#shes selfish VS hes misunderstood

[tategaminu]

#By Darwinchey. Happy to see that many likes #tdp #the dragon Prince #Rayla #how dare Rayla abandon Callum?? Aaravos killing people is cool tho. I mean he is hot #Rayla is pretty loved but please... her hate in arc 2 is so stupid #Touka Kirishima #yeah my girl was hated for breathing by the same people thirsting over the mass murder antagonist #tokyo Ghoul #tg #tgre #tokyo ghoul re #shes selfish VS hes misunderstood #Gabi #Mikasa #asa mitaka #fandom misogyny

[garfeildfanpage]

Hanako VS The World

Nuance and critical thinking are two things that are very important when it comes to analyzing a character, especially when they’re written to be and portrayed as morally ambiguous. Along with that, main relationships aren’t always good or healthy. Bias is always taken towards a main character or fan-favorite, and that can lead to a very big lack of the aforementioned nuance and critical thinking. What does that matter? Well I’ll tell you what!

When it comes to fan bias no other character gets mischaracterized, excused, or completely misunderstood more than Hanako when it comes to the Tbhk fandom as a whole. And I think that it’s important to -I don’t know- understand the title character of the manga at least a little, because understanding him can really help with understanding everything else. So here’s that.

Selfishness

To start off, Hanako is very similar to the rest of the cast, in the sense that he is extremely selfish. Selfishness as a whole isn’t always malicious, in the cases of Kou and Yashiro that should be pretty obvious. With Aoi & Akane their selfishness manifests into parasitic and mutually destructive behaviors. And someone like Teru it’s selfishness caused by forced maturity and obligation, causing him to isolate and only trust himself and his ideals. Hanako comparatively is selfish for unidentified reasons, but it’s to be assumed it stems from Amane. Amane being depicted as lonely, self-interested, and generally antisocial, but all of this behavior isn’t dangerous is it? In the hands of someone like Amane, who is just a child, he can’t do anything outrageous (other than murder). Hanako on the other hand is capable of a lot, and with such capabilities, he does almost everything in his own self-interest and to the detriment of those around him.

Severance

Back to comparing characters, the fact that Teru and Akane’s interaction is shown right next to Nene and Hanako’s I think is a good point for comparing self interest. Teru throughout the boundary doesn’t tell Akane that Aoi isn’t returning, Aoi knows this (assumedly), Akane doesn’t, and Teru doesn’t tell him until they go past the point of no return. This isn’t entirely a selfish act on Teru’s part, Akane most likely would’ve died had he been told and stayed back, and Aoi didn’t say anything either. But it is still that, selfish. But see Hanako’s side in the same chapter, he doesn’t tell Nene anything either, he specifically doesn’t assure her that he isn’t disappearing permanently, he instead intentionally misleads her into thinking the opposite. And it’s not the first time he’s done something like this before either.

Everything for you for me

In the Picture Perfect arc, he forces Nene into a fake reality (along with Kou but he’s not important right now) and tries to make her stay. He pretends to not know what’s happening, and only breaks once he knows the illusion is fully broken, and then he just kidnaps her. If this really were an act of love or respect for Nene, He wouldn’t have been so forceful, he does everything in his power to make sure she doesn’t leave. And when he’s finally convinced, he switches to a different idea. When Nene said she wanted to live forever, Hanako instead of realizing Nene didn’t want unwanted help, he then went on to sacrifice her best friend so she could live. As he says himself, he values Nene over Aoi, which -and I can’t believe people think it is- is the most non romantic and messed up thing he could’ve done. He wants what he wants for Nene, not what she wants for herself, and that should show people that he does most everything in his own self interest.

Now, is he doing it maliciously or is he just doing what he thinks is best. Both, but that’s not exactly an excuse. He refuses to change, doing the same thing over and over again, always taking his beliefs seriously and disregarding what anyone else has to say because he thinks he knows best.

Ending notes

This isn’t to say Hanako is a bad character, he’s incredibly well written and it does take a little stepping back to first realize his actions are flawed. But taking that step is incredibly important when it comes to understanding Tbhk as a whole. Every character is flawed, every character does good and bad things, and understanding and not justifying the bad just because you like them is baseline for liking a character completely. Tbhk is also a comedy! And I actually do enjoy a good chunk of Hanako outside the drama, he is the title character, so you kindof have to find some part of him to like so you don’t drop it completely. And just remember I’m not a genius and this all just me saying whatever shit I think, I’m not a foolproof source of toilet knowledge, I’m just a guy who reads sometimes.

Idk how to end this uuhhhh ninja out *kickflip

#hot cheese #jibaku shounen hanako kun #jshk #tbhk #toilet bound hanako kun #akane aoi #aoi akane #kou minamoto #minamoto teru #teru minamoto #tbhk hanako #amane yugi #yashiro nene #nene yashiro #FUck I hate tagging are any of these characters even prominent enough to tag??? #just pretend #that I’m doing this right #my self esteem can’t take another hit I won’t survive #not really but I will feel stupid

[meara-eldestofthemall]

If the Batfamily were to have a movie night and the film for the day was King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) (or 2021’s Godzilla vs Kong), which sides would they take?

Great ask, thank you!

The 1962 Godzilla vs King Kong is so unbelievably cheesy that none of them (except Damian) would take sides. There was too much fun to be had making fun of what passed for entertainment back in the swinging 60s. The special effects are lame, the badly dubbed dialogue stilted and the storyline nonsensical. Damian would have great sympathy for poor Kong who is essentially a giant gorilla ripped from his home to fight for poorly stipulated reasons.

The 2021 version, however...

Tim, Jason and Cass are solidly pro-Godzilla. How can you not love a misunderstood, almost antihero of kaiju who can level cities? Cass finds him rampaging through Hong Kong quite amusing and keeps pointing out buildings she wants destroyed because she thinks they're "ugly." Jason tends to whoop loudly whenever Godzilla ramps up to use his atomic breath. Tim just enjoys the mindless destruction and massive property damage. He finds it quite therapeutic somehow.

Dick and Damian are in Kong's camp. Dick identifies with how gracefully the big lug swings through his environment. He also finds he whole idea of the hidden earth really cool. Damian sees Kong as a victim. He's ripped from his home and forcibly transported across the ocean to fulfil the needs of selfish humans.

Bruce and Duke eye the verbal jabs the two groups throw at each other and stay carefully neutral.

Alfred, of course, is above it all.

#godzilla #batfam #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #cassandra cain #damian wayne #alfred pennyworth #bruce wayne

[soulsxng]

If my oc's were misinterpreted by fanon, pt 3:

Alsina

These next two are ladies (or present as ladies, in Alsi's case, since sexes are different for the vasyrus), so of course they would end up getting shoved aside for the boys. Or viewed just for sex.

I feel like she would get minimized to both the big booby goth and the wine aunt stereotypes.

People would just treat her as an accessory to Sivel. Because she did plan to overthrow him when she first came back, people would also probably speculate that she's using him/biding her time before she stabs him in the back.

I think people would take her habit of going as far as she has to in order to accomplish her goals, and her being unashamed to speak or act against things that she feels are wrong would get her pegged as being overly emotional. Or a bitch that takes things too seriously.

Nirbhi

Again, she's a lady so she'd automatically be pushed aside for the boys, for the most part. Or just viewed for sex. I could see that being especially bad with Nir.

Portrayed mostly as a ditzy airhead that lets her attendants take care of everything for her. Probably also a good bit of spoiled and selfish princess in there too, because of course.

I can see a lot of people either forgetting that she was a goddess for most of her life, or making her out to be some horrible woman that abandoned her followers without warning. All because she wanted to shirk her responsibilities and go have fun, instead!

She's a healer-type, so obviously that means she can't defend herself and is very weak. Needs protection, either in the "oh noes uwu, she needs a big, strong man to keep her safe" way, or the "ugh, she's so annoying, she can't do anything" way. I hate both, and so would she.

Pythius

People would absolutely only see him for the act he puts on with everyone. Arrogant, flirtatious and indulgent, vain and hotheaded. No depth here, no sirree! Might kind of sum up to a hot, but almost comic relief-y character in some ways.

He was never married, noooo, he's a playboy, he probably just knocked her up, he was never actually in love with her! And he probably neglected his sons, too! Actually no, I'm sorry. I mean he probably neglected Satan's sons--

People would also probably try to paint him as a drunken lecher, too. But in a "sexy way", for the most part.

Lazy, leaves all of his work to his siblings. But he still argues with all of them constantly, because there's gotta be one sibling in the bunch that causes a bunch of fights and drama!

I say all of this, but despite it all, I still feel like people would still somehow love him, and make all kinds of excuses for him.

Shilo

Always dozing off somewhere random, lazy, pretty emotionless and mysterious. People would treat his eels as snakes. This makes them sad :c

Cares a lot about nature and the state of the realms, so I can see a lot of people making him out to be really primitive and dumb. Or making him out to be the type that will jump down a person's throat for even considering the use of a plastic straw. Either way, I can also see it being treated as some haha funny joke.

Able to do mind/body control = he's instantly irredeemably evil.

Again with the "he's misunderstood, nothing he did as the Tyrant of Ennirem was wrong!" vs "he's evil and did that because he's evil and bad, and he didn't change or learn anything at all from what happened back then" battles.

Sivel

I can see a lot of blatant casual racism toward Sivel, unfortunately. Toward all of the Vasyrus, if I'm being honest. Because in a lot of places, they're painted as "the bad guys" in the Brinnelan war, with no acknowledgement to what led up to and caused any of that in the first place. And since Sivel is the king, he'd probably face the brunt of it.

He'd be viewed as cold and ruthless, power-hungry, unreasonable...all kinds of things, I'm sure. No wonder his wife left him!

Speaking of his wife, he probably forced her to marry him. Among other things.

On the more lighthearted side, I could see people dialing his nerdiness up to 11. Also his shut-in tendencies that pop up when he's really into something he's working on, or studying.

Serious all the time. Cannot take a joke. Doesn't tease, and is never playful. Sarcasm goes way over his head. I can see this being construed in both a sillier, kind of oblivious sort of light, and in a more negative sort of light, depending on what part of the fandom you ask.

Another "If you like this character, you condone everything bad that he's ever done, and you're just as problematic as him" victim.

#[Alsina -extras-] #[Nirbhi -extras-] #[Shilo -extras-] #[Pythius -extras-] #[Sivel -extras-] #Sivvie's made me sad-- the fandom would not be kind to him /at all/ #Actually this whole page makes me sad #I love all of them with my whole heart #There's another one after this that'll be shorter because it's some quick extras that people asked for after I'd already finished this one! #But that'll be posted tomorrow!

