past trauma and he also believes that no one could possibly love him as a person. :(

Reasons I Think This Love is Real

Aside from what I pointed out in the Ozzie's episode...there's quite a lot of evidence, esp from Stolas's POV.

After he realizes he's in love, he goes to Asomodeous for an ALTERNATIVE method for Blitzo to use so they will no longer sleep together. He wants to set Blitzo free. Which means he DOES truly love him because love is about being generous to the other person. He COULD be totally selfish about it but he isn't.

Asomodeous mentions how against love potions he is and Stolas agrees. He thinks that's out of the question.

'Look My Way' music video. Lol I don't have to say anything more.

In S2 E6 OOPS

This exchange at 16:57

Fizz: Seems your taste has gotten more 'regal', lately?

Blitz: Yeah, well unlike you, I fuck who I want WHEN I want. I'm not gonna be tied down to some big blue-blood asshole.

Fizz: You coulda fooled me the way Prince was cozying up to you at Ozzie's.

Blitz (gets very defensive) HEY! Stolas only cares about have a rugged peasant raw-dog him into his mattress, okay!

It's nothing...(gets hesistant and looks away)...you know...

(Fizz gives him a 'bitch please' look xD)

"it's nothing else."

Fizz: Then why were you even there?

Blitz: OTHER very important reasons of course.

Fizz: Whatever. I don't actually care.

Blitz: Stolas is just a loud, thirsty BITCH!

(Fizz is rolling his eyes again)

Blitz: He loves feeling the thrill of getting dicked by the lower class.

It's a novelty to him.

Fizz: LITERALLY just said I don't care!

Blitz: And then he'll call me and try to see how my day was!

And he'll pretend to care about me and comment on my photos laugh at my jokes...

Fizz: (Smirking) OH! That's definitely your clue right there that it's all bullshit!

Blitz: I KNOW, RIGHT??

Fizz: (Making a 'What in idiot' expression, shaking his head)

Blitz: HE'S JUST A FAKE, PRIVELEDGED ASSHOLE...

Fizz: Sounds like you just hate him for being a prince!

No one (laughs) and I mean NO ONE pretends to care that much just for a cheap lay.

All right. IF ANYONE knows what real love is like, it's Fizzaroli...who is in a very HEALTHY relationship with Asomodeous. He recognizes the signs because he's IN that place. He sees it...and he's annoyed that Blitzo keeps denying it and brushing it off...yet clearly can NOT stop talking about Stolas (amusing irony)

To sum up (this freaking essay lol) 'Stolitz' ABSOLUTELY has the potential to be pure and true...these two just need to communicate...or Stolas has to PROVE to Blitzo that he's serious about his feelings in another way.

There is no doubt that this ship is 100% endgame and is a case of the 'Earn Your Happy Ending' Trope. I look forward to the rest of the journey. Ron is putting my feelings about Stolitz in a perfect phrase:

#shipping #helluva boss #blitzø #stolas #stolitz #blitzo x stolas #stolas x blitz #vivziepop #animation #man they really have a firm grip on my heart #it's so strange to me lol #OH THE ANGST

[chirpsythismorning]

Will Won't Believe Mike Has Feelings For Him, Until Mike Unpacks EVERYTHING!

In season 2, almost every touch between byler was initiated by Mike. Literally two episodes in a row at the start of that season, the camera focuses on Mike wrapping his arm around Will's shoulder warmly, only for us to never see this gesture from Mike again until s4, except this time it's with El (feat. Will in the background).

This is important because it means Mike went from initiating touch with Will in the earlier seasons, to not initiating it in the later ones, and conveniently right after he started having a relationship with El.

After holding back from initiating any contact with Will all of s3 (the same season almost all contact between them was initiated by Will for the first time), it's not until the end of the season that Mike lets go of his ih right as Will is about to leave for California, falling into his arms.

And then it takes the literal apocalypse, at the very end of s4, for Mike to wholeheartedly initiate contact with Will again (after yet another season of Will initiating most).

And so it makes sense why Will would be confused.

Because at the end of s3, Mike gives him the impression that he didn't want Will to join another party, with Will basically admitting that was the whole point of him donating the dnd game, because joining another party would literally be impossible for him, so like what's the point?

Will's feelings aren't going away. Whether or not Mike feels the same, is beside the point. Will still wants to be in Mike's life as his friend and he would be ecstatic to be best friends like they used to, entirely platonically.

After all, Will used to attribute Mike's behavior in earlier seasons as platonic, whereas bylers arguably viewed it as romantic. So Will's idea of romantic vs. platonic may very well be different than Mike's (and perhaps ours).

We tend to view those gestures as romantic, especially because Mike went from being able to do them nonchalantly, to now looking like a deer in headlights any time Will so much as slightly grazes his arm.

This is why I think Mike and Will's personal experiences with ih intersect and overlap. It affects them both differently, and that's probably because they had their realizations at different times, but it’s also probably because it started in environments that don’t resemble the exact same circumstances and experiences.

I do think because of Lonnie and because of Will's experiences growing up being bullied, he is understandably scared of being a target and that will never go away, it never does for queer people. That trauma is deep for Will and it's why he can't stand up for El in s4 when it comes to the bullies. It's why he freezes. And yet, even still, he seems a lot more comfortable in being who he is in a way that I just don't think Mike is, at least not fully or to the extent Will is (yet).

And it's because they are at totally different stages of their journey, journeys that are going to look totally different even side by side, but still qualify as both being worthy enough for acknowledgment in the end.

I hate the whole excuse regarding the girl in Will's class, because we don't really get much context there. But I'm guessing that Will obviously knew this girl sort of well. They're sitting next to each other in class, and he's been going to this school for about 6 months, so I highly doubt they are strangers.

I also am assuming they talked enough that this girl felt compelled to flirt by playing footsy, as opposed to her just being attracted to him and doing it on a whim. That obviously doesn't excuse her touching him without his consent, but what I'm trying to say is that there are girls that have liked Will for who he is, after getting to know him, who want to get to know him more romantically and he's just.... not having it.

And so if Will was craving normalcy to the point where he wanted to appear straight, dating a girl that is fully interested in him is obviously one of the popular options a person might consider in that situation. And Will's had this opportunity. This was just one of at least 3 in canon occurrences where a girl implied, 'Hey. I'm interested' towards Will. Which means all he would have to do is play along and he could keep his sexuality locked down and ignore his true feelings, by pretending to be happy in a heterosexual relationship.

We even have an unnamed fourth girl in the mix, who Will doesn't even know exists. This girl exists solely to make Mike insecure about his and Will's relationship. Because in contrast to Will, and most people that don't have extreme cases of ih, Mike views romantic relationships as shutting out everyone else, and he's scared that now that Will might be interested in a girl and moving towards a romantic relationship, he's going to shut Mike out and he'll lose him for good.

But Will doesn't have that same level of denial or self-hatred that might lead one to pursue or even simply draw out an unromantic relationship, at least not anymore. You could try to argue that in s2 Will did because he gave in and danced with the girl (at Mike's insistence), but since then, nothing.

Will is the kind of person that is comfortable enough in his sexuality to literally be single for the rest of his life, contentedly, because that would mean he doesn't have to pretend to be someone he's not to fit society's expectations. He's not scared enough about the implications of not having a gf and what people would think of him as a result. He is who he is and he's accepted that part of himself.

Mike on the other hand, has lots of expectations of himself, that he's sort of forcing himself to obey and follow. And he's also well aware of the implications of everything he does, especially when it relates to Will. He hyper-focuses on his actions and it's why he can't be fully honest about how he feels, and this is because how he has been acting as of late, is mostly an act in and of itself. An act that protects him from exploring the truth about his sexuality. An act that allows him to ignore it all together.

Every time Will has confronted Mike about his inability to be a good friend like he used to be, it's literally coming from a platonic place, not from a place of Will expecting Mike to return his love.

That's the thing, he doesn't think Mike could ever love him because he thinks Mike is straight. But he also (unlike Mike) doesn't have fears about Mike viewing his behavior as romantic, he just has fears that Mike doesn't want him as a friend anymore.

And I think that's the difference between Will's ih and Mike's.

Because Mike's ih is attributed to how he's been taught to believe he must grow up and be a certain way, according to bs media propaganda and from his family, along with how all of those ideas impacted him internally, since he has no one to really talk about it with.

And while Will has experienced some heinous shit in regards to his perceived sexuality at an extremely young age (a lot of which Mike witnessed right beside him or experienced himself firsthand) he doesn't apply those insecurities to his relationship with Mike. Even though Lonnie and those bullies and the scum of town broke him down, his mother loves him and his brother loves him and his best friend said asking him to be his best friend was the best thing he's ever done.

Mike doesn't have that kind of support going on for him when it comes to accepting his sexuality. He's scared, and understandably so.

This contrast between their characters is obvious in the way they go about their relationship, specifically in s4.

For example, Will doesn't view Mike not sending him letters as Mike turning him down romantically, he views it as Mike not caring about him at all, even as a friend.