[marshmallowprotection]

Hi, thank you for the explanation about redeem. But I’m sorry if I might misunderstood what you’re saying (English is not my main), so in order to call someone has redeemed themselves is by other people need to accept for it too? It’s not enough if only he himself acknowledged that he redeemed. He still need to get approval from people surrounding him especially his victims (the twins), is this correct?

If so, how bout Rika? Imo, both are at the end of their path. Both has no way out anymore as their crimes are now comes to the surface. Both finally came to realisation that what they’re doing are wrong and decide to do the correct thing and face their consequences. Does her changed of behaviour at the end of SAE is considered as redeemed herself? iirc she also made the right thing at the end but is her action is different than Saejoong Choi?

The Normal Ending tells you exactly what's going on in this case. Rika is aware of her reality. She is in the same position as Saejoong, but it should be said the difference between the two of them is that Rika is able to say, "Yeah. I'm no different than you, I'm a monster and I have done horrible, horrible things. But, you know what? We deserve to go to jail for what we've done. The least I can do is protect them now as I've done nothing but harm them up until this point."

Rika isn't redeemed for her actions, either. People aren't likely to forgive her for what she's done, nor will they be happy that she did the right thing in the end. This is the same as the conversation of forgiveness vs judgment. It comes down to how you view and feel about it. If you forgive her, fine, if you don't, fine. That's your choice and the game makes it clear that's what matters.

The difference between Rika and Saejoong at that moment comes down to the willingness to do the right thing. Rika atones for what she's done, understanding that she won't be able to fix what's been done, but she can still do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. Not because she wants to benefit from it anymore. Whereas Saejoong is cornered, he knows he has no route left but to become a fugitive or a prisoner.

He wants neither, but he's a coward and would rather be locked up than live the way his victims did. Rika willingly wants to atone for what she's done at that point, and that's ultimately what makes her and Saejoong different. Atonement doesn't mean forgiven. It means working to be a better person knowing that you might not be given forgiveness. Doing what's right because it's right. That's what that means.

But, yeah, Rika owns up to her actions and Saejoong doesn't. That's the difference. I hope that makes sense. Neither are them is going to receive forgiveness from most people if not all people. But, when you have done something wrong, you need to make it right, and making it right means understanding the consequences.

If you hurt someone in any form, they might not forgive you ever again. But, you should still apologize, and understand boundaries and whatever the victim needs going forward. Make things right with the people you hurt and then get the hell away from them when they say it. Don't apologize for your conscience. Don't do things for a selfish reason. Do things because they're the right thing to do.

#anon #ask #mod kait

[villainelle]

I'm super upset because I tried reaching out to close friends being like have you been following the trial and they're all team JD. So I ask them why? Then I debunk all their misconceptions like the "they're both abusive and toxic" claim and "anyone who lies about charities is bad in my book." But then they never reply to me after.... I don't want to loose friends over this, but I feel like it's so important to set the record straight.

I mean, first of all, I'd say there's a difference between being "toxic" vs being "abusive", and that should be acknowledged out of the gate in any argument/conversation about this. I'm not sure to what extent the word "toxic" is well-defined and universally accepted in this context, and as a result people use it interchangeably with "abusive", which muddles the waters.

A relationship that's mutually toxic can be two people, for example, who have different goals, different wants in life, forcing themselves to stay together despite being largely incompatible. That can be considered toxic — but it's not necessarily abusive. One doesn't have to inflict physical abuse, for a relationship to be "unhealthy" or "toxic", right? A relationship where one person is the sole care-taker, and the other is selfish or absent can be similarly "toxic" or unhealthy, but not inherently abusive.

This is important I think to discuss because there's a world of a difference between two people fighting, arguing, being unhappy together as opposed to being "mutually abusive". So, when it comes down to it, I think you can 100% say that perhaps the relationship between Heard and Depp (and Heard's behaviour), was "toxic", but that doesn't inherently mean they were both abusive, or that mutual abuse exists.

The other thing I'd say is that the charities thing is largely taken out of context, misunderstood and has become a talking point solely to discredit Heard and paint her as a gold-digger. On one hand, Heard's donations are largely irrelevant to the discussion of whether she was abused or not. She could have taken the $7 million and spent it on 7 million burgers, I could not care less, and she could still be considered a victim of sexual, physical and psychological abuse.

But if we are to discuss Heard's donations, there's a couple of things to consider. First and foremost is that Depp paid Heard the $7 million in instalments over a period of two years. This means it is physically impossible for her to donate the entire amount in one lump sum — she never had access to it in such a way. The second is that the words "donation" and "pledge" are used interchangeably, not only in general but specifically even by the ACLU (who Heard was donating half the money to) on their own forms.

For me, it's pretty obvious that Heard saying in one instance on live TV that she "donated" the entire amount, is because a) she was being termed a gold-digger and saying she's donating in instalments would give the people calling her that more fuel, and b) because it's easier to say she "donated" the whole amount (which is factually true as she on documents pledged the entire amount), as opposed to derailing the interview to answer the question and get into both her and Depp's financial agreement, and explain how multi-million dollar donations work.

Depp himself likely chose to pay Heard in instalments because it was financially easier on him as opposed to giving her the lump sum in one go, so that people can't see why Heard would similarly donate in instalments when she has far less money than Depp, is hypocritical. Depp routinely got mad at Heard for her movie roles, and even told her to not work, thereby likely losing her several opportunities. He would then go on to tarnish her entire reputation, causing her to lose further roles or campaigns (L'Oreal has been unable to use their campaigns with her, and she had to fight to keep her role in Aquaman).

The idea that Heard is the gold-digger is laughable, because not only is she definitely entitled to the money that she got in the divorce, but because by California law she was entitled to 1/2 of Depp's earnings — she chose to forgo her rights to 1/2 of the money Depp made in back-end deals, meaning she chose to give up taking tens of millions of dollars. In no way did her allegations aid her in receiving any money from Depp, she could have taken more money without a single accusation.

If anything, Depp's decisions to not only drag Heard to court, but to do so for defamation indicates the very opposite is true. He sued her for $50 million, and was awarded $10.35 million. At this point, Heard has had to spend up to $6 million in legal fees (nearly the entire amount Depp has paid her in the divorce, $1.3 million of which she has donated already), and the ACLU is well aware that the reason she had to stop regular instalments is because of the financial struggles this man has caused her.

It's just another irony in this case that what is being used against Heard (in this case, the donations), is a situation that was caused directly by that man.

#apologies for how late this response was! #replies #answered #anti johnny depp #johnny depp vs. amber heard #johnny depp v. amber heard #mahradyer

[charliesghosts]

current muses;

Imogen Prinz age: mid 20s- early 30s

an irrational and brutish young woman who let’s her penchant for chaos get in the way of her success. raised by a tight-knit family with an us vs them mentality, imogen has is selfish and always willing to sacrifice others for her own gain, no matter the context.

Jake Warshawsky age: 18-24

a film student who only really knows how to participate in life from behind the lens of a camera. he is most comfortable when he is unnoticeable and often follows the lead of his closest friends and rarely makes an effort to forge his own identity. he was recently told by an instructor that his work will never have true meaning if he can’t understand his subjects without a camera present. struck by this sentiment, he is trying to embed himself in the world he has been capturing on film for years. 

Jocelyn King age: 18

a confused teenager whose entire world collapses in front of her after an event that leaves her humiliated, friendless and a disappointment to her parents. she is trying to accept herself and her place in society now that she is fully independent for the first time in her life and free to pave a path of her own choosing, if she can find the confidence to do so.

Katherine Bishop age: 18-25

a sensitive but immature young woman who values being loved by others above most other things without even realising it. she is kind and loyal but thoughtless and unreliable and often realises her own mistakes far too late to fix them. for this, she is often chasing her own tail, trying to be all things to all people without really knowing who she wants to be or who she is at her core.

Sebastian Sergeant age: 18-25

a young man with a difficult relationship with his personality and his appearance. he has a fiery temper that he is deeply ashamed of and gets easily frustrated by being misunderstood. after an uncomfortable breakup and a traumatic injury, he is dealing with grief in a number of ways., none of which he knows quite how to navigate.

Victoria Newcamp age: 21

a student of dance who recently (secretly) dropped out of college due to a mental break down following the discovery that her boyfriend (now ex) is still married and had been cheating on his wife throughout their short but intense relationship.

Zoe Walsh age: 30

a recently widowed californian who was forced to take leave from her job as a P.E. teacher and is currently instructing cardio classes at the health and fitness center owned by her parents. while trying to come to terms with her new life, she is also trying to reconfigure her relationship with those closest to her, especially her younger sister erin who had an immensely close relationship to her husband and played a big role in his life. 

Brigid Campanella age: 21

a young high-school dropout from an isolated mining town in the Appalachia's, navigating complex emotions and severe trauma, dealing with internalised homophobia, a faith crisis the aftermath of violent tragedy that resulted in the death of her only family. 

[black-kefta]

Book Recommendation: Harrow Faire Series by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

So i know this isn’t what i usually post and is probably a one-off, but i just had to talk about this YA book series i just finished binging. It’s a YA fantasy series set in modern day (2020) where the protagonist -Cora Glass- is thrust into a dark mystery revolving around the bustling circus/carnival that arrived in town seemingly overnight despite all logic indicating otherwise. The series has romance, mystery, a little horror, found family and deep existential questions. I’ve tagged Shadow and Bone because i went into that series assuming it would include some of the tropes Harrow Faire actually explores on satisfyingly. 

Cora Glass is, like Alina Starkov, reluctantly thrust into this bizarre magical world without much warning and expected to fill a role she doesn’t want. However, unlike the Sun Summoner, she’s actually curious by nature and confidently pursues answers rather than wait for someone to hold her hand through everything or drag her kicking towards the plot (*cough* Mal, Darkling, Genya, Baghra, Mal, Nikolai, Mal again *cough*). Cora, despite suffering from tremendous chronic pain, is witty, sarcastic, brave, fun and clever. She's no-nonsense without being disrespectful. She can acknowledge when she's wrong about someone/thing without re-writing her whole perspective everything relating to them/it. She listens to others but doesn't let them think for her. She also has relatable moments where she's consumed by confusion, anger or fear and needs support from others to pull her out of it. Her character arc is done so well because she is the one who tries to figure what she really wants, what she's willing to sacrifice and how she's going to get there. 