And that's the main thing that made me have this realization about Mike's behavior in s4, and over the seasons in general because, to Mike, writing a letter to Will had romantic implications.

He sent letters to El and literally couldn't give in to send not even one letter to Will, and it's because, well, it would be too obvious (gay).

I imagine it's possible Will called Mike after they were settled in Cali, because he was still fairly certain they were on good terms considering how they left things (he has no idea Mike is spiraling over being recommitted to El again). Will had little reason to be insecure that Mike wouldn't want to talk to him, so I imagine that initially, things were at least fine.

But then it's been about a week and the Byers get a couple of letters in the mail, one for El and one for Jonathan, and... I can't even imagine what Will might have been feeling in that moment.

And then it happens again. And again. And Will is confused, because he thought they resolved things in their last conversation. He thought that they hugged and they were back to the way things used to be.

We even get this moment where Max is writing letters to everyone, EVERYONE, which makes me think Will did get letters from his other friends after the move, from Dustin, Lucas and even Max. And I think this can also be supported by a few other details. Bc if the phone line was busy, I don’t think any of the other friends would have a problem with writing Will a letter to reach him instead. And so by Dustin complaining about Mike was always whining about the Byers line being busy is an interesting choice bc, why wouldn't Dustin also complain? Wouldn't he want to call to talk to Will too.... Unless, Dustin is fully capable of getting his platonic Will fix via letters, EVEN probably ending them with love Dustin. (Will also knew what Lucas’ hair looked like in s4, which he would only really know if he got a picture of Lucas sent to him in the mail, most likely accompanied by a letter catching up).

I'm honestly guessing, that the only person who didn't write Will, not even once, was Mike.

It makes sense that in the time between s3-s4, Will attributed this behavior from Mike as him just reverting back to his s3 ways. He stopped focusing on Will and put all of his energy into worrying about El (again).

And so although Will doesn't make the effort to reach out to Mike as much as he could have, it's not because he's scared Mike will realize his feelings for him if he 'goes too far' or something. It's because he just genuinely thinks that Mike doesn't want to be his friend anymore.

And then the couple other times Mike himself calls the Byers over those 6 months, it's incredibly awkward. Something is off and Will doesn't know what it is or if it's his fault.

And this is why he puts his heart and soul into that painting.

The party was the last thing they talked about when they last saw each other. And that painting and what it represents reminds Will of a time when they were younger, when they could be themselves. Or more specifically when Mike could be himself and show how much he cared about Will, something he has been incapable of doing to the extent he would like to, for quite some time now. Will's holding onto this small ounce of hope that he just needs to prove to Mike that their friendship can still be what it used to be, if that's what Mike wants of course. And he's not scared that Mike is going to see this as romantic, or he's at least not worried about it. Why else would he put a heart on his shield and plan on giving it to him in front of everyone, in public?

Over the next few months, letters to El (from Mike), are arriving less and less over time, but they're still semi consistent. And all the while Will's just working on his painting with the purest and kindest of intentions.

Then, the day of their reunion finally comes and Will is so excited to hug Mike and give him the painting, but then suddenly, Mike is rejecting him. Instead of going in for a hug like he did at the end of s3, Mike makes his way towards Will, only to pull himself back and tap him on the shoulder instead before they can even hug properly.

Will looked very happy to see Mike, just like Mike did initially. However, in contrast, Will didn't hold himself back from the embrace at all, not until he saw Mike doing it.

Meaning ih wasn't in the way of Will in this moment, but it was in the way for Mike.

Mike's inability to simply hug him back like a friend hugs a friend, is when Will thinks, 'okay. so this painting is probably not the best idea.'

And then all day long, Will is moping, not even thinking about the implications of what it could look like. He doesn't care if he looks like a sad gay boy, because he is a sad gay boy.

Meanwhile Mike is smiling (painfully) most of the day, though we know because Mike lets it slip later, that he was too distracted by Will's moping to even enjoy himself. It was all an act. He was internalizing everything he was truly feeling and thinking in those moments.

Again we're seeing Will being quite capable of showing a full range of emotions, without him worrying about the implications that may come with it, whereas the implications of anything and everything Mike does (or even wears) is a guiding factor for why he is behaving the way that he is.

And then at Rink-O-Mania, Will says, 'what about us' and the entire byler community is gasping.. bc i mean, the guts?? the confidence? the self assurance that he must have had to say something so bold such as, 'what about us??', all while Mike is looking back at him fucking starstruck, wishing he had the balls to say something like that intentionally and not by accident.

Mike has started to be extremely careful about what he says, and in turn Will is having no choice but to do the same.

At this moment, Mike is still reeling from admitting to paying more attention to Will's mood than El who was lying straight to his face, and now Will is suddenly revealing to Mike that he missed him a lot and he was sad that Mike didn't call more...

But instead of Mike being like BRO I called. I called you every day for almost a year... he keeps his mouth shut.

This is the moment we finally see Mike's mask start to crack, because in this moment he reveals that he couldn't write to him because, "She's my girlfriend Will!" and "We're friends. We're friends.".

All of which are things Will never disputed as being basic facts.

The reality is Will isn't upset here because Mike doesn't want to do romantic coded things with him, he's upset because things that used to be platonic for them, that are platonic for most best friends, Mike is suddenly viewing as romantic now.

"But we used to be best friends," drives home this fact that Will's insecurities about their relationship are tied to Mike's behavior.

And then Mike's ih and 'detouring back into the closet' tendencies are back in full force, and it's causing Will to also cut himself short. Instead of being honest like he always is, he's stopping himself, because Mike is starting to change his tune.

It's why he walked away after the rain fight, and it's why he keeps his mouth shut instead of defending himself. Because this isn't how things used to be between them.

And that's what I find kind of tragic about their slow-burn, and I haven't seen anyone talk about this, which is that I think their experiences overlap.

I think that Mike's ih is starting to impact Will in a negative way. While Will has been learning to accept himself over the seasons, Mike's been learning to hide.

We've seen them go from a relationship early on where Mike was the reason Will accepted himself, to now being the reason he has to give him a veiled love confession, because at this point, Will has little reason to believe Mike could love him back based on his actions and his behavior.

At the end of s3, right before they hug, Will kind of just stands there waiting for Mike to hug him, like he's down to hug Mike, but only if that's what he wants. Will's ih is only starting to kick in at all now because Mike's has went from nonexistent, to value infinity. After a season of initiating all contact, Will is skeptical Mike even wants to hug him. But then Mike is falling into his arms and it's such a pure moment, because now Will is thinking, albeit bittersweetly, that things can go back to normal for them.

But they don't, with s4 essentially starting out as a repeat of s3.

Will is back to this trend of initiating all their physical contact again. First going in for a hug at the airport brightly (only to be shot down). Poking Mike in the chest at Rink-O-Mania when they're arguing. Grazing Mike's arm in the van when he gives him the painting. Reaching out to tap his shoulder during his monologue. Hugging Lucas with him. Elbowing him subtly to ask about how things are with El. These are all subtle moments where Will goes out his way to initiate touch with Mike, things that arguably Mike used to do with Will, but now only does extremely rarely, and most notably at the last second at the end of the season, after holding himself back the first 8 or so episodes.

I think what's so important about the way they approached this, is that in order for Will to truly accept and love himself, Mike has to accept himself too.

Without even realizing it, a long time ago, Mike made Will accept himself. Will was arguably experiencing a lot of ih in the first two seasons, but then suddenly it flipped, and now it's the other way around, with Will just being confused like I thought you cured me of this bro? wtf??

Will literally poured his heart out to Mike with that painting. He told Mike how he felt. He even spent the last year or so being fairly honest about how he viewed their friendship and about how he feels about him. And while Mike always makes the effort to correct things with Will, a lot faster than he does with anyone else, he's still leaving Will in the dark here.

Because while most bylers are fully convinced s4 ended things in a way that proves Mike is ready to be with Will once that opportunity arises, that doesn't mean Will is going to believe him.

Will doesn't end the season thinking Mike loves him, he ends it thinking the exact opposite.

It doesn't matter that Mike is finally reaching out to him again or that he's even standing right beside him at the end, because Will has already been through this with Mike.

He's already gotten hope that they could go back to how they were.

And even though their reconciliation in s4 seemed to resolve things, things still ended in a similar way to s3, only this time in a more grand way, with Mike telling El he loved her 9 times, and the added bonus that he apparently felt like his life started that day they found her in the woods (the same day Will went missing).

And so somethings gotta give. We cant just have a repeat of s3 and s4.

I think it's going to take A LOT for Will to even consider Mike could not only see him truly as a best friend again, but that he also returns his feelings romantically.

Sadly, despite all the beauty that is byler when it comes to them voicing how much they care about each other, Mike's inability to even want a platonic relationship is why they are in this situation in the first place. Because I honestly think Will is capable of a platonic relationship with Mike, whereas I do no think Mike is capable of having a platonic relationship with Will. And his attempts to hide his feelings have caused Will to be insecure about where their friendship lies.

And so it's going to require Will getting an explanation as to why Mike has been acting this way for so long.