Although if the thing you look for in a love interest is serious brooding stoicism then these books definitely aren't for you. The dynamic between the two is at the heart of the series and Simon “The Puppeteer” Waite is undoubtedly, unapologetically insane. While he is outgoing, charismatic and funny, he is not some misunderstood bad boy with a secret heart of gold. His behaviour is unsettlingly cruel and erratic and, excluding the few area's he draws a vague moral line, he will obsessively go to any lengths to get what he wants- and his wants are always selfish. What's more is Cora is fully aware of this from the start and is drawn to him because of it. While they mostly banter back and forth, on a deeper level she's the only one who can truly push/challenge him and vice-versa. You truly get the sense that they bring out the most in each other and root for them in spite of how terrible a person he can be- another thing i was disappointed with in Darklina that this series fulfilled.

The setting is also incredibly dynamic and thoroughly explored- mostly taking place on the carnival grounds where everything is somehow surreal and grounded. Every single character from the faire meshes with it so well in their own way it makes the world feel alive. No matter how small, every background character is unique and interesting.

The villain(s?) are also incredibly compelling and feed in to deeper themes of good vs evil and what it means to live/survive. At no point does it fell like the author is grabbing you by the hair and saying 'SEE THEM? SEE HOW EVIL?!' DON'T YOU HATE THEM? NO?!! YOU'RE DISGUSTING!'

These books will sometimes subtly hint at the chance to include an annoying trope only to immediately shut it down. Some examples include; the hot mean girl out to sabotage the protagonist for no reason, unrequited love interest, love triangle, high-school cliques in an adult setting, bad guys motives going completely unchallenged and (most importantly) characters who ignore every red flag under the sun for the sake of plot convenience. 

All in all i finished these books in a couple of days and will probably return to them soon. If you do decide to give them a go feel free to message me your thoughts- there's virtually no fandom around them yet and i just think that's a shame considering how good they are. You can comment/message me any questions and i'll try to respond quickly to the best of my ability.

TL;DR- If you'd like to read a compelling fantasy series set in a magic Carnival with a fun-but-dark love story and a proactive protagonist, give the first book- The Contortionist- a try and trust me when i say it only gets better.   

#book recommendations #harrow faire #harrow faire series #the contortionist #circus #carnival #faire #bookblr #book #book series #shadow and bone #Darklina #shadow and bone spoilers #the contortionist harrow faire #cora glass #simon waite #dark romance #Kathryn Ann Kingsley

[highqueenofelfhame]

Hi I saw your post about fics being in character and I thought this could be a good opportunity to share some insight to help people who struggle with their characterization. I love your writing and ask could you share some traits you see as 'core' Rowan and Aelin traits? Maybe more valuably, would you be open to sharing your process for what you look for in the text when understanding characters, what stands out to you and what you make sure to include vs what you don't? I understand if this isn't something you want to share and I send this ask with good intentions and respect and hope this can start a productive discussion, no drama. Thanks :))

totally okay that you asked this!!

i think part of it is that i have read everything up to EoS so many times. like at least four times each and i've read heir of fire and queen of shadows probably six times each. i've only read kingdom of ash once bc it's still too painful to read again lmaoooo.

when i write i also always look for any chance i can to make parallels. i love making canon parallels to anything from small moments to bigger ones that are more recognizable. like the rowaelin qos reunion, rowan's "where is my wife" moment. rowan and aelin sparring in any capacity, like, anything like that. because i think that helps when you're pulling from the text and putting them into situations where you know how they interact with them, and it makes it easier to add in bits and pieces before and after. if that makes any kind of sense. (this also goes for legit any ship that i write. nessian, feysand, etc. pulling from the text and putting them in familiar situations will always help.)

as far as traits go, one of my major ones that i always try to keep in mind is rowaelin's loyalty to each other. rowan is like loyal to aelin almost to a fault sometimes. he will do anything and everything for her. when it comes that's why their thing is "to whatever end." they will follow each other to whatever end and beyond.

aelin has a very low opinion of herself. she thinks that she's expendable compared to those around her. she is very depressed sometimes and i think it gets overlooked a lot. (when i get my books back from my sister, i plan on doing a meta about this.) but she's been through a lot in her life and i try to keep that in mind in a lot of au's. some au's that are heavier (like iihasts and fafs) i try to pull on that. her mental health is very important to a lot of the way she handles things. post KOA, i know this girl has PTSD. it's evident in the way she handles a lot and takes a long time to warm back up to rowan in kingdom of ash. but she was tortured and manipulated for months. she's not okay.

people (in the books) also call her selfish A LOT but most of what she does she does for other people. she even spared dorian the weight of killing his father and told him she did it. like, come on.

as celaena, she does lean on the more selfish side, but as aelin she's doing everything she does for the greater good of the entire world. she didn't forge that lock for herself. she forged that lock for a better tomorrow for everyone she loved. which is incredibly selfless. she would also completely throw down to keep her loved ones safe.

the arrogant behavior is such an act. she's not really like that, it's a cover to hide everything she's truly feeling inside, to protect herself, to keep people from truly getting to know her. she can flip her personality to better suit the situation and the people she's around. she's mostly only her true self around aedion, lysandra, and rowan. i don't even think she really reveals herself to the rest of the cadre for probably a very long time. she picks fights when she's hurting the most and rowan is really the first person to see and recognize that. (very evident in hof when she sees what a good person gallan appears to be and goes and picks a bar fight immediately. or when arobynn humiliates her and she wears her nicest jewels to try to intentionally get robbed so she can start a fight.)

the reality is that she's an insanely hard worker, she keeps going and going and going to meet to meet her goals. she's a master strategist and very quick on her feet in any situation she finds herself in. she feels isolated (which goes back to her depression and ptsd) and she feels misunderstood. but she has been known to literally give the cloak off her back (with kaltain) and the money in her pocket (with yrene) and doesn't expect anything in return. literally nothing in return. she just did it out of the goodness of her own heart, yet she's constantly filled with self doubt that she's a bad person because people tell her that she is (chaol literally calls her a monster and she holds onto that and ends up asking rowan if she is one.)

she gives a lot of forgiveness and second chances, except to abusers. she pulls no punches with them. yet even with arboynn, she made sure there were no redeeming qualities left before letting lysandra kill him. instead of seeing it as a victory, though, she just felt hollow. she doesn't take joy in killing these people. she is not a bad person.

she feels a lot of guilt when she feels she could have stopped things. i think she carries those moments with her. which is why she helped those people the king wanted dead to escape in com. she has no problem ending people that deserve the punishment, but when they don't, she does what she can to help them.

rowan is so respectful. he finally gets his mate and his wife and his love back and he's consistently giving her the space she requires when it's so hard for him to not just touch her. he puts his own needs aside consistently based on what aelin needs.

he's a complete and total hardass to other people but is so soft for her. but he's also territorial about her. he's protective of her. but never at the cost of what she needs and wants. however, he will put his foot down and make people swallow their own tongues if they're disrespectful toward her. but he's also respectful toward everyone, not just aelin. he can prove his points without physical violence even if he would want to.

in that same vein, if you're doing enemies to lovers, he doesn't understand her at first. he think's she's spoiled and doesn't have a single clue about the trauma she's been through and he's very hard on her. he treats her like another warrior in their training. he doesn't go easy on her just because she's a woman (which also still comes from a place of respect) but the second he finds out about her trauma the way he treats her shifts. he becomes protective because he doesn't put up with that kind of shit. he isn't torturing her in their training, in fact aelin in hof says that he's brilliant even if he beats the shit out of her every damn day. a lot of people try to twist that into a thing of abuse, but again, he's training her like a warrior. he doesn't coddle her and she doesn't want to be coddled. again, this comes from a place of respect.

he also learns from his mistakes and tries to right them, and takes action to better himself from it as soon as he can. this is important. he has the humility to apologize, whether it be by actions or words. he doesn't ask for credit in the things he does and ends up kind of making jokes about it. i think he has a lot of humility at the end of the day. he is quick to forgive others when it's deserved but has a lot of trouble forgiving himself. this is also important.

but rowan also has a playful side with aelin. they have witty banter that they exchange even when they're not totally on board with the other. he's funny in subtle ways, and toward the end of the series we see that he's so wholly comfortable with her that he even gets a little silly.

after his own trauma, he also falls into a very deep depression. for centuries. it took aelin coming along for him to come back out of his shell. everyone gave up on him, but aelin never did. just like he never gave up on her, and they were able to walk out of that darkness together. i also think he feels a lot of guilt when innocent lives get put in danger and risk or die at his hands when he felt he could have stop it, much like aelin.

rowan is also very calm in most situations. he's able to work out solutions like the warrior that he is even when other people are losing their minds, which makes him a very good soldier and eventually king.

i could keep going but this is getting wildly long lol. i hope this helps even a little. thank you to @westofmoon @whimsicallyreading @punkassbookjockey26 for helping me with my thoughts as i'm still exhausted from surgery and healing.

#characterization #rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #tog #throne of glass

[filipinoizukuu]

Izuku seeing another facet of how villains like Toga don't operate in complete malice and have been misunderstood basically their entire lives, so he tries to reach out to her but Uraraka ends up being the one to reach for her effectively getting them to save her: :D

Uraraka and Toga enter in a love triangle just so Izuo/////cha can sail: D:

SO TRUE SO TRUE SO TRUE!!!!!

ochako and togas arc has been SUCH a well built up arc and while i do agree mha isnt the best at writing women, i GENUINELY adore both ochako and togas potential as characters and have been WAITING for their payoff as character foils ever since they met in the training camp invasion arc!!!!

one of the BIGGEST points of mha is the fact that its supposed to be a deconstruction of good guys vs bad guys. its MORE than just villains giving their tragic backstories and the heroes patiently waiting until they can kick their asses — its about these kids, these new generations of heroes learning important lessons in how unfair society is so they can correct the mistakes of the older generations!!

watering down ochakos slow development of defining for HERSELF what it means to be a hero for a cheap romance plot device is smth that im GENUINELY scared of happening.

izuku and ochakos relationship deserve better than that. they BOTH are. and its SOOOO incredibly ooc to CHARACTERIZE OCHAKO AS SOMEONE WHO WOULD ESCALATE CONFLICT WITH A VILLAIN OVER HER CRUSH!!!

one of the things we KNOW about ochako is that she isnt making herself out to be the 'heroine love interest' of the story. she doesnt see herself as an extension or even PARTNER to deku because she makes it clear from the get-go that before her feelings and romantic interests for deku, she is a hero first and foremost. she is capable and she knows her responsibility.

ochako is an INCREDIBLY empathetic character and imho she deserves a lot more credit for how nuanced she feels sometimes in the story. like how her instincts and priorities were never ever self motivated even when they appear to be on surface-level. she didnt defend deku w the megaphone n shit bc of her crush, she did it bc hes her BEST FRIEND and he was being unjustly persecuted. she spoke to bakugou fearlessly abt his strained relationship with deku not because she wanted to antagonize him on dekus behalf or something, but because she genuinely CARES about both of them. she didnt become a hero for "vain and materialistic" reasons like cash bc she was selfish. she did it because that was her way of taking RESPONSIBILITY for her family. just like how iida continues the ingenium legacy bc thats HIS responsibility.

shes such a good character and i really hope this upcoming arc doesnt undo all that

#long read #sorry yall KDJFJS #ochako uraraka #mha #bnha #mha spoilers #bnha spoilers #asks #anon

[masterhandss]

Who do you think katarina will end up with?

Anonymous asked: Who do you ship katarina the most with ?

I got these two questions consecutively, I'm assuming they are coming from the same person so I'll combine them to a single reply, if that's okay.

People who have been following me since the first season can probably tell that I really like Geordo x Katarina (GeoKata) the most out of all ships. At first it was mostly just because I have an unintentional biases towards characters with blonde hair, which is why favorites were GeoKata and MariaKata, but then when I slowly got into the series more, my biases permanently shifted to the G-boy.

I'm not really a fan of laying out why I like certain ships through test to be honest. I usually get super frustrated when zine mods ask contributors to explain why they like a character or ship for contributor spotlight graphics because I can never really say everything I feel correctly hgdsjsdgfj, which is a good thing someone had already asked me a similar question before so I'll just copy paste my response here if that's okay :DD

TLDR; I ship Katarina with Geordo (Maria, Sora and Cezar behind him), and I think Katarina will end up with Geordo :))

You didn't really ask why but I'll give it anyways :)) -> major light novel spoilers, by the way <-

I'm not really the most deep person, if a ship has the bare minimum of something that I like (a trope or a hair color combination) then I stan it hard. That's why I used to be so equally adoring to both Maria and Geordo, because hurrdurr blonde hair hurrdurr. But the more I read the books and got into the community, I eventually liked him more than Maria. I didn't understand how or why at first, since Geordo and Maria are undergoing a very similar character arc: both characters wants to become better people in order to become worthy of Katarina (Geordo emotionally, and Maria physically? magically? in terms of her position/social status? I can't think of a right word but you get it). Again, Maria and Geordo's struggles are similarly written but one of them is more compelling to me. I feel like Maria's problems are easier to solve (her inability to rely on people, her attention seeking and her desire to be more magically powerful) imo, since she's already a well-liked figure in the Ministry and she's already a high-level magic user. Geordo's though; the series doesn't put too much attention on it, but despite the fact that Katarina gave his life color, he still somewhat sees the world in a desaturated light even post-childhood according to the novels and his lack of empathy still prevents him from completely absorbing all the colors. He's still learning how to see and he is happy that Katarina is always there to help him learn how.

I just love the irony that Katarina sees Geordo as a Perfect Prince and feels that she is inferior and unworthy of him, but then Geordo also seems himself as flawed, inferior and unworthy of Katarina and sees her as someone perfect. Geordo constantly wants to be better for Katarina (and for the people around him), and in time, maybe he could become a motivation for Katarina to be better too (on Katarina's side though, because on Geordo's she doesn't have to because she's already perfect the way she is). Geordo, while being self-centered and aggressive in his pursuits, isn't always selfish and thinks about what Katarina wants too. He'd fight tooth and nail for her and will do whatever he can so that Katarina will love him in the same way, but that doesn't mean he wont respect her decision if she falls in love with someone else, he just wont lose without a fight that's all (and fight, he'll give that's for sure).

Geordo is crazy in love with her; wants to protect her happiness, keep her safe whenever he can, and is even willing to both fight to become king and throw away the life he currently knows if it means he can live a life where he and Katarina can be together wherever she is most content and happy. He wouldn't lock her up in the castle like a caged bird like what Keith and some fans of the series thinks, whenever he does have thoughts like that like in Volume 6, its his internal response to the lack time they can have together alone, rather than being indicative of how he wants to treat her (like in his desire in Book of Desires, he conjured up a literal honeymoon because a honeymoon is the only time where he can spend it with her alone without someone butting in! It's weird and exaggerated, but his desire is simply to just be able to spend a day with her and be able to pursue her romantically without the threat of people like Keith and Mary).

Katarina sees him for himself, and she extends her hand of friendship to him despite all her fears of her bad ends involving him. She knows he's a "sadistic prince" but doesn't always tie him to that title. Out of everyone, Katarina has just as bad, if not worse, initial impression of Geordo compared to almost everyone around him (Others sees him as a Perfect Prince while she sees him as a Sadistic Prince and Future Murderer), and yet she accepts him and wants to learn more about him. She supports him and wants him to find happiness in love with Maria, even if it means she'll get exiled to another country or to a far off farm! (i'll edit this with citations later)

I can't help but want that for him, someone who there for you through thick and thin, who supports him despite everything she knows about her future involving him. Katarina is everything he would ever want in a partner: someone who isn't disturbed by his past, can see through his fake smiles, constantly cares for him, sees him beyond his princely façade, is one of his first friends who has helped him create friendships with other as well that prevented him to wallow in isolation and hate of the version of himself that society created for him, is genuinely interested in him as a person, is endlessly fun to be around and unpredictable, and is overall beautiful inside and out.

Again, a lot of Maria and Geordo's struggles are very similar to each other, but I'm more interested in Geordo's side. I find it more compelling. Geordo's scenes always almost provides something new, we get to see him angry, flustered & embarrassed, scheming/conniving, possessive, grateful, sad & frustrated and so much more. Maria has that too (we get to see her sad and thankful), but this might be my own perspective of reading the novels, but Maria's scenes kinda feel the same to me. It almost always starts with Katarina helping her and her realizing time and time again how much she loves her and become more motivated to be a better version of herself. I mean its unfair to say that they are all the same but that might just be me. (Maria: wow I'm so grateful for everything Katarina has given me, I want to be with her forever (rinse and repeat for the next 5 books))

Yes I know it's beautiful to see Maria falling deeper and deeper in love with Maria, but I'd rather see moments of someone who is trying to advance on those feelings rather than someone who is still trying to understand what they feel. Declarations and descriptions of love are beautiful in literary works and it always gets my heart fluttering, but I can read fanfics if I want to see that be written in 8 or more ways. Give me some action, some internal conflict!

It also doesn't help that it makes me really really happy for Geordo that he's made a dent in Katarina's baka shield? Katarina's heart skipped and fluttered for a second when Geordo was patting her head, and it makes me want to root for him even more! (Yes, go break the bubble! You can do it!!)

It's not even the same doki-doki as when she gets charmed at how pretty Maria is, to me its different in a way that my small vocabulary can't explain.

And besides, it really is just a battle between the protagonist that almost ruined her life (Maria) and the love interest that almost ruined her life (Geordo). Keith is part of that equation too, but he was never a threat after they became close (narratively, its seriously just Maria vs Geordo vs Keith, ignoring the changes to that narrative by FL2). It's always about Geordo (and Maria), everything she's doing in the Fortune Lover 1 Arc is because of Geordo (and arguably, Maria & Keith too) and the consequences of where he decides her future to would lead to.

It has to be Geordo, in my opinion, to show her that things aren't the same as the game (and he already kinda has, just a dent though) (If not Geordo, it should be Maria). He, who she feared and yet cared for so much

(I know Fortune Lover 2 basically removes that importance of Geordo and Maria specifically to Katarina's narrative by making her an active problem in all routes, finally becoming loyal to the title "All Routes Lead to Doom", but its not like the story is digging into Katarina's brain that she's sword training for the purpose of fighting back against all the boys, its still just Geordo, so idk I still count that in my shipper brain)

It also also helps that Geordo is basically the poor bullied animal in the hamefura community's eyes, regardless of how far he is into the battle (like in the reddit discord lmao). Yeah he has the best chances which is why many people both in and out of the series find it so fun to drag him under because of his unfair advantage, which is fair, but just like how you feel when you see a small wounded animal, you can't help but want to help someone who has the whole world against him (there's literally a canon manga page with that joke lmao), which is how I eventually felt over time. He's so misunderstood and bullied by people despite the authors dedication to flesh him out more beyond being a possessive prince fiancé of Katarina because of the anime's adaption, so I'd rather give my biases to someone who needs (and deserves it) rather than other contenders who are already overflowing with love and support. Also who doesn't love a perfect guy who breaks when his beloved is harm/who opens up to the person he cares about most?

I know people will read this and find it unfair that Katarina is giving so much to Geordo, but he isn't really giving anything to her. One thing I'll agree that Maria has over Geordo is that Maria makes Katarina want to try and work hard. Seeing Maria improve her magic wants Katarina to do the same, and whether or not it's from motivation or fear of getting left out depends on the reader. So far we don't really have anything like that for Katarina with Geordo because most things involving Geordo intimidates her, compared to Maria who is surrounded by mysteries and adventure (though arguably it's Katarina and not her lmao, but Kat doesn't know that).

Katarina is already the most well-adjusted character in the story even as a child so the only thing to really explore from her is mostly just her relationships and skewed sense of reality. That's why I hope that Geordo will not only help her realize that she can be loved by her peers romantically despite her self-perceived position/role, but also be one of the persons to make her completely realize that she isn't living inside a game. I mean like I said a few paragraphs ago, he's already kinda doing it by constantly confessing his feelings to her, reminding her that he is a person with his own feelings and not a character programmed to fall for a heroine.

So yeah, I ship Katarina with Geordo for those reasons and believe they should end up together for those reasons.

If you ask me who I think would she end up with objectively, I'd still say Geordo. The author's focus jumps between Geordo and Maria so that really depends on who you're asking. It also doesn't help that Geordo is always in the marketing with Katarina in the books and games, which pretty much cements his Male Lead status to Katarina's Female Lead status lmao

Thank you for the ask lmao, I'll be updating this with more thoughts and possibly citations later :))

#mh ask #hamefura #my next life as a villainess all routes lead to doom #my next life as a villainess #geokata #geordo stuart #katarina claes #i want to add more but i'll do it later :)) #I just copy pasted this so i'm srry for the typos ;;w;; #bakarina #destruction flag otome

[glorytoukraine2022]

Hey everyone! I’m back with another analysis! This time I’m going to do a comparison of reformed villains from Elena of Avalor and Tangled the Series. The main reformed villains I will be comparing is Cassandra, to four reformed villains from the two aforementioned shows. If you’re a fan of both shows, you probably might know who they are.

First up, will be Cassandra vs Varian. I know this is an obvious choice I’m starting off with, but given that these two are from the same show, they’re the easiest to analyze. TTS does everything it can to push comparisons between Varian and Cassandra and make them seem like parallels. However, these two couldn’t be more different.