Mike's not going to be able to end things with El and then manage to convince Will that its him who he loves.

This is where I think the letter comes in. I think that Will pouring his heart out in that painting, explaining all the ways Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake, needs to be reciprocated in a similar way from Mike's end.

After the past few years of him making Will question everything he ever thought about their relationship, both Will and Mike deserve the closure that comes with acknowledging what the hell happened between them.

And I think the best way to do that is for Will to understand why Mike did what he did, because Will didn't personally have ih that gave him the urge to seek out, nor stay in unhappy relationships. Like I'm sure Will's fairly convinced that having a girlfriend is strictly straight behavior, as are most (uninformed) people.

If Mike wants to be with Will, he needs to give Will closure about why they went from best friends to strangers. And that is going to require Mike unpacking his ih in a way that Will is going to understand, once Mike finally acknowledges it instead of beating around the bush. Will is going to be able to be the thing that makes Mike accept himself, and vice versa.

And the way I think Mike is going to do that is IN A LETER (especially after convincing himself letters are romantic? boy! you better prove it!)

Once they finally do that, once they both speak to each other in their own personal love language (Will with his art and Mike with his writing), they'll finally understand each other and where they were both coming from.

And that's when they'll realize that they can overcome all these fears they've had growing up, everything that caused them this big mess in the first place, because they'll be able to get through it together.

And it's going to be so heartbreakingly beautiful and real that not even the ga is going to be able to be mad.

#stranger things #byler #byler analysis #byler theory #stranger things theory #stranger things theories #will byers #mike wheeler #scratch that I think toxic milkvans that are apart of the ga will be mad no matter what when byler is endgame #but i'm not including non-toxic/non-active/casual milkvans who have only seen the show like once through #bc like... #the show is supposed to be tricking the majority of the audience until the end #and so I cant really blame them for not being as obsessive and observational as me #if mike can't confront his sexuality head on #then will can't either #they are one in the same #once mike finally accepts himself and his sexuality #will is going to be back on that journey to accepting himself as well #crazy together right? #it's been on pause for a while because mike's own ih has been in the way a bit #but i truly think that until mike finally unpacks what the hell happened #byler aint going anywhere #bc will just isn't going to believe him #I also think that will constantly being framed behind/in the background behind mike #is a way they can cinematically let us know that mike has been internalizing his feelings for will this whole time #all of those shots of will standing in between mike and el #all of those shots of boys that resemble will near mike whenever will isn't around? #the will the wise drawing in els room where mike is facing? #as much as it is hinting at wills feelings for mike #it's even more so being used to hint at mikes hidden feelings for will

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Let's talk about the insane idea promoted by the hero society that self-sacrificing and sadness is better than hurting others and feeling rage. Or in other words, how dying for other and repressing your feelings even if they destroy you is better than becoming violent and letting your rage affect the course of the daily basis.

For the hero society, submissive individuals were better. Depressed as in being unable to act was better. Passive behavior was better. It's easier to feel pity and hold some mourning for the victims before moving on as if nothing happened.

Take Deku. If he had died by suicide only a few would care. He was an unimportant quirkless kid with no real potential to be a hero. Or if he had died saving Bakugo he would have become a martyr, a quirkless kid who got to be a hero for a day before tragically dying. The end.

That is why Aizawa is mad with All Might when he sees Deku. He could have died in the UA entrance test, it was impressive but what about Deku's life. That's also what Recovery Girl told All Might in the UA Sport Festival. That's what Deku needed to learn when he started using kicks instead of punches. Self-sacrificing shouldn't be idolized by the hero society. Ultimately, it is murder in the hands of the authorities who enforce such idea.

Take the League of Villains.

Ugly victims don't get help.

⠀

Ask Tenko. Walking alone on a busy street, with blood on his hands and eyes totally lost. No one helped him. He was not a cute kid crying like Eri, he was monstrous like. His accident was not one caused by a victim. It was the abuse of his father and tje unfortunate awakening of his quirk that ended with him murdering his entire family.

If he had stayed sitting silently, unable to weep or talk or cry, he would have died and no one would have known. Society would be happy because there's no Shigaraki Tomura, right?

Touya died on a forest fire and life moved on. His dad became even more abusive and reached the number one spot on the hero charts. Like the past never happened.

Toga's neglected childhood pushed her to the point she exploded and drank the blood of someone, but because she was already a monster like looking child, she wad regarded as a danger and his parents erased her presence from their house. If she had died on the streets or gotten captured, people would just think "good, one less psycho, we can keep going with our days".

Visually, it's easier to sympathize with a crying victim full of sadness and wounds. Some animal instinct of who knows. I don't. BUT it's way harder to sympathize with someone who shows their hurt by being very disruptive, loud, angry, violent. Especially if they can't cry, singe people equals crying to regret or pain. If someone is unable to cry, there must be something wrong with them.

⠀

The League of Villains goal in the narrative at the beginning of bnha is less Stain-like (there are a few bad apples in the basket we need to purge and everything will be good again) and more of Shigaraki's own ideology: society is rotten to the bone, even the greatest of heroes is corrupted and the cycle of violence is being used by the hero society as an excuse to control the public.

Funny. It was not a lie. With Lady Nagant's story and even with Hawk's we were witnesses of how the hero society was indeed rotten. And we saw a few paragraphs above why All Might was part of the corruption, if with good intentions, but still an important part of it.

There are two main responses to trauma in bnha. The hero society prefers the one that doesn't make them look bad.

⠀

So, what's the kick?

What happened with the League of Villains would have happened eventually with any other group of individuals. It was a natural reaction to a failed system, one AFO took advantage of in order to further his plans.

There was the Meta Liberation Army, where many or his members were pro-heroes btw. There was the situation with Overhaul and the whole issue with the quirk repressing drug. You had Aoyama, the hospital full of kids Touya woke up to, etc.

In order for a change to happen, a reactive factor was needed. Individuals who were not afraid to threat the commodities of the population, their peace of mind, people willing to ne disturbing and people able to shake the hero society foundations. It's not coincidence that those individuals were the same victims who, after being passive for so long, decided peace was not an option.

Am I justifying the actions of the League and blaming everything on the heroes ? No, I'm not.

Killing is killing. Murder is murder. We're not going machiavelli on here and saying they had no other choice (both heroes and villains).

What I'm saying is that both sides were equally right and wrong. Many heroes and villains got used by bigger players in the game. Ultimately the fight started being between the institutions of power around the world and AFO. In Japan, it was the Hero Commission.

Like in any other war, many heroes and villains killed each other thinking it was the right thing to do in order to help society reach higher ground, get better, heal, be safe, whatever. Brainwashed for sure, loyal to a cause that's not loyal to them.

⠀

The kick is in balance.

You can't take the blame of other actions and punish yourself for it. You can't make others responsible of your own actions either. You shouldn't be putting your life above others and you shouldn't be putting their lives below you.

Learning to separate the responsibilities, to notice the shades in which anger and sadness mix, to be able to say "we all matter equally" and know it means a victim can be an abuser too and deserves help as much as they should be hold accountable for. These are the struggles of bnha.

Good communication to avoid mindless violence.

There's where Deku and Tomura meet, in the middle of those lines. There's where Shoto and Dabi meet, where Toga and Ochako meet.

The Messiahs vs The Judas, assigned a role to play by society, either die or be killed tragically. The moment they can shed of those roles and see each other as human beings, that's the moment things will start changing for good.

#bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #Bnha meta #Mha meta #Shan's bnha meta #Shan's mha meta #mha spoilers #bnha spoilers #lov #league of villains #Midoriya Izuku #Deku #shigaraki tomura #Tenko Shimura #Toga himiko #Dabi #Touya Todoroki #Toya todoroki #Afo #All for one #Horikoshi #uraraka ochako #shoto todoroki #todoroki shouto

[muggle-born-princess]

Lessons Miraculous Ladybug Taught Me:

It's okay to stalk someone or be creepy around them as long as you're female and have trauma to excuse it.

If you hit on someone and they tell you no multiple times, keep hitting on them regardless! Eventually, they'll come around to you.

White blonde rich girls are always racist, even if they say something out of ignorance. Oh, and if one of their supporters is an implied racist themselves, that confirms that they're indeed a racist. (Despite the fact that you can't control your followers/supporters)

It's okay to cheat on your spouse and have a child from that affair. Especially if you were in a different city and you never once brought up said child.

Grown men that abuse or neglect their kids? You can easily forgive them! 14 year old girl that's an asshole for being a brat and having mommy issues? Worse than Putin/Satan/Hitler/Stalin!

If you're a sentimonster, commit genocide and stalk a girl all you want! You'll redeem no matter what! Oh and bonus points if you were abused as a child as well.

It's never the parents' fault if their kid grows up with entitlement issues.

Plus, if your kid is a spoiled brat, don't realize that you were the problem, force them to live with their abusive relative! That will show them!

Lying to your parents to stalk a boy in a different country is a-okay as long as you tell them it's for your family roots.

Trauma excuses males and nice people only. Never females; well only the nice girls are excused.

Always believe a girl you just met not even a day ago over your best friend that you know longer than life itself.