Varian didn’t want to turn to crime. He only became a criminal because he was pushed to it. When Varian lost his dad, he asked for help not only from Rapunzel, but the entire kingdom as a whole. But because of a false rumor going around the kingdom claiming that Varian had attacked Rapunzel. Rapunzel never cleared the rumor, nor did she follow up on Varian’s request for help. The King sent guards to chase Varian out of his home in order to cover up the destruction of the rocks, isolating Varian from society and any possible aid. Varian was still wron, but he literally had no other options left.

Cassandra, however? She was faced with no such situation. Her life was pretty stable when she stole the moonstone. Was it perfect? No, but if she was so unhappy, than she could have left anytime. She was even offered an opportunity to become a warrior of the kingdom of Ingvarr, but chose to stay because of her friendship with Rapunzel.

Like Varian, Cassandra too was mistreated by Rapunzel. I don’t blame either of them for wanting to leave her. Yet the show didn’t use any of these valid reasons as her motive for Cassandra stealing the moonstone. Instead, they decided to have Cassandra victim-blame Rapunzel for her own kidnaping.

The entirety of season 3, we see Cassandra gaslighting an abuse victim. Gothel didn’t kidnap Rapunze because she loved her more than Cassandra. She only cared about her magic hair.

Varian realized his actions were wrong long before the events of season 3, but nobody in Corona gave him a chance, leading to him turning to a Terrorist Leader. But when the Saporians revealed that they were going to destroy Completely using Varian’s chemicals, Varian turned against the Saporians to save Corona and it’s citizens, despite how the kingdom mistreated him, because it was the right thing to do. Cassandr, on the other hand, was about to rip the Sundrop straight from Rapunzel, despite her clearly being in pain.

For my next comparison, it will be Cassandra vs. Victor and Carla Delgado. One could argue that Cassandra saw the power of the moonstone as a power conduit and a means of respect, similarly to how Victor and Carla saw being Malvagos. However, given that TTS does seem to give a clear or specific reason for Cassandra’s theft of the stone, it’s honestly hard to say if power, respect or anything, for that matter, is Cassandra’s motive. “Destiny“, is also given as a motivation, but it’s hard to tell. Whereas Victor and Carla’s motivations for becoming Malvagos is clearly stated that they saw it as a means to gain power, in order to gain respect, which, quite frankly, makes more sense than anything that came out of Cassandra’s mouth throughout her entire villain arc.

Yes, Cassandra and Carla were both abandoned by their naristsstic, power-hungry mothers, but the way each of them reacted to it couldn’t have been more different. When Ash betrayed Victor and Carla by turning Victor to stone, Carla was devastated, and who wouldn’t be? Yet in that moment she saw her mother for who she truly was and turned against her, standing by her father when he needed her.

Now Cassandra? Let’s see, she went on a rampage to hurt her friends and others innocent people and ATTACKED her father. See the difference? One could argue that Cassandra was four when Gothel abandoned her whereas Carla was 19, but Cassandr’s memory of Gothel’s abandonment was repressed until Zhan Tiri showed it to her in The House of Yesterday’s Tomorow. Even though it happened when Cassandra was at a young age, when she remembered it, she was a 24 year old woma, and should have handled it with the maturity of a young adult.

Nobody is saying that Cassandra isn’t allowed to feel hurt. Nobody is saying she isn’t allowed to react badly. That she isn’t allowed to confront her father on the truth if she feels that he kept it from her. But you’d think she’d react in a mature manner. That she’d be willing to hear her father out and talk to him about it rather than straight out attack him!

Carla clearly wanted her mother in her life. She wanted a relationship with her. Cassandra also clearly wanted to be raised by her birth mother, but their mothers made their own choices. Ash and Gothel chose to abandon their daughters for selfish purposes. They can’t change who their mothers are, as much as they might want to. The difference is, only Carla has the maturity to realize that. She also realizes that she has her father, who loves and cares about her more than anything in the whole wide world. Cassandra disregards all of this.

From what we know about Victor and Carla’s childhoods’ Victor had fun days at the palace racing Esteban down the halls, playing hide and seek and cooking with him and Elena. Carla had fun cooking with her father as a child. But some of their lines from “Don’t Look Now”, tell us that their childhoods weren’t exactly peachy. According to Victor, if you had seen him as a child, he would have “always had a frown” because he was put down by others and was “treated like a clown” whenever he tried to stand up. And let’s not forget that him and his family were banished by Shuriki while Victor was still in his teens.

According to Carla, she and Victor were “always on the move“ and that the only thing that never changed was that she would “always feel alone.” The reasons she and Victor could never settle down was probably because they survived as theives and con-artists. If they were alwlays on the move, than Carla probably nevertheless had the chance to make friends growing up. And we’re suppoesd to feel sorry for CASSANDRA?!

While it’s possible she might have felt looked down upon like Victor, Cassandra had a pretty stable life growing up. Growing up inside a CASTLE! She was even allowed to train for the Royal Guard at age six! Victor and Carla had to resort to becoming con artists for a living, and Cassandra is pouting just because she didn’t get the job she wanted?!

When Carla nearly fell to her death after she was knocked over a ledge, Victor was terrified that he was going to lose Carla right then and there, causing him to realize that power wasn’t worth the price of losing his daughter. This gave him the incentive and courage to stand up to Ash for Carla’s safety, and end dark pursuits right then and there. Ash responded to this by turning him into stone. Heartbroken and angered by Ash’s betrayal, and realizing her mother’s true nature, Carla stands against Ash and reforms as well.

Victor and Carla may have once believed that power would gain them the respect they’ve always wanted, but in the end, realized that they never needed power. All they ever truly needed to be happy was love and family. Each other. That’s what I call a true, remarkable redemption. Cassandra didn’t seem to learn or realize anything based on her experience. To this day, I still don’t understand just what new insights and changes resulted from Cassandra’s “redemption.” All Zhan Tiri did was take the moonstone from her. There should have been more than that to her redemption.

Now, last, but not least, Cassandra vs Esteban. Now, I saved this one for last, because Esteban is the one I’ve heard people compare Cassandra to, and while I understand where they are coming from, I still have my objections. I’ve heard people compare Esteban to Cassandra based on the fact that they both had a desire to be noticed. While I understand this comparison, I still feel like Esteban is the more sympathetic of the two.

As much as Esteban wanted to be listened to, he always loved his family deeply. But he always made the mistake of trusting the wrong people, first Shuriki, then Ash, and then the Four Shades. He trusted them, only for them to go after the people he loved and wanted to listen to him in the first place. Cassandra wanted to be listen to, but she didn’t care if it cost her everyone that had ever cared about her. We see this early on in season 1, during “Challenge of the Brave”, when she tries to sabotage Rapunzel’s chances in “Challenge of the Brave” by stealing her weapon of choice, and in “Great Expotations“, when she breaks her promise to Varian that she would be his assistant at the Science Expo if he completed her Handmaiden duties for her, just so she could be on guard duty.

Both Cassandra and Esteban are ambitius and have sought to undermine their family/friends if given the oppourtunity, but I felt that Esteban was always more misunderstood whereas Cassandra was just willing to screw over anybody in her way. Think about it, even after Esteban joined up with Ash, he NEVER EVER wanted to hurt his family, and was always going out of his way to protect them and migiate harm. Cassandra, on the other hand? Went on a killing spree to murder her friends and cause as much destruction as possible.

I have also heard people comparing their redemptions and complaining about how they were both “last minute.” While I would agree in regards to Cassandra, I would NOT say the same about Esteban. As I pointed out in previous paragraph, Cassandra was still hell bent on hurting Rapunzel before Zhan Tiri grabbed the moonstone. Just before that scene, Esteban had just sung a duet with Elsa about how remorseful he feels for everything he’s done and all the people he’s hurt.

Iv’e also heard people comparing their “deaths”, claiming that Cassandra dying was a self sacrifice. NO. I REPEAT. Cassandra’s death in the TTS finale was NOT a self sacrifice! A self sacrifice is when you knowingly put yourself in harm’s way for someone or something else, knowing that you’ll be killed, or seriously injured in the process. Esteban teleporting in front of Elena to take Cahu’s time grain, was a self sacrific. Anna choosing to save Elsa from Hans in Frozen was a self sacrifice. Cassandr’s death was NOT self sacrifice. Cassandra and Rapunzel didn’t believe they were going to die or suffer any consequences by uniting the stones. The only person who they bellived would die was the person who United the stones, that person being Zhan Tiri. Cassandra’s actions were not self sacrificial, in any way, shape or form. What Esteban did for Elena in that moment was more powerful than anything Cassandra did in the finale.

All of these people I talked about above were better villains than Cassandr, with much better motivations, and are More worthy of redemption as have becom better people than she ever will be. If Cassandra ever grows in the futur, sh’ll be lucky if she ever gets at least half to where all these wonderful people are today.

I’m sorry if this analysis isn’t as good as my others so far. I stayed up until 3:40 AM writing this, so I apologize for any sloppiness or spelling mistakes you might see. I still hope you enjoyed my thoughts!

#elena of avalor #eoa #Carla Delgado #Victor Delgado #tangled varian #chancellor esteban #anti cassandra #tts #tangled the series #rapunzles tangled adventure

[itsonlystrange]

So I would just like to point out that:

Will didn’t care that Mike was broken up with because Mike didn’t either!

This is one of the main (and essentially only) arguments that I’ve seen people use to justify Will hate. I don’t care if you don’t like Will. I don’t care if you don’t like any character, but people will take it as far as saying Will should d*e, that he’s selfish, spoiled, and a lot of other things. Yet when you bring up the flaws of their favorite characters, they turn a blind eye.

Will is a caring, compassionate, and loving and considering character. If Mike had actually been upset at Will dumping him, Will would have been there. But that’s the thing. Mike was treating it like a joke. We saw it with our own eyes. So Will and Lucas did too. A lot of people fail to realize that if you’re going to say that Will was the one who was being inconsiderate about Mileven’s break up- then you have to call out Lucas, and even Mike himself too.

Will didn’t take the breakup seriously because Mike didn’t. Mike didn’t look sad, or ‘heartbroken’ (seriously, what?) He looked more so disgusted, and arogant of where he (Mike) went wrong. We know Mike sucks at apologizing unless it’s Will, to the point where he literally refused to apologize to El first, and didn’t even apologize until the world was about to end, and even when he did, he didn’t even apologize for lying in the first place! El wasn’t mad that Mike was ‘jealous’ of El and Max’s newfound friendship, she was mad that Mike had been lying to her. Which, he continued to do, even after it was obvious El knew he was lying. Mike continued to lie, EVEN when the truth was out, and again, didn’t even apologize for lying in the first place!

If Mike had actually been heartbroken, for example, take the Jancy fight. When Jancy are in the car in season 3 episode 4, and they get into that big fight, it’s played out as emotional, and heart breaking. There is soft music in the background, there’s close up shots, and they both look visibly sad and distressed. Then, when Nancy gets home, she’s actually crying. She even tell her mom that she knows she messed up and that she knows that she was being ignorant towards Jonathan’s feelings, compared to Mike, who refused to even admit that he was in he wrong. The Mileven break up has up beat music, and El and Mike don’t cry over it at all! They even play “you’re as cold as ice”, a very up tempo song, and have El smile after breaking up with him, and doesn’t even look sad whatsoever after the breakup, and infact, she looked unbothered. She only really begins to miss/need Mike when the action begins, because Mike is her safe person. And that does NOT automatically correlate to romantic love. Mike was the first person to ever actually be kind to her. She attached onto him not because he is her “soulmate” or because it was “love at first sight” (he literally wanted to get rid of her up until she knew where Will was, how was that love?!) But because after being ab*sed for twelve years of her life, she grew dependent on Mike over the fear that he was the only person that could ever treat her like a human being, instead of a lab rat. But then Hopper, Kali, Max, Joyce, etc, came into her life, and she didn’t need him anymore! She was no longer dependent on Mike because she knew that there were other people out there that cared about her. She knew there were plenty of fish in the sea, and it wasn’t just “Mike + El against the world:” it’s almost like when a baby bird leaves it’s nest. Birds are usually dependable on their mom’s until they finally gather the courage to fly away, and then they aren’t dependent on their mom anymore because they now have the ability to not only defend themselves but to meet new birds that are able to replicate the same type of love their mom gave to them in the first place. Mike’s adoration over El is what makes her so attached, but after seeing that she can be adored and cared for by others, she doesn’t need his adoration because she knows she can get it from someone else, say Max, or Hopper.

Neither of them were upset at the breakup. Infact they both looked like they could care less. They even went it so far as to play off the scenes following the breakup as jokes, too! El only goes back to Mike after she feels as if the world is about to end, when she’s in high levels of distress or loss. Which is NOT GOOD! If you only go back to someone just to deal with your trauma or get over a intense situation, that’s not love! That’s not even in the ballpark of love. It’s just El being reminded of her trauma and going back to the first person who ever helped her get through her trauma in the first place. El is only ever dependent on Mike when her ptsd kicks in, or her, or everyone else, are in stressful situations. It’s a defense mechanism.

They both didn’t seem to care about the breakup, so Will didn’t either. He didn’t feel the need to comfort Mike because Mike didn’t look like he needed comforting. He wasn’t crying, like Nancy was. Jonathan and Nancy, who obviously love eachother, were actually sad over their semi break up. Nancy admitted to being in the wrong versus Mike refusing to admit or apologize to El. Jonathan very clearly was upset and crying over feeling misunderstood and also just at a loss, when El smiled and immediately started thinking about other guys. She even says that he’s her “first boyfriend”, implying she’s always thought of having one or even two more.

If Mike had acted like Nancy did during her break up, Will would have 100% comforted him. You know he would. Will loved his friends and he would do anything to make them happy, to the point of Will literally risking his own happiness for months just so that his friends can be in respectful and happy relationships. He sat by, watching Mike slip away, day by day, because he knew Mike was happy with El (to an extent), but when they broke up, there was no emotional song in the background. Neither of them seemed too upset by it, El even seemed relieved and powered by this. She seemed more like herself than she had all season. If we were meant to take the break up seriously, they would have framed it like the Jancy breakup or the Byler fight or literally any emotional scene thus far in the show, but they didn’t. That was a creative choice to draw thick line between what actual love is vs infatuation.

And I’m not saying you can’t dislike Will, you totally can, but saying you think he should d*e or that he’s spoiled or selfish, is disgusting. Even if he’s a fictional character, nobody should say that about anyone.

If you’re going to call Will out for not respecting the breakup, call Max, El, Lucas, and Mike out too. Because the break up was NOT meant to be taken seriously. At all. Whatsoever. That was the whole point! Mike and El are great characters. And I do not want to see El be swallowed by a relationship that clearly isn’t healthy for her as that will only add on to her trauma and lack of emotional growth. El deserves to be surrounded by friends and family and just overall platonic and familial love. And I believe that in season four she will finally recognize her worth and become the independent, authentic, genuine character she deserves to be, away from Mike, away from Hopper, or anyone else’s control. I’m not saying Mike shouldn’t be in her life, but on a romantic level, I don’t think it’s healthy for them.

El + Mike bestie supremacy!!

#stranger things #byler #mike wheeler #mike and will #will byers #eleven #el hopper #stranger things 4

[life-rewritten]

THARNTYPE 7 YEARS: LOVE VS MISREADINGS AND INTERNAL STRIFES

So we are finally in episode 3 of TharnType 7 Years, and if it isn't apparent with my constant ramblings about this show, I am in love, like excited, obsessed, and incredibly happy in love. I know a lot of people are not like me, (it's always this way with this show) but the way the writer has left important character information, subtext and back-shadows in this plot has already made me hooked. The first thing I want to address is the couples in this show because I feel like people think the side couples are a waste of camera time and have no significance or depth, but this is one of the shows this year, where there is actual depth, plot and dynamics for the side couples. None of them is useless in fact; actually, if they don't have a plot, they're symbols/plot devices for the actual story. So stop seeing them as fan service, actually understand their characters, their flaws, their mindsets and see that we might have other couples in this show that are just as precious (with their own love story) as Tharn and Type. Or if you're one of those people who refuse to stop being closeminded about this show, then skip past this post.  But if you do love this show as much as I do, and want to know about what the story is showing; Let's begin.

First thing first is to look at the subtext, the patterns and what we could understand from episode 1-3 so far with TharnType 7 Years. The plot is all about all these couples having internal conflicts, sometimes psychological/ mental, which results in mindsets nurtured from their past experiences that have them become so flawed and stunted from growth. We've seen this same dynamic in season 1 with our couples, including Tharn and Type. 

With Tharn and Type the series, Mame uses love (the presence of it, the introduction to it and the feelings from it) to force our characters to learn from their mistakes, grow and change, and to reach self-acceptance and healing finally. Perhaps it's not always realistic (sometimes therapy is still needed, sometimes they take things too far, and sometimes the message isn't fully explored/translated) but its what I love about this show since season 1. The focus is on love, how incredible it can be for these characters and how it transforms them to their best version of themselves. In season 2 we have that with all these couples, they all have some kind of internal strife that is preventing them from growing,  And it's through love that they change.  Let me first analyse the couples, so you get what I mean; 

Misreading/Miscommunication/Misunderstanding in TharnType in 7 years

'How do past experiences shape your mindset, choices, and personal development and how does it affect your relationship with the love of your life.'

TharnType

Misreading because of internal scars

In previous season Tharn and Type has a fun time, getting together, this is me being sarcastic. In reality, these two struggled so much to cross that line, one because of Type's internal struggle with his past  assault making him ridiculously homophobic, and two because of everyone connected to Tharn's own history that contributed to his own internal scars at the end. Luckily our couple survived it all and actually chose to love each other properly. Except these scars aren't fully healed/gone, they still have affected our couple's ideologies, mindsets and actions, especially when it's time again to cross another line: Marriage. Tharn and Type are entering another conflict in their relationship despite their love for each other because of their internal scars. They're both for each other, 100% and they both concede and need each other, but their struggles make them incompatible despite the fact that they're actually trying to be selfless and caring for the other. Because of his past scars affecting how he sees publicity in relationships, Type doesn't want them to be exposed to the world or get married, because of his own internal strife of being abandoned Tharn wants them to prove to each other they won't be separated and needs them to get married for a peaceful mental state. 

Separately selfless and caring: Tharn is sacrificial and a pushover but we can see it's building up this episode and tearing him down, in fact, it was so depressing for him because he had to see Tong propose to his long term lover who by the way her speech was necessary because it showed what was on Tharn's mind. She says she's okay with being Tong's number 3 because she has known from the start who he was and she is willing to be selfless for him. In Tharn's mind, this is what Type should be saying, he should know who Tharn is by now and why he wants marriage, but also he should give in and let them get married because there's no problem to him with it. So that's another couple showing their love to everyone whilst Tharn has been in a relationship with Type for longer and is just not getting that. Still, he concedes this episode he pushes it down in front of Type, and secretly still hopes to get married a different time. But this is misreading Type because Type still wouldn't accept that proposal and it will cause a blow-up. 

The ring, the piano (playing their song) and the roses he was holding (passionate love) all symbolise Tharn's strife, he has everything ready, and was the one who played the song, held the flower, and bought the ring but he didn't have Type there. Type was avoiding going because he didn't want to bring back what happened in episode 1, being forced to again talk about marriage, (not selfishly, he's doing it, so they don't fight about it). Still, his absence also represented his misreading of Tharn's feelings.

In episode 3, we do see Type in denial, he is starting to realise that marriage could be a possible thing, and he knows Tharn wants it the most, (its what he wished for, for his anniversary in episode 1 for them to be together forever, marriage is proof of that promise)  he's frightened about hurting Tharn because he can see it is killing him. However, still, he can't get over his blockages and mindset, which is understandable. 

So he needs clues and evidence to start seeing Tharns perspective finally: the girl, Techno, his parents, Fiat.

 But we can see how Type is changing; he takes in Fiat because he wants to help someone like his past self feel understood. He feels inclined to help him not just because of work, but he kind of like takes him in as a young brother and nurtures him because he probably needed someone like that when he was younger. 

Hence this is why Fiat isn't meant to be seen as a devil in this show, but like Type, in season 1 he's meant to be misguided, stupid, irrational, and grow. Fiat takes the role of Type from season 1 (despite in his love story is more like Tharn will explain later), he'll do things and say things automatically. He'll cause issues, but if you notice  Leo (who probably is going to be in Tharns position in season 1 longing for him and being hurt because he's too late but also can be like Type in his own love story) is his calming influence. But Fiat will grow after his mistakes and love (losing Leo) will make him learn and grow from his mindset. Fiat is not just an object/boring second lead that just likes the main character, his involvement with the main story is going to cause growth for our couple but also lead him to his own plot with his own love story that's just as messy, angsty and romantic as Tharn Type in season 1. And you know what I can't wait to see it unfold. 

Fiat and Leo:

 Misreading because of reputation and protection

These two are so annoying, mostly because they're in the same position as TharnType in season 1 where they have perceived obstacles preventing them from the crossing the line even though they're in love.

We're introduced to Leo in episode 3 who definitely has feelings for Fiat. There are so many clues to the fact that he's automatically in love and romantically cares for Fiat. 