If you're in a toxic friendship, don't stand up to yourself or leave them to realize that they were a shitty person! Wait until they replace you with someone else to do it!

Teachers suck when it comes to handling bullies. Instead, they'll victim blame you and expect you to do their job for them.

It's okay to pull a traumatic prank on a girl who is in love with you. You'll eventually get a girlfriend.

And when you do get a girlfriend, tell her that some other girl is prettier than her in front of her own face.

Rich White Boy wanting to kiss a POC girl without her will and her POC best friend is holding her hands to let this happen? What a great comedy!

A girl's trauma is hilarious until her bully was the cause of it to begin with.

Rich white men are much redeemable and easier to forgive than rich white women.

Your friend is acting creepy and stalkerish towards their crush? Help them explore that behavior even more!

Strangled by the Red String is always the Number One ship no matter what.

The creator making a self insert of himself just to stroke his ego for pity points is a good idea.

It's okay to leave your twin sister (we retconed this moment because what we gonna go about it) and your mom alone and go travel with your father who abandon you and your sibling in the childhood.

You want to murder a bunch of people based on race? That's fine! At least you're not bullying someone!

And if you find a girl who happens to be in your race, who changes your mind on genocide? Wonderful! That totally makes up for attempting to kill people!

Terrorizing people and abusing your family is fine as long as you love someone!

If you've hurt a bunch of people, that's fine because you can just reverse it all, and it'd be as though nothing happened!

Tell me if I'm missing something. ^_^

#ml salt #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #mlb salt

[infernomicia]

Storytime and happy Friday :O)

From what I understand, Natalie grew up with her grandparents in Roswell, New Mexico - top destination for all UFO aficionados and pretty drab town in a dangerous and impoverished state. Her mother and father split pretty soon after she was born and it's unclear why she grew up without each parent, possibly because lifestyles and personal challenges got in the way. Let's leave the speculation at that, whatever it was, it can't have been good news if you are not willing or able to have your own child around.

We know her father is a SoCal nightclub owner with clear ties to aspects of the sex industry. He's more than likely a despicable human being. I might be wrong but I don't believe Natalie had a lot of personal money when she appeared on the map as Henry's girlfriend.

It's clear she loved her mother throughout her adult life and we know her relationship with her father is on and off based on being estranged. We know the Sweet 16 episode relied on the narrative that she was living at her father's mega mansion. I am not saying it's not true, but I also know that reality TV by default takes reality and morphs it to its needs, so maybe she moved there just to shoot the episode, or maybe her father took her in before.

While this doesn't excuse toxic behavior, it's clear that Natalie grew up in an unstable environment that undoubtedly caused her emotional trauma. She's also internalized certain values about advancing in the world as a woman. I see her as someone who's desperately been trying to become famous since forever, and somehow it always eluded her.

She went to film school and her mother firehosed celebrities on Twitter trying to get them to endorse her as soon as she graduated (!?). She took on this persona of 'horror film girl' because she has no discernible taste or talent of her own.

She's been vocal over the years about how hard life it is for her to be a beautiful woman in Hollywood, because she has real talent as a producer but no one sees through the beauty. I've met people like her in real life, it's the same tactic Trump uses when he is accused of something - he flips it back and accuses the accuser of the same thing.

She used to work for Harvey Weinstein as a junior studio exec. I know she got Distinction in college but once again, I bet $100 that she knows F all about art and cinema, not to mention a distinction at film school doesn't get you a job with the top producer in town - unless of course, other factors come into play to influence that decision.

What makes this arrangement kind of a double whopper of super toxic, is that they are both trash. I know for a fact that even if you are a celebrity, getting a project done in the US on your own terms is extremely difficult. So Henry is essentially with her because he can control her and she agreed to be his minion in exchange for the bag, a life, a house, millions, getting to show the world she's with a hot celebrity and FAAAME.

All we need to do is to let them to their thing and the reality will come out in the wash. So let's see what happens with Warhahmmer.

Materialistic things being the clear goal of this relationship and NOT a natural, personal, intimate, real connection will always show eventually. And a relationship built like this, on sand will inevitably fall when the tide comes in.

#henry cavill #hollywood #natalie viscuso #opinion #celebrity #relationship #celebrity gossip #actor

[leastdatablebracket]

ROUND 2, MATCH 32

Propaganda under the cut!

The Red Prince

Propaganda

When you first meet him he sizes you up as a potential slave by checking your teeth and asking after your culinary skills. If you recruit him, his storyline is about hooking up with another lady of his race so that she can birth true dragons again. You can still romance him in spite of his prophesied babymaking. No matter what choices you make though, at the end of the game he point blank tells you that his divinely chosen baby mama is still the One For Him, but you're welcome to return with him to his home country as his sex slave. He's terrible.

Cullen Rutherford

Propaganda

stupid racist cop creep whose fans cry about how hes "changed" and "you can't judge him he was addicted to magic drugs" nah he still chose to be a racist cop and abuse his power over innocent people and i hate him. the writers making him romanceable in da:i after how blatantly horrible he was in da:o and da:2 is baffling but i guess they had to appeal to the part of their audience who watch those "mafia boyfriend" videos on tiktok or whatever

He's creepy in origins, though still 100% willing to kill the female mage pc he's crushing on, as well as all the other mages trapped in the circle with him. He's the second-in-command in an even worse circle in 2, listening to and defending the increasingly obviously insane meredith until literally the end. He's one of the people still pushing for the circle system by inquisition, and yes he's going through withdrawals and working through the traumas of previous games. And to be brutally honest his was the first romance i took and while i don't remember much from it, its not worth all the girls going absolutely nuts over knockoff terrible alistair.

He's basically a cop who thinks being born a certain way can revoke personhood and by Inquisition still thinks mages are monsters to be controlled, not people. He gets a fairy tale cutesy romance that focuses on his personal struggles with addiction while showing absolutely no regard to the atrocities he committed and still thinks were justified. He can be romanced BY A MAGE and his actions and beliefs are just glossed over. He believes mages are 'not people like you (Hawke) and me', but if the Warden was a female mage he canonically had a crush on her and would deliberately hang around her despite the fact that he was her *jailer*. If that Warden romanced Leliana, there is war table dialogue in which he pesters Leliana for news of his 'former' crush despite her repeated statement that she doesn't want to talk to him about her. All this shitty behavior and lack of introspection gets swept under the rug by the game, not even giving the PC the chance to really challenge his beliefs. Like damn even Fenris could apologize when he lashed out due to past trauma with mages, and if anyone has a reason to hate mages it's Fenris. If you want an ex Templar hottie Alistair is RIGHT THERE. Tbh I know Cullen is a popular romance and I'm not here to tell anyone what they can or can't do or like in a video game, I'm just saying I think he is deeply undateable

Spends the first two games as an antagonist, fervently devoted to the cause of subjugating mages, then a bunch of "character development" happens off screen and the games treat him like he's completely reformed. However he's actions make it clear he still sees mages as dangerous and lesser. Not to mention if you romance him with an elf he doesn't pay your culture more than lip service respect like most of the devout characters 

He was a total villain in the first two games who was violently prejudiced against mages and uses one single bad experience as an excuse for it (a bad experience that is pretty much exactly what he in his job subjected graduating apprentices to, mind you, but this is never brought up). Now he says he's changed, but his words and actions say otherwise. He still distrusts mages, sympathises with the rebel Templars trying to kill them, and he never owns up to the terrible stuff he did and helped others do in the past two games. He totally knew what Meredith was doing and says he doesn't, and he still tries to defend her intentions. And you have no option to call him out on it. If you romance him as a mage, he angsts about how he might have seen you as subhuman in the past but NOW you're one of the good ones, and when you ask him if he'll kill you if you get possessed, he dodges the question. And the PC is written as being almost sad that she's a mage? Like 'can you love me despite what I am??' Also if Leliana romanced a female mage PC in the first game who is still alive, he asks her creepy questions about their relationship. Fitting considering his original purpose was to be creepy to the female mage Warden. 

I hate him and want to cause chaos. Plus his VA is an asshole.

Cop

I think you covered almost everything but don't forget that beautiful moment in DA2 - Act 2 where you find out some templars had a petition to lobotomize all mages and Meredith, THE HARDCORE TEMPLAR LEADER, rejects it, but Cullen says they got a point. Despite the fact that we just found out that those templars were using lobotomy (or the threat of) to rape people and get away with it. And then Cullen in DA:I is whining that anything that happened it's not his fault because Meredith kept the worse away form him so he didn't know, but also that anyway Meredith had a point and did what she had to do. Meredith does not go mad until Act 3, before she was of sound mind and Culllen was her second in command BECAUSE he hated mages as much as (or even more) than her. What the FUCK did she even hide from you, Cullen. Oh, but he changed! Because the writers make A VICTIM OF THE TEMPLARS say so. And anyway he only says so BECAUSE HE READS MINDS not because Cullen did anything to show it. Also the narrative wants to sympathise with Cullen for his drug problems while Cullen is openly attacking the only other character with the same problem for...having the same problem. And he's the antagonist, so there were OTHER things Cullen could be mad about. But he is mad about the drug problem. Also I'm not an expert on writing characters with addictions but he is an addict only when it's time to have a cut scene where you pity him. Otherwise it has zero impacts on everything else.

#round 2

[martian-astro]

If you guys want to practically see how cognitive dissonance looks like, argue with a man about divorce and abuse statistics, because the things that they say to excuse other men's shitty behavior leaves me speechless, this guy literally opened his mouth and said "men divorce their sick wives cuz the pain of seeing their loved ones die is too much 😔" and then looked at me like he said the most intelligent thing ever, dude, you are so dumb and so stupid, like....... I can't even, if i could kill him and then get away with it, i would. The worst part is that i know that a woman who has a lot of unhealed trauma and low self esteem will probably marry him cuz she doesn't know any better but like.... How can someone be this dumb, like, i can't even argue with him anymore, cuz????

Anyways, women/girls, if you're with a guy then please get his emotional intelligence and dark triad testing done.

#And when you use their logic to explain why women leave their husbands they look at you like 😡😡

[wisconsin2002]

In my opinion miraculous has been doing pretty decent with season 5. Chat Noirs Been a freaking badass this season so far. Marinette seems more mature in a way

( I like that for her I really like that for her. Marinette was once one of my favs and to see her get constantly dunked on by the writing as the seasons went on just hurt)

and the material (up to this moment) is handled okay.

(except Luka. Literally don't know what they were thinking making Luka figure out both Ladybug and Chat Noirs Identities in a pretty decent episode in season 4, and the next we see of that they barely elaborate on it and have the fucker LEAVING PARIS?!!! QUE MAMADA?? And Juleka wasn't added to the conversation becaaause? )

*sigh* anyways I digress.

But oh my goodness😂 bro I-

Were the writers that wrote fucking derision just doing this?💀:

Cause that's what it felt like. Chloé's the reason for Marinettes trauma and past stalkery behaviour now? 😂 Bitch please.

Wasn't Astrucs excuse when people were talking about Marinettes creepy behavior and stalker tendencies was because she's a teen girl and teens do stuff like that or some shit?

What changed?

And you can make the excuse that he didn't wanna spoil that part of her past, but in that case why respond at all? Why not just stay quiet and let people figure it out? Literally makes no sense.

(Bro responds to every tweet I swear to god. 😩 You can say "miraculous is cacapoopoofart" and Thomas would still take it seriously. Like damn brother sorry my little niece grabbed the phone for five seconds. )

Like dude this is a pretty big reveal for Marinettes character that you'd think they would handle more carefully! But... I digress again.

The flashbacks were pretty cool too but also dissapointing cause that's where things really fell flat with the writing and at times just felt straight up random and made up.

This entire episode is such a rewritten contradiction to what the writing had set out to do in the beginning. Especially with Chloe and Kim.

Like Kim's just a shitty guy now after you show him being a pretty neat dude for most of the seasons and even give him a lover? 💀 TF? Why wasn't this brought up In season one or two? I mean his crush on Chloe was brought up but not the fact that he was a freaking douchebag. And why the hell did they revert him back to a pick me boy for Chloe in this episode? 💀 They even have him speak nice about Chloe for no reason(IN FRONT OF HIS GF BTW!) and have no remorse for what he did to Marinette at all despite his dislike for Chloé after he moved on from his crush on her. And he feels no remorse at all? Really? And if it wasn't bad enough, bro gets off easy with a slap on the wrist and a half-assed apology. Like bro wha-💀

And Chloé's the source of Marinettes trauma? Again I can't get over that. 💀

Okay okay okay

Look

That's not too hard to believe if the way they were going at it was believable.

It ain't.

Being anxious about rejection is one thing right. And yeah it can cause trauma to kids no doubt, I've been through it myself.

But bro

Look me dead in the eyes. And tell me with a straight face that fucking Chloe and Kim's prank was what caused Marinette To be doin all THIS!

LOOK ME DEAD IN THE EYE AND TELL ME CHLOE AND KIM CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN!

I think tf not.

You know what I think? I think the writer's Chloe spite is so strong that they decided to use one of Marinettes character writing flaws and give it a fucking alternate universe level size rewriting to fit the "Chloé's a shitty person for no reason and always will be" Narrative that they created and just can't let go off.😩

And at this point I already know the writer's don't care for Chloe. Right off the bat. Hero or villain, good or bad. They don't care for her character at all. I mean they're making her live with her neglectful ass mom cause now they decided that the bitch should be the one to turn over a new leaf and become an actual responsible mother. Right when her daughter hit rock bottom because of taking after her BS priveledged lead example of maternity and morality.

(hell her writing was perfect for an anti villain in the making story but I guess we'll skip over that too. What else is new 😮‍💨)

She's nothing but a punching bag used to show the audience that no matter what, Chloe will always be Astrucs punching bag to try and prove to other peoples potential development, thoughts and ideas for her wrong. And now thanks to that. That's turned her into a literal contradiction of her own character.

*sigh* well atleast Astruc doesn't really write anymore in season 6. Chloé's character cannot go back to what was and I don't expect her to but they can at the very least write her an actual goal as a villain Instead of just making Marinette the vain of her existence for no reason.

Didn't Chloe literally say in season 3 that she didn't care all that much about Marinette?

I find myself asking again.. What changed? 💀

Also am I supposed to believe that Marinette is so traumatized by Chloé's pranks and antics?.... but yet she gave her a miraculous??

Also didn't Marinette go to the pool place before In past episodes and have absolutely no panic attacks or issues at all?

Am I actually supposed to believe all of this? Because I don't. It doesn't sound believable and the writing sure as hell doesn't do it justice either.

Madre mía. I'd say more but I'm rambling at this point.

This episode was just basura. Some good interesting things and attempts, but mostly basura. For every step forward it took, it also took like five steps backwards.

Would I say it's the worst episode? Nah. It had redeeming qualities.

Unlike this time wasting pile of dog shit that I'm convinced whoever wrote it was fucking doing this :

#mlb salt #ml salt

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Fire and Flame {Part 05 of 09}

Pairing: Eddie Munson X Henderson Reader

Chapter word count: 1.5 K

Summary: Being one of the best cheerleaders from Hawkins High, you never knew a day in which you weren't one of the most popular and wanted girls in school. So, when you get the eye of Eddie Munson and start to spend way too much time with him, the school starts to think you're crazy for hanging out with a Freak... And some people decide to do something about it.

<- Previous part (04)

Next Part (06) ->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

Ice Queen

“Is it true what they say?” Hailey asks as you walk through the hall after the last period. “That of all the guys in Hawkins, Eddie Munson was the one to break through the Ice Girl's heart?”

You haven't heard that nickname in a long time. People used to call you that because you only had one boyfriend, many years ago, and besides that, no other guy ever got too close, not romantically. You didn't mind it enough to hate it, so you just shrug. “People only say that because I didn't want to date any of the idiots from the team.”

“Hey.” She exclaims. “I date someone from the team.”

“Isn't he an idiot?” Glancing at her, you offer a smile because Hailey isn't one of the bad. She was the first to call you, right after you got home, apologizing. And she wasn't even one of the girls who were supposed to break your fall.

Hailey giggles, and nods. “Sometimes.”

“I thought so.” When you reach the hall that leads to the Principal's office, you stop. “I'll go in now. Talk to you later.” Waving, you go your own way, meeting Eddie by the Principal's door. “Didn't mean to make you wait.”

“I just got here.” He steps closer, placing a kiss on your cheek. “For luck.”

“I'll have you with me for luck.” Smiling, you softly knock on the door. “Principal Norton?”

“Come in, please.” The voice on the other side says and both you and Eddie go inside.

It takes some time to explain to Mr. Norton everything that happened because he has no idea of what happens in this school. But once he gets a grip of it, of course, he doesn't believe you. “Mr. Carver has always been a very good student, on behavior and grades both... More than I can say about Mr. Munson here.”

“Ouch,” Eddie exclaims.

You gasp. “Are you saying you don't believe Eddie because he has bad grades? Excuse me, Mr. Norton, but were your grades always exceptional?”

He shakes his head. “No, but they were never as bad as Eddie's are.”

“If his word and mine isn't enough, you have the doctor's papers. I had a concussion. My back still hurt, and I assure you those girls didn't look worried when I fell. They looked-”

“Terrified. And guilty.” Eddie adds, and you nod. “When they came back from talking with the guys from the team, their posture was different. I should have said something, but I'd never guess they'd so something like that.”

The Principal nods. “So you're also accusing the girls?”

“No. Jason is the head of this. Who knows what he told them? Jason is not the person he makes other people believe, Principal Norton.”

“I'm so sorry, but I don't see what I can do. The girls say it was a miscalculation, I can't proceed with just some speculations.”

As you expected. “Alright. I'll take this to the police.”