1.He clearly longs for his touch: they both keep glancing and looking wishfully at each other's lips each time they come face to face, it's there because they want to kiss each other, they're pulled to each other in that way

2. He drops everything for Fiat's safety, protection and needs. He will do anything; he even is seen this way by Fiat's 'friends' as the person who is the most protective and possessive over Fiat

3. He's jealous about not knowing about Fiat's state, he wants to be needed and trusted by Fiat above all. And he enjoys when Fiat is submissive and gentler to him. 

So why is he so adamant about keeping them as friends?

Fiat's reputation: 

Fiat reminds me of Stud (another messy, spoilt, selfish character who did so because of neglect) from another BL show Friendzone, he's flirty, and he sleeps around whenever Leo isn't around, he's a bit unstable without Leo by his side, rude, makes tantrums like a child who wants attention. When you look at it this way though, he's a child suffering from neglect, although he's rich, so he gets everything he wants he doesn't actually feel adequately loved;

He ran away from home when he was young because of a lack of attentive parents; he did this to get attention, and it's because he felt overlooked and not listened to. We see that he already acts impulsively whenever he feels slighted; this is important for his character.

.He says so sadly in the show to his date in episode 3: This was another exposition to his character's mindset; he feels misunderstood, unloved and not taken care of properly by everyone, including his so-called friends who also just see him as a child, and spoilt. He's felt always never seen. He says this after he realizes that Leo may be possibly happy without him in Italy. He was feeling lonely, irritated and bored with Leo there, but because he cared about Leo's happiness (Leo apparently said the camp was important to him), he didn't want to bother him. If Fiat were so manipulative and selfish and just saw Leo as a tool for emotional baggage he would have texted but no he conceded for Leo's wellbeing. 

His dependency on Leo: When he ran away from home when young it was Leo he went to. It's because Leo has always been his safe space, the only person apart from Type who shows Fiat in this episode that he understands why he's being so upset about the basketball thing, he protects and delivers care to Fiat. 

So why does Fiat feel neglected by Leo: because he's hurting from Leo's rejection/adamant denial that they are nothing. Fiat clearly has feelings for Leo (Stud did for Earth and also felt frustrated that he refused to take him seriously). Still, he's kind of been forced to sacrifice those feelings because he wants to keep Leo by his side. But it still 'breaks' him to do so: whenever he hurts he says stupid things, acts prideful and tries to seem spoilt hence how he spoke to Leo in this episode, but then he concedes. 

I think he's like Tharn when it comes to Leo a little bit, he's like Tharn was in season 1 when he was chasing after Type, but deciding to keep it unofficial whilst it breaks him inside and makes him even more distant that he's being overlooked.  One because like Tharn he wants to keep Leo by his side and do what he wants, so they don't fight, (sacrificial, he shows he cares a lot about Leo he's not selfish). Two because he also feels neglected by Leo for not accepting or taking his feelings seriously (hence being misunderstood).  

For his ego and self-defence mechanism,  he embraces his spoilt persona. You can tell that he only does it whenever he's hurt, scared, or his ego is failing, for example, with the basketball scene; leg hurting and throwing the ball in a fury in episode 3. 

Fiat is not selfish or manipulative; he's just spoilt. He's more like Tharn in season 1 than Type honestly. Tharn is also sometimes selfish, manipulative and stubborn when it came to Type. Tharn is just as rich as Fiat and was used to getting what he wanted. So he also threw tantrums when things didn't go his way, and he guilted Type always into conceding.  Type didn't always fall for it and was more stubborn and headstrong than Tharn.

 Leo is complicated, and if I'm seeing him like either Type or Tharn, these are his reasons for why he is not accepting his feelings.

Like Earth from Friendzone with Stud, he thinks Fiat's love is fickle; he believes he's spoilt, that he doesn't actually want him, he's just saying it as a joke. He thinks he's shameless and a nutcase, and he's just seeking attention. So even if he has feelings, he doesn't want to accept them because of this.

Because he is like Type and has some kind of internalised homophobia, forcing him to not think about Fiats feelings, they are raised in an interesting environment: status, money, reputation. Probably he, himself does not believe he could be gay and have feelings, so he sees everything he does with Fiat as friends, but he's clearly in denial about it, Just like how many times Type was in denial about what Tharn was to him and kept on insisting he didn’t see them as anything more than s*x friends. But Type learnt the hard way of what he wants especially when San entered the picture in season 1.  Type is Leo’s San, he will now force him to learn how he feels and finally accept it. 

Like Type with Tharn this season, it's about the reputation of the family, he's the person who is the closest to Fiat, and they're family friends it'll ruin what they have, the reputation of the family if they're in a phobic environment. It would be stressful to deal with the fallout. He's refused to cross that line to protect Fiat, and him like Type is doing to Tharn this season.

He just doesn't want their friendship to be ruined, so he does long and want Fiat, but he's too scared to be hurt or their relationship to stop. This is the same reason why Fiat sadly concedes, they both are keeping it undefined for each other not really seeing that they both love each other. The more Leo rejects and hurts Fiat and makes Fiat think there's no chance for them; Fiat latches more to Type who is this symbol for all the love that he never received.

 Although Leo doesn't neglect Fiat that way, he does make him feel misunderstood, stuck, and his feelings are being ignored. It's what he says to Leo, "You came too late" essentially you accepted your feelings too late. Jealousy is what will now make Leo embrace himself and push for their relationship (same as Type in season 1) whilst jealousy of Fiat's involvement will drive Tharn and Type to cross the line and get married.

Champ and Khun

 Misreading because of lack of self-esteem

Champ and Khun, my babies. Champ is going to be hurting Khun without realising it. Champ is really bad at love mostly because of lack of self-esteem, he doesn't think he's worth loving for some reason, he also doesn't see any point to love, and he's automatically cut himself of that. The thing with Champ is that Khun is different, he knows this, and I think we're going to see him feel this later on. But I think Champ and Khun are definitely like King and Ram, like King Champ is insecure about what Khun thinks of him and so he will also know how he feels but push it down because he doesn't think he's good enough for Khun.

We know that he's seen as dumb and dim, he mistakenly messed his university year, and he's just starting his business, so he's a little insecure compared to his friends.

We see how he is when it comes to love in season 1, he doesn't understand why people want him, and he doesn't feel anything to others in any way shape or form. 

It's either that or he's just so dumb that he doesn't even register how he feels for Khun as love, there other characters like him; Haruta from Ossans Love and Tonhon from Tonhon Chonlatee. They keep on flirting and doing this automatically to their love interest, but he's not going register why it's different, and this will hurt Khun because Khun won't say it out loud. 

Khun also seems like he struggles with lack of self esteem, insecurity, he's quiet and nervous all the time, he's shy and unsure about how to say to Champ how he feels, and yeh he also struggles to say how he feels. He's tried now to spend time with Champ alone twice, and he's shown annoyance in a polite way to both Type and Techno for being there. He's had feelings for Champ for seven years probably when they stayed in the same dorm, but he's not been able to gather up the courage to say so. So he's also going to be misread by Champ that he also likes keeping it cool and platonic because he doesn't know how just to say it. (Like Ram from my engineer) But I think he will get angsty the more he gets closer and unsure about what they are, and will finally say it out loud. 

Cir and Phu: 

The antithesis/symbol

Cir and Phu represent a couple that gets each other and makes an effort to let the other know how they feel, hence they don't hide or shy away from how they feel, they are blissful, in their own world, and they are the antithesis of these couples. But they also represent what these couples could be if they finally embrace their issues and see each other, Tharn and Type can finally be out and exposed to people, Leo and Fiat can finally be possessive over each other and show romantic ownership. Champ and Khun can finally tell each other how they feel and be in a relationship. 

So yeah, the couples in this show are all, significant, exciting and vital to the plot. They're not wasting camera time, especially Leo and Fiat in episode 3, we needed to understand why Fiat becomes our villain. He's perfect for it; spoilt, stubborn, and refuses to give this fight up because he's tired of being neglected. And Type represents a chance to be seen I guess to him. Tharn and Type and Leo and Fiat are mirror characters, they all learn and grow from falling in love, it doesn't mean they won't be messy, they won't make mistakes, but they're really understandable unlike some other one dimensional characters in this genre. Please give this show a break, and stop focusing on, on the surface information, listen to what the characters are saying, what has been shown and mentioned about them and think about how it affects them. Like Techno, for example, he's going to be a helping hand to these couples, for Tharn and Type he'll help push them to marriage (this is why he sends in the group chat that Tharn is cheating despite the fact he knows he's gay, he's not stupid or problematic he's up to something because he has to help Tharn find a way to make Type concede and want to be possessive of him), he'll also be necessary to Champ and Khun, he's already clued into their relationship dynamic, so he'll let Champ know the truth. He's playing the same role he did in season 1 for Tharn and Type. All these characters are essential, and they all fit the plot and pacing correctly. Stop thinking they're not. Okay, I'm done with my rant; let's see what happens next in episode 4, Ciao. 

#thai bl #tharntype 7 years of love #tharntype 2: 7 years of love #tharntype #tharntype the series #bl series #bl drama #november #cwg #fvete #mewgulf #tharn and type

[bellatrixobsessed1]

🙄 sorry to say but I think you’re reaching. Zuko isn’t an intentionally malicious person—hence why he got banished in the first place. Azula on the other hand is. Does she need mental health support? Sure. Will that change her? No probably not. She loves being bad. It makes her feel in control. It’s nature vs nurture. But you are an Azula blog so I can see y u feel the way u do.

I think that you might have misunderstood me. I mentioned that bringing the throne in can be one of two things an intentional flex or him being clueless/thoughtless. I should have clarified that I lean towards the latter. I also went on to say that “I can also agree with that; I think that even if they tried to help one another, they wouldn’t really know how. And would probably make quite a few mistakes along the way. “ Zuko thought finding their mom would change Azula, and Azula thinks manipulating Zuko will turn him into a great Firelord.” Is a good example; they both want different things in life. And so Azula thinks that she’s helping him by giving him what she wants (to be fire lord) and Zuko thinks he’s helping Azula by giving her what he wants (their mom back). But their wants and desires are so different from one another that it’s actually detrimental to Zuko to get what Azula wants and detrimental for Azula to get what Zuko wants. If that makes sense.” Basically even if he thought that he was helping her (he wanted his mom back to why wouldn’t she?) but the fact of the matter is  that it did hurt her in the end because Ursa was a huge trigger for her. So it’s less about intentional maliciousness and more about intentions gone sour.