“You don't have to-”

“I'll take this to the police.” Repeating, you get up. “You have allowed bullying to roam free in this school. My brother was one of the many who suffered from it. And this is the result. When kids are allowed to call other kids funny names, laugh at their differences and go unpunished, name-calling becomes this.” You make a vague gesture. “I could have had some serious trauma, you can confirm that with the doctor. Thank you so much for your help, Principal Norton. You'll be hearing from me very soon.”

You're still speaking when the yelling starts, and just as Mr. Norton gets up, alarmed, Jason bursts through the door. “That Freak!” He says, yelling at the top of his lungs. “He screwed up my car! He-” His voice is cut short when his eyes finally acknowledge Eddie. Than you.

It's so freaking hard not to smile. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I know you did it, Freak. You'll pay for it.” Jason steps closer to Eddie, but just as you'll move to stand between the two men, Eddie steps forward, pushing you behind him.

“Care to explain it, Mr. Carver, instead of making accusations?” Mr. Norton inquires.

“All the door locks of my car are screwed. This Freak shoved something in there and broke it. I can't open it.”

Mr. Norton gives Eddie a look. “Mr. Munson has been in here for over an hour.”

“Then one of his cult members did it.”

“The Club is off today. They're probably already gone.” Eddie says, and Principal nods.

“I will not accept false accusations, Mr. Carver. I get kids to have their... Enmities. But this has gone too far.”

“Then who? Who could have done it?”

“Anyone from this school.” You say, looking at Jason from behind Eddie's shoulder. “Or middle school. Or anyone from town. You have a lot of people who don't buy your good boy act, Jason. We're not the only ones.”

“You think I-”

“Enough!” Mr. Norton cuts off Jason's shout, raising a hand. “I'll try to find who did it, but it wasn't Mr. Munson. Now you will all leave and go home. If I hear of any fights, even outside the school hours or school grounds, I'll act upon it.”

With that, you all left the Principal's office. Jason went right out, walking fast, and you followed on a much slower pace with Eddie. “We did it.” You whisper, a smile on your face. “The very first blow, and we already cleared our names.”

“I would pay to have seen his face.”

“He probably got as red as a tomato.” Holding the laughter, you hold Eddie's arm. “His nightmare has just begun.”

•••

A week later, you're having lunch, your chair put next to Eddie's on the head of the table as you take this short time to help him with some last doubts about his coming Biology and Chemistry, books and notebooks spread on the table.

But then, Jason comes, causing everyone to go silent. You know it's him, without even looking. But you have to pretend you don't. “What's going on?” You ask, your voice just loud enough for some of the nearby tables to listen.

A lot of people start getting up, and you and Eddie do the same. “Holy shit!” He exclaims, getting an angry look from Jason.

The guy ignores the stares, and sit's down at this usual table. His hair is buzzed, almost all gone. This time is very hard not to laugh. But you hold it back, taking deep breaths.

Sitting back down, you bit your lip, and Eddie is trying as hard as you. Under the table, he takes your hand, squeezing it, and you do the same.

When lunch is over, you wish him good luck and go on with your class. By the end of the period, you join the cheerleaders, but the doctor asked you to take it slow, so you decide to let Hailey be the flyer this time, and dance on the ground. You don't mind. And to be honest, you rather not risk falling again.

Eddie stays in the bleachers, his eyes locked on you, much as he has been doing ever since you started training again. You told him many times he doesn't have to, but he insisted. And you can't say you don't like that he's protective.

An hour later, you come from the locker room, hair still a bit wet, jogging to him.

“Ready to go?”

“Yes, my Lady.” He takes your arm on him, and you make your way to the parking lot. “I don't like that you're training. You should rest.”

“It's been a while and the doctor said I could train again, just keep it down a bit.”

“Just don't do any crazy jumps. They might still be up to do what Jason tells them to.”

Stopping by his car, you turn to look at him. “You know what they're saying? About me?”

“That I'm thawing a certain ice heart?” Eddie says with a smile.

“So you've heard it.”

“I did, and it made me happy.” He comes closer, closer than before, and you have to raise your head to look into his eyes. “The Crazy Farmer and the Ice Queen...”

“I like how it sounds.” You admit, biting your lip.

@browneyes528 @sophiaj650

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x you #eddie munson imagine #imagine eddie munson #strangers things fanfiction #imagine stranger things #stranger things imagine

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi! First of all i want to thank to you for being a real and honest people. Nowadays, like all areas psychology has some popular social media personas which doesn't feel sincere and most importantly real. But your approach is admirable.

I'm an intj, 24, female. I'm not even sure asking such questions to you would be a good idea. But i thought "why not" so please excuse me if i'm wasting your time. It's a classical childhood trauma which it doesn't heal. I got bullied about my physical appearance several times when i was a child. I called ugly mostly and even a girl from my class told me that i should've work twice cause i'm ugly. Now it's all passed but the feeling it's still there.

Actually my real problem's about what's gonna happen if i have a relationship because no matter what i don't feel beautiful. Sometimes some of my friends or a guy who is trying to hit me calls me beautiful and thinks like that. But i feel like if i would accept that everyone would laugh at me. Everyone's lying cause i am ugly. That's the truth. Of course this isn't a healthy though i know but i can't get rid of that feeling no matter what i did. If i would turn into a super model nothing would change inside me so this proves that my thought's aren't healthy and something's wrong.

I only ask because I'm afraid if i would love someone in the future i couldn't have a healthy relationship. This really bothers me. Thanks for even my question was useless to ask to you and stole your precious time.

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

1) I think you've made a great point about social media personas. The self-help business is big business because it speaks to people's deepest suffering. Unfortunately, it is easier to manipulate and exploit vulnerable people, so there are lots of charlatans out there looking to take advantage. That's why I avoid social media and always prefer to learn from the recognized experts in a field.

Nowadays, we are all flooded with so much information, so it's more important than ever to be careful about who you listen to and whether you're getting the right information, especially when it's about your psychological health and well-being. An important part of nurturing a healthy spirit is feeding it a healthy "diet" that promotes personal growth, which means avoiding people who would feed you false or biased information.

2) Bullying is defined as forceful behavior that serves the purpose of dominating or intimidating people. The experience of repetitive bullying is a recognized form of psychological trauma because it damages your sense of dignity, making you believe your existence is insignificant. A bully's greatest success is when you learn to bully yourself with their words. They don't even have to be present anymore because you're doing all their work for them through voluntarily putting yourself down and punching out your own spirit.

When you experience trauma as a child, you don't have the intellectual capacity to make sense of it, so it's as though your mind gets stuck in that period of time. As a result of not being able to move forward in psychological development, childhood victims of bullying are much more likely to suffer mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem as adults. They don't know how to escape the perspective of victim, often feeling fearful, helpless, powerless, or hopeless.

Children have the wonderful qualities of being open, sincere, and trusting because they need to learn about the world quickly. Thus, they easily believe everything they are told. But every coin has two sides. Being trusting makes them more susceptible to manipulation by irresponsible actors. You're 24 and still believe what you were told about your physical attractiveness as a child. As an adult, you should now have the intellectual capacity to think more critically about your beliefs and values. And you should be able to develop the independence of mind to choose beliefs and values that are more aligned with the truth.

You now see there is something wrong in your thinking because you've realized it didn't originate from you. Good. Are you capable of changing your thinking? INTJs tend to be intellectual creatures, so perhaps you should start by doing a careful examination and analysis of the concept of beauty, to counter the beliefs your bullies instilled in you. E.g. What is beauty and how is it defined? What is the true purpose of labeling things "beautiful" or "ugly"? Who gets to define what is beautiful, and why? What are your beliefs about beauty and where did they come from? Do you need to change your beliefs to be better aligned with the truth? How would changing your beliefs also change your attitude and behavior?

3) Changing your ideas about beauty can help you be more rational in your judgments about it. However, this doesn't erase your memories of the past. Memories plague us because of their painful emotional content. When the emotional trauma is too intense, it is advisable to work in a safe environment with a therapist to guide you.

You shouldn't want to get rid of your memories because those experiences are necessary for your personal identity and psychological growth. You can learn to look upon past experiences differently, from a bigger perspective. Big picture thinking should come naturally to Ni doms. By making better sense of what happened and putting those experiences in the right perspective, you can eventually come to weaken or neutralize the negative emotions.

Imagine that you were walking down the street and you saw someone yelling at a small child, calling them "ugly" and all sorts of vulgar names. The child is crying quietly but cannot get away. Would your first instinct be to join the bully in berating the child? Or would you feel a strong desire to protect the child from harm? If you have any humanity, you would not hesitate to conclude that treating the child this way is morally wrong and should be stopped as soon as possible. If you had the capacity to stop the bully and speak to the child, what would you say to them? How would you help them?

Now, imagine that the child is you. Do you believe that you deserved the bullying? Do you believe that your bully cared about you and was telling the truth about you, or were they just trying to destroy your dignity and dominate you for their own purposes?

To put traumatic childhood experiences in the right perspective, you have to be able to transcend the perspective of the innocent child and adopt the vantage point of a wiser adult. Instead of looking upon the situation through the eyes of the helpless victim you were then, you can now look upon it as someone with the power to help and stop the victimization. Look upon that child with empathy and compassion, and you may start to see how beautiful the child actually is and how much they deserve to be loved after what they've been through.

Being granted the strengths of Te-Fi, healthy TJs are generally fearless and formidable people. They don't fear making mistakes, because they are confident in their ability to recover and learn from them. They don't succumb to control, because they form their own beliefs and do what they want. They don't need to be told what is right, because they follow their own moral code. They don't wait around for a hero, because they know how to be their own hero. This power already lies within you, but you have to change your perspective on yourself in order to release it.

#intj #auxiliary te #bullying #trauma #abuse #self compassion #physical appearance #beauty #ask

[acourtofthought]

Hello!

I need to vent how horrible the acotar fandom is.

This ship war has become hell. I can't stand to see how much they chase the girls (Elain and Gwyn) and exempt Azriel's contradictory actions.

Male chauvinist is very dominant as always, especially among such young girls.

Another one who suffers a lot from this is Lucien. The disrespect in theories is absurd, I doubt that Elain would like to be talked about the way they say about Lucien. Remembering that she defended Lucien from the love of her life Greyson in Acowar.

Absurd theories that Lucien is someone like Tamlin's father, Rhys' father or like Beron himself.

They say that acotar5 will be forbidden romance. Where they'll do it all behind Lucien's back like he deserves to be tricked or manipulated.

They place him as an aggressor and harasser, and he is a sexually and psychologically abused character.

They say the bond of mates is fake like Rowan, but they forget that the bond never existed. Rowan didn't feel that thread, and yet he loved Lirya and their child.

Aelin has great respect for Rowan's history, just as he does for her past and romances, unlike Azriel who sees Lucien as a nuisance and shows gratuitous disrespect.

Elriel stan are sometimes racist and make fun of the violence he suffered and even make fun of his disability.

I as Lucien Stan get sick of these things. How do you handle this fandom? Do you have any tips on how not to fall into the desperate Elriel's traps?

How do you think Elain would react to hearing the dismissive way Azriel says of Lucien? How do you think she would handle it if she heard about the Blood Duel idea?

Vent Away!! I understand your frustration because people have blown way past reason and logic and have entered into Mean Girl territory all in the name of fictional characters.

And pitting Elain and Gwyn against one another while treating Az like a poor baby who just needs to be "wuved" is disturbing.

This man TORTURES people. He starts fights in important political meetings because he can't control himself. He disobeys orders from his High Lord and High Lady.

Yes, what happened to Azriel is terrible and it's completely understandable why he's got issues. But constantly making excuses for him and giving him repeated forgiveness for his actions / behaviors while acting like two females under the age of 30 who very recently experienced major traumas and have not yet discovered who they're meant to be are the problem is crazy.

Elain and Gwyn are extremely parallel characters right now.

Both had older sisters who protected them. We know it's a fact for Elain and Gwyn tells us:

"Catrin was always the strong one" "After our mother died, she took care of me. Looked out for me."

Catrin was Gwyn's Nesta.

Both have shown moments of extreme bravery (Elain while saving Briar and when she stabbed the King and Gwyn during the attack on Sangravah and the Rite).

But despite that, they are both still hesitant to fully embrace their futures. Elain by sort of hiding in the NC telling herself everything is fine and Gwyn (despite her proclamation that she was tired of living in the library and didn't want to take the safe road anymore) returned to living in the library and wasn't sure she would attend Nesta's ceremony after the Rite.

Again, lots of similarities between them.

One of the only reasons E/riels have a problem with Gwyn is because Az is being set up as her possible LI. No, she doesn't need to be your favorite character but it's a near impossibility to hate a character whose major role in SF was to be Nesta's support system. To have created so many slanderous things to say about her. How can you have so much hate for a character who has not been written to be antagonistic in any way right now?

And the Elain hate is also extreme. I've seen some Gwynriels (this is a very select few as most Gwynriels I talk to are awesome) say that Elain should be killed off or SA because she's worthless. This is a girl who had a special cake made for her sister because she wanted her to know how much she's always appreciated her. Elain stood up to Nesta to allow Feyre to use their home as a meeting spot for the Human Queens regardless of what that might mean for her own engagement. This is a girl who has always shown the members of Feyre's new family with respect. She doesn't have to be anyones favorite but Geeez. Saying she'd be better dead or assaulted is way out there. Of course people have things they dislike about her, that tends to happen when a character is more fleshed out. SJM has given her good and bad (especially when we are witnessing sister squabbles on page) but acting like she's a more terrible person than Az is 🤔

And Lucien, my god. His entire journey so far has been filled with impossible decisions. Constantly being put in the middle of his friend and High Lord (a High Lord who gave him a job and home) and Feyre, a friend he had just met. Always between a rock and a hard place on what she needed versus what Tamlin and the Spring Court needed. Being accused of not doing enough when, whenever he tried to do anything he was threatened and eventually abused by Tamlin. Having to reign in any emotions he may have had for Rhys and the IC, people he was led to believe were the bad guys for centuries and who really didn't show Lucien much respect in the beginning, because they were allowed to dictate when and how he was allowed to see his own Mate. He's never threatened ANYONE or brought harm to anyone Elain cared for. He freely works with Az even though Az treats him like garbage He's always tried to find balance between respecting Elain's need for space while also letting her know he'd still like to interact with her. All while he can't return to his home as his father keeps trying to kill him and Feyre ruined his name in Spring.

What tough decisions has Az made as of late? What impossible situations has he really been placed in? Az is a bit of an asshole right now for no real reason at all besides his desperate need for love while Lucien has legitimate problems and is faced with difficult decisions. Az starts fights, has anger issues, refuses to communicate, and doesn't listen to authority. Yet Az gets more respect because.......? Because he said something poetic about Illyrians and the wind and acts like a perfect gentleman around Elain?

I do think SJM will restore Azriel's character but anyone holding him in higher regard at the moment than Lucien, Elain or Gwyn is a very interesting person indeed.

To answer your last question, Elain would dislike everything about the Az that exists when she's not around. From how he talks about Lucien to his casual disregard for he and Graysen's lives. To the real thoughts he has about her, that she's the "third sister" and that's why he wonders why he didn't get a bond, that his thoughts for her really only amount to sexual fantasies. That he doesn't think she can handle something dangerous.

It's ironic because the front Az puts up around Elain is how Lucien actually is yet she's so stubborn against getting to know him that she hasn't realized it yet.

I think the reason I don't fall into the E/riel traps and bullying is because, after looking through the series over and over and OVER again, I finally feel like it's all clicked. I came up with a lot of different thoughts, even trying to prove an E/riel endgame possibility at one point but some of those things didn't feel right. I'd have an idea and start running with it but after asking other questions, the idea fell apart under my own scrutiny.

A year ago, I would have probably been uncertain on my stances and wondered if I missed something but now I do feel very confident that I'm just as versed as any of them might be (at least on the Elucien / Elriel / Gwynriel debate) and that makes it easy to ignore or argue back. That's not to say SJM can't turn around and completely change the direction of her story but as far as things stand right now, I do feel that I've grasped the hidden messages she's left us about those ships. And that in order for E/riel to ever be a possibility, she would have to go in a completely different direction and decide what's she's written so far didn't matter because what there is does not point to E/riel.

So for others out there that struggle dealing with them I think really looking back through the series and trying to disprove their arguments can help because it builds the confidence that you understand the material as well as the next person. Or, you can find blogs that resonate with you, that their logic also makes sense to yours, and use that to build up your knowledge.

But even if it's a blog you usually agree with, it's ok to question their take on it too. If I or anyone else says anything that makes you go "wait a minute", then going back to the books can again help. See if you can disprove (or even find additional supporting proof) of what they're saying.

In the end, regardless of how much effort you want to put in when it comes the series, remember that anyone who resorts to threats is not anyone you should be paying attention to anyway. They are obviously not someone you should respect and allow to dictate how you feel about yourself or your enjoyment of something.

I am sorry for the stressful nature of the fandom though. It does suck the life out of me from time to time and it makes me desperate for answers from SJM.

#pro elucien #elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #anti e/riel #pro elain archeron #pro gwynriel #gwynriel #pro gwyneth berdara

[tea-time-with-london]

I agree with the Hopper s3 anon. He was absolutely toxic and what they did to his character was out of pocket.

One thing it was shown that he was on meds in s1, which likely contributed to having his anger issues under control, and he might have gone off the meds between s2 and s3.

But still Hopper isn't the best suited father figure for the Byers or El. Their fight in s2 was so hard to watch, I get him frustrated, but El is a traumatised girl who missed her friends. She only knows violence since she was born essentially, and Hopper can't handle a child like this.

He couldn't even talk normally to Mike in s3, which, yeah, Mike was an ass but he's still a child.

Does the fandom really think Hopper would be supportive of Will coming out? Nope, he was already homophobic to him in s1. He doesn't know how to talk to kids or show empathy for their struggles.