EDIT: Though I will say that the comics did a very bad job at conveying Zuko’s motives. Intentionally or not I feel like he absolutely did use her. We don’t know what happened behind the scenes but we don’t know if he even visited her prior to that moment in The Promise. I’m not saying that he’s willfully malicious but I do think that he was thinking mostly of himself. I do think that Zuko is selfish; I think that that’s one of his character flaws. It doesn’t make him a bad person but I definitely think he was thinking more of himself than Azula. Azula could get Ozai to talk. Azula was a last resort, he didn’t particularly want to let her out but only she could help him find his mom. So he did it. The reason I brought that up was because the anon that I responded to framed it as Zuko doing her a charity/favor when in reality it was more of a bargain than an olive branch. Zuko didn’t want to help Azula, he wanted his mom. Azula didn’t want to help Zuko, she wanted freedom. In this instance they were using each other even if they didn’t see it that way. 

As for Azula ‘loving being evil’. I feel like it’s more of less growing up in an environment where it’s all she knows. She doesn’t love being evil, it’s a habit, it’s natural to her after years of being raised on war and politics. After years of being weaponized. I also wouldn’t call her evil. She’s an antagonist for sure. But when I think of evil I think of Bellatrix and Ozai. I don’t think of a 14 year old girl who still has a chance to better herself. Her behaviors are all learned and she can unlearn them.

It isn’t Azula ‘loving being evil’. To a degree it’s survival; “better him than me.” She saw what happened to Zuko when he stepped out of line and she didn’t want that to happen to her. If Zuko could get burned for speaking out in a war meeting, what would happen to her if she refused her father (”no dad, I’m not going to fetch brother and uncle for you). I don’t think that refusal was an option for her. And perfection was so ingrained in her that failure wasn’t an option either. I think that Azula hides behind smugness and apparent cruelty. And the thing that she’s hiding is a lot of fear. That she’s afraid. Which brings me to the next point; I would agree that she has a love of being in control. Which I think stems from the aforementioned far. She wants to control other people because she’s afraid. Afraid of what would happen if she didn’t. Afraid that she’ll get hurt. I think that a need for control oftentimes does stem from a fear of something or another. 

I don’t think that she loves being evil. She loves the security that comes with being intimidating. She loves feeling powerful. She loves not being the victim. She loves feeling powerful because it makes her feel like she isn’t a helpless victim. She loves feeling powerful and ‘evil’ because it means that she is not weak. And if she isn’t weak then she doesn’t have to be afraid. I’ve mentioned this a lot too but one of Azula’s central themes is fear; both being afraid and causing people to be afraid.

As for whether or not therapy could help her. I won’t get too much into this because I’ve discussed this so much already. But bottom line for me; I refuse to believe that a 14 year old child is beyond help when a grown woman like Kuvira or a war general like Iroh can change. Especially now that her abuser is locked away and she can get away from his influence. I talk a bit about this mostly here (link to a different more hellish hellsite because I can’t fine the post here), here, and here.

May edit when I’m not on mobile. Made some edits.

#azula #avatar the last airbender #Zuko #discourse #Azula discourse

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket SE02, Ep16

i believe there are more than one foolish traveler in Furuba with varying degrees of altruism, kindness & selflessness. The core idea of the foolish traveler story wasn’t to encourage kindness but as a somber warning that such kind souls are taken advantage of by others due to their altruism. The story don’t teach you to stop foolish travelers (you can’t), but take from their kindness without “killing” them in the process. So far three foolish travelers:

Haru is healthiest example. already discussed in past posts.

Momiji: stands in the middle. His story is cruel yet he tried to find the balance between giving too much vs caring for his own self. (more on how/why in his dad’s section).

Tohru is the prime example & the real version of foolish traveler story. We’re watching her collapse under the pressure of always giving too much of herself. We saw too much in SE01, now she’s entering the lion’s den on behalf of Arisa’s lost love. Many examples with many emotional scars after each reckless decision.   

Will Tohru meet the same end as the traveler in the story? Will she give everything, gains nothing & say thank you? or will she acknowledge her own needs as rightful, stand up for her desires, not for altruistic reasons, but cuz SHE wants sth for herself & SHE acknowledges that SHE deserves to get what she selfishly wants!

The Villagers/demons in the foolish traveler story:

In the story the villagers/demons took advantage of the traveler’s kindness & killed her. In real life, these villagers aren’t strangers, they’re family & friends. They aren’t demons, they’re loved ones who truly love you. Still some take advantage of you. How many times have you seen someone kind be content with so little as long as others happy? they ask politely, the person feels obligated or too kind to say no. Until one day. they ask for too much & if the person refuses. They’re shocked/offended & hurt. All while feeling the person is okay cuz he/she never asked for more. That’s momiji’s dad. He loves his son dearly but wants his wife & daughter more. Momiji understands. He always does. He’s a mature boy. Asking momiji to pretend he isn’t his son, to live apart, to quit his hobby. Every time momiji said yes. How could he not? he loves his mom/dad, wants his sister to enjoy the family he never had (selfless desires). But he also wants his sister to know him! to perform for his family exclusively. (selfish desires). Two desires clash. Momiji is sad & broken.

How is momiji different from tohru then?

Momiji acknowledges his selfish desires. He knows he deserves them. He openly speaks when tohru asks him. Hence, he’s rewarded. His sister wants him as big brother regardless of blood relations, She seeks him thro tohru. Momiji will get his sister sooner or later despite the cruse/trauma.

What abt tohru?

Tohru embarks on a reckless adventure using Arisa as a front. She convinces herself that’s it’s purely for a friend. It isn’t. she knows it, ashamed of it, denies it. hides it. Doesn’t open up to momiji .Keeps it all inside. She breaks down seeing all these living ppl yearning for each other yet choose to stay apart. Thoru would do everything she can for one extra moment with her mom. hear her voice once more. just once. grief returns full force a year later to tohru, cuz it was never giving a chance to be acknowledged!. “my mom is with me” was the mantra she lived by. As tohru refused to acknowledge her mom’s absence, the pain grows & the loss intensifies. The void in her heart where her mom used to be while alive, is no longer filled by her mom’s memory. Why? cuz it’s been a year!!!!! it gets harder & harder living after a loved one leaves the longer time passes cuz you can no longer deceive yourself, cuz yearning becomes harder, cuz their voice, laughter, smell, presence fades as time passes & it hurts! like million knives stabbing you. How dare you feel they’re fading? How dare you NOT remember them each & every moment. How dare you let them go~ oh tohru~ I feel you. I know this feeling very well, unfortunately.

The tears of yearning & loss fall again:

The rooftop scene is another example of brilliant writing. The writer sweeps stealthily into our minds duplicating another roof scene as early SE01, Ep 4! This time the writer switches places to showcase growth! brilliant!!. The two scenes parallel each other to the smallest detail of one crawling/walking towards the other. Ep.4 rooftop scene marked the beginning of tohru breaking thro kyo’s harsh exterior, getting him to open up abt his precious master, she earned his awkward trusting smile. This time kyo broke through tohru’s mask once again, noticing the tiniest details of her dirty clothes & down spirit. He doesn’t push her too much. He gives her enough space to talk & keep the parts that she wants hidden. However, this time they’re both different ppl than when they were in Se01, ep.4.

tohru is openly down, sitting more comfortably in her pajama. She’s the one who escaped to his quiet rooftop. She didn’t apologize for taking his spot, didn’t fret abt annoying him. She was at ease in his space/place. She let her guards down & altho she kept her secrets, she tried to convey her feelings of sadness. This is a New Tohru. A tohru much more comfortable with herself around kyo to start complaining without much urging.

Kyo’s entire demeanor is relaxed & chill. from the way he walks, until how he sits so close to her to the way he extended his hand & wiped her tears. While kyo initially misunderstood that tohru had boyfriend, he wasn’t wrong at all in associating her words with romantic love. “you want to be with someone you like, want to be near them” That’s him!! despite deciding to not pursue tohru, being near her is the entire purpose of him still existing in this house. The uneasiness he feels with time running fast before graduation/confinement is all due to him feeling not enough time to be near her! Altho kyo believed tohrun not having a boyfriend, realizing that tohru might have one eventually hurt him deep. Yet, he’s determined to be The New Foolish Traveler in Tohru’s Story. I’ll give my life in return for your happiness. I don’t mind dying in a cell if you you could smile. even if you love another man. I don’t matter. I’ll wish for YOUR tears to stop. He tells her that but with kinder words. “i’ll support u if you have one”. Tohru got it. She got the true meaning mixed with a hint of misunderstanding that stems from her inferiority complex: (I won’t be with you. You’ll loose me. I’ll soon disappear from your life. This quiet moment together will soon be a memory. I’ll die in a cell & you won’t be with me = truth). Misunderstanding: (I don’t love you romantically, I’m just kind to you = tohru’s low self worth will hinder her from seeing the obvious that could be seen from the moon! this boy is melting for her). ~~Tow foolish travelers on the rooftop~~

Side Notes:

The anime disappoints me again with the tohru’s over-dramatic animation.I wanna ask the director: are we reading the same story? Tohru’s pain breaks thro my laptop screen & suffocates me. You don’t need to add this over exaggerated convulsive movement to her. Why only her?? You can’t extract extra tears from us with such addition. it backfires. it makes us laugh/go wth! be annoyed. Am i the only one who feels weirded out by tohru’s animation during emotional moments? Take out tohru’s convulsive 5sec movement & you’ll get 10 out of 10 heartbreaking scene!.

Kureno.. i duno.. sth is off abt him & i can’t figure out what! like.. i don’t feel he’s bad/evil or anything.. he feels like nothing, which is the weirdest feeling I’ve ever had abt a character. I’ll hold on talking more abt him for now until I see more of him.

Who is this blind lady? Her red bright nail polish reminded me of kyoko’s.

Tohru’s voice over on top of shots of momo/momiji/ kureno is epic! cuz her words have already been established in the scenes we saw in the ep. It didn’t ruin or foretell anything we haven’t explored within the ep. Add violin music that is actually played by a character within the ep, add moonlight light that all characters look at now, add the fact that her words describe her current situation with kyo & add kyo’s response! Brilliant! I’ll give the Director the credit he deserves in this scene. It was one of the best visual scenes in furuba & it works more cuz it was given space to play out naturally. nothing seems forced or consciously inserted or inconsistent or overplayed. slowly moving the camera to the sky above shigure’s rooftop & close the ep with one last callback to ep, 4. old scene ended with kyo smiling, now we hear tohru’s small laugh, . subtly telling you~hey, we went full circle with these two & you didn’t even realized when & how~10 out of 10! 

#Fruits Basket #Anime Only #satisfied paper #sad paper #I miss you #SE02 #Tohru Honda #momiji sohma #kyo sohma