Bob was the only person I could have seen been right for the Byers. He cared about Joyce and the kids. Even though Jonathan didn't like him, Bob was never mean to him. He gave him space. Bob was patient and kind. Hopper is the opposite. He's a lot like Lonnie in terms of having a bad temper. He will trigger Joyce and the boys. Like I love him as an action hero, but he is terrible for the Byers family. And now, with more added trauma, he won't process that well idk. He would need therapy, but it's the 80s, and men show no feelings. Men don't cry kinda bullshit.

I love Jopper in theory (childhood friends to lovers), but they made Hopper into Lonnie 2.0, so I can't ship him with Joyce. She deserves someone like Bob, a gentle soul who keeps her calm and doesn't yell at her for minor things.

Confession #119

Hm. So like I partially get where you're coming from but allow me to touch on a few things, if I may. First, let me just say I also loved Bob. He was a sweet, gentle soul who truly did care for Joyce and the boys. (I wish I could describe my dad's reaction to Bob's death. My dad was mortified. He loved Bob.)

As for Hopper...I don't remember anywhere in season 1 where Hopper was homophobic to Will. I haven't watched season 1 in a bit so I could be misremembering, but I can't even name a scene in my head where he was homophobic.

But a genuine question for you is do you not believe he can change? At all? What would be the point of Hopper going through all 5 seasons and remaining exactly the same?

Hopper is re-learning how to be a parent, this is something I think we all have to remember. His only child died at just like five or six years old. As a parent, he was probably feeling so unbelievably helpless because he couldn't protect or save his little girl. This helplessness transformed into the overprotectiveness we saw in season 2. While he may have been overbearing, it wasn't out of malice. He was trying to do everything he could to keep El safe from the people that wanted to hurt her. And sure, he absolutely could have gone about it a different way, I won't argue against that at all because there were times he could have exercised grace and patience and figured out a solution where they were both happy.

As for season 3, I also wasn't the biggest fan of how Hopper acted toward Mike, but also he's watching his daughter grow up and branch out with friends and her boyfriend and there comes that protectiveness again that a lot of parents have toward their kiddos. Again, obviously I don't approve of the way Mike was treated. I think Hopper could have eased up on him while also implementing boundaries as a parent.

And remember...Hopper only got to spend 5 years with his daughter Sarah. El is like a preteen/teen in seasons 2-3. This is a whole different experience for Hopper. He's never parented a teenager before, much less a teen daughter who is superhuman as a single father. Parenthood is trial and error.

And then we obviously have to factor trauma into the conversation as an explanation for a lot of his behavior, but of course that's never an excuse for behavior. But Hopper loves El, and Hopper loves Joyce (and though I feel like we don't really see Hopper and the Byers brothers in scenes together, I'm sure he loves them too) then I think that's some motivation to work on his own healing so he doesn't project onto other people. My point in saying all this is that characters grow and change. And I think Hopper has honestly showed a lot of feelings. Just think of the conversations he had with Enzo in Russia. He showed genuine, raw emotion talking about Sarah and El and all the shit he's been through. That's process. That's development.

At the end of the day, you feel the way you feel about it all and that's perfectly fine. Just wanted to open up the discussion a bit :)

#confession 119 #anti jim hopper #stranger things confessions #london's confession hour #stranger things #stranger things fandom #stranger things confession #stranger things netflix #stranger things characters #stranger things discourse

[the-badger-mole]

I always find it funny that you can criticize any character in ATLA but the moment you criticize Aang or God forbid Azula, their stans come out of the woodwork with "how dare you criticize this 12-year-old boy who lost everything" or "this obviously abused girl"

Their trauma is a reason not an excuse and why is every other character open to criticism but its wrong if you apply it to these two characters?

I can't even really speculate on why this is, to be honest. Most of the reasons I don't like Aang or don't believe Azula has a ready path to redemption are ultimately tied to their unresolved, unacknowledged traumas. To use those as a shield to their bad behaviors is so completely foreign to me that I literally can't put myself in the mindset.

#atla #anti aang #i mean not really but... #anti azula #or rather anti azula-ish i guess? #i can't wait until as a fandom we can agree that acknowledging a charaters flaws doesn't automatically mean the post is salt or hate #although i do genuinely hate aang

[xtosca]

Okay, so, possibly unpopular ATLA take, buuuut... I like Azula, really, and I also like Zuko. Both of them are very damaged children who were raised by an egomaniacal dictator who was also abusive as fuck to his family, so yeah, they're both a little fucked up. Buuut... Can we please quit trying to woobify Azula? Y'know, the whole "Draco in leather pants" thing? And then the inverse for Zuko, making him out to be somehow worse than Azula, a horrible brother, there's a "double standard" when comparing the two, etc etc like... Like, listen. I am ALL FOR an Azula redemption arc, but we can't sit there and pretend that what happened in the show DIDN'T HAPPEN. We can't just completely gloss over Azula's entire personality. Of course, a good bit of how she behaves in the show can be attributed to her father's influence, the fact she was his "golden child" and was basically groomed to be his heir after he had an excuse to get rid of Zuko, being a firebending prodigy, etc... HOWEVER- That does not, in the least, change the fact that, throughout the show, Azula is shown to be: - Incredibly manipulative - Cunning - Antagonistic - Low Empathy - Violent - Cruel Erasing those traits completely, and pretending they don't exist, is basically just taking Azula's appearance and slapping it on an OC. From the first time she is introduced, Azula is shown to have a far stronger "mean streak" than Zuko does. Zuko is an asshole in the beginning, he's aggressive(towards the Gaang), and really has the whole "moody teenager" behavior down pat, but he's not nearly on the same level as Azula. Azula is cruel, she threatens her own crew, she abuses animals(as noted in one of Zuko's flashbacks, where he says Azula is the one who taught him to throw the bread at the turtleducks), she laughs at the idea of Ozai being ordered to kill Zuko by Azulon and revels in tormenting Zuko about it... She is manipulative, as we see when she tries to trick Zuko into coming home as her prisoner by claiming his father wants him back because 'family is important to him'. She managed to infiltrate Ba Sing Se AND gain control of the Dai Li through manipulation and disguise, She seems to have almost no sense of empathy for others, not caring at all who she hurts, except in one singular case when she upset Ty Lee at that party and apologized afterward. None of this means she is all evil, of course, as much of this is a result of her upbringing and as we're shown, she has a lot of psychological damage and trauma that, near the end of the show, drives her essentially to the brink of insanity. She has insecurities, she has reasons for behaving the way she does... but that doesn't change the fact that she HAS those personality traits, and it doesn't erase the things she's done in the show. You can pretend Azula lied to Ozai about Zuko killing Aang out of the goodness of her heart all you want, but the fact is, that just is not the case, and it's made blatantly evident within the show. She outright says so herself- she suspects Aang is not actually dead, so if he turns out to be alive, Zuko will be the "failure" and not her. Contrast all of this with Zuko, who, while he was an asshole, he went out of his way to stand up for and rescue a little Earth Kingdom kid from asshole soldiers, risked getting caught as a Firebender in Ba Sing Se just to make some random girl he wasn't even actually interested in happy, and actually turned his shit around and redeemed himself. Even when Zuko was grumpy and angry all the time, there were still obvious hints that he wasn't all bad, that he cared for other people.

#azula #zuko #atla

[lily-orchard-gossip-blog]

Hey there are new snippets of tsr, mostly of Leia apologizing before Aliana, and my god, I know we’ve discussed it a hundred time already but it’s so disgusting I can’t NOT discuss this So Leia was saying that Aliana’s behavior is only a facade and she’s actually just a poor scared baby… who’s almost 30. Like yeah early trauma can make a significant damage on one's personality but Aliana is not a damn child anymore (let alone that it generally looks like an infantilization). Later she glorified Aliana by calling her kind, caring and generous (a person who shot lightning at her and forced to work with her flotilla of sith, people because of who Leia lost her planet, family and friends), and “admitted” that she was abusing her… Jesus Christ I don’t even… Didn’t Lily say that any victim have a right to be angry at those who abused them, so doesn’t Leia deserve to be angry at any sith that point? Aliana literally shots lightning at her, why is her trauma provides excuses for physical assault, but Leia doesn’t have that luxury? She lived through a lot worse because of people Aliana now tries to white-wash! The worst thing Leia ever did to her was saying that it’s good that her mom died and hoping that Rey would leave/kill her? But surprise! Aliana’s mom was a slaver, a horrible person, but that's OK because later Aliana cried a bit! Even better, they don't touch that subject at all, and probably wont, they forgot about all conflicts and disagreements and Aliana gladly accepted her apology playing a role of "caring" girl as if she didn't almost killed Leia because of own hissy pit. Anyway I can keep going but want to know your opinion.

Someone pointed out that Lily has a weird habit of having everyone refer to Aliana as being younger than she is, and treating her as a child who did no wrong and is right to be angry.

But Aliana isn't a kid. She's an adult. And in any other setting, Aliana would face a lot more consequences for her actions. But that can't happen because it gets in the way of the victim narrative.

From what I've gathered, this same issue happens in Lily's WOW fic as well. Where Anevay is just a poor little victim who can do no wrong, because she's a victim.

It's honestly icky.